$5199.27!!!

As of 9:45 PM on Wednesday, October 13th we've raised $5199.27 with 137 entries in our iPad Raffle :-) Why isn't the total a whole number? Because yesterday our nieces and nephews came over with the money from their piggy banks! How awesome is that!?! These kids want their cousins home and they mean business. They aren't just waiting around for the adults to change the world; they're starting right now on their own :-)

Guess what the friendly FedEx guy is bringing me tomorrow morning (well I don't know for sure that he'll be friendly but I'll be too excited to notice otherwise!)? Our FBI clearances!! This is the first of two big obstacles standing in the way of our Christmas miracle. Two weeks ago it looked like they wouldn't come until the beginning of November and then it would be too late to get a court date before the Russian court system closes down for their winter break. Having our children home for Christmas was impossible and this was one big reason why. There was nothing I could do about it. It was in God's hands and he decided to "show me" because I had started telling people it was impossible that it would come in time. Now...it'll be here in the morning!

So that leaves the second BIG and little obstacle...raising the rest of the money to finish this thing! It's BIG because raising another $22,800 sounds rather unheard of. Then again so was coming up with the $47,000 we've already raised/earned. Nothing is too big for God! This could also be considered a little obstacle because it could be overcome by many little donations. We don't need people to donate thousands of dollars (although I'm not stopping anyone if they feel moved to do so ;-). If people kept spreading the word and many people donated $20, $10, or even $5 we could still have the money raised by this weekend (which is pretty much when we need it to still bring the children home by Christmas).

We're so grateful for everything that has been done on our behalf already! We've also loved the kind comments and encouraging words. Prayer is very important to us and we could really use all we can get. There is a big mountain in front of us, but thankfully we serve a God who is in the mountain-moving business! :-)

Raffle Details: Simply make a donation in any amount and your name will be entered to win the new iPad. Donations can be made with a paypal account or a credit/debit card through the ChipIn widget below. We'll draw the winners name the morning of Saturday, October 16th!




Blessings,



If you'd like to read more about our adoption story and how we won this iPad then check out this post. :-)