Financial Needs

I'm going to try to be completely honest in this post, but I also want to make it known that we are fully and completely trusting in God to provide for the financial needs we have with our adoption!!!!

I'm already finding that it's hard for me to know what I can and cannot say with this adoption. We have had a few possibilities thrown our way that haven't gone farther than a possibility and I don't want to say something and have people think it is a sure thing when it isn't. So I have chosen to simply not say much.

But that makes it hard to share the financial needs with people. We do not have the money we will need to complete a domestic adoption. Honestly, the financial costs will probably be close (if not more) than Nathan makes for a full year of work. We can scrimp and save and Nathan can work overtime and I can take any temporary part-time work that comes my way and still not be able to save the money we need all by ourselves. We need God's help and provision and we honestly feel like that might be one of the reasons that God has put adoption in our lives. To make us trust in HIM instead of being able to do things by ourselves!!!!!

We have a new possibility that has come our way in the past week and we are actively pursuing it. God has put people together in this situation in a way that only He could do, and it's making us sit up and take notice.

It would be a long story if I tried to share it all, so I'm going to try to only include a few details :-).

We are applying to be a "Tier 2" family with Iowa Lutheran Family Services. A "Tier 2" family is already home study ready (apart from LFS) and submits an application and their home study and has a meeting with someone from their agency along with submitting a family profile book, and then that family is on a waiting list. If there is a birth mother that is looking for a specific family or situation and none of the current LFS families meet those needs, then LFS will move to families on their Tier 2 list.

The woman we are working with at LFS is the same person who did our home study for Maya K's adoption. She also did our post-adoption visits and we consider her a good friend. What a blessing to have her helping us through this process. We have a meeting scheduled with her for this coming Thursday!!!!

(This does not mean that we will not be signing on with Christian Adoption Consultants. We can be involved with both organizations. Click HERE for the information we shared previously about CAC.)

Financial Needs

Here is where I'm having trouble knowing how to put into words what I want to say.

There is a small possibility that a certain situation may require us to need a large amount of money very soon. As in less than a month!!!!!

If we are matched with a birth family through the Tier 2 program, we will need $5,000 at the time that we accept that match. At the time of the baby being placed with us, we will need an additional $6,500. 

There may be other fees that arise during this time, but these are what we are focusing on right now.

We knew when we started this process that we did not have the money that we would need. We stepped out in faith knowing that God will provide as He deems best.

Again, I don't want anyone to assume that I just announced a definite of anything!!!! We are joining the Tier 2 program. That is all that is definite. But if we are matched quickly with a birth mother, we will need $11,500 in a very short amount of time!!!!

Will you please join us in praying for these financial needs? We are fervently praying that God will show us how He is going to provide and that we will continue to trust in Him through all of this!!!!!

Fundraisers
We currently have two fundraisers that we have up and going. Would you prayerfully consider helping us with one of these???

Puzzle ~ We are looking for sponsors for pieces of our puzzle!!! For $10 you can sponsor one puzzle piece and we will put your name on the back of the piece. When the puzzle is completed, we will glue it together and frame it. Our child will be able to look at the back of the puzzle and see the names of many of the people who helped us bring them into our family!!!! Please click HERE to see the announcement of this fundraiser and to see a picture of the puzzle we will be putting together. If you are interested in participating, please leave a comment or e-mail me (hearts 1982 @ gmail.com - no spaces!!)

Soda Cans/Bottles ~ We are asking for your empty soda cans/bottles!!! We will recycle them and use the nickel per bottle we receive to put towards our adoption expenses!!! If you are not in the area, but would like to help us with this fundraiser, feel free to recycle in your area and send us the money you receive.

THANK YOU for all the support and encouragement we have received already through this adoption!!!! Please continue to be praying!!!!!

Fundraising Time!!!

It's time to start fundraising for our next adoption!!!!

If you missed the announcement, please click HERE to see it!!!!

This new adoption journey is going to look very different than Maya K's adoption from Ethiopia. The process is completely different and we don't have specific amounts of money that we know we will need for different "steps" in the process. Additionally, we have less income coming in (since I am no longer teaching) to be able to set aside for the agency and legal fees. We are confident that God has led us to begin this journey, and we are confident that HE will provide the money we need at the exact moments we need it!!!!!

