After bringing Ellie home in November 2019 Brian and I knew we would adopt again but did not put a time frame on it, as we wanted to adjust as a family of 6. Our plan was to begin the process once Andrew got a bit closer to high school graduation. However, as we found out the first time around God’s plan always trumps our plan and when we listen to His plan things begin to unfold in ways we would have never imagined. So, here we are, a bit sooner than we had anticipated but fully open to the plan God has set forth. We are currently in the home study process, very close to being done! We are seeking to adopt another little girl from China living with Down syndrome, somewhat close to Ellie’s age. We fully believe that God has a child picked out just for our family.
We know there are many obstacles to this, as China has been closed to families traveling to adopt children for over a year. We know there are so many families that have been waiting to bring their children home since they closed and we pray daily that China will open up to these families and for future families. We know that God goes before us and is beside us every step of the way and we trust in His goodness.
As we learned the first time around there are expenses in adopting a child. However, we experienced generosity and blessings beyond words during that time and have faith it will happen again. We will be doing some fundraisers and we will be applying for as many grants as we can. Please pray as we move forward in these things, that they will allow us to offset many of the costs of bringing another child home and that we will remain encouraged by this.
Speaking of fundraisers our first one is live!! We have once again partnered with We Help Two! We are so excited for our friends and family to be able to pruchase new socks, I mean it’s been a couple of years. And, this fundraiser is perfect timing as we enter March and prepare to celebrate World Down syndrome day on March 21 with our funky socks. Some quick information on our sock fundraiser:
- We currently hold the record for sock sales for an adoption fundraiser through We Help Two (our goal is to break this!)
- For each pack of socks sold we will get a pair of warm socks to distribute to a local shelter. Last time around we delivered over 500 pairs of socks to Met Trotter Ministries (see picture below)
- For each pack of socks sold ($15) we receive $9 towards our adoption
- We Help Two has some great, fun new designs to choose from! (see picture below)
- Visit our fundraiser directly to order your socks using this link: https://go.wehelptwo.com/campaign/?campaignid=11144
We appreciate each of you so much and hope you continue to follow our journey, keeping us in your prayers as we move forward towards bringing another child home. We cannot wait to see what God has in store for our family!
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Gard Family Adoption Adventure 