Huge sports memorabilia donation

Many many thank you's to our dear friend Rick Meza for donating over $775 worth of sports memorabilia to our cause.  If you live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and are interested in obtaining any of these items, you may do so by donating their set donation amount in cash to us personally, or with your credit card via our Fundly.com account here:

http://fundly.com/help-us-bring-home-our-hopefuls

Please indicate the item you are interested in by notating it the "personal note" section during your Fundly purchase process. 

We will update this list periodically as the items sell so make sure you check the list to see if your item is available. Whatever does not sell before August will be put in our garage sale; Date, Time, Location TBD.

**All of these items were personally obtained by Rick Meza or my husband Bobby himself. Not all of them have their COA's but the ones that do are indicated in the listing. All of these pieces are 100% authentic. My husband and his friend Rick are avid collectors and have met these players through numerous sporting events and signings.

**For those of you who have already donated and see an item on this list, please let us know and we will get it to you.

**Pick up or Drop Off locally only, we will not ship any of these items. 

**We cannot give any refunds through our side of the Fundly website so please make sure the item is available BEFORE you send your money. 

Memorabilia List

Official Seal Of Approval

Well we got our official approval letter complete with a certificate from Gladney today. Exciting times! We are so blessed to be apart of such a great organization dedicated to helping the orphan crisis worldwide. :)

Help Us Bring Home Our Hopefuls

Harder than it looks...

Well today we sent in an inquiry about a sibling group of two, a boy and a girl, that caught our attention on the TARE website.  I know I know, exciting times!  Of course that's not to say that these are definitely our children because there is really so much that goes into finding the perfect match but it's definitely a step forward.  The only thing that sort of concerns me is that ever since I sent the pic of the kids to Bobby he's been smiling about it and showing it off to everyone and I feel like it's going to be hard for him not to fall in love with every pic/match we receive.  I mean really we have a lot more matching to do to be getting all pumped about the 1st inquiry.  I'll be honest, I'm not really concerned for myself much because I have always had the ability to be very objective about things and I am very good about considering all aspects before jumping in, but Bobby sort of wears his heart on his sleeve and falls quickly.  Don't get me wrong, the fact that he is naturally sensitive is one of my favorite attributes about him and I wouldn't change that for the world but I would really like for us to get through this matching process as painless as possible. Not sure how that's going to work out at this point though.  I mean it's one thing to say you're not going to get attached right away, but it's another thing to see them and experience the possibilities without getting attached; that is so hard!  I guess what it really boils down to is that humans were created with the amazing ability to fall in love and bond to one another all the while that same amazing ability can be the cause of a lot of heartache and pain.  All we can do at this point is to hope and pray that we hear God's unmistakable voice leading us to the children he created for us so that we will not be scathed and sidetracked by all the wrong ones.

Please say a prayer for us!!

Photobook Complete!

Here is our COMPLETE Adoption Photobook. Geez it only took me a hundred years to finish. Our Caseworker had us print 3 copies as well so the order is in at Kinkos as we speak. I should be able to pick them up tomorrow if all goes well. After I turn those in, we can officially inquire about the matches sent our way. YAY! Send lots o' prayers!
Biffel Adoption Video from Hannah Biffel on Vimeo.
Hannah

Home Study Approved!

FYI, we received our Home Study Approval today!! So we are officially headed to completing our family.  Here is our Home Study cover sheet for those readers who might have available kiddo's in mind. 

^{18 "}I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

John 14:18

The Biffel Family

Ft. Worth, TX

 
Seeking to Adopt
Bobby and Hannah are seeking to adopt children as a sibling group of two or individually, between the ages of 0-10 years. They are open to boys or girls of any bi-racial background. They are excited about providing a forever home and family to the kids that God has chosen for them!

Mom and Dad
Bobby and Hannah have been married for 5 1/2 years. Bobby is a driver for DHL. He loves all sports, is an avid memorabilia collector and enjoys video games as well. Hannah is a LMT/Program Coordinator for Health Care Therapies, a company devoted to providing in home therapies to people with disabilities’. She loves to sing and do creative things. Bobby and Hannah are active in their church and love to fellowship with their church group. They have a large close nit family that live close by with whom they spend time frequently. It doesn’t matter what they are doing, they just like to be together!

Their Home
The Biffel family desires that their home be a place of great joy and unconditional love. They seek to protect, provide structure for, and encourage each child. They are excited about adoption and can’t wait for their family to be made complete.

Fun Times
The Biffel family is full of laughter! They love cracking jokes and watching funny movies regularly. Playing board games or video games is a favorite past time that keeps things lively in the house. They enjoy watching and playing sports, taking road trips, and participating in church activities at Hope Outreach Church in Fort Worth, TX.

Please contact:
Emily Behrens 817-922-6064
Emily.Behrens@gladney.org

Tanya Houk 817-922-6078
Tanya.Houk@gladney.org

Countdown disasters

So we're less than a week away from getting our approval to begin the matching process and all hell has broken loose on us since we finished our home study in addition to going downhill the closer it gets.  I know things could always be worse so I really should be counting my blessings but considering what has happened that is the only way I can describe how I feel right now.  Just to give you an idea without going into too much unwarranted detail, we've been hit financially several times, I've been sick twice, my hours at work have been cut back significantly temporarily, Bobby got a kidney stone, I've been having nightmares about the adoption/losing sleep, and tonight our water heater went out flooding our hallway and new carpet. At this point I am no longer surprised when additional things are thrown our way.  Bobby and I always say that nothing ever comes easy for us, because it really doesn't and there's a proven history of that.  Since day one we've had to work really hard to get where we are in all aspects of our lives together when it seems like others have it so easy so there isn't any reason why this situation should be any different.  Granted, adoption, let alone becoming a parent in general, is never easy and I never expected it to be. However, I did at least expect a nice little two month rest and maybe even a vacation in between the time we finished our home study and the matching phase but who am I kidding?!  Anyway, I don't want to be a negative Nancy, that's just where I'm at right now. 

One thing that's been a great help during this time is our Chosen Ones Support Group and attending the Mom's/Dad's night out.  Meeting with like-minded others has given me the chance to share what's been going on in the meantime and that alone has made our recent hardships a little easier to endure. I've never met such compassionate people in my life and I feel blessed to be in their company. I mean really, each one of those ladies are the closest you can get to Super Woman in real life.  For every nightmare I could imagine happening to us, they can match it with a true story of redemption and grace through adoption.  Some of them have adopted their foster children and some of them have even ministered to the abusive parent and have helped them to change so they can provide a better home for the children they lost.  It's just amazing the things they've shared with me and I always walk away feeling refreshed and encouraged about our journey.

The one thing I've learned through all this adversity so far is that no matter what comes our way, Bobby and I are choosing to press forward and we refuse to let the enemy stop us from doing what we feel God has called us to do.  I can say one thing for sure, this adoption journey has strengthened our marriage immensely and I honestly feel like I look at him with different eyes than I did before we started.  I cannot imagine having children with anyone else in this world and I would not pick anyone else to face adversity with.  He's my rock and my everything and it's going to be amazing to see him with our children.  Though I am presently having a tough time staying positive through all the mess we've been going through, I refuse to harbor doubt about our choice.  We are exactly where we should be and that's all that matters.  Going forward, please keep us in your prayers as we move on to completing our family.  :)

Hannah