December 16, 2011

We received an official referral for two beautiful Ethiopian boys today at 3pm. One is 4 months old and the other is 2 months old. Sorry, we cannot share pictures at this time. :) We are filled with joy. Good Night.

Merry Christmas!!!

Friends and Family...

Merry Christmas!!!! I hope your Christmas season is filled with joy. We are gearing up for Eli's first Christmas program at school. We are looking forward to Brett taking a few days off to be home with us before Christmas, and school breaks. We wanted to fill you all in and let you know where we are in our adoption process. (As I write this I am overfilled with excitement) On November 29th (Micayla's birthday), we spoke w/ our adoption agency and she said we should have our referral in 2-3 weeks! Well...this coming Tues is the three week mark. As all things in the adoption world go...nothing is certain...it could be another 2-3 months (but please pray it won't be). We know that we have two precious children waiting for us, that has been confirmed. The agencies are trying to get the children's paperwork together and legal so they can give us the OFFICIAL referral. The official referral will let us know everything about them...their gender, their health, if they are related or not, if they are twins, their background, their pictures...this will be a HUGE day for us. (excitement bubbling again) Being paper pregnant is just as exciting as being physically pregnant!
The financial aspects have been exciting too. We have been able to watch God show himself faithful...over and over again. Today, as I write this...we only need approx $7,600.00. (praying no other unforseen expenses find us) God faithfully provided every penny through our savings, bonus checks, grants, extra massage work, Ordinary Hero purchases, garage sales, bake sales, Bingo fundraiser, (and all the people who helped with those events...you people are angels) friends and family, church family, and anonymous donations. The financial journey is a huge part of our adoption story, without those donations it wouldn't have been possible. We very much appreciate each and every one of you who have plugged in and helped make this happen for us. I cannot even begin to thank each and every person who has helped, I would for sure miss someone accidentally...but God knows who you are. You have been a blessing. You are appreciated.
Please pray with us as we continue to wait patiently on the Lord to give us that official referral. We know HIS timing is perfect. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. Philippians 4:13.

We have a couple things in place to conquer that last of the finances, if you feel led to help.
1. Our current FUNdraiser is our puzzle. We purchased a puzzle with African animals on it and its in the shape of a giraffe. We are selling the pieces for $5 each. You (or we can do it for you, if you live far away) write your name on the back of the piece and we keep it. When we put the puzzle together, we can see all the names of the people who donated. Its a 700 piece puzzle!!!! This is a great donation avenue if you want to do something in memory of someone or as a Christmas gift. Some families have bought a piece for each member of their family.

2. You can now make tax deductible donations (please use this avenue for anonymous donations and include a note to Deidre so she knows that you prefer to be anonymous):
Checks must be written out to Global Adoption Foundation with Brett and Micah Frey in the memo (that's very important for the money to get credited to our adoption) and then given to us or mail to:
Deidre Weeks
4233 Wyncote Rd.
South Euclid, OH 44121.

3. You can still make purchases through Ordinary Hero. We did not win the last grant offered. We earn 40% of each purchase regardless if we win a grant or not. Please make sure to remember to select our name from the affiliate list at check out.
Fundraising with Ordinary Hero:
http://ordinaryhero.corecommerce.com/cart.php?m=affiliate_go&affiliateID=8578dff90bce221e7aba3a321bd7479d&go=

4. If you would like to make a direct donation, you can visit our blog and click on the Chipin link on the right. They deduct 4% to process the transaction.
The Frey 5 Adoption Journey:
www.heartforafricakids.blogspot.com

Thank you for all your help and prayers. We have been blessed beyond measure.
Merry Christmas; The Freys.

Friends...Please help!

I was just informed this am that we are in the standings for this grant...we are in the top five!!!! But the grant ends Sunday, so there is a lot of time yet for people to buy.

Your purchase of $10-50 could help us WIN a $500 Grant with Ordinary Hero. That is A LOT of money towards our adoption right now. We need to raise roughly $10,000.00 to finish the expenses. Only 5 days left to help us WIN! Thanks for supporting us and praying for us! There are shirts, teacher gifts, stocking store items and donation packages for kids in Ethiopia available. There is something for everyone! Shop with a purpose and please select our name as the affiliate at checkout! Thanks for being OUR Ordinary Hero!

http://www.ordinaryherostore.org/

Thank You; Brett and Micah Frey

PS: You are welcome to make a donation via the chipin link on our blog.

Our Adoption Blog:

www.heartforafricakids.blogspot.com

Anonymous donations can be made. Checks need to be made out to Operation Starfish with our name in the memo and mailed to:

Deidre Weeks

4233 Wyncote Rd.

South Euclid, OH 44121.

THANK YOU!

Hopeful

Hey Friends & Family...

Fundraising IS SOO HARD, but we are Hopeful. We are humbled to ask again for your help. Your purchase of $10-50 could help us WIN a $500 Grant with Ordinary Hero. That is A LOT of money towards our adoption right now. We need to raise roughly $10,000.00 to finish the expenses. We currently have a really good chance at winning this grant. I will continue posting links of merchandise you can buy to support us throughout the week, on facebook. Only 6 days left to help us WIN! Thanks for suporting us and praying for us! There are shirts, teacher gifts, stocking store items and donation packages for kids in Ethiopia available. There is something for everyone! Shop with a purpose and please select our name as the affilate at checkout! Thanks for being OUR Ordinary Hero!
http://www.ordinaryherostore.org/

Thank You; Brett and Micah Frey

PS: You are welcome to make a donation via the chipin link on our blog.

Our Adoption Blog:

www.heartforafricakids.blogspot.com

Anonymous donations can be made. Checks need to be made out to Operation Starfish with our name in the memo and mailed to:

Deidre Weeks

4233 Wyncote Rd.

South Euclid, OH 44121.

THANK YOU!

Finally....

We are entering into the last phase of the financial journey of our adoption. I know that may sound confusing. We have come so far and still have a bit to travel yet. We have a long way to travel apart from the finances. We are still waiting on our referral and pictures, and we have to travel twice! So there will be lots of tears and crazy insane waiting days ahead of us. But all of that aside...this past weekend we had a BIG indoor "garage" sale. We raised $680.00. We only needed $400 to finish step 2 of the financial journey. Pending no new expenses come up we only have $10,000.00 left to raise. I know..its sounds like a lot, but we have come soooo far!

