Friday, October 24, 2014

Raising the Funds

 CLICK HERE to Give a Tax Deducible Gift!

We really need to raise some $$$ needed for upfront costs. We have applied for a personal adoption loan and plan to pay much of the $41,000 ourselves, but we would be very blessed and encouraged to have some help to get the ball rolling! 

We also plan on applying for grants and doing more fundraisers/support letters. 

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers! This means the world to us!!!!


Monday, October 13, 2014

We are Adoptoing....Internationally!

Look! We're on Reese's Rainbow! *Xavier for the Butler Family!

Thanks so much for taking the time to view our blog! 

It is our hope and prayer to adopt a precious one from Macedonia. Unfortunately, because of all the adoption laws of the Hague Convention, we cannot give many details, but we can tell you, that we are hoping to be matched with a little one with special needs, Down Syndrome specifically. 

We are a pilot family for a new adoption program for special needs children from Macedonia. We are hoping to be the first family in the United States to adopt a child from Macedonia through the Hague adoption system. The program is not yet open to other families, but we are hopeful that we can help create a successful program that would assist in finding families for hundreds of precious children with special needs. 

In the past 10 months, we have connected with an outstanding agency to start a new adoption program (essentially opening a country for international adoptions), converted our home study from domestic to international, and begun the process of compiling our dossier. Its been a long 10 months as we've waited anxiously for things to come together. Thus far, the doors have opened and we are pursing this opportunity with excitement and A LOT of FAITH! 

The requirements are not easy. The adaptation period is 10-12 weeks. We will be flying to Macedonia for 10-12 weeks (hopefully this summer). Not what we were initially expecting....but we have prayerfully decided to continue our pursuit. 

We covet your prayers!!!!!
Pray for . . . 
1.) Orphans in Macedonia
2.) Officials in Macedonia as they work on adoption procedure/law from their end
3.) Wisdom and Guidance for our family and Our Agency 
4.) Things to move along swiftly and smoothly
5.) God provides the funds

Many people ask us, "Why are you choosing to adopt?" To us the reason is simple - because our hearts are telling us to!

Both of us want to add to our family. We had talked about adoption before we even had children of our own, so we knew it was always something we wanted to do. We have always dreamed of having a large family and when we realized Hannah would no longer be able to have more biological children, we knew that we were meant to adopt! We love kids and feel as though our family is not yet complete. Adoption is the perfect option for us! We have the space, the time, the desire, and most importantly, the love to give. Adoption has become a passion and a calling for our family. Not a day goes by we don't pray for our newest addition!

We were specifically looking to adopt a child with special-needs. Our youngest child has several special-needs of his own, including prematurity and Down Syndrome. We feel well established with the group of specialists he sees for his own special-needs as well as his involvement in the Early Intervention and therapy programs. We have already learned so much through caring for our son, Benji, and therefore feel as though we are equipped to take on the responsibility of caring for another special little blessing.

We have open hearts and arms and look forward to adding an addition to our family.

Thank-you for taking the time to read a bit about us.
 

Much love,
Joe, Hannah, Essie, Zac, and Benji


Look! We're on Reese's Rainbow! *Xavier for the Butler Family!
*Any donations given via the Reese's Rainbow link are eligible Tax Deductions* 


 Our Family