We've signed our contract (Praise God!) with Lifetime Adoption Center and now we need our Homestudy completed so we can actually bring a baby home!
The total cost of our Homestudy will end up being around $8,000. We need $2,000 of that to get us started and get our Homestudy report completed. We are resting in God's perfect timing and provision as we wait for Him to provide...and we have NO DOUBT that He will! Joyful in that!
We have 300 chocolate bars left out of our original 3,024! Would you like some delish chocolate and help us get one step closer to reaching our $2,000 immediate need??
Thank you! We praise God for who He has used to get us this far! The Body of Christ is beautiful and we are beyond humbled to be a part of it, due to God's gift of grace and mercy in our lives!
Showing posts with label Fundraising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fundraising. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Adoption Update #6 - Contract Time!
You know that feeling when God opens a door that you thought was closed for awhile longer?? That feeling of excitement, humility, PRAISE, and in awe of God? Well, that's what we're experiencing this evening.
Today God opened the door for us to sign our contract with Lifetime Adoption Center at a huge discount! A $6,000 discount! We jumped at the opportunity. So after electronically signing our contract and emptying out our Adoption Fund, we are now officially a "waiting family".
Last week we took a step of faith and decided to start our homestudy in order to apply for grants to help offset our adoption costs, and today God provided us this discount (equivalent to receiving a couple of grants!).
We still have much more money to raise and we'll continue to sell our delish chocolate bars to help with that. Chocolate anyone?! :) Our fundraising goal is still $20,000...of which we have already received $8,000! This $8,000 went directly to Lifetime Adoption Center. (To see a breakdown of our adoption costs, click HERE.)
So now we work to get our homestudy done, prepare our 50+ "Dear Birthmother" packets to show how fabulous we are (insert gleaming smile!), and wait to be "matched" with our birthmom. This is now the busy phase! Tons of paperwork and mailings! All totally worth it! :)
We're one step closer to meeting the next child God has planned for us and we're thrilled. Completely thrilled!
Today God opened the door for us to sign our contract with Lifetime Adoption Center at a huge discount! A $6,000 discount! We jumped at the opportunity. So after electronically signing our contract and emptying out our Adoption Fund, we are now officially a "waiting family".
Last week we took a step of faith and decided to start our homestudy in order to apply for grants to help offset our adoption costs, and today God provided us this discount (equivalent to receiving a couple of grants!).
We still have much more money to raise and we'll continue to sell our delish chocolate bars to help with that. Chocolate anyone?! :) Our fundraising goal is still $20,000...of which we have already received $8,000! This $8,000 went directly to Lifetime Adoption Center. (To see a breakdown of our adoption costs, click HERE.)
So now we work to get our homestudy done, prepare our 50+ "Dear Birthmother" packets to show how fabulous we are (insert gleaming smile!), and wait to be "matched" with our birthmom. This is now the busy phase! Tons of paperwork and mailings! All totally worth it! :)
We're one step closer to meeting the next child God has planned for us and we're thrilled. Completely thrilled!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Adoption Update #4
I just got to change the amount on our fundraising thermometer...see it there on the right?? I am moved to tears this morning as I reflect on this huge blessing!!
God used a blessed couple to double...yes, DOUBLE, the amount in our Adoption Fund!!! This dear couple saved up this money just to present it to us & all for GOD'S GLORY! This gift is totally from God! We are speechless, moved to tears, humbled, joyful, and excited! God is working and we get to watch His plan unfold!!
We now have $7,000 in our Adoption Fund! Only $6,500 more til we can sign our contract with Lifetime Adoption Center if that's what God has planned for us!
God used a blessed couple to double...yes, DOUBLE, the amount in our Adoption Fund!!! This dear couple saved up this money just to present it to us & all for GOD'S GLORY! This gift is totally from God! We are speechless, moved to tears, humbled, joyful, and excited! God is working and we get to watch His plan unfold!!