I would like to THANK some of the people who helped pull of the g'sale and make it a great success...

God...for providing the donations, the shoppers, the helpers and the opportunity to raise 5 of his precious children.

All the shoppers and donaters (mom, Laura Hawk, my sister Tabitha, Megan P to name some of the donaters)!

Angie Riley and Jeanne Okrasinski for sitting the sale w/ me on Saturday...HUGE help!

Angie Riley, Jeanne O, Jeff O, Brett, Laura Hawk (and her dad), Jenni Thompson, my Mom, my daughter Micayla for helping set up the craziness. I'm afraid I'm forgetting someone.

I can't thank all of you enough! I'm sooo sorry if I'm forgetting someone.

Peace and love; Micah

Oh and we also sell COFFEE!

Since its getting cool again. You can help us financially with our adoption by purchasing coffee at this site! We get $5 per bag sold. Thanks!

http://www.justlovecoffee.com/TheFreys

We are 1/2 way there financially...

So, If you feel led to give to our adoption, you can do so via the "chipin" link on the right (there is a 4% fee deduction) OR

for a tax deductable donation (or anonymous donations) write checks to "Operation Starfish" with our name Brett and Micah Frey in the memo..THIS IS IMPORTANT or it will go to the general adoption fund. And mail to:

Deidre Weeks

C/o Operation Starfish

4233 Wyncote Rd.

South Euclid, OH 44121.

OR...

You can make a purchase at Ordinaryherostore.org and we get 40% of your purchase!

Please help us spread the word...we are HALF WAY there!

SUPER THANKS!

Seven weeks...

and waiting, and waiting, and waiting. I email our case worker once a month...so I have one more week till I check in with her. *sigh* Somedays I do great, other days...I check my email way too often. Its all part of the process. Please continue to pray for us and please consider purchasing a puzzle piece to help us offset the expenses.

Thanks!

The time is coming...

Slowly, but it is coming. Soon we will get a referral (I pray by Christmas)....heck I pray we make our first trip before Christmas!!!! But for all of that to happen, we need more funds. I'll be honest and say, I don't like putting myself out there...saying we need more money. I don't like vulenerability. Its a humbling experience. If you have a heart for adoption and would like to help make our possible. You can do any one of the following...

Make a finanical contriubution via the CHIPIN link on the right (they take 4%, we get the rest)

Mail a donation directly to us (we get 100%) it to us:
Freys 1511 Harrison Ave
Charleston IL, 61920

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation make your check out to:
Operation Starfish with Brett and Micah Frey in the memo. We will receive 100% of you donation. Please make sure to include your address, so they can mail you a receipt. Mail it to:
Operation Starfish
C/o Deidre Weeks
4233 Wyncote Rd.
South Euclid OH, 44121

Or you can make a purchase via the Ordinary Hero store, link on the right. We get 40% of every purchase.

You can also buy from us a puzzle piece. They are $5 a piece. We keep the pieces, but write your name on them. When we put the puzzle together...we can then, see all your names! Its a great keepsake.

Thank you!


Thank you!

Its a new day....

Our adoption (I feel like I say this all the time) is a spiritual journey. Please, allow me to be transparent. Somedays I do fine, I know in my heart and my head that God has all the finances of our adoption worked out...in his perfect timing. Other days when I look at the price thermometer we have hanging in our kitchen, and I see the HUGE amount due at the next step...I get discouraged. I let go of my faith and become completely overwhelmed and anxious. Oh, yes, I know that is sinful. I get angry at myself for allowing myself to even get to that point. There is no justification for it. It is how God is working on me through this adoption.
I remember when we first started, I wasn't worried or concerned at all about the expenses. I knew throughout my whole being that Jesus would take care of it ALL. (Brett and I have completely flip flopped in this respect). Somewhere along the way my logic took over. I try to figure out how to make the ends meet for the next financial step. I keep telling myself...."let go and let God." "Allow Him to work this out, and show Himself in a mighty way." "This is God's thing, not Micah's." It is of Satan to attack when I'm most vulnerable. He waits till I'm on the edge wondering how we are going to make the next step work and he ATTACKS. You don't see the attack, because it happens within me. It is a war raging within me. Its frustrating that I allow myself to fall into his pit of lies and deceit. BUT, I'm hear to tell you...
God loves me, my family and those two tiny African orphans so much! He is FAITHFUL. God does pull through everytime. And thankfully, he is mighty to save and forgive, sinful me...not just one time, two, three or four times...but everytime I fall for one of Satan's lies.
We have been working the past few days on trying to get sales through Ordinary Hero because they are offering a $500 grant to the highest seller. We currently have a $23 sale. The grant offer ends tomorrow. This morning....my phone rang. A lady from Ohio who has SEVEN children called and asked me about our adoption and where we were at financially. I asked her if I could be honest with her...and I shared the above struggles with her. She was sooo encouraging. She prayed for me and encouraged me in this journey. Three of her children are adopted. She knows first hand. God provided every penny for all three of her adoptions. And she said, "I want to give you $1,000.00 today towards your adoption." Yes, it took my breathe away...and then the tears came. Why do I allow myself to take my eyes off of Jesus? Why do I allow myself to fret for one minute? Why can I not remember that God loves those precious orphans more than I do? Why can I not remember HE is the created of all living things? A $30,000-$50,000 adoption is nothing for Him. The only reason I know that makes any sense is...I'm human. Lousy reason, I know! But God is finished with me yet
If God moves you to give, you can give via the chipin link on the right hand side of our blog. You can purchase an item through Ordinary Hero (link on the top right), we get 40% of those sales. If you would like to make a donation and receive a tax write-off, please contact me. Have a Blessed Day!

Philippians 1:6...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus

Wait, Wait, Wait...

Today, I can honestly say I am content to wait. I have wanted to be at this stage for so long...in a hurry to just wait! Silly, but its the truth. Brett and I have done all we can do on our end. Now we let the US and Ethiopia governments do their part. And we wait for our precious child(ren) pictures to arrive. Which means (technically speaking) we are "waiting on our referral."

