September 12 Canvas Fundraiser

 

 

Canvas Painting Fundraiser

 

When:  Friday, September 18th

 

Time:    6:00-8:00 PM (please arrive 15 minutes early to set up your station)

 

Where:  New Life Wesleyan Church

              75 E 1100 N

              Chesterton, IN

 

Cost:     $40/ Painter   -   This will include all of your supplies. 

 

Pre-registration:  You may pre-register now up until September 12th.  Space will be limited. 

 

 

Two options for signing up:

 

1.)  Check Payment:  Checks may be made payable to:   "America World Adoption" and either 

      mailed or given to Nic or Nicole Ayres who will submit them after the canvas party has taken

      place.

 

***Please indicate on the memo of your check that the donation is for: "Nic and Nicole Ayres' Adoption"***

 

-OR-

 

2.)  Online Payment:  On the right side bar, there is a link to donate now for the September 18th Canvas Party - Click here to donate via credit card or paypal.   ---------->

  

     When donating online, please indicate the name of the person attending the canvas party and that  

     your $40 donation will be for the Canvas Party on September 12th.

 

***In order to have supplies available and to reserve your canvas, payments must be made before September 12th***

 

 

Additional Info:  We are asking everyone to donate an appetizer to share but it is not required to attend.  We will be providing lemonade and water to drink.  Please no alcoholic beverages.

 

 

The picture below is what we will be painting at this event.  If you have any questions of concerns, please feel free to contact us: nayres19@comcast.net or 219-617-5005. 

 

We truly appreciate all your support and prayers as we journey on to bring our daughter home. 

 

God Bless.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Moving forward...

The past two weeks have been amazing.  As you already know, there is so much paperwork needed to complete an adoption.  100% of our paperwork from our Ethiopian Dossier is non transferable to our China Dossier.  Therefore, from a paperwork standpoint, we essentially had to start over.  As I mentioned in our last blog post, my first initial reaction of starting our paperwork from scratch was overwhelming.  But a few weeks into the paper-chase our progress has been more successful then what seemed possible.  In fact, our adoption coordinator even commented on how quickly we are pulling our dossier together.  Piece by piece our puzzle is coming together.  We couldn’t be happier with the progress we have made so far and will continue to work toward finishing our end of the paperwork over the next few weeks.   

In addition to a few documents we need to complete our dossier, another big step we need in order to complete our paperwork is updating our home-study from Ethiopia to China.  We begin this process July 29th, which is our first schedule visit with our social worker, followed by our second visit August 15th and our third visit August 16th. We have printed off the 5 page check list of individual items that we need to address in our home study so we are able to work through them one by one with our social worker.  This will be in addition to any information our home study agency thinks needs to be address.  Needless to say updating our home study will most likely be the most time consuming part of the paper chasing process.  But once the home study is approved by our adoption agency, we will see light at the end of the tunnel because we will be winding down our paper chase for our dossier.  It is so exciting to think we are so close already!! 

Another exciting announcement we have is that we are in the process of planning our first China Adoption fund raiser.  We have been so incredibly blessed to be introduced to a wonderful (and extremely talented) woman who will be leading a Canvas Painting Party September 18, 2015 from 6-8:30 PM!!  For those of you who have not heard of a canvas painting party or have little artistic ability (like me) don’t be intimidated!  No artistic ability or knowledge of the arts required.  Basically, at a canvas party, you have an artist leading the class who helps you step by step, giving tips and advice along the way on how to paint the selected picture until you have completed your masterpiece.  Tickets for the event will be $40 a person which includes all of your supplies.  We are asking everyone interested in coming to pre-register with us before September 12^thin order to reserve your canvas (contact Nicole Ayres – nayres19@comcast.net for more details).  We are asking attendees to bring an appetizer to share (not required) and Nic and I will be providing drinks (lemonade and water).  More details to come on the location of the party.  Below is the picture we will all be painting!! We are so excited for this event! 

Thank you so much for your support and encouraging words as we continue on the journey to bring our daughter, who tentatively will be named Amelia Capri, home.  God Bless.        

Our New Adventure

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

John 15:16

“You did not choose me, but I chose you”

“I chose you”

Jesus may have spoken these words in person to his disciples the night before he died, but they were meant for all of us.  God has a purpose and a plan for every living creature that walks the face of this Earth.  He hand selects each and every one of us according to his good and perfect will.  How humbling that the creator of the universe loves us so much that He would take the time to plan our future and lay a path before us.  The possibilities are endless.  As for Nic and I, His plan is for us to adopt.  The journey of our path has not been easy.  It has been filled with emotions, road blocked and hurtles.  But even though the process has been difficult at times, there is nothing about our journey that we would change.  God has used this process to shape us, to help us grow and to prepare us for the future.   

“whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

God has provided for us in so many ways over the course of the past two years; He has encouraged us when we were frustrated with paperwork, He has assured us this was His will for our family, and he has provided for us through the generous giving of time and financial means from family, friends and complete strangers.  Truly through him all things are possible.  We prayed for the future of our family and over the course of our adoption our Heavenly Father has given us all that we need… 

If you have been following our adoption, you have heard me say before the paperwork is extensive. Everything has to be perfect and precise.  If it is not exact, it has to be redone.  There is no room for errors or typos.  When we made the decision to follow God to China, the thought of starting all of our paperwork over was scary.  China is very thorough and they require more authorization than what we had to do prior with Ethiopia.  When we began receiving emails with all the paperwork requirements, my heart sank.  Essays, notaries and time lines, oh my!  But rather than allowing the enemy to build anxiety in my heart we turned to the one who gives us help, strength and peace.  Ask and you shall receive….God has given us a new outlook on all the paperwork and we are no longer stressing over what needs to be done.  Rather we now look at the paperwork as an adventure and a potential for growth.  It is amazing the relief that overtakes you when you lay it all down before the Lord. 

God has not only given us peace over the paper chasing process, but he has also already begun providing financially for our next step.  As you may have seen on Facebook, we have been selling our “Project  Ethiopia” t shirts for ½ off the original price.  Over the course of the past two weeks, we have sold almost all of our shirts to people all over the United States and raised the $500 needed to pay for our home study update for China (which is our first financial expense since transferring).  God is good and God provides always. 

God is good all the time and all the time God is good.   

Have a blessed day!!  

Crossroads...

This is what the Lord says:  “stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it and you will find rest for your souls…”
Jeremiah 6:16

Two years ago we began a journey that had forever changed our lives. It was a journey that has tested us, stretched us farther than what was comfortable, strengthened our bond as a family and helped us grow in our walk with the Lord. Two years ago we began a journey to adopt a little girl from Ethiopia. Over the course of the past two years we have encountered more twists and turns then we ever imagined. But through the trials the one thing that remained strong and consistent was our belief that God has his hand in our adoption process. He gave us continued assurance through it all that we were filling his perfect will for our family.

Two years have passed and we want to share with you today that God has again brought us to a crossroad where we have the choice to stay in our comfort of what we thought would be for our family or to follow the new course God has presented to us. Because nothing about international adoption is comfortable and easy we chose to stand by the one who makes the impossible possible. Today we are here to share that while our hearts for adoption have not changed, the location has. As of this past week, God has lead us to putting in a transfer to adopt from China. While part of our hearts will always be in Ethiopia, God has made it clear the path for our family and we will continue on knowing he is the author and perfectly of our story.

We will continue to keep you updated on this process as we venture on our journey of bringing our daughter home.

"Mommy, when can I meet my sister?"

“Mommy, when can I meet my sister?”

“Mommy, can go get my sister now?

“Mommy, can my sister sleep in my room?”

“Mommy, can I come with you to Africa when you go get my sister?”

“Mommy, when is my sister coming home?”

“Mommy, is my sister with Aunt Chami?”

 

Every day I am asked these questions…Not a day goes by where Amira is not a topic of discussion. Every day I have to explain to a very loving, excited and compassionate three year old why we cannot go and get her sister and bring her home.  In a way it is sad because every day I have to see the look of disappointment on her face when I explain that it is not yet God’s time for Amira to join us.  But at the same time it is amazing.  It is amazing to witness firsthand how a child can have a heart so incredibly big that she can love someone she has never even met.  Amazing that she has the faith that someday her sister will in fact join our family.  Amazing that at such a young age, she never gives up hope.    

We can learn so much from young children.  To love like they love.  To forgive like they forgive.  To trust like the trust. 

 

Trust.  That is one area of my life that has truly grown tenfold since we began our adoption process Feb 2013.  It has not always been easy to trust God’s plan for our family and I would be lying if I said we didn’t have set backs.  It has been an emotional process, but I trust that every stumbling block and set back has had a purpose.  I trust God has a reason for the wait.  It has been 2 years since we began our adoption journey.  Never would I have imagined 2 years ago that we would be still waiting.  But I trust God has something in store and just like I tell my sweet Evelynn, it is not God’s time for Amira to join us.

 

So while we wait, we continue to jump through all the hoops required to keep our paperwork up to date.  We have recently just updated our home-study as well as update our paperwork with the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS).  This will keep us up to date for another 18 months as far as immigration is concerned.  If 18 months from now we are not holding our daughter, we trust that God has a purpose for the continued delay.  Also while we wait, we continue to pray.  We pray for our sweet baby girl half way around the world.  We pray for all the children around the world who are orphaned and hurting, that they may know the love of our Heavenly Father and someday be joined with a loving family here on Earth.  And we pray for our family, for the process and for the future our family has in store.  Lastly, we remember to count our blessings, as we are so incredibly blessed every day.

As always, we thank you for your prayers and will continue to keep you updated as we continue forward on our journey of bringing our sweet baby girl home.   

