I haven't updated in ever so long because there has been nothing to update. However, we have the final tally on the fund raiser that my aunt and cousin organized. Are you ready for this?!? Drum roll, please . . . . the final total is $1,800!!! Yes, you read that correctly, one thousand eight hundred dollars!! Isn't God great!?! We are so excited because we can now send in the forms to USCIS (immigration) and get pre-approved to bring an orphan into the country. Those forms will be mailed later today or tomorrow.
So that's the latest! Thanks so much for praying for us during this journey. Please don't stop!!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Monday, October 1, 2007
Not Much New
There's not a whole lot of news to share. We're still waiting for our police clearance and home study write up. That could be a while yet. We're told that the NYS police clearance could take up to 2 months and the home study can't be finalized until the agency has that clearance.
The yard/flower sale keeps on going and has raised about $1,500 so far!! God truly is amazing. Who would have thought that we would ever get that much from a yard/flower sale?!? God sure did!! My aunt tells us that my cousins are willing to keep putting flowers out to sell as long as they are selling (and as long as they have them to put out). With this amount from the sale, we now have enough $$ to file with USCIS. After that, we'll only need about another $500 (in addition to what we have saved) for the second part of the agency fee. Then it's just a matter of time before we receive our referral and can travel. We don't have the travel $$ yet, but I know that God will supply that when it is needed.
Thank you so much for praying with us and supporting us in our adoption journey. God bless!
The yard/flower sale keeps on going and has raised about $1,500 so far!! God truly is amazing. Who would have thought that we would ever get that much from a yard/flower sale?!? God sure did!! My aunt tells us that my cousins are willing to keep putting flowers out to sell as long as they are selling (and as long as they have them to put out). With this amount from the sale, we now have enough $$ to file with USCIS. After that, we'll only need about another $500 (in addition to what we have saved) for the second part of the agency fee. Then it's just a matter of time before we receive our referral and can travel. We don't have the travel $$ yet, but I know that God will supply that when it is needed.
Thank you so much for praying with us and supporting us in our adoption journey. God bless!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
No Doubt About It
If there was ever any doubt that the Lord was behind this adoption, there certainly wouldn't be now!! We got an update on the yard sale total last evening. We are now at $1,200 and counting!!! Is that a God thing, or what?!?!?!? I'm am blown away by all of this. I certainly didn't expect this to happen, but I shouldn't have doubted. Our God is a great God and greatly to be praised!! Amen!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Home Study
It just dawned on me that I never wrote a thing about the home study, although I did ask for prayer.
For those that may be contemplating an adoption, the home study is not a big deal. It was a very painless process, just a long one. We talked with out social worker for about 3 hours. She asked a lot of questions about our families while we were growing up and our family now, how we met, why Zambia and the list goes on and on. One of the questions she asked was how Ralph and I met. It's an interesting story (if you don't know it and want to, just let me know) and she was quite intrigued. By the end of the interview process she made the statement, "This is the most fun home study I've ever done" and she's been doing them for close to 30 years.
She interviewed Edward and Johannah but that lasted about 5 minutes. She basically wanted to know if they thought that we would be good adoptive parents and if they were in favor of the adoption. No problem there!!
Roberta, our social worker, was getting ready to leave and I thought that all of my cleaning was in vain. But, no. She did want to do a walk through of the house to see the space that we have available for a child. Not a problem there, either.
The interview process was actually enjoyable and nothing to stress over. She will be writing it up and giving a a draft to read and make corrections (of a factual nature) if necessary. She'll finalize the document and send us a copy.
The only thing that I was really concerned about was the dog. However, she loves dogs and Oliver was on his best behavior so it is not a problem.
All in all, it was a great experience for us all. I am looking forward to reading what she wrote from her copious pages of notes!!
For those that may be contemplating an adoption, the home study is not a big deal. It was a very painless process, just a long one. We talked with out social worker for about 3 hours. She asked a lot of questions about our families while we were growing up and our family now, how we met, why Zambia and the list goes on and on. One of the questions she asked was how Ralph and I met. It's an interesting story (if you don't know it and want to, just let me know) and she was quite intrigued. By the end of the interview process she made the statement, "This is the most fun home study I've ever done" and she's been doing them for close to 30 years.
She interviewed Edward and Johannah but that lasted about 5 minutes. She basically wanted to know if they thought that we would be good adoptive parents and if they were in favor of the adoption. No problem there!!
