For the Love of Abigail: September 2013

Monday, September 30, 2013

Celebrate with us!!! We did it!

A little over a year after starting our adoption fundraising efforts, we have reached the initial 8k needed to get this process moving along! Thank you all SO much! And, thanks to a great friend who made the donation this past weekend that helped us finish out this initial goal! We are so blessed by all of you who have helped!

What's next you ask?
Well, it looks kind of like this...

1) We've already submitted our Formal Application Supplemental Packet with the initial fee of $550.

2) Now, we have access to the full formal application which we will be submitting this week!

3) In 2 weeks we will be attending our required adoption training class! (another $650)

4) Then, we will be starting the Home-Study. ($2000 at beginning of study and another $4800 once completed)

5) Once the Home-Study is complete, we will be making a profile book that tells all about us which the agency will start showing to birth moms once we have the remaining funds available. We'll work toward those additional funds through saving, fundraisers, donations, applying for grants and whatever other creative methods we can come up with. The exciting thing is once we get to this point and have the additional funds, our profile book will be shown to birth moms and anyone of them could potentially be Abigail Grace's birth mom! Um...exciting!!!!!

We are so excited to have the initial funds to really be able to kick this into gear and, we couldn't have done it without you! Thank you! We pray that you will be abundantly blessed as you have blessed us! Stay tuned to keep up with our progress. We can't wait to share the next steps with you as we move forward!

Many Blessings!!
Benson & Heather

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Pre- Adoption Photo Shoot

We had such a great time this past weekend doing a little pre-adoption photo shoot. Thanks so much to Shay White for doing such a great job and making it so fun! The main purpose was to get some good pictures for our adoption profile book which will be shown to the birth mom when she is making a decision on who she may choose to adopt her child! Secondly, we haven't had any professional photos done for at least 10 years and we thought it was about time. Anyway, hope you enjoy taking a look at them!

Click Here:
Pre-Adoption Photo Shoot

Blessings!
Benson & Heather

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Amazing blessing in the mail!

Today we received an amazing unexpected blessing in the mail! We were speechless! Seriously! I called Benson immediately and we were both like... "What?!?! No way! Yay! Oh my!" Yep, that about summed it up!

We received a very generous donation from an individual who only knows of us because her daughter shared our adoption journey with her. This individual has never met us and doesn't even live in Virginia. However, she blessed us with a generous donation that has put us only $125 short of our initial $8000 goal! This really is such an incredible blessing that we are so grateful for! Thanks again to everyone who is praying for us through this journey and thank you to this individual, who without even knowing us, has blessed us immensely! Abigail is closer to being in our arms thanks to you and to so many of you! Thank you!!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

First Official Step...Formal Application Time!

Could it be?!?! It almost seems surreal that so many years after first making the decision to adopt, we are FINALLY applying to do just that!

As those of you who have been following our adoption journey already know, the only thing we've been able to do so far is fundraise and we still have plenty of funds needed! Fundraising has been and will continue to be, of course, a very important and crucial part of the adoption process!

I know we've said it a million times but, to each and every one of you who have contributed so far in anyway, THANK YOU! To the amazing friends that are showing true support and care, thank you! I know you probably get tired of seeing so much about us needing funds but this is a huge expense we just can't handle on our own. Honestly, I think God has shown us that He never intended for us to do this on our own anyway. I think He has shown us that by involving others in this process, it is becoming so much bigger than ourselves and touching so many more than we ever imagined! We couldn't realize this dream of adopting a precious little girl without you!

With all that said, Benson & I have decided to go ahead and submit our formal application for infant domestic adoption! We're not even going to wait to complete the training class first. Since we are already registered to take the required training class next month, we figured this will get us a step ahead! We still have lots of funds to raise but we know God put this desire in our hearts to begin with and will work that all out!

This is pretty exciting since aside from fundraising, it's the first real step in the process! We know this is only the beginning of a long roller coaster ride and LOTS of paperwork. But, we're thankful and excited! Please keep us in your prayers.

