COME ONE COME ALL!!!!!!

We have only one week before our crazy fundraiser day. My list of silent auction items keeps growing (see last post for list). The best thing is I did not have to work hard for any of the items. Church members, friends, and relatives have been more than generous; now I just pray we have enough people come to buy all these great items. I just booked a "bird" lady (I know it sounds weird). She travels to churches, schools and birthday parties and does bird shows. She said she we can pay her whatever we fell is necessary. She truly has a heart for giving. Her birds are great and she has them do really cool tricks. I also received from my cousin's rental company (sorry Kris I do not know the name) a big castle jumper, slushie machine, and popcorn maker. All of these and so many more games. I think the kids will have a great time. Even if you do not bring kids I know you will have fun socializing, eating great food, and bidding on great items.

If you want to come please remember to RSVP to jboers50@comcast.net. You are welcome to bring friends, relatives, grandkids, etc. We just need to know how many of you there will be.

Also don't forget to drop off any items for our garage sale on May 5 or 6. We will take any items besides mens and womens clothing. Those kind of items just do not sell. If you need to schedule a time please call me at 550-1173 or email me at jboers50@comcast.net

Our Silent Auction List so far.....

Some items on the list will need to have a minimum bid in order to be purchased.

1. Weekend at Bear Lake- value $150
2. Trailer Rental- 30' trailer with 3 bunks, queen bed, couch, table, and much more- value $150-$300 depending on how long
3. Dainty Daisy items- value $30 www.thedaintydaisyblog.blogspot.com
4. This n That baby items- value $30 become a fan on facebook to see items
5. Photography packages
6. Dessert a month
7. Grill set
8. Beautiful bookshelf value $100 www.osterink.com
9. $250.00 worth of services from Jack's Lawn Service and Snowplowing ( Could be for lawn cutting, fertilizer/weed control program, snowplowing or any other service they offer)
10.Hair cut and color from Experience Salon (Amber VanderVennen's salon) $70-$80 value
11. $50 gift card to AJ Pinder Salon
12. Deck powerwashing and staining or painting by Jason Boersma and Jeff Krosschell- value- $250-$500 depending on size of deck
13. 1/2 hour massage session, retail value $30.00 Natural Massage by Rhonda Doll
14. Gull Lake Cottage Rental- Sleeps 7-8 More info at fundraiser- value $150-$300

I am so amazed at the generosity of people. Everyone who has offered items, time, and help for our fundraiser has blown me away. I will admit I was hesitant to do a fundraiser, but a wise person from our church encouraged me that we need to give people the opportunity to give. I really never thought of it this way. I was so worried about asking people for money, or help; I needed to swallow my pride and admit to myself that there are many people who feel very strongly about adoption. We get many people who say they would love to adopt but are not able to, so they will support us instead. I will post all of the items up for auction so stay tuned.

We had our first meeting with our social worker on Tuesday evening. It went great! She is very easy going which definitely fits our personality. Gabbie and Alexa could not wait to answer any questions she had for them. Gabbie asked a few and answered her questions very well. Alexa on the other hand spent time telling her that she can ride a big girl bike, and jump from the couch to the coffee table. She really does not fully understand this process. It was precious to hear the girl's version of what is going to happen. We also realized that we are making progress on our paperwork. My mom offered to come up on Friday for the day so that I could go get birth certificates, social security cards, and finish a few odds and ends for our paperchase. Hopefully this will make another good dent in that huge binder.

Fundraisers

FUNDRAISER #1:

WHAT: HOMEMADE LASAGNA DINNER
KID'S CARNIVAL
SILENT AUCTION

WHERE: PROVIDENCE CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH

WHEN: FRIDAY, MAY 7 @ 6:00-7:30

RSVP- jboers50@comcast.net with the number of people in your family

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
We are looking for items for our silent auction. If you know someone who would be willing to donate a service or product please email us @ jboers50@comcast.net


FUNDRAISER #2

WHAT: ADOPTION GARAGE SALE


WHERE: OUR HOUSE
1116 Windsong Ct
Grand Rapids, MI 49508

WHEN: FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, MAY 7 AND 8. I know we are crazy to do these on the same day, but our neighborhood sales are this weekend and we wanted to get as much traffic as possible.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
If you have any items you want to purge or bring to Goodwill, bring them to our house instead. You can drop them off May 5 and 6. Thanks!!!!

Lately I have received very mixed messages from others about our adoption. I have had responses that range from, "It is so amazing you are adopting, I have always wanted to do the same.", to " I hope you know what you are doing and are not adopting some 5 year old kid who is rebellious and unable to attach." I am obviously struggling with the negative responses. I usually smile and give them a bit of background of our process. I have no other response than to tell them that I am only following God's leading and taking a leap of faith. As I said in my very first post, God did not call us to lead a life of comfort and ease. He has called us to sacrifice for Him, and be His servants. This process is not easy. I have asked God for His leading and strength everyday. It makes it especially hard when other people talk so negative. I am aware that there are definite struggles and hardships that will present themselves as we raise our children. We have no guarantees that even our biological children will not fall from God. The only hope that I have is that God is in control; although I need to be reminded of this EVERYDAY!!! This life is not mine. Every child deserves to be loved and raised by a family who loves them. Every child presents hardships and struggles. Every child is loved by God. Do I fear that our child will not attach or have medical problems that overwhelm me? ABSOLUTELY. Do I believe that God is faithful and will carry us through? ABSOLUTELY!!! I am thankful for this process and look forward to God stretching me and teaching me to trust Him.

Arizona

Here are a few pictures from Arizona
These are at Jason's sister's house. The girls spent most of the time in the pool and hot tub.






We also went to California and visited our good friends Dan and Sarah, Holly (who was visiting from Grand Rapids), and Jason's aunt Val. We went to the zoo and spent time hanging out.

Adoption "to do list"

We enjoyed a great week in Arizona with Jason's sister. The girls spent most of the time swimming in the pool and playing at the park down the road. Now we are back to reality and our adoption "to do" list. We are having a fundraiser on May 7 at our church (Providence CRC). It will be a lasagna dinner, kid's carnival and silent auction. I will post more details soon. We have so much to do for that. I contacted our social worker who will be meeting with us soon for home visits and interviews. Jason and I need to start our education part of the adoption process. This entails sitting down, reading through a great deal of information and discussing our answers together. Quiet time with 3 little ones is few and far between. I guess we should have done this in Arizona. My "to do" list goes on and on at this point. Please pray we do not procrastinate.

Spring Break 2010

We are enjoying spending time with Jason's sister and her husband in Pheonix, Arizona. We left Maia with grandparents and took Gabbie and Alexa with us. They spent most of the day swimming in the pool and hot tub. Even though it was only 69 degrees it felt like 80. I loved sitting and not worrying about the laundry that wasn't folded, the sticky mess on the kitchen floor, and the saggy diaper that needs to be changed. It felt like pure relaxation. We will be headed to Redlands, CA to see our GREAT friends Sara and Dan Schenkel and their two beautiful daughters. It will be a full house, and I am looking forward to every minute of it. Talk to you all later. I probably will not be updating until spring break is done.