Once they send us pictures via email, we have seven days to respond "yes or no"...when we say yes...we have to pay $1,500.00

Of that amount, we are currently $157.71 short!

Please spread the word. Prayfully consider helping us make this adoption possible. We appreciate all of our supporters and I know two little orphan children who do too!

Our mini fundraiser and pictures!

Here is a picture of Z & E standing infront of the Capital in Springfield while we were waiting for the authentications on all of our paperwork for our dossier! The weather was sooo hot! :)


(Side note...we got a wonderful donation from an awesome family. The Chipin needs to say "only $8,000.00 needed for Acceptance of Referral! God is sooo GOOD)

Brett calling numbers the night of our Bingo Fundraiser. He did a fantastic job!

























Our Bingo guests! Thank you to all of those who came out and supported us.



















Our mini fundraiser! We purchased this awesome Giraffe Puzzle. (When finished it will be in the shape of the giraffe) It has 700 pieces. We are selling each piece for $5.00 and then you write your name on the back. Once we have sold all the pieces we are going to put it together and frame it. Then we can see all the names of those who helped make our adoption possible. I love it!!! And we are on a good roll. Please consider buying a piece, maybe one for each member of your family to have their own name piece!!! Please share this mini fundraiser with your friends. Thanks!!!

The emotional roller coaster continues...

My emotions have been running high since yesterday (Wed) morning, actually since last Friday. Last night was our big fundraiser. We played Bingo at the VFW and people won prizes and shopped the vendors. When we first intiated this fundraiser we needed $3,400.00 to submit our dossier. Over this past week, we had two very generous donations come to us...one anonymous from someone in the Greenup area and another from a Bible study group from Newton Il. And some other donations trinkled in since we opened the fundraiser. Our good friends "The O's" had a super garage sale and felt led to give a portion of their earnings to our adoption...super sweet of them. Last night we added up all the funds we had. We went $15.49 over our goal. So I mailed the dossier to adoption agency this am w/ FedEx and it cost $11.19! Leaving us with a $4.30 balance! God is soooo good and faithful. He loves to use opportunities to show himself to us. He also uses these opportunities to lean on him instead of our own understanding. Up to this point we have somehow (God's way only) have paid out roughly $18,000.00 since January! Thats incredible! We have pinched, saved, sold, asked and we have received! We can't think God, our friends and family enough. THANK YOU!




Where are we now? Our dossier is on its way to our adoption agency. It will be double checked to make sure all the "i's and t's" are dotted and crossed. Then it will go to Washington DC and then to Ethiopia. We wait now. We wait with fingers crossed and prayers said that all the paperwork is as it should be....and nothing gets sent back to us. And we wait for that awesome little picture(s) to arrive with our child(ren)'s face.




And while we wait...we continue to raise money. We truly are financially only 1/2 way through the process even though it feels like we are much closer to the finish line. We are closer to getting our children, but there are still lots of dollars to pay out to the Ethiopian government and the adoption agency. My husband made a great chart...(Click on the picture to make it bigger)


Like I said, "about 1/2 way financially." If you feel led to give to our adoption, click on the chipin link on the right hand side and donate. The credit card people take 4%. Or you can mail it to us directly...
Brett & Micah Frey
1511 Harrison Ave
Charleston IL, 61920
Please put ADOPTION FUND in the memo.
We are sorry that we do not have a way to make your donation a tax deduction. Please continue to pray for us and the finances and for our precious children. That God may continue his faithfulness and keep them placed safely in the palm of his hand....till we can bring them home.
Its a good day! :)

Drove to Springfield today...

And got the whole dossier authenticated. We have our big fundraiser tomorrow and then (Lord willing the money comes through tomorrow night) we will mail this bad boy off to our adoption agency first thing Thursday morning! Please say a pray that the fundraiser goes well. Good night!!!!

That was fast!

We had our I600A appt on the 7th and the results came in the mail today! Wooohooo! Now we wait for the Deed to our house to arrive in the mail and off we go to get everything authenticated! I'm happy things are happening! :)

Waiting...

For a few papers to arrive...then we notorize and then we go to Springfield for authentication! :)))

Hi Ho Hi Ho...

We're off to get the last thing needed for our dossier. I600A fingerprints!!!! So excited and ready for this stage (paperwork madness) to be over! As long as the copy of our house deed shows up this week (or next) and stuff for I600A next week and then a successful fundraiser July 20th, we should meet our deadline (first week of Aug) to submit our paperwork. Yipee! Please continue to pray for our adoption. God blesses those who work hard on behalf of his precious orphans! :) And he has blessed us over and over.
PS: We made the local newspaper with our Bingo Fundraiser!

Fill with anticipation and excitement!

All the paperwork is slowly but surely coming together. There are steps that we simply just have to sit back and let others do the work = its in their hands when it gets completed. Which can really be nerve wrecking when you are a strong willed, type A, get it done as quickly as possible type of person. Which I ofcourse am! I know God is preparing me for the real wait. The wait to get our picture of our children and then the wait to actually bring them home. But today I am filled with anticipation and excitement b/c things are moving and we are really close to getting all the paperwork ready for Ethiopia. Next week we have our last set of fingerprints and then once those papers arrive, its off to Springfield for our last step before giving that HUGE stack of documents to our caseworker. She will then make final preps for them for Ethiopia. Our goal is to ship them to Ethiopia the first week of August. Fingers crossed with lots of prayer.
We are also gearing up for our big fundraiser. We need for it to be big, b/c we only need $3,400 more to submit all that paperwork! So please please please come and help us spread the word! If you cannot come, but would like to make a contribution...visit our blog and click on the chipin link on the right to make a donation. The fundraiser is going to be a lot of fun! 10 regular games of Bingo with prizes from loads of different home vendors. And three intermission games with bigger prizes and a 50/50 drawing. We are excited to get with friends and family to share our journey and have a night of fun!!!! Keep coming back and I'll try to post as things progress, but remember...its slow!
:)

Bingo Fundraiser!

