Ripples

"Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end." Scott Adams

"Perform a random act of kindness for someone:
a smile, compliment, or a favor just for fun. These will multiply and spread very rapidly." Steve Brunkhorst

 I want to send out some very special Thank Yous!

I have had two very big, fall over type shocks this December. I want to give a big shout out to Kristi B. and Ryan W. I do not have words to express how thankful we are that you have been so gracious in your donation. The emotion that I have felt is beyond words, the gratitude, I do not know how to put it into words, you take my breath away.

I would like to thank Elaina L, Terry B, Ariel F, Kelly L, Rosemary M, Lara F, Anne P, Dayna W.C, Thomas M, Molly C, Christopher S, Angela B, Gianna M, Jemma W, Catherine P, Kristin T, Layla A, Linda and James B, Theresa M, Debbie M, Annie T, Cynthia W, Bart G, Martha M, Rachel D, Julia N, Shannon S, Sara S, Karen F, Karen H, Heather C, Rhonda C. all of you have been so wonderful. Your love and support is amazing. Thank you for becoming part of Sydney and Lucien's villiage!!

I would also like to thank all of those who have supported us with prayers, with blog shares, and your supportive words of encouragement.
You are not just helping to change the life of two orphans you are helping to change the world!! The wonderful thing about helping others is that it creates a ripple effect. You are such blessings!
If you did NOT see your name, it is not because I forgot you!! I still have many names I need to post Thank Yous about. I will be saving those for another post!!

Dear Sydney and Lucien

Dear Sydney and Lucien,

You do not know us yet, but we are going to be your mommy and daddy.

We are working so hard to get you home. Your daddy is working extra hours at work and we are trying to save as much as we can to get you home. We have sold candles, we have made crosses, and we are having as many fundraisers as we can to get you home!
You want to know something really special? There are people ALL OVER THE WORLD that are trying to help get you home too!! Isn't that the most wonderful thing you have ever heard? Yes, people all over the world heard that you are in an orphanage and they want to help get you home. They want you to be able to sleep in your own little bed, with your very own clothes, and your very own toys! They want you to have a mommy, a daddy, a family! Some of these wonderful people are people we know, they are trying so hard to help raise money for you, some are amazing friends we have met online, they too are working hard to help get you home, and then some, some my little loves are people who are strangers that are giving to help bring you home just because they believe it is a good thing to do, because they know how important it is for a child to grow up having the love of a family.
Did you know your mommy is making you something very special for your room? She started making this for you when you had your very first donation. When it is all finished it will be on your wall. Want to know what it is? It is a picture box that has the name of every single person who has donated to you, and in the center, is a picture of the world! We can hardly wait to hang it up!  Won't it be so wonderful growing up, knowing so many people cared so much about you, that they wanted you to come home?
We know where you are right now, people may not understand how very special you are. They may not understand your value and worth, but we do. You are our little prince and princess. Our sweet little ones who deserve to have a life filled with unconditional love and acceptance. That is what you will have when you come home and we can hardly wait.

Do you know what else you have?

You have three sisters and one brother! When they found out that you were going to be part of our family they were jumping for joy! Your sisters and brothers have even been helping raise money for you! They love you so much. They are looking forward to having a little brother and sister to give piggy back rides to, push in the stroller, and when you are older, even help with your homework when you need them to. They will give you pushes on the swing in our yard, they will play games with you, and they will love you forever and always.

But that is not all, no that is not all. Sweet little ones... you have something else! You have your own puppy!!  He is a chocolate lab puppy and will almost be a year old when you get home. He is a good puppy and is very friendly. He has been going to puppy school and is learning a lot of good manners.  He can hardly wait till you are home. He is so sweet and never barks or growls.

There are so many things you will have, but do you not agree that family is the most important? Oh little ones, we love you so. Every night I say a prayer that you will be safe and that others continue to help to get you home. I pray that God will touch their hearts and they will see your beautiful little faces and not be able to look away.
We love you Sydney and Lucien, with all of our hearts and we are coming for you, coming to love you, coming to bring you home.
Love Always,
Mommy and Daddy
Sydney and Lucien

ABC World News

Some of you may have watched the ABC World News tonight and that may have made you think of our blog.
Many other people around the world have been checking out Reece's Rainbow and it has made the site crash!!
If you would like to donate to Sydney and Lucien PLEASE donate with the chip-in, NOT the Reece's Rainbow button. At this time, the Reece's Rainbow button is not working and is only showing children listed on the website, and not showing Sydney and Lucien.

