The day we were tarred and feathered with blessings!

I've been wanting to write about this day 

for almost a week...

but with the chaos of trying to pack for my

court trip (leaving THIS THURSDAY)

and, of course, also trying to organize and de-clutter the house

RIGHT this MINUTE

because, you know...

there's no better time to totally tear apart all of your closets

and re-arrange your house than 48 hours before you 

leave the country. Right?

Anyway...

you probably read my last post 

where I linked to all the stories

leading up to right now

in this current adoption process.

I had lots of new visitors to my little blog

because they found their way here

from a fundraiser website we had set up!

Well...

let me tell you about THAT!

I think it was Monday of last week

when a friend of mine

(who goes by Captain Murdock online)

approached me about testing out

her hubby's new website!

www.acharityproject.com

They had been trying to figure out some way to 

help adoptive families, charities, and other non-profit type people

fundraise for their project or cause

by using the power of social media to draw awareness.

SURE! We'd do a test run!

I mean, we needed money...

adoption costs money...

lots of money...

and we have this pick-up trip coming in a few months

where we will need 2 round trip and FIVE one-way tickets home!

The total of those fees makes us wonder if it may be more cost-effective to charter a direct flight home...

but hey, it's a goal!

So I went to their website, 

set it all up,

hit the "publish" button...

and sent a quick note saying "it's up! Looks good!".

Then...

We got a donation!

Then another one!

Then another!

And suddenly, we were up to $100 in our fund!

Then $200, then $300...

and by bedtime, we had hit $1000!!!

We were AMAZED! 

It was so much fun to read comments by the people donating.

Some were anonymous,

some were funny,

some were warm-fuzzies and brought tears to my eyes.

All of them were so, incredibly appreciated and graciously celebrated over!

I barely slept!

I woke up and we had received $500 in donations overnight!

By the time my husband left for work we were up to $2000 and still climbing!

My email box was filling up with donation notifications,

people were sharing our link and blog and I was shocked and

brought to tears multiple times that morning.

Then, suddenly...there were whispers that we might

meet our ENTIRE GOAL by the end of the day.

I was almost afraid to mention that out loud!

How could that be??

We had this huge number...

but people were just dumping blessings on us

left and right!!

When we hit the half-way mark by lunch...

I thought I was going to pass out.

Multiple times throughout the day, I just stopped and prayed and just thanked 

the Lord for bringing these donations to our family,

for providing our needs, for not waiting till the last possible moment to bring us the money we needed,

and for the wonderful people who believe in us and were sending us such kind words to treasure forever!

And our goal??

Well, that giant, looming mountain we were looking at...

crumbled into dust by 9pm!!

We suddenly had every penny we estimated for the trip,

and people were still donating!

Even today, we are still receiving gifts from people

who feel like our trip might require a little more than we estimated!

We are so incredibly thankful to each and every person who

blessed us with $7 or hundreds!!

The Lord took your money and multiplied it

and did a "loaves and fishes" kind of miracle

right before our eyes!!

So, to everyone who donated...

Thank you, from the depths of our hearts.

We can never adequately express how touched we are by your generosity!

To everyone who shared the link on your facebook, twitter, blog or through email...

you were a major reason why we met our goal so quickly

so thank you SO much for using your connections to help bless our family!!

To everyone who remembers our family in your prayers,

we are grateful.

Please pray for my trip...

I leave Thursday.

I am incredibly excited to meet our kiddos,

and nervous to fly alone,

and sad to leave my family here for a week.

It's such a confusing swirl of emotions!

I'm boldly asking for you to pray specifically

that we would pass court while I am there. 

I know that it's rare now,

with the way the process has changed,

but I would sure love that.

(And then I could show you pictures!!)

Thank you all again!!

And if you want to see the fundraiser or read the comments..

click this link:

http://www.acharityproject.com/f/7for7tickets