The people that got us through

I'll get to your questions and on with our adoption story in a minute. Right now we would like your help. Go on over to Sweet Hope and buy some chocolate.

While we were quickly realizing that international adoption was going to be expensive we were also realizing that we didn't have the money to complete the process. We researched way that people finance their adoptions. We found everything from simply saving for years, refinancing their home, 401K loans, fundraisers and grants. I will get to a full chapter on what we did, but for now I want to focus on grants.

This was another portion of my research. I hunted all over the internet trying to find grant organizations that we could apply to. THIS was the most comprehensive list I could find. It has nearly every grant and loan organization out there trying to help people finance their adoptions. In recent months the list has been updated and now has little notes that say if they are, what I will call, discriminatory. By this, I mean they are for people adopting through a certain agency, from a certain country, adopting children with special needs, or are a certain type of Christian. Out of this list of 50 or more grants CS and I qualified for 6. Six. That is it. We didn't use a Christian agency, we are not what you would call "born again" Christians, we felt we could not parent a special needs child and we were adopting from Russia and we live in Washington state. Of that list of 50, and of the 6 we qualified for (we applied to all of them) we received one grant. And it was a discriminatory grant. For Washington State residents only. We will be eternally grateful to IBSEN Adoption Network for their generosity.

As I was doing my research I got angrier and angrier. How could so called Christian organizations be so discriminatory? I understand it is to keep people honest and mainly because they just can't give money to everyone, but why on earth did I have to write my "salvation" story? As Lutherans we believe by grace we are saved through faith. It says it right there in the BIBLE!!! "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—" Ephesians 2:8. See! IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD!!! Why do I have to be broken down and born again? I don't get it.

CS and I made a deal. When we were finished with our adoption we would work to start a foundation that was non-discriminatory. People could apply without regard to race, nationality, or religious affiliation. Of course starting a foundation takes time and money. Neither of which we have right now. But we are willing to work.

We also held a fundraiser at Valentine's Day selling handmade truffles. I think we sold somewhere around 28-30 boxes of chocolates. I got email after email telling me how good they were. I have made these chocolates for years and get the same compliments. I also got emails asking me to sell them again. I can only stand making them so many times a year. They are labor intensive and they fill our refrigerators to the brim. (We make 6 varieties at a time)

We felt the time was right to start making chocolates again. They make fantastic gifts for the holidays or a little indulgence for yourself. I thought about just pocketing the money. My paypal account is a little slim after purchasing some upgrades to my computer and that cuts into my online shopping a little. But, seeing as it is the season of giving I felt it was more appropriate to follow through on the commitment we made when we started this journey. We want to help other people.

So we are inviting you, dear readers, to help families in need. This holiday season give the gift of Sweet Hope. Purchase some chocolates for someone and help raise money for an adoptive family. 50% of the proceeds of candy sales are going to be set aside to give as a grant to an adoptive family. The remaining 50% will go to purchase supplies for Simple Wishes Quilts and to buy graphics for adoptive family's blogs. (I give those away for free) You can also apply for Sweet Hope Financial assistance by visiting HERE. The deadline for chocolate orders is December 1st. We will be shipping chocolates on December 11th. The deadline for financial assistance is December 11th. We will be informing Grant Recipients on Christmas Day.