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
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