UNBELIEVABLE NEWS!!!!!!!

Did you see our thermometer?????? Did ya? Did ya? 

<-------- GO LOOK!!! <------------

Crazy!!!!! Yes, it's true!!! We have had an amazing week!!! It started when a friend showed up at our door with not only a huge overflowing bag of clothes for Anthony (& later for Gabriel) & a really cool learning robot BUT a very large donation check!!!! This amazing family had already donated to our Brittany's Hope Matching grant (& our biggest donation then) but they added more and even more than they first offered!!! They have the biggest hearts and I still cry over it. We will never ever be able to thank this generous family enough. 

Then we got a call late one night to hear that we were approved for a $4000 grant from the kind, generous people at A Child Waits Foundation! More amazing news there! More reasons to be thankful!!! And that makes $8500 in grants (plus a bit more on Holt Grant and Catholic Charities grant). 

We have been crazy busy preparing for our Both Hands project where some awesome friends are helping us do work on a widows home. They and more awesome friends sent out letters to get sponsors. That sponsor money (like a walkathon) goes directly to our adoption. So you say - but we reached our goal already. We are hoping that this project covers the expenses while in China - food, transportation, etc. We weren't expecting much from the Both Hands project - although it's a fantastic project - we just didn't have enough time to find the ideal project once we were approved (one that is more labor intensive than supply and skill intensive). We have spent much more time finding donations for the supplies for the widows home than people to donate to the orphan part (letter mailers). We knew this going in and it's been hard work but will be well worth it when the widow is more comfortable and safe. I have to send a HUGE thank you to the friends who basically got volunteered by me to do the work and send out letters. This handful of people didn't even think twice about helping and it is just as valuable to me as those checks that were written. Everyone helps in the ways they can and this amazing group of friends are doing just that (and also wrote checks too by the way).

Thank you to so many people who are making this adoption possible. We almost didn't move forward with it because of the money - but we got down on our knees (you will see a short post about asking for prayers, it was then) and prayed for peace in either decision to back out or move forward - we got that peace and at this time next week, the plane will be taking off with me & another awesome friend and bringing us to China to meet our little angel Gabriel. Thank you Lord!!!