Garage Sale and Other News Part 2! New Fundraiser Coming Soon!

While we had to hold the garage sale over the course of four days I think we can declare it a success!  We have a few small items left for donation, but we sold all of our "big ticket" items and brought in about $750.  As a plus we really had some very nice customers and perfect weather!

And in other news...we have the receipt number for our I600A so I believe that means it's been accepted!  I have tried checking on the status, but the receipt number is not in the system yet.  Apparently checking for it every 30 minutes doesn't make it get entered any faster.  We are trying very hard to get all of our dossier documents together but keep running into the same snags!  We want to have all the documents ready now so that they are ready to send them to Ukraine when we get our approval letter (I-171H) from the USCIS.

We were recently blessed to receive another sizable donation toward the adoption fees we are facing.  While we are not 100% there financially we are getting closer and closer!  Our support system has been simply amazing and we are truly grateful.

I am excited to be hosting a gold buying event on Friday, November 12!   If you are local and would like to attend, please RSVP by Friday, November 5.  Bring a friend who sells gold and you will earn a cash gift!  Each seller receives 100% of the fair value of their gold and at the end of the event SGB will donate 20% of the total amount of gold they purchased to help us bring Olga home!

If you or someone you know is looking for a way to help, here are our current needs:

1. Prayers!  Specifically that our I600A is processed quickly so that we can submit our dossier to Ukraine and that the Southeast Gold Buyers party I am hosting is a successful fundraiser for us.
2. Re-post my blog to your Facebook page!
3. Christmas Tree Fundraiser!  If you typically buy your tree or wreath every year, please consider buying from Dutchman Tree Farms to help us raise money for Olga's Christmas hosting.  Click on the following link, select "yes" for New Horizons for Children then select my name, Susan Langvin Pirkey, as the person you are sponsoring.  Dutchman Tree Farms Fundraiser
4. Southeast Gold Buyers fundraiser!  Grab a friend and your unwanted gold and see how much money you can make while helping us raise money for Olga's adoption!  For my local friends, be on the lookout for another e-mail with attached flier.  If I somehow miss sending you an e-mail, RSVP anyway!  :)  
5. Donate!  You can use the yellow "Donate" button in the upper right corner of this blog to easily donate using PayPal.

Please e-mail me directly if you have any questions about our adoption process.  

SusanPirkey@gmail.com  

Thank you for hanging in there with us on this adventure!

S~

Garage Sale and Other News

We had our garage sale yesterday and today.  While not a phenomenal success, it was not a complete bust either.  We still have all of our "large ticket" items which we shoved carefully placed back into the garage where they shall wait until we try again next weekend.  I really miss parking in the garage.  :(  I will admit that without the very generous donations from our family and friends the garage sale would have been a complete bust!  And a very special thank you to my sister, Deby, and my mom, Joyce, for not only their donations but also their help with the selling on Friday!

The first two customers of the day walked up yesterday morning to purchase two adult bicycles.  They agreed to $35 per bike and said they would come back the next morning (today) to pay and pick up the bikes.  Jeff agreed and put the bikes in the garage for safe keeping.  During all of this Jeff mentioned to the couple that we were trying to raise a little extra money for an international adoption.  He told them a little bit of our story while they shopped. When they came back today to pay for the bikes Jeff was inside so they struck up a conversation with me about the adoption.  They were so interested that I ran inside to grab the family portrait that we had taken with Olga this summer.  They asked many questions and then told us that they wanted to give a little extra for the bikes because they were really touched by our story.  They handed me $100 and wished us the best of luck!  How's that for a feel-good story?  

