Matching Grant from Lifesong

We are excited to announce that our family has been chosen to receive a matching grant of up to $2,000 from Lifesong for Orphans (through Lutheran Family Services)!!!!!!

Here are the details.

 - Lifesong will match ANY DONATION up to $2,000 between now and January 14, 2015!!! So, for example, if a person were to donate $25 (or any other amount) to our adoption fund, Lifesong will match it to give us a total of $50!!!

 - You can MAIL your check to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744. Checks should be made payable to "Lifesong for Orphans." In the memo, write "Maxwell #4931" to assure it goes into our family account. Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all U.S. administrative and fundraising costs. That means 100% of your donation will go directly towards our adoption!!!!!

 - You can PAY ONLINE by going to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate. Select "give to an Adoptive Family." Complete the online form and fill in "Family Account Number" (4931) and "Family Name" (Maxwell) fields. NOTE: PayPal charges an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction. Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.

 -  (NOTE: In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to the named non-profit organization. This organization retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor's suggested use. Individual donations $50 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Receipts for donations under $50 will gladly be sent upon request. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.)

Would you please consider helping us continue to raise/save the remaining $6,300 we need to complete Layla's adoption? (Her adoption will be finalized sometime in February.)

Puzzle
We have not yet completed Layla's puzzle!!!! We have had 178 pieces sponsored with leaves us with 322 more pieces. If we had just 200 of those pieces sponsored, we would completely FILL our matching grant and be that much closer to having Layla's adoption paid for!!!! If you would like to donate via Lifesong to have your donation matched and would like your donation to be put toward sponsoring a puzzle piece, please just send me an email or FB message to let me know. For every $10 we will put your name on the back of a puzzle piece!!!!!

Will you have a part in helping us make Layla Autumn Rose a legal part of our family?!?!

Final Expenses for Layla's Adoption

Layla is already TWO MONTHS OLD!!!!! Time is moving quickly and she is growing and changing so much!!!! We are completely in love with her!!!!

Layla's adoption will be finalized when she is six months old, so we have four months left to raise/save the money we need for final expenses. I guess it's time for us to get busy!!!! (We have already been trying to save what money we can from our budget.)

Agency Fee ($5,200) ~ We have one more fee of $5,200 to pay to our adoption agency, Lutheran Family Services of Iowa, when the adoption is finalized at 6 months.

Attorney Fees ($1,100) ~ We will have an attorney fee of $1,100 for the legal work that is involved to finalize Layla's adoption.

Pay Back Interest-Free Loan ($5,000) ~ Because we only had eight days notice before Layla's birth (and the needed $10,200 agency fees needed to accept her placement with us), a family member loaned us $5,000. We would like to repay them as soon as we can.

That brings the total we need in four months to $6,300 and then the additional $5,000 as soon as we are able.

The company Nathan works for has an adoption-reimbursement program and we are anticipating receiving $5,000 from the company as soon as Layla's adoption is finalized. We would like to have saved the $6,300 we need and be able to use the company's reimbursement to pay back the loan. That would leave us "debt" free at the end of this adoption!!!!!

Nathan has begun the process of applying for an adoption grant and we will be continuing to look into a few other grant options.

If you would like to help us in some way, here are the fundraisers that we have up and going (we were just getting started with fundraising when we were contacted about Layla).

Soda Cans ~ If you are local, we will take your soda cans/bottles off your hands and redeem them for a nickel apiece.

Puzzle ~ If you would like to sponsor a puzzle piece for $10, we will write your name on the back of the piece and then add it to Layla's puzzle. (I have to be honest. We have had many pieces already sponsored, but I have not kept good track of the numbers and have not even begun to put them on the puzzle pieces OR put the puzzle together. But it is on my "to do" list :-).)

Donate ~ If you feel led to simply donate towards Layla's adoption, there is a "Donate" button on the right sidebar of this blog. Simply click on the button and donate that way.

I am hoping to get one or two more fundraisers up and going in the next few weeks. I know that four months is going to FLY by and we will be needing the money to finalize Layla's adoption and make her officially a part of our family!!!!!!

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 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

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!!!!

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!!!

Fund-Raising Friday....on Saturday

Garage Sale ~ Yep.  We're going to do it.  And we're going to do it NEXT WEEKEND!!!  What have we gotten ourselves into???  We are asking for people to donate items for our garage sale and are going to start collecting them throughout this next week.  We're hoping to completely fill up our garage and then be able to sell EVERYTHING!!!  This has been and continues to be a little overwhelming, but we're hoping to raise a few hundred dollars for our adoption fund!!!  If you have done a garage sale in the past and have any nuggets of wisdom to pass along to us, we would LOVE to hear from you.  And, even better, if you live in central IA and know us personally, and would be willing/able to come help sort, label, set up, etc. this next Thursday and Friday, that would be FABULOUS!!!!  We are going to have our sale on Friday from 8-6 and on Saturday from 8-12 noon.  Would you be praying with us for good weather and for lots of things to sell??

