thankful

I am sooooo late to this bandwagon, and yet I've been so incredibly blessed this year that I can't avoid the topic any longer.  Here is a sampling of the things I (Jessica) am thankful for from 2011.

1. My husband.  He is amazing and I am more in love with him every day.
2. Our jobs.  God has blessed us in more ways than I ever imagined possible this year.  We are so blessed that every penny we have needed so far has been there, and we have been able to help others who are on this path as well which is such a gift.
3. Our family.  I can't say enough about how loving and supportive they have been as we have walked down this adoption road.
4. Our friends.  Ditto above.
5. Reece's Rainbow.  I had never heard of RR before March, and yet this adoption family has become so important to our little family.
6. Andrea Roberts. Reece's mother.  Without her we would never have found our son.
7. Our facilitators.  Have answered more questions, late night emails, read drafts of applications, probably been incredibly annoyed by me.  And yet not a single complaint!
8. Our home.  While I have moments that I dream of a larger house I know this is the home God intends us to bring Danny home to.
9. Mya.  The angel who has ultimately led us to Danny.
10. Angel Tree and the ability to advocate for Dexter.  (He's a cutie!  Are you his momma?)

So there you have it.  We are so incredibly blessed and thankful for His provision.  And once Wes gets home I'm going to try (no promises) to get him to write a "thankful" post as well.

no news!

And I'm tempted to not tell you any news that I get until we have at least $250 in Dexter's Christmas Warrior fund.  That would be mean, wouldn't it?  Except that we all know that I stink as a secret keeper.  The only way for me to keep a secret is for me to completely forget you told me.  Which does happen from time to time, but I doubt that I'm going to keep a secret our travel dates (once I get them) for long.  So let's do this instead....donate to Dexter!  Then I won't have to keep you in the dark.

"please help me find my mommy, I will smile so much then!"

{that chip-in at the top right of this blog post is the easiest way to donate to Dexter....and there's cookies in it for you!}

Sunday Prayers vol. 21

I want to give you a quick update on where we are, and what is happening next in this crazy adoption process before getting to this week's Sunday Prayers list.  Wes is still working in Connecticut.  He has officially been there in 4 different months since he left in August, worked all through September and October...and now it's November.  Crazy!  We don't know exactly when he will be home, but we do know for sure that he's going to come for Thanksgiving, the jury is out on whether or not he will have to go back.  Work has also been keeping me busy, which is the saving grace in all of this! God has abundantly blessed us to be able to add to our savings during the past few months, and we are eternally grateful that we have more than we need right now.

Next in the adoption process is submission of our Dossier to the Ministry of Justice in Danny's country.  That will happen TOMORROW!!!  It is our understanding that it is basically a formality of our adoption process, and we will receive a verbal referral and invitation to come meet our son for the first time.  I am barely able to contain my excitement, and you know I will be on pins and needles until we receive our travel dates.  We are hoping to have our travel dates by the end of this week so we can begin to shop for plane tickets.  Since I am a planner by nature I have searched already, and I'm a bit overwhelmed at what I'm seeing price-wise.  We expect to be traveling at some point in January. Thank you in advance for praying for us this week.

1. Danny....please begin to pray for his transition from orphanage life into family life.  We are praying that the assimilation is easy for him, and that he immediately feels at home with us.

2. Dexter...he is going to be #2 on my list now!  Please consider donating to his adoption fund.  Have you ever considered adoption?  He is a perfect age to bring into your family and fit right in!

3. Travel: dates and airfare.  Our prayer is for God's timing to continue to be perfect in all of this, and that the prices on airfare begin to come down.

4. Our Jobs: please pray for safety for Wes as he continues to be away.  Please also pray for me as the end of the year is a very busy and stressful time.

5. Our Eastern European facilitator: Toni works very hard for many families while dealing with many government agencies and folks who oppose her work.  She deserves to always be in our prayers.

update!

Got the best email ever this morning.  Our dossier is being submitted to the Ministry of Justice on MONDAY!!!!!!!!!  This means we should have our travel dates as soon as next week.  We are praying so much right now for expediency to the proceedings (which we understand to be a formality) and lower airfares than what I'm currently seeing online.

I will be back tomorrow with our Sunday Prayers.  I bet you can guess what #2 is going to be....since Danny is always #1!

