Today has been SUPER busy!!! I was cooking for almost eight hours making food to put in the fridge so i have half the work done for future meals that are coming up! I even used a few of my Bulgarian spices!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! SO good!!! Made me think of Ethan and Bulgaria a LOT!!! Praying for him, for Toni-our attorney, for our bed and breakfast friend who i was wishing was here to help me know how to cook something other then my just using the spices (oh how i would love to have her here to talk to and cook with!;)
Wanted to give those of you who don't use FB an update because it has been an exciting day!!!
Throughout the time since i last wrote this morning until about 4pm, the amount in Ethan's adoption grant was growing QUICKLY!!! OH MY!!! SO MUCH FUN!!! Victoria, myself, or one of the girls....any one of us would check and see every once in awhile and we'd be so excited because it seemed that every time we would look the number would have gone up....sometimes by a HUNDRED and sometimes by TWENTY!!! (we have no idea if it was ten people giving $10 or what) IT WAS THRILLING!
We have had ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FIVE DOLLARS left on Ethan's adoption fees since 4pm.
We have saved money for this final adoption fee check to be written, plus we have the money that people donated while the etsy shop fund raiser was happening and then today and the etsy fund raiser itself....and that is all that is left....$145 !!!
We just need TEN people to be able to donate $15 or FIVE people to give $30 or whatever way that it can happen....we are just so close. THANK YOU SO MUCH for your generosity in helping Ethan COME HOME!!! ( PLEASE keep praying for our family! Several of us started in again with drippy noses and sore throats this afternoon)
ALWAYS BLESSED, Connie for the crew!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
LEAP DAY......
An extra day to give:) THAT is what i read on a FB POST :) We would be SO thrilled to be able to pay all of our adoption FEES off TODAY!!! Do you think that it could happen? WELL, i was giving us until the end of the week but within just hours last night of posting the last blog that i wrote....$240 came in and i have no idea in what increments but it came in within HOURS!!!
SO....i saw that post and thought that we could let you know that we are only needing $560 for our final adoption fees!!!!!! It is LEAP DAY so an extra day to give??? 10 people giving $50? 2 giving $30? Could a dozen people help us today? OR 20 people give $28????
The only thing that would be left to pay for/raise money for would be our last trip!!! Seeing this coming down to the end is just amazing!!! Praying that THAT part won't be a long way off!!!
Will you PLEASE PRAY...right now for our family? Will you DO WHAT YOU CAN??? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! ALWAYS BLESSED, Connie for the crew
SO....i saw that post and thought that we could let you know that we are only needing $560 for our final adoption fees!!!!!! It is LEAP DAY so an extra day to give??? 10 people giving $50? 2 giving $30? Could a dozen people help us today? OR 20 people give $28????
The only thing that would be left to pay for/raise money for would be our last trip!!! Seeing this coming down to the end is just amazing!!! Praying that THAT part won't be a long way off!!!
Will you PLEASE PRAY...right now for our family? Will you DO WHAT YOU CAN??? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! ALWAYS BLESSED, Connie for the crew
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
What our eleven year old said that changed others hearts...
I wanted to tell this story as soon as our friend's etsy sale was done but even though it is later than i wanted....i AM getting to it!
I don't know if you all went to the etsy shop but i pray that you did because her etsy shop "shotsibaby" is incredible! Anyway, when i wrote one of my blogs at the end of the sale i saw that there were donations that had been made by other people...more people than just Krista, Krista's daughter, her mother and our friend Angel. One of those items that was not made by these people was not selling. I had noticed it but didn't say anything until our eleven year old spoke up in the last hours and said what i had thought all along. Here.....
Our precious Catherine (11 year old) was helping me with finding hair bows for Grandma to give to Sophina when she said, "Oh Mom, i would feel so bad if i was the one who made those and no one bought them. I am sure that they worked hard on them and then to not have anyone buy them, i would be so sad."
Anyone want to make an 11 year old heart glad? For $18 you can buy them all! (i did have the picture of the doll here but it isn't working so i will describe it....it is a picture of a doll that is made out of a brown fabric, it is VERY simple with a black marker used for putting on a face. It reminds me of an old rag doll. Some have a tiny bow on the head or a piece of cloth on the bottom. The arms and legs and body are just from the cloth being tied into knots. VERY simple dolls.)
Anyone want to make an 11 year old heart glad? For $18 you can buy them all! (i did have the picture of the doll here but it isn't working so i will describe it....it is a picture of a doll that is made out of a brown fabric, it is VERY simple with a black marker used for putting on a face. It reminds me of an old rag doll. Some have a tiny bow on the head or a piece of cloth on the bottom. The arms and legs and body are just from the cloth being tied into knots. VERY simple dolls.)
Within minutes i had responses.....two were almost immediate....." I just bought 2. They kind of remind me of orphan dolls. On the outside they might not look that special, but they have a lot of heart in them, and they're just waiting for someone to love them :) I'm sad I didn't see their value the first time I ordered. I'm just glad I saw it before it was too late."
