We've created a Chip In button so people can donate from afar!!!
Right now I would ask you to consider sponsoring me in a half marathon on April 2. I've never run one before so I'm pretty excited and nervous at the same time. 13.1 miles. I will be running to help bring our son home!! Please prayerfully consider sponsoring me for this event!!
Also, a friend and I are are gathering recipes for a cookbook which we plan to sell to raise money for both of our adoptions. If you'd like to help please email your favorite family recipe(s) to jontifstewart@yahoo.com
Thanks!!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Dossier Sent...not to ET though!
We sent our dossier to AW today (our adoption agency). We still need to send them about $3750 though but I just figured I'd send it along to them for review and just so it was no longer in my possession. Having 5 months worth of paperwork in my house was scary. I just wanted it gone!! So we need to get about $2000 more...hopefully from a matching grant or from Show Hope.
I am going to start making up flyers for the half marathon I'll be running on Apr. 2. The goal is to get people to sponsor my run as a way to raise $$ for the adoption. I will try to have J set up a "Chip In" on here as well so people can donate.
That's all for now from our freezing state...Please keep praying!!
I am going to start making up flyers for the half marathon I'll be running on Apr. 2. The goal is to get people to sponsor my run as a way to raise $$ for the adoption. I will try to have J set up a "Chip In" on here as well so people can donate.
That's all for now from our freezing state...Please keep praying!!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Birthday gift
I turned 30 yesterday and I am pretty excited about it. Really not sure why, but I am. I am thankful for every day I get to spend on earth, so turning another year older is a blessing for me. My husband made me a yummy lemon cake, my friend got me a manicure/pedicure, another friend stopped by with a card, some chocolate and $600 towards the adoption!!!! What an amazing gift!!!! We also got another $25 from our soap sales, $20 from our Tupperware fundraiser and appx. $60 from bottles that people brought to church for us during another family's adoption fundraiser. The pendulum is slowly swinging over the $4000 mark. We should be hearing from Show Hope anytime now...and we're also waiting to hear from Lifesong. We are also submitting our application to our church's adoption ministry in hopes of getting a matching grant. Our friend is organizing a bottle drive for us next weekend AND a friend and I are doing a Valentine's bake sale next Sunday at church. Another friend and I are in the planning stages of doing a cookbook fundraiser as well. So again I am up to my eyeballs in fundraising...I guess it will be the story of my life for a while. It's all good though...whatever it takes to bring this little guy home.
I have to add that my hubby planned a surprise for my birthday as well. He had his sister and brother-in-law drive down here to stay the nite with the kids and he took me to dinner at a really nice inn and we stayed the nite. It was sooo wonderful. The whole day just made me feel so special. It's nice to have one day out of the year where it's alllll about you :) And today I had a great day playing out in the snow with the kiddos. It was gorgeous out there and we all had fun. Tomorrow my brother and sister are going to come visit and take me out to lunch. And the icing on the cake is the Superbowl tomorrow nite!!! It's always bittersweet though because it then means that football is over for the season and I go into a bit of mourning....Pretty sure I have plenty to do though to keep me busy ;) Until next time...
I have to add that my hubby planned a surprise for my birthday as well. He had his sister and brother-in-law drive down here to stay the nite with the kids and he took me to dinner at a really nice inn and we stayed the nite. It was sooo wonderful. The whole day just made me feel so special. It's nice to have one day out of the year where it's alllll about you :) And today I had a great day playing out in the snow with the kiddos. It was gorgeous out there and we all had fun. Tomorrow my brother and sister are going to come visit and take me out to lunch. And the icing on the cake is the Superbowl tomorrow nite!!! It's always bittersweet though because it then means that football is over for the season and I go into a bit of mourning....Pretty sure I have plenty to do though to keep me busy ;) Until next time...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Waiting...
I could probably title every post with this...
Isaiah chapter 40 is so encouraging and puts any anxiousness away that starts to stir my heart...Which also reminds me of another verse I have hidden in my heart. Phillipians 4:6-7.
I checked the adoption account last week and we are still $4250 short. God knows this. He knows I have all the paperwork ready but He is not concerned with that detail because He has the big picture laid out before Him. When He is ready for us to move forward, we will. He knows where our son is, whether he is born yet or not, He knows the perfect time for our dossier to get to Ethiopia. I have to keep reminding myself of this...This always has been about Him and I won't let my excitement interfere with that.
For me this waiting period has been about learning more about His promises and it's very exciting. I am going to be starting another study with some gals soon. I haven't done one since last spring so I am looking forward to that. It's always a great time of fellowship and growing. Our church does have a Women's Bible Study but because my husband works at least 12 hr. days that means that he is not home in time to stay with the kids while I go. So I figured I would start doing something that worked for me and some of the other Moms I know who have young children and can't always make it to the Study at church.
I am also looking to get some ladies together to head to MA to go to a conference called Faithlift in April. I have gone in the past and have always come home with my cup overflowing!! I love those conferences!!
J will also be starting to fill in playing worship at a church about 45 min away from here. This is also a huge blessing as he has not been able to play at our church and really wants to be able to use his gift.
Tomorrow I get to go help make quilts for an orphanage in Nepal where our friends have adopted their son from. However they have not been able to bring him home yet as the US won't issue his visa. Please keep this in prayer as they are trying to raise money to hire an investigator so the little guy will be able to come home to his family. http://ifwehavefaithofamustardseed.blogspot.com/ Check out their blog!!
So that's about all she wrote for now...We still have our coffee site which you can connect to at the right, as well as the soap site, which is also on the right. ANNNNNDDDD....www.EllieAnnaPurses.com is still donating a portion of her sales to our adoption. She has some great purses and jewelry which are handmade right here in the ol' US of A...So feel free to help us out as God leads you!! God bless...
