Hand in Hand

Dear Family and Friends,

As many of you may have already heard we feel that God has called us on a new journey to provide a family to a child through the process of adoption.  We have started down this path of adoption and will be excited to bring a child into our home within the next six to eighteen months.  We have felt led to pursue a child from SA and are now waiting for the specific child God has for us.

This road to adoption is full of many joys and challenges, the greatest joy being the inclusion of a child into our family and the one of the greatest challenge being finances.  The costs of adoption include the expense of a home study, adoption agency, lawyers, travel expenses, etc.

We were recently awarded a matching funds grant to help with the expenses of our adoption through Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. a non-profit private operating foundation.  Hand in Hand will match any funds that are donated through our friends and family for the expenses of our adoption.  All funds received through our friends and family will be matched dollar for dollar by Hand in Hand up to our awarded grant amount ($5000...so we have to raise $2500, and they will match it!).   All donations are tax-deductible.

Please send all donations made payable to “Hand in Hand Christian Adoption” postmarked by 6/28/2013 to: (for tax purposes please include our name on the outside of the envelope only…do not put our name on the check itself)

Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc.                 

The Boltes Family

18318 Mimosa Court
Gardner, KS  66030                 

  

Thank you for your prayerful consideration in helping a child find a “forever” family.

Walking Hand in Hand,

Cameron and Megan 

Adoption grant list

Many have asked for a list of adoption grants. Here are the ones I found (I am sure there are more out there, such as adoption loans). We did not apply for all of these. We chose about 15 that "felt" right. Some have different requirements (religious, financial, ect.), some have application fees, some make strong claims on the "orphan crisis". 

My advice would be to choose a handful, print them off, and do them all at one time. Many ask for the exact same information, the exact same pastor references, the exact same agency letter, and the exact same life story essays. It was easier for me to do it all at once, so I wasn't reinventing the wheel every time, and I could just ask for copies of the same references. 

So here ya go...I divided them into categories of "when" you can apply (they are in no particular order other than that)...blessings...

Homestudy in process:
National adoption foundation


After homestudy:
Show hope
Caroline's Promise (just for folks in NC and SC)
Gift of Adoption
Help us adopt
Lifesong
Salvation International
JSC Foundation
katelyns fund
Hand in hand
families outreach
Orphan Impact
Lydia Fund
Golden Dawn
Affording Adoption
God's Grace
Sparrow Fund
Lost stork
Parenthood for Me
Chance to hope
Ava's hope
Mercy Found Ministries 
One Less

After referral:
A Child Waits
Sea of faces
Affording Adoption
Brittany's Hope

Hope Suds

Need some laundry detergent...of course you do! Buy Hope Suds here...support our adoption...and get some of the most fantastic detergent ever! 50% of the proceeds from each and every sale goes to OUR FAMILY. 

The secret ingredient to Hope Suds is their 100% natural handcrafted soap. (And, lots of Hope)! It is great for cloth diapers as well.

How do you use Hope Suds?

You just add 1 scoop of the powder detergent to your laundry! Our natural detergent is low sudsing and great for HE machines, or even old dinosaur washing machines. You can use it to pretreat stains by making a thick paste by adding a bit of water and rubbing it into the stain.

For boosted whitening power and softer towels, try adding 1/4 cup of white vinegar instead of fabric softener. We know you will be thrilled with the results!  

http://www.cheekymaidensoap.com/hopesudsprofiles/boltes
(Shipping should be about $5 for a small bag and $8 for a big, or FREE shipping for an order over $50!)



Other fundraisers we are doing...
Of course our Etsy shop...
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LifeStitchedTogether
90% of profits go towards our adoption expenses, 10% go to Ubuntu Africa!

And if you just want to donate directly to travel expenses...
http://adopttogether.org/theboltes/

Much love and thanks so so much for your support!

Food....not just for thought....

About 6 months ago...

Sam became a bit more adventurous with his food choices. If you don't know, Sam came to us with some major "food issues" and texture aversions. We were pretty limited to what we could get him to eat. We tried everything. It was exhausting. We stopped trying. He overcame it on his own, his own time. Still will not eat chicken, or other meats in their whole form (will eat ground beef, turkey, ect). 

January...

Cameron entered a Biggest Loser contest, and we got serious about what we were eating. He found a mantra "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." He has done so so well. He has lost about 40 pounds, and continues to lose. We are so proud of him! He has done it the right way...eating well, eating real, exercising consistently (walking and running at night after the boys are in bed).

Last week...

I am doing the "7" study with my small group. It was food week. And there is was...the mantra that we had been living for the past couple months on page 35 "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." At a time when I didn't want to cook or chop or saute any more food...God spoke. He has a plan about how we should eat! He's got this thing covered...we were created vegetarians...after Noah, we could eat meat. He knows what is good for our bodies. He gave very specific guidelines about what was good for us. No, we are not becoming vegetarians, or sticking strictly to Leviticus guidelines on eating...but it was so good to be encouraged from our Father that we are on the right track.

