Happy Halloween to everyone!! Maylena is especially excited about Halloween this year because in years past we haven't really celebrated it or had her dress up and trick or treat because she was already in bed for the night at that point. However, this year she has already been Tinkerbell at a festival and trunk or treat at her Preschool church, and she was Sleeping Beauty at her Preschool Halloween party today, tonight she will be a bunny at trick or treating and going to my Uncles for a party. She is thrilled about all this dressing up and candy!!
I received an email earlier this week from the agency saying they had assigned up a case worker, Kim, who would be reading through our file and then calling us to set up the home study visits. Well I got that call today and YAY, that's my Happy Halloween!! We are meeting for our first visit next Wednesday as a couple visit. Kim explained to me that the way it works with a domestic adoption, they will have a total of 4 visits. The first 3 will be held at the Christian Adoption Agency office and the last meeting will be held in our home. The 1st meeting is for both of us to attend together...it will be at 7pm next Wednesday and will last 2 hours. Please pray for us as that comes up because I am sure I will be nervous about what they will ask us and go over based off all the things we wrote about ourselves and submitted to them. Honestly you have to write so many things and you want to get them done and back to them as soon as possible so I can't really remember even now all that I wrote. Haha. Then the next 2 meetings will be separate meetings, one with Billy and Kim and one with me and Kim. That will probably make us even more nervous. The final visit will be a visit to our actual home where Kim will look around and do a write up on us to finalize our case. Each visit is spaced about a week to 10 days apart. So we are getting ready to be especially busy along with all the events the upcoming holidays bring as well. I will be posing as much as possible after each visit to give you insight as to how it went.
I want to take a minute to share a setback we had...its hard for me to talk about it because it was total stupidity on my part and sometimes that's hard to admit! The very first fundraiser we did through the Apparent Project where we sold jewelry sets of earrings, necklaces and bracelets and half of the funds we raised went directly to the people of Haiti that made them. Well, after the funds were raised by lots of hard work from my mother-in-law and very generous support of friends and family, I stuffed our portion of the funds raised $327 cash in an envelop and sent it out that day to the agency. I was just so excited to get it out right then and there to them so it could be put on our account, I didn't think a thing about it at the time. However we got a letter in the mail from the agency last week stating we owed money still to start our home study and they listed out all the posted checks, etc that had been received and put towards our account. I looked it over and immediately realized there was a mistake on their part because no where did it list the cash I mailed or 2 other checks that had been sent. Because on my records we were a little ahead of raised funds to start the home study. I called and talked to Robin who is handling all our documentation up til that point. She said they had received the other 2 checks that I wasn't seeing listed on the account but did not receive any cash from me. She took my number and wanted to look into it and call me back. Upon calling me back she informed me that they definitely did not get that money in the mail, she opens it all because she is the receptionist and she would have remembered that much coming in cash because no one really sends cash and especially of that amount...it would have been a red flag. I immediately broke down on the phone with her and told her I needed to go because I couldn't help but cry after all that hard work and how much each and every dollar counts to us and helping reach our large goal. She didn't know what to say other than she was really sorry and understood and to please mail checks in the future. I got off the phone and called my mom and Billy and cried some more because this was money we wouldn't just be able to get back that easily so it felt like a huge loss to me. Billy reminded me that still we helped the people in Haiti so good did come of it, and that is true. My mom said she hopes whoever took that money needed it more than us. All these things did little to make me feel much better in the moment though.
That weekend I was working at the Animal Hospital and I swallowed my pride and shared with one of my close friends there what had happened and another co-worker who I am just getting to know because she was recently hired was listening as well. At the end of my story Erin who is very new and I don't even know as well said I want to write you a check right now for $50 to go towards those funds. I was blown away!! She wished she could write me the full amount... I was super blessed by how God works and her giving me the $50. How cool. All because I decided to swallow my pride and share how stupid I was to even put that cash in the mail to begin with. Erin assured me that God knew I would do that and He will work it for good.
I want to give an update on our puzzle fundraiser....we have had that $50 donation from Erin and for that I put her name on 5 pieces of our puzzle, and we also had a donation from Billy's grandfather Ted Woods with a very generous $400 donation and we put his name on 40 pieces. Billy and I are working towards buying pieces as well and have done 5 pieces ourselves. I will be posting a picture of it with my next post. But as a reminder we have a long way to go on putting that puzzle together and ANY size purchase of puzzle pieces is greatly appreciated, whether its $10 for 1 piece or multiple pieces.
Cindy Garner, a lady we went to church with years ago has donated 12 beautiful spa baskets for me to sell and use the full funds for our adoption. There are detox bath salts, hand scrubs, and a lotion bar, in 3 different scents, orange, lavendar and peppermint. She didn't want or expect anything in return. She has adopted her 2 children and is a big fan of helping us get through this process. My mom is taking them to her jewelry shows and having them on the table to sell, she sold 4 yesterday at her first show! If anyone is interested in these please email me, or post a comment and I will send a picture of them. They are arranged in very pretty baskets and are $20 a piece. Its another good thought for Christmas gifts. Very exciting how everyone is coming together to help us make this happen. We are just so blessed by incredible friends and family!!
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