Blog Has Moved

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to let you know that we have moved this blog to: theclausings.com

The new site will trace family life and Cam's studies as we look toward Edinburgh.

Hope you can journey with us there!

Thanks,

Taryn

Continuing the Journey With Calvin Jack

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 90^th 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)

What a Week! What a Change! Welcome 'Calvin Jack Clausing'!

This time of the year is different. There are lights on the houses, trees inside houses and families gearing up for time together. It certainly is a time of change! Change is something Cam and I have somehow become accustomed to in our four and half years of marriage…and this week has been no different. Bare with me as I try and paint a picture.

As many of you know we have been waiting to adopt two little ones from the gorgeous country of Lesotho. We had bags strapped to our back and we were bracing ourselves for a long road ahead. And we were walking and trusting.

Then…this week happened. Early Monday morning I woke to intense pain and eventually was taken to the hospital in an Ambulance. Cam was a superman, though pretty nervous, but was the greatest servant in this situation. By 8:00am I was transferred from the emergency care in Spring Hill to Williamson Medical Center in Franklin where the testing began. I must admit that I was pretty out of it but they managed to get the pain under control. I was released Wednesday night with the prognosis of an extreme arthritis flare up – which I have never experienced before. Anyhoo – I am home now and on the mend.

All that to say, while we were in the hospital, we received a phone call from our adoption agency to say that they have a little boy for us!!!! Whaaaaat! This is totally unexpected…especially because we were quite happy on the road to Lesotho. What happened to Lesotho? Well, to be honest, we don’t know. We never intended to be in the domestic program, however, five weeks ago our agency called us just with a simple introduction to the domestic program and asked if we would consider being in that program. At that time, we declined and said though we were interested in domestic adoption after our international was completed, but we were happy where we were at, so basically, a thanks, but no thanks. So, back on the road we went. Until….last week, our agency called us again with a more of an ‘inquiring’ phone call. During that phone call, the agency mentioned that they had a meeting the previous day and that they thought we would be a good fit for a birth mother that were talking with. They were unable to give us many more details due to privacy and the fact that we weren’t in the domestic program. Once we discovered that there was no cost in joining the domestic program and that we were still able to stay in the Lesotho program, we thought we would go ahead and see where this part of the journey takes us.

Then, Tuesday happened. A phone call, while we were sitting in a hospital room, a phone call that informed us that the birth mother had actually picked us out five weeks ago when we received our first phone call. She had looked at our photo and told the agency that she wanted that family to adopt her baby boy. Our case worker did mention that she also fell in love with our puppy dog who was also in that photo (which happens to be the same photo at the top of our blog). This is crazy, right?

One of the reasons why we were always nervous about a domestic adoption is with the issues that can arise. It just made us nervous. It made us nervous that there was a revocation period when the biological parents have a right to request the child back. Being first time parents, we were just a little nervous about some of those things. Amazingly, God took care of that! The biological mother and father had terminated their rights and the revocation period has passed. Just like our agency said ‘this is the kind of adoption that people dream of – it’s perfect! Yes, it is perfect. We were expecting an international adoption, we got a domestic adoption. We were expecting two little ones at once, but we got one. God knows what we needed.

So, the short of it is that we have a little two and a half week old who we have named ‘Calvin Jack Clausing’ and came into the Clausing home today, December 18^th.  As you can imagine, we were not expecting this and not prepared for this. But we are so excited about this…...a little overwhelmed but we know that God has us right here for this.

 So many of you have walked with us, some from afar and some right where we are. We know our story so far does not just include us, but so many of you. We are sincerely so thankful for the way in which so many of you walk with us and encourage us to keep on trekking.

Here’s to a great Christmas! Here’s to our first Christmas with a little baby!

We’ll be in touch!

XX

Happy 1 Year, Travelers!

The Journey – one year down the road!

This month marks one year of our journey to adopt two little ones from Lesotho. This time last year we had our empty rucksack out, the packing list on the bed and we were crossing things off the list like mad men. The rucksack was bulging with homestudy paperwork, government paperwork, and loads of grant applications…and then we were off, with the rucksack slung over the shoulder (actually, more like “Cam, can you carry this for me?”), a bounce in every step (actually, I probably dropped my bundle a few times) and whistling to the tune of “I will walk 500 miles and I will walk 500 more” (nothing like some Proclaimers to keep you marching). Once we hit the road and off-loaded the right paperwork to the right people the rucksack began to fill with cash…beautiful cash from people all over the world who for some, were gazing from afar, and others were kicking the stones along the road with us.

