We get by with a little help from our friends.

OK!  Sooooo lets carry on on a lighter note this time around, shall we? ;)  Much has progressed since our announcement of adoption 2 months ago.  When I first wrote in August, we had just turned in our application.  Since then, we've been accepted into the program and started our adoptive parent classes.  These classes will span over the next couple months.  The classes are meant to help prep us for the complexities and challenges that come along with adopting. There are 2 sets of classes. One set of classes is a general adoptive parent series.  The other set is a very special one.  These are the ones we are taking now, the transracial series.  For those of you who do not know, we are planning to adopt transracially.  This means to adopt outside of your race.  We are very excited about this aspect and know that it is an additional, complex layer to adopting that will bring unique challenges (& joys!) to parenting.  Our agency works hard to ensure we have the tools and knowledge to help prepare for being a transracial family.  I will try to touch on this more later, as I know there are different opinions about this idea and questions as well.  But right now, I'll say we are very comfortable with it and h-a-p-p-y HAPPY about our decision!  Following classes, the next step will be to have a home study done.  We anticipate this to happen around Dec. or Jan., as long as we have the funds prepared by then.

We are pleased to share with you all that has taken place since we started.  God has really made it evident that we can trust in him to provide as we walk in his obedience.  And people are really stepping up. We have been busy at work on fundraisers to raise money to defray the high cost of adoption.  After reading Adopt Without Debt, we explored many ideas. 

The first idea we implemented was a fundraising & adoption information letter.  We sent out that letter to all of our friends and family to inform them of the specifics of what we are doing and the costs involved.  And we wanted to give them opportunity to support us, be it through moral support, prayers, ideas, or monetary donations, etc.  *If you did not receive one & would like to, please inform me & include your address. 

Next, we, along with another fellow couple who are in the adoption process, liked the idea of doing a garage sale. It was something we wanted to do but weren't sure we had much time for it before the cold weather season approached.  But we were given a great opportunity to be involved in a large sale: a school fundraiser garage sale that included about 70 different sellers and a history of success with a high # of shoppers.  And because of our cause, they would discount our seller fees.  So we got on board and decided to take part in this sale, that we would have very little time to prepare for.  We additionally planned to have a sale with our fellow adopting friends at their own house the following week.  So, together, we set off to collaborate on 2 huge sales, one after another.  We solicited donations of items from people through facebook, word of mouth, and flyers at various places.  An ABUNDANCE of people gave.  And gave.  And gave.  We were all "tackled" by the blessings of everyone's generosity.  Literally run over.  People were so eager just to be a part of this process.  The willingness was overwhelming.  I'm not gonna lie it was a TON of work.  Hard, hard work.  But the sales were very fruitful and being on the receiving end of people giving, we learned a lot about how much it means to give to someone in need.  The tough news is that we had so many items donated that we just weren't able to sell it all in the 2 sales (One day at the school and a 2 day sale at our friends).  Their garage is still half full of stuff.  SO we are having another sale next weekend (Fri & Sat) at their house again.  Hopefully, that oughta do it for the sales for now...cause they've kicked our butts!  We are so incredibly grateful for everyone's donations.  One of the cool things about the sale is that random strangers gave monetary donations to our 2 families.  Truly, it was one of the most valuable, memorable, and incredible experiences of my life (I have a feeling there are a LOT more of those to come).

 

We've also begun t-shirt sales!  We started up a brand name called Adopt A Vision (AV) (Copyright Jeremy & Hannah Sharpe) in order to aid in the cost of adoption.  And our wonderful friend from Tulsa, OK stepped up to contribute to our cause.  He designed 2 shirts for Adopt A Vision and is selling them for us on his website as well!  You can find them on his store site neverquit.storenvy.com.  A portion of the sales benefits our adoption. GO GET ONE to support a great cause! :)

Some of you have seen our recent photos from our family shoot done by Emily Anne Photography.  This FABULOUS young lady and photographer also stepped up to contribute to our cause.  She donated her time to give us a free photo session so that we could have pictures we needed for the adoption process.  We were able to use her photos in our fundraiser letter and also will be using them in the profile we will be creating for the agency.  We were especially tickled to have these photos done because we have never had professional family photos since we got married in 2001.  Even more so, they were extra special because our dog Jaxon was included in them.  The photo session was actually done the day AFTER we found out about his diagnosis of cancer, and only one week before his passing.  You can imagine the emotional value these pictures carry.  Thank you, Emily Anne Photography.

I look forward to sharing with you our continued efforts and progress.  So many have contributed in so many ways.  Thank you to all. 

 Till next time!


