It's a Waiting Game

Now we wait  . . . (Only 23 days until due date) 

We speak with the birth parents over the phone or through text messages every week. The birth mom is doing well and all of the check-ups have gone very well. The baby seems to be growing right on target and has a strong heart beat. The birth mom will be 37 weeks this Wednesday! When she went for her check up Thursday, August 29th the doctor's told her she was 3cm dilated. She now goes for check-ups weekly until her due date or until she goes into labor. Since that visit on August 29th she has remained stable at 3cm. However, she could go into labor any time now. 

David and I have been preparing everything for traveling to Florida to meet our new little man. For those of you that are not aware, we will be required to be in Florida for a minimum of 2 weeks. This is because there is a court process that takes place to legally transfer guardianship to David and me. So, we will have to pack everything that we could need during that time. It looks a lot like this  . . . 

I also recently had my first baby shower which is the reason I even have all of this stuff that I am able to pack! I had so much fun and it was so great to see everyone that was able to attend! I am working on these as well so please look for yours in the mail very soon . . .

Thank you again to all of you that have been on this journey with us. For all of you who have contributed financially, those of you who have contributed time or have contributed items for the yard sale, those who haven given a gift to help us prepare for the baby and for all of those that we know are praying for us we are so grateful. 

We hope everyone is doing well and we will be sure to let everyone know when we get word that our little one is on the way!

Raffle Winners!

We have drawn the winners of the corn hole raffle. Thank you to everyone that participated! 

We were able to raise over $450.00 with this fund raiser. 

Congratulations to Christian and Amanda Demyan!

Cornhole Craziness!!

Well as football season rolls around we are thinking about tailgating as are most of our friends and family. David is an excellent craftsman and this Summer decided to make some quality cornhole boards for my brother Franklin for his birthday. They turned out so well that we decided why not offer another set to our friends and family. Thus we came up with the idea for this raffle. The details are below:

Prize: Personalized cornhole boards. 

These are quality handmade cornhole boards.  

These boards are full sized (2ft x 4ft), unlike the much smaller ones you may find at the large box stores.  

The back leg stands fold in and out for easier storage and travel.

We will customize the paint colors to your preference. (Even Alabama colors).

Price to enter the raffle: $15.00

For each $15.00 donation your name(s) will be added to the drawing. 

Ex) $45.00 = 3 entries 

Ways to Enter:

1. Submit payment through paypal on our blog.

2. If you see us give us the money in person.

3. You can send us the entry money in the mail. (Please personal message us for our address if you do not have it.)

We must receive all entries by 11:59pm on Sunday, August 25th. 

The winner will be announced on Monday, August 26th.

Financial News

 We have updated the 'Fundraising Progress' tab found at the top of the blog. We are quickly trying to raise the rest of the final amount due to the law firm by the end of this month.

We found out a couple of weeks ago that we have been approved for a $7,000 no interest loan through the ABBA Fund. We are so thrilled with this news. The great thing about this loan (other than the no interest part) is that as we pay back the money, it will be recirculated to help other couples finance their adoption. This is a huge blessing and answer to prayer for us.

However, we did hear back from the other two grants we had applied for. Neither will be able to provide any funds for us at this time. This news was discouraging. But, we know we don't see the big picture. There are many families out there that are welcoming special needs children into their homes or other special situations and maybe they do need it more. We have a tendency to be on the selfish side and think we are most deserving. We are trusting God to provide as He has throughout our journey thus far.

Please be in prayer that we will find the doors we know He will open for us to provide a way to finance bringing home our baby boy. We are so close!

As I write this I am amazed that baby boy is due in only 55 days!! We have been in touch with the birthparents throughout this process. It has truly been a blessing to be able to get to know them. The idea was scary at first, but it has been a ministry to us. I actually crave to hear from them now, because when I am able to speak with them, even if it is only a text message it gives me a peace. The birthmother is doing well. She had another doctor's appointment last week for her glucose test. All is well. She is now in the third trimester and is 32 weeks. She is commenting now that she is getting very uncomfortable and that she is looking forward to the finish line. We are too :)!!

The nursery is coming along very well. My mother is sewing the curtains, bedskirt, and bumper pad cover for us. I will post pictures once we have those things up!

Thank you for your continued encouragement and support. We couldn't do it without our support system of family and friends. While this process can be unpredictable and scary at times we are so thankful to have people around us reminding us to take time to enjoy this time (as normal expectant parents would) and to dwell on the positive. So, that's what we are doing day-by-day trusting our God will provide and placing our worries in His hands so we can remain positive.