Our first financial "goal" is $3,430. We are planning to sign up with Christian Adoption Consultants, and this is the amount we will need to begin the process. This organization will help us throughout the domestic adoption process and we are very excited to use their services. We are praying that this will also allow for a quicker match with a birth mother who is looking for a family for her child. However, this also means that we need to be proactive about raising/saving the money we will need for expenses and legal fees.

Soda Cans
We did this fundraiser for our last adoption and while it was not the most "money-producing" fundraiser, it definitely had the most participation :-).

If you live in our area, we will gladly take all your soda cans and bottles and redeem them. The nickel we receive for each bottle/can will go straight towards our adoption expenses.

If you do not live in our area, but would like to participate, simply save and redeem your bottles/cans and send us the money you receive.

Puzzle
We also did this fundraiser for our last adoption. (To read about it from then, click HERE.)

We are looking for people to "sponsor" puzzle pieces for $10. When a person sponsors a piece, we will write his/her name on the back of the piece and add it to the puzzle. When the puzzle is completed, we will glue it together and frame it. Our child will be able to look at all the names on the back of the puzzle to see how many people prayed for and helped us bring him or her into our family!!!!

PLEASE be praying for us!!!!! We have a journey ahead of us that might be long or it might be short. We honestly have no idea how God is going to provide financially for this process, but we are trusting that He will do it as He deems best. We know that we will be stretched emotionally, financially, and physically, but we are looking forward to the end result!!!!!

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!!!!

Pampered Chef Party

Pam ~ Tomorrow I am hostessing a combined Pampered Chef / Premier Jewelry fundraising party!!!!

We are still about $3,000 short the amount we have estimated we will need to take our two trips to Ethiopia. The first trip will be to meet our little "K" and attend a court date, and the second trip will be when we get to bring our daughter HOME FOREVER!!!!!

This fundraiser is one more way that God could choose to provide some of that money. We know that GOD is the One who is providing for all of our needs throughout this long journey, so we know that He will provide in the way(s) that He chooses. But, a Pampered Chef / Premier Jewelry is FUN!!!!! So I'm excited to have a get together with friends and get to share not only my pictures of "K" but I also have a VIDEO to share now!!!!!! (So if you are in the area and want to see an ADORABLE video of my little girl, you'll have to come to the party!!!! Send me an e-mail or leave a comment if you are coming!!!!)

If you are not in the area OR simply are not able to come, you can still help us by placing a Pampered Chef order online (through Sunday).

Just go to http://www.pamperedchef.biz/DrucksKitchen, look up at the upper right corner of the page and click on "shop online", then enter in the first name "Maxwell" and the last name "Adoption" and your order will go toward my total "sales" for the party. And every order placed will help us bring our daughter home!!!!

There isn't a website for the Premier Jewelry, so if you want to place a jewelry order, you'll have to get a catalog and order form from me. But I have plenty of them, so just send me an e-mail or leave a comment and I'll get one to you (this will have to be local only).

Will you please join me in praying that God will bring in the last of the money that we need for our travel expenses?!?!?!

Lifesong Grant Update

(Click HERE for our original post giving the details of this matching grant we received from Lifesong.)

Pam ~ We are sooooooooooooooooooooo very close to raising the full amount for our matching grant.  We are just about $600 away from meeting the $3,000 goal!!!!!!  We were given a deadline of raising the $3,000 by April 15 ~ and that's just ELEVEN days away!!!!

We are humbly asking for YOUR help in raising this additional $600 (which will be MATCHED ~ totaling $1200 more to put toward our adoption expenses!!!!).

If..................
     100 people donate $6
     50 people donate $12
     25 people donate $24
     20 people donate $30
     15 people donate $40
     10 people donate $60
     6 people donate $100

........we will reach our goal!!!!!!!!!!  Will you PLEASE help us?????

Here is how you can donate.
*Make checks payable to ~ Lifesong for Orphans
*Memo Line ~ preference Maxwell/#1731 adoption
*Mail to ~ Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St., Gridley, IL 61744
OR
*Pay online via PayPal ~ click HERE (note: PayPal does take a percentage from the donation amount)
*Make a note ~ preference Maxwell/#1731 adoption

All donations will go 100% towards our adoption expenses and are tax deductible!!!

(Many of you have already helped us by donating financially towards our adoption and/or supporting us in prayer.  We want to thank all of you for the blessings you have been and continue to be to us!!!!!!)