And then another friend said that she would buy ALL of them so that we could take them to the kids at our Ethan's orphanage......SOLD within minutes!!! We now have FIFTEEN dolls to go to the orphanage with us!
Our daughters are having a heart for those who are hurting, for OTHERS
outside of our walls, for people who aren't like everyone else and i am so proud of them for having those hearts! Ladies who write blogs about your children....if you see a MN address coming across your blog...it is probably our Victoria keeping up with what is going on with your adoption. She is 13 yrs old and LOVES keeping us up to date on all of you! She lets us know when someone is in great need or someone has come home or all of the things that we write about on our blogs! Then we have a daughter who is begging to come with to get Ethan so she can get the best photos of what life is like, of Ethan, of his leaving his orphanage...of his coming HOME! We have another who has a husband who both have said that they are open to adopting children! They haven't even been married a year and have had this discussion.
I am so very thankful for the road that God has brought us down through the gift of our precious Sophina!
Update on her...she is almost done with her antibiotics and is doing better. We started feeding her through the mouth on Saturday afternoon (two days short of two full weeks being fed through the tube) and the first feeding was with our new PCA...it was AMAZING....and the next feeding with our family doing it.... AMAZING.... and the next and then the next...etc..... There are VERY few people on this earth who understand what a miracle this was!!! HUGE!!! Last night, the fight started up again. What is hard is not knowing if she is just not growing right now and is NOT hungry or if it is a eating battle! We used to have to have music on or read a book or do a regular 'dance and party show' to try to get her to drink and eat! THEN that didn't work so then Ally would use her phone to keep her occupied and then she was the only one who could feed her her food...it was horrible! I REFUSE TO GO BACK TO THAT!!! SO, last night through all of today's feedings were HORRIBLE! Right back to the old days of REFUSING to eat! I had never experienced anything like it with our other four daughters...but she just despises eating, drinking is right next to it! SO prayer is still needed in this area as it is a HUGE TIME-CONSUMING ORDEAL that is EXCRUCIATINGLY exhausting!!! No way to have you understand unless you have done it.
Another prayer request that is tied in with a praise is that we have had TWO people donate $100 this week!!!!! That means that we are SO CLOSE to being able to write out our LAST of our adoption fees!!! THEN all we have to raise is our last two and one-half airplane tickets, hotel and food costs!!! WE ARE SO CLOSE TO FINISHING the fees part!!! We only need $800 to finish our adoption fees because of these two people and others who gave on our blog RR donation spot (which is tax deductible), our friend's etsy shop fund raiser and our savings (that we have been saving for this last fee during this time). I am praying that the $800 can come in THIS WEEK so we can write out our check!!!
We would love it if EIGHT people would give $100!!! OR if SIXTEEN people giving $50 or THIRTY-TWO people giving $25!!! PLEASE DO WHAT YOU CAN!!! PLEASE continue to pray for our family---for our Ethan in his country and us here, for our finances, for our health, for transition when Ethan comes, for preparing for his arrival, for Sophina's eating, and for this $800 to come in THIS WEEK! We are ALWAYS BLESSED, Connie for the crew
Thursday, February 23, 2012
the week that came before the incredible night that rocked Ethan's world
Oh my goodness! There was so much that happened this past week! I want to tell you that our life is always an adventure. Sorry that this is so long and "choppy" as i wrote this throughout the day as Catia did her Science, Vika did her math or while i ate my breakfast and then lunch and then tried to finish it while Sophina slept.
One more thank you first though....
SO many people were willing to SHARE our friend's etsy shop fund raiser on their FB walls and i was SO very grateful! SOME who aren't used to sharing such things as fund raisers for adoptions and some who are like me (you know the type....ones who will give you a new story EVERY DAY of why we need to be involved in praying, encouraging, giving and adopting) and do you know what was amazing? MOST of those people who SHARED it on their walls had at least ONE person who went and looked at the shop! SHARING this fund raiser was one of the greatest gifts of the whole week SO IF YOU did....THANK YOU!!!!!!
Before the afternoon of Ethan's birthday (was that just yesterday????) I need to tell you that the past week had NOT been one of my favorites overall. I will tell you why. Our family has been sick and while it is no big deal that Scott, Victoria and Alexandra have a cold, other than the fact that they are miserable; it IS a big deal when our Sophina gets sick. When i wrote about my being able to sing two Sundays ago and how our Ally took care of Sophina so i could sing and then Sophina would NOT eat OR drink. It may have been the beginning of her feeling ill. That day was the last day that Sophina got fed through the mouth. She has been tube fed ever since.