Bake Sale ~ We are also going to be having a bake sale along with our garage sale {I think??}.  Hopefully I can get lots of volunteers to help bake cookies, pies, cakes, and breads!!!  Would any of you who are in central IA like to help????  Just let me know :-).

Home-made Cards ~ Would you like to help our adoption fund AND come away with some adorable home-made cards?  They are only $10 a packet {$2.50 a card} and contain 4 unique and creative cards.  You can choose between an All-Occasion packet or a Birthday packet.  Or go ahead and get one or more of each.  We all use many cards throughout the year, so why not stock up now?!?!  If you are interested, send me an e-mail {hearts1982@gmail.com} or pay via our "Donate" button located on the sidebar.  Just make a note that it is for cards and specify how many of each packet you would like.  We are willing/able to ship them anywhere in the US, so don't let distance stop you :-).

Soda Cans ~ Keep them coming!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ Let's keep putting this puzzle together!!!  You can send me an e-mail {hearts1982@gmail.com} or pay via the "Donate" button.  Just make a note that it is for a puzzle piece.

"Together for Good" Photo Shoot ~ Erin is still scheduling photo shoots to help with our adoption funds.  She has had a couple of her shoots already {check them out at Together for Good} and has a few more scheduled.  If you live in central Iowa and would like to get some GREAT photos AND help with our adoption costs, please contact Erin here.  HINT, HINT ~ Think Christmas cards!!!

Would you be willing to help us out by passing along our fund-raising information to your family and friends?  The more people know about our fund-raisers, the more successful they will be.  And the more successful they are, the sooner we will have the money saved to submit our dossier {current goal}, to accept our referral, and travel costs for court and to bring them home.  Thank you for all your prayers!!!!

Fund-Raising Friday + A WINNER!!!!

Home-made Cards ~ We have sold 16 packets of our cards over this past week!!!  Praise the Lord!!!  It has been so encouraging to us to see so many people interested in this fund-raiser.  We still have 64 packets left, so there are plenty more for YOU!!!  Each packet contains 4 different and uniquely made cards, and we are asking for a $10 minimum donation per packet.  Just let us know how many All-Occasion or Birthday packets you want.  We are willing to mail these cards anywhere in the US.  You may pay via our "Donate" button, or e-mail me {hearts1982@gmail.com} to arrange payment via cash or check.

Soda Cans ~ This fund-raiser took an interesting turn this week :-).  A friend contacted us and asked if he could pay us 10 cents per soda can, up to 200 cans!!!  He needs soda cans for a project he is working on, and he figured he could get his cans quickly AND help our adoption fund at the same time :-).  We currently had almost 200 soda cans in the car, so we ran them over to him and let him take them off our hands.  What a GREAT idea!!!  Does anyone else need soda cans from us???

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ We now have 98 puzzle pieces sponsored!!!  That's almost 1/5th of our puzzle!!!  This picture was taken last Sunday, and does not include the most recent 6 pieces sponsored.  But you can see that the edge is finished and we have begun filling in the middle!!!  Thank you to everyone who has had a part in putting this puzzle together!!!  If you are interested in sponsoring a puzzle piece for $10, you may pay via our "Donate" button {just make a note that it is for our puzzle} or e-mail me {hearts1982@gmail.com}.

Together for Good Photo Shoot ~ Erin has her first TWO photo shoots scheduled for tomorrow!!!  We're so excited to see this fund-raiser up and running.  If you are interested in a photo shoot with Erin, along with a CD of all the pictures she takes and edits, in exchange for a monetary gift of ANY SIZE to our adoption fund, please contact Erin at Together for Good.

Thermometer ~ Our thermometer rose higher this week!!!  We are now at 23% of our total dossier goal!!!  Praise the Lord for His great and wonderful provision!!!

GIVEAWAY ~ Thank you to everyone who participate in our giveaway this past week.

 

And the winner is........

**Kristi**

Congratulations!!!  We will be giving these 10 beautiful home-made Christmas gift tags to you.  Thanks for all your prayer and support of our adoption!!!

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!!!!

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!!!!!

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!!!

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!!!!!

Fund-Raising . . . Saturday???

I missed it.  It wasn't until late last night that I remembered it was Friday and I hadn't done our weekly fund-raising post.  Apparently the busyness of school has started and I'm losing my grip on my routine.  It always happens, but it somehow snuck up on me this year.  Hopefully it will only take a couple of weeks to get back into my school routine and start remembering things again :-).

Soda Cans ~ I currently have a few bags sitting in the trunk of my car that I need to deposit.  It's in my plan for today :-P.  It continues to amaze me how many people are passing along their soda cans/bottles to us for our adoption fund.  I'm sooooooo excited that we have already brought in $92.10 in soda can money!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ We were planning to begin putting the puzzle together this week, but with Nathan working over-time and me not getting home until late {I'm putting my classroom together} it didn't happen :-(.  Maybe this next week???  If you are interested in sponsoring a puzzle piece for $10, please leave a comment here or on Facebook, or e-mail me at hearts1982@gmail.com.  Thanks!!!

