Unpacking

As many of you know, we were set to head to Ethiopia this coming Monday. We received some bad news yesterday that we did not pass our preliminary hearing two days ago. All this means is that they had to reschedule our court date.
This journey can be very emotionally draining but we know that God is still in control. Thanks for the prayers.

Make Your House Smell Good and Help Bring Home Little Man

Who doesn't love a good smelling house? How about a good smelling house that helps bring home our little man? For the rest of the month and through the end of January, 25% of sales will go straight to our adoption fund! Scentsy looks great in your home and makes great gifts!!!!

Simply go to this website and click on the group titled: Berry Adoption Fund. Then shop away, knowing this is for a great cause!

https://brandyhammonds.scentsy.us/Home

Happy Shopping!

Nesting

I always thought nesting was a "pregnancy thing". I now know it's a "baby thing." We have been working on the house non stop. We painted little mans room earlier this week and have been painting the living room all day today. I have such an urge to clean and get everything ready. It's probably just excitement about getting our son home and it helps to keep busy. Here are a few pic of little mans room.

We hope to get the crib in there soon so it will be a finished product! We are ready to get him home!

We Got Our Court Date!!!!

December 22, 2011!!!!
We are super excited. We get to meet our son in a little over a month!!!! Our court date was scheduled very fast and we are praising the Lord for that!!! We can't wait to get our hands on our little man! There is a tad of bitter sweetness mixed up in there because it's looking like Jonathan and I will be spending Christmas in the air somewhere over Germany. We will miss Christmas with our kids this year. We won't be with Stella and we won't be with little man. Luckily, we will have each other and hopefully make some great memories of "the Christmas we spent on an airplane."

December 22, come quickly!!!!

Christmas Bazaar

We concluded our whirlwind series of craft fairs today at the Christmas Bazaar. Tonight, as we were cleaning up, it seemed like forever ago we started this crazy adventure. If someone had asked me if I could ever see myself hosting a table or booth at 4 different craft fairs, I would have laughed. I am not crafty. I just learned to make a few things as a "labor of love" for our boy and that is exactly what it has been.
We are so thankful to all of our friends and family who have helped in so many ways. We are getting super close to our fundraising goal! If you are interested in purchasing any of the items I have been pedaling, just let me know by leaving me a comment or by emailing me at reagancberry@gmail.com

New Style

We have a new style necklace! This one is a little longer but is super cute. Let me know if you would like to order one. $20 donation towards our adoption fund!

Necklaces

It's getting close to Christmas shopping time and it's always a challenge to come up with something new and interesting to buy a friend or family member. I have the perfect solution. These beautiful necklaces are made with love by yours truely and every penny goes towards our adoption fund. They are $20 and ship almost immediately! My friend Cassandra showing hers off in her engagement pictures.

I can make almost any color you wish.

Even sparkly ones.

Order yours today! You can send me a message me on facebook or email me at reagancberry@gmail.com



Thanks a million!

Final Push

We are in the final push of fundraising. It has been a "labor of love" that is sure. If you would still like to order a necklace, let me know. They are $20 and can be made in various colors including your favorite team's colors.

We also have our adoption t-shirts still available for $15

It's a BOY!!!

(Stella seeing a picture of her little brother)

It's crazy how one phone call changes everything! On Thursday, I was at a photo shoot when my phone rang. It was our agency calling to tell us something very important. Those words we had been waiting to hear. "We have a little boy who needs a home."

As many of you know, we have been in the process of adopting two children. It became very unsure when we could be matched with two. It was going to take much longer, so we were faced with the question, do we wait for two and who knows how long that would be, or do we adopt this precious boy who is ready now. After much prayer, talks, and tears, we called our agency at 9:55pm and told her we would take him.

He is four months old, healthy, and possible the most precious boy we've ever seen. This has been such a crazy journey and it's about to get so much more fun. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. Continue to pray that our court date will come soon so we can go meet our precious son. We already feel like a family of four!

Support Our Adoption and Get Something Lovely

I must say, our ole booth did pretty good. We worked like crazy for three days. We would hit the booth by 9am and not leave and hardly sit down until 11pm. Then we would head home and make more of whatever it was that we ran out of that day.
I couldn't have done it without the help of my mom and Greg. They took such good care or Stella and ran all my errands.
We are getting so close to our goal. We only need to raise $9,000 more. That seems like a drop in the bucket considering where we started.
There are a few items left so it you would like to purchase something, just let me know. Prices are list but doesn't include shipping if you live "off". (As they say here in Whitesburg :0)


Derby Pillows $25 each

Hairbows $5

Our Adoption T-shirt $18

Book Wreath $25 (can special order a favorite book)

Homemade Sweet and Spicy Rub $6

Handmade Scarf $15

Dry Erase Board $5

Highchair and Shopping Cart Cover $30


Our Booth

A HUGE thanks to everyone who came out and either helped with the long hours or bought something from us. We are so grateful for you!!!!

