We made it!

We are in Kathryn's country! We met her yesterday, and it went very well. We got to play with her again this morning. She already calls me momma and loves playing with Isabel and Maya. Her first word was "Maya." I can't post any pictures until we pass court, which will be in a few weeks. 

Adoption is Redemption

Today as I work to cross all the To Do's off my list, it is becoming more real to me that a week from now I will be in a foreign country requesting to bring my daughter home.  My daughter that I've never seen aside from a few pictures.  My daughter who I know so little about.  Where was she born?  How long has she been in an orphanage? Does she remember her birth family? What is her personality like? What does she like to eat? What brings her comfort?  For eight years she has been living without me.  What will she think of me?  How will I communicate with her?  How can I tell her I already love her?  Only God knows the answers to all these questions, so following Him I will go to her.  I can't wait to meet her. 
I know God has chosen her for our family, just like he chose these three.  I don't know how our adventure will go, but He does. 

Clay on the day we met him 10.9.11

Otto in the orphanage November 2012

Zoey in the orphanage November 2012

When I look at the redemption that has occurred in the lives of these three, I am blessed.  Clay is a thriving almost three year old who has far exceeded the expectations of every doctor and specialist.  He is a joy to every person he meets.  Otto has gone from barely sitting up, unable to communicate, and not able to tolerate touch and noise, to a busy, happy toddler full of hugs, starting to babble, and eating real food.  Zoey is almost walking, starting to talk, and always cute.  She loves being the baby of the family! 
The redemption that we've seen is only the first part of the story.  God did not leave them as orphans.  He set them in our family.  And one day they will each be redeemed again in a much more glorious way, as will all who believe in Jesus. 
I don't know why God has entrusted us to be the family for these three, but I am so thankful He did.  I can't wait to meet my new daughter in 10 days. Please pray or us as we seek to be His hands and feet.  If you feel led to give please click the link with Kathryn's picture.  We still need to raise $3610 for Kathryn's adoption to be fully funded.  We are so thankful for the many who have already donated.  I can think of no better way to spend money than to redeem a child.  It is an eternal investment with more return that we can imagine!   

Submitted!

I was surprised and a little embarrassed to see that my last blog post was almost 2 months ago.  Sorry! I have found that the more children we have the more attention deficit I have become.  I am constantly thinking about what needs to be done before tomorrow and usually can't focus on any thought long enough to type it out.  So much has happened in the last two months.  Some of it very sad and difficult and some great blessings.

First, it has become clear to us that we will not be able to bring Ethel home at this time.  She is in a region with much political unrest and is currently unadoptable because of these circumstances.  Her future at this time is very bleak.  We trust that God loves her more than we can imagine, and we know that he sees her and knows her story.  We continue to pray for her protection and for her to feel the love of Christ.  We pray that if God wills, in time, we will bring her home as our daughter.  We are heartbroken for her, knowing she will continue to be confined to the walls of an orphanage and may not ever know the love of a family.

Once we knew Ethel could not be brought home, we had to decide what to do.  I definitely had moments when I just wanted to quit.  Adoption is hard, unpredictable, and draining.  Then God laid on our hearts a little girl who is 8 years old.  She has some minor medical needs that will be easily treated in the United States.  We are excited for Kathryn to become a part of our family.  Yesterday we learned that our paperwork had been submitted to the government in Kathryn's country.  Now we wait for travel dates.  We expect to be heading across the Atlantic in 5-8 weeks.

Kathryn -April 2012

As you can see, we've been greatly blessed with our fundraising.  God is faithfully providing all that we need.  So many people have sacrificed in order to partner with us in giving a child the gift of a family.  We will soon hit $17,000.  Making just $8,000 left to raise.  If you would like to be a part of Kathryn's redemption story, please consider making a donation.   As Christians, we are all called to make a difference for the least of these.  As Americans, we are so financially blessed.  Our family couldn't fulfill our calling of adoption without other Christians stepping up to donate and be His hands and feet with us.  Thank you to everyone who has already helped!

About a month ago, we had the opportunity to share our story with our church family.  It was an honor to share what God has done in our lives as we have sought to follow Him.  If you still wonder why we're doing what we're doing with our lives, please take time to listen here:
https://soundcloud.com/cbc-of-savannah/authentic-true-or-false-james 

I will be updating more frequently as we prepare to travel.  We are very thankful for the love and support of so many!

