Big Bash!

I am so excited about our upcoming fundraiser!  So many people are chipping in to help make it great!  God has blessed us with so many loving people who want to help bring our little one home!  Right now we are planning a super awesome fundraiser featuring live music, delicious homemade baked goods, coffee, adoption t-shirts, and a silent auction full of great gifts!
Here are a few of the details:

When:  Friday, September 28th  6:00 to ?
Where:  Perfect Blend Coffee Shop ~ 1 North Main St. Lexington, NC
What:  Adoption Fundraiser Bash!

• Live music featuring the Ben Scoggin Band 
• Delicious homemade baked good:  biscotti, pumpkin cupcakes, cookies, cakes and more!
• Fresh roasted Ugandan coffee for sale by the pound
• Adoption t-shirts
• Silent auction including some of the following:  
• A catered dinner party for 6
• 24 personalized screen printed t-shirts from BMG
• Salon gift certificates
• Dinner at Main Street Deli
• Oil change from M & L Motor
• Dinner at Sweet Peas
• AND MUCH MUCH MORE!

We can't wait to see you there!  If you or anyone you know would like to donate a silent auction item, please e-mail me or leave a comment here on the blog.  Also, please share this event with your friends and family!  We have flyers that we would love for you to hang up at your workplace or church!  Thanks so much, and we are praying for an awesome night!

Moving Right Along

     Well, last home study meeting is DONE!  The whole process was fantastic and our social worker has been amazing!  I really feel like she's become a friend and confidant through this process.  I feel like our agency really has our back, and that's a good feeling!  Our next steps are to finish up a couple more paperwork items as our agency writes up our home study.  Then, we can apply with immigration and start applying for grants and working on our dossier.
     We are currently working on planning our next big fundraiser (I mentioned a tid-bit about it in my last post).  We are having a big bash at the coffee shop on Friday, September 28th starting at 6:00.  There will be awesome live music, yummy homemade baked goods, coffee and t-shirts, and a silent auction!  We would LOVE to see you there!!!  And if you or someone you know would like to donate a silent auction item, that would be great!  We are looking forward to a fantastic night shared with friends and family who are coming together to help bring our baby home!  I've said it before, but I'll say it again...I am so thankful for all the love and support that our community has poured out on us, and I can't wait to share with our baby how very much they are loved!  I am truly humbled by the wonderful people that God has placed in our life.

Long Overdue

     WOW!  I am a BAD blogger!  I cannot believe that it has been over a month since I've given an update about our adoption!  Sometimes it seems to move so slowly that I don't really need to give an update, but when I look back over the past month, a LOT has actually happened!
     We are currently towards the end of our home study.  We have one more visit to go and a few things to get done around town before we're finished! We're a little bit excited (okay, A LOT!).  I just feel so ready to close this chapter and move on to the next. Not that it has been a bad experience at all!  Our agency has been a dream to work with!  It just seems that once the home study is complete, we can mark that off the list and move on to the next hurdle and round of paperwork.  Our next step after the home study approval will be to apply with U.S. Immigration for approval of our adoption and begin work on our dossier that will be sent to Uganda.  Also, once the home study is complete, we can being applying for grants to help with the cost.
     Currently, we are also in the process of planning another fundraiser (or two!).  We are hoping to have a big fundraiser at the coffee shop in the fall featuring live music, snacks and goodies, and a silent auction.  I would also like to have another yard sale before the weather turns too chilly. (Can you believe its almost time to start thinking about cool weather?!)
     So, what have I been up to this summer besides not blogging?  Here is a little summer photo album:

             4th of July with Family

                    Art Camp with the kiddies!

More art projects from camp!

Working on our future little fellow or lady's nursery!!! 

Thanks to all those that donated things to help out!  It came together so well!!!  I still have some finishing touches to do once we find out gender/age , but I think its looking good!

Beach Trip with my great sister and brother-in-law and their 3 awesome kiddos!

