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| The started puzzle! Pray with us that it will keep growing and through our friends and family it will one day all be pieced together! |
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Puzzle Fundraiser update
So, the puzzle fundraiser is off to a pretty good start! It is so fun piecing it together while daydreaming about how it will one day be hanging in our new little one's room. :) If you enjoy blogging please consider sharing this link on your blog, in hopes of connecting us with more readers and in hopes of growing our puzzle more and more! We have some other fundraisers we are currently working on including a yard sale in the spring (probably more than one, since we have been blessed tremendously by friends and family donating items and)! Also, my hubs and I are in the process of working on making wooden wall hangings that we are going to sell (all profit for our adoption). So, between work, school, adoption paperwork, fundraising projects, and enjoying our precious family time we have had lots going on. Friday we have a phone conference with Lifeline and then our homestudy will hopefully get scheduled. We are ready. More than ready.
Thankful and blessed! God is so good!
Monday, January 14, 2013
The big 4!!
Welcome to all readers from Kellys Korner! Keep reading the posts further down to learn more about our adoption fundraiser and how God led us to adoption! He is Good...All the time!
Our little bit turned 4 this past Friday. *sigh* :) Four?? Really?? How is that even possible?!! He had been counting down the "night nights" for a week before his birthday. Every morning he'd ask, "am I four today?" and "I can't believe my eyes, that I'm gonna be four!!" He makes me smile- everyday! God truely blessed our lives when He gave us our little bit. He is a miracle and we are truely thankful for him everyday. I never knew how much I'd absolutely LOVE having a little boy, until he was born!! He is the sweetest, friendliest, most thoughful, loving, happy, silly, fast runnin', cars drivin', joke tellin', baseball playin', awesomest (I know that's not a word, but I'm using it anyway- ha) 4 year old around! :) Our lives were changed in the most wonderful way when he was born 4 years ago. I never realized how fast 4 years could go. Hopefully the next 4 won't go by so fast!! Oh, and let me add that he is so excited to one day bring homw his little brother or sister. He talks about how he will help take care of them- all the time. :) He just plain makes my heart happy!!
So on the big day he had birthday chapel at his preschool. He got to up on stage with the other children having birthdays and tell his name and how old he was. He did great!! After that we had a little party in his classroom for snacktime and then he got to go home early from school. While we waited for time to go meet Daddy at the firestation for lunch ,we went and hung out at Toys R Us. We just roamed the aisles and ofcourse he sat in all the big cars. :) We then took lunch to have with Daddy at the firestation. When we got back home he wanted to ride his bike, so we went on a good little walk. For dinner (per the birthday boys request) we had chocolate chip pancakes!! yum :) Later that evening Granmom, Grandad, and Gammy came over to help celebrate with some presents and a brownie cake!! We had a wonderful day!!
Love you our sweet "little bit" and we are so thankful for you!
Our little bit turned 4 this past Friday. *sigh* :) Four?? Really?? How is that even possible?!! He had been counting down the "night nights" for a week before his birthday. Every morning he'd ask, "am I four today?" and "I can't believe my eyes, that I'm gonna be four!!" He makes me smile- everyday! God truely blessed our lives when He gave us our little bit. He is a miracle and we are truely thankful for him everyday. I never knew how much I'd absolutely LOVE having a little boy, until he was born!! He is the sweetest, friendliest, most thoughful, loving, happy, silly, fast runnin', cars drivin', joke tellin', baseball playin', awesomest (I know that's not a word, but I'm using it anyway- ha) 4 year old around! :) Our lives were changed in the most wonderful way when he was born 4 years ago. I never realized how fast 4 years could go. Hopefully the next 4 won't go by so fast!! Oh, and let me add that he is so excited to one day bring homw his little brother or sister. He talks about how he will help take care of them- all the time. :) He just plain makes my heart happy!!
So on the big day he had birthday chapel at his preschool. He got to up on stage with the other children having birthdays and tell his name and how old he was. He did great!! After that we had a little party in his classroom for snacktime and then he got to go home early from school. While we waited for time to go meet Daddy at the firestation for lunch ,we went and hung out at Toys R Us. We just roamed the aisles and ofcourse he sat in all the big cars. :) We then took lunch to have with Daddy at the firestation. When we got back home he wanted to ride his bike, so we went on a good little walk. For dinner (per the birthday boys request) we had chocolate chip pancakes!! yum :) Later that evening Granmom, Grandad, and Gammy came over to help celebrate with some presents and a brownie cake!! We had a wonderful day!!
Love you our sweet "little bit" and we are so thankful for you!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
2013 brings... our FIRST ADOPTION FUNDRAISER!!
Happy New Year!! I can't believe it is 2013!! I can't believe our little boy will be 4 in less than two weeks (and that his first season of t-ball is right around the corner!). *sigh* :) I can't beileve this month brings the beginning of our first homestudy (this is getting real)! I can't believe that we could potentially know who our new little one will be by the end of 2013!! Wow! This could be a very big year for us folks! :)
So, with a new year comes our very first adoption fundraiser!! It is going to be a puzzle fundraiser and it will be ongoing throughout our adoption process or until the puzzle is completed. Here is how it will work:
Wes and I have chosen a beautiful 500 pc puzzle with a picture of Noah's Ark on it. For a $10.00 donation (all going to our adoption fees) we will write your name on the back of one puzzle piece. When we have the puzzle completed we will frame it in a double sided glass frame and it will hang in the room of our new little one to be! On the front will be the beautiful Noah's Ark picture and on the back will be the names of all the people who have donated to our puzzle fundraiser. I think this will be a wonderful way for our new little one to see how many people loved and prayed for him/her before we even brought our little one home. If you would like to be a "piece to our adoption" please see below for how to donate! :)
How to contribute to our adoption by sponsoring a puzzle piece:
Sponsor One Puzzle Piece for $10 donation
Sponsor Mulitple Pieces for $10 each
Donate whatever amount you feel led to give ($10.00 is merely a suggestion. No amount is too small! )
You may choose to sponsor a single piece, or if you want to donate a larger amount, you may sponsor as many pieces as you desire.
