Funding and Fundraising... ALMOST DONE!

Scott and I came home from our trip to meet the kids, and got down to business talking about the rest of our funding.  We knew his employer offers a bit of reimbursement for adoption expenses (though we're not sure if it's $2,000 or $5,000, and if that's total or per child... so we're looking at anywhere from $2,000-$10,000 being reimbursed, which is amazing!), so we decided to take out a loan to cover the biggest chunk of the remainder of our expenses.

Prior to travel, we had put in about $5,000 of personal money and raised somewhere in the ballpark of $20,000.  We came home and got the loan, then paid another $12,000 in expenses, and continued to fundraise.  We have somewhere around $1,500 in our Reece's Rainbow grant (the amount listed there includes what we had transferred to us before we traveled to meet the kids, and does *not* yet show a check that was mailed in... a HUGE gift of $1,000), and a little bit left from our loan. 

Here's what we have covered:

$3,000 - Two round-trip plane tickets
$   500 - Reimbursement to our agency for covering Tory's diabetes supplies
$   500 - Various in-country expenses (driver, gas, medicals, diapers, etc.)
$   460 - Visas for the kids
$4,460
Here's what we still need:

$2,000 - Two one-way plane tickets
$   680 - 8 nights x $85 in our apartment
$   320 - 8 days x $40 in food expenses
$3,000

I won't know an exact cost for the plane tickets until we know when we're traveling, but everything is a fairly close estimate.  I keep thinking about how much money we have left to raise, and I realize that we're $39,000 down (including the loan) and $3,500 left to go, and that over $20,000 has not come from us, but from others who have sown into our adoption.

I don't know how to raise this last bit, because I've sold everything I can sell in the auctions, and my last few giveaways have not done well.  I talked with a friend about doing an online adoption shower, so that may be our way to go for this last bit. 

Three months, three thousand dollars.  God's got this.  And...

WE'RE ALMOST DONE!!!

We Now Interrupt This Blogging...

...for a quick trip to Tennessee.  As much as I would like to say we're going on a nice vacation, our trips to Tennessee are a mixture of business and pleasure. 

I manage the bookings for my mom and step-dad's vacation rentals in Pigeon Forge, and it's time for new photos for the online listings, and making sure everything is ready for a year of rentals.  There will be a good deal of shopping to do, for new dishes to replace broken ones, new small appliances, and somehow, things like pizza slicers always seem to disappear.

As much as I love shopping (and even better that it's not my money!), it's exhausting (okay, boring) for the kids.  So, their reward for surviving a weekend of Mommy working is a couple of hours at MagiQuest! 

All of this to say, I won't be in blogland as much, so I need to shout out a few reminders!

Our Two Times the Love Giveaway is still going, until the ticker is full!  Lots of great prizes, not so many entries right now.  There's a tab at the top of the page for the giveaway, so you can check out all the prizes and rules for entry!

Two of my friends are hosting a Scentsy/Pampered Chef party on Sunday evening, to benefit our adoption, so if you're in the Martinsville area, come by, and if you're not, you can still order online!  Follow THIS LINK to go to the facebook event page for all the details!

A young woman from my church, with a heart for adoption, is giving 50% of all her Mary Kay orders to our adoption fund for the next two months.  Why is she so passionate about adoption?  Because she has her own adoption story!  I need to get a direct link to her store, but if you need to order, keep me in mind!

Perfect Provision!

This morning, I was asked to speak at church, to tell our story.  As I stood at the podium, I saw blue shirts scattered throughout the congregation.  They all read the same thing:

Team VikTory

This is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. 

I John 5:4 

Our church family is such a tremendous blessing.  I hear of churches who won't even acknowledge a family's adoption process, much less support them, and I have known from before Day 1 that our church body would cover our adoption in prayer and support us 100%.

