Our Ethiopian Adoption Journey

Up-Coming Events

2012-02-15T14:05:00.000-08:00

Spread the Love: Summer 2012 (time and place TBA) We will be making and selling our DELICIOUS homemade strawberry jam!

Reduce Reuse Recycle: Spring 2012 (time and place TBA) We will happily accept your unwanted (recyclable!) bottles and pop cans!

Sing a Song of Hope: Summer 2012 (time and place TBA) A night of music, food and drinks and fellowship too! Featuring none other than the very talented...

Miss Natalie Closer

Miss Amber Sweeney

Mr. Christopher Chesbro

We are super excited to get the ball rolling on these radical events! Check back soon for a complete list of dates & times for our 2012 fundraisers!!!

John 14:18

2012-02-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

I found this image while surfing Pinterest and it immediately caught my eye seeing as Andrew and I are adopting from Ethiopia. I followed the link and it led me to Keefer Style Creations. Lisa makes all sorts of hand stamped items! The best part is, she donates 20% off proceeds to Feeding the Orphans to help with food, shelter and LOVE! I fell head over heels for this beautiful piece of jewelry and Andrew ended up buying it for me for Valentines Day!

I got it in the mail today and I have been wearing it all afternoon. When I look down, I can't help but get giddy over the fact that Andrew is graduating from the MBA program at George Fox University in five months and we will be able to pick up the process on our adoption. I look at this tiny little replica of Africa and smile, knowing that one day (hopefully not too far from now) Andrew and I will fly over to this beautiful continent and meet the precious child God has chosen for us to adopt.

Andrew and I have been busy brainstorming 2012 fundraiser ideas and so far, here is what we have come up with...

1. Benefit concert (yes, another one and we are super stoked!)

2. Spread the Love (we will be selling delicious homemade strawberry jam!)

3. Pop can - bottle drive

After 2011 fundraisers and donations, we made it to almost three quarters of the way there. It is our hope that by the end of summer 2012, we will have the full amount raised. We want to thank you all, for your support and prayers during this long and exciting process we are embarking on!

I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. John 14:18

Adoption Benefit concert

2011-09-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

On August 13th we put on an adoption benefit concert with the talented and amazing Amber Sweeney, Chris Chesbro and Natalie Closner. The night was full of dessert, drinks and dancing and we had a good number of people show up to support us and be entertained. The trio of singer/songwriters did not disappoint and gave an amazing performance that was infused with personality and stories about their lives and songs. We were even able to get Courtney up there to sing a song which was a treat for us all. All in all we were able to raise almost $1,000 which brought us up to about 70% of the way to what we need to start the adoption process! We are getting there!

An update on when we expect to start the process...Due to me (Andrew) having a hard time finding a job, I have decided to go back to school and get my MBA. Thankfully this is only an 11 month process and will be finished next July. We are hoping to raise the rest of the money needed to start the adoption process by that time so that when I get into a job we can get the process going. We are excited for that time but are trying to enjoy the journey that we are on in the meantime.

I have included a few pictures and some video below for you to take a look at. This does come with one disclaimer though. The video we got of the concert once the sun had started to set is not great quality visually so you will just have to listen at that point :) So take a look below and enjoy!

(Photo Credit Hanna Hill)

(Video Credit Kristen Woods)

Baby Boutique

2011-03-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

It's almost April and you know what that means, it's spring cleaning time once again! Andrew and I have been racking our brains to come up with fresh fundraiser ideas and here is our latest:

As our kids have grown out of their clothes, we have folded them up and stored them in boxes. We have endless bins of clothes that we could take to a consignment shop but instead, we are going to open our very own baby boutique in our living room! Those of you who may be in need of boy or girl clothes sizes newborn to three years can swing by, enjoy a cup of coffee, maybe a cookie or two and browse the boutique. All items are in excellent condition and come from a pet free/smoke free environment. I have items for every season including brands such as: Gap, The Children's Place, Pumpkin Patch, Old Navy and Circo and everything will be **five dollars or less**! Now that's something to smile about!!!

