All posts by Molly

Fundraisers

I Love Them

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My Family is lovely. I blogged before about the great garage sale Aaron’s family had for us. Aaron’s family is lovely too. My in-laws have done A LOT for us. But this post is about my family. Sorry, in-laws.

They blow me away with their generosity. The t-shirt fundraiser. Coffee fundraiser. Donating money. Giving us children’s books. Picking up stuff we needed at Ikea. Offering to make curtains for their room. One sister writing a recommendation letter and the other proof-reading it. My family is awesome.
Then, I get an email from my mom “can you order me some big photos of Reed and Scarlett for our garage sale?” Um, hello? A garage sale?
My mom and my biggest sister* had been planning it for weeks and kept it as a secret to us. Until she needed my help ordering some photos. Even then, I had to pry to find out what was up.
They raised $400 for Reed and Scarlett!
I think my family is pretty amazing. And you know what was extra amazing, their neighbors pitched in, too. Four different neighbors brought over things for them to sell. They didn’t ask their neighbors to donate anything. This morning, they just showed up, boxes in hands, for our fundraiser. Some of these people Aaron and I know and I have been friends with for years. But, one of their neighbors, we’ve never met before.
This really, really blows me away. Lots of people with big hearts live in those two blocks in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
*I can get away with calling her my biggest sister right now, because she is not only the oldest, but she is also 7 MONTHS PREGNANT! Yes, my parents will be going from 4 grandkids to 7 grandkids (new baby + Reed + Scarlett) in the month of November!
First Adoption

Almost There

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We’re almost done. Paper chasing, that is.  I will feel tremendously relieved when our dossier is on its way to Eastern Europe. Our 171-H was NOT mailed yesterday. Because, we got it yesterday!!! Aaron was home from work a bit early, so we immediately headed over to our favorite notary. But, she was out on vacation. Big let down. And, it was 5:30, so no chance of going to the bank.

But, he came home a bit early again today, so we could go to the bank and get this document notarized. I get so nervous that they’ll make a mistake and we’ll have to do it all over again. But nope, everything was perfect. It did not take long. A huge relief.

We are still waiting on Aaron’s employment letter. This is maybe the third time we’ve had it done? 4th? 5th? Not sure. I hope it will come tomorrow. We need to fax these new documents to someone to check them before we have them apostilled. Then we need to fax ALL of our documents to be checked. Then we mail them.

We are slowly acquiring more things for Reed and Scarlett. Their room is slowly coming together. Last weekend we got their car seats, thanks to a lovely friend who gave us an old car seat for the Babies R Us Trade-in. Somehow I doubt that anyone will ever confuse whose is whose…

First Adoption

What is the 171-H?

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I probably shouldn’t talk all in adoption-speak for you lovely people who read my blog who have never adopted internationally. US Immigration requires that you get pre-approved to bring orphans into the US. You file an application, the I-600A, go into to get your biometrics (fingerprints) done and then you hopefully get the 171-H in the mail. It seems like a lot of people get this piece of paper pretty quickly. Like a week or two after they get their fingerprints done. But, there are some people who get requests for more information or their fingerprints weren’t good enough and it is drawn out for months. I was afraid that would be us. I am just so excited that this is coming!

We still need a perfect employment letter from Aaron’s company. Which should be here any day now.

And I think I will need to get a couple more copies of our marriage license. Then, we’re done.

Then our dossier will be in the mail to Reed and Scarlett’s country. I am so excited!

Adoption, Orphan Care

What You Can Do

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I am always hearing about ways you can help orphans, and there are things at every level, in every budget, for every ability, that we can do.


If you have little money…
Advocate & pray for an orphan. Print out his or her photo, carry it in your wallet, tell people about her. Blog about her. Have a fundraiser for this child. A great time to get involved with this is Reece’s Rainbow’s Angel Tree event in November and December. Talk to your pastor about having an Orphan Sunday at your church.

If you lack the time, but have money…
Add some money to a child’s grant on Reece’s Rainbow. Find a family who is adopting to “adopt” and help them bring their child home. When you buy things online, go through Reece’s Rainbow’s iGive.

If you can’t commit long-term…
Consider a program like Christmas for Orphans in Ukraine. You get to sponsor a child for Christmas. Put a quart size bag full of goodies together for that child. Get involved with a Buddy Walk, volunteer, and educate others about Reece’s Rainbow.

If you want to be involved and commit to a particular child, but you can’t adopt…
Sponsor a child long-term. Send him or her at least two packages a year. Send some money for her to have a real birthday party. Bethany has some HIV+ children on her website who need sponsoring.

If you have room in your home for a season, but cannot adopt or just aren’t ready to adopt…
Host an orphan. Over the summer or for the holidays.

If you have room at your table and room in your heart…
ADOPT.

No excuses. There is something simple & completely manageable each of us can do for these beautiful children who need a family.