Matching Grant Recieved!!

One of the biggest questions that we have had as we begin our second international adoption in a year’s time is, “how in the world are we going to afford this?” As you know, international adoption is extremely expensive and Jacob’s medical expenses upon arriving home have been very high. We have spent a lot of time researching and applying for adoption grants.

We recently received the wonderful news that we are the recipients of the Brittany’s Hope Seedling Gift Grant! This grant is a matching grant up to $5,000. We need to raise half of the funds ($2,500) in order to receive the full grant of $5,000. We are so grateful to Brittany’s Hope Foundation for this grant! They are a non-profit organization that not only helps adoptive families afford the high costs of bringing their child home, but also provides humanitarian services for orphans around the world.

Here are only some of the projects that Brittany’s Hope Foundation funds:

Brittany’s Cribs- provides cribs, crib mattresses, blankets and “busy boxes” to orphanages in Vietnam, Haiti,China, and Sierra Leone.

Emily Cane Project – provides canes and mobility training to the half-million visually impaired individuals living in Vietnam.

HOPE Project (Helping Orphans by Providing Education) – provides higher education and trade skill training to older orphans.

House of Love in Vietnam – provides vital financial resources to the orphanage that currently houses over 60 orphans.

Orphan Care Village Ethiopia – when complete, this orphanage will have “safe water, fencing, living quarters, sanitary and kitchen facilities, a garden and an area to house livestock.” There will also be classrooms and a vocational training center.

All donations to this foundation are 100% tax deductable and go to fund humanitarian projects as well as grants given to adoptive families.

To make a donation towards our matching grant, visit (www.brittanyshope.org/seedling/Grover),

Pre-Approval Received!

YEAH!!! A huge milestone! We received our “Pre-Approval” from China today! This means that the CCCWA (China Center for Child Welfare and Adoption) has approved our adoption of Michael. Now we work with our US government to get his immigration and citizenship approval all in order. Time to celebrate with the kids at Pizza Pie Café! Nothing like cookie dough dessert pizza to commemorate such a marvelous event!

Buddy Walk

Today was such a wonderful day! We got to spend the day at the Utah State-wide Buddy Walk as a family! It was so beautiful to be with so many special people and their families. The event included a performance by Rachel Coleman, the creator of “Signing Times.” Since Jacob is a HUGE “Signing Time” fan, he thought that this was amazing! Hopkins the frog even came! After the “Singing Times” performance we went on a walk with all of the individuals with Trisomy 21 and their families. Posted throughout the walk were posters that gave facts about Trisomy 21. A fabulous lunch, provided by Red Robin followed the walk as well as fun activities, booths and even a train for the kids to ride. Jacob had such a good time and we plan on making the Buddy Walk an annual tradition for our family!