I just wanted to write a short post about something really neat that has been happening. Lately, several people (especially ones that I do not know or do not know well), have sent me messages about how God is laying our family, our son and this adoption process on their hearts. They have sent encouraging messages, prayed for us and donated. I am a firm believer in prayer and I just want to say thank you to those people. Sometimes, we are just going through the motions of this whole process, sometimes I am so on fire about it, and sometimes, I feel like my faith is lacking, satan is attacking and the process is daunting.
I cannot begin to express my gratitude on what it means to know that there are people out there praying to our Awesome Father on our behalf, lifting us up and being a part of bringing our son home. I appreciate so many of you going out of your way to support us and encourage us. I know that God is going to use our story to move in people's hearts, not because of us, but because of HIM. Aside from getting our little guy home with us, I want to be refined and tested (Oh gosh, did I really just say that?) through this process. I want the gospel so clearly displayed through this adoption that people come to know Christ. I want God to lay adoption on other people's hearts and prompt them to MOVE and do something. That is a heavy load my friends. We cannot do that alone and I am grateful and humbled to all of you who are giving that to God with us.
I humbly ask you to continue to lift us up, continue to send words of encouragement, continue to donate. While God may be using us to physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally bring home our boy, he will and IS using you to stand along side us and push us forward. Thank you guys for being such amazing prayer warriors, cheerleaders and generous givers! We are blessed because of you!
McGinty Family
Monday, April 15, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Our Custom Adoption T-shirts
Oh, I am so excited! We have had an adoption shirt in the works for a couple of months now and I am THRILLED to be able to show it to you guys and take pre-orders for them. Our awesome friend, Scott, designed our shirts for us and he did such a great job relaying what I wanted the message to be. We wanted to have a shirt that had a general orphan awareness message on it, but with a personal touch as well. We wanted a modern style shirt with a vintage (worn out) feel to it. So, here it is:
There are an estimated 147 million orphans world wide..crazy huh? Some statistics even go to over 150 million. Regardless of the number, it is obvious that there is a MAJOR orphan crisis in the world and we wanted that to be a clear message. Once our son is home, that will be minus one!
So, you get to sport one of our awesome shirts with an awesome message and help support our adoption all for $20. We can even ship them to you if you need us to. (Free for in the USA, International will be a charge depending on where you live).
You don't want to miss out, so make sure you order your McGinty Adoption shirt today. THANK YOU ahead of time for supporting us in bringing home our son. We can't wait to see these awesome t-shirts on you guys.
There are an estimated 147 million orphans world wide..crazy huh? Some statistics even go to over 150 million. Regardless of the number, it is obvious that there is a MAJOR orphan crisis in the world and we wanted that to be a clear message. Once our son is home, that will be minus one!
The adult shirts come on a charcoal gray, soft, vintage style shirt (think American Eagle feel).
Kid shirts will be on REGULAR COTTON TEES. They don't have kid's sizes in the soft ones.
Adult shirts are $20 each and kids shirts are $15.
All of the proceeds go towards helping us with adoption expenses.
So, you get to sport one of our awesome shirts with an awesome message and help support our adoption all for $20. We can even ship them to you if you need us to. (Free for in the USA, International will be a charge depending on where you live).
FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS TO ORDER:
You can place a pre-order by donating the correct amount of money, based on your order, on our paypal link and writing a message in the notes section of what size(s) you would like along with if you need it shipped and the address. Or, after you donate, you can shoot me a FB message or an e-mail @ angiemcginty@gmail.com with all of your info.
If you do not have paypal account, you can send a check with the correct amount to:
Evan McGinty
PO BOX 1171
Mandeville, LA 70470
Please send me a message via email or FB about the umber of shirts and sizes you are ordering.
Here are the sizes
Adults: , WE ARE SOLD OUT OF ALL SIZES EXCEPT MEDIUM
(Please note that with plus sizes the graphic may not appear as long. The largest they can make it, is
14 inches.)
(Please note that with plus sizes the graphic may not appear as long. The largest they can make it, is
14 inches.)