Fund-Raising Friday + An Adoption Update

Look at our thermometer!!!  Just LOOK at it!!!  We are now just $821 away from reaching our referral total!!!  (Insert SCREAMING here!!!!!!)  Our prayer has continued to be that God would allow us to have the full referral amount completely saved before getting our referral phone call and WE ARE ALMOST THERE!!!!  Can you guess what our prayer is going to be once that thermometer is FULL?!?!?

We still have $602 left on our matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans and we are praying that we might have that amount raised before our deadline of April 15th. 

*Make checks payable to ~ Lifesong for Orphans
*Memo Line ~ preference Maxwell/#1731 adoption
*Mail to ~ Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St., Gridley, IL 61744
OR
*Pay online via PayPal ~ click HERE
*Make a note ~ preference Maxwell/#1731 adoption

We are also continuing to raise money via our "miscellaneous" fundraisers ~ soda cans, "Just Love Coffee" store, hand-made cards, and Faith and Grace quilts.  Just click on any of the names for more information on how YOU can help.

AND..............................................

I have an update from our agency (AWAA) on the adoption situation in Ethiopia.  You might remember that I told you HERE that Ethiopian adoptions were going to be reduced by about 90%.  We were VERY disappointed and yes, even a little discouraged by this news.  But we have been fervent in our prayers that God would work this situation out for His honor and glory and that His will would be done, not only in OUR adoption journey, but in the lives of the estimated 4.8 million orphans in Ethiopia.  You DID read that number correctly.  In 2005, the UNICEF estimated that there were 4.8 MILLION orphans in Ethiopia.  Six years later, that number is probably much higher.

On to the good news :-).  Here is the e-mail we received this past Wednesday from our family coordinator.

Dear Nate & Pam,

We are writing to update you on the current situation in Ethiopia.  While meetings between Ethiopian government officials continue, we have seen positive steps.  Within MOWA, there have been significant and positive personnel changes which have resulted in overall staff turnover and changes in the adoption unit.  This unit is now called the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affiars (MOWCYA).  We are hopeful and expectant that the new leadership will not only support processing an adequate number of favorable recommendation letters, but also implement policies that will best serve the children.  Due to the staffing changes, we anticipate much transition over the next few weeks.  However, we expect that once everyone is settled into their new positions, MOWCYA will work to process a higher number of recommendation letters than they currently are able to process.

We have continued to receive optimistic feedback and have seen that the Ethiopian government is very committed to adoption.  I hope this information is an encouragement to your family.  We will continue to update your family with any confirmed information we receive.


PLEASE continue to keep Ethiopia in your prayers.  God is working and we are excited by this positive news!!!

Fundraising Focus

Soda Cans

We began this fundraiser on June 18, and since then we have deposited 9,570 soda cans/bottles!!!!  That is $478.50 in soda can money!!!  Soooooooooooo many people have been gifting us their empty soda cans and bottles, and we have been redeeming them for a nickel apiece.  Every nickel adds up :-).

We deposit most of our cans/bottles at our local Dahl's store.  They have a nice room with several  machines (+ a sink to wash our hands when we're done!!!) and we have had GREAT service there.  Dahl's will not take generic brand cans, so we also visit HyVee occasionally.  And then the leftover cans (which neither Dahl's nor HyVee will take) we take to a local recycling center.

We have made up to three trips in a week with my car STUFFED full of cans/bottles, and we often make one trip a week.  Our largest "profit" in one trip was $34.05.

Please keep the soda cans and bottles coming our way!!!!

Other Fundraisers ~ Homemade cards, African puzzle, Faith and Grace quilts, Just Love Coffee, Christmas ornaments

Fundraising Focus

African Puzzle

We began this fundraiser back on July 16th and it has been our biggest fundraiser so far!!!  We purchased a 500 piece puzzle and began asking people to sponsor puzzle pieces for $10 each.  As a person sponsors a piece (or more) we write their name on the back of a puzzle piece and add it to our puzzle.  When the puzzle is finished, we will glue it and frame it to hang in our children's bedroom.

To be honest, I never thought that we would actually have all 500 pieces sponsored.  That just seemed like a LOT of pieces, but I thought that it would be neat to see how many would be sponsored before our adoption journey was finished.  My God is bigger and better than my thoughts and plans.  Look at our puzzle today!!!!!

(Sorry about the picture quality!!!)

 We have had 439 puzzle pieces sponsored!!!  That means there are only 61 pieces left!!!  Praise the Lord!!!

