Crayon Bags & Cosmetic Bags

My mom is making these wonderful crayon bags to raise funds for our adoption! They are $5 each and come with your choice of crayons or map colors. She has several different fabrics to choose from. (Picture below) She is also making cosmetic bags for $6! These would make great, inexpensive Christmas gifts for the girls in your life. ;-) Again, she has several different fabrics to choose from. Please let me know if you are interested and we will get you set up! Thanks!

You can now donate online!

We have a new feature on our blog! You may purchase puzzle pieces online or donate to our adoption online. We are so glad that it will be easier for people now. Just remember to let us know you donated so we can put your name on the puzzle piece!*Please note that paypal does charge us a small amount. We are fine with eating that money but we did want to make you aware of this. God will handle all the details!!

Fundraisers And More..The Real Story

We have been so blessed by friends who are helping us bring Peter home! Before Andrew and I left for our missions trip in late May a friend had called and asked if we wanted to take their date for a Chick Fil A fundraiser because they were no longer in need of it. I told her the name of another group who I thought could use it more and I thought that was the end of it. Nope! When we returned home 14 days later, Eric informed me we were having a car wash the next Saturday! This worked out great for me because it didn't give me a lot of time to think. We sent out texts and emails asking for helpers. We were so blessed by the amount of helpers we had! My kids had friends helping, we had friends helping, we had friends friends helping; it was great! We worked for 6 hour and we raised a total of: $1,000!! Our next fundraiser was a cooking class that our two younger children taught. This was great not only for fundraising but for their public speaking skills and being in charge skills. ;-) The classes were set for Thursday and on Wednesday night we only had 4 people for each class signed up. We had prayed for a total of 8. We were a bit bummed but were thrilled that we actually had people coming. On Thursday morning, we had 12 kids in each class!!! God is so good! 4 hours of work and we raised: $350!! (I am not counting supplies because it came out of my grocery bill!) Fast forward to the next Thursday..Our wonderful friend Allison hosted a Piggies and Paws party for us. Piggies and Paws is such a great idea anyways because you receive such a beautiful print. On Wednesday night 11 people were coming. I do not know how many people actually ended up coming (or coming later) but Ali said this was the biggest gallery she ever hosted at her home. We also sold necklaces that my sister made and puzzles pieces. We were there for about 4 hours. Total made: $500!! From three fundraisers we have made $1850!! God is so good! We spent a total of 14 hours on these. AND the fundraisers were not work. They were fun!! We had a great time visiting with our friends each time and seeing them get something in return. We know of at least 3 more fundraisers (besides the puzzle pieces) that we will be doing; Scentsy home party, garage sale, (HUGE ONE!) and mosiac crosses. I also plan on selling bread at our co-op and anything else I can think of! It's been amazing to watch God provide the $10,000 so far that has been needed. So if money is the reason you are holding up on adoption, don't let it!! He always provides if it's His plan!

A Puzzle For Peter

Puzzle for Peter This puzzle will me a lasting memory for our family and especially for Peter. When you purchase a puzzle piece for $5, your name will be printed on the back of the puzzle piece. When Peter joins our forever home, we will show him each name so he can see how wanted he was. We will then put the puzzle together as a family and hang it as a forever reminder of the miracle of God bringing Peter home. You may purchase as many pieces as you would like. We chose a boat puzzle because Peter loves boats. This fundraiser will be ongoing until the adoption but pieces could go fast so hurry and get yours! Thank you for your support! If you choose to send a check or the money in the mail you can mail it to: Aimee Akin 1406 Ruth Dr. Longview, TX 75601 Please indicate the name you would like on your pieces along with your payment. *Make sure you read the post below!!

Technology is awesome at times!

And this time it's really awesome! We had the chance to speak with Peter tonight on skype for an hour and a half!! How awesome is our God?! He is just adorable! Oh I am thrilled at the thought of having town sons!Oh my! Our translators were awesome!! May and Ryan have known Peter for three years now so they can get him to talk. He was very shy but very excited when we talked about the things we would be doing as a family. His face would light up when we talked about our fishing boat, playing with Andrew, and when he saw his room and place at the table. He did not receive his care package, :-( but he did know he was being adopted. The whole BMH staff is awesome and they are really working with him to make sure he understands adoption before he leaves. We wanted to make sure that he knew that even though he wouldn't see us for six months that we think about him every day and that family means love and forever. I honestly could just burst with happiness right now. I am beyond excited! He thought Abi was cute. LOL We have to make sure he understands she is his sister. Waiting six months will be hard but after tonight, I know how much more sweeter it will be!! He told his buddy that he is nine but we will still celebrate like he is 11 for now. He also knows about God but we are not sure if he "knows" about God. Eric read a passage to them all (about Peter & Andrew in the book of Matthew) and Peter asked his translator if that was from the Bible. So that is awesome! I wish I would have recorded the conversation. Oh, I am so happy right now!! God is so good!!!Praise Him!!!!