Grants, Grants and More Grants

So this will probably be a longer post as we have a few updates.

Today we worked hard on getting more grants together. We have applied to 2 different ones online and mailed in one application. We received a request for more information on the one that we mailed in so I am hoping that is a good sign!! 😊

We have 3 more grants that are completely done and just need to be mailed out the first chance that we get to go to the post office!!! It would be great if we could get that done tomorrow, but it will be a busy day.

We have one last grant that we are trying to finish up. We have one more reference letter we are waiting on and we have to write a 2500 word essay to send in with it. Hopefully we can get this all squared away by the end of the week.

In case you are keeping track, that makes for a total of 7 grants that we are applying for!!! Not bad considering there aren't a lot that we are eligible for due to the location we are adopting from. Please pray that God will touch their hearts and they will strongly consider us for some grant funds.

One of these grants is also an application for a fundraising opportunity that we have been hoping to pull off since we started this process!!! We are really praying that we get chosen for this opportunity and we are able to do well at it.

We are continuing to brainstorm ways to raise more funds!!! We have a few ideas in mind, but we are always open to ideas!! 😊

In addition to raising funds for the adoption process we are also trying to set aside funds for any needs the girls may have when they get home, for different modifications that may need to be made to our home (like wheelchair ramps, doors for the girls room and different seats/furniture that would keep them comfortable) and for a vehicle that will transport a family of our size with the addition of two kiddos in wheelchairs. We have been searching and searching for affordable vehicles that would meet all of our needs. Please pray that as we do the different things we need to do to get ready for our girls that we are given wisdom by God to make good decisions and spend our money wisely.

Tomorrow we go for our fingerprinting at USCIS!!! First appointment of the new year!!! We need to be in Detroit by 8:00am so we are looking at leaving before the sun wakes up. 😁 Pray we make it safely and on time!!!

We have also been truly blessed by another anonymous donor!!! This donor is matching funds that are donated to our account through Reeces Rainbow!!! We have a $500 matching grant!!! If you clink on the link I will provide, you will be able to see the amount in our account with them. Once the amount in our account reads $2789 it will jump up to $3289!!! And donations made through Reeces Rainbow are tax deductible!!! You can donate online or you are welcome to send a check (and avoid the 3% PayPal fee) with "Rees" in the memo line to:

Reeces Rainbow
P.O. Box 146
Combined Locks, WI. 54113

Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and support as we work to get our precious girls home!!! You guys are amazing!!! Each and every prayer is very much felt!!!

https://reecesrainbow.org/126506/sponsorrees

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

I hope your day was full of joy and spent with those you love!!!

It has been a long week in our house. We had a long week of a pretty bad stomach bug. We had so many plans including finishing getting ready for the holidays and helping to run/participate in our churches living nativity. This bug sidelined everything!!! We had to divide and conquer!!! One of us at home with sick kids while the other went off to fulfill our obligations. Thankfully we were all healthy enough to get out to Christmas Eve service and enjoy a little family time today before Timm had to head off to work. All of this has caused me to do a whole lot of thinking!!!

I (Tabatha) have had my emotions all over the place this past week. I am so excited....things are progressing and moving along which is great!!! I am sad.....I just want these girls home with us, enjoying the love of a family during this season and forever. I am relieved...the girls aren't here yet...as a mom it is heartbreaking to watch your kids get so sick and lethargic, I can't imagine watching girls that have no weight to spare go through this. I am grateful....as I think of all the people who have walked alongside us on this journey, we have truly been blessed. As I think, I find myself wondering what things will look like next year. How will our celebration and traditions change? How can I keep things as close to what we do now (for the sake of our bio kids) and be sure to accommodate the girls and keep them safe and content? I am one who likes to know things in advance so it's hard to just not know!!!

Sorry this was a little long. I just want to be as open and honest as possible. We know without a shadow of a doubt that this is the plan God has for our life!!! Howwver, that doesn't mean it doesn't come without different concerns, questions and a slew of emotions that go back and forth so fast it makes my head spin!!! Please pray that as we get to the point that we are bringing these girls home, that God will bless us with all the wisdom and patience we need to make this a smooth transition for everyone.