Roberta, our social worker, was getting ready to leave and I thought that all of my cleaning was in vain. But, no. She did want to do a walk through of the house to see the space that we have available for a child. Not a problem there, either.
The interview process was actually enjoyable and nothing to stress over. She will be writing it up and giving a a draft to read and make corrections (of a factual nature) if necessary. She'll finalize the document and send us a copy.
The only thing that I was really concerned about was the dog. However, she loves dogs and Oliver was on his best behavior so it is not a problem.
All in all, it was a great experience for us all. I am looking forward to reading what she wrote from her copious pages of notes!!
Pictures, Finally
I've finally gotten access to a quick internet connection, thanks to my son's computer. So, I can finally update everyone with pictures of the yard sale. By the way, as of Friday evening, the yard sale total stood at $1,100. The greenhouse owners, my cousins, keep adding flowers to be sold and they keep selling!! Thanks so much Ken, Jon and Dan!! Your support of the adoption is overwhelming and greatly appreciated.
Okay, now for the pictures.
This gives you an idea of how we displayed the items for sale. Since the sale was basically inside the greenhouse, we needed a way of displaying the items. These carts are usually used for moving plants around. We just cleaned off the soil and put the items on them.
In the center we were able to set up some table for displaying books, puzzles and games and clothing. Behind the clothing table is our daughter, Johannah. She worked very diligently on getting the clothes organized.
The plants made a great impact on people as they drove past. They were just beautiful!!
Cousin Dorothy, the idea lady!! She suggested the idea for the yard sale fundraiser, and her mom, Aunt Nell, ran with the idea.
Ralph, my husband, is on the left and Uncle Russ is on the right. These guys "manned" the flowers and outside sale items (like the bikes in the foreground).
Other miscellaneous photos are below:
This pictures shows the carts as they are normally used.
I think that gives you an idea of the yard sale. What a blessing it has been for us!! Yes, the amount raised has been a huge benefit, but knowing that others are supporting us in our adoption (through their donations to the yard sale) has meant a lot to us.
With the home study finished, we are just waiting for police clearance and USCIS approval. When that's done, we then wait for our referral. It's an exciting time for the Ritter family!!
Okay, now for the pictures.
This gives you an idea of how we displayed the items for sale. Since the sale was basically inside the greenhouse, we needed a way of displaying the items. These carts are usually used for moving plants around. We just cleaned off the soil and put the items on them.
In the center we were able to set up some table for displaying books, puzzles and games and clothing. Behind the clothing table is our daughter, Johannah. She worked very diligently on getting the clothes organized.
The plants made a great impact on people as they drove past. They were just beautiful!!
Cousin Dorothy, the idea lady!! She suggested the idea for the yard sale fundraiser, and her mom, Aunt Nell, ran with the idea.
Ralph, my husband, is on the left and Uncle Russ is on the right. These guys "manned" the flowers and outside sale items (like the bikes in the foreground).Other miscellaneous photos are below:
This pictures shows the carts as they are normally used.I think that gives you an idea of the yard sale. What a blessing it has been for us!! Yes, the amount raised has been a huge benefit, but knowing that others are supporting us in our adoption (through their donations to the yard sale) has meant a lot to us.
With the home study finished, we are just waiting for police clearance and USCIS approval. When that's done, we then wait for our referral. It's an exciting time for the Ritter family!!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Successful Yard Sale!!
I've been wanting to post an update, but we have been having some computer problems. I have pictures from the yard sale that will help you visualize what we were able to do in spite of the threat of rain. Hopefully I can get those up later tonight. In the meantime, the yard sale was a huge success as a fundraise. We were able to raise over $900 in the "pay what you think it's worth" sale. Didden's Greenhouse, where the sale was held, donated lots of flowers that were a beautiful attraction. We left those outside to help draw people in -- we figured that the rain certainly wouldn't hurt them. :-)
When I'm able to post pictures, I'll write more.
When I'm able to post pictures, I'll write more.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Sorry for the long overdue update!
It's been quite a while since I've updated. I'll just give you a quick update on our vacation. The trip to the museum was fun as always, but it was overcast and rainy. Fortunately the exhibits are inside and the only time we had to go out was to get from one building to the next. I'll try to get some pictures posted in the near future.
