Card Fund-Raiser

Just a quick reminder to everyone about our homemade cards fund-raiser.  We are willing and able to mail cards anywhere in the US, so you don't have to be local to participate.  You can use our "Donate" button located in the sidebar, or mail us a check {$10 per packet ~ which includes 4 unique cards}.  Thirteen packets of cards have been sold, so we have 67 left!!!  Let's sell them all quickly!!!

And don't forget our GIVEAWAY!!!  It ends this Thursday night at 9 p.m. {that's TOMORROW!!!}  We are giving away 10 beautiful Christmas gift tags.  All you have to do to enter is ~ 1) Become a follower of our blog, 2) Post our blog on your Facebook page {the more people who visit our blog, the more people will hear about our cards}, or 3) include a link to our blog on your blog.  You get one entry for each day and place you post.  Just leave a comment here letting us know what you have done.  Only one person has entered, so your chances are REALLY GOOD!!!

Our Home Study is FINISHED!!!!

Pam ~ What a blessing of a day!!!!  Our home study is done, notarized, and our three original "copies" are sitting in our dossier notebook.  God orchestrated the events of today perfectly.  Imagine that.  God knew what needed to be done!!!!!

I left school early today to go to the chiropractor.  My neck and shoulder have really been bothering me the past couple of days so I was very thankful to be able to get an appointment and then to be able to get my afternoon class covered {thanks, Rachel!!}.  My apt. was at 1:15 p.m. and then I headed to the Learning Post to pick up some school supplies, Factory Card & Party Outlet to buy some cards, and then to the local Bible college to do some laminating.  While I was lamenating, Nathan called me and asked if I had gotten an e-mail yesterday from our social worker.  I told him "No" I hadn't {which was strange because I am the one she normally e-mails}.  He told me that he hadn't thought to mention it to me because he had just assumed I had gotten it but then she had called him today and he realized we hadn't talked about it.

She had e-mailed an attachment of our home study to look over and wanted to know if she could come by tonight at 5 p.m. for us to sign the final sheet on the home study.  Today was perfect.  I went home, opened the e-mail from Kim that Nathan had forwarded to me, called Kim to let her know that tonight would work, and then began reading through and making minor corrections on our home study.  I called Kim FOUR times to correct small items, and then she left to go get it copied and notarized!!!!  She came by our house at 5:30 p.m. and now it's DONE!!!!!

As I said before, God knew what needed to be done today.  If the day had gone as I had planned {with my shoulder not hurting}, I would have been at school all day and not made it back to town until after 4 p.m.  I would have run my errands, not been home until after 5 p.m.,and not had the time to read through the home study ahead of time.  God worked the entire day so that our home study is DONE and we are ready to move on to the next step!!!!!!

Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!

Fund-Raising Friday ~ + A GIVEAWAY!!!

Home-made Cards ~ Are you a card person?  Do you like to give special cards to your family and friends?  Do you just buy the generic cards you can pick up at WalMart or do you like to make the cards a little more personal?  How would you feel about being able to buy some very nice and creative home-made cards AND help us raise the money we need for our Ethiopian adoption?

Thanks to Nathan's sister Heidi and the many wonderful ladies who helped her by making beautiful cards, we have 80 packets of home-made cards to sell.  ALL the proceeds will go directly into our adoption fund {we are currently working to raise the $7700 we need in order to send our dossier to Ethiopia}.

We have 50 packets of All-Occasion cards.  Each packet contains 4 different and unique cards chosen from the following categories ~ Get Well, Wedding, Thank You, Sympathy, General Friendship, and Birthday.

We also have 30 packets of General Birthday cards.  Again, each packet consists of 4 cards that are different and unique, made by a variety of creative ladies.

We are asking for a $10 minimum donation for each packet of cards.  That's only $2.50 per card!!!

Also, if you purchase 5 or more packets, we will throw in a FREE card {while supplies last}.  Why not go ahead and stock up for all those birthday and other special occasions that will come up in the next few months???

If you are interested in purchasing, please send an e-mail to hearts1982@gmail.com or pay via our PayPal "Donate" button located on the sidebar.  Simply make a note that it is for our card fund-raiser.

AND......here is the GIVEAWAY part!!!

