We had some friends give $130 towards our adoption last week so we were able to add 13 new pieces to our puzzle. I have included a photo so that everyone can see where we are in the fundraiser. Puzzle pieces are $10 each, and your name is written on the back of each piece that you purchase. If you would like to buy a piece, please click on the YouCaring link on this blog.
We are also selling T-shirts until July 31st. They are $20 each. Thank you to all who have bought one so far. If you are interested in buying a T-shirt, there is a link on this blog with instructions on how to do so.
We have everything turned in and completed for our home study. We are now waiting for our social worker to finish the home study and give it to us to review. Once that is finished, our home study will be complete. At that point, we could get a call at anytime to be placed with future Baby Goldsmith. When that call comes, we will need to have the majority of our adoption funds raised and available.
Thank you to everyone who continues to encourage and support us through this adoption process.
Our yard sale was a huge success thanks to our wonderful friends and church family! We had friends come help us sort and price all day on Friday. Then we had friends come help us set things out at 6:30 on Saturday morning. We had friends help during the yard sale, and friends who helped us pack up everything left over and get it over to Miracle Hill Saturday afternoon. We are so thankful for everyone who helped! We had more items donated than we knew what to do with, which is part of why our yard sale was so successful. I didn't have much yard sale experience coming into this, but from what I learned, the more items you have at a yard sale, the better your odds are of having a successful one. So thank you to everyone who donated! We made almost $2,600 from the yard sale. We split what we made with another family in our church that is adopting so were able to put $1,300 towards our adoption expenses. This is a lot more than we expected, and we are so thankful! :)
It is so encouraging and humbling to see our friends and family come along side us in this adoption process. Thank you! We cannot say that enough! We could not do this without you!
Our T-shirt fundraiser continues until July 31st. If you would like to buy a T-shirt, please click on the page link on this blog for instructions on how to do so. We are excited about our T-shirt fundraiser!
Also, we are still selling puzzle pieces for $10 until they are all gone. Our puzzle is starting to take shape, but we still have plenty of pieces left. If you would like to buy a puzzle piece, please click on our YouCaring link on this blog.
We had our last home study visit on Saturday afternoon after our yard sale. So we are almost finished! Once our home study is completed, then we will be able to apply for a few grants. We have raised about $3,700 so far, but we still have a long way to go. Our adoption will cost anywhere from $12,000-$24,000 depending on what state our baby is born in. We would appreciate prayers as we continue to raise money for our adoption.
Thank you, again, for loving us well!
Here is a photo of what our puzzle looks like at this point in the fundraiser. It is starting to take shape!
We are getting closer to completing our home study! Gus has a doctor's visit next week and we have a few hours of education classes still to complete. We have one more visit from our social worker, as well. It won't be long, and we are excited! Once our home study is completed, we can get a placement at any time. So we are hoping to get going on our fundraising so that when we get the placement call, we will be ready with the required funds.
We have two fundraisers happening in the next couple of weeks. One is this Saturday, June 7th. It is a drop-in Thirty-One Party at Redeemer Presbyterian Church from 11:30-1:00. Our friend Becky Stone will be donating all the proceeds she makes to our adoption. We are so thankful for her generosity and supporting our adoption in this way.
We also have a yard sale fundraiser that is a joint effort with another couple in our church who is also adopting. The yard sale will be on Saturday, June 14th, at Redeemer Presbyterian Church from 8:00-1:00. We are hoping for a big turn out for this yard sale!
We have had people give towards our adoption already, and we are so grateful! It encourages our hearts to see people excited about what we are doing. There is a lot of paperwork and time that goes into the home study and adoption process, and having people support us through encouraging words, praying for us, and financial assistance means more to us than you will ever know. So thank you so much!
We are in the process of a t-shirt design that we hope we will be selling soon to continue our fundraising efforts. More details to come!
We also are continuing to sell puzzle pieces, as well. We had someone buy 100 pieces over the weekend, and we are so excited about that. Our puzzle is really starting to take shape! If you would like to buy a puzzle piece, they are $10 a piece. You can go to our YouCaring site (youcaring.com/goldsmithadoption) and buy a piece or pieces using PayPal. Please put in the message box that you are purchasing pieces for the puzzle fundraiser. Your name will be written on the back of each piece you purchase. I will try to post a picture of our puzzle soon to show you how it is progressing.
Please continue to pray for us during this adoption journey. This has been our desire and part of our plan since Joey and I were dating, and we have no doubt that this is what we are supposed to be doing. We plan to adopt now and adopt again in another couple of years. However, we have encountered a lot of financial setbacks since starting the process (heater breaking, car problems, unplanned/unexpected bills such as our dog getting hit by a car). We trust that our heavenly Father will continue to provide for us financially as He has always done, but it can get discouraging at times. Please pray for us to trust Him completely with our finances. I (Jen) have an especially difficult time with this. I share that to let you know that this is an exciting time but also one where we have at times felt like we were being attacked from all sides. So prayers are much appreciated!
Then we have those joyful moments, such as Saturday night with Claudia, that lets us know we are not alone in this adoption journey. She excitedly came up to us and told us that she wanted to buy a puzzle piece for the adoption. She gave us her money and happily wrote her name on the back of one of the puzzle pieces. She is also very excited to be able to help with the yard sale on the 14th. It has been wonderful to see her as excited as we are to adopt a baby.
Thanks again for all of the support and love!
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