New Blog!

I've combined my blogs into an all new blog!  Come check it out!  Don't forget to add it to your list of followed blogs as I'll be deleting this one eventually.

Stories from the Shoe

And the Winner Is. . . .

Francesca Scalfaro!!!!!!!

Thank you so much to the many people who participated.  I really wish you all could have won!  We raised $410!!!!!!

Thank you!!!!!! 

Batter Up!

Saturday we got an email from AWAA telling us that we are "On Deck".  We are soooo excited!!!  Basically what on deck means is that AWAA anticipates we will get a referral in the next 1-3 months.  Doesn't sound that different from what we already know right?  Here's why it's exciting:  it means we are where we think we are on the list and that we are on AWAA's radar.  It's also the last time we will hear from them before our referral!!!!!

As of right now we are still number 8 on the infant boy list.  To clear up any confusion:  We are NOT waiting for an orphan to be born.  I realize it sounds that way but there is no shortage of orphans.  Basically we are waiting for it to be our turn to be processed.  Agencies, orphanages, and the Ethiopian govt. can only handle so many adoptions at one time.  Here's how the process works (roughly):  

Step 1:  A baby/child is found or dropped off at one of the many orphanages in Ethiopia.

Step 2:  An agency begins to gather paperwork that proves this child is truly an orphan according to Ethiopian law.

Step 3:  Agency feels confidant that child is a legal orphan and moves them into a transition home (TH)

Step 4:  Child is referred to a family.

Step 5:  Paperwork that agency gathered is submitted to the Ethiopian govt. and a court date is given (sometimes the next available court date is several months away)

Step 6:  Family passes court and the child is declared theirs according to the Ethiopian Govt.

Step 7:  All paperwork is submitted to the US embassy to determine that they feel the child is an orphan
Step 8:  Embassy determines everything is on the up and up and child goes home (if the Embassy is concerned they do an investigation which can take several months)

Step 9:  A bed/crib is open in the TH home and the process begins again.

So you see it is a long, involved process and THAT is what we wait for. 

Please keep praying!

Some Thoughts

I've been wondering:  Can I handle this?  I am reading a great book, There's No Me Without You.  It is the story of an Ethiopian Woman who found herself suddenly the adoptive mother of one child, then two, then 5, then she got a reputation for taking in AIDS orphans and more and more children showed up.  I know she winds up with many, many children but in my reading today a little four year old girl was dropped off.  I think she was about the 12th child.  The woman talks about trying to squeeze her in the bed with five other little girls.  The thought that popped into my head was, "it can't be good for all these children to have to share this one mother with no father or other help."  Then I realized, these children are better off having to share one mother than having no mother at all.  And that is when I began to wonder. . .Can I handle this?  Can I go to the orphanage and see the many, many children without any parents?  I am going to want to  take them all home.  My heart is breaking for all those kids who won't be adopted, who will have no Mommy.

Please pray for those children, and please pray for all those who have thought about adoption that God would continue to stir their hearts, and please continue to pray for us and our little boy in Ethiopia.

A Belated 3 Month DTE

Last Saturday we celebrated our 3rd month of being DTE.  While it was a pretty quick month I must confess that I'm starting to get antsy.  I'm ready to see some pictures of my boy and start planning our trip.  As it stands right now we are number 8 on the baby boy list.  The courts are really backlogged right now and it's about a 3 month wait from when we get our referral until when we will travel.  So we may not travel until March or even May! :(  My prayer is that by some major miracles occurring AWAA would be provided with tons of court dates for January and that by the time we get our referral the wait will be much shorter. 

George and I were super busy on Saturday!  I made the cake for a friends wedding and then we had a great time at the wedding dancing and talking with old friends while the girls had a sleepover at Nana and Big Daddy's.  All in all it was a great way to celebrate our third month and move into what could be a very exciting 4th month.  This month we will hopefully get our "on deck" email and be even closer to our referral!!!  Keep Praying!  

And don't forget to get your chances at Eagles/Giants tickets!

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?

We are giving away 2 tickets to the Eagles vs. Giants game on November 21st!  All you have to do to be entered is click on the Paypal button to the right and donate $10.  For every $10 you donate your name will be put in a hat (or box or pillowcase or well you get the idea).  Don't forget to include your name and email/telephone number in the notes section so I can call you when you win.  The tickets are right on the 50 yard line in section 225.Click here to see a map of the seats on stubhub.  Currently these tickets are running for about $130 a piece.  That means you can get a value of $260 for just 10 bucks!!!!!  

The winner will be drawn at kickoff of the Monday night November 15th game versus the Redskins.

Remember the more you donate the more chances you have to win!

Thanks for helping us bring our baby boy home!

