The Official Team Street!

11.24.15 Jen and Ryan had a full courtroom of friends and family to celebrate Grant's adoption day!  Holly, Saul, David and I, and all of our kids were honored to be there with them. It's always just some of the best moments life has to offer.  Grant's first birthday was a few days later so we also got to see him smash his first cake, he loved the frosting:-) Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday and we have another adoption finalization to share with you and how you can get involved and continue helping make these moments possible!  

No More Event Friday 11/13

Come say hi to Saul & David at the No More Event at Grace Family Church this Friday 11/13, 6:30pm!  It's an experience that allows you to see what it looks like to care for orphans around Tampa Bay and the entire world.  You'll also get to meet, and hear from our newest Promise Love Family, the Pucovsky's!  We are always honored to be partnering with this amazing organizations. Hope to see you there! 

Welcome Pucovsky's to the Promise Love Family!!!

There is no better way to celebrate National Adoption Day, then to announce our next Promise Love Family!   The Pucovsky's are truly one incredible family and we are so excited to be able to introduce you to them!!!  They are Paul (dad), Ivanka (mom), Oksana (5), Neveah (4) and Arabella (3) their newest addition Zaniya (14).

Photo Credit: Deanna Hurley Photography

Photo Credit: Deanna Hurley Photography

They currently have a small goal of $3500 to complete what they owe for the adoption of Zaniya which will be finalized THIS MONTH!!!  We need to get this amount raised in just a few short weeks, but with God all things are possible!  Help us get them there, DONATE NOW!! 

After 3 failed domestic infant adoptions, this family wasn't sure where God was leading them, but they knew their hearts were called to adoption and God had a waiting child for them. At a match event for Eckerd Community Alternatives earlier this year, Paul, Ivanka and there 3 beautiful biological daughters attended, they truly learned the need for adoptive placement for teens.  It was there that God sent a young 14 year old girl to follow them around all day.  They really connected with her and felt this may be the child God had for them.  They went home and prayed it over and decided to take a step of faith and start paperwork to bring Zaniya home forever!

She was placed in there home almost 3 months ago and is thriving and has even accepted Christ as her Savior, during this time!  While Paul and Ivanka recognize there is still a long road ahead of healing for their sweet girl, they said the love for her has come immediately.  She is a gift from God to them and during the time Zaniya has been with them, they have begun taking her and many other young teenage girls to church for youth group and mentoring them.   They are currently becoming licensed foster parents as well, so they can take pregnant foster teens in their home.  This family is truly living out what the church is called to do and we feel honored to help them in a small way on their journey! 

We can't wait to see what God has in store next for this family!!!  Welcome Pucovsky's!!!

The Official Team Boyer

The Boyers are an official family of 5!!  Tuesday was miss Breeja's adoption day!! We were also able to write the final check that met their fundraising goal as well!! Thank you all who have supported them on this journey.  Cricket and Josh, we were truly honored to be a part of it and are so excited for your sweet family!! 

Photos with Santa 12/6/15!!

Who wants to wait in long lines at the mall for photos with Santa right?  High Hopes in High Heels is partnering with us for some holiday fun! Come hang out with us and support adoption!!   We'll have Christmas cookies, hot chocolate and your family can get your photos taken with Santa!!! I happen to own Carrie Wildes Photography as well so we'll be taking the photos:-) 

Sunday 12/6 from 2:00 - 5:00pm at Creative Loafing in Ybor! 

Click HERE to buy your tickets and once you do we'll send you over an email to pick your time slot!

PDQ Photos!

Thank you all who came out last night to eat (or drive through:-) PDQ, get some face painting and hang out.  It was awesome!!  The best news is that our goal was to raise the remaining $1500 needed for the Boyer family and we did!!!  We got see their sweet family and next Tuesday is their adoption day.  A super special thank you to Sarah, for the fab face painting and to PDQ for hosting and supporting us!! 

The Boyer's are officially a Family of 5!!

Both Boyer babies are here and doing great!!!  This family of 3, jumped to a family of 5 in a span of just 2 weeks!  One beautiful little girl, Breeja Ruth was born (via Cricket and Josh's heart) on July 17th and Breydon Daniel (via Cricket's tummy) came just 13 days later!  That's 2 babies, just 13 days apart!   If you have been following their story, you know that Cricket and Josh have overcome many obstacles to bring these 2 precious miracles into their family!   If you haven't read their story, it's a must read!  Check it out here

We are so excited to announce that we are in the FINAL STRETCH of fundraising for this amazing family and need your help to bring these babies home forever before their BIG adoption finalization!

