Galaxy Tab 3 Update!

Yesterday, I wrote this post with all the current amounts. Then, it all changed again last night! It's a great problem to have, so all the current updates are added now. :)

Which one of our lucky friends will get this?!

If you are not familiar with Galaxy Tablets (like me some people) let me tell you about them. :) Let me just tell you, I have never owned one of these, so all my information comes to you from my techy brain Google. ;)

Some of it's key features:

• Use it for apps, movies, books, streaming TV shows

• It doubles as a universal remote

• Large, beautiful display

What others are saying about it: 

"Great speed, screen color and clarity is excellent. Battery life is good too."

"I couldn't be happier with it. I found it easy to setup and use."

"It is lightweight, and full of features. I especially like the bluetooth. No more using cords to connect a keyboard and I can use it to listen to music in my car."

"This tablet satisfies everything! It fits good in my hand, has great speed, and lots of storage!"

Turns out I might just keep it. ;) 

Actually, I'm SUPER excited to see who gets to win this one. Only 10 more days before we do the drawing. Have you put your name in the hat for a chance to win? 

This is where we are at today:

-We've raised: $1,225 $1,583 toward our goal of $3,200. 

WOW! Thank you, thank you to everyone who has gotten in on the raffle!

-13 18 friends and family have entered

-32  49 chances have been sold

-There are 68 51 chances left--be sure to get yours today!

*In order to enter: Click on the donate button on the left side of the blog. Put in your information. Make a donation of $32 per chance & wait for us to choose a winner on March 7th! :)

The World to Us

We have amazing people in our life. Really, really amazing people. We are so blessed to be surrounded by people that are encouraging us, praying for us and helping us bring home a little girl we don't even know yet.

Over the past week we've been getting super fun emails. They come from our pay pal account telling me a donation has been made. Which means, I get to write down names of friends and family--near & far--anxious to see who will get a Galaxy Tab 3 soon! :) It's an exciting journey, friends. Each and every one of you who have given us such great joy!

Last night I checked the mail and found a real card {who came up with junk mail anyway?} and a package filled with goods I did not order. :) It was a great mail day! What made it even more special was opening each of them to find ways that beautiful people around us are coming behind us to show their love and support to us. A generous donation was included in the card. I can't even tell you how much it means to us to see the outpouring of love from the people in our lives. The package was filled with donated goods for future fundraising opportunities. Ah.maz.ing! What a joy it will be to share with our little girl how loved she is long before she gets to us.

Then, this morning, I check my email and see another donation email--that makes for a great email day too. ;) I recognized the name of a dear, sweet friend who I haven't seen in years! Her family and her friendship have touch our lives in so many ways though, we treasure them. Her own adoption stories have been an encouragement to us too. My eyes filled with tears as I saw their generosity toward us.

This--the generosity, love, support, prayers, emails of encouragement, sharing our fundraising with those around you--all of it, is a blessing. It's hard to put into words all that it means.

To all of you, our friends and family, YOU mean the world to us.

Drew and Chelsea are giving away a Galaxy Tab 3!

If you want to get in on the drawing--which you should--go to my page titled "Project:Home" to find the donate button. You will also find more details about our adoption journey there too. :)

Fun Facts about Uganda

On Sunday night we had the privilege of going to a show put on by Ugandan children. It was a wonderful evening for our family. The event is part of the Tour of Light by Children of Uganda. There we learned more about traditions and dances that are part of our daughter's country. Our kids loved the drums and dances. If they are coming to an area near you, be sure to check them out and support their ministry! These children, who all have lost at least one parent, train and learn these dances for a year & have to maintain high grades in school to be selected to come here. They travel the country and perform as a way to raise support to take home to fund the programs they are offering to help vulnerable and orphaned children in Uganda. 

Part of our preparing to bring home our daughter, is to learn about Uganda and it's culture. Sunday was a great learning experience for us. :) I'm going to share some things we learn along the way too. 

A few fun facts we've learned: 

1. Uganda is the same size as the state of Oregon

Uganda population 35,873,253
Oregon population 3,871,859

Apparently, we need to prepare for crowds! :) We are hoping that the size of the country makes it easier for us to travel and explore the area outside of Kampala easier. We are looking forward to learning and experiencing as much of Uganda as we can while we are there.

2. Uganda has the worlds best bananas, pineapples, mangoes, and avocados.

For reals! It's like it was made just for me! :) I'm pretty sure I will be eating pineapples, mangoes and avocados with EVERY meal! Yum. Yum. I can't wait. Real, tropical fruit, this is going to be amazing. :) Do you think customs would notice if I had bags full of fresh fruit to bring home with me?! We also learned the other night that they have banana wine. That might actually be sweet enough for me to try. Haha!  :)

3. Soccer is the most popular sport in Uganda.

Good thing our little girl will have Auntie Ash and Uncle Ry to help teach her about her national sport. 

4.  Kampala, Uganda’s capital, is a city where you can enjoy an excellent cappuccino or latte. 

Really, I think they are speaking all my food love languages. 

5. Some more about their food: We can find some of world’s best Chinese and Indian food, or try some traditional Ugandan luwombo.  We can also try a street vendor meal, like a Rolex--watch this video to see how they are made. Roasted Cassava & Suya (meat shish kabobs) are also popular street foods. 

6. Uganda’s climate is tropical and there are two dry seasons Dec – Feb and June – August.  The average temperature is 82 degrees F.

Another little piece of heaven. It's my ideal weather year round! :) Uganda is along the Equator, so it's climate is probably very similar to Ecuador's. Anyone else love spring? Year round? 

I'm really looking forward to our time there and learning even more about this small little piece of Africa. 

ummm…no, I didn't disappear.

Ever feel like things are just TOO crazy at a particular season of your life? Yes. Me too. I was am experiencing that feeling. So I took an unannounced and undefined amount of time off from blogging.

Truth is: I needed the break. Truth is: I missed it. Truth is: I'm not sure what this will look like for me during this season either, but I do know that I really enjoy blogging and hope to make it part of my life again.

Quick re-cap on the last 2 years. Yes, it's been that long.

1. Baby #3 is here, and now is a year old, walking and a bundle of humor. He is such a love, a determined little guy and a mama's boy.

2. We are still tracking with our budget. It's been working really well for us. It's hard to see so little "extra" on some months, but we are not lacking. So, gratitude is the best perspective on that. :)

3. I have a million and one projects I want to do and blog about. We will take one at a time and there are no promises from me about when they will be done. ;)

4. We are adopting! Our fourth child will be coming to us from a dear mother in Uganda. We know very little details about the "who" right now, but we know she belongs here and we are preparing for her. :) To get all the details on that, you can follow the link under the page: "Project: Home" or click here. This will be a big part of our year, so I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot about this process.

I'm excited to get back in touch with each of you dear readers. Leave some comments and let me know what your updates are too. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.