Day 1 down and 1 puzzle piece is being sponsored so far. With that 1 piece came great excitement to Averie! Averie's total cost for travel is estimated at $5000. Our hopes is that she can raise half of that. She is praying for others to pull through and help earn her trip to China to meet and bring home her little brother Hudson.
If you do not feel led to donate at this time, please pray for her and this fundraiser, it really means a lot to her and she just cant wait to meet her little brother!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
A big sisters hope
Averie has such a love for her little brother already! The first day that I showed her Hudson's photo and tried to explain the we were adopting him, her first reaction was "daddy call the airplane, lets go get him!" Love her heart! She talks about him to everyone, prays about him, and just can not wait until he is home. Every time Averie finds money or has money, she gives it to us and tells us "this is for Hudson". She knows that the adoption process is very costly and wants to do what she can to help us get him home. She has been begging to have lemonade stands to help raise money and I have promised that she will soon!
We are going to China in August to get Hudson! Averie wants to come with us. She knows that he will be scared and understands that it may be easier for him to have another child around in addition to the two scary adults who are going to take him from the only place he has known as home. She has told me that she knows that he may not be able to talk to her (because of language barriers), but they can play! She has decided to start her own fundraiser to help pay for her trip to China. The profits from the lemonade stand that she will have at our upcoming rummage sales will go towards her travel but she wants to do more! See her video for details:
She is selling puzzle pieces for $10 each. We will write your name, a Bible verse or a short message on the piece. Once the puzzle is completely sold Averie will put it together and we will frame it and hang it in Hudson's room. If you can't sponsor a puzzle piece but still want to help her reach her goal, you can make a donation by clicking on the Paypal link on the top right side of this blog or you can send a check or money order to:
First Federal Savings & Loan
Attn: Paul Family Adoption
800 Charleston Avenue
Charleston, IL 61920
please write in the memo that this is for Averie's travel.
Thank you so much!
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Updates
So I left off on our anniversary. We did get a puzzle piece sponsored, thank you to our secret pal! We are getting there bit by bit financially. We are planning another fundraiser, but it will only interest those who live within our area. I have applied for a grant and am just looking for the Lords guidance as to where we will get the remaining amount of funds necessary to complete the adoption. We currently need about $15,000-$17,000 before we travel to China to bring Hudson home. I haven't stressed about this too much, as I know the Lord will take care of this, but we are getting close.
We received LOA (letter of acceptance) on May 23rd! That was only 33 days into our wait that could of been 90 days +. We were super excited for that! Just before LOA we were notified that there was an error on our homestudy with Hudsons age and it had to be fixed. We had to have our homestudy social worker come to our house again, she looked over the house and asked a few questions and that was it. Then a document had to be written and sent to the state and the state had to approve it. At first the state approved the wrong age...again! But, luckily they fixed it that same day and it is now on its way to our adoption agency. But, those few days were pretty stressful.
We also got notice that our documents were received in the lockbox on June 10th. This is a good thing and as much as I don't understand these last steps before we are approved to travel, I know we are moving in the right direction! Luckily there is not much that we have to do during this time except just wait, which can be hard too.
The US Embassy in China is closing down July 5-24th as they move to a new location, so this has really slowed down the process of adoption for not just our family, but all families. Without the shut down, we probably would of been able to go to China in July or early August. But, since there is a closure, we are being told we will probably travel late August or early September. I no longer stress about this, I know that I am not in control of this. I know there are reasons that we cannot go sooner and that the Lord is in control. I know once Hudson is home, he is here to stay and this will all seem like nothing. I just cant wait for that day!
Now, about travel. Brock is still scared to go. He is scared to fly, neither of us have every flown. He is even more scared to leave the children behind and to be so far away from them and family. He is such a family man and I love that about him, but, we just cannot afford for all of us to go. I am not too worried about the travel. I think Brock is scared enough for the both of us! I just want to get to China and see my son, I wonder how he will react, will he be scared? Happy? Like us? Will he cry? I try to prepare for all scenarios. I love this child so much and do not expect him to feel the same way for awhile. I sit and stare at his pictures, watch the few videos I have of him over and over and pray about this little boy every day. Will you please pray that the Lord wraps him with love and peace. That his heart is being prepared for life changing experiences. That he will love and accept us. Please also pray for comfort for Brock and I as we think and pray about travel. Help us not to worry or be scared and to feel the presence of the Lord with us, just as we have felt him through this whole journey of adoption so far. Also, please pray for guidance on the financial piece. We have came a long way but still have a lot to go. I know the Lord will provide, He always does!
We received LOA (letter of acceptance) on May 23rd! That was only 33 days into our wait that could of been 90 days +. We were super excited for that! Just before LOA we were notified that there was an error on our homestudy with Hudsons age and it had to be fixed. We had to have our homestudy social worker come to our house again, she looked over the house and asked a few questions and that was it. Then a document had to be written and sent to the state and the state had to approve it. At first the state approved the wrong age...again! But, luckily they fixed it that same day and it is now on its way to our adoption agency. But, those few days were pretty stressful.
We also got notice that our documents were received in the lockbox on June 10th. This is a good thing and as much as I don't understand these last steps before we are approved to travel, I know we are moving in the right direction! Luckily there is not much that we have to do during this time except just wait, which can be hard too.
The US Embassy in China is closing down July 5-24th as they move to a new location, so this has really slowed down the process of adoption for not just our family, but all families. Without the shut down, we probably would of been able to go to China in July or early August. But, since there is a closure, we are being told we will probably travel late August or early September. I no longer stress about this, I know that I am not in control of this. I know there are reasons that we cannot go sooner and that the Lord is in control. I know once Hudson is home, he is here to stay and this will all seem like nothing. I just cant wait for that day!
Now, about travel. Brock is still scared to go. He is scared to fly, neither of us have every flown. He is even more scared to leave the children behind and to be so far away from them and family. He is such a family man and I love that about him, but, we just cannot afford for all of us to go. I am not too worried about the travel. I think Brock is scared enough for the both of us! I just want to get to China and see my son, I wonder how he will react, will he be scared? Happy? Like us? Will he cry? I try to prepare for all scenarios. I love this child so much and do not expect him to feel the same way for awhile. I sit and stare at his pictures, watch the few videos I have of him over and over and pray about this little boy every day. Will you please pray that the Lord wraps him with love and peace. That his heart is being prepared for life changing experiences. That he will love and accept us. Please also pray for comfort for Brock and I as we think and pray about travel. Help us not to worry or be scared and to feel the presence of the Lord with us, just as we have felt him through this whole journey of adoption so far. Also, please pray for guidance on the financial piece. We have came a long way but still have a lot to go. I know the Lord will provide, He always does!
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