Matching Week Results

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in our $5 Radical campaign this past week.  We raised $460 which was matched to $920!!!!  That's awesome!  We have been so very, very blessed by both strangers and friends and family through this process.  I can't wait until we can show our little boy off to everyone.  I'm looking forward to the day we stand before God, our family, our church, and as many of you as possible! and dedicate this little man to the Lord:)  

We will be 3 Months DTE on Saturday!!!  I'm making my very first wedding cake that day so I may not post until Sunday!

Also, coming very, very soon a new fundraiser that many of you will want to be involved in (I don't want to give it away but if you live in Philly or New York you may be very, very interested ;)  More to come soon!

Thanks and God Bless,

Shannon

This Week Only!

We have had a wonderful anonymous person offer to match our fundraising efforts this week.  They have pledged to double whatever we raise up to $500!!!  So if you have not yet become a $5 Radical please consider doing so by clicking the link to the right.  If you are already a $5 radical please consider sharing our story with your friends and spreading the word on your blogs and facebook.  Thank you for helping us reach our goal and bring our son home!

Don't know what a $5 Radical is?  Read this post!

In other news:  We are NUMBER 10 on the infant boy list (Can I get a Whoo hoo?).  We are praying that the list will keep moving and that those ahead of us would quickly get court dates.  If you could pray about the court dates right now that would be so wonderful.  The wait for a court date has gotten very long (like 3-4 months from when referrals were received).  As hard as the waiting is now once we see that precious face waiting so long to hold him will be sooooo hard!

Also we are up to about 50 $5 radicals and have raised a total of $1397.12 (obviously many have given above the $5)  Each dollar is one step closer to our son!  Thank you to all who've given and will give!

Thanks for all your prayers!

Wanna Play A Game?

I'm a big fan of baby pools.  I couldn't find an "official" pool online so I'm creating my own Adoption Pool.  Here's what you do:

1.  Guess the baby's birthday!  We have requested a zero to six month old which means the birthday will likely fall somewhere between mid-July and early February.  

2.  Guess our referral date!  Best guesses are somewhere between December and March.  If you're feeling especially pessimistic it could be later:)

 

Points:  This is one of those games that the lowest number of points wins.  So for each day away from the correct dates you are you will get +1point.  If you guess either date right you will gain -20 points.  

Prize:  What's a game without a prize?!?!?  The winner will get special souvenir from Ethiopia!!!!  So be sure to sign your name!

So post a comment with your guess!  Ex.  Birthday July 31, 2010/Referral December 7, 2010

PS.  If you haven't already done so please encourage your friends to become $5 Radicals!

2 Months DTE

 

That's a two.  I realize it's stretch but if you look closely you will see it:)

Well month two felt longer than month one.  I think it's in part due to the fact that I was busy adjusting to the lack of movement on our list and the reality that our wait is more likely in the 6-7 month range:(  We still sit right around number 20 on the infant boy list.  I think this new two trip policy is really slowing things down.  Children cannot go home until their embassy clearance which can take 6-12 weeks.  Since the courts have been closed there are a ton of families waiting to pass court before they even enter the 6-12 week investigation.  So we wait.  While our waiting is hard the families waiting to go get their kids are the ones we really need to pray for.

An

Well, if you look back to our one month DTE you will notice that we went to a Phillies game.  They won and put themselves in first place.  In case you are not fortunate enough to be a Phillies fan I'll let you in on the giant news today:  Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter in the playoffs!!!!!!!  That's a huge deal!

So what might happen on Nov. 6?  Maybe that's the day we'll have our Phillies win the World Series photo shoot:)

$5 Radical

So the book Radical has gotten so popular.  I haven't read it yet but I've browsed it and it has inspired my next fund-raising effort.  Without reading the book I will tell you that I feel that gentle nudging in my heart from God.  The one telling me to hold on to my hat because what I thought was stepping out was just a baby step in the right direction.  That God has something bigger than I imagined in mind.  I'm not sure exactly what that is (I have ideas but I'll keep them to myself for now, it'll keep you reading ;)

So how does this relate to fund-raising?  I'm going to ask you to do something ordinary that will radically change lives.  Can you give up a couple of cups of coffee this week or maybe a 1/2 gallon of your favorite ice-cream?  And instead can you click on our Paypal donate button and donate just $5?  Donating $5 may not seem like the kind of radical thing that the book talks about but for me, for my son, for my family that $5 will radically change our lives.  And can you do one more thing?  Can you tell your friends?  Can you send them our way?  Can you tell them that sometimes being radical can mean just giving up some junk food?

If 2000 people can become $5 radicals we will raise $10,000 and that is RADICAL!  I don't know 2000 people but I'm guessing if we spread the word we can all do something radical.  I'll be starting a group on facebook.  Look for it and please pass it on.  Like a chain letter without the curse ;)

Thank you!

One Month DTE!!

