Movement on 'The List'

A few families who submitted their adoption paperwork on 1-3-11 and 1-14-11 and are also adopting from Ethiopia through the same agency just got their referral. We are about 4 months behind them... You know what that means? We could be 4 months from a referral and about 6 months from meeting new baby for the first time. Yeahhh. That's good news!!!

July Update (a few days early)

Just writing to give you a quick update on our adoption.

As of July 6th, we will be on the waitlist for 14 months. We received a pretty disappointing letter from our adoption agency just a few days ago saying that, because of lots of changes in the adoption process in Ethiopia, the wait times have continued (and are projected to continue) to get even longer. Just a few months ago, they were saying probably about 14 months wait time. Now they are saying probably much longer. They really have very little idea as far as projected wait times, so this is just their best guess at this time. I am trying to be patient, but I have to be honest that it is pretty difficult to do that.

Here is a break down of what is going on, financially, with the adoption.

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
Dossier Update Fee – Holt	$255.00	6/28/12	7/6/12
Program Fee – Holt	$9,890.00	saved	Upon Referral (have $6,000 in Show Hope Grant for this).
Post Placement Fee – LSS	$1,300.00		Upon Referral
Trip 1 to Ethiopia	$8,000.00 (estimated)		Upon Scheduled Travel Date (have $65 in the bank for this)
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.

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! This fundraiser will be on-going until we bring our child home.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• -          Finances to continue to come through and successful fundraisers.
• -          Patience and faith for both of us in this process.
• -          Jaden working on recording his first album (all proceeds earned to go toward the adoption). He is working hard. He has begun the recording process but it is taking longer than anticipated.

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

The Thomas Family

Home Study Updated

Our new social worker (still with Lutheran Social Services, but this part of the state) came out the other day to do our updated home study at our new house. It went well. Each of the kids just blurted out, "Mom, I love you." to me about 3 times each while she was here -- and I didn't even have to pay them!! :) And Drew pulled his little sister around the family room by her ankle (seriously, this was a first) in front of her. But, I'm pretty sure we passed none the less!! :) Jaden and I had the chance to once again explain the reason we decided to adopt and the reason we decided to adopt from Ethiopia. As I told our social worker, I have seen many people, over the past 20 months since our application was approved, decide to adopt from a different country instead of Ethiopia. But, we have just become so attached to Ethiopia - I just can't imagine switching. There is no doubt I think about our next baby and Ethiopia many, many times a day. Anyway, it got us excited all over again. She has no insight into what the time table may be for us, but she did say this happens with international adoption. They aren't lying when they say it isn't for the faint of heart. A friend of ours who have been waiting about 17 months knows another couple that just got a referral after waiting about 17 months. We have been waiting 14 months as of July 6th. At least we are (hopefully) on the tail end of the waiting! Anyway, just a quick update. :)

June Update

Just writing to give you a quick update on our adoption and to tell you about a GREAT fundraiser we have going on.

As of today, we have been on the waitlist for 13 months. We haven’t received any updates from our adoption agency in some time now. I am a member of a yahoo discussion board of couples adopting from Ethiopia through Holt as well and one of them said Holt told them it could be another 6 months to a year of waiting… This is not something I fully understand and it’s really got me down lately. One couple, adopting from Ethiopia as well but from a different agency waited 27 months for a referral (and then you still have about 5-6 months before bringing your child home).

Here is a break down of what is going on, financially, with the adoption.

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 $3715 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.

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! This fundraiser will be on-going until we bring our child home.

PRAYER REQUESTS

-          Finances to continue to come through and successful fundraisers.

-          Patience and faith for both of us in this process.

-          Jaden working on recording his first album (all proceeds earned to go toward the adoption). He is working hard. He has begun the recording process but it is taking longer than anticipated.

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

The Thomas Family

Emotional Day

It's been an emotional day around here today. 


Today is the 6 year anniversary of my Father-in-Law's new life - in Heaven with Jesus. I remember this day too vividly, as I know the rest of the family does as well. I have found that, sometimes, when someone close to you passes away, you can suppress some of those strong emotions (even though you don't realize you are doing it) for years. Then, just when you think you should be "moving on" better than this, it hits you like a mac-truck. I am a pro at suppressing emotions (call it denial or whatever you want), so I consider myself an expert of this topic. It's just hard for everyone, today, missing such a WONDERFUL man who was loved and respected by SO MANY.