WE ONLY NEED A TOTAL OF $1699.00 and they have met their GOAL!!!  This is so exciting and a blessing from GOD!    

To help the Boyers, you can always donate here on our website or come out to our PDQ event in Wesley Chapel on October 29th from 5-9pm to meet them personally and support their family!  We will have raffles, free face painting for the kids and lots of yummy food and fun!  The best part is you can love on this sweet family and their beautiful babies in which you have had a part in bringing home!  Can't wait to see you there!

Here's what Cricket had to say about their experience and what God has blessed them with!

"We can't express how grateful we were to be there for Breeja's birth. I was even in the delivery room and shared the honor of cutting her umbilical cord. We were able to immediately bond with our gorgeous daughter and feel tremendously blessed to still be a part of her selfless and brave birth moms life.

We are doing really, really well now that we're all finally home as a family of 5 and are just so grateful that Lord has completed our family in this beautiful way. We couldn't be more proud of our sweet babies and we have more love for them than we ever thought possible. Big brother Blaine has really stepped into his role nicely and adores his tiny brother and sister. He is such a nice helper!

Physically, I'm having a slow recovery but my heart is overflowing with joy and it makes the physical difficulties a blur in comparison. We are definitely quite tired and not getting much, if any, sleep. But that's to be expected with two newborns begging for constant cuddles...which we can't get enough of by the way."

 

The Boyer Family's new little bundle!

The Boyer family's new little addition arrived on 7.17.15!! Miss Breeja Ruth was born at 5:40am albs 9 oz and 19 inches long! They are head over heels in love with this little princess and are home enjoying the sweetest moments with her and their family. Cricket is actually awaiting the birth of her baby, if you read their story she is pregnant and their 2nd addition should be arriving very soon!  To give you an update on their fundraising, they are still in need of just over $13,000 to meet their goal.  We will continue to help them raise money to reach this goal over the coming months until they finalize Breeja's adoption.  

Thank you to all who have shared and given so far and keep helping us spread the word!!  Help them reach their goal by donating HERE.  

They also have 20 freezer meals left to sell from the 2 Blessed to be stressed fundraiser: 
$20 each meal (to feed 2+ people) for baked spaghetti, parmesan rolls, and dessert. Contact Cricket at: Thebugsy15@hotmail.com

A big thank you to Haley from Carrie Wildes Photography who captured these first moments of them with her! 

1 Year Anniversary!

Today, July 22nd is the official day we got our 501c3 non-profit status 1 year ago! We wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has given of their time, services, and money to partner with our families!  You truly are helping us make a difference for future generations and we have been amazed by all the love and support.  Here's a little highlight film of what that impact looks like.  THANK YOU to Voila Cinematic for creating this awesome film and the Devries family for being a part of it. We can't wait for everything the future has in store!

To Blessed to Be Stressed Dinner Fundraiser!

This is a really cool opportunity to support the Boyer family adoption and try some delicious recipes from Debra Coty's new cook book! All the details are below! 

Too Blessed to be Stressed Dinner/Fundraiser

All proceeds to help defray adoption costs for a Brandon area family 

Award-winning author and speaker Debora Coty invites you to enjoy a sneak preview of some of the terrific recipes included in her new book, the ...

Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook, featuring delicious recipes requiring 20 minutes or less prep time, scheduled to hit bookstore shelves this fall. 

Enjoy a lovely dinner and help a local family's adoption dream come true at the same time!

Plus the names of everyone purchasing a meal go into a drawing; the grand prize winner will enjoy a private dinner with Debora's family. In addition, five happy winners of the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook will be drawn. Six winners in all ... you could be one of them!

DATE: Friday, July 3, 2015 

DINNER PICK-UP TIME: 4-7 pm; if you are unable to pick up on July 3, reserve your dinner for an alternative pick-up date at the pre-order e-dress below.

COST: $20 dinner for two (simply order additional meals for more people). All donations are greatly appreciated!

PRE-ORDER: Thebugsy15@hotmail.com (please specify how many meals you would like); pay with check or cash at pick-up.

LOCATION: Financial Alternatives office, 220 W. Brandon Blvd, Unit 105 (same shopping plaza as The Revolution Ice Cream Co.) 813-681-9600

MENU: Delicious fare straight from the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook including:

• Everybody's Fave Baked Spaghetti (enough for two hungry adults) 
• Parmesan Nuggets (mouthwatering cheesy rolls) 
• Mudbar Ecstasy (delicious chocolaty way to cap your meal)

When ordering, please specify whether you'd like your food frozen for a future meal or ready to pop into your oven for a piping hot dinner with your fam at home.