I guess there isn't too much else going on right now.  Oh, wait a minute...what's that?  Our FBI fingerprint clearances have finally come back?!  We can finally submit our I600A to the USCIS?  Pardon me while I go do a cartwheel.  (Funny...those were a lot easier to do 25 years ago!)  Thank you so much to all of you who kept us in your thoughts and prayers that the FBI finish with our clearances quickly!  It was only four days ago that I asked for that specific prayer, so I know we must have a lot of prayer warriors out there.  I am hoping to get our I600A into the mail for overnight delivery to the USCIS on Monday.  We just have to have our case worker for the home study add the FBI results and we need our adoption agent to look over our paperwork before it goes into the mail.  The USCIS process can take a long time also, but I plan to call my local congressman to ask for help.  If he agrees to help then we should be able to get through that process in about four to five weeks.  If that actually happens then we just might get our dossier off to the SDA by the beginning of December which *should* get us our SDA appointment sometime in January!  I know I really shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch, but it's so exciting when you can start to see things actually take shape.

It is hard to believe, but in just three months we should be traveling!  We have lots to do before then and as always, I have ways you can help if you are so inclined!

1. Prayers!  Specifically that we get our I600A in the mail Monday, October 25 and that our congressman can help get the process with the USCIS expedited.
2. Re-post my blog to your Facebook page!  I know that when people re-post this blog it gets a lot more traffic which means more people following our journey.
3. Christmas Tree Fundraiser!  Follow the link below to order a tree or wreath to be delivered right to your front door with FREE shipping!  After clicking the link, select "yes" for New Horizons for Children and then select my name, Susan Langvin Pirkey, as the participant you would like to help:   Dutchman Tree Farms Fundraiser
4. Donate! You can use the yellow "donate" button just to the upper right corner of this blog post!
5. I will be having a fundraising Gold Party on November 12.  If you are local and would like to attend just let me know!  I will be getting e-vites out soon, but if I miss you please don't think you aren't invited!

If you have specific questions about this process and need to contact me directly, please e-mail me at: SusanPirkey@gmail.com

Thanks,

S~

Another Letter From Olga

I'm starting to feel like a little kid at Christmas!  We received another letter from Olga today.  While I have decided to not scan and post this one because it is more personal in nature I will tell you a few things about it.  This one was actually quite long and full of love and humor.  She is very much enjoying her new class and her room and mentioned that she hopes we will like them, too.  That is her first acknowledgment to us that she knows we are coming for her!  She sends a big "Hello" to her American friends and listed several of hers that say hi to us as well.  She is trying very hard in school, but doesn't always understand what the teacher is saying.  I'm going to assume she meant in her English class, but I honestly don't know how the system works over there.  She is excited for winter so she can see us, especially her "dear" brother and sister.  She ended the letter with a joke: that she loves us more than bread with butter!  Actually, I hope she's not joking about that because that child loves bread with butter!

The timing of the receipt of that letter couldn't have been any better.  I had just gotten off the phone with the FBI and needed a pick-me-upper!  I had called the FBI office about our fingerprint clearances which we need to complete our home study which we need to send to the USCIS which we need to get our biometrics fingerprints appointment which we need to get our I71H approval letter which we need for our dossier!  When I spoke to the FBI last, on October 2, they told me that they didn't have us in the system and our request probably hadn't even been opened yet.  Then they proceeded to tell me that it could take 10-12 weeks from the time it was in their system to process.  I called again today hoping and praying that they have at least received our request.  Their response has led me to believe that the first person I spoke to didn't want to be bothered and didn't even look us up.  Our request was received on August 25!  Of course, it can still take a total of 12 weeks to process, but at the very least I know that as of tomorrow, October 20, they will have been working on it for 8 weeks.  Twelve weeks out will be November 10.  I would be happy to split the difference and have it back by October 30!

We are planning to have a garage sale this weekend to raise money for adoption expenses.  You need to understand that I despise organizing garage sales, therefore never have them.  I mentioned to my sister that I was thinking about having one despite my loathing for them and she and my brother-in-law graciously donated several very good items for our cause!

