We have tickets and Happy Birthday Dad!

What a whirlwind of a day!!!  Great progress was made today.  We purchased tickets for the first of our two trips and got things settled with little man's passport.  A surprise came when we purchased our tickets, they were 500.00 LESS than a quote we received a few days earlier.

Today is my dad's birthday.  Happy Birthday Day!  I love you and miss you!  Sadly, there will be no celebration with him as he went home to Jesus nearly two years ago.  I wish he were here, he always had sage advice to offer.  When I was stressed, he helped me relax.  When I was worried, he helped me trust the Lord.  As these next weeks take us to unfamiliar territory, I am going to lean on the teachings of my father and trust the Lord.

A Goodie Giveaway!!!

We have received our travel date ... We are leaving in 13 days!!!! 

YAY!!!  PRAISE GOD!!!! 

We are having one last fundraiser.  As of today, we need just over ten thousand dollars to complete Elliot's adoption.  We are out of the boat and it is all up to God. 

Would you pray for God to provide our funding?  We thought we had all of our money in place .... and then ... the cost of plane tickets went from 800 to over 1600 each and the IRS decided to hold our refund due to an adoption tax credit carryover from our 2008 adoption.  Please pray that our return would be released and that this fundraiser would generate enough donations to cover the difference.

GIVEAWAY #1

$50.00 Scentsy Giftpack

Generously donated by Lillie Linder ~ http://www.lilliemichelle.scentsy.us/

~Scentsy Full Size Warmer

~3 Scentsy Scent Bars; Shades of Green, Jumpin' Jelly Bean, Flutter

~Scentsy Travel Tin - White Tea and Cactus

~Scentsy Scent Circle - Pima Cotton

~Scentsy Water Bottle.

GIVEAWAY #2

$20.00 Thirty One Bag

Generously donated by Hanna Hereford ~ www.mythirtyone.com/hereford

Thermal Tote with Personalization

You get to pick the print and your personalization

GIVEAWAY #3

$25.00 Barnes and Noble Giftcard

for each donation you will receive the following number of entries 

$5=1

$10=3

$25=8

$50=20
$100=50
$500 = 150
$1000 = 500

DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!!!!
and can be made by clicking the chipin button below


Giveaway receipents will be drawn on June 2

SDA Appointment

WOOOO HOOO!!!!!

We got our date.

It is LESS than two weeks away.

We have two huge issues to work out
     childcare and funding!

Please pray for us!!!!

A New Picture

Oh how my heart lept when I received this picture!!!

QUILT GIVEAWAY

Thank you all very much for your generous support during our quilt giveaway!!!!

This beauty will be shipped to Sarah P.

I know Sarah P from MOMYS, Moms of Many Young Siblings.

Who better to receive a quilt that a mom with many children. 

This quilt will be used and loved for many years to come. 

Thank you and congrats, Sarah P.!!!!!

Pampered Chef

We are having a Pampered Chef Party!  Who doesn't love Pampered Chef? 

This is another amazing testimony to the faithfulness, generosity and the love of my sister in Christ.

My friend Christi has a Pampered Chef business and offered to have a show for us.  She is giving the profits from the show to Elliot.  That is really generous, right?!  Yep, it is!!!! 

But there is more to the story... this is a story of sacrifice, of unconditional love, of the love of Jesus being shown, of walking the talk of Christianity, of putting your money where your mouth is, literally.  Christi doesn't know it but Christ has used her to strengthen my faith.  She is a shining example of Christ, her faith, her trust, her hope, her love and her support come directly from Jesus and I see Him in her.

Christi's husband has been unemployed from his full-time job for over 6 months.  He just had a major surgery that had to be paid for out-of-pocket.  Do you have any idea how expensive health care is?  Christi started this business to supplement her family income while her husband continues to seek full-time employment.  Christi's income from Pampered Chef contributes to their family's livelihood.  Amazingly, in their time of need, they are giving. You can read more about Christi and her family here.

Please consider booking a show.  I would love to see Christi's generosity come back to her tenfold!  Even if you are far away, you could host an online show with Christi as your consultant.

