Abundant blessings

Our bracelet fundraiser at St. Anthony was an amazing experience....

79 bracelets went hone with mommas, grandmas,and little (and big!)girls...

Many generous souls donated, with no thoughts of a return...

An outpouring of love and support from the visible Body of Christ...

THANK YOU for your contributions, encouragement and prayers!

At Fr. Greg's request, we will return during next Sundays masses!

7 Quick Takes Friday - Adoption Update

Thanks to Jen for hosting! She inspired me to update on this crazy thing called international adoption...

1) The good news: Our home study is complete and was submitted to Illinois DCFS for approval, which should take 1-2 weeks to obtain. PLEASE PRAY that this step is completed quickly, because as soon as the home study is approved, we can overnight it to USCIS (US Customs and Immigration) to wait to be officially fingerprinted and then assigned a case officer and then (hopefully) receive our "golden ticket" (as the 171H document is called) which lets us submit our dossier to Eastern Europe to receive their referral to adopt Henry....*whew* are you as tired from reading that as I am from writing it/constantly obeses....I mean, thinking about it?!?!?!

2) The bad news: Some families we know have been waiting for WEEKS for a case officer to be assigned to process their 171H.... Keep these families in your prayers, there is no rhyme or reason for WHY they seem to be stuck in limbo...

3) Just some news: We just heard that our facilitations in Henry's country will no longer be able to "request" judges they know are friendly to international adoptions. I cannot call this good or bad news at this point...
As a lawyer, I like to think that judges will follow the law no matter their personal feelings. And technically this new policy has been in place since earlier this year, and it does not seem like adoptions are getting held up or delayed or denied in Henry's country, so I choose to be optimistic on this one!

4) My Mother's Day plans are in two parts this year. I will celebrate with my Mom and 2 (of 3) sisters and 2 (of 3) nieces and 3 (of 3!) of my daughters at my mom's house on Saturday morning. We are having a lovely "tea party" which will include a reflexologist to give us all theraputic foot massages. Woo Hoo! Then on Sunday afternoon/evening, I am having my dear mother-in-law and my mom (and dad) over for some pizza and the Bulls playoff game (where hopefully they will clinch this series)....

unconventional for a Mother's Day, I know ;-)

5) On Saturday afternoon and all morning on Sunday, we will be taking turns at my Church, St. Anthony in Frankfort, giveing away our beautiful bracelets for donations to Henry's adoption fund! Thank You Father Greg!!

6) I had my youngest brother and his daughter, my niece (who is 2 weeks older than my youngest daughter!) over to go to the park, have lunch, play, etc.... It looks like a bomb went off in my house....how much damage can two 2-year-old girls DO????   ummm, a lot.......

7) Finally, I have been pondering in my heart these instances making real how the Lord provides...

My bloggy friend Catherine (adopting 2 little girls with special needs from Easter Europe in the next few weeks), received a Grant she desperately needed at the last minute...

Nicole, who is adopting a little boy with HIV, thought her fundraiser "failed", until a man showed up out of nowhere with the funds needed for their homestudy....

An amazing woman named Adeye who advocates for orphans, who raised $16,000 in ONE WEEK to find a family for an 8 year old boy who asks his caretakers EVERY SINGLE MORNING if his family has come for him today....and his family is on the way to him very soon to make his dream come true!!

These true stories help to increase my belief in a good God and the goodness of people everywhere....

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers -  biological, adoptive, spiritual - this Sunday!
The world needs your love!!!

Ora et Labora

When I was "freaking out" a bit (Ok, a LOT!) about whether we would be able to bring Henry home this summer due to circumstances beyond our control in Henry's country, a wise priest (who happens to be my Uncle!) gave me those words of counsel:

Ora et Labora

This saying of the Benedectines is an excellent motto for the Christian life.

We need to PRAY for what we need....

and follow up our prayers with the WORK that supports our earthly needs.

I know God will provide the money we need for our adoption because we are following His will.

I know that I cannot sit on my backside waiting for the money to roll in because that is NOT His will.

The Dobrovits family is doing their part - ie. not splurging on a big fabulous dinner out on Mother's Day...

I am doing my little part - ie. switching from professionally highlighting my hair to a box of drugstore color...

We are being faithful, in both word AND deed.

Our dear pastor at St. Anthony gave us the green light to sell our bracelets after Mass this Mother's Day...

You can still order these handmade bracelets for mailing all the way through May - for graduations, First Communions (we have little girl sizes and styles), for any lovely lady you know who would like a little "bling" in her life....

Ora et labora.

Pray and work.

To bring Henry home.

To dispel worry....

because our great God is holding Henry in the palm of His hand.

Paper Pregnancy

That is what I have been calling the way we are "expecting" a new little one...

and it is truly accurate.

Instead of nausea induced by physical pregnancy, I was nauseous all last week thinking there would be no way our paperwork (including home study) could be done to be submitted to Henry's counrty before mid-June...

Instead of a growing waistline, I grow more and more anxious to hold Henry in my arms and enfold him into our family...

Instead of bodily discomforts making it hard to sleep at night, it is in the wee hours of the morning that I am kept awake feeling the discomfort of knowing that I cannot MAKE everything (money, documents, clearances, etc.) fall into place to get Henry home this summer...

that I need to WAIT on God and trust in Him alone.

boy, that is uncomfortable!!!

you think I would have learned that lesson through 6 pregnancies - 5 of which were babies that were about 2 weeks late!!!

But God knows I needed to learn more.

And that is why He led me to Henry.

So that a little boy halfway across the world will teach me what God wants me to know.

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Please remember our BRACELET GIVEAWAY if you are looking for a Mother's Day or First Communion or Graduation gift!!!!

BRACELET GIVEAWAY!!!

I am so excited to share these amazing handmade bracelets with you....



My daughters Ella (6) and Sabrina (11) have been working on them for almost a month now....

my niece Sofia (9) and my mom (ageless!) also made so many beautiful designs...

let me show you just a few of the OVER 100 bracelets we have to share!!

My amateurish photography does not even begin to do them justice!! Some include semi-precious stones and Swarovski crystals...all are one-of-a-kind original!!

And they can be yours (or a special Mother's Day present perhaps?) with a story behind the box....

that this gift is helping a little guy halfway across the globe to have a mommy and daddy and a future!!

I will mail them to you in time for Mother's Day if you order before next Wednesday, May 4!

Just click on the small pic of Henry to the right and make a donation to our Family Sponsorship Page...suggested donation of $25 (including shipping) for 1, $45 for 2, 3 or more email me first and we can discuss ;-)

After you donate, email me (Carla) at Dobspc@aol.com with a general color preference and let me know if for a grown-up or a child (we have regular and smaller sizes available) for each bracelet ordered...along with your name and address of course!!

Feel free to share this post with other jewelry fans!! We can always make more!!

And thanks again for helping us bring our little Henry home as soon as possible!!



A humble thanks...

We sent out our "adoption announcements" last week to friends and family...

Today I checked on our Family Sponsorship page at Reece's Rainbow and I was so excited to see your offerings of love and support for our little guy...

Thanks so much for making a difference in the life of a child! We appreciate every sacrifice and will be careful stewards of your donations!

COMING SOON! Our HANDMADE BRACELET giveaway!

Easter

He is Risen! And everything is different.....

Hope.

Faith.

Joy.

I will work on keeping all of these this entire Easter Season (50 days)....

and see what the Lord brings to surprise me...as He surprised Mary at the tomb that morning...