Thursday, April 25, 2013

Our Both Hands Work Day Video

Saturday we had our Both Hands work day and it was fantastic! Here is a video that our super wonderful friend did for us! Totally worth the watch! We couldn't have done this day without our wonderful friends (especially one particular friend that worked her butt off to make this day happen, because I was just too overwhelmed to take it on....(she may, or may not, have been holding a riding crop in the video! Ha! Long story.....)



http://vimeo.com/64732085

Monday, April 15, 2013

Give1Save1 Family of the Week~Eastern Europe

We are so lucky to be the Give1Save1 Family of the Week this week! I really love this organization and the idea that a little bit adds up to something big! Sadly, aren't independently wealthy and have had to depend on friends, family and strangers to help us with this adoption.  We have had our fair share of crazy stuff that has happened that has set us back during this adoption as well and we have  scrimped and saved as much as possible, but we still need help. I wish that wasn't the case, because I really hate asking for help!


But if you could spare a buck or two, it adds up quick! And if you wouldn't mind sharing on your FaceBook page, blog, etc.....that would be awesome! We really appreciate the help! And I know that Henry would thank you if he could!


Check it out....donate, share, and make a difference! Every dollar counts!


http://give1save1europe.blogspot.com/2013/04/new-week-welcome-saubers-family.html


Friday, April 12, 2013

What's Going On???

Well, it's been a long time since I have written a post.....like, January long! I had to back off for a while..... adoption is a long, hard journey and let's face it, not everyone is so nice and understanding about what we are doing. I had gotten too many nasty comments on my blog and couldn't take any more, so I quit. Like a big, fat, quitter. But I have heard from so many people that follow us and they want to know what the heck, so I'm back! Until another meanie says something, then I will probably be back in the corner in the fetal position, rocking and singing the Sesame Street theme. Happy place = Big Bird. Right???


We are still moving forward and still fundraising, (unfortunately!) and have a huge fundraiser happening next Saturday! It's through Both Hands and is truly living out James 1:27 and helping a widow and an orphan! Check it out! It's one of my favorite things.....if I were Oprah, people would be all over this thing! 

http://bothhands.org/jeff-and-shauna-saubers


 We have been given an official referral and Henry is OURS!!! Our facilitator travels to his orphanage this coming Monday to get new pictures (Squee!!! We have only ever seen one picture of him! ONE! I could possibly wet my pants!) and medical records! This is a day we have been waiting for, for a very long time! We look to possibly travel in June and if all goes well and we are granted a waiver, will bring him home that trip! We are praying that the funding will be there by that time and we can go when the say GO! I can't stress enough how much this little boy needs to come home! He's alone. In an orphanage. It's heartbreaking as his mother to think of that and go to sleep at night knowing that your child is in that situation. It is something that I didn't take into account when we started this process.....but again, adoption is hard stuff. Beautiful, but so, so stinkin' hard!


We also have a very sweet friend that has a little boy with Down syndrome, just like Henry! And it's his birthday tomorrow! And guess what his momma is doing??? She has asked that instead of presents for her little boy and his special day, to please bring a donation to Henry instead! How sweet is that??? How do you repay someone for that? I'm blown away by the kindness we have seen in our journey. There's that beautiful thing that keeps coming up!


We are also the Give1Save1 Eastern Europe Family of the Week coming up! I will post a link for that later! 

I know we have a lot of fundraisers going on, but man, this process is wicked expensive! We are now on a rescue mission to bring Henry home.....what waits for him after the orphanage is a death sentence for him if we don't go get him. That, my friends, is not going to happen! So, when you see yet another fundraiser, please don't roll your eyes and think "Good grief! Another one?!?!". We aren't  asking for you to fund a trip to Disney, you are truly helping save a life. And  THAT, my friends, is a beautiful thing.


Sunday, January 27, 2013

Landriebug's Puzzle fundraiser!

Our sweet Landriebug has decided to start fundraiser to help bring her brother home! She has bought, with her own money, a 100 piece puzzle of the world and when you "buy" a piece, she will write your name on the back of the piece. When all 100 pieces are sold, she will put it together and it will hang in Henry's room! It will be a reminder of how many people loved him home!

Landrie has decided that she would like to raise $10 per puzzle piece, because her goal is $1000! Not only are you helping bring Henry home, you are instilling the spirit of generosity and giving in an 11 year old girl.....I'd call that priceless!


