A couple of "fun"d-raisers! (See what I did there?)

Oh, I crack myself up.  :)

I promise this will not be a fundraising blog forever.  Sadly, there just isn't much to update about Ella or the adoption process right now.  I did have the awesome privilege of being fingerprinted for the FBI this week.  You'll all be pleased to know I am record free.  (When my court records check came back I got so excited that it was clear.  Then I realized I have never even seen the inside of a courtroom {please don't call me for jury duty!} so I wasn't sure why I was worried.)  My home study will begin on Thursday with my first meeting with my social worker.  By all accounts, she is wonderful, so I am excited to meet her face to face and get this going!  I am really hoping to be waiting for I-800a approval (which is approval from US Customs and Immigration to bring a foreign-born child into the country) by the end of February.  That wait is at about 60 days but potentially speeding up, so I'd like to catch it on the upswing. 

At any rate, there are two fundraisers going on right now that I wanted to put out there.  One I mentioned a bit in my Christmas post.  My niece, Jenna, is "arm-knitting" scarves to help bring Ella home!  There are three styles of scarves.  The information can be found on the Facebook page Knitting for a Cause.  Here are a couple of pictures, one of Jenna knitting and one of a finished scarf:

If you'd be interested in a scarf, I know Jenna would be honored to make one.  She's really enjoying this project! 

Another event coming up is a photography mini-session day with Kelley Davis from Wild Honey Photography.  I got connected with Kelley at a Santa Breakfast for my friends Brian and Sara Tyler, who will be bringing their son Beau home from China very soon!  She contacted me about scheduling a mini-session event.  The day is March 8.  It will be held at Blackacre Nature Preserve.  The details are in the photo below.  Kelley is generously donating 50% of all proceeds to bringing Ella home!

To schedule a mini-session, contact Kelley via the Wild Honey Facebook Page or at wildhoneyphotos@gmail.com.

I will keep everyone posted on any news and progress!  I don't expect to receive any official updates on Ella for some time (probably months).  Which stinks, but it is just the way it goes.  I will update after my social worker meeting Thursday!