We kept walking and as different people needed money to make something else happen, we simply opened the rucksack, counted the greenbacks, paid our dues, zipped the bag up and carried on. We carried on.

We carry on. This is a peculiar journey in the fact that we do not know how long we will be on the road for. We do know that this journey has been walked before, by a myriad of people, so we know we are not the only ones. But, we also know that this is a personal journey, a journey that Cam and Taryn Clausing will take – together and will have its very own story at the end. A story, our story that includes so many others.

Sometimes, when I am walking and thinking about everything, the thought pops into my head ‘we don’t even know who we will meet when we get there’. We don’t know if we are going to have two boys, two girls or one of each. There are no faces to push us on…..yet! But – we get up, put our rucksack on because we know that when we get there, it will be just right! We know that two little ones who are orphans will be orphans no more. We know that our Father has set the lonely in families. That, my friends, carries us around every corner, up every hill, down every slope and pushes us right to the end.

Happy 1 year, travelers!

Taryn

A Look Forward and a Look Back

I often ask Taryn to write something. Thus, I think it only fair for me to take on some of this responsibility. Therefore, I have been thinking this morning about what exactly write. I could be the typical Presbyterian and give you all the facts of things that are happening. It will take everything in me not to do this as I write. Facts do not make for an engaging blog.

This week I have been thinking about where Taryn and I have been in the course of 3 years (yes 3 years) in the States now. It has been a whirlwind time. We almost moved back to Colombia at least twice. Numerous times we have talked about moving to Australia. Life has had its lows and its highs. It is funny how in those moment of lows one forgets all about the great times. We have had a car blow a head gasket the day we bought it (right after signing a sheet of paper saying we understood that we did not have warranty). We rented a house that was way too expensive and almost went broke. We have struggled through sickness. We have worked jobs just to make ends meet and still couldn't make that happen some months. Life has been hard.

However, each of these moments has been met by the grace of God. When our car broke down, someone in our church lent us their car for as long as we needed it. We broke contract on the place we rented and were able to rent a place that was much cheaper (probably one of the cheapest places in Franklin), and ultimately were able to buy our own home. We have found amazing doctors who walk lovingly and carefully with us every step of the way in sickness. I have been ordained and have a great job where I learn everyday and grow. God's grace to us in the past has been manifold.

This Sunday as I was sitting listening to the sermon at the church where I work. The passage was from Nehemiah 4.1-14. I was struck once again by the fact that I need to remember these moments and our God. In the midst of this process, there can be exciting times; times when we are getting things ready and sending them off to Lesotho. Then there are times that are discouraging. This can be one of those discouraging times. Nothing is happening, we are just sitting and waiting. We don't hear anything all that often from our agency. Those outside of us and we ourselves can be discouraging. We often look at each other and say, “I really want babies in the house.”

Isn't that just the way we are? We always see the bad. We also look for the negative. All of us have a little Puddleglum in us. We want things to happen when we want them to happen. If that doesn’t happen, we get downcast and discouraged. However, what Nehemiah calls us to do is remember. Remember the Lord and His great faithfulness. We remember that the battle is the Lord's and we are called to do the next right thing. Oh how hard that can be in the midst of the wait. Oh it can be hard to extend grace in the wait, but I am learning. I am learning to not be afraid and to wait for the Lord.

Now, because I am a Presbyterian, I cannot end this blog without some facts and figures. First, we are still only $3,000 from being fully funded (that's pretty amazing). You can still help out if you would like to just click on the Small World Adoption Agency Ad on the side bar. If you have any questions on what to do, contact Taryn she knows all. Second, We are coming on one year in this process (that's pretty crazy). That means that this thing could happen at any point. They told us at the start of this process that it could take anywhere from 12-24 months. Next, some of you may know about the news from Lesotho. If you want read about, it check out the BBC's coverage. There was a coup of sorts, but everything seems to be back to normal. Lastly, a family from our agency just got their referral for their child from Lesotho. We are really encouraged by that because it means that people are making it through the process, and children are getting their forever families.

Thanks for reading. Taryn does a much better job, but I thought it would be good for me to relieve her once in a while.

Cam & Taryn 

Wait

You know it has been far too long since my last update when people are texting me for updates. Sorry for those who have been visiting the blog to only realize that they have read the same thing over and over again.

