Come on December!

12-2: Update from the Bethany blog

Only 23 days until Christmas and the year end is quickly coming too! How did 2008 go by so quickly? Onto the good news - we received five referrals this week! Families waiting for referrals are now waiting since November 2007. Eight children arrived home in November with more children already scheduled to travel home in December.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy turkey day to everyone! I know, I'm a few days early. I do want to say right now how thankful both Ethan and I are for the wonderful people that have showed us what a caring world this really is. Some of these people we have known for years, some we've only met online, some are friends of friends and some are complete strangers and of course family. We are very blessed.

here we go again...

Paper work, paper work and more paper work...Did I mention paper work? It's been almost a year since we submitted medical and criminal clearance forms, so we need to update and submit again. We also need our references updated; thank you to the 3 of you that have taken the time to write those for us; we really appreciate everything you've done for us. I guess I need to get back in the frame of mind that everything is temporarily out of our control.

November is National Adoption Month

November 15, 2008, will mark the 9th year for National Adoption Day. Through the help of adoption professionals, child advocates, judges, and attorneys, thousands of children in foster care will finalize adoption and become part of a permanent home and family.

"Traditionally, National Adoption Day is celebrated the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Out of respect for the nation's remembrance of the 45th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, the National Adoption Day Coalition elected to move the celebration of National Adoption Day this year only to the Saturday prior." ~ statement from National Adoption Day Web site.

The History of National Adoption Day
· 2000 - National Adoption Day began with the Alliance for Children's Rights and support from the Freddie Mac Foundation, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, and others. Hundreds of adoptions were finalized in 9 jurisdictions.
· 2001 - The number of jurisdictions increased to 17.
· 2002 - Assistance from Casey Family Services, Children's Action Network, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute and Target. This support brought 34 jurisdictions to National Adoption Day and 1,350 adoptions were finalized.
· 2003 - 3,100 adoptions were finalized and 120 jurisdictions participated in the event.
· 2004 - 3,400 adoptions finalized at 200 events in 37 states.
· 2005 - The largest number of coast-to-coast celebrations for National Adoption Day! More than 3,300 children's adoptions were finalized from foster care in 227 events in 45 states and the District of Columbia.
· 2006 - The largest of number of coast-to-coast celebrations with more than 250 events in all fifty states including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico! More than 3,300 adoption were finalized.
· 2007 - More than 300 events were held in all fifty states including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.In total more than 20,00 children have been adopted from foster care on National Adoption Day.
Goals of National Adoption Day 2008· Finalize adoptions from foster care in all 50 states· Celebrate and honor all families that adopt· Raise awareness about the 129,000 children in foster care waiting for adoption· Encourage others to adopt children from foster care· Build collaboration among local adoption agencies, courts and advocacy organizations

November is here...

and there is going to be a lot to be thankful for. There were 3 referrals last week; families are now waiting from October '07. Another thing to be thankful for is that the blanket sales have been great! Thank you to everyone that has helped out so far. I am now working on snowmen, and will be at Old Boys' Brewhouse on November 15th selling them to help raise money for the Chuck fund. We are working on a few more fundraising ideas, so check back soon to find out what they are!

how long???

I was really hoping that October was going to be a great month, it started off pretty well with one referral. I know... the month isn't over yet but it might as well be. Yes I'm having one of "those" days... I just realized that on Friday it will be exactly 10 months that we've been waiting for our referral! I know that there are families out there that have been waiting a lot longer than we have, but when I saw that it's going to be 10 months it really hit me hard. I just want to not have any more sad days... at least not for this reason. It seems like we've had bad news or bad milestones on holidays, anniversaries etc. I was really hoping that Halloween wouldn't be ruined...

Fall is in the air

Fall is here, which is our favorite time of year. We both love the changing colors, the crisp, clean air and most of all Halloween! There isn’t anything to report right now as far as Chuck is concerned, but we have been trying to keep busy with getting things done around the house…as usual. I’m still very busy with blanket orders.

