We Have Lots of Things Going On Here!

Ashley
Jul 22, 2016
3 min read

Hello, everyone! It's been a couple weeks, so here's what's been going on around here...and of course there will be pictures to follow!

First, we have been steadily writing names on the backs of puzzle pieces! We have received a couple checks and cash with sweet cards recently (which we are keeping with other important keepsakes in a box), as well as donations on our websites. We have sold 185 puzzle pieces, which means we have made $925 so far on the puzzle! Oh, how exciting it is to write names on those pieces!

We hosted an online Norwex party last Monday. We sold around $400 worth of merchandise, and we will be receiving all of the host's (Melissa) commission. It should amount to over $100.

Vince, Mom, and I have taken some family portraits and have photographed a party, so we have also made over $400 from photography sessions in the last couple weeks. It was deposited straight into our adoption fund, which is steadily growing thanks to you all!

We have some pretty amazing friends and family members...a wonderful adoptive family donated a changing table to us along with several items for our garage sale, one of our very best friends bought us a few items for the nursery already, my mom and dad bought us a couple cute blankets they found, and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law sent several items to us as well. (They are expecting a son very soon! We get to be an aunt and uncle in less than two months!)

In short, we want to thank all of you who have donated time, money, booked photography sessions, bought us gifts, donated items for our garage sale, bought from our Norwex party, and the list goes on. We still have a long way to go, but we know our goal is possible. It definitely takes a village.

As for the future, don't forget our garage sale taking place on August 13-14 (items can still be donated for us to sell), and we are hosting a golf outing on Sunday, August 28. It is a four man best ball team scramble. It will be held at Locust Hills and will include an amazing dinner. The cost is $60 per player, or $15 if you are like me (Ashley) and not a golfer, so you only want to eat dinner. Haha! We are looking for door prizes and hole sponsors. If anyone would like to donate gift cards or other door prizes, let us know, or if anyone would like to sponsor a hole, the cost is $100, and you will have a sign placed at one hole and will be thanked at the dinner. We are also planning on hosting a couple days in September and October for mini-photography sessions with a fall theme, so stay tuned for more info!

This past Tuesday, we finally sent in our application for our homestudy with an agency here in Ohio. We have talked to them several times and feel they are a perfect fit for us. The cost for the first half of the homestudy is $1500, and we had to send in a check for $750. We should hear from our social worker next week so we can schedule our first home visit. We will also be doing our online training on international adoption next week. We will have to go into the Columbus office soon for three more hours of adoption training. We are hoping to get all of our training finished before school starts in three weeks...yeah, that's right, where did summer go???

One last noteworthy accomplishment...we made our first trip to Babies R Us and survived! That was so overwhelming, and confusing, and exciting, and did I mention overwhelming?! We started our registry...I know it is still early, but we want to get as much finished as possible before school starts back up. My momma went and decided she needed to buy a "comfy blankie and outfit" for our baby's first plane ride home. So that's what she bought...they are super cute and comfy! Vince and I also purchased an Ergobaby Wrap to carry him or her around while in Japan.

Well, I think that's it for now. Thank you again for all the support and enjoy the pictures below!