The Climb!

The Climb!

I felt like I needed to share a bit with yall! Last night we finally heard back from Pathways for Little Feet and the news was mixed. Basically they want to help us out with a no interest loan BUT we would have to have a cosigner! Wow! Talk about a mix of emotions. Ok, so up to a $7,500 loan was in our grasp BUT it wasn't. So, this meant lots of prayer and looking at things. We had prayed if God wanted us to get that loan that they would approve us and they didn't. Sooo, that must mean God has another way HE is planning to do this without us going into debt and adding another monthly payment. It may be that we are going to NEED whatever that payment would have been for things that Jeremiah and Noah might need. Perhaps something medically for Jeremiah or something! I don't know but GOD does! I see through a glass dimly but HE sees all! So yes is a way I am disappointed because it means we don't have that $7500 right now to have waiting for when the judge says come! BUT, I KNOW that God has it under control and I have so much to learn in all this! It really is about the climb up the mountain and over it and then climbing back down! Do I know where the rest of the money is coming from NO! Do I know for sure how much we need? NO, because we do not know the date for sure, IF it is after May the airline will be more. BUT God knows it all. We will continue to work and fundraise and PRAY for Good Wishes, PRAY for folks to bid in our next auction, Pray for grants for travel, pray for sponsorship of nights in our hotels, Pray for it all. And be open to learn what we are to learn in the climb!  We have already had signs of God moving to bring the funds in :)  Our 100 Good Wishes Page already has 7 Good Wises and $95 in donations!  A friend Stormy in Arizona had a bake sale for us today and raised $50!  The Pampered Chef free mercandise came in so I can begin working on the next auction, and I had a brand new watch donated to the auction, I have had  several things mentioned for donations for the next auction!  God is going to make a way :)  I just need to figure out a way to get the word out more about this next one!  We have a Red Beans and Rice with Sausage Plate lunch sale coming up this Thursday and I am prayerful it will have a good amount of plates sold! :)  I have heard from one person whose jar is filling up to a great amount in the save your change...Change Jeremiah's life and was told that a check would be coming soon for what they had saved and it is not even Jeremiah's birthday yet! :)  Our family was featured on Storing up treasures and that gets te word out to more folks to pray for Jeremiah! There are so many things that have happend and so many way s I have been blessed during tis climb!  There have been some not so pleasant things that to this day still make me sad that have happend as a result of our journey to Jeremiah but even in the painful things I have learned!  I wish I could say I was a woman of great faith and did not ever doubt, ever fear, ever worry WHERE are we gonna get it all, BUT I would be lying if I said that.  I have had so many doubts and fears.  You would think I would learn NOT to go there but I still do :(  I am constantly comforted by my Lord showing off! :)  There is no doubt that God wanted this little boy to be part of us because we could NOT have done this without the Lord!  In EVERY way we know GOD has and is doing it! :)  I find myself NOT giving God te glory as I should in all of this and I find I get busy in the things of life and fundraising and paperwork and such and I dont include God in what we are doing and I think part of this climb is about me remembering that I am not alone in this, that God does love me even though I do not desrve it, that God blesses me with children even though I do not desrve it!  Even though!  I find myself remembering some things spoken over me back in the early months of my marriage when month afer month we were not pregnant with the biological child we planned to have before we started adopting.  It was spoken that I would be the happy mother of children!  YUP!  It was spoken that I would have the children of my heart!  YUP!  They have grown in my heart and came through an agnecy named HEARTSENT!  humm interesting!

 I could go on but I think you get the idea!  I am beginning a Bible study this week called Be anxiious for noting!  Timing for this is so good!  We could get first decree tomorow and be told to be in Taiwan in 3 weeks and I have no clue HOW we would do it!  Granted I do NOT think that is going to happen though for Jeremiah's benefit it would be nice!  But the point is I just don't know when tey will say come and I HAVE to trust that we will be ready when its time!  I am beginning to worry a bit about Jeremiah's needs and how I will do with meeting them and being the mother he needs and all.  And feeling like I have let him down by taking so long.  BUT I have to trust!!! So I will do my Be anxious for nothing study and I will trust and CLIMB!
 

