We met our Matching Grant!

As you have probably seen, we found out late Wednesday night that we met our matching grant! I cried, we praised the Lord and I (Alisha-just to clarify) cried some more - tears of joy and tears of gratefulness!!!!! The Lord provides in the most incredible ways and we are beyond thankful for His provision! So many people have supported us not only financially but emotionally and prayerfully along this journey and we could not be more grateful and humbled! 

So from here - we continue to raise money! We will need at least $30,000 to actually finalize on an adoption. BUT we now have enough that we can start applying to agencies! We will start next week with MORE paperwork and this time it is actually feeling REAL and so much CLOSER (although there is no timeline)!!!  We have chosen 4 agencies across the USA that we will be applying to with the help of CAC (Christian Adoption Consultants)! Most of those agencies waive any application fees for CAC families so this is another HUGE blessing!!! 

We have had so many people ask if we are still raising money and if they can help and the answer is YES followed by a HUGE HUG :)

We met the $10,000 matching grant but are still working on getting the remaining $4-6K needed to finalize on an adoption!!! Here is how::

*Give Online*

1. Go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate

2. Select 'Give to an Adoptive Family'

3. Complete the online form and fill in our familiy account number and family name!  (4335 / Forbis) This is very important!!!! Please make sure you note this on any donation given!!! 

*Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.

*Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the 

*Give by Check*

Please make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans

***Important!!! In the memo please make not your gift preference with our family account number and family name - (4335 / Forbis)***

Please mail checks to:

Lifesong for Orphans

PO Box 40

Gridley, IL  61744

Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all US administrative fund-raising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means that 100% of your donation will go directly to the need! 

Quick Update

Where does that leave us to date:: 

*Give Online*

1. Go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate

2. Select 'Give to an Adoptive Family'

3. Complete the online form and fill in our familiy account number and family name!  (4335 / Forbis) This is very important!!!! Please make sure you note this on any donation given!!! 

*Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.

*Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the 

*Give by Check*

Please make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans

***Important!!! In the memo please make not your gift preference with our family account number and family name - (4335 / Forbis)***

Please mail checks to:

Lifesong for Orphans

PO Box 40

Gridley, IL  61744

Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all US administrative fund-raising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means that 100% of your donation will go directly to the need! 

Two Week Countdown

The countdown has begun......

Two weeks from today our matching grant ends! To date we are sitting at $5,945! (for the grant)Our grant will be matched up to $10,000! 

We are praying that we will be able to get the full $10,000 which matched would be $20,000! 

Our total fundraising is currently at $16,235 of the total $30,000 needed to begin the application process! 

This absolutely blows me away - The Lord is providing in incredible ways and we could not be more grateful to see so many people wanting to be part of this baby's story! What a blessing it is! 

Its not too late to give and have your donation be doubled!!!!

*Give Online*

1. Go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate

2. Select 'Give to an Adoptive Family'

3. Complete the online form and fill in our familiy account number and family name!  (4335 / Forbis) This is very important!!!! Please make sure you note this on any donation given!!! 

*Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.

*Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the 

*Give by Check*

Please make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans

***Important!!! In the memo please make not your gift preference with our family account number and family name - (4335 / Forbis)***

Please mail checks to:

Lifesong for Orphans

PO Box 40

Gridley, IL  61744

Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all US administrative fund-raising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means that 100% of your donation will go directly to the need! 

Rescued!

My heart has been heavy lately. Not because of how long and grueling the adoption process can be, but because of the weight of sin that I believe fully effects adoption! 

I saw this quote recently and felt as though it were coming from my own heart! 

People often ask why we are adopting - and the answers come from many different perspectives BUT ULTIMATELY - we are adopting because we have been RESCUED by the cross of Jesus Christ! I do not believe that that means that everyone who has been rescued is supposed to adopt - but I do believe that God calls us to love and care for the orphans! That looks different in every believers life and for us it looks like adoption.

A friend of mine recently posted this on facebook and I was so grateful and encouraged by her words:

"Adoption is one of the most profound, most beautiful acts a believer can be a part of. What an incredible picture of Gods adoption of us, as His sons and daughters. If you know anyone in the process of adoption or have already adopted, be a part. Love them, pray for them, support them. They're doing a gospel work!"

Someone then commented how hard adopting is and how they want to cry and give up so often because of the process being so difficult.....

My friend's response absolutely BLEW my mind! 

"I think it's the same reason any life experience that explicitly preaches the gospel can be hard/ the enemy hates it and will do everything in his power to thwart or ruin in. But we have the strength of Christ. Just read Ephesians 6:10-20 today. Were clothed to fight and wage war- to protect and guard truth. What you guys are doing is a clear picture of the gospel/ and you aren't doing it alone!"

