God has been doing an amazing work in my heart. I have tried on my own to change and grow, but that just hasn't seemed to work in my favor...haha.
I have been through a difficult and painful season of my life and I can honestly say that I am seeing real change and growth in my life. FINALLY. Being on this path has caused a lot of sadness, tears, anger, jealousy, resentment....the list could go on. BUT God is removing those emotions and replacing them with TRUE joy, love, and peace. Joy, love and peace that only He can give.
God keeps bringing certain verses to my mind on a daily basis. The first set he showed me was during my miscarriage in Feb. 2005, and he's been reminding me of them again. It's amazing to me that God can bring just the right verses when you need them the most and use them to encourage and strengthen you. God has brought other verses to me through the years, but these particular ones have been foremost on my mind recently.
Jeremiah 18:1-6
"The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel."
I couldn't have gotten through those dark days without them. It's been almost 10 years since that time and I've struggled immensely with my emotions, God's love for me, and asking why me. I am so thankful for God's grace in my life and that he continues to work on me even in the midst of my failure, questioning and anger toward Him. Looking back over these years, I am in awe of all God has been doing in my life. Not just in this particular struggle, but in all areas of my life.
Isaiah 43: 18-19
Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
God is doing a new thing in my heart...changing it. True change not based on emotions. He is making a way through this season of my life. It is springing forth and I am SEEING IT.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Sunday, July 6, 2014
We said YES!
Without even knowing his name or seeing his face....we said YES!
We even had the option to say no after seeing his picture, knowing his name and reviewing his medical history....we still said YES!
This was THE phone call we had been waiting on for so long. I was driving and Charis was sitting beside me in the passenger seat. I almost didn't answer it because I was afraid it was a telemarketer. But I answered it and I am so glad I did! As soon as I heard our family coordinator say her name, I KNEW what the phone call was about! WOW! What a moment! I almost broke down as soon as I heard her voice, but I held it together. (I probably should have pulled over, but thankfully, I was able to get through the phone call while driving!). Our family coordinator laughed and said, "This is the fun part!". This would be the fun part of her job, calling families about referrals! Charis knew after a few minutes what the phone call was about and immediately she began to cry too. I got off the phone with her and called Caleb, but I couldn't even talk to him on the phone, so I went to his work instead so we could talk about it. There were a few minor health concerns that our family coordinator wanted us to be aware of before we made our decision.
We all three sat in the car and talked about the phone call and this little boy waiting in Ethiopia for a forever family. Charis has a birthday coming up and she said through her tears, "This is the best birthday present ever!" We wholeheartedly agreed with her!
We talked about the health issues knowing that he will receive great medical care here in America. But the two biggest things that sealed the deal for us were two things: God's sovereignty and the Gospel.
We trust in God's sovereignty and that his plan for us is perfect. We couldn't imagine saying no after waiting for THIS phone call.
The Gospel of course always plays an important role in every decision and aspect of our lives. Adoption is the most beautiful display of the gospel. God adopted us into his family. He doesn't care what we look like, what our past looks like. He loves us no matter what. He accepts us no matter what. So in light of this, we said this was the little boy God hand-picked for our family!
We have been able to FaceTime and Skype with family not living around here to show his pictures and videos and that has been so much fun! We've been able to share his pictures with our friends and family here. It brings us so much joy and excitement in seeing their reaction to the little guy's pictures and videos. I love that our family and friends are so excited and happy for us! The consensus is all the aunties can't wait to pinch his little cheeks! This little guy is already loved by so many people...he is going to be so overwhelmed (in a good way)!!
I can't wait to be able to post his picture online, but we can't until this adoption is finalized. We have to be super careful about what we share. We may not be able to answer your questions about his background to protect him, his background and story. We will let him make the decision on how much to share when he is older.
For now, I will share his name and age. We had the name Calvin picked out previously, but we have since changed it to Corey. We changed it because Corey means 'Chosen'. His name will be Corey Kelley. He is 3 years old, loves to dance (as evidenced by the two videos we received!). His middle name will be his given name, but we can't share that at this time.
