Funding Our Journey to Bring Oakley Home

I don't even know where to begin. We have been so blessed and have SO MANY people to thank for helping support our journey, both in financial contributions, and in prayer.

When I first shared with Michael my desire to adopt a little girl, his FIRST comment was, "I'm totally open to the possibility." His SECOND comment was, "I'm not sure how we're going to afford it." And my response, was, "I'm not either. Let's do it!" Not very practical, I know. But this IS a journey of faith.

We both struggle with the fact that we aren't better prepared for the boys' future higher education needs. They are all four years apart and while we won't have two in college simultaneously, the reality is that we have 12 years (now 16, with Oakley) of college tuition looming ahead in the not-so-distant future. A typical adoption from China costs anywhere from $18,000 to $23,000. When you include all the incidental fees not taken into account in the estimated budgets provided by the agency, it can easily rise to $25,000. Needless to say, we don't have that kind of money at hand.

I knew it would be necessary to do some fundraising to help with the costs and as a family, we were committed to saving and sacrificing where possible. The boys were selfless from the start and fully supported our decision not to vacation this summer.

We established a special account for our journey to bring Oakley home and held our first fundraiser on June 17, 2006. Our yard sale yielded over $743 and Hagan sold $46 worth of cookies and lemonade. NOT a bad start!

My sister, Lori, one of the most SELFLESS people I know, organized a yard sale at her house and told me that she was going to donate all proceeds to our adoption fund. She shared this information with some of her friends and coworkers and the response was overwhelming! They donated enough items to fill her garage to capacity and Lori spent DAYS getting everything organized and priced. She's quite the merchandiser and some people would go so far as to say she could be a professional yard sale consultant! The one-day sale netted $540.13 and we still had enough inventory to go another round. The weather warmed up a few weeks later, and Yard Sale Fundraiser Part II netted another $386.22. Many, many thanks to Lori and company for your generous spirit and support!

In November, my dear friend Leigh Reed, also a Pampered Chef consultant extraordinaire (http://www.pamperedchef.biz/leighreed), helped me organize a Pampered Chef fundraiser. Guests were challenged to help sell raffle tickets for a Pampered Chef Shopping Spree and gather orders from their family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and associates. My family and friends rose to the challenge with great enthusiasm, and I will be forever grateful to everyone who participated. This fundraiser netted $1,637 in cash! My special thanks to Leigh for doing everything in her power to ensure a successful event:)!

In January, I hosted the 7th annual Cornerstone Inn Scrapbooking Retreat in Brown County, Indiana. I prepared about eight page layouts and held a silent auction. Thanks to my Creative Memories clients and friends, this brought in another $171 for our adoption fund.

In addition, family and friends have donated $6,160 toward our adoption fund. This has been a very humbling experience and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for opening your hearts to us and sharing your resources. Michael and I have been truly amazed by the generosity and have wept tears of joy on more than one occassion for the blessings that have come our way.

Here's a summary of the funds we've raised to date:

• Yard Sale (6/17/06) - $789.00
  
  
• Yard Sale at Lori's (10/21/06) - $540.13
  
  
• Yard Sale at Lori's (11/24/06) - $386.22
  
  
• Pampered Chef Fundraiser (11/29/06) - $1,637.00
  
  
• Scrapbook Silent Auction (1/7/07) - $171.00
  
  
• Contributions from Family and Friends - $6,160.00
  
  TOTAL FUNDS RAISED TO DATE - $9,683.35

We have truly felt from the beginning that God is preparing our family to bring Oakley home and we trust Him to prepare us emotionally, spiritually and financially. To each of you that has contributed to our journey, please accept our heartfelt THANK YOU!! We feel so very blessed by your love and support and appreciate you answering the call to help provide for a little girl, so very far away, who needs to come home.

We Have A LID

Our LID is 12/30/06. Now we just wait for TA .... and wait .... and wait .... and wait ....

Merry Christmas to You from Us!

The holiday season has been a whirlwind and just when I feel like I'm finally ready to welcome it in, it's almost over! Adoption paperwork consumed so much of my time this year and I feel like I played catch-up all month. I spent the entire day on December 23 wrapping gifts!