Here are a few things we would like to ask for help with:

• Pray that the FBI finishes up with our clearances quickly!
• Consider ordering a Christmas Tree or Wreath from our Dutchman Tree Farms Fundraiser.  Simply click on the link, select "yes" for New Horizons for Children, select my name, Susan Langvin Pirkey, from the drop down list and follow the website instructions from there:

Dutchman Tree Farms Fundraiser

• Re-post my blog to your Facebook page! 
• Donate if you can!  We do not owe NHFC very much money at this point between donations and monies we have already paid so we are no longer asking that donations be made the the Active Giving account.  If you would like to donate directly to help us offset the adoption costs, please use the following link, or click on the yellow "Donate" button just to the upper right corner of this blog entry.  Follow the directions from there!

Donate using PayPal

I can't say it enough: THANK YOU ALL so much for your support!

S~

New Horizons for Children

As I'm sure most of you know, our family was introduced to Olga through a Christian hosting program that brings orphans from Eastern Europe to America.  We are very fortunate to be able to host Olga over Christmas this year as we will not be far enough along in the adoption process to travel to her country before the end of this year.  While Olga is spoken for, there are well over 150 orphans who still need host families.    If you or someone you know has thought about being a host family, now is the time to act!  The deadline to sign up to host a Latvian child is October 21.  The deadline for Russian orphan sign up is November 1, while the Ukraine orphan sign up is November 7.  The deadline for Estonia has not yet been announced.

Please trust me when I say that even if you have no intention of adopting, this experience will change your life!  By clicking on the link below and filling out a very short online form you will be given access to the photo listing of available orphans.  The access is not immediate as the request must be approved.

New Horizons for Children Photo Listing Request Page

There are many orphans who have scholarships placed on them.  This means that the hosting fees you would normally pay will be reduced by the amount of the scholarship.

If you would like to speak with me directly about our experience, please e-mail me with your contact information and I will be happy to speak with you!

SusanPirkey@gmail.com

Thank you,

S~

Feeling Humbled, Blessed, Embarrassed, Thankful & Guilty!

Part of the fun in this whole process of adoption is seeing how other people are affected by it.  Many people have been moved to pray, donate and/or advocate for Olga on our behalf.  From the time of our announcement I have been deeply humbled by the outpouring of support we have received.  I cannot possibly put it into words.  I think this is just something you have to personally experience to fully understand how it feels.

I received a phone call from someone last week.  It wasn't a long conversation that we had, but it was one that truly affected our family in an amazing way.  We talked about how much money we still owed to New Horizons for Children (about $4,700 between the $2,500 referral fee and the remainder of the $2,500 Christmas hosting fee which was $2,200).  They explained to me that after meeting Olga this summer and seeing her interact with our family that they knew she was our child.  Long before we had told anyone that we were moving forward with adoption, they knew she was ours.  This person, along with their family, then expressed their desire to donate the full $2,500 referral fee to NHFC on our behalf.  They said they couldn't imagine Olga not being a part of our family and this is part of what they could do to make that a reality.  In addition to the donation, they have also been advocating for us since Day 1 among other things.  I think they are as anxious as we are to have Olga home for good!  They went to their bank on Saturday to get a money order, sent the money order to NHFC and it was signed for this afternoon and credited to our account!

So, how does one ever thank someone enough for something like this?  I don't know if there is even an answer to that.  I guess I can only hope and pray that they understand how incredibly grateful we are for their generous support.

One part of this process that has been difficult for me is letting go of the idea that asking for help is embarrassing.  When the NHFC donor called me last week, I was not only blown away but also feeling guilty that they were offering up such a large donation.  I asked if they were sure that they wanted to do that.  Of course they were sure.  These aren't the type of people to make spur of the moment decisions like that!  But I still felt guilty and embarrassed for accepting it.  I really need to knock that off!  I know that we can't do this without help.  So I will continue to tell you with each post exactly how you can help!

