We have our new and very official court dates!!!!!!

The court dates are officially set!  We leave January 29th.  Arrive in country on the 30th and finally get to hug and see the twins in person on January 31st!

I am soooo excited...... mixed in with moments of terror and rubber band legs! 

So here is the final countdown of our fundraising for our first trip.....we will hold our Ipad 2 drawing on January 23rd!

I am going to compile my list shortly to let you all know the odds of winning and hopefully we will have some more join in on the contest!  Remember, all you have to do is donate (no specific amount) by clicking on the button to the right.  Or make a purchase at our online store http://www.walnutgrovetraditions.com/
Or post on Facebook about our blog/request for donations....or even email me that you prayed for our family and you want to enter our contest....I truly appreciate the prayers and kind thoughts.

Also, I have changed our fundraising thermometer to reflect that all we need to pay for now is the plane tickets.  (We will just have to fundraise for the next two trips after we come back)  I'm still waiting to hear the exact amount so this is currently an estimate.

I am soooo thankful for the outpouring of support that we have received in the last two weeks.....I could just cry thinking about it.  What a difficult and yet amazing and uplifting experience this has all been!!!  I promise to do better with blogging and will post more soon! 

Define necessity?

We finished our John's fundraiser and haven't yet heard how it went but we all had a good time and since we haven't eaten out in a very long time, that made it all the more special.

We will soon be working on a yard sale fundraiser but haven't yet decided if we will try for this Saturday or wait until January since we will be facing the holidays.
I will also try to write in the next few days about where we stand and how much closer we are....it is a good feeling and yet I would love to just be fully funded and be able to relax and focus on preparing for the trip and how we can make the transition and bonding as easy as possible for the twins.  We will get there...some way, some how, I know we will get there.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about true necessities and actual needs this year....more than I ever have.  I saw these posted on Facebook.

And, it obviously gets you thinking......and re-defining what is actually a neccessity and what is not.

And then I saw this next video. 

I want you to watch it....not necessarily for the nice things that the adoptive parents say to the girl they are surprising, even though it is nice, but rather to really and truly understand what it means to have a family.....and what it means when you don't.  You see, when I think of necessities now, I would put family right alongside shelter, food, and water. 

And though, many of us do thank our Heavenly Father for our families and attempt to be appreciative.....I think that after you watch this video you will be changed in your appreciation of how much you have and how deeply it would hurt to not have them......to be alone.  Hang in through the first part so you see her reaction when she finds out that they actually want to adopt her and that she will finally have a family:

Having a family is as important as our food and water and the air that we breathe.  I urge everyone who is reading our blog to truly consider the plight of those who don't have families this Christmas...there are often Christmas trees in malls and large stores where we are all encouraged to offer material presents for children who may want/need them.  While this may surely be a kind act, I want to also encourage those of you to consider helping a child to find a family.  There are so many sites where you can sponsor children and help the families that would want to adopt but just can't afford it, to be able to bring them home.  All of the children that are posted below (and so many more!) are on Reece's Rainbow or Project Hopeful

So how do I define necessity?  Family!  Please consider a visit to these websites and offer help for the families that want so badly to bring the children home or for the children to have enough sponsored funds that a family can just step in and bring them home.  If you have been reading this blog very long or know our family personally, you will know the extreme efforts and roller coaster it is to fundraise.  Many families are just not able to do it but would love to welcome a child into their family.  Could you also consider if your heart has been touched and if your family is willing to open up a spot in your heart and home for these children who need you.......

John's Incredible Pizza Fundraiser-see what you will be missing if you don't come!

We are continuing to work and plan even though we have until February now.  We know that it takes a lot of preparation and we do *not* want to be in the rushing around mode like that EVER again!

This Friday from 6-9 is our fundraiser at John's Incredible Pizza Company!  See the flyer on the John's Incredible Pizza tab above! 

Once you see the pictures, you will know why you want to come....other than our good cause! ;-)

Salad - They have an amazing salad bar with all kind of different yummy veggies and dressings.

• Soups - Two different soups every day, including Pasta Fagioli, Beef Stew, Chicken & Dumplings and more.

Pasta - Choose from Regular Marinara, Meat or Alfredo Sauces and specialty pastas such as Italian Casserole and many others.

Pizza - There are a ton of different choices and some that you can't get anywhere else!  They're famous for their Spicy Peanut Butter Pizza and Alfredo Pizza. There’s also Macaroni & Cheese, BBQ Chicken Ranch, Fiesta, Buffalo Chicken and Garlic Pesto pizzas as well as the traditional combinations like Veggie, Meat Lovers and Hawaiian.

Desserts - Freshly made doughnuts!!!!  Need I say more?  Well, there is!  Their desserts include freshly made Cookies, Soft-Serve Ice Cream in a Cup or Cone, Apple Crisp and Cinnamon Rolls

Now, what kind of environment do you want?  I always choose the cabin fever room:

It has a warm and calming fire place and feels very cozy!  But, there is also a cartoon room where there are large screen cartoons playing, a sports room, surf's up room(skateboarding and surfing etc), and the fusion room which plays current music videos for the teen crowd.

After you eat, there's more to do!  Head for fun world!

Kids of all ages have the time of their lives in our Incredible Fun World... Bumper Cars,

Twister,

Frog Hopper,

 Bowling,

Laser Tag,

Incredible Express Roller Coaster, and over 100 of the latest Video and Redemption Games.

Redemption games pay-out tickets that are then put into the ticket eaters and can be used to redeem incredible prizes from John's redemption counter. We entertain both big and little kids for hours.

