Fundraising Finale

Pam ~ We are still a couple thousand dollars short of what we are estimating that we will need for all of our travel expenses, so we still have a few fundraisers that you can participate in to help with our expenses. We are nearing the end of this long journey to our daughter!!!!

Pampered Chef ~ This is only an option until 9 p.m. (CST) tonight!!!! Go to www.PamperedChef.biz/DrucksKitchen and click on "shop online". Enter "Maxwell" for the first name and "Adoption" for the last name. We will receive 15% of your order to put toward our adoption travel expenses.

Soda Cans/Bottles ~ We are still accepting donations of your soda cans/bottles. We will recycle them and put the redemption money towards our travel expenses.

Photo Scanning ~ I will take your old photos and scan them onto a CD so that you have a digital copy of all your memories. Click HERE for more information.

Handmade Birthday Cards ~ We still have lots of special handmade birthday cards available for purchase. Click HERE for more information and for photos of the cards that are still available.

Just Love Coffee ~ We receive $5 for every bag of coffee purchased from our store. Click HERE to go to our Just Love Coffee store to buy some extra yummy coffee AND help us with our travel expenses!!!!

"Just Love Coffee" June Promotion

Pam ~ Another month and another chance to win some FREE coffee!!!!  And your odds are even better than before!!!!!

This month, Just Love Coffee is going to give away EIGHT bags of coffee AND an Aeropress Coffee and Espresso Maker to everyone who profits $75 or more in the month of June.  The eight bags of coffee will be a surprise this time :-).  I just LOVE surprises, don't you?????

For every bag of coffee you purchase in the next three weeks (if we meet the goal of $75) you will get 1 entry into our drawing for FREE coffee, and we will have 1 GRAND PRIZE winner who will receive the Aeropress Coffee and Espresso Maker :-).

Please share our "Just Love Coffee" store link (www.justlovecoffee.com/Maxwells) on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or wherever else you can think of :-).  And check it out for yourself :-).  We have received GREAT feedback from those who have already purchased from our store.

"Just Love Coffee" WINNERS!!!

And the winners are...........................

#1 ~ Michelle Hunerdosse
#2 ~ Daniel Goodrich
#3 ~ Tim Carter
#4 ~ David Maxwell

Thanks to David, Daniel, Joy, Michelle, and Tim for ordering yummy coffee from our "Just Love Coffee" store this past month!!!!  We brought in $85 in profit during the month of May!!!

We will be contacting you SOON to get your coffee request :-).

What are YOU doing?

Nate ~ Well, first, we apologize for how little has posted in the last month.  It has been very busy for both of us...and especially Pam.  Since she normally does the blog, that means not much communication here.  SO, I thought I'd give a little update and encouragement.

First, our Just Love Coffee push is going well.  We have sold 9 bags of coffee so far.  We need to sell 6 more to get the first level of free coffee and such.  I'll be honest and say I don't remember how much the other level was so......go look at Pam's original post on it. :o)

Now, I have to ask, what are YOU doing?  I was really challenged last night and this morning to ask myself what I'm doing with my time.  Could you sit down and write out roughly what a 24 hour period looks like for you??  I know I was about 3 or 4 hours short with time that I could not account for.  So I'm taking a couple days and writing out what I do in blocks of time and seeing what gets done.  It's been good so far as I've already gotten a couple things done that I wouldn't normally have gotten done in the morning.

Here's another piece to this.  "What are you doing?"  Not only do I mean, "What are you doing today?" but how about "What are you doing about that life goal of yours?"  "What are you doing to get where God wants you to be?" or "What are you doing to strengthen your family?"

I could personally list for you more things that I'm doing that go against my life goals right now.  I could list for you the things that I'm doing that take away from character development and my relationship with my Heavenly Father.  Even family...Those older than upper twenties can attest for your own generation, but at least for me and my peers, it is easier to sit and watch something on TV or do something on the computer than to cultivate my family and its relationships.

Okay, that is all I have.  Please forgive Pam for not updating sooner, forgive me for not doing more to free her up to update you, and consider your time and ask yourself what you are doing today.

"Just Love Coffee" Spring Promotion

"Just Love Coffee" is having another INCENTIVE!!!  And YOU can help us again!!!

If we earn $75 or more in proceeds from now until June 5th, we will receive 4 bags of 13oz coffee of our choice, a Travel Mug, and a bumper sticker.  And if we earn $150 or more, we will receive the above listed items AND an Aeropress brewer and choice of T-shirt!!!  And we will GIVE IT ALL AWAY!!!