 

 

As I tucked my children into bed tonight, this song came on...it is true for my children who are with us now and some day for the one to join us... Safe and Sound

Moving Forward....

Like most everyone, I cannot believe that 2014 is already coming to an end!  Seems like just yesterday we were bringing in the New Year and here we are less than a month away from Christmas!  While time seems to be going fast in everyday life, the one aspect of our life where it feels like time is standing still is our adoption.  When we began this process in April 2013, we were told it would take around from 6-8 months to complete all of the paperwork needed to ship to Ethiopia (AKA our dossier).   As it turned out, that was a very accurate timeframe for us, because 6 months later we were at the post office shipping our dossier to our agency for them to send to Ethiopia.  Once our agency received our paperwork, they began working on their end to prepare it for departure and on October 18, 2013 our dossier arrived in Addis Ababa, the Capital of Ethiopia. 

Once we were officially DTE (dossier to Ethiopia), it was time to begin our next countdown.  At this point in our journey, our adoption agency indicated that once we had submitted our paperwork to Ethiopia, we would be matched with our daughter within 18-24 months.  Therefore, at that time we anticipated we be meeting our little Amira by April 2015 at the earliest or by October 2015 at the latest.  However, as time went on our agency has increased the wait time for families to be closer to 36-42 months and they indicate it is possible for this wait time to continue to increase.  Therefore, at this point and time we are have no idea what the exact timeframe will be when we will be united with our little princess on the other side of the world.  Typically, when people ask when we will be bringing our little girl home, I usually say “we have a long road ahead of us but God is in control.” 

Plain and Simple....God IS in control.  He always has been and always will be.  He knows the exact day, the exact hour, the exact minute we will be brought together as a family.  And while I wish that day was today, his timing is perfectly planned.  He is watching over our journey and our family…all 5 of us.  So until that day comes, we will continue to move forward and pray for guidance and wisdom for our journey.  We will also pray for Amira, for her safety and that she knows she is loved by a family that has never seen her face and a God who knows every hair on her beautiful little head. 

That all being said…we are currently reaching the point in our journey when our paperwork begins to expire.  Because of the long wait times for adoptions in Ethiopia, we are given the option to either let our paperwork expire or keep it up to date.  The benefit of letting everything expire is that it will save a little cash in the long run.  However, once we are matched with our daughter, we would not be able to move forward with our adoption until everything has been updated.  Also from what I understand, updating expired paperwork is almost like starting the paperwork process over again.  Because of these reasons, we have chosen to keep our paperwork up to date.  It may cost us a little more in the long run but we do not want any additional set-backs, such as trying to quickly renew paperwork, to extend our wait of meeting our daughter.  Therefore, this past week Nic and I visited our friends at United States Citizen and Immigration Services to update our fingerprints.  We passed J .  The next step will be to begin the process of updating our home study, this will be a little more in depth then sticking our finger on a computer screen.  However, we will cross that bridge when it arrives in January 2015 as we are taking one step at a time.  We have learned in this process the importance of celebrating every victory, no matter how small.  God is good. :)  

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.  We will continue to keep you updated as we move forward in God’s time.  Have a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!!!

GOD BLESS!!!

 

On our way to get fingerprinted for the second time. :)

 

 

And so it begins...

I cannot believe that it has been a year and an half since we first began our adoption process back in early 2013.  It feels like just yesterday we crossing all the “T”s and dotting all the “I”s…then checking and double checking and triple checking all of our paperwork before we sent out our “official” request to adopt (aka our Dossier).  But the reality is, several seasons have come and gone since we shipped our Dossier to Ethiopia on October 18, 2013.  For those of you who may not know, our Dossier took us around 6 months to complete.   It required a large amount of time, a little frustration, a lot of signatures, notary stamps, social worker visits, more background checks than I even thought existed and much more than I can list in a “brief” summary.  But above all, it required a lot of faith in the one who called us to adopt and to him we give thanks because we could not have done it without his amazing grace.

That all being said, it is hard to believe that we are already to the point where our paperwork is beginning to approach its “expiration” date.  I sit here tonight writing a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, requesting our first update for our fingerprints (which expire in December).  I cannot believe it is already that time.  I cannot believe how slowly we are moving up the waiting list.  It breaks my heart to see our the little progress we have made in the past year.  But we know who is in control..... After our fingerprints, we will need to update our homestudy and our “pre-approval for citizenship” paperwork.  These updates will given us an additional 15 months for our fingerprints and 18 months for our homestudy and citizenship paperwork.  I hope and pray that by time that rolls around, we will not need an update as we will be completing our adoption and bringing our little girl home. 

As much as it hurts, I know that God is good.  He is faithful.  And most importantly for us right now…his timing is perfect.  We pray for Amira everyday, where ever she may be and we know we are not the only ones who do.  Our Heavenly Father hears our prayers and is protecting her and keeping her safe until the time HE decides to bring her home to be with us.  So until then, we will patiently wait and pray. 

 

Thanks for your prayers and support.