Hold Fast...

Josh and I got some exciting news yesterday!! We will be starting our home study on April 17th!! WOO HOO!!! I have been waiting to get this part of the process started because it means we are actually moving in the right direction!! Even though it means we have paperwork that will last forever, it's definitely a good sign!! I got some test results back a few days ago stating that our possibilities of having our own children will be extremely hard, but on the up side its validating that adoption is definitely the right path we want to be on as our way of starting our family!! Knowing our home study is finally underway is getting Josh and I very excited!!

With the excitement of the home study starting, its bringing to light just how quick we are going to need a huge chunk of money to start the next process once the home study is done. Our home study will last up to 4 months...putting us finishing up around the middle of August. Once the home study is completed, the next part of the process is waiting for a referral of a child. Before we can begin the referral process we need to have roughly $15,000. Part of that money is to pay for all the paperwork to be reviewed by multiple people and then to be sent to Ethiopia, part is for us to actually be in the Ethiopian program and the rest is sent to Ethiopia to begin the adoption process there. THAT NUMBER IS SOOO SCARY!! We know that this is something we cannot attain ourselves and as much as we want to, I don't know if we could handle all the stress that trying to find all that money could bring. So we decided to start a GoFundMe account! It is a way that our friends and family can help us out by donating ANY sum of money towards these outrageous fees we have to pay. And I mean ANY sum! Large or small! Anything is appreciated! There is a link to our account on the left side of this post! Please go and check it out and if you are feeling led to support us in this way-you have NO idea how much it would mean to both Josh and I!! If supporting this way is something that is not feasible for you, no problem! Just keep us in your prayers daily that God will continue to give us the strength to continue on in this journey!

As a little bit of an incentive, with a minimum of a $15 donation towards the adoption we want to thank you by sending you a bracelet we had special made for our adoption by MudLove! The word for the bracelet is "Hold Fast" meaning strong in faith. During our struggles of trying to start our own family, we need to be reminded that in order to make it all work, we need to keep our faith first...no matter what! God is the center of our lives, He's in the center of our marriage and He definitely is in the center of our adoption! All we want to do is glorify Him with our lives!

So with a minimum of a $15 donation to us directly or through our GoFundMe account, we will send you a bracelet! (please make sure and leave me your email address also so I can make sure and get details to send the bracelets!) The purpose of the bracelet is that when you look at it, we want it to remind you to say a little prayer for us. We are going to encounter many challenges and struggles along the way and feeling those prayers is really going to help us through this process!!

So please take a few minutes and check it out and if your feeling led to support us in this way...you have no idea how much we appreciate it! THANK YOU SO MUCH! We want all our friends and family to be involved in our adoption and this is an easy tangible way! God bless you all!

We love you all!
-Josh and Renee
www.mudlove.com