To earn $75 in proceeds we need to sell 15 bags of coffee in the next four weeks.  To earn $150 in proceeds we would have to sell 30 bags of coffee.

During our March Madness Incentive we sold 22 bags of coffee :-).  So we know it's possible.  Will YOU help us again?????

For every bag of coffee you purchase in the next four weeks (if we meet the goal of $75) you will get 1 entry into our drawing for FREE coffee.  Additionally, if you order more than 1 bag of coffee you will be entered into an additional drawing for the Aeropress brewer and T-shirt (if we meet the $150 goal).

Please share our "Just Love Coffee" store link (www.justlovecoffee.com/Maxwells) on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or wherever else you can think of :-).  And check it out for yourself :-).

"Just Love Coffee" WINNERS!!!!

Here is the moment that you have all be eagerly waiting for!!!!!  Thanks to many of YOU, we brought in $110 in profit from our "Just Love Coffee" store!!!!  Thank you!!!!!!

We promised that we would give away the free coffee if we were able to meet the "March Madness Incentive" of making $75 in profit, and since we met (and exceeded!!) that goal, here are the WINNERS!!!!!!  (Listed in the order that we drew them.)

#1 ~ Susan Prause
#2 ~ Susan Prause
#3 ~ Deb Pehl
#4 ~ Dawn Bauman

We will be contacting you SOON to get your coffee request :-).

"Just Love Coffee" Update

Pam ~ When I posted last Wednesday about the March Madness Incentive that was taking place at "Just Love Coffee", I thought it would be fun to see if we could sell the 15 bags of coffee that we needed throughout the month of March.  I thought, "We have a whole month to sell 15 bags.  We've never sold 15 bags in one month before, but hey, maybe a few extra people will step up to help us."

Guess what????????

We had ELEVEN people step up in just TWO days and we sold NINETEEN bags of coffee!!!!!!!!  Who would have "thunk" it??????

We want to give a BIG Thank You to everyone who ordered coffee last week from our "Just Love Coffee" fundraising site.  Please come back and leave us a comment when your coffee has arrived and let us know how you like it :-).

We will be giving away the free coffee that we have won!!!!  For every bag that you ordered (or any more orders that might come in during the month of March ~ i.e. YOU CAN STILL ENTER BY ORDERING MORE COFFEE!!!!) you will get 1 entry into our drawing.  We are planning to draw names on April 1st.

(BTW.  We have profited $95 this month from your coffee orders.  Just one more bag of coffee sold would put us at an even $100. hint. hint. hint.)

"Just Love Coffee" March Madness Incentive

"Just Love Coffee" is having a March Madness Incentive!!!!  And YOU can help us!!!!

If we earn $75 or more in proceeds in the month of March 2011, then we will receive 4 bags of 13oz coffee of our choice, a Travel Mug, and a bumper sticker.  That's over $60 in product that we will GIVE AWAY!!!

That means we need to sell 15 bags of coffee in March.  That's more than we have sold in any one month so far, but with your help we CAN DO IT!!!  And because we don't drink coffee (gasp) we will have a drawing to GIVE IT AWAY!!!

For every bag of coffee YOU purchase in March (if we meet the goal of $75) you will get 1 entry into our drawing.  Why don't you take this opportunity to help us and stock up on your coffee supply.  Maybe buy some as a gift for a family member or friend.  The cost of this coffee is comparable with Starbucks brand coffee (so I've been told).  Will you please help us reach this goal????

Please share our "Just Love Coffee" store link (www.justlovecoffee.com/Maxwells) on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or however else you communicate with people :-).  And check it out for yourself :-).

Fundraising Focus

 Just Love Coffee

This is a super easy fundraiser we began last October.  We have a personalized "Just Love Coffee" webpage where people can go order some VERY yummy coffee and have it delivered directly to their front door.  We receive proceeds from EVERY SINGLE order and have a check mailed to us each month.

If you are a coffee drinker, would you please go check out our page and consider trying some of this coffee?  You may click on the link included in this e-mail, OR simply click on the "Just Love Coffee" photo and link on our sidebar.  There are MANY different options to chose from, so take a few minutes to look at everything.  Just make sure you start on OUR homepage (there is a picture of us) to make sure we receive our proceeds.

