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.

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}

HOME STUDY FINISHED

We finally received our completed home study today!!!!! It seems like it took forever but it is finally finished!!!!!!!! This is a HUGE step in the adoption process!!!! This means that we have been interviewed about every personal thing you can imagine, we have been observed in our home and with Emery, we have completed almost 30 pages of questions and our home has been approved as a home that is not only ready for a new baby but it has been determined that we are ready to bring another child into our home and would be able to provide the love, care and support for our new baby!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!

So what's next? Now that we have the complete home study, we can start applying for grants!

This also means that as soon as the funds are in, we can start applying with agencies which could go really quickly once we get to that point! 

We continue to pray and ask God to provide for us! We know that He will be faithful!

Our race is this weekend and after that is done we will have a better idea of where we stand financially! I daily have to press into the Lord and remember His faithfulness throughout my life and remember that HE will provide in HIS timing and as HE sees perfect for us!

We are anxious, excited, and hopeful! We pray often for the baby, which realistically could already be conceived! We pray for the family and pray for opportunities to know them and love them!


As I seem to get anxious often these days just thinking about this baby, ready to know when we will get to meet and wishing that I could hurry things up.... The Lord has reminded me often of this verse:

^{Exodus 14:14} The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Such a sweet reminder that HE has us, in all situations I just have to be still! What a sweet reminder, especially on the days that I think 'if I could just do more then things would go quicker' -- ALL IN HIS TIME! So thankful for His constant love and care for His children!

Asking For Miracles

I have gotten to be a part of Community Bible Study this fall and it has already been one of the biggest blessings to me in not only my walk with the Lord but in connecting with other women, which was also important to me living in a new town! {Sidenote - on the first day I ran into an old college roommate from 2001 in the nursery - it has been soooo fun to reconnect with her!!!}

We are studying John and I have never spent so much time really devouring scripture! I have always been overwhelmed by the idea of breaking down scripture and looking into the original language and meanings. Well....God has blown me away at the ways He is revealing Himself to me in new and big ways! I am so thankful to get to be part of this ministry!

Last week we spent the whole week - yes that is right - THE WHOLE WEEK on these 11 verses. John 2:1-11, where Jesus performs His first miracle. He turns water into wine - for a wedding feast! He does this and only His disciples, His mother and the servants are even aware of what He has done (showing His humble character)! He literally has the servants fill the stone jars, normally used for washing, with water and when they pour it it has been turned into wine. Wine that would normally been brewed produce from grapes grown over the summer on high quality grapevines, pressed out in the fall and stored in vats to perfect maturity! This was good wine - the best! And just like THAT - Jesus made that wine! I have always just looked at that and thought, oh yeah, Jesus turned water to wine! But there is so much more to the text and it is for sure a MIRACLE!

From my CBS study book: "Dr. John F. Carter, in his book A Layman's Harmony of the Gospels, defines a miracle as an event in the external and visible world in which the power of God operates immediately, superseding the forces that are routinely at work in the universe. Thus, a miracle is not a violation of the law of nature nor the temporary suspension of the law. Rather, it brings a new force to bear on the case at hand - a force greater than the energies that regularly and naturally operate in nature."

I was challenged by this text to be more daring and expectant when I pray! John and I have been praying for our funds by January, but in that there have been many days of doubt in my mind that that could actually happen. $30,000 just seems like a huge number to me, and it is....BUT GOD.... GOD is soooo much BIGGER!!!!

John and I sat down on Sunday and looked through this text together, and began to ask God for a miracle! We felt challenged by the Holy Spirit to ask for $10,000 by the race. The race that is 10 days away! And somehow in asking for that He has given me a calm spirit - like IVE GOT THIS!

So I am taking a step of faith and sharing what we are asking! Our desire through our entire adoption process is to make MUCH OF HIM and for HIS truth to be seen and heard through our story! Would you pray with us for a miracle - something that we look and go - ONLY GOD could have made this happen!