Again, until this is fixed, please make sure all donations are by Chip-in Rather than the Reece's Rainbow button. Once the FSP (Reece's Rainbow button) is fixed I will make a new post so you will know when it will go to Sydney and Lucien.
Thank you for your understanding!

One More Orphan

We will be bringing home a second child!! "Lucien" is in Sydney's region in Eastern Europe and we will be adopting him in addition to Sydney. One look at him and we were head over heals in love.
Lucien has down syndrome just like Sydney.

Yes, despite the pink, he IS a little boy. In orphanages children do not "own" anything at all. Not even clothes belong to them. They are put in whatever is handy. You can see from this picture, that not only are the clothes too big for him, they were also meant for a girl.  We can hardly wait to bring him home and put him in little boy clothes.

Matthew 18:5“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.”

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God gave his son up, so that we may live an everlasting life. Is it too much to ask of us, to give up eating out every day, or giving up Starbucks coffee, or that trip to Hawaii to save a child? To offer a child a family? We are more than willing to give up these things to save the life of a child. We do it gladly.  

We made the News!!

You can read the news article they wrote up on us at http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/dec/25/waiting-to-adopt-two-children-with-down-syndrome-s/

Our Blogs

We have two blogs. This one which gives you just the basics and the facts of our adoption but without any of the personal day to day stuff.
Or we have the more personal side of our adoption journey, which also talks about our family in addition to our adopting. We welcome you to visit that blog at  http://becauseyouareloved.blogspot.com/

Thank you for taking an interest in our story. We hope that you will follow along on our journey. We have made amazing friends through this process. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!!

It Matters!!

If you are anything like I have been over the last few years, and still am, you click on your dashboard and look to see which of your friends has made a new post. Some of you may look to see if there is a good picture to go along with the text. Some are more into the text itself.

 

For over a year, I have read blog after blog, living through other's adoption stories until I too was in the position to adopt.

I’ve been where you are now.

I have sat reading someone elses blog, hearing them talk about their fundraiser.

I look over and see where they are now and how much they have raised so far.

I notice there is still a really long way to go. I look at my $1 or $5 and ask myself and wonder if I should even bother, I mean, is it really worth it?

After all, I was planning on buying a coffee with that.

Will it matter?

There have been times when I did not feel like I could give more than $5 to a friend. So that is all I gave. Before we started this process I did not understand the full extent of how much my $5 could do.

I did not understand the value of just $5. I often wondered if I should even bother. I wondered if it would make any difference at all, if it would matter.

Let me tell you that YES it does matter. It DOES count. Every single penny, it all adds up. Not just in the money it takes to get Sydney home, it doesn't just count as money, it counts as your support. It counts as you saying "We feel you are doing a good thing, and we want to help you."

 

With every single donation, no matter how big or small, it all counts.

 

It lets us know you are choosing to support us.

That you too are making a sacrifice to help.

 

When you look at the big picture, it seems like such a large amount that is needed.

But when you break it down, by how many people need to donate, the number seems a lot more manageable.

Please know that EVERY donation matters to us. We celebrate every single penny raised.

One of the first things we do every day when we get home is check to see if Sydney's got any new donations. We check to see if there are any comments on our blog.

 

You see, I have been where you are now... reading a blog, wondering if I should actually click the link and donate or not. So does it matter? Will it really make that much difference? Will even $1 count?

 

YES!

Please stand with us in this journey. Be part of Sydney's village.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a village to bring a child home as well.

We can hardly wait till we can share pictures with you of our first meeting her. Of our gotcha day, and then share with you how she is doing throughout the years. But before we can do that, we have to be able to get there.

 

It all counts, it all adds up.

Friends, you can make a difference.

 

A bigger difference then you may understand, unless you too, are on this side of the adoption blogs.

 

Don't let the amount stop you from donating.

 

It all Counts!