If you are interested in a little background as to how "Just Love Coffee" was started, keep reading :-)

Rob Webb knows coffee. When Rob was two years old, his father started Webb’s Coffee Service, which blossomed into a full-blown refreshment service supplying businesses in Nashville, TN and the surrounding areas, and is now run by Rob.

Rob Webb knows the adoption process. In the summer of 2008, Rob and his wife Emily were called to adopt from Ethiopia. After much prayer and discussion with their first two children they started their adoption journey in August 2008. During the flurry of paperwork and preparation, Rob & Emily read books not only on adoption in general, but specifically on Ethiopia. Learning that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee caught Rob’s attention, and after reading about the living conditions and wages of the average coffee farmer, he was compelled to take action. What developed through his reading and his trip to Ethiopia to unite with his daughters was a realization that he could combine his expertise and longstanding desire to roast his own coffees with his desire to help others. Just Love Coffee Roasters was born! Roasting Fair Trade Specialty coffees, Just Love uses proceeds to help an Ethiopian orphanage and families adopting not just from Ethiopia, but from anywhere in the world.

Other Fundraisers ~ Homemade cards, African puzzle, Faith and Grace quilts, Soda cans, Christmas ornaments

Fund-Raising Friday

Christmas Ornaments ~ This is your last chance to order some of these adorable personalized cross-stitched ornaments.  Click here for pictures.  My mom has been making these for us to sell {$10 each} and they can be personalized with names, dates, etc.  If you are interested, please send me an e-mail at hearts1982@gmail.com.  This is the last week to order any personalized ornaments.  Next week we will simply be selling any pre-made ornaments that are left.  Order yours NOW!!!

Faith and Grace Quilts ~ Check out this fundraiser my friend Karen is doing @ 27 Penguin Place.  Sponsor a quilt block for $10 and help us wrap our babies in quilts made with love!!!

Just Love Coffee ~ I posted on my Facebook yesterday about the Black Friday contest JLC is having.  Whoever sells the most coffee/products from their store will win 20 bags of FREE coffee!!!  Since Nathan and I aren't coffee drinkers, if we win we will gift those bags of coffee to anyone who helped by ordering coffee.  Today is the last day of this contest, so please go ORDER NOW!!!

Home-made Cards  ~ We still have several packets of cards to sell.  We are asking for a $10 donation for a packet of 4 unique and beautiful cards.  Please contact me at hearts1982@gmail.com or pay via our PayPal donate button.  Just specify if you would like a packet of Bday cards or All-Occasion cards.

Soda Cans ~ How many cans do you think we have deposited since July 12th {that was our first deposit run}?????  Post a comment with your best guess!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ We received a check in the mail this past week with some money from God!!!  We chose to use that money towards puzzle piece sponsorships.  Someday when our children ask us why God's name is on so many puzzle pieces, we can tell them about the many wonderful ways God worked to bring them home to us!!!  What a lesson in the faithfulness of our amazing God!!!

Thermometer ~ We are only $1387 away from being able to mail our dossier!!!  Thank you for all your prayers and please DON'T STOP PRAYING!!!

Fund-Raising Friday

Christmas Ornaments ~ Please click here to see pictures of these adorable cross-stitched Christmas ornaments.  My mom is making these personalized ornaments for us to sell.  We are asking for $10 each and many of them can be personalized with names or dates.  Just send me an e-mail {hearts1982@gmail.com} with your order and we will get them to you ASAP.  They would make great little Christmas presents for family and friends!!!

Tupperware ~ THIS HAS BEEN EXTENDED until Tuesday, November 23rd!!!!!!!!  If you were intending to order and time simply got away from you, the deadline has been extended!!!!  Simply click here to be taken to our Tupperware fund-raising page.  We will receive 50% profit from every sale!!!

Faith and Grace Quilts ~ My friend from college, Karen, is organizing this fund-raiser so please head on over to her blog, 27 Penguin Place, and read all about it.  She is having people sponsor a quilt block for $10 each and will be making each one of our children an adorable quilt!!!

Just Love Coffee ~ They have some new coffee flavors they just put on their site.  Including "Fa La La La La {Holiday Blend}" coffee.  This is another GREAT Christmas present idea for the coffee lover on your list.  Either click here or the button on our sidebar to be taken to our personalized coffee page.

Home-made Cards ~ Please e-mail me if you are interested in purchasing any of our packets of unique home-made cards.  We are asking for $10 per pkg of 4 cards.

