The Run

We did it! Team Running to China finally made it out of the ocean just before the Chosen Marathon race. And Brad and I were able to travel to New Braunfels, Texas to run our strongest half marathon to date. We crossed the finish line just a few minutes after the 2 hour mark and averaged a nine to ten minute mile pace throughout the entire race. It was a pace we felt happy about.

The Chosen Marathon is an amazing race held in a beautiful location and well worth our travel to Texas. The energy and atmosphere was indescribable. Race day always has a different energy and is very exciting no matter what you are running for. But the way this race was done was inspiring. I would do it again in a heart beat.

We arrived in San Antonio Friday evening and traveled to New Braunfels to pick up our race packets. Then we had just enough time to scoot on over to the reception that was put on for participating families. This race was founded by a Christian woman and is sponsored by a Christian organization called Abba Fund. The Spirit was strong as the founders shared their story and the motivation behind Chosen.

Brad and I scored our carb-heavy dinner after the reception before settling in to our hotel. Saturday morning we headed to the race nice and early. New Braunfels is a quiet rural area and we wondered if we would have any trouble finding the free parking area in the dark.

No problem.

Music blaring, police cars at every intersection directing traffic, and giant flood lights everywhere. Wouldn't see that in a rural neighborhood in California at 6am...

It was overcast and dark. But the energy was high and everyone was excited to race. We were greeted by a man who had seen us on the flight the night before and he and his wife wished us luck. We chatted with a few runners who were participating just for the race and others who were running for their babies or their friends who were adopting.

The race was preceded by a prayer and the National Anthem. I like Texas...

It was humid and surprisingly warm. Brad and I worried what it would be like once the sun came up.

About 10 minutes before race time

Fortunately the cloud cover kept it cool and a nice breeze began when we approached the river.

Mile 9 crossing the Gruene River

 

Our course ran along side the Gruene River (pronounced green for any of you other Yankees that didn't know either). It was beautiful.

While there were a few serious runners the grand majority of participants were novice runners or walkers. It was a great group to be in. Everyone was cheery and supportive. Every step carried the positive attitude and "we're all in this together" feel of the adoption community. It is hard to explain, but it was awesome.

All along the course there were huge signs reminding us of what we were running for. The final stretch to the finish line was amazing. I had a great video, but because of a technical snafoo, it is gone. But imagine 2 dozen 10 foot tall signs with images similar to these all along the final turn to the finish line.

I cannot say it enough, this race was awesome.

And the icing on the cake: Team Running to China has contributed $2,525 toward bringing our son home.

 

We're almost to shore!

Team Running to China has completed 5,139 miles of our goal! Our race is just 5 weeks away. We can get to Guangzhou! If you or someone you know is running or walking let them know to contact us about their miles and help us get out of the ocean. We are almost there!

Garage sale take 3

Last weekend we set up for a third and final sale.

Almost everything was left over from the previous two sales. So it was not surprising that this sale did not raise as much as the first two. But at the end of the day we had well over $200 more to add to the adoption fund, a sizeable donation to the Good Will, and a clean garage restored to its pre-fundraising order. It was a successful day.

Please excuse my absence

Summer is over. And I just realized I have not touched this poor blog in a while. We are still here. We are still whittling away at our fundraising goals. We are still training for a run. And we are still coping with the whirlwind of life. You know, the I-have-4-kids, school-just-started, adoption-paperwork, mixed with the soccer-season-again, parent-teacher-conferences and back-to-school-night craziness that all us parents know is coming every August.

But, it's time for an update! Time is passing and we keep inching closer to China.

Here's what you missed over the last 2 months:

another 144 training miles run (between Brad and I)
another $720 raised through a second fundraising garage sale
countless hours worked on side jobs after regular business hours which translated into:
another $833 added to the adoption fund through Brad's side business Honey-Do Helpers
and last, the decision to adjust our original goal of running the full 26.2 mile marathon to the 13.1 mile half marathon

That last one was so frustrating. But the reality is our time is precious. And we can still participate in this race and fundraise for our adoption without running the full marathon. Daddy is needed in his new business. And Mama is needed by the precious ones already home. My competitive side really wants to finish the full marathon. But it's just not going to happen this time because training takes hours and hours away from home. So we continue to train for our 13.1 miles. And we rejoice in the ability to travel to Texas cost-free thanks to airline miles accumulated during our trips to Russia.

I am down right giddy looking at our little fund raising thermometer and seeing the total over $7000! That means we are already 1/5 the way there! More than 20%! I am still running to China, one mile and one penny at a time.

Training for a marathon

Some days I wonder what the heck we were thinking when we signed up for this run. It is hot. Training is not fun. Long runs take f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I could be doing so many other things other than hours of running!

I am not a 'runner'. I don't enjoy running. Unless there is some kind of ball around (soccer, basketball, softball, football, any ball) I don't ever 'feel' like just running.

The longest distance I have ever run is a half marathon (13.1 miles). I agreed to do it with a friend and our pace was super relaxed and easy and we took frequent walk breaks. The goal was just to finish. While I do remember feeling really good after that 'race' and thinking "I could totally do a full marathon", I am starting to wonder what got me so excited about this full-marathon idea?

 

June 8, minor's ravine trail, 7 miles, 8am, about 83 degrees, pace-10:44/mi

This time I am training with none other than my hubby. Let's just say running with a 32 year old guy who happens to be in pretty good shape despite his desk job is just a wee different than training with my previous partner. I am super competitive. Which means when I am supposed to be running shoulder-to-shoulder with Brad and am trying desperately to look like I feel great, what's really happening is my mind and body are whimpering like a little girl begging me to just admit I want to walk.