An added treat at church was having Traci and Anna Morton (previously committed to Sam and Duncan) and Erika and Mel Rogers, with their 7 kiddos (adopting Bernadette and Mason) visiting today!

Today was our Team Sam vs. Team VikTory soccer tournament and 5k event, which took place at the Smith River Sports Complex in Axton, VA.  Hence all the blue shirts.

Kids' Soccer Tournament

I was wowed by the turnout at the event this afternoon.  We had 41 people registered for at least one event, and a lot of people came just to support us, even if they weren't participating.

We had a bake sale, two $50 Visa gift card giveaways (one for registered participants, one for anyone donating $5 or more to the jar), t-shirt sale, and lots of fun kids' events!

Hi Tonya!

Tonya is a very close friend of mine, and I joke with her that she has God on speed dial, because this lady continually has prayers answered, and usually very quickly.  I was busy adding registrations, keeping money separated between the two families, and then again between t-shirt cost and event profits, and Tonya told me she had been praying the event would be huge.

Today at the Sports Complex, she told me she had been praying for $1,000 to come in for the event.  I had no idea how much money was going into the different boxes, but I knew there were a lot of people there, and I cam home with only a few shirts.

I sat down to add everything up, and here's what we've got!

Team Sam Registrations (after t-shirt expenses): $110
Bake Sale, Gift Raffle, plus gift card to benefit the Rogers family: $180
Team VikTory Registrations (after t-shirt expenses), t-shirts, gift card: $710

I'm not sure about what you just added, but my calculator says $1,000!  To. The. Dollar.  So, Tonya, thank you for your specific prayer, you got a specific answer!

And a big THANK YOU to everyone who came out today, whether you were there to play or cheer from the sidelines!  We can't wait for next year, when we're Playing Them Home for another adoptive family!

Thirty-One MATCH!!!

My lovely friend, Susie, who is holding an online party for Thirty-One Gifts for me, just sent me a message that 25% of all purchases will be going straight to our adoption fund! 

But she also shared that she has someone willing to MATCH her donation if we hit $1000 in sales!  That means that 50% of each order would head straight to our adoption fund!  FIFTY PERCENT!!!  

CLICK HERE TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE PARTY!!!

If you were on the fence about ordering before, you now have the opportunity for your purchase to go twice as far with helping us to reach our fundraising goal!  Have you seen the catalog?  There are some great items!  Here are some of my personal favorites...

This is my must-have for the summer.  It goes everywhere with me... to the pool, full of towels and snacks for the whole family, on a day trip to the zoo or mountains.  And even after all the beach towels are put away for winter, it is a great bag for stacking Christmas gifts to take to relatives' homes!

I have packed this thermal tote full of frozen groceries in the summer, used it to transport hot and cold dishes (laid on its side), and filled it with snacks and drinks for summer days at the pool or days we've got a lot of errands to run!  

This bag is small enough to carry lunch for one, and big enough to carry enough food for two!  Ayden and I recently went on a day-trip with Girl Scouts, and this bag was full of snacks, lunch, and water bottles, without taking up a lot of room in a van full of girls!

While I don't personally own this wallet, one of my friends does, and I have serious wallet envy!  She can fit EVERYTHING in there, but it's not big and bulky! 

We have been ready to leave on vacation, and I've had to tell Scott "Hang on, we can't leave yet, my flat iron is still warm."  No worries, just slip it into this sleeve and toss it in the bag!  It keeps your other items from getting hot, or um, you having to hold your flat iron while you drive down the road, waiting for it to cool.  Ahem.

CLICK HERE TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE PARTY!!!

So, please, please, please, if you were thinking about ordering before, make your purchase go twice as far, with HALF of your order total going to our adoption fund!  This party is only running through this weekend, so all orders will be sent directly to your home before Mother's Day!  Something for you, something for Mom!  And 50% for our kiddos waiting for us on the other side of the world!

We're Having a Party!!!

A Thirty-One party, that is!