It has been quite a month or two. While Cam was away in Honduras, I was fortunate enough to get back home to Australia for a fleeting two-week visit. It was amazing, as usual, to spend time with so many special people.  It is always hard to leave a place that feels so much like home but it was made easier this time with my best friend, Bec, returning to the States with me. While she was here we managed to hit New York, Chicago and Wisconsin and, of course, Nashville. It was a special time of travels and talks with a friend who knows me all too well J

The key word for this update on our adoption journey is ‘waiting’. We are simply waiting for the Lesotho government to match us with our two children. The strange thing about this ‘wait’ is that we really have no idea how long this ‘wait’ will be. We know that the wait could be over in months and we also know that a year or years could very well be a possibility. The more I read other stories, the more I am reminded that there is no rhyme or reason to adoption, but I do know it is perfect timing for every family.

I am also thankful that our wait will not be filled with anxieties about funding the adoption. This is really mind-blowing but the fact is that we are only around $2,000-$3,000 short of the $48,000. And this has all happened since October of last year. This actually stuns me sometimes. God just took care of it.

Some of you might remember our Both Hands project fundraiser we completed in June. To date, that fundraiser alone, gave us around $21,000. Yes. $21,000. Stunned. And to think that on the work day we were sitting around $3,000. That simply humbles us and fills us with gratitude.

So, as we wait, we know there is no need to fret and worry because this is far bigger than us and we know the One who is working all things for His good pleasure. So, we wait.

Until next time,

Taryn

So Close to Being Fully Funded...So Close!

Charles Dickens said “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”

Over the last couple of months, Cam and I have had our fair share of burdens to carry, but we have not carried them alone. One lesson that I continually learn is that I do not need to carry my burdens all by myself. I want to, but I don’t need to and usually, they, quite quickly, turn from being just my burden but rather a shared experience of encouragement with others. Other lives open up and serve as a reminder that some have been where you are and even if they haven’t there are some that are willing to walk alongside you and help carry a specific burden.

Even when the road is hard there are moments of overwhelming joy and gratitude for how far you are one the road. It’s times like these when all you can do is sit down on the side of the road – in silence. Tears begin to fall and make their mark in the dirt. Overwhelmed with gratitude.

On Saturday, June 14, around forty of our friends came together to work on a widow’s house. We had prepared for this day. There were team meetings, lists and letters. Our plan was to work on a widow’s house for the entire day and raise money so that two orphans would no longer be orphans. And what a day it was – simply amazing. If you haven’t watched the video yet, you need to. When I watch it, not only am I reminded of how hard everyone worked, how much fun we had but also that I really, really do have an Australian accent J. Recently, we learned the final total of the funds that came in from all over the United States AND Australia. We raised a total of $14,094.74. Yes! Really - $14,094.74!! And we also learned that we can use $3,000 of that toward one of our matching grants which means the Both Hands project will have raised $17,094.74. Oh man! You see, when the burden is heavy and news like this comes, I sit – in silence – in tears and am overwhelmed by God’s provision for us and two orphans whom we are yet to meet.

Back in October of last year we began the journey of adoption. As we were packing our bags with everything we needed at that time we also slipped the price tag into one of the pockets. A $48,290 price tag. We are not sure when this particular journey will end or how many more hills we need to climb but as we sit down for a bit we can now pull out the price tag and find that as of today it reads $5,000!!!! Now, that is much lighter than what it was in October. Cam and I just look at each other in amazement because so many people have joined us and helped us to raise $44,223 so far!

Our journey continues to humble us and remind us that it is not about us. The story is about the one who has adopted us and makes us His own.

Thanks for reading.

Taryn (& Cam)

Make a donation to our adoption fund here: http://smallworldadoption.com/

Check out our Both Hands video here:  

Half Way There

Midway, in the middle, hump Wednesday, whatever way you look at it there is no getting around the fact that we have arrived to the half way point on our journey to adoption. I don’t mean that in relation to time. In adoption there is no guessing how long you will be on the road for but I am referring to the raising of all our adoption expenses in order to bring our two little ones into our home. Yes, people, back in October of last year I wrote that we needed $48,000 and there was a big gulp as I was saying it, but as of today we ONLY need $24,000. How did that happened? So many of you have helped us get to mid-journey and we are truly thankful for every little bit and every big bit that has come to us.

If you have been following our FB pages you all know that we recently received a $3,000 matching grant from the Lifesong Legacy 685 fund. This is huge because potentially this means $6,000 toward our fund. Essentially, this means that people can donate through Lifesong: legacy 685 and then that donation will be matched dollar for dollar.