Soda Cans ~ Keep them coming!!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ Would you be interested in sponsoring a puzzle piece for $10?

Donate Button ~ If you are interested in helping with our adoption expenses either via one of the listed fund-raisers OR simply making a donation, you may use the PayPal Donate button located on our right sidebar.  Or send us an e-mail {hearts1982@gmail.com} for our mailing address.

CHRISTMAS SHOP HOP ~ One of the adoption blogs I have been following is doing this really cool thing for Christmas.  If you are interested in purchasing Christmas gifts that will not only make your friends and family members smile, but also help bring a child home to their new family, please go check out this link.  She has begun what she is calling a Christmas Shop Hop where adoptive families can post links to what they are selling as adoption fund-raisers.  I am posting my blog there, so please go check it out NOW :-).

Fund-Raising Friday

Tupperware ~ Tomorrow is the last day you can order!!!  To be completely honest, we have not had very many orders and we would REALLY like just a few more!!!  Remember, we get 50% of all sales, and that 50% will go straight into our adoption fund.  Tupperware is such a GREAT product, so please go check out this link.  {It seems like the link doesn't always work the first time you try it, so please try at least 2 times before you give up!!!}

Christmas Ornaments ~ My mom has extended the deadline for ordering these personalized ornaments, so please head to last week's post and check out photos of all the different options.  She can personalize most of them with names, dates, etc. so just send me an e-mail with what you would like {hearts1982@gmail.com}.  Merry Christmas tree decorating!!!

Faith and Grace Quilts ~ My friend Karen is excited to start making these quilts for our little ones.  If you are interested in sponsoring a quilt block for $10 and helping us raise the money we need to bring our children home, please head over to Karen's blog ~ 27 Penguin Place ~ and check out the information.  Please contact Karen if you are interested.

Just Love Coffee ~ It's COLD outside!!!  How would you feel about settling down under a warm blanket, next to a crackling fire, drinking a nice hot cup of coffee?  How would you feel about knowing that your cup of coffee helped us grow our family?  Click here to go to our "Just Love Coffee" web page and order a variety of delicious international coffees.  Reminder: Christmas is coming!!!

Home-made Cards ~ We still have several packets of cards available.  Just $10 per packet for 4 adorable cards.  Choose from an All-Occasion pkg. or a Birthday pkg.

Soda Cans ~ My parents just stopped by yesterday and delivered several LARGE bags of soda cans that they have been collecting for us out in AZ {there is no money redemption in AZ}.  We are heading to deposit them tonight.  These cans will push us well over the $300 mark in soda can donations!!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ Our puzzle is continuing to develop.  I have sorted out the next several {60 or so} pieces to add, but now we have to wait until they are sponsored.  Will you sponsor a puzzle piece for $10?????

Thermometer ~ We are now at 63% of the money we need to submit our dossier!!!  Praise the Lord!!!  We still need to raise $2807, but we are working hard to trust in the Lord's provision.  Would you continue to pray with us that we would be able to raise that amount by Christmas????

Fund-Raising Friday

Tupperware ~ We have one more week {from tomorrow} for our Tupperware fun-raiser!!!  Would you please take a minute to look at the site here?  We get 50% of all sales!!! so even if you just purchase one item, it will add up quickly.  And, don't forget to think about the many Christmas presents you need to start buying.  Maybe someone on your list would like a nice new Tupperware _______ {you fill in the blank}!!!

Just Love Coffee ~ We are still looking for our first November customer.  This is another GREAT Christmas present idea for the people on your list who love coffee.  Please go here and check it out.  We get proceeds from any items sold from our page!!!

Home-made Cards ~ Would you like to help with our adoption AND get some adorable home-made Bday or All-Occasion cards????  Well, do I have something for you :-).  Each pkg has 4 unique cards for $10 each!!  E-mail me and let me know what you might be interested in {hearts1982@gmail.com}.

Soda Cans ~ We love soda cans!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ We would love to add some more pieces to our puzzle {hint, hint}!!!!

"Together for Good" Photo Shoot ~ I want to thank Erin for all her hard work doing photo shoots and editing as a fund-raiser for us!!!  Seven people/families took her up on this offer, and I want to thank all of them to for their donations toward our adoption.  Erin will no longer be available for photo shoots, so this fund-raiser is officially closed.  Thanks everyone!!!!

Fasting

Pam ~ Do you know what the definition of "fasting" is?  I think the most commonly known definition is ~ "The act or practice of abstaining from or eating very little food."  But another definition would be ~ "A period of abstention or self-denial."  This is the definition I am using this time.