Susie Townsend (another adoptive mommy) emailed me to see if I'd be interested in hosting an online party, with 20% of all sales being donated to our adoption fund, and I had to say yes!

You can go straight to the party by clicking here!

The party is running through April 15, which means your order will be ready in time for Mother's Day!  Thirty-One always has great specials... this month, when you spend $31, you can choose any purse at 50% off!

And don't forget our 'Two Times the Love' Giveaway, where you can win two bags, also donated by Susie!!!

Two Times the Love Giveaway Is Open!

The "Two Times the Love" giveaway is our biggest giveaway so far, with 10 prizes up for grabs (plus a bonus prize, just for the FSP donors)!  Because posts are listed in date order, the giveaway would be buried by just a few days' posts, so I decided to make a page just for the giveaway!

We have an impressive goal of $3,575 to cover Cullen's placing agency and foreign agency fees, which will be almost the last of what we need to pay up front.  We're also saving for our post-adoption report fees ($700), USCIS fees ($890), and apostille fees (~$100). 

Once we have paid all these fees, we'll be $16,486 into the adoption, at the halfway mark!  Please pray for us and pray we'll receive the funds we need to continue moving forward.

You can go to the giveaway page here to get all the details and see all the fantastic prizes!

Two Times the Love Giveaway

These last two weeks of resting from fundraising have been very refreshing, and have given me a chance to focus on the needs of other adoptive families and the Playing Them Home event coming up in just a couple of weeks!

Now that we are sending commitment paperwork to our son's country, we'll have additional fees due upfront.  Which means that, even though we have a tax-deductible grant growing on Reece's Rainbow, we still need cash in hand now. {{{bangs head against table}}}

I'm working on a BIG giveaway, with LOTS AND LOTS of prizes!  There are 9 prizes right now, and I am so looking forward to sharing them with everyone!  (I've really been praying about a LARGE final prize, so my indecision means we're looking at early next week for the giveaway to start.)

Oh, and for those of you who are contributing to the tax-deductible grant, THANK YOU!!!  You won't be left out of a giveaway, either... I'll have one just for you!

A Little Healthy Competition!

I met with a couple of ladies earlier this week, one of them another local adoptive family, and we agreed that some healthy competition is in order! 

Team Sam (the Morton Family) and Team Tory (the Pickett Family) are going head-to-head on Sunday, April 15 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at the Smith River Sports Complex in Axton, VA!

We'll have three main events and several fun events, so the whole family can enjoy an afternoon of fun competition!

Registered Events:

• Soccer Tournament (11+ players for each team) $25 Registration -- includes t-shirt for the team of your choice
• 5K Run $25 Registration -- includes t-shirt for the team of your choice
• 1-mile Fun Run (children only) $5 Registration or $15 Registration with t-shirt for the team of your choice

Fun Events: (donations of any amount accepted)

• Corn-hole toss 
• 3-Legged Race
• Sack Race
• Wheelbarrow Race
• Crab Race

Prizes will be awarded for events, and registration forms are available at www.playingthemhome.blogspot.com to be mailed in or emailed in.  Registration by March 31 will guarantee t-shirts for the event day.  Late registrations may have a delay in t-shirts being ready.

If you don't live close by, but you'd like to sponsor a soccer player or runner, please let me know!  We're still working on the details, but as soon as we get it figured out, I'll update it!

$937

That is what stands in the way of us starting on our homestudy.  Of us being able to move forward with setting up a tax-deductible grant.  Of us being able to file our USCIS paperwork.

We've paid over TEN TIMES that much since the end of January.  We raised more than this in just the past two weeks to pay our first foreign fees.  And this small amount, this small mountain is all that stands in our way of moving forward.

Will you please just pray with us that "the mountains [will] melt like wax before the Lord" (Psalm 97:5)? 

