Lemonade for Love

Today reaffirmed that God has our back. His people have our back, too. Just as soon as we started really focusing on how we are going to finance this adoption, we are blessed. A friend from the preschool I used to work at told us yesterday that she was having a garage sale today. Monica said she was going to set up a lemonade/cookie stand to benefit our adoption :) We were blown away by her thoughtfulness.

The kids posing with Emmy

Justin, Em and I stopped by to say thank you (and take pics for the babe's eventual scrapebook) and learned that her kiddos, and a neighborhood friend, had operated the stand. It was so sweet. The kids were so happy to give us the money they had earned. What a wonderful experience for all of us. It feels good to be loved. What a great lesson for those kids--how good it feels to give to another. God is so good!

Fundraising

The cost of adoption can be overwhelming. In order to get our child home from India we'll need a total of about $30,000. We still have about $19,000 to come up with. We are absolutely depending on God to provide. Justin and I believe that it is God who is calling us on this adoption journey and that, because we are obedient, He will provide. We have a sense of peace knowing that with Him all things are possible.

Right now we have 3 fundraising garage sales in the works. One in Indiana over the July 4th weekend, one here in Ohio and one in Michigan! Today while I was posting about the sales on Facebook, a friend suggested that we add a paypal button to our blog. What an awesome idea! We are so blessed to have so many family and friends that are helping to make this adoption possible.

We are also in the process of identifying and applying for scholarships and grants that are aimed at helping families with adoption costs.

The Latest

Emmy-12 weeks

Sorry I haven't updated the blog in awhile. Emerson keeps us busy :) She is growing so fast! This is what's new with Emmy:

• She can grab things now--it's so much fun to watch her focus on something and go for it!
• She LOVES being in the Ergo (baby carrier) and I love having her close but also having my hands free
• She wants to sit up and check everything out--she's not having it if you are holding her lying down unless it's time for sleep
• She enjoys sucking on her fingers, burp cloths, Justin's fingers, my shoulder...pretty much anything :)
• She is interested in her colorful board books--she looks as if she is studying each page :)
• She still needs to be swaddled in order to sleep. She sleeps (on a good night) two four or five hour stretches with a midnight snack in between.

Life is good. So good, we are moving full-speed ahead as we prepare for another little kiddo to join our family! Last we sent our I-800A paperwork to JOH for review. This is an application that will then be sent to our government, requesting permission to adopt a child from a Hague country. So, we are one step closer to our Indian babe!