Adoption Stalled

I am writing to update everyone on what's going on and why we've had to stall things with the adoption.

1) We are currently under an agreement to get out of all debt (except for our house) by the end of May. That includes all of the acquired debt from my lack of real estate business over the past 2 years, which ironically was supposed to help us prepare for an adoption financially. Instead it put us in a financial hole. We have almost climbed out of that hole, and we have until the end of May to pay it all off. So Jefferson and I have been praying for the Post Office to call him in on his days off, and they finally did last week! Also I have been looking for something part time that can also give me flexibility to still work in real estate as well as get Mikayl from school when I need to, and I have! I've been substitute teaching for the past few weeks just 2-3 days a week. It's been an adjustment, but it's totally worth it if we can be debt free!

2) We received a phone call from our Utah adoption agency asking us if we were ready for a placement, but we had to turn them down because we weren't based on the $20,000 we need. Rather, the $18,000 we still have to raise, thanks to some friends, family, and probably people we don't even know. We've started a new fund raising website that simply tracks electronic donations through PayPal as well as a tracker to keep all of our viewers in the loop. We have raised $2,050 in the past few weeks and it keeps growing! We are also planning a huge yard sale fundraiser and some friends of ours are planning to create a "fun run" fundraiser as well. Every little bit helps and adds up quickly. It's been a blessing for us to see those donations grow every week. We are more encouraged knowing that so many people believe we will make good parents to a child in need of being adopted.

3) We have exhausted all other forms of loans. We looked into personal, retirement & 2nd mortgage loans but with no success.

4) We were given many helpful suggestions into getting financial support by other means, but all of those turned out to be brick walls as well. Utah State has a wonderful plan that requires insurance companies to offer their customers a lump sum amount of up to $5,000 for adoption related expenses, but since we work for the post office, the federal government trumps that law. We don't get anything from them. We've also looked into Corporate/Employment financial adoption assistance, but the post office doesn't do that either. There are also state subsidy assistance, but that is typically for adopting special needs children.

5) Our next route is to exhaust all of the grant possibilities. It is a daunting task. And after everything else we've been through - paperwork, classes, fingerprinting, etc - honestly I'm tired. At this point our focus is on getting completely out of debt, even earlier than late May so that I can devote more time to the adoption again. I kind of had a "burn out" phase recently, so if we can get over the debt hurdle I think I'll be rejuvenated again.

Right now we are at peace that we have to take care of one thing at a time, and resting in knowing God's timing is perfect. Just like it was when Jefferson and I met. He reminds me almost everyday about how perfect it was when we met and how everything fell into place and he believes it will be the same with the adoption. He has my constant and my rock reminding me to relax and not to be anxious. I have the most wonderful husband and I don't deserve him at all. He is so excited about the adoption and all of our futures together. Mikayl is also excited but trying to focus on getting through her last year of Elementary school has proven to be enough of a distraction for now. We're all hoping this summer will be an exciting time to move closer to our family addition.

Thanks for reading about our roller coaster ride. I had no idea how incredibly hard this would be, but I have so many of you supporting me/us that I don't think I would make it through without you. So thank you for all of your encouraging words and donations. They mean a lot to us.