Our current giveaway is running through this Saturday, and we have two prizes up for grabs!  The first is a $100 Visa Gift Card and the second is a $50 Target Gift Card.  There are only 236 entries into the giveaway, so here's how to get yours!

$5=5 entries

$10=20 entries

$20=50 entries

Every $5 over $20= an extra 15 entries

Sharing my blog on your facebook or blog=1 entry/day

Just a Reminder of Why We're Fundraising....

And a heartfelt 'Thank You' from all of the Picketts!



Good News Times Two

First of all...

WE CLOSED ON OUR HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!

It took 71 days from pre-approval to closing, but it is FINISHED!

Second, take a peek at the ticker!  Yesterday, it said we needed $3,370 for our homestudy fees.  Today, I spoke with another homestudy agency, and our initial fees to go through their agency would be $1,500.  (We'll still have an additional $870 on top of the initial amount, but it will be due later.)  Our fundraising goal just got a LOT smaller and, even factoring in the additional amount, we'll save $1000!!!

We're in the middle of our Saint Patty's Day Giveaway, and there will be TWO WINNERS, so don't forget to give and share for your entries!

God's Provision... Again!

Today is a day I've been waiting ten days to blog about!  Only ten days, because that's when we found out that, instead of paying our foreign agency fees in two installments, we'd be paying our foreign agency fees in three installments.

We had begun fundraising for our homestudy fees when I got the call that there was a mistake with the original fee agreement with our foreign agency, and we'd need to wire 1,190 euros ASAP, because the money was due with our referral acceptance in country.

So, our homestudy fees took the back burner, and we turned our focus to coming up with $1,826, to cover the foreign agency fees and two wiring fees (one for us to wire the money to our placing agency and one for our placing agency to wire the money to our foreign agency).  And today, the wire has been made!  At the time we sent the wired funds, we had, to the dollar, exactly what we needed!  Isn't God awesome!  He provided exactly what we needed, exactly when we needed it!

We are 1,826 steps closer to our daughter, and 1/3 of the way funded!!!

PRAISE GOD!!!  

We are praying that we will soon get updated information on her development and, just as I hoped for an updated ultrasound picture during my pregnancies, I am hoping for a new picture of her!  I cannot wait to see how much more beautiful she has grown since the time her photo was taken!

I can't end this post without thanking a few people specifically for making this payment possible.  To D&J, thank you for your very generous gift for our Chick-fil-A giveaway; to S&M, B&M, and M&D thank you for giving so unselfishly your kids' clothes and toys for us to sell, and to T, I cannot thank you enough for the time you spent helping me to get everything organized and priced, and for advocating so much for our family.

Saint Patty's Day Giveaway!

If you've read any of my blog posts, you know that I've said time and time again that I am terrible at asking people for things, especially money.  So when I got a call on Monday from someone offering the prize for our next giveaway, I was THRILLED, especially since I didn't have a plan for our next fundraiser!

Up for grabs are two prizes perfect for drawing TWO WINNERS on the day when we're all thinking shamrocks, leprechauns, and pots of gold at the end of the rainbow!  (Although not snakes, since apparently Saint Patrick banished them all from Ireland.)

Prize #1 - A $100 Visa Gift Card

Prize #2 - A $50 Target Gift Card

Here's how to enter:

$5 = 5 entries

$10 = 20 entries

$20 = 50 entries

Earn 1 entry per day by sharing on facebook or your blog, just post here when you do, and I'll add your entries!

So pray for us, share our fundraiser, and donate if you can!  We're still adding to that thermometer on the right, to reach that goal of $5,182 so we can get our homestudy started!

(This giveaway is not tax-deductible.)

Chikin Winnur!!!

With 761 entries in the giveaway, and $700 raised, this was a VERY successful giveaway!

Before I announce the winner, I just want to say that I was VERY tempted to enter my own giveaway!  I love Chick-fil-A, and the great employees at my local Chick-fil-A know when I walk in that I want a #4 with pepper jack cheese and a sweet tea.  I LOVE the Spicy Chicken Sandwich!  So, consider yourself lucky, lucky that I didn't rig my own giveaway!

