Where we are and Halloween!

I know it has been a while since I updated you all on how our adoption is going.

We have gotten all of our birth and marriage certificates in, we have sent our marriage certificate in to be apostilled, we have sent in our I-800A application, We have our homestudy complete and in hand, we have had our fingerprints taken for our FBI background checks and sent them in, and We got this little beauty in the mail today!!!

 Kev got his passport, but I am waiting on mine. With each thing we get done and with each item we receive in the mail it feels like we are getting closer to our boy. I beyond excited!!!

The only thing that has the potential to slow us down at this point is funding :( With winter coming, it is putting our fundraising efforts on hold. We need about $4000.00 by December to pay our next set of Agency fees. We have not met our $2500 matching grant yet.... If we reach that we will be sooooo close!!! 

Please help in any way you can :)

Now on to Halloween 2012

Brittany's class paraded around in their costumes. That littlest pet shop lady bug is mine :)

 Spidey Man Lyssa (as she calls herself) was running around the hallways.

 Awww there's my Britty bug ;)

 FYI this kid is not mine, but his rodeo clown outfit was awesome!!!

 My little (well she is actually pretty big now) Kaitie Kat

 Kait playing bingo at her class party.

 Daddy helping out at the class party. I think he had fun. He is normally working and misses out on these sorts of things.

 Britt getting ready to participate in a doughnut eating contest.

 She eats like her dad lol

 Next stop.... Walmart for trick or treating :)

 Then off to the mall!!

 Ok seriously I had to snap a pick of this guy in a cheerleading outfit :)

We finished up by going trunk or treating at T & V's ward, then grabbed a bite to eat, then trick or treating around my neighborhood..... And we ended the night with lots of family and friends at my house.

We had Grandma, Poppy, Me, Kevin, Kaitlyn, Brittany, Alyssa, Veronica, Emily, Ian, Michelle, Michelle's mom, Tyson, Ryan, Kevin, and Laurie. We always have a fun time!!!!!

Less than 3 weeks!!!!

Ok friends here we go. My amazing friend, Amanda, has less than 3 weeks until she travels.

She needs $3,500 to book her flights

$500 for the train to region

$230 for her sons visa

$110 for a medical exam

and $2,224 for hotel and food for the 3-5 weeks she will be staying there.

Total she needs $6,564

We can do it friends!!! Can you find it in your heart to share $10 with a very deserving family this Holiday season.

In case bringing a child home to a family isn't incentive enough...... we have a few things to encourage you.

Just by posting on your blog or FB you will be entered to win this

You will also get an entry into the drawing for the items below. Just comment below or on Amanda's blog.

http://justonemore4us.blogspot.com/2012/10/all-that-i-have.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JustOneMore4Us+%28Just+ONE+more+4+us%21%3F%29

All of these items were donated by friends and family. 

$6,564 for one boy and for one family.

I am not sure of the value of any of these items. They were all donated with love so to me they are priceless. I will just draw in number order when the time comes, which will hopefully be soon, when we are fully funded. 

$5- 1 chance
$10- 3 chances
$25-10 chances
$50- 30 chances
$100-80 chances

If you share the giveaway (you don't have to donate), leave a comment here, and I will give you one free entry.  

1. Faith Necklace

 2. Chocolate Kate Spade purse

3. Burgundy Coach purse

4. Giraffe print Kate Spade purse

(don't you just love my new purple bracelet "K" made for me)

5. Tupperware set

(In the bags are 4 fluted glasses and a spatula)

6. Winter Scrapbook Set

7. Summer Scrapbook Set

I just wanted to let you know I am not going to ask to see who entered (FSP with Reece's Rainbow) till it it time to draw for names. So if you donate. I thank you!!! I just won't know it till time to choose names. I will use Random.org to decide the winners. 

Donate here until the FSP link is back up
http://reecesrainbow.org/12374/sponsorburlingham

Early Christmas shopping

I have plenty of things up for sale. First up are these gorgeous necklaces donated by a friend of mine.

They are $15.00 each including shipping. The charm on each has a tiny handprint.

Please email me with which one you want at Grumpyjax@yahoo.com

sold

You can also visit my hair bow blog to purchase hair bows.

http://hairbowsbyjax.blogspot.com/

They are only $5 each shipped and go down the more you buy.

Also we have cute bracelets only $1 each plus 50 cents (total) for shipping no matter how many you buy.

More hair bows coming soon or you can place a special order just email me with color choices or a picture of an outfit you are trying to match. Grumpyjax@yahoo.com

Please help a friend

My sweet friend is so close to her son.... So close after watching others pass her up in the process. After watching others adopt 4 children during 2 separate trip. After having several children made unavailable to her for one reason or another. Now, she stresses over something WE can finally help with. Getting fully funded!

She can travel any time now. If you have adopted or know anybody that has, you do not get much notice some times. We need her fully funded right away. Please help..... Check out her awesome giveaway.

http://justonemore4us.blogspot.com/2012/10/all-that-i-have.html

(I will post below)

Also, I am offering up an item for those willing to spread the word. You will get an entry into a drawing for this....

A beautiful Scentsy plug in warmer and a scent bar of your choice from those I have available.

Please comment below if you have shared and a link that I can see it. Let's plaster the blog and FB world with her FSP and spread the word!!!!!

All That I Have

I wish I had another IPad, Wii, GPS, Kindle, or any of those other fancy things I have offered my other giveaways, but I don't. 

