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Browsing Tag

adoption funding

Adoption

Growing Our Family Piece by Piece: Day Three Update

September 26, 2016

Thanks for checking back in our our Puzzle Fundraiser for bringing home Baby Tex #2!

Yesterday was a slower day in the land of puzzles but we more or less expected it – gorgeous weather, the Sabbath day, and football. Sundays are a slower day online so no biggie.

But we are back in the week and we have SIX DAYS left in which we are trying to fundraise a lot. A whole lot.

Some people ask me why adoption is so very expensive and I don’t really have a solid answer.

Y’all see the fee breakdown like we do on our adoption hub page. We don’t get much more detailed information of how those expenses itemize out dollar by dollar. There is a whole bunch more legal work than meets the eye in addition to providing solid counseling for birth families both before and after adoption placements. There are intense background and psychological evaluations. Sometimes there are even expenses built in to assist the birth family with some basic necessities while they go through the adoption process. These are all good things that ought to be covered. We have to trust our agency to be fair and honest with their fees and we’re with a good one.

There are times I wish it was less costly but I wouldn’t want it to be any less thorough, since then all parties involved would more vulnerable…so not certain it could be any more affordable. All we do know is that we feel supported and encouraged by all of you in this and we’re so grateful. Without your generosity, we wouldn’t be able to pursue adoption at this time.

Thank you for giving to a pro-life cause that isn’t always thought of as one. What I mean by that is most people hear “pro-life” and think about crisis pregnancy clinics and praying outside of a Planned Parenthood. Those are pro-life but it’s far broader – caring for immigrant families, death penalty laws, access to healthcare, taking care of the poor and homeless, end of life issues, foster/adoptive families, caring for birth families, ethical reproductive technology, war time practices, and on and on it goes.

Joining our puzzle fundraiser is a concrete way to be part of saying YES to new life – By helping us be in a position to welcome any life God brings our way while also supporting birth family’s decision they feel is best for them and this precious little one.

Let’s see the progress did we make on Day Three?

  • 139 pieces sold

  • $3,470 raised!!!!

  • 9.25% of our goal of $37,500

Here’s a virtual picture of the puzzle’s progress:

puzzle-day-03

 

If you would like to donate, please do so below. If you know of anyone who has a heart for adoption, please share our story and invite them to consider joining the journey.




Donate w/ Squarecash

THANK YOU!

Adoption

Just When I Thought Things Couldn’t Get Crazier…

September 23, 2016

Remember how we recently updated you on The Summer of 2016 and celebrated that I was still halfway sane?

If you hadn’t caught those, Part 1 and Part 2 are here for your reading pleasure.

In the end of my last post, I explained that I just KNEW the changes weren’t over. I’m a freakishly intuitive person. Whenever Jesus is about to do something big, he gives me this vague pit-in-my-stomach thingamajig as a warning.

I’ve had that feeling since May and it still hadn’t gone away…hence me knowing change was still a comin’ round the mountain.

And let me tell you. This one was a mic drop.

Before I drop the atomic bomb news on y’all, let me back this train up for a hot minute.

In May I had an insanely clear dream that we were supposed to pursue adoption again. We put some photos here and on Facebook, not really knowing how things would shape up. We got several leads in those first few days. An OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of them were links to an adoption blogger who had posted about a baby due in August 2016. At that time, we had NO idea we’d be moving cross country this summer but we did know that the August baby wasn’t our baby. (In hindsight, it would have been impossible for Jonathan to have made a career move had we pursued that sitch.)

I started following that blogger’s RSS feed because of YOUR referrals.

This brings us to this past Thursday night.

All Jonathan and I had planned was to do was Netflix and chill. And as a 31 year old woman, I mean we planned to literally watch Friends on Netflix while drinking wine.

I had to check one more thing on my computer and that’s when I saw the blog had an update. There was an Momma looking for an adoptive family for her baby and the agency wanted traditional married couples to submit their profiles.

We don’t have a profile. We don’t even have a home study done. We just moved states and live with my parents while we wait to move into our home.

Why would I even THINK this would be possible?

As these doubts ran through me, the same exact feelings that came over me when I found out about Josie hit me. This wasn’t just any situation. We had to get a profile done and FAST!

We stayed up until 4 am working on the profile (while Fixer Upper played in the background) and sent it to the agency. They said expectant mom would be looking soon and they’d be in touch.

The weekend felt like an eternity. I tried to keep busy and not think about it but that was basically impossible.

I had mostly happy and hopeful thoughts but a few times I started to panic about the fundraising.

When Josie joined our family, we raised around $18,000 of the total $25,000 to cover the adoption expenses. We vowed to start saving for the next adoption as soon as possible and we have. This situation is going to cost over $37,500 in agency and legal fees…which is slightly more than we’d saved (kidding, it’s A LOT MORE)…so fundraising is again vital. And of course we just moved to a new state and need to start our home study from scratch – meaning we can’t apply for grants (since they require a completed study). 

Lies crept in. 

“People don’t want to donate to your adoption fund again.”