For those of you who do not know it, our Sophina has a GI tube and she was fed through it for MANY MANY MANY months...was it two years even? That Sunday that i got to sing i felt that the next day we were going to be introducing the next stage of food to her and i was thrilled that we were FINALLY at this point! SO....it is a VERY hard thing to know that this could set us back again...BIG time OR it could just be a bump in the road. She STILL is not at a stage of being able to eat through the mouth as i write this. PLEASE PRAY for this simple function that MOST of your children do that is taken for granted (as i did with our other four) that is NOT taken for granted with our Sophina. SO Sophina was very sick and finally on the night before Ethan's 3rd birthday, we had to take her in to Express care where we found out that she had the beginning stages of pneumonia. When we got home from Express Care i found out that our Catherine was NOT well at all either! It was me alone that was well and the next day was Ethan's birthday.
I have to tell you that i stayed up late that night....and looked through the pictures of Ethan...it WAS his birthday at that time halfway around the world. I wondered if they even celebrated. I wondered if he even knew. I wondered if i there would be a picture. I wondered if he woke up early because it was his birthday. The next morning, i was working on pleading for help on FB from friends. I KNEW that the day was going to be devoted to the fund raiser and i was right. BUT in the middle of the morning there was a group of FIVE ladies sitting on our couches and on the floor with three of our girls, our PCA (new one-wooohooooo!!!!!) Becky, and myself. They were there to assess our Sophina. I don't know what i thought was going to happen but i was NOT prepared. I wish that i would have been.
(OK, REMEMBER the week that i had had before this.....several sick children with one of them in NOT great shape at all, Ethan's THIRD birthday in an orphanage!!! and not with me and no signing of papers coming in the near future it seemed as all seems to be at a standstill for those before us) (OH and i also forgot to tell you that our Ally let me know that i had "more laundry to do because last night when we got home, i found a bunch of water in the basement that Victoria and i cleaned up as we knew that it was not something that you needed to know last night)
SO....i come in thinking that they all know and adore our daughter and see all that we see and instead was told.... 'i really can't understand what she is saying unless you tell me'....she doesn't say her words clearly'..."she really needs to get out more"..."she needs to go outside and learn to walk on different kinds of ground"...."she doesn't have as much strength as we would like to see in her core"...and much more all cushioned in around 'she has great expressions'....'she copies you all in your tones'...'she is doing better at...' I then was shown on a sheet of paper where she was at when compared to "typical children"...six months for feeding.....18-21 months for this....18-24 months for that so rounded out she is about at an 18 month old!!! (she is 35+ months old)WHY did i let this bother me so!?!?! It didn't bother me BEFORE i saw it on paper!!! But the longer it went through my head, the more it bothered me! ( HELLO!?!?!?! Did you not just hear that she has pneumonia? THAT is why i don't have her in nursery being with children her own age....EVERY single time she goes out and there is someone with even a sniffle OR someone comes in sick...she gets like ....THIS! YES, she gets out BUT not in a nursery or at our home school group nursery.... the kids have colds and i would NEVER be able to do anything but bring her there then have her be sick then do it again! We already have her sick ENOUGH! OUTSIDE??? Well, her fingers turn grey after being outside for ten minutes in FORTY degree weather (which, by the way, is WARM for MN)...her hands and feet will ALWAYS be this way! They told me at Children's that she will not be able to be out in extreme cold or hot or humid temps...hmmmm....MN is not her friend. We can't understand her....she needs to be stretched more.....are you kidding me??? Each of the girls read her 10 board books a day and i read her at least that much but closer to twenty! DOES ANYONE ELSE REALIZE THAT YOU ARE COMPARING HER TO A TYPICAL CHILD?
I wanted our son HOME for his birthday!!! (shocking me but it made my eyes water just writing it now) I wanted our other children WELL!!! I wanted a house that did not leak!!! (WHY was it leaking in the middle of February anyway!!!!) I wanted our adoption grant to grow!!! I wanted to be assured that our Sophina would be ok and would not die like i have seen so many do this past year!!! I just wanted her to EAT!!! I WANTED PEOPLE TO SEE HER SWEET SPIRIT...(tears are flowing) I WANTED PEOPLE TO SEE HER PRECIOUS GIGGLE ...I WANTED THEM TO SEE HER THE WAY HER MOMMY SEES HER!!! It was ripping my heart out! (tears are still flowing)
I lost faith that the $1500 that i had prayed for was going to come in. It was 2pm on the last day and we were at $1000! My spirits were SO low!!! My heart was aching for Ethan...for his smell, his giggle, his deep laugh, those dimples, to kiss him, to hold him, to wish him a Happy Birthday!!! To KNOW that we were going to be able to bring him home SOON! I had SO wanted to have him home by THIS day (yesterday) AND i could not believe how much THIS FACT was affecting me too! It was all so much!!!
I finally just decided to get to work in asking my friends to SHARE about our friend's fund raiser and people responded....slowly at first. I felt weird asking for help for OUR son this time. I had not been afraid to share OTHER peoples' adoption needs but this was different. YET, i SO wanted to bring Ethan home if the MOJ started signing papers and we weren't able to go yet...oh my! SO i did what i had done for Constance last year EVERY DAY...i asked MANY people for help in the last hours and people responded more and more! Pretty soon i was just so busy that i couldn't even keep up with answering questions and asking more to SHARE! THEN GOD ROCKED MY WORLD by MANY responding! LATE last night the result of those people saying yes....the money that i had prayed for had come in. That money brought us even closer to the needed $5250 that we are needing to write for the LAST adoption fees!!!
