More fundraising and more waiting

Disclaimer:  This will be a hodge podge of information.  Try to follow along.

Adoption Process
Since I last blogged, we received some great news!  On July 9th, I called Lifeline and found out they had received a verbal, provisional approval of our dossier.  The "verbal, provisional" part means we do not have anything official in writing, yet :(  The dossier approval part means we are approved to adopt in Colombia :)  And we are still waiting on that official letter.  After we receive it, the next step is to be approved specifically for Little One.  The region where she lives does this approval.  It is handled as a completely separate process than ICBF approving us as an adoptive family for Colombia.  This could be happening as we speak, or they could be waiting on our paperwork.  There are still a ton of unanswered questions about where we are in that process.  But I have learned that international adoption and the Colombian culture love to leave me in suspense.  And I'm almost learning to accept that.

Fundraising
On July 20th, we held our 2nd and FINAL yard sale.  We raised another $3,300 which brings our yard sale total alone to $8,500!!  I never would have thought.  Here is the money breakdown:

Money spent out of pocket:   $13,669
Money raised:                        $15,707
Total:                                     $29,376

Our estimated expenses are going to be $33,000 - $38,000.  That leaves a deficit of $3,624 - $8,624.  But we are SO much closer to our goal than before!!

Although the yard sales are over, we are still planning a couple of other smaller scale events to try and raise the additional funds. In the meantime, if you would like to make a donation, you can do so by clicking the AdoptTogether button on the right side of the page.

Frequent Flyer Miles
To significantly reduce our travel costs, we are also asking those who have extra Delta SkyMiles to spread the love our way!  The portions of the flights we will be taking with Delta will cost over $4,800.  This is a HUGE chunk of the remaining amount we need to raise.  So if you have miles to spare, please click the link in the right column.  My SkyMiles number is included for the transfer.  You must transfer a minimum of 1,000 miles and there is a maximum of 30,000 miles per transaction.  The transaction fee for the transfer is $30.00.  Multiple transactions can be made, but no more than 150,000 miles can be transferred per calendar year.  It will take us approximately 500,000 SkyMiles for the trip.

Timeline
According to our agency, their families have been traveling on the average 10 weeks after dossier approval.  What?  "Ten weeks" sounds Way a Lot Closer (as Reese says) than "sometime in October".  So, manically getting a few things in order so I can manically focus on other things closer to the travel date.  So excited!  More excited than the exclamation points can convey!!!

Exhaustion Level
High.  Just thought I would throw that in there.

My Heart
Last week as I finished up the translation of over 75 pages of social and medical history for Little One, I became overwhelmed emotionally. I read the words of the agency describing the day she was voluntarily brought in and turned over to them at 6 months old.  I felt the heaviness of her mother's heart at not being able to care for her and her medical needs.  I visualized her tears and shaking hands. I saw her crying in her bed that night at the unfairness of it all.  I momentarily felt her anguish.  And I can't shake it.  See, I was not the one created to be her Mommy.  I do not believe that God gave Little One to her mother with the intent of later ripping the mother's heart out and presenting it to me in a tidy package.  Yes, I will become her Mommy.  And I will love her as fiercely and deeply as the children I bore.  But I will always make sure she knows that we are both her real mommy.  The one who gave her life, but because of this world and its disparity, could not provide for her.  And me.  The mommy called to fill the void created.   I do not take this lightly.  I pray for her first mother every single day.  And I pray that when I'm not enough, the Lord will take over and do what only He can.  Please pray with me for Little One, her birth mother as well as her foster mother.  Pray that God meets them right where they are offering peace and love and that their hearts will be open to receiving His complete healing.

Love as always.