Mo' Money, Mo' Money, Mo' Money!!

My Mom and Dad have had a garage sale at their house the past two weekends. We have made over $650!! So for our two sales we have $1650!!



Here are a few things that touched my heart. Their next door neighbor donated her proceeds to Operation Olivia. Also, I met the new family across the street from my parent's house and all four of the kids are adopted (pictured below, with their nanny, Grace). They decided to set up a lemonade stand and give us half the proceeds. How sweet! They also took donations. Katrina, the eldest girl, says she just can't wait to meet Olivia. Neither can WE!! :)



We are having such great success selling the items that were donated, that I think we'll have another sale the third weekend of August. Maybe we will finally be able to sell sweaters and Christmas decorations!



Take Care!

Dawn

A Little Vacation

In case any of you might wonder where we are next week, we'll be in Indiana. My barbershop chorus, Great Northern Union, will be competing at the 68th Annual International Convention and Contests for the Barbershop Harmony Society in Indianapolis. Last year, just before I joined, the chorus took 5th place in Salt Lake City.

If you're interested, you can sign up for the contest webcast. You'll be able to watch and/or listen online. There is a charge for high quality video streaming, but it's free to access the 32k mono audio stream. Either way, you still need to register, so click here and check it out!

Elijah Pentecost is Home from China!

I had a great time meeting Elijah Pentecost (and greeting his family!) at the airport tonight! I went with Kristi Strassburg and her two daughters.(click on the picture to enlarge)Maya and Shayla, waiting with Kristi and me...

They're Here!!!

Elijah with Mom and Michaela

Elijah, Barb, Sarah, Scott, and Michaela Pentecost;me; Maya, Kristi and Shayla Strassburg

Video Post: "China Adoption"

I thought you might like to see this video one family made about their trip to China to adopt Matthew:

Three Months Down!!

Officially three months into our (approximate) 10-12 month wait for our referral! As a reminder, our Log In Date was March 13th. Please keep Olivia in your thoughts and prayers as we have no idea when she might be born, or where she is right NOW.

Warmly,
Dawn

Nine Months Pregnant!

Well, today marks exactly nine months since we decided to adopt! So I guess that makes this our due date! With the current time-frame that the CCAA has projected, that will put me at about seven months overdue before we get our referral. I may even be nine months overdue, but let's hope sooner than later!

Love to all,

Dawn

Garage Sale Success!

We held a huge garage sale to raise money for "Operation Olivia" and reached our goal of $1,000! In fact, we made about $1,025! We still need much more, so we will have another sale in August, and I was thinking about adding a bake sale too! Sandy Brennan, an AWAA adoptive mom, can maybe make her famous "Parking Lot Cookies". A neighbor also suggested doing a pancake breakfast (yum!) fundraiser sometime. We might even sell Entertainment books! HAHA! (I work at Entertainment, for those who don't know!)

Anyway, thanks to everyone who donated items and time and money! We really appreciate it!

Love,
Dawn

On Hope and Evil

If this adoption process has taught me anything, it's that I must place my hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. As we read in Psalm 33:18, "Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love."

That's all well and good, and I could end any discusison with the "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it" approach. But the Apostle Peter wrote that we should "always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15).

The truth is that we live in a fallen, sinful world. If there is a God, and if God is good, why does evil exist? This is one question that has consistently challenged my faith.

I realize that this is a deep issue, but I believe it's something we Christians should be thinking about. For what it's worth, you can read my thoughts on the subject here.