So, tell me more…..

We get a lot of questions (some are easy to answer, and some are more difficult)….and so today, we thought it would be fun to fill you in on the questions we are most frequently asked.

Where are you adopting from? Costa Rica.

Where is Costa Rica? Costa Rica is located in the Central American isthmus that connects North America and Central America. It is bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the South and East.  The Pacific ocean borders the western part of the country and the Caribbean borders the eastern side.

How many kids? 1 or 2.  A boy that is 5-7 years old, and possibly a “sibling set”, if the little boy has a sister that is 0-5 years old. 

How much longer until you get to meet your kid(s)? Well the exciting news is that today our dossier is officially in the mail to Costa Rica.  (Woo hoo!!). The documents are received and reviewed by our Costa Rican lawyer and are translated into Spanish and legalized in Costa Rica  It will take approx. 4-6 months for PANI (Patronato Nacional de la Infancia, an organization in Costa Rica which protects the rights of children and adolescents and oversees the adoption process) to “approve” us to adopt, and place us on what is called the waiting list.  We could then get our referral (the notification from the PANI that we have been matched with child(ren)) at any time.  It takes approx. 2 months to get our I 800 (an immigration document that says we commit to adopting a particular child), and then as a family we will travel to Costa Rica to meet and bond (and do legal stuff) with our child(ren) for 6-8 weeks.

Why are you adopting?  The simple answer is because after much prayer from each family member, God made it clear that He called our family to adopt.  As we reflect on the bigger picture, it has been amazing to see the many seeds God planted for us before He made it clear that adoption was part of the story He was writing for our family.

• Before we got married, we were both able to go to other countries on short-term missions.  We both treasured the fact that our hearts had a love for serving others and a passion for our world.  Kari had the opportunity to work as a nurse for a summer in Costa Rica.  This is when she was exposed to the needs of the children in that country.  God planted the seed of falling in love with the people and the culture.  It was then as a couple we decided to sponsor a young boy and the missionary in Costa Rica on a monthly basis.
• God planted seeds in our professions.  Kari has had the opportunity to work as a pediatric foster care nurse.  This was where she acted as a resource and liaison to those involved in addressing the physical and mental health care needs of these children.   Mike is also an elementary teacher, in a low-income school, with a high Latino enrollment.  Daily he gets to be a role model and see the needs of these kids and discover ways to invest in their lives.
• God planted a seed for our family to be bilingual.  After our first son, Isaiah, was born, we felt that God was encouraging us to move across town in order to have a better chance in getting into the dual language Spanish immersion school. He is now a 2^nd grader at this school, and our middle child, Andrew, is at the same school in the preschool Amiguitos program.
•  Six years ago, God planted a seed when we bought our home.  It is a spacious home that has extra room to share with others.  In one room, we have had the privilege to house Corban University students and exchange students from China and Japan.  We know that the Lord has blessed us with this extra space in our home, and we have always desired to seek Him and listen to whom we should share this room with. He is speaking loudly now that we should share this with room with another child(ren).

There have been many other seeds that God planted along the way, preparing our hearts and lives to begin this journey of adoption.  It truly is exciting for us to share about what God had done and is doing in our lives.  Thank you for being a part of the journey with us!

We love you,

Mike and Kari ♥

Here are some pictures from our family celebration day in Portland (Voodoo donuts, zoo, and OHSU tram)-we got fingerprinted, and this was the last step to complete our dossier.

Share the Love t-shirts available now!!!

***update: the shirts and sweatshirts have been ordered.  Woo hoo!!  Thank you all for sharing the His love!!  We truly feel it, and I know our kids will too.  There is a possibility of us doing another “round” of ordering, so let us know if you are interested, and stay tuned.

So I am just a tad bit excited, I kind of feel like it is Christmas morning!!!  The adoption process in the last few months have been all about paperwork, evaluations (psych eval is done and we are considered an “ideal” family to adopt, thank you for your prayers), appointments and interviews.  Phew.  But today, I get to share with you our Costa Rican adoption fundraiser shirt.  My good friend (who is the fabulous blogger at Camp Kurtz), and her hubby helped design the shirt.  We hope you love it as much as we do!