Your grateful friends,
Jeremy & Hannah Sharpe

Jaxon Lee Sharpe 1.22.09-8.24.11

Oh my. Where do I even begin. There have been so many developments since I last wrote. Lots of stuff related to adoption, and unrelated as well.  So many things have been on my mind to write about that it's been ovewhelming thinking about where to start.  Not to mention our lives have been a whirlwind for the past 2 months. And while this blog is partly meant to update you on our adoption process, I believe it's important for me to acknowledge other significant things going on in our lives throughout this process, because it is indeed part of our journey.  That's why I'm dedicating this post to our dog, Jaxon. (And well, because-like the name of the blog says-it's cathartic). So can I take you with me for a moment of interlude?  No worries, much more to come about the adoption VERY soon, I just couldnt fit everything in one post. :) I've got MUCH more to talk about.  But first things first, and one thing at a time, there's something that's been on my heart...

Not too long ago, in April 2009, we bought our first home, and on move-in day we welcomed a long awaited puppy into our home and into our hearts forever. An English Bulldog we named Jaxon.  We waited our entire marriage (8 yrs at the time) to be able to get a dog, and specifically, to get that type of dog.  Not having any children of our own, I longed to take care of something or someone.  And before ya know it he absolutely, positively became the love of our lives and like our very own child.  But only a couple of years later, things came to a screeching halt.

On August 24, 2011, at only 2 1/2 yrs young, we said goodbye to Jaxon.  We had known something was wrong but didn't know what. In July, he began having occassional episodes where he seemed to be fainting. He would just fall over. The vet told us just to watch and see if it happened again and to bring him back if it did.  It did.  So we returned.  Not knowing what the problem was, they decided to perform a blood test to find out what was wrong.  At first they "suspected" cancer, but weren't sure. We were panicked. I started researching it, and found out that the prognosis was very grave. But they got a second opinion, from a specialist at U of I who, upon review of the results, doubted it to be cancer. We were relieved but they wanted us to test again and have it sent there officially so they could take a look at the blood themselves & confirm whether it was cancer or not. In the meantime they tested him for a couple other potential health problems, trying to rule anything else out, and those turned out to be negative. So moving forward in our quest, we went ahead & had his blood sent to U of I. They officially confirmed lymphoma with a grave prognosis; she thought he had only 4-6 months left to live. She told us he was so far along in the stages, that chemotherapy wouldn't really do any good to lengthen his life. And of course, the cost is insane anyway. Our only option was to give him meds to help him be comfortable and see how he responded to them. They said there was a chance that it could lengthen his life by a few months. So we were looking at up to about 9 months tops. So we began the meds, but his condition quickly declined. He was having seizures & fainting regularly, up to a few times a day.  He was often losing his bladder control as well, and vomitting regularly.  And he was just plain sick and tired.  He was so weak we had to carry him outside to try to get him to go potty.  We quickly learned his time was shorter than we thought.  Just a few days later when we updated the dr, she decided he was a lot further along than she initially thought and then gave him only a few weeks to live. As you can imagine, this was all very shocking. We couldn't believe what was happening and I was crying often, watching him suffer, not wanting him to suffer, and coming to terms with the fact that there was nothing we could do and we were going to have to let him go.  Even though he sat right there beside me, I missed him so. I couldn't stand the idea that he would no longer be with us. For some reason it was unbearable. I felt as though he was my child.  Jeremy & I had looked forward to getting him for several years beforehand and the day we got him, he was our dream come true. But with his condition quickly worsening, we knew what we had to do. And with only one short week passing after officially learning of the cancer, we took him to the vet where he was euthanized. We stayed with him every step of the way.  They encouraged us to keep talking to him and in a sense, we rooted him on, telling him how much we loved him and how he was a good doggy. We told him we were right there with him. We told him it's ok as his head dropped, his body became still, and then lifeless.

Only 1 month and a week later, it's still as fresh as ever. I miss him everyday, and I cry almost everyday thinking of him. I've longed just to touch him again and see his beautiful face. I'm still very emotional about it, and it strikes me at any time of the day.  In the beginning, there were many a nights that I would sob uncontrollably as I lay in bed.  My lovely husband has held me each and every one of those times.  Frankly, its been shocking to discover just how difficult this is to go through.  Even though he's "only a dog", my heart has never known an ache like this before. To be honest, I've never lost a loved one.  And Jaxon WAS my loved one. He was so much a part of our daily lives. We took him everywhere. He LOVED going for car rides. He loved to wrestle with his daddy.  He loved to play laser tag.  He loved to give kisses.  He was the sweetest and most stubborn thing in the world (much like his momma! Lol).  Jaxon brought MUCH joy to our lives.  He will always be a dream come true, and remain a dream in our hearts.  It's actually been amazing having friends and family pull together for us and be completely empathetic and supportive.  So many prayed us through this process, standing along side us.  Thank you.  You have no idea how much it has meant.  We will never forget.  And now that I've realized just how hard this loss is, I know how I can be of support to others going through such things. 


Jaxon, we love you.  We will never lose your place in our hearts.  Thank you.

Pick up day  April 2009

In loving memory of Jaxon Lee Sharpe

                          Kerrie Roberts "No Matter What": My theme song throughout this time.