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!!!!