Gratitude. And Humility.

Wow. There is no other way to begin this post but by saying WOW. In three days, 25 of our sweet friends and family have purchased a t-shirt from our adoption fundraiser. Not only that, but other friends have offered to help us with additional fundraisers.

My sweet friend Kelsi is auctioning off a beautiful home made (personalized!!) quilt for us. She is SO super talented, and also SO kind to donate the proceeds to us. She is a kindred soul for so many reasons that I can't even explain on this blog! I'm grateful for her! Here is the link to the quilt on Ebay. And her fabulous blog that I read every day. http://oursimplehappylife.blogspot.com



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=271005887523#ht_500wt_1413


Another friend, Christy, has offered to work on a photography fundraiser. She takes the most amazing photos. More details to come soon.


I have to be honest, it felt weird to admit that we can't do this on our own. That we believe know that this is our path, but that we can't just pull a huge amount of money out of our wallets. We HAVE done our best on our own, teaching extra classes, funding grants, doing contract work, scrimping, and THEN some. Saving, Saving, Saving.

I can't reiterate this enough. Adoption is SO expensive. And yes, we could keep all this to ourselves and pretend it all happened "magically". But who does that help? No one. And to top it off, the adoption tax credit is supposed to expire at the end of 2012 (pray for a change in congress or a baby before 2012!). If that credit isn't renewed, we can't claim any of the money we spent to get this baby.

 I love quotes. I love words. I spent a while looking for the perfect quote for this post, and I stumbled upon this.

"For what I have received may the Lord make me truly thankful. And more truly for what I have not received."--Storm Jameson (Journey from the North, v.2)

It might not make sense upon a cursory glance. But think about it. I've never thought to be thankful for NOT being able to have a child. I now believe, know, and accept to my core that adoption was the path meant for us. So for what I HAVE received, I am thankful.