You Gotta Give A Little.......

Results are in!! The polls are closed! :)  The following teams were voted the top 3:

1st Place to share $200 prize:  Team #3: Berkeley & Buhman Family with 3,091 votes

2nd Place to share $100 prize:  Team #1: Jared & the Allison Family with 1,133 votes

3rd Place to share $50 prize:  Team #6: Diana & the Blackmon Family  with 856 votes


Oh fundraising.  It is not easy for anyone, that's for sure. I know we have been in a bit of a slump trying to raise the funds we need to bring our little girl home. Currently we are in need of about $13,500 in order to be fully funded. Seems a bit daunting, that's for sure.   Some of our attempts have worked, and well.. some haven't.  It's always hit or miss I think.  We have been blessed enough with the funds we need as we needed them, that I can say for certain.  I fully believe that will continue to happen, even through the moments/days of doubt & worry.

These past few months have been rough, more so than usual.  We don't generally have a lot of 'extra' income to start with, and it seems what little we have had, has had to go towards additional/unexpected bills, various breakdowns & repairs, medical bills ect ect...  With all of these extras taking all of our extra money, I have not been able to donate as I usually like to families and waiting children. This has been driving me bonkers!!!  I love helping families,  and helping children find their families!! 

So with all this, holding on to what we have, or don't have, and worrying about how slow fundraising has become, and how we are going to make what we need to bring our girl home, as well as still paying our bills.  Moments of feeling sorry for ourselves b/c we have so much to raise in such little time... it's finally occured to me, we stopped GIVING!!  Not for very long, but long enough to matter... we just weren't giving enough... how on Earth are we supposed to raise our ransom, if we don't give what we can to others in the same position??  DUH!! 

So today we are beginning a new fundraiser, a fundraiser to benefit both Families, and waiting children.  We have 8 Families that are working hard to raise the funds to bring their little ones home,  and we have 8 waiting children, who have advocates that are trying hard to find them families, and raise their grants.   We have 3 prizes.  1 st prize, is $200 donation to the team;   2nd prize, is $100 donation to the team; and 3rd prize is $50 donation to the team.

Each Family is teamed with a waiting child.  There are a total of 8 teams.

For every share, of this fundraiser, that's 1 vote towards the team of your choice. (limited one share vote per person per day)  

$5 donation to either team member,  is 5 votes for that team. 

$10 donation gets 15 votes for that team. 

$20 donation gets 30 votes for that team. 

The Voting ends on 05/09 at 10 pm EST.

You MUST email your receipt & your vote to inaiahmakes4@gmail.com in order for your vote(s) to count!!

Now for the teams!!

Team #1  -  1,133 Votes

             Jared                                       and                  The Allison Family

 Click here to donate to vote                              Click here to donate to vote

                           

Team #2 -  340 Votes

              Marjorie                       Iris                       and         The Hemmes Family

                             Click here to donate to vote            Click here to donate to vote

(Marjorie's profile has been placed on hold for the time being, but we are keeping her on the team!)
                      

Team #3  -  3,091 Votes

         Berkeley                           and                  The Buhman Family

Click here to donate to vote                      Click here to donate to vote

                     

Team #4 - 35 Votes

    Cherie                                        and                         The Ausbrooks Family

Click here to donate to vote                                    Click here to donate to vote

                     

Team #5 - 19 Votes

            Ilyssa                                 Kanani               and                     The Wingler Family

                                         Click here to donate to vote              Click here to donate to vote
(Ilyssa's profile has been placed on hold for the time being, but we are keeping her on the team!)

                 

Team #6 - 856 Votes

    Diana                                       and                                The Blackmon Family

Click here to donate to vote                                        Click here to donate to vote

                             

Team #7 - 3 Votes

Christian                                 and                            The Tucker Family

Click here to donate to vote                              Click here to donate to vote

                               

Team #8 -78 Votes

Maggie                                  and                                   The Unroe Family

Click here to donate to vote                                     Click here to donate to vote

                 

                                                                           

