God used YOU

What do you say to over 100 people who have donated nearly $3,000 to help your family? At one point this week, I almost cracked open a thesaurus to look up different ways to say thank you because I was feeling so repetitive!

Let me tell you this quick story and then tell you how I plan to thank each and every one of you. I first contacted Give1Save1 about being a featured family on their site a while ago, kind of on a whim. I was worried about how we were going to pay for this adoption and I was thinking of different options. When they responded and said I'd have to make a video, I knew I probably wouldn't do it. I'd never made a video before and, well, sometimes I'm just lazy. About 2 weeks ago, THEY contacted ME to see if I had any questions. This kind of surprised me and made me think maybe I should think about it. I downloaded Windows Movie Maker and 10 hours later I thought..."Well, I made this video, I guess we're doing this." I told Mark about the proposed goal of $900 for Luyana's plane ticket. We both agreed we probably wouldn't make that much, but at least we had a goal. I submitted the video TEN DAYS AGO and they happened to have an opening this week. Imagine our surprise when we blew through our goal of $900 in the first 1/2 day that our video was up! Some words and phrases I've used repeatedly in the last few days...blown away, at a loss for words, humbled, grateful, undeserving, blessed beyond belief, thankful, thankful, thankful. The way this came about and the support we have received can be from nowhere if not from God. He put this opportunity in our laps and knew the generous hearts of our amazing friends and family (and friends of friends and friends of friends of friends, and even the 2 dogs of a friend of my brother). And we want everyone to know that we appreciate EACH and EVERY dollar given. We know some dollars are more stretching to give than others and we acknowledge that and are humbled by it.

One of my favorite things the last few days has been reading all the notes and messages people wrote on the donation site. The only way I can think to thank all of you is this: I have been planning since day 1 to make a book for Luyana that tells her adoption story. In this book, I will be listing each and every one of your names and how we know (or don't know!) you. If you wrote us or her a message, we will add that next to your name. Your messages of love and support will be forever part of her story. (If you didn't write a message and want to...feel free to comment on this post or message me on facebook!)

Thank you for your love, prayers, and support. God has used YOU to bring this little girl home to her family and we are forever grateful.