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.  

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!

Adoption is the New "Pregnant"

Adoption is the new "pregnant".  Ok, I just made that up.  Or I heard it somewhere.  But it's pretty true, at least for the Etters.   Sure, there's no morning sickness, but the paper-cuts are terrible.  And our "gestation" period might be closer to that of a manatee (13 months, in case you were wondering). And like many pregnant couples, we kept our news discreet during that fragile first "trimester".

It's hard to imagine what our lives will be like once we bring Jenny home.  All expectant parents have dreams and images of what they envision for their children.  The same is true for us as we await the arrival of our adopted daughter.

Viv & Guyana, BFFs

It will be interesting.  First of all, Vivien is going to be a little sister instead of a big sister.  At least in terms of chronological age.  All of the research and courses that we've taken on adoption indicate that Jenny most likely will exhibit a younger age in terms of her cognitive, emotional, developmental and even motor skills.  That's just the nature of having lived her whole life in a hospital or institution. We're sure she was cared for, but research has proven there is so much that hinges on a mother's and father's involvement during the very first weeks and months of a child's life.  Plus she won't know much, if any, English.

We know for sure that she'll need medical care.  And she may also need counseling or therapy like many adopted children do.  No matter what professional help Jenny requires, we know that our schedules are about to be turned upside down!  Justin and I are blessed to have jobs and supervisors who support us in this endeavor and allow for schedule and workplace flexibility.  We're also blessed to have close family and friends nearby and a wonderful, supportive and praying church family.

So we will spend the next few months converting our guest bedroom into a toddler girl's room, and we will ponder the real questions along with you:  Will she and Viv get along?  What is her favorite food?  Will she be good at math?  Does she prefer grape or strawberry jelly?  Mayo or Miracle Whip?Will she like these LuLaRoe leggings that I bought for her?

Waiting for Jenny

Before Vivien was born, we read What to Expect When You're Expecting from cover to cover.   We even highlighted it and took notes in the margins.  The Etters are nothing if not thoroughly nerdy. We also attended a breast-feeding class and birthing class that we never actually got to use because Vivien ended up being an emergency C-section because she was breach and insisted on exhibiting early signs of possessing her parents' "stubborn" gene by not turning around despite every (sometimes painful) effort to make her do so.  But I digress...

The point is....we prepared ourselves for Viv's arrival.  And now we're doing the same for Jenny's arrival. We already have 12 hours of adoption courses from Adoption Learning Partners under our belts.  This fall, we'll take a 9-week course called "Empowered to Connect" based on the theories of adoption expert Karyn Purvis.  And we continue to build our adoption library with nearly every book that's recommended to us.  See our Adoption Resources page for a list of all the books and organizations that we've used to prepare us for this journey.  

In the end, we have a feeling that Jenny's arrival will be similar to Vivien's: we'll prepare as best we can, but I don't think we'll have any concept of just how life-changing and wonderfully miraculous her addition to our family will be.  We can't wait.