Please come!  Meet up with your friends and enjoy the time spent together while supporting our twins in finding their way home!  If you live a distance from Roseville, consider making a day of it and get all of your Christmas shopping done!  There is a *huge* variety of specialty stores as well as a large mall and Costco, Target, and Walmart.  I also highly recommend Tuesday Morning because they have truly high quality and interesting items all at deep discounts.  (And, I'm not getting paid to say that....darn!)

**Please be sure to mention Project Hopeful when you arrive and buy all of your purchases (entertainment, drinks etc at the cashier and not the kiosk for us to receive the donation)  The fundraiser only goes until 9pm but you can stay until it closes!
Hope to see you there!!!!!

The twins do get a family for Christmas, just not the way we expected....

We should be four hours into our flight across the world today and I am feeling it.  At the same time, we came so close and experienced so many miracles and I am feeling that today even more. 

I am struggling with how to put into words what all happened this last week.  In part because we were going so non-stop and had, on an average of two hours of interrupted and fitful sleep each night.

I know, once again, how much Heavenly Father wants us to adopt these two wonderful children.  I also know, unfortunately, how much the adversary would like to prevent it.  I felt this battle of good and evil so strongly this last week that if someone had just told me our story, and I hadn't experienced it myself, I truly wouldn't believe it and would chalk it up as complete over exaggeration.

Each and every day we had moments of excitement and panic that we were going to be able to go and then moments of excitement and panic that we weren't going to be able to go.  The emotions were flying!

We were able to raise nearly all of the money in order to travel but we didn't raise enough funds for the plane tickets.  Then, we thought we could take a loan for the plane tickets and spent time working on that avenue.  After that, we realized that we had to have all of the cash in clean unmarked bills (due to the country's worry about counterfeit) and since we were transferring money from different accounts the actual funds weren't there to pull from until after our plane would leave.
 
It finally came down to the last few moments on Thursday when we were given a deadline of one hour to complete the rest of the tasks we needed to do.  One of the last pieces of the puzzle was to rent an apartment and have the full address and rental agreement finalized.  The only problem was that it was later evening in the twin's country and we couldn't get a hold of anyone.....if we only could have had one more day, we could have made it work.

So, with sadness mixed with small amounts of relief, we finally decided that it was best to wait until February.  Maybe God is teaching us patience.  Maybe He is ensuring that we are truly ready and prepared to bond with them.  Maybe we won't ever know exactly the reason or purpose for the wait.

What I do know is that we did see miracles happen and we did see mountains moved!  We had family, friends, and even strangers come to help our beautiful children finally get a family for Christmas.  And, I don't feel like we failed in that endeavor at all.  There is more detailed information here that I would love to share with all of you but I feel safer in saying that because of all of our and all of your efforts....and the fact that we were supposed to be traveling soon.....the twins were told that they have a mommy and a daddy and that they were coming for them!!!!!

So, you see, they are getting a family for Christmas now,  because we can now send pictures and our love to them!!!  Our one-sided relationship is over, and now they have a chance to get to know us through pictures, letters, and gifts until we are finally able to wrap our arms around them and bring them home!

None of this would have happened if we hadn't had the faith to go ahead and do everything we could to make it work and if all of you hadn't done so very much to help us have the hope and the encouragement to persevere and keep going forward....

We are incredibly thankful for what should be one of the best and most meaningful Christmas holidays that we have ever had.  Certainly not the most materialistic by any means, but where we have finally begun to truly understand the true meaning of the birth, life, and teachings of Jesus.

In closing, let me share with you just a tiny sampling of the many miracles and blessings that we have seen:

1. Our church family has surrounded us with a type of love and protection that I have never felt or experienced before.  They are also doing the 12 days of Christmas for us which entails a secret delivery each night for 12 days in December. We have received the most amazing and wonderful goodies and donations.
2. One of the donations that came in was by the sweetest little girl in our church congregation that is 9 years old.  She had been saving money for Christmas presents and felt the promptings of the spirit to offer this money to our twins so that they could also have a family like she has.  You see, she is also adopted and she has an amazing and loving family that she knows to appreciate.  I was moved to tears by her sacrifice and the love that she extended towards our family.  Do you think I will tell the twins about this gift of the heart...you bet!
3. I heard from so many people who wanted to know how they could help and what they could do!  We had many people who selflessly and  freely gave their hard earned funds to help and many who offered advice and support.
4. While applying for a credit card to help with the plane tickets, the bank teller was unsure if we could do anything quickly enough for us to travel on Saturday.  While she stepped away from her desk, I bowed my head in sincere and fervent prayer.  When she came back, she worked a bit more on the application and began to talk about how we would not find out for a minimum of 2-3 days, when she paused and stared at the screen for a minute.  Then she said under her breath, "that's weird!" and looked up at me with a surprised smile and said that it was considered an instant approval and was for the exact "ideal" amount that I had just mentioned. 
5. Project Hopeful was additionally amazing and reached out for help on our behalf and raised over $600 to apply to our plane tickets!!!  People that live nearly as far away as our twins donated to help us!  They are also helping us with our upcoming local fundraiser at John's Incredible Pizza co. on 12/9(more details to follow!)
6. Lastly, the day that we officially found out that we could not go, we received beautiful gifts to bring to the twins and donations from my sister and we had an anonymous very large donation that came in the mail in a cashier's check.  It lifted us and encouraged us on a day that was very difficult.  I hope our anonymous donor reads our blog and can hear how appreciative we are for their sacrifice and kindness!!!!

Sending love and appreciation from our family to all of yours!!!!!!!!!!!  Our next update should include our new court date for February...may the time pass quickly for the twins and productively for us! ;-)