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Friday, August 25, 2017

Almost there!!!

SEPTEMBER 28TH!!!

We are SO excited to have received a court date after A LOT more waiting this summer for various forms to come back to us with approvals.  Another trip to Richmond for another apostille...  More unexpected delays.... LOTS of rearranging our home to prepare it for a 3rd child... And we are almost there!

Praise the Lord!!!

As we near the finish line, we are praying hard for financial provision.  God has been faithful throughout and we are absolutely confident in how he provides.  For our own records and for those who like to see actual numbers, below is a quick, albeit not totally complete, rundown of the costs associated with our adoption.  There is no fee for this precious boy himself, but as this is a legal process complete with more documentation than we can count (!), the costs add up.

But it is all so totally worth it and we are beyond grateful for the support of those who have committed to walk alongside us financially to bring our son home!!!

The numbers:

I-800 (visa) form and biometrics~ $860

Apostilles ($10 per apostille, over 25 individual Apostilles required)~ $250
New birth certificate for each person~ $20-$30, depending on the state
Agency fees (home study, paperwork, social workers, coordinating with the country) ~$18,000
South Africa fees (legal fees, doctors, shipping fees, social workers and other specialists in country) ~$11,000
Visa fee~ $325
Passports~ $380
Flights ~$5,000
Housing, transportation, living expenses in South Africa~ $10,000
Doctor visits and vaccinations before travel ~$700
Misc costs for mailing, copies, printing things ~$500

Adding all that up gets to over $45,000, and doesn't include several other little things that would bump it up even more. So far, we've raised just over $16,000 - thanks to the generosity of so many! We've also spent another $15,000 from our reserves. This still leaves us over $14,000 short of where we need to be, and we have one of the most expensive parts - travel - coming up! We are praying we can raise close to $10,000 more to get us where we'd hope to be.

What a journey this has been!  It will be amazing to look back on it all some day and we hope our little boy will know just how loved, cherished, chosen, and wanted he is.

We can't wait to hold him in our arms SOON!  


Thursday, August 24, 2017

NC in July, Part II- OBX!

This is going to be one ridiculously picture-heavy post!!!  I guess they pretty much all are... but this one especially has quite a bit!

We only spent a few days in the Outer Banks this year but we made them count!  Plenty of beach time (where both girls got brave in the waves and the tide was so low one day that Maelee was able to go a good 5 yards out in the ocean!), our usual evening in Duck for the sunset and ice cream (plus a bonus date night there!), a trip to the aquarium, our usual dinner at Sugar Creek, and even a stroll on the dunes.  We missed having Pop-Pop there, but we had a great time with Nana and are so excited to bring our little boy next year!!!

Onto the pics!


We made it early enough in the day to still get in some beach time AND make it to Duck!

All the Duck photo-ops... :)



  Super yummy dinner in time to catch the sunset...

  

Enjoying the sunset with yummy ice cream!



:)


It was a beautiful night!

Getting braver in the water the next day!

Handled being taken out by a wave like a champ!

Sand palace :)


From a fun day at the beach to a fun evening at Sugar Creek!


 


With a quick stop at the Dunes before heading back!

Another beautiful sunset!

Taking in the aquarium!





Super fun visit where the girls got to touch rays, a snake, and learn about some crazy creatures!

Pizza and a movie with Nana while

We get a date!

Beautiful sunset #3!

Goofin' around with a  big duck at Duck!

Goofin' around at the beach!

Our last day at the beach was jam packed with more playing in the water and the sand, and with a fun little rocket that Steve got.  The tide ended up being so low that the girls were able to get way far out in the water and we were so proud of Maelee for being so much bolder this year!









Even daddy got to catch some waves!





She was loving it!


Mermaid Lilee :)








2018 with our two girls and a BOY!!! :)

BIG slideshow of our trip!
https://pix.sfly.com/H7oVgu