I800 Delay

what a rollercoaster of a week it's been! Earlier this week we had the sweetest gift dropped off on our front porch for Gabe, Braille alphabet tiles. That was such a thoughtful and unexpected surprise! Thank you, Sara!!  Then, a couple days ago Bethel posted a couple of really sweet photos of our little guy, so that was exciting! Yesterday was the most frustrating day. I called USCIS to check on the status of our I800 because it's been two weeks and we should of gotten a receipt notice in the mail. Well, there is no record of it in their system, it's apparently lost. One top of that our agency is closed  until the 4th and we'll have to wait until then to do anything about it. Our I800 approval will now take over a month when it should have been approved any day now.  Today, I am mostly over the frustration and accepting that God has a plan and He is always on time. In the grand scheme of things we will have Gabriel in our arms very soon and none of these silly delays will matter. We also got our new I800A approval in the mail today. This is just something we will need to bring with us when we travel, it's just an update showing that Jake is now 18.  We have a lot to do in the next couple months before we travel so I'm going to focus on that and try to remember everything if that's possible.

I'm hoping Gabe received the Christmas gift we sent but I haven't heard anything yet.
Here are the pictures from this week. It's good to know he is so well loved.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Today we're celebrating our last Christmas without Gabriel!  Yesterday was Christmas in China and Bethel celebrated with all the sweet kiddos in their care. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of their party!

Our Waiting 4 Gabe fundraiser last weekend was a huge success! We are incredibly grateful to everyone the helped make it happen. Words cannot express how blessed we feel from all the love and support we've received on this journey. We're coming to the end of our adoption process but it will really be the beginning of our journey with Gabriel and we are so excited to see God's plan for our family unfold.

Here is a picture of our smiley guy. This picture is from the Christmas card Bethel sent us, such a wonderful and thoughtful gift for waiting families.

Unfortunately, we didn't get a family photo early enough this year to use for Christmas cards but if we did send cards they would look something like this.

Merry Christmas from the Sloan Family!!

LOA & I800

We received our hard copy of LOA on Tuesday, we signed, dated and sent it back to our agency and yesterday they sent our I800 paperwork to USCIS, this approval takes about 3 weeks maybe less but if it is less it won't matter because our agency will be closed from Christmas- January 4th.  I got really excited when I read one sentence in an email from our case worker, here is part of it  "As we enter the last two steps of the process, I want to make sure………….."  I can hardly believe we finally made it this far!

Time frame for travel:
1800 approval- 3 weeks
Article 5 approval- 2-3 weeks
Travel Approval- 3 days- 2 weeks (recently on the shorter end)
Another 2-3 weeks til we get on a plane

Somewhere between 8- 11 weeks we will be meeting our son! Not sure yet how Chinese New Year will effect our travel but we may be delayed a week for that.

The picture above is the very first picture I saw of Gong Xin, before his adoption paperwork was prepared and before I knew he was our son. This was when he first arrived at Bethel from his orphanage, he was 18 months old.

Below is a link to the second video we received. Make sure your volume is turned on so you can hear the adorable giggles.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cj617eteurnko7f/Gordon%204-9-15.flv?dl=0

                     

Introducing…..

As you all know, we received our LOA this week. This is our approval from China to adopt our little guy.  I cried when I saw that email. Thankfully our adoption process has gone smoothly so far without any major delays. Let's hope it stays that way.

 Introducing…Our little guy…Gabriel Gong Xin Sloan! This is one of the first pictures we saw when we were reviewing his file. He's grown so much since then! At the bottom of this post is the first video we received.

I'm going to try to contain my excitement and not show you guys all the pictures and videos we have at once and space them out over the time we have left until travel ;)

Click on the link below to see the first video we saw of Gong Xin.  Gordon (the name on the video) was his advocacy name. This was from early in 2015.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dovoryft5s8he9c/Gordon%20video.mp4?dl=0

Thanks for reading and please continue to pray for us as we finish the last steps of the process.

Waiting…..

We're celebrating Abby's birthday today and she really was hoping we would get our LOA on her birthday but we didn't.  Trusting in God's perfect timing and trying to be patient, but waiting for your child is hard! Abby is so excited about this adoption, the boys don't say too much about it but Abby reads the blog every week and actually knows what step we are on and what we're waiting for or working on. She loves going through Gabe's clothes and putting together outfits. She's adorable! Anyway, she's the reason i'm writing this blog post right now because she keeps checking the blog and asking why I haven't done it yet. It's been 11 days!! I really do try to do a weekly blog post but sometimes, like right now, there just isn't an adoption update. We're just waiting….

