One step closer & ways you can help.

This mommy-to-be got a job! WOOHOO! 

Yes, this is awesome news for the obvious reasons, but MOST importantly this is awesome news because it means we can apply for the home-study!! I had been holding off because if there is a life change in the home after the home study is complete, it can bring everything to a halt & cause them to have to revisit and refile papers, etc. etc. Having the new job secured makes everything much less chaotic. 

So what did I do today? Applied for the home study! YAY! I am so excited. It's crazy how the littlest things in this journey feel like huge victories, like another mountain climbed. The simple act of filling out the application, paying the fee, & clicking "submit" brings me one step closer to our baby and makes me want to throw an "I ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING TODAY" party. Haha!

Another awesome part of today was the fact that when I clicked on the button to pay that fee, there wasn't a single money-centered worry in my mind. I could pay without a thread of anxiety because so many of you have gifted us out of the kindness of your hearts. You paid that fee today, you helped me get closer to Baby Richter & I can never say thank you enough. Yes, we have a long way to go with fundraising, but God is using each of you to ease my mind about it every single day. Again, thank you so much to those of you who've donated, prayed, spread the word, & helped in any way during this process. I can't wait to tell our baby how so many people worked to bring him/her home.

Speaking of donations, I wanted to share the different ways you can donate, so those of you feeling led to give to our adoption fund know your options!

• There is always our gofundme page up and running. I get asked a lot if gofundme takes a portion of the profits and yes, they do. They keep 7.9% of the end goal and .30 from each donation. There are sites out there that don't take anything, but I chose gofundme because they are well known and trusted. I didn't want to ask people to give to a site that is unheard of. Our gofundme website is: 

www.gofundme.com/451awa8

• If you want to give a donation but don't want to use gofundme, you can always just send money to my paypal account. For those of you who have paypal, my email is: JesRRichter@gmail.com. For those of you who don't, but are interested- look into it, it is very simple to set up!

• You can also purchase my art! I have my facebook art page up and running and all proceeds go straight to the adoption. You can pick a print to buy or place a custom order. (Custom orders aren't always guaranteed a "yes" from me- depends on what you are wanting, my availability, etc!) My art page is: 

www.facebook.com/doodlesbyjes/

• Lastly, we have a yardsale coming up! Our church as organized a yardsale & all proceeds will go to our adoption fund. How awesome is that?? We are participating in The World's Largest Yardsale- the Great 127 Yardsale! It is a huggggge yardsale spanning road 127 and it just goes on & on & on. We have rented a plot at Heritage church, where there will be multiple yardsales set up. Come on out and peruse our treasures! We will be there August 3 - 5 & there will be lots of arts, crafts, and other goodies free with a good donation! :) The address is:

 7216 US 42 Florence, KY 41042 (Aug. 3 - 5)

We have a very long way to go on this journey &, honestly, lately it has been excruciatingly slow and rough. But every time somebody sends a word of encouragement or gives to our cause, I feel renewed and am able to keep taking steps forward. Keith and I can't wait for our baby and we know this journey, even the slow & awful part, is an important piece of our lives and our child's future. I am trying to be open to the ways God wants to mold me and make me the best person, wife, & mother I can be as I wait for my child. Being shaped and sharpened is painful, but totally worth it. 

(Can someone read this last paragraph to me the next time I'm in a puddle of tears begging for this process to be over? K, Thanks.)

That is all for now! I have about a month before my job begins and I plan on knocking as much of this mountain of paperwork out as I can. Pray for me, lol, I really hate this stuff. 

Thanks, friends. You're the best. 

~ Jes