SO....that was where i was at until the last hours of the fund raiser when you all ROCKED MY WORLD because you rocked our son's future! As usual, we are ALWAYS BLESSED!!! Connie for the crew!
One more thank you first though....
SO many people were willing to SHARE our friend's etsy shop fund raiser on their FB walls and i was SO very grateful! SOME who aren't used to sharing such things as fund raisers for adoptions and some who are like me (you know the type....ones who will give you a new story EVERY DAY of why we need to be involved in praying, encouraging, giving and adopting) and do you know what was amazing? MOST of those people who SHARED it on their walls had at least ONE person who went and looked at the shop! SHARING this fund raiser was one of the greatest gifts of the whole week SO IF YOU did....THANK YOU!!!!!!
Before the afternoon of Ethan's birthday (was that just yesterday????) I need to tell you that the past week had NOT been one of my favorites overall. I will tell you why. Our family has been sick and while it is no big deal that Scott, Victoria and Alexandra have a cold, other than the fact that they are miserable; it IS a big deal when our Sophina gets sick. When i wrote about my being able to sing two Sundays ago and how our Ally took care of Sophina so i could sing and then Sophina would NOT eat OR drink. It may have been the beginning of her feeling ill. That day was the last day that Sophina got fed through the mouth. She has been tube fed ever since.
For those of you who do not know it, our Sophina has a GI tube and she was fed through it for MANY MANY MANY months...was it two years even? That Sunday that i got to sing i felt that the next day we were going to be introducing the next stage of food to her and i was thrilled that we were FINALLY at this point! SO....it is a VERY hard thing to know that this could set us back again...BIG time OR it could just be a bump in the road. She STILL is not at a stage of being able to eat through the mouth as i write this. PLEASE PRAY for this simple function that MOST of your children do that is taken for granted (as i did with our other four) that is NOT taken for granted with our Sophina. SO Sophina was very sick and finally on the night before Ethan's 3rd birthday, we had to take her in to Express care where we found out that she had the beginning stages of pneumonia. When we got home from Express Care i found out that our Catherine was NOT well at all either! It was me alone that was well and the next day was Ethan's birthday.
I have to tell you that i stayed up late that night....and looked through the pictures of Ethan...it WAS his birthday at that time halfway around the world. I wondered if they even celebrated. I wondered if he even knew. I wondered if i there would be a picture. I wondered if he woke up early because it was his birthday. The next morning, i was working on pleading for help on FB from friends. I KNEW that the day was going to be devoted to the fund raiser and i was right. BUT in the middle of the morning there was a group of FIVE ladies sitting on our couches and on the floor with three of our girls, our PCA (new one-wooohooooo!!!!!) Becky, and myself. They were there to assess our Sophina. I don't know what i thought was going to happen but i was NOT prepared. I wish that i would have been.
(OK, REMEMBER the week that i had had before this.....several sick children with one of them in NOT great shape at all, Ethan's THIRD birthday in an orphanage!!! and not with me and no signing of papers coming in the near future it seemed as all seems to be at a standstill for those before us) (OH and i also forgot to tell you that our Ally let me know that i had "more laundry to do because last night when we got home, i found a bunch of water in the basement that Victoria and i cleaned up as we knew that it was not something that you needed to know last night)
SO....i come in thinking that they all know and adore our daughter and see all that we see and instead was told.... 'i really can't understand what she is saying unless you tell me'....she doesn't say her words clearly'..."she really needs to get out more"..."she needs to go outside and learn to walk on different kinds of ground"...."she doesn't have as much strength as we would like to see in her core"...and much more all cushioned in around 'she has great expressions'....'she copies you all in your tones'...'she is doing better at...' I then was shown on a sheet of paper where she was at when compared to "typical children"...six months for feeding.....18-21 months for this....18-24 months for that so rounded out she is about at an 18 month old!!! (she is 35+ months old)WHY did i let this bother me so!?!?! It didn't bother me BEFORE i saw it on paper!!! But the longer it went through my head, the more it bothered me! ( HELLO!?!?!?! Did you not just hear that she has pneumonia? THAT is why i don't have her in nursery being with children her own age....EVERY single time she goes out and there is someone with even a sniffle OR someone comes in sick...she gets like ....THIS! YES, she gets out BUT not in a nursery or at our home school group nursery.... the kids have colds and i would NEVER be able to do anything but bring her there then have her be sick then do it again! We already have her sick ENOUGH! OUTSIDE??? Well, her fingers turn grey after being outside for ten minutes in FORTY degree weather (which, by the way, is WARM for MN)...her hands and feet will ALWAYS be this way! They told me at Children's that she will not be able to be out in extreme cold or hot or humid temps...hmmmm....MN is not her friend. We can't understand her....she needs to be stretched more.....are you kidding me??? Each of the girls read her 10 board books a day and i read her at least that much but closer to twenty! DOES ANYONE ELSE REALIZE THAT YOU ARE COMPARING HER TO A TYPICAL CHILD?
