Phil and Alex | Crowdfunding Our Way Through Life | Part 2

[cheesecakes]

But if they want a bio child that much that looks like them both - what about a surrogate mother ?

I think this last transfer showed her uterus is receptive to a pregnancy. I think their issue is genetics.

[PinkMoscato]

But if they want a bio child that much that looks like both of them - what about a surrogate mother ?

That’s an incredibly expensive option, which would be made even more expensive by their refusal to do genetic testing or implantation of more than one embryo. I think Alex’s desire for a bio child is about as high as that to be pregnant. If I had to hazard a guess, this would be the order of things for them

1) Bio-embryo in Alex
2) Adopted embryo in Alex (goes super nicely with their “love multiplies” manta)
3) Alex + Sperm donor embryo
4) Phil + egg donor embryo
5) domestic adoption
6) international adoption


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[No_Sugarcoating11]

This photo is no longer at the top of their Twitter page...kind of sad that they deleted it. At the same time though, Alex looked horribly unflattering in it. It wasn't pleasant to constantly have to look at every time I went to their page.

[Schnatterinchen]

Another question is - why testing the embryos - why not testing themselves like Tim and Celeste did ?

They share a gene, maybe they do too... or even worse...

[eab424]

As far as surrogacy, that's pretty expensive. The issue isn't if Alex can carry a baby she's proven pregnancy sin't so bad on her.

As for the other options:

I don't see the other 3 working out since the last 3 didn't either.

I don't see them adopting an embryo since that would've been an easier and lesser expensive option and if they were open to that I'd think they would've done it by now.

I think they have their minds and hearts set on a bio child.

I think the genetics issue is on Phil's side since his sperm is the main issue they needed IVF.

I don't see them doing a domestic adoption unless they got a bigger place and got At the very least alex some help.

I don't see them doing international since that's so much more expensive and time consuming than a domestic adoption.


I think a lot of their followers are seeing what we've been seeing for a while. They claim they saved 1 income to do adoption before they were given Kinsley. But then they did their first crowdfunding campaign ( can't remember which company it was through) they raised 18,000. Their goal was 30K. So if they saved 1 income for 2 years why did they need to do the fundraising. Something is off here about their fundraisers and what they claim they've done.

They were matched with Callie and started doing IVF two months later 1 month before she was born. To me there's just something off about that. Why such a rush? Why focus on that when the very next month your going to be parents for the second time?





I don't see them passing a homestudy with neither one working. I don't see youtube as a steady income although they are getting a lot at the moment that can change. I don't see them counting this as a job.

[RecklessDisregard]

If Phil's drawing a salary from LM that is similar to his preacher salary, I don't think their unemployed-by-choice status would prevent them from adopting a third child. Alex has been supplemental since they brought Kinsley home, so that's not really going to sink their ship, I don't think. Their YT channel is growing, and while we here on YTMD don't think much of filming 15 minutes of footage a day and uploading it to YT, I'm pretty sure that it counts as a small business, assuming they have been documenting everything and paying taxes on their earnings. They will, of course, need a third bedroom and a car that's able to accommodate a third carseat.

The real wildcard is LM. We have no way of knowing if people are still seriously donating to the charity, or how they're transferring money to themselves. If they're "helping" themselves with random payments as-needed, well, that's a trainwreck. If they're giving Phil a salary that's even remotely close to compensating him similarly to a full-time job... Then maybe we all need to start "nonprofits," lol. Who contributes to this? Surely they would need to work their viewers, host events, get some publicity, etc in order to have adequate cash flow. I remember that investors were mentioned once. Exactly how does one invest in a charity?

Anyway, if he can't claim an income from LM, then yeah, they'd be screwed.

I do think they've got to do something, if they want to capitalize on their channel's recent momentum.

Who knows, they could get a third miracle adoption from their social media exposure, just like Callie.

[Schnatterinchen]

They were matched with Callie and started doing IVF two months later 1 month before she was born. To me there's just something off about that. Why such a rush? Why focus on that when the very next month your going to be parents for the second time?

For the second adoption another gofundme or so was running, too. But how much they got there I don´t know...

[eab424]

They were matched with Callie and started doing IVF two months later 1 month before she was born. To me there's just something off about that. Why such a rush? Why focus on that when the very next month your going to be parents for the second time?

For the second adoption another gofundme or so was running, too. But how much they got there I don´t know...

They've had a total of four crowdfunding campaigns. two I think were gfm and the other two were from lesser known places. They got a total of 18K from the adoption crowdfunding site and total I believe their total in crowdfunding they've received is 30K or more.

