So, for a lot of reasons (too many to go in to) adoptions from Ethiopia have really, really slowed down. We've only been waiting for 4 months and 8 days, but it already feels like a long wait. Once we reach that 9 month marker, I'm really going to struggle with the wait. I will admit, having a pretty extreme case of 'baby fever' I have asked God lately if we are supposed to continue to wait. I've asked Him why he'd have us choose Ethiopia if this is how it was going to go (slowly). I've asked lots. And He has provided little tid-bits of hope.
You see, this is not just about us. There are over 5 million orphans in Ethiopia alone!! Over 147 million in the world!! This is not just our story or our child's story - it is so much more. I firmly stand behind adoption. period. Being adopted myself, it is something I've always held near.
Anyway, we got a phone call, recently, from a friend who knows someone who started a small adoption grant organization that really wants to promote adoption awareness. We were asked to send the founder of the grant organization our story and she was going to use it at a large public event in February so that it may provide some encouragement to other families thinking about adopting or in the process. What a HUGE blessing.
Also, we got a personal invitation from Show Hope (Steven Curtis Chapman's grant organization that gave us $6,000 toward our adoption) to come volunteer at his concert in Wisconsin in October. They gave us $6,000! Are you kidding me? I'd volunteer for more than just a few hours for them!!! It's a PRIVILEGE to be able to provide a service for them and I'm very excited about the opportunity.
So, these things, I'm taking to be hope from God - telling me - this is why. These opportunities are why. We are waiting - and He is our hope in the waiting.
Psalm 62:5-6
Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
September Update
Hello Family & Friends, 9/3/11
Just writing to give you a quick update on our adoption. . .
On September 6th, we have officially been on the waitlist for 4 months. When we first applied to adopt from Ethiopia, the wait time from Dossier submission to referral was only 4 months. That means, if things would have stayed that way, we’d be getting a picture of our sweet baby any day now. But – unfortunately, things have changed drastically. Now, wait time is 9-12 months. Because of all of the changes and increased wait times, our agency is no longer taking new applicants to the Ethiopia program. Though this is a temporary thing, it is still very sad – especially considering the 5 million orphans in Ethiopia alone! But, we are trying to stay patient in our waiting and know that God’s timing is perfect.
Becoming a Pampered Chef Consultant has proven to be a great thing for the adoption account. I love to stay busy and love doing the Pampered Chef shows. It feels even better to be able to put all the commission checks directly in to the adoption account!! So, if you every are thinking of having a Pampered Chef Show (cooking show or catalog show), please let me know.
Here is a break down of what is going on.
| 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 | $1000.00 | 5/20/11 | |
| Remainder of Program Fee – LSS | $750.00 | | Upon Referral |
| Dossier Fee – Holt | $3,000.00 | 5/6/11 | |
| Program Fee – Holt | $9,890.00 | | Upon Referral (have $6,000 grant and an additional $1715 in the bank for this). |
| Post Placement Fee – LSS | $1,300.00 | | Upon Referral |
| Trip 1 to Ethiopia | $8,000.00 (estimated) | | Upon Scheduled Travel Date |
| Trip 2 to Ethiopia | $8,000.00 (estimated) | | Upon Scheduled Travel Date |
FUNDRAISERS
Just Love Coffee: $5.00 to us for each bag of coffee sold www.justlovecoffee.com/TheThomas. This fundraiser is on-going until we travel to Ethiopia to bring our child home.
Lifesong for Orphans: Make a tax deductable donation. We have been told that they will continue to 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 40 202 N Ford Street Gridley, IL 61744.
Gazelle Gadget Fundraiser: We are hosting an online gadget drive through Gazelle and would love your support. You can visit our drive webpage at http://thomasadoption.gazelle.com. A gadget drive is a new way to fundraise that turns your used electronics (laptops, cell phones, MP3 players, digital cameras & more) into cash to support a cause. Contributing to our drive is simple. Just visit our drive webpage, find the value of the gadgets you would like to donate, and send them to Gazelle (shipping is free). The value will go to support our adoption from Ethiopia. If you would like to donate, please go to Thomas Adoption Gadget Drive (http://thomasadoption.gazelle.com) to learn more about our drive and track our progress. You will receive a confirmation of your donation by email, and we will be notified as soon as you make your donation.
PRAYER
- Finances to continue to come through. Successful fundraisers.
- Jaden working on recording his first album (all proceeds earned to go toward the adoption). He is working hard and hoping for a CD release date of late October! He has begun the recording process and it is going very well!!
- Our child (requesting 1 child age 0-12 months, either gender). He/she will go through mourning at the loss of his/her biological parent(s). We pray that this is a smooth transition and that he/she will stay safe and healthy in the orphanage until we are able to bring him/her home!!
- Our child’s birth parent(s) who will suffer a HUGE loss in relinquishing their child. That they may know God’s love for them and find some comfort that we are anxiously awaiting the opportunity to meet our child and bring him/her home!
Thank you all so much! We are very blessed by each of you!