For the first time since Mike and I married (that's 18 years for those of you who are counting), I didn't send out Christmas cards. I actually hand-stamped 60 cards, but I just couldn't get them mailed in time. I have always included a photo of the boys in our card and I didn't even take their picture this year until Christmas Eve. I thought about sending them out as New Years cards, but I'd already stamped "Merry Christmas" on the front. So ..... I apologize to all of you and promise that I WILL send them next year. After all, I'm already ahead of the game and I have 60 cards filed away in a box labeled Christmas 2007. It's a good thing, too, because I hope to be running around chasing a three-year-old!

Our family is celebrating our last Christmas without Oakley. I have thought about her all day and throughout this blessed season - praying that Christ will watch over His precious baby.

We look forward to sharing her first Christmas with her next year -- what a wondrous time it will be! My Mom and I were out shopping a few weeks ago, and I almost bought a stocking for her, but decided to wait so she can help choose the one she wants. I can't wait to see it hanging from the mantel among her brothers' stockings. Our family will soon be complete.

Merry Christmas to All! May you cherish your time with family and friends this most holy season.

That Little Yellow Sweater

I received new photos today of Oakley, along with the following email from Grace at AHH:

"Here she is!!!! She needs her mommy so bad."

I couldn't agree more. Please TA .... hurry, so we can bring our baby girl home!

They've shaved her head AGAIN, and she's wearing that same little yellow sweater. I so hope she's wearing it on Gotcha Day so we can keep it as a sweet remembrance of our little girl the first time she captured our hearts.

It's Amazing How Much Stuff You Can Fit in a Shoebox

It's amazing how much stuff you can fit in a shoebox! We mailed Oakley's care package today. To help prepare her for our arrival, I put together a small photo album with pictures of us and her new home. I pray that her nanny will share it with her and that Oakley's heart will be open to us. She is already so loved by her family.

Here's a list of the goodies included in her care package:

1. Family Photo Album
   
   
2. Blanket (so very soft, with a silk trim)
   
   
3. Teddy Bear
   
   
4. Pat the Bunny Book
   
   
5. Teddy Grahams
   
   
6. Toothbrush and Toothpaste
   
   
7. Two-Piece Outfit
   
   
8. a soft Soccer Ball (Because all three of my boys play soccer and they've already indicated that they expect Oakley to play, too. Thanks, Jennifer, for finding the ball!)
   
   
9. Disposable Camera (in hopes that her nanny will take pictures of her and return the camera to us on Gotcha Day)
   
   
10. Candy for the nannies

We slept with the blanket and teddy bear for days before we sent them, hoping that she would know our smell when we wrap her in our arms. We don't know how many of these items, if any, will be returned to us. Sometimes the orphanages will keep the items for the children left behind. Just in case they keep them, I've purchased an identical teddy bear and blanket to bring with us in hopes that these items will be familiar and comforting to her.

We Are DTC!

That's right, folks! Our Dossier is on it's way to China, and I have to admit, after months of gathering all these documents, it's not easy to turn them over, even into capable hands. It's strange but even though I feel somewhat like I just finished a Final Exam (let's celebrate!), I also feel like I've just lost an appendage. Things are completely out of our control now and we wait. We wait for our Log In Date (LID) and our Travel Approval (TA) to arrive so we can bring Oakley home!

Please remember our family in your prayers and pray for a speedy TA!

November Accomplishments

The paperchase is winding down and this month we waited impatiently for the much-coveted I-171H form from our government. This form is Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition (what a mouthful) and we have to submit it along with all the other documents we've collected for the dossier.

1. 11/3/06 -- Took notarized documents to Fayette County Clerk for county certification
   
   
2. 11/15/06 -- Had Criminal Checks county-certified in Frankfort; Secured live signatures on Mike's birth certificate and our marriage license; Had all documents state-authenticated at the Capital; mounted our family photos for the dossier
   
   
3. 11/16/06 -- Submitted dossier documents to Grace at AHH
   
   
4. 11/17/06 - RECEIVED I-171H
   
   
5. 11/20/06 -- Had I-171 notarized, certified and authenticated. Delivered to AHH for overnight delivery to the courier
   
   
6. 11/24/06 -- Received updated photos of Oakley compliments of the Strand Family:)
   
   
7. 11/30/06 -- Pre-Approval (PA) Received!!

all in all .... a VERY productive month!