I challenge you to ask God for miracles - be daring in your prayer life, expect BIG things, maybe He is just waiting for you to ask for His miraculous intervention!!!

As of today we are at $750 in our account! We are daily overwhelmed by those that are giving and wanting to be part of our story!!! 

For more information on how you can be a part and DONATE to our Adoption Click HERE!!!! 

Fundraising Update - October 5

It is the most amazing thing to see people join our team and support our adoption. It is humbling and exciting to get to be a part of something that we know God is doing! We are so grateful!!! Last weekend we asked you to join our team as we prepare for the Chosen Marathon! The Chosen Marathon was holding a competition - the team that had the most people join their team between Friday and Sunday would win a significant $$$ BONUS! Well guess what.....

WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!! 

We do not yet know what that amount will be but we are thankful for your support and for helping us build Team Forbis!!!! 

The money raised through the race has not yet been added to our account, but through generous donations made directly to our account we are excited to share with you that we have $550 raised!!!! 

God is so sweet!!

For more information on how you can be a part and DONATE to our Adoption Click HERE!!!! 

Called to Adopt

Since before we even met, we have both had hearts for adoption. As we have prayed about how the Lord would grow our family, we have waited with eager anticipation for the day that God said – NOW! Now is the time to adopt! Romans 8:14-16 tell us that those who have been led by the Holy Spirit have been adopted as children of God. We enter into a relationship in which He calls us His children, and we call Him our Father.

There is something so powerful with this truth that we were destined to be without our true
and perfect Father. Through Jesus Christ, we now have our Father. We feel that there is no greater picture of the gospel than adoption. Knowing that we get to be part of something so incredible is a truly overwhelming blessing. Just as we have been welcomed into God’s family, we will get to welcome someone into our family, forever!

God has said NOW for us, and we have begun moving forward in the adoption process! This is a wonderful opportunity for us to allow our friends and family to join our team and be part of this incredible journey. Joining our team is a wonderful way to show support and encouragement spiritually, financially and emotionally as we walk out the calling the Lord has placed on our hearts.

We have chosen to adopt domestically! While we were dating, and Alisha was in Guatemala {Guatemala is closed for adoption to anyone outside native Guatemalans - or else we would have an entire house full already}, the Lord spoke to both of us on the same day about the needs of the children in the USA. Since that time, we have both felt very burdened for the children in the US in need of a forever home.

We have spent a LOT of time praying, seeking wisdom, and asking the Lord to guide us as we take this step! It was a very overwhelming process in the beginning until we found Christian Adoption Consultants. We talked with a Consultant for a long time and had a very long list of questions to ask. After praying some more, we really felt this was the way the Lord was directing us to go! So we now have someone walking us through each step of the way! At this point, we have completed our homestudy and are waiting on a local agency to complete that paperwork for us! We feel like all we have done for months now is paperwork, paperwork, and MORE paperwork, and we know there will be MUCH more to come, but we are excited to finally be able to share with you where we are in the process and what we have been doing!!!! 

We ask that you would prayerfully consider joining our team through prayer, encouragement, or by making a generous contribution to help alleviate the financial burden of adopting our child.

Below is a link to donate - you can also join our team for the chosen marathon, you do not have to run, you do not even have to be present to be a sleepwalker and cheer us on from home:) - If you would like to sign up please wait until Friday September 27-Sunday September 29 - the team who has the most sign ups in those 3 days will receive a $$ bonus towards their adoption fund! 

Join the Chosen Marathon Team - All proceeds will go directly into the Forbis Family Adoption Fund:

How you can be a part::

****  Read our latest blog here and find links to give ****

Please feel free to email me with ANY questions!!!!! 

alishajenee@gmail.com

Exciting News!!!

We are excited to announce.....

http://www.ashleylaurenphotography.com

Making this sweet girl a......

http://www.ashleylaurenphotography.com

more information coming soon....

Please follow the Adoption Page for more information and details in the near future!