I can’t wait to see our family and friends near and far wearing these shirts as we wait….and (eventually) someday when we get home as a family of 6 or 7.  I also can’t wait to send these to our waiting child(ren) after we get the referral.  Can you see me smiling now:)!!!

So here’s the scoop.  Buy a shirt/sweatshirt. Share the Love.

All t-shirts are $20.  All sweatshirts are $35.  We are accepting orders until 5/13.

Styles: Traditional (adult sizes/youth), V-neck (ladies sizes), or pullover hoodie sweatshirt (adult sizes/youth) (black)

Sizes: adult (S up to 4XL), youth (XS (4), S(6-8), M(10-12), L(14-16), XL(18-20),

or ladies (only available for v-neck, S up to 2XL)

Here is the sizing chart (click on it to get a better view)-so gals if you are ordering a traditional shirt or a hoodie, look to see what size would fit you best.  (ie: if you normally order a Lg in Women’s size, then you may want a Med in “adult size”).  The v-neck is only available in ladies sizes (and sizing is below too)

Please let me know if you have any questions.

How to Order: You can order through paypal (you can also use your Credit Card via PayPal)-when ordering, in a “message to the seller” please let us know sizes and style you would like     (ie: 1 traditional shirt size L, 1 hoodie size M, 1 v-neck size S, 1 traditional shirt youth L). 

You can also order in person, by email (kari@spu.edu), FB message, or in comments below.  You can pay cash/check at time of pick up/delivery or by mail.  Out of town folks: We will ship you the shirts, so make sure we have your address too.

1 John 4: 10 ^“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins”.

What have we been up to?

The Lovely crew has been a little quiet here on the blog.  So, we thought it would be a good time to let you all know where we are at……

….physically speaking, we are all in the U.S.  I (Kari) am back in the country after having spent almost 3 weeks in February in Thailand on a medical mission trip.  It was AMAZING!!!  I would love to grab coffee with each of you and share more. 

….adoption wise, it has been a whirlwind since I got home.  We met with the social worker from Holt and our home study was completed and finalized last month!  Awesome! Which means we are now able to start:

• Applying for grants.  We are applying at these organizations: JSC Foundation, Life Song, and Show Hope.  God has already provided in miraculous ways (almost half way there! Wow!!) We continue to trust that He knows the exact ways that the funds are to come in for the adoption.

• Applying to CIS (I-800 A).  We have to be approved by the U.S. Government, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to adopt.

• Working on our Dossier (pronounced dos-ee-ey, don’t you feel cool now?!), which is the group of documents that we send to Costa Rica. It is essentially our “application” to adopt from Costa Rica.

Curious what goes into the dossier?  The following documents are all included:

(all must be notarized and then state certified-known as apostille)

1. Adoption Application

2. Birth Certificates

3. Marriage License

4. Certificate of Profession

5. Medicals

6. FBI clearances

7. Psychological Evaluation

8. Home Study Report

9. Post-Adoption Commitment

10. I 797 (The CIS Approval)

11. Power of Attorney (English and Spanish)

12. Color copy of the passports

13. Three passport photos of each parent

14. Family Photos

 The biggest part of the dossier is the psychological evaluation.  Sounds a bit scary, right?! It is explained as this: “The psychological evaluation is done to help determine if a family meets the psychological conditions necessary to be considered ideal or not for adoption. Specifically it is critical to explore a family’s motivation to adopt, their personal history, their relationships and their socioeconomic condition”.  We have our psych eval today (4/13) from 4pm-7pm. This is our prayer today, will you pray it for us too?

Romans 15:13 “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit”.

Our love goes out to each of you,

Kari ♥ for the crew

The big auction update….

It is hard to put into words all that happened last night at the silent auction fundraiser.

