Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Homestudy

Hey everyone...

It's been a while since I have posted anything--that's mostly because nothing major has been happening.  We have spent the last couple on months working on getting some online trainings done that were required in order to start our homestudy.  However, I am SUPER happy to report that we had our first homestudy visit yesterday and it went well.  This visit was a safety visit where they ask lots of questions about our home:  how many smoke detectors? Do you test them as directed? Do you have a carbon monoxide detector? Describe your neighborhood....etc.  The visit lasted about 2 hours and we feel like it went as well as possible.  This is the 1st of 3 meetings in the homestudy phase (although the other 2 will happen at the office not at our home).  Right now our next meeting is scheduled for the beginning of October.  It is sounding like the homestudy is going to take about 2-3 months to complete (Im banking on 3) and then we will officially be placed on a waiting list for a baby!  YAY!  Like I have mentioned before...this process is S.L.O.W, but at least we are making progress.  We are trying to take it one step at a time and celebrate each small step.  During the next couple months while the homestudy is being done we will get to work on a profile book (aka a scrapbook) that the birthparents will get to look at before choosing us.  This should at least be pretty fun--its something creative and that's right up my alley!

In the meantime we continue to see the Lord's presence throughout this process.  Our friends and family are VERY supportive, and it is so nice to see how much everyone already loves this baby.  We have also been blessed with some very generous financial contributions from friends--its really neat to watch the Lord work and know that this is exactly where you are supposed to be.

We will be doing some fundraising as well over the next few months.  The first thing is a yard sale that is happening this Friday and Saturday (9/14-9/15)  It will be at our house so if you are in the area and want to drop by please do (message or email if you need our address)

We have also partnered with 147 million orphans and will recieve a portion of the proceeds of any sale that is made using this link:
 http://www.147millionorphans.com/?AffId=100
They have some great new merchandise that just came out today so if you purchase through this link you not only support our future child but also orphans around the world!
(Side note: you MUST use the above link for us to get credit)

We also plan on making a T-shirt and maybe doing some other kind of group fundraising event this fall.  If anyone has had lots of success with a certain fundraiser let us know!

Well, I think that's it for now...please keep praying, we really appreciate all your support!

Ashley and Trevor