Update: Big Announcement

Our blog has been quiet for a while as we have been in the throes of the Holidays as well as fighting (or really succumbing to!) a nasty stomach bug.  But thankfully December is here and with it brings renewed energy and purpose.  Now we can fully embrace this Advent season with good health!  We wanted to provide everyone with an update on our adoption process.

•  We want to say a huge “thank you!” to everyone who has given to our “Piece by Piece” Fundraiser!  It’s been so encouraging and humbling to receive donations.  It confirms what we believe, which is that adoption is at the very heart of God and He is stirring other’s hearts to give to His story for our family.  We are overwhelmed by your generosity!  
• There has been a re-occurring question we are asked that we want to address.  This current fund raiser does not raise for us all of the funds needed for our adoption.  This was just ONE way we are going about raising funds.  We had two garage sales this past Spring and Summer that were semi-successful (and a TON of work!).  We also made and sold tank tops with a friend of mine to raise money.  Aaron became a master button sewer!  :)  We might make those again come Spring.  ** one cool fact-we think one of our tank tops made it onto an episode of Duck Dynasty!  We’re famous!**  So once the puzzle is finished we are about ⅓ of the way to our goal which is between 14,000 and 20,000.  
• We are one meeting and a few papers away from being finished with our Home Study.  Hooray!!  At that point, we make a Profile book with a letter to a Birth mom . . . And then we wait and pray!  We wait to be matched with a Birth Mom and pray that God would prepare us for the Slaten baby He has for us.  We are excited about being called to a domestic adoption and love the possibility of loving on a birth mom and having her become an extended part of our family.  We are excited about the Gospel transforming us through this adoption as well as the Lord using us and our story to show His love to others.  
• We are expanding the number of pieces of our puzzle to include more pieces to be sold!  We love that the back of this puzzle will tell our child the story of God’s love for he or she in that all of these people gave so that he or she could be given a new life, a new name and an inheritance that can’t be taken away.  It will be a beautiful tapestry of names that give our child a tangible picture of a Father’s extravagant love-the same love that rescues every one of us.  What a beautiful time of year to remember this extravagant love in the person of Jesus, who was born to rescue the world from darkness! 
• Please consider giving a gift with a purpose this year for Christmas!  Maybe you can give pieces of our puzzle in honor or in memory of someone this Christmas season.  What a beautiful way to love or honor the person in your life who has everything!  Or there are tons of way you can research to give a gift with meaning this year.  Aaron and I have been challenged to place our money strategically in ways that give back.  We plan on buying family gifts this year that support another friend of mine’s adoption.  There are so many way to get creative!

Slaten Adoption from Aaron Slaten on Vimeo.

Here is how our “Piece by Piece” Fundraiser works:

1. Click on the “Donate” button to your right.
2. In the “Product line” write the name you would like to use for us to write on a puzzle piece.  Or multiple names if buying more than one.
3. Once you have entered the dollar amount click "update total".
4. Log into your paypal and donate.

If you would prefer to donate through check please email us at aslaten@mac.com for our mailing address. 

Fund Raising Update

Wow!  What an amazing 2 weeks it’s been since we launched our “Piece by Piece” fund raiser!  

It’s been so encouraging to see how God is stirring in others the desire to be a part of our Adoption Story.  We are humbled and thankful for every one of you that has bought pieces of our puzzle.  We are roughly ⅔ of the way to our goal which is tremendous!  We believe that God can do “immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine” and we would love for you to pray about the possibility of helping us reach that extra ⅓ towards bringing home our baby.  Thank you so much for partnering with us and being a part of God’s story for our family.  Many Blessings!

Slaten Adoption from Aaron Slaten on Vimeo.

Here is how our “Piece by Piece” Fundraiser works:

1. Click on the “Donate” button to your right.
2. In the “Product line” write the name you would like to use for us to write on a puzzle piece.  Or multiple names if buying more than one.
3. Once you have entered the dollar amount click "update total".
4. Log into your paypal and donate.

If you would prefer to donate through check please email us at aslaten@mac.com for our mailing address. 

Many thanks to Dan Duncan with Remedy films for making this great video.
And thank you to Andrew Davis Tucker Photography for the picture. 
We are blessed to have the friends we have!

Piece by Piece

Slaten Adoption from Aaron Slaten on Vimeo.

Thank you so much for visiting our blog!

Here is how our “Piece by Piece” Fundraiser works:

1. Click on the “Donate” button to your right.
2. In the “Product line” write the name you would like to use for us to write on a puzzle piece.  Or multiple names if buying more than one.
3. Once you have entered the dollar amount click "update total".
4. Log into your paypal and donate.

If you would prefer to donate through check please email us at aslaten@mac.com for our mailing address. 

Thank you SO much for your partnership with us in our Adoption Journey!
Many thanks to Dan Duncan with Remedy films for making this great video.
And thank you to Andrew Davis Tucker Photography for the picture. 
We are blessed to have the friends we have!

Our Calling

This past Saturday our family had a Garage Sale.  It wasn’t just any garage sale.  As I told a lady who was trying to haggle with me, “we aren’t trying to make money to go on a vacation.”  This garage sale had a purpose.  It was the first of many fund raisers we are going to do to fund our adoption.

Aaron and I have been on two mission trips to Romania and were confronted with the hard reality of the lives of orphans and their care.  Without overstating its impact, it was a life changing trip for us.  God used it to put in both of us a heart for the orphan.  The needy.  The outcast.  God broke our hearts for the things that break His.  His work in both of us had begun and we both knew that orphan care would be a part of our lives but we didn’t know how.

Fast forward several years after having two kids and wondering if the “number” for our family was two.  This past summer we began wrestling with what God had for our family.  I started attending Community Bible Study in August and we studied in depth the books of Amos and Isaiah.  Over and over (and over and over!) God has the same indictment of His chosen people-you are not taking care of the needy, and the desolate and the poor.  You are a self-indulgent people who aren’t loving those who are hurting and lonely.  I kept saying to Aaron as we studied His Word, “God is serious about His people  loving the unloveables.”  And so we got serious about it as well.  We prayed and talked a lot this past Fall and knew the God was calling our family to pursue an adoption.  The minute the decision was made, I felt an incredible peace knowing that adoption is at the very heart of God.

We believe there is no greater picture of the Gospel than adoption.  Once we adopt our baby, they become a Slaten, with all the rights and inheritance of Levi and Bella.  It’s exactly what Jesus does with us.  We become sons and daughters, heirs and co-heirs with Christ because of the blood He shed for us.  It excites us beyond measure to be a part of God’s adoption plan.  We feel that we are understanding even more our own status as orphans before God adopted us into His family through Jesus.  It deepens our appreciation and love for His grace and mercy.  We are humbled.

Adoption is expensive. And that is why we had so many families in our Community Group and church donate generously to our Garage Sale last weekend.  We have started our fund raising with a bang-and with a the help of our community.  It is clear to us that we can’t do this alone.  God has called us to do this within community.  We are so thankful for the community we are in and humbled to call for help in this time of relying and depending on God to make His dream for our family come to fruition.

We are excited about this for our family-even Levi and Bella can’t wait to see who God has for us.  We are passionate about adoption and orphan care and would love to talk to anyone who has any questions for us.