I'm a little competitive

And disappointed.  I had really hoped that we would be over $100 for Dexter by now, three days into Angel Tree.  And we've had only 1 lonely deposit into his account.  I'm hoping it's because some of you have decided to send a check to Reece's Rainbow, but I'm guessing it's because I'm not being annoying enough!  Remember, I promised COOKIES!!!!

Please, as you are looking over your charitable giving for 2011, won't you consider helping to save a life?  Because that is exactly what you are doing when you donate to Dexter, or any of the children on Reece's Rainbow.  I'm not kidding.  When you donate to a child, no matter how big or small the donation, you are helping to ensure that someone comes to bring them home to a forever family.  How often can you say your $35 can make that big of an impact?  Not often at all.  And remember, as well, ALL donations to Reece's Rainbow are 100% tax deductible.  Don't let the tax man get you this year.  DONATE!!!!

Remember to use the Chip-In on the right to donate to Dexter so I know who to deliver cookies to.  Contact me directly if you have any questions about RR, donations, or adoption in general. After all it's also Adoption Awareness Month too!

are you my momma?

Edited: we've had 2 donations!  But still under $100.  Won't you please consider helping out?

we got new pictures!!!

Ok, not exactly, but I got the full length shots that the head shot photos were edited from for Reece's Rainbow.  Want to see them?  I've added optional captions for your entertainment.  The first one is his baby pic.  I find him to be quite cute!

1. Hi Mom!
2. It wasn't me!  I have not had any cookies.  Promise!
3. Aren't I the cutest kid ever?!?!?  

This next one is more recent.  We don't know exactly when it's from, but I'm assuming it's from early this year when his medical report was updated.  

1. Get this scary doll away from me
2. Ugh.  I know I'm cute, but stop taking my picture already!
3. Why am I wearing girl pants?!?!?

Final caption: Don't forget about Dexter on the Angel Tree!  $35 gets you an ornament for your tree and cookies from me.  First batch is going out tomorrow, and I would love to make it a double batch!

 

Happy Christmas Warrior day 1!

Happy November!  Only a few weeks until Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and then Christmas will be rapidly upon us.

November also means that it's time for Reece's Rainbow's Christmas Warrior project. I've already introduced you to Dexter, our cutie, but here he is again:

Here is how the Christmas Warrior project works: the 1st goal is to raise $1,000 for sweet Dexter between now and December 31st.  For every $35 donated you can get an ornament for your Christmas tree with his picture on it.  In the spirit of honesty I want to make sure you know that $5 of each donation will cover the ornament cost, but the other $30 goes directly to Dexter's adoption fund!  That means we only need 34 people to donate $35 in order to get him the $1,000! Totally do-able, right?  I think so!

As if the thought of putting that sweet face on your tree wasn't enough I'm going to sweeten the deal.  For everyone (local) who donates $35 to Dexter, during November, I will bring you this:

Oatmeal, Cranberry, White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here is the easiest way to donate: see the "Chip In" at the top right of the blog?  The one that says "Dexter's Chip In"?  Yeah, that's it!  You can donate there using PayPal or a credit card.  This makes it easier for me too, because I will get a message saying who donated, and how much.  Then I can make you cookies!  Want to make a BIG donation ($100 or more?) please plan to MAIL a check to Reece's Rainbow.  This will save them significant PayPal fees.  (Send me a message telling me that you donated so I can make you cookies too!) You can mail your check to:

Reece's Rainbow

PO Box 4024

Gaithersburg, MD 20885

*in the memo line please put: "Dexter 26HA"

To those of you who are out of town....shipping is expensive!  Since we are in the process of adopting our sweet boy I'm hoping you will understand that footing the bill on sending cookies out of state just isn't feasible right now.  If you still want cookies...and are willing to pay for shipping to cover it (via a donation to Danny's account) then I will happily ship you cookies!  Have a question about how to donate to Danny?  Click the link with his picture on it, or send me a message.

What is the 2nd goal of the Christmas Warrior project?  Hopefully to find a forever family for Dexter!  Have you ever considered adoption?  Will you please pray about adoption for your family?  Will you please also pray that by December 31st Dexter has a family ready to come for him?  

With the average cost of adoption running $25,000 our goal of $1,000 might seem insignificant, however sometimes seeing that the fundraising process has already started is the last thing it takes for a family to make the decision to take this journey!  

In advance, I would like to thank you for donating to Dexter.  Who-ever his family is greatly appreciates it, I promise!  (Also remember, your donations to Reece's Rainbow are tax deductible!)