More recently, we received news from one of the many grant applications we sent off that we would be receiving a grant $5,000 from one of them. I may or may not have done a little dance upon hearing that news.

This month also included our massive garage sale which was very successful with help from our friend, Thomas Rickstrew, who managed to get nearly everyone walking out with one, two or ten things in their hand. Everything that was sold had been donated by friends and by strangers.

So, you can see we have been quite busy on the adoption front. Things keep moving and we keep looking at each other wondering how all this is happening. Well, we know who is behind it orchestrating everything, and for that we give thanks to the One who holds everything in His hand.

Last Friday night we had our Kick-Off team meeting for the Both Hands project scheduled for June 14. We had a great night with JT Olsen, the founder of Both Hands. Essentially, our team gets sponsored to work on a widow’s house for a day and all the money raised goes toward our adoption. This is a great fundraising idea and we are in awe of the team that has joined us in this effort. Keep your eyes peeled for more info about this project.

Thanks for journeying with us. Thanks for cheering us on. We are not alone.

Until next time,

Taryn (&Cam) 

Content in All Things.

I can see a park from our kitchen table. It has a yellow slide, yellow monkey bar swings and a little cubby house at the top. There is so much space between where our house ends and the park starts that at times my mind wanders, it wanders to a place where I can see little children leaving our back door and running to the park and returning all hot and sweaty clamoring for something to quench their thirst.

Today I see that park and I know there are no children running out to play or who will come back asking for water. It is days like this that I learn all over again what it means to be content in all situations.

In God’s providence Cam and I are where we are. We do not have children and we desire a family. We have never been told that we can’t have children. This is real. We have started the adoption process. This is real. How God builds families is still a mystery to us. This is real. Currently, the means to our family is different to many others. We may never have the surprising news of a positive test. I may never know what it feels like to have my children grow inside my womb and I may never know the emotion of giving birth and having a child lay on my chest hours after birth. In these things, we grieve a loss but we do not grieve without hope.

We will know what adoption looks like. We will know something about our own adoption by God. We will know what it is like to be parents. We will know what it is like to have our own children. What a mystery!

To date, we have raised $15,244 with only $32,700 to go. I know it sounds a lot but we can hardly believe that we have already raised as much as we have. We know that many of  you have given to us, given to our agency, bought t-shirts and coffee and we are truly grateful for every penny that has come our way.

Where are we in the process? Our dossier is still with our agency. We have been told that it should be sent to Lesotho in the next week or so. Once it arrives in Lesotho it is then submitted to a ‘Matching Meeting’ where we are matched with our children and then we get a referral. It is at this referral when we have to pay our next payment of $24,000. This is what we are working toward now.

On June 14^th we will be completing a Both Hands project (http://www.bothhandsfoundation.org) in Franklin, Tennessee. The short of it is that we get a core team together that get sponsors for them to work on a widow’s house for the day. We will be working on Mrs Gumm’s home; painting, washing windows, organizing, landscaping etc etc. We love Mrs Gumm, she and her family is so special to us. We are super excited to be able to help her out like this. If you are local, would you be willing to be a part of our core team? If you are unable to be a part of the core team, please consider still coming out for the day. For those of you are not local, there is still an opportunity to sponsor us as we work this day. Click on http://www.bothhandsfoundation.org/cam-and-taryn-clausing to find more info about our project day.

Here is a video from a previous Both Hands project so you can get some idea what it is all about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98PD-O97N3I

We would love all our friends, near or far, to get behind this project.

For some, children will never come in to the home. We know that there is One working in ways that none of us can fully fathom so that we all may know His sufficiency in all things. We do not trust in ourselves but trust in God who works in all things.

Thank you for coming along this journey with us.

Taryn (&Cam)

So Many Things.

We really have had an incredible few weeks. Since our last post we had the remaining $2,835 gifted to our adoption fund at Small World. This means that as of last Thursday when I posted the Dossier to our agency we are now waiting on a referral from Lesotho. In adoption this is known as the ‘waiting game’ because you really have no idea how long this will take. The ‘referral’ is the actual file of a child/ren available to be adopted. This will be the first photo we will get to see. We have been encouraged by the news from our agency. Mid February we received an email from the director of the Lesotho program who said:

“This has been an exciting week for Small World’s Lesotho program.  This week we received our first referral from Lesotho! There are a few things we learned from this referral process.  First, this family received their referral just over 4 months after their dossier was submitted to Lesotho.  That is a good referral time and encouraging.  We must remember though that the more families that are in a program and the further back in line a family is, the more chance there is for families to wait longer for a referral.  Second, we learned that this match was made by the Lesotho Central Authority in December.  It took almost exactly 2 months to receive the referral documents.  Of course holidays were mixed in that time and could account for some of it.