We have to take two trips and are awaiting dates for the first trip. Ethiopian court closes from mid-August to Sept/Oct. due to the rainy season. Roads become pretty much impassable during this time. We aren't sure if we can make our first trip before this happens, but if we don't our first trip will be in Oct. sometime. We have approximately 8 months from the time of our referral call to when we can bring him home which would be in March!
We are anxious to meet Corey face to face and get to know him on our first trip! We will have to say good-bye which will be incredibly hard, but knowing that we will be able to bring him home on our second trip will hopefully make it a little easier to say goodbye...doubtful...but we're so close to the end of this part of our journey! The real journey will begin when we bring him home! =)
We even had the option to say no after seeing his picture, knowing his name and reviewing his medical history....we still said YES!
This was THE phone call we had been waiting on for so long. I was driving and Charis was sitting beside me in the passenger seat. I almost didn't answer it because I was afraid it was a telemarketer. But I answered it and I am so glad I did! As soon as I heard our family coordinator say her name, I KNEW what the phone call was about! WOW! What a moment! I almost broke down as soon as I heard her voice, but I held it together. (I probably should have pulled over, but thankfully, I was able to get through the phone call while driving!). Our family coordinator laughed and said, "This is the fun part!". This would be the fun part of her job, calling families about referrals! Charis knew after a few minutes what the phone call was about and immediately she began to cry too. I got off the phone with her and called Caleb, but I couldn't even talk to him on the phone, so I went to his work instead so we could talk about it. There were a few minor health concerns that our family coordinator wanted us to be aware of before we made our decision.
We all three sat in the car and talked about the phone call and this little boy waiting in Ethiopia for a forever family. Charis has a birthday coming up and she said through her tears, "This is the best birthday present ever!" We wholeheartedly agreed with her!
We talked about the health issues knowing that he will receive great medical care here in America. But the two biggest things that sealed the deal for us were two things: God's sovereignty and the Gospel.
We trust in God's sovereignty and that his plan for us is perfect. We couldn't imagine saying no after waiting for THIS phone call.
The Gospel of course always plays an important role in every decision and aspect of our lives. Adoption is the most beautiful display of the gospel. God adopted us into his family. He doesn't care what we look like, what our past looks like. He loves us no matter what. He accepts us no matter what. So in light of this, we said this was the little boy God hand-picked for our family!
We have been able to FaceTime and Skype with family not living around here to show his pictures and videos and that has been so much fun! We've been able to share his pictures with our friends and family here. It brings us so much joy and excitement in seeing their reaction to the little guy's pictures and videos. I love that our family and friends are so excited and happy for us! The consensus is all the aunties can't wait to pinch his little cheeks! This little guy is already loved by so many people...he is going to be so overwhelmed (in a good way)!!
I can't wait to be able to post his picture online, but we can't until this adoption is finalized. We have to be super careful about what we share. We may not be able to answer your questions about his background to protect him, his background and story. We will let him make the decision on how much to share when he is older.
For now, I will share his name and age. We had the name Calvin picked out previously, but we have since changed it to Corey. We changed it because Corey means 'Chosen'. His name will be Corey Kelley. He is 3 years old, loves to dance (as evidenced by the two videos we received!). His middle name will be his given name, but we can't share that at this time.
We have to take two trips and are awaiting dates for the first trip. Ethiopian court closes from mid-August to Sept/Oct. due to the rainy season. Roads become pretty much impassable during this time. We aren't sure if we can make our first trip before this happens, but if we don't our first trip will be in Oct. sometime. We have approximately 8 months from the time of our referral call to when we can bring him home which would be in March!
We are anxious to meet Corey face to face and get to know him on our first trip! We will have to say good-bye which will be incredibly hard, but knowing that we will be able to bring him home on our second trip will hopefully make it a little easier to say goodbye...doubtful...but we're so close to the end of this part of our journey! The real journey will begin when we bring him home! =)
Friday, May 23, 2014
Infertility and the Gospel
'3 Months and Counting' was my last blog entry. We are still counting. As with any international adoptions, they are so unpredictable. And so we wait. And wait. And wait....knowing that God has something magnificent planned. And so we wait.
