Saturday, December 14, 2013

Family Table



This is our family table.
 It's kinda been a source of irritation and embarrasment for a number of years. It seems like, the more time that goes by, it gets uglier and uglier. Scuff marks from dinner plates, marker marks from children's art projects and nail polish from Breanna's first attempts at painting her and her friends nails. All of it together just makes our table look plain ugly! I've been talking about painting or refinishing this table for years. When company comes over I usually throw a table cloth over it. But...
 
I recently had  a realization about this table and it's marks.
This table contains memories. This table is our family table. The scuffs and marks all mean something very important.
 

It means there were children here, learning, coloring, exploring markers and paints and expressing theirselves with art.

 
And learning how very permanent permanent marker is. Learning they prefer those permanent markers to all the others for their thin tips and strong lines. And also learning that it's always good to put a barrier between whatever you are drawing and the table.
 
 

It means there was a daughter here learning how to paint nails, making herslef and her friends feel dressed up and pretty. Loving doing this girly stuff.

 

It means there is a family here, eating meals together, talking about life and dreams and just plain enjoying the company and filling ourselves with healthy and yummy (sometimes more healthy than yummy) food.
 
And I realized, maybe I don't hate this table so much. This table contains memories of some of our times as family. This table means I have  a family and healthy kids that love to draw,  color and paint pretty little finger nails. It means my kids are doing things that many don't get the chance to do. And, all of a sudden, I kinda like this table now.
 
I think I will keep our family table the way it is for now. Maybe I'll give a chance to let another little child learn what it means to have a family table. Maybe she can leave behind her own memory marks. Proof that she was here learning how to draw, color and paint her pretty little fingernails. Proof that she, too, is part of a family.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Stalling....

Yep! That's what I've been doing. Stalling on the whole fundraising issue. I just haven't looked forward to this part. I don't like asking for help with anything, much less, money. But, I've just kinda gotta get over myself. This is a life we're talking about! I'm just not willing to give up on making a difference in a precious life just because I'm embarrassed to ask for money. I don't think it's a valid excuse.

So, here we go!

We need help. We can't do this ourselves. Just this fact alone almost made us reconsider taking this journey. But, we received advice after advice and also read some more advice that said "don't let money be the deciding factor on whether or not you choose to adopt." Time and time again I've read or heard about a family that didn't have the funds to adopt internationally, but God provided. He provided what some people call the "ransom" money for an orphans life. It actually ends up being a great testimony to what God can do in our lives. What miracles He can work out for those who step out in obedience and faith, to do something they feel totally inadequate and unqualified to do.

We actually had a plan for how we were going to finance a large part of the adoption. It ended up not working out. So, Paul was talking to a friend about his disappointment that this loan didn't work out. His friend said something amazing. He said he was glad it didn't work out! Say what?!? Well,  he said that now, it gives God a chance to show many people His amazing abilities in working out miracles for His works to get done, rather than if we had just had the money and didn't need to spread the word about our need. So, maybe God will use our journey to tell an amazing story. A story of His love, His grace and His provision. So, we are stepping out in faith that if this is God's will for our family then he will provide. But, we know we have to do our part. We have to work hard. And we have to ask. And so we will.

So, would you consider helping us? You can be a part of our journey...part of the story of how we all worked together to bring a beloved child of God home to a forever family.

We are going to have several options available to those who feel led to help us out.

First and foremost, we need your prayers. To us, that's the most important thing that you can do. We are asking God to provide the resources we need to bring our girl home. We are asking that He keep us sane during this time of crazy amounts of paperwork and financial stress. We know it will be so worth it, but it's still can be kind of stressful. So, we know we need to rely on God to relieve that stress. We need to keep our eyes on Him! We are asking that God be with our little girl. We don't know who she is yet. But, she is already born, waiting night after night, with no family to hug her, to say "I love you", to say their night time prayers with, no mommy or daddy to tuck her into bed at night. This breaks my heart. So, she needs prayers for health and comfort.

The next option is that we currently have a Paypal donate button on this blog. This money will go directly into our Paypal account. It probably won't be tax deductible as we are not a charity, nor can we send out forms you need to prove you made a donation. This money will be used for our non-agency related fees. These fees include documentation fees to various US government offices and Chinese government offices. It also will be used for Travel to China and the orphanage donation/fee. This amount will be approximately $15,000.

Some of the things we are also going to be doing to raise these particular funds is selling some of my crochet items and having various other fundraising events like garage sales, bake sales and some other events. Stay tuned for a fundraiser that I will be looking into as soon as we finish our home study. It's an awesome fundraiser where we get to fund raise to bring an orphan home AND help a widow with improvements on her home, cleaning, etc....whatever she may need. There are a lot of good ideas out there. So, we just kinda have to decide and narrow down what things we would like to do. So, those of you who would rather get something for your money or donate items or time rather than just give cash, stay tuned and I'm sure you will get a chance to do just that. Also, we are going to be posting a link that you can use when you go to purchase from Amazon.com (click here). They will give us a portion (about 7%) of whatever you purchase while going through our link. So, those of you that shop through Amazon can use this link to help us, without it costing you anything. All you have to do is use the link! :o)

We also have about $11,000 in agency related fees. These are fees that we pay directly to the agency for their services. We are using a non-profit agency, so not only does this money go to paying their running costs, etc., they also have a charity that goes toward caring for orphans while they are in the orphanage, helping with education, medical expenses and such. Something we felt really important to have in the agency we chose. Currently, the plan to is to use a website called purecharity.com to help us raise these funds. This makes it to where we can have any donations given through the website be tax-deductible. Also, when you set up an account with Pure Charity, you have the option of joining their rewards program. With this program, you register your credit card(s) with them and when you use those cards at certain locations in your online shopping, they will put a certain percentage into your rewards account, you can then allocate those funds to us or whatever other charity/fundraiser you choose. A great way to help all kinds of causes without actually having it cost you anything! The funds from Pure Charity never go into our hands. They go from Pure Charity right to our agency. That's what makes it tax-deductible! I'm hammering out some last minute details with them and hope to have that link set up on here soon too.

So, that's our plan so far. I know it's alot! I'm sorry if it's too much. I just wanted to give people options. I know some people like to get something for their money. Some people don't like to be bothered with "buy this, buy that" type of fundraising, they just want to give and be done with it. And some people can't give monetarily, but they can pray. It's all ok. Different things for different people and their circumstances. It's all good.

So, you are welcome to be a part of our team, in whatever way you feel led. It will be worth it in the end when you get to see me post pictures or personally meet the precious little girl that you had a part in bringing home. You get to be a part of her adoption story. And that's something to feel great about!

If you're still with me, thanks for reading this terribly long post. I'll try not to be so long winded in the future. Ha!  :o)