The Thomas Family
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Focus on the Family
I was listening to a Focus on the Family message today about marriage and a 'commercial' that came on totally made me cry - imagine that. :) Anyway, it was about a man who was reading God's Word with his 4 year old son one evening and he read James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." His son was inquiring what an orphan was and just was amazed that there were actually kids in this world with out a mommy or a daddy. He began asking his dad 'why?' and explaining to his dad that they wouldn't be orphans any longer if they had a mom and dad to love them. From that night forward, the boy would set up little beds around their house at night with his blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals for the orphans that he figured they could make room for. One night, his dad went in to his room after he thought his son had been asleep for a while and, there, on his bedroom floor, he had created 3 'beds' for orphans. One of the beds had his very favorite stuffed animal on it. The boy told his dad that he figured they could fit three orphans in his room alone and how excited he was that these kids would be orphans no longer since they would now have a mommy and daddy. How precious. I can't wait to set up a little bed for our orphan that will no longer be an orphan with me as his or her mommy and the best dad in the world as his daddy!!!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
4K
Tomorrow morning, I get to take little Drew in for his 4K pictures. I can't believe the little guy is going to be in 4K this year. Oh and what a boy he has become! I just can't explain his sweet heart...
And then - then there is Carissa. :) Just kidding (kind of). Carissa is proving to give us a run for our money every single day. She has picked up some lovely habits - throwing sippy cups on the floor, food on the floor, running out in to the street, yelling mommy over and over and over and over until she finally gets a response... But she sure is sweet too. She just doesn't stop going and going and going. :) She's started combining words now - pointing out "daddy's eyes" "D's foot" "mommy's butt" - yep, "mommy's butt" is a frequently discussed topic by my little girl! :) And she knows pretty much every Sugarland song by heart now.
The kids are getting so big! Too big! Can't wait to add another crazy kid to this mix-up - I mean mix!! :)
And then - then there is Carissa. :) Just kidding (kind of). Carissa is proving to give us a run for our money every single day. She has picked up some lovely habits - throwing sippy cups on the floor, food on the floor, running out in to the street, yelling mommy over and over and over and over until she finally gets a response... But she sure is sweet too. She just doesn't stop going and going and going. :) She's started combining words now - pointing out "daddy's eyes" "D's foot" "mommy's butt" - yep, "mommy's butt" is a frequently discussed topic by my little girl! :) And she knows pretty much every Sugarland song by heart now.
The kids are getting so big! Too big! Can't wait to add another crazy kid to this mix-up - I mean mix!! :)
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
August Update
Hello Family & Friends, 8/3/11
Just writing to give you a quick update on our adoption. . .
On August 6th, we have officially been on the waitlist for 3 months. Those three months have been busy! Since we applied to the agency in the beginning of November, things have changed drastically for Ethiopia. Due to lots and lots of changes being made, the wait time for a referral has gotten much, much longer. Our agency, according to a message board I am on, has not even given out a referral since the end of May. I’m not certain as to why this is, but I do know that it looks like it will be a long wait for us. But, you never know. Things could also change for the better just as quickly as they seem to have changed for the worse! We keep praying every day for our little baby-to-be! J
A big thank you to everyone who took part in our Cousins Fundraiser in July! We raised $50.00 toward our adoption travel costs! We appreciate those of you who came out to Cousins that evening and took part in the fundraiser!
Becoming a Pampered Chef Consultant has also proven to be a great thing for the adoption account. I love doing the Pampered Chef shows and it feels even better to be able to put all the commission checks directly in to the adoption account!!
Here is a break down of what is going on.
| 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 | $1000.00 | 5/20/11 | |
| Remainder of Program Fee – LSS | $750.00 | | Upon Referral |
| Dossier Fee – Holt | $3,000.00 | 5/6/11 | |
| Program Fee – Holt | $9,890.00 | | Upon Referral (have $6,000 grant and an additional $1000 in the bank for this). |
| Post Placement Fee – LSS | $1,300.00 | | Upon Referral |
| Trip 1 to Ethiopia | $8,000.00 (estimated) | | Upon Scheduled Travel Date |
| Trip 2 to Ethiopia | $8,000.00 (estimated) | | Upon Scheduled Travel Date |
FUNDRAISERS
Just Love Coffee: $5.00 to us for each bag of coffee sold www.justlovecoffee.com/TheThomas. This fundraiser is on-going until we travel to Ethiopia to bring our child home.
Lifesong for Orphans: Make a tax deductable donation. We have been told that they will continue to 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 40 202 N Ford Street Gridley, IL 61744.
PRAYER
- Finances to continue to come through. Successful fundraisers. Grant money awarded.
- Jaden working on recording his first album (all proceeds earned to go toward the adoption). He is working hard and hoping for a CD release date of late October! He begins recording for the album NEXT Saturday! (hopefully this will happen this time).
- Our child (requesting 1 child age 0-12 months, either gender). He/she will go through mourning at the loss of his/her biological parent(s). We pray that this is a smooth transition and that he/she will stay safe and healthy in the orphanage until we are able to bring him/her home!!
- Our child’s birth parent(s) who will suffer a HUGE loss in relinquishing their child. That they may know God’s love for them and find some comfort that we are anxiously awaiting the opportunity to meet our child and bring him/her home!
Thank you all so much! We are very blessed by each of you!
The Thomas Family
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Ethiopia
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/session7media/the-ethiopia-projects-four-films-that-will-change
Please watch. This is where we will be going.
Please watch. This is where we will be going.
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