God has been teaching me a lot about myself, about the struggles I have faced and still face with infertility, and adoption (which I will continue to learn once we adopt too!). But most importantly, I have learned more about HIM.
You can fill in the blank of the title with ANY struggle you may facing, we all need to look at our trials and struggles through the lens of the gospel. If we don't, we will feel defeated, discouraged, downhearted, and depressed. I have been there...many times.
We are all in need of a Savior, no matter how young or how old. We NEED Jesus. I have questioned God A LOT in the midst of my struggle as to why He would allow me to go through infertility and why we have been unable to bear more children. It is exhausting. I believe it is OK, to ask God why, but not constantly. It has taken a hold of me and caused feelings of bitterness and anger toward God and toward those I love. God wants me to trust Him and the plans he has laid out for me, no matter what it looks like. He wants me to be obedient and faithful. He is BIGGER than infertility and any other struggle or trial you or I are going through or may face in the future. When sin entered this world, everything fell apart. You name it, it's tainted by sin. Sin is the reason for infertility, sickness, disease, crime, etc. NOT God. In knowing that sin is the culprit and not God, it brings such relief and joy to me! I have been struggling with this for so long! I have been blaming and questioning God as to why He couldn't just 'fix this' about me. He is after all, big and powerful, right?? But that's not the point. The point is, if we DID NOT have struggles, trials, or temptations we would not see our need for a Savior. I NEED a Savior. Jesus loved you and me enough to come to this earth and take on human flesh as a baby to grow and be a part of this world to eventually die on the cross for our sins. Thankfully, he didn't stop there. He ROSE again! There is such HOPE in that, especially when loved ones die that are believers (or that baby we miscarried Feb. 15, 2005). We will see them again!
I am so thankful for the church that God has led us to. The gospel is preached and Jesus is magnified. I am surrounded by women who love me and pray for me. I am able to be open and honest about my struggle without feeling shamed or that others are thinking, "She's crying....AGAIN." I'm a crier no matter what it is =). I also have women in my life who will point me to Jesus when I start feeling sorry for myself.
I would love to say, that I don't struggle with feelings of jealousy or resentment after all these years. Charis is 10 going on 11. The older she gets, the harder this struggle for me is because she is getting so much older. It's hard to explain. Baby showers and pregnant bellies are still a struggle, but I know that one day, the pain will lessen and I won't have such a hard time anymore. This is a part of who I am and always will be, but it does define me. As a Christian, I am NOT defined by anything, anyone or my circumstances except Christ. I haven't gotten an answer to the 'why', but God has shown Himself faithful through this. His answer to me has been that He is here to show his love, grace, peace and comfort. He has done that through His Word, my family, and friends.
While we have waited and longed for this child, this adoption is not the end all for me. My fulfillment does not come from the child we adopt, my family, friends, stuff, money, etc. My fulfillment comes from Jesus, no matter what happens even if this adoption falls through. While that would be devastating, I need to remember that God is in control no matter what and that His plans are so much better than mine.
We know we are nearing the end on receiving that call about a referral. We are anxious and anticipating that phone call when we hear they have a child picked out for us! Adoption is such a wonderful reminder of God's love and grace for us. It's also an amazing reminder of the gospel! He adopted/handpicked me to be a part of his family and now we anxiously wait for the child God has handpicked specifically for our family. We rest in His sovereignty knowing His timing is perfect and complete. And so we wait...patiently and confidently.
Isaiah 55: 8-13
8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11. so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
God has been teaching me a lot about myself, about the struggles I have faced and still face with infertility, and adoption (which I will continue to learn once we adopt too!). But most importantly, I have learned more about HIM.
You can fill in the blank of the title with ANY struggle you may facing, we all need to look at our trials and struggles through the lens of the gospel. If we don't, we will feel defeated, discouraged, downhearted, and depressed. I have been there...many times.