Dread

So my side of the bed happens to be right next to our bedroom door. Maybe just a couple steps away.  Usually I keep our door open at night, so I can hear the littles in the event someone has a bad dream, upset tummy, coughing fit ect.   Last night the Hubs forgot to check the back door, thinking it had already been locked, and forgetting the kids were playing out of that door in the snow hours earlier. So after we had already turned in for the night, he got up and trekked all around the house to lock the door. (His argument that no one would walk through a whole yard with 11" of snow just to check for an unlocked door, did not fly)  Fast forward 15 min later or so, while trying to fall asleep, what's that? Wimper? Cry? ... wait to see if I hear it again.. maybe it's my imagination... oh, maybe not.. might as well check it out, and hopefully get whoever it may be back to sleep, in their own bed.  So I get up, take two steps and WHACK! yea, door, right in the face... the Hubs apparently had decided to partially close the door, just enough so that I would walk right smack in the middle of it. Completely unexpected, and painful. Of course, by the time I stopped grumbling, and the throbbing stopped, I checked on the kids.. yup, all sound asleep... so back to bed.

Yesterday was an unexpected snow day.  The kids are all on spring break, and were going to daycare for the week, about 20 mins from where we live. Well, with the 11" of snowfall, and the roads yet to be plowed, looks like me & kids were staying home for the day.  I have to admit, even with the moments of fighting, screaming, and crazy behavior, it was nice, really really nice. Just confirms how much I just want to stay home and be with the kids.

So today, was back to work, and well, business as usual for the most part. I went out at lunch to get out for a bit, as I was walking back into the building, WHAM it hit me, just like that door the night before, painful and unexpected... how hard, and I mean H.A.R.D. it is going to be, walking back in here the Monday after our first trip.  Obviously I have no frame of reference at this point, but I've been told that the trips are generally Saturday to Saturday, so I'm guessing, between our flight home, getting home, and getting everything re-settled, it will be a whirlwind of busyness and distraction... so much so that I am not able to give full thought & attention to everything we had done and experienced... and well, I suddenly have this real feeling, that on that Monday, pulling out my key card, and entering this building it is going to hit me that I am not going to see or hold or kiss my girl for a few months, and some how for those few months I'm supposed to go on, business as usual, like I had not experienced something amazing. (Don't get me wrong, I know good bye day, and the days following will also be very difficult) I also know, that this place gives me entirely too much time to think... and well... I am not only just not looking forward to that day, but I am dreading it. I know I am going to be one big huge mess.   I remember how hard it was going back to work after having each one of my babies, and leaving them at daycare. But coming back to work after leaving my baby in an orphanage 1/2 way around the world, and NOT being able to see her at the end of the day..... my gut is already churning... but maybe that is why it has hit me all of the sudden, so unexpectedly this realization. Maybe this is God's way to help me prepare.  Because really, I already think I know how hard it's going to be, and I haven't even seen or held our daughter yet. When it comes to things like these, in my experience what you think you are preparing for, usually ends up being harder than you planned. This, I am not looking forward to. So as I try to prepare my heart for such a moment. I am also looking forward to finally meeting this little girl, whom we all love so much already. Focus on the good, and letting God carry me through the difficult.

Blessings,

Rachel

YaaY!

So our whole Dossier is currently on it's way to a family that is leaving the end of this week, so it can be hand delivered to our attorney, Toni!  Once it is completely translated, we will officially be submitted to the MOJ (Ministry of Justice)  Then shortly after that we will be given our first travel date!!!!  I am SO SO excited!! I can't wait to finally meet our girl!!!  We're coming baby girl! We are coming!

Moving right along....

We are moving along! Over the weekend we received a text from USCIS stating they received our application!  Then on Tuesday our check went through!  So hopefully we will get our fingerprint appointment soon!

Very very soon we hope to be able to send our dossier,  which brings me to my next point.  We are still in need of approximately $4500 in order to submit said dossier.  We had two unexpected hits. 1) a $2000 fee that we didn't realize we had. 2) We have to use about $1100 from our federal refund in order to pay our state fees. (Usually we never owe) so the money we had thought would be able to go towards our dossier,  has drastically decreased.

We have been planning a puzzle fundraiser,  but because of the recent events,  we are launching it early!  We have this beautiful 550 piece puzzle. (Just perfect for all the future tea parties Emery & Inaiah will have, don't you think? :)

We love the thought of having something tangible to represent how many people have helped & loved our girl. And love the idea of her being able to SEE it!  So not only do you get to sponsor a puzzle piece for your $5 donation,  you also will get your name/signature added to a piece of artwork, which will be revealed once all pieces are sold!
Because we are not able to access our Reeces Rainbow FSP until after we get our first travel date,  we would greatly appreciate donations be made to the below link.