Onto Elliot's show .... you can place orders by clicking this link
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/christibrownkaty?page=host-search-results&showId=3141285

This will take you directly to my show.  If you are local, ship your orders to me and I will deliver them to you.  If you are a far, you can have the orders shipped directly to your home!  Thank you!

Make sure you check out all the PINK items here..  One dollar from the sale of every pink item will be donated to the American Cancer Society.  You will get a double bang for your buck - you will help orphans and help fight cancer!  WHOOT!!!

The show says it is ending on the 24th, which is a glitch.  The show is ending on the 31st in time for all the May specials.  Look at these great specials!

AMAZING - QUILT FUNDRAISER

We are in awe over the success of the quit fundraiser.

We are waiting for a final list from our FSP at Reece's Rainbow ... but as of this moment ...

The fundraiser will pay for the cost of my ticket, plus the infant surcharge for little man.

$1800

Thank you Jesus.

Thank you friends. 

We will announce the winner very soon.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

LAST DAY for our QUILT Giveaway!

Thank you to all of the donors.  Each donation has added to the next and this fundraiser has been hugely successful.  It has raised nearly enough for one round trip ticket to Eastern Europe!!!!!! WOW!!!!

Today is the last day, if you would like to  donate to this quilt giveaway, hurry :)


This is a beautiful quilt made with quality fabric and "warm and white" batting.  It was machine quilted and hand bound.

Buy as many entries as you can :)

$10=1

$25=3

$50=8

$100 =20

 

Please share this on your blog, twitter, facebook, with your friends and even your enemies ;).  When you have shared the giveaway three times, leave a comment below and you will get one entry.

DONATIOS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!!!!

The Chipin is expiring mid-day for some reason. Donations can be made to our RR support page once the chipin expires.

Fun happenings here

Two year olds and scissors

He's getting ready to take off

 Look at him go!!!!!!

Counting at 7 months - genius!



Tomatoes, cucumbers, african basil, purple onion and banana peppers from the garden

Feeding himself ~~~ how is he old enough already?! 

School time sorting

Pure cuteness !!!!!!



Quilt Update - WOW WOW WOW

As you know, my sweet friend Mindy makes beautiful quilts and very generously offered to make a fundraising quilt for us.  I knew the quilt would be a great fundraiser.  What I did not know was the number of people that want to pay for a quilt.

We received a $300 donation and will send a custom quilt to that donor - THANK YOU!!

Mindy will soon be stocking her Etsy shop and if you do not win our giveaway, you will be able to buy one directly from her.

Until then   .... don't forget about our fundraiser.  We have about 5ish weeks left and are still about 10k short to fund Elliot's adoption and about 20K short if we want to bring home two additional children.

Please, please, please share this on your blog, twitter, facebook, with your friends and even your enemies ;).  When you have shared the giveaway three times, leave a comment below and you will get one entry.

DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!!!

The Chipin is expiring mid-day for some reason. Donations can be made to our RR support page once the chipin expires.

This is our final week 

$10=1

$25=3

$50=8

$100 =20

Dossier Submitted

Our dossier was submitted today. 

We are over the moon!!!!!!  This is a new level of excitement and makes this a little more real.   Each step brings this adoption a little more into reality.  Adoption is really like a pregnancy in that the more you progress the more real it seems.  When I am pregnant, I can hardly believe it.  This adoption seems so surreal at times, I often wonder if this is real.  WOW, WOW, WOW~~~ someone pinch me please.

Ring For Sale

We are looking for a best offer on this ring.  It was my great grandmother's.  I am not sure on the history but it possibly came from Belgium.

Someone asked if I would be sad to sell this ring. 

The answer is a loud NO. 

No, I am not sad over selling a ring, a temporal earthly posession. 

The ring cannot make it to heaven.  But ... Elliot can make it to heaven :). 

If we teach him about Jesus and he accepts Christ as his Savior, then selling this ring has litterally helped save a soul. 

That my friends, is more precious than gold!

It's There!!!!!!!

Our precious approval was delivered today!

Thursday will not come soon enough ...

Thursday's are the days dossiers are submitted.

Until then, we will wait patiently :)

Impatiently Waiting

We sent our immigration approval to EE on Friday evening.  For a day an a half the Fed Ex site said "Departed FedEx Location."   It was driving me crazy, I just wanted the status to change, to know that if nothing else, it was inching along.

