Friends and Family,
Merry Christmas! Thank you so much for taking the time to read our latest update! We believed this would be a great way to share more about our life this year - there's only so much you can fit on one sheet of paper. :)
We love living in Colorado and have built so many wonderful relationships with amazing people. This year we've been able to deepen relationships with long time friends and grow new friendships as well. We are incredibly grateful for them!
2015 was quite a ride. Here are a few highlights from the year:
Bri began volunteering with the Colorado Haiti Project, a local non-profit out of Louisville, CO, to deepen our ties to the people and culture of Haiti. This organization has been partnering with the small rural community of Petit Trou De Nippes since 1989. Bri's efforts have been directed toward building local support here in Colorado. She's now the Event Chair and a member of the Resource Development committee. Drew considers himself Bri's executive assistant. :)
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| Bri at the Farm Dinner event for the Colorado Haiti Project - July 2015 |
Drew had an incredible year as a Real Estate broker in the Denver metro area, helping his clients buy and sell all types of properties. In fact, we recently learned that he was selected for an award that will be announced in a major local publication in early 2016! We'll share more details later. Drew also continued his role in the community as a member of the Adams County Open Space Advisory Board. This year he was elected by the members of the Advisory Board to be Chairman. It was a great experience for him.
Together, we enjoyed being introduced to several great local non-profits that do amazing things here and internationally. We were inspired by the passion of each organization and by what they are accomplishing for people around the country and the world. One of our favorite moments was singing worship songs in Haitian Creole at a Christian World Outreach event. Awesome! Looking forward to being able to teach our future kiddos these songs!
Our adoption process continues to move forward, though slowly at this point. However, we did make some great strides forward in the process earlier this year:
1. Completed our Home Study and received state approval. (Lots of interviews, exams, and paperwork!)
2. Completed our Dossier (application to Haiti), received USCIS approval, and Consulate General of Haiti authentication (more paperwork and exams completed!).
3. Received a "pre-match" with TWO siblings - a brother and sister - by our adoption agency. Woah!!
4. By God's grace, you (over 60 donors) helped us raise nearly $12,000 total so far in the adoption process!!!! This huge amount has helped pay for a considerable portion of our adoption expenses so far. It's been so awesome to see God provide and work through people like you. In August, we held a big family movie night for friends and family that was a huge success. We shared in great food, great company, and a great movie. As a result of that one event, we raised just over $2500. Incredible.
5. We've also applied for a grant and are waiting to hear back later this month. Pray!! Some of our biggest expenses will be coming up in 2016 - in addition to travel, we'll expect to pay at least another $25,000 just to cover the dossier acceptance fees, additional program fees, and court fees in Haiti. It's a lot of money but we know our Lord will provide. Thank you for all of your support so far. Can't wait to show you photos of our kids!
Our dossier is now with IBESR (social services) in Haiti to receive approval. Once our file is approved, we can receive an official referral (for those two kids) from Haiti for the two kiddos. We are currently in the waiting process for IBESR to do everything they need to do on their end. Once we receive that official referral, we'll schedule travel to Haiti, meet the two children, and spend 15 days with them. We are so excited for this!
While we wait for God's timing, we've been enjoying life as much as possible. We enjoyed some travel time this year as well! Early in the year, we traveled with friends to Leadville, CO, which is the highest incorporated city in the country at 10,152 feet in elevation. After over a decade of snowboarding, Drew actually decided to learn to ski!
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| On the slopes of Ski Cooper near Leadville, CO - Feb 2015 |
In May, we traveled to California and visited friends and family. We visited Bri's brother, Sean, in San Jose first. We enjoyed visiting Google with him! What a cool place. We then drove out to Atwater and visited with Drew's grandpa, Papa Joe, his wife Jesse, and their cute little Boston Terrier, Ivan. What a treat to spend time with them! The final portion of our trip was in Dana Point where we stayed with the Keene family, whom Bri used to nanny for. We had such a blast with everyone and truly enjoyed spending time with old friends and reliving some of our favorite experiences in San Clemente. On our final day in California (which happened to be our wedding anniversary date), Drew surprised Bri by taking her to the spot on Manhattan Beach where we were married 8 years ago. So awesome!
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| Our favorite spot in San Clemente - May 2015 |
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| Hanging out poolside in Dana Point with awesome friends - May 2015 |
In August, we took a quick road trip through some beautiful areas. We traveled through Wyoming and Montana, making our way to Canada for the first time together. In the middle of nowhere Wyoming (Rock Springs), we found ourselves at a local library since Drew had to find a space to do some emergency work for one of his clients. That was fun! We also saw beautiful Jackson Hole, the great Grand Tetons, Yellowstone Nat'l Park, Glacer Nat'l Park, and far away reaches of Montana. Canada was such a great surprise for us - Canmore, Banff Nat'l Park, and the surrounding areas of Alberta and British Columbia had to be some of the most beautiful landscapes we had ever seen. Can't wait to someday spend more time there!
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| Camping near Jackson, WY (Bri's idea!!) |
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| A beautiful sunset over the Grand Tetons |
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| Canoeing on Lake Louise in Banff Nat'l Park |
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| Near Swan Lake in Montana |
Drew had the chance to summit several 14'ers this summer as well as accomplish one of his long time goals with two close friends - summit Longs Peak. He had a blast! We also had a great time staying in one of our favorite local spots - Estes Park.
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| On the Mt Democrat, Mt Bross, Mt Lincoln, and Mt Cameron 14'er loop south of Breckenridge - July 2015 |
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| Approaching the summit of Longs Peak in RMNP - Aug 2015 |
A big moment this year was celebrating Bri's 30th birthday. Drew (with the help of several awesome family and friends) organized a birthday weekend for Bri around Halloween involving a surprise Halloween party and unexpected visits from her brother Sean and best friend Natalie. It was a special time for all!
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| All dressed up for Halloween at Hotel Teatro |
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| Bri and Sean at Aviano Coffee (Our favorite coffee place) |
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| At Denver's Union Station - Oct 2015 |
That's a little snapshot of our life this year. Like we said before, it's been quite a ride, but we couldn't imagine it any other way. We've grown so much in our faith, as individuals, and as a couple. Thank you for being a part of our life.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a great holiday season with friends and family. Make the most of it and cherish every moment.
Hope to see you in 2016! :)
With Love from Colorado,
LOVE
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update beautiful friend!
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