500 Puzzle Pieces Needed

As of this weekend we have sold 80 puzzle pieces for the giveaway/fundraiser which has raised us $400!!!

That is awesome and we are so thankful to everyone who has contributed items to be used as prizes in the giveaway and for those of you buying pieces...THANK YOU!!!  I am planning on doing the drawing in the beginning of March because that is when it is estimated that we will have our USCIS approval letter and be able to submit our DOSSIER (a word that never had meaning before this adoption journey and now is a word that I don't go one day not thinking about).  There are still more prizes coming in and I will keep posting pictures as I receive them so still if you have anything you want to throw in, we'll take it!

Now I say we have sold 80 pieces and need to sell 500 more to meet our goal...I know that does not equal the 1000 puzzle pieces that we have but we have also raised money through our 147 Million Orphans fundraiser and with our own savings so all we need to sell is 500 pieces to meet our next financial goal.  It's a lot but we have a lot of friends and family and awesome blog followers we have never met that have already helped so much so I think we can do it!  OH... and let me know what you want written on the back of the piece(s) you buy before it ends, otherwise I will just write your name.  (some have asked for verses, other family member names, messages, etc)  I keep hearing from others and telling myself, God knows the amount we need and the timing in which we need it all so I am not worried.

Now I wanted to share a little art project I worked on yesterday that is now hanging on our wall just waiting for the 4th canvas to be filled in with another little hand print!

It's so funny to think that the little hand that will make his or her print on our wall (hopefully this year) may already be born right now for all we know.  It seems like we have been dreaming of the day we can bring our child home from Ethiopia forever and somedays it just hits me that this is going to happen and may not be too long from now!  Whether we find out who our child is in a year from now or less than 6 mths from now we are ready and so excited.

I got to see Jalen acting as a big brother last night for maybe one of the first times.  He is always the youngest when our friends kids come over but yesterday and last night he got o play with our precious neighbor Easton who is about 6 mths younger and I was so proud to see how Jalen did, I truly saw the big brother in him and am I think MORE excited for Jalen to have a lil sister or brother than anything now!