Pre-buy your Bingo cards for our July 20th event! Its been super crazy planning it out! Brett and I hit 30 locations in Charleston yesterday hanging up flyers. We still have a few more to hang. And hopefully the vendors contributing to the event will hang some as well. Help us pack the place. :) We are only $3,400 short to submit our dossier to Ethiopia...so we need for this to be a hit!
Thanks; The Freys

Its all coming together...

We mailed off two huge paper packets for grants last week. I'm so glad we were able to get those finished. That money will not arrive in time for us to submit our dossier, but if we are fortunate enough to receive a grant...it will come after our referral. We will still need it, so its all good. Grants take awhile to process and yet you cannot apply for them until your homestudy is complete. God is good all the time, and we rest in Him that the money will come when due.
I sent out the facebook event invite tonight. It went to well over 200 people. And if they will share it with their friends...ta da...the magic of social networking! I'm really looking forward to it, I think its going to be a lot of fun! It will be like, one big "girls night out."
Today was Father's Day, and now that the little ones are down, I'm going to hang out with Brett for awhile. He is watching a Baseball game. Fun Fun!!!

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....

says Dory from Disney's Nemo. And that is what I keep saying to myself through this adoption journey, as well as "just keep having faith" and "God is faithful all the time"...but with the Dory jingle! :)
It simple amazes me how much of the journey is a spiritual process...on so many different levels. I am (being transparent here) a materialistic person. I like stuff. I get it honest. My great grandmother was a hoarder. I'm not a hoarder, but I do like my stuff. And as we find ways to raise money for our adoption...garage sales have been one of the easiest ways. This past weekend Brett and I had another garage sale and we made a little over $200.00. Not a lot, but more than what we had on Friday night. It really hit me Saturday when I sold my FAVORITE Africa basket (I purchased it on a mission trip in 2005) how much more imporant a child's life is than all the stuff and fluff inside my house. It really just sunk in with me. I'm not good with words so its very hard for me to explain the process that I went through and have been going through since this adoption started. The guy that purchased my Africa basket wanted to purchase it last year and again at the beginning of Spring this year when we had a sale...and both times I said, "no way!" This time...we are much further along in the adoption process and its starting to feel so much more real than just paperpushin (although there is still a lot of that happening)...so it was easier to sell it (along with some encouragement from my hubby)....to let go, knowing that every penny from that basket put us a dollar closer to bringing our two beautiful children home. (or one child if that is what God wants).
Where are we?
We are waiting for July 7th at arrive for some more fingerprints(yes more fingerprints), meanwhile working on raising money with a huge July 20th fundraiser approaching, working on grant paperwork and more dossier (Africa) paperwork. Once that clearance arrives...we travel to Springfield for a little hoop to jump through and then ship all our documents to our caseworker who will prepare them to be sent to Africa. We are hoping and praying that we can get them to Africa in August. And then we wait, and wait, and wait and wait for those awesome pictures to arrive.
What are we doing to raise money?
We are having a Bingo fundraiser Wednesday July 20th at 6:30pm at the Charleston VFW. We will play 10 games ($10 presale, $15 at the door) with prizes from home vendors such as Pampered Chef, Dove Chocolates, Close to my Heart, Mary Kay, Scentsty etc. We will also play 3 intermission games (those are an add. $5), hold a 50/50 raffle (tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5)and just have FUN. We will take sometime to talk about our journey and raise awareness of adoption. This fundraiser will probably not be our last fundraiser, but I cannot stress to you how important this fundraiser is. Out of the approximately $11,500 needed for just this step...we are approximately $5,000 short! We have to have that money in order to submit our paperwork to Africa. We won't get it through grants because they do not get awarded that quickly. This money will come from the July 20th fundraiser, garage sales and donations. Donations can be made on the blog using the chipin link on the right hand side. We don't need $8,000 for this particular step, but we will need more than $5,000 eventually so I just left that as the goal on the Chipin widget. *sigh* It truly can get discouraging when you look at the numbers. But honestly...God has provided every penny this far. We managed to get debt free last year...and by doing so we are able to personally contribute more money now towards this venture...but ultimately God has provided every penny...FAITHFULLY!
All of that reminds me of the other spiritual journey in this process...pride! Man...its been so humbling to have to put ourselves out there and ask for financial help with this. Its our mission...and God says its a mission in the book of James. Some people refuse to accept it as such. But for us...we embrace it and press forwarded knowing this is what God has called us to.
I could go on and on and go much deeper here about the emotional aspects of it all, but for now...I'm going to stop.
Please feel free to ask questions, donate if you like, attend our July 20th Bingo fundraiser. We want our friends and family to spread the world about journey.
Thanks!

Exciting news!

Our adoption journey FEELS so long because we postponed it for a year. We dove back into the game January this year, so really our journey hasn't been that long...paperwise anyways. Emotionally...its been very long already! Today our completed and approved homestudy arrived in the mail. I knew it was coming, but I was thinking it would be here by the end of the week....so for me...it arrived early! Brett got home from work and we ate supper with the family and then dove straight into preparing our I-600A. We will mail it out first thing in the morning. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer that it all goes smooth...and quickly ofcourse!
:) Doing a happy dance today!

And the Winner is.....

MY MOM!!!!

Pondering...

I have been wondering if I should take the time and back track and share our story. The story of how Brett and I met, and how our desire to adopt from Africa came to be. I know my family probably knows the story, but do others? And someday I want to process this blog into a bound book for our African children...so I'm thinking it would be really neat to share our story! What do you think?

Wooohoooo!

Although it was yucky weather today...a friend and I sat in her garage all morning with a garage sale. My dear friend and her husband purged a bit. He went through his books, model airplanes, and things...she went through her clothes, home decorations, jeans, and shoes. Between the three of us and a few items from my mom...we filled her garage! It got colder as the went on, but we made $270.00!!!! And we didn't even have big items! We also sold $69 worth of Mothers Day Raffle tickets! So our grand total for the day was $319 (I had to subtract the cost to run an ad in the paper). I am so thrilled with that! Considering how many activities were going and the crummy weather...I think we did great! I want to say a huge thanks to my friend and her husband for contributing to our adoption. Your generousity is amazing and we appreciate both of you and your friendship so much. If you would like to contribute to our adoption, you can click on the chipin link on the right hand side and make a donation or you can buy a shirt or a Mothers Day Raffle ticket! Thanks!!!