GRANTS!!!

Praise the LORD! We have heard back from two of the grants we applied for. The Lord has been extremely generous to us. Show Hope and Lifesong for Orphans are going to come alongside us and help with the finances.

Lifesong is a "matching grant" organization. They will match up to $3,000!!! So, if you are feeling like to you want to donate a little, send a check to:

Lifesong for Orphans
Attn: Berry #2138 Adoption
PO Box 40
202 N. Ford Street
Gridley IL61744

And as always, thanks for the prayers!

Impossible Love

Adoption is the most impossible love. It feels like those first few weeks of my pregnancy with Stella. I worried so much that something would happen and I found myself waiting to celebrate. That's exactly how I feel right now.
We were just informed that it will take a significantly longer amount of time to adopt two children. Our case worker advised us to consider being contacted if one child becomes available. This is all well and good but our hearts have been set on two children. We have prayed for those nameless babies for months now. Every time I run an errand or do a chore around the house, I picture doing it with three in tow. Now, to reconsider and change my mindset to one is really hard.
I know that the Lord is in control and he knows exactly what our family needs, it just feel overwhelming at times.

No News!

I haven't updated lately due to the fact that I don't have any news to report. We are just waiting on a phone call to learn about our match.

We are still selling shirts and coffee and we are still praying.

I'm just saying...

It's pretty cool to adopt!

Adoption T-shirts for Sale!!

Our adoption t-shirts are now available to buy!!

We are selling our adoption t-shirts. They are $18 (or $20 if shipped). The shirt is kelly grey and the writing is in blue. The scripture that is printed is from John 14:18. "I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."

Let me know if you are interested in buying one and help get our kids home!

Also, don't forget we still have our famous BBQ Rub available and our coffee.

Moving On Up

Just got word today that our Dossier has made it's way to the US and Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC. I am headed there tomorrow so I guess I could have hand delivered it. :)
We hope things move right along.

Yard Sale Update

The yard sale was a huge success. Thanks to my wonderful sisters who were so excited and willing to help get it together. We made over $1,300. A storm came up right in the middle of the day and everyone got soaked. We did our best to cover the goods but in the end, we just had to laugh about it.

Yard Sale!

Some very sweet and very dear friends are throwing us a yard sale this weekend with all of the proceeds going to our adoption fund. It is so exciting and very humbling to see how the Lord is providing through the generosity of others. The yard sale will be at the Pine Mountain Grill parking lot Friday and Saturday beginning at 9am. Come out and see us if you can.

Homestudy and Dossier...check!

We have been running around and making copies and calling people and signing forms since Janurary and I'm happy to announce...we are done! Our homestudy and our Dossier are done and on their way to thier designated homes. Let me tell you, it feels great!

Rub Adjustment

We are rookies at this fundraising stuff so we are learing as we go. Instead of adding to the cost of the rub to have it shipped, we'll now be able to send the rub in a cute little bag. That will make shipping super cheap. If you would like to buy some, just let us know.

Coffee Coffee Coffee

If BBQ rub isn't quite your flavor, (no pun intended) we have a second fundraising option. If you like coffee, this is the one for you. For every bag of coffee you buy from this company, they will give us $5. This is an easy way to help us out while you experiment with different coffees. www.justlovecoffee.com/berryfamily

And it begins...

We have begun our first attempt at fundraising. We are selling 4oz. jars of "Berry Famous BBQ Rub." (We are still brainstorming on what to call it.) Anyway, if you would like to be the proud owner of this famous rub, just let us know. It is homemade and, not to toot our own horn, pretty stinkin good. We are asking for a donation of $5 per jar (shipping not included),

The cost of adoption seems overwhelming but we are trusting the Lord and working hard to make ends meets!

Thanks for your prayers!

Third Day Music Video

This is the new song out by Third Day and is Awesome! Take a look here...

