Starting 2014: Adoption Update

      We are off to a great start in 2014. Ryan has officially become a CPA and is gearing up to start his busy tax season. I am currently taking two online college courses to secure my Reading Endorsement. I just finished reading A Long Walk To Water with my 6th grade students. Many students were introduced to the Sudan Lost Boys for the first time. I am appreciative of the opportunity to instill compassion and a global perspective in the young minds of my students.
  Our boys are growing up right before our eyes! Easton will be 4 in March and Preston turned 3 in late November. Raising double 3 year-olds has been an unforgettable experience! They definitely keep us on our toes!  Easton can identify his letters and letter sounds. I love listening to him retell books with intonation and accuracy. Preston has mastered his colors and continues to have a wild imagination. Nightly, he pretends to be Superman, while jumping into a pile of pillows.   Yesterday, we spent hours outside, as the boys established their first fort in our little woods. I have fond memories of playing in the woods as a kid. I love that our boys will grow up with the same childhood memories.
      Our adoption paperwork is complete. We sent our dossier to our agency in November. We are officially a waiting family! Since starting the process in June, we have been given three different timelines. The latest one was 6 months from November, but, honestly, we have no idea when we will get our referral call. (The next step for us is when our agency calls to tell us that we have been matched with a baby girl!) There have been some changes to the process since Easton's adoption and we are prepared to wait a LONG time. However, I cannot help but to be HOPEFUL! I know that God is in complete control and has already determined which baby girl will be our daughter forever. Ideally, we would get our referral phone call in April or May and travel in June or July (I have the summer off, which would be ideal)
   Ya know what I think would be fun? A Referral Reveal Party! Kinda like a gender reveal party, but Ryan and I would share our baby girls' picture with everyone at once! Ya, I think we will do that! =)
     In just a few weeks I will be launching our Adoption T-shirt sales! For everyone who has already donated, I have a shirt for you! Our Pure Charity Online Fundraiser has been nothing short of a miracle. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have supported our adoption thus far.  ALL of the funds have gone directly to our adoption agency to cover our Ethiopian Adoption Program Expenses. We are estimating that the total adoption will cost around $28,000-$30,000, depending on flight cost and other travel expenses. Our t-shirt sales will go toward airfare ticket purchases and travel expenses. Hypothetically, if we were to leave on July 1st an adult ticket with Qatar Airlines would be $2,063.00. Meaning our airfare would be over $4,000 for the FIRST trip. Oyi. With our t-shirt sales we are hopeful to be able to purchase atleast one ticket! Hopefully we will be prepared to share our t-shirts in less than 10 days!


I'll leave you with the Fulmer Family Christmas Pictures =)