How to Donate:
*All donations will be placed in a seperate savings account we have made, specifically for our adoption*
Here is the beautiful puzzle we have chosen!!
Please help spread the word by sharing this on facebook, email, twitter, or your own blog! The puzzle has 500 pieces, so it has the potential to raise $5000. That would greatly help our adoption fund!
So, this does feel a little strange. Seeking help, asking for contributions from others- it's a little unnatural, but I have been encouraged by others to go forward with and do some fundraising to help bring our little one home. We have and are doing things on our own as well to save for our adopiton including: saving, working overtime hours when available, not vacationing, planning a yardsale in the spring, etc., but the cost of adoption is great (for a China adoption the cost is right at $30,000) and I know we can't do this on our own and I'm beginning to realize that, that is ok. Some of you may ask: Well, why then are they adopting if they can't afford it?? First let me say, being able to "afford" to raise a child is completely different from being able to afford the $30,000 upfront fee it cost to bring that child home. My second answer to that question is: God told us to and we are choosing to obey. No, He didn't bellow down from the sky with audible words, but He did speak to our hearts. For a non-believer that might be hard to understand, but it's the truth. God works in amazing ways and there are times when those who know Christ as their Savior can be completely certain that God is speaking to their hearts. Through prayer, through His word, through simple tugging and nudging on one's heart through the Holy Spirit, God speaks. He placed adoption on our hearts and for that we are certain. :) So, like I've said before, our trust is not in our own finances, but in Him alone. Pursuing adoption may mean that we won't have fancy new cars, or a shiny new house, or an abundance of material things and that is ok with us. We are gaining something far better! Not only will we, Lord willing, bring our new little one home one day, but we are living for Christ and that is the best gain in life!
Wes, Ethan, and I have already been blessed tremendously by amazing friends, family, and community that have enouraged us and are continuously praying for us! It makes my heart happy knowing that our new little one will be welcomed and embraced by all of our friends and family!! Thank-you for sharing this journey with us!
So, with a new year comes our very first adoption fundraiser!! It is going to be a puzzle fundraiser and it will be ongoing throughout our adoption process or until the puzzle is completed. Here is how it will work:
Wes and I have chosen a beautiful 500 pc puzzle with a picture of Noah's Ark on it. For a $10.00 donation (all going to our adoption fees) we will write your name on the back of one puzzle piece. When we have the puzzle completed we will frame it in a double sided glass frame and it will hang in the room of our new little one to be! On the front will be the beautiful Noah's Ark picture and on the back will be the names of all the people who have donated to our puzzle fundraiser. I think this will be a wonderful way for our new little one to see how many people loved and prayed for him/her before we even brought our little one home. If you would like to be a "piece to our adoption" please see below for how to donate! :)
How to contribute to our adoption by sponsoring a puzzle piece:
Sponsor One Puzzle Piece for $10 donation
Sponsor Mulitple Pieces for $10 each
Donate whatever amount you feel led to give ($10.00 is merely a suggestion. No amount is too small! )
You may choose to sponsor a single piece, or if you want to donate a larger amount, you may sponsor as many pieces as you desire.
How to Donate:
*All donations will be placed in a seperate savings account we have made, specifically for our adoption*
- Click on the Donate button on the right sidebar and pay securely through PayPal
- Write a check or donate cash and hand deliver to myself or Wes (Checks can be made payable to us)
- Mail a check to us (email me at htorode@yahoo.com for our address)
Here is the beautiful puzzle we have chosen!!
Please help spread the word by sharing this on facebook, email, twitter, or your own blog! The puzzle has 500 pieces, so it has the potential to raise $5000. That would greatly help our adoption fund!
So, this does feel a little strange. Seeking help, asking for contributions from others- it's a little unnatural, but I have been encouraged by others to go forward with and do some fundraising to help bring our little one home. We have and are doing things on our own as well to save for our adopiton including: saving, working overtime hours when available, not vacationing, planning a yardsale in the spring, etc., but the cost of adoption is great (for a China adoption the cost is right at $30,000) and I know we can't do this on our own and I'm beginning to realize that, that is ok. Some of you may ask: Well, why then are they adopting if they can't afford it?? First let me say, being able to "afford" to raise a child is completely different from being able to afford the $30,000 upfront fee it cost to bring that child home. My second answer to that question is: God told us to and we are choosing to obey. No, He didn't bellow down from the sky with audible words, but He did speak to our hearts. For a non-believer that might be hard to understand, but it's the truth. God works in amazing ways and there are times when those who know Christ as their Savior can be completely certain that God is speaking to their hearts. Through prayer, through His word, through simple tugging and nudging on one's heart through the Holy Spirit, God speaks. He placed adoption on our hearts and for that we are certain. :) So, like I've said before, our trust is not in our own finances, but in Him alone. Pursuing adoption may mean that we won't have fancy new cars, or a shiny new house, or an abundance of material things and that is ok with us. We are gaining something far better! Not only will we, Lord willing, bring our new little one home one day, but we are living for Christ and that is the best gain in life!
Wes, Ethan, and I have already been blessed tremendously by amazing friends, family, and community that have enouraged us and are continuously praying for us! It makes my heart happy knowing that our new little one will be welcomed and embraced by all of our friends and family!! Thank-you for sharing this journey with us!
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