Baby Carr Update and Advice Challenge

Woo Hoo!  Thanks to a bunch of saving, a ton of support and prayers every day, we've gotten enough for our first installment to the adoption agency so it is OFFICIAL!  We've taken our first steps and are on our way!!!

To celebrate, Mr. A and I thought we would start by expanding our baby education.  I mean, yes, I've spent years as a nanny, had lots of babysitting gigs, Mr. A's been a summer camp counselor, but do we REALLY know everything there is to know?!!?

No.

No, we don't know everything.  And now that we went to Buy, Buy Baby on a Saturday, I'm pretty convinced that we may not know ANYTHING.

Is it jewelry?  Is it something for teething?  Is it fashion?  Is it everything in one?

The stroller aisle was just too overwhelming.  We liked this one best because it looked like a spaceship.  And I'm pretty sure you shouldn't base your stroller choices on spaceship design.

Totally confused.  Are they suspenders?  Is it a scarf?  Is it a baby slingshot?

We're still trying to figure it all out.

 

 

The baby store was overwhelming.  Normally, I go to the baby store to grab something off of a registry so I haven't spent lots of time really digging into EVERYTHING a baby needs.  So I downloaded "What to Expect Your First Year" and will make myself visit the baby store at least once a week to learn something new.

 

I'm going to need some help.  I know we're early, and I know there will be tons of waiting, but I have a feeling I'm going to need all the help I can get.

 

SO, here's the CHALLENGE for all of you who are following and supporting our adoption:

 

For every fact, how to, product or general knowledge piece of info you give me, we've had a generous offer from a friend to MATCH in dollars.  So, if I get 10 fun facts, that's ten bucks.  If I get 100 fun facts, that's one hundred bucks.  Get the picture?  We'll run this contest for 1 week- so that's 7 days to send me all of your best tips and tricks that babies (and mommies and daddies) need.

 

How to participate:

Tag #babycarradoption on social media and tag me ( @ktneverending for Facebook, @katt5498 for Instagram) and give me your best advice or pics of exactly the type of stroller, crib, etc. that we need

 

Next Monday, we will count them up and see what is owed in donations.

 

This is the perfect way to start off Adoption Awareness Month- with a little mom-to-be awareness :)

 

Want to pray, share, or invest in our journey?  You can do so here:

www.youcaring.com/carradoptionfund

 



A Music Story and Prayer

Music has been a part of my life since I was very young.  My mom made sure to have singing time every day and I began piano lessons at 6.

Yep.  That's me ready to go for my first recital.  Cute, right?

I played piano, sang and eventually got into musical theatre, but what stuck from beginning to end was piano.  When I was 15, my parents surprised me with a beautiful baby grand that's when my playing really got off the ground.  I played for pleasure, I played for church, I practiced for lessons, I played for shows, I played for parties.  During my single days, my piano went with me to each apartment and house, and my roommates and I had a blast with piano parties, singing show tunes, practicing audition songs and even teaching voice and piano lessons.  I dug through my Facebook archives and these are the only photos I have of the piano- although I know my mom has more. 

These pics were taken at a cast party and I was clearly in my element.

I took piano lessons for 12 years, entertained and played countless hymns and showtunes (depending on the audience), but when we got married and moved to NYC, the feasibility of a baby grand in at 5th floor walk-up didn't make sense, so Mom and Dad graciously agreed to take custody of the piano.  But every holiday, every trip home, I would grab my visitation rights and head back to Georgia to play, make music and sing my little heart out.

It was always our thought to bring the piano over to Texas once we bought a house- in fact, we picked our house knowing there was a perfect space for the piano- it was a sticking point we gave our realtor.  Since starting to pursue adoption, however, one of the items that God really placed on our heart was the piano.  As much as I'd like to imagine a future with that specific piano at home in Texas, the hard facts are that the cost of the adoption are taking a front seat and requiring us to really think about our wants vs. our needs.

We've been completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support.  Through our savings and your giving, we're almost halfway to our total adoption costs of $40,000 after 1 month of sharing our story.  Mr. A and I are so grateful and as we continue to save on our end, it's become very clear to us that part of our journey includes trying to sell the piano to assist with adoption expenses.

It's a little bit of a shot to the heart, believe me, but this journey is not without it's hard decisions.  And we want to be faithful and do what we can so a door is opened for a child.