Mary Kay Adoption Fund-Raiser Party ~ I had 4 friends attend my party last Saturday and we had a lot of fun!!!  Several other people ordered on-line.  Thank You!!!  Clisty will be letting me know next week how much money we raised!!!  I'm excited to hear how much God has provided via this party!!!

My sister, Kristi and Me

My friend Elizabeth

Homemade Cards ~ Nathan's sister, Heidi, has been working very hard on this fund-raising project!!!  She has been recruiting people to make cards, and gathering them over the past two months.  We are almost ready to start selling them!!!  Stay tuned for more info. coming in September!!!

Thermometer ~ It's rising!!!  Nathan has continued to get lots of over-time this week {he's working 8 hours of over-time again today!!!} and we hope to have met our current goal {and be started on the next one!!!} by the end of next week.  Thank you for all your continued prayers!!!

Fund-Raising Friday

Soda Cans ~ We are heading to the bank today to make our first deposit of soda can cash!!  We have now received $86.30 in soda can deposits and have decided to make our first deposit a little early.  WE LOVE SODA CANS!!!!!

Photo Scanning ~ We have completed 2 photo scanning orders and are now closing this fund-raiser {for now, at least}.  However, if you become interested in us scanning and archiving your photos, please contact us and we can arrange to do this for you at a later date.  Thanks!!!!!

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ We now have 65 puzzle pieces sponsored and paid for!!!!  Praise the Lord!!!!!  Special Blessing: We received a note and check in the mail this week from a couple in NE who is also adopting two children from Ethiopia.  They have been following our blog and decided that they wanted to participate in sponsoring some puzzle pieces.  Our hearts were sooooooo very touched by their sacrifice in the midst of their own financial mountains!!!  Thank You!!!!!!!

Mary Kay Adoption Fund-Raiser Party ~ Pam's "Mary Kay" party is tomorrow morning and she is excited to see who will come.  A couple of people have already ordered a few items on-line {www.marykay.com/clistyporter} and we will be receiving those profits in a short while.  If you would like to still order, please visit the above site and simply make a note that it is for the "Maxwell Children."  Thanks!!!!!


New Goal ~ Our thermometer has been updated to show the progress towards our next financial goal.  The $830 should be what we need for the USCIS Fee, Update Fee & Fingerprinting.  What a blessing to see that it is already over half way filled up!!!!!  We are very hopeful {and prayerful!!!} that with all the over-time Nathan has gotten this past week, we will be able to meet this goal within the next two weeks {that's how long before he gets paid again!!}.

Fund-Raising Friday

Soda Cans ~ We are up to $76.45 in soda can money!!!!!!!!  We store this money in our "Tootsie Roll" jar and once we have $100 in the jar, we will go make a deposit!!!  We are getting closer so keep the cans/bottles coming!!!!!!!! 

Photo Scanning ~ We received another order on Monday!!!!!  The time-line for this fund-raiser is almost over {school starts for me in just a couple of weeks} so if you are interested, let us know ASAP.  It's 10 cents a photo and $1.50 for each CD needed to store them.

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece ~ Fourty-two puzzle pieces have been paid for, and we are waiting for payment on 17 more!!!!!  What a blessing it has been to see how many people are praying for us and encouraging us in our adoption journey!!!!!!  If you are interested in sponsoring a puzzle piece for $10, please contact us!!!!!

 Mary Kay Adoption Fund-raiser Party ~ Saturday, August 21st, at 9:30 a.m.  I haven't heard any definites yet on who will be able to come, so if you are planning to attend, please let me know ASAP.  You can send me an e-mail {hearts1982@gmail.com}, or check out my Facebook event page for more info.  If you are unable to attend, but would still like to order, please go to Clisty Porter's webpage {www.marykay.com/clistyporter}to order.  Just make a note that it is for the "Maxwell Children."

Thermometer ~ It's been RISING!!!!!  We are only about $250 away from our current goal!!!!!  God has been providing in His time and it's amazing to see how He is working!!!

I also wanted to mention that we have added an additional thermometer {God's Provision} at the bottom of the sidebar.  This thermometer will track our total adoption costs to date through our current financial goal.  Did I lose you????  The total at the top of the thermometer IS NOT the total needed for our adoption.  But it is the total that we have saved/spent/need thus far.  By the time we have saved/paid the $1475 we need for our post-adoption fees, we will have spent a total of $5,496 in adoption expenses {application fee-$250; passports-$230; 1st agency fee-$1,500; Hague training-$175; Home Study fee-$1,800; COIIS-$30; post-placement fees-$1475; home study travel fee-$36}.  This thermometer will track the total of what God has provided and show the difference between what has already been provided, and what we still need to meet our current goal.  I know that I just threw a whole bunch of numbers at you, but hopefully it makes a little bit of sense?????  This is just to remind us of how GREAT is God's provision!!!!!