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Noah Cuteness, Good Wishes, and Update

So I will start with a bit of Noah Cuteness Tonight!  My little man has become quite a funny little dude!  He is VERY Stubborn and has decided he loves soda (thanks to introduction NOT by me originally) and tea and anything if it is in someone else's cup, Especially if it is a restraunt cup with straw!  BUT not a sippy cup with straw!  He won't drink from those!  He is also pretty smart at figuring out what we want him to do.  Tonight I had the camera and was trying to get some cute shots of him and he started trying to get my Diet Dr. Pepper in a Sonic Cup.  I am like don't worry bout the cup, smile for mommy!  Well, he starts pointing at the cup and then looking so cute and then saying peeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  LOL  I got some really cute shots and then I took a video :)  I hope you enjoy!  :)  more below all that :)

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Today we had a Chicken Spaghetti Plate Lunch Sale!  I made plates for 57!  We raised a profit of $85 plus a $30 donation!!  God is so good!!  Next week is Red Beans and Rice with sausage, cornbread and a dessert.  Praying it goes well!  here are pics from today!

I wanted to share about our Jeremiah's 100 Good Wishes website!!!

Jeremiah's 100 Good Wishes Page!

This is a site started by an adoptive Family and it is based on a Chinese Tradition of 100 Good Wishes for a Baby.  I had tried before to do a quilt with teh 100 Good Wishes thought behind it during Noah's Journey but could not get folks to send me squares to put in the quilt.  This is more of a virtual quilt with Good Wishes! :)  If you have a few minutes please check it out :)

Our auction ended on the first.  Still trying to get with a few winning bidders.  I will post more about it when I do!  I am soooo aching for new pics of Jeremiah!!!  U am also praying for a record fast first decree and of course the money all being raised record fast to bring him home!!!

hang on sweet frogie boy!!!  Not much longer.  I love you and Im sending you kisses in the wind!!!

Tiny Town Playplace or Gym??? and Auction Ends and Chicken Spaghetti

We had a playdate today at Tiny Town!  This is a 2 story playplace at a big Church and it is free to the public a couple hours at a time a couple days a week!  :)  So Noah, Celeste and I headed to the playdate today and I climbed up in this thing a bit.  NOT as much as Noah wanted or I would have liked.  When I got to the part that was like a rope floor I was scared my big self would bust it so I would not go any further in.  NOAH was not happy with me :(  maybe someday I can go further!  Anyway I made this collage of some of the pics that were taken today at Tiny Town :)  Hope you enjoy :)

And I wanted to say thank you to all who bid in our Auction whether you won or not because you were willing to help us out! :)  I have been contacting all the winning bidders today and am waiting on some to contact me back and work out paying their bid and getting them connected with the donators! :)  I will post on the fundraising blog and here about the winners as soon as I get it all together and hear back from everyone :)  I will let you know that we will have another auction.  I have had several things donated already for another auction including premier jewlry, Chinese Translation service, Stationary gift sets, and I will have quite a few sets of Pampered Chef items to bid on as well :) 

Please be in prayer for me tomorow and Thursday as I prepare and all for our Chicken Spaghetti Plate Sale Thursday!  We have sold 57 Plates so far!  I am hoping for a few more plates and my neice is probably going to buy some for her family.  This first sale may not raise alot of money because we had quite a few upfront things that we won't have to buy every week that all had to be bought this week as we start up.  Some will last one more week, some will last for several sales! :)  Anyway, ANYTHING is more than we have now! :)  EVERY PENNY HELPS!  For those curious in what we are doing it is Chicken Spaghetti, Italian Green Beans, a roll and a brownie for $5 per plate, or $7 if they want an extra large serving.

