One Step Closer!

This morning we had our fingerprinting appointment in Milwaukee!

Our scheduled time was 8 a.m.  Good thing they are okay with late arrivals!  Between trying to get everyone ready for nana to take the 6 oldest to school and get the baby and Jayce up and out the door and dropped off at Rick's parents and to not so great weather and not so fun traffic, we ended up being about 20-25 minutes late.  We got it done though and that was a relief!  The ladies were amazed that we were going to China for our 9th child and that we had adopted 3 times already.  And the timing of us leaving couldn't have been any better.  We had just enough time to pick up the boys at grandma and grandpa's and get to Lena's school to pick her up from pre-school.  And we got to eat lunch with dad before he had to head back to work, which was an added bonus!

Now we wait for the approval, which hopefully will be a month or less.  That approval notice is the last document we are waiting for.  Once we have it, we will send off many of our important papers to Madison to get state certified and then on to Chicago to get authenticated at the embassy.  Then they finally go to our agency who ships them to China....that is a huge step and one we look forward to (minus the huge chunk of money that is due at the stage).   I've been applying for grants and have many more to apply for.  Grant applications are like a part-time job, but are so worth the investment.  Grant organizations are a HUGE help to families like ours who want to do God's work and grow our family through the wonderful blessing of adoption but need a little help in making the financial part come together to get there and back.

Between now and our dossier going to China, we have a few things going on!  We're hoping to hear soon about a matching grant we applied for.  A wonderful friend and community member is having an indoor rummage sale for us this Saturday!  What a blessing!   I've ordered 150 bracelets from the Apparent Project to sell.  Every bracelet is handmade by an artisan in Haiti who is trying to bring hope to their families, employing themselves for a brighter future and earning the means to pay for their children's food, shelter, and education.  The Apparent Project artisans use discarded materials to create beautiful 'upcycled' pieces of jewelry.  This project helps create less orphans, less crime, less garbage, and so much more!

I love this fundraiser because when someone buys a bracelet, they are helping Apparent Project artisans earn money to feed, shelter, and educate their families AND are helping us to bring home our daughter....how amazing!   For more information on this organization, go here: http://www.apparentproject.org/    And if we get that matching grant, the money we earn can be put towards the matching grant and be DOUBLED!   More information to come once the bracelets arrive...stay tuned!  

And last, we are going to try hosting an online Facebook Adoption Auction....hopefully sometime in February.  We are currently looking for donations.  Anything will work, but we're hoping to gather about 100 items that are new or unused within the next couple of weeks.  If you or someone you know has a home-based business and would be willing to donate an item or two, please let us know. If you are crafty and could make something homemade, awesome!   We don't want you to feel like you have to go out and buy something to donate.  Let's face it...most of us have new or unused things we aren't using sitting around our homes.  If you are local, we can get the donation from you.  If you are not local, you can either mail the donation to us or you can hold off and just send us a picture or two and then mail it directly to the winner once the winners are announced.  We've helped support other adoptive families' online auctions- they are fun and full of neat items.  Thank you for considering a donation and be watching for me to share our Facebook page for the actual auction event once we're ready!  Another fundraiser that can also be used to fulfill a matching grant, pending we receive one.

So that's where we are at...we're one step closer to our little girl and as busy as ever!  As always, we appreciate your support and your prayers!