We now have $7,000 in our Adoption Fund! Only $6,500 more til we can sign our contract with Lifetime Adoption Center if that's what God has planned for us!
"'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"
~ Jeremiah 29:11 ~
Friday, June 8, 2012
Creativity with Chocolate Bars!
Here and there we are hearing stories from our friends as to how people are responding to our adoption story via our chocolate bar sales! All for God's glory! And this story is no different! Read on...
A friend of ours, who lives in Alaska, bought 50 chocolate bars from us (what a blessing!) and she made 50 copies of our adoption flyer and attached them to each bar. She then had her kids hand them out at their high school as an anti-abortion message! Creative! I love it!! :)
Will you join me in praying for those high schoolers and that if God wills, their lives be changed because they ate a candy bar with a message attached?
A friend of ours, who lives in Alaska, bought 50 chocolate bars from us (what a blessing!) and she made 50 copies of our adoption flyer and attached them to each bar. She then had her kids hand them out at their high school as an anti-abortion message! Creative! I love it!! :)
Will you join me in praying for those high schoolers and that if God wills, their lives be changed because they ate a candy bar with a message attached?
When we first started our fundraising, the impatient side of me wished we could get a loan and quickly move forward...in MY timing! But 1,000 times over we've been blessed by waiting on God's timing. We are blessed every day by a story, a candy bar being bought, a check arriving in the mail, and having strangers bless the socks off of us! It's slow and I have days where I struggle with trusting in God's timing as we ache to hold ALL our kids. But God is leading and we are following. If God leads us to take a loan out, then we'll obey....but for today, we wait on God to use others to provide & be a precious part of our adoption story!
As of today we have $3,400 in our Adoption Fund! Praising God!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Italian Food...yummmm
We've been blessed by this opportunity: for every order over $20, the Famighetti Italian Pantry will donate $5 towards our Adoption Fund!!! Celebrate Father's Day with some amazing Italian food & coffee! :) Thank you Pete!!
www.italianpantry.com
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Adoption Update #3
This is where we need your help: Please help our adoption fund get FAT instead of us! :)
Chocolate Bars are just $2.00 each so if you'd like one, or two, or a bunch...just let us know! If you're local, we'll deliver and if you're not, we'll mail! :) All donations go directly into our family Adoption Fund.
Out of the 3,024 chocolate bars that we started with (wow...never did the math until now!) we have only 396 left so sell!!!! We have the most AMAZING family & friends who have generously helped us sell the previous 2,628 bars!! The money is starting to come in and our Adoption Fund now has $3,108. Once all the bars are sold and all the money has been collected, our account should hold over $6,000!! What a BLESSING! (Our choc bars are being sold in these states: AK, WA, CA, NV, CO, TN, WI)
We will still need $14,000 more to reach our $20,000 goal! We know in God's perfect timing (& provision) that we will get there! We pray for our future children daily and can't wait to meet them and hold them.
Three weeks ago we had our first Dine & Donate restaurant night in northern California at Mary's Pizza Shack. yummy! It was a fun night of seeing dear friends and meeting new ones. THANK YOU to all of you who were there and to those of you who did take-out! Of the families that came out to support us, Mary's Pizza donated 20% of their bill to our adoption fund. The total: $143.00! We are blessed by every penny!
Still to come...a Reno Dine & Donate night TBD!
P.S...and on a personal side note: If you ever hear of or know of a birthfamily who is choosing adoption for their precious child, please tell them about us. We would LOVE to adopt their child! We are fundraising to go through an agency, but we are open to whatever avenue God has planned to bring home our children!!
Thank you!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Blessings
It's amazing to me how the Body of Christ works. We're all sinners and yet by the grace & forgiveness of God through Christ's death on the cross we are new creations! We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are working together to do the work of our Father, to glorify Him with our lives, to reach out & love on & minister to the lost.
