Introducing Daisy

I honestly can't believe I haven't updated this blog since May. I didn't post when we got our travel dates. I didn't post following trip one to Ukraine (I can finally say the country name, now!), when we had finally met our daughter-to-be. I didn't post when we had a court date, and when we officially and legally became Perry, Party of Nine.

Honestly? The tail end of our adoption was difficult for me. At first, it was mostly due to losing the chance to adopt sweet "Mila." I still think of her and feel sad. It's hard to describe the feeling of "missing" someone you never got the chance to meet. But more than that, there were a lot of emotions wrapped up in the journey. More than I can even describe right here and now, but maybe one day. Suffice it to say that our daughter's adoption story is...unique. Incredibly, unimaginably rare for an international adoption, and I can't even talk about it, because it involves others, and it's not fully my story to tell.

Adoption is just plain difficult sometimes, y'all. Okay, all the time. Let us not forget that even the most beautiful adoption story is first born from a tragic loss. A child lost a family, and a family often is left grieving a child, as well.

But without further ado, here is our precious daughter! "Wren," as she was listed on Reece's Rainbow, is our sweet Daisy! Loved, Wanted and, at long last, DAUGHTER! She was legally our daughter at just five months old, and turned six months old just four days later. She is amazing, and we are completely in love!

Daisy has been home 2.5 weeks now, and it's still unreal to me. I spent eight months filling out dossier papers, working on grant applications, fundraising my tail off, making *insane* amounts of fudge, and dreaming of my child being home...and here I am, writing this while watching Parks & Rec, while my sweet daughter is asleep in her crib in my bedroom. I really can't get over it.

There will be more. I'm going to continue to post about our life as a family of nine, and how Daisy grows and her life at home in the US. We will very likely adopt again at some point, and I'll chronicle that here, as well as posts advocating for other orphans that touch my heart. My life is forever changed by adoption, and I don't just mean by my daughter. I looked into the faces of children who will die if families who don't come. I can't unsee them. This is who I am now, and I make no apologies. I'm an advocate for the fatherless. Truthfully, we all should be.

So until next time...

Introducing "Wren" | Reece's Rainbow

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

9 

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 58: 8-9

As we are grieving the lost adoption of "Mila," I'm clinging to these verses. God is not surprised by this loss. He knew all along, this was the plan. He knew another child would be ours, and He knew it would hurt. Through this pain we are clinging to the promise that this is all for His glory, and we are proceeding on with faith.  for we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) I'll be honest and say that our immediate, knee-jerk reaction was to think about stopping. How could we proceed, knowing our hearts belong to a child we can't bring home? I believe the timing of this loss -coming after our dossier was already submitted in country- was grace, and God's protection. Had we not needed to continue, we likely wouldn't have. We would have waited, redone papers as they expired, wasted time and money trying to make our dream, God's plan.

Oh, we are such fools, thinking we know what's best.

Yes, God knew all along this would happen. And maybe, just maybe, the reason He did this was for a little girl listed as "Wren."

When we committed to the adoption of "Mila," "Wren" had not yet been born. Deep in her mother's womb, she was being knit together, fearfully and wonderfully made. God knew her birth mother couldn't keep her. God knew she'd need a family. And God knew "Mila's" biological mother was going to come back to claim her.  

And so, maybe, God got us going with "Mila" to bring us so quickly to "Wren?"

We are hurting, to be sure. Our hearts long to be parents to "Mila," but we trust the Creator of the universe, the Creator of "Mila" and Creator of "Wren," that He didn't bring us this far just to turn His back on us.  God has miraculously provided for every need of our adoption, and that hasn't been so we would stop, and turn away. No, we must press on, and we will step forward for "Wren."

Honestly, it's been difficult. Though "Wren" is precious and created in His image and worthy of love as much as "Mila," we are just sad. To be sure, we will love her. There is no doubt in my mind that, a year from now, we will wonder how there was ever a time we were anything less than delighted over her! Love is a choice. And we will choose it. Every single day from the moment she is ours, we will choose love for "Wren," and God will reward that choice with unbelievable, unconditional love for her as our daughter before we know it.

Sweet "Wren"...you just may be our biggest adventure yet. <3 

We have been pursuing "Mila" as our daughter for six months. Her photo is hanging on our wall, and is the background on my phone. She has dresses in a closet and clothes in a drawer, and we have personalized items with what would have been her new name embroidered on them. We are only weeks from travel, and have been so, so excited for this to all come to an end and to meet "Mila" and hug her and love her and bring her home! We pray for her daily. We pray she is loved.

And when we got the call from our facilitator yesterday, delivering new information on her, we found out that she is loved. She's loved by her birth mother. She's been an orphan her whole life, but never unloved. And now her birth mother has decided, for whatever reason, to petition the court to have her rights reinstated, so she can bring "Mila" home. Home where she truly belongs, with the mother who birthed her and is biologically related to her, and wants to care for her.

And, so, she is no longer available for adoption. And she cannot be our daughter.

Our hearts are shattered. Please understand that this is good news, for "Mila." Her mother wants her! This is so incredibly, unimaginably uncommon in her country - a birth mother coming back to reclaim a child with such physical needs! "Mila's" needs are taboo in her culture, and for her mother to go back for her must mean that she is dearly loved. And that's what we have been praying for, is it not? For months we have prayed that someone there would be loving on "our" girl before we could. It turns out, that someone is the woman who is biologically hers.