Jeremiah my sweet frogie boy!  Jesus has been moving mountains to help us get to you angel!  I can't wait till we have all the funds and we have our travel date and are boarding that plane I am SOOO terrified of to come and get you!  :)  Your auction seems to have done really well sweetie on top of the grant yesterday! :)  I just know that the judge is gonna sign our first decree soon and we will be coming to get you before you know it.  Daddy and I pray for you daily sweet little man and we have so many hopes and dreams for our future together :)  Last night we were talking about what it is going to be like to have 2 little squirmy boys to play and tickle! :)  I can't wait to smell your scent that is totally your own and snuggle you close my sweet frogie boy! :)  I found out today that a lady is making some wraps for us baby!  So that Mommy can wear you in several ways and have you close to me as we get to know each other!  It is gonna be so wonderful sweet man! It is the middle of the night here and it is afternoon where you are my sweetie and I am thinking you are probably having your nap.  As you do catch my kisses in the wind!   I LOVE YOU JEREMIAH!

PRAISE YOU JESUS!!!!!! AMAZING NEWS TO SHARE!

I am STILL bawling with excitement!  I got a phone call from my agency who got a letter in the mail today from SHOWHOPE!  WE GOT A GRANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!  They have awarded our family a $4000 grant!!!!!!!  The notification letter to us came just about a half hour after the phone call so its like my proof!  LOL  I am beside myself with excitement!  God is sooo amazing!  :)  This means that as far as agency and orphanage fees we ONLY owe $23.86!!!!!!!  :)  Now, we still need about $6500 MINIMUM for the flights, hotel, train, food, Jeremiah's Visa, and expenses in country but that is IT!!!  PRAYING for travel to NOT be in the summer months as we are told the air fare will be WAY more and we will need to budget even more!  THE prayer is that we will travel in May!  There are 2 very important days in May for my daughter so I am praying we travel between them!!! :)  This is such amazing news!  Now the hard part starts because teh money left to be raised has to all come to us , or to our travel agent!  A friend asked about other grants but most grants send the funds direct to the agency, not the family so that won't work.  I am wondering if I might can find one that would send to Todd our travel agent!  Another friend suggested seeing if folks would sponsor nights in the hotels but I have no clue if anyone would be willing to do that or not or how!  LOL  She was thinking I could say what hotels we will be staying in and maybe folks can someone get a gift certificate or something but I do not think they do that in Taiwan.  I mean I have seen gift cards to hotels here in the states but not for Godlen China and Tayih Landis!  lol  Anyway, PLEASE be in prayer for me this week as I prepare to do a Chicken Spaghetti Plate Sale Thursday!  We have sold 51 plates so far!  Pray I can get good deals on the food and packaging items and such so we dont loose too much profit!  Also please remember the auction in the post below!  Today is the last day!  It ends at 11:59 pm tonight!  I am excited and whatever we make on the auction will go to Travel after the $23.86!  LOL 

I want to say thank you for those who have committed to save their change from now till March 29th for Jeremiah's Birthday! :)  It is so exciting to think about folks thinking about my baby boy and all while they gather their change! :) 

Jeremiah my sweet frogie boy!  My love for your grows daily!  You are teaching me so much and you are a world away from me across the ocean!  I can't WAIT to hold you close and snuggle you and begin to teach you things about having a mommy, a daddy, a big brother and big sister!  To teach you about being in a family, to teach you about the God that loves you and bridged the ocean to bring you home to us!  To teach you that in the midst of so many bad things that happen in the world these days that a love for you and a desire to help you come home brought so many people together to roll up their sleeves and help!  Your daddy and I are so blessed in this journey and we will always remember how hard it was waiting but how blessed we were to have so many helping us.  So many will cheer for you when we step off the plane at home!  Baby boy, I am sorry it is taking us so long, I am sorry that during the wait there are times you are sick and have no mommy to cuddle you and wipe your nose and help you feel better.  That there are times where you might not have your cries answered as quickly as you need them because your nannies are so busy with so many of you and your roomies to love and care for.  I am sorry it is taking so long and I will spend a lifetime making it up to you angel boy!  Hang on tight my frogie boy and while you wait catch my kisses in the wind and KNOW Mommy loves you!