We are getting ready to send Gabriel a Christmas package. It's bittersweet because we wish he was here to celebrate with us this year, but we're excited to send him a gift. We're filling a stocking with goodies and this time we will be adding some extra goodies for the nannies that take such good care of our little guy. Hopefully we will get some pictures of him with his gifts.

Check out the details below for our Christmas fundraiser coming up soon. We would love to see you there. It will be lots of fun! Ugly Christmas sweater contest and all! Kids are welcome.

You Caring link

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

Gathering things for a toddler

It's been a while since we've had a toddler in the house and I've been slowly gathering things for him while we wait. Gabriel will be just turning 3 when we travel so I'm hoping all the 3T size clothes I've been buying will fit him. The 2T clothes we sent him during the summer fit him just fine so I think we should be good. Im really hoping to get updated measurements soon, especially foot size because I have no clue what size shoes to buy. Little guy also has a few toys, books, sippy cups, snack cups, a backpack, and bedding.  I thought I'd never find toddler bedding I liked and then I finally found this set….now he just needs a bed.  Mike is planning on making one himself, he's quite handy!

We will be sharing our room with Gabriel for a while, his bed will be right next to ours and he may even sleep in our bed if he needs to.  We'll do whatever it takes to make him feel safe and secure.

Nothing new to report in the adoption process, still waiting for LOA. We are on day 16 and are hoping it will come in couple more weeks.

*Our next fundraiser will be a Dinner and silent auction on  Saturday, December 19th @ 6:30 pm. It will be at The Anchor Fellowship- 629 3rd Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37210
Free Admission! Free Dinner! There will be music, comedy, baked goods, an ugly Christmas sweater contest and more! Everyone is welcome.

*We still need items for the silent auction. Let us know if you'd like to donate something.

As always, thank you for following our journey. Prayers are appreciated!

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

LID!!!

Logged In Dossier! Last Thursday we got the email, our dossier is officially logged in. This step usually takes 5-7 business days after DTC but ours took 16 days! All the waiting is a bummer. Now we are waiting for LOA-letter of acceptance. This can take two months or more but currently they are being issued a lot quicker. I've seen some that were less than a month! We are hoping and praying ours comes quickly too. We need to go get our baby!  Also, we will be able to share his photos and videos when we get that official approval.

We're still working on the paperwork needed now that Jake is 18. Luckily this step won't cause any delays, it's just something that has to be done.

*We are in need of donations for our silent auction*

Thank you for all the love and support.

You Caring fundraising page

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337 

Calling All Prayer Warriors!

I try to keep this blog light, I try not to get too personal or emotional, Mostly because I'm a private person (Mike too). The fact that I have a blog at all is surprising and out of my comfort zone, outside of my bubble where everything happening in life is contained. Everything looks great from outside the bubble and I don't like to let anyone in. Today i'm stepping out of my bubble to ask for prayer.  Matthew 18:20 says: "for where two or three gather in My name, there I am with them."  This entire year, especially since we started the adoption process, has been rough. Really rough! I am fully aware that there is a battle going on here, a battle for the life of our future son. Let me be clear though, there is NOTHING that will keep us from bringing Gabriel home. I know that God is fighting for us in this battle but it is really hard to not feel defeated when nothing seems to be going our way. Stress is taking a toll on us and we covet your prayers. We WILL press on, we have to. Please join us in praying for things to start looking up, for us to see a glimmer of hope in this difficult season we are walking through.

Jake turned 18 last week! (Happy Birthday!) Now that he is an adult we have some extra stuff to do for the adoption. He will need to be fingerprinted twice, meet with our social worker to answer some questions in person, and we have to file extra paperwork. Its costing an extra $535. It's an expense we were not expecting.

Lastly, I want to mention that November is National Adoption Awareness Month. I realize not everyone is called to adopt but we are all called care for orphans. There are many ways do do this, including sponsorship, advocating, supporting a family, and praying. I sponsor a little boy and it is truly a blessing. The monthly donation helps take care of his everyday needs and I receive photos and updates regularly. A few months ago I donated an extra $50 to my sponsor child and his class for "something special" and they were able to take a field trip to a supermarket, go to McDonalds, get ice cream, and do a painting project! How awesome is that?  If you're interested in sponsorship I can give you some info on foster homes that need sponsors.

In honor of National Adoption Awareness Month I would like to try a small fundraiser that could potentially turn into something big! The power of a dollar.  Everyone can probably afford to donate one dollar, so Im requesting for everyone that reads this blog to donate one dollar to our You Caring Fundraising page (link below) and share the post. Let's see how much money we can raise in the month of November with one dollar donations!

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

Acronyms!