This is the hard part of adopting from a country that is technically a blind adoption country.  We have known through this entire process that "Mila" isn't ours until we are there to claim her. We have known in our heads that this could happen, though our hearts refused to listen to reason, and burst forward with delight over her.  We have no regrets in falling in love with her.  The "loss" stings but we are immensely thankful God let us love her from afar during this time. Maybe our prayers for her interceded the gap between biological mother and child and helped to soften her mother's heart. I don't know. I will never know.

But I know we must move forward.

We are already submitted in her country, expedited at that. This means we do not have long before we travel - for someone. We no longer know who will be our son or daughter, but God knows. And though "Mila" isn't the child He chose for us, our child is there. We are thankful for "Mila's" role in capturing our hearts and leading us there, to find our child.  And we ask you to pray that she is loved as fiercely as we would have loved her, and more.

SUBMITTED | Reece's Rainbow

Yesterday, I saw the most beautiful word above our beautiful girl's face: SUBMITTED!

After months of paperwork, background checks, homestudy, thousands of dollars and no telling how much sweat, blood, and tears (okay, really minimal amounts of blood, lol!), we are officially submitted to the government in her country, registered as pre-adoptive parents, and only waiting for a phone call to travel!  Honestly, it's only been 5 1/2 months since we made the commitment to adopting "Mila" and we managed to pull off being submitted exactly one month and one week before our dossier would expire, so we've made excellent time! Some days it feels like it's been incredibly fast! Other days, it just drags, waiting for her to be home.  But soon!

In other news, on Tuesday I got a call that we had received two matching grants through Lifesong! (<--clickable link) Chosen & Dearly Loved and Orphan Care Alliance BOTH offered us $3,500 matching grants! This is INCREDIBLE news and, if met, would put us fully funded! We have an online auction coming up, set to begin on Sunday, and I really anticipate that generating a lot of funding, but I'm also working hard for every dollar toward our grant, making fudge.

Just about every night after my kids are in bed, and often during the day, when the opportunity arises, you can find me in the kitchen, stirring a pot of fudge. What started as an idea from my 12 year old son, hoping to generate a little adoption money, ended up being an enormous success too much for his preteen ability. He helps when and where he can, particularly with packaging and cutting Oreos, but I am absolutely happy to step in and make batch after batch of delicious, homemade fudge every night to go toward our adoption - which is especially fruitful with this matching grant!

We are submitted expedited, so we know "The Call" will come in the next few weeks. When exactly that will be, I don't know. The only thing consistent in her country is that nothing is consistent, so I can only make guesses and then re-evaluate later. But until the call comes and we are told to travel, I will be fundraising my tail off, making fudge and doing anything I can to meet the matching grants.\

If you want fudge, let me know! ;) 

Finished! | Reece's Rainbow

We are finished! That's it! We have done everything we can possibly do!

Our immigration approval came in the mail on Monday, May 1. On Tuesday, May 2, we drove to our bank to sign our page in the dossier for USCIS approval in front of a notary, then took that to the county certifier, and then my husband looked at me and said the most beautiful words...

"Wanna just drive to Frankfort and get this finished?"

HECK YES, I DO!

Off to Frankfort we went with our six kiddos, to finish up our dossier to bring home our sweet number seven! We managed to get to the Secretary of State's office about fifteen minutes before they stopped taking walk-ins, and we were out about five minutes later!

We left the Capitol and headed straight to a nearby UPS Store and sent our "paper baby" off to be joined with the rest of our dossier that's already in country. Tracking shows it was delivered today (Thursday, May 4) so it made excellent time! We hope to be "submitted" next week, and then we just wait for our travel dates!  And that's it, as far as things we can do! Our end is finished until we travel, and it's a relief to have it all wrapped up, stateside!

The only thing left for us to do is work on funding which, of course, we have been working on for months. Mason (12) had the brilliant idea for us to make and sell fudge, and that has gone over very well! He had actually intended for us to take orders for delivery in time for Mother's Day, but the idea what a hit when I shared it on facebook, and to date I've had 26 orders for boxes of fudge! We also have an online auction that will start on Sunday, May 14, and we have been blown away with the generosity of donors towards that! There are really some great items up for bid!  We have seven grants out that haven't responded, but none of them are due to notify until we expect to already be in country, since she is going to be expedited.  We are praying and have faith that God is going to make a way. After all, He has brought us this far, and He loves "Mila" even more than we do!

Since I have no paperwork left to do, when I'm not busy working on fudge (or doing school with the boys - our school year will wrap up in a few weeks, just in time for us to travel for the adoption!), I've been trying to get things squared away in the girls' bedroom. "Mila" has a drawer of clothes here, but I've had to guess at her size. I'm looking forward to knowing better what to buy for her, after our first visit, when I can see her.  We also have things to do to prepare our home and our kids for our time away, and things to buy for travel - like European converters for our electronics that will need to be plugged in!  There are definitely plenty of things to still keep me busy in the next few weeks. :)

Please continue to pray. Specifically:

1) We are praying God will prepare "Mila's" heart, because she is sure to be scared when she leaves her orphanage. It's the only "home" she's known, and she doesn't know us or our language, and it will all be quite a shock. We pray she bonds with us quickly.

