Blessings

One of my favorite songs is Blessings by Laura Story. The refrain of this song says:

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near

What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

This is certainly true about adoption. It wasn't the way I thought I'd build my family, it certainly isn't the "easy" way, but the blessings are worth it all! It's funny, just a few weeks ago, Christopher and I were talking about God's answers to our prayers. He couldn't understand why God wouldn't just give him whatever he asked for. I told him that sometimes God does answer

our prayers the way we want, but sometimes He has something better in mind. I told him how I had prayed for a baby to grow in my tummy, but God had something even better in mind and gave me Christopher! I told him that if God had answered my prayer for a baby to grow in my tummy, I would have missed out on the blessing of having him as my son! This satisfied him, and the conversation seemed to be behind us...but, now that we are in the process of adopting Christopher's sibling, the conversation keeps coming to my mind.

When I look at the amount of money that is needed to complete this adoption, I'm just overwhelmed with exactly how much money that is! The money wasn't even a consideration when we made the decision to proceed with this adoption, but now that the excitement of hearing the news has worn off a bit and we are faced with the reality of just what we've gotten ourselves into, it's sometimes a little scary! A dear friend asked me the question I hadn't yet allowed myself to ask..."What happens if you don't come up with the money?" The sad reality is that Christopher's sibling will be raised by another family.

That thought alone is enough to break my heart (and cause fear and worry). To know that Christopher has prayed for a sibling, that a biological sibling is available for us to adopt, and that money is the ONLY thing keeping us from making that happen...I don't even want to think about that possibility! Thankfully, that's where FAITH comes in! I have faith in a HUGE God...a God who loves David & me, Who loves Christopher, and Who loves this little unborn baby. This God, my Heavenly Father, brought this opportunity to us...and I have FAITH that He will use His people to perform a miracle and bring this little baby home! :)

God is already showing up in ways that give me hope! So many people have asked how they can help...not to mention friends, family, and even people I haven't met yet are already doing what they can to help! I'm just overwhelmed with thankfulness for each and every one of these precious blessings! :) I'm just amazed at how God is already using His people to bring this precious little baby into our family!

If you are wondering how you can help financially...here are some things we are working on:

• AVON fundraiser - you can click on the link to the left or go to my website (www.youravon.com/kjansen) and click on Online Events to get to the fundraiser. When you click "Shop My Online Event" the proceeds from any purchase you make online will be applied to our adoption!
• Purchase a CHOOSE LIFE T-shirt for $10 each ($12 for 2XL and 3XL). The shirts & design can be seen in an earlier post. If you are interested in purchasing one or more of these shirts, or would like more information, email me at jansenadoptionfund@yahoo.com. Sales for the T-shirts end November 30th.
• Donate to the Jansen Adoption Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank! We just opened this account today! You can go to any Wells Fargo branch and let them know that you wish to make a deposit into our Adoption Fund. You will need to give them our name & that the account was opened in Naples, Florida. The account is nicknamed "Jansen Adoption Fund" - and any Wells Fargo employee should be able to identify that account. :)
• Holiday Mingle & Jingle - If you are in Naples, Florida area, this is a fun event you may enjoy! And, all the proceeds from AVON and The Pampered Chef at this event will benefit our adoption. Details below:

• On Sunday, November 13th, I will be doing a HUGE Avon inventory sale at SquareHead Playground (1895 Seward Avenue, Unit #1) from 10am-2pm. This is a great opportunity to get some BIG discounts on items I have in stock and help us with our adoption, as well! If you are not familiar with SquareHead, it is an indoor play area with a bounce house and other items for imaginative play! The kids can play while you shop! :)
• Spaghetti Dinner - A local personal chef (a friend of a friend) has offered to cook a spaghetti dinner for us as a fundraiser! Thanks to a dear friend, we have a location - Our Savior Lutheran Church (behind Sam's Club) and I'm just waiting on a confirmation of which date works for the chef...so, more details to come! :)
• Yard Sale - We will have a yard sale in January...and we are willing to take donations if you have things of value around your house that you would like to donate. We don't have room to store anything, but as we get past the holidays and get a date set, we'll post it on here. Just wanted to mention this so you could be thinking about it. :)

Obviously, the most important thing you can do for us is to PRAY!!! If you are able to help us with our adoption fund, great! But, we also recognize there are many of you out there who are struggling financially - so, please don't feel pressure to give, unless you feel God is leading you to do so! :) Pray specifically for God to provide in His way so that He gets all the glory! If you want to do something more to help, you can let your friends, family, and co-workers know about our adoption fund and share this blog with them. If they feel led, then they can help in whatever way they like! :)

Thank you!

Kara