Mothers Day Gift Basket Fundraiser!

We are selling raffle tickets for a Mothers Day Gift Basket. 100% of the profit will go towards our African Adoption expenses. Here are the contents.... -Image Maker Photography family portrait session (includes session, proofs and CD) -One hour professional therapeutic massage -Shaw hand knit by Shanan Strode and a homemade soap from her too -Victoria secrets mini perfume and a body lotion -$10 Daisylane gift card -A manicure or pedicure from First Impressions -Hair cut gift certificate from the Mangy Mousse -Necklace and matching earrings from "Beadtween you and me" and a bracelet -Tastefully Simple Margarita and Mojito drink mixers -A Close to my Heart scrapbooking stamp -Authentic African water bottle holder -$25 Gift Certificate to Georgie Boys -dressy scarf Approximately $500 value. Drawing with be May 1st. Tickets are $5.00 each or five for $20 Please contact me, Brett, Deb Drake or Tabitha Sill to purchase a ticket. PLEASE SHARE THIS ON YOUR FACEBOOK AND WITH YOUR FRIENDS!!! :)

Homestudy Homestudy how I will not miss you!

I don't mind paperwork...really. I kinda like to jump on it like flies on poop and devour it. lol...ok, well, u know what I mean. We are paperwork finished with our homestudy. We have done all we can do. We are waiting for our final piece of paper from the state to arrive at our caseworker's office and then she will do what she needs to do and then send it to the state to get a final signature and then its done. We no longer have to be licensed in Illinois since Ethiopia changed the way they do their adoptions. YES! This is good, b/c becoming licensed can take awhile...it was another step that we no longer have. Another blessing in disguise that we get for waiting the year we did. I can't say enough about our homestudy caseworker. I truly really like her. She came down for the final interview this past Saturday and she got such a great welcome from Eli. That little boy chatted her ear off. Basically he did most of the talking. He took her all over our house and showed her where everything was and each room. He asked her how old she was and her favorite color. It was soooo cute. I got so much enjoyment watching and hearing him interact with her and I really think she got blessed by him too. He even showed her some of his Karate moves! Since then our agency has asked why we hadn't included unrelated children in our homestudy. So our caseworker and I chatted about that today. We have changed things up a bit. Intially our homestudy was approved for "up to two children 0-3 yrs old, open to twins" Now it reads that, plus open to two children unrelated 0-3, but must be at least 12 months apart. Brett and I talked it over and we are happy with this. For us...these are children who need a loving forever family. Anyways....I'm excited. I feel like things are moving, but slow and I'm ok with that. E and Z are only 2 and 4, so if its another year before we get our African children, so be it...God's timing is perfect.

We Won!!!! We Won!!!!

We won the Ordinary Hero grant! Thank you to Angie Eskew, my sister Felicia, Aunt Lesa and Mom for making purchases to help us achieve this grant. Super thanks to Kelly Putty...founder of OH for offering this grant. We are stoked to learn that we won today...and today was our last homestudy appointment! It feels great to be making progress!!!! Brett is estatic that our picture is posted on OH's blog...he says we are famous now. LOL. www.ordinaryheroblog.blogspot.com

Mothers Day Gift Basket Fundraiser!!!!!

Mother’s Day Gift Basket
Adoption Fundraiser
All proceeds will go towards the adoption of a child (or 2) from Ethiopia. Call Micah & Brett Frey at 549-7188 if you have questions.
Here’s what’s inside…

· $125 Image Maker Photography family portrait session
· One Hour Massage Gift Certificate
· Victoria Secrets Perfume
· $10 Daisy Lane
· First Impressions Manicure or Pedicure
· Shanan’s Soap
· Mangy Mousse hair cut gift certificate
· $125 Necklace & Earring set from “Beadtween You and I”
· Tastefully Simple
· Close to my Heart Stamp
· Authentic African carrier for bottled water
Over $400 worth of products and gift certificates! Tickets $5 each or 5 for $20! Drawing May 1st.

Buy your ticket today!!!!!

ET Adoptions...

Are slowing way down! Because an agency (yes its ONE that seems to be under the gun) did some illegal coerscion with biological parents, Ethiopia has decided to reduce the number of adoptions they process per day from 40 / 50ish to 5ish! The attempt is to have enough time and manpower to make sure each child is a TRUE orphan. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing. I know God's timing is perfect, so I try hard not to fret over it. But part of me starts to wonder what this means for us. Wait times are now one year vs 4-6 months as they previously were. Maybe it means nothing for us...I don't know.
Sorry this post isn't more upbeat! :(

Homestudy....

Saturday...Brett and I headed out for our individual interviews with our caseworker. She truly is great...very laid back, curious and open...which makes her very easy to talk with. She has great experience, 18+ years, so I ask lots of questions. Ethiopia adoptions are a mess right now and wait times look to be moving closer to one year. I'm ok with that. I just pray the country doesn't close or waits become 4 yrs (like they are in China). Our HS caseworker will come to our house in three weeks and then she will prepare our homestudy for completion. I'm ready!!! Ready to get movin to get on a one year wait list...lol...crazy but true! She said she sees no problem with "passing" us for two children! Wow...two more kiddos in our home...God is great!

Continue to pray for Japan...its heartbreaking to watch the videos and see the pictures.

Its an emotional journey...