June 22, folsom lake, 8 miles, 9pm, about 85 degrees, pace-11:12/mi

And while we are totally doing it: following the training plan and shocking myself with the ability to actually run these distances at a decent (albeit slow) pace, I am still struggling to convince the whimpering little girl in my head to shut up and run!

June 29, Granite Bay, 9 miles, 5:30am, about 80 degrees, pace-11:05/mi

 

All complaints aside we are running. And I will finish that race. But I'm willing to bet the whiny little girl will show her face at some point on race day... It won't be pretty... And I am not looking forward to it... But she can't stop me.

Yard Sale

We had the opportunity to piggy back into my parent's neighborhood garage sale this weekend. This sale is done once a year and always gets a good turn out. So, much like last year, we asked friends if they had any items they would be willing to donate and we got to work sorting and preparing.

We had about 10 families donate items and only spent about a week gathering and sorting. Compared to last year it was a walk in the park. And since my parents were participating we were able to set up the night before instead of having to get up at 3 am to move everything like last year.

The girls and Drew got a kick out of sleeping beneath the stars with us to make sure nothing disappeared in the night.

 

And we lucked out this year with beautiful weather. Nothing like the 109 degrees we endured last year.

 

All together this sale generated another $750 for China. Not bad for a half-day sale. We are inching closer to the $1900 goal for our home study. Once it is complete we'll be able to submit the USCIS docs (another $1700) and prepare to receive a referral. This will be a very exciting summer.

Now is the time!

We just received notice that during this week of June 3-June 9 we have the opportunity to earn a cash bonus for our running team! The team who adds the most runners during this week will be awarded a significant bonus to their grant. The reason this incentive is being offered now is this week marks the beginning of the average training program for marathons. Now is the time for runners to commit to a race and get training!

So, if you or someone you know is interested in running a marathon, mention this race. Mention our team. And mention this contest and the end date of June 9. If you and everyone you know are not interested in running a half or full marathon, consider registering as a 'sleep walker'. Sleep walkers still count as team members but do not participate on race day.

Already running another marathon in October? Wouldn't ever dream of even walking a half marathon? Don't live anywhere near Texas? No problem, be a sleep walker!

If, by chance, you would consider joining our team as a sleep walker but you don't have the full registration fee available you could also consider getting your friends to pitch in with you. Would your Bunko group like to help bring an orphan home? Maybe you are active in a Meetup? Perhaps your bible study group? Or your extended family? If your initial response to the Chosen Marathon is, "I want to be a part of that!" but then cost or location deter you, do not give up! Be a sleepwalker!

Spread the word and start running, or sleep walking, to China with us! Register here and join team Running to China!

And just like that

He provides:

Our agency offered to accept the first half of our fees this Thursday to begin the process with the agreement that the second half will be ready at our next step. Our total agency fee will be $3500 so we needed to provide $1750 today.

Here is how He provided:

In-person marathon sponsor #1- $50
In-person marathon sponsor #2- $100
Unexpected escrow check- $602.58
Unexpected insurance check- $268.74
Unexpected business reimbursement check- $25
"Change For China" returned in the past 4 days- $35.51
Cash donations- $60
Personal items sold- $150
Mary Kay party- $91.25
Donated furniture sold- $140

Psalm 37:5 "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."

A new goal

It would seem my timeline never seems to match the timeline of the One who is really in charge of our adoptions. I created this nice little plan thinking I was setting big goals and showing faith. I felt so good about that quaint little plan but still said with my heart, "If this is not your plan, just show me and we will do what you ask." Little did I know...

Since laying out that quaint little plan we have experienced a job change. But through the confirmation of the Spirit, and a clear work of God himself in our lives, we continued to just put one foot in front of the other knowing with 100% clarity that we were indeed meant to continue this path of adoption. Even though we understood clearly that we are to continue on the path of this adoption, it turns out our expectations were still just a little off. God does not want us to "just" move forward with the adoption process at our leisure. He's got something in mind, and we're supposed to get to it now.

When we first started the process of adopting from Russia in October of 2011, we didn't understand why, but we had an unusual feeling of urgency. We knew we needed to not drag our feet. It was not until 8 weeks after we got our son home in 2012 when the Russian adoption ban passed that we realized why. God had a timeline. That little boy needed to be home in time. We could not wait.

So here we are again, not understanding our Father's timing. But we know we are supposed to have our agency fee ready to go by next Thursday, May 23. God has a timeline. And as of yesterday, I finally caught up and realized what His timing is. So I have 9 days to put together about $2500 for our agency fee. Impossible? No. All things are possible. Intimidating? A little, yes. We just got our running team off the ground (and even received our very first donation!!) today. But the funds raised by our team will not be sent to our agency until after the race in October. This $2500 needs to be raised now and in our hands by next week.

So, here are the latest fundraising ideas for the next 9 days:

#1- My fantastic Mama (who also happens to be a Mary Kay Sales Director) has generously offered to donate 50% of sales generated by yours truly to our adoption account. So, I have a good old fashioned party planned next Wednesday and have opened online ordering at www.marykay.com/beckyk. All orders accompanied by the comment "shopping with Kim Krinke" will contribute to our adoption.

#2- I am selling "Helping Hands" to friends, family, and others. These little certificates are purchased in advance of service. It's a donation with the agreement to provide a service in the month of May. Friends who participate by donating will receive a "Helping Hand" certificate that is good for a service valued at the amount they donated. For example: mowing a lawn, washing a car, cleaning a toilet, etc. The donor will chose the value of the task (if they want to donate $5 for a clean toilet or $50 it is up to them) and the service will be provided before the end of the month.