Before the idea of the auction came, we were being obedient to God’s call for our family with adoption.  As the plans for this event progressed, items were donated, teams of people were planning and preparing, we felt the continual confirmation of God’s heart for us and this journey.

The auction itself last night felt like a wedding reception….lots of loved ones and adoption supporters in one place, but not enough time to really connect.  Looking around the room, we were thankful and blessed to see over 200 hundred old and new friends.  That alone had a great impact on our heart and feeling God’s love for us.

How do we truly thank each person that was a part of this?

We are so grateful for all of you!!!

Here is how God made it all happen:

• God planted the idea of having a silent auction
• He gave us the right date for the event that was before Kari left for Thailand
• The perfect size location for the event was provided
• A planning team of friends, each with their unique gifts and talents, was formed
• God laid specific names of people to ask and ways to ask for donations
• 94 items were donated by friends or people we didn’t even know (how cool is that?!)
• People volunteered to do a photo booth, music, food, decorations, & we were given raffle ticket items
• On the day of the event, an overflow of people helped set up, run the event, and helped clean up
• Kids donated almost $200 in spare change for their own raffle for toys (WOW!)
• People generously gave by bidding on items, raffle tickets, puzzle pieces and photo donations.  For a grand total of $6,562!!! (amazing!!!)

We feel like the list could go on and on, but we wanted to at least try and give you a glimpse into what the night was like….and maybe a few photos will help.

To God be the glory!!

We love you, Mike and Kari♥
1 Cor. 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”

PS. Congrats to the following winners of the big raffle items:

$25 Starbucks: Kristina S.

$25 Outback Steakhouse: Amber S.

$25 Home Depot: Natalie P.

Kindle Fire: Amanda T.

Adoption raffle-Kindle Fire HD and more….

How would you like to win a Kindle Fire HD (retail value of $200), or a $25 gift card to Home Depot, or a $25 gift card to Starbucks, or a $25 gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse…..and be a part of giving an orphan(s) a home??? Some very loving and generous friends of ours have bought us a 16mg Kindle Fire HD (and the other great prizes) to help us fundraise for our adoption costs and bring our child(ren) home from Costa Rica.

So here is how you can have a chance to win:

Buy as many raffle tickets as you like for $10 each.  Just click the donate button at the side of this page and put in your desired amount (ie: 2 tickets = $20). For those of you that donate online, I will write your names on the back of the raffle ticket(s).  Include your email address so I can email you and let you know if you win.  If you are local, you are more than welcome to give us cash or a check, make sure you write your name and your email or phone number on the back of the ticket(s).  You can also buy the raffle tickets at the silent auction on 1/25/13.

The raffle will end at 8 PM PST on Friday, January 25th, 2013. (last chance to buy raffle tickets online will be 1 PM PST on 1/25/13).   We will draw the raffle tickets live at the end of the silent auction and announce our 4 winners.  You do not have to be present to win.  We will notify the winner by email or phone on 1/26/13, and either deliver the prizes or mail them by 1/27/13.

You can also have the option of getting 2 EXTRA TICKETS….

~If you buy at least one ticket, there are other ways you can get extra tickets for “free.”  (to be clear,  you can only get extra tickets if you have already bought at least one ticket….if you don’t want to buy any tickets but want to share the love for fun, we thank you for that too:)).

1) If you post about it on your Facebook status with a link to our blog post you will get a free ticket. (tag me by typing @kari lovely as you post it)

2) If you blog about it on your own blog you will get another free ticket. (send me a link with your blog post in the comment section)

Thank you for donating…..and I can’t wait to see who the winners are!!!!

