Fundraising Update - Spaghetti Dinner and Auction

With the holidays now over I finally have some time to give an update on our adoption fundraising. On November 22 we hosted a spaghetti dinner and live auction, during which we also ran a craft sale and bake sale. Everything was donated by our amazing friends and family, and really all we had to do was organize the items being auctioned.

A sweet friend from our congregation, Loretta, was the driving force behind the event. Her daughter recently adopted and, therefore, adoption is very close to her heart. She has been one of our biggest supporters, and without her encouragement we never could have pulled off the dinner. Loretta sold tickets, donated items for the auction, found a banquet hall where we could hold the event, paid for half of the rental fee, donated the food for the dinner, and cooked up a huge batch of homemade spaghetti noodles and sauce! This woman is amazing, y’all. We are so thankful for her and her efforts to help us bring our little one home.

After four weeks of preparation, the big day arrived. We had about 12 volunteers who helped set up and clean up, served the food, kept track of auction sales, and manned the craft and bake sale tables. Everything was set up beautifully in the colors of the Ethiopian flag. The food was delicious, and we really enjoyed the fellowship. We had about 50 people in attendance.

We received so many donations for the craft sale that it filled two tables to overflowing. We had originally hoped to get a table at a Christmas craft fair, but all the tables were booked so we just combined the craft sale with the spaghetti dinner. Hopefully we will be able to get into a craft fair in the spring. Laura and Kathryn donated everything for the bake sale. They made gorgeous cupcakes, chocolate covered pretzels, and snickers cookies that I was drooling over. We really appreciate their time and effort!

We began to serve around 1:00 and started the auction at about 1:45. Joshua had a blast playing auctioneer. He spent the week beforehand watching youtube videos and practicing his auctioneer chant. He got to be pretty impressive. Everyone was surprised to learn that this was his first time conducting an auction. We had many generous donations for the auction, including a painting by one of the members of our congregation, a set of golf clubs, handmade jewelry, crocheted blankets, movie baskets, and gift certificates from our chiropractor for $100 worth of adjustments and a one hour massage.

We had the most fun at the end of the event. At the beginning of the auction, Joshua offered two “Invasion Insurance” policies. He didn’t tell what they were for, just that they were very valuable and that you may very much regret not purchasing a policy. He started the bid at $0.25 and I think we made $2.50 off of the first policy and $2 off the second. At the very end of the auction, Joshua revealed what the insurance protected against: King Asa, the goldfish king, and his two goldfish minions. (“Asa” means fish in Amharic, Ethiopia’s official language).

I borrowed this idea from an auction fundraising blog that mentioned playing this game with a goat. We thought goldfish would be more acceptable with this crowd :) Here’s how it worked. Everyone had the opportunity to bid for the chance to “gift” King Asa to someone else in the room, unless that person had purchased the “Invasion Insurance”. If the person who was “gifted” with the goldfishes did not want to take them home, they had to pay a fee to put the fishies back up for auction. Everyone had a great time with this game, and it was hilarious to see the looks on people’s faces when they were “gifted” with the bowl of fishes. It went on for several rounds, with people having to pay increasing fees with each round to get rid of King Asa, until Joshua randomly decided that the next person to receive the gift would have to take them home (so that we didn’t end up taking them home ourselves!). Dennis was the lucky new owner of three pet goldfishes. After the auction, he immediately turned around and gave them to his grandchildren. His daughter and son-in-law were overjoyed ;) 

We were incredibly blessed by the generosity of our friends that night. Altogether, we made $877 from the spaghetti dinner/auction/craft/bake sale. The following Sunday we received donations totaling around $600 from people who were unable to make it to the dinner but who wanted to help us out with our adoption anyway. Once again, God provided above and beyond our expectations. With the money raised that weekend and the $128 raised the following weekend off of another bake sale, we were able to make an overdue payment to our agency. Now we only have one more payment of $2,666 to make and we will be put on the waiting list to be matched with our child!

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, support, and encouragement. It means the world to us and we are humbled by your generosity. May God bless you as you continue to serve Him!

Why Not Ethiopia?

By far, the most frequent question we get about our adoption is, “Why not domestic adoption?” Why are we spending tens of thousands of dollars to adopt a child half way around the world when there are so many children right here in the United States who need a family?

We have absolutely nothing against adopting domestically. Adoption is a wonderful thing! God Himself sets forth the example of adoption, accepting as children those who are obedient to His word (Galatians 4:5), regardless of gender or nationality. Those who choose to bring a child into their home to love as their own display a beautiful picture of Christ’s family. We 100% support Christians who adopt whether they are adopting through the State, going the private domestic route, or heading overseas.