#3- Good old fashioned charity. It is hard to be humble enough to admit you can't reach a goal on your own. It is hard to be humble enough to accept the help of others without offering something in return. One of the reasons I originally set this goal ($3500 agency fees) for July 4 is I really thought I could put together some fun events by then. If Heavenly Father wants to show me this is not about what I can do, but what He can do, I am trying to accept the generosity of others and bring glory to my Heavenly Father by showing His power, not mine.

Watch that thermometer over the next 9 days 'cause here we go!

The Run

This is what's got me so excited lately:

This is our run. This is going to be our "big" fundraiser. With our last adoption I got really excited about our yard sale. I knew it was going to be our "big" event. And it was. Success doesn't even begin to describe how well that fundraiser went. When I began planning the yard sale, I felt so excited. I knew it was what we needed to do. That's the way I feel about this run. I know it is what we are supposed to do. And I cannot wait to start "Running to China."

In case I have not managed to catch you and blurt out all of the details yet here's the gist: the Chosen Marathon is a USATF certified marathon put on by a non profit organization called ABBA Fund. Adopting families can fundraise for their adoption by participating in the race and forming a team. Each team member who registers for the race (even those who register as "sleep walkers" and do not participate on race day) adds funds to our 'bucket' through their registration fee. Participating in the race also allows us to create a 'family page' where we can receive tax deductible donations that will also be added to our 'bucket'. All of the monies raised through registration and donations will be distributed to our agency for our adoption after the race.

We chose the team name "Running to China" because we plan to create a team that will run the equivalent distance from our home to Guangzhou, China where our adoption will be finalized. All together we are striving to run a total of 6,879 miles before the end of our race day, October 26, 2013.

Check out our YouTube video:

We're running to China, wanna join us?

Team "Running to China"

If you clicked on the "Count My Miles" button in the menu bar, scroll down to the bottom of this post to see information about logging miles for our team.

Thank you for considering joining our team! From May to October 2013 we will be training for the Chosen Marathon. If you are not familiar with this race please visit www.chosenmarathon.com.

I don’t have time to look up the site, tell me a little about it.

The Chosen Marathon is held October 26, 2013 near Austin Texas in New Braunfels. This run is a Boston Qualifier and USATF certified. It will definitely be a great race for running enthusiasts and novices alike. The course moves along the Guadalupe River and includes hills and scenery. A half marathon is also run along this same course for those not ready for the full 26.2 miles. MANY families run or even walk the half marathon without previous race experience (training yes, previous half marathons no).

Whether you are already a competitive runner or still a couch potato wishing to cross a finish line in triumph you can support our team!

That sounds like a run I want to participate in, what do I do?
You can register for this race online to benefit our team at www.chosenmarathon.com 

Register to run the full OR half marathon and when prompted enter the team name: Running to China. Then be sure to get in contact with us so we can add your training miles to our team’s goal (see below).  

I’m not ready to run that far, can I still participate?

If you cannot be present the day of the race, or perhaps your training has included too much couch and not enough finish line, you can register as a “sleep walker” and support our team from the comfort of your home on race day. Just go to www.chosenmarathon.com and follow the registration prompts. Be sure to enter the team name: Running to China. And if you are walking or running any distance between now and October 26, 2013 please contact us so that we can add your miles to our team’s goal (see below).

I would run this race if it were near my hometown, but I can't travel to Texas, is there someway I can participate?

Many friends have already expressed a conflict the day of the race: can't travel to Texas/already running another race in October/can't afford the registration fee/etc. If you would run the race with us under different circumstances, consider a way you can contribute that would match your initial expectation. If you would join our team if the registration fee were lower, consider making a donation to our family page and logging your miles without participating in the actual race. If you would run the race if it did not require travel or did not conflict with an existing commitment, consider registering as a "sleep walker" so you can be on our team without being present race day. Bottom line: we want your support and participation in whatever way you can offer it. And if you just can't join the team, spread the word! That will be the most valuable contribution you can make!

How does registering for the race benefit adoption?

Your registration fee will be placed into our team’s “bucket” and distributed to our agency after the race is complete. The funds will be applied to our adoption of a special needs child from China. The more runners we have on our team, the more funds we will have to apply toward our adoption. And, by creating our team, we are given the opportunity to create a family page where tax deductible donations can be made and will be distributed to our placing agency in the form of a grant. Visit our family page at: http://www.abbafund.org/blog/running-to-china/chosen-marathon-teams/

I would like to know more about you before I participate, how can I learn more about your adoption?

We would love for you to visit our family blog: www.krinkes.blogspot.com and continue to follow our story here at adoptingwithoutdebt.blogspot.com. You can also view our YouTube videos by clicking the links in the menu bar on this blog.

I would like to make a donation without having to register for the race.

Tax deductible donations of any amount can be made to our team online through our Chosen Marathon family page at http://www.abbafund.org/blog/running-to-china/chosen-marathon-teams/ . Direct donations can also be made through the ‘donate’ button on this blog.

Why do you want to know about my training miles?

We have made a team goal to “run to China” (hence the team name). This means that between May and October our team (friends, family, neighbors, race participants, and random strangers who decide to participate) will tally all miles run or walked during training. Our goal is to run or walk a total of 6, 879 miles (the distance from our home town to Guangzhou, China) by the end of race day October 26, 2013. This is a goal we are tracking as a family separate from the Chosen Marathon and we want everyone to be able to participate regardless of mobility or financial participation. But we need to know who you are and how far you are going.

So, if you would like your miles to count toward our total go to www.dailymile.com and create an account to track your miles. Once you have an account you can click on the "challenges" button and find our challenge "Running to China". Or email me at kimkrinke@yahoo.com and I will send you a challenge invite (you need a dailymile account first). Dailymile is free and easy to use. You do not need a phone app or anything fancy. You simply input your total after each run or walk and your miles will be tracked for you and shown for our team. It's that easy. 

