I have so much to tell about!
First and foremost though, OUR IMMIGRATION APPROVAL FINALLY CAME! This was our
last big document we were waiting on to be able to turn our dossier (our big
stack of papers) in to get them to Poland. We have been waiting 2 months on
this piece a paper and if you heard a squeal on Wednesday afternoon then you
know when I found it in our PO Box. J
So I had lots to get done on
Friday… I took all of those documents that we had been collecting and for the
past 7-8 months (41 to be exact) to have a notary seal placed on them. Well,
let me back up for one second! First, all of these documents had to be
notarized… Do y’all know Brandy Knox?? Well let me tell you that without her,
this adoption would not be taking place. She so generously notarized ALL of our
documents! And not just 41 of them… because I made several mistakes throughout
this process, I bet she notarized 100 papers with several having to be re-done.
(so sorry, Brandy). And the best part about it, she did all of it with a HUGE
smile on her face and covered our documents with prayer. I owe her BIG TIME and
I don’t know how saying thank you will ever be enough!
So, I took all of these
documents that Brandy notarized to the county… the county put a seal on it to
say that Brandy is legit. (which of course she is!) THEN, I went to Secretary
of State to have yet another seal placed on these papers to make them “state
official.” After that, I headed to FedEx to send them off with a hefty check to
Saint Mary’s International Agency (our international agency) who received them
yesterday! They are double checking everything 1 more time and then they will
send it on to Poland. Once it gets to Poland, it must be translated. Once this
is complete, Will and I will then be placed on a list to find our match!
I’m just soooo excited! I
finally feel like we will be able to make progress. It has been so difficult
for me the past 2 months to just wait… to just be still. The Lord knows that patience
is NOT my virtue yet it is tested… EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! Many tears have fallen
on my pillow as I try to let God’s peace wrap around me during this waiting
process.
So as things start to move
along, we still have lots of money to raise! I will be posting another reading
on the price of adoption to explain more on the financial burden of adoption
because I feel this will be beneficial to people who may not understand the
costs. We are looking at over $50,000 for this adoption when it’s all said and
done. YIKES! That’s a big number… But how awesome is it that God is WAAAYYY
bigger than $50,000? In just the past 8 months we have been able to raise,
save, and fundraise over $25,000. This on top of our monthly bills, grocery,
gas, car repairs, etc. This is crazy! If you told me in February that we would
have ½ our adoption paid this soon, I would have secretly thought you were
nuts. In fact, I’m pretty sure that some people have told me that the money
would come and I actually told them they were nuts. I’m a budget FREAK (just
ask Will) and let me tell you, the numbers DON’T ADD UP! We can’t afford this
no matter what way you look at it and yet, the money has shown up! Please don’t
read over this with a little shake of your head because YOU played a huge role.
I mean we just had a yard sale this past Saturday with another adopting couple
that brought in over $1000.00!! That’s over $500 a piece to help bring home TWO
orphans! I hope you realize how God has
used you! But we still need help! So below are fundraisers that are still going
on… please tell everyone you know about them!
Fundraiser #1: Kimberly
Brickles has been so generous to put together an online Initials Inc party.
Check out her site and click shop now under our event (Casey Davis):
She is giving back 25% of
the sales to our adoption. And better yet if you buy a “Your Best Life” case
for $20, $5 will be donated to Bethany’s NOW campaign plus $5 will be donated
to our adoption. Bethany is an adoption agency that is using this campaign to
raise money to help other families cover the cost of adoption too! So you are
helping not only our adoption but another family’s adoption! How awesome!
Fundraiser #2: We still have LOTS of puzzle pieces.
We are asking for $5 donation per a piece. Your name will then be placed on the
back and when the puzzle is complete we will be able to show our child all the
pieces (people) of the puzzle that helped bring him/her home.
Fundraiser #3: There will be a dessert auction
held on September 28th at our church (Bethel Free Will Baptist) and
this will be for our family and the Lytle’s who are adopting from the Congo.
Come out and get you a GREAT dessert. Or if you are interested in making
something scrumptious for the auction then just shoot me an email!
(caseydavis20 @ hotmail .com)
Thanks for all the
prayers, encouragement, and support you’ve given us! It really means a lot.
Keep the prayers coming… we still have a long haul in front of us!!