Yesterday our dossier arrived in Beijing! We are now waiting on LID- which means (logged in dossier). Often when people are starting an adoption they refer to as being "paper pregnant", because there is so much paperwork to do before you get to your baby! The paper work is referred to as "the paper chase".
There are many acronyms that go along with China adoption and it can be very confusing. Mike doesn't even know what i'm talking about a lot of the time.
As promised, here is a list:

CCCWA- Chinese Center for Children's Welfare Services
SWI or CWI- Social welfare Institute or Children's Welfare Institute = orphanage
USCIS- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (Homeland Security)
LOI- letter of intent. Letter to China asking to adopt a specific child
PA- pre-approval- child has been put on hold for you
HS- home study
DTC- dossier to China
LID- logged in dossier-CCCWA received your dossier and issues a Log In Date.
LOA- letter of action LSC- letter seeking confirmation- you are officially approved and matched with your child.
I800A- application to Homeland Security asking to be approved to adopt a non-specific child
I800- application to Homeland Security asking to adopt a specific child (I am currently working on this)
NVC- National Visa Center
Article 5- Lets the CCCWA know that you are approved by the US Government to adopt that specific child.
TA- travel approval
CA- Consulate appointment- you will ask for your Chils'd US Visa and swear an oath.

These are some of the acronyms that I may have used before on the blog or will be using in the near future.

I hope this helps you all understand the process a little better.  Hopefully the next blog post will say LID!!!

We are still looking for donations for our silent auction/dinner fundraiser.  If you think you might be able to help with this please let us know.
https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

DTC!!!!

This is that exciting post I was talking about. Today our dossier was sent to China - DTC!!! I'm so excited about this milestone, the adoption process is a roller coaster of emotions but today i'm happy. I feel like we're finally getting close.

Now we wait for a letter of approval from China, it can take a up to 2.5 months but lately some have been getting them a lot faster than that. Praying for this approval to come quickly, We're hoping to travel in March at the latest. As soon as we get that approval we can share pictures of Gabriel. I can't wait for that!

While we were at church this weekend, which was amazing because the Katina's were there doing worship and they played Oceans, one of my favorites,  I feel like it's my adoption theme song. If you don't know about the Katina's you should seriously check them out. Anyway, Abby and Caleb filled out the little cards they give out for prayer requests and praise reports, I could not find where to turn them in so i'll share here so you all can pray.

Caleb's praise report: Praise for having the chance to adopt a brother from China.

Caleb's prayer request: Dear God, I pray my brother, mom, and dad make it home from China.

Abby's prayer request #1: I pray for my mom and dad to have a safe flight to and from China with our adopted brother Gabe.

Abby's prayer request #2: I pray for Gabe to be able to have a painless surgery to see for the first time.

Please pray for our kids, I know they're anxious about us being away for two weeks. Maybe even as anxious as I am about leaving them for so long. It's going to be hard on all of us.

*A couple of things have been brought to my attention that I want to clarify:
1. DTC- This means dossier to China, stay tuned for a full list of adoption acronyms in the next post.
2. Gabe is not scheduled to have surgery on his eyes, we won't know until he's home and sees a specialist if surgery is even an option. We are not expecting that it will be, but you never know.

Thanks for following our journey.

You Caring Link:

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

It's a good week!

This week our documents are finishing up at The Embassy, and next week's blog post will be very exciting (for me) because our dossier will be sent to China!

We also got 2 new videos of our little guy this week. I cannot stop watching them!! The first video is very short and shows him learning to feed himself. The second video he's walking! At first he's holding a caregiver's hand but at the end of the video he walks by himself and he has the biggest smile on his face, he's looks so proud.  This is huge progress, Gabriel has poor muscle tone and when he first arrived at the foster home a little over a year ago he couldn't even sit up. Way to go, little buddy!

We are going to do dinner and silent auction in December to help raise some of the big fees that come at the end of the adoption process.  If you are a crafty person and would be willing to donate something for the silent auction that would be awesome, or if you work at a place that might donate something that would be great too. Let me know if you are interested in helping us out with this. My email is sloankari78@gmail.com

Below is a link to our You Caring Fundraising page

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

A slight delay

I want to say a big thank you to everyone that bought a t-shirt last week.  I sold all of our remaining t-shirts in two days and it helped us pay our second agency fee with a little extra to spare.

We have a slight delay with our documents right now, last week they were getting a seal from the US Department of State and this week they were supposed to get a seal from the Embassy but the Embassy rejected 5 documents (we have 16 total)  because the previous seal wasn't imprinted strongly enough.  That is being fixed but we are losing 4 days and we definitely need an extension of our deadline now. Thankfully, its not a big deal and we'll only need a few extra days.

We're still waiting for an updated video of little guy, some info from his check-up and photos from the last care package we sent.  I'm hoping we'll get those soon.

