~Hard Work, a little bit of "venting" & the introduction to our newest fundraiser~

When we started this process I knew that we were taking a BIG risk by fundraising for the cost of the adoption! This is something we did not have to do for Gabby's adoption (our first adoption) because we gave all of our savings up for it as well as took out an equity loan for the difference! We really weren't aware at the time that there were tons and tons of families who fundraised for adoption costs. When we found out, the more we thought about it, the more it made sense! These families are saving the lives of children and by fundraising, people are donating to save a life just as they would be if they were donating to any other life saving charity that is out there! Sometimes you will hear the ignorant argument, "if you can't afford the child(ren) you don't need them". That is as stupid as saying if you can't afford to pay cash for a house or car then you don't need them...knowing that the majority of people in the world finance these high priced items out of necessity! Are pregnant women asked to not give birth or to give their child away if they can't pay $20,000 or more when they find out they are pregnant? I think not! People need to realize...these are human lives! Lives that need saving and that actually matter! The reality is...adoption is not FREE! There are alot of people unwilling or not able to adopt and so when a family comes along to save these children, stepout into faith, and do the hard work that is required to get them home and safe....others should either help them by prayers, words of encouragement, emotional support, and/or financial support or keep their ugly and for lack of better words, ignorant comments to themselves and support something that is meaningful to them. Pshewwww...I feel better now :)

 Now, back to the point :)

We have come so far with the help of family, friends, and even total strangers in regards to our funding. We are now halfway funded which is AWESOME!!! However, and not to be a downer but just to be real...this only means we have halfway to go still yet! Thats totally fine though because I have full faith that with God, there are many many people who are going to see to it that we get these girls home! I am so happy to have supporters who are sticking this out with us. We have had those who started out really interested and were supporters (which we are greatful for) and then we have those who have stuck it out with us! These are the ones who keep up with the blog, the ones who not only read it but will comment or message me with words of encouragement, the ones who will pray for us, the ones who will ask how they can help, the ones who will help us fundraise with every fundraiser, the ones who will financially support us (even if its $1) with every fundraiser, the ones who we will never forget! Thank you all for understanding this process or taking the time to learn it and for always being there for us! We are so appreciative and will never forget your compassion and generosity and we have no doubt that you will be very blessed for being the people you are!

We are working so hard and let me tell you....we are earning every penny of our funding to save the lives of two of those faces at the top of the screen! We are continously gathering paperwork and completing it, going to the notary, certifying something, apostilling something, shipping something, sewing something, doing our regular jobs, maintaining a household, coming up with new fundraisers, spending tons of time to see those fundraisers through, etc, etc, etc.... I say this so that you see that our fundraising and adoption is not as easy as saying "we are adopting and will you help us with funding". We are doing all we know to do to get this done and we are willing to do all we need to do to get it done. We also take the time to read about the other families who are adopting/fundraising and we tithe to these families as well!  I hope you are starting to get (if you didn't get it before) an idea of just how hard we are working and doing our part to make a difference in this world and in the lives of the children we are trying to bring home.

We are asking if you are a supporter that you join us in this next effort of fundrasing. Whether it be by praying for the success of our fundraiser, spreading the word, or helping financially (all which are very much needed), we appreciate it so much!

Now, on to the introduction of our newest fundraiser!!! :)

Our newest fundraiser is listed at the top of our blog in the tab located beside of the "home" tab. This fundraiser is the Eastern European Paintings Giveaway and Sale! This fundraiser can make a BIG difference in our funding and can help tremendously! PLEASE take the time to click on the tab related to the fundraiser at the top of our blog and see how you can participate.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

UPDATE: Fundraiser cancelled! Making changes to the fundraiser and combining the paintings as gifts to donors who donate toward the final funding of our adoption. Please ignore anything regarding the paintings up to this point. Thank you!