SHE’S HERE!!!

1,620 days.

We prayed. We cried. We struggled. We hoped. We believed.

I am so, incredibly happy to say, the wait is over.

We would like to formally introduce:
Charlotte Elaine Braelynn Kallstrom.

Her sweet birth mama chose Braelynn for a middle name. We found out about her Monday at 2pm and were matched at 4:10pm. We met her the next morning. Then we came home last night just in time for big brother to come home from camp. This has been the most redemptive, beautiful experience of our lives. Thank you all for your love, prayers and support the last 5 years. Thank you to Erika for picking Blake up and lying to him about where I was so we could pull off the best surprise of all time!!! We will share the whole story very soon.

We could not be happier.

She’s here.

WE ARE ACTIVE!!!!

WE ARE ACTIVE!!!!

For those of you who don’t know what that means... We are now able to receive info summaries on birth moms. When we receive one, we read all the information listed, and decide if we would like her to view our adoption profile book. Then she decides if she wants us to adopt her baby.

Anyway, we are SO excited! Things are already moving along pretty quickly. We’ve already received two info summaries within MINUTES of being active! As a comparison, with our last agency we received 2 info summaries within 6 months. So this company is 500 times faster because they work with hundreds of agencies instead of just one.

Thank you for all of your prayers and words of encouragement. Over the last FOUR years. Our waiting time is coming to an end. FAC has an average placement time of THREE MONTHS.
Here we go!!!

Adoption is expensive ($35,000 or more), and SO many of you have graciously donated. Thank you, we appreciate your help and love you so much! If you haven’t and/or would like to donate you can do so here:

https://www.paypal.me/gunnarkallstrom

Adoption Update

So, we have been quiet the past few months about our adoption due to the busyness of the move to North Carolina. Here is where we are at now:

Our home-study was approved on March 4th. We then had to do an annual update almost two weeks later. That was a fee of $375. Then an additional $150 to get clearances updated.

Today, we met with our new social worker and did another home tour. Which cost $500.

In between then and now we have been matched with a birth mom five times. Each time has been a "no". Or as I would rather put it, "not yet".

It has been rough waiting these past few months. Most days are easier than others, but when those rough days come, they hurt. When people ask me what the waiting is like, I always respond with this: "It's like waking up on your due date. You could have your baby today..but maybe not. That's every day until it actually happens. And that could be as long as 4 years or as short as one day."

If any of you know me, you know I despise talking about money. I don't like asking for donations or fundraising. But I will say that the outpouring of donations for our adoption is the only way we could afford this. When I say every dollar counts, I mean it. Currently we are up to date on all fees, with the exception of two. And that's because of our donations and saving every penny we can.

The next fee is $4,000 which is the matching fee.For when a birth mother selects us. And the final fee is the placement fee. Which is $16,000.

So that leaves us with a remainder of $20,000. Pocket change, right?! Thank you so much to everyone who has been vigilantly praying over us during this process. Also, to those of you who have donated, thank you it means SO much to us.

If you would like to donate, please feel free to click the link below.
paypal.me/gunnarkallstrom

-Brooke 

The last 6 months

A LOT had happened in the past 6 months since our last blog post:

•Our home study was finally APPROVED on March 4th. 

•We've had four "no's" so far 

•We moved from Alabama to North Carolina in May.  

Today we had a home study meeting with our new social worker. She visited our home for about 30 minutes, interviewed us, updated some paperwork  and toured our house. We also paid a $500 fee for the home study update and relocation amendment since we moved from Alabama to North Carolina. 

We are in the "waiting process". They said that this would be the hardest part and it definitely is! 

These are essentials when a social worker comes to inspect your home (or so we thought, she actually didn't even check for them..) 

                                       *Our puzzle fundraiser is still going on.*

If you would like to buy a puzzle piece (or more!) please click here ---> donate

Reminder of how this works:

We have 1,008 piece puzzle. Each piece is worth $10, which makes the entire puzzle worth $10,080. Every piece will have the donors name on it. After the puzzle is complete we will double side frame it and hang it in the nursery so our child can see who helped bring her home.* We've currently sold 247 pieces and there are 761 still available. 

We are SO incredibly thankful for all of your support, emotionally and financially! We couldn't do this with out your help.


-Gunnar

Puzzle!

Hey guys!

It's been awhile since I've written anything. The process has been going well, we are waiting for our home-study and our profile to be approved. Hopefully that will be done by the end of the month or January at the latest.

We have a new fundraiser! It's a puzzle!

Here's how it works:

There are 1,008 pieces to the puzzle. Each piece is worth $10. Which means the puzzle will end up raising $10,080!!! 

When you buy a piece (or more) we will write your name on the back of the puzzle piece(s).

Every week, We will show an updated version of the puzzle coming together with all of the wonderful names displayed.

Once the puzzle is completed, we will reveal the picture on the front! 

Lastly we will have the puzzle put in a double sided frame and it will hang in her nursery. So she can see who helped bring her home :) 

If you would like to donate please click here, or feel free to send it via PayPal - email me for more info!

Thank you for all of your love and support!

Brooke

Television Interview

A few weeks ago a public relations worker with gofundme.com contacted me and said that she wanted to share our story with the media. And so of course I said yes. About a week later, I was on my way home from work and received a call from a television reporter who wanted to run our adoption story on the news. They were doing a piece on how thousands of people have used crowdsourcing to help fund adoption and IVF. He was very adamant about filming us that very same day, and so we agreed. It was a mad rush to get the house cleaned and then of course he showed up 45 minutes early. We were interviewed for about 15 minutes and then right before he left he said that our story would be aired that night at 10 o'clock!!!

If you would like to watch the interview here is the link ----> 

http://m.waaytv.com/videos/?clipId=11898873&autostart=true

We all had our turn to be interviewed. Here is a picture of Blake from behind the scenes. 

Thank you for all of your prayers and love!

If you would like to donate, click here!

Gunnar

Prayers for Birth Mom

During our adoption conference, we were able to hear a Birth Mom speak. Her story was absolutely incredible! One thing she focused on were prayers, we could pray for our future Birth Mom. Here is the list she gave us:

Prayers for Birth Mom

God Puts Her in the Right Place at the Right Time

Her Safety

She Knows God's Unconditional Love

She Follows God's Will

She Finds Peace

She Has a Strong Support System

Healthy Pregnancy & Safe Delivery

She Knows She Made the Right Decision 

She Chooses the Right Parents

She Continues to Grow and Achieve Her Goals

Her Future Family

Such wonderful things to keep in mind while praying for our Birth Mother. I can't wait to see what God has in store when our stories meet.

Thank you for all of your prayers and love!

If you would like to donate, click here!

Brooke