I wanted our son HOME for his birthday!!! (shocking me but it made my eyes water just writing it now) I wanted our other children WELL!!! I wanted a house that did not leak!!! (WHY was it leaking in the middle of February anyway!!!!) I wanted our adoption grant to grow!!! I wanted to be assured that our Sophina would be ok and would not die like i have seen so many do this past year!!! I just wanted her to EAT!!! I WANTED PEOPLE TO SEE HER SWEET SPIRIT...(tears are flowing) I WANTED PEOPLE TO SEE HER PRECIOUS GIGGLE ...I WANTED THEM TO SEE HER THE WAY HER MOMMY SEES HER!!! It was ripping my heart out! (tears are still flowing)
I lost faith that the $1500 that i had prayed for was going to come in. It was 2pm on the last day and we were at $1000! My spirits were SO low!!! My heart was aching for Ethan...for his smell, his giggle, his deep laugh, those dimples, to kiss him, to hold him, to wish him a Happy Birthday!!! To KNOW that we were going to be able to bring him home SOON! I had SO wanted to have him home by THIS day (yesterday) AND i could not believe how much THIS FACT was affecting me too! It was all so much!!!
I finally just decided to get to work in asking my friends to SHARE about our friend's fund raiser and people responded....slowly at first. I felt weird asking for help for OUR son this time. I had not been afraid to share OTHER peoples' adoption needs but this was different. YET, i SO wanted to bring Ethan home if the MOJ started signing papers and we weren't able to go yet...oh my! SO i did what i had done for Constance last year EVERY DAY...i asked MANY people for help in the last hours and people responded more and more! Pretty soon i was just so busy that i couldn't even keep up with answering questions and asking more to SHARE! THEN GOD ROCKED MY WORLD by MANY responding! LATE last night the result of those people saying yes....the money that i had prayed for had come in. That money brought us even closer to the needed $5250 that we are needing to write for the LAST adoption fees!!!
SO....that was where i was at until the last hours of the fund raiser when you all ROCKED MY WORLD because you rocked our son's future! As usual, we are ALWAYS BLESSED!!! Connie for the crew!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Lord God, grow my faith!
This past week, the most extravagant gift of sacrifice that i have ever seen with my eyes happened, on our son's behalf! You can read it in our last post......seriously, if you don't know what has happened in this past week....stop and read the last post THEN come back for the 'rest of the story'.
I didn't tell anyone how much i had prayed for the etsy shop fund raiser to raise. I KNEW it was going to happen. THEN i wavered LATE last night! I wondered if it could REALLY happen! I ALSO was completely overwhelmed with the fact that what i was really asking for was for these friends of mine to donate THAT much money THEMSELVES! THIS, after they had paid for the materials and put in the time....it was a lot of money that they had invested -have you looked at the cost of fabric lately????? Then there are different colored threads, needles, bobbins, upkeep, and i don't really know what else! I can guarantee though that it is NOT cheap!!! I then didn't WANT them to give us THAT much...how rude to be praying for that much! I was assaulted with doubt! I had prayed that this etsy fund raiser would raise $1500!!! Last night...well, this 'morning' we were right around $1000. THAT took SIX DAYS!!!
Krista's attitude is... the most selfless attitude i have ever met. I know a lot of people that have other qualities that are "the most that i have ever met" but if you were to ask me who was SELFLESS - she would be the one that would come to mind! WHY? She doesn't make this a big deal at all!!! She is not acting like i now 'owe' her or anything else. She is humble. She was kind to EVERYONE who wrote her with questions and she did SO MUCH above and beyond what was even in her store!!! She is not one who is going to look for a pat on the back but i am praying that you will let her know how grateful you are for what she did. Also, will you PLEASE PRAY for her business to be blessed one hundred fold!? Yep, one hundred fold! I am praying that she will be covered in blessings with her business!
There were others who gave GENEROUSLY too....Angel Larson is the one who donated ALL of those beautiful hair clips...yep, Grandma Lindquist made sure that Sophina will be sporting some beautiful ones!!! Another mother who is using her talents and her time and her resources for the cause of the orphan. These ladies LOVE the orphan and are in charge of our orphan ministry at our church! Calvary Community Church is learning to love orphans because these women have taken ACTION!
THEN early this morning, i saw that there were even MORE people who had given...some that i don't even know who it was! SO GRATEFUL!!!
