A HUGE BLESSING FROM THE JSC FOUNDATION

Mid December, Jon was up in the middle of the night with heartburn.  I had sent him a link from a blog that someone had posted with a little girl (8 years old) who was telling her story of what it was like to be in an orphanage and what the little kids really wish for.  A Mama and a Daddy.  It was the sweetest video!  He watched it and he started to look at the blog it was posted on which is where he found the information for a Foundation that gave adoption grants.  He started reading and discovered that they had received a large grant.  He immediately felt like God had placed this foundation in his path.  He had a peace that something great was about to happen.  The next day, he told me that this is a grant that we need to look into.  We started to look and realized that we needed not just information from us but references and information from our pastor.  We had about a week and things were coming together.  Our references and our pastor was able to get the necessary information in by the deadline which was the 20th of December.  We received an e-mail confirmation that all of our paperwork was in and would be reviewed and we would have an answer by mid January.
Last night, Jon and I were talking at dinner about the grant and he was telling me that someone else had gotten a grant from them and received an e-mail saying Congratulations etc etc.  I had received a phone call from a friend and went upstairs and decided to check my e-mail.  I opened it up and there it was.....CONGRATULATIONS FROM JSC FOUNDATION

We were blessed with an amazing grant!!!  As you can imagine we were ecstatic, shocked and still are in shock.  We woke up this morning wondering if we are in a dream.  Nope, not a dream.  It is just that God has blessed us tremendously!!  More than we could have ever imagined.  He has been behind the scenes the entire time.  We have seen his mighty hand on every step of our journey.  We took a huge leap of faith and knew that God would provide.  But this, we just never expected.  Thank you God!!  God is sooooooo good!  If you have faith, anything is possible with God.

We have been approved for Both Hands!!

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  James 1:27

Right before our fundraiser in November, we recieved our approval notice for Both Hands.  Both Hands is a non profit organization with a two fold mission.  They help in a practical way by allowing us to help in our own community by helping a widow with her home and allowing us to raise funds for our adoption.  We are really excited to be able to have this opportunity.  I have had a chance to talk to JT Olsen, the founder of Both Hands.  He is AMAZING!!!  I will include a link for you to view.  He has an amazing story of how he got to where he is now.  Take a look.

http://vimeo.com/31441061

Here is how it works:

We will be serving a widow from our Church, Linda Nielson.  We are really blessed to work with her.  We will develop a team of family, friends and anyone interested in serving to help do whatever she needs to help with her home.  We are planning on doing the project towards the end of  January or early/mid February 2012.  We will plan to work on her home for one day, a Saturday.  And just like a 5K or MS150, our team members will get sponsors to help support our mission.  Jon and I will be doing the same.  The funds that are donated will go into an account through Lifesong for Orphans which will be used for our adoption.  100% of what we raise will help bring Piper home!!  Lifesong for Orphans will issue tax receipts for anyone who would like them also.   We will go to local businesses to also see what they are willing to help donate for Linda's home.  We are really excited to be able to serve and help Linda with her home.  What a tremendous blessing for her and for us!! 

God has called us to our adoption and it is so neat how through this process we have been called to help a widow too.  Just as we are instructed from the Bible.  God wants us to help widows and orphans.  There are 150 million orphans in the world.  I know that we cannot help all of them but knowing that we can help give one a chance at life, a family, a future, love, share the love of God with her etc etc.  This is an amazing gift for Piper!!  I know that we will have tough times and it is not going to be easy, but I know that God will be with us and I know he will not give us more than we can handle.  It is amazing to see how we can all come together to be able to help an orphan.  If you are interested in helping us with our Both Hands Project please feel free to e-mail or contact me  We thank you in advance for your support and for your help! 

Fingerprint Appointment

Yesterday we had our fingerprint appointment to complete our I800A.  We had to go to the USCIS in Philadelphia to have a second set of fingerprints done.  We were excited to go because it just means that we are getting one step closer to Piper.  We now need to wait for a form to come in the mail --797.  Once we get this form, we need to have our documents that we have been gathering state certified in Harrisburg.  After they are state certified, we will need to send our documents to New York to be authenticated.  Once we recieve them back, our paperwork will go to our agency for them to review and if everything looks good, our paperwork will be sent to China.  We are getting closer!  Praying we see our little girl soon :) 

Pictures from Our Fundraiser

I am posting some pictures from our fundraiser.  It really was a great night!  We are so thankful for everyone who came out to support us.  We also want to thank all of the businesses who graciously donated raffle items.  Thank you to all who volunteered to help make our event run.  We could not have done it without you!

Thank you to the following businesses who donated raffle items:
Applebees
Chick-fil-a
Dairy Queen
Texas Roadhouse
Moccia's Train Stop
Buck Nurseries Christmas Tree Farm
KB Portraits
Spring Mountain Ski Area
Evergreen Consignment
Iron Pigs
Lords & Ladies
Kelly's Worldclass Automotive
Boiron Basket
Sweet & Sassy
Vera Bradley
The Sparrow Fund
Bounce U
Arnolds Family Fun Center
Jungle Wonder
Monkey Joes
Chantilly Floral
Sonic
Salon Supreme
Philly Soft Pretzel in Trappe
Hatfield Quality Meats
Landis Supermarket
Johanna with Mary Kay & A Salon gift certificate
Rental World
Harleysville Rental

Bake Sale

Raffles

Sam Sandler's Magic Display

Isabella and Ava made bracelets and Christmas Ornaments that they were selling to help raise funds for their sister.  They were so excited for this night!!

This is a poster that Isabella and Ava made on their own.  I was so shocked when they came to show the sign to me.  They put so much thought into this poster for the fundraiser.  The little children at the bottom are the kids in the orphanage.  They drew Piper on the other side of the world.  We have been discussing how it is daytime there when we go to bed.  The building is the orphanage.  They are so excited for their sister to come home.  They cannot wait to see her!!  They love her already :)

Glitter Tattoos

Texas Roadhouse donated Pulled Pork Sandwiches and even had someone working to serve the food!  They were amazing!  Oh and there is the cotton candy table.  We made it all inside of our house!!  Sam Sandler even came over before the show to give us a hand!!