This morning I'm reflecting on the selfless love we are receiving from the Body. Old friends, new friends, and even those we don't know are helping us in our efforts to raise money for our next adoption. We're humbled, blessed, & feelin' oh so loved upon. All this is for God's glory! We pray that our lives are a witness of Christ and that through our story, some may come to know Him.
The donations we are receiving with our chocolate bars are above and beyond. Some are paying $20/bar, some are donating and not taking any bars, some are buying a box or two worth, many have volunteered & are selling the boxes for us! Blessed, blessed, & blessed.
We recently had our Santa Rosa "Dine & Donate" night at Mary's Pizza Shack! 20% of around 50 families orders will be donated into our adoption fund! We should receive the total check in about a month. THANK YOU Mary's Pizza Shack & THANK YOU to everyone who attended!!
Again I say, Blessed, Blessed, & Blessed!
We are still a long way from our goal, but we joyfully rest in God's plan. If you're craving chocolate after reading this we still have plenty of yummy goodness just waiting for you! :) Choices: Krispy, Caramel (our favorite!), & Almond. If you're local, we'll deliver! And if you're not, we'll ship!
Thank you!
This morning I'm reflecting on the selfless love we are receiving from the Body. Old friends, new friends, and even those we don't know are helping us in our efforts to raise money for our next adoption. We're humbled, blessed, & feelin' oh so loved upon. All this is for God's glory! We pray that our lives are a witness of Christ and that through our story, some may come to know Him.
The donations we are receiving with our chocolate bars are above and beyond. Some are paying $20/bar, some are donating and not taking any bars, some are buying a box or two worth, many have volunteered & are selling the boxes for us! Blessed, blessed, & blessed.
We recently had our Santa Rosa "Dine & Donate" night at Mary's Pizza Shack! 20% of around 50 families orders will be donated into our adoption fund! We should receive the total check in about a month. THANK YOU Mary's Pizza Shack & THANK YOU to everyone who attended!!
Again I say, Blessed, Blessed, & Blessed!
We are still a long way from our goal, but we joyfully rest in God's plan. If you're craving chocolate after reading this we still have plenty of yummy goodness just waiting for you! :) Choices: Krispy, Caramel (our favorite!), & Almond. If you're local, we'll deliver! And if you're not, we'll ship!
Thank you!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Where The Money Goes ~
I realized that this blog, one of my therapeutic & creative outlets, has become all about our adoption road. No apologizes! Adoption is awesome!! Praying for, preparing for, and working hard to raise $$ for this road is almost all consuming right now in all 3 of us....hence the adoption "overtake" here! :)
Our road has been bumpy lately and I am longing for the day when our next child is home with us and I can mentally get back to posting fun things like recipes, pics of the fam, & the excitement of life itself! So for now, Thank You for supporting us right where we are.
Our heartache from earlier this month (if you missed it you can read it HERE) is hitting Colin harder now and it breaks our hearts. Almost every day in tears he says, "I miss my brother and I want him to come back to us." etc. etc. It has made for some wonderful talks about God and trusting Him and waiting on Him. It has also put more determination in our hearts to do what we can to raise the necessary funds to bring home the baby God has planned for us...and the rest - we wait on God for.
The adoption road is long, emotional, hard (at times) and expensive and unless you've been through it, it's hard to understand what's involved. So, I thought I'd write it out. :)
The goal we are trying to reach is $20,000 and that is most likely the minimum that we will need. See here:
(These steps are in order.)
* Homestudy - $8,002.50 +/-
-Breakdown:
-Home Visit & Report: $1,900
-Background Checks/Fingerprinting: $102.50
-Birthmom Counseling/Consent (req'd in NV): $2,800 (+ $500 if birthfather does this separately)
-Online Courses (NV req'd) & overnighting paperwork fees: $200
-Post Placement Visits (total of 6 - NV req'd): $1,800
-Interstate Contract (if birthmom lives in another state) $700
* Lifetime Adoption Center - $15,997
-To sign our contract with them and start getting shown to birthmoms. This price includes our returning family discount ($1,000). Once we get closer to signing, we will apply for a grant that could give us up to $2,500 towards the cost.