[eab424]

If Phil's drawing a salary from LM that is similar to his preacher salary, I don't think their unemployed-by-choice status would prevent them from adopting a third child. Alex has been supplemental since they brought Kinsley home, so that's not really going to sink their ship, I don't think. Their YT channel is growing, and while we here on YTMD don't think much of filming 15 minutes of footage a day and uploading it to YT, I'm pretty sure that it counts as a small business, assuming they have been documenting everything and paying taxes on their earnings. They will, of course, need a third bedroom and a car that's able to accommodate a third carseat.

The real wildcard is LM. We have no way of knowing if people are still seriously donating to the charity, or how they're transferring money to themselves. If they're "helping" themselves with random payments as-needed, well, that's a trainwreck. If they're giving Phil a salary that's even remotely close to compensating him similarly to a full-time job... Then maybe we all need to start "nonprofits," lol. Who contributes to this? Surely they would need to work their viewers, host events, get some publicity, etc in order to have adequate cash flow. I remember that investors were mentioned once. Exactly how does one invest in a charity?

Anyway, if he can't claim an income from LM, then yeah, they'd be screwed.

I do think they've got to do something, if they want to capitalize on their channel's recent momentum.

Who knows, they could get a third miracle adoption from their social media exposure, just like Callie.

Sorry for the double post here but I'm replying to a second different post.

Anyway Phil was employed by a mega church. Honestly I don't think much of them because of how the founder and leader is. It's a bunch of crap honestly. It's like candy store church. You can sample a little bit here and there but over all it will make you sick if you have too much of it. They do make a good deal of money. There are several campuses and I have no idea what Phil was paid but larger churches pay their staff larger amounts of money. Look at Joel Osteen. Yes he's written many books (so has Phil's main pastor) I'm willing to bet they paid him 60-70K which sounds like a lot but its not when you compare it to the main pastor.

You are right as much as I'd hate to view Youtube as a business it is.

As far as homestudy to bring a third kid into the family they would not pass it in their current living situation. And I'd hope a birth mom would watch them without rose colored glasses. I would think if a prospective birth mom watched their adoption videos on Callie she'd pass in a hot minute. I also noticed she (Callie's BM) looked uncomfortable in one of the videos.


I get and respect they want to protect privacy of BMs and I think that's great and I think we all agree with that considering how we handled the whole Hunrya20 troll. But I just think it's weird they film and block their face. Why bother filming.

[thetruthseeker]

If Phil's drawing a salary from LM that is similar to his preacher salary, I don't think their unemployed-by-choice status would prevent them from adopting a third child. Alex has been supplemental since they brought Kinsley home, so that's not really going to sink their ship, I don't think. Their YT channel is growing, and while we here on YTMD don't think much of filming 15 minutes of footage a day and uploading it to YT, I'm pretty sure that it counts as a small business, assuming they have been documenting everything and paying taxes on their earnings. They will, of course, need a third bedroom and a car that's able to accommodate a third carseat.

The real wildcard is LM. We have no way of knowing if people are still seriously donating to the charity, or how they're transferring money to themselves. If they're "helping" themselves with random payments as-needed, well, that's a trainwreck. If they're giving Phil a salary that's even remotely close to compensating him similarly to a full-time job... Then maybe we all need to start "nonprofits," lol. Who contributes to this? Surely they would need to work their viewers, host events, get some publicity, etc in order to have adequate cash flow. I remember that investors were mentioned once. Exactly how does one invest in a charity?

Anyway, if he can't claim an income from LM, then yeah, they'd be screwed.

I do think they've got to do something, if they want to capitalize on their channel's recent momentum.

Who knows, they could get a third miracle adoption from their social media exposure, just like Callie.

Sorry for the double post here but I'm replying to a second different post.

Anyway Phil was employed by a mega church. Honestly I don't think much of them because of how the founder and leader is. It's a bunch of crap honestly. It's like candy store church. You can sample a little bit here and there but over all it will make you sick if you have too much of it. They do make a good deal of money. There are several campuses and I have no idea what Phil was paid but larger churches pay their staff larger amounts of money. Look at Joel Osteen. Yes he's written many books (so has Phil's main pastor) I'm willing to bet they paid him 60-70K which sounds like a lot but its not when you compare it to the main pastor.

You are right as much as I'd hate to view Youtube as a business it is.

As far as homestudy to bring a third kid into the family they would not pass it in their current living situation. And I'd hope a birth mom would watch them without rose colored glasses. I would think if a prospective birth mom watched their adoption videos on Callie she'd pass in a hot minute. I also noticed she (Callie's BM) looked uncomfortable in one of the videos.


I get and respect they want to protect privacy of BMs and I think that's great and I think we all agree with that considering how we handled the whole Hunrya20 troll. But I just think it's weird they film and block their face. Why bother filming.

