Young Inspiration

Think back to when you were 12 years old. 

What was important to you? 

How did you spend your time?

This morning,  a former coworker (and friend) of mine came into her 12 year old daughter's room to find this:

Adopted from Vietnam herself, this compassionate girl is continuing the circle of adoption.  She created this jar & began raising money all on her own!  I am overwhelmed by her kindness & thoughtfulness at such a young age! 

I am encouraged and inspired by this sweet girl, and thought you would be too. 

(*Thank you so much to everyone who has so unselfishly offered your help.  I know there are so many of you out there already collecting your change.  We appreciate you!)

~6 in Love~

Surge of Sippys

Okay, someone's been working hard tonight. 

Reason: someone knows some amazingly generous people! 

I made another trip to the store today to pick up enough sippys for all the requests (not complaining)!  Note that it's only been like 3 days since we announced our first adoption fundraiser: "Sippys 4 Siblings" (Bringing 2 babies home from Honduras...one coin at a time.)  You guys blow my socks off.  Here's a glimpse of what's to come if you requested a sippy to start collecting your spare change for us:

I'm taking some to church in the morning, to G's school this week, and dropping others in the mail.  You guys are amazing!  Please continue to let me know if you or someone (or group) you know wants one- or more.  We appreciate you all...what a blessing!!

~6 in Love~

God Plays 'Words With Friends'?

Apparently so.  That's what I thought when I turned on my game to play...as I play every night before bed.  And for those of you that don't play 'Words With Friends,"  the computer gives you the letters (like Scrabble) in random order.  This is the first game that pulled up- letters completely unselected & unmoved by me:

I couldn't believe it.  But then again, I could.  Think what you want.  But, I'll take it as a fun confirmation that we're on the right track.  Thanks, God.

Now, I wonder if He'll help me win this game... Ha!

(And this has given me an idea.  Maybe you'll see this idea come to light in the future.  We'll see!)

 ~6 in Love~

Overwhelmed

So, we made our announcement to adopt super public yesterday, and have been overwhelmed with the feedback.  The comments and encouragement have really touched our hearts.  I mean, we knew we had amazing friends already, but seriously, you guys are incredible. 

W/in a few hours of our 'announcement,' we have had 9 people request a sippy (or two!) to begin "Sippys 4 Siblings".  Wow!  What I found so encouraging was that many of these sippys will be used by children...many of them very young...to collect change for our adoption.  I know that God will use these sweet children (and their awesome parents) to help change the lives of our newest additions.  How incredible to be able to say you've been a part of giving orphans a better life, and you're only like, what, 8, 5, 3??  I'm touched by the parents who want to teach their children early on that life isn't just about themselves, that we are all here to serve and love others as well.  What a testimony!  *If others of you would like a sippy cup (or two) sent to you to begin this fundraiser with us, just let me know by leaving a comment here.  Or if we are friends on facebook, that works too!

Many of you have already promised to pray for us.  Wow, that is exactly what we need...thank you!!!  We appreciate that more than you know.

Okay, so I previously failed to mention something that's kind of a big deal.  Not only will we need $35,000 for the whole adoption, but we need $12,000-15,000 of that in the next few months!! When we submit our App #2 in the next month ($300) & complete seminar ($100), we will need $3500 before we can move onto the next step which is the Home Study (which will cost btwn $1500-2500 I think).  Then when that's complete, we'll owe then next payment of $3500.  Throughout this time, we'll have lots of 'little costs" that add up to around $2000.  Next is our Dossier & fees, which look like about $2000.  **All of this must be paid before we can get on the 2-4 year waiting list for our children.  And... we would love to be on that list by this Fall 2012!!  Man, just typing this seems overwhelming.  But, again, we know that God will provide.  We don't know how, but we know He will. 

Several of you have already asked in what ways you can help.  I have some information posted in the tab above, "How You Can Help". 

*Some ideas:

   (1) Share our blog link with others.  We would love to share our story and tell others about our adoption journey.  Some of you have already reposted on facebook. You guys are fast...I'm impressed!  I've also already been sent an email that went out to someone's friends.  Wow, thank you so much. 

   (2) Prayer...but, of course!

   (3) Sippys 4 Siblings- our first fundraiser.  Super easy to do.  * See the blog post below for details.

   (4) For those of you who can, feel free to donate using the PayPal link to the right of the blog.

   (5) We are going to do T-shirts as well as have an online auction in the not-too-distant future, so look out for those things!

Thank you all, again, for your kindness, encouraging words, and support!  Thanks for taking the time and energy to enjoy this journey with us. 

A little reminder of why we're doing this:

~6 in Love~

First FUNDRAISER!

Okay, friends, so you are joining us on the beginning of our journey through international adoption.  (See blog entry below for our beginning story)  A very expensive process (um, like $35,000 expensive).  Oh, and make it siblings.  Even more. (But, oh-so-worth every penny!)

We have several fundraisers to come- including T-shirts (Soon I hope!), one-of-a-kind artwork....created by 'Georgia Peach' (that'd be me), and a hoping-to-be-huge yardsale in the Spring (So if you are local to us, and have any large or useful or special items that you would like to donate, please save them for us!  Any proceeds from the donated items, of course, will go to help fund our adoption.) We're also looking at some other fundraising ideas...to be announced later in the process. 

