Your Part in the Journey

We wanted to thank each and every person who came to Jenny's birthday party fundraiser earlier this month!  It was such a blessing to spend time with our friends and family who have meant so much to us over the past year as we prepare for Jenny's arrival into our lives.  We were overwhelmed with the love for Vivien before her birth and we are likewise overwhelmed with the love you all have for Jenny - a little girl half a world away who has stolen all of our hearts.  We can't wait for you to meet her!

If you didn't get the chance to stop by the party to film your birthday greeting or sign the back of her puzzle, we would still like to extend that opportunity to you!  Contact us to get in on the fun!

If you played a part in this journey, please sign one of Jenny's puzzle pieces!

As you're probably aware by now, International adoption is expensive. Like stupid expensive.  Think about it - travel and accommodation expenses alone can mount to upwards of $10,000!  And that doesn't include court fees, application and fingerprinting fees, and home study fees.  Fees, fees, fees!  Unfortunately, this reality keeps so many amazing couples from taking the steps to adopt.

When we first made the decision to adopt, one of the things that we wrestled over was whether or not we would do any fundraising. There aren’t many things more humbling than asking other people for money. It sucks honestly! It’s uncomfortable. It’s vulnerable. 

We began this journey knowing that God wants Jenny to be an Etter someday.  And we also know that He will provide for this journey to which he has called us.  He already has in so many ways.  We had enough in our savings to get the process started, but the rest was a leap of faith.

The more we talked about it, the more we understood that it isn’t about asking people for money, but asking them to be a part of our story. Jenny's story, in how she got to come home. Whenever we had the urge to decline someone's generosity, we stifled our pride and listened to the meek little voice inside of us that said "Let them bless you."

And you have blessed us in a huge way!  Whether you bought a pair of leggings from one of our LuLaRoe fundraisers, donated an old toy for our fall yardsale, or made a donation to our Reece's Rainbow Sponsorship Page, we can't thank you enough.

Between all of the fundraiser, auctions, and yard sales, combined with our Reece's Rainbow campaign, we have been able to raise over $7,000 toward the cost of bringing Jenny home!  

Even better news?  We believe that we will be FULLY FUNDED for the rest of the fees that await us in this journey!  Praise the Lord!  And it's all because of your generosity, prayers and encouragement!  Words cannot express our gratitude.

THANK YOU!

Not every family is as fortunate, however, and not every child has a family preparing for her.  If you still feel led to give, we invite you to peruse the children and families on Reece's Rainbow and see how you might be led to make a difference for another child in need of a family!  Lack of finances should never be the reason a child doesn't have a family.  

Even though the fundraising portion of our journey is over, please know that we will continue to advocate for others who view the cost of adoption as a brick wall in their journey toward becoming a family.  

One Year Later

It was exactly one year ago today, on a cold January 3rd morning, when we knew our family would be expanding to include the adorable, dark-haired, spunky child featured all over these pages.

As the dust settles on another hectic holiday season, we've been quietly reflecting on all that 2017 has meant to us and all that it has taught us.  And even though Jenny is still so far away, she somehow seems closer than ever.  It's only a matter of God's time.  Soon we will board a plane to Eastern Europe.  Until that invitation comes, however, we want to reflect on this journey and thank all who have personally been touched by it.

January 2017 - It began when we read an article by our new bestie, Crystal Kupper.  Crystal and her family have become dear friends, sharing holidays, birthdays, and rejoicing in every milestone in our adoption journey.  We can't wait for Jenny to meet her "Auntie Crystal" - the woman, the mentor, the legend.  We submit a "Letter of Intent" to adopt Jenny and begin the long, arduous process of completing a homestudy.

April 2017 -  With an almost-completed homestudy in our pockets, we get the news that Jenny is able to be adopted by an American family and we are on our way to being approved for her!  This was huge news that came after a halt was placed on all international adoptions from Jenny's country. An exception was made for her since she's considered "difficult to place" due to her respiratory condition.

May 2017 - We go public with our news and confuse quite a few people by stating that Vivien is going to become a "little sister!"  We are more than overwhelmed by the love and support of our friends and family, many of whom have also been touched by adoption and fostering in some way.  We become sponges, soaking up advice and well-wishes.  Our fundraising efforts will top well over $5,000 by the end of the calendar year - a testament to God's provision along this expensive and uncertain path forged by faith. 