Welcome Team Boyer to the Promise Love Family!

We are so excited to announce to you our newest family joining the Promise Love Foundation!  Meet Cricket and Josh Boyer and their adorable 4 year old little guy, Blaine.  You are going to love them just as much as we do;-) This family's story has captured our hearts, and attention.  Our goal is to help them raise $20,000 for their private, domestic, adoption of a little girl due in July.  Help make their dreams come true and DONATE NOW 
or by check to:
Promise Love Foundation 

PO Box 47432 
Tampa, FL 33646
**if donating by credit card there is a small processing fee

Not only are they in process to adopt, Cricket is also pregnant with her 2nd child due just one week after their adoptive child is!  She has had many complications so far in her pregnancy and between the medical expenses and the adoption expenses, they really need our help!  We are itching to tell you the whole story, but we are going to let you hear it straight from them!   Please take a few minutes and let your heart be captured by this incredible little family of 3, that soon will be growing by 4 more little feet!!!

Photo Credit - Melanie Porter

Photo Credit - Melanie Porter

"We are Josh and Cricket Boyer. We fell head over heels in love in high school in 2002 and were inseparable throughout college and ever since. Josh and I share the same passion for striving to be the earthly hands and feet of our Lord through our everyday lives at home, work, in the community, and in our church.

In 2007, after being married only a few short months, I started feeling incredible abdominal pain and underwent subsequent surgeries. We were told at that time that children might not be a possibility for us. We were crushed but knew that if the Lord put the strong desire in our hearts to become parents that He could make it happen. And He did! We were surprised to welcome our precious miracle baby boy, Blaine, into the world in May, 2011. We rejoiced at the Lord’s grace and mercy!

However, I endured some complications during delivery and postpartum. We were devastated to be told by four different infertility specialists that I would not be able to conceive a child again. We went through years of fertility treatments, procedures, emotional heartache, and prayer in attempt to defy the odds to expand our little family of three.

Josh and I have always shared the desire to make a difference in the world by opening up ourselves and our home to adoption. During our emotional infertility roller coaster, we felt the Lord really tugging at our hearts that this was the time to make our lifelong adoption dream a reality. We enrolled in the foster program, in hopes of eventually adopting. We spent a great deal of time and effort attending the classes, preparing to become foster parents. Then miracle #2 happened: we discovered we were pregnant! 

We were more overjoyed than words could express. We had prayed for so many years for a miracle. We even prayed for a baby by name: SAM (acronym for Shadrach, Abednego, and Meshach). In Daniel 1-3, the Lord worked a miracle in the lives of these three young Hebrew slave boys. When threatened with excruciating death in a fiery furnace for refusing to worship an idol, they replied that their god (Jehovah) was able to miraculously deliver them, but even if He chose not to, they still would place their faith in Him. This Bible story was laid heavy on our hearts while fighting the feelings of infertility defeat. To this day, we still call our unborn baby SAM to remind us of the love, faithfulness, and sovereign grace of our Lord in providing the divine miracle of life inside of me.

Shortly after discovering our second miracle pregnancy, we were presented with the beautiful opportunity to adopt an unborn baby girl. Our hearts swelled as we humbly accepted this perfect gift from God with tears streaming down our faces. The Lord orchestrated this most precious baby to arrive only a week before our due date with baby SAM: virtually twins!

But even while our hearts were overwhelmed with joy, my newly-pregnant body was quickly declining. I was diagnosed with a rare and serious complication of pregnancy at week 5, called Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG). I was uncontrollably vomiting and losing so much weight that I was forced to cease my part-time work as an Occupational Therapy Assistant, Massage Therapist, and Homeschool Teacher to Blaine. I became very ill because of my inability to keep liquids or solids down and my body became too weak and dehydrated to independently perform basic self-care tasks. My organs began to fail from malnourishment.

I have since been through quite a lot to sustain this precious life inside of me. I received full-time home healthcare for several months, including 24/7 IV treatments and a medicine pump inserted into my abdomen in an attempt to reduce the vomiting. Unfortunately my dehydrated veins would not withstand the IV needles any longer and my condition became increasingly worse by the day. My HG was crippling. I was then hospitalized and underwent the high risk “last resort” procedure of receiving a PICC line. I was immediately put on Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) which provided full medication and nutrition intravenously, similar to what a coma patient receives.

After several weeks of TPN, I began to make small improvements. Sadly, it was short lived. A sudden decline, high fever, disorientation, and convulsions sent me into the intensive care unit for a week. I had gone into septic shock from an unknown virulent systemic infection. We were told baby SAM and I were fortunate to have survived the attack.

