New Fundraising Opportunity

We are so thankful for the gals that put together the iPad giveaway. There are still two days left if you are wanting to get a chance at the iPad. Thank you so much to all who have spread the word and also who have donated!

I have signed up to start a new fundraiser. Many of you might be familiar with the Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman. He has been one of my favorite singers for a long time. His family starting an organization that supports families pursuing international adoptions. When I visited the website a few weeks ago, I saw that there were opportunities to raise funds through the sale of t-shirts.  I contacted the company who sells the shirts and they have set up our family adoption acount. Here is the link for our family t-shirt webpage.

 

I was so excited to be able to pick out the shirts we wanted to sell. We were given up to six choices. The first two have got to be my favorite, because they are able to print them in the language of our son's home country. (I am not allowed to specfically state which country that is on our blog, but it is an Eastern Eurpean country. If you want to know more, leave me a comment with your email.)

 

I am adding a widget to our blog so that you can access this fundraiser easily. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you again for all of your help and support as we complete our "paper pregnancy" and get our little boy home!

An Amazing Opportunity!

Having been an avid member of the Reece's Rainbow community, I know what it means to love a child and feel absolutely thrilled when that child's family finds them. Both of our commitments to Yana and Nigel have both yielded similar responses. 

The day after we committed to Nigel, we were approached by a young girl on facebook. I had seen this name pop up in some of the discussions from time to time, so I was pretty sure she wasn't a "troll". She explained that she was a girl that was dedicated to helping orphans, even at her young age. She was putting together a giveaway to help two families pursuing an adoption through Reece's Rainbow. They read our family profile and felt led to bless our family! 

Here is the link to her blog explaining more about her heart, and more specific details on the two adoption families being blessed. 

Items in the giveaway include: $15 gift card to Starbucks, $50 gift card to Target and Refurbished Ipad 2. (All the specific about the Ipad can be found on their blog.

Now on to how to get entries!

Entry costs

$10 Donation = 1 Entry

$25 Donation = 3 Entries

$50 Donation = 10 Entries

$100 Donation = 15 Entries

$350 Donation = 30 Entries

$500 Donation = 50 Entries

You can get a free entry by adding the donation button to your blog. Just copy and past the HTML code. Once you have added it to your blog, leave a comment on our blog or the original post with the link to your blog. Please include your email as well. 

You can also get a free entry by blogging about the giveaway and our families (Remember, there are two families benefitting from this giveaway.) Once you have written a post, please leave a comment on either our blog or the original blog post. 

Please use the "Give Now" button on the left side of the blog to donate. 

We are so thankful for this opportunity. We have already been blessed immensely but the fundraising efforts of others. Stay tuned for another fundraiser around the corner! Thank you for all your prayers and support as we move closer one step closer to our little man!

A Unexpected Detour...

As my "first trimester" of our adoption pregnancy comes to a close, God has asked us to make an unexpected detour. We have loved our Sweet Yana from the first time we saw her on Reece's Rainbow's website.  We sill continue to love, pray and wait for her until Russia's doors reopen and she can be a part of our family for good; however, it has recently been made clear to us that Russia is sealed shut for now. It is heartbreaking to think that we are not able to move forward in bringing our sweet girl home. But we trust God's timing is perfect in all things.

 

We are being asked to hand over our adoption of Yana to God with the hope that he will bring it back to us when the time is right. (Makes me think of that story they tell you, where if you love something, you have to set it free to see if it comes back to you. Not an easy thing to do...) Once we found peace with this decision, we were able to see through the tears to the blessing he has waiting for us.

 

We would like to introduce you to Nigel...

 

 

Nigel is a sweet bundle of joy waiting for his forever family across the ocean. We are thrilled that God is blessing us with this sweet baby to love and cherish. (Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks??) When we began this journey, I knew we would hit a few road blocks along the way. I could not fathom the idea of our biggest road block being the tool to send us a message that we have two sweet faces waiting for us overseas.  

 

We are blessed in the knowedge that Yana is in a wonderful baby home. She is loved and cared for which helps make the circumstances not feel so bad. Until the day when we can scoop her up in our arms, we are trusting God to keep her safe in His arms. The following song often brings me comfort when I think about our little ones so far away.

 

(I usually post music videos when a song moves me in a particular way; however, youtube was not behaving, so the lyrics will have to do. I will try to post the video when I can get it to work.)

 

"Safe"

To the one whose dreams have fallen all apart
And all you're left with is a tired and broken heart
I can tell by your eyes you think you're on your own
But you're not alone
Have you heard of the One who can calm the raging seas
Give sight to the blind, pull the lame up to their feet
With a love so strong it never lets you go
No you're not alone

You will be safe in His arms. You will be safe in His arms
The hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made, He will be with you always
When everything is falling apart, you will be safe in His arms

Did you know that the voice that brings the dead to life
Is the very same voice that calls you now to rise
So hear Him now, He's calling you home. You will never be alone

You will be safe in His arms. You will be safe in His arms
The hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made, He will be with you always
When everything is falling apart, you will be safe in His arms

Cause these are the hands that built the mountains, the hands that calm the sea
These are the arms that hold the lame and they are holding you and me
These are the hands that heal the leper pull the lame up to their feet
These are the arms were nailed to the cross to break our chains and set us free

You will be safe in His arms. You will be safe in His arms
The hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made, He will be with you always
When everything is falling apart, you will be safe in His arms
You will be safe
You will be safe
When everything is falling apart, you will be safe in His arms

We would appreciate your prayers and support as we prepare to bring our little man home. He will be loved and cherished for the precious gift that he is. Please continue to pray for Russia and all the souls effected by these horrible circumstances.

More details to come...