Welcome to Our Adoption Fundraiser!

Welcome to our Adoption Fundraiser

and thank you for stopping by!

(* Please grab our button on the sidebar.)

I know this is very "last minute" so-to-speak, but we are really in need of YOUR support to help us bring our daughter home. We are excited to announce that we received our TA (travel approval) on Wednesday, April 14th, and will likely be leaving for China the second week in May. As many of you know, adoption is a very expensive journey, both domestically and internationally. We thought we would have these expenses covered on our own, but like so many others, job cutbacks and the current economy have affected our finances and we have come up short. Quite short in fact. Up until this point, we have covered every adoption related expense from our own pockets. But unfortunately the funds have run dry and we still have a good chunk to come up with before we can travel to bring our precious Khloe home.

Some of you have followed us from the beginning of our journey. Others are newer acquaintances or stopping in for your first visit. However you may have found us, I would like to think it is not by accident that you are here today. Thank you SO much for taking the time to learn about our family and the precious little girl who will soon be joining us!

Khloe Mei, as we have named her, will be coming home soon. She just turned two back in Feb. and we are beyond excited to meet her in person! Khloe resides at New Day Foster Home near Beijing where she is thriving and growing into a fun little toddler. She arrived there at barely 3mos. old, in dyer need of their top-notch love and care. Khloe was born with a condition called bladder exstrophy, where her bladder was literally exposed on the outside of her body. Because of her more serious need, not even the larger city hospitals were equipped to handle her case. At just over 8mos. old, Khloe traveled with her caregivers to Hong Kong to undergo various tests and meet with specialists to prepare for the extensive surgery. On Sept. 20th, 2008, she underwent her long and complicated surgery, and it was clear she was not alone...God was there with her! She experienced great 'miracles' that are now part of her testimony, and ours. You see, I was part of the emergency prayer team and had the privilege of praying for this sweet baby girl, long before I knew she would one day be our daughter! (I will share "our story" on our family blog sometime in the not-to-distant future; I promise!! ...It is a neat one, with God's fingerprints all over it!) Khloe is now a flourishing toddler and our family is beyond ready to have her home!

This is where you come in. After much prayer and with the support and encouragement of family and fellow bloggy friends, we have put together this fundraiser to help with our remaining adoption expenses. We have all of our in-country and travel costs yet to raise. If need be, we can use our credit cards to cover the airline and hotel expenses, but everything else has to be in cash. I could not bring myself to ask for the entire amount, so it is the most needed 'cash' amount that we are hoping to raise here. This will cover everything from our required orphanage donation (over $5k alone) to the notary fees, guide fees, Khloe's mandatory health exam and immunizations, VISA fees, cab and tourism costs, food and various other expenses not specifically noted. The truth is, I'm not sure I fully understand all of the expenses yet... I just know the ballpark minimum figure that we must pay forward. Unfortunately, we were not able to get any grants or adoption loans like some families; either due to the time constraint, income caps and/or an over-abundance of applicants. With Khloe's special need, we thought we would qualify for some help, but so far we have hit only dead-ends. And believe me, I have spent many days and countless hours scouring the Internet and exhausting every resource I could find. So with all pride aside, we are humbly asking for your help.

We know that financially not everyone is in a position to donate, and we completely understand. Your prayers and support are priceless to us, as well. We KNOW the power of prayer and wouldn't be this far in our journey without it! The Bible says in James 1:27 that "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless..." is to take care of the widows and the orphans. We know that not everyone is called to adopt. But everyone is called to do something. And sometimes that means the financial support of others, and/or sponsoring an oprhan (which you can do HERE) or missions. Whatever that may be for you, is between you and God. But for our family, that has been all of the above; and most recently, our call to adopt. We have always counted it a blessing to give to others, and now we are stepping out in faith and praying for those blessings in return. Whether through prayer, finances or both...thank you so much for your support and we pray that God richly blesses each of you in return!

"And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, In as much as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me."

(~ Matthew 25:40)

Now onto the prizes!!...

As you can see by the photos in the previous post (see below) we have had a handful of wonderful people offer to contribute prizes to our fundraiser... and we gratefully welcome anyone else who would still like to contribute. If you know of someone with a special talent for creating things, who has an online store or Etsy shop, or simply has a nice prize they'd like to donate, please direct them my way!! The more the merrier, as it will provide more chances for SEVERAL different people to win! EVERYONE is eligible to enter, whether you are able to donate to our funds or not. "How?" you may be wondering?! Well, I'm so glad you asked; there are MANY ways you can gain entries to win!!.....

• Receive an entry simply for commenting on this post.

• Receive (5) entries for your suggested donation of $10 or more through our Chip In box on our sidebar. (There is no minumum required)
  
• Receive (5) additional bonus entries for any donation over $25.
  
  
  
• Receive (2) entries for posting about our fundraiser on YOUR blog and linking it back to this blog.
  
  
  
• Receive (2) entries for grabbing our fundraiser button (sidebar!) and posting it on your blog where I can see it! (*leave a comment to let me know where I can find it.)
  
  
  
• Receive an entry for posting about our fundraiser on FB and linking it back to this blog.
  
  
  
• Receive an entry for becoming a 'follower' of this blog.
  
  
• Receive an entry for becoming a 'follower' of our family blog.
  
  

*You do not have to leave separate comments for each entry. Just tell me which ones and how many total you qualify for in your comment, and that will be fine! :) Thanks!!

Please note that the Chip-In box is completely safe to use and the donations will come through your PayPal account (which can be set up to come direct from your bank account or your credit/debit card.) I personally have used PayPal for nearly a decade now, and had no security issues whatsoever. If you do not already have a PayPal account and are uncomfortable using one, you are welcome to send your donations direct via the postal mail and you will still be entered in the drawings for the prizes. Feel free to email me directly if you wish to mail your donation and I will send you the address. You can also send me an email me if you do not wish to publicly comment on this blog, or do not have a profile set up for commenting. I want to respect everyone's right to privacy.... and I love hearing from all of you!

Thank You SO MUCH for your support and prayers...they mean the world to us!

"Everytime I think of you, I give thanks to my God!"

(~Phillipians 1:3)

*NOTE: See the post below for the current listing of prizes. Remember...EVERYONE is eligible to win, so join in on the fun!! :)