Josh has been picking up as many extra shifts in his work as a Law Enforcement Officer to try to compensate for my lost work wages, childcare costs (I have been too ill to care for toddler Blaine), and the many pregnancy-related medical expenses. He has worked himself to the bone and comes home to be Nurse, Husband, Daddy, Errand-runner, Chef, Landscaper Extraordinaire, Chore-Master, and Boo-Boo fixer. He is our family hero in all aspects of the word. 

We are truly humbled as we continue to seek God’s will while preparing our hearts, home, and finances to nurture and raise three children. We look forward to the day of finally holding our precious “twins,” Blaine meeting his two new siblings, and striving everyday to fulfill Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Although everyone may not feel the tug to adopt as the Boyer's do, anyone can be a part of this by giving towards their $20,000 goal!  We, at Promise Love, want to help them reduce the financial burden so they can focus on getting these babies home.   Thank you so much for being willing to open your hearts to them!  All funds raised go directly to the Boyer's adoption fees. Promise Love Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization.  All donations are tax deductible. 

Help make their dreams come true and
DONATE NOW 
or by check to:
Promise Love Foundation

PO Box 47432 
Tampa, FL 33646
**if donating by credit card there is a small processing fee

Rock the Wall Crawl

A few weekends ago, we had the opportunity to participate, along with many other amazing non profits and ministries in the tampa bay area in the "Rock The Wall Crawl" race put on by the No More Foundation.  The event included a 5k race, a fun mile run, a 40 yard dash and rock climbing walls!  It was an event to bring awareness and raise funds for many different causes in tampa and around the globe.   The dads, Saul and David, went out to represent the Promise Love Foundation and our current family, the Devries, to help raise funds needed to complete the cost of their adoption.  It was such a great time and we want to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who came out and showed us love!  As well as a BIG THANK YOU to the No More Foundation for inviting us and for working so hard and passionately for the least of these!   They truly have the heart of the Father in the forefront of all they do!

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Today is such a special and important day for our Promise Love Families! For Davina, Jennifer and Lisa it's their first official Mother's Day!  We love them all, and they seriously each have amazing families and so many great things in store.  Since last Mother's day, Holly and Saul finalized Gisselle's adoption, and David and I finalized both Maddie and Evie's adoption as well!  

There is a flip side to today as well.  Mother's day is a happy occasion for all of these reasons, but it's also a bitter sweet one for many for lots of reasons.  Maybe you want to be a mom so badly and it just hasn't happened yet, or maybe it isn't possible at all.  Or your mom isn't here to give a hug to because she passed away, or you have had a miscarriage and are left with a deep void of sorrow.  Maybe you are a birth mom who chose adoption for your child like both of our birth mom's did, and you are happy in one sense but very sad in another.  I have a deep love and gratefulness for both Kayla and Candice, and Holly does as well, especially for Candice, she is also Gisselle's birth mom. They are the unseen heroes and their courage and bravery is more than you can imagine. They made a decision they felt was so important for their kids, and isn't that what truly being a mom is all about? Our stories all came together in a way that only God Himself could have created, and that's really what adoption is all about.  We truly celebrate them today! If you are one of these bitter sweet places today, our hearts and prayers go out to you.  If you know someone in one of those places, give an extra hug or word of encouragement you never know how much it could mean to someone! 

Team Devries Adoption Day!

April 28th, 2015 is a very happy day for the Promise Love family!!  Dan & Davina Devries finalized their 3 children's adoption today!  Xander, Prudence, and Levi officially became a part of team Devries forever!!! Holly, Saul, David, Carrie (me:-) and all our kiddos got to witness it in court. Now these 3 siblings will get to grow up together in an amazing home.  We could not be happier or more proud of them for making a difference in 3 tiny lives.  Thank you to all of you who have been a part of it and supported them as well, we couldn't do it without you!