Our PayPal link is on the top left side of our blog! Thank you!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Matching Grant time!

We are so excited! We have been offered a matching grant of $300! If we are able to raise $300 by this Sunday the 27th, the grant will be matched another $300!  That's $600! Woo hoo! We need this, friends! So please, if you can.....donate and share this post!

The best ways to donate are our Project Hopeful FIG fund...we can access these funds at any time and can use it for our dossier, which we really need to get done! AND it is a tax-deductible donation!

http://www.projecthopeful.org/waiting-kids/matched-children-and-families#Kael

You can also donate to our ChipIn...

Which, for the life of me, I can NOT get it to link here...but if you scroll down on the right side of the blog there is a label marked ChipIn that you can click on and it will take you there from back in the day when I could figure out how to link it! Sorry for the confusion! I am easily overwhelmed at this point!



There is also our PayPal tab on the top left of the blog!





Thank you so much for helping to bring our little man home! We are really to the point that we need to get this process wrapped up....it's time for him to meet his family!


Help Henry Home!

Wonderful news....our time crunch/date/paperwork issue has been resolved and we are not working against that timeline any longer! BUT we still want our little man home as soon as humanly possible! So we are still working hard on fundraising and praying that we are blessed with some grants!




This week I would like to ask, okay, maybe beg...just a little, to share our family and our story with your friends on FaceBook, your blog, any way that you can!  Several of our friends have already done this and our Project Hopeful FIG fund went up almost $800! In just a couple of days! We don't know if this will do any good, but we feel like it just might. Stranger things have happened!

So please, share our blog as many times as possible this week!

Oh and we have announced our little man's new name! We will be naming him Henry Jude (he is currently Kael on RR)...Henry means ruler of the home and Jude means praised and of course, St. Jude is the patron Saint of Lost Causes....which is just so appropriate for our family! Ha!

Monday, January 14, 2013

What's New

So I haven't posted in FOREVER. Mainly because I am busy and a little because I'm tired. Tired of this  process. Tired of waiting. Tired of our boy being in an orphanage. Coffee doesn't fix this tired.

Some HUGE things have happened since my last post. Things I can't talk about....yet! But very good things! Seriously, don't you hate it when people do that? I do, yet I just did it. Hypocrite.



So, as of today I am finishing the last things up for our dossier. We are waiting for our blood work to get back. We had to re-do our physicals because we had them done almost a year ago and, apparently they "expire". Those should be all done on Friday. We will get  all of the dossier papers notarized and then apostilled (come ON....we have to notarize the fact that our notary is real??? So weird!), which luckily, we can walk in to the Capitol and have done very quickly!

The kicker? We have to do this now. Like NOW. The dossier has to go ASAP! And we are $8000 short. Our homestudy approves us for a child "up to 3", well, the little Mr. turns 3 on March 3. IF we don't get the dossier in and get our referral back by his birthday, his country will say that we aren't approved for a child "3 and up". Makes me want to voh-meet, as my friend's son would say. We would have to re-do a lot of stuff.....homestudy update and a new USCIS approval. Which means more money and more time. We have applied for several grants, but it is a timing thing right now. We are gonna either have to put our little boy on a credit card or take out a loan. Sorry Dave Ramsey, we have completely failed you. 

BUT a little boy's life hangs in the balance. He needs to come home. Soon. He's waited long enough.


And if you happen to know Dave Ramsey, ask him if he wouldn't mind making a donation to our adoption. I know he's good for it! And it's tax deductible! ;0)





Ways to donate to our adoption.....yeah, I hate this part too!

We are signed up to be a FIG Family with Project Hopeful! This is a tax deductible way to donate to our family. We are able to access this money at any time, so it could be used for immediate needs, like our dossier!

http://www.projecthopeful.org/waiting-kids/matched-children-and-families#Kael


Reece's Rainbow is another way to make a tax deductible donation to our family. We will get these funds when we are traveling to pick up our little man!

http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorsaubers


Paypal-
There is a link on the top left hand column of the blog. Not tax deductible, but we are able to access the money immediately.



You can also see the fundraising blog post for our Just Love Coffee fundraiser and 147 Million fundraiser!

THANK YOU! <3 We couldn't do this without your help and support. It truly does take a village! Our village rocks!