WE ARE MATCHED!!

We are so excited to formally and officially announce to everyone that we have been matched with a birthmother!

Our adoption consultant informed us back in May that a law firm in Florida was seeking families to be shown to a birthmother located in Florida due later in the fall. Tracie, our adoption consultant, had previously worked with this law firm on several occasions. David and I were excited about the idea of having a baby so close. The majority of the situations we had previously been presented to were located in Arizona, Utah and Nevada because that is where the agencies we were active with were located.

After our family profile along with several others were presented to the birthmother were informed the very next day that WE HAD BEEN CHOSEN! We were slightly in shock I believe but words can hardly express our initial joy. David says he had an initial peace. I believe I was in the shocked state a little longer.

We were somewhat hesitant to share with friends and family until we were further along in the matching process. Over the last 6 weeks or so since we were initially informed of the match we have been in constant contact with the law firm. The law firm has been exceptionally kind, patient and helpful. We have a case consultant that we can call at anytime with any questions. We have had a conference call with the lawyer to clarify what we can expect in the legal process of the adoption as well as the risks involved. We have also been provided a copy of the birthmother's health records throughout the pregnancy.

We have also had the privilege to speak with the birthmother and birthfather over the phone. We were initially anxious about making contact with the birthmother. However, after speaking with the birthparents the first time both David and I felt it was a great experience. It was amazing to be able to thank this woman for the amazing gift she is giving us. We have developed a relationship with the birthparents over the last several weeks. We have spoken to them over the phone on several occasions and text back and forth.

The last doctor's appointments have gone very well. We have had doctor's review the medical records we have been provided with and they have informed us that everything looks good. As with any pregnancy there are risks that cannot always be foreseen.

The birthmother shared these with us last week!!!

IT'S A BOY!! DUE OCTOBER 2nd!!

Baby boy at the time of the ultrasound almost two weeks ago was already 2lbs 7oz and just above the 60th percentile in size. The birthmother at the time was 27 weeks. Her next appointment is this Thursday July 18th. 

We are earnestly praying to hear back from the grants and loans we have applied for. We know that all of the applications have been received so we are prayerfully waiting for those responses. 

Prayerfully Waiting

We received an email today verifying that ABBA fund received our application materials. We have applied for an interest free loan. It would be so wonderful to receive any funds at all from this wonderful organization. Please be in prayer for the board as they consider our application, and for David and I as we await their reply. It usually takes about 6-8 weeks to receive a reply.

You can check out their amazing organization here: http://www.abbafund.org/

We are also waiting on verification that another one of our grant applications was received. We will let you know as soon as we hear anything!

Hope you all are doing well! Thank you for your continued support!

Playing Catch Up

We have been terrible about keeping up with the blog. I think it is obvious that we are not "natural bloggers", if there is such a thing. I could make some valid excuses like we haven't had Internet at our house the last 6 months (trying to save some money and just use our cell phones), or that we have been really busy, but the truth is we should have been better about it. So, here's to playing catch up!

1) Our home study was finalized and approved on January 14th of this year

2) We then prepared applications to be sent to 3 agencies/law firms. 

This preparation included more paperwork. Most applications have an actual application to be filled out, that includes personal information as well as all of your financial information. In addition we often had to provide copies of our recent check stubs, copies of our driver's license, copies of last years tax returns, sometimes our birth certificates, our marriage license, copies of our physicals and background checks, and usually an application fee (around $100 - $200 per agency). Just to give you an idea. We also had to finalize and print out our family profile packets. 

3)This preparation phase took us a bit of time. We were active with all three agencies/law firms by the beginning of March!

4) What does being active with an agency mean?

This means that we are in their database and listed as 'waiting to be matched'. As 'situations' arise the details are emailed out to everyone in their database listed in the 'waiting to be matched' category. A 'situation' is when a birthmother comes to their agency and wants to place their unborn child (or sometimes recently born child) up for adoption. The emails we receive look a lot like this (this is not a real case):

______________ Adoption Agency/Law Firm is seeking families to present to Jessica (birthmother's name). 

Name: Jessica

Location: Utah

Due date: August 2nd

Baby's Race: White/African American

Gender: Unknown

Father: agreeing to adoption

Medical/Mental: No none family mental illnesses. Mom has had prenatal care. Mom does smoke regularly. No drugs indicated. Does have a history with cocaine use. 

