The Heart of the Matter.

So, for the most part … Ken will be doing the writing here. It only seems fair after-all ;) … many of you already know me & ‘what I do’ but in case you’re new or just know half of the story, pretty much everyone here already gets to hear me talk over here. That’s where you get to see another aspect to my life & my world. And what I see, of course. So we took that into consideration … and really, it’s quite nice to hand off the bulk of blogging to someone else for a change! ;) It’s nice to read new words, new thoughts and see new comments. A breath of fresh air … and a way to recharge my batteries because I’m pretty sure this is a marathon, not a sprint.

As we hunker down and get some details sorted for some upcoming fun (auction included! & thank you to ALL of you who left comments & suggestions, ideas & thoughts … 2 brains (or 20 or 40 or more!) really is better! This brainstorming thing is hard work!) – sorry, got a little side-tracked ;) … as we hunker down & get details sorted out I wanted to share what’s been heavy on my heart. Coming out & saying, “hey, we need you” isn’t easy. But we do. Since February of this year, we have met some amazing families – some who have adopted not one, not two but five children over the years! Others who have only raised a small portion for specific fees and still others who’ve been able to do it all themselves, not needing outside support or funding. I am in awe of so many of these families (and moms); it’s incredible to be able to do all of this on your own! So it’s been hard … very hard … for me to reach a point where we have to move forward & say, yes – yes we really do need ‘the village’ to raise our child. We really do need to push forward in certain areas with financial assistance. And that’s hard to write about. That’s hard to talk about. It’s hard to reach out & ask you to help us. But I’m trying to put all that aside (ego, pride, sadness – whatever it may be!) and focus on honesty, truth, faith & hope instead.

Honesty: The honest part is that we do need help. When we first signed on, there was only one trip required of parents going to Ethiopia. Within a few months, that had change to two trips.

Truth: Two trips to Addis Ababa is hard enough on any family, let alone when you are starting even further away than most people who are making the trip! (If somehow you arrived here from elsewhere, we are starting our journey in Alaska – don’t even ask how many extra hours that adds to our around the world trip!)

Faith: I’ve had so many people remind me lately that it will happen. It will come together. Everyone says this same sentiment in their own way, depending on their religious & spiritual beliefs … but believe it or not, the message is the same, regardless of background.

Hope: I hope so much that it’s not too much to ask. I hope that we can move forward & this weight can be lifted. I hope that this is feasible. I hope that people actually donate. (We’ve had one donation already! Not tied to anything! You know who you are smile thank you … so maybe I don’t have to worry about that part? Is that what that message is?)

So I wanted to pour it all out on the line. We are trying to raise 10,000 in the hopes that that will be ‘enough’. And maybe, just maybe … it will be ‘more than enough’ and we can actually give back to the orphanage that our baby will have spent time at. (Is this ‘required’ by our agency? No, not at all. It’s something we’ve talked about & hope to bring to fruition.)

Some days that number doesn’t seem too bad … other days … it’s frightening … looming … and daunting. But I’m trying to move past that. I’m trying to take a deep breath & realize … it will be okay.

In the meantime, we have to celebrate having a successful garage sale this summer (at least we think so! Having never done one before, expectations were low! Haha ;) ) & our impending auction (let’s bug Ken & maybe we can get it to start here in a few days?!?!! wink, wink). I know some of you would much rather bid on an item or buy a t-shirt or bag of coffee (I’m looking into that) – so those options are being worked on. The only disheartening thing about some of those avenues is that it’s not always “100% proceeds” that will go toward our adoption expenses (I will have to write another post about that, another time since this is already getting lengthy!), it’s only a certain percentage. But … I’ve also been helped to realize that some of you already know that as more & more emails, notes & conversations trickle in from you that say, “Can I just donate? I don’t need anything. I need to help you bring your baby home.”

So for all of you that have said that … or thought that, this post is for you! There is a “donate” button to the right. That is exactly what it is there for. To donate. 100% of that will go to bringing our baby home. And if statistics are right … and we have, let’s say 60 people reading this blog already … what if each of you found 6 friends who were willing to donate $27 … or 5 friends willing to donate $30 … or 10 friends willing to donate $16 dollars … it all adds up!

I am off to buy a puzzle soon … I saw it on another blog & felt inspired … and compelled … I’m going to write YOUR name on that puzzle piece … little by little, we will “put the puzzle together” as donations come in … and one day, that puzzle will be complete as we go to bring together our family. And then I get to show our baby & say look, look how many people fought to bring you home. Look how many people already loved you and wanted to be a part of your life … a piece of the puzzle that is the big picture, that brings you home.

I can’t wait for that day.