 I know, I know, I didn't blog exactly on our one month anniversary but I have a good excuse!  Our wonderful friends gave us their Phillies tickets (Thanks Greg and Liz!) and we are grabbing every opportunity for date nights now before we are out-numbered!  I had planned on having a one topping pizza but instead we brought WaWa to the game (for those of you who don't know what Wawa is, I'm sorry, it's beyond words).  We thought about stealing another adoptive families Ben and Jerry's idea (they ate a pint every anniversary) but that would seriously cut down on our ice-cream consumption:)  

All that to say, "One month down 3-5 to go"

It's BBQ Time!

Don't forget our BBQ fundraiser is this Saturday from 4-8pm!!!!  If you haven't bought tickets that's ok, you can get them at the door.  There will be a silent auction with some fantastic things including:  Tastefully simple baskets, free photography from Sylipsi photography, Clementon Park tickets, and maybe even some Christin DeVol original artwork (Picaso is a recent favorite here:) plus much more!  Also, we will have a bounce house for the kids for a low (low) price and we are working really hard on a dunk tank.  We really want to have one but are having trouble finding one that is worth the price (if anyone has any connections we'd love to get "hooked up").  And of course if you still need DeVol or Jackson T-shirts you can buy them there!  If you already have them we would love to see a flood of blue and orange on Saturday.

If you can't attend please pray for us!  This fundraiser is for two families who need a total of about $100,000 (no I didn't accidentally type too many 0's) to bring their babies home.

Love,

Shannon

The Waters

I've been feeling so excited and filled with joy about our adoption and life in general lately.  It is such a contrast to the way I felt this time last year after my son Jack died.  As I was driving along listening to K-love I noticed how so many songs reference water when talking about God and it got me thinking about the ocean.  I'm a Jersey girl.  That means I spent many summer days "down the shore." 

One of my favorite shore memories is when Dad would take Tara (my sister) and I out deep in the ocean and teach us to body surf.  He would hold us one in each arm and go out far over our heads.  It was terrifying and we would cling to him.  I'll never forget one life changing wave.  I remember feeling the under-toe pull us.  If you've never felt a strong under-toe it feels like the ocean is trying to drag you under the water and pull you out.  The scariest part is that if you can manage to fight it the next wave that hits you is going to be super powerful.  I remember feeling Dad let go and telling us we had to let go of him and not knowing why.  Then the wave hit.  It rolled me over and over and I remember my face hitting the ocean floor and the full force of the wave pushing me down and holding me under.  It was terrifying and then I felt my Dad's hand.  I'm not sure what he said but I imagine he said something like, "You're ok.  I have you now.  You're fine.  Just breathe."  Tara was there too and we were all fine.  (Dad had let go of us so we weren't crushed by both the wave and him)

A year and a half ago that was my life.  I was clinging to my Heavenly Father and trusting Him.  I was eagerly looking forward to adding another child to our home.  Then suddenly it didn't seem He was there anymore.  Jack was sick.  I could feel the under-toe pulling.  And then he died and that wave of sorrow hit me.  I couldn't tell which side was up and I could feel myself being crushed by the weight of my sorrow.  I kicked and screamed and struggled and then I felt His hand pulling me up and heard Him say, "You're ok.  I have you now.  You're fine.  Just breathe."

I know, I started this post talking about joy.  Happily that's not where either story ends.  Going back to the ocean.  You would think that wave would have terrified me and I'd never go out deep again.  However, the opposite is true.  I wasn't afraid anymore.  I didn't need to cling to my Dad because I knew he would pull me up if I went under.  I really got to enjoy the feeling of bobbing in the waves, waiting for that under-toe and then swimming like mad to "catch" a wave and ride it into shore.  I still love to ride waves.

I feel like I'm in the same place with my Heavenly Father and our adoption.  There's a scary part where I know that what I'm floating in is so much bigger than me but I can joyfully bob along knowing that there is a big wave coming and that my Father's hand is right there.   When it comes I hope I can swim like mad and catch that wave but I know if I don't, if it crushes me and flips me over and I can't catch my breathe, my Father's hands will reach out pull me up and tell me, "You're ok.  I have you.  You're fine.  Just breathe."  and then He'll tell me to get back out there and catch the next one!

And the award for DTE 8/6/10 goes to. . .

The DEVOLS!!!!!!!!

That's right folks.  Our paperchase if over and our Dossier (big pack of papers) heads to Ethiopia today.

and now, a speech:

  I'd like to thank all of the people who made this day possible.  First my wonderful husband George.  Never has their been a more organized, trust-worthy man.  Not many husbands take on the role of the paper-work for the Dossier but George did and excelled at it.  Thank you hunny, you're the best!  Next I'd like to thank our family co-ordinator Caitlin.  She has answered all of our many questions and checked each document.  She's been awesome!  A big thanks to our notary Gary who notarized every single paper we had for a very good price;) I have to thank all the friends and family who have written reference letters, prayed, babysat, and held our hands when we couldn't sign our names anymore.  You are all my favorites!