2) Praying all of our documents look good, everything is in order, and we get submitted without any trouble.

3) Praying for financing.

4) Praying for peace - both in the wait to meet "Mila," and peace when we have to leave our six behind to travel.  They will be with grandparents and will be totally fine and happy, but it's never easy to leave our babies!

I can't wait to update again, when we are submitted!

I See the Finish Line! | Reece's Rainbow

On Friday, I found out we had received an officer, with USCIS! This is great news, and means our approval should follow shortly, unless the officer requests additional information from us. In any event, our immigration approval is now underway rather than waiting in line to be considered, and our "golden ticket" should be coming soon!  This is the very last thing we need for our dossier to be complete, so once it is apostilled and mailed to her country, we will be submitted shortly!

Things are moving right along on the fundraising front.  Just last week we magically (and by "magically," I mean God was on the move!" had just over $1,000 added to our Reece's Rainbow page...in ONE DAY! We still have quite a way to go to be considered fully funded, but that's okay. Robbie has already been talking to the bank and is approved for a loan, and they're ready to move forward with the approval as soon as he calls back and pulls the trigger. We were really hoping to adopt debt free, but I had said for months that I'd happily take out a loan and go NOW rather than drag this out for long enough to be funded, so I'm not going to complain when the Lord heard my heart's cry! I definitely meant it, and we are thrilled her country is expediting "Mila's" adoption.  Her being out of the orphanage and into her family months sooner is ultimately priceless to us.  We are still fundraising and hoping to hear shortly from some grants, but we feel a sense of peace that we know the funds are available and she will not remain an orphan due to something as meaningless as money.  If God wants us to be willing to pay her ransom monthly, well, we absolutely are.

Aside from waiting on our last, single sheet of paper needed to submit, I have finally finished every grant we can possibly apply for, and I'm gathering items we will need when we travel. I bought a money belt, and I have a couple of plug converters saved on Amazon. I'm gathering snacks my husband (who has special dietary needs) can eat in a pinch, if needed.  I have even allowed myself a few "fun" items and have bought the first few clothing items ever bought specifically for "Mila," for just her! That has been a lot of fun for me, in this time of waiting!

Things are wrapping up. I feel like I keep right on saying that, but they really are! One piece of paper. One single, "golden ticket" left to get. We're coming, Princess!

Happy Easter | Reece's Rainbow

Today is Easter! I'm currently waiting for our turkey breast to cook, and just finished making our cherry cheesecake!  I'm busy prepping a nice dinner for our crew and I'm truly thankful for each one of them, thankful for Jesus and the sacrifice He willingly made, and praising God that Jesus rose on the third day, defeated death, and broke the chains that would have bound me for eternity!  But if I'm honest, I'm struggling a bit to find joy today.  I keep thinking we should have had seven kids getting baskets this morning.  Two beautiful little girls rather than one, with their five brothers.  It's an odd feeling, to miss a person you haven't met, and yet here I am. I keep thinking of "Mila" and how she didn't have a mother this year to put a bow in her hair and take her to church and tell her about Jesus and his Resurrection.  But I'm SO thankful this is the last year she'll be in a crib instead of around a table, enjoying Easter dinner.  Next year, she'll be celebrating Easter as a daughter. <3

It's been a couple weeks since I have updated, which is maybe odd considering so much is happening right now! We have everything we can possibly do, back from the apostille now. Our homestudy and agency licenses came back. Our FBI clearances came back and rode along with another family that was traveling, so they're already in country. Actually everything is in country minus our homestudy and agency licenses and, of course, USCIS approval.

It's been two weeks and a handful of days since we had biometric fingerprinting for immigration, and we are still waiting for an officer.  This isn't abnormal at all. It can six weeks, on a normal basis, but of course we are hoping for sooner.  What this does mean is that we are not being expedited stateside.  At first I was a bit bummed about that. We want our girl as soon as possible, and every day we wait is another day she's in an orphanage.  But once we are submitted, things will move very quickly, so maybe it's okay that things are still moving at a more steadily slow pace for now.  It gives us more time to fundraise our tail's off, and Lord knows we need it!  We still have approximately $10,000 to feel like we are fully funded!

I've still been applying for grants.  Most say they take 60-90 days to notify winners so I'm not sure we have time to be approved for even one before we travel, but I'm really hopeful.  I know that God is going to work out the details, regardless.  It may be that He works it out in the form of a high interest loan that we pay on monthly, and honestly that would really stink for us.  We aren't exactly rolling in the dough and bringing home a child with special needs isn't going to improve our financial situation, lol.  But if the Lord wants us to be willing to pay for her monthly in order to bring her home, well, He knows we are happy to do so.  She is, after all, priceless.

So that's about where we stand.  We are waiting on one more paper -immigration approval- and once that comes through, we are ready to submit to country.  We could travel in as soon as a month from there!  I'm so, so ready to go.

God is Faithful | Reece's Rainbow

I was just thinking about how far we have come in this journey.  Today we had our USCIS biometrics fingerprinting appointments, and that approval is the last thing we need to be submitted in country. The first email from our stateside facilitator was sent to me on November 23, after we informed Reece's Rainbow on November 22 that we were ready to commit to adopting "Mila."  In just four months (and one week) we have flown through our home study, our entire dossier (minus this one paper we need from immigration), and have raised $8,000 towards our adoption expenses.

