Cha-Ching

Cha-Ching

I have said before that the adoption process is one that ebbs and flows. It can also be described as a "Hurry up and wait" kind of process! We are in the "HURRY UP" and "flow" part of the process. In just TWO days we will complete our final of four interviews for the lengthy home study process. This means paperwork, background checks, pictures,  and home tours for this part of the process will be done!

No sooner is this done than we will have a lot MORE paperwork to fill out for our dossier. The Dossier is a large packet of documents from the home study, as well as additional documents that must be collected and authenticated and added to the home study documents.

Please pray that we will:

• have no glitches in this next process of collecting and authenticating
• have the needed funds to complete the process and send our dossier to China.
• be approved for grants that we will begin applying for now.

God has blessed us immensely through your support and generosity over these last 3 months! We have not missed a step and are making incredible strides towards "finding" our daughter in China. Thanks to Chick-fil-A, Adoption-ade Mary-Kay, and your generosity, we will make our next large payment this week!

These next 6 weeks will be some of the most challenging in terms of fundraising. Once our immigration forms are returned to us we will be ready to send our dossier to China. At this time there will be approximately $6,000 in fees due! This seems like an astronomical feat to me! But I keep my "theme song" on repeat, "No Such Thing as Impossible" by Building 429.:) We know that God provides where he guides and that His timing is perfect! He has been faithful thus far, we will not find him unfaithful in the future!

Team Secrest t-shirts will be on sale through September 30th for $20!

"How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son." Ephesians 1:4-5 The Message

In the meantime, we are really looking forward to our upcoming fundraiser at the Comedy Caravan! I don't know about you, but we are in desperate need of a date night AND some laughter! We would love to pack out the house with 200 of our closest friends! Would you consider getting a group together and joining us on October 16th?

Thank you for your prayers. We need them to sustain us through this process. We are hoping to have another FALL adoption-ade stand in October, in case you missed out on Labor Day! This stand will feature fall favorites like hot chocolate, pumpkin breads and apple cider donuts!

Coming Soon, just in time for Christmas shopping!

• Bottle cap necklaces and key chains by Pop-Top Studios (October)
• Thirty-One party (November)

Change for China, part 1

The adoption process is in full swing and really picking up speed. Like a kid rolling down a grassy hill, we will hit bottom before you know it, and I am just praying that all goes well when we do!:)

There are lots of changes going on around the Secrest house as we ready our hearts, our dossier (paperwork), and our home for "Little Sister!" Here are a few things we have been up to just this week!

Paperwork

• We have been working through the final hours of our required education and only have about 2 hours left to complete before our final interview on September 23rd!
• We recently added two new kittens to our family and they received proof of Rabies vaccinations this week, which are required for the Home Study.

  

  Meet Peaches and Daisy

• Yesterday we began the tedious process of grant applications. I am happy to report that my earlier discouragement with the process has turned to encouragement! Please pray that our efforts in these applications are very fruitful!!

Fundraising

•  On Monday we had a very successful first "Adoption-ade stand", which brought in $565! What a blessing, and what fun!
  
• We are continuing to sell our "Team Secrest" tshirts. Sales have been great so far but we hope to make several more before September 30 when we turn the order in.

  

  T-shirts are $20

• We are also selling tickets to the Comedy Night, which we are really looking forward to!! This fundraiser has the potential to bring in a couple thousand dollars if we pack out the house at Comedy Caravan. Please pray with us that it will be so!

  

  Tickets are $15 each. The show is October 16th at 7:15pm

• We are gearing up for our "China-themed" Mary Kay event this Thursday. Ladies will be able to try on new products, but friends and family may also order online. 

  

  Okay, Autumn promises that our make-overs won't look anything like this!;)

On the Home Front

September has been an incredibly busy month for our family as Larry gets moved into his new office at the church, back-to-school activities are in full swing, we are heading up a major fundraising event for the PTA at our kids' elementary school on October 1st, and trying to finish up the home study! In addition to this we are doing some things to prepare our home for some changes...and our family for some much needed rest!

• This week we have done some cleaning out of future yard sale items and started cleaning out our guest room. This involved moving a queen sized bed out of the house and re-doing Mackenzie's room with a full-sized bed, suitable for guests!                                                     One room make-over down, 4 more to go!!

• 

  Mackenzie moved from a twin bed to a full-sized bed!

• We are planning to do some major renovations on our lower level, which includes changing all the carpet to Pergo wood flooring. After 8 years, 3 cats, 2 kids and a dog, it was time for a change!!! This week we purchased 47 boxes of flooring. It took Larry three trips with the minivan to bring it all home. Thanks to a couple of neighbors who helped haul it all in!

  

  Out with the queen sized bed and in with the flooring boxes!
  We still have the pretty tapestry of our babies hanging up though!

• I started thinking forward to Fall break, which falls right after the Hike-a-thon fundraising event we are planning. We had intended to go tent camping this Fall, but decided we needed more of a vacation. We are super excited that we booked our first cabin this week!!! Rest and relaxation, here we come!
  

Thanks as always for following our progress and for holding us up with your prayers, your encouragement, your presence and your finances! We could not do this without your unending support. May God richly bless you on this brisk, Fall day!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, to him be the honor and glory forever and ever, amen." Ephesians 3:20

"Paperwork Pregnant"

It's true adopting a child is not the same as carrying one in your own womb. I know, because I've carried two. Really, I had great pregnancies. No major morning sickness, weight gain or complications. A lot of heartburn, trouble sleeping, Charlie horses and feet in the ribs. Other than that, pregnancy was great!

I remember when I first found out I was pregnant with Mackenzie! I couldn't wait to start feeling all the symptoms of pregnancy. I actually WANTED to be sick and fat and tired! I wanted to have cravings and intense smells and a maternity clothes wardrobe! After all, there is no such thing as being "a little pregnant." Either you are pregnant or you are not.

But these things took time. And before I was "cute and pregnant," I just felt blah and bloated. Then I heard her heartbeat. I know that should have made it feel real, but really, that could have been a sound effect. I didn't look pregnant. I barely felt pregnant. Only God knew what was going on inside my body.

And that, my friends, is where the similarities of natural pregnancy and this stage of adoption lie. I am "paper work pregnant." I am in the "first trimester," if you will. I don't look like I'm adopting. Sometimes, I don't even feel like I'm adopting. It feels more like going to school...or therapy...or a job interview...or an interrogation...or applying for the space program. I am "paperwork pregnant." I keep saying that my daughter is out there, and God knows she is- he knit her together and has ordained our lives and spaces to collide in his beautiful time. But I don't know who she is. I don't know where she is in that great big sea of 1.2 billion people, 556,000 orphans that is China.

And as we press on through paperwork, interviews and background checks we are also reaching out to our "village" to help us bring her home. This, dear reader, is where natural pregnancy and paperwork pregnancy really part ways.
It's been said, "It takes a village," to raise a child. But in the case of adoption- in the case of our adoption- it takes a village to bring a child to her forever home. While we will provide for our "Little Sister" for the rest of her life, by God's grace and provision, we must rely on the heart-promptings of others to give selflessly to bring her home to us!

So thank you. Thank you for walking with us by FAITH and not by SIGHT. We have nothing to show for our efforts.
No baby bump. No morning sickness. No ultrasound photo to say this child exists and she is ours. And yet you give, and we "praise God, from whom all blessings flow."

"Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)

"We walk by faith and not by sight."
  (2 Corinthians 5:7 )