Jammin' Adoption Fundraiser!!!!

Have you heard of Jamberry????? I only heard of them recently, and am excited to get to try them out soon!!!!!

"Jamberry Nails are the NEWEST way to accessorize your fingers & toes! Lasting up to 2 weeks on fingers & 5-7 weeks on toes. These non toxic, vinyl based nail shields won't chip, peel OR fade! Heat them with a hair dryer & apply them to your nails! Over 300+ designs to choose from including Jamberry JUNIORS, French tips, solids, sparkles & designs galore! Your nails have never looked so good!" (description from Pinterest)

We are having a Jamberry party as a fundraiser to help with some of Layla's adoption expenses!!! My fellow adoptive mama friend, Brandy, has volunteered to do this for us and I am super excited!!!!

My party starts TOMORROW (Monday, February 16) and will run through Saturday (February 21).

If you want a FREE sample to try, just pick a number from the photo below and either leave a comment on FB with your number OR message me the number you want. I'll also need an address to give Brandy and she will get your sample in the mail to you ASAP!!!!!

I will be having a group on FB this next week through the party and would LOVE to have you be a part of it!!!!!

If you want to place an order NOW or see more about Jamberry, you can visit Brandy's site :-). If you decide to place an order, just make sure to choose "Maxwell Family's Jammin Adoption Fundraiser" at the checkout!!! Click HERE to place an order!!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

A Photo a Month for 2014

(It was H.A.R.D. to chose just one photo for each month!!!)

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Adoption Expenses Update

Our matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans has been completed!!!!!!! Click HERE to read the blog post Nathan wrote on that blessing!!!!!!

After the matching grant, we still have an estimated $2,000 remaining to be able to complete Layla's adoption. WE ARE SO CLOSE!!!!! God has been so good in blessing us and bringing friends and family alongside us in Layla's adoption journey!!!! Thank you!!!!!!

Our account with Lifesong will remain open for regular (non-matching) donations until Layla's adoption is finalized. So if you have been and are still wanting to give a donation that will be tax-deductible for 2014, you need to do that today or tomorrow!!!! Click HERE for all the information on how to donate to our family's account.

We want to thank everyone for the support and encouragement and prayers that have come our way through this crazy adoption journey!!!!!!

Matching Grant from Lifesong

We are excited to announce that our family has been chosen to receive a matching grant of up to $2,000 from Lifesong for Orphans (through Lutheran Family Services)!!!!!!

Here are the details.

 - Lifesong will match ANY DONATION up to $2,000 between now and January 14, 2015!!! So, for example, if a person were to donate $25 (or any other amount) to our adoption fund, Lifesong will match it to give us a total of $50!!!

 - You can MAIL your check to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744. Checks should be made payable to "Lifesong for Orphans." In the memo, write "Maxwell #4931" to assure it goes into our family account. Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all U.S. administrative and fundraising costs. That means 100% of your donation will go directly towards our adoption!!!!!

 - You can PAY ONLINE by going to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate. Select "give to an Adoptive Family." Complete the online form and fill in "Family Account Number" (4931) and "Family Name" (Maxwell) fields. NOTE: PayPal charges an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction. Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.

 -  (NOTE: In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to the named non-profit organization. This organization retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor's suggested use. Individual donations $50 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Receipts for donations under $50 will gladly be sent upon request. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.)

Would you please consider helping us continue to raise/save the remaining $6,300 we need to complete Layla's adoption? (Her adoption will be finalized sometime in February.)

Puzzle
We have not yet completed Layla's puzzle!!!! We have had 178 pieces sponsored with leaves us with 322 more pieces. If we had just 200 of those pieces sponsored, we would completely FILL our matching grant and be that much closer to having Layla's adoption paid for!!!! If you would like to donate via Lifesong to have your donation matched and would like your donation to be put toward sponsoring a puzzle piece, please just send me an email or FB message to let me know. For every $10 we will put your name on the back of a puzzle piece!!!!!

Will you have a part in helping us make Layla Autumn Rose a legal part of our family?!?!

Wordless Wednesday

Final Expenses for Layla's Adoption

Layla is already TWO MONTHS OLD!!!!! Time is moving quickly and she is growing and changing so much!!!! We are completely in love with her!!!!

Layla's adoption will be finalized when she is six months old, so we have four months left to raise/save the money we need for final expenses. I guess it's time for us to get busy!!!! (We have already been trying to save what money we can from our budget.)

Agency Fee ($5,200) ~ We have one more fee of $5,200 to pay to our adoption agency, Lutheran Family Services of Iowa, when the adoption is finalized at 6 months.

Attorney Fees ($1,100) ~ We will have an attorney fee of $1,100 for the legal work that is involved to finalize Layla's adoption.

Pay Back Interest-Free Loan ($5,000) ~ Because we only had eight days notice before Layla's birth (and the needed $10,200 agency fees needed to accept her placement with us), a family member loaned us $5,000. We would like to repay them as soon as we can.

That brings the total we need in four months to $6,300 and then the additional $5,000 as soon as we are able.

The company Nathan works for has an adoption-reimbursement program and we are anticipating receiving $5,000 from the company as soon as Layla's adoption is finalized. We would like to have saved the $6,300 we need and be able to use the company's reimbursement to pay back the loan. That would leave us "debt" free at the end of this adoption!!!!!

Nathan has begun the process of applying for an adoption grant and we will be continuing to look into a few other grant options.

If you would like to help us in some way, here are the fundraisers that we have up and going (we were just getting started with fundraising when we were contacted about Layla).

Soda Cans ~ If you are local, we will take your soda cans/bottles off your hands and redeem them for a nickel apiece.

Puzzle ~ If you would like to sponsor a puzzle piece for $10, we will write your name on the back of the piece and then add it to Layla's puzzle. (I have to be honest. We have had many pieces already sponsored, but I have not kept good track of the numbers and have not even begun to put them on the puzzle pieces OR put the puzzle together. But it is on my "to do" list :-).)

Donate ~ If you feel led to simply donate towards Layla's adoption, there is a "Donate" button on the right sidebar of this blog. Simply click on the button and donate that way.

I am hoping to get one or two more fundraisers up and going in the next few weeks. I know that four months is going to FLY by and we will be needing the money to finalize Layla's adoption and make her officially a part of our family!!!!!!

Introducing: Layla Autumn Rose Maxwell

We would like to introduce you to our baby girl!!!!! Layla Autumn Rose was born on Monday, July 28, 2014!!!!!

The last blog post I wrote talked about our financial needs and I mentioned the possibility of a certain adoption situation that "might" come about for us. Well, we pursued the possibility, received a "no" answer, and then a week later received a "YES!!" answer. Honestly, I think God was teaching us how to trust Him in a powerful way.

I will save the specific details for another post (if I ever seem to find the time). For now, please join us in praising God for this precious gift He has given us!!!!!!