ToGetHer: Page 6 Pack Big Sister Adoption!
THANK YOU for your support, and please share our story!! Adoption certainly takes a village!
***If you or your business would like to make a larger tax deductible charitable donation and are in need of a receipt for tax purposes, please contact me so I can help you navigate this donation through a 501c3 adoption fundraising charity.
We have BIG news!
We are adopting a child! And not just any child. It's the child who has already chosen us as her family ❤️
As some of you know, we met “Amelia” the summer of 2021 when we welcomed this 10yr old Colombian girl in to our home for five weeks through an orphan hosting program. The kids in the program are all 9+ years old, and living in orphanages and short term foster placements. Due to their ages, they have almost no chance of ever being adopted. The hosting program helps give these kids a chance to come to the US, and meet families that may be touched by their stories and hopefully somehow lead to an adoptive forever home. We went in to this journey to advocate for this little girl, and help her in whatever way we could within that five weeks including meeting as many potential adoptive families as possible through the program.
We chose her. We wanted to give her a magical summer full of new adventures and memories.
“Amelia” was love at first sight. Her big brown eyes were a window straight to her soul. She came to us very shy and emotionally shut down, and it was rare to see any semblance of a smile. She lacked self confidence in a really deep way. During the five weeks within our home as a loved and valued family member, she blossomed in to an outgoing, opinionated, silly and hilarious little girl that was always laughing, dancing and smiling! It was truly like watching a caterpillar in a cocoon transform a little day by day in to a butterfly!
She told us in many ways that she wished she could stay, and that she wanted to be part of our family forever . We are the only family she’s ever known, and it was obviously how much this little girl desires to be a family member, and have siblings to grow up with. It was so powerful to see our sons bond with her in various ways that did not involve spoke language. They shared so much fun and silliness together! From playing games, to watching movies, to scooter riding outside and plasma cars riding inside, to listening to Colombian pop music (and Justin Bieber!) and making TikTok dance videos! Amelia learned a little English, and our kids learned a little Spanish during her stay too! Rich helped her ride a bike for the first time, and by the end of her stay, she was so proudly riding independently! Sarah connected with her on all the things a mother/daughter relationship supports, and on a deeper level emotionally. Sarah taught Amelia how to properly care for her beautiful curly hair, and allowed her to have indulgently long baths (they don't have bathtubs in Colombia! Baths are a true luxury!). She taught her about how to choose proper footwear depending on her planned activities for the day, and how important exercise and and good nutrition is. They made cookies together (Amelia's first time ever!). Sarah taught her about bullies at school, and how to be resilient. They talked about Amelia's past, her present, and her desires for her future. She told us that her future was our family. She wanted us to adopt her.
She chose us. We didn't know that this journey would lead to Amelia choosing us to be her family, but we are so glad she did.
We are beyond excited and are doing everything we can to be prepared welcome this beautiful girl back into our home. Her home.
DETAILS ABOUT OUR FUNDRAISER:
Our adoption cost is $53,000. Yes. That is fifty-three THOUSAND dollars. The number is daunting. We are going to break our fundraiser efforts down in to each step of the adoption process, to help the goals seem more manageable.
First step: HOME STUDY $7,275 Due date: September 18, 2021
As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. It may surprise you to hear that adoption related costs are astronomically high. This is why we have set a goal of $53,000, which is our family’s estimated cost to adopt from Colombia. This will help ease the financial burden that often overwhelms adoptive parents. The country of Colombia requires a 4-6 week stay in country for final documentation processing and court processing, so the actual cost to our family to finalize this adoption will be much beyond this estimated number after factoring in lost incomes for this as well as 12 weeks FMLA after adoption to get her settled in at home and help her prepare for her future life in the US! We are prepared to make all the logistics work to bring “Amelia” home, but we need your help meeting our $53,000 fundraising goal!
We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of the community we hope to build around our child as she grows up. It truly takes a village, and we are so thrilled you are part of it! THANK YOU for supporting our journey to bring Amelia back us. This little lady greatly desires and deserves to have a family to call her own! It will truly take a village worth of work "ToGetHer"❤️