We are starting from scratch now since we just sent a big check to our agency. That is a scary feeling! We need to try to raise as much money as possible before getting a loan. We are working on some fun fundraisers for the coming months. Stay tuned….

Below is a link to our You Caring fundraising page

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

Amazing Yard Sale Update!

Wow! That is how I feel about our yard sale.  The weather was not cooperating with us and we decided at the last minute to go ahead a do it instead of postponing. It sprinkled off and on all day Saturday and we we kept dragging things in and out of the garage so they wouldn't get ruined.  Despite the rain and our last minute advertising people came out to the sale.  I met so many lovely people that wanted to support our adoption, some who have also adopted. It was so nice.  We've never had a yard sale before and we didn't know what to expect, especially since we live on a court without a lot of traffic. I was shocked when we counted our earnings and ended up with about $2,200!!! Can you believe it?!? As you know we have a very big agency fee coming up in a couple weeks, we were expecting to need to get a loan and now we will be able to make the payment and put off getting a loan for a while longer. Praise God! Thank you to everyone who was involved in the yard sale in any way, from donating items, to picking up donated items (mom, Ian, Ashley), to helping me organize, sort, and price things (Heather), to praying for our yard sale, working at the yard sale (Franny), and coming out to our yard sale.

About our documents:  On Friday I overnighted our documents to the courier.  I was so stressed out about it!  Something about letting go of the documents i've been working on for so many months and placing them in the hands of FedEx was just so hard.  It didn't help that I've never used FedEx before and I was worried I might have done something wrong.  I'm happy to report that they made it to the courier just fine and are now at the Department of State getting authenticated, next week they will go to the Embassy of China, and then to our Agency.  

Be Brave T-shirts:  We currently have two smalls in both the black sleeve and red sleeve baseball tees and one XL in the red sleeves.  Kids t-shirts we have 2T-10 youth.  $25 for adults and $20 for kids. Another shipment will be coming soon.

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

Moving along

Today is the first day of fall, it's my favorite season ( even though the allergies are awful ), and it means we are one season closer to bringing Gabe home.  I finished the last steps of our dossier today, at least the steps that I can personally do.  My brother, Chris was so sweet to drive me around downtown today to get certifications and authentications. I do not drive downtown so that was huge blessing!  In a couple of days i'll send our documents to a courier and they will finish the last two steps in Washington D.C.  I am so relieved that my part is done, it's been nearly six months of paperwork.

Sometime in early 2016, probably January, but definitely before Gabe is here, this sign will be posted around our neighborhood. I didn't even know signs like this existed before another adoptive mom posted something about it. So, that is really great!

A big thank you to everyone who has donated items for our yard sale. I will be putting your names on Gabe's puzzle.  We are so grateful for all the donations, a yard sale would not even be an option without them.  Our yard sale is this weekend, pray that it doesn't rain!

https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

Thanks for reading!

I800A approval!

I've been putting off writing a new blog post because I really didn't have an update to share.  Well, this afternoon I got an email that our I800A has been approved.  Woohoo! Now, in a few days the official approval notice will come in the mail.  Once we have that final piece of our dossier, we'll get a few more authentications and and be DTC ( dossier to China ) in a matter of weeks.  This a a huge milestone in the adoption process!  Along with being DTC comes a big payment to our agency, we have more than half of it and are hoping to raise the remaining portion with a yard sale and t-shirt sales.  Our "be Brave" shirts have arrived and are awesome!  Email me at sloankari78@gmail.com if you want one. Baseball tees are $25 adult sizes and regular t-shirts are $20 toddler and youth.

In other news… we have 2 new pictures of our little guy.  A lot of times in the adoption process you may only get a few pictures total, but fortunately Gabe is in foster home that happens to have a Facebook page and occasionally they post pictures of him.  I know I say it all the time but the waiting is so hard.  Mike and I both have been dreaming about Gabe lately, dreaming that we have him with us, but then we wake up and remember we still have months to go. So, we study the pictures we have and we watch the couple of videos we have and keep on waiting for the day.

Thank you for following along on our journey.

Little Feet

We are currently 3 weeks into the 1800-A approval wait.  It can take up to 6 weeks, we should be getting a fingerprint appointment in the mail any day.  We were relieved to find out that if we don't meet our deadline in October its not a big deal and we can get an extension.  Still hoping we make it though.

Yesterday we received 2 new pictures of our little guy!  So, maybe his feet don't actually look that big.

We also got some information from his cheek-up. He's had all of the normal vaccines and blood tests came back normal.  We should get updated measurements and some other information we requested but nothing is guaranteed and we're thankful for any information we receive.