Kids: YXS (2-4), YS(4-6), YM (8-10),
You don't want to miss out, so make sure you order your McGinty Adoption shirt today. THANK YOU ahead of time for supporting us in bringing home our son. We can't wait to see these awesome t-shirts on you guys.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Totally Twisted
Remember how I told you that in addition to fundraising for the adoption, we were doing things here and there to earn extra money to help pay for the adoption process? Well, here is one of those things.
Evan LOVES to learn anything he possibly can (one of my favorite qualities about my husband). When we joined our church, they went out to the block parties in the downtown area and made balloon animals for the kids. Evan jumped right on it and wanted to learn how to make balloon animals (he is such a go getter). He picked it up fast and now is really good at it. He has gotten some paid gigs doing balloon animals. This Saturday, in fact, he is doing balloon animals for a large company picnic. They hired him last year and the kids loved it so much, that they wanted him back this year.
He loves seeing how excited the kids get as an ordinary balloon gets twisted into something totally fun! So, as you are planning your kid's birthday parties, company picnics, fundraisers, school events, festivals, etc, consider hiring out my man. Balloon animals are a fun and festive addition to any celebration.
Or, maybe you would just be interested in placing an order for a special someone, holiday or event. He has done orders for balloon flower bouquets (Mother's Day is next month), orders for swords for little boy's parties, specific characters, etc (obviously you have to be local for this to pick up your order). You can even do team colors! If you have another idea of something you would like made into a balloon, just email him and ask if he can do it. Not only will you be pleased with the smiles on everyone's faces from such a fun gift, but you will be helping us towards the expenses of our son's adoption.
Here are a few picture samples:
Standard Flower Bouquet (8-10 flowers)
Butterfly (sorry Savannah had it upside down). This one comes in bracelet form and the girls like to wear it on their wrist.
Monkey on a palm tree
Dogs
Twisted sword
Fun hat
Snake
Princess Crown
Flower (We brought some of these to our friend Mrs. Leah at the nursing home today)
This one was for a Ninjago party complete with swords for all of the ninjas
Evan LOVES to learn anything he possibly can (one of my favorite qualities about my husband). When we joined our church, they went out to the block parties in the downtown area and made balloon animals for the kids. Evan jumped right on it and wanted to learn how to make balloon animals (he is such a go getter). He picked it up fast and now is really good at it. He has gotten some paid gigs doing balloon animals. This Saturday, in fact, he is doing balloon animals for a large company picnic. They hired him last year and the kids loved it so much, that they wanted him back this year.
He loves seeing how excited the kids get as an ordinary balloon gets twisted into something totally fun! So, as you are planning your kid's birthday parties, company picnics, fundraisers, school events, festivals, etc, consider hiring out my man. Balloon animals are a fun and festive addition to any celebration.
Here is a list of some of the balloons that Evan can make:
flower
sword (glow sticks can be put in these for nigh parties)
dog
giraffe
monkey on a tree
snake
butterfly
hats/crowns
maze balloons with balls inside
princesses & characters (order only)
Here are a few picture samples:
Standard Flower Bouquet (8-10 flowers)
Butterfly (sorry Savannah had it upside down). This one comes in bracelet form and the girls like to wear it on their wrist.
Monkey on a palm tree
Twisted sword
Fun hat
Snake
Flower (We brought some of these to our friend Mrs. Leah at the nursing home today)
This one was for a Ninjago party complete with swords for all of the ninjas
We would love it if you would pass this info on to anyone who you think might be interested in something unique and fun for a party, event or a gift.
Contact Evan for more info and prices @ evanmcginty@gmail.com
Friday, April 5, 2013
The Long Road Ahead
So many people have asked us the questions, "Have you seen a picture of your son yet?, Do you get to pick him out?, When will you have him home? Why does this take so long?, etc" You would think that most of these questions would be able to be answered fairly soon after you decide you want to adopt, but that is not the case. I wanted to give a run down of what our schedule looks like for this process:
1.)First we have to complete all of the paperwork for our home study and it has to be approved. This takes about 3 months
2.)Next we have to fill out some more forms and work on our Dossier (giant packet of info that gets sent to Ethiopia) and wait for that to get approved. This can take 3-6 months.