We hope you will consider supporting this race even if it is not through our team. Please visit the Chosen Marathon site and spread the word!

Marathon Sponsor Information

Who can sponsor? Anyone and everyone! Businesses, clubs, groups and individuals.

Let’s get right to it, what’s in it for me? All “great causes” aside, we want this arrangement to hold some interest for you. Here is what we can offer your business, club, group, or you as an individual:

-all donations made through our family page are tax deductible

-business who choose to sponsor us will have their logo listed on the main page of both our blogs with average exposure of over 750 page views per month

-direct link to your webpage  from our blog.

All business references and advertising will be recognized in order of donation amount.

Individual and club/group sponsorship will also be recognized in all publications above and will also be listed in amount order.

What am I sponsoring? The 3^rd annual Chosen Marathon will be held near Austin Texas in October 2013.

“As an official charitable outreach of ABBA Fund, Chosen’s mission is to host sporting events to financially impact orphans & adoptive families and raise awareness of the 165 million orphans worldwide. Our purpose is to help children come into families, provide direct orphan care to those who are not adopted, and educate the community about the global orphan crisis, while we transform the world of Sports for the Kingdom of God.”

To learn more about how our team raises money for our adoption and how funds are distributed visit www.chosenmarathon.com

Where do I go to donate? Tax deductible donations can be made through our family page at: http://www.abbafund.org/blog/running-to-china/chosen-marathon-teams/ and will be distributed to our placing agency after the race. Direct contributions to our adoption can also be made with PayPal through the ‘donate’ button on our blog page.

Training

Brad and I plan to run the full marathon and have found a 6 month training program that we will be following. There are numerous variations and plentiful information online about training for half and full marathons. I have included our training schedule below and the link to the site where I found it because I can't get the picture any bigger here on the blog: http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/marathon-training-schedule.html  

We would love to have you join us on our training runs! Each Saturday we will be participating in local running groups, clubs, and Meetups. For more information about our upcoming runs click on the “running schedule” tab in the menu bar.

The training goal of our team will be to run the equivalent distance of Roseville, California to Guangzhou, China, a total of 6,798 miles. In order to log your training miles go to our blog and click the “Count My Miles” tab in the menu bar for instructions. Remember, your training miles count whether you race or not.

Thank you, cookie dough...

Actually, thank you to our friends and family who purchased the cookie dough...

I found this sassy little mama online, copied her by hand, and added the globe for our 'label'.

 

We have officially met goal #1- raise $300 for our application fee. Tomorrow is the big day and we will be submitting our application! The big, huge, enormous, gigantic, gargantuan ball is slowly beginning to roll...

Cookie Dough

Everybody loves cookie dough, right? If the schools can do this so can I!

The cell phone collection and "Change for China" are still on going fundraisers. Now we are adding cookie dough to the list. We will be taking orders for home made cookie dough beginning this week! I have fiddled with our recipes and come up with 4 cookies that freeze and bake nicely. So here's how it works:

-We take orders with a pre-set delivery date.

-We prepare and package our cookies by the dozen. Each dozen comes pre-balled and frozen.

-Payment is due at delivery.

1 dozen Peanut Butter Cookies- $3.00
1 dozen Snicker Doodle Cookies- $3.00
1 dozen Chocolate Chip Cookies- $4.00
1 dozen Oatmeal Raisin Cookies- $4.00
1 dozen Chocolate Chip Cookies with nuts (Walnut or Pecan)- $5.00

Buy 2 dozen get $1 off
Buy 4 dozen get additional $1 off

-Then our supporters get to bake and enjoy the sweet reward of helping an orphan home! Just bake as many frozen cookies as you like at a time. No need to thaw. Your cookies are waiting whenever you are ready!

 

Fundraiser updates

All 60 of our "Change for China" containers have found homes and are collecting pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. We have received 4 full containers so far each averaging over $5 each in loose change! The goal is 100 containers, so 96 to go...

Our first cell phone drive was a success! We have collected 15 cell phones. The goal is 100. Which leaves 85 more to go. We are working with other neighborhood associations to plan more collections in different areas. More on this soon.

Our first goal is to raise the $300 application fee for our placing agency by May 3. Currently we have raised a total of $128.57 which leaves $171.43 to be raised in the next 9 days. No problem, right?

Our next fundraiser will be home made cookie dough sales. My next post will have all the details on this yummy fundraiser.

And we have REALLY big news coming about a REALLY exciting fundraising opportunity that we REALLY can't wait to tell you about that will be a REALLY huge accomplishment for Brad and I and has a REALLY big potential to be a REALLY big deal in our adoption. Did I get your attention?

Stay tuned...

Cell Phone Recycling Fundraiser

Did you know your old cell phones can be recycled? There is such a thing as an Eco ATM (we have one in our local mall) where you can take your old phone and turn it in for cash. The process is a little time consuming though.



There are also groups online that will pay postage for larger numbers of phone to be shipped in then they will pay cash for the items based on their condition. Each phone is worth at least $1 and could be worth up to $250.

So, for our second fundraising effort, we will be collecting unwanted cell phones and recycling them to raise funds for our adoption.

We are holding a phone drive the second Saturday in April right in our own neighborhood. Our neighborhood association has a newsletter that goes out to all the residents every other month. The person in charge of writing the newsletter offered to 'advertise' our phone drive in the newsletter. We are also looking into other ways to advertise our event through church, friends, Facebook, and craigslist.

This first phone drive is the guinea pig. The goal is to collect 100 phones. If this first collection is successful we will definitely repeat the phone drive in other locations.

Do you have unwanted cell phones?...