The oft-quoted statistic is that there are 153 million orphaned children worldwide. This number includes children who have lost either a mother or a father. Of that number, approximately 18 million children have lost both parents, and are considered “double orphans”. That is a LOT of children. Unfortunately, we cannot give a home to every one of these precious little ones. What we can do right now is work on providing a home to one child in need.

When we sat down and began seriously considering the possibility of adoption, one of the things we discussed was how to decide which child to adopt. It was a tough topic. How do you look at that number – 18 million double orphans – and decide which ONE you will bring into your home?

It is, of course, impossible to decide which orphaned child is in most need of a home. Every child is in need of a family! However, the current living conditions and likely future of orphans in each country we looked at had a great deal of influence on our decision to pursue international adoption. Our desire is to give hope to a child who would otherwise grow up without a home, without a family, without necessary medical care, and (most importantly) without spiritual training.

With this in mind, we began researching various countries. Several factors limited our options. First, we were limited by my age. Many countries require both parents to be over the age of 25 before enrolling in a program. Some require both parents to be over 30. I just turned 24 and was barely 23 when we were ready to begin the process.

Second, we were limited because of how many children we have (and intend to have). Many countries only allow you to have one or two children already in the home. I am pregnant with our third blessing.

Third, we were limited by finances. We were convinced (and still are) that the cost of the adoption should not be a deciding factor in our decision. $40,000 is a lot of money, but our Heavenly Father paid a much higher price to adopt us into His family. A child’s life is worth the price. As long as we are doing what God wants and doing it God’s way, He will provide the money in His timing. We weren’t just looking for the cheapest, fastest, easiest option. However, some countries do have a minimum income requirement that we did not meet.

Once we figured out which countries we qualified for (Bulgaria, Uganda, The United States, Ethiopia, Peru, and several others), we took a closer look at the condition of orphans in those countries. Of each country, we asked, “What is life likely to hold for an orphan who is not adopted?”

We were first drawn to Uganda, where orphans who age out of the system at 16 years old are left with few ethical ways of making a living (many girls turn to prostitution in order to survive). In fact, we were in the Uganda program for several months. But at the time, Uganda’s adoption process was very unstable and it was uncertain if we would ever be matched with a child. For this and several other reasons we took a second look at the countries we qualified for and reconsidered our options.

We prayed, sought advice, prayed, researched, and prayed some more. And we kept coming back to Ethiopia, a country very similar to Uganda. In many of the countries we looked at, orphans are at a definite disadvantage, but their basic needs are met. For example, in the U.S., most orphans have access to food, clothing, and medical care. That is not to say that every child will be well cared for, but our country does a decent job of caring for the basic necessities of orphaned children.

In Ethiopia….

·        1 in 8 children die before the age of 1

·        1 in 6 children die before the age of 5

·        At least 150,000 children live on the streets (some estimate a much higher number). These children often turn to prostitution and thievery for a living.

·        Approximately 5 million children in Ethiopia have lost one or both parents. It is unknown exactly how many of those children are double orphans. Ethiopia has one of the largest populations of orphans in the world.

·        14,000 children are born with HIV each year.

·        Around 800,000 children are orphaned by HIV/AIDS each year. The rate of infection is increasing rapidly.

·        46% of the population is under the age of 15.

·        The country is struggling to recover from nearly 17 years of civil war (1974-1991) and a widespread famine in the ‘80s. Ethiopia is an extremely poor country and the resources to provide proper care for orphans is limited.

Does this mean that Ethiopian orphans are in greater need of a family than any other orphan? No. But there IS a need for orphans from Ethiopia to be adopted. So why NOT adopt from Ethiopia? Is there a need for children to be adopted from the U.S.? Of course! So, why aren’t we adopting domestically? Because we are currently in the process of adopting from Ethiopia.

Adding Arrows

Everyone else has known for about a month now, so it's probably time I update my loyal blog followers. On September 8, Joshua and I found out that we are expecting Baby #3 in May 2015! We are extremely excited and thankful for this new blessing from the Lord!

We are also very thankful for a much easier pregnancy so far. During my first pregnancy I threw up nearly every day for nine months. I think there was one stretch when I went a whole week without puking. My second pregnancy was much better. I only threw up about 25 times. Yes, I kept count. I was determined to keep the number under 30. Anyway, the nausea was still pretty awful at times and nothing seemed to help. Except a big, cold glass of chocolate milk. Which was not so helpful to my waistline...