We have 10 beautiful Christmas gift tags that we are going to GIVE AWAY!!!  We will put all the entries into a bag, draw a name next Thursday evening at 9 p.m., and announce the winner on our Fund-Raising Friday post next week.  Here's how you can enter.
     1) Become a Follower of our blog.  If you already are a Follower, just leave a comment letting us know that you would like to enter this giveaway.
     2) Post this Fund-Raising Friday post on your Facebook page.  One entry for each day you post.  Leave a comment here letting us know each time you post on Facebook.
     3) Link this post in your blog.  One entry for each day you link it.  Leave a comment here letting us know each time you link us.

WHO WILL WIN???????

Soda Cans ~ We want to thank everyone who has been collecting soda cans for us.  It is such a blessing to us to have people stop us and say, "I've got a bag of soda cans for you.  Where can I put them?"  Many, many people are having a part in helping us bring our children home to us.  THANK YOU!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ The outside edge is almost done!!!  Just 3 more pieces to go.  Then we can start filling in the middle.  If you are interested in sponsoring a puzzle piece for $10, please send an e-mail {hearts1982@gmail.com} or click on our "Donate" button.  Simply note that you would like to sponsor a puzzle piece.

"Together for Good" Photo Shoot ~ Are you starting to think towards pictures for Christmas cards?  If you live in central Iowa and are interested in a FREE photo shoot with Erin {Together for Good} and a FREE cd of the pictures she takes {and edits!!} in exchange for a monetary donation of any amount {doesn't matter the size} to our adoption fund, please contact me {hearts1982@gmail.com} or head over to Erin's blog and set something up with her.  Thanks!!!

Our niece, Esther, came over to help put the card packets together.  She was a big help by putting the cards together with their envelopes.

Our living room was a little messy as Heidi, Esther, Nathan and I worked to put the card packets together.

Thank you, Heidi, for all your hard work in putting the fund-raiser together for us.  We love you!!!!

Donate Button

We have added the "Donate" button to our sidebar, just above our current fund-raising goal thermometer!!!  Thank you to everyone who gave us feedback.   

Please note that our preference is for people to donate via a check.  However, the "Donate" button will be much more convenient for many people.  Please take advantage of this new button if it would be a help to you.

Your Input

We are considering the possibility of adding a PayPal "donate" button to our blog.  This would enable our friends, family members, and blog readers to participate in our fund-raising efforts without having to contact us via e-mail to arrange payment.  If a person wanted to sponsor a puzzle piece, they would be able to simply click on the "donate" button, pay via PayPal and leave a note letting us know the payment was for a puzzle piece.  The same would be true for a new fund-raiser we will be posting about on Friday.

Advantages

     1) Less hassle in sending a check by mail

     2) Immediate payment

     3) Easier method for those friends we don't see in person often

Disadvantages

     1) PayPal charges a percentage of the money that comes in

     2) Some people are hesitant to pay on-line

Do you have any thoughts?  More advantages or disadvantages for us to list.  PLEASE leave us a comment letting us know your thoughts.  We want everyone's opinion!!!!

Home Study Update

Pam ~ Praise the Lord!!!  Our Saturday home study visit went VERY WELL!!!  Kim is such a great lady and she was sweet, understanding, thorough, and as quick as she could be.  She arrived at 1 o'clock and sat down to visit with both Nathan and I together.  She explained why she had to ask all the questions that she was going to ask, and reminded us that the purpose of the home study is to make sure the adopted children are coming into a safe environment, as well as to educate adoptive parents on some of the issues they may expect to experience.  Kim then asked if we had any questions for her before we got started.

To be honest, I can't even begin to remember all of the questions she asked.  There were a LOT of them!!!  But they were not difficult to answer, although a few of them may have made us think a little harder than others :-).  After talking with both of us for quite a while, Nathan left to run a few errands, and Kim asked me some "individual" questions.  When Nathan got back it was his turn, and I headed upstairs to finish putting the laundry away.

We finished the day by giving Kim a "tour" of our townhome.  The "tour" lasted all of 4 or 5 minutes.  She had obviously seen the main living area on our second floor {we live in a 3-story townhome, with the first floor being a two-car garage} with our living room and kitchen, so we took her upstairs to the 3rd floor and she was able to see our laundry room, bedroom, and the 2nd bedroom which will belong to our CHILDREN!!!  She made sure to count the number of smoke alarms we had in the house, and that was about IT!!!  {Good thing I had Nathan vacuum the baseboards.  That just might have made her change her mind [insert sarcasm here]!!!}.