Detour

I know very few people who are pleased, happy, or excited when they come upon a detour. Most of us leave ourselves just enough time to get to our destination and a detour sign causes immediate stress and frustration. But, sometimes detours can lead us to something beautiful.

There is a road that we take when traveling to my family's home in southern California. It is actually a 'short cut' through a canyon. The road cuts back and forth through the canyon and the turns are tight. The speed we are able to travel is significantly slower than the highway we leave behind. But the canyon is beautiful and the back roads that lead into town are full of beautiful orange groves and strawberry fields. The smell is amazing and the drive just wouldn't be the same without that 'detour' from the main road. Driving this short cut for the very first time would likely feel slow and confusing. But after years of using this path we know it to be a shorter drive time and have come to enjoy this path much more than the main road.

Sometimes a detour can make a significant change in our lives. Ever heard of someone who's life was spared because they missed their plane? Or maybe someone who didn't get into a car with friends and missed a devastating crash? Or maybe someone who's life simply takes a different path because things didn't go the way they expected: like getting dumped one day and meeting a future spouse the next, or being fired one day and being offered a job with more pay the following week, or having a 'perfect' house fall out of escrow only to find something unexpected soon after?

Life is full of detours. And, admittedly, sometimes they are ugly and lengthily. But there is one factor that seems to make all the difference on perspective: faith. You see, I am one of those people that believes things happen for a reason. And I believe wholeheartedly that even my best effort to plan will not always be what God intends.

We have just come upon a detour.

After diligently mapping out the finances for our adoption and laying our plans at the feet of our Heavenly Father, we asked in simple faith that He would bless our efforts and use us as tools in His hands.

We had no idea what that would mean. He has something much bigger in the works. Our small ideas and expectations are being blown out of the water one day at a time. Each day this week we have been given a small glimpse of what's coming next. Each day we have been stretched to a new level we didn't think possible. And each day His grace has been enough.

This week have experienced the most unexpected employment change possible. And as Brad prepares to go to work for a new employer, we are eagerly rolling up our sleeves and jumping in.

We believe God's plan will always be better than our own, and we are excited to see our Father moving mountains as we watch in awe. As we pick up speed on this new path laid before us we are filled with the peace of the Spirit and know without doubt this will be for the Glory of our Father in Heaven. All praises be to Him.

So, what's the plan?

If we had $30,000 today and were able to jump into our adoption at top speed, the process of international adoption from China Special Needs will still take about 12-18 months. We have some pretty serious goals for those 12-18 months. And since failing to plan is just planning to fail, even though this plan will likely need to flex and change, here is an outline of our goal:

Our projections show that we will need 10 months of concentrated effort to pay off our excess debts (everything beyond our home mortgage). So, over the next 10 months we will be slicing and dicing our debt through the power of our greatest asset: our income. I am fortunate enough to enjoy the world's greatest job of being a stay-at-home-mom, and while I wouldn't trade it for the world, the title "homemaker" does not come with a high salary... So when I say "our income", I mean Brad's pay. We will continue to cinch the belt on our family budget and make extra payments to our debts in a mighty way over the next 10-12 months.

Because we will not be contributing our personal income toward our adoption during that time we plan to hold numerous fundraising events to raise the monies we will need to get the ball rolling on our adoption paperwork. Here's what the fundraising goals will look like:

Goal #1: $300 for the application to our agency. The application ensures that we qualify to apply to the China Special Needs program. We did this for Russia also. The fee pays for our personal consultant to review our application, speak to us over the phone to verify information and discuss our eligibility, and begin our file for the adoption. We plan to submit the application to celebrate Jacob's 6th month home which would be May 3.

Goal #2: $3500 for our agency fee. This fee covers the costs of our placing agency who will be working on our behalf. From our consultant to the documents center to the referral department to the travel department to notary fees and license information that will be necessary for our dossier. We are hoping to have these funds ready before the 4th of July.

Goal #3: $250 for the application to our home study agency. This application ensures that our home study agency (different from the placing agency) will be able to provide the documents necessary for China. We hope to have this ready by the second week in July.

Goal #4: $2400 for the home study and $1300 for post-placement fees. The home study is the first major step toward our adoption. It is required before we can move forward in any way. It is kind of a jumping off point for the rest of the adoption. And the post-placement fees pay for our post placement reports which go back to China after the adoption. The fee is paid in advance to ensure we will actually complete the reports. We are hoping to have these funds ready and waiting by my birthday, August 12.

Here is where the timeline gets a little fuzzy. The home study is a time-sensitive document so it cannot be completed too early on. We need to be confident we can complete our adoption (from a financial standpoint) before beginning the home study. So the next goals do not have dates attached yet. The exciting part will be somewhere around December when we make our final payment towards our debts and can begin accelerating the fundraising by contributing a large part of our monthly income like we did for Russia. God will be putting the dates on these goals. If He asks us to move forward in faith before the money seems to be in place, we will start running in the direction He leads.

Goal #5: $890 for USCIS. This is a document we need from the US Government approving our international adoption.

Goal #6: $5750 for our agency administration fees. This will be due once our home study is done and our placing agency begins working directly with China. These fees cover reviewing our dossier paperwork and all the clerical stuff it takes to complete our adoption. This also covers post placement services. If you'd like a better view of what this entails visit my post about our fees for Russia.

Goal#7: $10,500 for our foreign program fees. This covers translation of all documents and notary, our in country escort and translators, donation to our child's orphanage, and everything else that happens in China before and during our travel.

Goal #8: around $7000 for all travel expenses getting us to China and back again. This includes: All visas for Brad and I and our adopted child, Chinese medical examination of child, passport for our child, and all traveling expenses from airfare to hotel, food, and other transportation.