This time around the nausea has been unpleasant, but manageable. I am 11 weeks along and have thrown up only twice so far! Woohoo! Not having to keep a bowl beside the bed for when I wake up in the morning has been fantastic. I can usually expect to feel sick around 12:45pm, but Joshua gets home at 1:00pm so he is able to come to my rescue and fix the kids lunch so I can rest.

One cool thing about this pregnancy is that I am actually having some cravings! With my other two, NOTHING ever sounded good. So, the feeling of WANTING to eat something is a feeling that I cherish :) And another plus: One of my strongest cravings is a craving for SALAD!

This third baby does not change our plans to adopt. Our agency is aware of  the pregnancy and is very supportive of us continuing the adoption. It will still likely be two years or more before we are placed with a child, so that gives us plenty of time to adjust after the birth of this little one. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we prepare to welcome TWO more children into our family!

One Step at a Time

Just a quick update on our adoption progress. We received our notarized home study last week and immediately turned around and mailed off our i-600a. This is an application seeking approval from the government to adopt. Once they receive our application they will assign us a date to have our fingerprints done. Then they just have to get all the paperwork finalized, which we are told could take about three months.

On the financial side of things, we are about $1500 short of our next agency payment, which has to be paid before the next step of putting the dossier together. If you would like to donate to our adoption fund, please visit www.youcaring.com/awalkhome. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

The Post I’ve Been Waiting Eight Months to Write

FINALLY! I am FINALLY allowed to write what I have been bursting to share since January. It’s been a long, grueling, frustrating, yet incredibly exciting eight months. We have had many long days, late nights, tense moments, and even a few tears. We’ve had our faith stretched, and we’ve seen God answer our prayers in some amazing, unexpected ways.

It’s been an interesting year. We’ve had ups and downs and in-between times, and one of the hardest parts of it all was not being able to share this news with everybody. I have so looked forward to the day when I could just blurt it all out to the world.

It started in January. It got exciting in February. It got crazy in May. It got frustrating in June. It got even crazier in July. Each month brought a new milestone, but also a new challenge. And each month I had to work extremely hard to keep myself from getting on here and spilling the beans to my millions of followers. Or at least, to the two of you who read this blog – one of whom already knows our secret... (Hi, Mom!).

*Cough* Anyway… The time leading up to this moment of revelation seemed to be unending… Kind of like this introduction…

Okay, okay. I just thought that since I had to wait so long to announce it, y’all should have to feel some of my pain by reading a bunch of long-winded nonsense. Now, FINALLY, our big, exciting news:

         

WE ARE ADOPTING!!!!

That’s right! We are in the process of adopting a young child from Ethiopia. We have been accepted by an agency, our home study is complete, and we are now seeking immigration approval. In a few more months our dossier will be ready to send to Ethiopia and then we will be put on the waiting list to be matched with a child!

Joshua and I are incredibly excited about expanding our family through adoption. We feel so blessed that God has given us the opportunity to begin this journey sooner than we originally thought possible. Adoption has always been close to our hearts and the desire to adopt is one of the first things that attracted us to each other. We began looking into it two years ago, compiling a notebook full of research. The timing was not right to begin the process, but we did a lot of praying about it and looking into what it would involve. When we moved up here to Michigan, God opened doors and we suddenly found ourselves in a position to begin the journey. In January, after lots of prayer, we took a step of faith and submitted our application. On February 3, we were accepted.

We wanted to wait until our home study was finished before announcing our plans. There were some delays, miscommunication, and a major change of course (which I will hopefully blog about in the future) so it took a little longer to complete the home study than we expected. But, now it’s done! We are approved to adopt!

God has taught us some big lessons these past few months about dedication, trust, and doing what is right now matter what. He has provided the necessary funds for each step of the way. He has put people in our lives as sources of encouragement and strength. He has opened so many doors that I thought were brick walls. We truly serve an amazing God.

So far, God has enabled us to pay for all the expenses we have faced out of pocket. Now we are coming to a point where we need to do some fundraising in order to proceed with the next steps. We currently owe our agency $2,666 in order to move on to the next stage. Also, the immigration approval and fingerprinting will cost close to $900. These are our immediate needs. If you would like to contribute to our effort to bring our child home, please visitwww.youcaring.com/awalkhome or contact me at servingfromhome@gmail.com. We would greatly appreciate your financial support!