In four months.  Just let that sink in.

A lot of you reading this will already know our background, but I've made a lot of new friends on this journey, so allow me to share some of our history.  Five years ago we owned a home we loved, in Lexington, KY.  We were living the American Dream, when my husband became laid off work. We ended up moving to Indiana, lost our home in a deed in lieu agreement, and started over.  We were just beginning to get back on our feet when he was laid off again in a company merger (retail is so brutal).  We no longer had a penny to fall back on, having spent all we had and then some (credit card debt) to stay afloat after the first job loss, so we ended up moving back to his family's farm. Thankfully they had a place we could stay, but the seven of us, who later became eight of us, were crammed into a single wide trailer, and y'all it was hard. Like HARD hard.

For two years we lived there. There were good things. My husband got out of retail for good, which was an answered prayer.  Rosie was born, and she's such a joy!  But I can't pretend it was easy. We were cramped, we were swimming in debt acquired through the losses, our credit scores had taken major hits, and we just felt like things were out of control.  On top of it, God was calling us to adoption.

What God? Adopt? How?!

God provided.  We crawled out of the whole that had been dug.  It wasn't easy and it didn't happen overnight.  There were tears (from me, lol) and lots and lots of sleepless nights.  My husband worked lots of overtime and was almost never home. I did as much with my etsy shop as possible.  And we prayed.  And slowly, there was a light at the end of our tunnel.

On November 18, 2016, we closed on our home.  On November 22, 2016, we made the commitment to adopt a precious little girl who made all the hard times suddenly feel worth it.

And today, on March 30, 2017, we wait, with nothing left to do but fundraise and apply for grants.  Ready to submit our dossier and then wait on travel dates, as soon as immigration approval is received.

I still don't know how it happened. God just...did it.  He did it in His timing and not ours.  He did it through the hearts of those who have donated and He did it by putting whoever got our daughter listed on Reece's Rainbow in the right place at the right time to see her and shout for her, and then we saw her.  He just keeps...doing it. Over and over He shows up, letting us know that this child is precious to Him, and by extension is precious to us.

We still need to fundraise.  We still need about $12,000 in fact. But I'm not worried about it. It would be silly for me to stress that, considering how far we've already come and knowing how God keeps providing.  I'm just going to keep fundraising and shouting for our daughter and for the other children who don't have moms and dads on the way. I'll keep filling out grant applications.  But I'm not going to get panicked about it.  It's going to work out.

We are so, so glad to have gone through everything we went through to be where we needed to be to find you, "Mila." We'd do it again twenty more times.  You're worth it.

Exhausting & Emotional - An Adoption Story | Reece's Rainbow

We are getting close, and things are wrapping up. The bulk of our dossier came back from the apostille last week, and will be sent overseas to be translated, later this week.  We got our FBI background checks in the mail, and they'll be on their way to DC tomorrow. And our homestudy came in last week, too, so we are able to apply for grants and get our homestudy apostilled and translated! Today we got letters from immigration, giving us a date and time to go get our biometrics fingerprinting done, so we can get approval from USCIS soon! Yes, things are wrapping up and coming to a close for us on this side of the ocean.  And I'm relieved!

Fundraising is creeping along. Honestly I'm struggling with it. On the one hand, I know that God is going to provide. He will see us through this, and I trust Him. But my sinful, human nature spends many nights stressing the dollar signs, and knowing how much more we need to raise to afford to bring "Mila" home. I'm praying over these grant applications. Praying God gives me the words to convey our need and our desire to love and parent this child. And I'm just going to let it go. I'm going to apply to every grant I can, do my best with fundraising, and know that He is in control. God loves "Mila," He knows every hair on her precious little head, and He will not forsake us. He's got this!

We had a birthday party this past weekend for two of my sons.  It was bittersweet, because I couldn't stop thinking about how our sweet girl has never had a mother to make her a cake, never blown out candles. She's never been celebrated. I don't even know her birthday, only the year! I can't wait to know her birthday. I can't wait to know everything about her, to make her a cake, to wrap gifts that were bought specifically with her in mind, and to be her mother for as long as I live.

I'm feeling all the feels tonight. Just looking forward to my girl. <3

Compiling Dossier | Reece's Rainbow

We've moved up a step in our journey! If you follow any family pages on Reece's Rainbow, you'll quickly see that the family's progress is documented on the bottom. Our "Mila" has gone from a waiting child, to "My Family Found Me" (which totally made me cry), to our family page which said "Homestudy in Process" to now "Compiling Dossier!" This means that our home study is officially, and finally, wrapped up, approved, done and over with!  A copy is on it's way to immigration to match with our forms and be ready for approval, and copies are on their way to us to be put in our dossier (and also to be used for grant applications).