This has been wonderful news and encouraging about this pioneer program.  We recognize that this is one case and not all cases are the same, but we remain optimistic about this program”.

As you could imagine that email was super encouraging for us. We are so thankful for our wonderful agency and their care for the process.

Many of you are aware that our FB page has been blasted with another shirt/hoodie fundraiser. We did not intend to do another one of these but we had so many people asking for them that we decided to give it a bash. I have even had strangers within our Spring Hill community purchase them. We have been blown away with how much these shirts have helped us. If you have not got yours yet, there is still time. The fund closes on March 4^th. Click on the t-shirt on my (or Cam’s) FB page and you should be directed to the online store. Thank you to all of you who have supported us! We love the idea that people in the United States, Australia, Singapore, England and Colombia will be wearing our shirts. We would love you to take a photo of you in your shirt and post it on our FB page and tell us where you are!

This Friday, we meet with the director of Both Hands to discuss a fundraiser. I love the idea. In short it is an Orphan Care project that raises funds for orphans while serving a widow through home improvement projects. All of the materials are donated and our team of volunteers request sponsorship for their day of work. All the money raised goes toward our adoption. We are hoping to do this in the spring before it gets crazy hot here. Stay tuned…

I have also recently decided that we will do a MEGA-you-won’t-believe-your-eyes Garage Sale. It dawned on me the other week when I was talking with a friend who is trying to sell her house and has loads of stuff that she wanted to give away. I thought ‘hey – I’ll take it off your hands and do a garage sale’. Cam did enjoy the news as I was driving to fill our van up with stuff J. So – if you have things lying around your house and ready for a spring clean-out, let me know and I will be more than happy to take them off your hands for our MEGA-you-won’t-believe-your-eyes Garage Sale. I know you want to be there!

While all this has been happening I have completed seven grant applications. Some grants have a number of deadlines throughout the year so we won’t expect to hear from some for quite a few months. Others wait until you have a ‘referral’ before they make a decision and others are matching grants, which means that they approve to match any gift that someone gives.

It really has been quite a busy period and now that the large amount of paperwork period has passed we keep looking forward to what is before us. We still need to remain focused on raising the remaining $36,000. Please join us in prayer about this. Though we do not know how this will be provided we know the One who does and in this we rest.

                   

Again, thank you to so many of you who are sharing the journey with us. We are so thankful that we are not alone. If you would like to support our adoption, please contact us. We soon may have matching grants available which would be a quicker way to get to the finish line.

Until next time,

Taryn (& Cam)

Nearly Over the First Hurdle

Amazing! Things have been moving since my last post, 11 days ago. At that point we had $6,180 to gather before we could jump the next hurdle and keep moving in the process. Since that day we have had $3,344 come into our Adoption Fund at Small World. We have paid for our application to adopt and sent the $890 fee to the U.S government. We only have $1,435 left to pay off our Agency fee ($5,400) and we still need the $1,400 for the Dossier. 

So, all that means in order for us to have our two feet planted on the other side of this hurdle we need $2,835. That sure sounds better than $6,180.

Many of you may be asking, just what is a dossier? The dossier is a set of documents that goes to the Lesotho Central Authority. A Lesotho dossier is made up of 11 documents, pictures, and copies. Each document is certified and authenticated before being sent to the Lesotho Central Authority except for photos. Basically, this is the official document that introduces Cam and myself to the Lesotho government. Quite an important document, I would think :-)

It is amazing that we have already raised $10,099 - isn't that amazing? Thank you to all of you have contributed to our fund. It sure has got us this far.

We received a document from our agency during the week that outlined all the expenses and the total at the bottom was $48,290. Yup! $48,290. For some people this is their yearly wage! Adoption is expensive. With the $10,099 that has already been received we only have $38,191 to go.

This past week I have also been completing a number of grant applications. I have put three in the post and another three sit on my desk ready to be completed. This is such a tedious task but such an important part of the process that I have vowed to sing to myself while I complete the applications. We cannot complete the adoption without the kindness and generosity of others. I will give thanks.

If you would like to make a contribution to our adoption fund, copy and paste into your browser:
http://smallworldadoption.com/faq-2/payment-2/
In the Description line, write: 'For the children to be adopted by the Clausing family'.