More than that, we covet your prayers. This is a long, hard process. It is emotionally draining, with many highs and lows. If you have been there or are currently in the process, we would love to hear your story and advice! We know that we do not know everything that we will need to know for every part of this journey, but we do know that God provides just what we need for each step of the way. Please pray for us as we seek His will and glory above all else.

Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

A Little Softer Now

Two posts on Facebook. One from a friend sharing the happy announcement that they are expecting another baby. The second from a friend sharing the heartbreaking news that their unborn little one has gone on to be with the Lord. Two posts. One sobering reminder.

I read both of these announcements at a time when my little ones were driving me nuts and I was having a hard time remembering why I ever thought I was qualified to be a mama. The first post brought me back to those joyful moments when we found out about each of our children, and an overwhelming love for my family engulfed me. Maybe I’m not ‘qualified’ to be a mama. But I am so thankful that God chose to bless me with my babies anyway. I wouldn’t trade this role for all the world.

The second post... It made me want to wrap my little ones in my arms and never let them go. It reminded me of just how brief and fleeting life is. How faint. How fragile. Today I’ve been given priceless moments with my children, moments that I may not have tomorrow. And no matter how long and crazy the days are, the years are short. I want to treasure those days and fill them with memories of laughter and of training my children with the joy of the Lord. I want to shower them with undivided attention, laugh at their silliness, smile at their determination, and handle those moments of frustration with grace.

A little more gentle. A little slower. A little softer now.  Because I am a lot more mindful of the brevity of life.

[Photo courtesy of David Castillo Dominici and FreeDigitalPhotos.net]

Natural Remedies for Shingles

I wrote this about a month ago and am just finally getting around to posting. I still have slight pain in my shoulder left over from the shingles, but usually only when I get really stressed out. The oils and other remedies mentioned here have majorly decreased recovery time and I am so thankful for those of you who recommended these products!

Last week I came down with shingles, one of the most painful illnesses I have ever experienced. I woke up Saturday morning with severe pain in my right arm like I had strained a muscle or been punched several times in my armpit. It was the first time my oldest had slept through the night so I attributed the soreness to going too long without nursing him. Later that morning when an itchy patch showed up on my chest, I didn’t think anything about it, figuring that I had been bitten or just gotten something irritating on my skin. When the bruised feeling began spreading to my shoulder and back and more spots appeared, I started to wonder what was up.

I went the whole day trying to soothe my sore muscles and refrain from scratching the spots, hoping that it was just a minor allergic reaction to something and would go away soon. But it was getting worse. Much worse. By that night I could barely raise my arm without excruciating pain and the spots had developed blistering bumps all over them. So, after getting the kids ready for bed I called my mentor and best friend, who also happens to be a nurse practitioner (I highly recommend having a best friend in the medical field; Having someone you can bug at all hours of the night for the silliest of medical questions is invaluable ;) ). I described my symptoms and she asked a key question, “Are all of the spots on one side of your body?” Yep, sure ‘nough. Her unofficial diagnosis, “Girl, I can’t say for sure without seeing, but I do believe you’ve got shingles.”

            Shingles? Are you kidding me? At this point I kind of started to freak out. Isn’t shingles really dangerous? And highly contagious? Did I need to go to urgent care right away? After talking with her and doing a little of my own research online I concluded that no, in most cases shingles is not dangerous (although it can rarely cause severe complications), and it is only contagious to those who have not had chickenpox. If spread to an individual who has never had chickenpox, it will manifest itself as such rather than as shingles. The doctor will prescribe an antiviral but it won’t really fight the illness, just treat the symptoms while your body recovers, and the medication prescribed comes with a list of possible negative side effects of its own.

            I did a lot of reading online and talked with some friends who have had shingles and found that an outbreak usually occurs during a time of stress or really low immune system. I hadn’t been sick, but we had been to several doctors’ offices for my son’s leg (he severely bruised it a couple weeks ago and we wanted to make sure it wasn’t broken) and for our general check-ups, so I had been exposed to things that could have weakened my immune system even though I didn’t actually feel sick. And stress? Oh, yeah, there’s been some stress. Between being worried that Little Mister’s leg was broken and trying to care for him (ever tried to keep a two year old who can’t walk entertained for two weeks?), getting a new dog, and dealing with some other outside factors, I was exhausted and frazzled. So, it’s really no surprise that I ended up with these spots that feel like someone pelted me with paintballs, stuck a thousand needles in my skin, and poured lemon juice over the pinpricks.           

