#givingtuesday

I love to shop. And I love a good deal. So naturally, I love Black Friday. (Side note: But my favorite shopping day of the year is the day after Christmas shopping, possibly because one year my brother and I saw two grown women get in a fist fight over a RubberMaid wrapping paper holder at Target.) Black Friday has grown into Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. I'm totally ok with that. Great deals everywhere.

There's a new trend for Tuesday. It's called Giving Tuesday. Basically, you've spent a ton of money throughout those 3 days on yourself, your family, and your friends, so on Tuesday it's time to give back. There are a ton of amazing organizations to give to and people in the community to share with. We want to throw another opportunity out there.

We posted recently about the cost of our adoption. We've done two different fundraisers, and it's time for another. Today we want to start piecing together our family. Here's the idea: We have bought a 500 piece puzzle. We're "selling" each piece for $10. For every $10 given, we will write that person's name or family's name on the back of a puzzle piece. We will then put the puzzle together as a family, frame it with glass on both sides, and hang it in our home as a constant reminder of everyone who helped "Piece Together Our Family." In case you haven't done the math yet, 500 x $10 = $5,000. That would be an incredible dent in our fundraising.

We will hopefully post pictures weekly of all the pieces bought that week to show our progress. We've decided to leave the puzzle in the states for now because of the harsh climate here. Trey's parents have agreed to help with the names and pictures. We've ordered a puzzle from Ravensburger puzzles of a picture we've taken in Benin. It will look like this:

So, we hope on this Giving Tuesday you will find a place to give back. If you would like to donate to our adoption needs, you can visit our donation website: www.youcaring.com/fondrenadoption or if you'd prefer to give cash or check, you can give it to a family member in Pensacola or Panama City or contact us for an address to mail.

We encourage you to find somewhere and someway to give back this holiday season!

On social media use: #givingtuesday and #fondrenadoption

The Cost

We've mentioned before about the cost of our adoption. We are hoping to save some money by being in country, however, that doesn't mean it's free!  We want to help you better understand our costs. Since we are not going through an agency, we can't give the exact total, but only what we believe are the costs. And there are some items we are still unsure of, so those will be blank for now and I'll fill them in as we get a better idea.

Orphanage & Benin Lawyer Fees…….$9,333 (7,500 Euros - paid 4,500)
USA Lawyer Fees……………………....$3,600 (paid in full)
Translation…………………………...….$521 (275,000 CFA - already paid this amount, but more to come)
Homestudy……………………………....???
Benin Passport…………………………$60 (approximate)
USA Visa……………………………...…...???
USA Paperwork……………………...….$720 + $85
Room & Board                                $65/month (while he is not in our home)
Current Total (approximate)             $15,000

There are several other possible costs that we are not sure that we will have to pay yet. Some of these costs could increase as time goes on (translation, room & board). We share this information so you can see the amount that we have in front of us. Through our current fundraising we have raised: $2,030. Obviously, we have a little ways to go. Thankfully, we still have time. Be on the look out for some more fundraising efforts. And if you'd like a shirt, let us know. We've had more interest and will be placing another order!

Fundraising Items

Are you looking to get a gift for that special person in your life? Maybe you want to get your Christmas shopping done early? And you like to support a cause while you're shopping?? We'll I've got just the gift for you! We've got several different items made in African cloth that we bought in Benin and Nigeria. Buying one of these items and 100% of the cost goes towards our adoption! See the items posted below and visit this Facebook album to see all the patterns available. Everything is first come, first serve - so comment, email, text, call, whatever you gotta do, just get in touch with us! If you'd like the item shipped, add $3. If you've already bought a shirt, we'll add your items to your package.

But most importantly, please continue to be praying. We're still waiting. We hope to begin the judicial process some time early in 2015, but we aren't sure yet. So, pray for patience. Pray for our relationship to continue to grow with Little Man. Pray for his health and safety. Pray for our friends who are caring for him, treating him as one of their own. And pray now for a smooth judicial process.

it takes a village...

It takes a village to raise a child.

-African Proverb

This is an African Proverb that I'm sure you've heard before. But it's not just a saying here... they mean it. Your child is not just your child. Your child is also your neighbor's child and the sweet lady down the street's child. Life here is lived as a community and that includes raising children. Community living involves caring for each other's needs even when someone may not have anything to give. It means being ready to strap your neighbor's baby on your back in order to put them to sleep for an afternoon nap because she needs you to. It means what's mine is yours... in everything. Community living is a very easy concept for us in some areas, and a very difficult concept in others. When it comes to being caring and hospitable, got it. But when it comes to possessions, or punishing another child, not so easy. But, we've learned a lot about community.

With the adoption process in front of us, we are approached with the daunting task of paying a large amount of money in order to bring home our kiddo. We don't mean buying our child. We mean adoption fees. These things include lawyer fees, orphanage fees, court fees, US government fees, passport, visa, travel, and many, many other expenses. Being in Benin, we're able to cut back on many of the expenses related to traveling across the globe, but that doesn't mean all the other fees are waived. 

We are doing things on our own - saving, watching our spending, putting aside birthday & Christmas money, etc. - but the amount we will need is much larger than we can do on our own. So, we've come us with a few different fundraising ideas. We want you, our friends and family and network, to be part of our village.

First, we have a t-shirt for sale. Our goal is to sell 100 of these! See the photo below for information and become part of our "village."