Our vacation ended all to soon, but we had to get home so that Edward could begin his college career. He started the Monday after we got home (August 27) with two days of orientation and then two days of classes. He is now in his 3rd week of college. He enjoys Western Civilization and NT Literature, but abhors College Writing and thinks that Pre-Calculus is boring. I think that he enjoys Logic, but I'm not sure. That's a 3 hour, Wednesday afternoon class.
That's enough about the rest of my life. Since this is supposed to be a blog about our adoption, I better update you all. Our homestudy is on Friday, September 14 at 11:00 AM. It's about a 3 hour process. Hopefully, I'll be able to post an update. On Saturday, my extended family is holding a yard sale as a fund raiser for us so we will be headed to Pennsylvania for that.
Our biggest news is that we have made a decision about which country!!! We have decided to go with Zambia for a number of reasons, the least of which are the finances. We weren't really country specific originally. We just knew that we wanted to adopt and didn't have a whole lot of $$. It looks like we should be able to have a completed adoption within 9-12 months. We are excited about this and really feel that the Lord has led us in this direction. This means changing agencies and that's the saddest part. I loved working with the people from Christian World Adoption -- they have been so loving and caring. I will miss them!! I have had contact with the director of the Zambian program at our new agency, Faithful Adoptions. She is a Christian and has also been a pleasure to work with. I look forward to our future relationship as we work together to bring our child(ren) home.
Please keep us in your prayers this Friday. The house is clean and we are ready to go! :-)
Our vacation ended all to soon, but we had to get home so that Edward could begin his college career. He started the Monday after we got home (August 27) with two days of orientation and then two days of classes. He is now in his 3rd week of college. He enjoys Western Civilization and NT Literature, but abhors College Writing and thinks that Pre-Calculus is boring. I think that he enjoys Logic, but I'm not sure. That's a 3 hour, Wednesday afternoon class.
That's enough about the rest of my life. Since this is supposed to be a blog about our adoption, I better update you all. Our homestudy is on Friday, September 14 at 11:00 AM. It's about a 3 hour process. Hopefully, I'll be able to post an update. On Saturday, my extended family is holding a yard sale as a fund raiser for us so we will be headed to Pennsylvania for that.
Our biggest news is that we have made a decision about which country!!! We have decided to go with Zambia for a number of reasons, the least of which are the finances. We weren't really country specific originally. We just knew that we wanted to adopt and didn't have a whole lot of $$. It looks like we should be able to have a completed adoption within 9-12 months. We are excited about this and really feel that the Lord has led us in this direction. This means changing agencies and that's the saddest part. I loved working with the people from Christian World Adoption -- they have been so loving and caring. I will miss them!! I have had contact with the director of the Zambian program at our new agency, Faithful Adoptions. She is a Christian and has also been a pleasure to work with. I look forward to our future relationship as we work together to bring our child(ren) home.
Please keep us in your prayers this Friday. The house is clean and we are ready to go! :-)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
We're Still Here!
Since there are no adoption updates while we are away, I though sharing about our vacation would be fun, at least for me.
One of the things that I love about this place is the cool weather -- although, I understand it's cool at home too. I checked the weather online today, for this beautiful place, and it's supposed to go down to 36 tonight!! Now, that's cold for August.
One of the other neat aspects of this vacation is the expense or lack thereof. First Baptist Church of Indian Lake owns the house in which we are staying and they provide it free of charge to people that are in full-time ministry. It's "rented" on a first come, first served basis, but we usally don't have much trouble getting the dates we want. This is the place where we are staying.
Even when the weather has been warm, this house stays quite cool -- it's completely shaded all day long. We love the swing on the front porch. That seems to be Johannah's favorite place to sit and read.
We prefer to come after Labor Day when most vactioners are home and being homeschoolers, that has always been possible. But with Edward starting college before Labor Day this year, we had to come earlier.
Earlier today we went to the Barton garnet mine, on Gore Mountain, for a tour. It's an interesting place to see especially Henry Hudson Barton V was one of Ralph's college roommates. Johannah bought a beautiful sterling silver garnet necklace that goes with the ring that she got last year. Tomorrow's agenda calls for a visit to the Adirondack Museum.
Although, this is vacation, it doesn't always seem like it to me because I still have to cook. However, the men cooked dinner this evening and cleaned up. The proof is in the picture below:
and what a good dinner it was, too. Actually, I think that Ralph is a better cook than I am and Edward has become familiar with the kitchen having worked the last three summers in the kitchen at Pinebrook Bible Conference.
