Ready or not, here I come!

First, let me apologize for the delay between posts!  June has been CRAZY for the Green house!  A few things we have had on the calendar... 2 Vacation Bible Schools (one of which I am working), Milana's 4th birthday and party at the Flower Mound Community Activity Center (FUN), my Miche Open House, a CAbi fundraising party, swim lessons for 2 weeks, an appointment in Ft. Worth to get our fingerprints done, an audition for a game show... just to name a few things!  :)

Yes, a game show! You read it correctly - I auditioned along with my two teammates, Natalie Reid and Amelia Dement.  It is a new game show called The American Bible Challenge with a tag line of "If you don't  know your Bible, you haven't got a prayer!"  Oh my!  And guess who the host is... yep, Jeff Foxworthy.  Isn't he the first person that came to your mind???  :-)  The winners are playing for the charity of their choice... we have chosen IGAO (International Guardian Angels Outreach).  They are the incredible folks that helped us with getting our home study processed so quickly.  Their focus however isn't necessarily adoptions like ours but rather helping special needs kids get adopted from Russia.  These kids may have been born with severe disformations or have severe burns... whatever the case may be, they help them obtain medical visas to travel to the US for surgeries with the hopes of finding forever families for these kids while they are here.  They have helped over 200 precious children get adopted and the money would help them get many more special needs orphans connected with loving families.  For them it truly is a labor of love!  It looks like we have an excellent chance of getting on the show!  When I started this journey a couple months ago, I would have NEVER guessed that I would possibly be on a game show in hopes of raising money to help other orphans get adopted.  CRAZY!  I will keep you posted... oh my!  :)

I also want to take this opportunity to send out a big THANK YOU to those of you who helped make my CAbi fundraiser a success!  We were able to raise $450... a HUGE blessing.  We have raised $11,000 so far and need $10,000 more so this was a huge help!  It put us over the half way point... whew - that feels good!  And on that note, I have a sweet friend who along with her awesome Bible Study Group and Home Group are hosting a garage sale for us in Coppell, TX on July 14th to help raise money.  I feel so incredibly blessed that they actually chose us to be their service project this summer.  Can you imagine how that makes me feel?  They chose US... they were so moved by our situation that they chose us.  I get teary eyed just typing that out.  My mom sent me a message the other day when she found out what they were doing that said "you are loved!"  Yes Mom, I feel loved.  We have such a wonderful family of friends that even though we don't have any "blood family" anywhere near us, we still feel like we are home.  What an incredible feeling... thank you!  Back to the details... the garage sale is July 14th and you know what they say - one man's junk is another man's treasure!  If you have anything you would like to get out of your house, we will gladly take it off your hands to put in the garage sale... just let me know!  :)

I suppose you want to know what is going on with Marina!  :)  Well, one of the reasons I haven't taken the time to blog is because there hasn't been much to report.  We haven't had any additional contact with Marina via FB because the teacher at the orphanage who provided Marina access to a computer is on holiday.  We have simply been waiting for June 30th to arrive so that we can meet who will soon become our new daughter.  We cleaned out the guest room this week... we are setting up her net book (donated by Grammy and Grandpa)... we have had a few people from our precious Home Group come pray over our home in preparing for her arrival... we have pondered what she must be thinking right now.  Can you imagine... getting on an airplane and travelling half way across the world with nothing more then a purse and the clothes on your back to meet a family that wants to adopt you sight unseen?  Scary... exciting... anxious... sad... happy... unsure... the emotions are most likely all over the place.  She is actually either about to board her plane or is already on it to begin her journey here.  We will be picking her up from the DFW airport at 6:00 pm Saturday evening.  We have invited Julianna to spend the night with us this weekend too.  Can you imagine 8 months ago saying goodbye to your best friend at the orphanage thinking you would never see her again?  Then boarding a plane to not only meet who will soon be your new family but getting to spend the night with that best friend?  God is so great!  He has worked everything out for His glory.  I can't wait to tell her the story one day of His grace... His goodness... His mercy... His love for her.  Ready or not - here she comes... and we will be eagerly waiting for her at the airport with hearts full of love specifically for her.  Marbella and Milana are beside themselves... so ready to meet their new big sister.

For all my prayer warriors out there... pray for safe travels for Marina... pray for a wonderful bonding time for our family... pray for Andy and I to have peace in every aspect and to not let the enemy try to get between us... pray for Marbella and Milana to have a heart for Marina... pray that the Lord woos Marina to Him and that we follow His lead to show her His mighty and loving character.

I will post an update very soon... with pictures!!!