Kornoff Snowflake Embryo Adoptioin
Andrew and Jennifer
Aliso Viejo, CA
DISCLAIMER: We do realize that we accidently added an "I' in adoption in our title. There is no way for us to change it, sorry!
TLDR: We are Jennifer, Andrew and Arya. Thank you for taking the time to stop by our page. We have recently adopted 5 embryos through the Snowflake Embryo Adoption Program. We transferred 2 embryos in January 2024 and, unfortunately, they did not implant. Now it is time for us to proceed with another embryo transfer. We are seeking to raise funds to help us finance our remaining costs. We estimate that our total adoption program and medical costs to be about $24,000-30,000. We have already paid over $18,000. God has been gracious in providing us the finances needed so far, but we estimate that we still need to raise about $6,000 total in order to finance this next embryo transfer. We greatly appreciate any gift towards our embryo adoption you are able to give. These embryos have been frozen long enough, let's give them their chance!
Our Story
We began dating in November 2009. It was love at 3rd date! We knew we had found the one! We were married a short 10 months later in September 2010. We immediately started trying for children and had no success. After struggling with male and female factor infertility for over 5 years, we gave birth to our IVF conceived daughter, Arya, in September 2016.
Once Arya was about 18 months old, the grief surrounding the loss of our other embryos from our IVF cycle began affecting Jennifer greatly. Through this grief and resulting healing process, God has developed within us a deep passion and love for frozen embryos. We believe they are little lives paused in time just waiting for a chance to grow and become who God has designed them to be. In order for that to happen, they need both a body to grow in and a loving family to grow up in. We are able to offer both of those things and rejoice at the fact that God has provided a way for us to do something with the passion He has given us for frozen embryos!
Our heart is one of adoption. We chose embryo adoption through the Snowflakes program because we believe God has called us to do embryo adoption by placing this love and passion in our hearts, and our hearts have plenty of room for more children! We believe God cares about those most vulnerable and calls us to help them-- this includes frozen embryos. Our desire to raise more children has never waned. We absolutely love being parents. We would love to have 2-3 more children. Arya has been praying for a sibling since she was two. She is excited about the possibilities our embryo adoption brings. We cannot tell you how much we want to adopt embryos and see what God has in store for our family!
To do so, week are seeking to raise funds to help us with the remaining costs of our embryo adoption. Altogether, the Snowflakes costs and medical costs will be about $24,000-$30,000. We are working on raising about $6,000 more to complete our embryo adaption and second frozen embryo transfer (our first transfer was unsuccessful).
Our cost up until now:
Application fee: $500
SFE home study fee: $1500
Cost related to completing homestudy: approx $1,000
Matching Phase Fee; $4,000
Contract Phase Fee: $4,500
Clinic Consultation Fee: $350
Clinic Admin fee for shipping embryos: $550
FET fee: $4,000
Medication costs: $844
Labratory work/other medical expense: $1,000 total
Our upcoming costs are:
Medications: estimated $1,000
FET: $4000
Other medical costs: $1,000
If you are able to help us, we would greatly appreciate it! Adoption Bridge is able to give you a receipt for your donation so you can write it off on your taxes. Adoption Bridge does take 3% of credit card transactions, so if you want all your money to go to us, feel free to contact us to see what other options are available.
Thank you,
Andrew, Jennifer, and Arya
14 Family Updates
Donors
Gerri Donnelly
Super excited to see your amazing family grow Kornoff’s! We love you!
Jean Strand
wendy van der klomp
Very exciting!! Lots of love to you all!!
Irene Dermody
PJ Moore
Praying for you and your family, sweet friend!
Kimerly Prince
Good luck!
Marcela Jaquez
Praying for you!! God providing and answering your prayers!
Alexandra Cefalu
Praying for you all! Love the cefalu family
Nazha Dagher
Praying for your growing family!
Tina Schroeder
Praying for you!
Nancy Coulehan
Prayers for successful fundraiser🙏🏻
Brendon Newman
Blessing of Jesus on you
Steve and Cathy Ambrose
Kornoff Family, We think what your guys are doing is awesome adopting embryos. We want to show our support by helping you reach your goal. Love and blessings to you all.
It’s will a lot of sorrow that I post this update. Unfortunately, our first FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) was unsuccessful. The transfer itself went well and Jennifer’s body was ready for the embryos to implant. Unfortunately, the embryos simply did not continue to grow and implant. We are very sad about this. However, the Lord has given us lots of peace and we are so thankful we were able to give these 2 little ones a chance! We will now move forward to transfer 2 more of these embryos. We are looking to raise funds to help us with costs. We have applied for a grant and are looking at other grants as well. However, any donation given here will be a great help. We thank you in advance for your generosity. God bless!