Actually, though we are listed as "Compiling Dossier," the truth is we are nearly finished with it! We've been actively working on our dossier at the same time we were going through home study, and the vast majority of our dossier is at the Secretary of State to be apostilled as I type. Or, will be, actually. It's due to arrive tomorrow (Monday). :) So, for those following along, here are our next steps:

1) Apostille copies of our home study and agency licenses, once they arrive, to go in our dossier.
2) Receive our FBI clearance papers (our fingerprints had to be done again, this time in ink, and are on their way to biometrics, also due to arrive tomorrow), and send them to apostille in DC.
3) Get immigration/USCIS approval and get that approval letter apostilled.
4) Send everything to "Mila's" country.
5) Be submitted!!!

We are chugging right along! Some days it feels like this is taking forever, but we only committed to adopting "Mila" at the end of November, so we actually have come a very long way in a short amount of time.  We're coming for you, Sweet Girl!

Money is currently the biggest obstacle in our way.  We will need at least a good $15,000 when we travel, but as close to $18,000 as possible to be covered in the event things don't go according to plan, which is more the rule than the exception, lol.  As I write this, our FSP (family sponsorship page) reads $1,405.  So yeah, we have a ways to go to being fully funded.  I waiver between stressed out about the money, which seems insurmountable, to at peace about it, knowing God is in control.  As a friend gently reminded me yesterday, God has not forgotten "Mila." Deep within her country, in whatever region and whatever orphanage, in whatever room and whatever crib, she is not hidden from His sight.  I find a great deal of peace knowing He knows every hair on her precious little head.

That said, we do still have a few fundraisers going on that you can help with!  Today and tomorrow are the last days to buy a vehicle decal sticker to help advocate for orphans in general but specifically to help bring "Mila" home to us. The decals say #AdoptionRocks and are available in several color options, and can be ordered HERE for only $7! Also if you'd like to donate directly to our FSP page on Reece's Rainbow, we currently have a matching grant, matching every donation dollar to dollar up to $450! We have another local fundraiser, this time at Dairy Queen, on Wednesday, too, and I'm excited about that! Things are moving closer every day. :)

Update | Reece's Rainbow

As usual, lots of things are going on at once, in our efforts to bring "Mila" home! Our home study is wrapping up quickly, with a draft having been sent to our Hague oversight agency. Soon the edits will be finished, and a completed copy of our home study will be sent to join our forms already at the USCIS office. We are on the road to getting immigration approval which is a huge step that finalizes our stateside adoption efforts! BIG news!

In other stateside news, our dossier is mostly ready to be sent to apostille! We need the final home study after edits to get it apostilled, along with our agency license, but most of our paper chase (on this side of the ocean) has come to an end! Soon we won't have anything to do but wait on travel dates, apply for adoption grants, and fundraise our little tails off!

Speaking of fundraising, there is so much going on there! 1) The local consignment sale is finished, and our sweet friend raised roughly $190 for our family, which she's going to be offering as a matching grant, so that's a huge help! So thankful for her willingness to serve our family in that way, though she's committed to another family as their "warrior." She has such a servant's heart! 2) Tonight we have a much anticipated fundraiser at a local steak house, which is excellent news!  We love, love, love the family that's doing this for us, and truly believe God will bless their efforts, both for "Mila's" adoption and in their own family. They have such wonderful, giving hearts! Truly beautiful people.  3) I'm back to selling things in my own little small business, Heart to Home Organics. I've been fortunate to be able to bless other adopting families through this small business in the past, and I'm so glad that God has provided the opportunity to add to our own adoption funds in this way, now! 4) I'm in talks with a local photographer who is generously offering to do mini shoots as a fundraiser for us! And 5) Another generous friend is selling vehicle decal stickers to donate proceeds to us!  These are $7 and will only cost a stamp to ship, and you can fill our her Google Doc to place an order HERE. 5) LOVING CUP TEAS is offering 10% off with code WELCOMEMILA and 25% of sales with this code will be donated to us!

We continue to be so amazed and thankful for the generous, loving people God has placed in our lives and who are helping us bring our daughter out of the orphanage and into her forever family!  We look forward to meeting "Mila" this summer, giving her a new name and a new title that is of beloved, wanted, forever cherished DAUGHTER and SISTER and orphan no more! Thanks for following us on this journey!

Home Study Wrap Up + More | Reece's Rainbow

There's been a lot of progress made since my last blog! We had our final home study visit with our social worker, and it went pretty well! Our social worker is working on the write up for that right now, then our umbrella agency has to approve it all, and then we will be ready to submit it to USCIS for our immigration approval! Aside from that, our paperwork is ready to be sent to apostille (some things are at apostille right now, actually) and then submitted! We are really making huge progress and wrapping things up here, stateside!

I'm going to be honest about something weighing on me, though. Our social worker will only approve us for one child. I haven't shared publicly our desire to adopt two, but it was something we discussed with our social worker. Unfortunately our agency has a blanket statement for not approving the adoption of two unrelated children at the same time. She did hear us out, and really seemed to understand our desire, but ultimately the answer was a no. I'm not going to lie, it really hurt. With the rejoicing in the approval for us to proceed with "Mila's" adoption came some grieving for another child we can't adopt right now. And while I definitely do understand the agency's reasoning, and I won't pretend to believe that adopting two children at once (specifically two children with special needs) would be easy, I'll say that it's very, very difficult to recognize the enormous need, and only be able to bring home one. There is just so much work to be done. Millions of orphans all around the world need homes. Some have huge need for medical attention. Some are starving. Others are being abused and neglected and ultimately there just aren't enough people who are willing to say "yes." And so it did sting, that we are so very willing, but can only bring home one. But what it boils down to is God is sovereign over this. I prayed and prayed that He would open the door for us to be able to adopt two children, if that were His will for our family, and the door remained closed.  So while He didn't open this particular door, I will praise His great name in the hallway, for He has opened many more.  He said no to a second for our family right now. But He has said yes over and over for Mila. <3

