BABY BOTTLE BANK (fundraiser)

Jared and I have been brainstorming some simple fun ideas we could do to help raise money to bring our baby home. We came across a cute easy one and we would like to post it and if it seems like something you would like to participate in let me know and I will hook you up. If not no hard feelings at all :)

It is called the "BABY BOTTLE BANK"

I have 5oz baby bottles that have a small sheet of paper in it telling you a little about our story and there just might be some delicious chocolate in their too ;)

What you do is take it home and put it in a prominent place in your house and the goal is to fill it up with any loose change you come across. When the bottle is full or even halfway return it back to us and we will wrap the change and put it toward our expenses. Spare change goes a long way.

If you would like one let me know and I will get it to you!

Fundraisers :D

Before I go onto the second half of our adoption story I wanted to post a few fundraisers we are doing in case your at all interested, and this post will take half the time since I still have to cook dinner, change diapers, baths, and tuck kids in bed!

First: "COMEDY DINNER EXTRAVAGANZA"
This is taking place April 15th 6pm at Centerpoint Church. Opened up to the public.

We currently have three families in our church in the process of adopting from Uganda. Pretty amazing! We are hosting this event and 100% of the proceeds go to adoptions. It is going to be a great night.

We will have a dinner provided (buffet style) dessert, childcare, music, silent auction, comedy portion, and lovely decor so you may come and have a relaxing evening. You will also hear from all three families on their heart for orphans/adoption.

If any family or friends are interested please contact me for tickets.
The prices are: $15 a person, $40 for a family, and $5 if you will have your child in childcare. Childcare is for children 5 and under.

How it all started....Part 1

Hello Friends! Its Steph. 

I'm going to start off with this small disclaimer. This is my first time to blog. I don't really feel like "blogging" is my forte but several people were asking how things are coming along in the process of our adoption so I just did it. If there are grammatical hang-ups throughout this (which I'm almost positive there will be) just overlook them. In English class I usually averaged a C+ :) It's going to be great though. I'm excited! Jared will also be on here posting when he is not tied down with work and battling the flu which is currently what he is dealing with. Pray for Him when you think about us.

So let's get this thing rollin!

Jared and I started our adoption in November 2010. Both of us knew that this was something we wanted to pursue at some point. Yet, it was more looked at as something we would do in the future future if you get my drift. Micaiah had just turned one, and as most of you know with Addy you sometimes feel like you're watching three kids. (We love her so much! She's our little bugaboo.) But Oh the Lords timing and plans! They are so much better than the ones we make for ourselves. 

I had come across an awesome video on you tube of a husband and wife who adopted a little boy who had been abandoned by his mother. He was just a newborn when they found him in the slums of downtown Texas. He was covered in puke and feces naked wrapped in a blanket. Sorry to be so graphic but it's the cold reality. These people filled with the compassion of Christ immediately took him in. They found contact with his mother and she gave her consent for them to adopt him because she knew in her state of life she could not do it. It was a story that moved me in so many ways!

I began to pray this type of prayer: Lord we want to serve the least of these. We want to love the poor and the helpless in whatever this would look like for our family. I opened the Word and was reading in Matthew and this is the verse I came across, or I should say God so sovereignly brought me to: Matthew 9:35-36 - "And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

I was so overwhelmed by this word I believe the Lord gave me. I was believing he was going to give us an opportunity to love and lead the "helpless and harassed". Although in my mind at this point I was still not thinking about adoption. I was still thinking some type of downtown ministry. I had been praying for about a week and then I received a text from my pastors wife about international adoption in Uganda. I was so eager to tell Jared. What if this was the answer to my prayers??? Jared and I talked it over and he was all for it from the beginning. My husband has such passion and zeal for the glory of God and serving his kingdom! I love this about you babe. :) We shared this new desire with some close friends and got their advice and feedback, and after about a week we made the phone call to our agency.