In Memory of Avary

 
This past Tuesday, friends of ours from church had a baby girl named Avary. In January of this year, Avary was diagnosed with Trisomy 9. Avary was a fighter, and lived for about 1 hour after she was born. Her parents' wishes, in order for others to honor and remember Avary, are to have donations made to our adoption in lieu of flowers. Words cannot express the mixture of emotions we feel. We can't imagine what courage it took for Shawn & Melba to continue on for the past 4 months, and the strength and grace they have displayed. How honoring it must be to God when a couple chooses to trust God with their precious girl. We are sad for the grief that the Reidy family is going through. We are also humbled and grateful for their thoughtfulness and selflessness in helping us bring Nathan and Keira home. This is another way that God has demonstrated His love and faithfulness. Please join us in praying for the Reidy family-for God to comfort them as only He can, and giving thanks to God for Avary's life.


                         And with your final heartbeat
                         Kiss the world goodbye
                         Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and 
                         Fly to Jesus
                         Fly to Jesus
                         Fly to Jesus and live

                          (Avary means "like a bird")

Both Hands Project II

Greetings!

We had a lot a great fun today. We are so thankful for everyone who showed up to work today and for those who have been praying and giving financial support.

Our Both Hands Project: First of 2 Saturdays

Thank you to all who helped us work on Pam's house on the 14th!
We got a lot done, and Pam is so grateful.
We anticipated not getting it all done, so we will be working on the 21st also.
This is a picture of all those who helped on the 14th (minus Amanda--sorry, Amanda).
We will add more pictures after the 21st.

Don't miss your chance to bid on this cute dress!!

Robin, a friend of ours, has graciously made this dress to be auctioned off.

All proceeds will go toward our adoption.

Here is her blog:www.sewaseedoflove.com.
Robin is gifted in sewing.
Thanks, Robin, for loving us and our kids in this way!

Items needed for Pam's house

If you have any of the following items, please let us know(goinsadoption@gmail.com)
*exterior white paint (for fence)
*paint supplies (brushes, rollers, drop cloths, painter's tape)
*push lawn mower (for Pam to keep)
*cabinets (email us, and we will give you dimensions)
*countertop (39"wide)
*30"brushed nickel towel rod for bathroom
*knobs for kitchen cabinets
*2 toilets
*white cabinet to go above toilet (9"deep X 23"wide)
*carbon monoxide detector
*bathroom faucet
*backsplash for kitchen
*20ft. round handrail
*10 brackets for handrail
*polyurethane
*small vanity or pedal stool sink

Our Recent Fundraiser--The Both Hands Project--May 14

We are excited to tell you about our latest fundraiser. It is called the "Both Hands Project."
http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bothHands.html
We are excited because we have a chance, not only to bring our children home, but to also serve a widow, just like it talks about in James 1:27. Basically, how this works is: Mark and I contact a widow in need and assemble a team of our friends. Then the team (including us) would send out letters to family and friends asking people to sponsor us for the day as we work on this widow's house. All the funds go to Lifesong for Orphans toward our adoption. It's just like asking someone to sponsor you for a 5K Run for the Cure. The idea has been done over 50 times around the country already!
A local organization called "Shepherd Community" http://www.shepherdcommunity.org/ helped us find a widow in the inner city who needs some work done on her 110 year old house.
We met Pam and her two children, Anthony and Chante, this past Thursday. Pam lost her husband to cancer this past September. Her son, Anthony is 24 with Down's Syndrome. Her daughter, Chante, is 21 years old.
Our friend, Dan, did an inspection on Pam's house, and there are numerous things that need to be done. (Thanks, Dan! We appreciate you taking the time to help us and Pam.)
Right now, what we need are people willing to help fix up Pam's house on May 14th and have some people sponsor you.
Some examples of jobs that will need done are plumber,painters,cleaners,landscapers,food manager, photographer,videographer,carpenter(repair stairs & fence), dry waller, carpet layer,window installer. No matter what your experience, we could use you.
If you would like to help, please email us: goinsadoption@gmail.com
Soon, we will post a list of materials we need for Pam's house.