1. Prayers!  Specifically at this time that the paperwork portion proceeds without incident and that we continue to raise funds for Olga's adoption.
2. Advocate! Repost the blog entries to your Facebook page or e-mail them to friends & family.
3. Christmas Tree Fundraiser! If you purchase a tree using the following link, $10 will be donated to NHFC on our behalf for the Christmas Hosting Fees: Christmas Tree Fundraiser
4. Donate! Click on the "Donate" button on the upper right hand side of this blog entry to make a contribution to the adoption fees.  Or, e-mail me directly for me for details at: SusanPirkey@gmail.com

Thank you!

S~

  


  

Christmas Tree Fundraiser

Many thanks to another adoptive mom for setting up a group fundraiser for New Horizons for Children with Dutchman Tree Farms.  By ordering one of three trees or a wreath from Dutchman Tree Farms, you can help us offset the cost of our hosting fees for Olga this Christmas.  You can choose from a 3-4' "Table Top Tree", a 6-7' Fraser Fir, a 3-4' LIVE Christmas tree OR a 22" decorated Fraser Fir Wreath.  Just click on the link below, click "Yes, continue" for the New Horizons for Children organization and then select my name, Susan Langvin Pirkey, as the individual you are sponsoring.  The prices are very reasonable and shipping is FREE!!!  There are several shipping dates for you to chose from.  I have included a picture and description of the 6-7' Fraser Fir below.

Dutchman Tree Farms Fundraiser

G2 TRADITIONAL

The Fraser Fir has dark green needles and frosty glow underneath mixed with its pleasing fragrance make this a popular tree. It has upright branching, straight stems and excellent needle retention for little maintenance.  This Fraser Fir Christmas Tree is grown in Northern Michigan at Dutchman Tree Farms Christmas Tree Plantation.  This tree has been one of the most sold Christmas Trees at Christmas for the past 10 years.  This Fraser Fir Christmas Tree is available to Order Online through the Green2Green Fundraiser and Direct Ship to your home.  Order Yours Today! Free Shipping! 

$64.95

As always, if you would like to contribute directly to our adoption fees, please e-mail me at:

SusanPirkey@gmail.com

Thanks!

S~

Generosity

Money can be a hard thing to explain to kids.  To them "a lot" of money is a few dollars.  If I were to tell our 8 and 6 year olds that the adoption/hosting/referral fees are going to cost us around $30,000 they wouldn't even know what to do with that information.  They know that we have made changes in how we spend money, but we don't want to scare them into thinking we have nothing to spare.  I know that our 6 year old is taking our conversations to heart because she worries that we won't have enough money to buy Olga clothes when she gets here.  She has literally told me that she doesn't need something because we should save the money for Olga.  I really didn't think our 8 year old thought about it one way or another.  He still asks to buy things and I usually tell him no without saying that we need to save our money for the adoption.  I don't want him to become resentful over the adoption or Olga.

Our son had a conversation with his best friend a few days ago.  The conversation was all about Olga and how our family was trying to raise funds to help with the adoption fees.  His best friend is an adorable little 8 year old girl from down the street.  He explained to her in his best 8 year old way that the adoption will be very expensive and that we (Mom & Dad) have been asking people to give us money to help bring Olga home.  His friend told him that she would make a donation to us for Olga's adoption.  He very excitedly shared this information with me.  I just sort of nodded and said that would be very nice.  The very next morning at the bus stop our son's friend called him over to where she was.  They huddled and talked for a minute before they approached me.  She smiled sweetly and handed me a $5 bill.  I started to ask her what the money was for before I remembered what my son had told me.  I didn't even know what to say.  That $5 donation was given with love and generosity straight from her heart.  I spoke with her mother later that morning to tell her what her precious had done.  Her mom told me that her daughter had counted all of her money, came up with $7.50 and without hesitating decided that she would give $5 of it to help with Olga's adoption.  That's 80% of what she had!  That is five pieces of junk precious treasures from the Dollar Store that children seem to cherish.  In the eyes of an 8 year old, that's huge!  And in the eyes of this grown woman who sees the mountain before her, it is beyond huge.  I don't know that this little girl will ever realize the impact she made with her very simple gesture.  But I will remember it always.