So, we're trying to sell our piano, and we've reached out and let people know and there have been some nibbles but so far, nothing yet.  I am writing to ask you all to please pray for this very specific request.  Pray we can find a buyer.  Pray someone in Georgia is interested and is able to raise the funds.  Pray God opens up funding for this to happen.  You have all been so faithful in your giving and support, I know I can ask you to be faithful in your prayer.

Now, music comes in other forms.  Pretty much every day my nephew and I FaceTime and sing to each other and it's the best part of my day. 

And one day there will be a piano again.  But right now, this piano, which has brought me so much joy is also going to help add to our family and I can't think of any sweeter music to my soul.

*If you know of anyone in the Middle Georgia area who may be interested or who may know of someone interested, can you please share this post with them?  Thank you for your prayers!

Would you like to pray, share or invest in our adoption journey?  You can do so here:

www.youcaring.com/carradoptionfund

Halloween

Is there anything better as a parent than dressing your kid up and taking pictures that will either:

1. Live on the mantle

2. Be saved for retribution and payback during the child's rehearsal dinner

As we work on our adoption paperwork, Mr. A and I are also talking through some of the "fun" conversations I imagine most parents talk about during pregnancy.  What will we name our child?  What type of things do we want to be able to do (Mr. A's latest kick is researching a baby backpack that will take our child on all sorts of adventures), and of course the most important one, what will our kid be for Halloween?

My friends with babies have really raised the bar, so I feel it's only right to go ahead and be planning these sorts of things early- the photo opportunities are endless.

For fun, here are some of our top contenders for cute baby (and family) Halloween pics:

Babies dressed as grandmas and grandpas.  So cute...

This is the highway to the danger zone of adorable-ness

Stop.  The precious-ness is too much.

Don't take the easy route and be the superhero- Clark Kent with those glasses!  LOVE!

Then there's the family costume routine.  Here are some of my favorites:

Bzzzzzz... the cuteness!!!

Jurassic Park throwback!  Love it!

I mean, can you go wrong with Mario Brothers?

Any child as an Oompa Loompa gets the win in my book!

I think we really need to step up our game if cute ideas like this exist.  I can't wait to get started.

Want to pray, share or invest in our journey?  You can do so here:

www.youcaring.com/carradoptionfund

The numbers are in....

Thanks to all of you and your generosity, we were able to raise $2000 over my birthday.  So, that's $4,000 including the match amount by my folks, which they made last night on the site.

Thank you so much!  Including these, we are $1,500 away from our first installment to the adoption agency.

I keep thinking about our child and wondering how in the world I will be able to show them how much they were loved even before we knew the details about them.  This child has so many honorary family members through this journey I should plan a reunion!

We do have some additional pieces planned for next month (World Adoption Month!!) with some fun raffles, holiday gift ideas, etc. and even a potential Live Facebook Event so be on the lookout!

I mentioned it before, but please be praying that we can sell our piano.  I've had some interest, but it's really something we would like to go towards these expenses.  Anyone in the Middle Ga area- please spread the word, as the piano is currently on loan at our old church.

Thank you again!  Please continue to pray and please continue to share our story!
www.youcaring.com/carradoptionfund

42% of the Way

So many of you have asked how adoption works, why is it so expensive, what's next, etc. so I wanted to try to break down a little more in terms of fees, steps, etc. Please know that each adoption may be slightly different in terms of steps, fees, etc.- this is our journey:

Obviously the above is a VERY simplified version, but I hope it gives you a better sense of where we are and the steps that are coming.  Now for the fee breakdown:

$25,900- Agency Fees*

$2,000- Home Study**

$6-10,000- Inner-State Fees***

$2,000- Travel Expenses****

$2,000- Misc Expenses*****

____________________________

$37,900-41,900 TOTAL

*Agency Fees- include the costs for marketing our profile, birth parent counseling, child's birth expenses, post-placement supervision until the adoption is finalized and overhead/operating expenses of the agency

**Home Study- This is the study a social worker must do to evaluate the safety of our home and stability of our lives.

***Inner-State Fees-Each state's adoption fees are different based on the people needed to finalize (social worker, attorney, etc) and the laws of that state.

****Travel Expenses- We want to only consider adoption from states that limit the termination of parental rights to 24-72 hours, however some states require adoptive parents to stay in that state as long as 14 days before being able to travel home.

*****Misc Expenses- We were advised to save a cushion in case of extenuating circumstances- perhaps a birth mother needs more financial care or the state fees are larger than anticipated.

