winner, winner

....and the winner is....

 

 

 

the Orrange family!

 

Brent & Courtney,

Thanks for loving us and supporting us on this journey.

You were some of the very first people that we came to with our news about adoption.

You have given us so much wisdom and encouragement.

We love you guys!

enjoy your gift cards. ;) ;)

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

and a HUGE THANK YOU to each and every person who entered.

We are now $1650 closer to being able to bring our 2 kiddos home.

we are humbled and blessed.

thank you for joining us on this adventure.

so much love.

_____________________________________________________________________________

a special THANK YOU to my mother-in-law
who put this entire raffle together
and donated all the gift cards.
Cindy-you really are the BEST.
I am SO incredibly thankful that you're in our corner. :)
we both love you bunches and bunches.
__________________________________________________________________

and today we're off to our appointment at the Immigration office!
biometrics, here we come!!!!
Continuing to take steps toward having them home!
woohoo!

 



our people

I knew when we embarked on this adoption journey,
that it would change me.
Other who have gone before us have said that it is one of the most transformational processes of their life--if not THE most transformational.

We are only--I hesitate to use this word, because it seems to minimize the significance of the last few months, and it has not felt like ONLY, but for lack of a better word, I continue--5 months into this process.
but already I can feel the change stirring, rising in my heart.

Already I am learning much about myself, my husband, our God, and our people.

You guys know what I'm talking about when I say "our people."
Those people that have your back.
That know-maybe even before you do-that you need something.
The ones that laugh at your ridiculousness and cry when you hurt.
The people that are right there, by your side, in the thick of it, figuring it out right along with you.
These are your people.

We have been blown away by the people who have gone out of their way to let us know that they are praying for us and cheering for us.
We have literally been speechless and shocked by the sacrificial giving of so many of you. So blessed and so humbled.
We have been reminded of God's goodness through the love of HIS people, OUR people.

Honestly, the most difficult and humbling part of this process so far
has been trusting God with the finances.
Surveys have shown that many more families would pursue adoption if it were not for the large financial investment that it required.
I totally get that.
I do.
It's scary.

I am daily surrendering this.
DAILY.

Fundraising is not my favorite thing.
In fact, launching the fundraiser last Monday triggered 24 hours of anxiety.
no lie.
or as the Kardashians would say, "Bible."
Yes. I just admitted that I sometimes watch the Kardashians.

But here's what I'm learning in the midst of this whole thing:
it's not about me.
it's not about you all will think of me for writing this, or having an online raffle, or even for adopting internationally.
it's not about my manipulating or controlling things.
it's just not.

if anything,
it's about inviting people to share in the joy of what God is doing.
it's about allowing others to give and to be blessed for their generosity.
it's about allowing our lives to be blessed by the kindness and generosity of others.
This process is about obedience and surrender and joy, and allowing other people (our people!) to come along side us on this crazy journey.
And through it, we get to come alongside THEM, too.
That's what is so great.
Relationships are built, strengthened, rekindled.
We are blessed and in turn we get to bless others.

pretty cool stuff.

So, with that in mind, I'm trying to have a different perspective on this whole "fund raising" ordeal.

For those of you interested in joining the fun & helping us get that much closer to bring home our kiddos,
there are still 2 days left to enter our raffle and have a chance at $200 in gift cards. Click here for more info.

thanks for being our people.
we can't wait for the day when we get to introduce our kids to you.

with all our love,
R & E

Giftcard Raffle! {$200 Winner}

Happy July 1st, y'all!

(and Happy Canada day, too!)

 

It is really hard to believe that 2013 is already half over.

WHAAAT!?!

 

As I mentioned in our adoption update post, we are hoping that our dossier is ready to mail to Ethiopia by the end of August. Woohoo! That would mean we are completely paperwork ready.

 

In order to send our dossier at the end of August, however, we have to be ready to make the next big program payment. So, with that in mind, today we are launching

a Big Giveaway featuring some of our favorite thing/places to shop!

 

By entering the raffle, you could win $25 to EACH of the following places!

That's $200!!!

 

 

 

 

 

back to school shopping?

birthdays?

vacation planning?

there are all kinds of ways you could spend that money!

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

Here are the details on how to enter:

 

-1 entry for each $10 donated through Paypal (link in top right of blog).

 

-1 entry for each time you share the link to this fundraiser via social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram). Limited to ONE entry per day. Must leave a message via blog or facebook, or link Rob/Erica to post that you shared so I can verify.

 

 

 

Winner will be randomly selected and announced here on July 10th!

 

Our goal for this fundraiser is $3,000! I'll keep you updated along the way!

That's 300 people giving $10

OR

150 people giving $20

 

Thank you!!!

Happy Raffling! :)

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1eb63d0/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Feel free to use photos below to SHARE! :)