Thank you for everything!!! Much love to everyone this joyous season!! ❤❤❤

Medicals are DONE!

We went into the doctor and had my medical form redone....again!!! 😕 We did 3 copies so hopefully one of them looks good enough!! Now we Just wait for approval!! Ugh...so much waiting!!!

While the notary was there she offered to notarize all the documents from our dossier that we had to fix....FREE OF CHARGE!!! 😊 She is super sweet!!! If you ever need a traveling notary in our area I would be happy to pass along her info!

We also were able to overnight our home study along with all necessary additional forms today. So on Monday morning it will meet up with our application!!! Just praying that things move quickly on their end because the waiting is going to be so hard!!! Yes....more waiting!!!

We also sold 22 puzzle pieces today!!! This means not only did we get the match $ but we surpassed what we needed to get the match!!! I'll post an update on how many pieces are left to purchase along with a picture in a separate post!!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and your support on this journey!!! Much love to you all!! ❤❤❤ God bless!!

Our Bio Submission to Reece's Rainbow

Timm and Tabatha Rees reside in Bancroft, MI.  The met in High school and started
dating in the summer of 1998.  They never looked back from there. In 18 years of
marriage, they have had 8 biological children.  Through it all, they always talked about
wanting to adopt “eventually.”

In August of 2014, an event happened that would change them profoundly.  This is
when their precious little girl, Faith would be lost to stillbirth.  Having never really gotten
the chance to know their little girl, they found themselves asking, “did she know we loved
her?”  Struggling to deal with this question, they eventually started to notice all of the
medically fragile children on Reece’s rainbow and found themselves asking the same
question; do these kids have anyone who they know loves them?

Soon after, in October of 2015, their son, Trevor was born with Cerebral Palsy.  This
would catapult the Rees family into the world of special needs. Watching and helping
Trevor grow and learn over the next three years would give them a passion for special
needs kiddos and the confidence that they could handle a child with special needs.

Soon enough, Tabatha would see a post on Facebook asking if anyone would be willing
to adopt Alivea before she ages out of the system.  She knew right away that this was her
little girl. She showed the videos and pictures to Timm and asked about his interest,
expecting some form of “not yet,” but instead, he replied, “let’s pray about it.”  They did
so for several days and realized that yes, God was leading them to adopt this precious
little girl.

Won’t you please consider joining them in prayer and support for this amazing little girl?

We Can Do This!

Today, we went on an adventure with all eight of our kids.  (I've got plans of you meeting all of them.)  Our oldest even brought a friend along.  The adventure was as follows:

1. Tabatha was attending a Bible Study over lunch.  So I dropped her off at 12:30 and proceeded to meet up with a friend of mine and his two children.  We fed all 11 children and both adults at Burger King for $25 (cause we're good like that.)

2. After lunch, we picked up mom and continued on to our friend's house, where we proceeded to have a giant water balloon fight.  (450 water balloons!)

3. After we dried off, we loaded everyone up and drove to meet up with another family, who needed to sign some adoption paperwork for us.  (I know.. MORE PAPERWORK!)

4. After the signature transaction, we went home.  We rotated all children through baths and showers while we cooked dinner.  This was a feat in itself.

5. Finally, children clad in their pajamas, we drove into town to watch the annual Semi-Truck Parade that kicks off the County Fair each year.

At each stop, we took stock of what we were doing and we asked ourselves how much harder this would be with a medically fragile, mentally retarded fifteen year old added to the mix.  We couldn't help but to feel that WE CAN DO THIS!

The family that signed the paperwork at stop number 3 has eleven children.  They are some of our best friends.  One if their children has Cerebral Palsy, (like our Trevor, but more severe,) and Epilepsy.  They have been an amazing source of inspiration and motivation for us.  Believe it or not, the paperwork they signed was to agree that if Tabatha and I were to die, they would take all 8 of our children AND Alivea, giving them 20 children, 3 of which with special needs.