Our agency allows us to break down the fees due to them- the first installment is due at the beginning while the remaining portion is due when we are matched.  This is huge as it allows us to fund-raise, apply for grants, etc. while we are in the "waiting" period.

Several of you have asked why we are fundraising for less than the total amount.  We are also trying to save and sell on our own and it's my hope that we can also apply for some grants once we get a little further in the process.  I'm in the process of trying to sell my baby grand piano- please pray for a buyer for this as it will help with a chunk of these expenses.

Not including my mom's "match amount"  (see that story here), with the donations on the site as well as checks sent in the mail, we are 42% complete with our fundraising goal of $30,000 in less than a month!  That's 31% of our total amount needed.  I'm completely blown away by everyone's sweet generosity!

I hope you will consider sharing this post on your social feed.  Feel free to tag me, but we've found that by sharing, you are actually helping us reach a network beyond what we can see.  Regardless of the funding, it's also our desire to connect with others who are familiar with adoption or infertility.  You can either share the blog or the site below.  If you share and want to use the hashtag #carradoption that'd be great!

If you would like to pray, share or invest in our journey, please do so here:
www.youcaring.com/carradoptionfund

Birthday Aftermath and Wedded Bliss

Wow.  You all know how to make a birthday girl so so happy!  Not only did I have a very happy birthday thanks to the sweet cards, texts, FB messages, but you all really rallied around and gave my parents a match challenge!  I'm tallying the official numbers and will be sharing those soon, but THANK YOU all. You are helping us get closer to our dream and in the process, we are connecting with people all over through infertility, adoption, family and love.

And, by the way, my birthday was awesome!  A dear dear friend's wedding was on the 15th and Mr. A and I have been planning on attending this wedding for almost 6 months.  It was so nice to watch 2 people so in love recite vows in front of friends and family.  This was a Scottish Highland ceremony and it really just looked like an out-take from deleted scenes from Braveheart... snow on the ground, tartans (plaids) everywhere, and my friends even did the "handfast" ceremony in their ceremony.  Basically, the plaids from the two clans are entwined over the couples joined hands as they recite vows- this is where the term "tying the knot" comes from.

The beautiful bride, my friend Laura, has been through the longest of long distance relationships- he's been in Scotland while she's been in Canada and it was so amazing to see them come together in marriage!  As I watched my sweet friend marry her husband, I thought back to the last time we'd seen each other.  This would be 3 years ago at another wedding and she had just started seeing her man (coincidentally who is also a Mr. A!).  She was so giddy with excitement, so eager for us to meet him, and really just looking forward to what that next step with him looked like.  I remember that they would text/chat and he even sent her flowers during that weekend and the snippets of their budding relationship even at it's beginning stages was so amazing to witness!

In a way, and through all of your support, I feel a bit like my friend when it comes to our baby.  Excited, giddy, waiting anxiously for the day we can be together, anxious for you to meet him or her and desperate to jump to that next step.  Now, while I don't have a child yet to hold or love, it's your communications, your notes of encouragement and your financial support that is getting me through this time.  You keep me excited, you strengthen me when I start to falter or worry, and your confidence in this path Mr. A and I are on is so unshakable- I really draw on your strength.  THANK YOU ALL.  This blog and the response to it has been a bit of a rock for me.  I know we have a long road ahead, and I promise not every post will be so centered on us and our journey, but I have to tell you all what it means to me to have you along with me- I can't thank you enough.

And... for fun and because they are so pretty- here's a pic of the newly married couple!  Congrats Laura and Mr. Scottish A!

If you would like to pray, share or invest in our adoption journey, please do so here:
www.youcaring.com/carradoptionfund

Birthday Gifts that Keep Giving

It's today!  Happy Birthday to Me!  Happy big 3-something!!

If you haven't seen it, today is a special fundraising day- my parents have offered to match any donations made today as a birthday gift.

If you haven't thought about it, I want to urge you to give.  Adoption is expensive, and in order to grow our family, we do have to raise the funds needed with this agency in order to move forward.  $1, $10, $100- every penny helps.  If you are unable to give, I'd like to ask you to share our story on your social feed- you never know who is affected by adoption or infertility that we could connect with.

To read my mom's letter to you, please click here.  If you'd like to pray, share or give, you can go to our website:
www.youcaring.com/carradoptionfund

Thanks Mom and Dad!