3.)Once our Dossier is approved we will be put on a Waiting list and given a number. Right now the numbers being given out are in the low hundreds. As families are matched with a child, you move down the numbered list. The problem is that most months there are not that many referrals (when you receive a child's picture and a brief description about them and you can accept or deny the referral) given out (lately it is in the range of about 4 referrals a month..could be less some months, could be more). For example if you are number 100 and there are an average of 4 referrals done a month, you could be on the waiting list for 25 months before you ever see your child's face come across your compter screen. This is why this process can take up to 3 years.
Ethiopia is currently in the process of getting Hague Accredited. They put certain laws in place to slow down the adoption process to make sure they are ethical and legal. They went from processing 50 Dossiers a day to only 5 a day. Now you can see why only a few families are being matched from an agency at a time.
4.)If we accept the referral we will travel to Ethiopia within 4-6 weeks of accepting and meet our child. At that point we will go to court to have the child declared as "legally" ours before a judge (if you pass).
5.)Then you have to do the dreaded part of leaving your child in Ethiopia until their paperwork is finished processing in the US. This usually takes 4-6 months. (Oh the agony..this is the part I fear the most).
6.) Once your paperwork is completed, you travel back to Ethiopia to pass Embassy and then head home with your child (FINALLY!)
So, now you can see that it is not as easy as just deciding to adopt. It is a looooong drawn out process with so much legal work, so much money and so much waiting! More than likely all of our paperwork will expire due to the long wait and we will have to update a few times during the process, which is just frustrating to think about. Our prayer is that somehow the process picks up and we won't have to wait so long, but it's all just up in the air at this point. Things could change at any moment.
We will need prayers for lots of patience during the waiting and lots of encouragement. After having 3 biological children, I thought the 9 months of waiting was so long. I have a feeling I am in for a rude awakening. But, I love knowing that God is in for the long haul, he placed this on our hearts, He'll carry us through it. Also that we have an amazing community of friends and family around us to lift us up, pray for us and see us through till that little guy is home sweet home.
1.)First we have to complete all of the paperwork for our home study and it has to be approved. This takes about 3 months
2.)Next we have to fill out some more forms and work on our Dossier (giant packet of info that gets sent to Ethiopia) and wait for that to get approved. This can take 3-6 months.
3.)Once our Dossier is approved we will be put on a Waiting list and given a number. Right now the numbers being given out are in the low hundreds. As families are matched with a child, you move down the numbered list. The problem is that most months there are not that many referrals (when you receive a child's picture and a brief description about them and you can accept or deny the referral) given out (lately it is in the range of about 4 referrals a month..could be less some months, could be more). For example if you are number 100 and there are an average of 4 referrals done a month, you could be on the waiting list for 25 months before you ever see your child's face come across your compter screen. This is why this process can take up to 3 years.
Ethiopia is currently in the process of getting Hague Accredited. They put certain laws in place to slow down the adoption process to make sure they are ethical and legal. They went from processing 50 Dossiers a day to only 5 a day. Now you can see why only a few families are being matched from an agency at a time.
4.)If we accept the referral we will travel to Ethiopia within 4-6 weeks of accepting and meet our child. At that point we will go to court to have the child declared as "legally" ours before a judge (if you pass).
5.)Then you have to do the dreaded part of leaving your child in Ethiopia until their paperwork is finished processing in the US. This usually takes 4-6 months. (Oh the agony..this is the part I fear the most).
6.) Once your paperwork is completed, you travel back to Ethiopia to pass Embassy and then head home with your child (FINALLY!)
So, now you can see that it is not as easy as just deciding to adopt. It is a looooong drawn out process with so much legal work, so much money and so much waiting! More than likely all of our paperwork will expire due to the long wait and we will have to update a few times during the process, which is just frustrating to think about. Our prayer is that somehow the process picks up and we won't have to wait so long, but it's all just up in the air at this point. Things could change at any moment.
We will need prayers for lots of patience during the waiting and lots of encouragement. After having 3 biological children, I thought the 9 months of waiting was so long. I have a feeling I am in for a rude awakening. But, I love knowing that God is in for the long haul, he placed this on our hearts, He'll carry us through it. Also that we have an amazing community of friends and family around us to lift us up, pray for us and see us through till that little guy is home sweet home.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Homestudy Hallelujah!