THOSE OF YOU WHO PRAYED!!!!! OH MY!!! Thank you!!! Do you believe in the power of prayer to Jesus Christ our Lord? Well, do you believe that Jesus Christ is mighty? The prayers of the righteous......thank you to those of you who stopped what you were doing and took time to PRAY.... Dear God, i pray for this....... THANK YOU!!! May i tell you that i CRAVE knowing that there are people who are REALLY PRAYING DAILY for our Ethan, our family, our transition that is coming, our finances that are needed, our HOPE to be kept, our encouragement to continue, etc..... How i value that gift!!! THANK YOU
Those of you who were BOLD and shared it on your FB posts! MANY were not able to, yet many of you did AND when you DID---OH MY!!! People bought!!! They saw the incredible prices and the adorable items that were there and they LOVED the shop! I pray that they will continue to SHOP there!!! SO many of you shared today....so very grateful!
Those of you who bought....oh my goodness! Especially TODAY!!! WOW!!! Thank you so much! Thank you for getting excited and loving the items! Thank you for talking with me or with Krista! THANK YOU!!!
BUT God......who is rich in his mercy toward sinners....of which i am definitely one!!! BUT God... who loves with an everlasting love...even when i disobey and come back AGAIN...HE FORGIVES!!! BUT God...who amazes me with his extravagant gifts....my husband, our children.... including our son and son-in-law even when i doubt of His faithfulness....he shocks me with His grace and adds a cherry on the top just because....He loves me! Jesus' sacrifice for me blows my mind! His generosity is amazing!
He was amazing! My friends and their families were amazing! You all were amazing who prayed, SHARED, gave and were INVOLVED!!! Do you want to know what happened?
Did we make the amount that i had prayed for?
Krista's etsy shop raised $1558.97!!!!! GOD ROCKS as He lead people to give and YOU guys ROCK as you obeyed!!!
We also had people giving to our tax deductible Reece's Rainbow grant fund for Ethan this week and that was $216!!! For a total of $1774.97!!! We are ever closer to reaching our $5250!!! Those are our last adoption fees that need to be paid!!! We are SO absolutely thrilled with the help that this week has been for our Ethan! I will be checking to see how close we are to being able to write out a check.
(i don't like it that i have to explain this but i do....the total amount that is in our RR grant that is showing right now is NOT correct. They sent us the grant money that we had in it when we went on our first trip...BUT it does NOT get taken off of the total that is showing. Ethan really only has $846 in his total grant right now. SO....the total is $2404.97 that has been raised! We need to write out a check ASAP for $5250....i am praying that it will be under two weeks!!!
PLEASE #1 GIVE THANKS TO GOD WITH US!!!
PLEASE #2 Tell Krista, her children, her mother, Angel and the others...THANK YOU!!!
PLEASE#3 THANK those who PRAYED and SHARED!!!
PLEASE#4 Pray for our Ethan to stay safe, the MOJ to sign papers, for our family's transition!!!
PLEASE#5 Pray for our needed funds to cover our $5250 adoption fees will be raised SOON!!!
PLEASE#6 THANK GOD for what has ALREADY happened!!!
We are ALWAYS BLESSED, Connie (Ethan's mommy)
I didn't tell anyone how much i had prayed for the etsy shop fund raiser to raise. I KNEW it was going to happen. THEN i wavered LATE last night! I wondered if it could REALLY happen! I ALSO was completely overwhelmed with the fact that what i was really asking for was for these friends of mine to donate THAT much money THEMSELVES! THIS, after they had paid for the materials and put in the time....it was a lot of money that they had invested -have you looked at the cost of fabric lately????? Then there are different colored threads, needles, bobbins, upkeep, and i don't really know what else! I can guarantee though that it is NOT cheap!!! I then didn't WANT them to give us THAT much...how rude to be praying for that much! I was assaulted with doubt! I had prayed that this etsy fund raiser would raise $1500!!! Last night...well, this 'morning' we were right around $1000. THAT took SIX DAYS!!!
Krista's attitude is... the most selfless attitude i have ever met. I know a lot of people that have other qualities that are "the most that i have ever met" but if you were to ask me who was SELFLESS - she would be the one that would come to mind! WHY? She doesn't make this a big deal at all!!! She is not acting like i now 'owe' her or anything else. She is humble. She was kind to EVERYONE who wrote her with questions and she did SO MUCH above and beyond what was even in her store!!! She is not one who is going to look for a pat on the back but i am praying that you will let her know how grateful you are for what she did. Also, will you PLEASE PRAY for her business to be blessed one hundred fold!? Yep, one hundred fold! I am praying that she will be covered in blessings with her business!
There were others who gave GENEROUSLY too....Angel Larson is the one who donated ALL of those beautiful hair clips...yep, Grandma Lindquist made sure that Sophina will be sporting some beautiful ones!!! Another mother who is using her talents and her time and her resources for the cause of the orphan. These ladies LOVE the orphan and are in charge of our orphan ministry at our church! Calvary Community Church is learning to love orphans because these women have taken ACTION!
THEN early this morning, i saw that there were even MORE people who had given...some that i don't even know who it was! SO GRATEFUL!!!