Some people have shown interest in the fees involved and since so many of you are helping to contribute financially, I've decided to post the agency fee breakdown so you can get a better idea of what the money goes toward!

Again, thank you!!!!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Congrats to Jennifer Ford!

A big congrats to Jennifer Ford, the winner of our photo session drawing! Thanks so much for the support to those who entered!

We still have a ways to go and are a little stuck right now with getting the rest of the $8,000. Please pray with us that this would happen for us within the next month before our adoption training class in October!

Thank you!

We started feeling a tug on our hearts toward adoption many years ago and we started praying, researching and talking about it. Even though we felt we were being called to adopt a little girl (and even knew what her name would be!), we did not feel like we were being led to do it at that moment in time. Well...5+ years later the desire is still there and we feel confident that is because God is the one who planted the desire in us in the first place.

We'd love to say that everything has fallen into place perfectly (including the funds to adopt) but that's not the case. Regardless, we believe God is telling us it’s time to take a huge leap of faith and act on the desire He planted in us to adopt. We have no idea how it's all going to work out but we know we serve a mighty God!! Without a doubt, we can’t do it on our own and don’t think God intended for us to. So, with His help and yours, we hope to be able to introduce you to Abigail Grace in His perfect timing!

There are many ways that you can help. First and foremost, we ask for your prayer through this journey! We know that it is likely to be a long process. We need God's guidance and peace for as long as it takes and for any obstacles we may encounter.

Secondly, the simple fact of the matter is that we need funds to make this happen. In that regard, you will see a "Donate" button if you would like to make a direct donation which will be applied at 100% to Abigail's adoption fund. In addition, we have some great fundraising links that you will find here including SendOutCards, T-shirts, Coffee and Flowers. Please know that anything you can do is greatly appreciated!

Thank you all!

Love and Blessings,
Benson and Heather

When people ask us for marriage advice, the first thing we tell them is "Please don't assume we have it all figured out because we don't." But, there is one thing we know without doubt! God brought us together. He means for us to be each other's for life and we don't pretend to know better than Him. As anyone in a good marriage will tell you, it's not always easy but it's worth it. With God at the core of our relationship, we believe it will only get better as the years go on! And, we're looking forward to sharing future years with Abigail Grace in God's perfect timing.

Famous Adoptions: Lesson 3

Did you know that... Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Gilbert was adopted at birth by Ed Gilbert and Barbara Crane, both Hollywood actors. Ed Gilbert died when Melissa was 11, and Michael Landon, who played her father on television, became a surrogate father to her. Melissa's brother Jonathan Gilbert, who portrayed Willie Oleson on Little House was also adopted. Melissa continues to act, mostly in made-for-TV movies, and she served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001 to 2005.

Famous Adoptions: Lesson 5

Did you know that... Dave Thomas, the founder of fast-food restaurant giant Wendy's, was given up for adoption at 6 weeks of age. After his adoptive mother's death when he was 5, his father moved around the country seeking work. Dave spent time in Michigan with his grandmother, Minnie Sinclair, whom he credited with teaching him the importance of service and treating others well and with respect, lessons that helped him in his future business life. Thomas left high school in the tenth grade to work full-time at a restaurant. After a stint in the army, Thomas moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he opened his first Wendy's restaurant in 1969. He would later found the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption to promote adoption law simplification and reduce adoption costs in the United States.

Famous Adoptions: Lesson 7

Did you know that... Aristotle, son of Nicomachus, physician to King Amyntas II was adopted? His parents died when he was still a very young boy and he was brought up by a guardian, Proxenus, who sent him to Plato's academy in Athens about 367. He spent 20 years there and eventually founded his own academy. His writings have claimed a great place in the History of Western Philosophy and Science, and until the Renaissance they formed a major part of all European education. He was also appointed tutor to the future Alexander the Great. His first wife was Pythias, niece and adoptive daughter of his patron, King Hermeias of Atarneus and Assos. He later adopted Nicanor of Stagirus, Proxenus' son, who also married his daughter.

For the Love of Abigail