Thursday, May 30, 2013

Adoption and Fundraising....or a 20k Advance.

Ok, so this post has little to do with writing. But I thought I'd take a few minutes out of your day to discuss my REAL life and what's going on.

For the past year, we've been working toward adopting a son from Bulgaria. We already have 3 kids, but we feel as if we have more room and more love to give to an orphan. Bulgaria is a country in Eastern Europe. Here is a picture so you know where it is.



So in the last year, we've been in paperwork pregnancy. And, let me tell you this: Being REAL pregnant is a lot easier. We've finished our homestudy and our papers are in the process of being translated to Bulgarian. And after that is all done, we get to wait for a referral.

A referral could take from 1-3 years. Which is a LOT longer than the 9 months I waited for each of my other 3 kids. But this is important. Our son is out there somewhere waiting for us. And, as we wait, I ran a few numbers and realized that we still have to pay around 20 thousand dollars toward our adoption.

Yep... You heard me. Twenty THOUSAND dollars. That is after spending over 8,000 this year.

Adoption is expensive.

Maybe I should finish my Middle Grade Book and sell it for some big bucks (cough....any agent out there...cough). Not sure they would do an adoption pity sale though? Probably not.

And we might have 3 years to make that money...or we might have one. (gulp). I figured it would be best to start trying to get the money now. So, I hope you don't mind, but I thought I'd do some fundraising promotions here on OA

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Firstly, we signed up to sell coffee. Just Love Coffee offers fundraisers for people in the process of adoption. It's a good organization, as it doesn't only help people like us, but it also helps those in Africa earn a living.


Check it out HERE.  You can also see a picture of our family (and notice how tall my husband is).

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I've also started an etsy store where I've been working on some handmade jewelry and things.  If you'd like to check it out, and pass the word along--and maybe even buy something so I don't look like such a geek-- that would be really awesome.

Linkage is HERE

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And don't forget, I have a fantasy short story that I self-published a while back to help with our adoption. It's only .99 on kindle and all the profits go toward our adoption. It's a other world fantasy with a native american flavor. 

Link on Amazon is HERE:

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And lastly, our daughter had these bracelets made up. We're selling the green and purple ones for $1.00 and the tricolored ones for $2.00.  Throw in a couple of dollars shipping for those of you who are not near me. If you're interested in them, just drop me an email and we can arrange something. ask.miss.java (at) gmail.com.

Anyhow! Thanks for letting me share and pimp our fundraisers. If you'd like to help by sharing this post, that would be much appreciated!

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And if some publisher/agent wants a great MG boy fantasy novel set in the world of Native American Mythology, that would want to give us a 20k advance....let me know as well. LOL.





9 comments:

Operation Awesome said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michelle McLean said...

And fyi there are mugs, apparel, etc on the Just Coffee site so even those non-coffee drinkers can find cute stuff :D Good luck with everything Kristal!

Angelica R. Jackson said...

Sorry Toni--I've been logging into our Gmail to check for MA replies and I end up commenting on here as you! But Angelica says:

Oh, the needle felted Oliver the Owl necklace is on the Etsy site! Somebody snap that up!

One of my friends who was adopting abroad had another friend throw her a fundraising yard sale. Everybody donated items, and once buyers knew what it was for they often kicked in extra money. Have you thought of doing that Kristal?

Kell Andrews said...

Good luck, Kristal! A lot of good here in this post -- including your fantastic short. I'd love to see more stories in this world (hint, hint)

Kell Andrews said...

Good luck, Kristal! A lot of good here in this post -- including your fantastic short. I'd love to see more stories in this world (hint, hint)

Kristal Shaff said...

I've thought of it, but we live in the country. Would have to figure out the logistics of that sort of thing.Where to have it. If people would actually show up, etc.

Kristal Shaff said...

:o) Thanks Kell!

Toni Kerr said...

I've noticed that, Angelica! Been wondering if I'm posting and deleting and then forgetting all about it. LOL Good to know I'm not.

Good luck, Kristal! I have friends who were finally able to bring a little girl home from the Congo-- it is an amazing amount of work and $, but it'll all be worth it. You're doing a great thing!

Angela Townsend said...

I ordered a fantastic go-cup and I LOVE it! It keeps my tea and coffee nice and hot while I'm writing! Its a must have!