If you would like to help us offset the adoption, you can donate below or contact me directly.

I don't have too much of an "Olga Update", but I did speak with Olga at her school.  She is doing well and has received the first package I sent.  She said it is very cold there and asked what it was like here.  She asked if there would be snow for Christmas and was a little disappointed when I told her no.  We talked about how much we missed and loved each other.  She sent her love along to Daddy, Rhys, Maddox and many others.  I really miss her!

Thanks to everyone for their incredible support!

S~

Fun Stuff. Or Not.

Obviously our first priority is getting Olga home.  But in this long process where we apparently have lots and lots of waiting to do, I can't help but think of what Olga's first year here will be like.  A lot of really fun things come to mind along with quite a few stomach churning thoughts.  Here are a few examples:

Fun: Watching her discover all of the things in America that she would probably not experience in Ukraine
Stomach Churning: Driver's Permit

Fun: Enrolling her in a dance class
Stomach Churning: Her wanting to enroll in $500/month worth of dance classes

Fun: Seeing her make new friends
Stomach Churning: First Date

Fun: Taking her shopping for clothes
Stomach Churning: Taking her shopping for clothes

Fun: Seeing her experience four years of high school where she would have only gotten through 9th grade in Ukraine before aging out of the system
Stomach Churning: Homework.  I can barely help my 3rd grader with his homework when he needs it!

Fun:  Giving her the opportunity to learn about God and know that He has a plan for her!
Stomach Churning: Not one thing stomach churning about that!

In all seriousness, I know that the coming years will be filled with joy and fighting, laughter and tears, bonding and pulling away...the list goes on and on.  We don't have the benefit of knowing Olga from the day she was born and seeing her grow into the 15 year old girl that she is today.  I have no idea if she has ever kissed a boy or even what kind of student she is.  And while she was here for five weeks this summer, she honestly has no idea what kind of parents we will be to her.  We are all diving into this headfirst.  She is putting her entire life into our hands.  Can you even begin to imagine the trust and faith she has already put into us?  So many people have told us what a wonderful thing this is that we are doing and how lucky Olga is to have us.  Truthfully, we are the "lucky" ones.  We feel so incredibly blessed to be the recipients of this girl's love, trust and faith.  She is wonderful in her willingness to allow us the chance to know her, love her and wrap her up in our arms and hearts.

So while the process is long, I will continue to use this time to daydream about all of the great fun we shall have and stress myself out about all of the other stuff that is going to come along with the fun.

Thank you so much to everyone that has taken the time to learn about Olga.  I can hardly wait to show her just how many people have been pulling for her and keeping her in their prayers.  If you would like to help us with the financial aspect of the adoption process please e-mail me for details at:

SusanPirkey@gmail.com

S~

FBI Fingerprinting

You always hope that when you hear a process can take 10-12 weeks that you will be an exception to that. After all, we have heard of adoptive parents getting through the FBI fingerprinting phase in just a few weeks.  Unfortunately, it looks like we are going to be the rule vs. the exception.  We submitted our fingerprints to the FBI on August 23.  I called yesterday to be told that they hadn't gotten to ours yet and it would probably be at least until the end of October before they did.  I even went so far as to the call the bank to see if the FBI had cashed the money order I sent.  Nope!  Our envelope with our request is just sitting somewhere in one of the FBI buildings waiting to even be opened much less processed.  So until we get that part back we can't submit our I600A along with our home study to the USCIS.  In the meantime we will be working toward getting our dossier completed for submission to the SDA.

If you would like to help offset the cost of our adoption of Olga, please contact me via e-mail and I will give you the details!  We very much appreciate all of the love and support we have received and look forward to the day we can bring our daughter home!

SusanPirkey@gmail.com

S~