THOSE OF YOU WHO PRAYED!!!!! OH MY!!! Thank you!!! Do you believe in the power of prayer to Jesus Christ our Lord? Well, do you believe that Jesus Christ is mighty? The prayers of the righteous......thank you to those of you who stopped what you were doing and took time to PRAY.... Dear God, i pray for this....... THANK YOU!!! May i tell you that i CRAVE knowing that there are people who are REALLY PRAYING DAILY for our Ethan, our family, our transition that is coming, our finances that are needed, our HOPE to be kept, our encouragement to continue, etc..... How i value that gift!!! THANK YOU
Those of you who were BOLD and shared it on your FB posts! MANY were not able to, yet many of you did AND when you DID---OH MY!!! People bought!!! They saw the incredible prices and the adorable items that were there and they LOVED the shop! I pray that they will continue to SHOP there!!! SO many of you shared today....so very grateful!
Those of you who bought....oh my goodness! Especially TODAY!!! WOW!!! Thank you so much! Thank you for getting excited and loving the items! Thank you for talking with me or with Krista! THANK YOU!!!
BUT God......who is rich in his mercy toward sinners....of which i am definitely one!!! BUT God... who loves with an everlasting love...even when i disobey and come back AGAIN...HE FORGIVES!!! BUT God...who amazes me with his extravagant gifts....my husband, our children.... including our son and son-in-law even when i doubt of His faithfulness....he shocks me with His grace and adds a cherry on the top just because....He loves me! Jesus' sacrifice for me blows my mind! His generosity is amazing!
He was amazing! My friends and their families were amazing! You all were amazing who prayed, SHARED, gave and were INVOLVED!!! Do you want to know what happened?
Did we make the amount that i had prayed for?
Krista's etsy shop raised $1558.97!!!!! GOD ROCKS as He lead people to give and YOU guys ROCK as you obeyed!!!
We also had people giving to our tax deductible Reece's Rainbow grant fund for Ethan this week and that was $216!!! For a total of $1774.97!!! We are ever closer to reaching our $5250!!! Those are our last adoption fees that need to be paid!!! We are SO absolutely thrilled with the help that this week has been for our Ethan! I will be checking to see how close we are to being able to write out a check.
(i don't like it that i have to explain this but i do....the total amount that is in our RR grant that is showing right now is NOT correct. They sent us the grant money that we had in it when we went on our first trip...BUT it does NOT get taken off of the total that is showing. Ethan really only has $846 in his total grant right now. SO....the total is $2404.97 that has been raised! We need to write out a check ASAP for $5250....i am praying that it will be under two weeks!!!
PLEASE #1 GIVE THANKS TO GOD WITH US!!!
PLEASE #2 Tell Krista, her children, her mother, Angel and the others...THANK YOU!!!
PLEASE#3 THANK those who PRAYED and SHARED!!!
PLEASE#4 Pray for our Ethan to stay safe, the MOJ to sign papers, for our family's transition!!!
PLEASE#5 Pray for our needed funds to cover our $5250 adoption fees will be raised SOON!!!
PLEASE#6 THANK GOD for what has ALREADY happened!!!
We are ALWAYS BLESSED, Connie (Ethan's mommy)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Ethan's Birthday...his third in an orphanage
Our sweet boy is having another birthday in an orphanage! UGH! My heart! He may not even know that it IS his birthday....but his Mommy does :( I see him.....feel him in my arms....smell him....hear his amazing laugh and my eyes ache...my arms ache....my nose and ears ache to have our son HOME!!!
This past week the most extravagant gift that i have ever been given outside of God's gifts to me....is being given. Krista, her children and her mother along with our friend Angel are donating not only their PRECIOUS TIME (BOTH of them are mothers of young children so TIME is almost worth more than money) BUT they also then are giving all of the items that they had worked on.... AWAY.... completely giving the money from it to our Ethan's adoption tonight!!! Keeping nothing for themselves!!!
I helped promote the sale that they did for Constance last year....a LOT, but even with all of my promoting i still didn't FULLY 'get it'!!! THEY GAVE IT ALL .....ALL of their profit!!! Not only one time....to Constance but now this week they are giving it to Ethan! Do YOU 'get it'???? Have you taken TIME in these six+ days of the fund raiser to think about what they have done and ARE DOING TODAY!!??? (the etsy sale ends TONIGHT at 9pm) I am asking that you DO take time right now....on Ethan's birthday! I want to give that extravagantly!
I was praying for $1500 to come in this week and i am almost sure that the $1000 has come in in the six days of their etsy shop sales! BLOWS MY MIND!!! I STILL believe that the $500 will come into Ethan's account!
We have to write out a check for $5250 ASAP for our last adoption fees. I would say that Krista, her family and Angel have done their part!!! ((although Krista told me that her prayer was that every dress would be sold in this week (there are ten left) and i LOVE it that her children even made things....SO i would LOVE to see the incredible water colors be sold (her daughter created them) and then...i went and looked under almost all of the items just now...there were more families that gave to this than i even realized (as i know that they must have asked to be anonymous) AND if you see Shotsi Granny on items-oh she did SO much and she doesn't even know me!!!)) AMAZING generosity! What a wonderful gift they are giving to Ethan and to end it on his birthday....GOD DID THAT!!! Krista didn't even know!
