Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy is heading for the East Coast.  Schools, work places, libraries, trash pick up, public transit- just about everything has been suspended.  Chris was in Texas for work, supposed to come home Sunday night, but all flights were cancelled.  While I still have power, I am using this day off from work to put together some grant applications. 
The iPad raffle is going great.  We have recieved a matching grant from the Brittany's Hope Foundations.  Every dollar donated will be doubled!
We found our little girl a lot sooner than we had anticipated.  While we feel we are on a good path financially, we need  some assistance with all the fees due and travel costs coming at the holidays (when flights are more).  If you know any foundations that have helped you adopt, please post them in the comments.  I'll see what I track down and share over the next few weeks.
Please, please, share the iPad raffle with friends, family and coworkers.  If you donate through paypal please send me a message with your phone number so I can call if you win!  You can also mail us a check.  Thanks!

Remember only 800 tickets will be sold!  Tickets are 1 for $10 and 3 for $25.  Good Luck!

iPad Raffle!

We are officially kicking off a big iPad Raffle fundraiser!
Tickets are 1 for $10, 3 for $25.  Please e-mail me at katyabrewer730@gmail.com if you are interested.  You can pay by check or the Paypal link on the right side of the blog. 
Your contribution will be doubled- we were awarded a matching grant from Brittany's Hope.
We will draw a winner December 1st.  We'll call you and we can mail this iPad anywhere!
Please share with friends and family!

Everything's Falling Into Place

I can't believe its was just 7 days ago we found out about our Sweet Pea!  I was overwhelmed on Friday, so much to do and so soon.  Could we do it all?  We can, but we've had a lot of help! 
Change the home study, no problem!  Remember all the difficulties we had we the first two social workers?  Well they're gone, and the new social worker responds to e-mails and voicemails- within hours!  She has dropped our newly updated (to say Hungary not Bulgaria) home study in the mail TODAY!  You rock, new social worker!
Once we receive this new home study we send one to Hungary for approval and one to US Immigration.
Fill out Hungary paperwork?  Letters from our primary care physicians stating we are healthy- the secretary seemed skeptical.  Secretary: "You need it urgently?  Who is your primary care?  Oh, her, she'll have it ready in a few hours."  And she did! 
Local police clearances, employment verification letters- nearly everything is in place.
Tomorrow we head to the notary with a big pile of documents- agency agreements, copies of our passports, letter of intent for Hungary, etc and drop the packet off at the Post Office. 

And now, may I introduce the Big Elephant in the Room....
Process has been sped up, so has the fee schedule, and to top it all off- Hungary's program costs more than Bulgaria. 
The past week has been spent filling out adoption grants- with a big thanks to our pastor and 2 important friends who went out of their way to provide a half dozen references!  You know who you are!
We have a big fundraiser in the works, we'll let you know as soon as we have secured the details.
Its looking likely we'll get to see our Baby Girl in January!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to my husband, Chris!  These two years have flown by.  Thanks for always supporting me.  This year we have the best gift for our anniversary, can't wait to meet her!

The Stork has been rerouted

You know when you make a wrong turn and your GPS says "recalculating...


Chris and I got some big news on Friday.
Our agency received a referral for a little on in Hungary, but they didn't have any families in the Hungary program who were far enough to accept, would we be interested?  The little one could be home as early as Christmas, though more likely January.
Of course, it was a holiday weekend (Columbus Day) and Chris was heading out of town with friends.  Camping in an area with spotty reception.  I got the phone call as I was leaving work, getting a ride with a colleague since Chris had my car.  She said "What ever decision you make, I know it will be the right one."
Well I weighed my options: wait possibly 2 more years for the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice to give us a referral, keep looking at Bulgarian waiting children (only to have the child sent to another family, even after the NGO promised the child was being held for us).  The child waiting in an orphanage, not getting enough stimulation, attention or nutrition.  I would visit my child, then have to wait 4-6 months to bring him home, all the while he is receiving less than optimal care.  But Bulgaria is not all bad, we know the language, the cuisine the culture.  We'd be able to bobble our heads yes and nod our heads no, know that the draft is much worse than second hand smoke and to keep all the windows closed.  We have lots of Bulgarian friends (even neighbors) and our child would stay connected to his/her birth country culture.  The costs of the adoption are slighter less and we have two more years to come up with the money. 
Or do I choose Hungary?  The child will be home by January 2013.  How certain are we that this child isn't going to be sent to another family.  Hungary has few international adoptions, only about 4 to the US each year.  NGOs are not involved, does the government show the profile to more than one family?  We don't know the language, and it is hard.  Unlike any other language- not Romance, Slavic, Germanic.  We have to go to Hungary where the child is put in our custody the first week.  Then the mother stays 4-6 weeks until the adoption is finalized, but the father can go home after the first week and return for the last.  I will be alone in Hungary, for 1 month with my newly adopted child and unable to communicate.  Hungary doesn't do a waiting child program and we can't have any information on the child until our documents are approved and we accept the referral.   But the child is in a foster home and has already received appropriate medical interventions for special needs (which will most likely be minor).  The Hungary program fees are higher and the money is due in December 2012, 2 1/2 months. 
We had to get back to our placing agency ASAP. 

We decided to go for it.  We're have our home study amended, updating our US Immigration forms and waiting to hear from the Hungarians to see if we are accepted.  And if we are, we are going to be fundraising like crazy!

Our stork is Hungary Bound!

You May Have Noticed Our Paypal...

Please lend us a helping hand!

You may have noticed we put a Paypal link in the sidebar of our blog.  No one wants to come out and ask for money, but the cost of adoption is difficult to bear alone.  We have some fundraisers in the works, savings, grants, loans, but we need help.  There is no "cheap" adoption, but Bulgaria is one of the more cost effective countries that we qualify for.
Unfortunately, it seems the adoption tax credit is expiring.  And equally unfortunate, every time the tax credit was increased, so did adoption agency fees.  Now that it is expiring, agency fees are not changing.  No small tax credit- about $13,000 per child. 
Take a look at this clip from NBC about the high cost of adoption:

The Rising Cost of Adoption:



There are so many children who need homes and so many families who are willing, able and eager to adopt them, but the costs are prohibitive.