Agency Fees for Inaiah

Or you can donate directly to our PayPal account,  rmcox20@gmail.com.

If you are not comfortable donating online & would like to help with our immediate costs,  you can email me at  inaiahmakes4@gmail.com & I will give you our mailing address.

If you are wanting the tax deduction of the donation,  we still greatly appreciate any donations to our fsp located on the right side of the page.  If this is your preference,  please email me at the above address so that I can get your information for the puzzle fundraiser!

We are so excited to finally feel like we are moving along & can't wait until we can finally meet our girl!! We are so ready to welcome this sweet little blessing into our home, and let her finally know what it's like and what it means to be part of a family! 

Blessings,
Rachel

Updates....

Ok, so there are actually some updates!!  FINALLY!!

Update #1:   OUR HOMESTUDY IS DONE!!!
Update #2:   Our USCIS, I800a, Immigration application has been sent!

So what's left?  Well, we need to finish up what is left of our Dossier (all the official paperwork needed to send to Inaiah's country in order to get our first travel date)
Most of this we have completed, just some minor things here and there. (hoping it remains minor!)
Also we still need $3000 for our Dossier fees.
We will need our FSP to read at least $7500 before we leave for our first trip, and estimating a total of $13,000 in order to be Fully Funded.  

Here are a couple of ways to help:

We have an ongoing online auction here:  https://www.facebook.com/InaiahsAuctionHouse
We are always adding more items, and we are more than happy & grateful to accept any donations!

We have also been greatly blessed to be apart of an amazing opportunity! Located here:  http://fortytoforever.com/
Haven't decided what to do for Lent yet?  Check it out! There are some great ideas, and even greater opportunities to help Orphans around the world get their basic needs met, a family!  Our Inaiah is featured on March 14th!!  More posts and information to come! So stay tuned!!

You can also donate to our personal Family Sponsorship Grant, located off to the right, all donations are tax deductible. 

We will also be starting a puzzle fundraiser soon.  We would like to get everyone's name on the back of a puzzle, to show our little girl how much she is loved, and by who!!  My Ultimate goal would be to have everyone able to sign their own piece, might be unrealistic,  but we'll figure something out!! After all, our girl is way more than worth it!!

Blessings,
Rachel

Quick not-much-to Update

So, pretty much the title says it all.... there really isn't a WHOLE lot to update on... our home study is basically finished.... and written up, waiting on one piece of paper that they will hopefully have by Monday, then it's off to be approved, and approved again (the way I understand it anyway) once it's all done, we will get a few notorized copies, and send on off with our I-800a awaiting approval to bring a wee little girl back home with us!  The papers are all filled out and pretty much just waiting on the homestudy. While we are waiting on all that to be processed, we will finish up the paperwork for our dossier, and then send it all off to Inaiah's country!  BIG step there!  So far, all the money we have needed towards any fees and such, have been there.  The next big chunk will be the $5,500 we will need for our dossier, and that will have to come from us, all the grant money in our Reece's Rainbow account will not be available to us until we receive our first travel dates.  I am working on a breakdown of what exactly we will need and when. I will also be putting up a chip in, for anyone who would want to help us with our dossier fees.  

So that's the jist... we are basically in a waiting period, not a whole lot on our side to do at the moment.

I am working on an auction fundraiser, so if you have any items or anything of any kind you would like to donate, let me know! We would be super grateful for anything!


~Rachel 

Aaaaaaannddd the winner is......

Well first we wrote down all entries on tickets....
And then we put them all into a little bag...

Then we....

                        Shook shook shook

                        Shook shook shook

                      And shook some more

 

Before we pulled the winning ticket. ..

Who just so happens to be...

     LaDonna Pride contact me with your address asap so we can get this out to you! 
                rmcox20 at gmail dot com

I will need to be contacted by the 21st, if I haven't heard from you we will have to draw another winner.

Our deepest thanks to everyone who has helped & donated!  We are SO happy to be this much closer to our little girl!


Blessings
Rachel