To top it off, we will be selling some darling head bands and hats courtesy of 2 Pease Boutique as well as a precious necklace from Glass Cocoon Jewelry - kids line. Not only that, there will be a silent auction for a *child shoot* with Firefly Photography, so don't miss out!!!

*Date of event: Saturday, April 16th

*Time of event: Open house from 9:00am-4:00pm

Please e-mail me for further details (location of event, etc.) @ courtneygyoung@gmail.com

We hope you can swing by!

Contact us @ youngsadoptionjourney@gmail.com

Bit by Bit

2011-01-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

Our baby girl surprised us on December 23rd coming three weeks early and we are now parents of three :) It was a wonderful Christmas to say the least! Ivy is one month old already and it is our hope to begin our paper work by the time Ivy turns 9 months. We have raised more than half of what is needed to start the process but we still have a ways to go to reach the full amount. It is a long haul but bit by bit, penny by penny, we are inching our way closer and closer to walking into AGCI and getting the ball rolling.

We would like to ask for your prayers as we continue on this journey and if you would like to donate to our adoption fund, you can do so by purchasing a delicious bag of coffee from our online coffee shop (link found on our sidebar), or by simply clicking on our pay pal button (also found on our sidebar). We want to thank each and everyone one of you for your love and support! Be sure to follow our blog for up-coming fundraising events!

Contact us @ youngsadoptionjourney@gmail.com

Fundraising

2010-12-20T20:41:00.000-08:00

We recently hosted a poker party in order to raise money for our adoption. It was a very fun, successful evening. We ended up raising a total of $300.00! We would like to thank all of you who attended and/or donated. Our adoption account is now up to $5,600! Slowly but surely, we are making our way to the amount needed to begin the paper work. Every little bit helps, so a HUGE thank you to everyone who is on this journey with us... whether it be by donating or praying, we are blessed by you all!

Contact us @ youngsadoptionjourney@gmail.com

Garage Sale Success!

2010-07-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who donated items for our adoption garage sale. We ended up raising $530.00 from the sale alone, and received a donation from an incredible family, of $1000.00! Slowly but surely, we are inching our way to being able to start our paper work!!!

Contact us @ youngsadoptionjourney@gmail.com

As of Lately

2010-05-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I are expecting our third child who will be born sometime in January/February of next year. It was our hope to become pregnant once more before adopting. Our plan is to continue to raise the necessary funds and God willing, be able to start the paper work through AGCI when our youngest child is around the age of one.

We are currently planning to have a garage sale within the next couple of months in hopes to put everything we make from the sale towards our adoption. Little by little we are getting closer and closer to being able to start our adoption process!

Contact us @ youngsadoptionjourney@gmail.com

Moving Forward

2009-09-15T19:11:00.001-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Many of you know that this has been a challenging and exciting year for us as a family. In it all, we have experienced God’s very special goodness and grace in a number of specific ways: Houston’s premature birth launched the year, adding to our family the unspeakable joy of new life. Elle has grown so much, says so much more and continues to delight in her status as Houston’s big sister. Together, they provide us with many stretching learning experiences as parents, punctuated by fun seasons of laughter at their hilarious antics. Andrew has graduated with his degree in engineering from Oregon State University and is working at A-dec. We have recently moved into our home and I have begun to develop my own business in photography. For all that God is doing to reveal to us and to teach us about His character and faithfulness, we are so grateful and thankful to Him.

Plans for Application to Adopt

At this time our desire as a family is to follow-through on what we believe to have been God’s prompting to adopt a child from Ethiopia. Both Andrew and I have had a heart for the children of Africa since before we even knew each other. About two years ago, we became aware of each other’s desire to adopt a child from Africa. When we both felt the Lord was really calling us to adopt, we started looking for an agency to adopt through. We found All God’s Children International (AGCI). At the time, AGCI’s only orphanage in Africa was located in Ethiopia. This is what caused us to settle on Ethiopia as our adoptive country. On further investigation and prayerful consideration, we arrived at the decision to move ahead with the application process, knowing that it will take a substantial amount of time and resources. We are committed to what we believe God has led us to do in this regard. We also understand that this is our own personal undertaking and something that we can trust God to direct and bring to fruition from the beginning of the process through to its conclusion.