AND THE WINNER IS.... #580

 DEBBIE BEAUMIER!!!

 Congratulations, Debbie!!!  I will be in touch!

Hoarders: Pickett Edition

Anyone who knows me knows that there is only one time during the year when my house looks ready for an episode of Hoarders: the time leading up to Bargain Fair.  It's a HUGE indoor sale of items donated by the active and sustaining members of a local charitable organization, as well as people in the community.  As the Chair of Bargain Fair last year, it meant that for part of last summer and fall, my family room was full of donated items.  We felt like we added 500 sq. ft. to our house after Bargain Fair was over and the family room was ours again!

I don't keep things around that we don't use.  All my kids' clothes are passed along to a friend whose kids are girl-boy-girl, just like mine.  If it doesn't go into my Bargain Fair bin, it goes to a local thrift store.  So when I got an email from the women who organize a large kids' consignment sale twice a year, asking if I'd like to consign, I didn't have much. 

All it took was one facebook post to my friends, asking for gently used toys, clothes, and gear, and I have 3 van loads of things to get priced for the sale!  I no longer have a family room, and my husband is ready to call Hoarders!  I have so much that I've invited people to come shop a pre-sale in my home so that everything will fit in 2 vans. 

See all those clothes?  There are 2 more loads in the laundry room to be washed!

We have more big stuff, too, that we really hope to sell before the sale!

(It's even migrating to the living room!)

We are shown time and time again how blessed we are, and we thank God for giving us such wonderful friends to go through life with.  To Tonya, Jessica, Mindy, Shelby, and Brandi, thank you for going through life with me, and for cleaning out your homes to help us bring our daughter home!

And now I can't wait for March 5, when I'll be done pricing everything, and when all this stuff heads to the consignment sale!

Update on Fees

I just got a call from our placing agency that the foreign agency needs the first installment of their fees, to cover the upfront legal expenses for the adoption.  Which means our fundraising goal has gone from $3,370 to $5,182.

I don't know how I missed that we'd pay the foreign fees in three installments instead of two, I don't know why we went from expecting to receive about $8000 next week to receiving a few hundred dollars.  I just don't know.  But I do know that my God has shown time and time again that He has everything under control, that His timing is perfect, even when we can't understand His reasons.

Today, Scott and I are "approach[ing] God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)  Will you join us there?  Will you pray for continued provision?  After receiving a donation from a dear friend today, she sent a message to me, that I ask you to consider for yourselves: "Because God said so."

I'm not good at asking for money.  I'm just not.  I got a job when I was 15 because I didn't want to ask my parents for money to go shopping.  I don't like making Christmas and birthday lists, because I feel like others will think I'm expecting to receive everything on the list.  But friends, I am humbling myself and asking you to listen and see if "God said so."

Blessings,
Chandres

Ready to Start the Homestudy

Scott and I have worked on our Homestudy History for the past couple of weeks, and we're finally ready to send everything in to the Homestudy Agency.  BUT WE CAN'T.

Because along with our autobiographies, references, fingerprints, monthly budget, and education credits, we have to send a check for $3,200 to cover the homestudy and post-adoption follow-up reports.  We have to send four different checks for four different background checks that total $170.

So, we need $3,370, less than half of what we needed to send to the placing agency last month, but still a significant chunk of our adoption budget.  Will you pray with us that God will provide the money we need to be able to start our homestudy?

Please don't forget that we've got our Chick-fil-A Giveaway going on right now, and the winner will receive FREE CHICK-FIL-A FOR A YEAR!  Even sharing the fundraiser earns an entry into the giveaway, so please tell your friends!

Blessings,
Chandres

'Eat Mor Chikin' Giveaway

UPDATE!!! THIS PRIZE IS AVAILABLE FOR ANY LOCATION!!!  NOT JUST MARTINSVILLE!!!

