Short Update + Some Exciting News

Lately, people have been asking me, "So, how long until you guys get a child?" This is a very valid question, but the answer can be quite complex. Right now, the pressure is on us because we still have paperwork to finish and a profile to complete. We're hoping that will be finished in the next month or so. However, once that is completed and handed in, we aren't really sure how long it will be before we go into circulation. After we are in circulation, we don't know how long it will be until we are chosen by the birth mother as viable parents for her child.

So, while I would like to tell people exactly when we can expect to have our little one, I can't. Imagine the excitement of finding out you're pregnant, you know that a baby is on the way, but you have absolutely no clue as to when baby will arrive. It could be tomorrow or it could be in a few years. There is honestly no way of knowing and in this place, we have to really lean into God and trust His timing. Adoption is definitely a waiting game, but God is working and preparing the way, it can just be difficult to see at times. We believe that God is busy orchestrating all of the right circumstances to lead our child to us, if only we're patient.

I would now like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have been praying for us and those of you who have chosen to help us out financially. We are now very happy to announce that we are fully funded for Phase 1! This means that we can go ahead and submit our paperwork to begin the finalization process.

We are feeling so blessed and in awe as we've seen God work. As the money continues to come in, we are constantly humbled at the kindness and the generosity of others. We see how much people want to see our adoption come to fruition and that they're willing to help us get there. We honestly couldn't have made it this far so quickly without everyone's help and we will be forever grateful.

We're still working hard to raise the rest of the money and we will have a few new opportunities in the coming months for ways you can give. As always, you can visit my shop, donate via Paypal [[button in sidebar]], or shop through Pure Charity.

Print available here.

Much love,

Seeing God

As we've started walking this road called "Adoption" there have been many times that I have tried to take everything into my own hands. 

If I just hand in all of this paperwork ASAP...

If I return this email right this instant...

If I....[[fill in the blank]]

But, adoption is a very humbling process. Everything but filling out the paperwork and having my home clean and ready for the home study, is out of my control. 

I can't make a birth mom choose us.

I can't move our paperwork to top priority so that we get into the system faster.

There are just a lot of things that I can't do.

I have been witnessing God move over and over again and we're really only in the beginning phase of adoption. 

God has provided the funds we need to cover expenses.

God found us an agency that would work with us when no one else would.

He has already done so much and used our family and friends to bless us, not just financially, but also through loving support and prayer. 

Things are slowly but surely moving forward. We've (read I've) started making our adoption profiles. [[They're really just scrapbooks that the birth moms get to look through. I have to make 5 of them...]]

We've been putting off some of the paperwork for now simply because the questions are a little overwhelming...

"Where would you like your relationship with your child to be in 1 year? 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?"

How does one answer that question if one does not even know the gender of their child yet? Oh well...we have to answer it...as long as it's a "healthy" answer, I don't think they care what we say...

So, quick financial update:

We are 23% of the way to our goal of $13,000! 

I don't want to keep hounding people for money [[because that's not what we're about here...]] however, we would like to invite you to prayerfully consider partnering with us in our endeavor. Even if you don't feel called to give financially, we covet your prayers. 

Here are some ways you can be praying with us:

{1} Pray for our future birth mother. She has been heavily on my heart lately. I don't even know who she is yet, but I am already feeling the burden of what she will have to go through in the future. Pray that God will continue preparing Josh and I to partner with this new family and be able to work together for the good of our child.

{2} Praise for God continuing to meet our needs financially. He is still blessing us through gifts and stories from our loved ones and we just can't say thank you enough!

One final announcement:

I would like to set a fundraising goal of 25% by the end of the weekend. And to help us reach that marker, I'm having a BOGO sale!! Everything in the shop is Buy One Get One!! No joke...

Just use the code FAYANBOGO at check out to receive your discount. 

Thanks for all of your love and support!!

Yet Another Adoption Update

Y'all...

You may or may not have noticed that I have been pretty absent from the Interwebs lately. There is just a lot going on in my life and trying to balance real life and blog//online life just made me a little nuts.

See?

I know that my last few posts have just been updates about our adoption process, but that's what is going on in my life right now, so that's what I'm going to share. 

So here we go...