 

 

Mark has been hard at work making crosses for Christmas. This is the first time he has ever tried this but the more he makes the better they look. We are thinking, if there is enough interest, that he will continue to make some even after Christmas. We can make them in almost any color of your choice and you could request some small ones or larger ones. We are also thinking of just making the down syndrome ribbon in the yellow and blue without the cross. Another thing we were thinking of was Easter! We will be playing with the idea of making Easter Eggs (yes it is a long ways away, but if someone would want a basket full, or several, it makes sense to start early) Each Easter egg would be able to "rattle" and because it would be breakable it would be for decoration, not to be used as a toy.

So now that you have gotten to see him "at work" with the crosses... we thought we would tell you WHY he is making them. You see, there is a little girl on the other side of the world who is in need of a daddy, and there is a daddy here who loves his little girl very much and wants to bring her home.  Mark finds time to set up the clay and get to work on making crosses for our sweet little angel on the other side of the world. His works until he is so tired he just can not do anything more.

I feel like I am the luckiest girl in the world to have such a wonderful husband. He is always there for us, he is so loving and caring. He is sharing his love for his little girl by making these crosses. We would like YOU to be able to have one.

HOW?? You Ask??

From now until Dec. 15th, we will be having a fundraiser.

Here are the prizes...

Here are a few of the crosses Mark has finished. The larger one is meant to hang on a wall the smaller ones can be used to hang from a Christmas tree or anything else you might want to hang it from. 

AND a lovely breakfast set which includes coffee, jam, pancake mix, and two beautiful mugs.

$10 will get you 2 entries

$20 will get you 5 entries

$50 will get you 15 entries

$100 will get you 50 entries

If you share this with your friends/family you will get 1 entry.

Please make sure that you comment with the amount donated so we can keep track of who donated and how much you donated so we can add you to the drawing. On December 15, we will do a random draw to see who the winners are.

There are 4 crosses and 1 gift basket, and they will be awarded to 5 very wonderful people!!

Show your love and support this holiday by helping an orphan, "Sydney", get home!

Show Mark your support and encouragement by donating so he knows his crosses are as loved by you as they are by us!

Thank you!

 

Sydney is waiting

Advent is a time of waiting. For Sydney, that time must seem to drag on, I know for us it is. Waiting is never easy, but when you are waiting on something important to happen, it just seems to taken even longer.
We debated on if we should get Sydney her stocking this year and put it up next to everyone else's stocking, but then decided that we should wait a little longer, because we do not know yet if we will be bringing home a brother or sister with Sydney and we would hate for there to be a stocking missing.
We look forward to all to being able to do the very simple things with Sydney that most people take for granted. Like cuddles on the sofa.

Or being able to play games with a brother or sister.

To kick off Advent, we spent last week without the internet, cable tv, and cell phones. We spent time in prayer and time as a family, we spent time being Thankful for what we have, and thinking of all the things we have to offer our Sydney.
Some people may ask... why go after a child if you can not afford to go get them. It is like the saying you hear on the radio all the time. "Not everyone can be a foster parent, but everyone can help a foster child." This is the same. We can afford to RAISE a child. We just need the help bringing her home.
My husband has a wonderful job with great insurance that will allow Sydney to get the best medical care she can get. She will be able to have educational resources here that she would not get in her country. She will not thrive in her country, but she can here.
So for now... we wait. But we do not sit by just waiting. No, we will be active. We will speak out about Sydney's need to be home. About how she has a family who can hardly wait to make her part of their family.
Let's try to make this a productive Advent. You can help! If you feel moved, then please donate to our cause. If you are able, spread the word. If you have faith, pray.
There is so much you can do. So please choose this Advent, to wait actively. Please do not overlook her needs or those of the many other faces of children in need.
Thank you

Thanksgiving

What is Thanksgiving all about? Is it about the turkey, the stuffing, or maybe the pies? Is it about the pilgrims or the Indians, or family or friends? Is Thanksgiving about football or eating until you have to loosen your pants and then you notice that your granddad has fallen sleep on his favorite chair?
Or is there more to it?
After reading several books to the kids in my class about Thanksgiving and what it means to be thankful I got all kinds of answers.
"I am thankful for my toys"
"I am thankful for my mom and dad"
"I am thankful for my clothes"
"I am thankful for my dog"
"I am thankful for my sisters"
"I am thankful for for my barbie dolls"

