TRAVEL - the countdown is on!

it is now 7 days until we hop a jet plane for our new child(ren)!  We have been very busy with prep - making list after list.  We experienced the first of a set of acute money hemorrhages.  It was painful - but this week we had several blessings in that way, too.  Our church had some extra money in their adoption fund that we weren't aware of, we received word that we got a grant that we applied for, and a friend gave us a chunk of money that we weren't expecting, and we counted $100 more change from our change jar.  God just comes through!  It's amazing!  We've also been working on a few other little projects.  Yesterday my friend and I worked all day on filling our freezer with meals to fatten our orphanage kid(s) up!

See that one shelf?  That's a portion of the 31 meals we cooked up!

Also, I've been making a mini welcome book that someone can keep and look at, show to friends maybe?

It was a little set that I found at Save and Serve for .50.  I was pretty happy with the result.  There's several other pages - Mom, Dad, Grandparents made it in, and our house.

MONEY - spare change!

Dudes and Dudettes, guess what I just learned...  Pennies make dollars!  And lots and lots of pennies make lots and lots of dollars!  Zack and I have been saving the spare change from our pockets for nigh on 8 years now, and I lugged our jars and piggy banks to the change sorter at our local bank this week.  Dumpin' them coins in that thing with that satisfying rattle and I felt like I had won the lottery.  Now that I've had such a buildup people are going to think there were thousands in there.  Well, no, but I'll tell you I was quite pleased with $770 that we didn't have before!!!  I'm thinking... 3/4 of the way towards our first homestudy payment!  Booya!