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You know God just amazes me again and again! In Romans 8, it says "I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love." Well I'm going to SHOUT out a huge AMEN to that!!!!
In July, with only a matter of days until the event, we really had our work cut out for us. Our precious homegroup gave up consecutive Saturdays to help us cut ribbons, make labels, wrap coffee cans, organize baskets, brainstorm, plan, and gather the most amazing prizes for the event. God works mighty in His people and loves deeply! I would send texts almost daily to these girls and one of the replys that just melted my heart was this..."Dear Baby Jeter, I was one of the ladies with your mama today. We had a great time, ate great food, and laughed alot too! Please know you are loved! We don't even know your name yet. You are a part of our families and we don't even know what you look like. You will be in our prayers today, tomorrow, and always. You are precious to all of us!" LOVE LOVE LOVE these families!!!!!!!
On the morning of August 5th, I don't think Michael and I knew what all would happen that day. Early that morning our dear friends Carrie and Andrea met us at the house to help load the numerous donations. It took 3 SUV's people!! Yeehaw! A few last minute changes caused a little tears and panic, but it was all a-okay. At 11:00 we bombarded Fat Daddy's to start the set up! Let me tell you how to get things accomplished...call your besties and give them a vision! They will move mountains I tell ya!! It truly was Christ's community in Action!!! Our homegroup took the lead with humble grace they formulated a set up that ROCKED everyone's socks off!!! Thank you to Billy and Kristy Chadwell, Mike and Dana Glass, Wes and Tammy Harkrider, Andy and Amy Marcontell, Robert and Amy Wood who served from morning till 11:00pm that night!!!!!! At 12:00, our amazing vendors started rolling in. Thanks again for bringing excitement and shopping to this event! By 3:00 our friends started coming in droves!! We were so blessed!! Our homegroup started the event in prayer asking that everything we do be to the glory of God! His grace and love was ever present!!!! Our performers were all amazing and thanks again to Chris Sommer from KRLD radio for being our emcee!!! I think the part that made us just cry and cry was when Philip Braun started the live auction and total strangers, who didn't even know us, started donating items and services!!! Absolutely amazing! We were so touched by everyone's presence from our own families that drove in from Abilene and East Texas, dear high school friends that gave their entire afternoon to love on us, my former first graders and their families, sweet coworkers, our church family, and the community! WE ARE GRATEFUL!! The event raised over $26K for Christian Homes and Family Services!!
I'm going to quote a friend who recently adopted their sweet angel and was so filled with gratitude for the love and support they received...
"You did it simply because love was your highest goal. Love for a child you've never met. Love for our family, whom some of you have met, and some of you haven't. But even greater than that... Love for a Savior, who said YOU MATTER TO ME. And now all you can do in return is pass on that love to others."
So what now??? Well we have been very blessed to raise all the necessary funds. We had our homestudy on August 17. We love our caseworker Amy! Her work at Christian Homes is such a blessing to so many!!! Our homestudy wasn't as painful as we thought it was going to be. Hee hee! You know you want to be "normal" or whatever that is! It's hard to be transparent and authentic in sharing your lifestory and home with someone for the first time, but Amy made us feel comfortable and relaxed. Hee hee! It's been 8 weeks since our study and we are "officially" in the waiting period. All the forms have been completed, requirements met, financial obligations provided. So now we wait. The timeline from here on out can vary greatly from just a few weeks, few months, to 18 months on average, or more it all depends on a lot of things. So were praying for God to reveal His plan and perfect timing. In our waiting time, we've been reminded how much God loves us. We both recently served a Tres Dias weekend. I know God uses these weekends to pour out His love on others. There's just something about stopping all phone calls, TV, Facebook, texts, emails, and blogs when you can quietly reflect. I received a special blessing in one word, (random sidebar...every person had a different word given to them that weekend) as kind of a love note from God. Well mine said "Companion" which means "a person with whom one spends a lot of time with" and Michael received "Spoken for" which means "promised or intended". Initially I was confused by my word, because I just didn't understand it. After talking with Michael, he helped me see how God is my one true comfort and companion. God has promised us and loves spending time persuing, seeking, and demonstrating His love for His people.
A few dear friends have asked us if we've heard anything or where were at in the process? Here it is in a nutshell, we're waiting. What all does one do while waiting, hoping, and dreaming... a little shopping. Just a little, nothing too out of control. Now naturally I am a gifted shopper, so I love to find cute things and bargains! I did happen to stumble across the cutest baby bedding ever! Thank you Mitzi, owner of The Pink Frog Boutique! Y'all check her out on Facebook! Darling Darling Darling! So we went ahead and ordered a neutral baby bedding set. Ms. Dee and Boppie Clary are going to come and help us design a nursery. Piddle party at the Jeters!! All are invited!!! Yahoo! We're just so excited!
I didn't know how busy I would be this September/October with school starting back up and a few Saturday meetings for our ladies retreat, but time management is coming back into play. I constantly need a lot of help with that! LOL! I have A.D.O.S (Attention Deficit Oooh Shiny!!) quite frequently!! All that to say is this blog may be a hit or miss, but I promise, PROMISE to SHOUT it from the mountain tops when we have an update. I jokingly said "I'll most likely buy a radio slot to announce our good news!" Thanks for reading! I bet your coffee needs to be reheated!
Here's the link to the smilebox video I made of the event! Be sure to watch it all the way through the two songs! Hee hee! Adoption Event Just this last week I wrote the last of the 215 thank you cards! I'm headed to the post office today! Hee hee! Now that's a good problem to have, over 215 people and businesses to thank!!! I sure hope we didn't leave anyone out, but if I did, please know that we are grateful. Much love for yall!
Lareta and Michael