We also got word, today, that some friends (co-workers of Jaden) who had twin babies over a month ago are headed to Children's with one of their boys for heart surgery. From reading their caringbridge, it sounds like there is an enlarged opening in his heart that usually closes up right after birth but they are going to have to go in and remedy the enlarged opening (I can't understand all the details, so I could have a lot of that way wrong). Anyway, with Carissa, I remember the doctors saying hers had not closed up and that they were grateful for this because, by the time they did the surgery, that was the only thing keeping her alive, as her aorta was nearly completely closed. Anyway, just hearing a bit of their story just makes my heart hurt SO much for them - as they head to Children's Hospital with one of the twins and await a surgery while the other twin sits at another hospital. Awww, it's just so hard. My heart just breaks for them, as this story is too familiar (but yet different) from ours.


Also, we have been on the adoption wait list for a year as of May 6th. When we signed up to adopt, the wait list was 4 months long. Now, it's 14+ months and they have only given out ONE referral in the past month (so probably more like 18-24 months wait time). :(


Life is so precious - no matter how it comes to be (in your heart or in your belly). Each day is truly a gift from God and, today, I am reminded to give Him the glory for it and live it for Him.


Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plansI have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Update and Fundraisers

Hello everyone. 

What a roller coaster! We get monthly updates from our adoption agency and, boy, this last one was a hard one to take. When we first decided to adopt from Ethiopia (October, 2011) the wait time from dossier (paperwork) submission to referral (assignment of a child) was about 4 months. When we turned in our dossier (May, 2011), the wait time was estimated to be 9-10 months. Well, we got an email two days ago saying that it is now over 14 months and they are expecting that time to increase even MORE in the up coming months. It broke my heart to read that because not only is that hard for us families that can't wait with excitement to meet 'our child', but it means more time in the orphanage for the over 5 million orphans in Ethiopia alone. And see, they are not excitedly waiting for a family. They are disparately waiting. And so my heart hurts. Not only longing for my 'new baby' to come 'home', but for allllll the many orphans sitting and wondering if they are to ever receive a new home with a family to call their own. It's got me thinking and praying about the whole situation quite a bit, but one thing I know - time to step up our fundraising (and penny pinching) efforts - so that when we do come up on the wait list, we are ready to jump on that plane (two round trips) and get that baby home! So, that being said, I want to start by saying a BIG, HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has given sooo generously of their time, talents, money for our family. I have repeatedly been blown away to hear about people praying for us along this journey, donating to our garage sale, purchasing food from the various fundraisers, hosting Pampered Chef Shows, participating in the fundraisers, donating money out of their own pockets to see us be able to take this on. Every single day I take time to be grateful to you all who have poured out your support. It AMAZES me beyond words.

I want to tell you, also, about the several fundraisers and donations you can make now, if you pray about it and feel led to give. Also, I wanted to make you aware of specific prayer requests that we would love to receive as well. The other day, I posted on facebook about the news of the delay in wait time, and I could seriously FEEL myself being lifted up in prayer just a few minutes after posting. I haven't felt prayers like that since our daughter was in the hospital shortly after she was born. Now, that I know is monumental for us.

Thank you all so much,

The Thomas Family

FUNDRAISERS

Just Love Coffee: $5.00 to us for each bag of coffee (various amounts for other items - check out the new mugs!) 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.

We are currently having a That’s My Pan! Fundraiser. You are more than welcome to browse the products online atwww.thatsmypan.com BUT you must contact Jennie to place your order. Jennie will be able to get you your items for cheaper than the prices listed online (including S&H). Please contact Jennie for a price list and, if you would like to order, please send her information via email.There are many products that would make SUPER Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or Wedding Gifts. All orders and payments are due by May 1^st.  If you live further away, we can ship it to you or find other means to getting it to you.

PRAYER REQUESTS

-          Finances to continue to come through and successful fundraisers.
         Patience and a peaceful heart for our family as we wait.
         For the 147 million orphans in the world (5 million in Ethiopia alone).
-          Jaden working on recording his first album (all proceeds earned to go toward the adoption). He is working hard. He has begun the recording process but it is   taking longer than anticipated. Please pray that he will be encouraged in the process and be able to find time to get significant work done on it and that we can have a completed album soon!

Waiting stinks.

Waiting stinks, and I am seeing a lot of it in our near future. I am crushed. Just received an email from our adoption agency saying that for families waiting for a child under 3 years of age timeframes are becoming longer than the 14 month estimation and will be increasing over the coming months. I thought I was ready months ago -- though I am TRYING to be patient and wait.