Summer 2017 - Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork.  We are busy obtaining fingerprints, birth certificates, and blood samples (literally) to submit our dossier to Jenny's country.  By the middle of September, every necessary document, certified twice over, is en route to the adoption agency in Jenny's country.  We are also blessed by numerous fundraising efforts, from LuLaRoe to yardsales.

 


October 2017 - Jenny's country submits her medical information, birth certificate and other court documents to us in an official referral.  Of course, we say YES to this referral and quickly apply to USCIS to begin the process to obtain a VISA for her.  We also learn quite a bit more about her medical condition, current living arrangements, and custodial history.  We connect with the international adoption department at CHOP as well as their pulmonology department in order to prepare for her arrival in our family.  We also complete a 9 week adoption course called Empowered to Connect which equips us with strategies to parent a child from a hard place.

December 2017 - The US has approved Jenny's VISA and the file is forwarded to the central authority in Jenny's country for final approval.  All of our i's are dotted and our t's are crossed.  Now we wait, and we pray, and we prepare for the journey to bring Jenny home.

Trash & Treasures

Honestly?  We hate garage sales.  With the fiery passion of a thousand hot burning suns.  We get offended when people don't want to own our stuff (what do you mean you don't want a souvenir glass from our trip to the Rain Forest Cafe in Atlantic City?), and neither of us is very good at haggling.

Justin:  What do you mean you won't pay $10 for this slightly chipped and very stained serving dish?  

Tara:  Here let me pay YOU to take this all of this clutter away from me! 

We find ourselves falling into these two extremes with very little consideration for a middle ground.

So when our friend suggested that we hold a garage sale fundraiser as a way to raise money for our massive and ever-growing adoption fees, we balked at the idea.  But after we gave it some thought, we realized that holding a garage sale fundraiser would allow Jenny's life to touch entirely new demographics of people.

And ultimately, that's what this journey is all about.

First there were our friends who wanted to be a blessing to us, but perhaps couldn't necessarily make a monetary donation toward our Family Sponsorship Page.  By hosting a sale where they could donate their gently loved items, it allowed them to contribute in a very meaningful way to our fundraising efforts.

An overflowing garage = overflowing hearts.

We can't express our thanks enough to those who donated to the sale.  Our garage was overflowing with the outpouring of donations.  Each and every item that was dropped off held meaning to us.  It had been loved once and would hopefully be loved again.  These things, used and loved and ultimately discarded, would mean life and hope for someone new.  Perhaps for the person who bought it at our garage sale, but mostly for Jenny, who sits, herself discarded, in an eastern European group home for sick children.  

Then there were the complete strangers who came to the sale.  Those from our community whom we had never met before, many of them asking for details on the adoption, on Jenny, and giving their own words of encouragement.  One shopper told stories of how she had once been a foster parent, and another recalled early memories of having lived in an orphanage himself until he was 3.

My favorite was an older lady who was rummaging through the boys' clothes and said she was going to be sending them to a young man in [Jenny's country].  My jaw dropped and I pointed to the picture of Jenny and explained the fundraiser.  We exchanged a few words in Jenny's native language, excited to get a chance to practice with an expert!

Another life touched by Jenny.

They say one man's trash is another man's treasure.   This was true for the items donated to our garage sale, but how much more true is it of our hearts when it comes to what God treasures?  Isn't Jenny treasured by God?  While we cannot fathom the difficult decision her parents made when they signed away their parental rights, we do know that she is loved and she is precious to God and to us.

1 Peter 2:4 says that Jesus was "rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious to him."  He is our true treasure, chosen and precious, and all too often, we treat him as less than so.   The perfect Savior of the world, despised and rejected by us as if he were broken, worthless and ready for the rubbish bin.

What is your treasure?  "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  (Luke 12:34)  Right now, as parents, of course our hearts are with Vivien and Jenny.  We treasure them, but (and this might come as a shock to you just as it did to us) even our children shouldn't hold the highest place in our hearts.  No, that place should belong to God and Jesus himself.  I'm not saying it always does for us.  On the contrary, it's something we need to constantly remind ourselves, every hour of every day.  But if there's one thing we're learning on this parenting and adoption journey, it's that HE should become greater, and everything else should become less.  For HE is our TREASURE.

LuLaRoe For Jenny

The very first thing we bought for Jenny was a pair of LuLaRoe leggings that match a Mommy & Me pair that Vivien and I already owned.  I cried when I paid for them and I told the LLR consultant who they were for.