Great news! We will be doing our embryo transfer next month! Jennifer has already started mediation and we are gearing up for this event! Please continue to pray for us!
If we are to do this without taking out a loan, we still need about $4,000 for the embryo transfer. If you feel so led to help us avoid (or decrease the amount of) debt for this embryo adoption, please donate! Adoption Bridge will give you a receipt for your taxes, which works great if your donation is part of your end of year giving.
Regardless of what happens financially, we are so very thankful for your love and your support!
Great news! Our embryos have arrived safely at out clinic! We are so very excited!
We are scheduled to transfer 2 embryos in the beginning of the new year! We are so excited!
At this point, we need the rest of our money by December 17th-- specifically the $4,000 for the embryo transfer itself. Please consider donating or if you are someone who would have typically given Jennifer a birthday present, please consider giving to our embryo adoption fund instead!
Here's our FAQ based on questions received lately:
1. We have a tentative transfer date, but aren't ready to make that public yet.
2. Jennifer has already begun some medication, but will start with daily injections mid-December (it will be a "fun" birthday present for her, lol). So things are on their way!
3. We have still not heard back from the last grant application we turned in. At this point, we are looking at options to see what the best way to pay for the FET is if we do not get the grant or any other donations. We haven't had any donations since the beginning of October. Please pray for us to have wisdom with the choices we make.
4 Yes, we know what the placing parents look like. When they picked us, we received not just 3 generations of their medical history, but many pictures of them and their kids. We are not allowed to show them, however. We can tell you though that all of them have blonde hair, blue eyes, and are fair skinned. They have a good medical history (better than ours overall) and the placing family has a variety of interests that match ours-- although they are college football fans and we are not!
5. Yes, we will have contact with the placing family. In fact, just yesterday we gave the "ok" for our contact information and last name to be released to them. Hopefully they will release theirs soon also. We look forward to having what could potentially be a life long relationship with them!
6. Our embryos were not genetically tested. Therefore their chance of success is lower as we do not know if they are chromosomally "normal". The plan is for us to put in 2 embryos which gives us a higher chance of success.
7. Our embryos were not genetically tested therefore we don't know their sex and will have to wait to find out just like everyone else.
8. Yes, Arya is very excited! We keep reminding her that there's no guarantee of a baby and pray that her heart won't break too much if we are disappointed.
9. Yes, Jennifer is excited too! She is also a little nervous and already feeling her body try to adjust to the first bout of synthetic hormones in almost 8 years. She's been nauseated 6 of the last 7 days and definitely more emotional.
10. Yes, Andrew is also excited!
Good morning! Just a quick update to say that our embryos will be arriving at our clinic on November 11th! We are so very excited. At the moment we are set to begin our medications to prepare for the frozen embryo transfer in December with a plan to transfer 2 embryos in mid-January!
Fundraising updates:
Our shoes have left the building! We ended up with 59 1/2 bags of 25 pairs of shoes at the final count! 1,490 pairs of shoes! We are told the check is in the mail. It should be for about $450-500 we estimate (for some reason they only release all the final information when they send you the check, kinda strange if you ask me).
We are still waiting to hear back about one grant application we sent in. Pray that they respond soon!
At this time, we are still trying to raise the $4,000 for the embryo transfer. We really don't want to have to use our credit card, take from retirement, or get a loan to cover it. Any donation from here on out will go towards the embryo transfer and help us cut down the cost.
As always, our biggest need is prayer. We have 4 specific requests:
1. Pray that nothing goes wrong and that the embryos remain safe when they are shipped to our clinic next week.
2. Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom about each next step to take in decisions making-- from financial decisions, medical decisions, decisions regarding how to balance life to make sure that Jennifer's body is as prepared as it needs to be for the transfer, and for how to pay for the embryo transfer if we do not get a grant or do not raise anymore money.
3. Pray that the process of preparing Jennifer for transfer goes smoothly-- that her physical and mental health will be exactly what it needs to be for the transfer.
4. And (perhaps our biggest request over all) pray that the 2 embryos we are planning to transfer 1. survive being thawed and 2. implant after being transferred.
Thank you!
Quick update: We just got news that all of the paperwork has been signed which means that the embryos are ours now! Wohoo!
What's next: We were told that in about 2 weeks we will hear back from Snowflakes and they will then be able to tell us what date the embryos will be shipped to our clinic. I went ahead and paid the shipping fee that our clinic needs today, and immediately after got an email from Snowflakes saying that we will be getting the rest of the money raised her on Adoption Bridge tomorrow (as in it will be deposited in our bank account)! Pretty awesome timing! God's pretty amazing like that!
We did not receive one of the grants for which we had applied. We are waiting to hear back regarding another grant application we have sent in. Hopefully we will know one way or the other soon. We need the $4,000 fee for the Frozen Embryo Transfer. I'm curious to see how the Lord will provide it all! At this point, we are pretty sure we can cover all other costs. God is so good!