We are all in need of a Savior, no matter how young or how old. We NEED Jesus. I have questioned God A LOT in the midst of my struggle as to why He would allow me to go through infertility and why we have been unable to bear more children. It is exhausting. I believe it is OK, to ask God why, but not constantly. It has taken a hold of me and caused feelings of bitterness and anger toward God and toward those I love. God wants me to trust Him and the plans he has laid out for me, no matter what it looks like. He wants me to be obedient and faithful. He is BIGGER than infertility and any other struggle or trial you or I are going through or may face in the future. When sin entered this world, everything fell apart. You name it, it's tainted by sin. Sin is the reason for infertility, sickness, disease, crime, etc. NOT God. In knowing that sin is the culprit and not God, it brings such relief and joy to me! I have been struggling with this for so long! I have been blaming and questioning God as to why He couldn't just 'fix this' about me. He is after all, big and powerful, right?? But that's not the point. The point is, if we DID NOT have struggles, trials, or temptations we would not see our need for a Savior. I NEED a Savior. Jesus loved you and me enough to come to this earth and take on human flesh as a baby to grow and be a part of this world to eventually die on the cross for our sins. Thankfully, he didn't stop there. He ROSE again! There is such HOPE in that, especially when loved ones die that are believers (or that baby we miscarried Feb. 15, 2005). We will see them again!
I am so thankful for the church that God has led us to. The gospel is preached and Jesus is magnified. I am surrounded by women who love me and pray for me. I am able to be open and honest about my struggle without feeling shamed or that others are thinking, "She's crying....AGAIN." I'm a crier no matter what it is =). I also have women in my life who will point me to Jesus when I start feeling sorry for myself.
I would love to say, that I don't struggle with feelings of jealousy or resentment after all these years. Charis is 10 going on 11. The older she gets, the harder this struggle for me is because she is getting so much older. It's hard to explain. Baby showers and pregnant bellies are still a struggle, but I know that one day, the pain will lessen and I won't have such a hard time anymore. This is a part of who I am and always will be, but it does define me. As a Christian, I am NOT defined by anything, anyone or my circumstances except Christ. I haven't gotten an answer to the 'why', but God has shown Himself faithful through this. His answer to me has been that He is here to show his love, grace, peace and comfort. He has done that through His Word, my family, and friends.
While we have waited and longed for this child, this adoption is not the end all for me. My fulfillment does not come from the child we adopt, my family, friends, stuff, money, etc. My fulfillment comes from Jesus, no matter what happens even if this adoption falls through. While that would be devastating, I need to remember that God is in control no matter what and that His plans are so much better than mine.
We know we are nearing the end on receiving that call about a referral. We are anxious and anticipating that phone call when we hear they have a child picked out for us! Adoption is such a wonderful reminder of God's love and grace for us. It's also an amazing reminder of the gospel! He adopted/handpicked me to be a part of his family and now we anxiously wait for the child God has handpicked specifically for our family. We rest in His sovereignty knowing His timing is perfect and complete. And so we wait...patiently and confidently.
Isaiah 55: 8-13
8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11. so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
3 months and counting!
We heard from our adoption agency and we are so excited! We have 3 months left of waiting before we get our referral, but we have some paperwork that needs to be updated. Although, we have more paperwork to do, it's exciting to think of how close we are to the adoption being finalized!
Here's what we have to update (the first five have to be notarized):
Let me explain what this means for us. A referral is when we receive a phone call from our adoption agency letting us know that they have a baby matched to us. Once we receive the email with his picture and medical history, we can say yes or no to this referral.....UMMM....we can't imagine saying no after waiting this long!! We are asking for 0-2 years, the oldest he could be when we get him would be 1 year and 11 months. Once we say yes we will then pay $8,000 (raised so far $5,700) in fees which go toward the agency and the orphanage in Ethiopia. The agency will then give us a date of our first trip to Ethiopia which we are estimating to cost $7,000.