Isaiah chapter 40 is so encouraging and puts any anxiousness away that starts to stir my heart...Which also reminds me of another verse I have hidden in my heart. Phillipians 4:6-7.
I checked the adoption account last week and we are still $4250 short. God knows this. He knows I have all the paperwork ready but He is not concerned with that detail because He has the big picture laid out before Him. When He is ready for us to move forward, we will. He knows where our son is, whether he is born yet or not, He knows the perfect time for our dossier to get to Ethiopia. I have to keep reminding myself of this...This always has been about Him and I won't let my excitement interfere with that.
For me this waiting period has been about learning more about His promises and it's very exciting. I am going to be starting another study with some gals soon. I haven't done one since last spring so I am looking forward to that. It's always a great time of fellowship and growing. Our church does have a Women's Bible Study but because my husband works at least 12 hr. days that means that he is not home in time to stay with the kids while I go. So I figured I would start doing something that worked for me and some of the other Moms I know who have young children and can't always make it to the Study at church.
I am also looking to get some ladies together to head to MA to go to a conference called Faithlift in April. I have gone in the past and have always come home with my cup overflowing!! I love those conferences!!
J will also be starting to fill in playing worship at a church about 45 min away from here. This is also a huge blessing as he has not been able to play at our church and really wants to be able to use his gift.
Tomorrow I get to go help make quilts for an orphanage in Nepal where our friends have adopted their son from. However they have not been able to bring him home yet as the US won't issue his visa. Please keep this in prayer as they are trying to raise money to hire an investigator so the little guy will be able to come home to his family. http://ifwehavefaithofamustardseed.blogspot.com/ Check out their blog!!
So that's about all she wrote for now...We still have our coffee site which you can connect to at the right, as well as the soap site, which is also on the right. ANNNNNDDDD....www.EllieAnnaPurses.com is still donating a portion of her sales to our adoption. She has some great purses and jewelry which are handmade right here in the ol' US of A...So feel free to help us out as God leads you!! God bless...
Monday, January 3, 2011
I-171H RECEIVED!!!
We got the document today that says we can adopt internationally now!!! Big step!! We have about half the amount needed before we can send our dossier though, so we're just praying and waiting on the Lord. We've received $700 from 2 friends within the last week!!! We know it's going to continue in this way with gifts because God has told me to be still in regards to fundraising right now. A friend and I plan to do a cookbook fundraiser and I am thinking of doing a chocolate sale around Valentine's Day but for right now we are waiting to see Him work. Please continue to pray that God would be glorified as we raise this next chunk of change as it will be all His doing. Happy New Year!!! 2011 is going to be a great year!!
Monday, December 27, 2010
SOAP!! and stuff...
J's cousin and his wife sell soap and other fun things on their website. http://www.soapandcotton.com/
They donate $1 to our adoption for every $5 you spend, AND will give us $5 for each sale for the first 20 sales!! You just have to click Stewart adoption under the tab Support a Mission under the Merchandise tab.
We're so blessed to see all the different ways people want to help us bring this little guy home. Thank you all so much!!
J and I had our biometrics appt. on Dec. 17th so we're hoping to get our I171-H pretty soon...we don't have all the money we need to send our dossier yet, but we will in His timing.
We had a wonderful Christmas with our family and are looking forward to next Christmas when we'll have another fun little one around. We are so excited to see what this new year will bring as well. God bless!!
They donate $1 to our adoption for every $5 you spend, AND will give us $5 for each sale for the first 20 sales!! You just have to click Stewart adoption under the tab Support a Mission under the Merchandise tab.
We're so blessed to see all the different ways people want to help us bring this little guy home. Thank you all so much!!
J and I had our biometrics appt. on Dec. 17th so we're hoping to get our I171-H pretty soon...we don't have all the money we need to send our dossier yet, but we will in His timing.
We had a wonderful Christmas with our family and are looking forward to next Christmas when we'll have another fun little one around. We are so excited to see what this new year will bring as well. God bless!!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Christmas Cookie Sale
WOW!! That was fun, crazy, exciting, tiring and a HUGE blessing. I had about half a dozen people help bake, a couple people help with set up and the perfect amount of people to buy!! The cookies are ALLLL GONE!! Thank you Lord!! We used a classroom at church to sell the cookies. We put out about 3 long tables covered with tablecloths and put all the cookie platters on them with tags in front of each stating what type of cookie it was. We had a few simple decorations on the tables. We had another table set up with all the homemade flavored popcorn my friend made and another table with all the fudge, pumpkin bread, bark, cookbooks and the scale on it. My brother donated boxes from his bakery that we placed next to some "gloves" (sandwich bags) on a table right by the door. People grabbed a box and strolled through while listening to Christmas music play and picked what they wanted. We weighed the box when they were done and they paid by the pound. We rounded up or down to the nearest pound as I didn't want to deal with 1/2 and 3/4 :) People were just fine with that and the boxes held about 2 lbs of cookies when full. Everyone commented on how wonderful everything looked and how smooth the sale was. Overall it was a great success!! I highly recommend doing this as a fundraiser!! Already trying to figure out what I can do for Valentine's Day ;)
Lastly, we have some family who is selling soap to help us raise money. It smells wonderful!!! Check them out at http://www.soapandcotton.com/!! They will donate $1 for every $5 sold.
Lastly, we have some family who is selling soap to help us raise money. It smells wonderful!!! Check them out at http://www.soapandcotton.com/!! They will donate $1 for every $5 sold.
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