the little things add up!

guess what?  guess what?!?
we are mailing in the first part of our dossier/application tomorrow!  EEEEEEK!

the first package all pretty, sealed with kisses, and ready to mail!  PRAISE GOD!

it felt like the past two months crept by and that we were getting no where safe.  but all the little things we have been doing are adding up and here we are, ready for our next big step. woohoo!  so here's a little rundown:

*july was spent finishing up our home study and waiting for the right people to approve/notarize/mail originals to us.  we received our two notarized copies the beginning of august.  FIRST TRIMESTER OF THE PAPER PREGNANCY DONE!!!
*please insert happy dance & squeals*

*august has been filled with fundraising and more notarization.  there were three particular documents that we needed to fill out "just so" in order to begin our dossier: an adoption application for ghana's social welfare department, medical reviews (signed by our doctor), and power of attorney forms (these will enable the Bethany Christian Services team in Ghana to work on our behalf in-country).

*a dear friend of ours is a notary and VERY generously offered to notarize all our documents free of charge!  this has been a huge blessing to us as it saves us hundreds of dollars!

*already looking back at the fees we have had to pay, we are amazed at how God has provided...$11,000+ to reach this point.  AHHHHH!  many of our friends and family have generously come alongside us to help financially and we cannot thank you enough for your demonstration of love towards us.  the three main areas of fundraising we have focused on are: ben's instrument repair and instrument sales, ashley's photography business (Cain Photography), and donations (Cain Adoption GoFundMe page).

*once we had the next chunk of change needed and all the forms notarized, ashley took the stack of documents downtown to have them "state sealed" at the secretary of state's office.  isn't it pretty???

long, scary hallway at secretary of state's office leads to state seal!
one step closer to our little one....

so what's next?
1. gathering the final 4 of the 15 items needed to complete our dossier.
2.  notarize.
3.  another trip to the secretary of state's office to have them sealed.
4.  trust that the remainder of funds we need will come together.  in order for our entire dossier to be shipped and processed in ghana, we need an additional $8700.  ashley has several photography fundraisers planned and we have a BIG pancake breakfast fundraiser scheduled for october 6!

flyer for our pancake breakfast fundraiser.  MARK YOUR CALENDAR AND JOIN US!!

our prayer is to have everything turned in, processed, approved, paid by the end of the year.  *whew*  it all seems impossible and insurmountable.  how thankful are we that we know a God who specializes in the impossible?!  Luke 1:37 reminds us that "for nothing is impossible with God!"  *extra happy dance of joy*

as a side note, here are two songs that have been particularly encouraging to us recently.  enjoy!