Today was part 2 out of 3 of our Homestudy. Things went pretty well. We were sent home with another mountain of homework, which includes the start of our Profile/DVD making....so that will be interesting. 

We have continued to receive generous support from friends and family and seriously feel so blessed! We don't know how we'll ever be able to thank everyone who has contributed through prayer or by giving financially. 

Speaking of fundraising, we have decided to open up another option for giving. If you or someone you know would like to make a tax deductible donation, you can check out our profile on PureCharity.com

Pure Charity allows people to raise money through ordinary online shopping or simply through donations. It works sort of like a cash rewards program, where you get to decide which cause your rewards money goes to. I invite you to check out their website for more information/a better explanation. Our personal profile link is: purecharity.com/spenceradoption

Prayer Requests:

{1} Praise! We are now 22% of the way to being fully funded! Like I mentioned before, people have really stepped up and given so generously. We can truly see God's work.

{2} Prayers as we continue navigating the "homework" from our agency. There are so many big decisions that we have to make regarding our profile and what kinds of children/birth mothers we want to open ourselves up to, [[race, disabilities, etc.]] that it can be overwhelming at times.

If you have any questions for us, please do not hesitate to ask! We love being able to share our story/experiences with others!

With much love,

A Last Minute Sale

Hey friends!

God has been good in the last week and we have received so much support from our loved ones to help us reach our fundraising goal of $1,500 by Thursday.

However, we're still a bit short, so I've decided to have a last minute sale. From now through Thursday, you can get 15% off of everything in the shop by using the coupon code PHASEONE at checkout. We really appreciate your help to bring our child home to us!

 



Much love,

Fundraising Update

Alright.

So, a few weeks ago, I posted to update y'all on our adoption plan. We expressed our need for fundraising and have seen some amazing generosity! We are currently ~2% to our final goal of $13,000.

Here is where we need to really ask your help. Next Thursday [[May 16th]] we have our first home study. We will owe $1,500 at this time. Please consider purchasing something from our shop or making a donation by clicking on the "Donate" button in the left-hand sidebar to help us reach this first milestone.

UPDATE (5.8.13): We are currently 11% of the way to reaching our first goal!

Thank you to all who have supported us financially and through prayer so far!
Much love,

My Heart

Last night I attended an online class through the Influence Network about creative ways to fund an adoption. My husband and I sat attentively listening to Lauren share her family's story of adoption. Their story was so inspiring and encouraging, I urge you to hop on over to her site and read it for yourselves.

We learned a lot about what we need to do to get started on this journey and our eyes were opened to the enormity of the task God has placed before us. We have yet to figure out what the cost will be for us, mostly because we are unsure of the type of adoption we will be pursuing at this time [[domestic or international.]] We do know that we will be doing some fundraising.

Fundraising is such a scary word. Lauren shared with us her definition of fundraising, which I found to be wise and inspired.
        

                      "Fundraising is not simply asking others to give you money for something you want to do. Fundraising is an invitation to be a part of a greater work that God is doing in your life and the lives of others. It's allowing others the blessing of being a part of a redemption story."



This is such an accurate depiction of what I want from our community. I want people who have a heart for orphans but who may not feel called to adopt, to be able to participate in our story.

Proverbs 31:8 is the verse that inspired the name of my handmade shop, Fāyán Knits. Fāyán means "speak" in Mandarin. I began my shop in April of 2012 to begin the process of raising the necessary funds for an adoption. I decided that I wanted to do all that I could to bring home our child who is yet unknown to us. If you would like to help us in our journey to become adoptive parents, I ask that you check out my shop. 100% of the profits go straight into our savings fund and each dollar brings us a step closer to our goal. [[p.s. Everything is 15% off with code FAYAN15 at checkout!! But only through the end of the month!]]

In the future, we will be looking into more ways to raise money, but for now, we would really appreciate it if you could partner with us in prayer.

Things you can be praying with us for:

{1} Our decision on international vs. domestic adoption.

{2} That we find an agency that will work well with our family and specific needs.

{3} That we be patient and open to how God will be working in our lives.

If you are currently in the throes of adoption fundraising, have been through it all before, or if you are interested in adopting in the future, I would love to connect with you! Please leave a comment below or  email me at fayanknits {at} gmail {dot} com.

Much love,