It's amazing what $20 can do...

There is something that is so spiritual about the adoption process. I know a lot of you followed our first adoption and watched all the crazy amazing things that God did. The Smile post comes to mind. 

Here are some amazing things ways God used you guys this week:

1. A few people gave generously to our YouCaring account!

2. My cousin offered to make her already-planned Thirty-One Party a fundraiser for our adoption!

3. My good friend from college and her super-amazing musician husband are organizing a concert fundraiser for us in Ohio!

4. Someone gave us $20.

Yes, that's right. Sometimes you need to hear from God in a very specific way. You need him to show up in a way that reminds you that He is listening and He knows exactly what you need, down to the last dollar.

So this past week, we had to watch a mandatory training video online in order for our home study to be completed. We got to the website and realized it was $18.50 to watch the video. Mark and I looked at each other like, "Really?!" I know it doesn't seem like much, but after a month of having to buy a new dryer, furnace, and refrigerator, $18.50 was about to send me right over the edge. Then I remembered something. "Mark! Someone gave us $20 today!" I just felt God speaking to me at that time, telling me that He was watching out for us. That He would provide every dollar at exactly the right time. I don't need to panic right now about the $20,000+ more we will eventually need. It will come when we need it.

So, thank you. Thank you to everyone who has already given. I'm in awe of the friends who are plowing forward and helping us with amazing fundraisers. And to the person who listened to God and gave us the exact right amount of money we needed on the exact right day, thank you.

Praying for abundance

Recently it's been hard not to get discouraged. Why must adoption be so expensive?! Since we are expediting this adoption, we need to have the money in 4 months instead of 12. If at any time during the process we don't have the money, we have to stop and wait until the money comes.

Right after we started the process, our dryer had to be replaced. Two days later, our furnace stopped working and had to be replaced as well. Recently we started noticing chunkage in our milk and today realized it's because our fairly new fridge isn't working as it should. 

I called Mark at work about the fridge, somewhat in a panic. I may or may not have been crying. He then reminded me of a passage from 2 Corinthians - a passage that I had reminded him of a few weeks ago: 

"Now I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully, And God is able to make all grace about to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have abundance for every good deed...Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness..."

We know God will provide and we would be so humbled and over-the-top grateful for anyone who would like to journey with us and be a part of this amazing journey to bring XT home. He needs all of us!

Here are some ways to help:

1. Donate directly to our YouCaring page. 

2. We need a van. We've crammed 3 car seats in the back of our Corolla for as long as possible! And in a few months, it will be 4 car seats. So, if you know of anyone who is selling a mini-van at a good price, let us know!

3. We are thinking of doing a silent auction fundraiser in February. If you have any item or service you'd like to donate, let us know! (Doesn't have to be anything something big or expensive. I will post a list of ideas later this week.)

4. There are some other items we need. If you or someone you know has any of these items and would like to sell or donate, let us know!

-crib mattress  (donated!)

-boys size 18mo. - 2T spring/summer clothes 

-convertible car seat (donated!)

It's so hard to write this post, I'm honestly worried people will think we shouldn't be doing this if we don't have the resources. The only thing I can say to that is that we feel this is what God wants us to do and we believe He will provide. And really, He already has been providing! We are also going to be applying for grants, although most grants will not be able to approve us for the grant and pay us before we actually travel. So we are trusting that God will provide through various ways. And we would love, love, love to have you join us!