** Announcing our very first adoption fundraiser:  "Sippys 4 Siblings"  (is 'sippys' a word? I'm thinking if I try it on 'Words With Friends,' it just might not make it.  Oh well.)  But it's oh-so-easy to do!  (1) We're asking anyone who is interested to get a sippy cup from us.  (2) Just fill it with your spare change.  (3) When it gets full, send it back (we can pick it up if you're local)...OR you can send the change our way & (4) attempt to refill the sippy again!  We're hoping this fundraiser can be continued throughout most of our journey.  Every little bit counts!  And think outside your home.  Do you know of a student or classroom, a local organization, a church, a Bible study group, an office, that would like to participate?  We'll send a sippy for you and one for them...just let us know!  Maybe think of keeping one in your car.  Isn't that where all of our change ends up anyway?! 

Okay, so your mission, if you choose to accept it:

 Let me know how many sippy cups you want! 

Thanks, friends!

~ 6 in Love ~


Please help us bring our siblings home!

We. Are. Adopting. (x2)

What?! It's true. We are adopting!  If you really know us, that's probably not super surprising news.  How did this happen?  Spring of 2011, we really began praying & thinking seriously about adoption.  It had always been an idea/an option/a 'something' we may want to do.  Something we felt strongly about.  But 'feeling' or 'thinking' is totally different than actually 'doing.'  We currently have a 3 year old littl girl, "G," and a nearly 2 year old little boy, "K."  We knew we wanted to add to our family, and wanted to be sure that adoption was the route for us.  Over the next few months, it became more and more clear to us that adoption was what we were called to do.  To care for orphans.  To bring one (okay, two) into our home. Into our forever family.  Read more about "Why Adopt" in the tab above.  After tons of research (whew!), we decided that our best match was with Honduras.  And the hubs, whom we shall call "Cuban Daddy" (He doesn't know that yet...won't he love it?! Ha.), said that I (let's call me "Georgia Peach" ) wanted two...even if I didn't 'say' it...and that I wouldn't be complete w/o them.  So thankful for a husband that just knows me that well.  And he's right.  2 biological + 2 adopted = perfect. 


So, I know it seems kind of crazy that we are attempting to adopt a sibling pair *younger* than the two we already have (G is 3, K almost 2).  Well, that's where the dreaded WAIT comes in.  Yes, all of you in the adoption world, know that word all too well.  We wait.  However, one of the many reasons we choose Honduras was actually b/c of the timeline for referral & placement.  Cuban Daddy (yes, he was born there) & I are currently working on Application Part 2, which is our 'official' application.  And, boy, I'm not breezing through it like I thought I would.  Geez.  It's a ton of tedious paperwork...forms... copies...typed...references...history...medical evals...and on. and on. and on.  (*Who knew factoring in raising two toddlers, keeping a house, never-ending laundry & dishes (those two just get me!), planning all of our 'todos', spending time w/ the hubs, family & friends, making appointments, etc. would make this massive amount of paperwork move so slowly? Oh, probably should have thought of that.)  So, after this app, we do our Home Study.  Then our Dossier. And a few (Ha!) other things.  Only after all of this is complete (and ALL of that money has been raised), will we be put on the waiting list to adopt from Honduras.  We are roughly estimating that we will be placed on this list sometime this Fall.  After being placed on the list, we begin a 2 to 4 year wait.  What in the world, right?  Well, I guess although I anticipate the waiting to be somewhat torturous, the timing should work out just right for us.  That would put our son, K, at 5-7 years old & our daughter, G, at 7-9 years old.  Crazy, isn't it?  Our newest sibling pair will be between ages 0-4 years old.  Yay, nice and snug.  Just the way we had hoped.  I have to keep Cuban Daddy young...this is sure to do it!


And, so we begin our adoption journey.  We are happy to answer questions, and would love to talk about our adoption process to anyone who'll listen!  One of the things we really hope to do along the way, is to create awareness about OUR world's orphan crisis.  I say 'our' b/c they are our orphans.  With no one to care for them, we all must do our part. I'm not saying everyone should adopt, but we can all do something. (Read more about this in my tabs above). 


We are taking a great step of faith.  Faith in our Lord God Almighty, who is forever faithful. Faith that He will entrust us with the children that are meant to be in our family.  Faith that He will take care of us...all 6 of us.  Faith that He will guide our steps, direct our paths, and make ways when it seems that there is none.  Faith that He will unite our family as we grow together.  Faith that He will be glorified in all of this.  And finally, faith that He will provide for us financially.  (Now may be a good time to mention this will cost us $35,000).  We are stepping into this with hardly a dollar saved...or raised.  But, we don't expect to sit and anticipate money to fall on our laps.  (Although I am quite sure that He could literally make that happen).  We will...and we are...working hard to have all that we need to pay these enormous fees.   And, so we will fundraise.  And fundraise some more. 
Because they are worth it.  Because it's what we are called to do.  So, we ask of you - family, friends, neighbors, complete strangers- to help if you can.  If you feel as though you want to help us bring our babies home (we can only go a step at a time as we raise the money to meet each payment), we will be forever grateful.  What a blessing you are to even consider helping.  For having the heart and the desire to help God's children.  This Mama thanks you.  From the bottom of my heart.

We're looking forward to connecting with some incredible new friends along the way.                                Thanks for following our journey as we become '6 in Love'!