* Lawyer - $3,325 - $3,425
* Lawyer for Birthparents - TBD
-If our birthmom lives in another state
* Birthmom Expenses - TBD
-Anything from clothes to hospital bill
* Travel Expenses - TBD
-Airline travel, hotel, food, rental car/gas, etc. if baby is born in another city/state.
So we pray for the children God has planned for us through our hours of paperwork, fundraising, phone calls, and home visits. We do all of it for God's glory!
To see how you can help us reach our goal and bring us one step closer to meeting our child, HERE is our current fundraising plans! THANK YOU for your generosity and prayers!
Our road has been bumpy lately and I am longing for the day when our next child is home with us and I can mentally get back to posting fun things like recipes, pics of the fam, & the excitement of life itself! So for now, Thank You for supporting us right where we are.
Our heartache from earlier this month (if you missed it you can read it HERE) is hitting Colin harder now and it breaks our hearts. Almost every day in tears he says, "I miss my brother and I want him to come back to us." etc. etc. It has made for some wonderful talks about God and trusting Him and waiting on Him. It has also put more determination in our hearts to do what we can to raise the necessary funds to bring home the baby God has planned for us...and the rest - we wait on God for.
The adoption road is long, emotional, hard (at times) and expensive and unless you've been through it, it's hard to understand what's involved. So, I thought I'd write it out. :)
The goal we are trying to reach is $20,000 and that is most likely the minimum that we will need. See here:
(These steps are in order.)
* Homestudy - $8,002.50 +/-
-Breakdown:
-Home Visit & Report: $1,900
-Background Checks/Fingerprinting: $102.50
-Birthmom Counseling/Consent (req'd in NV): $2,800 (+ $500 if birthfather does this separately)
-Online Courses (NV req'd) & overnighting paperwork fees: $200
-Post Placement Visits (total of 6 - NV req'd): $1,800
-Interstate Contract (if birthmom lives in another state) $700
* Lifetime Adoption Center - $15,997
-To sign our contract with them and start getting shown to birthmoms. This price includes our returning family discount ($1,000). Once we get closer to signing, we will apply for a grant that could give us up to $2,500 towards the cost.
* Lawyer - $3,325 - $3,425
* Lawyer for Birthparents - TBD
-If our birthmom lives in another state
* Birthmom Expenses - TBD
-Anything from clothes to hospital bill
* Travel Expenses - TBD
-Airline travel, hotel, food, rental car/gas, etc. if baby is born in another city/state.
So we pray for the children God has planned for us through our hours of paperwork, fundraising, phone calls, and home visits. We do all of it for God's glory!
To see how you can help us reach our goal and bring us one step closer to meeting our child, HERE is our current fundraising plans! THANK YOU for your generosity and prayers!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Fundraising in Full Swing!
Thank you to all our family and friends for being such a special part of our lives & loving us & supporting us & praying for us!
We have 5 different ways you can help us reach our fundraising goal of $20,000 if God so moves your heart! (We currently have $2,570 of that already raised - Praise God!)
1. Adoption Prayer Bracelets (click here) - A physical reminder to pray for us and all families touched by adoption. $3.74 of each sale goes towards our Adoption Fund!
2. Door Muffs - for your generous donation of any amount, we'll mail you a door muff as our "Thank You"! Please list your fabric & ribbon colors at time of donation.
**Donations can be given through our Donate Paypal buttons or mailed to us directly.
(Email us to get our home address: sweetdreams.tami@gmail.com)**
We have 5 different ways you can help us reach our fundraising goal of $20,000 if God so moves your heart! (We currently have $2,570 of that already raised - Praise God!)
1. Adoption Prayer Bracelets (click here) - A physical reminder to pray for us and all families touched by adoption. $3.74 of each sale goes towards our Adoption Fund!
