Puzzle Piece Update: Week 4

Thank you Uncle Tony and Aunt Sally, Uncle Rick and Aunt Cheryl, Isabella, Mary Alice, Sophia, Tino, Richie, Gia, Salvatore and Layla, Aunt Grace, Cousin Bentley, Uncle Tom Friedel, Aunt Jill Friedel, Brandon Friedel and Tyler Friedel!!

We are one tenth of the way done. Thank you...Thank you...Happy New Year!! Here's to 2014!!


Love,

Tim and Greta

Having Fun Spending Time With Family

                             Date with Laura and Ava at Powell Hall in St. Louis, MO

                            Glow stick party at Maggie and Jeff's Christmas Day

                                             Friedel family get together

                                   Grace and baby James playing with the door

                                               Spending time at the beach

Having a great time spending time with family. Hope y'all enjoy the last moments of 2013.

27 Kids Adopted Just In Time For Christmas!

WKRN, Nashville News, Nashville Weather and Sports

A Story of Hope

Puzzle Piece Update: week 3

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma Friedel, Sheena Koshy, Diane Born, Summer Duffing, Sara and Arsen Kharatyan, Jean Simnitt, Deborah Gates and Aunt Laura, Uncle Keith, Ava and baby Luca!

We are so grateful for all the donations so far. Thanks for embracing our blog and being so supportive. Yesterday we received a special letter straight from our niece's hand.

 I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A BLESSED CHRISTMAS! I hope you            

                     take time to give thanks for all the blessings in life BIG and small.
                           
                                  :)Tim and Greta

A Beautiful Adoption Story

Puzzle Piece Update: week 2

"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
                                                                                                                                          --Jeremiah 29:11

 

 

Thank you Kristen Otto, Matt and Fran Barbieri, Dawn Neupert and Molly and Terry Nicol for your donations this week!!!!

      26 pieces donated 974 pieces left...

Wheels on my car go round and round:

So today we drove two hours there and two hours back to meet with our adoption specialist Rhonda. One meeting down two more to go until our home study is finalized. Today we handed in paperwork and told our story. We also received some training on child abuse. Very impressed with how through Bethany Christian Services is. Here’s a picture to enjoy. This is real people. ;)

Rhonda’s great at explaining every step and all the processes plus she gives us a sense of hope every time we meet with her. We talked a little about how all this is in His hands after we do our part. I told her I was struggling with patience. I was happy to hear most couples struggle with that. Wheew!  I thought it was just me.  I read a lot of adoption blogs and Julie Gumm explained it perfectly. “When you’re in the throes of adoption and every fiber of your being aches to hold that child in your arms, it’s nearly impossible to be patient. To trust that someone much smarter than us has the timing under control is hard. Trust Him. Be patient. Some day you will look back and see all the tiny miracles that came your way.”

I’m thinking once we get the home study finalized it will begin to feel real. I’m anxious to get home study done so we can apply for grants and adoption loans.  Until then I have started tutoring after school and I’m looking into teaching some college classes at the local community college to earn extra money. I’m not passively waiting, that’s for sure.

Today we felt accomplished and we went out to lunch for our anniversary and enjoyed the “big city”.

Next step: Meet with Rhonda on January 25^th to turn in the rest of our paperwork; receive some more training and she will interview us again. We have paperwork to finish and three or four training online classes to take. Plus we have to read two adoption books. Already started the first:

 

 

 

Peace and love! I’m posting puzzle update Monday. 

Tim and Greta

 

 

 

8 puzzle pieces gone 992 more to go!

Thank you Beth Lamken, Sherry and Buddy, Natalie and Karl, Tracey  and Hadley for donating!!!!

We are off to a slow start this first week.  If you are unsure about the puzzle piece fundraiser just click on the page labeled “puzzle piece fundraiser” and I update our “adoption timeline” every week to keep you up to date on what’s going on. Also if you are curious to see how we made the decision to adopt click on “our journey”.  Your help means the world to us. Really it does!  Sounds corny but my heart smiles and skips a beat when some tells me they are willing to help out.  This is our dream.

We are staying focused on all the paperwork. And let me tell you there is a lot! Good thing we had two days off from the ice (the perks of two teachers).   Tim and I have sat down to get some paperwork knocked out. There are so many questions to ponder and answer. So many books to read and online training it gets overwhelming.  So to combat the long to- do list we do a little at a time. Rhonda J. Sinquefield our adoption specialist is great about giving us tips to get stuff done and staying focused.

Our next adoption meeting with Rhonda is on our anniversary this Saturday, December 14, 2013. For those that know us personally, can you believe it will be our sixth year anniversary!?  Can time slow down a bit!? Rhonda will talk to one of us while one of us watches an hour and half of training videos. Rhonda told us she really tries to get know us very well in a short amount of time so she can try to make the correct placement. We have a list of all the questions she will ask us so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Though, I’m always a little nervous. I just have faith that it will lead us to our precious gift one day soon. *deep breath*

 

Until next Monday….

 

Tim and Greta

Donation Button

We have added the PayPal donation button at the top of the home page. We already had several donations today but I won't post puzzle progress until next Monday.

Thanks,
Tim and Greta