In other news, the ball is rolling! We have several local fundraisers coming up. Restaurants doing fundraising nights for us and donating proceeds.  I'm really excited for that! Even in this, it's obvious to me how God has orchestrated so many things to come together for His plan for "Mila." People I didn't even know just a few months ago have gone out of their way to help us, from fundraising at restaurants to selling clothing in a consignment shop on our behalf. It's truly incredible! I had no idea, when we were looking to buy our house, that even the home we bought would be a part of God's plan for us and for Mila, to connect us with so many people who would be a part of this journey. God is so good!

Please continue to pray for us as we raise money for in-country expenses, which is the bulk of our need! We are so close to wrapping things up on this side of her adoption, but the need on the other side is great. I have absolute faith that it will all come together, because it's been evident in every step of this process that God is on the move. We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity to serve Him and witness His miracles for our daughter-to-be!

Making it Happen | Reece's Rainbow

The other day in a facebook group for those who have adopted or are in the process, the topic of grants came up.  I was a little surprised to learn that many, many members of the group said they'd applied to every grant listed on google, and had received none.  I'll be honest and say that I had been really hoping, maybe even depending, on grant money to make this adoption happy.  I was a little dismayed for a while, and worry really started to set in.  How in the world were we going to pay for this adoption?  Was it going to actually happen, when it came down to the wire for the funding?

After a gentle rebuke from a faithful friend reminding me that fear is not of the Lord and that, if He is bringing me to "Mila" then nothing in the world can stop that, I began to breath again.  God has been faithful over and over in this adoption already! Goals have been shared and met on repeat. He keeps showing up in mighty ways!  But let me share some encouragement for anyone considering the process and worried about funding: don't.

We are not rich people. Actually, I laughed as I typed that sentence, because the idea is so hilarious.  Granted, we are rich when you consider the bulk of the world and those in poverty.  We're rich because we have indoor plumbing and electricity and we don't worry about our next meal.  But in America's mind, we are not rich. Honestly we're probably lower middle class.  You know, the "Working Poor" who doesn't qualify for assistance but struggles at times to make ends meet.  We have six children, who are eating 23 hours and 45 minutes out of every day, I think, and one has celiac disease, meaning our house eats a gluten free diet to avoid him becoming cross exposed and having a serious medical reaction.  My 12 passenger van is 17 years old.  The other day I grabbed a shirt out of my closet and later saw in my facebook "on this day" that I had worn the same shirt eight years ago. Ha! So we are not rich. Not by most standards, anyway.

But, we are determined.

As I type this, my husband is on the second half of a 16 hour shift.  I have packages in the mailbox outside, because I've been selling my daughter's outgrown dresses in facebook resale groups. I have 425 hearts on my wall (still more to go, but my hand started cramping at all the cutting, lol) that I sold for $1 each in a fundraiser.  I have three boxes of gently used clothing I've been gathering for a local friend selling in a consignment sale to benefit us.  I annoy the snot out of everyone on my facebook friends list ON THE DAILY to help us, to see her sweet face, to see the faces of OTHER kids, too, and to get involved.  We are waiting on our tax returns to file the i600-a immigration paperwork we need to be allowed to bring her into our country.  Each dress I can sell or every 10 hearts means one more sheet of paper I can get apostilled for our dossier.  I'm working with Walmart to do a bake sale. There are two friends who own/manage restaurants that are doing fundraisers for us.

We work our tail ends off to get it done, because when something is important to you, you find a way, not an excuse.  And she is important to us.  Her life is valuable, and we will do what it takes.

A friend used this analogy and it hit home for me. Pretend for a moment that your child was kidnapped and held for, let's say, $30,000 ransom.  Would you walk away, sadly, shaking your head? "Well, that's impossible.  I guess she's just gone now."  No! You'd sell everything not nailed down and beg everyone you knew to help! You'd work as many hours as your employer allowed for overtime. You'd empty your 401K.  If you'd take out a loan for a house, you'd certainly take out a loan for your child's life.

So that's where we are.  If you would ask if we're CRAZY, I would laugh and tell you that absolutely, yes, we are crazy.  But if you ask how we can afford it, well, this is how.  Sheer determination, a Mighty and Faithful God, and a large amounts of coffee.

She's worth it.  And she's not alone.  There are millions more like her, waiting to be worth it to someone else.  Are you ready to make the sacrifice?

Heart Attack | Reece's Rainbow

Our house is under a "heart attack!"

I posted a video of my son sharing about this adorable Valentine inspired fundraiser for our adoption, and word spread like wildfire! Every $1 donated equals one heart on our wall, which may be personalized with a name (or phrase, bible verse etc).  This visual representation of all the people supporting us and "praying Mila home" has been so encouraging and inspiring to our family!  

