It has been 3 months since we had the sudden arrival of
Calvin Jack. I thought it was about time to give a brief update on the little
man and where we are in the adoption world!
Our little Calvin Jack came to us as an 8lb bundle of joy
and now 3 months later he weighs in at a mere 17lb and just keeps growing. Our
pediatrician tells us that he is in the 90th percentile for his
height and weight – and he just keeps on growing and growing. He has a sweet
personality that shows itself in the numerous chuckles and smiles we get every
day. He is sleeping like a rock star – rocking out 12 hours a night! We are
simply in love with this little boy and are often still amazed how he came into
our lives.
We have had so many people ask about Lesotho and where we
are at so we thought it was about time to fill you all in on what we are
currently thinking. As many of you know we were originally setting out to adopt
two little ones from Lesotho. Many of
you helped us to raise all of the money for this. One of the reasons why we
were able to receive Calvin Jack so quickly was because we had all the funds
needed for his adoption already sitting in various accounts designated for
adoption. This, of course, now affects the adoption of two children from Lesotho. Currently, we do not have the money for
the adoption of two little ones from Lesotho.
We are still planning on pursuing the Lesotho adoption; however, we will
request to adopt one child instead of the original two.
What does this mean? Well, quite frankly it puts us back on
the fundraising path. We have around $8,000 remaining in our adoption account
which we will put toward the Lesotho adoption. Firstly, we need to update our
Home Study and request an extension from the U.S government, and yes, this all
requires money. We think we will need around another $25,000 for adoption #2 to
happen (been there before, right? ;-)). I am planning to jump back into grant
writing mode and see if we are able to receive most of the money that way. Many
grants allow you to re-apply up to three times so I will push the pen as much
as I can.
What about another domestic adoption? Sure. We are happy to
be included in the domestic program; however, the issue we have with the domestic
program is that you need the $30,000 available as soon as you get the phone
call. We are simply not in a financial position to do that (strange, huh?). We
think the best plan is to remain in the Lesotho program and if we are still
waiting when we reach the financial goal we will request to join in the
domestic program. The ease of the Lesotho program is that you are able to pay
as you go for different documents that are needed along the way. We are
reminded that in both of these programs the timing is out of our hands and thus
we trust that God is working perfectly in this situation and in our family.
So, here we are! Here we are on a very different path to the
one we set out on over a year ago. We would have never dreamed that our travels
would now include a new little Clausing born here in Tennessee! So, now the
three of us bumble ahead with the hope for a little brother or sister for Calvin
Jack.
And again, thank you for reading. We are so thankful for so
many, near and far, who have walked with us since the beginning, those walking
with us now and those who will continue to walk with us in the future. We have
been so encouraged by many notes and gifts in the mail that have shared in the
excitement of Calvin Jack. As we jump back on the road again, knowing that we
have no idea how long we will be walking on this particular journey for but as
we look across and see little Calvin’s smile, we know that we have been here
before and God did more than we could ever imagine. This, my friends, comforts
and guides us as we go forward.
We very well may get another rockin’ t-shirt for a
fundraiser in the future. Bare with us as we navigate new territory. If you so
wish to donate to our adoption account, you can go to www.smallworldadoption.com and
click on ‘Make a Payment’ and when completing information be sure to write that
the payment is for ‘the child to be adopted by the Clausing family’.
…and thus the journey continues.
So Thankful.
Taryn (&Cam)