Well folks, our home study went off without a hitch! PRAISE GOD! Tuesday through Thursday we were interviewed and our house was inspected. I must say, the home study was actually a lot less stressful than I thought. Here is a taste of what we did:
-measurements of the bedrooms, check for smoke detectors, safety checks on locked cleaning supplies, working fridge and water, first aid kit, etc
-Observations of the kids over dinner (very informally since they are so little).
-Interviews on EVERY subject, from our marriage, to our kids, parenting, discipline, our childhood, our past, our families, our faith, our education experiences, our dating relationship, etc.
-Discussions on how we feel about adoption, what led us here, what expectations and fears we have, what we have learned through our education thus far on adoption, how we feel about having a trans-racial family, etc
It was a lot, but luckily we have a great social worker who made us feel like we were just talking to a friend. We talked over cups of hot tea and lollipops (yes, I am 31 and I like lollipops). We really couldn't have asked for it to go any better.
Now that the interview and inspection part of the home study is done, the paperwork part won't be finished until around the end of June. Our social worker has to type up our entire home study and we have to complete and include the following items:
-FBI and state background checks and fingerprints
- Child abuse clearances from LA and TX
-10 hours of online Hague education
-Desired Child Form
-Read the book The Connected Child
-Complete Adoption Discussion Questions
-Attend a Crossings Seminar and complete a workbook
-Get complete physicals on Evan and I and the 3 kids
-Copies of Marriage Certificates, birth certificates, vaccine records, social security cards, pay stubs, tax returns.
- Trans-racial discussion questions
-Study up on the country of Ethiopia
So as you can see, it's back to paperwork for us....the never ending trail of paperwork! We are 2 1/2 months in and I know we have a loooong way to go, but the in home part of the home study is one more step complete. THANK YOU to everyone who prayed for us this week! We really felt them as we were totally at ease and peace and the process was GREAT!
This is a long and tedious process, but we are moving along. Please continue to pray as we keep working to finish all of our paperwork. Oh, and if you haven't downloaded and watched the Stuck documentary, I encourage you to do so. Evan and I watched it last week and it was really good and quite emotional, so have your kleenex ready and be prepared for God to lay some stuff on your heart....hey, I warned you! You can get to it from HERE.
-measurements of the bedrooms, check for smoke detectors, safety checks on locked cleaning supplies, working fridge and water, first aid kit, etc
-Observations of the kids over dinner (very informally since they are so little).
-Interviews on EVERY subject, from our marriage, to our kids, parenting, discipline, our childhood, our past, our families, our faith, our education experiences, our dating relationship, etc.
-Discussions on how we feel about adoption, what led us here, what expectations and fears we have, what we have learned through our education thus far on adoption, how we feel about having a trans-racial family, etc
It was a lot, but luckily we have a great social worker who made us feel like we were just talking to a friend. We talked over cups of hot tea and lollipops (yes, I am 31 and I like lollipops). We really couldn't have asked for it to go any better.
Now that the interview and inspection part of the home study is done, the paperwork part won't be finished until around the end of June. Our social worker has to type up our entire home study and we have to complete and include the following items:
-FBI and state background checks and fingerprints
- Child abuse clearances from LA and TX
-10 hours of online Hague education
-Desired Child Form
-Read the book The Connected Child
-Complete Adoption Discussion Questions
-Attend a Crossings Seminar and complete a workbook
-Get complete physicals on Evan and I and the 3 kids
-Copies of Marriage Certificates, birth certificates, vaccine records, social security cards, pay stubs, tax returns.
- Trans-racial discussion questions
-Study up on the country of Ethiopia
So as you can see, it's back to paperwork for us....the never ending trail of paperwork! We are 2 1/2 months in and I know we have a loooong way to go, but the in home part of the home study is one more step complete. THANK YOU to everyone who prayed for us this week! We really felt them as we were totally at ease and peace and the process was GREAT!
This is a long and tedious process, but we are moving along. Please continue to pray as we keep working to finish all of our paperwork. Oh, and if you haven't downloaded and watched the Stuck documentary, I encourage you to do so. Evan and I watched it last week and it was really good and quite emotional, so have your kleenex ready and be prepared for God to lay some stuff on your heart....hey, I warned you! You can get to it from HERE.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Puzzle Update #4
I honestly did not think we would get an update out this week with our homestudy starting TONIGHT, but my husband pushed through last night and added all of our new pieces. I seriously cannot say enough wonderful things about that man!