2. Door Muffs - for your generous donation of any amount, we'll mail you a door muff as our "Thank You"! Please list your fabric & ribbon colors at time of donation.**Donations can be given through our Donate Paypal buttons or mailed to us directly.
(Email us to get our home address: sweetdreams.tami@gmail.com)**
Thank you for being such a special part of helping us bring our next child home!!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
What Does God Have In Store For Us This Year?!
Happy New Year! It is the second week of January 2012 already...I can't believe how fast the holidays flew by (like they do every year)! We are praising God for all the blessings in our life and one that has been abundant these last couple months is our small home-based business! God surprised us by having someone (thank you to who ever you are!!) put our Door Muffs on Pinterest.com just before Thanksgiving! What an unexpected financial gift that has come along with that! Over 16,000 people have viewed our sweet lil' door muffs (that we designed ourselves!) and over 70 have been purchased...along with quilts and burp cloths! The orders keep coming every day and I am busy sewing and mailing!
I just love it and feel so shocked and blessed by God's provision, which came at the perfect time! If you feel like checking out our Store, here's the link: Sweet Dreams by Tami - Online Baby Boutique
Adoption Update # 2.5....only half an update because there is not much to update. So Christmas came and went and as you might have guessed, I did not find a baby in my stocking this year! :) We are mailing out more fundraising letters each week and are waiting for God's perfect provisions! Yesterday we received $250 to put in our "Baby Fund" from two wonderful and generous friends. We are so thankful and blessed by every penny! So we keep on waiting and trusting and moving forward with the life God has for us right now.
The running tally for our "Baby Fund" is: $1,680....with $18,320 to go! We are also praying and waiting to see if we receive a grant from Lifetime Adoption to help lower the cost to sign our contract with them. We are hoping to find out this week!
We have no idea what God has in store for us this year! But we know it will be amazing...even if there are bumps and turns that we wish we could avoid....because God is the Lord of our life and He alone has planned our steps...where ever they take us! Our eyes are turned heavenward and we trust and serve and love our God!
Thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, and encouraging words! They mean the world to us!
I just love it and feel so shocked and blessed by God's provision, which came at the perfect time! If you feel like checking out our Store, here's the link: Sweet Dreams by Tami - Online Baby BoutiqueAdoption Update # 2.5....only half an update because there is not much to update. So Christmas came and went and as you might have guessed, I did not find a baby in my stocking this year! :) We are mailing out more fundraising letters each week and are waiting for God's perfect provisions! Yesterday we received $250 to put in our "Baby Fund" from two wonderful and generous friends. We are so thankful and blessed by every penny! So we keep on waiting and trusting and moving forward with the life God has for us right now.
The running tally for our "Baby Fund" is: $1,680....with $18,320 to go! We are also praying and waiting to see if we receive a grant from Lifetime Adoption to help lower the cost to sign our contract with them. We are hoping to find out this week!
We have no idea what God has in store for us this year! But we know it will be amazing...even if there are bumps and turns that we wish we could avoid....because God is the Lord of our life and He alone has planned our steps...where ever they take us! Our eyes are turned heavenward and we trust and serve and love our God!
Thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, and encouraging words! They mean the world to us!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Adoption Update #2
Christmas is just three days away and oh how I'm hoping that I find a precious baby in my stocking this year! :)
Our hearts are aching to meet our children and our arms are aching to hold them. The last few weeks have been emotional for me with the ups and downs of waiting....and choosing to make the conscience choice to turn my heart and desires over to God every second of the day. God is FAITHFUL and the little boy playing next to me is the perfect example of that! Colin brings me (us!) so much joy and fills my (our!) heart to overflowing with thanksgiving to God for making the three of us a family!! Really, what more could I want...and if God chooses not to give us any more children then I am extremely happy with the beautiful little family God alone has created.
God has given Dustin and I an overwhelming desire and love for children, so we continue to wait and see what glorious plan He has for our family!
