Dear Baby girl,
In America, we have a humorous saying that is frequently scrawled across pictures of tropical vacation escapes, or scenic views along well-travelled highways; that saying is "Wish You Were Here!" That saying has taken on new meaning for your daddy and me, we wish you were here.
All the stores in town, our house, and even your bedroom have already been decorated for Christmas. Do you celebrate Christmas where you are? Have you ever seen or heard of Santa? Do you have a stocking hung somewhere with your name on it? Here you have all those things - things every child should have. We wish you were here.
Tomorrow your daddy and I are going to see the Nutcracker, a ballet written and choreographed in Russia! Have you ever heard the story of the Nutcracker? Do you know what a ballerina is? Have you ever heard music by Tchaikovsky? Next year we will take you to The Nutcracker, and you can dream of being a ballerina - if that's what you want. We wish you were here.
On Sunday we're going to celebrate your Grandpa's birthday. Do you celebrate your birthday in Russia? Have you ever had a birthday cake all your own? Or blown out birthday candles? Have you ever opened presents? Put a bow on your head after ripping it off a gift? We will do all of those things with you. We wish you were here.
In order to bring you home there is SO MUCH to be done. I wish you knew how many people already love you without ever having met you. Our family and friends are working so hard to help us bring you home.
I wish you knew how excited everyone is to greet you.
I wish you were here.
Love,
Mommy
Friday, November 30, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Financing A Way Home
One of the reasons we didn't consider an international adoption from the get-go was the drastic increase in costs. As a cash-only household, we have been relying on a family loan to fund an adoption, and therefore we pursued a domestic adoption, which generally occur with much lower costs. That was, of course, until we heard about Alissa.
It's hard to describe to someone who may not have ever experienced this process, but we are absolutely convinced that this little girl is for us, and we are for her. Now we need to bring her home.
We were not anticipating a cost this large. Then again, we were not anticipating to have our hearts stolen! We feel that we are very much behind-the-ball, as we now need to work as quickly as we can to secure the funds to adopt her. Here is our financial picture as it looks today:
FEES:
Placing agency ................................ $33,000
Travel Expenses .............................. $10,150+
- Airfare: approx. $7000 ($1,000/person per trip, need 3 trips; plus $1,000 for Alissa's flight home)
- Accommodations: approx. $2,100 (staying in hostels with free breakfast)
1st trip) 5-7 days, stay in hostel 6 nights = $600
2nd trip) 5 days, stay in hostel 4 nights = $400
3rd trip) 10-11 days, stay in hostel 10 nights = $1,000
- Food: $1,150 (planning $25/person per day)
Post Placement Visits ...................... $800
Total Fees: $43,950
DISCOUNTS & LOANS:
Placing agency possible discount ..... $3,000
Placing agency possible loan ............ $7,500 (@ 3%/ 5 years)
Total Fees minus possible discounts and loans: $33,450
CASH ON HAND:
Family loan account .................... approx. $15,000 (this is a family loan we will need to repay)
BALANCE REMAINING: $18,450
We also learned this week that Stan will have to be away from work, unpaid, for our three trips to Russia. He does not earn vacation until March, and Paternity leave will be unpaid leave. This adds an additional expense of approximately $1,500.
OUR FUNDRAISING GOAL: $20,000
We have applied for a few grants, and we pray daily that God would provide in that way. However, we also realize that there is no guarantee that we'll be awarded those grants, as there are many people applying for those same funds.
If you feel called to help us bring our dream home from Russia, in any way, we will never be able to thank you enough. You can donate by simply clicking the "Help Bring Alissa Home!" button on the right side of every page of this blog. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for helping us bring our little girl home.
We also appreciate any and every gift of prayer and positivity sent on our behalf. Our arms ache to hold our little girl on the other side of the world. We literally wait with baited breath as this situation unfolds. We have treasured and hold close every kind and caring word that you have said to us, and hope that, soon, we will be celebrating a long-awaited welcome home!