Anyway, many of you saw my birthday wish on FB, which was to get 31 pieces donated for my 31st birthday. Well, can I just say it was a FABULOUS birthday! Blessing after blessing poured in, and I truly felt support, love and encouragement from everyone who helped make my wish a reality. A piece here, a few pieces there, even a donation of 31 exact pieces from a donor all added up to make a marvelous addition of.......drumroll please..............
84 more pieces!!!!!!!!
I know right? Week after week I am in awe. I keep thinking "Well, we probably won't get any this week, because we had so many last week." But wow...you guys just keep rocking it and making my jaw drop. I've said it before and I'll say it again...God is using you guys and your generous hearts to bring our little boy home. He is also using you to teach Evan and I a lesson in faith and trust. THANK YOU so much for that my friends!
So, we are now at 299 pieces donated and put together, with 201 pieces left to go. We are OVER halfway done with our puzzle! It is coming together beautifully and all of the water is ALMOST complete, then we will work our way into Africa, ending with the red heart over Ethiopia.
Can you help us get these last 201 pieces sold? Share our blog on facebook if you can. One of our donations this week came from someone so kind, who saw our blog posted on their friend's facebook page and felt called to give a generous donation....how cool is that?
Reminder: Puzzle pieces are $10 a piece and you can buy as many as you'd like. We will write your name across the back of the # of pieces you buy. We will frame it between glass and hang it in our son's room to share with him when he is old enough to understand how all of you AMAZING friends helped get him home to his forever family.
Here is the updated picture:
Remember if you don't have a paypal account, you can send a check to our P.O. Box at:
Anyway, many of you saw my birthday wish on FB, which was to get 31 pieces donated for my 31st birthday. Well, can I just say it was a FABULOUS birthday! Blessing after blessing poured in, and I truly felt support, love and encouragement from everyone who helped make my wish a reality. A piece here, a few pieces there, even a donation of 31 exact pieces from a donor all added up to make a marvelous addition of.......drumroll please..............
84 more pieces!!!!!!!!
I know right? Week after week I am in awe. I keep thinking "Well, we probably won't get any this week, because we had so many last week." But wow...you guys just keep rocking it and making my jaw drop. I've said it before and I'll say it again...God is using you guys and your generous hearts to bring our little boy home. He is also using you to teach Evan and I a lesson in faith and trust. THANK YOU so much for that my friends!
So, we are now at 299 pieces donated and put together, with 201 pieces left to go. We are OVER halfway done with our puzzle! It is coming together beautifully and all of the water is ALMOST complete, then we will work our way into Africa, ending with the red heart over Ethiopia.
Can you help us get these last 201 pieces sold? Share our blog on facebook if you can. One of our donations this week came from someone so kind, who saw our blog posted on their friend's facebook page and felt called to give a generous donation....how cool is that?
Reminder: Puzzle pieces are $10 a piece and you can buy as many as you'd like. We will write your name across the back of the # of pieces you buy. We will frame it between glass and hang it in our son's room to share with him when he is old enough to understand how all of you AMAZING friends helped get him home to his forever family.
Here is the updated picture:
Remember if you don't have a paypal account, you can send a check to our P.O. Box at:
Evan McGinty
P.O. Box 1171
Mandeville, LA 70470
or you can donate here through paypal:
A BIG THANK YOU to the following people who gave to our baby boy this week. Praying that each of you is blessed for being a blessing to us.
Lammon Family
Robin Family
Breedlove Family
Cori Belletto
Tim & Kim Haws
Anonymous
Accardo Family
The Stogners
Norris Family
Grandpa
Nanny & Grandpa Ricky
Abby Horst
Clark Family
Yaya & Papoo
Jim Wilkens
Monday, April 1, 2013
Reflection of Easter
What a wonderful weekend it was celebrating the death and resurrection of my Savior. So much to ponder with Easter. I have said it before, but this adoption process has made me so much more tuned into what Christ did for me on that rugged cross. When he died, he took every sin I have ever committed and every sin I will commit and felt the weight and punishment of it on the cross. I weep thinking of how unbearably hard that must have been, how crushing, how painful, how powerful. I rejoice knowing that his death was not in vain. Death could not defeat him, he rose from the grave 3 days later showing his amazing power and giving me HOPE! Hope that comes from knowing that I am now in HIS family FOREVER, because he has wiped me clean, sacrificed, and loved us to the utmost. PRAISE GOD! It's really too much for me to wrap my mind around. It brings me to my knees, it lifts my hands in praise, it cuts deep within me. I NEVER want to grow numb to the reality of what HE did for ME and for YOU.