We will likely start the home study when we've hit the midpoint of our fundraising goal at about $16,000 (total goal $32,000). All things are possible. So for now the only part of our plan that is certain is our effort to begin and work hard through the end no matter what the actual time line becomes.

Change For China: our first fundraiser

It's official, the ball is rolling. We have started our first fundraiser! We decided to call this one "Change For China". We are asking friends and family to spare their loose change to help change the life of an orphan by supporting our adoption.

We created these little containers with our 'Change For China" sticker and started handing them out this week.

 

The containers are plastic Gerber baby food containers. Since we are still feeding these to Jacob there is no actual 'cost' for the containers themselves.

We found the image for the top of the container on istockphoto.com. It cost a whopping $2 and was exactly what we wanted.

The sticker paper we printed the image on cost $12 online. And my super-handy hubby had a fantastic tool called a 'buscuit cutter' that made cutting the slot in the top of the lid super easy (it definitely could have been done with a box knife and more time). These should hold up pretty well and be able to recirculate several times.

The goal of this fundraiser is to fill 60 containers and raise the $300 we will need to cover our application fee to our agency. Each container will likely hold more than $5, but the 60 containers are just our shot at the moon so we can land among the stars. Submitting our application to our placing agency will be the very first step in our adoption.

So far our container at home collected $16.67 (thank you couch cushions, drawers and cupboards!) and we have had 5 family members volunteer to fill containers with us. Just 54 containers to go!

Why Debt Free?

We are one of "those" families. The ones who know what they are supposed to be doing but haven't quite gotten it done yet. We know we are supposed to get out of debt and live debt free. God has been asking this of us for years.

Years ago when we first bought the house we are living in now we finally made a real effort to pay off debt. We focused on our car loan. Making the final payment several months later felt so incredibly good. A little piece of the big picture started to come into focus. We realized what we were capable of and what life would look like debt free.

We read a handful of books about financial freedom and living debt free like Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover". And, for a while, we made good progress.

But then life happened. The 'grey area' got a little more wide and a little more fuzzy. We started talking about a business loan being an 'investment'. Revolving credit (credit cards) became 'good for our credit score' as long as we paid them off each month. A car payment suddenly became necessary again because "we have to have a car" for Brad to get to work and customers don't want to see a hunk of junk. We 'invested' in a vacation club with full intent to pay the loan off quickly saying that we were investing in 'life experiences' for our children.

All of our justifications made sense in the moment. And all the while I am sure our Father in Heaven had his head in his hands wondering why we could not see. He knew what was coming. He tried to help us understand. But He also allowed us to make our own choices. He knew our son was coming. He knew we would need to go to Russia. And because we were able to wake up just in time He still chose to bless us despite our deviation from His plan. I am so grateful for a compassionate and merciful God.

Our first adoption was the wake-up call we needed. We have sprinted at full speed back to the path God has asked us to walk. During and after our adoption we eliminated debt by selling the items we had borrowed to buy and focused our energy on paying off loans.

Brad's car: sold
Disney Vacation Club: sold (there were tears over this one)
Adoption Loan (personal line of credit): paid in full

Just 16 months after committing to God's will to adopt and eliminate debt we not only had our precious son home from Russia, we had somehow managed to pull off a $50,000 adoption and simultaneously eliminate over $40,000 in debt. Now try to tell me that God cannot lead us through another international adoption without debt...

Does this mean we expect others to 'pay for' our adoption for us? Not in the least! We will be working our tushies off raising funds for this adoption. And we will be doing everything in our power to contribute in anyway possible to reach our goal. But we are trusting God to lead us and bless us in our efforts. And we have committed to completing another international adoption without debt.

Couldn't we just wait until our debts are paid to begin the adoption? Well sure, but that would not change the fact that we will need to compile around $32,000 to complete our adoption from China. The funds need to be raised whether we begin now or not. Our child is waiting for us. Why put off until tomorrow what we can do today? When God says 'move', we move.

Why China?

Part of the answer begins before we started our first adoption. So really, the story begins with how we chose Russia. During our many discussions about which country to adopt from we continually moved back and forth between Russia and China. I finally mentioned the idea that maybe we felt so strongly about both because we were going to adopt from both. An immediate peace came over us and we knew our first adoption would not be our last. We came home from Russia knowing full well that our hearts were destined for China.

Before we had gone to Russia we agreed our new son would need and deserved at least 18 months before we added another sibling to the family. So we figured we would wait until the 6 month home mark before beginning any paperwork for China no matter what.

With China securely on the 'back burner' we jumped in to our Russian adoption with both feet. We loved our experience and soaked up every moment in our son's birth country. Once our precious son was home from Russia the 'back burner' began to heat up. It was only one week after arriving home that one of us made mention of China. We both confirmed to each other that our next adoption was still on our hearts.

We loved our experiences from Russia and I will admit that, at first, we were thinking we should go back. Then the Russian Adoption Ban was passed and we realized Russia was not what God had in mind this time. Brad suggested Ukraine. He had spent so much time learning the Russian language and deeply desired to adopt again from a Russian speaking country. I even started doing a little research and considering if Ukraine was right for us. But that back burner just kept getting warmer. When I told Brad I could not let go of China he agreed to begin studying Chinese and we resumed the constant chatter about 'when we go to China'.


There is something about adoption that burns inside us when we are on the right track. Why are we choosing China? Because our child is waiting there for us. Last time our son was in Russia. This time our child is in China. We will go where ever the Lord leads.

Fundraiser Review: Yard Sale Event

Yard sale
preparation time/effort: several weeks preparation/significant effort
event duration: as little as one day
cost: $50-$250 depending on location and advertising
potential funds: $1,000-$5,000
would we do it again: yes!


