Let's Get Caught Up!!

Our blog has been acting up a bit lately so I've been unable to update like I've wanted to.  First some exciting news in the Grant world!!

We have been so graciously chosen to receive 2 incredible grants. The first is a matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans who have partnered with Orphan Care Alliance, that we are so close to funding!!  It was a total of $2500 which they will match dollar for dollar.  We only need about 600 more to have that funded!  If you're interested in sending a check to Lifesong for Orphans, here's how you do it!

Send a check for the amount you wish to donate to:
 Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40/202 N. Ford St.
Gridley, IL 61744

Then put in the memo Section: Perkins Family #3574

It's as simple as that and it gets doubled to go toward our adoption!! We are so grateful to this ministry for choosing our family to receive such an incredible gift.

Then last month we were chosen to receive a generous Show Hope grant!  I love this program so much and they have truly played a hand in leading us to adoption.  They have helped to bring home so many beautiful children that have impacted our lives!  Now they are helping to bring home our son!  Just a few months ago we were celebrating the 10 year anniversay with Show Hope in TN and now we are joinging the Show Hope family!  So excited to be apart of this amazing group of families who are making an eternal difference!

Now on to some Adoption News! 

Good news first.  Around the first of July we were informed that our Article 5 had been issued and we had been submitted to the MOJ for a signature.  This is great news!  We are only a few steps from traveling now!  There is  a small group of other adoptive parents that are in the same stage as us that took their first trip shortly before we did. All of those families have now received a signature so we are not far behind. We hope to have a signature by the end of the month, which is quickly closing in. 

The bad news is that the most recent family to receive signature (who traveled 2 weeks before us)  have been told the courts are officially shut down for August and court will not happen until mid-late September.  That puts us even farther behind them.  So what we assumed would be a september/october travel is turning into a october/ early  november travel.  The up side to all of this (we always try to find one) is it gives us an opportunity to get fully funded, and prepared for our little guy to make his grand arrival!  The down side is we miss him soooo much and each day gets a little bit harder! 

We are only about $5,000 from being fully funded, including the remainder of the Lifesong matching grant ($3,800 if we get it funded)  We do have one more grant to be reviewed in early August and we ask that you all join us to pray that we are awarded a portion of the grant.  This grant has the potential to finish our funding!!

We have also FINALLY redecorated E's bedroom! I really need to get some pictures up! I just love it, it's tooo cute, or I guess a better term would be cool!!  There are lots of reminders on the wall of the people who have helped make this possible, and of course from his daddy's glory days of baseball, haha!

We've even got some of Diado's (grandpas) baseball stuff (gloves and trophys) from when he played in little league and highschool. I love having all of the history and stories in his room. I can't wait until he's old enough to understand it all!

There won't be much movement now through probably september, but hopefully I can update with news of another grant!

 We are going to take one last HOORAH before E gets here, and are taking off to the Virgin Islands for a few days in August.  We are taking my parents who have never left the southeastern US or who have never flown. This should make for an exciting trip!  I'm excited to see them so excited about traveling, since dustin and I both love it so much!  We have never been to the beach together since we met so this will be an exciting trip!  We figured we'd better get in before all of our vacations turn into Disney World!! (which by the way we are definitely looking forward to)!!

Until our next update.....