Grant and fundraiser update! Prayers needed...

This week holds good news and not so good news for our family and the adoption.

That Consignment Sale (the consignment sale I started to raise money for our adoption) had its 2012 Fall/Winter sale during the week of August 16-18.  Our adoption fund raised $120 through this sale.  Because we are needing to come up with the funds to send in our Dossier and hopefully we will be traveling to China before the 2013 sale would occur, we have decided to sell That Consignment Sale.  We pray from the sell of the our business, we will be able to send in our Dossier and put the remainder in our adoption fund for the next $12,000 we will need to raise before we travel.  This was a hard decision because I LOVE my consignment business.  However, bringing Melanie home from China is more important!  Please pray that we sell our business quickly and for the amount we need to move forward and then some!!!

We did receive some great news from Lifesong for Orphans (our adoption fundraising account).  A family that is friends to us, has donated $200 to our adoption fund.  Thank you and Praise God!!!

We did receive some bad news this week and lost a four-legged member of our family this week.

We had to make the horrible decision to put down my cat Briley on Tuesday, August 21st. Briley was my main coon cat of 13 years that I rescued off of Briley Parkway 13 years ago this month.   He has been ill since May of this year and was suffering tremendously.  After multiple tests, vet visits, and being a nurse at home, we are not exactly sure why Briley got sick so fast.  It was narrowed down to either cancer in his abdomen/colon area or some sort of serious intestinal blockage.  I know he is not suffering anymore, but that was the single hardest decision I have ever made in my life and it has broken my heart.  I miss him so much!

The other bad news we received this week is in regards to our grant application to Show Hope.  We received a letter today stating that we were denied a grant from Show Hope.  This again is a huge set back because we were praying for this grant to send in our Dossier.  Earlier this year, I had contacted both Mary Beth Chapman and Stephen Curtis Chapman's booking agents to have them do an adoption benefit for our adoption.  We were turned down by both booking agents and strongly encouraged to apply for this grant.  Another door closed...

We have also heard back from the Gift of Adoption Grant program.  After our grant application was pushed back another month, I contacted them and asked why this keeps happening.  They pretty much said that if we do not have a referral or a travel date, we will not receive a grant.

We do have a few adoption fundraisers coming up...

1.  Adoption Cookbook - Monday is the deadline to email me recipes for the cookbook.  karlamtaylor@hotmail.com.  Unfortunately, we only have about 25 recipes.  In order for us to order the cookbook, we will need over 100 recipes.  Send us your recipes!!!

2.  Yard Sale - I will be participating in a Children's Yard Sale with a group of moms on Friday, Sept. 7th and Saturday, Sept. 8th.  Everything I sell will go to the adoption!!!

3.  Adoption Pampered Chef party - On Friday, September 21st, I will be having a Pampered Chef Adoption Fundraiser.  It will be at my home, but you can place a catalog order!

Please pray for an email that I will be sending out the first week of September.  Some people have asked how they can help in the adoption process.  We will be sending out an email of four different ways people can help with our adoption expenses.  It will include the cookbook, the pampered chef party, a way that you can purchase meal packs for orphans while 30% will go to the adoption, and our fundraising account with Lifesong for Orphans where people can donate a tax-deductible gift.

Please continue to pray for our adoption.  It seems like we are running into many road blocks.  We still believe that God is in control!!!

Show Hope and Gift of Adoption grant update and fundraiser next week!

Well we just found out from Show Hope that our grant review as been pushed back another month.  We will not know anything until the first of September. 

We also just found out that the Gift of Adoption grant review has been pushed back until September.

Grant update:
Gift of Adoption grant review is in September - pray we get approved!!!
Show Hope Grant review is in the next two weeks and we will know some the first of Sept. - pray we get approved!!!

It looks like it will be another month before we can send in our Dossier paperwork.  There are deadlines to adoption paperwork (Dossier) getting to China.  They have to be within a specific window of time or we have to do them over again...or get an "update".  This would delay our adoption process even more.  Please pray for the funding to come through so we can send in our Dossier. 

We are having our Children's and Ladies consignment sale next week (Aug 16-18) - That Consignment Sale.  The reason we started the sale was to raise money for our adoption and hopefully continue it after Melanie arrives for extra income.  Please pray that we raise the remaining $1200 needed to send in the Dossier with our consignment sale next week!!!!!!  Come shop for some great Children's and Ladies items....clothing, accessories, toys, equipment, books, costumes, coats, and more!!!!  I know that it may seem easy to raise this money with our sale since it has been successful, however, the expences with having a small business drains a large portion of the proceeds.  This is thanks to all the rules and taxes put on a small businesses.  Please pray that this sale is a HUGE success and we can send in at least $1200 to get Melanie home!!!!

So we need prayer for funding to come in and a successful consignment sale fundraiser!!!