Adoption Update :)

Howdy y'all! I have had a busy day with Asher’s field trip this morning, but I wanted to go ahead and post a small update about the adoption process for those of you who are following along. All two of you. :) Ha, just kidding.

This is kind of a random thought that I’m throwing in for free, but just so you know, there is this little box on the bottom of each post that says, “Post a Comment.” It works and it doesn’t bite. Just sayin. Comments = Love in blog world. :)

Ok, so update... For those of you who haven’t read some of my other posts, we are adopting two little girls from [country in Asia]. 

We have settled on an agency. This was a pretty easy decision. We have some friends who are adopting from India through this agency, and I spoke to the director several weeks ago. I felt a peace about it from the first phone call. We will submit our application this week or next (although this really is just a formality). Our next real step with the agency is to complete a contract and throw down $7,250 on the table... sooooo that will probably be within the first quarter of 2013 unless God provides that chunk before then.

We will, however, begin our homestudy process through Lifeline Children Services in January if not before. We only need $1,150 in order to get that ball rolling, and this will be a 3-4 month process, so we are confident we will start this no later than the first couple of weeks in January. I think starting the homestudy will help me a lot with the anxiousness, because I will have something to work on. 

I spoke to a social worker in Georgia yesterday and asked her some questions about our house. We still live in the house we bought after we got married. We have had it on the market for over a year, but apparently God was not ready for us to sell, so it’s no longer listed. It’s a three bedroom and one bathroom house. Of course since our family will be growing by 50% our first thoughts were, “We need a bigger house!” and while we do want a bigger house, we can fit comfortably here and our mortgage payment is way less than rent, so we plan to stay until we are ready to buy or build another house. However, we were concerned putting the two girls in one room might be an issue during the homestudy, but the social worker said it was fine. That is great news since moving into a larger home before we start the homestudy would really delay the process and if we decided to move during or after the homestudy, that would also have negative effects. 

Lots of people have been asking how we plan to raise the  almost $40,000 we need to bring our girls home. Lance and I have talked a good deal about this over the last few weeks and there are about 4 different ways we anticipate using to raise our funds.

1. AdvoCare - Lance and I were introduced to AdvoCare in November of 2011 and it has changed our lives. AdvoCare is a 20 year old heath and wellness company, and it has helped us create a healthier lifestyle that has led to us losing a lot of weight. By simply helping others, AdvoCare has afforded us the opportunity for me to stay at home with our boys again. Lance and I also see it as an opportunity for us to earn large portions of the funds we need for our adoption. 
2. Kristian Ogden Photography - As some of you may know, I am a photographer and I’ve owned my own business for over five years now. In recent years, I have focused mainly on newborn and children portraiture. Beginning this October, I will begin a “digitals for donation” type structure of my business and all proceeds will of course go into our adoption fund. I will post a more specific blog about this with a link to my website probably this weekend. I’m hoping this will not only benefit us in helping bring our girls home but also be a blessing to other families in our community. 
3. Mountain Majesty Handcrafts - Apparently I’m just flat our artsy. Don’t hate! :) I also make jewelry, candles, soaps and other handmade gifts. Once I can get things established better, I will also start promoting these items and all proceeds will go to our adoption fund.
4. Grants - Once we finish our homestudy, we can begin applying for grants. Hopefully, since we will be adopting two children, we will be able to get some decent grant money. 

So that’s pretty much where we are right now. I guess that update wasn’t so short after all. 

If you choose to pray for our family, here are some things that you can pray for specifically:

-Pray that God strengthens our faith and gives us peace in trusting in his providence. 

-Pray that God provides the means.

-Pray that things go smoothly and without delay.

-Pray for the hearts of our extended family.

-Pray for our boys that God will begin to mold them into givers/servants and that they would be more grateful and less selfish.

-Pray for Lance and I to be unified throughout this process and for our love and grace for each other to grow.

-Pray for our girls, wherever and whoever they are. Pray for their protection, provision for them and comfort for them.

-Pray for the birth parents of our girls. Pray for God’s grace in their lives. 

-Most importantly, pray that God be glorified through this adoption.

Thank you for your prayers!

Until next time! -K