FULLY FUNDED!!!

Yes, you read that right. We. Are. Fully. Funded. AMAZING!!!! Who would have thought a year and a half ago we would be able to raise around $30,000?! Well, God assured us that He was not a poor God, and that this was important to His heart. We listened, and He was faithful. Here is a list of some of the different ways money has come in:

*My parents started us off with our initial fees when we started the process back in September of '09 (I think I need about 10 blog posts just to talk about how amazing my parents have been throughout this process. They have supported us way beyond finances. Sometimes I think they might be more excited about the twins than we are! They have simply been amazing, and will be spending two weeks with us in Ethiopia).

*We had a Simply Love t-shirt fundraiser.

*I stood in line at the racetrack in order to get Coach Calipari (one of the most talked about college coaches in the world!) to sign a special Maker's Mark bottle so we could sell it for our adoption.

*We managed to get 7 signed basketballs from the entire 2009-2010 University of Kentucky Basketball team, including John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe and Coach Calipari. We sold them all for a grand total of $2800.

*We had some VERY generous donations made, large and small. It blew our minds every time we received one of these in the mail or in our Paypal account.

*We used all of our print sales from our photography business to fund our adoption.

*We sold bunches of hats knit by my wonderful Norwegian mother. Speaking of which, they are still for sale under "The Hat Store" tab at the top of the page. :)

*And finally, we had one final and fantastic T-shirt & Hoodie fundraiser. I don't want to brag, but I've been told several times that the Hoodies are people's "favorite hoodie ever!" We raised enough to fully fund our adoption, and then were able to give $200 to Project Hopeful's, Hope+ Sisterhood.

It has been a humbling and beautiful experience to watch God provide for every need in this adoption process. And what an honor to have so many people be a part of this journey by supporting us through prayer and finances. You ALL have played a part in this! So for those of you who are afraid to start the adoption process because you don't want to fund raise or ask people for help, I'd suggest you really ask God about it. I think it is wonderful if you are able to fully fund your adoption. That would be amazing! But if you aren't moving forward with your adoption simply because you don't want to ask others for help....well, you seriously need to get over it. I say that in the nicest way possible too. Don't let others miss out on the incredible opportunity to be a part of your adoption journey in this way. Not everyone is going to adopt a child, but there are many who want to help others adopt. Let others do that for you! Let God use others to bless you, and show you how amazing the body of Christ is!

As of today, we leave in 13 days for Ethiopia. In 15, we will be meeting our miracles for the first time. Can you imagine what that will be like?!!! I can't wait to share every minute of it with you all!

Our agency has told us that delays are very likely, and while we are mentally preparing ourselves for delays, we are hoping for smooth sailing. :) We are hoping and praying for a smooth court process, and for a speedy embassy date after that. Would you hope and pray with us? On the 18th of January, we will stand before an Ethiopian judge and say "yes" to our children. I can't wait.