lots of change... and lots of blessings!

Number of showings for our house: 1.

Number of hours on the market before we had a full asking price offer: 20.

Our house: Officially under contract.

The number of houses we saw yesterday that looked like they came from a Criminal Minds episode: 1.

The house we'd like to have as our house: Offer placed today.

USCIS approval for Zoe's adoption: Received today.

First court date in Taiwan: A week from tomorrow. (We don't go there for it, though.)

Task for the afternoon: Considering school options for Jocelyn for the new house.

I think the key word for us for 2012 is "change!" 

(And "blessed." Oh, so very blessed.)

A year ago, we thought we'd never move from our current house. We thought we were a few years away from adoption. We thought we would homeschool instead of our current plan (which is public school, though that could change). We thought we were done with babies. We thought our lives were pretty stable and figured out.

But God.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, 

coming down from the Father of lights 

with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

{James 1:17}

thankful in all our other changes, that we have One constant!

wow. wow. wow.

We said yes to adopting Zoe without knowing how God would provide the funds. (Remember, the timing - and almost everything else - of this adoption wasn't exactly what we planned.) We just knew this was the right step for our family, but I'm not going to lie:

$23,000 was a daunting number to consider. 

Little by little, the funds have come in.

And this week? Between the money raised through sales at Chick-fil-A, through the raffle there, through the silent auction, and through donations given or pledged to us during this big push, our grand fundraising total for this week is...

$3,804.46

Added to the money already raised and some of the fees we were able to pay upfront, that means we've covered

$18,691 

in a month and a half. The remaining $4,309 seems a whole lot less daunting than the $23,000 we started with. 

Wow. 

And thank you. 

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21

disability ministry weekly round-up {3-26-12}

7 Scripture Texts About Evangelism: A great article by Tim Challies that calls me back to the reason why we serve in disability ministry. It isn't merely so that people with disabilities will be included in church; it's so that they may hear the gospel and know Christ.

Our adoption silent auction: We had a HUGE adoption fundraising extravaganza last week, thus the silence on this blog. The silent auction - with gift cards, artsy items, and more! - continues online until March 27 at midnight, and anything that isn't Raleigh-specific can be shipped. 100% of silent auction funds go toward our adoption.

My Autistic Son's Life: Not Less Valuable This isn't written as a Christian article, but nonetheless it affirms what the Bible teaches about the value of ALL people.

How Global Christians Build Bridges Around Down Syndrome Amy Julia Becker does a fine job of pointing out some global efforts that transcend both borders and abilities in the name of Christ. There are other stories and organization I would add to those she mentions, so I'll be posting about that later this week.

How to Serve the Family of Divorce Divorce affects all families (and not necessarily any more often for families affected by disability). Many of these tips will be helpful for families you serve who are dealing with separation or divorce, but some tips are helpful fr any child struggling with uncertain circumstances, which is the experience of many kids with special needs.

New for Orange Conference 2012: Special Needs Focused Breakout Track Amy Fenton Lee and others have been working hard on this, and the sessions look like they'll be incredibly helpful!

And, finally, y'all know I'm a sucker for cute kids, special needs, and adoption. And this video has all in heaping measures. (Tissue warning for you cryers!) In it, you'll hear Ace explain her love for her brother with Down syndrome who was adopted through Reece's Rainbow.

and the silent auction continues ONLINE {until 3/27/12}

The auction is now closed. Thank you for bidding! Winners will be contacted on the end of the day on March 28.

I thought about trying to channel my best auctioneer impression and writing this post in that tone, but then I remembered: Auctioneers are all annoying.

So I'll just be me.

If you're new here, let me introduce myself. I'm Shannon. My husband Lee and I have two precious (biological) kiddos and we're in the process of adopting Zoe Amanda - a sweet baby girl with chunky cheeks and cerebral palsy - from Taiwan. (You can read more about our adoption journey here and here.)

We had a spectacular fundraising night at Chick-fil-a last night, but even if you missed it, you can join us for the silent auction part! Below are all the items from our auction with the current high bid following each item! Bids will be accepted until midnight on Tuesday, March 27th. To bid on anything, fill out the Google form at the bottom of this post.

Some items are going at higher than their actual value, while others are well below it, and we have a wide range of items available, so there's something for everyone!

