After researching and researching adoption agencies we chose Caring Adoptions in Houston Texas. We were told about their program and the number of opportunities that were on the horizon. We now know most of this was false information. To get any current updates from them we have to call and email over and over and over again to get an answer. We have been presented with ONE potential match in a three month window. We are invested in them financially or else we would pick up and run as fast as we could. All the money we have paid is non refundable. We feel like we have fallen 1000000000 feet backwards. We feel like we have let our support group down with a poor choice in agencies, however we did not see through the lies. At the time we are apologizing to everyone for any and all disappointments.
I believe I have hit my lowest of lows emotionally. Unless you have been through this before... I do not think anyone can understand the pain that we have in our hearts right now.
Thank you to everyone that has been by our side. Thank to everyone that has helped us reach our financial goals.
We will keep you updated.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We apologize for not posting in a very long time, as you can imagine things have been CRAZY!
We tried to fundraise as much as we could to go with the agency we spoke about previously. However, we did not raise enough money. (big sad face)
BUT we have finally found an agency and it is in...... TEXAS!!!!!!!
Our homestudy/homescreening is COMPLETE!!! We have submitted all of our paper work at this point. Not only are we working with an agency in Texas but we are also working with an agency in Oregon to adopt through the state of Oregon.
So many people have asked why we didn't just adopt through the state since it's not thousands of dollars.
The answer to that is... Oregon does not place infants. IT IS VERY RARE if they do.
Just remember the feeling you had when you brought your first baby home. WE WANT THAT FEELING. We have a nursery we have baby clothes, strollers, bottles, carriers, carseats and anything you can think of a baby would need. So, We want our first to be an INFANT.
SO with that being said YES, we are fundraising again trying to reach the last little bit that we need to make this happen.
We are turning to our family, friends and anyone that wants to support us through this.
Please help us bring OUR baby home.
Thank you ALL for your love and support.
We are selling our jars of pickles and pickled okra to help raise money. Large jars are $10 small jars are $8. If you are outside of Oregon we kindly ask that you include shipping as well. If you live in Oregon we would gladly deliver them to you.
We tried to fundraise as much as we could to go with the agency we spoke about previously. However, we did not raise enough money. (big sad face)
BUT we have finally found an agency and it is in...... TEXAS!!!!!!!
Our homestudy/homescreening is COMPLETE!!! We have submitted all of our paper work at this point. Not only are we working with an agency in Texas but we are also working with an agency in Oregon to adopt through the state of Oregon.
So many people have asked why we didn't just adopt through the state since it's not thousands of dollars.
The answer to that is... Oregon does not place infants. IT IS VERY RARE if they do.
Just remember the feeling you had when you brought your first baby home. WE WANT THAT FEELING. We have a nursery we have baby clothes, strollers, bottles, carriers, carseats and anything you can think of a baby would need. So, We want our first to be an INFANT.
SO with that being said YES, we are fundraising again trying to reach the last little bit that we need to make this happen.
We are turning to our family, friends and anyone that wants to support us through this.
Please help us bring OUR baby home.
Thank you ALL for your love and support.
We are selling our jars of pickles and pickled okra to help raise money. Large jars are $10 small jars are $8. If you are outside of Oregon we kindly ask that you include shipping as well. If you live in Oregon we would gladly deliver them to you.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Thank you and please continue to inform others
Thank you to those who have provided support and encouragement. Please continue to get the word out on our adopt-a-thon. We are still a long ways from our goal and without your help we cannot make this happen.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
WE HAVE GOOD NEWS!!!!
We have decided to proceed forward with the homestudy and not wait any longer. We were worried if we went through with the homestudy the funding for the second portion would not be available. We have to trust and believe that the funds will be there when we get ready to cross that bridge, but the only way that will happen is with your support!
Just remember all donations do not need to be $100 they can be $5, $10 or whatever you can afford. You can print our story out and put a cup next to it on your desk at work and ask people to fill it by the end of the day or the end of the week. Lets put our creative minds together and make this happen!!
We created another profile on a donations website to help meet our goals. Please check it out!! There story is a little more detailed. Click here: Keppinger Adoption Journey.
