Good News!!!

I love good news on not so good days. I haven't felt very good today and when I got home Matt hadn't checked the mail, so I got to check the mail (which doesn't happen too often). When I checked it there was a lot of mail, which again is not normal. So as I am going through it I see an envelope with a very familiar logo. It was a letter from one of the Grant providers we had applied, Show Hope. I was so excited, I opened it and there it was an approval letter for $4000.

We received an adoption assistance grant in the amount of $4000.

I couldn't believe my eyes. The tears just started to flow and all I could do was thank God. I called Matt. He asked if I was shedding happy tears? Well of course I was, and I couldn't seem to stop. We are so blessed and I know that God has a plan. We have faith in Him and we will have faith in His timing. This is getting us closer and closer to raising all of the funds needed to bring home Clayton's Brother or Sister. We still need to raise the $3000 for the Hand in Hand Matching grant. (**See below for information on how you can submit a donation.) We have had a few donations and I know there are a few more coming.

**Please send all tax deductible donations made payable to “Hand in Hand Christian Adoption” postmarked by September 28th, 2012  to: (for tax purposes please include our name on the outside of the envelope only…do not put our name on the check itself)

Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc.      
Matthew & Amanda Lawson
18318 Mimosa Court                                                                                                                                 Gardner, KS  66030          

We have lots of things going on and a few more things coming up. We are looking at doing a spaghetti dinner or chili supper at home and in Louisville in the next couple of months. We will be doing another yard sale in 3 weeks and I am looking for donations of items for a auction. If anyone out there is willing to donate a tablet type device (Ipad, Samsung tablet etc.) let me know. We would love to do a raffle in conjunction with some of our other functions.

I hope everyone has a wonderful night! I know we are!

God Bless!

Miracles & Recipes

I held a miracle today. Born yesterday evening, Ella is as precious as they come. She is a sweet little girl that I can't wait to watch grow up and become a beautiful lady. It is such a blessing to be able to hold one of God's miracles and know that she is perfect because of His work.  Congrats Matt and Heather on the birth of your precious little girl. We love you all and are so blessed to have you all in our lives and thank you two for all of your support and love!

As we sat yesterday and waiting for her to be born, we knew that it would happen but having patience is sometimes hard. All we could do was wait and pray. Just like our adoption it is all in perfect time. There are so many ways that I can compare a pregnancy to adoption. I may not be carrying a child in my belly, but I am carrying one in my heart. I love this child already and I don't even know if he or she has been conceived.

Holding Ella gives me hope. God has a plan for us and we must be faithful to Him and have patience to see his work. We need to get focused on our fundraising and getting the baby's room done so that we are ready. What makes this so hard is watching Clayton and trying to help him understand this process. This morning when he saw Ms. Ella's picture he was excited and thought she was cute, but he came into the room and asked when our baby would get here. I tried to hold back my tears and comfort him. He doesn't understand this process though he is learning about adoption more each day. We have to stay strong for him and help him to understand. Prayer is the key.

Fundraising & Grant Updates

Matching Grant.   We are on our way to raising the money needed for the matching grant. We know that there have been or will be donations made for about $1500. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to this grant, please send all donations made payable to “Hand in Hand Christian Adoption” postmarked by September 28^th, 2012  to: (for tax purposes please include our name on the outside of the envelope only…do not put our name on the check itself)
Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc.      
Matthew & Amanda Lawson
18318 Mimosa Court
Gardner, KS  66030          

New. Cookbook Fundraiser. I am starting our Cookbook and we need your recipes.  If you would like to have your recipe in our cookbook, please send them to me via email (see our info section). You can also send a picture of you, your family or even the recipe. We hope to have it put together by the end of October and ready for purchase soon.

Yard Sale #3. We will have another  yard sale on September 15th. We are looking for donations of furniture, house goods or kids stuff. We have a ton of clothes already from our last two yard sales. If you have anything you would like to donate let us know.

Chili Supper. We are looking to get a Chili supper or Spaghetti dinner organized soon. Look for details coming soon!

Happy Anniversary!

A little late but better late than never.

One week ago Matt and I celebrated 13 years of marriage. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life and to be able to call him my husband and the father to my children. I truly believe that God knew when He made us that He made us for each other. We have always been around one another growing up and didn't know it. We had family that participating in things together, he played ball against/with my cousins, his nephew went to my grandmothers daycare. The world is just so small, but it was all in God's plan.

We have had our ups and downs but through it all God has been right with us and when we let him he leads us down the right path. Our first adoption brought us closer and I hope and pray that this process will do the same.

On the Adoption Front:

We are still patiently waiting. We are waiting for grants to come through hopefully this month. We are waiting for a birthmother to choose us for her child. We have reapplied for one grant that we know we weren't awarded. We are still researching grants and placement agencies. We are looking to expand our chances by applying to a few different agencies across the country to hopefully get a better chance in being chosen. The problem with that is with many of these agencies, their fees are much higher than All Blessings. So we have to work even harder to raise funds. But we know that God will bring us the right birthmother and right child. I continue to pray for her, even though I don't know her and if she crosses your mind, please say a prayer.

Our Current Fundraising Efforts:

Thirty One Order
We are taking up an order for 31 that we will get a portion of the proceeds. If you are intersted in ordering something please let me know. The new Spirit collection is 50% off this month and embroidery is still $5. Let me know if you are intersted in ordering. We will be closing the order on August 15th.

Benefit Dinner Planning/Organizing
We are going to start planning our spaghetti or chili supper very soon. Thinking that it will take place sometime in October. Lots of work to do to get ready for it, but I know it will be worth it. We already have a few auction items (Candleberry Candle basket & a Nice Brand New Kids Train Table) and are going to start looking at locations and getting other donations. If you know of anyone who would like to donate something or you would yourself, please let us know. If you would like to help us with organizing this benefit, please feel free to contact me and we will set up a time to meet and start planning.

Another Yard Sale
We will be having one last yard sale for the year. It will be September 15th. We are not looking for any major donations at this time. We have a TON of clothing left from the last yard sale, but if you have any household items, furniture, baby stuff or kids toys lying around, let me know. We would happy to take these things off of your hands.

And on with the Journey!