fundraiser

I have decided…

~ Bethany ~ 2 Comments

People keep asking how I came up with the Puzzle Piece Fundraiser.  Well, I totally stole the idea from other adoptive parents who used it to raise 1/3rd of the cost of adoption.  There’s nothing original about it.

Last February, I went to a women’s conference at a church in Georgetown.  I went because Christine Caine was speaking and I dig her.  I think God put it on my heart to go because it was there that I met the founders of my adoption agency.  I knew that agency would be the one I used when the time came.  During that conference, my Savior whispered to my heart, “Will you choose to trust me?”  I had stopped trusting him 8 years earlier when I prosecuted the most horrendous child sexual abuse case of my career.  How could I trust a God that would allow that to happen?  Now, 8 years later in Feb 2015, He was asking if I would choose to trust Him again.  I wasn’t yet planning to start the adoption process this year at the time.  I told Him I would do my best.  Turns out, that’s all He asks of any of us.

Fast forward and 6 months later, I began pursuing adoption in earnest.  It surprised even me when this journey became real rather than a silent wish.  I felt it was time.  I felt like even God was telling me it was time.  I felt like He was ready to bless me with a child.  So, I signed up with the agency and started the fundraiser.  My home study is next month.

The last few days I’ve begun to realize that on this road towards adoption and then on the road of parenthood, I’m going to have to let go of my perfectionism, my plans, and my control.  This is in God’s hands alone.  I can do my part, but in the end the failure or success of this journey rests on Him alone.  Part of this journey of trust is letting go of the minimum donation for a puzzle piece.  See, $25 per piece minus the 8% Go Fund Me keeps would equal 1/3rd of the cost of adoption.  I’m a planner and I did that because I’m hoping to win another 1/3rd in grants and pay the last 1/3rd myself.  But I’m letting go…

You may donate any amount you want and become part of our puzzle and our story.  Your encouragement and prayers already make you a part of our story and your name deserves to be on our wall.  If you have an extra $10 laying around and you want to donate it, do it and you will get a puzzle piece.  If next week you have $5 more laying around and you want another piece, you got it!  If you want to donate more than $25 at one time, you will still get more than one piece!  It’ll go like this:  $1-$25 = 1 piece, $26-$50 = 2 pieces, $51-$75 = 3 pieces, and so on…

This way, you don’t feel pressured to give a certain amount.  It won’t adversely impact your budget because any amount receives a place on our wall and in our hearts.  You can give as many times as you want and as little or as much as you want.  I’m just going to trust Jesus to move the right hearts at the right time.  It’s out of my control and it’s in His hands.  Besides, if the fundraiser raises 1/8th of the cost instead of 1/3rd, then we still will have made a major accomplishment together!  What’s most important to me is that anyone who wants to participate, gets to participate and that my baby’s wall is filled with names full of love.

I’ve decided to trust Jesus.

www.gofundme.com/babyforBethany

puzzle

Fundraising Progress & Amazing Donors

~ Bethany ~ Leave a comment

I’ll update this same post each week with the progress of the Puzzle Piece Fundraiser!  Older updates will be at the bottom.  A huge hug and eternal thanks to all who participate in this adoption fundraiser!

11/1 – week six = 1 piece donated!  $875 raised!  511 pieces left!  Thank you Martha Keene!

10/25 – week five = 8 pieces donated!  $866 raised!  512 pieces left!  Thank you Katie Sparkman and Marie Echelmeyer!

10/18 – week four = 6 pieces donated! $666 raised!  520 pieces left!  Thank you Toby, Teo, Betty, Felicity, Chad & Charity and Amanda Ely!

10/11 – week three = no activity

10/4 – week two = 24 pieces donated!  $600 raised!  526 pieces to go!  Thank you Shannon Haga, Natalie Canton, Chris Gates, Ecko Martichuski, Dawn Thomas, Stephanie Smith and Angela & Noel Williamson for choosing to be a piece of our puzzle!

9/27 – week one = 13 pieces donated!  $325 raised!  537 pieces to go!  A special thanks to Amy Maldonado, Stacy Henrichsen, Katy Mabeck, and Betty Howard for being the first friends to donate pieces of the puzzle to help bring my baby home!

I’m getting a newborn?!?!

~ Bethany ~ Leave a comment

After I purchased the little fairy door for the daughter I didn’t have yet and after I emailed the adoption agency on Sept 9, 2015, I went to sleep.  It was almost midnight.

Normally I don't go for silly fantasy things like this, but it's so cute! It gobsmacked me!
Little Fairy Door with Little Fairy Footprints. Normally I don’t go for silly fantasy things like this, but it’s so cute! It gobsmacked me!

At 9:15am on Sept 10, the agency called me.  I was so excited!  I chose a smaller Christian agency that has been in business for 25 years.  The founders have six adopted children and call their family a bag of Skittles because they are from all over the world and of many different ethnicities.  It was the husband who called me that morning.  I told him I couldn’t talk long because I was on my way to Court.  He told me to call him after Court so that we could figure out which program would best fit me.  They have programs around the world and domestically.