Here's the lesson for the day:  There are amazing people that exist.  Our friends are counted in those ranks.  We are surrounded with an awesome support system.  Our children are well behaved, (mostly,) and with God's help, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that

WE CAN DO THIS!

Honor God • Cherish Life • Love Others

"Honor God • Cherish Life • Love Others" is the motto that our family tries to live by.  These are the standards that we have built our lives on.  The three pillars that hold up our home.

HONOR GOD

It started with me, (Timm.)  I have been a fairly "religious" person since the 8th
grade.  I have always tried to live my life according to God's standards.  I read
my Bible and I pray. God is a big part of my life.

Several years ago, I was preparing for an interview for a promotion at work.  I
started to ask myself, "What is my motivation?" I cycled through several things
in my mind; I wanted to make my wife proud.  I wanted to show my children what
a good husband and father looks like. But ultimately, my mind kept returning to
one thing; At the end of each day, I wanted to look back at what I had
accomplished and be able to say, "I brought glory and honor to God today."

And so the mantra of "Honor God" was born

CHERISH LIFE

I added the second and third pillars over a twenty week period, beginning on
August 27th, 2014.  This was a day that changed the lives of Tabatha and I
profoundly. On this day, I was awakened by my oldest daughter, who told me
that Tabatha needed me and it was urgent.  I went to her and found out that
we had lost our precious little Faith at 20 weeks gestation. Our Hearts were
broken.

Now I had already thought very strongly that life is one of the greatest gifts that
God has given us.  I already thought that life was precious and something to
be cherished, but on this day, a day when one of the most precious lives and
one of the most innocent lives was taken from me, I doubled down on the pillar
of "Cherish Life."

LOVE OTHERS

Oddly enough, the third pillar began to take shape on that same day.  During
the same 20 weeks that Faith was alive, a good friend of mine, Trevor, was in
hospital due to heart failure.  He was awaiting a life saving heart transplant.

While Tabatha and I were driving to the hospital, our deceased child in
Tabatha's arms, my phone rang.  Normally, given the brevity of the situation,
I would not have answered, but on this particular occasion, something told me
I should.  I answered the phone and found that it was Trevor calling from his
hospital room.

He told me that a heart had become available.  He was going in for his heart
transplant, "right now."

So while Tabatha and I sat in a hospital room in Lansing, dealing with the
fallout and complications of losing our daughter, Trevor was in a hospital room
in Ann Arbor, getting a life changing transplant surgery.  We no doubt felt these
two life changing events were somehow connected.

Trevor came through the surgery and we were able to visit him several times
during his recovery.  Unfortunately, he developed an infection several months
later. He lived for exactly 20 weeks after his transplant and then passed away,
(the exact same amount of time that Faith lived.)

As I sat and tried to figure out how I could honor my good friend in his death,
I realized that the best way to honor him, was to do as he did.  Trevor was
defined by his love for others. He lived a life that he very easily could have
made all about himself and no one would have blamed him for it.  But that's
not how he lived. Trevor constantly put other's needs before his own. He
would gladly go without or give up a simple comfort if it meant that someone
else's needs were met.

And so on the day of Trevor's passing, February 14th 2015, Valentine's Day,
I added "Love Others," to our family motto.

And so the Three Pillars were born;

Honor God • Cherish Life • Love Others

Meet Alivea

This is Alivea (or "V")

"V understands everything and listens attentively when spoken to. She is very brave and open. V is not afraid of strangers. On the contrary, they are interesting to her. She is interested in everything that happens around her."Does this sound like a child that should be laying in a crib in a backroom all day?
No way!!
Sweet V was born in 2003. She will age out and no longer be able to be adopted by Americans next year.
Her future is very grim if she is not adopted....

When Tabatha and I saw this post on Facebook, something told us that this was the one.  We prayed a lot over the course of the next few days and it became clear to us that the Spirit was moving us towards adopting this little girl... and so that's what we set out to do.

Here is a video to hep you to get to know her better.

It is our prayer that you all will get to meet her very soon!