Our other favorite past time while here is reading. Vito, Edward's friend that is along for the week, took advantage of the down time before dinner to read.
Tomorrow is the museum, so hopefully I'll have more to share then.
One of the things that I love about this place is the cool weather -- although, I understand it's cool at home too. I checked the weather online today, for this beautiful place, and it's supposed to go down to 36 tonight!! Now, that's cold for August.
One of the other neat aspects of this vacation is the expense or lack thereof. First Baptist Church of Indian Lake owns the house in which we are staying and they provide it free of charge to people that are in full-time ministry. It's "rented" on a first come, first served basis, but we usally don't have much trouble getting the dates we want. This is the place where we are staying.
Even when the weather has been warm, this house stays quite cool -- it's completely shaded all day long. We love the swing on the front porch. That seems to be Johannah's favorite place to sit and read.
We prefer to come after Labor Day when most vactioners are home and being homeschoolers, that has always been possible. But with Edward starting college before Labor Day this year, we had to come earlier.
Earlier today we went to the Barton garnet mine, on Gore Mountain, for a tour. It's an interesting place to see especially Henry Hudson Barton V was one of Ralph's college roommates. Johannah bought a beautiful sterling silver garnet necklace that goes with the ring that she got last year. Tomorrow's agenda calls for a visit to the Adirondack Museum.
Although, this is vacation, it doesn't always seem like it to me because I still have to cook. However, the men cooked dinner this evening and cleaned up. The proof is in the picture below:
and what a good dinner it was, too. Actually, I think that Ralph is a better cook than I am and Edward has become familiar with the kitchen having worked the last three summers in the kitchen at Pinebrook Bible Conference.
Our other favorite past time while here is reading. Vito, Edward's friend that is along for the week, took advantage of the down time before dinner to read.
Tomorrow is the museum, so hopefully I'll have more to share then.
Monday, August 20, 2007
In the Adirondacks
We made it up here yesterday by 10:30 pm. We picked Edward and Johannah up at Pinebrook, along with Ed's friend, Vito (who has come up with us the past 2 years). I really didn't think that we would have internet access, but we actually are able to "borrow" someone's wireless network. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures later today.
Last night it got so cold -- it got down to the upper 40's, I'm sure. But the weather is beautiful -- nice clear, blue sky and sunny. I'm sure the week will be wonderul, it always is.
Ralph and I will be going shopping later this morning so that we have some food in the house; it's always nice to be able to eat.
Oh well, the pictures will be coming later. In the meantime, I'm going to get some reading done. Toodles!
Last night it got so cold -- it got down to the upper 40's, I'm sure. But the weather is beautiful -- nice clear, blue sky and sunny. I'm sure the week will be wonderul, it always is.
Ralph and I will be going shopping later this morning so that we have some food in the house; it's always nice to be able to eat.
Oh well, the pictures will be coming later. In the meantime, I'm going to get some reading done. Toodles!
Friday, August 17, 2007
When It Rains, It Pours (in a good way)
I had no sooner posted about the 2 new fundraisers and we got an offer of an additional one. This is for all you scrapbookers out there. My Creative Memories friend, Debi Paratore, has offered to do an ongoing fundraiser. Just go to her website (see the blurb on the right side of the blog) and place your order. Be sure to mention that your order is to benefit the Ritter Adoption Fund. I'll be sending out a general email when we return from vacation.
Speaking of vacation, we are leaving Sunday after church. We'll be picking up our two children at Pinebrook along with one of Edward's friends, and heading to Indian Lake, NY in the beautiful Adirondack Mts. This is the 5th summer that we have gone there and it is the most peaceful, quiet, relaxing vacation that we could have. So, I won't be around to be posting any updates, especially since there won't be any! :-)
Have a blessed week. I'm sure that there will be lots to tell when we return (I may even post some pictures!).
Speaking of vacation, we are leaving Sunday after church. We'll be picking up our two children at Pinebrook along with one of Edward's friends, and heading to Indian Lake, NY in the beautiful Adirondack Mts. This is the 5th summer that we have gone there and it is the most peaceful, quiet, relaxing vacation that we could have. So, I won't be around to be posting any updates, especially since there won't be any! :-)
Have a blessed week. I'm sure that there will be lots to tell when we return (I may even post some pictures!).
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