There were several more, I thought about their list of things they are thankful for. Then I thought of Sydney. Sydney is in an orphanage. This Thanksgiving will be just like any other day, Christmas will too for that matter.
Sydney does not have any toys, or parents right now (we are doing our best to hurry sweetie!!), she does not have her own clothes, she gets whatever is handy at the moment, sometimes they are too big, sometimes they are too small, but they are never HERS. She has a dog here, at home in Washington, but right now, she more than likely does not even know what a dog is. Sydney has NO family until we get her, and she has NO toys. She has nothing to call her own. What does she have to be thankful for? Her nannies are underpaid, and overworked. I am sure they do their best every day, and for that, I am thankful to them. Sometimes, it is just hard.
You see, I work in childcare, I get up every day and spend 9 hours at work taking care of kids 3-5. These are kids that HAVE families, they HAVE everything that they need. And yet, there are days when I feel so bad about having to go home, knowing they need me and other days I can't leave fast enough.
Some days it is all I can do to pull myself up and dust myself off and go back. Why? It is because when you are a teacher and you have just you and an assistant, and you have to take care of 20 kids, you NEVER get to spend enough time with just ONE.
They ALL need you, they ALL want you, and these are kids that get that every night when they go home from school. These are kids who have parents who kiss them and hold them and feed them and give them a bath at night and tuck them into bed. These are amazing kids and amazing parents and the kids STILL need you, they need your time, your attention, your love. It is VERY draining trying to spread yourself between 20 kids.
I think of those nannies, WANTING so badly to do more, to help the kids more, and just not being able to.
I think of Sydney. I think of how sweet she is, how lovely she is, and how much I wish I could be there rocking her to sleep.
So what is Sydney thankful for this Thanksgiving?? More than likely, it is only a bottle of food. Because she has nothing else. As we are sitting at the table for Thanksgiving, let us really think of ALL we have and be thankful for everything.
This Thanksgiving, please include Sydney in your prayers. And, between now and Thanksgiving, if you are able, please help get Sydney home by donating, so NEXT Thanksgiving, she will have her family to hold her and love her, to have her sisters and brother, to have her own dog, to have her own clothes, to have her own toys.
If you are thankful for all you have, if you have a lot to be thankful for, help Sydney. Help Sydney come home!!

On October 3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, by Act of Congress, an annual National Day of Thanksgiving "on the last Thursday of November, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens." In this Thanksgiving proclamation, our 16th President says that it is…

"…announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord… But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, by the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own… It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people…"

So it is that on Thanksgiving Day each year, Americans give thanks to Almighty God for all His blessings and mercies toward us throughout the year.

A Special Thank You...

There are several people I need to make a shout out to today. (Due to privacy reasons, I will not be using last names- and if you know these woman even a little you will know who they are without their last name anyway)

Annie. I would like to thank Annie, she has been calling local places to help us with setting up a fundraiser to help bring Sydney home. This lady is amazing. She is Mommy to four beautiful little ones and prayer warrior for sweet Lacey. http://reecesrainbow.org/23052/lacey-15h  in addition to that she is also sponsoring a child through the Angel Tree name Ryder http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=ryder and has already gotten his grant from 0-$650!! Truly an amazing woman!!

Rebecca W. This lady is an angel!! Why?? This is a message she sent to our family... I would like to offer up a special hat in honor of Olivia Anne. I can create a design, and others could purchase them in her honor. I would give any profits (above the cost of the yarn) to you to support your adoption efforts. Please let me know if you are interested. ♥ Becky I just about have the design ready. It's a pixie style hat and can be made in any size. Once I have a sample completed, I will post it and we can market it on here. Any orders I take of the "Olivia Anne" hat through my shop will also go to help. Hopefully, we can sell some hats!  WOW!!! How wonderful is that??? I can not say Thank you enough!! And how wonderful will it be for Sydney (we are going to be naming her Olivia Anne) to have a hat named after her!! Too cool!!!