I can't count on both hands how many times I have heard..."Adoption is an emotional roller coaster journey!" Its true. Wednesday (and every other day) are prof. But Wednesday I was aware and I truly noticed! On Tues I had tried to reach our HS caseworker to verify the last piece of paper I needed for her. No return call. Wednesday I decided...I'm going to call her again and see if I need to drive 45 minutes to pick up this piece of paper or if I can do it myself. I called her again. No answer. I decided to plan as if I was going to get this piece of paper today and drive it to her. That is how bad I want to be done with HS paperwork! As I was stepping into the shower the phone rang and she told me I could do it myself! Wooohooo...quick shower, sat at the computer I wrote up this last piece of paper, got the kids ready to go and the doorbell rang. I thought it was my good friend Angie who maybe decided at the last minute to make the hour ride with me to deliever all of this HS paperwork...but it wasn't. It was my cousin Paula with a Starbuck Grande Vanilla latte in one hand and a gift bag in the other!!!! Starbucks is my favorite! What a great surprise! She got me a drink and a fancy smancy ceramic travel mug! This makes for a great day!!!! We visit for a short bit and then I remember I have to go to the church to make copies of all of this paperwork. Agh! (As I'm driving to the church the company I have been trying to order checks from for three days, calls and gives me more grief! Never have I had such a hard time ordering checks in my life!) I get to the office and start to make all of these copies and then the secretary walks in and saves me! She shows me how to really use this machine! Whip done! I set in the van and go through the papers one last time, makin sure every i is dotted and every t crossed and all the med forms are together etc. OH NO...one is missing! Then Eli chimes in from the backseat, "I have to poop!" So we climb back out and go to the rest room and I pop my head in the office and ask if I left a paper? Nope. I said, "maybe I left it under the lid?" during my attempts to make all the copies by myself. Sure enough...there it was! Whewwww. So we load back up...both kids have pottied, I have Starbucks in hand and ALL the HS paperwork, its time to make the hour trip to deliever this packet. 20 minutes out my mom calls. I ask her if she would like to join us. And she agrees. We wait 20 minutes for her at arrive at a central meeting point...its ok b/c I have tons of massage clients to return calls to. I was really dreading making this trip by myself b/c I was also going to pick up Z's birth certificate and go to the co-op to get some Hummus. Draggin the kids in and out of the van is no fun for anyone. Especially during nap times. Mom saves the day by tagging along. Its must have been real boring for them, but they were fantastic troopers. They got McD's for lunch and I had soup from Panera! Ofcourse they spill orange drink and fruit smoothie on the floor, but thats ok b/c we just dropped off all of our HS PAPERWORK. Complete. Done. We make it home. I get everyone inside and dive into the mail. I got a $40 bill from Charleston Appliance! He had been over the day before for less than 10 minutes to inform us that we blew a breaker! This is where it gets good (or at least I think so). I instantly get MAD. Really..he is going to charge me $40!!! I'm trying to adopt (ofcourse he doesn't know this)...how do people sleep at night charging others for...nothing! He didn't do any work! I called him and asked him if he would take $20 (willing to meet him 1/2 way...and I had already talked with Brett...he thought this was a good idea). I guess I'm a cheap scape. Nope he won't do it. So I take my not-very-happy self up to their store and pay my bill. Then I called my girlfriend to VENT. I get off the phone with her and take Micayla into the Ortho to get her second retainer fitted (another $86)...I'm still mad...now at Kayya too! Really people...do you know how much an adoption cost $25-30K....K! Grrrrr. Then almost instantly I realize what is happening. Satan is out to capture my spirit of joy...and it working! How could I let this happen? Especially when I just finished and delievered all of our hs paperwork? And my great cousin gave me a wonderful treat? And God has sent my Mom to help the long trip to go smoothly. It was so instant that he grabbed ahold and pulled me into self-pity and anger. Wow...I took a HUGE step back and gave God the glory for opening my eyes, and calming me. I also told my friend what was happening and told her all of this and gave God more glory. It was a black and white...ping pong kind of day. Ever have those? Where you feel like you are being bounced back and forth between Satan and God. We never really are...its our choice, but it can FEEL that way. How dare I allow Satan to get ahold of me for one minute over something so pathetic as money?! These two minor bills...$40 and $86 won't be the last of unexpected bills during this journey. And God knows all of that...he knows already where every cent is going to come from for this adoption. He even knows our African children already! I know that! I know that he brought us to this, he laid it on our hearts and HE will pull of through...in HIS strength, in HIS time, and with HIS power. HE will do it all and HE will get all the GLORY. The next day we deposited $700 into our adoption account. How is that for faithfulness?! Praise HIM.

Let me also be brutally honest with you. I'm 100% ugly stubborn selfish filthy spoiled rotten American Human...and the battle continues to rage. As I write this (now Sunday night...all of that happened last week) just hours ago I had a mini melt down over once again money! Not so much in regards to the adoption but just other stuff. So I was crying to my wonderful hubby stupid things like..."how come everything I need to buy is like over $100, why can't things just be $1 or $5...why is everything so expensive? Except for the garage sale tape I just bought...it was $1.50!" lol, I laugh now. How silly and foolish it is that we soo quickly forget! Almost like how quickly you forget how bad childbirth hurts. These are childbirth pains, emotional, not physical. Its also a major spiritual journey for me. God is teaching me to lean on Him, not my own understanding. He is refining me...everyday. And refining hurts! A friend once said...Gold is the product your get once its been refined. But it takes a lot of heat for it it transform. Or maybe you have heard the analogy that God trims your branches while He is the vine you are attached to. Prunning hurts! How true that is for me as well...but it is, what it is...and I'll take it. Only b/c I know WHO is ultimately in control. And I trust in HIM to be faithful and on the days when I struggle...I'm learning to pray more honestly and diligently. It doesn't matter where we are at...what we are going through...what are struggles, temptations, addictions, faults are...God just wants us to glorify HIM through it all.

I challege you to look for the opportunities God sets in your path today to give HIM glory. Like Pastor Scott preached this morning...they are there, you just got to look for them. I'm glad this past week I noticed.

In Him; Micah

Only five more needed...

Please help us out! Click on "fundraising with Ordinary Hero" to help us be the first to sell $300 worth of merchandise and they will give us $300!!!! We need to sell only 5 more!
:)

The Race is on...

First one to $300 gets an additional $300 in their account from Ordinary Hero! Wooohooo. Please help us win this. Thank You! Spread the word.

Feb and Ordinary Hero!

