Showered with Blessings

On January 26, 3 special friends hosted an Adoption Baby Shower for us.  It's hard to put into words just how special of a time this was.

I had requested that people not bring gifts.  There wasn't really anything we truly NEEDED for the boys and I felt like we have asked so much of so many people already with all of our fundraising.  I just wanted this to be a time to gather, visit and pray for our little guys.

Because we had just received word about our matching grant from Lifesong, my friends informed the guest list so that they could donate to Lifesong in lieu of gifts.  We were blown away by the generosity of our friends, as you can see by the fundraising thermometer on the side of this blog!

I brought my 4 girls with me to share in this special time.  I don't think that they had ever attended a baby shower before.  I had to tell the little ones several times that I was NOT going to my friend's house to get bathed.  :)

We were greeted at the door by a wreath surrounded by burlap that had a cookie cutter of Africa hanging in the center (I was so happy I got to keep the cookie cutter!).  Inside was a beautiful, Old World book box where the guests wrote sweet letters to us, prayers for our boys and Scripture verses for us to have as a keepsake.  Precious.

There were framed photos of our boys all over the downstairs along with displays of globes with hearts over our African country.  Cookies were Africa shaped with red M&M's on our country, and they even had the country flag on the table.  Scripture verses about the fatherless and orphans were displayed.  I noticed every little detail and it made the day even more special.  (I hate that I didn't get a photo of myself with the hostesses to share.  They are precious friends who truly care about the fatherless.)

Friends from school and church gathered together to hear facts about the needs of our country and the huge number of orphans who live there and are in need of forever families.  My friends gathered around me, laying hands on me and we spent a long time praying.  Well....they prayed and I just cried.  It was such an amazing time for me to hear these wonderful, godly, Christian women whom I look up to and love, praying such heart-felt prayers for 2 little boys living across the ocean right now who none of us have ever met.  They prayed for our adjustment, our family, our finances, our boys in Africa.....their hearts, their needs, their future, their salvation and their impact on the world for Christ.

It was like no shower I had ever been to.  I walked away being full, feeling blessed beyond measure for friends like that.  Both my moms were there and hearing their precious prayers for their grandsons was something I will not forget.  I know that not all parents welcome the idea of their children adopting.  I also know that becoming a mixed race family is not always smiled upon either, but that is not the case with our parents.  They have responded with nothing but support, love and anticipation to welcome 2 new little guys into our family.  We are so thankful!

The day was perfect.  It was a high for me.  A day in which I felt God whispering to my heart to assure me in all my insecurities that the body of Christ cares for our family and is praying for our boys.  It was a day in which God reinforced His love for me as His adopted child.  It was another way in which God confirmed in my heart that this adoption is all part of His plan for us.

And although there are adorable, twin boys in the heart of Africa right now who have no idea what changes await them this year, this shower was part of their Life Story Book.

Fundraising Ministry

It has been almost exactly a year since My Man came to me and suggested that I actively pursue (again) the opportunity of adopting a child into our family.  So much has changed in me as we have begun this process.  The biggest thing is my heart for orphan care that has exploded.  I don't think I can ever be the same and I shouldn't.  With knowledge comes responsibility.

So as I know firsthand the enormous financial cost of adopting and the struggles that so many families face to raise the money and pay for their adoption, I have been racking my brain to come up with ways that I can help others.

Exactly 10 years ago this month I was spending daily time typing my fingers away at my computer to make a family cookbook for my little sister's wedding.  What was intended to be a small cookbook, turned into a huge cookbook.  I put in almost all the family recipes of our childhood from our grandmothers and our mom and then added every recipe that I had tried and liked in the 7 years of my own marriage. 

I have updated and added many recipes to my first edition and have just finished my 2nd edition, 10 years later.  I am offering my cookbook to others in the adoption process as a fundraiser.

Here's how it works:

1.  You must be in the process of an international or domestic adoption OR you must be fund raising for a friend who meets the criteria.
2.  You must order at least 50 cookbooks at a time.  You may pre-order or order after your requests & payments have come in.
3.  You pay $8 per book, which is what it costs me to print them.  I will ship them to you as a contribution from me, free of charge.
4.  You charge $20 for each book (plus $5 shipping if not local).  This is suggested but not set.
5.  Allow me 7-10 days to process your order and have it printed.
6.  Your responsibilities are to sell and distribute the books.

If you sell 50 books, then you pay me $400 and your profit is $600.

 

Here's a little bit about the book:

150 pages of recipes

316 recipes total

Full index and table of contents

spiral bound

heavy cardstock cover and dividers

all tried and true and tested by the Fish Family

So if you are adopting and want to use this as a fundraiser, just email me at timcassie at gmail dot com or leave a comment and we can begin.  If you have a friend who is adopting, you are welcome to share this post with them or offer to sell them as a favor.  They will LOVE you for it!  If you want a cookbook but are not adopting, head over to my good friend's blog and order one.  She is the first to sell them.

Praising the Lord

We are so excited to get the news today that we got a $5,000 grant today from the JSC Foundation!!!

What a huge blessing!  I'm still in shock!  With this and our matching grant, it will help tremendously with our last payment to our agency!

Thank you, Lord!

Just Another Reason to Pray for the Orphans

Silence is Hard

Last month we started telling folks that our boys would PROBABLY be coming home with the escort in February.  We really thought that - based on what we had seen happen in the past within our agency.