This first trip is our court date where the judge approves us for this adoption (some families don't get approved the first time because of additional paperwork needed; we are hoping we get approved during this time!). We will get to meet him on this trip!! We will have a week in Ethiopia to do paperwork, sightseeing, and of course, getting to know Calvin. We will then have a couple of weeks after we get home before we can go and pick him up, I do believe that will be the hardest and trying wait time compared to our wait time now!
Here's what we have to update (the first five have to be notarized):
- Financial update
- Employment Letter
- Physical & Doctor Letters
- Police Reports
- Home Study
- I-171H (visa needed to bring Calvin to the US & fingerprints which we have already updated)
Let me explain what this means for us. A referral is when we receive a phone call from our adoption agency letting us know that they have a baby matched to us. Once we receive the email with his picture and medical history, we can say yes or no to this referral.....UMMM....we can't imagine saying no after waiting this long!! We are asking for 0-2 years, the oldest he could be when we get him would be 1 year and 11 months. Once we say yes we will then pay $8,000 (raised so far $5,700) in fees which go toward the agency and the orphanage in Ethiopia. The agency will then give us a date of our first trip to Ethiopia which we are estimating to cost $7,000.
This first trip is our court date where the judge approves us for this adoption (some families don't get approved the first time because of additional paperwork needed; we are hoping we get approved during this time!). We will get to meet him on this trip!! We will have a week in Ethiopia to do paperwork, sightseeing, and of course, getting to know Calvin. We will then have a couple of weeks after we get home before we can go and pick him up, I do believe that will be the hardest and trying wait time compared to our wait time now!
We have decided that just Caleb and I will be going on this first trip because of cost. Our second trip we will also take Charis with us so that she can meet Calvin and experience Ethiopia first hand. It will be so amazing for all FOUR (wow, just writing that brings tears to my eyes!) of us to come back as a family!
Monday, June 24, 2013
Our fundraising so far...
I am probably the worst blogger ever. There is so much to blog about especially with all this fundraising we're doing, but I just put off blogging about it. I'm probably the best procrastinator ever (just got to think positive, right??).
But thankfully...
Is. 55:6-12
First fundraiser: Baby bottle drive. We've made $365 so far!
Second fundraiser: Premier Jewelry Show
The wonderful and gracious hostess, Jessica Weaver. She sells this jewelry to make extra income for her family. It was such a blessing for her to offer help us with fundraising by donating the proceeds she would have made to our adoption fund. We made $575!
We had an AMAZING turnout! She had outside orders added to the show. There were a couple more people that showed up after this picture was taken, I was so overwhelmed!
Jessica showing how the jewelry would look on a person and different ways to wear this particular piece.
Third fundraiser: Garage Sale. Our wonderful friend Cheryl offered her house for this garage sale. It started off with a BANG!! LOL! Jessica and Misty trying out a donated pair of boxing gloves. We really hadn't started sorting through stuff, but I think they were tired and cranky from just thinking about getting started...HAHA!
This trailer was FULL of donated items. I can NOT believe how much stuff was donated! We are blessed to be involved in a church with so many generous people! It was such a rainy day and we didn't get it all emptied because we had so much stuff. The rain and 'the pond' at the end of the driveway didn't help either.
SO thankful for this yummy potato soup that Jessica made. It was the perfect comfort food after sorting through stuff, it was also chilly that day and that warm soup HIT. THE. SPOT!!
My son's friend and neighbor makes these bracelets and keychains. If you'd like one, we will send one (or several = p) to you. We recently changed the prices (bracelets are now $6 and the keychains are now $2). The colors are Ethiopia's national colors (red, green and yellow).
After the warm soup, it was time to tackle this thing (we had even more donations that couldn't fit in the trailer!). It was quite the ordeal to figure out how to get into it with 'the pond' surrounding it! Thankfully, Cheryl's dad was home and he helped us get some of the stuff out by lending us a ramp.
Day of garage sale! It was so cold and gloomy, but we had a great turnout! Charis and Ellie had a lemonade and bake sale stand. They enjoyed selling the goodies, but it was a chilly and rainy day!
Charis and Ellie's first dollar from selling cookies! =D
'The pond'.
Toward the middle of the day, the rain was pretty constant and people had to step over walk through 'the pond'.