Thank you for sharing this journey with us. Please continue to pray for us and if you able, please consider supporting us. We are much further down the road than we anticipated and for that we give thanks!

Until next time,

Taryn (& Cam)

Is This Our First Hurdle?

G'day, G'day,

Even though my post title is 'Is This Our First Hurdle?' I realize that we have already jumped over many hurdles - and for that I am so thankful, the difference with this hurdle is that we are not really sure how we are going to jump this one. Allow me to explain:

Now that we have finished the Home Study, next on the to-do list is apply to the U.S government to adopt internationally, complete paperwork for the Dossier and send it in to our agency and pay an Agency fee. Too easy lemon squeezy? Well, aside from the mountain of paperwork each step involves a payment. The application to the U.S government - $890. The Dossier - $1,400 and the Agency fee - $8,400. Bam! Oh yeah, which is a total of $10,690. Now the reality of the $40,000 cost of the adoption is starting to hit home.

The amazing news is that from the t-shirt fundraiser, our JustLove coffee fundraiser, a couple of local markets that I sold things at and some very generous people we already have $4,510 of that. So, all we need is $6,180 to jump over our first real hurdle on this journey. We are not able to move ahead with anything without this money.Will you help us? No donation is too small. Believe me, every little bit counts and slowly chips away the $40,000.

I am also in the middle of writing a number of grant applications, so as soon as I get the Home Study document in my little hand I will be off out of the gate in this area.

You are all so kind to read this and share the journey with us. We are so thankful for the many words of encouragement and excitement that come our way. We are thankful to our God who is able to do more than we could ever imagine.

If you would like to make a contribution to our adoption fund, copy and paste into your browser:
http://smallworldadoption.com/faq-2/payment-2/
In the Description line, write: 'For the children to be adopted by the Clausing family'.

Till next time,

Taryn (& Cam)

It's a New Year!

This little South Australian loves snow, so the sight of it out our window this week just adds that little bit of excitement in my life (it’s the small things). You need to understand that I grew up with the view of the ocean – never snow! We were beach kids, not snow kids. I had never even touched snow until a Christmas in Wisconsin two years ago. That little ball of excitement I have when I see snow is a very similar feeling to what we now have with the Home Study behind us. On December 12^th we had our Social Worker come and spend around four hours in our home to complete the Home Study. This was four hours filled with questions and more information about what we can expect. Now we are just waiting on the Home Study document to be sent to us. Once we receive this we can apply to the U.S government to adopt and also begin getting our Lesotho Dossier together. We have been advised that the total time or Dossier preparation could take 5-7 months. So…we keep putting one foot in front of the other.

We were given the book ‘Adopted for Life’ by Russell D. Moore for Christmas. This is the third adoption book I have read since beginning the process. There is an ‘education and training’ component to our Home Study which has been super helpful in thinking through some areas that we had not really thought about before. Moore discusses the need for family relationships and quotes one of my favourite authors, Wendell Berry. Berry notes:

A family necessarily begins to come apart if it gives its children entirely to the care of the school or the police, and its old people entirely to the care of the health industry. Nobody can deny the value of good care even away from home to people who have become helplessly ill or crippled or, in our present circumstances, the value of good daytime care for the children of single parents who have to work. Nevertheless, it is the purpose of the family to stay together, And like a community, a family doesn’t just stay together out of sentiment. It is certainly more apt to stay together if the various members need one another or are in some practical way dependent on one another. It’s probably worth the risk to say that families need to have useful work for their children and old people, little jobs that the other members are glad to have done.

Families are valuable to the individual, to the orphan and to society. We all have our own family culture and no matter how much we can say how crazy our family is we all know that protective feeling that arises when someone speaks ill of our family. Everyone needs protecting. Everyone needs a family. Thank God that his desire is to put everyone in a family.

So, I think about our adoption a lot. I think about how our household will change. I think about how my car rides will change. I think about how our family will change. But, sometimes it really hits me. In order for this to happen we need $40,000. Now that comes like a smack in the face sometimes – it is the reality. I know once I have the Home Study document I can start testing my grant writing skills, but I am also reminded that this is going to have to be a community effort. We need you to seriously consider helping us. Even if it is small or maybe you can stretch a little and give a lot. We humble ourselves and ask for you to support our family.

Anyone (no matter what country you live in :-)) can go directly to http://smallworldadoption.com/faq-2/payment-2/ and in the description write ‘for the children to be adopted by the Clausing family’.