I had such a day today.  As I was driving to work this morning and praying through each part of my upcoming day, I also prayed for our adoption and our current adoption fundraisers.  The two fund-raisers most on my mind were Just Love Coffee and Tupperware.  I can look on-line and see the order status for each of these fundraisers, and I have been checking them multiple times a day.  I have been worrying a lot about having the money raised to submit our dossier by Christmas because it's something that I REALLY want!!!

As I was praying this, it struck me that once again I was not relying fully on God to bring in the money we need.  Every time I check the order status on-line I am allowing myself to believe that God HAS to bring the money in via OUR fund-raisers.  I am not putting my faith FULLY in my All-Powerful God.  Who am I to take control of this?  Who am I to think that my plans {i.e. fundraisers} are better than any plan God has?

I committed myself to not checking our order status' today.  I told God that every time I had the urge to check, I would pray over our adoption finances instead.

Believe me.  I prayed about them A LOT this afternoon.  I couldn't believe how incredibly HARD it was to not check.  Even as I am typing this, I want to click a few buttons and just "see" if any orders came in today.  Wow!!!

God has definitely been teaching me many lessons today.  How about you?  Have any of you "fasted" from something recently?  What lessons did God teach you?

Fund-Raising Friday

Just Love Coffee ~ One of my co-workers purchased some coffee from our site, and this is what he had to say about it.  "As a coffee Connoisseur, I'll give my WORD that this coffee is the MOST AWESOME jolt you'll have had in years!!!  Try it...You'll like it!!!!!!"  If you are interested in ordering, please click the photo/link on the right side of our blog.  We get $5 for every bag of coffee you order.

Home-made Cards ~ If you are interested {$10 per pkg of 4 cards} please send me an e-mail {hearts1982@gmail.com} or use our "donate" button {just make a note that it is for cards and which pkgs you are ordering}.

Soda Cans ~ Keep 'em coming!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ I was hoping to have an updated picture for you this week, but I guess it's going to have to wait for one more week.  If you are interested in helping us put our African puzzle together, please sponsor a puzzle piece for $10.  Thanks :-).

"Together for Good" Photo Shoot ~ If you haven't had the chance yet, please go check out Erin's blog "Together for Good" and take a look at some of her beautiful photos.  Erin is still willing to set up a photo shoot with you {think Christmas cards!!!} in exchange for a donation of any size to our adoption fund.

Thermometer ~ We've reached and passed the half-way mark toward our dossier!!!!!!!!  Praise the Lord!!!

Fund-Raising Friday

Just Love Coffee ~ I posted about this new fund-raiser earlier this week.  We have had many people tell us what a GREAT idea it is, but we've only had one order!!!  Will you be next???  All you have to do is click on the link on the side bar of our blog.  It will take you to our personalized coffee page and you can order whatever and however much coffee you want.  We will get $5 per bag you order!!!

Home-made Cards ~ We are continuing to sell a couple packets of cards a week.  It would be GREAT if we could have them all sold by Thanksgiving!!!  Will you help us???  Please pass along the info about our unique home-made cards to people you know, and maybe even consider buying some yourself!!!  I know how many cards I run to the store to buy last minute before a Bday, wedding, or anniversary.  Why not stock up on some cards now {$10 a packet = just $2.50 per card!!!}.

Soda Cans ~ It was such a blessing to have a few people bring soda cans/bottles to our garage sale for us.  We have passed $230 worth of deposit money!!!  Thank you!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ Our puzzle was in pieces on the floor for a good portion of this past week :-(.  We needed our card table for the garage sale, and the puzzle broke when we tried to move it.  But we've fixed it and are waiting to add more pieces.  Just $10 to sponsor a puzzle piece.  We will write your name on the back and our children will always have a visual reminder of the many people who helped bring them home to us!!!

"Together for Good" Photo Shoot ~ Erin has been busy with several photo shoots these past couple of weeks.  But she still has some times available.  If you would like to schedule a photo shoot with Erin, she will give you a CD with all the pictures she takes in exchange for a monetary donation of ANY size towards our adoption fund.  If you are interested, please contact Erin via her blog "Together for Good."

Thermometer ~ I love updating our thermometer totals each week!!!  We are now just $158 away from the half-way mark!!!  I can't wait until it's FULL and we can mail our dossier to Ethiopia!!!