It's hard to describe to someone who may not have ever experienced this process, but we are absolutely convinced that this little girl is for us, and we are for her. Now we need to bring her home.
We were not anticipating a cost this large. Then again, we were not anticipating to have our hearts stolen! We feel that we are very much behind-the-ball, as we now need to work as quickly as we can to secure the funds to adopt her. Here is our financial picture as it looks today:
FEES:
Placing agency ................................ $33,000
Travel Expenses .............................. $10,150+
- Airfare: approx. $7000 ($1,000/person per trip, need 3 trips; plus $1,000 for Alissa's flight home)
- Accommodations: approx. $2,100 (staying in hostels with free breakfast)
1st trip) 5-7 days, stay in hostel 6 nights = $600
2nd trip) 5 days, stay in hostel 4 nights = $400
3rd trip) 10-11 days, stay in hostel 10 nights = $1,000
- Food: $1,150 (planning $25/person per day)
Post Placement Visits ...................... $800
Total Fees: $43,950
DISCOUNTS & LOANS:
Placing agency possible discount ..... $3,000
Placing agency possible loan ............ $7,500 (@ 3%/ 5 years)
Total Fees minus possible discounts and loans: $33,450
CASH ON HAND:
Family loan account .................... approx. $15,000 (this is a family loan we will need to repay)
BALANCE REMAINING: $18,450
We also learned this week that Stan will have to be away from work, unpaid, for our three trips to Russia. He does not earn vacation until March, and Paternity leave will be unpaid leave. This adds an additional expense of approximately $1,500.
OUR FUNDRAISING GOAL: $20,000
We have applied for a few grants, and we pray daily that God would provide in that way. However, we also realize that there is no guarantee that we'll be awarded those grants, as there are many people applying for those same funds.
If you feel called to help us bring our dream home from Russia, in any way, we will never be able to thank you enough. You can donate by simply clicking the "Help Bring Alissa Home!" button on the right side of every page of this blog. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for helping us bring our little girl home.
We also appreciate any and every gift of prayer and positivity sent on our behalf. Our arms ache to hold our little girl on the other side of the world. We literally wait with baited breath as this situation unfolds. We have treasured and hold close every kind and caring word that you have said to us, and hope that, soon, we will be celebrating a long-awaited welcome home!
From Russia With Love
I've been told that when you're in the process of adopting, things can either move so slowly you might as well be watching paint dry, or so fast you might get whiplash. The latter happened to us last week.
After waiting since April of this year with an approved home study and absolutely no movement, we began to get frustrated and discouraged. On Monday, I met a man at our Rotary Club meeting who had been conversing with my dad (also a Rotary Club member) at their table, and he mentioned that he and his wife had adopted two children from an agency in the Chicago area. He gushed about this agency and how great their kids are. He gave me the name of his agency and his business card and I thanked him for the suggestion - never really putting much hope in now trying to connect to an additional agency and having anything come of it.
The next day, Tuesday, I thought I'd take a chance and email the person at the agency who was in charge of domestic adoptions - as we currently only have an approved domestic home study. First thing Wednesday morning I had an email in my inbox from the founder of the agency asking me to call - she had options! Immediately I picked up the phone and began the most encouraging conversation I've had in this entire process. She was amazing. And then she suggested something I never would have anticipated. Would we consider an international adoption? And would we be open to adopting a child who is HIV+?
Quite honestly we had sort of put away the idea of adopting internationally because of the tremendous cost - more than double what we were planning to pay for a domestic adoption with our agency in town. The thought of an international adoption had never really re-entered our minds. As we continued to talk, she told me about a little girl in Russia, desperately in need of a loving, accepting home. I don't think I'll ever be able to explain the overwhelming feeling I had in that moment. In that moment we felt only pure love and concern for this little girl, thousands of miles away, waiting for her parents. In a true out-of-body moment I heard myself say to the social worker, "I would have to check with my husband, but yes, I think we would definitely be interested!" We would?! Holy CRAP! We agreed that I would check with my husband about this new surprise, and get back in touch. In the meantime she would contact the placing agency and get more details and possibly some pictures.
