What a Remarkable Year!!!

Tim and I can't believe that we have over $17,500 in our adoption fund. Our original thought was that maybe we've have $10K by the end of the year.  God came in and knocked us off our feet. Our Silent Night Auction brought in over $3K, and we a super special donor gave us $5K. We are inches away from actually applying, and now it gets scary.  Up to this point, it hasn't seemed real that we are going to be parents. As soon as that paperwork is filed, the timeline is no longer ours. Honestly, the timeline was never ours. The average wait time is about 6 months, but it can happen in 2 weeks or in 2 years. We are so excited to see what happens!  We are just waiting on a couple more things to line up and then we will be applying.  (probably applying in January sometime) 
We still need $7K or so.  As soon as we get our home study done, we plan on applying for adoption grants, which would mean the next $2-3K that comes in might be matched, and tax deductible for the donor.  We'll keep you posted.
Thanks for being a part of this journey!
Jill (and Tim)

We will be at the Fishers Art in the Park on September 17 from 9 A.M to 4 P.M.

Hey Everyone in the Indianapolis Area or the outlying area that wants to help us with our Adoption. Jill and myself (Tim) will be participating in the Fishers Art in the Park on Saturday September 17th from 9 a.m to 4 P.M. right in front of the Fishers,IN Town Hall.
 Jill will be Selling and Displaying her Awesome Stinky Toes Design Jewelry or as we like to Call it "Jillery" and I will be a Good Husband and be her Gopher for the Day :)
So Please come out and say hi and buy some unique custom Made Jewelry and help us get that much closer to becoming Parents through Adoption. Also your Prayers will be much needed leading up to the Event and on the Day of the Event so that we keep our sanity :)
here is the Link to the Art in the Park Website:  http://www.fishersartscouncil.org/art-in-the-park/

Thanks to you all!!

20% AWWW YEA!!!!

Feels Like I was just commenting on our 10% Milestone!!! and now we are at 20%!!!

Again we can not Thank all the Awesome and Amazing People in our Lives enough that have been Supporting us through Giving and Praying.
We have seen God's Hands and Feet working through so many of You in your helping us, and We Thank you All so Much!!! Well onto 30% then!!!

New Milestone

Wow, what a summer this has been!!!!   We just keep getting blessing from all directions.  We have just shot past the $5,000 mark, and we have lots of opportunities coming up soon.  We are having a second garage sale in our community this weekend, where we are currently getting donations for.  I (Jill) have my first Trunk Show this weekends as well.  I have heard of a couple different craft shows that I plan to be a part of this fall.  
We just can't believe that we've gotten as far as we have in only 3 months.  We are so thankful for all the love and support we are receiving.  We can't wait to see what happens next!   What a ride!

10% Woo Hoo!!!

Huge Blessing this Past Week!! We hit the 10% Mark, Amazing!! God is So Good!! Thanks to all the Awesome People in our Lives that got us Here so Quickly. Now onto 20%!!

The Blessing Keep Flowing

Wow, the last 6 weeks have been so great.  We are inches away from hitting the $2000 mark on our fundraising.  We had a garage sale where we made over $400, and almost all the items in the sale were donated by friends and family.  Gallery 116 orders keep flowing!  And friends have given Tim autographs that are doing very well on EBAY.  We have also received monitary donations in the mail.  And phone calls and emails from people who are sharing in our excitement and acting as a rock for us to lean on as we wait patientally as this process unfolds.   We are so very grateful!!!
The next thing for me as far as my jewelry is to start having Trunk Shows.  Ladies, if you are interested in hosting one of these in your work or at home, let me know.  I already have at least 2 of these in the works.  There is also a possibity for me to have a very large order (like 50-100 necklaces!!)  coming late this summer.  Please pray that this happens, if it is supposed to!!!
During these 6 weeks or so, we have seen two different families have children they've adopted enter their home.  It is such an exciting thing to see all the prays and the waiting be worth it!  
Can't wait to see what happens next!!  - Jill

And So It Begins.....

Tim and I have started this blog so our friends and family can see where we are in our journey to adopt.  We have just begun trying to find the right agency to use.  We think we've found it.  And in doing so, we were told not to apply until we have our funds lined up.  We need $25K-$30K!!  So we are now beginning to raise/save up that money.  We will apply when we get about 70-80% there. 
I was blessed to meet a friend of a friend, Amy, who is adopting as well.  She began a business called Stinky Toes Design where she makes jewelry (among other things).  As her adoption came closer to happening, she had it on her heart to open her business up to someone else... but she really wanted that person to have the same goal...adoption.  So I was blessed enough to be that person.  She has begun to teach me the trade, and after much practice, I now have been completing custom orders.  I'm selling these on Ebay, and I'm helping Amy supply them to Gallery 116 in Fishers, IN.  If you are interested, I can also take custom orders by email.
Tim is taking his autograph collecting skills and is beginning to sell those on Ebay.  He is writing famous people and telling them our story in the hopes that they will donate their autograph to be sold to fund our adoption.
So that is where we stand at the moment.