#INEEDATC

My response to the Dave Thomas Foundation's tweet "@whitehouse asked what $2K means to you. Tell DC what the adoption tax credit means to your family. Use #INeedATC & #My2K in your tweet" is the letter I emailed to my senators and congressman back in October 2012:

After struggling with infertility my husband and I became pregnant with our son. I had a great pregnancy until 30 weeks when I had to go on bed rest and then delivered him at 34 ½ weeks. He is now a happy, healthy 6 year old kindergartener. Because we had trouble conceiving our son we started trying again only 11 months after he was born-hoping that the next pregnancy my body would “know how to make a baby”. Not the case. A longer struggle to try to conceive, more tests for hubby and myself. We then learned that BOTH of us had documented fertility issues. We’d chosen that I would be a stay at home mom after I had our son. My husband was laid off while trying to have a 2nd child. And fertility is expensive and not covered by our health insurance. We tried a few “mild” procedures. When going through fertility treatments I couldn’t simply “go back into the workforce” to make money to afford more fertility treatments…what employer would hire me and then let me off work 5-10 times a month per fertility cycle to go in for necessary ultrasounds, blood work, procedures, tests, etc. It’s a catch 22. We saved our money…my husband took a job 3 weeks after he was laid off (the company, Vermeer Southeast out of Marietta, GA shut down 2 stores and laid off over half their employees) that paid half his regular salary. We waited and prayed and decided to adopt…which had not been an option for us until we heard about the $13,360 refundable tax credit which would make a HUGE difference in the cost of a $30,000 domestic adoption. In August 2011, we adopted our beautiful daughter on her 1 month birthday. We were able to get a no interest credit card for 18 months and pay the adoption off before we began incurring any fees or interest! We sit now hoping and praying that this refundable adoption tax credit will be made permanent so that we can adopt again in 2013. Adoption is the best way to grow our family. There are many young healthy, loving, middle class families just like us-with college degrees, hard workers, with infertility issues…who can help those who can’t raise their babies. We need the adoption tax credit and need it refundable.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Corrie Jeffords

Sorry...still no time to blog...but baby girl won the cover of Adoptive Families Magazine Nov/Dec Issue...they sent me the proof picture today! Happy Fall!

One is so fun...who has time to blog!!!

3x5 Folded Card

Thanks Talk Bubble Thank You Card

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8 months new...

When it was 80 degrees on Wednesday I knew it was time to grab baby girl and run take some pics. I'd been wanting to take her pics in these baskets. So thankful for this weather!

Weekend Projects

Well CJ has been at his grandparents for the weekend...and Jake has been watching Carah...so it been a weekend of making things happen! Made 4 dresses and 4 hair bows-check.





Chalked the tree on the wall in Carah's nursery...so I can paint it soon. Also hot glued green leaves onto the owl mobile...



And I painted a shelf that is going in her nursery too...it is drying in the garage.

HooRay for finally and almost finishing the nursery!!!
(All that is left: paint the tree, hang the shelf and find a dresser to go in her closet)

Pattern Paper

Old Desk Calendars make great pattern paper for all of your Pinterest DIY sewing projects! (This is a pillowcase dress)

Polka Dotty Shoes

Pinterest is challenging me...attempt 1 and 2...and 3 :)

Keep trying...failure is just a learning curve!!!




Tutorials I looked at while sewing these were:

Fleeting Thing: the mila baby show tutorial

http://www.fleetingthing.com/handmade/baby-gifts/the-mila-baby-shoe-tutorial/&2_10_12

and

Tao of Craft:

http://taoofcraft.typepad.com/taoofcraft/2010/07/here-is-how-i-made-themsupplies14-yard-of-heavy-home-dec-cotton-or-quilters-weight-cotton-fabric14-yard-lining-fabric-2.html

Carah's Adoption Mini Story

Here is the super condensed version of Carah's adoption...

Promise686.org Jake and Corrie's Story

Bib a licious

A tiny bit of sewing...mastering the bib.

Sewing again...

Were almost on a little schedule...so while she naps I sew...

Maybe in a few more months I'll start selling these personalized doll quilts with your childs birth stats...

With a playful quilty back of course...

And maybe some owl bibs...

As long as my helper is napping :)

A big "love" quilt

Quilt shipped, received and loved! So here she is...

My trusty helper...as the kids were with g-parents so I could finish this up...

Front...

Back...

All Joel Dewberry Ginseng fabric...a bit beachy, a bit girly and bit neutral all at the same time.

A big "love"

So quilting is practically impossible while adjusting to two kids...especially when adopting our baby (we had 3 days to get ready to go pick her up in another state and had to stay there for 8 days while the paperwork cleared for us to bring her home)...so finishing the nursery has been on the top of the other things to do priority list right after keep the kids fed, bathed, played with and the house semi clean...and this quilt was 2nd to the nursery...well finishing the nursery is now on my 2012 to do list...and with 2 sets of loving grandparents who've babysat at various times...I've finally finished this big "love" Thank You from the bottom of our hearts quilt!!! I'll post more pics after it is in the arms of the loving lady it is being mailed too...