I see post after post about the forgotten orphans. Children who have died -usually of starvation, drug overdose, or abuse- before families found them. And while these posts are incredibly hard to read, they're so important, because this is reality.  This is a serious issue, and people need to know just how urgent the need is.  However, it's incredibly draining.  It's difficult to think about all our girl may be experiencing before she's in our arms, but seeing that she's not forgotten, that our girl is SEEN by the people in our lives and even strangers who care,...I can't tell you what it means to us.  She's so real in our lives and hearts already, so much more than a picture.  She's our daughter.

In other news, our first dossier packet came back from the apostille yesterday! Actually apostilled, this time, haha. Hopefully I can find another family traveling soon who's willing to take our papers with them, and they'll be in her country before long!

There's really not much else to report, honestly.  We are working on our educational requirements for the home study and umbrella agency.  Watching videos, reading books. I spend lots of time each day googling adoption grants that we can't yet apply for but I'm getting everything ready to send the day our home study comes back completed.  We are just at work.  It's a full time job, but it's the absolute best kind of "work."

Thanks for the "heart attack," Guys! The fundraiser is going on through Valentine's Day! If we aren't facebook friends, there's a link to our Reece's Rainbow page here on my blog, and you can donate there. :)

Community | Reece's Rainbow

I just have to share this because it's really on my heart. Yesterday our social worker asked us about "community." Not where we live, but a community of friends and family around us who care for our family and support our adoption process, and whom we can count on to love and care for us and "Mila" once she's home.

We have that.

Honestly we have lived in this city for only two months and at least three or four of the people in mind as our "community" are local to our new home. Isn't that incredible? I feel like the Lord really went before us and prepared and ordained every step of us buying our house exactly where we did, so that we would meet the people we've met. But they aren't the only "community." There are many people in our lives who love our family so well. Whether that means sharing clothing your kids have outgrown, helping out with fundraising, offering to keep kids while we attend appointments to meet dossier requirements, or just simply asking how things are going and letting us know you are thinking of/praying for us, this community built around "Mila's" adoption is absolutely immeasurable in value to us.

So, yes, we have a "community." Mila has a community.That sweet girl doesn't even know we exist yet, but she is loved beyond measure, prayed for daily by many mouths, and faithfully cared for, to prepare her way home.

So thank you, to each of you who are a part of our community. I hope there comes a time when we can return to favor and be more on the giving end of things, but for now we are more thankful than I think many of you realize, for your love and support while we go through to process of bringing "Mila" from orphan to daughter. I had no hesitation at all in telling our social worker that "Mila" will have community here, when she's home. She is already so well loved.

Weight Lifted | Reece's Rainbow

After two months of gathering paperwork, filling out forms, having medical visits for the eight of us and our two dogs, and waiting on background checks to come in, today we finally met with our social worker to begin the home study process.  Let me tell you, I cleaned my house like the Queen of England, herself, was coming! I mean, really, this lady is more important to me. No offense to the Queen, I'm sure you're lovely, but this lady is key in bringing "Mila" home, so... LOL.

Wouldn't you know, she just barely stuck her head in the boys' bathroom? I spent DAYS cleaning. You could LICK THEIR FLOOR, People. She just glanced in.  I'm all, "Hey, let's pull back the shower curtain! What's that? The tile is FLAWLESS?! I'm so glad you noticed!" Hahaha!

But anyway, our social worker was quite nice, and we had a wonderful discussion regarding Mila, Robbie and my families, she met our children, walked our home, and all of that wonderful, normal stuff.  And in the end, I was completely over-stressed out about today's visit, for absolutely no reason.  Robbie and I are good parents with a safe home with adequate space, sufficient income, and clean bills of health and background checks.  I just tend to be an over-thinker, by nature.

Also, I have a three year old, and you never know what might come out of his mouth. Ha!

In other adoption news, our dossier packet #1 is (back) at the apostille today!  It was sent once before and promptly returned, which led us to the discovery that our state requires each document to be county certified before apostille. After getting that finished, it's once again back at the apostille, delivered this morning. Big day, between the home study and the apostille!  Hopefully these dossier documents will be back shortly -apostilled this time- and we can send them to her country.  Finally!

We are so eager to bring Mila home! Right now we are focusing on completing the educational portion of our home study, which includes some videos, books, and Hague education.  We're still trucking along with our dossier, as well, and getting grants ready to be sent out once the home study is complete.  It's a lot.  It's often overwhelming.  But it's bringing us closer to our girl, so we just keep right on!

Slow and Steady | Reece's Rainbow

We are still making slow and steady progress toward bringing "Mila" home.  There's so much to be done and sometimes I really start to worry about the funding, but I'm choosing to believe that God's hand is all over this adoption, He loves "Mila" even more so than we do, and this is not only for her good and ours, but for His will and glory.  It's going to be okay.

Yesterday we found out that our dossier costs will be exactly double what we'd expected.  Our first dossier packet was returned to us from the apostille, not apostilled.  Apparently our state is one of only a few that require county certification of notarized documents before they're apostilled, and that fee is equal to the apostille fee, meaning we pay double for every single sheet we send out.  And there are a lot, lol.  Our passport document alone is ten pages, and just a small portion of our dossier.  Today we will be finishing with the county certifier the returned paperwork, and getting those sent to the apostille once again.  A small hiccup, but we will be right back on track soon.