           

Hurray for Progress!

When we first considered adopting another child, the thought of the paperwork and fundraising was overwhelming.  Where in my day could I find time to fill out the loads of paperwork and coordinate fundraising? As we prayed about what God would have us do, we asked that if God wanted us to adopt this child that He would do the paperwork and fundraising for us.  He is faithful!  The paperwork this time has been a breeze.  Our homestudy is complete, just waiting for a couple background checks to come back to make it official.  Yesterday we were able to complete 27 forms that needed signing and notarizing.  We are down to just a few more forms to be filled out.  Once all of our paperwork goes through its first check, it has to be sent in to the state for apostille.  It won't be long and our dossier (a fancy word for the bundle of paperwork that will go before us to clear the way) will be ready for translation and processing.  It seems like I must have missed something huge... its just been too easy!
Our fundraising is also doing well.  We've had so many people interested in helping to bring Ethel home.  We have already passed the 10% point!  We have a few more fundraisers we are getting ready to roll out in the next couple weeks.  We just got word today that we will be part of the Savannah Hot Cocoa Half & 10K.  We just need to find 10 willing volunteers to help us cheer on runners and keep them hydrated and we will receive a donation to Ethel's fund.  Our shoe drive is off to a strong start.  We've collected hundreds of pairs of shoes and are still getting more every day.  And it looks like our yard sale will be a great success thanks to the many people cleaning out and donating. 
Thank you to everyone who has jumped on board to help bring Ethel home.  It is an honor for us to be a part of Ethel's story, and we hope you will be blessed by it as well.    

FUNdraising

I had to laugh the other day when I was reading a few posts on the Reece's Rainbow facebook page and came across a potential adoptive momma with a question.  "What was the hardest part of the adoption process?"  She then went on to list several options like paperwork, court, traveling, etc.  The post had numerous comments from adoptive moms and the resounding answer was FUNDRAISING.  How I can relate!  While I know God has a plan to provide for Ethel to join our family and I trust His faithfulness, fundraising still makes me sweat. 
We have had several people offer to help us out with fundraisers, and for that I am very thankful!  Our first two fundraisers have nothing to do with you giving funds.  We just want your no longer needed stuff. 

1. Shoe Drive - We are working with an organization called Funds2Orgs to collect and repurpose shoes.  We will be collecting shoes all around the Savannah area.  Please check your closets, ask you friends and neighbors and collect some bags of shoes.  Not only will this project provide some funds for our adoption, it will also provide shoes and an income opportunity for people in developing countries.  We've already collected several bags and look forward to having a garage full!

2. Yard Sale - We will again be holding a yard sale to raise money.  If you have anything you'd like to donate, please contact me.  More Stuff = More Revenue!  The sale will be held in mid March.

So go clean out and bag up.  Simplify your life and bless Ethel's!

What Adoption Can Do by Maya age 9

I have learned SO many things through adoption.   For a starter I guess I'll say it is crazy but at the same time awesome! It shows that if a child gets a family to love and care for them they will thrive  but without one they usually can't survive. My adopted siblings have always brought joy and laughter to our family and I can't wait to go get my next sister. Some may think I am tired of raising money, adopting, raising money, adopting but it's the exact opposite. I LOVE adoption and can't wait to adopt some of my own children one day. Adoption also shows that some money is TOTALLY worth spending. It's a small amount to get a new, adorable and probably super fun and cuddly sister. If I had to say one word to describe adoption I would say "INCREDIBLE!"

Maya & Zoey - home 1 year today

Here's the link to my new sister .
http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorknofczynski-2

 

Hold On Tight!

We're back on the adoption rollercoaster once again.  This time it will be more familiar, since we've ridden it before, but it still seems just as crazy as it did the first time.  We never set out to be a family that attracts so many stares and seems so weird to people.  To us, this is just normal.  We are trying to follow the life God has for us.  Over and over God tells us to love one another, care for the least of these, and provide for orphans.  Please follow us as our journey unfolds.  After Christmas we'll be able to post a link to our little girl.  If you can't wait to see her, go to reecesrainbow.com and search for Ethel.