Here is what Feb looked like...
Homestudy and Dossier paperwork MADNESS! Today I will collect the final piece of paperwork for our homestudy. I may just drive up and give it all to her and then celebrate! Our caseworker is great, we both really like her.
We are still working on our dossier. Brett and I sat down and did our budget when our income tax return came in. He had a moment realizing that the dossier could be going to Ethiopia as early as June...and with that comes the $12,000.00 payment. Something I have been praying for since the beginning of Jan. (praying for June, not for his mini moment). We rest assured knowing that God brought us to this, so he will bring us through it. God is THE ONE capable of providing every single cent needed for this adoption. Praise Him...always.
We have launched with Ordinary Hero. Kelly has adopted a son from Ethiopia as well as her sisters. I may get a chance to meet her in Morton Illinois in April! I love chatting with Moms who have adopted...b/c they GET IT. Check out the apparel and accessories you can purchase through them to help us raise money!

Ordinary Hero Fundraising Website

Because this is the way its suppose to be!

(Look at that beautiful red in my kitchen! I love it!)

Yesterday was awful! I can't even pinpoint the one thing that made it that way. I was once again on my period (its on and off for a solid week), Eli was acting two instead of four...extrememly whiney and needy. Zahavah was acting out because Eli was fussy. All the while I'm looking at this mountain of paperwork trying to figure out how to get everything notorized and authenticated at the proper time so nothing expires while we are in Ethiopia...since our homestudy is not complete yet! Which was grating on my nerves...BADLY! And even at that...it doesn't really matter till our homestudy is complete because its only then...that we will take stuff in to get authenticated. Whew!
And Satan was attacking me emotionally....I mean who in the world really feels like they are worthy of adopting an orphan? Not I! And at that we are still trying to figure out if we should adopt one child or two?! A year ago...Brett and I were hands down willing to adopt two. (A year ago our children were all a year younger too...seems strange that we would now reconsider since they are older). And now...I struggle with fears, the unknowns, my worth, my ability. I hit the message boards to talk to other moms...and THANK GOD...this is normal. I'm not the first to contemplate all those things...they too have been where I am at. They were so encouraging. I love it when I get affirmation to what I am already feeling...and yesterday I felt Satan was attacking...and HE WAS, because that is the way its suppose to be when you are working on behalf of God's orphans. Satan will be out to feed you as many lies as you are willing to believe! He does not want God's orphans taken care of....ever!
Today is much better. I'm fasting from sugar and sweets. Straight up black coffee for me! :) And the kids are worlds better too. You have to have the dark days to appreciate the bright ones.
So today...I managed to get my kitchen clean...and if you know what my kitchen usually looks like...then you know why it took a good chunk of the morning to get it looking tidy! Took pictures of it from several different angles for our dossier (Ethiopia paperwork). Patted myself on the back and accepted that there is no way on God's green earth I'm going to do any of the other room they want to see...today. Forget it! I will go to the court house today and pick up four certified birth certificates and our home assessment from the housing people. Again...pattin myself on the back that I accomplished something today in regards to this marathon we are running (aka international adoption).
I spoke with Daniel (from our adoption agency) today...first time ever, typically its just emails between us. He was very kind. Then later I spoke with Diane (from our homestudy agency)...we love her! She is so sweet and a chatty cathy like me!!! So we hit it off great. She said if all our ducks are in a row and all the paperwork comes together quicker than usual, then she was ok with moving our homestudy appts up!!! This is great news. This means...I can start applying for grants sooner than later! And...that also means we can work Dossier stuff quicker as well (although that is not my hurry b/c that paperwork seems very daunting and makes me very nervous...every i has to be dotted right and every t has to be crossed correctly or its all worth nothing and void). YIKES!

We are moving....

forward with the adoption...I have never been one to move slow. So imagine how I am handling the adoption process...which by nature is a marathon, not a sprint.
So where are we? We are working on what feels like lots of things at the sametime, but really its only two things at the sametime...our homestudy and our dossier. But both of those things have TONS of paperwork. Some of it is the same, so that kinda makes it easier and it can also make it a bit tricky. Some paperwork to one agency doesn't need notarized and some does...ahhhh...make sure it goes to the right agency!!!!
We are walking forward and takin in all the paperwork as it comes...and so far WE are staying on top of it. Brett has been amazing at taking time to fill in as much as he can. We were in the car two hours on Saturday for our homestudy interview...so he filled out paper on the way there. Then ofcourse we got a fresh stack of paperwork from our HS caseworker...so I filled that out on the way home. :) We will win! We are a great team!
We are super excited. We are a bit nervous...we continue to openly talk about genders and ages of the kids. And our caseworker is right...if we were handed two pics and told...these children need a loving forever family...ofcourse we would take them. But in my pathetic human mind...I think I know what is best for our family. I ofcourse want another girl around Z's age and a boy around E's age. But in the end...we know God knows best. More to come...I'm tired from checking out Classical Conversations this morning...which is a whole other post for another time...on our family blog.
:)

Where is she and where are we?

The Momma I met walking 18th street with her baby has left town. Her time at the shelter was up. I helped her pack up my van to go and meet her boyfriend. They went to a small hotel in a small rural town to stay for the next two weeks. Before she left I introduced her to an adoption attorney. She had told me she had made up her mind to place her baby for adoption. She met with the attorney and told the attorney she did NOT want to place her baby with us...because she now "knows" us and knows where we live. She doesn't want to know any of that information about the potential family.
How did I feel about that? Well, honestly...we had been praying for clarity. Domestic adoption was not / is not our interest. But we wanted to be obedient if that was what God was calling us to. So we prayed and prayed and prayed. And we said, "if this is what you want, we are open to it." We know God loves all the children and who are we to say..."no we only want a child from Africa." That (in my opinion) is closed minded. Momma has lots of financial needs NOW that Brett and I could not provide NOW for her. But the attorney has potential adoptive parents that can meet her immediate needs. We feel that even though her reasons are different from our reasons...it was all God's work. We feel we were a light for her in a very dark period of her life. We are still in contact with her...as much as texting will allow. She knows where we live if she needs us. Its a sad situation. We pray for her that she can make wise decisions with her life.
Now where are we? We are working on our international homestudy.
How did I feel about that small voice asking me if I would be open to something else if he had another plan for our adoption? (see previous post). I struggled with that for awhile. I know it was the voice of God speaking to my heart. I think God wanted to know if Brett and I would be obedient. Not as extreme, but God has "tested" obedience before...read the story of Abraham and Isaac. I think we got confirmation by her choosing to place with another family even though we were willing. And we most definitely got confirmation in our own hearts that we are in love with Africa and her orphans more and more everyday. Doing the homestudy opens your eyes to the passion that burns in your heart for orphans. We have such a strong desire to continue our African adoption. Unless God closes this door and directs our attention elsewhere...we are walking forward with full anticipation and excitement!!!!!