I have spent the past couple of days in the bedroom that will belong to "Mila," sanding and painting her dresser, Two of our other children also share that bedroom, for now, so I've had to rearrange everyone's clothing to prove to our social worker that there is adequate room for our Eastern European Princess and all that she will require. The whole family got involved with chipping away at the old paint and sanding!  Our three year old son was so proud of himself, and kept saying how he's going to be a big brother again. We are all so excited!

"Mila's" bed is set up and waiting for her, and she has a few articles of clothing in her dresser.  Reality is setting in, and it's wonderful! Though I'm collecting a few things for her now, I intend to get much more after we have met and I know more about what size clothing she'll need.  We have decided to make two trips to her country rather than one long stay.  Because "Mila" has physical needs to which we do not yet know the extent, Robbie and I feel that making two trips will give us a chance to better prepare our home for her, before she's living here.  At that point we'll also better know any more needs we have, such as clothing but maybe more, and can share with our family and friends who are eager to be able to help out.  We've been truly blessed with lots of people who love our girl already!

I think that's all for now!  There's really a lot of "behind the scenes" work going on with the dossier, but there's just not a lot to tell.  It's the paper chase!  We are hurrying along. :)

Got Coffee? | Reece's Rainbow

We are making progress toward bringing "Mila" home! It often seems painstakingly slow, but then I look back and see how far we've come in the six weeks since we made our commitment to her, and it seems like a lot is getting done! I guess adoption really is a lot like a "paper pregnancy" in that it seems to go by so quickly for everyone except for the mama. :)

We have our first dossier papers at the apostille right now, hopefully back this week, and then another adoptive mother is bringing them in country with her, when she travels later this month. That feels like a big step, and it's so exciting to know that something with our name on it will actually, finally be in our daughter-to-be's country!  This week we will be working on more dossier papers, and getting them sent out to the apostille, as well.  If it sounds boring and repetitive, well, sometimes it feels that way.  Sign, notarize, get approved, apostille, send out. Repeat. :) But it's all several small, baby steps closer to bringing her home.

Fundraising! As the title of this post hinted, I've got a coffee fundraiser going on right now! I'm really excited to announce that we have teamed with Just Love Coffee, and a percentage of each purchase using our link will be donated toward the cost of "Mila's" adoption. There are lots of great options, too! We love coffee in this house, so I love this fundraiser that really fits us, haha!

This week I'll be working in Rosie and "Mila's" room, sanding and painting a dresser to put in there.  I really just can't wait to fill it up with clothing for "Mila!" At some point recently, it really hit me, how profoundly sad it is that no clothing has ever been bought specifically for her.  I honestly can't even fathom that.  The things we take for granted over here on this side of things, right?  When she leaves the orphanage, we will be changing her clothes first, because this sweet girl is not entitled to even the clothes on her back. Not that I want them! I'm more than eager for her to leave behind her orphan status and everything associated with it, and step into the role waiting for her, as wanted and cherished daughter and sister.  But goodness, it breaks my heart, how this sweet girl has never worn a dress that someone bought because they wanted her to have it.

So thankful her story doesn't end in that orphanage. So thankful our own story includes her, in the future. I'm looking forward to the chapter where her story meets my own. <3

Introducing "Mila" | Reece's Rainbow

I have attempted to blog several times over the course of the past few years, but I've been encouraged and motivated beyond the norm to start and maintain one, now.  We are in the process of adoption!  I'm so excited to say that we are committed to adopting a sweet little girl who currently resides in an orphanage in Eastern Europe.  "Mila" is already a loved and anticipated addition to our forever family, and we can't wait to bring her home!

A little family background, for those who do not know us: Robbie and I are high school sweethearts.  We started "dating" (as much as you can "date" when you can't yet drive!) when we were fourteen years old, in our freshman year.  We married less than six months after we graduated and the rest, as they say, is history! We have been married for thirteen years now, and have been blessed to be parents to six biological children ranging from 1 year to 11 years.  We first had five sons, followed by a daughter. "Mila" will be coming into a family full of love and eager anticipation for her arrival!

I have been asked why a family who already has six children and obviously no fertility issues would be looking at adoption.  Here's the short answer: God. To further elaborate, God really pushed on our hearts to care for the "least of these," as the Bible says. Who is more vulnerable in life than the orphaned child?  God began to work in breaking our hearts for the orphan in a way that our family no longer seemed complete.  We want to be clear that we are not "saving" Mila. God alone saves and God alone redeems. We are simply following where the Lord leads, and He is leading us to add this precious face to our family.  We are ecstatic to have the opportunity to love and raise "Mila" as our child and we love her already!

I'll continue to update this blog as we progress in the adoption process, and any fundraising opportunities. For now, we ask for your continued prayers for the process to go smoothly and the funding to be there, so that we can bring Mila home.  We also ask for prayer for Mila herself, as she will go from the only "home" she's ever known -the orphanage- to a family in a new and unfamiliar country.  We recognize that it will be quite the transition for her, and we pray she quickly bonds with us and feels safe and loved as we bring her home, and as we get the medical attention she will be needing.

Here's our family page, if you feel led to help us along on our journey!
http://reecesrainbow.org/113916/sponsorperry-5