I have tried to communicate this in my own words so many times (and this is much more beautifully written that I can ever quite seem to get my words to be) - but today, for me, this is exactly what I needed to hear  to not only encourage my heart but to remind me that this is the fight, this is war - and we are clothed and ready for battle, thanks to the ONE who rescued us! 

So thankful for the truth.  

Garage Sale!

I know no one really LOVES to have a garage sale, but I am one of those rare people who really thinks its fun! I also really love a challenge, so last Monday when we received the news about our $10,000 matching grant...I decided we would have a garage sale that coming weekend - I was ready to get going! I let a few friends know in case they had anything they wanted to donate! I made a last minute decision, without thinking through any of the details, that we would have it on Friday AND Saturday!!! 

I wish I could remember all of the details of the week and weekend but....

Here are a few of the things that were an absolute blessing::

A friend loaned us a truck for the entire weekend - what a life saver that was! 
Friends come to help price things and make signs for us! 
Friends baked for us so that we would have baked goods to sell! 
So many people donated things for us to sell - and kept donating up until 3 hours before the sale ended on Saturday!
People watched Miss E for us while we worked the sale! 
People we didn't even know walked up and handed us money just because they wanted to be part of adoption, had been touched by adoption, or just thought it was really cool what we are doing!
The weather was perfect!
A friend who is in marketing helped me think through how to best advertise the sale!

I believe all of this would not be possible without all of the prayers that so many were praying for us!

Although it was very last minute -the Lord provided in absolutely ONLY GOD ways!

We are still working on totals from this weekends garage sale (some of the donated items are being sold online), but as of now we raised $1,670 -- we are blown away!

God is so sweet in His provision!!! All of that will be doubled through our $10,000 matching grant funded by Legacy 685! What a blessing! 

Every dollar donated between now and April 28 will be doubled up to $10,000! That would mean we would almost be at our goal amount to bring our baby home!!!! Please consider giving NOW at the link below!!! Every dollar counts - TWICE

As we get the other things sold online, and get the totals of donations that have been made online - I will update you! 

Here is how you can give now!!

 ALL DONATIONS WILL BE MATCHED NOW THROUGH APRIL 28!!!!!! 

*Give by Check*

Please make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans

***Important!!! In the memo please make note your gift preference with our family account number and family name - (4335 / Forbis)***

Please mail checks to:

Lifesong for Orphans

PO Box 40

Gridley, IL  61744

Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all US administrative fund-raising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means that 100% of your donation will go directly to the need! 

*Give Online*

1. Go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate

2. Select 'Give to an Adoptive Family'

3. Complete the online form and fill in our familiy account number and family name!  (4335 / Forbis) This is very important!!!! Please make sure you note this on any donation given!!! 

*Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.

**CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO DONATE NOW!**

*Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.

Big news in February!!!

Well this last few weeks have been CRAZY!!!! Our heart strings have been pulled! Our emotions have been crazy! And God has been faithful through it all!!! I am so thankful I can finally write a blog and update you on what's been going on! 

A couple weeks ago we heard of a situation that we very quickly became interested in! There was a birth mom due in March who was still in need of an adoptive family for her baby!!! We quickly gathered paperwork and began talking with the agency! We were told at the time that there were no other families even presenting to this birth mom. We prayed a lot for her and for that little baby boy and prayed for God's will and for our hearts to fully trust whatever the outcome was! 

We received a call today and found out that a wonderful family in Michigan was chosen! Although we were not chosen for this child, we are grateful for the opportunity to pray for him as if he was going to be our own and have so much peace that he will be placed with the family that is perfectly fit for him!! We are so grateful that the Lord has given us such peace about this situation - although we have both been a little emotional tonight, we rest fully in the plans the Lord has and are so grateful for the peace He has given us tonight!

Because of this situation, we were able to get some things moving with our grants! Had this been the baby for us, we would have had to come up with a lot of money in one week, so because of that we were able to get our paperwork expedited to the top for one of our grants and received some INCREDIBLY HUMBLING NEWS TODAY!!!!!

We have received a $10,000 matching grant that will be funded by Legacy 685!!!!!! 

We are blown away by His goodness in this gift and are now ready to hit it hard with fundraising!!! 

As you can imagine we have been very emotional this last few weeks as we have seen pictures of sonograms of the baby that we thought we might get to bring home in just a few short weeks, but we know that this was all part of the plan that God had in place for us to be able to get moving a little quicker on things that have been at a stand still for what feels like an eternity to a waiting mommy and family! 