I am a no medication kind of gal. I don’t even like taking Tylenol for a migraine. Over the last few years I have been trying to learn more about homeopathy and natural remedies and to rely more on what God put into creation to help heal us. Call me a crazy hippy, but I believe that nature contains the safest, most effective medicine available. You just have to take the time to find what works. I grew up relying heavily on doctors’ advice, so this has been an adjustment for me and something of a journey to learn to trust that God really did create certain things in nature for our health and healing.

Since shingles attacks when you have a low immune system, my first order of business was to load up on vitamins and other nutrients to restore my body’s defenses. B-complex, L-lysine, large doses of Vitamin C, and a powder called Ester-C have become part of my regimen. B-12 is supposed to especially help, but you need it in a B-complex form for your body to absorb it. L-lysine is also found in meat and dairy, so I’ve been eating a lot of foods from those groups. You mix Ester-C with juice or water (it tastes nasty, though). As far as foods to avoid, you really want to stay away from nuts, chocolate, and sugar while fighting shingles.

I’ve also been taking colloidal silver. If you’ve heard any of the news stories about this substance you may be appalled. I was skeptical, too, but after doing a lot of research I am comfortable taking one teaspoon twice daily in addition to occasionally applying it topically to the sores. I believe it helps and have not read any credible side effects from it when taken properly. Do your own research. Don’t use it if you’re uncomfortable doing so.

In the realm of homeopathy, the only remedy I had on hand that was recommended was arsenicum album. I tried a few doses of that the first night, but it didn’t really seem to be the right remedy for me. Some other remedies that may help are rhus tox, iris versicolor, clematis erectus, apis mellifica, and mezereum, but we don’t currently have any of those.

The most helpful remedy I have found for shingles has been pure essential oils! I had wanted to get some oils for a long time because I’ve heard so many people rave about them, but they are so expensive! However, on the third day of unbelievable pain, and after talking with a friend who said oils worked wonders for her case of shingles, Joshua and I decided to give them a try. We couldn’t find anyone in town who sells therapeutic-grade oils, so we took the plunge and signed up with Young Living Essential Oils as a distributor to receive their wholesale prices. We ordered Monday and expedited shipping to receive the oils by Wednesday morning. The oils recommended to me were:

o   Oregano

o   Peppermint

o   Thieves

o   Ravintsara

o   Lavender

o   Frankincense

All but the ravintsara and oregano came with the Young Living Premium Starter Kit. Also included in the kit are lemon, and the blends Joy, Purification, PanAway, Peace & Calm, and Valor. Each comes in a 5 ml glass bottle. But wait, there’s more! With the Premium Starter Kit you also receive a diffuser and a sample box that includes 5 ml of Stress Away (which comes with an optional roller top), two 2 oz packets of Ningxia Red, and two little sample packets each of lavender, lemon, Peace & Calming, peppermint, and Thieves, as well as several pamphlets introducing you to essential oils and helping you get started if you intend to make a business out of it.

Wednesday morning before the oils arrived I was in an incredible amount of pain. Moving any part of my body hurt. I was hardly able to stand nursing the boys. I was only able to nurse from one side because the other side had blisters and I felt mastitis coming on even though I had been pumping. The blisters were spreading like wildfire and the bruised feeling radiated from my waist to my fingertips on the right side of my body. The slightest cold touch, even cool air brushing my skin just from walking, Hurt. So. Bad. I was in tears several times that morning. When the oils arrived at 10:00am I was overjoyed.

Joshua applied the recommended oils to the blisters and to the bottoms of my feet. It felt soooo good and amazingly soothing. At first he just shook a couple drops of each oil onto my skin and rubbed them in, but he had a hard time getting just one drop out so he decided to mix them in a little spray bottle and spray it on me. This works really well. After the first application I was finally able to get comfortable and relaxed into a two hour nap. That was the first deep sleep I’ve had in days (it helped that Joshua was sweet enough to take the boys and the dog outside during this time). When I woke up I noticed there was considerably less redness to the spots and the bruised feeling had almost completely subsided. Another couple of applications throughout the day and I was able to sleep that night like I have not been able to sleep in what feels like forever. I’m sold.

I’m still in pain. It itches, stings, and when it’s been a while since we last applied the oils, the bruised feeling begins to return (but with increasingly less intensity). With each application of the oils, the pain lessens. And the oils smell good, too, which uplifts everyone’s mood. It’ll still be a while before I’m well, and we have yet to see whether or not the kids will come down with chickenpox, but on my second day of using essential oils, I feel so much better than I thought possible. God really did design an amazing creation!

Interested in becoming a Young Living wholesale member and saving 24% off retail price? Email me at servingfromhome@gmail.com for more information.