Happy October everyone!
Just a quick update to let you all know what is going on.
Jennifer had testing done last week and the doctor said that her body looks good to go! Yay!
We also spoke to the doctor on the 11th and we decided that we will be transferring 2 of our embryos during the first transfer. We estimated a 30-40% chance of success (meaning one successful pregnancy).
Please continue to pray for us. As always, this is our biggest need. Please pray that the embryos will be kept safe when they are transferred to our clinic and that they will survive the thaw. Please continue to pray for Jennifer's health so that her body will be ready for the embryos.
Once the embryos are at our clinic (which could be within a month or so!), we will be able to transfer the embryos as soon as we have the money to pay for the transfer. We do not know how the Lord will provide the money for us (we have applied for a couple of grants and have yet to hear back so that's an option), but know that it is in His hands. He called us to embryo adoption. He has set this all up in advance and we know that He is faithful. If things keep moving as fast as they have been, we could potentially be pregnant by Thanksgiving! We shall see.
Our Shoe Drive Fundraiser ended and we collected 51 bags and 11 pairs of shoes. That's 1,286 pairs of shoes! We do not know when they will come to pick them up yet (which means that you can still get shoes to us as we can take shoes up until the day they come to take them), but hopefully it will be soon. We anticipate getting about $400 from the Shoe Drive.
Please keep praying for us! That continues to be our primary need. Thank you.
We had our Fundraising Event on Sept 10th. We raised $1400 related to the event and collected 50 pairs of shoes! Thank you to all who participated and donated! We were able to pay our next fee and have entered into the Contracts Stage of our embryo adoption because of it! Wohoo! At this point, we have raised and saved over $13,000 and spent over $12,000 on adoption related costs.
Currently, we have collected 41 bags of 25 pairs of shoes. Our goal is at least 60 bags of 25 pairs of shoes. This will get us about $500 and provide shoes for small businesses in developing countries to help the economies there! If we could get 100 bags, we will average more money per bag collected. Right now we will not have that 100 bags by September 30th, so please help us collect shoes! We should see money from the Shoe Drive in late October or early November.
We have officially entered the "Contracts Phase" of our embryo adoption. This is where the 5 little embryos that have been frozen for 9 years become ours legally and then will be shipped to our local clinic. Our next fee is the $550 fee for our clinic related to shipping administrative costs.
We had our first consultation appointment with the doctor on Monday, and thankfully our HSA covered that appointment! Jennifer will have to have a procedure/test completed next week that will cost $800 which will be able to be covered by the amount we have raised.
We have also applied for a couple of grants and should hear back from those soon. If we were to get a $4,000 -$5,000 grant or raise that much more, we would be able to finish this whole thing!
Tomorrow is our Apple Fest Fundraiser! We are so excited. We only need to raise about $833 to be able to pay our next adoption agency fee and then we will be going on to the "Contract Phase" and the embryos will become ours legally. We will update you here so you can know how the fundraiser goes! We are excited and nervous to see what happens, but more than anything we are so thankful of the love and support that everyone is displaying during our journey!
ADOPTION UPDATE (from 8/24/23):
We received word that our doctor has approved our embryos! This means that as soon as we have the money, we can move to the next phase- which is the "Contracts Phase". This is where all the legal paperwork gets written and signed and then the embryos are ready to be shipped to our local clinic. We don't have the whole fee at this time (as of today we still need $1905 for the "contract phase" fee), so we have been allowed until the end of September to pay the fee. Once we enter the contracts phase, we will need about $900 (a $350 consultation fee and a $550 administration fee for shipping the embryos) probably within a month of entering the "contracts phase". We are very excited and more than a little astonished at how quickly things are going!
SHOE DRIVE AND FUNDRAISING UPDATE:
SHOE DRIVE DROP OFFS:
1. We now have a bin at Crossline Christian Preschool! If you attend the preschool, you can drop off shoes any day your are there. If you don't attend the preschool, you can drop off on Sundays when you arrive or are leaving church. The bin is in the stair well of the Education/Preschool Building.
2. We have a drop off box at Olympica Gymnastics in Mission Viejo! You can drop off shoes there! Monday-Saturday when the gym is open.
3. We will be having another Drive Through Drop off on Saturday, September 30th from 10am-12pm at Dinosaur Park in Laguna Hills.
For any question about the shoe drive contact us at KornoffShoeDrive@gmail.com or 858-876-4222
FUNDRAISING EVENT: We are having an Apple Fest fundraising event in Rancho Mission Viejo on Sunday, September 10th. If you have not received an invitation yet and would like to attend (we'd love to have you!), please reach out to us at 858-876-4222 . We will have games and activities for the kids, a bake sale, dinner, candles and other items for sale. You can also drop off shoes at the same time!