This past weekend we went to the farmer’s market to get pumpkins. I don’t know what it is about pumpkins, but I get so excited when it’s time to get them, and also a bit carried away. We now have a total of 12 pumpkins! Okay, most of them are the small pie variety. I’ve got the Halloween decorations up and the house is looking ‘spooky’… somewhat. We decided to have a few people over this year to help hand out candy and have dinner before we go out for our last childless Halloween! It’s so cool to think that this time next year I’ll be worrying about a costume for Chuck instead of myself. I’m thinking Chuck will probably have to be a cow for the 1st Halloween, or maybe a puppy… we’ll see.

Hopefully we’ll have some updates soon

off to a good start

There ended up being 5 referrals in the month of September. There has already been 1 referral in October! There are still 2 families waiting from September '07, let's hope for quick referrals for them, they have waited long enough.


This is a great start to the month, let's keep it going!

guess what...

We bought a new crib for Chuck last weekend, and it looks great. Sweet Dreams Baby Boutique (http://www.shopsweetdreams.com/) had a sale going on, and we couldn’t pass this crib up. Dustin, one of the owners, was very helpful and we will definitely go back. Also, a very big THANK YOU to everyone who has purchased our hand-made blankets. Your generosity and support allowed us this opportunity. Thank you again so much!

stop by & meet us

If you are looking for a fun time this Saturday (Sept 27), stop down at Old Boys’ Brewhouse in Spring Lake for their annual Woofstock event. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this event, Old Boys’ opens up their lawn for a day of doggy fun. Bring down your pooch and enjoy some great food and beverages. There will be live music and local merchants will be on-hand. Also, we will have a table set up to show off the beautiful baby blankets that Jami has been working on, and to answer any questions you may have about our adoption. Stop by, say “hi” and place an order…Christmas really isn’t too far away, and the blankets make great gifts.

busy, busy, busy

The blanket sales have been going great, please keep them coming. I currently have 7 on order and am busy working on those. The lead times have been increased a bit, but we're working as fast as we can. Please be sure to order early for showers, etc.

good news

There were 2 referrals this week! There are still 2 families waiting since September 2007, but it's only the middle of September...

waiting...

I have to admit I’ve become very obsessive about checking the BCS blog to check on referrals. I’m also checking the BCS chat board to hopefully see that one new post that says REFERRAL. Not too much going on with either one right now; it’s been pretty quiet. There have been a couple of referrals reported, and families continue to wait from September 2007.

Please keep good thoughts and crossed fingers for us and all of the many other anxious families that are waiting to hear about their babies.

sale

I am now scheduled to be at the Deer Hunter's Widow shopping day at Old Boys' Brewhouse November 15th from 11-4. I will be selling the baby blankets and also fleece snowmen I make, they are very cute.

Old Boys' Brewhouse
971 W Savidge
Spring Lake, MI 49456
616-850-9950

or email me at bringchuckhome@live.com

slow going

It's been pretty quite as far as referrals go; there were 4 referrals in August and now are 4 families waiting from September 2007. We've been trying to keep busy though. We're getting things done around the house that we won't be able to after we bring Chuck home, and a few things we've been putting off. We are also busy filling out grant applications...every little bit helps as far as money goes.

Fundraising

I have begun knitting baby blankets to sell in an attempt to raise money for Chuck. If you would like to place an order please contact us at bringchuckhome@live.com. I will have pictures very soon along with available colors. The blankets are 100% cotton.

Why Chuck?

For those of you that don't know who Chuck is, it started about a month after we started the adoption process. I was getting bored with saying "the baby" all the time, and we didn't know if our baby would be a boy or a girl. We couldn't decide on what to call "the baby" so we polled friends and family. Although Chuck was not the winner it had already stuck with me. So for now, and probably for the rest of the baby's life, it's Chuck.

Why the blog...

We wanted to start this so family and friends can track our progress with Chuck's adoption. It's been a very long road to start our family, and we're almost there.