So Much to Say...: June 2013

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Submitted to Court!!

Yesterday, we were submitted to court in Ethiopia!! This is a huge step!! It means that we stand a chance (maybe a slim chance – but I’ll take it) of getting to Ethiopia to meet our little girl and pass court there before the court closures on Aug. 6^th. There is a TON that has to come together to make that happen, but we know that God can do a TON and we are praying for that!! If we don’t travel for court on/before Aug. 6^th, or if we don’t pass court by Aug. 6^th, we are looking at not getting there for our first trip until October or November (courts close for 6-12 weeks). The thought of that wait just breaks my heart, so I am praying for the best but expecting the worst, so as to try to protect my heart. In a few weeks, we should receive an update as to how the process in Ethiopia is going. I will update you all then.

As far as finances, I am totally BLOWN AWAY by people supporting us in this process. As you will see from the information below, we are ready!! We only have about $4000.00 left to save for this adoption to be 100% paid for. We can’t even begin to put in to words our appreciation for each of you and your support and encouragement over the past 2 and ½ years!!

Here are the fundraisers that are still going on:

FUNDRAISERS

Ordinary Hero: This is a non-profit organization that does mission trips and promotes orphan awareness. They have some awesome products for sale and we receive 40% of items purchased online. Check them out! They have lots of products for both men and women (some adoption-themed, some not). Shop here: http://www.ordinaryherostore.org/. Just be sure to choose “Thomas, Jennifer” as the Fundraising Affiliate at checkout.

Just Love Coffee: $5.00 to us for each bag of coffee sold www.justlovecoffee.com/TheThomas. The coffee is DELICIOUS!!

Adoption Bug T-Shirt Fundraiser: You can order t-shirts from this site: www.adoptionbug.com/thomasadoption. You can order and pay on-line and the t-shirt(s) will be shipped directly to you. We make anywhere from $5-$10 (depending on the t-shirt) per shirt sold toward our adoption. Check it out! They have some cool, high-quality shirts for sale!

TAX DEDUCTABLE GIVING: Lifesong for Orphans: Make a tax deductable donation. They will accept donations in our name up until we travel to bring home our child. Make checks payable to ‘Lifesong for Orphans’. In memo section: ‘THOMAS #1855 ADOPTION’. Send to Lifesong for Orphans PO Box 40 Gridley, IL 61744.

PRAYER REQUESTS

- First and foremost for our little baby girl! She is doing as well as can be expected since she is in the care center. And did I mention she is ADORABLE?? For her health and development in these next several months.

- - For our baby girl’s first family. We ask for prayers for their hearts.

- - Finances to continue to come through and successful fundraisers.

- - Patience and faith for both of us as we wait to travel.

- - Jaden is about to release his first album!! Stay tuned for details coming soon! And check out his website: www.jadenthomas.com and his facebook: search “Jaden Thomas Music.”

Thank you all so much! We are very blessed by each of you!

The Thomas Family

Step	Cost	Date Paid	Due Date
Application Fee – LSS	$420.00	10/25/10
Application Fee – Holt	$300.00	10/27/10
Home Study Fee – LSS	$2,780.00	1/14/11
USCIS	$890.00	2/2/11
Program Fee – LSS	$1750.00	5/20/11
Dossier Fee – Holt	$3,000.00	5/6/11
Dossier Update Fee – Holt	$255.00	6/28/12
Program Fee – Holt	$9,890.00	5/9/13
Post Placement Fee – LSS	$1,300.00	Ready	6/24/13
Trip 1 to Ethiopia	$7,000.00 (estimated) (this went up $1000 from last month because flights in July/August are SUPER expensive).	Ready	Upon Scheduled Travel Date $6000.00 grant from Show Hope
Trip 2 to Ethiopia	$7,000.00 (estimated)	NEED	Upon Scheduled Travel Date Have $2750.00 toward this total.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

June Update

We received our referral for our beautiful baby girl just over a month ago (5/7/13). What a whirl-wind it has been ever since!! It seems like it is constantly good news, bad news, good news, bad news. Things change at a moment’s notice! But we are so thankful to finally have our referral and pictures of our baby girl!! We have them up all over our house and we think about her and talk about her constantly!

We are still waiting to be submitted to court. We are hopeful that this will happen within a month or so. Once we are submitted to court, that really gets the ball rolling in Ethiopia.

There are some changes going on with the process though. There is a new step in place called the PAIR Process. This process will, more than likely, have some impact on our travel dates. It could speed up the date of our trips or push back the date of our trips. It is very unknown what effect the PAIR Process will have on our case. If I had to guess at this point, I would say the earliest we could be traveling would be end of July or early August (I get the feeling this is wishful thinking on my part though). If we don’t travel by Aug. 6^th, the courts shut down for 6-12 weeks beginning Aug. 6^th, so then we’d be looking at traveling in October or November for our first trip. I will certainly keep you posted as soon as we hear!! Of course, we are wishing and hoping and thinking and praying for getting there before the court closures…

As far as finances, I am totally BLOWN AWAY by people supporting us in this process. As you will see from the information below, we are ready!! We only have about $3000.00 - $4000.00 left to save for this adoption to be 100% paid for. We can’t even begin to put in to words our appreciation for each of you and your support and encouragement over the past 2 and ½ years!!