I don't think their identities are secret to the real world, just YouTube. I wasn't around with the troll but I did lurk the previous thread. There was one point that stuck out to me: both these women wanted open adoptions. Their identities aren't secret because it's not closed. Both BMs have no issue with the girls contacting them or anyone knowing the fact that they placed their babies for adoption.

They probably block their faces on videos because that's where the trolls linger but I'm sure if a sub ran into Phil and Alex during a coffee date with birth mom, I don't think they'll ask her to put a bag over her head and cover her face.

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[aloublue]

As far as surrogacy, that's pretty expensive. The issue isn't if Alex can carry a baby she's proven pregnancy sin't so bad on her.

As for the other options:

I don't see the other 3 working out since the last 3 didn't either.

I don't see them adopting an embryo since that would've been an easier and lesser expensive option and if they were open to that I'd think they would've done it by now.

I think they have their minds and hearts set on a bio child.

I think the genetics issue is on Phil's side since his sperm is the main issue they needed IVF.

I don't see them doing a domestic adoption unless they got a bigger place and got At the very least alex some help.

I don't see them doing international since that's so much more expensive and time consuming than a domestic adoption.


I think a lot of their followers are seeing what we've been seeing for a while. They claim they saved 1 income to do adoption before they were given Kinsley. But then they did their first crowdfunding campaign ( can't remember which company it was through) they raised 18,000. Their goal was 30K. So if they saved 1 income for 2 years why did they need to do the fundraising. Something is off here about their fundraisers and what they claim they've done.

They were matched with Callie and started doing IVF two months later 1 month before she was born. To me there's just something off about that. Why such a rush? Why focus on that when the very next month your going to be parents for the second time?





I don't see them passing a homestudy with neither one working. I don't see youtube as a steady income although they are getting a lot at the moment that can change. I don't see them counting this as a job.

Because she never wanted to adopt. She wanted her own biological babies

[missy777]

sad but true. she wants a bio kid. and thats heartbreaking

[MomOf286]

You know I dont think its sad that she wants biological children. Yes she is blessed with 2 beautiful babies but of course she is going to heartbroken that her body cant do the one thing she wants it to do. It doesn't mean she loves callie and kinsley any less. She has to grieve properly the possibility she went be able to carry her own children. That's got to be hard.

[marshmallowfluf]

You know I dont think its sad that she wants biological children. Yes she is blessed with 2 beautiful babies but of course she is going to heartbroken that her body cant do the one thing she wants it to do. It doesn't mean she loves callie and kinsley any less. She has to grieve properly the possibility she went be able to carry her own children. That's got to be hard.

I think she should have came to terms with that BEFORE they adopted the girls. Alex has even said that her heart wasn’t set on adoption until Phil talked her into it. I don’t think she loves them any less but this emotional rollercoaster has to have an affect on the girls.

[angelmamma]

You know I dont think its sad that she wants biological children. Yes she is blessed with 2 beautiful babies but of course she is going to heartbroken that her body cant do the one thing she wants it to do. It doesn't mean she loves callie and kinsley any less. She has to grieve properly the possibility she went be able to carry her own children. That's got to be hard.

I think she should have came to terms with that BEFORE they adopted the girls. Alex has even said that her heart wasn’t set on adoption until Phil talked her into it. I don’t think she loves them any less but this emotional rollercoaster has to have an affect on the girls.

I agree... She will never be satisfied with the 2 girls she has until she (and Phil) comes to terms that she may never have any bio kids - and be okay with that. Look at all of this time they are wasting going through treatment after treatment, grieving she may not be able to have kids, crying about it, etc. These years are some of the most precious years for their girls. Time they will never get back. I think if they continue this and after they have exhausted all avenues then grieved, her girls will be much older, tainted and hurt because they were never good enough, and Alex and Phil will have so much regret not being there for them when they needed them. The girls will have learned to not rely on their parents as much since their parents were always on this never ending quest for a biological child. It is sad. I feel for Kinsley and Callie. Just because time seems to come to a halt for Phil and Alex now that they have to grieve or continue treatments to achieve their personal (and possibly unreachable) goal, time does not stop for the children they already have.

[actuallydear]

Where are these guys from, and which megachurch did/do they belong to?

[LittleRus]

You know I dont think its sad that she wants biological children. Yes she is blessed with 2 beautiful babies but of course she is going to heartbroken that her body cant do the one thing she wants it to do. It doesn't mean she loves callie and kinsley any less. She has to grieve properly the possibility she went be able to carry her own children. That's got to be hard.

I think she should have came to terms with that BEFORE they adopted the girls. Alex has even said that her heart wasn’t set on adoption until Phil talked her into it. I don’t think she loves them any less but this emotional rollercoaster has to have an affect on the girls.