I should pause here to tell  you that I’d had my heart set on a toddler from a 3rd world nation for as long as I could remember.  The only thing I cared about was that she be a girl because as much as I love little boys, I do not have a husband.  I know I can teach a girl how to be a woman.  I feel that whenever possible, a little boy needs a man in the home to emulate.  So with the image of a 3rd world toddler in my mind…

I said, “I don’t care where my baby comes from.  I just want her to come home asap!”

Cautiously he asked, “Do you care about ethnicity?”

I said, “No.  I know an adopted child will not look like me.  I don’t care about ethnicity because she will be mine no matter what shade her skin, eyes and hair are.”

He said, “I think you’d be perfect for our domestic cross-cultural program.  There’s a lot less paperwork and a lot less travel.”

I was a bit surprised because I assumed my child would be from a 3rd world nation.

He continued, “We work with birth moms who live in abject poverty and cannot afford to feed another mouth.  We also work with birth families who have already had multiple CPS interventions.”

Now he was speaking my language.

I asked if domestic adoption was more expensive than international.  He said international has become just as expensive as domestic.

I said, “I open to any program.  I’d like a girl.  Also, I want a child 3 years old or under because they are still cuddly.”

He said, “You can choose a girl in any program.  However, you will get a newborn in the domestic program.”

I almost fell down.  A newborn?  But they don’t sleep at night!!!  Additionally, I never thought I’d be eligible to get a newborn as a single woman.  I was silent for a long time.  This was my first adoption-related panic attack.  When I finally spoke it was in stutters that made no sense and he laughed.  I told him I needed time to think and he said he thought I would be excited when the shock wore off.

He was right!  I’ve already found a crib and am reading all about the first year of life.

The next shock and panic came when I saw the sheet that listed all the fees.  That’s why I’m doing a Puzzle Piece fundraiser that I wrote about on 9/20 (click here to read all about it).

gofundme.com/babyforBethany

Puzzle Piece Fundraiser – Inviting you to have a piece in bringing my baby home

~ Bethany ~ 9 Comments

Adoption is expensive. Like stupid expensive. Unfortunately, this reality keeps so many amazing future parents from taking the steps to adopt which is unfortunate with so many children in need.  There is a page in my adoption packet that makes me shiver every time I glance at it! Even as I type this and think about the upcoming payments, I am getting anxious!  This would heavily tax anyone’s resources and I’m certainly not rich.

When I first made the decision to adopt, one of the things that I wrestled over was whether or not I would do any fundraising. In a perfect world, I wouldn’t have to. There are few things more humbling than asking other people for money!  It’s uncomfortable. It’s vulnerable. It kinda sucks!  However, the more I have thought about it and talked to friends, the more I understand that it isn’t about asking people for money, but asking them to be a part of our story. My baby’s story.  The story of how she got to come home.

So I am so excited about this PUZZLE FUNDRAISER! It works like this:

1. I hunted for weeks and finally found a 550 piece puzzle that would be perfect to hang on my baby’s wall. It’s the picture on this post.  (I do not know 550 people, so I need friends and family to share this with their friends and family!)

2. I am “selling” each piece for (originally this said $25, but click on these words to find out why there is no longer a minimum donation required to get a puzzle piece). You can choose to buy 1, 2, 3, or 10! There is no limit!

3. To purchase via my Go Fund Me account go to gofundme.com/babyforBethany.  If you prefer to send a check, please email me at bss0302@yahoo.com for my mailing address.

4. Once you purchase a piece, I will write your name on the back of one of the puzzle pieces and send you a picture.

5. Once every single piece has been “sold”, I (with the help of my mom who is good at puzzles) will put the puzzle together and hang it in a double-sided glass frame for the baby’s room so that we can always look back and be reminded of who had a “piece” of bringing her home!

I can picture sitting down with my daughter, reading the names to her and explaining that these are all of the wonderful people who loved her before they even knew her. These are the people who brought her home. Isn’t that the cutest?!?! I just love it! I will keep my blog (auntieba.com) updated with progress of the puzzle and a list of amazing donors.

So, my goal with this Puzzle Fundraiser is to sell all 550 pieces which will raise 1/3rd of the money needed for this adoption!!!! How amazing would that be?!?! I’d be honored and humbled to have you be a part of this story.  My secondary goal is to sell at least half the puzzle before January 1st.  Can you help me accomplish that?

Want to help me bring my baby home!?  Go to gofundme.com/babyforBethany. If you wish to make an additional donation above the $25 price of a puzzle piece (first of all, that is awesome!  It’s also helpful because Go Fund Me keeps about 8% of all donations), simply put the desired donation amount in the box and proceed to process your payment. The other amazing thing that you could do to help would be to spread this! Share it with your families and friends. Thank you!  I love you!

Here’s a picture of what the puzzle will look like when completed.  I chose Noah’s ark because one thing it teaches is that we all need friends and life is lived best in community.

puzzle