In June of 2012 we held our one and only fundraising event for our Russian adoption. I still don't know how we pulled it off in such a short amount of time. We had received our referral much sooner than anticipated and were facing the possibility of traveling several months sooner than we were prepared for. We needed money for airfare and in country expenses and weren't sure what we were going to do. I had a random thought to have a garage sale. So I got right to work putting it together. From the day I started planning the event to the day of the event was just 3 weeks. The result was absolutely God-lead (yet again) and we were overwhelmingly blessed. I would highly recommend this type of fundraiser to adopting families who have a limited amount of time but are willing to put in a large amount of effort.

Here's the basic idea:

-begin by asking friends, family, co-workers, and church acquaintances if they have any unwanted items they could donate to a yard sale (we ended up with over 25 families donations of 'stuff').
-choose a sale location. I have seen other families hold this type of sale in their own driveway. We chose to rent the local high school's parking lot.
-advertise, advertise, advertise. Use as many free advertisements as possible and consider spending a small amount on newspaper ads or other advertising for your event.
-get as many friends and family to help actually run the event with you the day of the sale as possible.
-be sure all patrons know your sale benefits your adoption and all proceeds will go toward bringing an orphan home.

Here are some tips:
-if you do not own a truck, ask a family member or friend for help. You will be able to collect far more for your sale simply by being willing to pick it up.
-if you have clothing items for sale be sure to hang them up. We had hundreds of clothing items donated and were able to sell more than I expected. But people don't want to sift through a bin, bag, or table. Your clothing items will sell much faster if they are hung on hangers and can be seen easily. Clothing racks can be rented (although they run about $10 a rack). We actually had friends who own a dry cleaning business that agreed to support our event by lending us 2 clothing racks for the day. If you don't happen to have that connection, your local dry cleaners will likely at least be willing to donate hangers.
-consider asking businesses to 'sponsor' your event to cover advertising, space rental, gas for the truck, insurance (if you rent a location), and other expenses. We offered our vendors on-site advertising and the option to have a 'booth'. Our vendors included: Mary Kay, Cookie Lee, a landscaping company, a realtor, a chiropractor, a dry cleaner, and a local home remodel company. This ensured that even if the sale was a bomb, all expenses were covered. The day of the sale we knew every penny raised would go directly to our adoption.
-advertising is key: part of the reason we chose to rent the parking lot was it's location. The high school is on a very busy road and we were able to place a sign advertising our sale the week leading up to the event on the school's marquis. Also, the day of the sale cars driving by could clearly see us and get a glance at what was available. Other advertising we used: craigslist, local newspapers, online garage sale finders (just google it, there are several), facebook, and pennysaver. We also contacted a local news station and asked if they would consider featuring our event. Another adopting family we know was able to do this. Our event did not make the news, but it is definitely worth asking.
-be prepared to put in a ton of time sorting through donations and setting up your sale. The more organised you can be before the event the smoother your day will go. Because we held our event at the school parking lot all of our saleable items had to be brought in the morning of the event and gone by nightfall. But even if you hold your event in your own driveway there will be an immense amount of set up and tear down.
-every penny counts: Don't be too concerned about getting the most out of your items. Selling your items for less adds up by the end of the day. I am not the type to put price tags on items. Not only did I not have the time, I want people to ask so I can gauge their interest. But be prepared to feel crazy busy if you don't tag everything and consider having someone else you trust answer the "how much?" question for you when you are not available.
-try selling items of higher value on craigslist or ebay. We had things donated like jewelry and fur coats that were not exactly garage-sale friendly. Everyone wants a bargain at a garage sale, so if you think you have something of real value don't bring it out the day of the sale.
-pass along unsold items to other charitable groups: if you have the time to hold another sale and the space to store left over items it is definitely worth it to repeat this event on another day. But when your sale is officially over consider donating unsold items to local charities. There are many organizations that would be grateful for large donations of used clothing and housewares. All of our left over clothing, bedding, and towels went to groups that help foster children, rehab homes, and crisis intervention groups. And there is always Goodwill. Be sure to pass the blessings on.


Because we had rented the parking lot and planned to be there all day we decided to try and add in a few other fundraising possibilities to our event. We had a car wash in the morning, a bake sale throughout the day, and attempted an evening 'party' event with a live band, bounce house, and BBQ. Unfortunately our event ended up happening on the hottest day of the summer (109 degrees) so none of the other components of our event generated significant funds. I would recommend keeping your events specific to one effort. I think a car wash, bake sale, or even party event would have been far more successful if held on their own.

Overall our yard sale event generated over $5,000 total. Many families who do this type of sale are surprised to see how much they can raise in one day. Yard sales require an immense amount of labor, but offer a large payoff. We would definitely do this fundraiser again.

What about Grants?

Most families who have learned a little about international adoption know that there are grants available for applicants. In case you are not familiar with how most of them work here's the basic idea: Once a family has completed their home study (I have not seen an organization that allows an application without a complete home study) they can apply to a number of organizations for a grant. The grants we saw ranged from $500 to about $5,000 and there were a couple organizations that accepted applications for interest-free loans up to $10,000.

We applied to over 10 different organizations. Some required a small (like $25) 'processing fee'. Some were free to apply. All required a detailed application including a financial disclosure, letters of reference, copy of the home study, and a completed questionnaire among other requested information. Many of the organizations are Christian groups and ask for personal testimonies and questions about the applicant's faith and beliefs. We only had one group require a photo of the prospective adoptive child (which we could not provide and were turned down for).

Because we have a healthy income (which most countries require for elligibility to adopt) and did not show a significant enough financial need (we could have finished our adoption without financial assistance if we had more time) none of the grants approved us. We were expecting this but wanted to show faith and effort by applying so that if God chose to bless our adoption through a grant it could be done. Again, God cannot bless what we do not begin.