I agree... She will never be satisfied with the 2 girls she has until she (and Phil) comes to terms that she may never have any bio kids - and be okay with that. Look at all of this time they are wasting going through treatment after treatment, grieving she may not be able to have kids, crying about it, etc. These years are some of the most precious years for their girls. Time they will never get back. I think if they continue this and after they have exhausted all avenues then grieved, her girls will be much older, tainted and hurt because they were never good enough, and Alex and Phil will have so much regret not being there for them when they needed them. The girls will have learned to not rely on their parents as much since their parents were always on this never ending quest for a biological child. It is sad. I feel for Kinsley and Callie. Just because time seems to come to a halt for Phil and Alex now that they have to grieve or continue treatments to achieve their personal (and possibly unreachable) goal, time does not stop for the children they already have.

AGREE!!!! It is so sad to me that the girls will look back on these months of vlogs from their childhood and see their parents being hyper focused on having biological children. They should have worked through their emotions and did all they could BEFORE moving to adoption because this is just sad to watch. I 100% get feeling a need/want to have bio children and carry them but to be this obsessed after you already have 2 little kids is kind of sad. These girls are being put on the back burner while mommy and daddy obsess over having a bio child

[luci417]

Imagine one day the kids say our mom was always sad because they wanted to have a bio baby.

I don´t wanna know how sad their last christmas was because they choosed that day for the test.
Kids aren´t stupid, you can´t hide your feelings.

My great breaks for their adopted kids. Imgaine being adopted and your adoptive parents obsess over having a biological kid and forget you're even there

I feel horrible for them and for the birth moms too - imagine giving your child up to another family, which must be so painful, so they can have a loving home and the adoptive parents just obsess over having bio kids constantly. I would want someone to treasure my child, not treat them like they're clearly a second choice. And if they have that bio kid then what? They prayed for 6 years and went through so much heartbreak. I think they'll be loved the same but will they be treated the same?

[luci417]

Regardless of all the BS and click baity material, I feel for them as well. Losing a very wanted pregnancy sucks. It may not have been as late as some of our losses and it may have been drawn out way more than it should have been, but there is always so much hope and dreams for a very wanted pregnancy. It sucks losing all of it.
I believe lots of counseling and therapy would do them well for not only Alex, but Phil as well. I hope they seriously consider genetic testing or embryo adoption in the future. A new doctor as well. I don't quite buy the twin pregnancy either, which is fucked up if the doctor is speculating this.

I hope no one thinks of me as an asshole because the longest I had to ttc was 11 months but I had a miscarriage (unplanned but wanted) earlier this year and I can empathize there. It really sucks and I feel for anyone who goes through it. That said after six years I'd kind of think they'd be a little more...realistic about things? They know it's unlikely they'll have bio kids but they celebrate every single thing so much so early and get so invested I'm sure it felt like this fully formed child had passed away vs the reality of a failed transfer, early miscarriage etc. I know it will always be painful but they have said they choose to hope and ignore the doctor's warnings and put themselves through so much heartbreak that seems a little unnecessary.

[RecklessDisregard]

I hope no one thinks of me as an asshole because the longest I had to ttc was 11 months but I had a miscarriage (unplanned but wanted) earlier this year and I can empathize there. It really sucks and I feel for anyone who goes through it. That said after six years I'd kind of think they'd be a little more...realistic about things? They know it's unlikely they'll have bio kids but they celebrate every single thing so much so early and get so invested I'm sure it felt like this fully formed child had passed away vs the reality of a failed transfer, early miscarriage etc. I know it will always be painful but they have said they choose to hope and ignore the doctor's warnings and put themselves through so much heartbreak that seems a little unnecessary.

I get it. I've never been through the years of IVF, for various reasons - most of them relating to financial factors and a sense that "there is still time." But after a few early miscarriages, I stopped preventing (once I was in a stable relationship). I've always suspected it would never happen for me, and it didn't, then I found myself in a situation where a pregnancy would be impossible to carry to term, even if it did "stick." So my story is a little different from most, but I grieved every miscarriage, and my biggest regret in life is believing that there was "still time." I should have chosen medical intervention when I still could. (My husband is not a good candidate for fostering or adoption. I could probably twist his arm, but that wouldn't be fair to any child who landed in our home.)

And all that baggage informs my opinion that Phil and Alex are ridiculous. They were blessed with two newborn adoptions. The day Alex said she had delayed an appointment so that she could have a "clear and excited" attitude when she saw "baby" was the biggest eyeroll I've ever had while watching YT vlogs (which is saying a lot). By that point, the embryo had been measuring behind for a long time and everyone here knew the pregnancy wasn't viable. Like I get trying to be positive, but at some point, reality should take over, shouldn't it? They are not Mary and Joseph, and God is not going to give them a miracle. Sorry not sorry.