The waiting is getting harder by the day so we were especially happy to get  a couple pictures we weren't expecting.  We can't wait to show all of you his perfect, adorable, sweet face. 

Abby had a writing assignment at school this week, they had to write about someone they think is brave.  She wrote about all the ways her brother Gabe is brave.  Sweetest thing ever.  

We are selling these "be Brave" shirts to help with the costs of our adoption.  Let me know if you would like to buy one.  Baseball tees are $25 (adult sizes)

Regular t-shirts are $20  (toddler- adult sizes)

Email me at sloankari78@gmail.com or PM me for more info.

Choose Love

Five months ago today we requested our little guy's file, we are about halfway through this process (hopefully), if everything goes smoothly and according to schedule. We can't get there soon enough!  How do you love a child that you've never met so much?  How do you miss a child that has never been with you so much?  I don't know, but we do.  We really do!  Please continue to pray for a speedy approval from our government.

I have a little story to share with you.

As I was finishing my morning walk, coming up my street I see some trash on the ground, it's been there a few days and nobody has bothered to pick it up, not even me, I saw it yesterday and walked on by.  I was feeling like God was nudging me to pick it up but kept walking because surely God was not asking me to pick up trash, right? It wasn't my trash so why should I pick it up?  Besides that, it was a smashed, dirty McDonald's bag and I'm sure it had tons of germs on it!  Still feeling the nudge I turned around and picked it up.  I continue to walk up my street, trash in hand and begin asking God to enlighten me because there must be a deeper meaning here.  Once home I throw away the trash, wash my hands, and get ready to clean the house.  I select shuffle on my Christain playlist ( worship while you clean ) that's what I do.  The first song is "Love People" by the Katina's.  Ok, I suppose picking up trash from this lovely street we live on is loving my neighbors in a small way, even though it wasn't my trash to pick up.  Still, there must be more…The next song is " Your Love is Extravagant"  by Casting Crowns.  Here is one line from the song:

"Spread wide in the arms of Christ is the love that covers sin."

Ok God, I get it now, that one powerful line says it all.  The work of the cross was the ultimate act of love but did we deserve it or earn it in any way? No, we didn't.

1John 4:10
This is love: Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

It's that simple, a little lesson on love. Love your neighbors, love your enemies, love people.  We know this already, don't we?  We just need to be reminded sometimes.  I could go on and on about this.  We are in need of Love in this world... Choose Love.

John 13:34
" A new command I give you:  Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

Now,  I'm off to clean the kid's bathroom, even though I don't use it and shouldn't have to clean it (that's what I always tell them ).  Do I want to clean their bathroom?  Never!  But I love them and today  I'll choose to so they can play outside on this beautiful day when they get home from school.

Another care package

UPDATE:  Our home study is final and approved!! Now we  send off our I-800A ( an application seeking approval to adopt from our government )  and wait for approval which can take 4-6 weeks. Please pray that this happens quickly, we really need to meet our deadline in October.  I finally feel like we're making progress. Yay!  I have to say that I was dreading the home study process, you have to be an open book and talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk….about everything in your life... ever.  If you know me you know that I'm not down with all that, but fortunately I love our social worker, she's been awesome, and it really wasn't bad at all.  I'm so glad its over though ;)

To our surprise we have another opportunity to send a care package.  I love that our agency does this for all the waiting families. We sent the first one just two months ago so we weren't expecting to have another opportunity so soon.  No complaints here, we're happy to shower our little guy with fun little gifts. I wish we were allowed a bigger package so we could send some extra things for his little friends and caregivers.  I'll definitely try to squeeze some extra goodies into the next package.

I just love that t-shirt and Gabe's daddy loves little clothes (but mostly pajamas) with dinosaurs.

Speaking of t-shirts, we have one adoption shirt available, size small-unisex  $20 shipped, message me if you're interested.

Thanks for following our journey.

http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

A couple of things

A couple things happening this week.  Today we received our home study for review, it looks great to me but our case worker at our placing agency needs to review it also.  It would be great if no changes need to be made, we need to get this show on the road! It won't be long now and all this paperwork will be out of my hands and then we wait……

Yesterday we were informed that our little guy will be getting a medical check-up soon and they wanted to know if we had any specific questions to ask or tests done.  I had no idea what to ask because I didn't expect to have the opportunity to get any medical information besides what is already in his file.  I'm not sure how I feel about it though,  he does have some delays but it is not known if his delays are a result of his blindness or other issues.  Either way, he is our son and we'll figure it out.  After asking for suggestions and doing some research I came up with a few requests/questions. We'll wait and see. Im grateful he's in a good place and getting medical care.