Michelle Z. Oh Wow... this lady does it all. Even dealing with strangers calling her in the middle of the day with tons of questions about adopting through Reece's Rainbow. LOL Poor dear, I was emailing Michelle with tons of questions and each answer would only create more questions. I ended up calling her and she talked until I had asked all my questions and felt calmer. Super star of a lady. Michelle has already adopted so she knows the whole process and is such a great source of info.

Another amazing woman is Rosemary. Rosemary has always been there to offer words of encouragement and support. This lady is all about awareness and helping others! You are awesome Rosemary!! Rosemary has donated to Sydney and because of her we are that one step closer to bringing Sydney home!! (Also, because of this beautiful lady, the contest of who can raise the most money for Sydney, my friends or Mark's friends, the ladies are winning!! Woot!!!)

Catherine. This lady has an amazing family!! Reading her blog makes me smile all the time. Have you ever known anyone who isn't afraid to talk about the good the bad and the ugly in life, in a humours way not a serious way? Well that is Catherine. A little while ago I asked Catherine to pray for us and help get the word out about our adoption. Well she did!! That is just how she is. I love this lady and her family :)  If you ever just want to laugh till your sides hurt, or come away with a big smile on your face this is where to stop.

Ashley. Ashley just got back home from Eastern Europe with her beautiful little boy Carter!! Even in the mist of all going on around her, packing, being off in a different country, and everything in between, she has made the time to talk to me about fundraising ideas and offer suggestions and advice. She has a beautiful heart and is a great mommy to a little boy that stole my heart so long ago. On Reece's Rainbow, Carter was listed as Antonio. This was my grandpa's real name and because of that I fell in love with Antonio (now Carter). I felt so honored to be able to share in his journey to get home.

Renee T. If you know Renee T, you know what a sweetheart of a lady she is. It makes it so special because she lives in my hometown. She lives only a couple blocks from where I grew up!! Amazing! Renee is adopting a beautiful little girl named Paisley and I can hardly wait till they get her home! Renee has taken the time to talk with me about fundraising ideas as well. She has taken the time to encourage me, and chat with me even when she wasn't feeling well. She was able to tell me about the wonderful mugs that are listed on Etsy that we are using in our giveaway and tell me about the coffee shop program. I was hoping to be able to offer the mug set for Christmas but when I looked at the details it said it will take 3 weeks to make as they are able to be personalized and then it takes a bit of time to ship them out as well. That does not leave much time to fundraise and then get the prizes out before Christmas.

Mrs. Brown. Ok, so I used a last name :) Mrs. Brown has helped raise awareness by posting her teaching videos on youtube. Mrs. Brown works with children who have down syndrome from her home, teaching them to read and works with math as well as many other skills.  http://www.sohappytolearn.com/  In addition, she has shared our story with her families!! She is incredible and I love how much I have learned from watching her videos as she works with her students.

Jaclyn. This lady is amazing. She is always commenting on my posts and is always so sweet and upbeat. Her family is working towards adopting a little boy to add to their family of all girls. Jaclyn's husband is sadly outnumbered. She could always use more supporters in her adoption journey. http://trendingwiththetrendas.blogspot.com/

Rhonda. Rhonda is a lady I recently meet through one of the groups on Facebook that supports families/children with down syndrome. She is so sweet and supportive!

My wonderful children!! Britney, Ariel, Tamara, Brandon for being so excited and supportive about adding more to our family. I can not even say how wonderful these guys are. They have helped raise awareness, come up with creative fundraising ideas, and showed support in every way possible! I love you guys so much!!

 

My amazing husband!! Words can not even begin to describe how wonderful this man is. I love you Mark, so much!!

There are so many others, so many that have helped us with their donation, their reading and supporting our blog, so many others that have helped raise awareness and have shared our site on their facebook or with their friends. We are so blessed that you have joined us in this journey to bring Sydney home.
For everyone who has donated, for everyone who reads our blog, who has shared our blog or story with others. Thank you!! We could not do this without you. You are a blessing!!

I wish so badly I could list everyone, however at the risk of missing someone I will stop there and make another post later on other supporters. If you have NOT seen your name here and you have been helping and supporting our journey, it is not because I forgot you. I am just saving it for another post :) You are not forgotten or overlooked, you are wonderful!!!