Well, I called my husband. He didn't even hesitate. It was like, of course we would consider it - how could we not?! (My husband is awesome - by the way. I'll admit I have some pretty outlandish ideas every once in a while - but this was a doozy. He didn't even flinch. Ah-mazing.) The more we talked about it, the more the Spirit seemed to move in both of us, and the more we felt like we were being called to this little girl - that she was for us, and we were for her.
On Friday the placing agency sent us some pictures. Is it strange that someone half a world away can look just like you? She does. She looks just like me.
Now is the hard part. The part of finding the financial and logistical pathways to bringing her home. I know that not everyone can help in a financial way, so I will put our financial outline in another post. But everyone can PRAY. If, however, you are able to help support us, we invite you to check out this post and, as you are able and feel led to do so, you can contribute to our From Russia With Love fund. One hundred percent of the funds raised will go directly to our expenses, which we anticipate to be more than $46,000.
We are more excited than ever that this little girl has been placed in our path and in our hearts. We will be posting more when there is more to say, so stay tuned! And thanks, as always, for joining us as we travel this jamaa journey!
After waiting since April of this year with an approved home study and absolutely no movement, we began to get frustrated and discouraged. On Monday, I met a man at our Rotary Club meeting who had been conversing with my dad (also a Rotary Club member) at their table, and he mentioned that he and his wife had adopted two children from an agency in the Chicago area. He gushed about this agency and how great their kids are. He gave me the name of his agency and his business card and I thanked him for the suggestion - never really putting much hope in now trying to connect to an additional agency and having anything come of it.
The next day, Tuesday, I thought I'd take a chance and email the person at the agency who was in charge of domestic adoptions - as we currently only have an approved domestic home study. First thing Wednesday morning I had an email in my inbox from the founder of the agency asking me to call - she had options! Immediately I picked up the phone and began the most encouraging conversation I've had in this entire process. She was amazing. And then she suggested something I never would have anticipated. Would we consider an international adoption? And would we be open to adopting a child who is HIV+?
Quite honestly we had sort of put away the idea of adopting internationally because of the tremendous cost - more than double what we were planning to pay for a domestic adoption with our agency in town. The thought of an international adoption had never really re-entered our minds. As we continued to talk, she told me about a little girl in Russia, desperately in need of a loving, accepting home. I don't think I'll ever be able to explain the overwhelming feeling I had in that moment. In that moment we felt only pure love and concern for this little girl, thousands of miles away, waiting for her parents. In a true out-of-body moment I heard myself say to the social worker, "I would have to check with my husband, but yes, I think we would definitely be interested!" We would?! Holy CRAP! We agreed that I would check with my husband about this new surprise, and get back in touch. In the meantime she would contact the placing agency and get more details and possibly some pictures.
Well, I called my husband. He didn't even hesitate. It was like, of course we would consider it - how could we not?! (My husband is awesome - by the way. I'll admit I have some pretty outlandish ideas every once in a while - but this was a doozy. He didn't even flinch. Ah-mazing.) The more we talked about it, the more the Spirit seemed to move in both of us, and the more we felt like we were being called to this little girl - that she was for us, and we were for her.
On Friday the placing agency sent us some pictures. Is it strange that someone half a world away can look just like you? She does. She looks just like me.
Now is the hard part. The part of finding the financial and logistical pathways to bringing her home. I know that not everyone can help in a financial way, so I will put our financial outline in another post. But everyone can PRAY. If, however, you are able to help support us, we invite you to check out this post and, as you are able and feel led to do so, you can contribute to our From Russia With Love fund. One hundred percent of the funds raised will go directly to our expenses, which we anticipate to be more than $46,000.
We are more excited than ever that this little girl has been placed in our path and in our hearts. We will be posting more when there is more to say, so stay tuned! And thanks, as always, for joining us as we travel this jamaa journey!
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