Mark Your Calendar!!!

 

Please keep this date in mind!

The week for our matching grant will be 

FEBRUARY 17-23

Any donations made to our fund at

adopttogether.org/teaglefam/

during that time period

will be MATCHED

with a cap of $1,000.

This also means that if we do not

meet $1,000 in donations that week,

the matching still ends.

We ONLY have that week to get

donations matched.  

Just to let you know what that would mean to us

as far as our financial status goes,

here are some numbers for you.

Right now,

in all our adoption accounts,

we have a total of

$10,468.

We will be able to add $1,000 to that

in a week or so, which will bring it to

$11,468.

With that total, it will leave us with roughly

$7,400

left to raise.

IF we raise the $1,000 during our match week,

we will get another $1,000.

This will leave us with only

$5,400

left to raise!!!

$5,400 might seem like alot to some people...

and it IS alot to us as a family.

But compared to what The Lord has provided already,

it's not that much!

What a privilege it is to be humbled by the Lord.

In starting this process,

numbers seemed so daunting.

We have never spoken in terms of

THOUSANDS of dollars

for much of anything in our family's life!

At least not THIS many thousands!!!

So we are so humbled at how quickly the number

has decreased.

We KNEW He'd provide, 

but sometimes we really see our LACK of faith

when He actually provides what we pray for.

Did we REALLY believe He'd give it?

I THOUGHT I did!

I know He will.

He hasn't given all of it,

but we trust that He will.

So rejoice with us,

pray with us,

and pray about giving during the week of 

FEBRUARY 17-23.

We will be sending letters to some

close family and friends 

to share with them a picture

of Tobias and to ask for donations.

We will also be sharing, VERY soon, our fundraiser

that we're planning!

So thanks again for sharing in this

adventure with us.

We can't wait to look back on it all

and be reminded of His faithfulness!!!

      

Let's Think About DONATING!

Exciting News!!!!

We have been offered a MATCHING GRANT!

I shared with you in my last post

that we had been approved for something 

from Lifesong for Orphans.

That opportunity did not

involve any grants or loans.

However, The Lord has provided in another way!

There is an organization that connects

private donors with adoptive families in financial need.

However, they usually are helping families

adopting special needs children, but
The Lord has moved up on their hearts to

open up to a family like us

adopting through Compassion for Congo.

So there is someone out there

(God bless their soul)

that is willing to provide us with

a matching grant.

They have reached out to us

and we are so grateful.

SO.

WHAT is a matching grant?

 HOW does it work?

WHEN will the funds be matched?

Well, we basically will have a week to raise

as much money as we can,

and they will double what we raise,

up to $1,000!

If we raise $1,000

they will give ANOTHER $1,000!

We have the potential to raise $2,000 in a week!

They will be using our funding site

adopttogether.org/teaglefam/

to see how much comes in during our fundraising week.

They will literally match each donation

until it reaches $1,000.

So what we are asking is for you to start praying about it.

We will announce the confirmed date very soon,

but it looks like it will be the second week of February.

We ask that if any of you ever had the thought

cross your mind of giving to our adoption/Tobias fund

that this would be the time you choose to do it!

If you can give $10,

it will turn into $20!

If you can give $100,

it will turn into $200!!!

So please keep this on your minds and hearts

as we will be as well!

ALSO,

be ready for a super fun

fundraising event that we'll be having the weekend

before all this starts!!

It will be something you can participate in

whether you're local or far away!

And the money raised will be included in the

matching grant time period.

Once we get it confirmed and approved,

we'll announce it.

It'll be fun ;)

So as always....

PLEASE

KEEP US IN PRAYER!

You'll be seeing many posts from now

up until this fundraising week!

****Also, little update on Tobi.

The remaining 4 children recently left the orphanage

to go HOME with their forever families.

Apparently Tobias was pretty sad to see them go :(

 So continue to pray for our little guy.

We are told that he is very ready

to go home to his family.

He's got a good few months left,

so we're praying that more children come in

very soon to keep him company!!!

 

Will it Ever End?

Will it ever end?

This phrase keeps ringing in my ears these days.

We have been given so much.

We continue to receive blessings

and sometimes I wonder....

Will this special time ever end????

We are so thankful for this time in our lives,

although definitely not perfect,

it is FILLED with His blessings!!

We had a wonderful Christmas with our girls,

my parents and siblings,

and Chris's parents and siblings.

Noelle's new baby doll

We had a beautiful time this year

reinforcing the TRUTH of Christmas to Joy and Noelle.

Joy really soaked it up this year and kept

reminding us that,

"Jesus is what Christmas is all about!"

Joy is all about princesses these days...

We had an advent calendar of activities for the

first time this year with the girls.

That was really fun for all of us!

Our Advent Calendar of Activities!  An envelope to open every day!

New Years was a little uneventful for us...

aside from spending the entire day with Joy and her

FEVER!

We've had a cold going through the house for a couple

weeks and just can't seem to KICK IT!

I think it's safe to say that the highlight of our

New Year so far has been meeting the Sockol family.

I have mentioned them before, but not by name.

We met this precious couple

and their 13 and 15 year old grandkids

this weekend.

They have retired,

sold their home, cars, most of their earthly possessions

to move to CONGO

to help with the ministry there!

They will be learning the ins and outs of the

adoption process that currently,

ONLY Didier is able to accomplish.

They leave for Congo on the 22nd of January,

just 8 more days!