In a recent update we were told that little guy was walking while pushing a toy or holding an adult's hand

I want to hold that little hand

To quote TobyMac's song " It's Way Beyond Me"- I just need to keep reminding myself of that.

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand.

http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

Care Package Received!!!

Yesterday I got an email stating that our little guy received his care package.  We got three new pictures of him with the things we sent. New pictures are the best gift ever when you're waiting to bring home your child. These pictures have me feeling emotional because last month I picked out these items, packed them up, and sent them off.  Now Gabriel is wearing and holding the same items I held in my hands a month ago. He's so far away, the waiting is hard, and we're not even halfway there yet.

Sneak Peek….
I can't show his face, but here is a picture of him with his stuff.  He really does exist guys ;)
He looks like he's getting tall and his feet look so big to me! ( for a 2 year old )

Thank you so much for following along on our journey and praying for us.  We need it!

We still have puzzle pieces available to be sponsored.  Any donation amount.

                         http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

iPad Mini Giveaway!!! - CANCELLED -

We are finally finished with our home study. Yay!  Now we have 12 hours of training to do at our home study agency over the next three weeks. We've already done 12 hours of online training as well. Even with all the training there is no way to be fully prepared for adoption, for gotcha day, for the day you meet your child for the first time, hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Our child is in a foster home where he is loved, he gets a lot of attention, he's attached to his caregivers, so we are expecting him to be very upset when his caregivers hand him over to couple of strangers. Of course, they do their best to prepare the kids for adoption but does a three year old really have the ability to comprehend what is happening?  Probably not, and that's ok because being very upset is a normal, healthy reaction to the situation. Our sweet little guy will be losing everything he knows for the third time in his short life. First he was abandoned and lived at an orphanage for about six months, then he left the orphanage and moved to a foster home, which is great, but still leaving behind what was familiar to him, the third time will be when we adopt him. Then he will be ours and we will be his... forever.  Brave little one.


Our next agency fee is in a couple months and we are about $2900 short. We thought we were closer to that goal, but recently found out that the fee went up almost $1000.

NOTE- THIS GIVEAWAY HAS BEEN CANCELLED

                                                       iPad Mini Giveaway
                                                                      

This is how the iPad giveaway will work:

A donation of $10 = 1 entry

A donation of $15 = 2 entries

We will be checking our You Caring fundraiser page daily to keep up with donations / entries

The winner will be announced on August 14th

Good Luck!


Thank you everyone for your prayers and support.


 http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

Home study, care package, and t-shirts…oh my!

Still not much happening to report about the adoption process. Our last home study interview is scheduled for Monday. This time our social worker will come to our house and talk to our kids, Mike and I will have a joint interview and she'll look around the house to make sure it looks safe.  I'm not sure why, but Abby and Caleb are so excited! They have been asking about it since we first started the process.

Recently, we were able to send a care package to Gabriel and we should eventually get some pictures of him with the stuff we sent. They won't tell him that it is from his family,  he doesn't know about us yet.  He won't know he  has a family coming for him until we're pretty close to traveling.  We sent him an outfit, touch and feel book, phone that plays music and something to cuddle. Usually families will send a photo book that is used to help prepare the kids for adoption when the time comes but that won't  work for our little guy. Maybe we will send him voice recordings later on in the process.

I can't wait to get the new pictures!  I wish I could share them with you all....eventually I will.

We re-launched our t-shirt fundraiser, this will be the last chance to get one. We have sold 9 on this second round and we have 9 days left.  I would like to sell at least 4 more for us to be able to make a small profit off them. The more we sell the higher the profit. So, if you want one or know someone who might be interested please help us out.  Follow the link below.

                          https://www.bonfirefunds.com/waiting-4-gabe-sloan-family-adoption

…and while we're on the topic of t-shirts, just look at this one.  I cannot wait for the day Gabriel is wearing  this.

Thank you following our adoption journey, please keep us in your prayers.

Banded

I currently do not have an update about our adoption process,  we are working on finishing our home study and I can't wait until I actually have exciting updates to share.

So this week's post will be about some amazing products Abby and I have been using from Banded.

First let's talk about some super awesome things Banded is doing.  Banded partners with Amazima Ministries to help children in Uganda.  Every Banded product purchased provides  3 meals for Amazima's daily feeding program.  Banded also works with the T. J. Martell Foundation, donating 10% of all online sales for leukemia, cancer and AIDS research.  How great is that?!?

Banded sells headbands, scarves, hair ties, apparel and keychains.  The headbands are so comfortable and stay put, no need to adjust.  Abby wore this one all day and never had to fix it once.

                                         

I always wear a headband to the gym and it's so comfortable I forget it's even there.  The 5/15 tank top is so soft and comfy too.  Banded has a goal to reach 5 million meals in 2015.