For the many ways that so many have helped already, we are thankful. And for the many ways that we will be supported going forward, we are thankful.

Thank you for traveling this road with us.

Until next time…

Taryn (& Cam)

Thankful Hearts

With Thanksgiving just behind us and much food consumed, friends and family around the table, laughter and stories told, we press forward.  I love Thanksgiving. I love family that flies down from New York to be with us, I love friends; new and old who come and share food and stories with us. What a great time! As I recently read on an Aussie friend’s FB, “How come we Aussies have embraced your Halloween and not your Thanksgiving?”.  Good question, a very good question. I know, I know, it goes back to the founding of this country, but surely we can hijack it – there is plenty of other ‘American-ness’ that we steal. Maybe one day.

The adoption process continues to move forward. We are still in the process of getting ready for the Homestudy. With plenty of paperwork already submitted, plenty more still needs to be gathered and provided. As part of the process we also need to complete Hague Adoption Training which requires us to read three books and interview a couple who have already adopted. One of the books I read is called ‘Are Those Kids Yours?’.  A very interesting read that helped me think through how our family will be changed with adopted children from another country. I actually love the thought of an American-Australian- Besothian family…and a Colombian-born dog! Who knows how it is all going to work.  Cam and I are still working out the whole American-Australian thing. J

Our hope is to have all the paperwork in by the first couple weeks in December and then hoping that we can get our first Homestudy appointment completed before the end of the year.

We have been super encouraged with all the t-shirts purchased. I am really excited to start wearing mine and the thought that people in the United States, Australia, Colombia and Singapore (and we are still working on South Africa) wearing them definitely makes me smile. Thank you for all of you who have purchased or made a donation through Bonfire, we are so grateful to each of you. There are still 6 days left before the t-shirts are printed and sent out, so if you want one there is still time. Just click on the t-shirt on our home page and you will be directed to the purchase page. Thank you! Thank you!

Our coffee fundraiser is also going off! Many of you have purchased coffee through our online store front via Just Love Coffee Roasters. Thank you!

In my last post I mentioned that the total adoption will cost approximately $40,000. In the short time we have started our blog we already have had $5,000 come in. Amazing, right? We are pretty excited and encouraged.   

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
    extol him who rides on the clouds;
    rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
    is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families,
    he leads out the prisoners with singing;
    but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

                                                                       Psalm 68:4-6

Want to donate directly to Small World? Small World is a qualified 501c3 organization, donors will receive a tax deduction for these gifts so long as the memo states "for the child to be adopted by ‘Clausing’ family". Click on http://smallworldadoption.com/faq-2/payment-2/

Want to buy a t-shirt? Click on https://www.bonfirefunds.com/clausingadoption/?r=17312

Want to buy some coffee? Click on https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/clausingadoption/

Thanks for sharing this journey with us. Until next time…

Taryn (& Cam)

Crunch Time

Thank you for all the love that filtered through different channels in response to the ‘breaking’ news of the beginning of our adoption process. We are so thankful for so many friends and family scattered all over the globe. Thankful – yes indeed!

Some of you are more familiar with the adoption process than others so for those who are not really sure about the process allow me to fill you in. Once you have been accepted with an adoption agency you can move forward to arrange and pay for a Homestudy. The Homestudy with Small World Adoption agency is priced at $2,800 and consists of four appointments with the first one being in your home. As the director of Small World told us they just need to make sure that you live where you say you live J.  Over the course of the four appointments we anticipate being asked many questions about who we are, our marriage, reasons for adopting and a myriad of others. Once we receive our Homestudy we will then begin the real ‘paperwork’ party (a.k.a the Dossier). This is the major packet of documents that is prepared for the Lesotho government. After the Dossier has been sent to Lesotho it really is a waiting game until we receive a referral which is the actual names and photos of the two children being referred to us. If we accept the referral, more paperwork comes and at some point the adoption becomes finalized. Once we hear that it is finalized we are free to travel to Lesotho to meet our two little ones and are free to return home with them. We are required to stay in Lesotho for 14 days with our children to ensure we familiarize ourselves with Lesotho culture. Easy right? Well this process could take up to 2 years so we are in for a wait.