Under it All

I have friends that have gone ahead of us. They get to the orphanage and they see their beautiful little one that they have been praying for. They see the baby/child they have been thinking about for months or a year or more. They are everything they thought they would be. They are overwhelmed with love for their child.
They are able to visit, for a couple of hours every day until the adoption is final.
During this time, they mostly just sit with their child, hold them, play with them. But they rarely feed them, and normally don't get to change them.
In March, a little girl was brought home from an orphanage in Eastern Europe. It was not until they left the orphanage and they started taking off all the layes that they noticed how malnurshied she was. By looking at her round little face, you would have never guessed that she was skin and bones under all that clothing. She had been wearing so many layers of clothing at every visit that the family that adopted her had no idea she was in that bad of condition. Instead of a great wonderful homecoming however, she was immediately taken to the hospital because of her grave condition. This wonderful little girl was three years old (actually closer to four than three), and only weighed ELEVEN pounds!!! Yes, you heard that right, ELEVEN POUNDS!! The doctors at the hosptial said she was so badly malnurished that she would not have lasted even one more day.  Now, after 7 months of being home, she is doing so much better, there is actually chub on her legs.
This is NOT a story that is rare. All too often children from orphanages in Eastern Europe are in these conditions.

I look at Sydney... I see her cute little face... and I wonder... what is under all those layers. If you look really close you can see she has at least THREE layers on. How many more are under those?

Please, pray for Sydney.  Please pray that she is not crying out in pain or hunger and that someone there holds her, and plays with her. Pray that she will be ok, until we are able to bring her home.  Our blog here is new. Can you share it with friends? Can you get the word out?
Thank you

Saving Sydney

Sydney is a special needs orphan in Eastern Europe. Because she has down syndrome, she is not one of the lucky ones in her country that will be sought after for adoption.
Children in Eastern Europe are able to remain in the baby house until their 4th or 5th birthday, then they are sent to live in an adult mental institution.
The conditions for these children are not good. Children in orphanages lack  food, medical care, and suitable facilities. Mortality in orphanages is dramatically high.
Our eyes were opened to the conditions in Eastern Europe after watching a special on NBC when Ann Curry traveled to an orphanage there. The footage taken while there, shocking.
Our family already planned to adopt, but had not considered special needs or international. Seeing the need so great, we decided we could not just sit by and do nothing. We needed to act.
While searching online for orphans in need, we found Reece's Rainbow. Below is a description of Reece's Rainbow taken directly from their website. http://reecesrainbow.org/faq
Our beautiful little girl was there and we knew that we could not let her grow up in an orphanage. We can hardly wait until we can bring her home. They say not everyone can be an adopting family, but everyone can help an orphan find their way home.
The cost of adopting internationally is great. We will need to fundraise the cost to rescue her. Rescue her from a childhood of not being rocked to sleep, or held when she cries, a childhood of never knowing what it is like to just get something to eat when she is hungry, or call someone mommy or daddy. Every child deserves a family. Please help us bring Sydney home. You can help by clicking the link in the side bar or Sydney's picture. Both will take you to Reece's Rainbow where you can make a tax deductible donation.
Thank you.

1. 1. Reece's Rainbow is not an adoption agency.  We are an advocacy and adoption grant/fundraising organization only.   We raise awareness for waiting children with Down syndrome and other special needs for the purposes of international adoption and social activism. We actively pursue donations as grants to offset the costs related to adopting the children we serve.
   2. Reece's Rainbow is a registered 501©3 non-profit, legally classified as a public charity with the IRS and incorporated originally in the state of Georgia.  Our non profit tax id is 20-5466141 and our 990 filings for each year can be openly viewed at http://www.guidestar.org/  Our offices are currently located at PO Box 4024, Gaithersburg, MD  20885.  Donations by check can be mailed to this address.
   3. Reece's Rainbow does not financially benefit from any facilitator or agency partnerships.  Grant donations are legally made on behalf of the child, and are available to families regardless of which facilitation team or agency they work with to complete their adoption. (with submission of required grant app and supporting documents)
   4. Grant disbursements can only be made after a dossier has been submitted and the family has recvd an official travel date.