FUNDRAISING:
Including the money donated on this page, we currently have saved and raised $2,595.41 which is about 57% of what we need for the next stage in our adoption. We can only raise 1/3 of our costs through adoption bridge which is why you won't see all of the amount we have raised here on adoption bridge. Thank you so much to all of you who have contributed!
Currently, we have collected 26 bags of 26 pairs of shoes. Our goal is 100 bags of 25 pairs of shoes. This will get us about $1,000 and provide shoes for small businesses in developing countries to help the economies there!
We have now passed the 50% mark of what we need for the "contract phase" of the embryo adoption! We have saved and raised $2,264.24 out of the $2,500 that we will need! We anticipate needing that money most likely in the beginning or middle of September. It could be sooner or later depending on how long the doctor takes to review and approve our embryology report. Thank you so much to all those who have donated!
FUNDRAISING UPDATE:
Including the money donated on this page, we currently have saved and raised $2,029 which is about 45% of what we need for the next stage in our adoption. We can only raise 1/3 of our costs through adoption bridge which is why you won't see all of the amount we have raised here on adoption bridge.
Currently, we have collected 13 bags of 25 pairs of shoes. Our goal is 100 bags of 25 pairs of shoes. This will get us about $1,000 and provide shoes for small businesses in developing countries to help the economies there! We anticipate receiving the money from the shoe drive in October or early November.
SHOE DRIVE DROP OFFS:
1. We have a drop off box at Olympica Gymnastics in Mission Viejo! You can drop off shoes there! Monday-Saturday when the gym is open.
2. Drive Through Drop Off on Saturday August 19th from 10am-12pm at Dinosaur Park in Laguna Hills! Come to the parking lot and quickly drop off your shoes!
Address: 25555 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Hills, CA 92656
3. We will be collecting shoes in the Altiesse Community on August 19th. If you received a flyer, please put your shoes on your door step or in front of your garage before 2pm. If you did NOT receive a flyer, contact us at 858-876-4222 or KornoffShoeDrive@gmail.com with your address so we can be sure to stop by!
5. We will be collecting shoes at Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills SUNDAYS at 10:30am August 20, September 10 & 17, and October 1st. Meet us in the Chapel Parking lot. Look for our Black Pick-up.
For any question about the shoe drive contact us at KornoffShoeDrive@gmail.com or 858-876-4222
ADOPTION UPDATE:
We accepted the embryos from the family that chose us! What this means: this means that our doctor will review the embryology report. If he approves it we will then move into the "contracts" phase which is where all the paperwork is completed and the embryos become legally ours and are shipped to our clinic. We've been told it can take up to 6 weeks for the doctor to approve the embryos. Please continue to keep us in prayer!
SHOE DRIVE DROP OFF UPDATES:
1. We will be collecting shoes at Crossline Community Church TOMORROW, Sunday August 6th at 10:30am in the chapel parking lot. Look for our black F150.
2. We now have a drop off box at Olympica Gymnastics in Mission Viejo! You can drop off shoes there!
3. We are doing a Drive Through Drop Off on August 19th from 10am-12pm at Dinosaur Park in Laguna Niguel!
4. We will be collecting shoes at Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills TUESDAYS at 8:10pm on August 8
5. We will be collecting shoes at Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills SUNDAYS at 10:30am August 6 & 20, September 10 & 17, and October 1st. Meet us in the Chapel Parking lot. Look for our Black F150.
For any questions about the shoe drive, contact us at KornoffShoeDrive@gmail.com or 858-876-4222
SHOE DRIVE DROP OFF UPDATES:
1. We now have a box at Olympica Gymnastics in Mission Viejo! You can drop off shoes there!
2. We are doing a Drive Through Drop Off on August 19th from 10am-12pm at Dinosaur Park in Laguna Niguel!
3. We will be collecting shoes at Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills TUESDAYS at 8:10pm on August 1 and August 8
4. We will be collecting shoes at Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills SUNDAYS at 10:30am August 6 & 20, September 10 & 17, and October 1st.
For any question about the shoe drive contact us at KornoffShoeDrive@gmail.com or 858-876-4222
7/27/23 UPDATE: We have a few updates for you all!
1. Yesterday we received a match! We have a couple weeks to decide if these embryos are the ones we wish to accept. Pray for us to have wisdom!
2. Fundraising: Our Shoe Drive Fundraiser begins next Tuesday. We will be collecting shoes at Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills at 8:10pm on 8/1 and 8/8 as well as Sundays at 10:30am on 8/6, 8/20, 9/10, 9/17, and 10/1. We will also be conducting a drive by drop off at Dinosaur Park in Laguna Niguel from 10am-12pm on 8/19. Contact us with questions: KornoffShoeDrive@gmail.com