Kim told us that she intends to have the rough draft of our home study written up and submitted to our Family Coordinator by Tuesday {tomorrow} evening.  Once our FC {Emily} has the rough draft, she has one week to look it over and ask for more information, clarification, etc. and then she will send it back to Kim.  Kim will set up one more meeting with us {for us to read over the rough draft and approve it} and then she will finalize it and have it notarized.  The home study will be DONE!!!  She told us that she is confident we will have the home study done by the end of this month!!!

I feel so blessed to have been given by God a social worker who does her job thoroughly and efficiently, but who doesn't add a whole bunch of "extras" to the process {which I had been reading about on other people's blogs}.  I had been really praying that we would be able to have the home study portion of our adoption done by the end of this month, and it looks like the Lord is giving me the desire of my heart.

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. ~ Psalm 37:4-5

HOME STUDY

Pam ~ Please be praying for us today.  Our first major home study meeting is from 1-6 p.m.  Our social worker, Kim, will be meeting with both of us together and then separately.  She will also be taking a "tour" of our home.  {Hence the reason I am still cleaning this morning!!!}  I am staying pretty calm so far today and have been praying that God will continue to keep me calm as 1 o'clock quickly approaches!!!!!  Thanks for your prayers!!!!!

Fund-Raising Friday

Soda Cans ~ Will you please help spread the word about our soda can fund-raiser?  If you are in central Iowa, please help us by collecting all the soda cans you possibly CAN {haha!!}.  Let's help the environment {RECYCLE} and bring some Ethiopian children home to us at the same time!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ If you have been thinking about sponsoring a puzzle piece {or pieces} but just haven't done so yet, please contact me {hearts1982@gmail.com}.  We would love to add your name to our children's puzzle.  Remember, just $10 sponsors one puzzle piece.  We will write your name on the back of a puzzle piece and our children will always have a visual reminder of everyone who helped to bring them home!!!

"Together for Good" Photo Shoot ~ If you live in central Iowa and are interested in a FREE photo shoot with Erin, along with a CD of all the pictures {she edits them!!!}, in exchange for a monetary donation to our adoption fund, please leave me a comment here, e-mail me {hearts1982@gmail.com}, or head over to Erin's blog, Together for Good, and set something up with her.  Thanks!!!

Homemade Cards ~ Coming Soon!!!!!

Thermometer ~ Nathan got paid again today {which included some of his overtime hours ~ he is such a hard worker!!!} and our thermometer has passed $1,100!!!!!  Praise the Lord!!!!!

I want to be . . . . .

Pam ~ Our home study is THIS SATURDAY!!!  Our social worker, Kim, is coming to our house at 1 o'clock and we are planning for her to be there about 5 hours.

I thought I was doing pretty well about this ~ not worrying too much, not stressing out too much, etc. ~ until I started snapping at Nathan on Tuesday morning about him "not caring enough."  I, by nature, am a perfectionist.  I prefer to do things myself because I know it will get done "properly" that way.  Not knowing EXACTLY what to expect on Saturday has started stressing me.  Nathan DOES care about our home study.  He cares a lot and has been working hard to get things done just as much as I have.  But he does things differently and handles things differently.  I had no right to think he didn't care enough.  He cares PLENTY and has been patiently walking beside me and helping me get done everything that I think HAS to be done.  I have apologized and am working to stay calm as Saturday quickly approaches.

Why is it that we so often lash out at the ones we care the most about?  Why do we think they "don't understand" when, in reality, they probably understand the best because they know us the best?  Why don't I allow others to help me do the things that need to be done, and not "critique" everything afterwards?

I want to be a believer who trusts in God for EVERYTHING ~ even an adoption home study.  I want to be a person who shows Christ's love at all times.  I want to be a wife who truly appreciates everything my husband does for me.  I want to be a mom who teaches her children to try things and be willing to fail.  To try things and succeed!!!  I want to be a friend who prays daily.  "Lord, help me accomplish these desires of my heart.  Help me be fully the woman you want me to be."

Fund-Raising Friday

This has been a slow week in the fund-raising department.  The thermometer hasn't risen much in this past week, but that's okay.  Everyone has slow weeks :-).  Hopefully we will see a larger jump by next Friday!!!