Garage sale #2! We had so much stuff left over that we were able to do another garage sale!
Preparing for the second garage sale.
Our neighbor London (who makes the bracelets and keychains) helping us put together several toy train tracks for the garage sale.
Charis was such a big help! She enjoyed helping with the garage sale.
We had a third garage sale, but I didn't get any pictures of that. I guess if you've seen one garage sale, you've pretty much seen them all, right?? = p and I think I was all garage saled out (I know that's not a word, but it sounds good when you say it in your mind or even out loud...HAHA!). We made over $1,200 with all three garage sales!
Fundraiser #4: Mary Kay party. We had another generous friend donate her proceeds to our adoption fund. I forgot my camera that evening, so I didn't get any pictures =(. We made $160 from this fundraiser!
We have some more fundraisers that we are hoping to do this summer and fall. Can't wait to see how God will bless!
Just as an update, we are hoping to hear from our adoption agency within the next 3 months about our baby boy Calvin. It has been four years since we began this journey. Our paperwork has been in Ethiopia for over 2 years now. It has been such a long wait, but we know that God's timing is perfect and that whatever child he has picked out for us will be the perfect fit for our family. Growing our family the way God has planned for us has not been the easiest for us, but we know that even though God's plan may not always be the easiest (or most cost effective! LOL!), it will reap the greatest rewards and blessings. Struggling with infertility is not easy and I don't know if I'll ever get to the point where there will be a time in my life where I won't feel sad or sometimes still question why. I am looking forward to that day though. I can't wait til we are united with Calvin as God continues to unfold His plan for our lives. It's hard to imagine what our lives will be like once we adopt just as we didn't know how our lives would unfold when we had Charis. I am thankful that God is in control even though sometimes I KNOW THINK is best because I KNOW I'll screw things up if my life were left to my control (I have experienced this and it is NOT pretty!).
I have felt like this plenty of times!!
Ps. 55:6
And I say, "Oh that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
Is. 55:6-12
6. Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
7. let the wicked forsake his way; and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout,
11. so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Baby Bottle Drive
Our fundraiser #2 is a Baby Bottle Drive. This morning we took 40 baby bottles to church for people to take home and fill with change. We were able to give out 30 bottles this morning! I will be mailing off two bottles to family that want to participate as well!! Looking forward to seeing how much money we're going to raise through this fundraiser. This fundraiser will probably last about two months, I will keep you updated on how much money we raise through this one.
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| 40 bottles ready to be filled with change! |
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| Charis stood by the table to answer questions people may have had about the bottles |
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| The tag speaks for itself =) |
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| We first put a half sheet of paper in the bottle which tells a little bit about ourselves and our adoption story. Charis is putting the tag on the bottle with the ribbon. |
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| A close up of the finished product |
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| Our wonderful friends who are neighbors as well started a fund jar for us too! |
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| The bottle in the middle is the one we are putting our change into! LOL! |
The next fundraiser we have coming up is a Premier Jewelry Show on Tuesday, March 19 from 7-9 pm. Excited to see how God is going to provide through this one as well!
Saturday, March 9, 2013
FUNdraising
Our idea of fundraising was asking people to give us money and that felt so selfish to us. We know that what we are doing is a great thing, but we also needed money and hated the thought of asking for it. We put it off for a long time and just thought that we could just "do it on our own" or wait for the adoption credit from the government (HA!) which we don't know if it will still be available. After talking with godly friends and our wonderful community group, we realized that God has placed a GREAT group of people in our lives that love us and wanted to get behind us to help us raise the money we need. When we told them about our hesitation of asking people for money, they said, "We'll be doing the asking!". Why yes, yes, they would and that brought rounds of laughter and a burden lifted from our shoulders. Soooo.....
...we have decided to start doing some fundraising and God has already started blessing us before we've even begun! We received $500 one Sunday from someone anonymous and then we received $3,000 from a friend that is going to be used to match funds through our fundraising! GOD IS SO AMAZING!!