Several of those pieces have the name of a person or family who simply gave us a donation towards our adoption expenses.  They did not specifically ask to sponsor a puzzle piece, but we have added their names as a reminder of the many people who have been praying for us and helping us throughout our journey.  We have also had a couple gifts that were semi-anonymous ~ we were told that the money was from God.  So when our children read through the names on the back of their puzzle and they see "God" written on many pieces, we will be able to tell them of the many ways God worked to help us bring them home!!!

If you are interested in helping us finish our puzzle, please send an e-mail to ~ hearts1982@gmail.com ~ or you may make a donation via our "Donate" button on our sidebar.  Simply leave a note letting us know that you would like to sponsor a puzzle piece.

Other Fundraisers ~ Homemade cards, Faith and Grace quilts, Just Love Coffee, Soda cans, Christmas ornaments

Fundraising Focus

Christmas Ornaments

We only have a few left to sell.  While you may no longer personalize these ornaments (we are simply selling the rest of the pre-made ornaments) they would make a GREAT Christmas present for one of those last minute gifts you need to purchase.  We are asking for a $10 donation for each ornament and you may pay via our PayPal donate button OR mail us a check (e-mail me @ hearts1982@gmail.com for our address).  Just leave a message with the number(s) of the ornament (s) you would like to purchase.

#1                                      #2

#3                                       #4

#5 (sold out)                           #6 (sold out)

#7

Other Fundraisers ~ Homemade cards, Pumpkin pies, Faith and Grace quilts, Just Love Coffee, Soda cans, Sponsor a puzzle piece

Fundraising Focus

We're going to try something new!!!  Each Friday, I am going to focus on just ONE of our current fundraisers.  That way you don't have to read a short summary of everything we are doing every Friday and I can go into a little more depth on one specific fundraiser.  If you want more information, you can always leave a comment and ask :-).

Let's start with.....

Home-made Cards

We started this fundraiser back on September 24th.  Nathan's sister, Heidi, enlisted the help of several very creative and talented ladies to make a wide variety of home-made cards.  They made cards for birthdays, get well, wedding, sympathy, and general friendship cards {just to name a few}.  Heidi collected all these cards and we put them into 4-card packets.  We made All-Occasion packets as well as Birthday packets.

We are asking for a $10 donation for each card packet (breaks down to $2.50 per card), and if you are interested in buying some very cute home-made cards AND helping with our adoption expenses, simply send me an e-mail {hearts1982@gmail.com} and let me know how many and which kind of card packets you would like to purchase.  OR you can pay via our PayPal "donate" button and simply leave a note with the same information there.  We are willing and able to ship these cards anywhere within the continental US.

CHRISTMAS IDEA: Maybe you still need a Christmas present for a co-worker, babysitter, beautician, teacher, etc.  This would be a great idea for a creative gift without costing you a fortune.  Just a thought :-).

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????

Quilts & Christmas Ornaments

We have two new fund-raisers!!!

Faith and Grace Quilts ~ I have a good friend from my college days {we worked with the babies at a local daycare ~ good memories!!} who wants to help us bring our babies home!!!  She has planned out an adorable fund-raiser and tells all about it on her blog ~ "27 Penguin Place."  Please take a minute to go read the info.  Karen is going to orchestrate the entire thing {Thank You, Karen!!}, collect the money, send out thank you cards with pictures, and make our babies some warm and loving quilts.  I can't wait to wrap my babies in their special quilts and tell them all about the wonderful people who worked so hard to help us bring them home!!!  {My eyes are filling with tears as I type this!!!}

Christmas Ornaments ~ It's almost time to put up your Christmas trees and start decorating them.  Growing up, decorating the Christmas tree was a family tradition and I have wonderful memories of spending time with my family.  I can't wait until we have our children with us to decorate our family tree {maybe next Christmas????}.

My mom loves to cross-stitch and she does some amazing work.  She called me recently and asked if she could make some cross-stitched Christmas ornaments for us to sell as a fund-raiser.  Here are some examples of the types of ornaments she can make {many of them can be personalized to what you would like}.

#1                                  #2

#3                                     #4

                     #5                                   #6 {specify color}

#7                                #8

#9                                 #10

                   #11                              #12 {specify names}

#13                                  #14

                               #15                           #16 {no longer available}

If you are interested in purchasing one of these ornaments, please e-mail me {hearts1982@gmail.com} with the number {listed below the pictures} of the ornament(s) you would like.  My mom can add a name, date, "Baby's first Christmas," "First Christmas Together," etc. to most of the ornaments.  We are asking for a minimum donation of $10 per ornament.