Little did we know that at the beginning of February we would receive news about a new adoption delay within the boys' country that might set us back a few months.  We still have not heard when our last embassy appointment will be.  It seems that the embassy is swamped with adoption requests.  After going through 2 weeks when I checked my emails about every 20 minutes in hopes to see an email from our agency with an embassy appointment, I've decided I must change my expectations.  At this point, I've resolved in my mind that it will be a few more months.  I can be an extremely patient person when I'm expected to wait, but when I anticipate to not wait, but then I have to wait, well.....you know when your kid wants your attention and taps you continuously....yep, that would be me.

Thank you all for asking about our boys.  Thank you for giving (Have you seen our matching grant gifts thermometer???  We are almost there!!!).  And most importantly, thank you for joining us in praying that they would come home quickly.

So today we thank the Lord that they have a loving foster home.  We thank the Lord for the cute photos we got this week showing them with shaved heads, white matching toddler jumpers, posing with one foot forward and hugging each other.  Too cute!  And while we wait, I'm taking advantage of incredible resources like Karyn Purvis and gleaning wisdom other families who have gone before us.  There's so much to learn!

"Patience is waiting.  Not passively waiting. That is laziness.  But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience."  Anon

Make Sure You Choose The Right Agency

Many friends in the adoption community have been posting about what is going on in our country regarding adoptions.

Last week we received an email that went out to all agencies who do adoptions in our particular African country.  Just like in other countries, there have been fraudulent and unethical adoptions.  It's not only extremely sad to me that people would take advantage of folks who are wanting to adopt a child in a country where adoption is so necessary, but it's also so sad that the small numbers of those who break the rules, make the process so much harder on the  many others who are following the rules.  The US Embassy in our country is having to do additional investigations toward the end of the adoption process to confirm that undoubtedly the children are true orphans and therefore can be rightfully adopted.  This additional investigation will be delaying adoptions by 3 months or more.  It goes into effect now for those families who have not received their final Embassy appointment.

As you can guess, we are waiting on our final Embassy appointment and so this email sent me in a panic.  Were we included in this delay with additional investigations or not?

After talking to my agency, I feel more at peace that we are most likely NOT included in this group of additional investigation.  I also have a great peace about our process.  Our agency was the first agency to conduct adoptions in this country.  They have laid the groundwork for all of those who have come after them.  They have hired personnel who were highly recommended by the US Embassy in the capital city.  They have brought home over 130 children from this country in the last 8 years and not once have they had a visa denied.  They have a good reputation there.

I rest in that.  As hard as it is to find a good adoption agency, it is crucial.  In the last year, I have heard some AWFUL stories about families who have not chosen reputable agencies and lived to regret it....some never seeing their children after paying full costs.  It's really, really sad and I can't imagine the pain and heartache of these families.

I am thankful for our agency and if you are considering adopting, I would love to recommend our agency to you.  The story behind how we found this small, yet reputable agency is totally a God thing.  God led us there and there is no other explanation for it.  They know what they are doing and they do it well and efficiently.  They may cost more than other agencies, but to me, it's worth the additional cost to know that everything is done with integrity and efficiency.  These children's lives are at stake.  Their future is reliant on agencies like mine.  It's THAT important.

God's Got This

Two Saturdays ago we had a beautiful baby shower for the boys.  I can't wait to post about it because it was so special to me.  As soon as my friend passes her photos to me, I will tell you all about it.

Right now we are waiting. 

I remember way back when I kept reading that the waiting period between the referral and coming home was the hardest time.  I guess because I expected it to be a long time, it didn't seem so unbearable to me.  I kept myself busy filling out grant applications, doing fund raising and so the time didn't make me anxious.

On January 11 we received our approval from the USCIS.  We informed our country that we were ready for our last embassy appointments.  IF we were traveling to Africa, this would be the appointment that we would need to be attending.  There's actually a series of 3 appointments we would attend with the boys before leaving the country.  Because our plans had to shift and we are having an escort bring them home, we will have a power of attorney go to these appointments on our stead.

I expected the embassy dates to be assigned quickly.  I guess I assumed that it was just a matter of looking at their calendar and assigning us the next available date.

But we have yet to get an appointment and almost 1 month has passed. 

It's been OUR hard waiting time.  It seems so close to the time that we will be heading to the airport to pick up our little guys.  I knew they probably wouldn't be here for their birthday, but I thought we would be included on the monthly escort trip that will come home mid to late February bringing several children home to their forever families in the US.  I'm starting to think that it is probably unlikely that February will be our month.

It's the final trimester of this pregnancy.  The estimated due date is fast approaching (estimated is the key word there).  I'm about to pop and dying for these babies to get here.  The doctor keeps saying "Any day now."  I'm ready for my scheduled induction.

In my earnestness to have the boys home, I texted my sweet friend who has paved the way before us...the one who's own little guy was foster buddies with ours.  Her simple response was just what I needed to hear in this time of trying to be patient....

"It is hard, but do not give up hope.  You are so close!  God's got this!;)"

Yep.  God does have this.  He hand picked those 2 little precious, brown faces before we could even imagine and knew they would be lifted from Africa and placed in Tennessee.  He knew they would live in the country with 6 crazy siblings - fishing in the pond, jumping on the trampoline and learning how to ski at an early age.  He knew they would hold hands around a big table of 10 people each night to bow their heads to thank their Heavenly Father for a nutritious and bountiful meal.  He knew the time they would walk through the doors of their new home.  He knows when that last embassy appointment will be.

He's got this and I can rest in that, however anxious we are.