We would love to hear your ideas and ways to help make this fundraiser a success!! Email us at Achalk99@gmail.com or Keppinger917@gmail.com and let us know your ideas.
Oh! Did we mention if you donate $100 you get a jar of our famous homemade pickles or okra? Yes!! We will ship you a jar of okra or pickles (your choice). We wanted to offer our support team something and we decided to offer a part of our family tradition.
LET THE PAPER WORK BEGIN!!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The Adopt-a-thon Begins!
HELLO TO ALL OF OUR FRIENDS FAMILY AND FANS!!
Many of you have emailed us questions and we will answer those in this post. But, first we would like to tell you where we stand in our adoption journey. Adoption is something that we have talked about since the day we met. We both were open to the idea and very interested in adoption. After realizing that fertility was a challenge we didn't let it stop us from achieving our goal (expanding our family). We opened the door to adoption and the flood gates opened. We were blessed with the much needed emotional support from our family and dear friends. At this point we took a deep breath and hit the internet to start our research process. WOW!! There is SO much information out there and the adoption process is much more complicated then anticipated. We found an agency that we liked so we scheduled our family interview and we were informed we were approved through their agency. We started the home study and then then we hit our brakes. The reality of the adoption process is that it is VERY emotionally and VERY financially expensive. As much as we want our family to grow and as ready as we are the funding is not all there YET! So this is where we are now. WOW!!!! That was so much easier to write in a paragraph vs going through it the past YEAR!!
So now for the questions that have come up from you all.
How long will the Adopt-a-thon be open to donate?
The answer to that is not straight forward. We would like to close it tomorrow and be able to say we received the funding we needed and we are off to find our bundle of joy. HOWEVER, the reality is it might be a month? Maybe a little longer? This is where your support comes into play. Our goal is to have the adopt-a-thon only go on for a month so we can complete the adoption. The more support we have the quicker the adopt-a-thon will be finished.
How much should we donate?
We are not asking for a specific amount. ANYTHING helps ($10, $20 +, whatever you can spare). Adoptions cost about $25,000-$40,000 depending on the agency and the needs of the birth mother.
What else can I do to help?
Please tell anyone you know about our situation. Pass our blog to your co workers in the office. Print off our story and pass it around to friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, or even your religious affiliations. ANYONE CAN HELP!!!
What if someone I know wants to help but does not have internet access?
What if I want to send you a donation but I don't want paypal fees to be taken out?
Here is an address that checks can be sent to THIS WILL GET TO US!!
P.O. Box 1629
Beaverton, Or 97075
Do you need baby items clothes, furniture, etc?
No, that is why we are doing this and not a baby shower. We have a fully furnished nursery and we won't be having baby showers. Diapers are the only thing we need at this time. We have clothes (gender neutral), bedding, toys, books, bottles, strollers, car seats and the works. We have been shopping craigslist and goodwills to get very inexpensive used items. The adoption agencies and birth moms really like to see the nursery finished and ready and this is why we have all the 'fixings' and no baby. Please see our nursery photos below.
Are you matched with a birth mom yet?
No, we must complete the homestudy requirement first.
Thank you EVERYONE for your questions and support. Please become a member of our page and follow our journey through our blog, photos and facebook. If you have questions for us that were not answered please send us an email and we will answer them for you as soon as we can.
The Keppinger's
Many of you have emailed us questions and we will answer those in this post. But, first we would like to tell you where we stand in our adoption journey. Adoption is something that we have talked about since the day we met. We both were open to the idea and very interested in adoption. After realizing that fertility was a challenge we didn't let it stop us from achieving our goal (expanding our family). We opened the door to adoption and the flood gates opened. We were blessed with the much needed emotional support from our family and dear friends. At this point we took a deep breath and hit the internet to start our research process. WOW!! There is SO much information out there and the adoption process is much more complicated then anticipated. We found an agency that we liked so we scheduled our family interview and we were informed we were approved through their agency. We started the home study and then then we hit our brakes. The reality of the adoption process is that it is VERY emotionally and VERY financially expensive. As much as we want our family to grow and as ready as we are the funding is not all there YET! So this is where we are now. WOW!!!! That was so much easier to write in a paragraph vs going through it the past YEAR!!