Patience

If you could see our bedroom floor right now, you would see piles of papers. Papers that have been sitting there starring at me all day. I have been looking at those piles and trying to remain motivated to chase another rabbit trail or send off another form that will take several weeks to be returned. It can be discouraging. I realize that we are in the beginning stages of this process so I shouldn't be discouraged so soon but that's how I have been feeling. I know this is something the Lord has put on our hearts and I need to have the faith that he will provide. The paper trail seems like such an obstacle and the financials seem like an even bigger obstacle. I know there are two children out there that belong to this family so I will continue to give my anxieties over to the Lord and see what good thing he will do! Tomorrow we go back to Lexington to have our final meeting with our social worker. After that, we will be pretty close to having our homestudy completed. Then onto our Dossier. Thanks for your prayers!

Update on the Situation in Ethiopia

As I mentioned in my previous post, they had really put the breaks on in Ethiopia. They had gone from reviewing 50 cases a day to only 4-5. It has been reported that there have been some changes and new people have been hired to take on the work load and that things will return to normal. This is a great answer to prayer especially for the children sitting in orphanages who are waiting for their forever families to come get them. Thanks for your prayers.

Fit to be Parents

We completed our home visit for our home study and were deemed, "fit to be parents." That's a relief considering we already are. Our next move is to have our final meeting in Lexington next week. After that, we will just be waiting to receive various documents from the government that we are waiting on.
The Ethiopia court system has really put the breaks on how many cases they review a day. We are praying that things would work out quickly and that this won't affect the kids waiting to be adopted.

Adoption101

There is a lot that goes into adoption. You would not believe the paper chase that is required. So far we have been fingerprinted for the FBI, written letters, asked for references, taken Stella for a physical, copied tax returns, and we are just getting started.

Before you can "formally" apply to adopt, you must complete a "home study." Basically, a home study is a series of paperwork, interviews, and a home visit to make sure we are fit to be parents. (Too late...we already are parents.) Once the home study is complete, then you begin the second series of paperwork called a Dossier. The entire process can take anywhere from 5 months to 18 months.

So where are we in the process? We are about halfway through our home study. In fact, our social worker is coming tomorrow to look at our home. She will make sure that we have a plan in place for additional children as well as check to see if we have a fire extinguisher, smoke alarms, and first aid kits.

We have been able to work on our Dossier simultaneously. We have been fingerprinted, sent child abuse checks for each state we have lived in, applied for certified birth and marriage certificates and so much more.

It's funny that you have to go through so much to adopt. It can be overwhelming at times but then we just remember to take one step at a time and it all comes together.

Why We Are Adopting

James 1:27 says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

I had the opportunity to travel to Africa when I was in college. Being that I had never even been on an airplane before, it was quite an adventure for me. The three months that I spent in Senegal has had a profound impact on my life. There are images and experiences that I can't get off my mind. Since that first trip, I have had numerous chances to travel and see what the majority of people live like. Those are images I can't forget.

One experience in particular stands out to me. I was visiting a school facility in Zambia. Most of the children that attended the school received their only meals while on the property. They were dirty, they were hungry, and they were without hope. I'll never forget walking into the school one day and not seeing my little buddy Eleanor. The teachers said she was in the sickbay. I immediately went to go see her and there she was, curled up on a dirty mat, all alone, shivering with fever. I didn't leave her side for the remainder of the day. I laid beside her and couldn't bring myself to get up. I held her and rocked her all day. When the sun came out, I carried her out of the dark, dank, sickbay and into the sunshine. She even forced a smile.

We tried to give Eleanor all of the love and medicine we had available. I ended up having to take her to the hospital where I had to force her down while they gave her a shot. I've never heard a child scream so loud. She was so scared and so sick.

Eleanor seemed to improve over the week. We made sure she had plenty of food to take home with her and warm blankets. Once she was home, the food and blankets were taken from her and she was forced to sleep hungry, in the cold.

Eleanor didn't survive. She passed away at the age of 5 due to malaria and anemia. Both of which could have been cured with a little medicine and a little attention. It breaks my heart. Eleanor's life is just a glimpse of what children are dealing with and we can't sit by and not do something to help.

When Jonathan and I began talking about our family, we always included adoption as a way we wanted to expand our family. One day I asked Jonathan when he knew he wanted to adopt and he replied, "when I married you." I am so blessed to be married to a man who not only considers my convictions but also makes them his own.

We have started this process and trust the Lord's leading. Already we have come across obstacles and we know it may be a long road. We may not be able to help all of the Eleanor's out there but we can help a couple...and that's just what we are going to do.