Home Study Sent!

After a a few hiccups with some paperwork in our home study, we were finally able to send off a big 'ole packet of goodies to our agency! It was a an exciting moment!
So now we will wait to be assigned a social worker and begin our home visits and complete more paperwork and things involved with the home study.
Exciting times!

"It's Your Family"

So, one of my precious first graders came up to me one afternoon and handed me this picture he had drawn. He said, "Mrs. Prevatte, I drew this for you. It's you and your African baby. It's your family". Needless to say it made my heart smile. Its amazing how adults have so many (many) questions, doubts, and fears about our adoption, but a six year old just takes it for what it is...a baby needs a mom and dad so Tyler and I are going to be their mom and dad. It doesn't matter what country they are coming from or the fact that their skin may look different than ours. Their just a little child who needs a family.

Awesome

"We will not build orphanages. We will empty orphanages. We will help without hurting. We will not just give children things. We will give them ourselves. We will do what we can to unite children to a life-long family. We will not measure success anymore by dollars given. We will measure success by how many children have been placed in a permanent family"

-Kay Warren

The Plan

On Friday afternoon when I left school, Tyler and I had a scheduled phone orientation with our adoption agency.  I think it was information overload to Ty, but for me it was WONDERFUL!  I've been looking over ALL the paperwork and e-mails and feeling super overwhelmed (which I have probably mentioned in almost every blog post, haha).  But when we sat down on speaker phone with our agency rep and he walked us through every single thing that we need to do, it made me feel SO much better.  Although there is a LOT to do throughout the course of this adoption, I feel so much more at ease knowing how and when to do it all.  I don't so much mind the paperwork (my profession has prepared me for that, haha!) but I was stressing about knowing how to go about it all.  Also, not only am I a planner, but I am a nerdy notetaker (always have been, since middle school).  These are all the notes that took in about an hour of talking with our agency:

So, I wanted to give a little overview for those of you that are curious about our process.  This is the plan that we have right now, but this is specific to Uganda and to our agency. Also, with any plan..especially in adoption, things can change.  But for now, here is what we are looking at in the order that we will complete each step:

• Home Study:  Right now, we are working on our home study.  Since our agency is out of state, we had to choose a local NC agency to complete this step.  During this step, we have to gather lots of documents like birth/marriage certificates, background checks, insurance stuff, etc.  We will also meet with a social worker who will talk with us about the adoption, visit our house, and help educate us in parenting an adoptive child.
• Government Approval:  Once our home study is complete, we will apply with the U.S. government for approval to adopt a child from Uganda. 
• Dossier:  While waiting for approval from the government, we will begin compiling all the documents that are needed for our dossier.  The dossier is a big pack of paperwork that includes our home study, U.S. approval, certificates, more background checks, pictures, etc.  This is the document that will be sent to the Ugandan courts.  When they receive this document, they will review it and then put on on the waiting list to be matched with a child.  
• Referral:  This is what we will receive when Uganda matches us with a child.  We will receive pictures, medical info, etc. for our child.  Once accepting the referral, our agency's lawyer in Uganda will set up a court date and we will get ready to travel to meet our child!
• Travel to Uganda:  Once in Uganda, we will meet our child!!!!  We will then attend our first court date and request guardianship of the child.  We then wait for an answer from the judge which could take a few weeks.  While in Uganda we will bond with our child, sight see, and make lots of memories.  We will also take the child for medical visits and do other "legal" stuff.  After receiving guardianship from the judge, we will go to the U.S. consulate to receive passports, etc for our child.
• Back Home:  When we come home, we will finalize the adoption and obtain U.S. citizenship for our baby!  Also, we will have visits from our social worker to help us through the process of adjusting and bonding.

Whew!!!  Lots of information for you guys out there, but I know that many people have asked us about the process and what all we have to do, so I thought this would be the best way to answer questions. 

As always, thank you for all the love and support you continue to show us!