SO we are in need of $4250 ASAP (with the sales from the etsy shop included)....if you would like your gift to be tax deductible, you may give at our Reece's Rainbow DONATE button here on our blog! TODAY, in celebration of Ethan's 3rd birthday....i would LOVE to be able to finish his adoption costs!!! i would love for Krista to be overwhelmed by how much has sold but i also would love to see Ethan's Reece's Rainbow grant grow on his birthday!!! Will YOU be willing to donate extravagantly? Some of you already have and we SO appreciate that!!! THEN, will you PLEASE PRAY!? We cannot wait to bring our little one home so all of you who HAVE given, PRAYED, and helped be a part of this will see what the fruits of your labor are!!!!
We are ALWAYS BLESSED, Connie for the crew
This past week the most extravagant gift that i have ever been given outside of God's gifts to me....is being given. Krista, her children and her mother along with our friend Angel are donating not only their PRECIOUS TIME (BOTH of them are mothers of young children so TIME is almost worth more than money) BUT they also then are giving all of the items that they had worked on.... AWAY.... completely giving the money from it to our Ethan's adoption tonight!!! Keeping nothing for themselves!!!
I helped promote the sale that they did for Constance last year....a LOT, but even with all of my promoting i still didn't FULLY 'get it'!!! THEY GAVE IT ALL .....ALL of their profit!!! Not only one time....to Constance but now this week they are giving it to Ethan! Do YOU 'get it'???? Have you taken TIME in these six+ days of the fund raiser to think about what they have done and ARE DOING TODAY!!??? (the etsy sale ends TONIGHT at 9pm) I am asking that you DO take time right now....on Ethan's birthday! I want to give that extravagantly!
I was praying for $1500 to come in this week and i am almost sure that the $1000 has come in in the six days of their etsy shop sales! BLOWS MY MIND!!! I STILL believe that the $500 will come into Ethan's account!
We have to write out a check for $5250 ASAP for our last adoption fees. I would say that Krista, her family and Angel have done their part!!! ((although Krista told me that her prayer was that every dress would be sold in this week (there are ten left) and i LOVE it that her children even made things....SO i would LOVE to see the incredible water colors be sold (her daughter created them) and then...i went and looked under almost all of the items just now...there were more families that gave to this than i even realized (as i know that they must have asked to be anonymous) AND if you see Shotsi Granny on items-oh she did SO much and she doesn't even know me!!!)) AMAZING generosity! What a wonderful gift they are giving to Ethan and to end it on his birthday....GOD DID THAT!!! Krista didn't even know!
SO we are in need of $4250 ASAP (with the sales from the etsy shop included)....if you would like your gift to be tax deductible, you may give at our Reece's Rainbow DONATE button here on our blog! TODAY, in celebration of Ethan's 3rd birthday....i would LOVE to be able to finish his adoption costs!!! i would love for Krista to be overwhelmed by how much has sold but i also would love to see Ethan's Reece's Rainbow grant grow on his birthday!!! Will YOU be willing to donate extravagantly? Some of you already have and we SO appreciate that!!! THEN, will you PLEASE PRAY!? We cannot wait to bring our little one home so all of you who HAVE given, PRAYED, and helped be a part of this will see what the fruits of your labor are!!!!
We are ALWAYS BLESSED, Connie for the crew
Monday, February 20, 2012
Update on our Etsy fund raiser
Our fund raiser is going well and we are so thankful to those of you who have given!!! Thank you to those of you who have SHARED this on Facebook AND with your friends! We only have 2 + days left in this sale SO please continue SHARING.....PLEASE PLEASE PRAY....stopping right now even-gather the children and your mate and take time to pray for our son, our family, this fund raiser and the other orphans who are in such dire need!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! PLEASE KEEP IT UP!
Have you taken a look yourself? The items are so great! The prices are fantastic!!! PLEASE share with your friends! Remember ALL of the sales will go toward our adoption costs (minus the shipping costs, etsy and paypal fees) ONLY GOOD UNTIL WEDNESDAY NIGHT at 9pm!!! If you have questions make sure you look at my last posting!!! ALWAYS BLESSED, Connie
http://www.etsy.com/shop/shotsibaby?ref=top_trail
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! PLEASE KEEP IT UP!
Have you taken a look yourself? The items are so great! The prices are fantastic!!! PLEASE share with your friends! Remember ALL of the sales will go toward our adoption costs (minus the shipping costs, etsy and paypal fees) ONLY GOOD UNTIL WEDNESDAY NIGHT at 9pm!!! If you have questions make sure you look at my last posting!!! ALWAYS BLESSED, Connie
http://www.etsy.com/shop/shotsibaby?ref=top_trail
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)