Hmm, that last line was a little auctioneer-esque. Sorry 'bout that.

For our out-of-town friends, some items - like the photo shoots - have to be used in the Raleigh area, but everything else can be shipped to you, including the stained glass. The shipping changes will - depending on the item - either be covered by the person who donated the item or by us... in other words, you don't need to plan for shipping costs to be added when making your bid.

The best news of all, though? 100% of the funds raised will go toward bringing Zoe Amanda home. How cool is that? 


Weekend getaways {click here for more details for each!} 
Item #1: Two-night weekend getaway at a mountain resort condo in Boone (value $300): $270 

Item #2: Two-night weekend romance package, Embassy Suites in Brier Creek (value: $340): $500 

Item #3: Two-night weekend stay in a two-room suite, Embassy Suites in Cary (RTP area) (value: $300): $140

Item #4: One-night weekend stay in a two-room suite, Embassy Suites at Crabtree in Raleigh (value: $150): $85 

Photo sessions and classes {click here for more details for each!}
Item #5: "Mini" family photo session and 1 5x7 Linen print from GreenFlash Productions Photography (value: $100): $60

Item #6: Photo session (maternity, newborn, family, child or senior) & 15-20 digital images from Rebecca Keller Photography (value: $100-150, depending on the type of session): $65

Item #7: Beginning photography class from Studio 310 Photography (value: $300-500): $450

Artsy items {click here for more details for each!}
Item #8: One custom letter project from Paint By Letters (value: ~$75): $60

Item #9: Original stained glass modern piece by Bill Dingle of Wood-Glass Designs: $25

Item #10: Pair of original stained glass creations (cat frame & goose) by Bill Dingle of Wood-Glass Designs: $25

Item #11: Original stained glass: "An Eagle Soars" by Bill Dingle of Wood-Glass Designs: $50 

Item #12: Stained glass bear in a balloon by Bill Dingle of Wood-Glass Designs: $15

Gift cards {click here for more details for each!}
Item #13: $75 gift card to Target (value: $75): $100 

Item #14: $50 gift card to Amazon (value: $50): $65

Item #15: $50 VISA gift card (value: $50): $65 

Item #16: $50 gift certificate to online store Sweet Tea Paperie (value: $50): $50

Item #17: $45 gift certificate to Monkey Stitch (value: $45): $35

Item #18: $25 Olive Garden gift card; also good at Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, and Seasons 52 (value: $25): $40

Item #19: $100 Mary Kay gift card with free shipping (value: $108): $65

All bidding is now CLOSED. Winners will be contacted by the end of the day on March 28! Thank you for a wonderful auction.

our amazing night and our court date

Wow. 

That's the best word to describe last night. We had strangers come who heard about our sweet girl. We had family members drive in. We had friends from near and far. And we got to show off gorgeous pictures of our girl to all of them. And one of our sweet little three-year-old buddies came up to me, held out a dollar, and whispered, "It's for the baby."

Beautiful.

We won't know exact totals until we wrap up the silent auction next week (that post is coming!) and until we hear from Chick-fil-a with the final total from them, but we have a general idea of where we'll end up.

Thankful.

Thank you to the many friends who came and who shared the news of our event with others.

Blessed.

And again, wow.

We have a court date. We've had it for a couple weeks, actually, but I haven't had the time to post about it. Court is April 10! 

And what does that mean?

Well, it means a lot and not a whole lot all at the same time. It means a lot because, at the court date, our in-country coordinators will represent our interests and Zoe's interests before the judge. All information and documents pertinent to the case will be presented. 

It doesn't mean much just yet because the judge doesn't decide anything at the court date. It's all about fact finding, somewhat in the same way that Supreme Court cases are done here. (And I'm sure my friend Audrey can chime in via comments about other parallels with our justice system!) 

After court, two decrees have to be issued by the judge. The first one comes four to six weeks after our court date. Then the second one comes 10-25 days after the first decree.

The cool thing about that second decree? As soon as it's issued, Zoe Amanda is legally our daughter in Taiwan.

It will take a few weeks for the US paperwork to catch up, since all the Taiwanese court documents have to be translated to English, reviewed by some folks at the Department of Homeland Security, and approved by AIT, which is the US Embassy-esque entity in Taiwan.

And then? We travel. And bring her home. 

So.

Stinkin'.

Excited!