The grant application process was long and tedious (especially after having completed home study, dossier, and travel paperwork). But if even one grant had funded, it would have been all worth it. I highly recommend that any adopting family at least apply.

The best recommendation is to go to resources4adoptoin.com and pay the small fee for a comprehensive list of grant listings. They offer other services and can coach you through the application process.

I have also seen this list posted on other blogs of grant resources and have added the organizations we applied to:

Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc

Katelynnsfund.org
Affording Adoption Foundation
The Oath Ministry
International Adoption Resources
Lydia Fund
Gods Grace Adoption Ministry, Inc
Helpusadopt.org
China Care
National Endowment for Financial Education
Our Creator's Hope

Family Builder Fund Grants

Shaohannah's Hope
Gift of Adoption Fund
LifeSong For Orphans
Tomorrow is a Gift
The National Adoption Foundation
Christian Advocates For Adoption
A Child Waits Foundation
The Abba Fund

If I could go back and make the choice again, I would absolutely take the time to apply even though we did not end up being approved. You never know who might say 'yes'.

1st Time Around

If you are not familiar with our story and would like to know how we came to the decision to adopt the first time you can visit our family blog here and read all about the beginning.

In October of 2011 we committed to the adoption of a little boy from Russia. We had just started to recover from a financial learning experience and we were admittedly hesitant to follow what we believe to be a call from God to go to Russia. There were several other countries (including our own) that would have allowed us to adopt with a fraction of the financial commitment. But we knew we needed to go to Russia and we needed to get to it quickly. Our son was born the very same month we began the process and we assumed that was why we had been prompted to adopt from Russia when we did. We had no idea the adoption ban was coming. We are grateful for the foresight and guidance of a Father in Heaven who knows exactly what and why in every situation.

We were humbled to see the hundreds of blessing unfold during our adoption experience. Every step was God-lead and every penny we needed to complete our adoption came at just the right time. We believed it was necessary to use a personal line of credit and small amounts on our credit cards to complete our adoption. In hind sight, knowing that we missed the ban by a mere 2 months, we are grateful to have had the ability to use our credit to bring our son home.

But now that we are continuing to follow the path laid before us, we believe it is possible to complete an international adoption without debt. We know it. And we have committed to it. Now it is our task to figure out how.

The first step is to take a good hard look at how things worked out the first go round. Russia is literally the most "expensive" adoption option. The quotations are because we are talking about a child. Could you immagine an amount too high for one of your children?

We were told to anticipate approximately $50,000 in total expenses (travel and everything) to complete our adoption from Russia. We are still in awe to look back and realize we managed to put together that amount in just 13 months.

We were able to accomplish this (through the grace of God) by cashing in investments and selling assets, contributing a significant amount per month from our personal income, fundraising, and using credit.

With our next adoption there are no major assets left to sell, investments to cash in, or significant savings to apply. In fact, although we have already paid off the personal line of credit we used for our first adoption, we still have a small amount of credit card debt to pay off from our final trip to Russia.

But, as I have said before: God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.

So, we are hoping you will join us on this journey as we work to achieve the task laid before us: adopting without debt.

Did you say next adopton?

Yes, we are already preparing for our next adoption. Brad and I knew before going to Russia that we intended to adopt again. We had agreed to wait at least 6 months after bringing Jay home before beginning any kind of paperwork. And we agreed to not begin the adoption process again until our debts were paid. We are whittling away at out debts and awaiting direction from our Father in Heaven on when to actually begin paperwork. But we are also preparing ourselves in every way possible while we wait.

We have chosen to pursue an adoption from China. So Brad and I are learning Mandarin! It is so fun to practice language together. Brad learned to speak a significant amount of Russian when we went to Russia. He has several Russian speaking employees and has deeply enjoyed learning to communicate with them. I did not learn more than a handful of Russian words. I completed one lesson with Brad on the computer and decided it was not for me. But this time is different. I love studying. And I cannot wait to put the language to use.

We will be adopting a child from the China 'special needs' program and have been studying what types of special needs are common and deciding which ones are a good match for our family. In the China Special Needs program families specify what special needs they are willing or not willing to accept before referral.

We have put together a financial plan to pay off our debts and are working toward our goal. Once the debt is paid we will focus our personal finances toward a savings goal for the adoption. In the mean time we are beginning some preliminary fund raisers to get the ball rolling. God cannot bless what we do not begin. Choosing to put our adoption on hold for the purpose of paying off debt would seem to make sense. Until we consider our child who is waiting. If there is a chance we can accomplish both, why not begin today?

And so it is. We are doing everything in our power to both pay off our pesonal debts with our current income and raise the necessary funds to complete an adoption from China. One little step at a time.

What's this all about?

Welcome to the new blog!

The title should be clear enough. But in case you are wondering why I am starting another blog, here's the skinny:

We've been on quite the little journey since beginning our first adoption in October of 2011. We've learned so much and continue to learn everyday. We've also been richly blessed. As we continue on the path laid before us, we hope to share what we have learned with others. The adoption community is much bigger than we would have ever known. But the majority of the world has no idea what adoption is all about, what it means to bring an orphan home, and what it takes to actually do it.

We have decided our family will continue to adopt. And we have decided we will do it without debt. We are on a mission to prove it is possible and encourage others who are trying to accomplish the same. We are a family of faith. And we believe God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.

This blog will hopefully become a resource to others looking for fundraising ideas, grant information, and encouragement from a family who has been there and is choosing to do it all again. And this time to do it better: without debt.

Our first adoption was a huge learning experience. Learn right along side us while we prepare for the second.