Other: Mother would prefer a younger family that wants to have more than one child, or currently has at least one child.

Cost: Agency Fee ($22,000) plus $8,500 on legal/case management plus $4,500 in birth parent assistance plus $8,000 in finalization costs. Total of $43,000 estimated. Please let us know if you would like to be shown.

David and I began to receive emails similar to these with varying case details at least once or twice a week. When we received an email we would contact each other and decide based on the information given if we would like to be shown. If we wanted to be shown we would contact the agency.  We would then receive an email letting us know that we were not chosen. 

5) We received a match. Friday, May 17th

We had been presented to a birthmother in Florida. Out of the blue David received a phone call from the law office letting him know we were matched. David was on his way to Virginia to play rugby with a van full of guys and I was still in Auburn. This was a whirlwind situation. The mother was due in 3 weeks and they were anticipating her to deliver early(within the next two weeks). There were several other medical details given that I will not disclose. The total cost of this particular adoption was going to be about $35,000. 

6) We turned down this first match, May 19th

David and I prayed over the situation Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Ultimately we decided that we did not have a peace about the situation. It was a heart wrenching decision and many tears were shed. 

7) Throughout this time period we have been researching/preparing grants and loans. We have also been slowly preparing the nursery. We cleared out the room (for the most part) and painted the walls a pale aqua color (tranquility was the name of the paint color). We also were given a crib and crib mattress from my cousin Reagan and her husband Blake. Thank you guys again!! Our nursery is pretty tiny so the only other pieces we are planning to get are a glider and a dresser. I am planning to place a changing pad on top of the dresser so it can serve as storage and the changing table. 

Back into a routine...hopefully

Hey everyone,

Joshlyn and I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year's. I know we did.
The holiday has been a great recharge for us, and we are now in 2013 off to a running start. The adoption stuff has been moving slow to say the least, but we feel things will be speeding up this month and we couldn't be more excited.

Our home study should be finished really soon. We are completing adoption agency applications this week. Hopefully, we'll have everything sent out and waiting for referrals within the next couple weeks. We'll keep you posted!

T-shirts have been ordered, and we are still waiting for them to come in the mail. So we will be getting those to you as soon as possible.

Thanks for all your support!

Last Call!!!!

We had planned to process the order for t-shirts, but we had a few last minute orders come in this past weekend. With that being said, we are going to push back the t-shirt order for one week. The new deadline is Sunday, Dec. 9th 10:00pm.

Please tell your friends! Thanks again!
 

Quick update

Hello all,

 It's been some time since a update was sent, and a few things have occurred since our last post.

About a week ago we received letters from the state letting us know that our background checks were cleared, and we were approved for adoption. That process went a little quicker than anticipated.
Our background information is now being forwarded to our home study agency. That being said...we are still in the waiting game for a bit longer. Hopefully, in the next few weeks we will be receiving information that our home study is complete.  Then we should be allowed to begin applying for grants, and start sending out our family profiles to the adoption agencies.

That's about it for now. We will again keep you posted with any new information.

Just a reminder!!! T-shirts for sale..... don't forget to get your order in!!!

We hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks again for all your prayers and support!!

Adoption T-shirt fundraiser!!!

Hey Everyone, 

We are selling t-shirts for the adoption!!! We decided to have a little fun, and show our love for adoption with one of the most well known adopted men of all time. SUPERMAN!!! If you think about it...a lot of famous super heroes were adopted...Batman... Spider-man...I am sure there are some others, but you get the idea.

Who knows... God may send a little super hero our way! ;)  

Everyone needs a new t-shirt, and this new t-shirt will be for a great cause!  

The cost is $15 per shirt.

The cut off date for orders will be December 1st, 2012.

Please let us know your name, shipping address, and desired size. 

Just send orders to the e-mail contact, or leave information on the comment board.

Payments can be made through our pay pal account or you can just mail us a check. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks again!

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Home Study #4 Finished!!!

We are proud to announce that we completed our last home study interview last Friday morning. The overall experience of the home studies was great. The last home study was pretty much the same experience as the previous interviews. The questions were mainly based on how we would raise our children, and the type of family we grew up in. We also had to write an autobiography of our lives. Naturally, Joshlyn wrote hers about a week in advance, and I waited until Thursday night. Procrastination at its best! Ha!