An Attempt to Raise the Necessary Funds

Because the amount of money needed to initiate the application process is rather significant, we have been attempting to apply our creativity to the challenge in hope of finding ways to raise the necessary funds:

One way we have thought to do so is through the sale of a T-shirt with a map of Africa printed on the front. The shape of the country is formed by the repetitious printing of the words “John 14:18”. The back of the shirt has the verse fully written out - “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come for you.”
A second idea is to distribute empty baby bottles to people who express an interest in and a willingness to place their loose change in the bottle until it is filled.

Naturally, we will be working and saving as a family to raise as much as we possibly can toward the amount required to adopt our little child. Thirty percent of all proceeds from my new business will go immediately to this purpose and we will seek to live as simply as we can until the financial commitment is met to bring to the United States the precious child we believe God has chosen in His wisdom to be part of our family.

A Personal Request

In the meantime, may we ask you to prayerfully consider standing with us in support of this desire to adopt a child from Ethiopia? Would you be willing to:

Pray with us that God will go before us, opening the path, setting the obstacles aside and directing us to the child of His choice for us
Let others know about the T-shirts and bottles on our behalf
Invite your friends and family to participate in filling the baby bottles with change, to buy T-shirts and to tell others about them
Distribute bottles to your friends and family
Provide us with creative ideas that may help us accomplish the goal

Thank you for considering our request and thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement.

Warmly yours in Christ,

Courtney, Andrew, Elle and Houston

Adoption Update

2008-11-22T21:25:00.000-08:00

Not much to report these days seeing as we have yet to actually begin the adoption process! We are still simply trying to raise the funds needed for our adoption at this point. Baby bottles are slowly being returned to us, which has been such a blessing. So thank you to all of you who have taken the time to fill a bottle with your spare change and send it back to us. We have already raised quite a bit just from all of your change! Thank you to all of you who have supported us in simply donating to our adoption fund, and to those of you who have purchased one of our Africa t-shirts. Every little bit helps, and we are so thankful to each and every one of you.

My mother-in-law told us about a site that the Chapmans began in honor of their precious little girl whom they adopted from China, that was killed in a tragic accident. They decided to set up this site when people wanted to reach out and help their family. They ask that if you want to help them, do donate to their site in honor of their daughter, but the money goes towards helping other families adopt. It is so amazing how they want to help other families adopt; to give other orphans like their little angel, a loving family. The name of this site is Maria's Miracle Fund.

ETHIOPIA TEES

2008-09-26T17:13:00.001-07:00

Andrew and I designed a women's and men's t-shirt as a means to raise money for our adoption. If you would like to purchase a t-shirt and help support us in this way, e-mail us at:
youngsadoptionjourney@gmail.com with your gender and size preference, along with your mailing info.

The blue tee is the men's style, and we have S-L available. The white tee is the women's style, and we have S-XL available.

The tees are $20.00 each. We will try to hand deliver if possible, however, if we are unable to do so, shipping will be an extra $5.00.

Andrew and I appreciate your support in helping us bring home a precious child from Ethiopia!

The front of the t-shirt has John 14:18 written over and over into the shape of Africa. The back of the t-shirt has John 14:18 fully written out.

About Our Adoption Blog

2008-09-10T10:31:00.000-07:00

I've decided to make a blog dedicated solely to our adoption. Having our adoption information mixed into our family blog was beginning to get a bit confusing.

Here we will discuss our adoption journey from start to finish, and share with you all our adventures along the way!

We hope you will join us in our Ethiopian adoption journey from our blog to yours!