This is like the underdog giveaway. So many families, so many giveaways, so many kids. 

I give you all that I have left. 

All of these items were donated by friends and family. 

$6,564 for one boy and for one family.

I am not sure of the value of any of these items. They were all donated with love so to me they are priceless. I will just draw in number order when the time comes, which will hopefully be soon, when we are fully funded. 

$5- 1 chance
$10- 3 chances
$25-10 chances
$50- 30 chances
$100-80 chances

If you share the giveaway, leave a comment here, and I will give you one free entry. 

1. Faith Necklace

 2. Chocolate Kate Spade purse

3. Burgundy Coach purse

4. Giraffe print Kate Spade purse

(don't you just love my new purple bracelet "K" made for me)

5. Tupperware set

(In the bags are 4 fluted glasses and a spatula)

6. Winter Scrapbook Set

7. Summer Scrapbook Set

I just wanted to let you know I am not going to ask to see who entered (FSP with Reece's Rainbow) till it it time to draw for names. So if you donate. I thank you!!! I just won't know it till time to choose names. I will use Random.org to decide the winners. 

Their FSP/Grant donation box is on the top right!! 

I hope to add her FSP to my blog soon, but in the meantime please visit her blog to donate http://justonemore4us.blogspot.com/2012/10/all-that-i-have.html All donations are tax deductible!

Home study Tomorrow!

The last 2 days have been insane!!!

We drove home from Vegas after making a last minute trip down there to raise some money for our adoption by selling some puppies. Large dogs are sometimes hard to sell here in Utah, so they sell for very cheap. We picked up 10 puppies and headed down to Vegas where it is much more difficult to find large dogs for a reasonable price. 

So anyways back to the last 2 days, we drove home and got in at about 6:30 p.m. Kids had school the next morning and still had some homework to do. So after we gave them 30 minutes to get their wiggles out we sat down and did homework. We somehow managed to get it all done, eat dinner and be in bed before 9pm. Kevin and I were exhausted, so we were in bed before 10:30. Good thing too. Kevin got a call this morning that he was going to be starting on the night shift. We were not excited about that, but hey what can you do right? Then at about 10:30 this morning we got a call that we would be having our homestudy tomorrow..... Yes 1 whole day notice whoo hoo :) 

So, our home study is at 2 p.m. tomorrow. I am excited to have it done, but having one day notice especially when you just got home from a 5 day trip is not ideal..... Luckily the 3 musketeers came to the rescue... (My mom, my dad and me) We manage to clean the house, and when I say clean I mean spotless..... Stove cleaned, fridges cleaned out, dishes all done, swept, mopped, vacuumed, animal cages cleaned out, laundry done AND put away, toilets, tubs and sinks all cleaned..... The list goes on and on. On top of that we got both lawns mowed, the back yard completely picked up, the trailer cleaned off (garbage and stuff from moving hauled away) and the garage cleaned out.... We did all of this in just 8.5 hours. Only 3 people. Well hubby did do most of the garage before he had to go to work. I am so amazed at how awesome my parents are. No matter what the task is, they always find a way to help!!! I am beyond blessed!!

So, now I am gathering the last minute paperwork and things needed, finishing up the last 5 loads of laundry, and praising the good Lord for always helping me out! 

Tomorrow we will be one step closer to our son (This is our final visit). We are just $800.00 shy of our next big step! I am beyond excited at how well everything is coming together. Can we find 8 warriors who will donate $100.00 each? Or maybe 16 who will donate $50.00?? Surely we can find 80 who will donate just $10.00! Remember your money will be tripled! 

I will be having a raffle very soon..... I will let you get a jump start on entries if you share our blog on your blog or on FB you will get 1 entry for each. Please help us out.... We should not need much money toward the end. Now is when we need your help <3

Prizes for the raffle will be some awesome Scentsy products

Hair bows

Chocolate

and there is a rumor that there may be a PS3 included ;)

Thank You!

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has helped us in our journey towards our son. We had a fundraiser party, and it was pretty successful. We earned some money toward our adoption, and I was able to get some free products to use toward a raffle we will be doing soon.

Meanwhile, I wanted to direct you all to an amazing friend of mine....

Amanda has been working toward adoption for a long time. Her sweet son Andriy was taken and made unavailable for adoption at the same time my Logan was. They were orphanage brothers for a while before Andriy was transferred. This gave us an amazing bond. Sadly, due to the delay, she had to practically start the entire process over. Many people got bumped ahead of her, and yet she waited without complaint as she fought to bring her son home. Her time has finally arrived!! She has been submitted, and all she is waiting now is a travel date. 

Only one thing stands in her way now... Funding. 

You can visit her blog here..

http://justonemore4us.blogspot.com/2012/09/out-of-our-hands.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JustOneMore4Us+%28Just+ONE+more+4+us%21%3F%29

Please drop a few dollars in the bucket and leave an encouraging word.

They need $6,584 to be fully funded.... Donations are tax deductible, so please help them out!

Great Day!!!

Today I received an awesome email!!!

We are officially matched to adopt our son!!!!

We have sent in out first payment, turned in our papers for our background checks, turned in one medical exam and have the other scheduled for Monday.

Life is good!!!! 

I also received some updated pictures of my son, but I cannot share them until we receive our "official written referral".

He is doing well and recovering well from his surgery. 

I cannot wait to hold him in our arms!!!!

Nothing will stand in our way now!!!!!!

Thanks to all the have helped by donating, praying and spreading our story.