Here is Abby wearing another cute headband. 

Sparkly headband to dress up an outfit.

Hair ties! I'm one of those girls that always has a hairband on my wrist at all times…just in case,  but I also like to wear bracelets and a hairband just doesn't blend in.  So… I recently started using these type of hair ties and they work perfectly with bracelets and I can still put my hair up if I want to.  This one isn't from Banded but they have a bunch of really cute ones on their website.

And finally… my favorite…the scarf.  I love scarves, they instantly make an outfit so much better!  I got so many compliments when I wore this,  it's super light and doesn't make you hot.  Love it! 

Go check out the website, you won't be disappointed and you'll be making a difference in children's lives while buying yourself cute stuff!

http://banded2gether.com

FAQ's

This week marks one year since God started speaking to my heart about adopting a child with special needs.  What a year it has been!  I can't even explain all the feelings and emotions I've felt already.

This post will be addressing some of the questions we often get asked about our adoption, but first a quick update…

We finally dropped off our home study paperwork to our social worker,  now we can finish our interviews and home visit.  When our home study is complete the rest of the paperwork will start to move along faster.  We're moving forward,  not a whole lot to report.  On to the FAQ's…..

1. Who, What, Where, When, Why?

We're adopting a little boy from China, he's blind, he is two now and will be three when we bring him home. The process will be up to a year and it's all part of God's plan for our family.

2. How long will the process be?

It will be 10-12 months,  we are hoping closer to 10 months because we would love to have Gabriel in our arms for his birthday in March.  So many March birthdays in the family :)

3. Can he see at all? He doesn't look blind.

As far as we know, Gabriel has no vision or light sense ( according to his file).  There are different eye conditions that cause blindness.  Some people have eyes that look perfectly normal but they are still blind.  It is unclear what specific eye condition Gabriel has.

4. How much will it cost? How will you afford it?

The total process will be about $35,000.  We are fundraising ( as you know),  soon we will be able to apply for grants,  we're selling things from around the house, Mike is working extra hours and weekends,  and if we need to get a loan we will, after all,  people get loans for cars that cost as much or more than the cost of adoption.  A lot of factors go in to the cost of adoption, we're paying for services NOT the child we are adopting.

5. Do you have to travel to China?

Yes,  we will be in china for about two weeks. We've never been away from our kids for that long :(

…and I, ( Kari) am not the best traveler, flying is not my favorite and it's a really long flight, but I'll be fine. We are looking forward to seeing China.

6. Are you scared/ nervous about life with a blind child?

Mike was a little intimidated at first but I,  personally have had complete peace about it.  Visual impairment was the first special need I felt drawn to when God placed adoption on my heart a year ago.

7.  Will he have to go to The School for the Blind?

Nope,  We are grateful that the Tennessee School for the Blind is an option but the public school system provides services for blind children and we plan to start out there and see how it goes.

  

8. How did you go about finding this particular child?

There are advocacy websites with lists of waiting children.  I had been looking at these for a year while we were praying about adoption.  I actually saw Gabriel on three sites in one morning and took that as a sign that I should request his file.  We had his file put on hold while we were reviewing it and on Good Friday we said "yes, this is our child",  and began this crazy process.

9. Is he in an orphanage?

No, he is living in a wonderful foster home for children with visual impairments and he is loved.

10. Other information:

Gabriel is just learning to walk, he is not talking yet but he does babble and he can understand his care takers when they speak to him.  

Thanks for reading, I hope this was helpful to anyone who might have questions for us.


We have lots of middle puzzle pieces left. Sponsor a piece for $10.  Link below

http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

T-Shirts!

I'm happy to announce the launch of our T-Shirt fundraiser.  I am so excited about these shirts,  I'll be buying six of them, one for each of us including our little Gabe.  We are doing this fundraiser through Bonfire Funds,  the shirts they use are soft and comfy, good quality shirts.  Our goal is to sell at least 50 shirts,  the fundraiser will run for three weeks.  There are five style options to choose from, ranging from $20 - $40.  The basic t- shirts that I will be buying for our family are $20.  The shipping is $5 flat rate per order, it doesn't matter how many shirts are in your order.  Shirts will be shipped after the close of the fundraiser.

Who doesn't love a comfy t-shirt?  Now you can get a comfy t-shirt with a super awesome design while helping to support us in bringing Gabe home.  You will also be raising awareness about the number of orphans in the world as you wear your shirt.  Win-win-win!!!
Thanks everyone!

The link below will direct you to our Bonfire Funds page

https://www.bonfirefunds.com/waiting-4-gabe-sloan-family-adoption

Thoughts on Mother's Day

This year Mother's Day was different because a special little someone was missing.  It's difficult knowing you have a child across the world and you're waiting to wrap your arms around him, scoop him up, and bring him home. Waiting is hard…..

