A little help from our friends

As many of you who are familiar with international adoption know, it costs money. Lots of money. But money is never a deterrent for families who are determined to adopt, and while there is a lot of planning and saving, somehow the money comes. There are few people I know personally who have the money sitting around waiting to decide what to do with it, and then think about adoption. But for those of us who are called to adoption, we are so blessed with the miracles that happen, continually, to allow us to afford the fees associated with bringing our children home. And the truth is...once we see their faces, there is no thought to the adoption loans, penny-pinching, and budgeting that goes into making that happen.

Both with Sophie's adoption and now Shane, we have been blessed with the generosity of family and friends who are helping us to make the burden a bit easier. My family gave up presents from Nana and Pop Pop and my parents donated to our Kingdom Kids fund instead of buying presents for everyone. Friends from adoption groups, people I have never met, sent in checks and donations. We are so grateful to everyone who have helped us in any way. My dream is to someday start a foundation to enable families to adopt children who are blind or deaf, and to help educate parents as to what to expect when adopting a special needs child. (More to come on that)

A few weeks ago, a family of three precious girls, all adopted from China, whom we know from our elementary school, had a yard sale to help us raise money to bring Shane home. Each of these little girls knows first-hand what it means to live in an orphanage and to be brought home to live in a loving family. The girls are under the age of 10, and they raised $200.00 for Shane's adoption. The oldest, Lily, had a table where she sold toys, water bottles and soft pretzels. She was so thrilled to be able to help us. I truly cannot wait to be able to tell Shane about these little girls who gave of themselves to help him.

Hope you all have a great day. Another full week coming right up...