Almost there....

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you"
                           --  Matthew 7:7

Pride often gets the best of us. No one likes to share their needs, and everyone likes to look like we have it all together.

When we began this process, it felt crazy to be sharing with people that we needed $31,000 that we did not have. But at the same time we knew we were called to adopt, despite all of the discouraging math! I expected people to assume we were insane and move on with their busy lives.

We decided to share our need anyway and a funny thing happened.

People that we didn't know that well a year ago, came forward and said: " You are called to adopt and we feel called to help you! What can we do?"

They started planning secret meetings ( that we weren't invited to! Ha!) They reminded us on a weekly basis that they were praying for us and they did! They mourned our losses with us, and rejoiced when we found new hope in two beautiful little boys. They had our backs!

I am not sure that we could have made it through this process without the love of good friends and family.

Fundraisers started happening! Kids had lemonade stands, friends planned rummage sales, bought coffee and kept praying!

    Most recently our church family planned a benefit dinner and silent auction on January 26th. We were floored when we found out that we had reached maximum capacity in the family life center!  Over 260 people bough tickets and we were amazed when most of them showed up! It was such an amazing night. We couldn't believe all of the wonderful donations, and we were delighted to see new friends and old!

We left the dinner rejoicing! It was so amazing to see everyone come together to show love for our boys and for our family. Adoption can be such a lonely process but there was so much love in that room! Our cups were overflowing. We went home completely at peace with the feeling that God had given us a precious gift---love. We didn't talk about money when we went home that night, we just talked about all of the conversations we had with friends and family. We were so encouraged.

We went to church this morning knowing they would be announcing the total for the dinner during the service. We had no idea what to expect. We both agreed that we had such an amazing night that it didn't really matter.

But God decided to knock our socks off instead! We were told that the total for our adoption dinner was...........$11,327.18!!!!!!!!  

We both melted into a pile of tears!  It was like the Lord just gave us the biggest bear hug and said " Listen kids, I've got this!!!!" But that's not all........................................

Another friend had given us $750.00 that was not included in the total. She had shared our adoption story with everyone who got a Christmas card from their family. WOW! This pushed our total up to $12,077.18!!!

BUT THAT IS NOT ALL.....

When I was leaving church I checked our mailbox and found $500 cash from an anonymous giver with a note that only said: God Bless Your Family. Someone stopped us and asked to buy tshirts....another $100.  Someone from the Methodist church wrote a check for $200......the list goes on.......

$13,000 is alot of money! The words "thank you" will never express all that we are feeling today. God is so trustworthy.

    A friend almost tackled us after the church service today!

    He was so excited for our family.

 I looked right at him and saw the tears welling in his eyes and I started to realize the magnitude of this blessing. Not just for us, but for everyone involved. Our friends are experiencing the joy of caring for an orphan. They love these boys too!

They are invested.

 If we wouldn't have shared our need we would have robbed them of the experience.  I have had so many people look at me with tears in their eyes and say: " We just can't wait to meet these boys, we can't wait to hug them. " We just want to love them."

I believe it.

God is moving.

Hearts are changing.

Two orphans will have a forever home.

We are left to say again that we are blessed beyond measure. I wish we had a better word than thank you.....

Thank you seems so small.

We love you.



“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13: 34-35