Amazing news….Gods Plan

We would like to announce some great news. We are the proud parents of a beautiful healthy baby boy. We have been so blessed to be able to adopt a little boy. There have been so many that have supported us during this journey of bringing our little boy home and we are so grateful to everyone. Perry E Stockwell was born August 22nd. He weighed 6-lbs 7-ozs and was 20-inchs long. We are home and adjusting to being parents and PJ has been awesome at changing diapers and feeding him.

It brings us great joy to know that Gods plan for us to be parents has come true and that God had the perfect little one in mind for us. Sometimes we lose faith when things don't go exactly as we want them to go but through it all we continued to have faith that God had a bigger plan in store for us. Pj Stockwell PerryandHeather Adopt Fundraising to adopt a baby

Again thank you to everyone who has stood by us and been a part of our adoption journey

Hello

We are still patiently waiting for God to match us with a birth mother so that we can bring our little angel home.  As soon as we get matched we will let everyone know, but just know that this process doesn't happen over night and could take months or even years.

I would like to say a big thank you to MaryLou Klein, Nancy Stockwell,and Nikki Davis for buying T-shirts from us and supporting us in our adoption Journey.

Its not to late to buy a shirt we still have plenty available.  They are $15.00 a piece and youth sizes are available.

We have sponsors for 101 puzzle pieces so far (Thanks Alicia Isaac  Misty Garrison  A.j. Fontenot  Caley Molina Wolfe , Aunt Sonya, Ginette Miller, and The Packs) Only 899 to go.  If you would like to sponsor a puzzle piece you can do so buy several ways.
     1.   Paypal ( link provided on main page)
     2.  Sending us a check
     3.  Or cash
If you would like to buy a shirt or sponsor a puzzle piece feel free to contact us.

Thanks for all the prayers and support from our family and friends.

Love the Stockwells

Update

Sorry it has been awhile since we posted an update.  We are currently in the waiting process at the moment.  What that means is that we have completed our homestudy and all background checks needed by the state and our agency and we have completed our profile for the agency which is what is shown to the birthmother. The next step is being matched with a birthmother and until that time we do not know the sex of the baby or where the baby will come from.  How it works is that the birthmother and or birth father looks at hundreds of profiles and then they choose who they want as adoptive parents for their child, which we hope will be us soon. However we have no say in the matter on who chooses us and when.  Most time this connection is made when the birthmother is about 6 months pregnant and at that time we find out where she is from and the sex of the baby.  We will keep everyone updated on our progress and future fundraisers.

Currently we have T-Shirts for sale for $15.00 and we have the puzzle fundraiser going on.(there is a blog with details for sponsoring pieces).

We will be hosting a yard sale at the end of the month details to follow shortly.

and

We will be hosting another Applebee's Flapjack Fundraiser this summer for all those that were unable to attend.

Please keep us in you prayers as we patiently wait for God to match us with a birthmother.

Love the Stockwells

Puzzle Update

This is the progress on the puzzle so far, we hope to sell all the puzzle pieces which will help pay for travel fees.  Each puzzle piece is $5 and you are welcome to sponsor as many as you like.  We have had people buy one piece for each member of their family and we have also had people buy entire animals.  If you would like to sponsor a piece(s) you can do so by one of two ways.

1.  You can send a check to us, please email us at perryandheatheradopt@gmail.com for our address.

or

2.  By clicking the donation button on the right hand side on the main page.  Please include what you would like for us to write on the puzzle piece(s).  

LIST OF ANIMALS ALREADY SPONSORED

1. Elephants

2.  Male Lion

3.  All butterflies

4.  Noah

5.  Green frog with crown

6.   Owls in tree

7.  Monkey hanging from tree far right.

Home Study

Sorry that we have not written in a while but these past few weeks have been very crazy and busy.  We had to get fingerprinting done so that we could complete the FBI background investigation for the homestudy.  We also had to do a background for some of the states we have lived in, in the past.  We are having a FISH FRY fundraiser hosted for us by some of our dear friends and I have been trying to get all the health department stuff taking care of for it. We received an email short notice from the social worker that she would be coming by the house within a couple days which sent us into a tail spin of chaos trying to make sure we got all the baby proofing things done and bought so we could pass the homestudy. But despite all the crazy things we have going on we have some Great news.

We passed and received approval on our home study.  We are just waiting on the paperwork to officially arrive so that we can give a copy to our adoption agency.  Now we patiently wait for a birthmother to choose us. 

We say patiently but what really is going to happen is fundraisers and school and work and work( oh wait I said that already).  

We can now begin working on the puzzle, which we will make sure to post pictures of as we work on getting it all put together.  We decided to wait until after the homestudy so that we did not have to put it up once we started and be worried about losing pieces. We would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has already sponsored puzzle pieces. 

Actually we would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has been so supportive of us during our adoption journey..

Well until next time.

Love

The Stockwells

Puzzle Fundraiser

We are starting our first fundraiser.  We have a Puzzle of Noah's Arc which we plan to frame and hang in the nursery. We are asking you to sponsor one or more puzzle pieces for  $5.00 each. If we are able to sell enough pieces to complete the entire puzzle, it would help cover the costs needed for transportation to pick up and bring home our child and help cover the costs for the stay for the 2 week required period by the state during finalization of the paperwork.

With each piece of the puzzle you sponsor, we'll write your name on the back and begin assembling the puzzle.  If you are able to help through purchasing puzzle pieces, you can  pay through 2 different ways: 

       1. By clicking the Paypal Donation button on the right side of our main blog site.  Please be sure to include your name, so we know what to write on the puzzle piece! Also please remember that when paying through Paypal  they take a certain percentage of the money given. 