Cards Galore! And Valentines Day goodies.

$3 (pic below is the inside of the card pictured above)

$3

$2.50

Thanks for visiting our adoption blog! Here are handmade cards that me and my kids have done. Mostly me...but if you have kids, you know how it goes...art projects are a lot of work! ;) We are listing suggested donations below each picture. If you are interested in purchasing one, please email me, phone me or leave a comment with your contact info. We truly appreciate your support.

$2.50 (top outside, below inside...this card curled a bit b/c we used spritzer on it)

$3

$3 (The cards listed from here and below are blank on the inside unless it says otherwise)

$3

$3

$2.50 (This one says "Friend" in black on the inside)

$3

$3

$3

THANKS AGAIN!

OBEDIENT TO THE LORD

I try...when God lays something on my heart...to pursue it with a passion. Which is what I have done with our Ethiopian adoption. I've attended classes, prayed, filled out paperwork, prayed some more, paid fees etc. The orphans of Africa are on my heart everyday.
Two weeks ago today I was hitting the treadmill pretty hard at noon. I'm never at the gym at noon, but since my teenager was home on Christmas break, she was able to sit with the little ones. I have practically become obsessed with adoption...mentally anyways. It just happens, its part of the journey. During my last mile God asked me, "if I had something else in mind for your adoption, would you be open to it?" I literally felt shocked by his question, breathless for a brief moment. I think I even said, "Really God? You are asking me that, NOW? You do see how much I love Africa and her orphans!" Probably not wise to question God and although it didn't feel like thats what I was doing at the time, I probably was! I was very honest and said, "I don't know." I want to be obedient regardless. I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus in America and in Africa. I did my cool down and left the gym. A few blocks from the gym was a woman carrying a car seat in one hand and a child in the other and a baby bag. I did think...well thats odd, why is she carrying a car seat? I hesistated to pick her up. I figured she was probably going to the woman's house (I know it as a recovery home for addicts) and it was only a block away...she doesn't have much further to go. God said..."Micah, its still a good block away and you know that stuff is heavy and its cold outside!" Can you say...BE OBEDIENT! I'm learning...so I turned around and asked her if she would like a ride. She said, "sure but I'm not sure where I am going, my boyfriend was suppose to pick me up at the liquor store." I invited her along to Wal-mart with me, if nothing else to stay warm! We sat in my car for a little over an hour. She shared some of her life story with me. I won't share all the details but I will say she has a 9 month old baby girl, she is pregnant again, she is in a very rough spot in her life and she isn't sure she can keep the baby. After an hour went by, I helped her get situated with her boyfriend and I did my shopping. God prompted my heart to invite them all for supper, but they were already gone. But I said I would be OBEDIENT if I ran into them again. Sure enough as I was checking out they came around the corner, so I asked them to dinner and they accepted! I have to be honest and say I really didn't think they would come. Not because they strike me as the type of people who promise and don't deliever b/c that isn't the case. She is very clean, sweet, and proper. She doesn't look, sound or act like a drug addict or an alcoholic or a person that is in a tight spot that would be in a rehab home (whatever that person may look like!). She isn't in a rehab home after all, but she is in a shelter and without a job. If anything I thought they wouldn't come b/c they would think I'm a Crazy Christian person! Which I am. They came and we ate together. Sunday would come and she would go to church with me and hear Louie Giglio via big screen and hear just about those Crazy Christians, and I knew in my heart that sermon was for me and her. Because I want her to be a Crazy Christian too. And the next Sunday came and she went to church with us again! And this week I will take her to her first ultrasound, so she can see her baby.
Yes at first my emotions were running high b/c I knew God had just asked me "the question" fifteen minutes before meeting this girl. And yes at times, I still can't help but wonder what God is doing here...if it has anything to do with our intention to adopt. But I lay that all down at the feet us Jesus and think HE is doing something much more important here. God is after her heart. He wants her to know Him as her Savior. And that is where Brett and I truly come in. We are to bear witness for Him. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are to be a light in a dark world. And that world is really dark and dim for some people who are alone and face mountains they feel they cannot climb alone. I don't want to be her friend for personal gain. I want her to know Jesus and know that Jesus loves her right where she is at. And that He will be faithful and will take great care of her and her babies, if she will allow Him to.
Would I be open to adopting her child? I've asked myself that loads of times. And the answer that I know in my heart to be true is...If that is what God is calling us to, absolutely b/c I want to be above all else OBEDIENT to HIM. She has not asked us to. She has said she will give it up for adoption. She may change her mind. Either way I want to be here for her.
And my heart is still in Africa. I finally came to peace when I realized, its not...adopt a child from America OR adopt a child from Africa. God doesn't work in such a small box. He is THE Glorious, Almighty, God of the Universe...if He wants us to have a child from the US...we will. From Africa...we will. From the US and Africa...we will. Because He is faithful and able! And we are NOTHING apart from HIM.

Crazy!

It has been a crazy week. Lots of listening to God and praying over what he is asking. Sometimes I think He just likes to put us through a lot of soul searching and refining. Z and E have been sick this past week and yesterday they graciously gave it to me...fever and all. :( Its ok, I'm still breathing. And its nice to be able to slow down...not b/c I want to, but b/c I'm being forced to. Probably is the only way it would happen anyways. Good news...we have changed up the shirts and our profile a bit on www.adoptionbug.com/heartforafricakids
So there are a few new shirts available! I'm so thankful this fundraising option is available to us, it has been incredibly easy on our end thus far! Be sure to check it out! Keep praying for us. We have a ton of paperwork ahead of us and I could be working on it today, but I tire easily being this sick!
Blessings; Micah