Adoption Tax Credit

It's April 15th, tax day so we thought it was fitting to post some info on the adoption tax credit! We'll give you some of the main points and there are links below with much more detail.  Did you know that if you adopt a child you are eligible for up to $13,190 for 2014 and $13,400 in 2015 in tax credit for qualified expenses? It adjusts for inflation every year so that's what the rate is more for 2015.  The great news is, this is a tax credit, not a mere deduction, or reduction in taxable income.  A credit is a dollar for dollar tax reduction.  In 2012, Congress and the Obama Administration made this a permanent part of the tax code.  "The adoption tax credit offsets qualified adoption expenses, making adoption possible for families who may not be able to afford it. " So, this means that you can actually reduce your tax burden by up to $13,190.  If you owe less in taxes than what the credit is, you can actually carry over the remaining balance for up to 5 tax years.  So, for example, say you owe $10,000 in taxes for 2014 and have adopted 1 child. That means you could use $10,000 of your tax credit and not actually pay any taxes for 2014 and carry over the remaining $3,190 into 2015.  Pretty nice!  If you adopt twins, or triplets, or more than one child in a year the tax credit is for each child. 
   What are qualified expenses?  They include attorney or agencies fees, travel costs, and any other expenses directly related to legal adoption.  There are income limits for each year as well.  For 2014 if your adjusted income rate is  <$237,880 you may not claim the credit. 
   This tax credit does relate to both domestic and international adoptions.  If the child is born in the US, you can claim the tax credit in the year after you incurred the expenses.  But, if you finalized the adoption the same year you incurred the expenses you can claim the tax credit in that year.  For international adoptions you can only claim the tax credit after the adoption is final.  Be sure to seek advice from a tax accountant and making sure you are getting the full qualified benefit.  

Here's some articles with more detail and where we sourced our info:
www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc607.html
www.adoptionhelp.org/adoption-tax-credit
www.adopthelp.com/the-2015-federal-adoption-tax-credit-2/

Empowered to Connect Live Simulcast

Promise Love is proud sponsor of the upcoming Empowered To Connect LIVE Simulcast in partnership with ShowHope.

This is a "must attend" event for anyone that desires to help a child in foster or adoptive care.

Join us at Tampa Covenant Church on April 10 - 11th all the details are below! 

Event registration at: www.mission1248.org

Watch Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman talk about the upcoming event:  
http://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/vdaj2z02o4?videoFoam=true

Rock the Wall Crawl

We are excited to share that we are partnering with the No More Foundation for the Rock the Wall Crawl Saturday 4.25!!  It's going to be an amazing morning of events for the whole family, all the details are below. WE NEED YOU to get a team together and come out and support.
Participation is Simple:

1. Individuals/Teams/Families register for the event  CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ON ACTIVE.COM or you can print the forms by clicking on each of them below and email them to christy@fornomore.org

2. Pick a Cause - the list of projects is below, Promise Love is one of them and all funds raised will go to help the Devries family adoption.  

3. Spread the word that you are participating to raise pledges towards the project you choose. The goal is for each person to raise $100, but there's no amount to big or too small.

4. Come out on 4/25 to have fun and raise money for the causes that truly make a difference!

100% of the donations raised will go to the projects and all donations are tax deductible NO MORE is a non-profit 501(c)(3).

Change the Seat!

Helping families with adoption is one of our main focuses, but Holly and I (Carrie) are also licensed foster parents and dedicated to helping improve the system any way we can.  When you are a foster parent you are  not a legal "party to the case" but you can go to court for most hearings generally except Termination of Parental Rights (TPR).  In Hillsborough county, some of the judges ask foster parents for input but many times they do not, or there isn't time.  When you go to court, there is a center table where the parents, attorneys, case managers, and Guardian Ad Litem sits, but foster parents could not sit at the table because they weren't a party to the case.   To me, this was a huge problem because as foster parents we have the children in our care 24/7 and why shouldn't we be considered an equal part of the team giving input and facts? In court these kids entire lives are at stake and the decisions made can literally impact them and their families for generations so it's critical that all the facts are presented.  
     I found out that Eckerd has a group called the System of Care Action Committee anyone can be a part of.  I joined the Outcomes subcommittee which works on actions to improve the foster system and I am the ONLY foster parent who goes!!!  There really are people in the system dedicated to making it better you just have to find them.  At the first meeting, I presented the idea that if foster parents could sit at the table in court and were allowed to give input just like the case manager and Guardian it would put everyone on the same team and allow for critical information to be shared. Guess what?  It is happening!!!!!!  
     The office of the Attorney General and Judge Essrig got all the judges in Hillsborough County dependency court to agree to it.  As of now we are allowed to sit at the table and give feedback just like everyone else!  It's called the Change the Seat Campaign and there will be a training at the February 7th HCFPA meeting for anyone who wants to know appropriate court etiquette.  Seriously, this is a HUGE step forward for ensuring the facts are presented in making decisions for these kids and if anyone would like to get involved in the System of Care Action Committee we need more caring foster parents to help work on these issues.  The next meeting is Thursday 2/4 10:30-11:30am Eckerd Family Place - 10549 North Florida Ave.  If we don't start speaking up and demanding change it will never happen.  Please come if you would like to join or if you can't but  have ideas of things that can be improved please email them to me and I'll share at the meeting!  carrie.wildes@gmail.com