2. You can also donate by sending it to our home address and  if you don't have it and need it email us at perryandheatheradopt@gmail.com

Please share the link to this blog post and help us spread the word!!!

We will keep you updated on the progress of the puzzle and once it is completed we will frame it so that both sides are always showing as a reminder of all those who helped us bring our child home and provide them with a forever home.

God Bless,
Perry and Heather

GOOD NEWS

We were accepted into the agency as adoptive parents.  This was a very nerve-wrecking process because I was worried wither they would think we would be good enough to be adoptive parents.  But then I realized that it is in Gods hands and decided that this could possible be a long process and the only constant thing we can be sure of is our faith in God and that he has a plan for us.

Comments

So this entire time I was wondering why no one left a comment, well a friend informed me that she tried and couldn't.  After a thorough investigation I found the problem, it was me.  When I set up the profile I forgot to enable comments, which is turned on now. If you do not have Google or Windows account and you want to post a comment you can do one of two things:

1.click on the upside down triangle next to comment as and then select NAME/URL. Type your name  and then select complete.  Type comment and then hit publish. 
2. use the above step for the ANONYMOUS entry.

For all that already tried and couldn't sorry for the inconvenience.

Heather

Agency Meeting

Today we met with our first agency and the information seemed a bit overwhelming but it was very informative.  We have to wait until Friday to see if we meet there expectations of adoptive parents and are accepted into there program.  Please say prayers that we get accepted into this agency, which is very well known, great staff, and good BBB rating.  Picking an agency is a very scary process because you are trusting then to bring a child into your home, not scam you of thousands of dollars and legally protect you.  We would like to be accepted to this agency  and we have decided to put our faith in God because through him all things are possible.

First Step

So the first step we have to take is to chose an agency and we have decided to go with an agency that was recommended from a friend, Jennifer Wetmore.  She used this agency to bring her wonderful son home and had nothing but good things to say about them.  This agency does not perform the home study themselves so next we have to find a social worker who performs home studies in this area.

What is a home study you ask?

This is the process where a social worker dives into every aspect of your life to make sure that you are suitable parents.  They will do criminal, federal, and financial backgrounds on PJ and I, and advise us of any changes we need to make.  They will also make announced and unannounced visit to our home to make sure that it is child safe and is capable of providing a suitable home to a child.  There are several things we already know that we have to do such as plug covers, fire extinguisher under the sink,  cabinet door locks, and back door alarm because of the pool.  Not sure what other requirements they may have because it differs by agency, and there are some things we will not know until we have been matched and know which state our birthmother is in.

Any suggestions on child proofing the home are welcome!!!!!!!!!

And now the chaos begins but one day this will all seem minor and  unimportant because our child will be home with us.


Love the Stockwells

The Begining

Since our first date we talked about and knew we wanted to extend our family, with children. We talked about adopting one day after we had children of our own because there are so many children out there that need loving parents.  We began our journey to become parents shortly after we were married June 25, 2010. We have been trying to have children for over 3 years. We first learned after trying for 6 months that Heather would need help from a fertility specialist.  After over 2 years of fertility treatments that included daily doctor visits, 3-7 shots a day, and tens of thousands of dollars, we opened our hearts to god for direction.  We know that god has plans for us to be able to provide a loving home to a child; we just didn't know how that would happen.  We continued to follow the directions of the doctor and found out we were 5 weeks pregnant, but suffered a miscarriage at 8 weeks. We thought at that moment that we could still conceive and carry a child. We tried 5 more times to conceive.  However, God has completely different plans for our family and how wonderful His plans are, compared to ours!! In August 2013, after prayerful consideration and listening to our hearts for Gods direction, we have decided to take that leap of faith and apply to adopt a child from the United States. This is a great opportunity for us to build our family through God’s plan of adoption as well as provide a loving home to a child in need. As we begin the adoption process we have come to realize that it is a very expensive process and while we have some of the funds, we still need  at least $15,000 to complete the process of providing a forever home for a child. This is one of the many obstacles we will face along the way, but it just allows us to rely solely on God and become closer to Him.

Cost of adoption can be overwhelming and these are the fees that we will incur during the process.

Agency Fee: $15,000 for some agencies this includes counseling for birth mother and adoptive parents, this includes finding and matching us with birthmothers. Adoptive parent preparation and training.

Home-study fee: $2000-$3500 is the process where a social worker evaluates us and our home to insure that we are able to provide a safe loving home to a child.  These costs include travel for the social work for 2-3 pre-placement visits and filing of approval paper work with state. Some states will require an additional visit 6 months after the child comes home.

Home adjustments: $500-$1000. There are certain child safety measures that they will require us to take. Some specifically required by the state and some that are based off the agency we are using.

Legal fees: $4000-$9000 depending on the state of the birthmother

Medical expenses: $2000-$6000 for baby and mother during delivery and prenatal care.  We have to receive full medical clearance and the details very by state. Counseling before and after termination of rights of the baby.

Travel expenses: $3000-$6000 we will need to travel to the birthmother once the child is born and some states require that we remain there for up to 2 weeks. 

End cost $27,000-$40,000

We are relying on God for $1 at a time. We would be amiss if we didn’t also ask for help from our families and friends who may be willing to donate to get us one step closer to giving a child a forever home – no amount is too small! Our plan is to apply for as many grants as possible, embark on fundraisers and pray that doors will open for the money to come through.

Please consider helping us bring our daughter/son home. If you are unable to send a monetary gift of any amount, perhaps you can help by praying for us through this journey. We appreciate anything you can contribute and want to thank you ahead of time for your donation and your thoughts and prayers.