Soda Cans ~ Since we made a soda can deposit on August 20th, we have brought in an additional $22.30.  Please keep collecting and gifting us your soda cans!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ We finally started putting our puzzle together!!!  As you can see from the picture, we almost have all the edge pieces sponsored.  Let's see if we can get the edge finished SOON!!!  If you would like to sponsor a puzzle piece {or pieces} for $10 each, please contact me {hearts1982@gmail.com}.

"Together for Good" Photos ~ Erin has three photo shoots in the works, and we are soooooo excited to see how this fund-raiser will turn out!!!  Erin will shoot a whole bunch of pictures and give you a FREE CD with all the rights to the pictures in exchange for a donation to our adoption fund!!!  If you live in central Iowa and are interested in scheduling a photo shoot with Erin, please leave me a comment here, e-mail me {hearts1982@gmail.com}, or head over to Erin's blog {Together for Good} and leave her a comment there.  Thanks!!!

The Widow's Mite

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.  And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.  And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, "Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:  For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."

-- Mark 12:41-44

Pam ~ I was sitting at my desk in my classroom this morning before school started when 3 former students came into my room carrying an envelope.  They handed it to me and said, "This is for you to get your kids."  I looked at the envelope and read "Kids' Lemonade $".

Their mom told me that when her kids heard I was adopting two kids from Ethiopia {all 3 of these former students were adopted domestically} they started talking about what they could do to help {ages 6, 9, and 9}.  They had a little "meeting" and decided that they wanted to give me the money they had saved from selling lemonade this summer.  They had been saving it for something special and decided that they wanted me to have it to help bring my kids home!!!!

My eyes were very wet as I gave all three of them a giant hug!!!!  They gave me all the money they had to help bring my children home!!!!  The amount they gave is small in light of the total adoption costs, but it is one of the LARGEST gifts we will ever receive!!!!!

Laughter

Labor Day Weekend

Pam ~ My brother and sister-in-law, Tim & Mandie, came to visit!!!  They are working for Camfel Productions, and happened to be driving through the area this weekend.  It was special treat for all four of us siblings to be together {along with our spouses}, and for us to spend some time playing games and laughing.

Saturday night we played the game of "Things" {if you have never played this game, it's GREAT!!!} and laughed so hard we cried!!!  Tim and Mandie, and my sister Kristi, joined Nathan and I for lunch on Sunday and then enjoyed a Wii Tournament at our church after the evening service.

Today {Monday} was a great day for sleeping in, and then gathering together at my sister Debbi's house for grilling and fellowship.  We had so much fun and I am very grateful for my wonderful family!!!!

Joseph & Uncle Nate

My sister Kristi cuddling with Benjamin

My brother Tim & My sister-in-law Mandie

Ben was a big "helper" and helped me carry soda cans to my car.

Good helping, Ben!!!

Ben wanted to help "lock" my trunk!!

And Joseph had to have a turn too :-).

God's Will

Nate ~ I know it's been a while since I had anything to say and Pam requested that I think of something.  Believe me, I've had plenty to say, I just haven't remembered to get it typed out for her to post it.  So, here I go.

I have been learning a lot and God has been challenging me a lot.  Challenging me about my relationship with Pam, my relationship with other believers, my allowing God to be in control of my life, my heart and attitude towards Jesus Christ . . . I could continue, but it would probably be a long list.  Here is just one thing that I was challenged with recently.  When we seek to know God's will, we are not to come at it from a perspective of "God, please show me Your will and I will decide if I'll do it or not."  We may not think we do that, but we do it all the time.  No, we are to come to God with a heart of "God, I will do Your will no matter what, please show me that will so that I can do it."  It's amazing what the difference is.

Here is another one.  A certain man sees a pastor during the week and says, "Pastor, I don't go to church anymore because it's so full of hypocrites."  The pastor responds excitedly, "I KNOW!  Isn't it great?  The God of the universe is willing to love a bunch of hypocrites like us."  Be encouraged.  God knows that we are only human and He still loves us unconditionally because Jesus Christ died for us.