♥, Kari

Information on the Kindle Fire HD The World’s most advanced 7″ tablet:

1280×800 HD display with polarizing filter and anti-glare technology for rich color and deep contrast from any viewing angle Exclusive Dolby audio and dual-driver stereo speakers for immersive, virtual surround sound World’s first tablet with dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi for over 35% faster downloads and streaming (compared to the iPad mini) High performance 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor with Imagination PowerVR 3D graphics core for fast and fluid performance Over 23 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, books, audiobooks, and popular apps and games such as Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, HBO GO, Pandora, and Angry Birds Space Integrated support for Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! and more, as well as Exchange calendar, contacts, and email Front-facing HD camera for taking photos or making video calls using Skype, Facebook, and other apps Free unlimited cloud storage for all your Amazon content Kindle FreeTime – a free, personalized tablet experience just for kids on the Kindle Fire HD. Set daily screen limits, and give access to appropriate content for each child NEW Kindle FreeTime Unlimited – just for kids. Unlimited access to books, games, apps, movies and TV shows. Learn more

God’s Love

This month is big month for me…for us, The Lovely family.  When I walked into the store and saw all of the Valentines Day merchandise, it hit me.  This. is. happening.  February is not far away.  For the past year I have been preparing to take a medical mission trip with our church to Thailand (Feb. 2-20).  It always felt so far away, but now I leave in less than a month.  This month we are also doing adoption classes, paper work for our home study, and our biggest fundraiser yet, the silent auction.  (We would LOVE prayer for all of those).

As I was sitting here reflecting on 2012 and what is ahead for us, the song Amazed came on.  The words penetrate my heart and worship overflows as I am reminded again of the powerful truth that God taught me last year-I am His beloved daughter, and there is nothing I can do to make Him love me more.  To stop striving in life and to be amazed by how He loves me.

My prayer today is that you too are amazed by his love, and I pray:
“together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” Eph. 3:18

With so much love and gratitude,

Kari♥

P.S- A huge praise, and thanks to the participants in the boot sock fundraiser, selling items on Craigslist, and our pieces in our puzzle, we just sent in our first payment to our agency.  Woo hoo!  Amazed……

Amazed lyrics:

You dance over me
while I am unaware,
You sing all around,
but I never hear the sound

Lord I’m amazed by You
Lord I’m amazed by You
Lord I’m amazed by You,
how You love me

You paint the morning sky
with miracles in mind
my hope will always stand
for You hold me in Your hand

Lord I’m amazed by You
Lord I’m amazed by You
Lord I’m amazed by You,
how You love me

How wide…
How deep…
How great…
Is Your love for me

Lord I’m amazed…

Why can adoption cost so much??

(Drew & Isaiah at the bank, taking in donations from our boot sock fundraiser)

Why can adoption cost so much???  I had always wondered the same thing….until this adoption journey started.  I was told by our agency (Lifeline) what each of the fees were for, and then I realized how it all added up.  So, in case you have ever asked the same question, I wanted to share with you what it looks like for us with our adoption from Costa Rica (Every country and agency will vary, in addition some of these fees are estimates and may change).

Our Agency fees (paid in 5 installments):

Application Fee-$250

Lifeline Children’s Services Fee-$5,000

Orphan Care Sustainability Projects (one time fee goes towards (un)adopted children & Lifeline’s orphan care ministry)-$250

Costa Rican Liaison Fee-$1,000

Home Study Fee-$2,500

Shipping Fees: All documents-$200

Post Adoption Services-$750

Post Adoption Deposit-$500

Post Adoption Translation-$300

Out of pocket U.S. Adoption expenses-paid during the home study process & during preparation of the dossier:

Fingerprint Fee (For Home Study)-$102.50

Out of State Home Study Review for families using Non-Hague Accredited Agencies-$250

Passport pictures (20 copies)-$50

Passports for two parents-$240

Passports for three kids-$360

Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee (includes fingerprinting for 2 adults)-$890

NCFA Parent Training-$195

International Adoption Clinic Seminar-$150

Birth Certificates (1 copy of each)-$26

Marriage License (1 copy)-$13

Psychological evaluation Dossier apostille ($5/doc)-$140

FedEx fees (dossier sent to Lifeline)-$45

Fees in Costa Rica:

Dossier translation fee (sent with dossier to be translated in Costa Rica)-$800

Document fees, representative expenses-$400

Wiring fee-$20

Medical Reports for home study (varies depending on  health insurance  coverage)*

Medical Reports for dossier (varies depending on health insurance coverage)*

Estimated in-country expenses while in Costa Rica-(based on 60 days in the country)

Airfare (tickets for two adults)-$2,200

Airfare for one child(one way)-$600

Airfare for 3 kids (round trip)-$3,300

Translator/Guide fee ($40/day)-$1,200

Hotel Accommodations-$3,600

Accommodations for guide (if you must travel outside of San Jose)-$1,500

Transportation in Costa Rica-$1,500

Food($40/day)-$2,400

Foreign Country Program Expenses:

Representative fee/legal fee for one child (2 children=$4,000)-$3,000

Medical exam for one child-$55

Birth certificate for one child-$20

Visa and paperwork for one child-$230

Judicial Admin Fees-$650

Post-adoption service fees (Costa Rica requires a social worker to visit every 6 months for 2 years)-$1500-$3000

Add all the fees up=approx. $35,000 for our family to adopt one child from Costa Rica.  Plus there will be additional costs and fees if we are going to adopt a sibling set:)

As I wrote this information down on our blog today, I am reminded of what Jesus says in Luke 18:27, “What is impossible with men is possible with God”.

May you too take hope and encouragement for the story God is writing for you,

Kari♥

Home Study

We have officially began our home study paperwork….some of you know what that entails, others do not have a clue (that was me just a few days ago).  I want to update this blog to let people know where we are at in the process, praises and prayer requests, but also to encourage anyone that may be thinking about adoption by sharing more about the process.

Our home study consists of:

Personal Data information (22 pages of questions….some are really tough to answer)

Financial statement

Current 1040 tax form

Medical forms (need current physical and blood tests)

Employment Verification form

Release of Information (allowing our agency to talk with any medical providers)

Duty of Disclosure form (basically saying all is true and if anything were to change we would notify them)

One photo of our family and one of the front of our home

Background Check information consists of:
Fingerprints cards (2 sets per person), Criminal History Request Form, Additional Background Information form (other states we have lived more than 60 days since age 18), & Authorization for Release of Information for the FBI check

Photocopies of: driver’s licenses, certified birth certificates and our marriage certificate

Adoption preparation training (we are doing 10 hours of online classes)

One 2-3 hour meeting with our social worker in our home with our children to interview us on:

our family background, marital relationship, children in the home, parenting style, finances & home environment, interest in adoption and type of adoption, and our understanding of adoption issues.

One final meeting with our social worker at the agency

So this friends and family is what the Lovely crew will be working on over Christmas break….and probably until I leave for my medical mission trip to Thailand in February.

~We would love prayer that we take each document, each question, one step and a time.  May we will be still and listen as He guides us with this home study.  May the Lord be glorified!

Thanks for journeying with us,

Kari ♥

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” Psalm 46:10

Silent Auction Fundraiser

And we now have the official flyer and invite for our silent auction (thanks sister!)

It has been amazing for us to see friends, family, and even strangers, all come together to make this event happen.

Will you please share the love?  You can do this by:

Coming as a family to this event

Donating a good or service for the auction

Praying for this event

Posting/sharing about the event on your blog, facebook, at work, to your friends & family….

Let us know how many flyers you would like.  Thank you for blessing our family!

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

Share the Love-Silent Auction Adoption Fundraiser

Save the Date: Friday January 25th 6:30-8:00pm

First Baptist Church

Community Life Center

395 Marion Street Northeast  Salem, OR 97301

Fun for the whole family!

Silent auction

Raffles

Dessert

More information to come…..

Do you have a good, service, vacation rental, tickets that you would like to donate and help us bring our child(ren) home??

Please contact me: kari@spu.edu

We would love for you to be praying with us for this event, we are so excited to see what God has in store!

Much love ♥,

Kari and the Lovely crew