Finally ....

Upon checking this morning it says ... (remember they are several hrs ahead of us)

May 10, 2011 11:07 AM

Int'l shipment release

It looks like it has cleared customs and MAY be delivered early!  Whoot!!!! 

Do you think children are a blessing?

We do!

5 moms

32 children

endless blessings!

The GOLDEN TICKET

We received our "GOLDEN TICKET" on Thursday.  The golden ticket AKA, I-171H is our provisional approval to adopt Elliot.  It was the last piece of paper that we needed to send to Elliot's country for our dossier.

The I-171H had to be notarized and apostilled.  We notarized it on Thursday night and apostilled it on Friday.  Apostilling it meant a trip to Austin.   The kids and I had the best trip, they were fantastic.  Nearly eight hours in the car is a long time for little ones.  They were so excited to be part of the final piece of paperwork.  They were given the choice to go play with friends, but they chose to go be part of bringing Elliot home!

We arrived in Austin in no time flat ... and found this parking space .... prime - huh!?!

TA DA!!!!

All apostilled and ready to go!!!!!

Then it was back to Houston, with a stop at Fed Ex and the I-171H is on its way across the world!!!!

Hang on baby --- mommy and daddy REALLY are coming ...

We love you precious boy!

Yard Sale Report

When we first opened....

IT WAS LIKE BLACK FRIDAY AT WALMART!!!!

We did not think to take pictures before the sale started.  About 4 or 5 hours into the sale we realized our oversight.

I really wish I had a before picture to share with y'all.  It was ahhhmaaaazing.  We had prayed for God to bless this sale.  I had specifically prayed that we would receive so many donations that we would not be able to close the garage door.  AND >>> ya know what >>> On Friday night we were stacking furniture and donations in our foyer.

In total we had 18 families donate to our sale.  We are so very grateful and humbled.  God provided in a mighty way!

We also had a number of friends come to help sell.  Boy, without those friends, we would have been dead in the water. 

I am amazed at how God put just the right people together.  I don't know why I am amazed, after all God can do anything, right?!  It is just when it happens to you it is hard to believe.

Thank you friends! We love you and cannot wait for you to hug Elliot.  Rather than being tied to a crib, Elliot is going to get a hug from you!!!!  He's gonna have a family and a home, something he has never know.

Quilt Giveaway Fundraiser

With our approval comes a real need for some serious money.  We had expected to have the adoption funded by now, but through a series of circumstances, that just is not the case.  God is using this experience to humble me.  I am NOT one to ask for help and I would much rather be the giver than the receiver.   But   ... here we are, with a huge shortfall, so we are jumping into fundraising and are looking for creative ways to fund the children's homecomings.

 

My sweet friend Mindy makes beautiful quilts and very generously offered to make a fundraising quilt for us.  I cannot express the gratitude I feel in my heart for her generosity. 

This is a beautiful quilt made with quality fabric and "warm and white" batting.  It was machine quilted and hand bound.

You have 2 weeks to buy as many entries as you can :)

$10=1

$25=3

$50=8

$100 =20

The first person to donate $300 or more,

will receive a  custom quilt! (full size or smaller) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please share this on your blog, twitter, facebook, with your friends and even your enemies ;).  When you have shared the giveaway three times, leave a comment below and you will get one entry.

DONATIOS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!!!!

The Chipin is expiring mid-day for some reason. Donations can be made to our RR support page once the chipin expires.

GOLDEN TICKET!!!!!!!

We received our GOLDEN TICKET today.

What is the Golden Ticket you ask?

It is our APPROVAL ...

to bring home ...

THREE ORPHANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WINNER ---- $500.00 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!!!!!!!

After carefully tabulating the results and using a random number generator at random.org

The winners are

$500 - amazon.com gift card - Roslinand B!!!!

Phil 4:8 Plaque - Mike & Angela R

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

I will send you each an email shortly.

THANK YOU to all who donated to bring Elliot home.

Amazon Giftcard!!!

The giveaway ended yesterday and we are awaiting a final donation list from Reece's Rainbow.

As soon as I see get the list, we will draw for the winner ... stay tuned.

I cannot wait to see how God Blesses the winner with this giftcard!!!

Thank you again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!