Happy Tree Decorating!!!

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?

Tupperware

We are so excited to be starting a new two-week FUN-raiser!!!  Tupperware is a great company with a wonderful product that is high quality and lasts for almost FOREVER!!!  The Tupperware fun-raising program will give us 40% of what is sold ~ but we are getting an even better deal!!!  Our Tupperware "lady" is the mom of one of Pam's former students and she is giving us her profit of 10%, so we will be profiting 50%of what is sold!!!!  What an incredible blessing!!!! 

 Here is how it works.  If you are interested in ordering, all you have to do it go to this Tupperware link and shop {make sure you click on our link, otherwise we will not get the credit}.  Your order will be shipped directly to you {as long as you are anywhere within the USA}.  When the two weeks is over, we will receive a check for 50% of what was sold.  So please pass along our info to friends, family members, or anyone you know who might be interested.  This is a GREAT idea to consider for Christmas presents {hint, hint}!!!

 Also, if you would like a packet that contains the Tupperware fun-raising line of products to pass around to people you know, please let me know.  I have 25 packets that I can distribute to people {if you are local to central IA, that is} and you can collect orders via the included order form and personal checks. 

 We are praying that we will be able to submit our dossier by Christmas, and are working hard to bring in the $3589 that we still need.  This fund-raiser could really help us lower that amount, and we are praying hard to that end.  Will you please join us in this endeavor?????

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!!!

Garage Sale Photos

This was me at 1:00 in the morning.  I was holding up pretty well!!!

I think it was torture for Nathan to not "test" all the yummy bake sale treats we had in our kitchen.

At 5:45 on Friday morning, we were setting up on our driveway.

Our garage was PACKED to full and overflowing.  What a blessing!!!

Can you see the mess we were trying to work through???

My handsome, hard working husband.  I just love him!!!

Look under the table.  All those bags were full of girls' clothes that we had no place to put.  We had a few moms come to our sale who were willing to sit on the driveway and just dig through the bags.  They got some GREAT deals on cute clothes!!!

This was my station.  We put out our home-made cards and had a little "flier" that told a little about our adoption journey.  {Along with my snack and mini Mt. Dew to keep me going!!}

My sister, Kristi, came on Saturday to help for the morning.  Thanks, Kristi!!!

Praise the Lord for His goodness and blessings!!!!

Garage Sale Blessings

Pam ~ Our sale was finished over a week ago, so it's about time that I share some of the many blessings God sent our way throughout the week leading up to our sale, the sale itself, and the days following.  This may be long.  But stick with me.  Please???

*People donated more things than we ever imagined.  We thought we would just have a "little fundraising garage sale."  By Wednesday of that week, we had our entire garage stuffed full and people were still contacting us to pick things up.

*We posted about our sale on our Christian radio station's website.  They {Life 107.1} announced our sale several times throughout the week.  Totally didn't expect that!!!

*I {Pam} was really stressed about preparing good signs to direct people to our sale.  On Wednesday, my associate teacher volunteered to stencil the signs for me, and the junior high class volunteered to paint the signs for us!!!  They ended up bigger and brighter than anything I would have done.

*We "accidentally" got the EXACT number of smaller pre-made garage sale signs and when Nathan "guessed" at the number of wooden stakes we would need {he added 1 extra} we had EXACTLY the number we needed.  {This saved us from having to run to WalMart at 9 o'clock on Thursday evening.  A BIG deal!!!}

*We went to post on Craigslist {at 8 p.m. on Thursday night} and someone had already posted our garage sale info at 9 that morning!!!  People had been seeing our sale all day!!!

*The ISU game was away {meant more people in town to come to our sale}

*The weather was perfect.

*LOTS of people stopped by our sale.  Many of them gave a little extra money and told us to "keep the change."

*A fellow adoptive mom stopped by and helped us by putting out many of the donations that we didn't have room for on Friday morning.  She gave of her own time to find places for the rest of the items.

*After our sale was over and done with, we had someone come by and give us another $20 as they took a few more items from our still stuffed garage.

*We were contacted by someone, after the sale was done, who ended up buying the pool table that had been donated and was taking up so much room in our garage.  {This was a HUGE blessing.  We didn't know WHAT we were going to do with that pool table!!!} 

*We thought that $300-$400 would be an amazing sale.  God showed us that He is even more amazing and incredible and He gave us $1051 from our garage sale!!!!!!