Quiltin' Time

We were able to spend the week with my mom! While she was here we had so much fun working on the quilt we'll one day give Baby Masch. When we talked about the type of quilt I wanted for the baby, I didn't want to make a cutesy children's quilt, I wanted a blanket our child could use throughout their life. Of course we don't know what gender our child so we kept the colors neutral. We found all sorts of awesome colors & patterns to use & got busy on cutting all the hexagons for the pattern.

Once everything was cut it was like a puzzle trying to decide where to position all the quilt pieces.

 

We had to move everything to the floor. It almost felt like we were playing a weird game of Twister! But once everything was laid out, we were happy with ho it looks. Once everything is sewn together you'll be able to see this oval pattern of all the hexagons in the center of the quilt! How cool is that!?

You can help us finish this quilt by donating: igg.me/at/maschbaby

One day when we tell our baby about all the generous people who helped us become a family, we can show him or her this quilt. It will be a tangible reminder of all of YOU who have loved us so generously & helped bring them home to us.

Here's the lady behind this massive project! My mama! :)

Campaign Updates, Placements, Lawers, Oh My!

Things got crazy on Friday when we reached our Indiegogo Campaign goal! How mental is that?! Tomorrow marks the 3 week point since our campaign went live but it's still running until August 9th! We could pack it in & be happy with our 100% but we've already exceeded the goal as I type this so why stop now? There are still perks to be had, including a set of 25 custom Christmas cards, our favorite Nashville things & of course Kevin's song! (<<< which I make weird ghost noises at the end.) Keep spreading the word: igg.me/at/maschbaby

People have asked us a lot of questions in regards to the campaign goal, what the money will be used for & why things cost as much as they do so I thought I would explain the process a little more.

We set the campaign goal at $5,000 because that will be the approximate amount needed for our adoption placement. What is a placement, you ask? Placement is the term we use when we are given a child. At this point we are paid in full with our adoption agency but all of the costs we have paid so far have been administrative fees (home study, doctor's appointments, background checks, online parenting classes, etc.) When we are matched or placed with a child we have to pay our agency a placement fee. This estimated cost is for 1 child & is due in full once the agency places the child in our home. As of right now, if we were matched with a baby we would be able to pay our placement fee in FULL. Can you imagine how much weight is lifted from our shoulders because of this?!?!?

There are so many unknowns when it comes to adoption. One of the fees we have already paid for is our birth mother fee, which is money to cover any medical costs for our future birthmom or payment for needs she has while she is pregnant. If our birthmom has financial needs above the amount we have already given, we will help with those needs too. (Side-note: If our birthmom is having twins, our placement fee will be higher as well, but not the birthmother fee.) Some people have been 'offended' for us when we say we have to help the birthmom with her needs. But why wouldn't we? The state of Tennessee says we are obligated to assist the birthmom with her personal or medical expenses during her 3rd trimester but honestly, it's our privilege to do so. If we are able to have a relationship with our birthmom, we will do whatever we can to help her through this tough process because she is giving US so much in return.

After the placement we will have to hire a lawyer to help us finalize the adoption at 6 months. Last week we met with an awesome lawyer who explained everything that happens from start-to-finish when it comes to placing the baby in our care. We discussed all of the fees involved, when we will have to go to court, when the birthmom goes to court, etc. There are so many details, so many variables but at the end of the day lawyer fees are just another necessary expense when you adopt. We're so grateful to have a lawyer to work with who isn't doing this to make money off of us, she was very open & transparent about her costs (the range of costs, depending on what our situation will be) & we believe this is another answered prayer, another stress taken off of our shoulders.

Once the baby is placed in our home, he/she will be under the custody of our adoption agency for the first 6 months of their life. At that point we'll go to court to finalize the adoption so that Baby Masch will legally be Baby Masch! Isn't that exciting?

Adoption is so hard, it's trying & frustrating. We just want to be parents & want this journey to begin for REAL! Thanks for experiencing this journey with us! Big things are coming!

~Brooke

"What the world really needs is more love & less paperwork." - Pearl Bailey

So Grateful!

Our Indiegogo campaign began a week ago & already we have raised $3,000! It just absolutely amazes us how many people have responded to our fundraiser & have given so generously.

Kev & I were totally surprised last night when we received a sweet card in the mail from one of my first Sunday School teachers. It was such an encouragement to us! We were reminded how awesome it feels to know so many people are praying for our adoption and remembering us as we continue on this adventure.

 

Obviously, I can't end this post without mentioning something about our fundraiser. :)

 

We're surrounded by so many talented friends & I have to brag on one for a moment. Our buddy Lauren Rives has a shop on Etsy called Line Twenty selling stationery and cards. Check it out & buy stuff from her store! https://www.etsy.com/shop/LineTwentyStationery She does beautiful work!

 

For Christmas she gave me this lovely framed text & it's proudly displayed on our piano at home as an encouragement and reminder to keep going every day:

So when we thought about perks that would be meaningful to us to give to you guys as a 'thank you' I approached Lauren. I asked if she could paint some lovely music lyrics on canvases & she agreed! We decided on lyrics from one of my favorite Sleeping at Last song's 'Light'. Listen to this song with the mindset of adoption (or just parenting in general). The words are so beautiful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7egYKkIKqDs

When we gave Lauren the lyrics to use she ran with the concept & created this sweet 4x4 canvas which is available to you with a $75 donation.

 

Each canvas ordered will be hand painted & not only will you receive the canvas, but we'll include all of the lower level perks too! (T-shirt, family photo, Kevin's song, etc.)

 

As always, thanks for donating & thanks for sharing our campaign with everyone you know!

 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/maschmeier-adoption-help-us-bring-our-baby-home/x/4987858

 

Talk to you soon!

 

~ Brooke

 

Indiegogo Update!

After all the excitement yesterday I realized I forgot to post the link to our Indiegogo Campaign on our blog!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/maschmeier-adoption-help-us-bring-our-baby-home

 

 

We really didn't know what to expect for our first day but we were completely blown away by the reception our campaign received. At the end of day one we were pushing $1,800!

 

WHAT IS THIS LIFE?!?!?

 

This means starting day two we are THIS CLOSE to raising 50% of our campaign goal. Thanks to all who have been tenacious in sharing the link, telling your friends & donating! Every single dollar helps. We're completely humbled that anyone would want to give.

 

To those that downloaded the song yesterday, we're going to send each of you the file today. We've been working out the kinks to this process so bear with us.

 

I've talked about a lot of the perks available on the blog, but one I haven't mentioned yet is the $175 perk where we will take YOU to dinner.

 

We love living in Nashville because there are amazing local eateries on just about every street corner. We have pizza joints for days, amazing sushi spots, burgers and hot chicken that will make you slap your mama. Seriously, it's taken us years & we are still working our way through all of the dives this city has to offer.

 

So here's the deal: if you donate $175 Kevin & I will take you (+1) to dinner. We really just love double dates. The catch is, if you live out of town you must come to Nashville. If you get this perk, we'll sort out the logistics with you later. You can pick what type of food you want so if you've always wanted to try Thai food, we know just the place. If you've always wanted to visit The Loveless Café, we'll take you there. (We know an excellent server there!)

 

 

If you are coming in from out of town, we might even be able to house you overnight at our house. You just have to like dogs, because Koola & Khloe LOVE house guests. :)

 

Talk to you Soon!

 

B+K