As many of you know we are adopting. Our original plan was to adopt from Ukraine but that will not be happening for the foreseeable future.
With a lot of prayer we began trying to adopt internationally again. We attempted to adopt from Colombia but were denied approval by the adoption committee for a specific child and decided to take a break while we planned our next move. I am always amazed at how God works in our lives because we were blessed and over joyed when we were able to be placed with a special needs little boy October 2022. He was sent to us through a facebook post by his agency and we just new that he was to be our son. Jameson Andrew “Drew” was an amazing baby boy who fought more battles than most people ever imagined. Sadly this past March our son Drew passed away at the age of 10 months.
With much prayer and consideration we have decided to move forward with working towards another international adoption in Bulgaria.
We will again be seeking a waiting child who will have some medical needs and we hope to bring him or her home very soon!
As part of our adoption process we have started a crowdfunding campaign. The total adoption cost will be close to $35,000 and we are lucky to have some of this money set aside. To help offset some of the cost we have set a goal of $10,000 to help ease the financial burden. We hope that by inviting you into this process you will consider yourself as part of the community that we hope to build around him as he grows up.
This last month has been very productive!!
Home Study:
We are finished!! We are currently waiting on the worker to give us the final copy and we will be ready to send to USCIS!
Agency/Other Fees:
The fee of $3,095 has been paid!!!
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) along with the fee of $1,085 (Funded).
We have two agency fees left to pay and our adoption will be fully funded. The next due is with our completed dossier ($6485) and with the receipt of our confirmed travel dates for our first trip to Bulgaria ($3750).
Fundraising:
For the month of February we have been selling spots for our “Egg My Yard fundraiser. So far we are up to 400 eggs to be taken to homes by the Easter bunny! We continue with Just Love Coffee and they continue to support us with an ongoing fundraiser!
Please use this link to purchase your favorite coffee as we continue to get 20% of all sales!!
We partnered with ThreadBed for a fundraiser that gave us 50% of all sales. Our grand total was $300!!
We were both a consigner and a vendor at the Picky Chick Consignment Sale with a goal of $1200. We surpassed that with a combined total of $2100!!!
4. Grants
Run Foe Rue Grant: $500 received!!
This topic will have a lot more activity once we have the official home study in our hands.
We have been approved for our Family Sponsorship Program (FSP) with Reese’s Rainbow. We are selling holiday theme bows for a donation to our FSP. For more information please reach out to us. We were so excited to see that our little one is a listed child and that he already has $2,000 in his fund that can be used for his adoption!
Timeline:
1. Home Study completion: Completed
2. Submission to USCIS: Estimated 3/11/2024
3. Approval from USCIS: Estimated (30-90 days) 6/11/2024
4. Submission of Dossier to Bulgaria: Estimated 6/12/24
5. Approval of Dossier: Estimated (30-45 days) 7/30/2024
6. First Travel: Estimated August 2024
7. Bringing home our Boy/Second Travel: (3-6months) October 2024
In conclusion,
So as far as money for the next month(s):
1. USCIS $1085 (Funded)
2. Agency Fee (due with dossier) $6485
3. Agency Fee (due with travel dates) $3750
Total: $11,320
Current amount collected: $3.485
To do for next month:
Receive Home Study and Submit to USCIS
Fundraise towards fully funded goal of $8,135
We are so blessed to have each of you praying and supporting us on this journey. God is blessing us with the ability to continue to pay the majority of these fees in our own and your additional support is helping us make this adoption a reality! We continue to ask for prayers as we continue down this path!
Much Love,
Jennifer & Andy
The new year has brought us some amazing things! Here is our latest progress:
Home Study:
Since our fees have been paid we were scheduled to have our first of 2 visits for the study. Our first meeting was completed on 1/26/24 where we discussed our work, home and any needs our child will have. She reported that she believes he will be a great fit for our family and we set up or second and final meeting for 2/9/24. After that meeting is completed, we should have our home study in our hands on 3/1/24!!
Agency/Other Fees:
The fee of $3,095 has been paid!!!
Once our home study is completed we will be sending it to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) along with the fee of $1,085 (Funded).
We have two agency fees left to pay and our adoption will be fully funded. The next due is with our completed dossier ($6485) and with the receipt of our confirmed travel dates for our first trip to Bulgaria ($3750).
Fundraising:
For the month of January we have been selling kids pass out valentine cards ($70 collected), collecting shoes ($12 collected) and Just Love Coffee ($40 collected) continues to support us with an ongoing fundraiser! Please use this link to purchase your favorite coffee as we continue to get 20% of all sales!!
https://justlovecoffee.com/?rfsn=7757377.137451&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=7757377.137451&fbclid=IwAR22Xcs3z9V22CGh6YbP3iYqiyRUlCUZ-_0fo1jLtXaRfjVboaw2WhsU2J0
Starting February 1-22 we are selling spring flowers where we get 50% profit of each sale.
We will be partnering with ThreadBed for a fundraiser that will give us 50% of all sales. This one will be for two weeks only starting 2/8/2024!!
Jennifer will be both a consigner and a vendor at the Picky Chick Consignment Sale on 2/22-2/24 with the expected earnings to be close to $1200 for the adoption.
We will continue with the tennis shoe collection and plan to start taking orders for Easter goodies very soon!
4. Grants
In December 2023 we were able to apply for a small grant for our adoption without our home study being completed. We were so excited to hear that we were approved for a $500 grant towards our adoption fees!!!