And this is why our next fundraiser is particularly dear to my heart.

Meet KeRRi DailoR - Wife, Mother, Sister, Friend, MOPs leader and LuLaRoe fashion consultant.

Kerri & Newborn Noel

In February 2014, my husband Matthew and I had exactly three days' warning that our one-week old baby boy was coming home!

After a quick Target run with my best friend (who had given birth to her son literally 30 days earlier!) to get diapers, wipes, and a NoseFrida nasal aspirator (just in case) we were ready!

On Friday, the 28th of February, we loaded up an empty car seat, formula that we had no idea what to do with, tiny diapers and a 0-3 month outfit and set off!

After more than an hour of signing a tower of paperwork at the adoption agency, the door opened!  In walked Noel's birth mom holding the tiniest 6lb bundle of baby in a blue and white crocheted blanket with two itty-bitty feet popping out the bottom!  

Noel's birth dad was close behind and the two of them handed us our son to hold for the first time. And just like that we were parents!

The next 3.5 years would fly by quicker than we knew, and we were blessed to have an open relationship with Noel's birth parents.  They are able to see him grow and thrive and play with trains and worship Lightening McQueen!  They haven't missed a birthday party or museum visit yet!  We are one big family. 

We are so very thankful for the gift of adoption and what it has done for all of us.  While having a very unique start and story, we actually feel very normal.  Our normal.

I was more than ecstatic when Tara told me about Jenny and asked if I would be willing to participate in a fundraiser event.  I assumed she asked because she knew our family has been so blessed by adoption too!  Nope!  She had no idea!  She just loves LuLaRoe and thought it would be fun (and it will be!!)  How awesome to see God working in this incredible story of bringing Jenny home.  Time and time again He has stepped in and just proven to their family how this is all 100% meant to be!  I'm excited to play a very small part in bringing another child home to their family! 

Shop LULAROE KeRRi DailoR for JENNY!

So what's LuLaRoe?  Besides being my latest obsession, it's awesome, adorable, quality clothing - they are famous for their buttery soft leggings, conservative styles, and unique prints.  A portion of the proceeds from Kerri's sales during the week of Aug 22 thru Aug 28 will be donated to our Family Sponsorship Page (FSP) with Reece's Rainbow.   THANK YOU, KERRI!

Leggings for the Etter Girls!

Scentsy for Jenny!

Have you heard of "Scentsy"?  Let your nose lead the way!  The very generous Scentsy sales consultant, Dakota Lynch, has offered to donate all of the proceeds of this sale (open now through July 24th!) to our adoption of little "Jenny".

Please consider buying something from this fun sale...great products that smell fabulous!  

https://wicklessdandelions.scentsy.us/party/8006606/etter-adoption-fundraiser

Make sure to have your order shipped to you and not to the consultant or host.  If you have any questions, feel free to message us or Dakota!

Party ends on 7/24 - Happy shopping!!!  And thanks in advance!

SHINElife for Jenny!

Special thanks to our Adoption Warrior, Crystal Kupper, on setting up our very first fundraiser to raise money to help BRING JENNY HOME!

Adoption is expensive and these fundraisers are a great way for our friends (and strangers!) to help our journey just by shopping for pretty things!

SHINElife for Jenny!

If you haven't heard of SHINElife, you're missing out! It's a mom-and-pop jewelry-and-other-pretty-things company in North Carolina. What sets them apart from other jewelry companies is that they hand stamp amazingness on everything -- so, if you want a your deceased grandmother's signature on a bracelet, you can do that. If you want a sentence from a love letter on a bookmark, you can do that. If you want your baby's toeprint on a necklace, you can do that! 

The customer service is EXCELLENT, the quality is sky-high and the attention to detail is exquisite. We cannot recommend this company enough! 

And guess what? Hillary (the shop owner) has a huge heart for adoption! From May 25 to June 8, 20% of all purchases from www.shopshinelife.com with the code ETTERADOPTION will go toward Justin and Tara Etter's adoption of a young girl with disabilities from Eastern Europe! (Don't forget the ETTERADOPTION code at checkout, as otherwise the proceeds will not go to Jenny). 

Hint:  Tara's birthday is 10/29!!  

Please share this fundraiser with your friends and family, on your facebook and instagram walls and beyond. And don't forget to emphasize the dates and code ETTERADOPTION at www.shopshinelife.com.