We are a tad bit jealous, becuase they will be

hugging and loving on our

Tobi before we are able to!!!

We are again reminded of what a loving place he is in

while he's waiting for us.

The Sockols sharing at our church Sunday morning.

We were so privileged and blessed

to have met them.

This will be their new full time ministry

to the orphans and other people that are in

Lubumbashi, Congo.

We were also able to send some little

goodies with them to take

to Tobias,

as well as some important documents that

Didier will need when he takes Tobias to The Embassy

in a few months!

Almost IMMEDIATELY after we said goodbye to the Sockols,

we received an email with a possible funding opportunity.

We have been put in contact with someone

who coordinates matching grants!

That means that they would double whatever funds we are

able to raise on our own!

(with a maximum dollar amount)

We do not know what will come of this,

but are waiting to hear what might be available to us.

And THEN,

the next morning,

(today)

I received an email from Lifesong for Orphans.

We applied a few months ago for an adoption grant from them.

They offer a few different financial resources for

adoptive families.

You can apply for matching grants, zero interest loans,

and just the ability to fundraise through them.

Well we know we were approved....for something.

:)

We received an email saying that we will get a call

from our coordinator letting us know details and what exactly

we were approved for.

So this has been an exciting morning for us!!

Nothing is set in stone or officially offered to us.

But we are seeing things come together

and that is so encouraging to our hearts!

We see The Lord working each and every day in

so many different ways

and we are nothing but thankful and grateful to Him.

For those of you who are curious and have been

praying for our financial situation,

here is where we currently stand.

Total in all adoption accounts: $10,439

Total (approx) left to raise: $8,500-$9,000

The Lord has really provided in some unexpected 

ways for us in the past couple months.

We even had a very special friend

 hand us a $500 check!!!

WOW!

It is very humbling to know that God lays

our family on someone else's heart

to the point of financially contributing to us!

So we are hoping to be able to make

an exciting announcement if one or both of

these opportunities come through!

If not, we still know that The Lord will provide in other ways.

Thank you for keeping up to date with us,

and as always, if you'd like to help us financially

you can click on the Paypal "donate" button

on the blog

or you can click on the "donations" tab

at the top to make a tax deductible donation.

That will take you straight to our profile at

adopttogether.org/teaglefam

Thank you for your prayers

and stay tuned!

 

 

A Humble Plea

So, we have some exciting news!

We now have a new way for people to give

to our adoption fund!!

Up until now, any contributions made to us

have been to us personally and have NOT been

tax deductable.

Well, another adopting mom shared this organization with us.

We now have a way for people to make donations

that are TAX DEDUCTABLE!!!!

This is very exciting for us!

It has come at a pretty convenient time, 

just before the end of the year!

The organization is called Adopttogether.

They are a non profit organization and accept donations for specific adopting families!

We have felt very strongly from

the beginning of this journey that

The Lord will provide for our financial needs.

And He HAS done so in amazing ways!!!!!!!!

This is the first time that we have boldly requested

financial support.

The only expenses we have paid for our adoption so far have been for our home study, U.S. immigration approval, and paying for Tobias's monthly expenses.

However, we are praying that these other precious kids in the orphanage

that are all in their last stages

of this process will be HOME very soon.

Once that happens, work will start on our adoption!

And once that happens,

we'll be making LOTS of payments.

The first major goal that we'll be working towards

is his adoption in the DRC (Congo).

This will cost somewhere around $7,000.

Fees are VERY subject to increase with no explanation

in Congo.

After that will be getting his visa and passport

and that will be another set of fees!

So things will add up VERY quickly,

but we are excited about the idea of

PROGRESS!!!

We are sharing this, as I have said before,

because we feel that our readers

have become a part of our lives and

the life of Tobias...

whether you are our family, friends, acquaintances,

or just someone who has heard about us through the grapevine!

So here is our humble plea.

Scripture has shown us that our Father cares for orphans.

(James 1:27)

And He has given Believers the calling

of caring for them as well.

Not all families are called to adopt, however,

and we understand that.

So for those that are not able to adopt,

would you consider supporting us?

Please lift us up in prayer whether you can give

financially or not.

But if you are able to give financially,

your contributions are now tax deductable.

You can visit our site here,

or go to Adopttogether.org/teaglefam/

Also, would you please share this?

 We would greatly appreciate it.

You can also share our profile on Adopttogether

through the links on our page.

There is now a "donations" tab at the top of our blog that will take you straight to our donation site.

I have also added a Paypal "donate"

button on the front page of our blog if you prefer

not to go through the tax deductible route.

We appreciate your love and concern for our family.

We appreciate every person that is led

to read about our adoption

and become a part of our family in a unique way!

Have such a merry merry Christmas.

Please never lose sight of WHY we celebrate

this season.

Even Joy (our almost 4 year old)

keeps reminding us that

"Baby Jesus is what Christmas is all about!!"

I'm so thankful that we have instilled that in this little girl.

Now, I understand....

after she DOES get presents, it may be harder

to remind her of this truth next year. :)

But please don't forget.

Christmas isn't about giving, loving, being with family...

it's about CHRIST!!!!

Now, if it's about Christ and what He has done,

then our only response SHOULD be to

give, love, and enjoy our family right??

Isn't that all a part of being Christ-like??

But HE is the cause.

He is the reason.

May He also be the reason you support us

if you choose to.

Not just because it's nice and "supportive."

But because He has given so much to us already.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!