Fund-Raising Friday

Soda Cans ~ We made TWO trips to deposit cans this week!!!!  And I just learned that my wonderful sister is collecting soda cans/bottles in her college dorm, so we will be depositing even more over the next few months!!!!  I would write a "Soda Can Cheer" if I had that talent, but I will spare you from my attempts!!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ If you read my post on Wednesday, you may have seen that I've been a little busy this week with school starting. So.........we still haven't started putting the puzzle together.  Maybe tomorrow????  Oh, I know :-P.  We're just waiting for more pieces to be sponsored so that we have more to put together!!!  Yeah.  That's the real reason we haven't started it :-P.  If you would like to sponsor a piece for $10, please leave a comment here, Facebook message or e-mail me{hearts1982@gmail.com}.  Let's get this puzzle started!!!!!

Mary Kay Adoption Fund-Raiser ~ We raised $118.76!!!!!  Thanks, Clisty, for generously providing this fund-raiser to bring our children home from Ethiopia!!!!!

"Together for Good" Photos ~ Did you get a chance to read Wednesday's post about our new Photo Fund-Raiser?  If you didn't, why don't you go read it right now!!!  And head over to Erin's blog Together for Good to let her know what you think.  I just can't get over her generous offer and willingness to help us!!!!  If you live in central Iowa and would like to have a photo shoot with Erin {your donation for the photos will go straight to our adoption fund}, please leave me a comment, Facebook message or e-mail me, or leave a comment for Erin on her blog!!!!  Thanks!!!!!

Thermometer ~ We have met our last goal and are started on the new one!!!  Our new goal is the largest yet ~ BY A LOT!!!!!  We need a minimum of $7700 in order to submit our dossier.  We know it will be more than that because we are adopting two children, but we don't yet know how much more than the $7700 we will need.  I'll just have to update it when we are told the full amount.  Let's fill this thermometer up quickly!!!!!

Photo Fund-Raiser

Our friend Erin sent us an e-mail this past week and offered to do something wonderful for our adoption!!!  Erin is an amateur photographer who has a LOT of talent.  She takes some amazing pictures!!!!!  Anyways, she told us that she has really been wanting to do somthing to help us with our adoption and she had come up with a GREAT idea!!!!  Erin would like to take photos for people {families, children, pets, etc.} and give the money people donate for the photos to us for our adoption fund!!!!!  This is the perfect time of year for photos, especially as people are beginning to think towards Christmas cards.

 Please take the time to head over to Erin's blog, Together for Good, and check out her announcement.  If you live in central Iowa and are interested in having a photo shoot with Erin, getting some amazing photos, AND contributing to our adoption fund, please comment on this post {or Erin's blog post}, Facebook or e-mail me and I will get you in contact with Erin.

Thanks, Erin!!!!  You are an INCREDIBLE friend!!!!!!!!

Week Summary / First Day of School

Pam ~ Today was my first day of school. It's been a tiring week leading up to this day, but I was awake and ready to begin this morning.

Sunday ~ We left for church at 9 a.m. and didn't return home until 9:30 p.m. It was a full day with Sunday School, morning service, church lunch, afternoon service, YACS {our college group that we help with} photo scavenger hunt, fellowship with the YACS at a church family's home, and stopping by Dahl's on our way home to deposit all the soda cans that were hanging out in my car. {I didn't get it done on Saturday like I planned.}

Monday ~ I left for school at 7:15 a.m. and didn't get home until 8:45 p.m. I spent the morning finishing preparing my classroom {bulletin boards, name tags, etc.} and the afternoon was spent preparing all the paperwork for the evening's parent orientation. Throw in a 3:30 p.m. teacher meeting and a little conversation, along with the 6:00 p.m. parent orientation, and you have my day.

Tuesday ~ I left home at 8:10 a.m. for a chiropractor appointment, followed by a trip to the post-office, and a stop at my sister's house to see my parents one more time before they headed home to AZ. I spent a little time with my nephews {of course!!!}, sister and parents, and then headed to school. From 10:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. was spent in final classroom preparation ~ lesson plans, student lists, curriculum ready, etc. I had aftercare from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and then students began arriving at 6:00 p.m. for their play time "orientation." I ended the day by sorting and putting away all the students' supplies and making sure everything was ready for the first day of school. I was finally home at 9:15 p.m.

Wednesday {Today} ~ Students began arriving at 7:50 a.m. and there was only ONE crier!!!! And even that was only for a minute. I am very excited for this school year!!! We had a GREAT first day and the afternoon has started very well {3 out of 5 students are sleeping right now}. I'm praying for each one of my students and for the ability to teach them and train them in the Word of God!!!!