Tuesday, December 31, 2013

A New Year, A New Family

It's about time for an update!  Since my last post...

Joey had a birthday!

I had a birthday!

Jesus had a birthday!

And Rosemary will have a birthday by week's end.  What a time of celebration it has been.  How wonderful to know this is the last Christmas that "Abraham" will be without a family!  We received a belated Christmas gift on Monday--news that we have been assigned a USCIS officer to approve our I-800A.  This is the form asking the US government for permission to adopt internationally  It takes several months to be processed and is a significant part of the waiting during an international adoption.  Our officer was very sweet on the phone and told me she expected to get to our application by the end of the day on Monday.  Another adoption milestone completed!

Also since my last post, we've embarked on a few more fundraising ventures.  A fellow homeschooling mom donated an Usborne Books consultant starter kit to me, and I'm now an Usborne consultant!  That means that our adoption savings account will get the commission for all books purchased through my Usborne link.  I can also do small book fairs, e-shows and home shows if I get the opportunity.  The Usborne books we've bought in the past through other families' adoption fundraisers are awesome, and I'm so excited to have this opportunity to help our family raise the funds needed to bring "Abraham" home!  Please take a look and order one (or more!) of the many wonderful kids' books, puzzles, and games they have to offer.

My Etsy store, Stitching Our Family Together, is fully operational too, and we're so grateful for each and every order placed there.  Please take a moment, if you haven't already, to see if there is something you'd like to order for yourself or someone special in your life.  If you've ordered something already, it would be such a help if you could stop by again and leave a review of your item.  I can also do custom orders, so if there is something you'd like to have crocheted that isn't listed, let me know!  Each order gets us closer to our son!

2014 is such an incredibly exciting year for our family.  We will undergo major, miraculous changes this year in our family and trust that God will be right there with us every step of the way.  How blessed we are to be adopted by Him!