So whats next?
In the meantime we are at a bit of a stand still...In order to complete the home study we are now waiting for our background checks to clear. While we are waiting for that to be completed Joshlyn and I will be continuing to research grant and adoption agency information.

We will be sure to keep everyone updated on any new news that arises. Thanks again for you support!

Homestudy Interview #3

Things are moving along pretty well. This Monday we had our third homestudy interview. For this interview David and I were split up. April (our social worker) interviewed David first and then interviewed me. The questions this time were geared towards how David and I were raised. We were asked about all of our immediate family members, their ages, about their personality traits, how close we are to them, characteristics we have in common with our parents, ways in which we are different. We talked about how we were disciplined, who disciplined us, what type of kids and teenagers we were, our best and worst memories from growing up.  It was interesting trying to explain huge chunks of my life in a couple of sentences. Jumping from - "tell me what you were like as a child" immediately to "who are you now, who is Joshlyn today" can kind of quickly put your life in perspective.

I'm so thankful that God allows for these moments in my life. Moments that make you step back and evaluate how far you have come and where you want to go. What God has made glaringly obvious thus far in my life is that even the best laid plans aren't always HIS plans. I know if everything in my life was stripped away today that I would still glorify His name and I would thank Him for His saving grace. I am not in control of my life and hallelujah for that; what a mess I would make of it. God has continually stripped down walls that I built up that I thought I could control and many that I thought made me better than those around me. This process is terrifying at times, but then you have to step back and put things in perspective. God gently reminds me of all those times I earnestly prayed that He would help me become a more patient person, a more humble person, that I earnestly wanted Him to have complete control in my life. I feel like He says "here it is". Are you going to turn to Me? Are you going to see this as an opportunity to grow? Or will you see this as an opportunity to hide and become bitter? If life has brought you to an unexpected place, and you're struggling to reconcile with the fact that life doesn't always go as we plan - I pray you will turn to Him too. I pray that you will not become bitter. I pray that you choose to grow. I pray that you search to find peace within your circumstances, whatever they may be. I can say from experience it isn't easy but it's worth it. There is great joy to be found on the other side of your suffering and pain.

This process has brought David and I to place in our marriage and our spiritual lives that we may have never experienced. I think we are both grateful for that. Granted we still have a ways to go! One step at a time . . .

Next step,
Fourth (AND FINAL!) Interview scheduled for
Friday, October 19th at 10:00 am

Then . . .
We will wait for our background checks to come back and April to finish the homestudy.

As always we are so appreciative of your love, encouragement and support!

Homestudy Interview #2 (out of 4)

I'm so sorry I'm just now getting this posted. The time has really flown by this week.

Our week started off with our second homestudy interview (of 4 total). April, our social worker, came over to the house at 10:00 am Monday morning. We were much more relaxed going into this interview, seeing as though we had already met April and knew more of what to expect. This interview the main topic of discussion was our relationship. We talked about how David and I first met, what our dating life was like, how long we dated before we were married, what our marriage has been like, how we resolve conflict, our current and previous jobs, etc. For the most part I think it was pretty easy for her. As most people are, she was surprised that we were high school sweethearts that actually "made it". I guess in the grand scheme of things it is rare to meet the man of your dreams (or boy as it was) in the eigth grade. I consider it truly a blessing that I was able to know and be a part of my husband's life at such a young age. Sorry, I'm getting a bit side-tracked . . .  anyways, April stayed about an hour and a half. Again things went wonderfully! We are so pleased (and relieved). We ended the interview by planning the dates/times for the final two interviews.

Interview #3 (David and I will be interviewed separately for this one!)
Monday, October 8 at 10:00am

Interview #4 (We will talk about parenting)
Friday, October 19 at 10:00am

Thank you all for your words of encouragement, thoughts, prayers and support - it means so much to us!I hope everyone has a fantastic rest of the week. David and I will be working on finishing up the paperwork side of the homestudy process and looking forward to our next interview. We will keep you posted!

I thought this verse was so neat, I came across it this morning . . .
"But as for me, God's presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all You do."  - Psalm 73:28

First Homestudy Interview

To those who have been thinking about us and praying for us these last couple of days please know that we are so thankful and that we truly felt the support.

For those of you who didn't know (sorry I didn't do an extra post it was a very busy weekend) our home study was rescheduled from Friday, September 21st at 10:30 am to TODAY - Monday, September 24th at 10:00 am (day 63). I have explained in detail more about how our homestudy process will unfold. This was the first interview of four total that will take place.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience! Praise the Lord!