So with that being said....we want to invite you to be a part in joyfully partnering with us by financially helping bring our baby home! 

Gifts given between now and April 28, 2014 will be matched up to $10,000!!!! We are praying that through this matching grant we will be able to meet our goal and will be able to bring home our baby!!!!! 

Check out below ways that you can give!! 

*Give by Check*

Please make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans

***Important!!! In the memo please make not your gift preference with our family account number and family name - (4335 / Forbis)***

Please mail checks to:

Lifesong for Orphans

PO Box 40

Gridley, IL  61744

Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all US administrative fund-raising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means that 100% of your donation will go directly to the need! 

*Give Online*

1. Go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate

2. Select 'Give to an Adoptive Family'

3. Complete the online form and fill in our familiy account number and family name!  (4335 / Forbis) This is very important!!!! Please make sure you note this on any donation given!!! 

*Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.

**CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO DONATE NOW!**

*Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.

January Adoption Update

I don't have much to update on the adoption front. We are still waiting. We have applied for 3 grants so far and have to wait 8-10 weeks to hear back on those...... It took close to that to get the applications filled out :/ There is a LOT of paperwork involved in anything to do with adoption I have learned and Lots of waiting. A friend, who is also adopting, walked in one day last week and heard our printer going and said "Adoption?" These are things only adoptive parents can understand - the amount of work, prayers, worry, love, thought, anxiety, love, paperwork, love and more paperwork that it takes to adopt. Once the Lord provides the money for our adoption there will be more paperwork as we will begin applying to agencies across the US! 

At this point we are waiting to hear from the grants as we pray and trust the Lord that IN HIS time, He will provide exactly what we need to grow our family! 

Pray for our grants! That the Lord would lay it on the hearts of those processing our applications to give generously to our adoption! 

We have not stopped hoping and praying for miracles as we KNOW God will provide for us! 

Big sis in training!!

As we wait we are enjoying every second with our sweet girl who is becoming more and more fun everyday! We are so thankful for her and the PURE JOY she has for life! 

***READ ALL ABOUT OUR ADOPTION HERE***

Adoption FAQ's

We are constantly asked questions regarding our adoption and we want to be as open as we possibly can be so here are some of the FAQ's! We actually love when people ask questions about every part of the adoption, not only does it speak to us when people care enough to ask about it, but it is also an opportunity to share our hearts!! 

1. Why does it cost so much? (If I had a dollar for every time I have been asked this we wouldn't need to raise support - jk.....kinda!) AND How much will it cost?

The average cost for domestic adoption is broken down like this:
Homestudy fee                                                     $1,912
Agency Application and Program Fee              $14,161
Attorney Fees                                                        $3,548 
Birth Family Counseling                                      $1,085
Birthmother Expenses                                         $3,076
Travel Expenses                                                    $2,198
All other Expenses                                                $4,682
Total                                                                        $30,662

Again, this is an average! Absolutely every adoption is different with different costs and considerations, but average cost for domestic adoption is $25,000-$40,000
Our goal is to raise $30,000! That is what we are praying for and what we believe the Lord will provide! Our Consultant will work with us to make sure we only present our family profile to situations that will not exceed our funding! Sadly because of the great expense here are some stats!

33% of Americans consider adoption. 

79% of those are concerned about the costs, the biggest deterrent. 

Less than 2% adopt.

Of the estimated 153 million orphans in the world, 17.8 million are “double orphans” (without a mother or father)   250,000 orphans are adopted  14,000,000 age out of the system

If 1 family in every 3 churches in the US adopted a waiting child, every waiting child in the US would have a forever family.

2. How old of a child will you adopt? 
We have preferenced an infant! Most likely we will be able to take the baby home from the hospital. Again, each case is completely unique and there is no guarantee. We do not believe that we will take a child any older than E, unless God just makes it clear that that is what He wants! But at this point we plan on an infant! We fully trust that God already knows who our child will be, we just have to walk in faith! 

3. Do you guys want more biological children?
At this point we are just taking it step by step and child by child! We feel very very certain that we are following in the Lord's calling for our family at this time with pursuing adoption. We would love to have another biological child at some point, but only God knows the plans He has for our family and we want to live open handed and trusting Him!

4. What is the timeline?
We continue to pray that we will have our baby in spring 2014! Once we have our funds we will be able to move forward and things 'should' move quickly from there! 

