the a's of the q & a

Your questions,
answered here.

Jennifer asked:
Alrighty! Here's a question for you....another question...thanks for the private Q & A via email! :) I'm starting to think about fundraisers. Any ideas???? We're collecting things for a huge garage sale. But I know that won't cover it all! ;) I'm trying not to panic over the cost. I'm being kindly reminded that He will help us. He doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. *I think I need that tattooed on my forehead!*

My answer to that is, be creative and don't assume you'll raise all your funds in one or two "events". It takes perseverance. If you have a good solid following on your blog, then do some sort of giveaway. But also do stuff locally. One of our fund raisers was selling Show Hope t-shirts, which wasn't an overwhelming success, but was great fun and we definitely made money off of them.
Garage sales are great!! Make sure to post like crazy why you are having the sale. You will have a few generous souls who will donate. The rest are stingy. Just being real with ya. A spaghetti dinner can be a huge success but we didn't do that. Just couldn't get the courage to pull the trigger. Lastly, Getting,
He doesn't call the qualified, but qualifies the called,
is a great tattoo idea. Perhaps even a fundraising idea. Run with that one, friend.


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Lori,
I would love to know- when you adopt two unrelated children from China simultaneously, do you have to pay more agency fees? (please say they aren't doubled fees!)
Also, everyone I know of who has adopted two has done so from differing orphanages. Do you know if a family adopts 2 from the same orphanage if the orph. donation would still be $5k or would it be $10k?
I would like to get an honest estimate at how much more it would cost to adopt a second child and have not been able to get a straight answer from anyone...even agencies.
I would love 2 more...from China...one boy and one more girl and we'll all live happily ever after in bunk beds :)
Who knows?! :)
I totally get you...would miss China desperately but oh the flight...and I can't sleep a WINK on an airplane either. Jet lag for WEEKS and tummy upset too. So it would be nice to be all refreshed and in the right time zone when you meet your new treasures!
Blessings,
Holly

Yes, our agency gave us a discount for two kiddos. And as far as orphanage donations go…we are adopting from two different orphanages so no, no discounts there. And I am totally with you…I cannot sleep a wink on that blasted airplane… even with a prescription sleeping pill. Seriously!!! Vertical sleeping is evil.

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so, missus-hairstylist-extraordinaire.... if i want to put some purple steaks in my hair, do i need to bleach those streaks first? i'm talking chunks.

(really, that's it. nothing stressful or adoption related... unless now you're stressing about me wanting to put purple in my hair. i'm thinking in the summer, i would make it hot pink.)

oh, and how can i keep the fun colors from fading so quickly?

Jaime, you are a nut.
What are those Germans doing to you??
But yes, I would recommend bleaching first.
And as far as fading goes…it’s SO hard to avoid. Impossible, even.
Use good shampoo and stay out of the sun!
And be sure to send me a pic!
I'm excited!

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Greetings friend. I am sitting here in Johannesburg South Africa, and you will not believe the amount of hassle we have in trying to adopt. My wife and I have been serious about it for the past two years have been trying to get into the adoption proces but to no avail. We do feel God's call on us for adoption. in one of the provinvces of South Africa alone there are over 700,000 orphans..so the need is great. Incredibily great. Me ? I would go for it. But the doors just seem to say shut. Regards Simon Thomas
South Africa

Simon, Wow, I’m so sorry the doors to adoption are closed to you…
despite the GREAT need.
My heart hurts for you and all those sweet children who need a family.
It’s so not right.

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I'm in a "I can't believe it's only Wednesday, and not Friday" kind of mood, so I'm keeping the mojo kind of low key today. How about...what are the middle names of all your family members. Um, in your house. Not ALL of your family members. Low key mojo, remember?

Middle names:
Husband: Kelly
Me: Kim
Brenden: Terrell
Nick: Nicholas
Macy: Shu Li
Lucy: Joy

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Okay, here goes ~
How'd ya' get to be so awesome?
:) :) :)

Awww, shucks.
You know the answer to that because you’ve also
got the key to awesomeness… J E S U S!

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Hey Lori, ♥ this Q&A idea!!

When did you name the boys? I had been praying for them as HH & DJ, but then I saw the recent pics and I was like "WOW!! They have American names!!"

This ? will be so easy (cuz I'm going to answer it myself!!) Do you plan to put another paypal donation thingy on your site? Last several times I looked for the thing-a-ma-jig it wasn't there. BUT THIS MORNING I looked again & found all your sidebar doo-hickies at the bottom....along with the paypal what-cha-ma-call-it! (on a totally different note, i used to have an aunt that talked like this ALL.THE.TIME. I never knew what she was talking about cuz she never used the real words - it was always a "thing-a-ma-jig" or a "doo-hickie"!! LOL)

♥ you sweet gal!

JR…you crack me up.
Yes, my Paypal thingymajig is SOMEWHERE on my blog.
I’m not sure what’s up with its random locations.

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I don't really have any huge questions that I need the answers to, but if we were just chatting over coffee I would most likely ask you how you were preparing Lucy for a YOUNGER sibling. I think it will help that it's a boy, but I know in our family, Jami finds real identity in being the youngest (of all the cousins even) & she would have a hard time losing that role.

I second the fact that you are an awesome gal. Glad I know you.....=)

Oh yes. I do foresee this to be a possible issue.
We talk to her often about how she will finally get to be a
big sister and she will get to teach her little brother things…play with him, etc. etc.
So far, she is SO excited.
But since she teeters between being insanely jealous of
anyone getting my attention and
covets madly the fact that she isn’t the oldest kid in the house,
I’m really not sure what the heck we are in for!!

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OK ? first? What color is your hair? I love it. Only 1 parent being jet lagged has got to be a great thing for the whole family. I had not even thought of that.
Joy

Oh, bless you, Joy.
My hair color is a careful
(and very approximate)
formula of:
Redken Colorgels:
2 oz. 4N
1 oz. 5N*
And a drop or two of something interesting…like red.

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Okay...my question is, how do your kids all feel about all the adoptions? Have they all felt it has been a great idea each time? What has been the biggest post adoption trouble or struggle for you?

All of our kids were totally okay with our announcement of
our new 12 year old. But with our latest announcement, one
of our kiddos wasn’t so thrilled, saying we had enough kids.
We had some good talks…and didn’t rush or force it.
We are all in agreement now.
And for me…the biggest struggle would be the dang paperwork…
AND trying to prepare for such a big jump in population.

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Have you made our reservation at the funny farm in Maui yet? I'm getting anxious. That's my only question.

Patty…currently, I am in negotiations regarding
our grass skirts & coconut tops.
And I’m insisting on umbrellas in every drink at every meal.
I think the deal will be sealed soon.
Pack your sunscreen, girl.

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This post exhausted me.
Just so you know.