Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Moving, Giving, and Winning!!

In the past two days, at least three families from our organization have received referrals. Three families who were in front of us in line now have referrals for their babies... we are now three spots closer. We've still got a way to go, but it's exciting anyway.

In honor of referrals and the end of the fiscal year, Jimmy and I are engaging in a bit of friendly competition. We're working to raise money through AdoptTogether, a non-profit organization, for adoptive families that's the equivilant of some of our adoption costs. When a family receives a referral, they pay about $400 for the file to be reviewed by an international adoption specialist. They also end up paying about $400 for visas for parents and kiddos.

So, between now and December 31, we're asking others to join us by donating $5, which is tax-deductible, to AdoptTogether. To help Team Jimmy, type International Specialist in the memo section. To join Celeste's winning team, type Family Visas in the memo.

Here's to more referrals and lots of movement!!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Two Months DTE

We are celebrating month two of being DTE by moving down on the unofficial waiting list. We're still patiently waiting, knowing that more families ahead of us just means that there are more kiddos getting placed with their forever families. The number is fun to watch but seems really neither here nor there. One mysterious day, we'll get a phone call... till then, we're just along for the ride :)

Actually, in the meantime, we are working and saving and planning and doing all that we can to be ready. Well, as ready as you can be for your once normal life to be completely turned upside down by another human being. We applied a few months ago to AdoptTogether, an organization started by an adoptive family to help other adoptive families through the journey of adoption. They've been great at providing support and cheering us on as we worked to finish our home study and dossier. The other thing they do is provide a way for people to make tax-deductible donations to support our adoption... well really, anyone's adoption who's part of the AdoptTogether network... so if you go to their website, you can actually shop for families to support if you're in the end of year giving mood. So, visit their site and give generously to us or another family before the end of this tax year :)

Happy November!