Kandles for Elizabeth

My sweet friend Kristi, owner of Kristi's Kandles, has so kindly offered to donate 30% of all profits made now through January 31st to our adoption fund! Please head over to her page and check out all her delightful scents!

Kristi's Kandles offers hand-poured, scented soy candles in 4 different sizes and clamshells for your wax warmers, such as Scentsy warmers. There are many yummy scents to choose from that will make your home and office smell absolutely wonderful! There are many benefits of using soy candles:

- Soy wax BURNS CLEANER. Recent study shows that paraffin candles release cancer-causing agents into the air. Soy does not.

- Soy candles PROMOTE THE AMERICAN FARMER as soy beans are grown on American soil.

- Soy candles BURN LONGER AND COOLER than paraffin candles, giving you a longer-lasting candle while saving you money.

- Soy wax cleans up with warm, soapy water unlike other candles.

Go on over and check out her page! Thank you for supporting us through buying her amazing candles!

If you missed it...the ABC News report on Special needs Adoption in Ukraine

In case you missed it!

Diane Sawyer with ABC World News did a segment on Reece's Rainbow, the organization we found Elizabeth Joy ("Kylen" on RR) through, and special needs adoption - mainly children with Down Syndrome. Please pray how you can be involved in helping these precious children, truly the least of these in the world's eyes.

Please click here to watch it.

ABC News with Diane Sawyer - Special Needs Adoption in Ukraine

Tonight on ABC News (5:30 pm CST), Diane Sawyer is doing a report on special needs adoption in Ukraine. Please watch it and pray about what you can do to help these precious children! The organization featured, Reece's Rainbow, is how we found Elizabeth Joy("Kylen" on RR). Also, please be praying for those that watch it, that God would move hearts to action!

Please click here to read the story.

Moving Right Along...

*Insert Contented Sigh and Big Smile*

Guess what I received in the mail today?? Yep, our USCIS fingerprint appointments!! Thankfully I was alone in the car when I went to check the mailbox because when I saw them, I literally shrieked with excitement and did a little dance in my seat: ) Now I know this doesn't mean we'll have our approval when we're hoping, but it is definitely one (big) step in the right direction. L's passport was also in our mailbox today and boy, does he look adorable in his little picture! His passport only took 12 days from application to being in our hands and we didn't even expedite it. Another point in the govt's favor, if you're keeping tabs. 

In addition to our happy news above, I was able to get a couple more things done today for the dossier. Lord-willing, we should be able to be completely done with our dossier around the New Year! Considering we just committed to our baby girl the day before Thanksgiving, the process is moving quickly for which we are so very thankful. We did already have our home study almost completed, so that has helped as well. 

Just wanted to share that and ask that you continue to pray for Elizabeth, favor with the govt officials in her country, and our hearts as we wait to be united with her. 

Please Pray...and Thank you!

We are getting closer to being done with the paper chase, but are still waiting on our USCIS approval. We haven't even been assigned a case worker nor had out fingerprinting appt set yet. Will you please pray with us for our USCIS approval and case worker who will be assigned to us? We're hoping to have our approval by mid January, but know that is very unlikely with the holidays. We also know God is bigger than all of this! Please pray for peace and trust as we rest in His timing.

We also wanted to thank you all for continuing to buy coffee and donate to our adoption fund on our page! Every little bit adds up and we are thankful to those who have spread the word as well as supported us financially! 

One Step Closer

I'm starting to see the light at the end of this very long tunnel... we're getting stuff done and had a very productive day! We had to go to the capital city today to get our background check, fingerprinting and apostille for our first set of documents. Slowly, but surely our checklist is getting smaller!

We shipped our first set of docs to EE this afternoon and they will be in our facilitator's hands on Thursday (hopefully)! We still have lots of documents that need our attention, but now that some of the paperwork is done, this whole adoption things seems a bit more doable. Not to say that I won't be thinking how incredibly difficult it is later, but for now I feel a bit more confident we'll actually have our baby at the end of this process.

We also received our passports in the mail today and it only took a week! Yay for the U.S. govt, they actually got it done in less time than they said they would! I'm writing this down because it's likely never to happen again: )

We are one step closer to bringing Elizabeth home and that helps me keep at all the crazy paperwork in addition to my full-time job taking care of our home and children. I'm thankful for all our family and friends who've been so supportive and kind in helping us on our journey. A BIG thank you to my mom-in-law, Carole, for watching the littles today so we could go get everything done quickly and know they were well taken care of and not missing us: )

And don't forget we have our coffee fundraiser going on and you can click on the button we have at the upper right side of our blog that will take you to our support page. Thank you to those who have bought coffee and spread the word to others! We very much appreciate your support!

Got Coffee?

As we've been pouring over fundraising ideas, we have come across Just Love Coffee a few times on various adoption blogs. It looks like a great fundraiser and benefits everyone involved! Here is an excerpt from their website on their products and mission:

"At Just Love Coffee Roasters, our mission is to bring out the unique qualities inherent in each coffee bean. We do this by taking a small-batch artisan approach to all of our specialty coffees. We don’t use automation or computers during the roast process, but instead carefully roast every batch to perfection using smell, sight, sound, touch, and taste. We’re always searching for the best Fair Trade, organic, and shade-grown coffee beans available.

And as passionate as we are about creating outstanding artisan coffees, we are equally passionate about helping those in need. Every delectable cup of Just Love Coffee you drink has a portion of its proceeds go to someone who could use a helping hand. In our first two years of business we have given over $200,000 to adopting families, non-profit organizations, and the arts. "

So, if you know any coffee lovers out there, please pass along the link to our "storefront" and they can shop for a variety of coffee from all over the world. We get a portion of the proceeds from each bag you buy that goes toward the adoption, but only when you buy through the link below.

https://justlovecoffee.com/richardr312

Coffee makes great gifts for those that enjoy it, and you get to have a hand in bringing Elizabeth home! Help us get the word (and link) out by sharing it with friends and family. Thank you for your support!!

IT'S OFFICIAL!! Meet Elizabeth Joy...

We have committed to bring home a precious baby girl from Eastern Europe, Elizabeth Joy!! We found her through the Reece's Rainbow website, a ministry devoted to raising awareness and helping families adopt children with special needs such as Down Syndrome, HIV+ and other conditions. She has Down Syndrome and is healthy. She turns 4 months this month and we hope to bring her home in 5-6 months!

We're working on our dossier and getting ready to submit our forms for USCIS approval. It's been a crazy ride so far and we're just getting started: ) We're so thankful for this opportunity and pray God will keep her safe and cared for while we wait! Please join us in praying for our Elizabeth Joy and for our family as we work as quickly as possible to bring her home!

Follow our blog as we will be keeping it updated on our adoption journey.