“You’re annoying.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t adopt if you can’t afford it.”

That’s when I got a message on Facebook from a old friend I hadn’t spoken to in several years. She said she got a bonus at work and was praying about where to send extra tithe money…and Jesus pressed us on her heart for our next adoption – whenever that would be.

snip-of-fb-convo

WHAT???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’M DYING.

I’M DEAD.

Talk about God just cutting those fundraising lies down with a lightening bolt.

My jaw was nearly on that floor in pure awe. It was then that I remembered who God is – a loving Father who provides for his children. (And sometimes shows off a bit while doing it!) OF COURSE God had someone who wasn’t aware of the situation come in and dispel those lies to set the record straight about fundraising. He’s so in control that even before I asked for his help or realized I’d gotten tangled in lies, he moved into the situation in an undeniable way. 

Inviting others into the story through fundraising was so very special last time around and I don’t want to rob us or others of that grace. It was too beautiful.

Fundraising again it is. God left no room for argument. 

OK, back to the profile.

We submitted it over the weekend and Monday night I was again on the computer getting auto insurance quotes. (If you don’t shop around every year, they will gauge your eyeballs out people!)

So there I am minding my own business when I see an email come in from the adoption agency.

I opened it and didn’t even read it straight away – I just panned for either positive or negative language. That’s when I saw the words, “She has selected your profile as the prospective forever family for her baby!”

OHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYY GOSHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (In Janice from Friends voice)

I dropped the computer and sprinted to the kitchen to tell Jonathan, JoJo, and my mom. Jonathan thought I was joking at first and had to go read the email. WHY WOULD I JOKE ABOUT THIS? Women who’ve battled 5 years of infertility NEVER joke about babies.

For real though….

Wednesday night we had a phone call to talk with Birth Mama and it went really well. Of course we were nervous but she was so sweet. What struck me most was her selflessness and thoughtfulness. We look forward to getting to know her better these next couple of months.

Curious as to when Baby Tex #2 is coming on the scene?

josie-sign-change

Christmas will be a blur this year (since I don’t even remember the Thanksgiving the week after Josie was born) but that’s just fine by me! And yup, the next several weeks will be controlled chaos but they will be glorious. 🙂

This is where YOU’RE HELP comes in.

Like I mentioned earlier – this situation is going to be over $37,500 in agency, legal fees, background checks, travel, etc.

What we have saved doesn’t hold a candle to that and realistically what we’ve got saved will cover our home study and a few other things.

We’ve decided to do another Puzzle Fundraiser because we absolutely LOVE Josie’s puzzle hanging in her room. We love the reminder it is of how she came into our family and we enjoy being able to look at the back of it and see how many generous people cared and donated.

You can help by:

  1. Donating towards our puzzle fundraiser. Pieces are $25 and there are 1,500 pieces in the puzzle. You can buy one or more and you’re name will be written on the back of your piece(s).
  2. SHARE this with your family, friends, and neighbors who you think would care and want to be involved.
  3. Pray that God will provide for not only our needs but for all of Birth Mama’s and baby’s needs. Adoption is not an easy choice and we want to pray for her and her growing little one.
  4. Join Our Novena. We’re running this fundraiser as a novena to St. Therese (today through her feast day – Oct 1) and we’ve got a prayer to say each of the nine days. Check it out on our Adoption Page.
  5. SHARE our posts and pages about this adoption. I’ve listed it again because it’s so important to get the word out. There are a lot of people out there with generous hearts and your sharing our posts give them a chance to get involved!

Thank you all for your support and encouragement in advance. You guys are the best. 🙂

Adoption

Building Our Family Piece by Piece: Day Nine

August 22, 2014

Nine days down.

No more to go.

We reached our goal to meet our phase one funding goal of nearly $13,000 for the home study completion and out-of-state agency fee as of yesterday afternoon.

A few donations continued to come in today, which will definitely help with the next goal down the road.

Here are the stats we saw on Thursday:

On day nine we sold a total of 17 puzzle pieces, totaling $425!!

Total overall stats thus far are now as follows:

  • 572 pieces sold

  • $14,303 raised!!!!

  • 110% of our phase 1 goal of $13,000

  • 57% of original goal of $25,000

Here’s a picture of the puzzle progress:

DSC04149

Really starting to fill in and that last line of text is beginning to peek through!!! We are excited to send payment to both agencies early this next week and get estimates on future miscellaneous expenses.  I

Thanks again for all who have donated! May God bless everyone who’s walking alongside us in this journey.

Thank you again for all who are joining Team Baby Teixeira! :)

Keep coming back each day for new progress updates!

Click here to learn more about the puzzle fundraiser!

That’s a wrap!

Adoption

Building Our Family Piece by Piece: Day Eight

August 21, 2014

Eight days down.

One more to go.

We are EXCITED to say that today we reached our goal to meet our phase one funding goal of nearly $13,000 for the home study completion and out-of-state agency fee.