5. What are you doing to raise money?
**We are currently raising funds!!! (**Read our February update for most up to date info on that!)
**We ran the Chosen Marathon in October and just received word that we raised $1520.00 through the race! We had an incredible team sign up to support us and we are so grateful for each of you that joined our team! 
**We have also set up a partnership with Just Love Coffee - where a percentage of purchases made will go towards our adoption! 
https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/Forbis/
**Private gifts are also an option and we have had several generously given to us! 

Through all of these means we have to date raised $3,070

We will also be applying for grants! The average grant amount is 2,000-5,000! Most of the grants available are matching grants so keep an eye out for fundraisers! There will be a certain timeline that different organizations will agree upon and determine to match with a grant what we are able to raise!

6. What are you paying for yourself?
We have done a lot of shifting around in our monthly budget and are monthly setting money aside towards our adoption! We have already paid close to $3,000 out of pocket for homestudy and other fees that were paid upfront! 

7. Why don't you just adopt through CPS? 
We would love to adopt through CPS someday. We even completed all the training needed to do foster care in our home before we became pregnant with E. I say right now because we have a heavy heart for and fully believe that we will do foster/adoption later on. 
In order to adopt through CPS, we would have to be willing to take a child up to 8 years old. We do not feel like we are equipped at this point to take a child any older than E! We desire for her to have a sibling close to her in age.  As we prayed and prayed about what God saw best for our family after having E, we continually heard that adoption was what He was calling us to. With adoption once we add a child to our family, it will be a permanent addition, which we feel is best for E at this time. Through CPS we could have a lot of kids in and out of our home for years and they may never become available for adoption. So there are a lot of factors for us that really helped us see why God was calling us to do adoption now! 



Please add any other questions you may have in the comment section below!!!

{Read our full story here}

Advent - Family daily devotionals

Family Advent

[daily devotionals]

I am so excited about our advent this year!!! I have been wanting to do something with E that really focuses on Jesus and teaches her about His birth and why we celebrate Christmas! It has been a tradition for John and I to do Advent together each year, but this year we decided to start it with E! I think we will be able to use this one for the next several years - it will be short and daily will have something visual for her to see as we talk about the story!!! 

I bought this at Hobby Lobby and used scrap book paper to add the numbers!

Here are the verses we are using and the visuals we chose for our advent! Everything was from around the house or super cheap from the craft store! Most of them are super cheesy, but its just meant to be fun and give us a visual to look at as we read and talk about the Christmas story!!!

{one} Luke 1: 26-28; 31

‘In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.’

Angel Gabriel

{two} Matthew 1:18

‘Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.’

Engagement

{three} Luke 1:46-55

 ‘And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate; 

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy, 

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”’

Mary's Song

{four} Matthew 1:20

‘But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’

Angel of the Lord

{five} Matthew 1:21

‘She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”’

The Cross - Save people from their sins

{six} Matthew 1:22-23

‘All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us).’

God with us (allowed Christ to be with us, bridging the gap between God and man)

{seven} Luke 2:4 

‘And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,’

Family Tree - lineage of David

{eight} Luke 2:5

 ‘to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.’

Travel and registering

{nine} Micah 5:2

 ‘But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel,

             whose coming forth is from of old,

from ancient days.’

Royalty (purple)

{ten} Luke 2:6-7 

‘And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.’

Baby Jesus (I know its creepy but its the only baby that I could find to fit)

{eleven} Luke 2:7 

“…[Mary] wrapped [Jesus] in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Swaddle Blanket

{twelve} Isaiah 9:6 

‘For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’

Prince of Peace

{thirteen} Luke 2:8-11 

‘And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’

Shepherds

{fourteen} Luke 2:12 

‘And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”’

Manger

{fifteen} Luke 2:13-14 

‘And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”’

Multitude of heavenly host

{sixteen} Luke 2:15-18 

‘When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.’

Bells - Making known

{seventeen} Psalm 95:6 

‘Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!’

Rock - bowing down on the earth

{eighteen} Luke 2:19-20, 33-35 

‘But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”’

Mary's Heart

{nineteen} Luke 2:21

 ‘And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.’

Name Jesus

{twenty} Luke 2:22-24

‘And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”’

Two turtledoves

{twenty-one} Luke 2:25-32 

‘Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”’

Eyes have seen your salvation

{twenty-two} Matthew 2:1 

‘Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,’

Wisdom of the wise men

{twenty-three} Matthew 2:1-2 

‘Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”’

King of Kings

{twenty-four} Matthew 2:9-10  

‘After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.’

Star

{twenty-five} Matthew 2:11 

‘And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.’

Gifts from the wise men