God's Time

Guess who is finished with their first round of paperwork????? We are!!!! I cannot begin to describe what a huge relief this is. Trying to work full time (and at home), handle a business, volunteer with our church youth group, participate in additional events, complete adoption paperwork, and start fundraisers is not easy-I won't lie. Everyone has told me the cliche statement "It's all in God's time." My response was "thanks but no thanks...I am still frustrated!!!" But yes I swallowed my pride pill because this has what we have accomplished "in God's time": 

1. We have finished the paperwork needed for Christian Homes (excluding one line on one document but who is counting..I am celebrating now!)

2. We have already asked for the paperwork required for our home study (we are going through AGAPE). We have completed the majority of that paperwork as well. 

3. With the work of Miriam Upton (thank you thank you!!!) we have a Ebay store that is gaining momentum and items! You can go to  http://stores.ebay.com/Uptons-Front-Porch and look up the category "Shores Fundraiser." If you have any items that would be good to sell on Ebay and want to contribute an item to our store, let me know!

4. We have set up our T-shirt fundraiser through Show Hope/Adoption bug. I want to thank my grandmother for being the first person to buy T-shirts!!! Our website is www.adoptionbug.com/shoresfamily.

You will see a link to items along the top of our picture, but the only items that are directly associated with "our store" are the 6 shirts below our picture. We will receive a commission from each shirt that is purchased. We intentionally selected shirts with people in mind, so hopefully everyone will love them!

5. We have scheduled a Mary Kay fundraising campaign for March. For those local to Memphis, I am having facials/color consultations (all those who attend you will enter a drawing for a spa package!) I can also send facial packages to your home. For those who are current clients, feel free to stock up on all of your products! All profits will go toward our adoption. 

6. We have officially scheduled what we hope to be our biggest fundraiser-our yard sale. It is on May 4th. We are in desperate need of items!!! We welcome all donations :) Contact me at lorishores@gmail.com for questions. 

7. We have gained more information about grants that are available for adoption. As we said we are looking to raise the money that are directly associated with services for our birth mother, but that covers maybe 40% of the cost. So everyone out there-your money does mean something! Even $20 a month to an organization that funds adoptions helps those all over the world looking to provide a child a home. Keep your fingers crossed! Hopefully we can get the home study scheduled by mid-March...then again is that our time or God's time? Time will tell!!!! 

Thank you for your continued prayers!

"So How Are Things Going?"

This is a question that we have heard a lot lately....so many people (especially this week) have been checking in with us about how the adoption process is going. My answer has been "I am drowning in paperwork!!!" for a couple of weeks and now it is "we are almost finished with our first round of paperwork!!!" Everything lately has just been stemming around finishing this paperwork (for those who have adopted you know exactly  what I am talking about). So I haven't posted in a while because that is all I have been doing....working on paperwork, working on school work, working on the house, etc. So yes lately I have been a little self-absorbed and throwing a pity party for myself of how hard it is to get this done while working full time and having a husband who works and coaches. 

Then it hit me on Friday night....I don't know what it was....I didn't feel the greatest, kind of bummed, etc. Then I realized-this adoption is more than just "how are things going" with us. I thought "what if this was the day our child was conceived?" I got really excited. How beautiful of a moment to think that God is watching over our child and planning our family. Then I had another thought....what if this was the day that our mom found out she was pregnant? Is she alone...is she ok....is she contemplating abortion...I immediately became concerned and prayed for God to look over her. 

Not a "huge update" post, but just wanted to share the little "reminder" that I got today. This adoption is not just about us. God creates families, and ours will forever include birth parents (no matter their involvement, they will always be a part of us).  So to answer the question "how are things going" I pray they are going well...for all of us. 

Struggles/Support

This was a hard week for us..... I definitely had a breakdown this week with figuring out how we are going to get this done. When I tell people what we have to complete, yes it does sound like a lot. However it is so difficult to sit down and have time to complete all of these documents and provide proofs of everything that is needed. This week I became really discouraged about the whole process....my question was "why does all of this paperwork matter when God's restoration is at work?" 

Then it came to me. Christian Homes and Family Services makes it their mission to place every child in a Christian home. Also, they want to know EVERYTHING about us to ensure that our "match" with a birth mother is the best match. Bridging families for a lifetime is a delicate situation that requires a lot of love and care. So if they need to know where my grandparents went to school, so be it :) We don't want to miss out on an opportunity to be restored or bring restoration to a birth mother because we were too frustrated with completing the paperwork. 

So thank you God for working on my heart....definitely needed it. On top of that He definitely gave me some "breathing room" by helping me relax these past few days!

So how can you support us do you ask? 
1. Please pray for us. I used to think that this was the corny statements that Christians were supposed to say when they were going through difficult times. Now seeing how God has worked in our lives over the past 5 years, I don't use this statement lightly. Pray for the process, pray that our "match" is an awesome one, and that God will be glorified. 

2. We are also in need of resources. Thank you to everyone who has pledged their help with their contacts in Texas or with assistance within their trade. For example, because of connections at our church, we were able to receive fingerprinting services. We also have received advice from those who have adopted before. Talking with those who have walked this journey has brought us peace, understanding, and knowledge. 

3. Finances. For those who don't know about adoptions, adoptions are EXPENSIVE. Oftentimes, the organization actually bears the brunt of the cost and the adoptive families bear a percentage of the fees. In our case, we are paying roughly 40% of the cost. How much is it? Including extra expenses incurred with processing, taking classes, estimated travel costs, our cost will be around $30,000. So yes we will be fundraising as this can expected for those who adopt. We are looking to raise enough money to pay our "match/placement" fee-almost all of this fee goes to services for the birth mother (grief counseling, medical services, caring for her fees if she stays in the apartments on campus, additional support services etc). This fee will be between 12,000-13,000 (depends on how they look at our taxes).

4. Fundraising/Support: We are hoping to launch 2 fundraisers in February. We are launching an Ebay Store (with the assistance of Miriam Upton!!!). If you have any items that you would like to donate, please contact me at lorishores@gmail.com. We are also selling T-shirts. Our T-shirts will advertise an orphan care/adoption ministry organization called Show Hope (www.showhope.org). This organization supports adoptions across the globe while also providing medical care to orphans with special needs in China. We are sponsors for Show Hope, so we wanted to raise awareness for them as we are fundraising. All proceeds from these fundraisers will go to our adoption. We are excited about these shirts and the opportunity to showcase Show Hope! Information about how to order T-shirts is coming. 

We also will have a "Make a Difference with Mary Kay" challenge in March where all of my Mary Kay profits in March will go to our adoption. We will also have a yard sale in the spring. For those who are interested in tax-deductible donations, you can contact me at lorishores@gmail.com. I will walk you through the process. 

Long blog....sorry! Still getting the groove for everything. Can't wait to tell everyone when we are finished with the paperwork!!!!