We have also applied for our Family Sponsorship Program (FSP) with Reese’s Rainbow. We are awaiting our approval to be able to fundraise with them as well. We were so excited to see that our little one is a listed child and that he already has $2,000 in his fund that can be used for his adoption!
Timeline:
1. Home Study completion: Estimated 2/23/24
2. Submission to USCIS: Estimated 2/26/2024
3. Approval from USCIS: Estimated (30-90 days) 5/26/2024
4. Submission of Dossier to Bulgaria: Estimated 5/27/24
5. Approval of Dossier: Estimated (30-45 days) 7/12/2024
6. First Travel: Estimated August 2024
7. Bringing home our Boy/Second Travel: (3-6months) October 2024
In conclusion,
So as far as money for the next month(s):
1. USCIS $1085 (Funded)
2. Agency Fee (due with dossier) $6485
3. Agency Fee (due with travel dates) $3750
Total: $11,320
Current amount collected: $1,717
To do for next month:
1. Receive Home Study and Submit to USCIS
We are so blessed to have each of you praying and supporting us on this journey. God is blessing us with the ability to continue to pay the majority of these fees in our own and your additional support is helping us make this adoption a reality! We continue to ask for prayers as we continue down this path!
Much Love,
Jennifer & Andy
This last month has been such a blessing. With each passing day we are getting closer to bringing our son home! Here is where we are now:
1. Home Study
We have been able to pay all of our fees and have completed all the required paperwork. Next step is to have our meetings and for the agency to write the report. Once that is done we will be submitting it to USCIS for approval which can take 2-3 months.
2.Agency Fees
The fee of $7,785 has been paid!!! Next is to pay the fee of $3,095 that is required when we complete our Home study. We are happy to report that with a generous donation that fee is also ready to be paid as well!!
We have two agency fees left to pay and our adoption will be fully funded. The next due is with our completed dossier ($6485) and with the receipt of our confirmed travel dates for our first trip to Bulgaria ($3750).
3. Fundraising
Out two holiday fundraisers were great and raised us $250! As mentioned above we received a generous donation of $2500 and several other ones as well. So far we have raised $3000 which will pay for the agency fee that is due next. We are so beyond grateful for your support!!
This month I will be starting a Valentines kids cards fundraiser. We are also collecting gently used tennis shoes where we will receive $2 for each donated pair. Just Love Coffee also approved our fundraiser and we will receive 30% of each order placed through our link. Be sure to check out the Facebook group for that info.
4. Grants
This one is still the same. Waiting on our finished Home Study to be able to apply for grants as well as setting up for FSP with Reese’s Rainbow. Additionally, once our home study is approved we can apply for a few other grants as well.
In conclusion,
So as far as money for the next month(s):
1. Agency Fee (due with completed Home Study $3,095 (Funded)
2. USCIS $1085 (Funded)
3. Agency Fee (due with dossier) $6485
4. Agency Fee (due with travel dates) $3750
Total: $14,415
Current amount collected: $4180
We are so blessed to have each of you praying and supporting us on this journey. God is blessing us with the ability to continue to lay the majority of these fees in our own and your additional support is helping us make this adoption a reality! We continue to ask for prayers as we continue down this path!
Much Love,
Jennifer & Andy
This past month has been a busy one for us. As you know we were matched with our sweet boy just before Thanksgiving. Well that match put us in over drive to get so many things done.
1. Home Study
We are about half way through with our study. We have been submitting paper work and getting the necessary forms signed. Trust me, this is no easy process for sure. We have paid the first half of the $3,200 for this study and have a balance of $1600 due within the next few weeks.
2.Agency Fees
Since being matched our fee schedule has changed from what we were expecting to pay before. We now have to pay a total of $7.785 to our agency so they can pay their partners in Bulgaria to start processing for us.
3. Fundraising
This one has been tough. I hope that as we go along we will see more success in this area. Currently there are two fundraisers, Christmas pie sale and a gingerbread house decorating competition. We have been blessed to have received $155 in individual donations this last month as well! I have also been selling hand made sheets and other items and all proceeds are being put into our savings for the adoption.
4. Grants
We were informed that there is a fund that has been set up for our guy with Reese’s Rainbow and has been funded by donations. We will be applying for a Family Support Program approval to be able to fundraise with them as well as have access to the fund that was set up for him. Additionally, once our home study is approved we can apply for a few other grants as well.
In conclusion,
So as far as money we need to pay:
1. Home study fee $1600
2. Agency Fee $7,785
Total: $9,386
Current amount collected: $1,060!!!
We are so blessed to have each of you praying and supporting us on this journey. We continue to ask for prayers of a successful and swift home study and adoption approval.
Much Love,
Jennifer
On October 20, 2023 Andy and I applied to be considered for a child on the waiting child list in Bulgaria. This child's file was to be sent to another agency the next day so we had to get everything to them in a hurry!
This application included a contract with the facilitators in Bulgaria, a letter from our doctor and photos of our family and our home. With God's grace and many prayers our paperwork was submitted in time and accepted by the facilitators the following day. Then the wait began......
Now, 32 days later we received some exciting news!!!
We have been officially matched with a child and have been approved to work towards adoption!! We are so excited that we will be able to bring our child home soon!!!
Now the next step is to get our new home study completed and sent in for USCIS (immigration) approval!