So now for the questions that have come up from you all.
How long will the Adopt-a-thon be open to donate?
The answer to that is not straight forward. We would like to close it tomorrow and be able to say we received the funding we needed and we are off to find our bundle of joy. HOWEVER, the reality is it might be a month? Maybe a little longer? This is where your support comes into play. Our goal is to have the adopt-a-thon only go on for a month so we can complete the adoption. The more support we have the quicker the adopt-a-thon will be finished.
How much should we donate?
We are not asking for a specific amount. ANYTHING helps ($10, $20 +, whatever you can spare). Adoptions cost about $25,000-$40,000 depending on the agency and the needs of the birth mother.
What else can I do to help?
Please tell anyone you know about our situation. Pass our blog to your co workers in the office. Print off our story and pass it around to friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, or even your religious affiliations. ANYONE CAN HELP!!!
What if someone I know wants to help but does not have internet access?
What if I want to send you a donation but I don't want paypal fees to be taken out?
Here is an address that checks can be sent to THIS WILL GET TO US!!
P.O. Box 1629
Beaverton, Or 97075
Do you need baby items clothes, furniture, etc?
No, that is why we are doing this and not a baby shower. We have a fully furnished nursery and we won't be having baby showers. Diapers are the only thing we need at this time. We have clothes (gender neutral), bedding, toys, books, bottles, strollers, car seats and the works. We have been shopping craigslist and goodwills to get very inexpensive used items. The adoption agencies and birth moms really like to see the nursery finished and ready and this is why we have all the 'fixings' and no baby. Please see our nursery photos below.
Are you matched with a birth mom yet?
No, we must complete the homestudy requirement first.
Thank you EVERYONE for your questions and support. Please become a member of our page and follow our journey through our blog, photos and facebook. If you have questions for us that were not answered please send us an email and we will answer them for you as soon as we can.
The Keppinger's
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Like any great love this story starts with the magical mystery of the internet. This love story stars a desperate troll and a red headed goddess. Little did these two know what fate had in store for them. As the goddess was searching for that perfect match she came across the profile of a lonely bridge troll. She was somehow drawn to his pitiful but oh so creative journey to find true love. She winked but could not wait for the response so she took a proactive approach and messaged him under his bridge. He messaged back!!! The sparks were flying as the hours passed by.. hours became days.. and the rest is history.
Our journey has never been ordinary. We were married not once but twice. First in a small chapel in Oregon and then in Mexico before family. From the start we were on the go to build the foundation for a family. We bought a lovely house in a family friendly neighborhood. We started to expand our family by getting a pug puppy (on top of the two pugs Mrs. Keppinger brought into the family) and waited for our family to grow some more but fate lead us a different path. We hit a bump in the road.
We have started the adoption process to bring a bundle of joy into our loving family. Problem was that despite our every efforts (working all of the time) to gain the financial stability to afford the expensive process of adoption we are still a long ways from our goal and we aren't getting younger any faster. Therefore, we have moved to other measures to afford an adoption.
Please join us on our family journey in the Keppinger's Adopt-a-thon. We are reaching out for financial help and will provide more details on how you can support us in the adoption process.
Our journey has never been ordinary. We were married not once but twice. First in a small chapel in Oregon and then in Mexico before family. From the start we were on the go to build the foundation for a family. We bought a lovely house in a family friendly neighborhood. We started to expand our family by getting a pug puppy (on top of the two pugs Mrs. Keppinger brought into the family) and waited for our family to grow some more but fate lead us a different path. We hit a bump in the road.
We have started the adoption process to bring a bundle of joy into our loving family. Problem was that despite our every efforts (working all of the time) to gain the financial stability to afford the expensive process of adoption we are still a long ways from our goal and we aren't getting younger any faster. Therefore, we have moved to other measures to afford an adoption.
Please join us on our family journey in the Keppinger's Adopt-a-thon. We are reaching out for financial help and will provide more details on how you can support us in the adoption process.
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