Sometime Wednesday evening the final donations came in that tipped us over the goal…and a few more came in only a few minutes later, taking us beyond the $13,000 we needed at this time. We absolutely will incur more than that in agency expenses, so every extra dollar is still going towards the adoption. We just have that much less fundraising to do later on when we find out any extra expenses.

Here are the stats we saw on Wednesday:

On day eight we sold a total of 66 puzzle pieces, totaling $1,650!! 

Total overall stats thus far are now as follows:

  • 555 pieces sold

  • $13,875 raised!!!!

  • 106% of current goal of $13,000 (WAHOO!)

  • 55% of original goal of $25,000

Here’s a picture of the puzzle progress:

DSC04146

Looking great!

Again, despite the fact that we met our goal, if anyone still wishes to purchase a puzzle piece, feel free to jump on board. The extra expenses will come but we won’t know the final amount until it’s all said and done.

Thanks again for all who have donated! May God bless everyone who’s walking alongside us in this journey.

Thank you again for all who are joining Team Baby Teixeira! :)

Keep coming back each day for new progress updates!

Click here to learn more about the puzzle fundraiser!

 

Adoption

Building Our Family Piece by Piece: Day Seven

August 20, 2014

Seven days down.

Two more to go until the day we hope to meet our phase one funding goal of nearly $13,000 for the home study completion and out-of-state agency fee.

There must be something about number seven since it was our best fundraising day thus far!!! 🙂

ANNNND we are ssssssooooo close to our goal! We’re truly in the home stretch.

Thanks to you all we went from the smallest day to the largest day…all on day seven.

Not surprising when I actually sat to think about it. It was like God (since in the bible the number seven means perfection or completion) saying, “In the fullness of time I bring you what you need.” Duh. I always seem to forget that one.

Since it was the biggest day yet, here are the stats we saw on Tuesday:

On day seven we sold a total of 95 puzzle pieces, totaling $2,375!! Praise the Lord! 🙂

Total overall stats thus far are now as follows:

  • 489 pieces sold

  • $12,225 raised

  • 94% of current goal of $13,000 (soooo close!)

  • 49% of original goal of $25,000

Here’s a picture of the puzzle progress:

DSC04134

EEEEP!

It’s really coming together! CHILD is more or less spelled out! Woohoo!

We are also excited because we now know the adoption cost will NOT be $25,000. Whew! We don’t have the final numbers but it will end up somewhere around $15,000-$17,000. Great news!

Thanks again for all who have donated! May God bless everyone who’s walking alongside us in this journey.

Thank you again for all who are joining Team Baby Teixeira! :)

Keep coming back each day for new progress updates!

Click here to learn more about the puzzle fundraiser!

Adoption

Building Our Family Piece by Piece: Day Six

August 19, 2014

Six days down.

Three more to go until the day we hope to meet our funding goal of nearly $13,000 for the home study completion and out-of-state agency fee.

On Monday things slowed down significantly on the puzzle fundraiser…which we sort of anticipated right as we are about to enter the home stretch!

If I am being totally honest, I am feeling incredibly vulnerable.

I know God will provide for our family if this is his will. But through this fundraiser I’ve been reflecting on the fact that due to medical issues, we won’t bring a biological baby home without help. We need God, doctors, treatments, etc. to even have a CHANCE at that. Same thing with adoption…we can’t even do that alone either. God told us not to. We need him and you.

In our culture today, to need to rely on others is a humbling thing. Real humbling. But we’ve fundraised our income for over 7 years, so haven’t I gotten over the humility? Sure, in some ways. But this is different. The ability for me to become a mother or Jonathan a father lies in God and your hands…not our own. That’s an entirely new level of inviting others to help. It can be embarrassing.

But I choose to stand in the fact that God invited us to take a leap of faith….

To ask others to join us as we walk through the adoption process. To give others a concrete way to say YES to life by supporting a birth family who CHOSE adoption instead of abortion. To give others a concrete way to say YES to life by supporting a couple who CHOSE adoption instead of artificial reproduction.

Vulnerably we stand. A week into our puzzle fundraiser. Dependent on the heroic generosity of others and the Lord. Trusting his plans will exceed our own.

That’s a deep reflection, I know, but I felt like it just needed to be shared to truly bring you all into this experience. I don’t think ours is a story often told and we want to allow others to take a peak into the beauty of adoption.

Back to the puzzle 🙂

Although it was a slow day, here is the progress we saw Monday:

On day six we sold a total of 13 puzzle pieces, totaling $325!! Progress is progress so we are happy!

Total overall stats thus far are as follows:

  • 395 pieces sold

  • $9,875 raised

  • 75% of current goal of $13,000

  • 39% of original goal of $25,000

Here’s a picture of the puzzle progress:

DSC04129

Now it’s the “L” and “D” you can see forming!

Please help us bring this fundraiser home and reach our goal by Friday! May God bless everyone who’s walking alongside us in this journey.

Thank you again for all who are joining Team Baby Teixeira! :)

Keep coming back each day for new progress updates!

Click here to learn more about the puzzle fundraiser!