  ….Then I think about Gabriel's birth mother and my heart breaks for her.  I think about how empty Mother's Day must have been for her and the grief she must feel.  There is no doubt in my mind that she loved him,  she left him in a place where she knew he would be found quickly and taken care of.  She loved him for almost a year before she made that decision.  There are no words to describe the pain she must of felt in that moment.  I'm sure she didn't know what else to do and hoped he would have a better life if she could just let go.  I can't imagine the weight of having to make a decision like that.  So, I pray for her, I pray that she would have peace in her heart and I pray that she would somehow know her baby boy will be loved forever.  Waiting is hard, but at least I know he will eventually be in my arms.  For Gabriel's birth mother,  she has to live knowing he will never be in her arms again….and that's hard for her.  Let's pray for the birth mothers ( and fathers ).  

                                                                                                                       ~Kari

https://www.youcaring.com/waiting4gabe

Mike's Birthday!

You guys!!!  We are in awe of the donations we've received so far.  Our next agency fee that we need in about 3-4 months is $7690, that will send all our documents to China.  We're only about $3000 away from reaching that goal, bringing us one step closer to bringing home our little Gabiel.  

Mike's birthday is Wednesday and if you know him, you know that he never wants anything for his birthday and he never buys himself anything. He usually takes me out to my favorite place for my favorite meal on his birthday.  I do know that he's doing everything in his power to earn extra money for our adoption including doing extra jobs on the weekend.  He worked seven days last week.  I would love to see how many donations we can receive this week in honor of Mike.  He's the best guy I know…Let's show him some love!

No amount is too small, every little bit helps.  If you would like to make a donation to our adoption, the link is below.  We still have puzzle pieces too if you want to sponsor one for $10

                         http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337

Update & Exciting News!

Hello everyone-  We are currently doing lots and lots of paperwork for our home study, we've ordered every certificate we need, we have to get finger printed, get passports,  everyone in the house has to get a physical even the dogs had to go to the vet and get their shots.  We are so busy right now but we'll be relieved when we get  the home study done. We're overwhelmed at the moment.

Now for the exciting news…...

We have a very generous donor that is willing to double the first five $100 donations!

If you donate $100, the awesome and amazing donor will donate $200!  If we're able to reach this goal our adoption fund will gain $1,500.  That would be so great!

We also still have plenty of puzzle pieces if you want to sponsor a piece for only $10

Here is the link to our You Caring fundraising page

https://www.youcaring.com/waiting4gabe

Puzzle Fundraiser

We are starting our puzzle fundraiser.  Here's how it works:  I've made a custom puzzle with 4 photos of Gabriel on it, at the bottom of the puzzle it says "Love is Blind".  We're asking people to sponsor a puzzle piece for $10 and we will write your name on the back of the piece.  There are 252 pieces so when all the pieces are sponsored we will have raised $2,520.  We plan on framing the puzzle and hanging it in Gabriel's room to remind us of all the people that helped us bring him home.

Abby and Caleb wanted to be the first to sponsor a piece for their little brother.

We can't share photos of Gabriel online until we reach a certain point in our adoption but if you sponsor a puzzle piece I can email a photo to you, we just ask that you do not share the photo.  After donating just email me and tell me you want a photo and what name you want me to write on the puzzle piece.

sloan.kari@yahoo.com

Click Here to go to our You Caring page to donate

https://www.youcaring.com/waiting4gabe

We're Adopting!!!

Hi everyone!
Our family is growing and I'm starting this blog to keep everyone updated on our adoption journey.  the little guy we will be bringing home is two years old, he is perfect,  he is adorable, and he is blind.  He was abandoned around 10 months of age and is currently living in a wonderful foster home where he is very well taken care of and loved. We are so thankful for that!  We will be naming him Gabriel, as you may have figured out by the blog title, and we'll keep his Chinese name as his middle name.  God has a plan for our family and we're excited about it!

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, "declares the Lord", plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Adoption is very expensive, the total cost will be around $35,000.  We are stepping out in faith on this journey.  We have some savings but not nearly enough to cover the adoption.  We will be having various fundraisers and being very thrifty to try and save every penny we possibly can.  Our first fundraiser will be a puzzle fundraiser, more about that in the next blog post….stay tuned.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Please pray for us as we prepare to bring our little guy home, and pray for  Gabriel, that his heart would be prepared for adoption.

If you would like to donate to our adoption you can do so through our You Caring page. Link below

Thank you. We love you,
The Sloan Family



http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/waiting-4-gabe/341337