This morning David and I woke up and frantically ran around the house doing last minute things such as putting out some Fall decor that we had stored in the attic, sweeping over the floors again, making sure the bathrooms looked polished, dusting the blinds in our bedroom to name a few. By the time 10:00 rolled around we were both on the couch no doubt thinking about all the things we forgot to do or corners we hoped she wouldn't want to look in. However, at this point although our minds were racing we were sipping coffee on the couch watching The Price is Right. David looked at me and asked "are we ready?". I shrugged and nodded with apprehension.

April pulled in the drive-way right on time. We both took a big breath filled with anxiety while Maggie (the Chihuahua mix) barked incessantly to warn us of her arrival. Honestly the first things I noticed about April were that she seemed very friendly and she was wearing black capri pants. The pants might be an odd thing to notice, but we have two blond dogs and I immediately thought oh no any dog hair in our house is going to flock and stick to her. Yikes!

We all sat down. I offered for everyone to sit at our dining table, but April said "oh no no I'm not that formal". Whew. That sounded good. So we all sat down on the couches together. Maggie immediately jumped in her lap and made herself at home. We emphatically apologized. But, you could tell that April was a dog person. She loved Maggie and told us that she had a Golden Retriever and a cat and grew up around animals. Wow, that was so nice to hear. She then began telling us more about her story . . . she has two adopted children and they are both teenagers. So cool.

Conversation continued effortlessly for two hours. She asked a few "get to know you" questions and explained what we need to expect in the upcoming meetings. She walked around the house and complimented us on how nice it looked. We showed her the future nursery. The only thing we were missing was a fire extinguisher. So we will be sure to have one when she comes next time. Speaking of that  . . .

Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday - October 1st, day 70 (since we posted our first blog post).

We are so thankful that God paired us with April. We are looking forward to meeting with her again! Thank you again for all of your words of encouragement they mean so much to us.

On the paperwork side of things:
We have had our physicals.
We have collected copies of all paperwork needed.

We still need to be fingerprinted and submit for background checks. We are going to try and do that this week! Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Day 51

Today is the 51st day since the day we published our first blog post (July 24th). We feel like we have already accomplished quite a bit, although we are not naive to the fact that we have a long way to go!

We just found out yesterday that DAY 60 will be a BIG DAY for us! Our social worker called yesterday to set up a time for our first home study interview. This interview, as I explained more in detail in the previous post, will be one of four that will take place through the home study process.

Please be in prayer for us this week and next week as we prepare not only our house for the home study but also our hearts and minds. We know that it will be fine, that God is in control, and we are not so much scared, but very very anxious.

Day 60 - will be Friday, September 21 - the meeting time will be 10:30 am.

Remember as you continue through the week that what you focus on increases. . .  I will choose to focus on the good not the bad, the happy not the sad, the things I have instead of what I lack, my blessings not my struggles. God works all things together for good - I think it will be hard for us to recognize that if we are only focusing on the bad. Don't miss out!

Bring on the Paperwork Pile

Some updates  . . .  

We have finished answering all the family profile questions for Christian Adoption Consultants and emailed them. These 30 questions, over 12 pages of size 11 font typed, will be included in our family profile that birth mother's will see. It is personal information about who we are, how we were raised, what we enjoy doing, our plans for the future, etc. In essence a way for the birth mother to "get-to-know us". We are working on finishing compiling and labeling over 120 pictures for our family profile as well. 

Also, we have already heard back from Lifeline! They called to let us know that they received our application fee ($250), that all the initial paperwork looks great and we should be hearing from the local social worker in our area this upcoming week! So exciting! They also emailed us an extensive packet of information, questions and forms to be filled out. 

We knew this would be coming, but seeing it all in a 50 page packet to be printed out was still a little overwhelming. To give you a better idea, on the agenda for this week is the following:

1. go online to fill out paperwork to begin a background check on David and I (this can take up to 3 months to finish processing)

2. contact the police department about getting our fingerprints taken

3. going by the vet to obtain vaccination histories on all of our pets

4. schedule appointments with our doctor's for physical exams 

5. signing a couple of forms

6. working on some autobiographical information for the social worker

7. having copies compiled of 

          a. most recent tax return information (federal and state)

          b. most recent pay stubs

          c. medical/dental insurance cards

          d. driver's licenses

          e. each of our birth certificates

          f. current marriage license

Whew. One thing at a time. 