The final cost of adopting two infants from Lesotho is approximately $40,000 (gulp). The encouraging thing is that we don’t need $40,000 all at once so we can gather the funds little by little. Once we have a completed Homestudy we should be eligible for a number of grants so we are hoping these will be a major part of our cost but we will also be conducting a variety of fundraisers that we are hoping will help us with the cost. We have already been blown away with the generosity of others. Our newly established fund at Small World already has $4,000 in it which means that we were able to pay for the Homestudy and really get the ball rolling. WOW!  Thank you for those who were so quick off the mark to help us – we are humbled and grateful.

Personally, I think the most overwhelming aspect thus far is trying to figure out what fundraising we should do and when. I have so many ideas, but thinking about what we should do and when really starts to do my head in. I have a few large fundraisers in mind (watch this space) and some smaller ones already on the go. Not many people actually enjoy asking for financial support, myself included, but I have had to come to the realization that in order for us to reach the $40,000 that we need our community of friends and family to help us – big or small.

Here are two of our newest and smallest fundraising campaigns that are all go:

1.       JUST LOVE ROASTERS. Some of you have seen recent FB posts of ours that include that beautiful aroma of coffee. If you haven’t watched the video about this company can I urge you to spend a couple of minutes to watch it and see just how they have designed their company. The short of it is that you get great coffee (Cam approved) and part of the proceeds goes toward our adoption fund. Check out the video here https://justlovecoffee.com/ and then head to our storefront at https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/clausingadoption/ to buy some coffee. They also have some other great stuff all things related to coffee that you can purchase. How about thinking who you could buy some of these things for Christmas?

2.      

      Our newest Fundraiser are personalized t-shirts that you can purchase and again, part of the proceeds go toward our adoption fund. We absolutely love the t-shirt and think it certainly captures the heart of adoption. We need to sell 50 t-shirts before any of them are sent out so again, share the word and buy a t-shirt. If any Australians want a t-shirt, email or FB message me and we can arrange a bulk shipment. Go to https://www.bonfirefunds.com/clausingadoption/?r=17312 today to buy your shirts.

Thank you for walking with us. Thank you for supporting us. I will keep you updated once we have the Homestudy booked in. Until we meet again…

With gratitude,

Taryn (& Cam)

At The Trailhead

I have never had a blog so the thought of beginning one is actually quite unnerving (so bear with me as I learn the ropes). I remember when I first moved to Bogota, Colombia, my Australian friends were used to receiving regular group emails which I guess served the purpose of a blog (without the universal blast) but that was simply to relay my new adventures in a new country. Seven years after that move I sit in another new country, married to my best friend. 

This blog is not designed to simply tell you about my life in another country and when I start using y’all in a sentence (well, that just might make an appearance) but rather it really is a way for Cam and myself to share our road to adoption with you. Even before Cam and I were engaged we both knew that we wanted to adopt at some point so this has been an ongoing conversation and now we are finally able to see it unravel in our lives. 

 We have recently been accepted with Small World Adoption agency (smallworldadoption.com) to adopt two infants from Lesthoso (Lee-Soo-too – and don’t be afraid to google map it). As you can imagine we are very excited to now be in the process of starting our family. 

I am aware that many different people will be reading this and with many different people from all over the world comes many different backgrounds and opinions. We recognize that many have gone before us and there are also many who have an opinion about adoption. I figure that there are a possibly five camps that people fall into when the topic of adoption comes up. Here is my humble attempt to define these: 

1. WHhooooo!!!!!!!!!! So, so excited for you guys. I am all in - whatever I can do, I will do! 
2. WHhooooo!!!!! Excited for you but you have no idea what you are getting yourselves in to! 
3. WHhoo!!! Adopt? Really? That’s (kinda) cool - if you can’t have your own children. 
4. Adopt? Really? Why do Christians always have to adopt? 
5. Adoption is wrong! 

Cam and I have been over and over all of these points wondering if this is the path we should take and while many opinions float about in the online world (Whatever that is) we still remain very excited about adoption and remain firmly grounded that adoption is a good thing (more on that later). Of course we have no idea what we are getting ourselves into and we are fully aware of the bad press adoption has had in the U.S recently but instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater we are resolved to approach this whole process humbly. 

This blog is offered to share our journey with others (who are interested) and also provide a way for others to share in the journey with us. Of course we need help. Many of you know the cost of adopting internationally is massive so this blog will also provide different ways you may want to chip in. I will be periodically updating the Fundraising tab where you will find different ways to contribute toward our adoption fund (Christmas is coming). 

Here we stand at the trailhead... ready to put one foot in front of the other.
Thank you so much reading. Stay tuned and thank you for walking the path with us. 

Taryn (and Cam)