For God's GLORY we were given $1,000 to add to our "baby fund" this past week raising our "baby fund" to $1,430! We are praising God for what He is doing in His PERFECT timing! We have $18,570 more to go to reach our $20,000 goal. In the next couple of weeks we'll be mailing out more letters to our friends asking for their help in reaching our goal if God wills. So keep an eye on your mailbox! :)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
All our love,
Dustin, Tami, & Colin
Our hearts are aching to meet our children and our arms are aching to hold them. The last few weeks have been emotional for me with the ups and downs of waiting....and choosing to make the conscience choice to turn my heart and desires over to God every second of the day. God is FAITHFUL and the little boy playing next to me is the perfect example of that! Colin brings me (us!) so much joy and fills my (our!) heart to overflowing with thanksgiving to God for making the three of us a family!! Really, what more could I want...and if God chooses not to give us any more children then I am extremely happy with the beautiful little family God alone has created.
God has given Dustin and I an overwhelming desire and love for children, so we continue to wait and see what glorious plan He has for our family!
For God's GLORY we were given $1,000 to add to our "baby fund" this past week raising our "baby fund" to $1,430! We are praising God for what He is doing in His PERFECT timing! We have $18,570 more to go to reach our $20,000 goal. In the next couple of weeks we'll be mailing out more letters to our friends asking for their help in reaching our goal if God wills. So keep an eye on your mailbox! :)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
All our love,
Dustin, Tami, & Colin
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Adoption Update #1
So today I sit here thankful for all God is doing in our lives. His plan is perfect and we are (trying to) patiently wait for His perfect timing!
We are praying constantly for our future children and also that God will protect the birthfamilies and beautifully weave our paths together.
We have raised $430 towards our $20,000 goal. We praise God for every penny and for our amazing friends and family who have helped us be one step closer to our goal! We continue to pray for God's provision and to joyfully wait to see what God has planned. We know it's gonna be amazing!
We are praying constantly for our future children and also that God will protect the birthfamilies and beautifully weave our paths together.
We have raised $430 towards our $20,000 goal. We praise God for every penny and for our amazing friends and family who have helped us be one step closer to our goal! We continue to pray for God's provision and to joyfully wait to see what God has planned. We know it's gonna be amazing!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Growing Our Family
To All Our Family & Friends,
We are moving forward with our next adoption! Our original hopes were to adopt within our city through our Social Services department, but God has closed that door. We have now decided to go through Lifetime Adoption Center (again!) to bring our baby home.
After two years of waiting on God's perfect timing, we are more than ready to fill our arms with more children and brothers/sisters for Colin. We rest fully in the fact that God knows who our children are and how they will come to be ours. We know God hasn't said, "Oh yeah, Dustin and Tami (with a smack to the forehead)! OK, where's that baby?" :)
The beautiful story of how God will bring this baby to us is just beginning and we need your help. We are humbling asking for your support! The cost will be above $20,000 which is why we are coming to you with this request. Our desire is to have as many kids as the Lord sees fit to bless us with and adoption happens to be the only mechanism for this to happen. The cost of adoption is great and we are unable to do it alone. God amazingly provided all that we needed 5 years ago to bring Colin home and we trust that He will do it again in His timing.
Will you also please pray for the birthfamily? Pray that God would graciously give them a peace and a confidence in their decision to lovingly give their baby a better life (with us). Please pray for wisdom and patience for everything we'll face along the way. Pray for spiritual and physical protection of the birthmom and that she might come to know the Lord, if she doesn't already.
Any gracious donations can be made here on this blog via our Paypal "Donate" button, on our facebook page via our Fundrazr "Give" button, or directly to us. You can reach us through email at sweetdreams.tami@gmail.com.
Any gracious donations can be made here on this blog via our Paypal "Donate" button, on our facebook page via our Fundrazr "Give" button, or directly to us. You can reach us through email at sweetdreams.tami@gmail.com.
We deeply thank you for your love, support, care and prayers. God has blessed us with amazing friends and family. Thank you for being a special part of our life.
Dustin & Tami & Colin
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