Our first fundraiser is a Premier Jewelry Show. My friend is a consultant for Premier and makes 50% from her shows and is graciously giving us 100% of those proceeds for our adoption fund. It will be held on Tuesday, March 19 from 7-9 pm in her home. We, of course, are hoping for a great turnout. There's also a special deal going on until March 28 with Premier. If you spend $75 then you will be able to choose any item in the catalog that is $50 or less and get it for $10! Catalog sales also count in this deal! I am excited to see what God is going to do with this fundraiser and at the same time help my friend with her new business. Thankful for my mother-in-law Joy Kelley who will be showing the catalogs to her friends in Guam! We mailed it off today and can't wait to see how many sales we get from that! We have an event set up on FB here if you are interested. My friend came up with a pretty sensational tag line for this fundraiser, "BLing Calvin Home". Haha!
Our second and ongoing fundraiser: Baby Bottle Drive. We are going to be purchasing baby bottles which we will give to friends and family and have them take them home to fill with change. They will then bring back the filled bottle and get another one to fill if they would like. They are welcome to take home several if they so choose. We will put a half sheet in each bottle telling a little bit about ourselves and our adoption story. We've come up with a pretty catchy tag line (we think so anyway!) "Fill a Bottle, Change a Life". I will post a more specific blog with details about this fundraiser in the near future.
The third fundraiser is a garage sale. Bolivar, MO will be having their city-wide garage sale on Sat., April 27th. We are asking people to donate theirjunk unwanted items for this garage sale. We'd like bigger items like furniture and/or TV's since we can make more $$ with them. But we will take all donations. Whatever we don't sell at this one, Willard (where we live) has their city-wide garage sale in June. We will again ask for more donations and use what we didn't sell in the last one for the Willard garage sale.
We have some more fundraising ideas, but so as not to overwhelm you or make this post longer that it needs to be, I will blog about them as we get them set and have more details. We are excited about where God is leading with our fundraising and can't wait to see how much more he will be blessing us through this. If you have any ideas, feel free to post here or send me a message on FB. Thank you for walking with us through this journey.
...we have decided to start doing some fundraising and God has already started blessing us before we've even begun! We received $500 one Sunday from someone anonymous and then we received $3,000 from a friend that is going to be used to match funds through our fundraising! GOD IS SO AMAZING!!
Our first fundraiser is a Premier Jewelry Show. My friend is a consultant for Premier and makes 50% from her shows and is graciously giving us 100% of those proceeds for our adoption fund. It will be held on Tuesday, March 19 from 7-9 pm in her home. We, of course, are hoping for a great turnout. There's also a special deal going on until March 28 with Premier. If you spend $75 then you will be able to choose any item in the catalog that is $50 or less and get it for $10! Catalog sales also count in this deal! I am excited to see what God is going to do with this fundraiser and at the same time help my friend with her new business. Thankful for my mother-in-law Joy Kelley who will be showing the catalogs to her friends in Guam! We mailed it off today and can't wait to see how many sales we get from that! We have an event set up on FB here if you are interested. My friend came up with a pretty sensational tag line for this fundraiser, "BLing Calvin Home". Haha!
Our second and ongoing fundraiser: Baby Bottle Drive. We are going to be purchasing baby bottles which we will give to friends and family and have them take them home to fill with change. They will then bring back the filled bottle and get another one to fill if they would like. They are welcome to take home several if they so choose. We will put a half sheet in each bottle telling a little bit about ourselves and our adoption story. We've come up with a pretty catchy tag line (we think so anyway!) "Fill a Bottle, Change a Life". I will post a more specific blog with details about this fundraiser in the near future.
The third fundraiser is a garage sale. Bolivar, MO will be having their city-wide garage sale on Sat., April 27th. We are asking people to donate their
We have some more fundraising ideas, but so as not to overwhelm you or make this post longer that it needs to be, I will blog about them as we get them set and have more details. We are excited about where God is leading with our fundraising and can't wait to see how much more he will be blessing us through this. If you have any ideas, feel free to post here or send me a message on FB. Thank you for walking with us through this journey.
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