That is the paperwork side. The other side of the process is the actual in-home visits by the social worker. I've learned that different agencies may have slightly different processes, ours will proceed as follows:

1. The first interview is a home visit in which the social worker will address each of the qualifications for adoption.

2. The second and third interviews are individual interviews and are based on our autobiographies we provide. 

3. The third interview will focus on parenting philosophies and plans. Issues such as experience and exposure to children, the applicants' parenting received when they were children, values and discipline will be explored.

4. The fourth interview will focus on adoption education. We will discuss how to educate a child on his or her adoptive status, how to educate others, proper words and timing, books on adoption, inter-racial adoptions, contact with birth parents, background information on any prospective adopted child, and many other issues common to adoption. 

The overview is that we will have 4 separate in-home visits. We will not have the exact dates for these until we have spoken with the social worker. 

That is all the information we have for now! We are excited and I would be lying if I I didn't also add nervous! 

I thought I might share a little "perspective" from a wonderful book I'm reading (The Noticer by Andy Andrews). 

- Direct Excerpt from Chapter 1- 

Why does everyone think that when people say that 'God will put a person after His own heart where He wants him to be' . . .  that it means God will put them on a mountaintop or in a big house or at the front of the line?

"Think with me here . . . everybody wants to be on the mountaintop, but if you'll remember, mountaintops are rocky and cold. There is no growth on the top of a mountain. Sure, the view is great, but what's a view for? A view just gives us a glimpse of our next destination-our next target. But to hit that target, we must come off the mountain, go through the valley, and begin to climb the next slope. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life's next peak.

So here is to slogging through this week . . . looking forward to what good stuff I might be able to soak up!  What about you? 

Home Study Bound!!!

Our apologies for not posting this update sooner, but Labor day family gatherings, and the beginning of college football sort of got the best of us.

We just want everyone to know that we were able to send in our home study application last week, and now waiting for Lifeline to contact us to set up an appointment. We are a little anxious about this whole step in the adoption process, but we have faith that everything will be just fine. Nevertheless, please keep us in your prayers. We will be sure to update everyone as soon as we hear from the agency.

Keep checking out our blog for the big announcement of our next fundraiser.

Again.....Thank you everyone for the contributions. Everything helps!

Home Study Update

Just wanted to give an update on where we are with the Home Study. 

We are still pulling together the last bit of the information that needs to be included on the Home Study application. We shouldn't have any issues getting it out this week. 

Other than that, nothing much has changed. We did have a chance to update the fundraising progress charts. As you will see... If it were a pizza, we would have a good, hefty slice of pepperoni and cheese! ;) 

Thanks again for your contributions...everything helps!

Also, once we get a few weeks into the Home Study we will be sending out information on our next fundraiser.

Yard Sale Experts! hardly...

Hey Everyone,

WE DID IT! Thank you to everyone who contributed items to the yard sale. The yard sale was a great success. We will be submitting our "initial" Home Study application this week.

Since we really were bad about creating any posts last week I'll play a little catch up...

Joshlyn and I began putting up signs around the neighborhood last Monday, as well as, posting a few advertisements online. By Friday afternoon our house and carport were packed with all sorts of different items that people had been dropping off all week. Around 5:00pm Friday, we even had a few early, early bird yard salers come by to check out what we were selling.  After pricing, and organizing everything as much as possible, we got to bed around 10:00pm. We were back up around 4:00am. (so much fun! Ha!) Personally, I didn't think Joshlyn had it in her to wake up by 4am, but she proved me wrong. We were up hustling tables and things out into to the front yard by 4:15am only to be finishing up just as the first car pulled up around 5:00am. The sun wasn't even up yet, and people were showing up with flash lights...I think someone should make a reality tv show about yard salers.-I would watch it.

To make a long story short, we kept the sale open until around 12:30pm, and began putting away everything. The final total for the sale was $685 + ($500 contributions). Prior to the yard sale we had $850 in contributions in the adoption fund. So with all the contributions, and Saturday's earnings we have a grand total of $2035.

The initial home study was $1750 so we should have a few hundred dollars left over to put towards future adoption expenses. We will be sure update the fundraising progress tab ASAP.


We did have a few items left over. So we will be trying to sell those items either online or in a future yard sale. All money made will go directly to the adoption fund. Whatever we have left over will then be donated to Goodwill.

God has truly blessed us to bring all of you into our lives. Thank you so much for all of your support.

We will post another update as soon as we get the Home Study application submitted.