And last and most importantly I'd like to thank God because truly we could not have come one step in this process without Him.  God, you rock!

Dramatic?  Wait til you see the musical number I have planned for when we get a referral!  

Our expected wait time is 4-6 months until we get a referral so sometime between early December and early February! 

Help Us Adopt Without Spending Money!!!!

My friend, Liz, told me about this great fundraiser!  Basically how it works is you search your house and work for old electronics then follow this link to Gazelle.  That will take you to our fund raising page where you can enter in your items.  Gazelle will then send you a postage paid box to pack your items in and send them off.  Once they get the item we get the money!  Simple right?  If that's not simple enough those of you that live near us can drop items off at our house and we'll send them in. 

So start finding those electronics!!!

Big Day!

~George and I got home safely from our missions trip to West Virginia

~Lindsey turned three!

~Christin lost one of her top front teeth (pictures to come:)

~WE GOT OUR I171H!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I made George open it and read it to us and then we all jumped around for a little while hugging and laughing.  It will be headed to our agency first thing Monday morning.

We are so excited:):):)

Soooo Close!!!

We are literally waiting on one more paper!!!!!  Our fingerprints are done!  Now we just wait for our I171H to come in.  Once that happens we get copies of that and one other paper notarized, pause for a big shout out to our notary and friend Gary!  He has notarized soo many papers for us as soon as we needed him.  Thanks Gary!!  We make several copies of everything and send it off to our agency who will check it over once more (our family coordinator Caitlin has already checked every document individual through fax so there shouldn't be any issues) and then it goes to Ethiopia!!!!!  

Then it's four to six months until we get a referral and go on our first trip to meet our son:):):):):):):):):):)

We had a little scare with our certification paperwork.  First we weren't positive NJ would certify our cover sheet.  The cover sheet has changed and some states are now requiring every document to be certified (much more expensive!).  Well they said it was no problem however, George went with our good friend Greg (who is adopting from Russia) and I think the guy that put in the order switched which sheet needed what b/c Greg and Liz's receipt said "Certify" and ours said "Appostille"  We both freaked out.  However, the people at the Secretary of State office know what they are doing and each person did the right thing when they saw the countries.  YAY NJ!

I know this post is really random!  Sorry, just trying to get you caught up on everything going on here!  It seems everything happens in waves! 

So if you're praying. . .please pray that our I171H would come while we are at REACH (missions trip to West Virginia).  That would be pretty quick but so far our experience has been that since the USCIS has become centralized (as of July 1) things have gone more quickly than expected for us.  However, that has not been everyone's experience so we definitely could use the prayers!

Here's a picture of what was the most fun part of our dossier:  The Family Photo Pages.  The girls helped me:)

Biometrics Appointment!

We were hoping to get the letter telling us when our biometric fingerprint appointment would be at the end of this week.  However, since last Monday most government offices were closed I kind of thought we would hear early next week.  God is good though and we got our letters today!  Our appointment is NEXT TUESDAY!!!!!!  (Gigantic thanks going out to my Sunday School class who were praying for this very thing!)  We thought there was no chance our appointment would be before August 1st.  Now we should have that I171 in early August and our Dossier sent soon after:):):):):):)

I know what you are thinking, "Shannon, the smiles tell me this is good but it's like you are speaking in another language, "your using numbers and stuff!"  When are you going to get that kid?"

Ok, try to follow along. . .

Once our Dossier (aka big bundle of notarized paperwork) is sent to Ethiopia we will get put on a wait list and hopefully get a referral (picture of specific child assigned to us) 4-6months after that.  About a month or more after our referral we will travel for a court date, then come home.  If we pass court we will go back to bring him home 1-4 months later.  So basically we will bring him home sometime between January and June, if everything works out:) 

Got it? 

I600A is Sent!

As you know we have been waiting, and waiting for our finalized home study to come in.  In retrospect it only took a month but it felt forever!!!  Well it came last Tuesday at 4:45pm.  We were leaving for the Creation Festival at 6am the next morning so I flew out the door with I600A paperwork in hand.  Turns out the Fed Ex place was open until 7 but I assumed they closed at 5 and didn't want to take any chances.  The nice lady told me that she couldn't see a thing because she'd just had her eyes dialated so she made me read the address to her.  Then she slapped on the label and threw it in the box.  I was so nervous that she put the wrong address that I gave the tracking number to mom and she texted me when it was delivered:)  (Thanks Mommy!)  We should find out when our finger printing appt. is sometime next week.  If our schedule is the same as others that will have us scheduled for while we are on our missions trip to West Virginia:(  We are praying that it's sooner or that they will let us come in early.  We could be a mere 5 weeks from being DTE!!!!  

It's so close my heart is starting to get excited :)