Any advice on this???
We have also begun our adoption fundraiser through Just Love Coffee. It is a fair trade/ organic coffee company that allows adoptive families to fundraise for their adoption expenses. For every bag of coffee sold through our shop page we get $5 towards our adoption! If you are thinking of purchasing coffee for friends and family this year for Christmas, would you please consider supporting our adoption in this way? (i'm pretty sure i'm blushing right now as i am shamelessly asking for support- sheesh!)
7 comments:
Hi. I met you at Robyn's craft night and stumbled upon your blog. Congrats on your adoption. SO near and dear to my heart!
Ryan Price has a free photo package for adopting families! He is a FAB photographer and would help make your photo portfolio look extra special, I'm sure! Just a little FYI.
http://ryanpricephoto.com/#/adoption/
So excited for you guys!! Perfect stocking stuffers...
We're a little biased toward the Ethiopian coffees. I see they have several choices for us to check out. Still SO excited for you guys!!!!
About the portfolio--what we did seemed pretty effective since we got chosen in 3 weeks, so I'll try to summarize the things that I think made a difference, though you've probably heard them before!
Our main shot of the 2 of us was really good, I thought, since it was a little bit casual, and we have really natural looking expressions on our faces. Also, we included a curb-side pic of the front of our house since the agency said expectant moms like to be able to visualize the living environment. We had a couple of shots of us doing things in our town--walking on the beach, etc., and one of our very ethnically diverse extended family since we knew we'd be adopting across racial lines. I tried to write cute captions for the pictures, like "the whole family loves picking oranges in grandma's back yard every year!" It feels cheesy but I think it comes across as stable and wholesome (I guess!).
I think my son's birthmom felt that our lifestyle would provide him with lots of extended family and outside activities, from the few comments she made about the profile.
Finally, I did a lot of browsing at other people's profiles, both at our agency's site and other big adoption sites. I hope some of this stuff helps! It's a huge process. I had a relative comment one time that while I do have a child, I didn't actually "have" that child (as in go through childbrith). I told him that the paperwork and waiting are a whole other kind of labor! Good luck!
Have you talked with Becky about her picture book? It was real cute, decorated with a country-type bow on the outside...and scrapped on the inside. Do you scrap? I don't, but have a friend that does and is awesome! I'd contact someone who does it if you need help and ideas (these ladies are part of a crazy scrapping cult)
I don't think Becky and Shelby even had their book ready when Julia first thought of them for the adoption; so she had to put it together quickly?????
Also...what won all of us over, was the picture of Becky & Shelby 'riding' down a hill on a trashcan lid.
Best of luck, going to get me some coffee this week! Don't be afraid to post other ways for fundraisers and even a paypal donation account.
Oh, what a neat idea, Mandi! I was wondering how the adoption process was coming along. Are the home studies nerve wracking? I think I'd be a mess about that. Are you planning to adopt internationally, is that why it's expensive?
I love your Advent post. I never seem to be ready for it right after Thanksgiving. I need a few more days to get myself in order. Seems silly, though. I have to prepare myself to be ready to prepare for Christ!
Anyhow, I meant to post my turkey recipe for you! Of course, I didn't really use a recipe... but basically, I took a handful of fresh rosemary and sage, blended it with a stick of butter, and smeared it under the skin of the turkey. Then I stuffed more herbs and a quartered lemon inside, rubbed olive oil on the top of the skin, salted and peppered inside and out. Pretty basic really.
And I'm not sure what cookie cutter I'll use for the Saint Nicks. I'll have to look through my pile, otherwise I could make template and cut them out so they're nice and skinny and bishop-looking. (Although, I have to say, our own bishop is quite round! LOL)
Happy Advent! :)
Hey Mandi! SO excited to hear about your progress with the adoption! I can remember that time like it was yesterday. Stacy is right, I didn't even have my scrapbook STARTED when the agency called and said Julia was coming in a couple days to view books! SO, I took the afternoon off (my principal even told me HE would cover my classes for me if they couldn't find a sub) and my sister came over and we started scrapbooking! We put it together in about 4 hours and I rushed it to Kinko's and got there as the FedEx truck was pulling up!!! WOW! STRESSFUL! BUT, it worked! We were only "officially" on the website for TWO weeks!
We included pictures of our home, as well as our family, and fun things we like to do. We also had our pets and old pictures (even going down a snowy mountain in Colorado on a trash can lid)...which is what sold Julia! =) You never know what will speak to the birthmoms! Best of luck! I got some info in the mail Friday from Living Alternatives (we still send $ to them) and I said a prayer for you! Love you!
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