Photos, Photos, Photos!!!!

Do you have a new baby, a recent engagement or just need to update the family photo from 1990??  If so then this is the fundraiser for you.  We are so blessed to have been gifted with a wonderful photo package to help us raise money to bring home Baby Hendricks. Here is how the fundraiser will work:  we have a grid with numbers 1-100, you can purchase a number for $10 or 3 numbers for $25.   On July 25th we will draw a number at random and that person will win the photo package.  We have set up a seperate email acount that you can email your number requests to. I will try to update the blog every few days letting people know what numbers are still available.    I will send you an email back letting you know that I received your requests and giving you our address so you can mail me the cash or check.  Here is the really good news, if you email me your address with your numbers I will send you a card from the photographer that has a $10 discount on it (so if you don't win and choose to book with her anyway you are getting your $10 back). 

Coghlan Photography will be doing the photo session.  Here is the website for you to check out 
http://www.facebook.com/CoghlanPhoto
http://www.coghlan-photography.photoreflect.com/ 

 Below is what is included if you win the package (a $135 value):
Session fee
1- 11x14 Wall Portrait
5-8x10's
5-5x7's
36 wallets

Once we draw the winner I will send an email to both the Photographer and the winner letting them know the outcome.  The winner will have till October 1, 2011 to schedule their session.  Location options are Taylorville, Springfield or within 45 miles of Springfield.  This is an awesome opportunity for anyone in the area to update their family pictures.  Please help us get one step closer to bringing Baby Hendricks home by purchasing a square. You can email number requests to hendricksadoption@hotmail.com  Include your number choices (please include one alternate #), home address so I can mail you a coupon and your preferred phone number for the photographer to call you.

As of July 20 the numbers 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 18,  21, 23, 25, 28, 30, 44, 55, 81 and 90 are no longer available.

Thank you so much for your support.

Mark and Ashley

Home Study Approved!!!!

So excited to be able to tell everyone that as of  yesterday we are officially Home Study approved.  Whe are so excited.  I spent last night going over all of our USCIS (Immigration) paperwork and am going to review it again tonight so Mark can mail everything off tomorrow (I can't think of a better birthday present for him than for us to be able to move on to the next step in this process : )  The Immigration process will take approximately 6-10 weeks so we are anxious to get everything moving on that front. We have had some difficulty filling out the paperwork b/c Mark was born in Germany, but not on a military base.  That puts him in the "fuzzy gray area" on the form.  There wasn't really an appropriate box to check, but our agency is awesome and talked to an officer at USCIS to get it all straightened out.  Keep your fingers crossed for us that we have all our ducks in a row and everything goes smoothly. 

Also, we are on to our next big fundraiser.  We are going to be giving away a professional photography package.  This is a great opportunity for anyone in the Springfield area.  I will be posting specific details later this week on how you can sign up.  Don't forget that we are also still selling tshirts thru Adoption Bug.  We will be running this fundraiser thru the end of July so see the link below if you are interested in a tshirt. 

http://www.adoptionbug.com/hendricksfamilyadoption/index.htm

Thanks to everyone who is following us on our journey. 

Ashley

Home Study, Home Study Where Are You???

Our home study was sent to DCFS on May 16.  Last we heard it was taking approx 3-4 weeks for approval.  We are 24 days into our wait and crossing our fingers that approval comes soon.  Here is a little more information about what the Home Studay entails:

People who adopt have to go through an extensive background check in order to be approved to adopt. The major portion of this background check is called a "home study", where a licensed social worker investigates the family through personal visits, home visits, references, criminal background clearances, health verifications and other related information (such as proof of insurance, birth/marriage certificates, proof income, etc..). Home studies must be done by a licensed social worker or a social worker employed by a licensed agency. In general, home studies are pretty thorough and check out the potential parents with so many checks and balances that any unfavorable information would come out.

We are hoping to get our approval letter any day so we can send everything off to USCIS (Immigration).   That process takes approx 6-10 weeks so we are eager to get it started.  We have run into a few snags filling out our USCIS paperwork, but our agency is awesome and has figured it all out for us. 

I also wanted to update everyone on the 5k Run my friend Kate and I did last week.  We finished, I was still standing upright and I didn't get any injuries. WhooHoo!! We had a great time (despite the oppressive humidity at 8 am : )  Thank you to everyone who supported us in our Run for Baby Hendricks. 

Ashley