As you near the NC/VA state line, heading toward Martinsville, there's a billboard that reads "You'll Love the Pace" (If you're not local, and not a NASCAR fan, you can hear the cars racing around the Martinsville Speedway from my house!).  With two giveaways going at once, beginning to work on our homestudy, and making sure all the money is heading to the right agency at the right time, the pace around here was fast and furious! 

Our first two giveaways are finished, the winners are drawn, and we're not slowing down!  If you're a fan of the best waffle fries EVER, you'll love this giveaway!  Mmm... waffle fries!

We have received a donation for  

FREE CHICK-FIL-A FOR A YEAR!!!  

*Fifty-two meal coupons (entree, fries, and drink) so you can get your "chikin" fix! ($365 value)

Just look at this, and tell me it doesn't make your mouth water...

Here's how to enter:

Just click on the ChipIn to enter online, or leave a comment if you'd like to mail in/hand deliver your entry, and I'll email you!

$5 = 3 entries

$10 = 7 entries

$20 = 20 entries
$40 = 50 entries

The more you give, the better your chances of winning!  You can also get 1 entry per day for sharing on facebook or your blog, so post here when you share!   

Donations received by 8:00 p.m. on February 29 will be entered in the giveaway, and we'll draw the winner that night! (I love leap years!)

This fundraiser is not tax-deductible, as we will personally receive all contributions and apply them to our homestudy fees.

And the Winners Are...

I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for your support with our adoption.  I tried to keep up with thanking everyone who donated, and about halfway through my responses, I realized I had been replying to Paypal instead of the donor many, many times.  So, if I missed you, I apologize, and we are truly thankful for your donation!

We raised $3,534 in our Vacation Giveaway, and had a total of 1,157 entries, between donations and friends sharing online!  That is HUGE!!!

We raised $1,090 in our YMCA Giveaway, which includes the matching challenge donation, and had a total of 457 entries!

All entries were logged in order of donation (or share) received, to make sure we had no control over the outcome.  Thanks to www.random.org, a web-based random number generator, I didn't have to write out 1,614 names and put them in a gigantic hat!

So now, for what you've all been waiting for!

The winner of the 6-Night Vacation in Pigeon Forge, TN is... #110

MICHELLE MARBLE!!!

The winner of the One-Year YMCA Membership is... #158

 DAWN MILLS!!!

Congratulations to both winners!!! And again, a 

BIG THANK YOU  

to everyone who gave!  Thank you for your continued prayers, and for making the decision to walk alongside us on this journey!

Last Call for Entries!

We began our vacation giveaway on January 17, and we began our YMCA giveaway on January 26.  We are just TWO DAYS away from closing both ChipIns, and the winners will be drawn ON VALENTINE'S DAY!

As of this post, there are 1,004 entries into the Pigeon Forge, TN vacation, and there are 457 entries into the YMCA One-Year Membership giveaway!

We are SO EXCITED to make two people happy on Valentine's Day, and I'm so glad that I'm not responsible for drawing the winner!  The entries are listed on spreadsheets in order of donation received, and random.org will be choosing the winners (just making sure everything is fair!).

So, here's the last call for entries, along with a reminder about what's up for grabs! (And I even figured out how to make a slideshow!  Look under the ChipIn!)

Six Nights in Pigeon Forge, TN

3 bedroom, 4 bathroom cabin, Sleeps 8

10 Minutes from everything in Pigeon Forge

$10 donation = 3 entries
$20 donation = 8 entries
$50 donation = 20 entries
$100 donation = 50 entries

One-Year Membership to the Martinsville/Collinsville, VA  YMCA

Two facilities for the price of one!

Indoor/Outdoor Pools

$5 donation = 3 entries
$10 donation = 7 entries
$20 donation = 20 entries

Time's almost up for you to win BIG!