Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Help Needed


We've been blown away by the generous donations to our garage sale!  Friends, family and even strangers have dropped off items for us to sell and we're so grateful.

What we really are in desperate need of  is help to work the sale!  We also are in great need of tables. If you're local and are able to help in either of those ways, we'd be so very appreciative. 

 Click here to sign up:  Link to Garage Sale Help


Also, spread the word!

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Garage Sale Helpers


We are in need of helpers to help us set up and run our garage sale! 
Here are the general times, but we'll take any time you can give!
 
Thursday April 28th, Set-up 4-6pm
 
 Thursday April 28th, Preview Night 6pm-Dark
 
Friday April 29th, 9am-3pm
 
Saturday April 30th, 9am-3pm
 
(will also need help earlier than 9am to set up Fri & Sat)


We are also still accepting donations for the sale! 
We have a 15foot trailer parked in our driveway to help store items, 
so we'll gladly take anything! 

Thank you!

 

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Help Us Bring Joey Home!

Talking about adoption costs isn't the most exciting topic, but it's part of the process and something we have to figure out each time.  This adoption is going to cost around $35,000. It's a huge leap of faith to begin such an expensive process not knowing where the funds are going to come from, but God showed up big time for us for both Allie and Maggie's process and we have no doubt He can do it again! :)

We have a few things in the works and would be honored to have your help!


Matching Grant:

We have been blessed to receive a matching grant to help cover funds to bring Joey home.  We are so grateful to Lifesong for Orphans and Chosen & Dearly Loved for their support in helping us cover the adoption expenses!

If you're interested in contributing, CLICK HERE for more information.

Also, for more information about Lifesong for Orphans, CLICK HERE


Garage Sale:
We also are having a huge fundraising garage sale on April 29th and 30th. We're accepting donations of items to be sold, so if you're local and have things you're getting rid of, we'll gladly take them off your hands!  Please contact me at jcoleman48@cinci.rr.com if you have donations!


Noonday Sale:
Also, a dear friend hosted a Noonday sale for us.  Noonday offers fair trade jewelry and other gorgeous items, and we'll receive 10% of the sales.  If you're interested, you can purchase online through April 12th.   Here's the link for that:  NOONDAY SALE


Most importantly, we continue to covet your prayers for our new son and our family as we walk this process and prepare for Joey to join our family.  

Many, many, many thanks!!!


 

 





 

Saturday, April 2, 2016

A New Update on Joey!!!

We recently got an unexpected update on Joey! Unexpected is the BEST way to get an update in the adoption process. When we are expecting one, I just obsess over my email waiting for it to come. This was a total surprise and so wonderful!!

We got 2 new pictures of our guy.  His front teeth are growing in and I think he looks so much older, which makes me sad that we are missing out on so much.  But he also looks a little healthier than the last pictures, so that's comforting.

He is really tiny and our Adoption Doc says he's nowhere near the growth chart and we'll have to address that when he gets home. But that's not terribly uncommon for a kiddo growing up in an orphanage, unfortunately.  He'll be 8 years old this summer and he's the size of our 5 year old.  I can't wait to fatten him up!!!

Yet again, he is described as a happy-go-lucky kid who is quick to give a smile and a hand to others.  The update also said he can walk about 21 yards and can climb the stairs on his own.  It also said he can feed himself and help out with some of his self care. These were things we were wondering about, so it's great information to have.  He also apparently is obsessed with Spider-Man!  We love little details like that, it makes it feel like we know him a little better.

Another fun fact: His Chinese name Zhao Yu is pronounced "Jow Yoo", which we'll keep as his middle names. So he'll be Joseph Zhao Yu Coleman. We've been practicing the pronunciation!  Another very cool fact is Maggie's middle names are Yu Fei, so they have the "Yu" name in common!

He lives with a foster family within the orphanage and also gets some schooling within the orphanage.  From what we've heard, his orphanage is better than many in China, which is such a blessing. But it's not substitute for a family, proper health care and schooling, so we need to get him home asap!!

Our dossier (fancy word for "our life on paper") is at our agency ready and waiting except for ONE item, which is approval from the United States Government. Once that comes, we can submit everything to China and get the ball rolling on their side of things.  We've made a lot of paperwork progress, but it's still looking like we won't be able to travel until fall sometime.  As much as I'm anxious to get him home, we're trying to relish where we are right now and make the most of these last months as a family of 6.