Our adoption through Christ is what prompts us to go through this adoption process. The more God pressed adoption on my heart, the more I saw how it correlated with what he did for us. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means comparing what we are doing to what Christ did for us...THERE IS NO COMPARISON, and we could never come close. It has been so neat to see how just in these past 2 months, God is doing things in me, stirring in my heart, refining me through the process, giving me an unending love for this child. This is not simply an act of "good deed" that we are doing, this is in response to what Christ did for us. He shed his blood, he wiped us clean, he gave us an eternal home and he promises to never leave us.
I cannot wait to hold this precious child, tell them how much I love them and that I will never leave them, that their past does not define them. I cannot wait to share who Jesus is with them. For them to not only see what earthly adoption is, but also eternal and spiritual adoption. One sweet day my friends....for now, we keep praying, hoping and trucking right along with the process.
This week we have our homestudy (I cannot believe it is actually here). The homestudy will consist of an observation of our kids, a home inspection, individual interviews and joint interviews. I am slightly nervous just because I know that someone is evaluating us. I have full confidence that it will go well, it's just a lot to work yourself up over. Please pray for us this week if you think about it. We start Tuesday night and finish Thursday. I have envisioned my kids running around like maniacs and swinging from the ceiling fans while our social worker is here. There is no telling what the littles might pull that day, so the prayers are appreciated!
On another note, I am hoping to get our next puzzle update done soon, but with the homestudy this week, I am not sure when that will happen. Can I just say that I had an amazing birthday last week as so many of you stepped up to donate in honor of my 31st (made turning 31 totally AWESOME). I can't wait to update the puzzle with the new pieces and share with you guys how many were sold. There is still time to donate ($10 per piece) if you want to get in on this next update.
Hope everyone is having a good week and enjoying your sugar rushes from Easter...I gotta run...there is a Rees's peanut butter cup calling my name from Dixie's easter basket.
Our adoption through Christ is what prompts us to go through this adoption process. The more God pressed adoption on my heart, the more I saw how it correlated with what he did for us. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means comparing what we are doing to what Christ did for us...THERE IS NO COMPARISON, and we could never come close. It has been so neat to see how just in these past 2 months, God is doing things in me, stirring in my heart, refining me through the process, giving me an unending love for this child. This is not simply an act of "good deed" that we are doing, this is in response to what Christ did for us. He shed his blood, he wiped us clean, he gave us an eternal home and he promises to never leave us.
I cannot wait to hold this precious child, tell them how much I love them and that I will never leave them, that their past does not define them. I cannot wait to share who Jesus is with them. For them to not only see what earthly adoption is, but also eternal and spiritual adoption. One sweet day my friends....for now, we keep praying, hoping and trucking right along with the process.
This week we have our homestudy (I cannot believe it is actually here). The homestudy will consist of an observation of our kids, a home inspection, individual interviews and joint interviews. I am slightly nervous just because I know that someone is evaluating us. I have full confidence that it will go well, it's just a lot to work yourself up over. Please pray for us this week if you think about it. We start Tuesday night and finish Thursday. I have envisioned my kids running around like maniacs and swinging from the ceiling fans while our social worker is here. There is no telling what the littles might pull that day, so the prayers are appreciated!
On another note, I am hoping to get our next puzzle update done soon, but with the homestudy this week, I am not sure when that will happen. Can I just say that I had an amazing birthday last week as so many of you stepped up to donate in honor of my 31st (made turning 31 totally AWESOME). I can't wait to update the puzzle with the new pieces and share with you guys how many were sold. There is still time to donate ($10 per piece) if you want to get in on this next update.
Hope everyone is having a good week and enjoying your sugar rushes from Easter...I gotta run...there is a Rees's peanut butter cup calling my name from Dixie's easter basket.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)