Wonderful weekend

We spent this weekend with my mom at her house.  The kids love it when we go to the farm.  Life is wonderful at the farm.  We did some planting of pumpkin, we are late getting it done but hopefully they will grow by the fall, things flourish at the farm.  The kids played crochet with Nanna and I sat in the grass watching them have such a great time.

We had a great BBQ dinner and then went out to the fire pit to roast some marshmallows and make some s'mores.  I have to say my mom is an awesome nanna in my book.  When the kids spend time with her she makes all things fun, even working in the yard.  The kids beam from ear to ear as the hang out with her. 

After all the outside fun we brought the kids in for quick baths and then it was pedicure time.  Daddy even got in on the pedi's.  His feet had to have been on fire after working out in the sun all day on the shop.  Daddy has been finishing up Papa's shop to raise funds to bring Sophia home.  This is the second weekend he put in a 10 hour day in scorching heat.  Daddy loves his kiddos so much, even those he hasn't met yet.

Hope your weekend was full of fun and blessings!

Followers Giveaway - New prizes added

To complete Sophia's adoption we need your help.  We are trusting God to provide the provisions and are humbly asking for your help.  For our prior to adoptions we did not fundraise, for M's adoption we were able to pay for it completely as it was spread out over two years.  For E's adoption we did not have the funds to complete it and took out loans which we are still paying on .  For S's adoption we were blessed with a bonus to get our paperwork to China however for the final part we do not have a bonus coming in so we are going outside of our comfort zone and asking for help from all of you.  Asking others to help us is not something we are comfortable with, we are most comfortable helping others.  I believe that the Lord is telling us to open ourselves up to the help from others and this may also open us up to criticism from others.  While that may hurt we are following the Lords instructions in James 1:27 "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."  This will look different for each individual, maybe you would like to be able to help bring a child home however not everyone is able to adopt by donating to bring Sophia home you are doing just that.

It's time to get some excitement going with our fundraising.  We currently need to raise $7400 in order to bring Sophia home.  We are doing a followers giveaway with many ways to earn an entry.  Here are the ways you can earn an entry:

* Become a follower- I have three blogs so that gives you an opportunity of three entries just for being a follower.  If you are already a follower you have an entry already!

* Post our Bringing Sophia Home button on your blog or on facebook.  You will need to copy it onto your computer and then post the url with the photo.  We will need to be friends on Facebook for this so look me up Mandie Allen Metier.

* Write a post about our fundraiser on your blog or facebook.  We will need to be friends on Facebook for this so look me up Mandie Allen Metier.



* Donations - for every $5 donation you will receive one entry.  Please contact me at acupquitefull@cableone.net for more information on making a donation. 

Leave me a comment telling me what you have done.

Entries accept through 12:00 midnight EST Saturday August 7th.  Now on to the important part....the prizes.
To start off we have three prized in the prize pool and with every 50 25 followers another prize will be added. 

A bag from A Cup Quite Full Creations

This bag is made from beautiful Batik material.  It has a magnetic closure and two pockets large enough to hold an iPhone or a Blackberry. 

A bag of coffee from Just Love Coffee, your choice. You send me your selection when prizes are drawn and I will have it shipped to you directly. This is my favorite coffee, it has now taken the place of a certain coffee that you can get on Shamian Island in our house. This is wonderful coffee that not only helps families adopting but also helps Orphans in Ethiopia.

 
The all new Mary Kay Satin Hands donated Mona Allen. It is peach scented and heaven for dry summer hands.

A Wild Olive tee of your choice. Winner will be notified to make selection and it will be ordered and shipped directly to you.

"Scared, a novel on the Edge of the World", by Tom Davis. Thank you Sharon, for your contribution to our giveaway. Tom Davis does a remarkable job writing about and advocating for the needs of the fatherless. This is on my reading list and may be the book that I read on the long plane ride to pick up Sophia.





 
 

Check back for other items as they are added.  There are already 31 41 followers so another prize is just around the corner!  If you would like to donate a prize to the drawing please email me at acupquitefull@cableone.net.  Be Blessed!

Cutest little models!

They love to model my sewing projects for me.  I think the cutest models in the world live at my house!

For my fundraising friends

I ran across Embracing the Least of these from another fundraising friend and hopefully travel companion with our agency Bringing home Ellie blog.  Let me tell you, it spoke to me in such a big way.  If you haven't been a Fundraising Family (FF) then you might not know how lonely fundraising is.  This is not my first bought of fundraising and I can tell you that I am not good at it.  When I fundraised for Team In Training I nearly quit.  Had it not been for my mentor helping me through to the end I know I would have given up.  Running a marathon was by far easier than raising funds for a wonderful organization.

The difference between now and then is God, Team in Training was about me, adoption is about God and his commandment that we take care of the orphans and widows in their distress.  What can be more distressful than living out your life in an orhanage without a family to call your own, without the possibility for an education and a bright future.  From all I have learned from Women and Children in Crisis, the future for these children is very grim, probable horrid.  I know that God has called our family to adopt for a third time in four years.  Adoption unfortunately can be expensive, even when you take out all the frills, and this is a no frills adoption.  This adoption and our second my husband and now my kids have/are staying home.  There is no fancy air accomodations for this mama, I will be going coach all the way on the cheapest air line I'm able to find.  I will not be staying at the well known hotel in Guangzhou but in a much less expensive hotel, no Going Home Barbie for Sophia, she will have to talk E out of his.  But really in the grand scheme of things does a barbie matter, she will have a family to call her own forever and she will have the opportunity to know the love of Jesus, for Jesus does love the little children, all the children of the world!

T-Shirt giveaway

The Marquez family has designed a beautiful t-shirt, actually a couple of them.  Check out their t-shirt giveaway at Holding God's Hand in the Journey.  They are in the journey to adopt their son/children from Ethiopia and are an amazing couple.  Please follow their journey and if you aren't one of the luck recipients of a t-shirt you can purchase one from them soon.  

My Cup Overfloweth

Solomon's family is working very hard right to raise the final funds needed to bring him home.  This family has put their trust in God to provide the provision for him to join his forever family.  They are weeks away from leaving for China but can't get to him without your help.  Please visit them at My Cup Overfloweth and consider making a donation towards their final adoption expense.  They are holding a fantastic giveaway where everyone wins a prize. 

A Joyful Heart

Please check out my friends Sharon's auction blog A Joyful Heart.  She is raising funds to bring home Shaylee Joy and she is quickly running out of time as they are leaving very soon to bring her home.  Sharon is such a wonderful, giving woman of God.  Not only is she raising funds to bring her daughter home but she donates items to many other families doing the same thing.  You will find her beautiful rainbow roll in many fundraisers throughout the adoption and orphan support community.  Thank you Sharon for blessing others!

"Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you."  Deuteronomy 16:17