Now...

We are trying to cut most processed foods...limit sugar...limit meat...limit eating out. One "meat" dinner a week. 

But what will the kids eat...

The boys have done GREAT! They will eat veggies and tofu and fruit, and Sam even ASKED for veggies the other night! I feel good about what we are putting in their bellies : ) 

Crazy?...

We are not being crazy about it. We will not refuse an invite out to dinner, or put food restrictions on the kids. We are relaxed but intentional. I will speak up about what people are feeding my children...I will tell you "no" if you offer them candy or chips or other "junk" (except at a child's Birthday Party). If you are on diet and are not supposed to be eating it...it is not good or nutritious for my children either so please do not give it to them. 

So there ya have it...

Our food journey over the last couple months...I believe we can stick with it...it feels good, it is not hard and it is yummy!

Quilt giveaway

How about a fun giveaway to celebrate this newest adoption journey!

You could win a custom crib or toddler quilt! You can make it adoption themed, or any other fun applique! Or no applique at all, just choose 2 beautiful fabrics, and I can make it happen!
Maybe you could win it for yourself, or a friend or relative who is adding a little one to their family soon!

You can see some of the other quilt options here... https://www.etsy.com/shop/LifeStitchedTogether
Or here... https://www.facebook.com/LifeStitchedTogether

How to enter...
Every $10 donated to our AdoptTogether page = 5 entries (so $20 is 10 entries, $50 is 25 entries, ect)
http://adopttogether.org/theboltes/
(make sure you are donating to our family, and not just the general Adopt Together fund)
AND
Share about the giveaway on facebook, pinterest, twitter, ect (every share = 1 entry)

Giveaway is closed! JAMEY you won!!!! contact me!!!

Back in the saddle

We have re-entered reality. We took our first week-long vacation since Samuel has been with us! And it was awesome!

We went to Atlanta...me to Created for Care, and the boys and Cam to the aquarium and other fun sites around the city.

We went to Lake Norman to visit some old friends and meet their newest baby.

Then off to Great Wolf Lodge! We were given a 2 night stay for Christmas, and it was time to cash in! It was so much fun. Samuel was cold most of the time, but toughed it out for the most part. Sam loved the slides and characters. Solomon loved the wave pool and the splash park.

We spent a day in Charlotte with some of Cam's family there and we got to see some Ugandan buddies!

Then, we headed to Asheville. To visit friends and introduce the boys to the mountains. We stayed at Windy Gap, a Young Life camp. And the boys were instantly in love. It was so much fun to see them explore a place that meant so much to me for so many years. But also very hard. Young Life, like any ministry run by man, is broken. Out of it's brokenness has caused some pretty deep wounds to Cam and I. The wounds are deep, most everyone else has forgotten about the pain there or simply doesn't care, but the pain remains for us. Hard.

We headed back home, with a quick stop in Raleigh to celebrate Solomon's 3rd birthday.

It was a very very good week. 

Boys at Windy Gap, admiring the horses.

Adventures with Tofu

My Facebook status tonight: Cooking with tofu tonight...kinda scared, kinda excited!

And the comments that followed:

CRW: We have it all the time! Hope your kids like it!
HHA: Squeeze the water out!!
KTC: i've never tried cooking with it. but i love it! let me know if you like your recipe. please
me: Went great! Boys loved it
KTC: so how'd ya do it? my boys dont like it at the chinese restaurants. they think it's slimy.

me: So I loosely fooled this recipe...http://www.iowagirleats.com/recipes/?recipe_id=6042015

But substituted tofu for the chicken

This site had good tips on how to cook the tofu...
http://www.delish.com/recipes/cooking-recipes/how-to-cook-tofu

First you cut it into sections, and then you "press" it between towels to get the water out

Then I marinated it....I used lime tequila, vinegar, balsamic, garlic and some random southwest spices...it says not to use oil in the marinade...I guess water and oils don't mix

After a couple hours in the marinade, I heated some oil, and lightly coated the tofu with corn starch...this helps it get crispy and not stick to the pan

I stir fried it for couple minutes until the outside was a bit brown a crispy

I sat the tofu aside. In a seperate skillet made the rest of the main recipe, and then just added the tofu back in at the end.

KM: Sounds yummy - didn't I send you my favorite tofu recipe months/years ago? We cook Tofu probably three times a week. We always drain it before we cut it - just press it between two cutting boards with a weight of some sort on top (used to be our flour jar - lately it is a buddha statue I bought at a garage sale). The #1 key is to start with "Extra Firm" Never tried coating it with corn starch...

me: Mmm...would love some of your fave recipes. Our boys are anti-chicken, and I do love tofu, just was always scared to cool it for some reason.

KTC:  wish i could bookmark this post. 

me: Lol...I will copy and paste it into a blogpost : )

So KTC, here is the post to bookmark

Would love any more yummy recipes or tofu cooking advice!