T-Shirt Pictures

Hey, everyone.  If you ordered a t-shirt, or will in the future, please email us a picture of your family wearing them.  If you send us a picture, we would like to post on our blog. 

monksfamily@insightbb.com

Vince

T-SHIRTS

Vince picked up our first order of t-shirts today.  We will be working on delivering to those of you who ordered already.  If you are interested in buying one, just let me know!

Getting organized

Our first set of orders

Our beautiful models

♥ Kelli

I've been wanting to write about something that happened a few weeks ago, but I wanted to wait until I could put it into words that would give it the attention it deserved.  (if that makes any sense) My sweet friend Debbie asked if she could take some coasters and crosses to a family get-together because some of her family were interested in buying some.  I was thrilled of course, but I had no idea the real plan for the evening!  The next day she dropped by to surprise Vince and me.  She had actually planned a bunco to help us raise money for our adoption.  Between money collected from the bunco, selling crosses and coasters, and other donations, she ended up collecting $250 for us!  The detail she put into the evening was incredible.  Each person that came wrote out a special note for us that I will always treasure.  The evening that she brought over the money, I sat on our bed and read through each one.  I was brought to tears at the kind words and prayers that each one expressed.  It is amazing to see how many people God has used in this journey.  Even though I was surprised when she dropped by, I realize how little this surprised me because of who had coordinated it.  She is a giver to so many, and I am thankful to have her in my life. Debbie and her family have been a blessing through this whole process.  Debbie is known for sharing of herself and thinking of others.  Five years ago when we first visited Southeast,she was one of the first friendly faces we ran into.  She instantly reached out to us and invited to be a part of their ABF group.  I look back on those times and realize our paths didn't cross by chance.  God played a part in that meeting. 


From the fullness of this grace we have all received one blessing after another.
John 1:16

Debbie and her husband, Tom

The Finances

It has been awhile since I have posted anything new regarding the fund raising activities.  I wanted to let everyone see how faithful God has been and also communicate the remaining gap that we have in order to bring our boys home.

The total estimate for our adoption is ~$36,000.

We have been blessed with receiving ~$30,000 YTD. 

This is the break down for the $30,000:
$9,000 = Personal funds - our yard sales, selling stuff, and extra money that we can put back each month.
$4,000 = Generous donations from friends/family
$7,000 = Generous loan from parents
$10,000 = Lifesong/Orphan Care Alliance interest free loan

We have enough funding to get us through our first trip in October.  We are still short $6,000, or the amount needed to travel our second trip (maybe November/December) and pay for all 4 plane tickets back home.

Here is how you can help:
1.  Continue to pray.  Pray for the continued safety of our children and the first court date in Sept 29.  Also, please pray for success on a grant application that is pending.
2.  We are still selling t-shirts, drink coasters, and coffee.  If you have friends/family that may be interested in any of these items, please refer them to our site.  All the information is on the side bar.

FYI:
We have sold >140 drink coasters and will be receiving our first t-shirt order of 50 soon!!


Vince

I don't know if I can blame not posting lately on being so busy or just being in a funk.  Not really anything exciting to report.  School is going really good.  I love each day amidst the chaos.  It has been a busy couple of weeks.  I am looking forward to next week. We will be going to the fair Monday and Wednesday. We are all looking forward to it.  It is one of our greatest memories each year as a family.  Abby and Gracie will be performing Wednesday with their square dancing group if anyone happens to be there on that day.

As fast as our days are going by, it seems like September 29th can't get here fast enough!   Each day I spend a lot of time praying and thinking of Yonas and Yosef.  I am so anxious to get my arms around them.  I am reminded of God's faithfulness in this whole process.  Feeling blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family. 

Here are a couple of pictures from our school days:

Making challah bread for our Sabbath meal

The finished product. 

It didn't look very good, but Abby and Gracie said it was good!

Vince and Abby's finished puzzle

Cuneiform activity we did using sugar cookie dough

Eating the finished product.  Yum!

Kelli

Happy 11th Birthday Abby! 

We love you!

Abby, Griffin, Cassie, & Gracie

Grandpa, Abby & Grandma

Gracie showing off her new bunk bed

Abby

Abby showing off her new shirt Uncle Steven bought her in Kings Island

She loved all of the roller coasters!

Thank you Steven!

First day back to school

August 2, 2010

Vince teaching Abby & Gracie their art lesson

They had to draw a butterfly using only their mouth

Our challah bread cover that Abby & Gracie painted for our Sabbath meal.

This year we are learning about Jewish feasts and celebrating Jewish holidays.

Today Vince and I had our appointment at the travel clinic.  We got all of our vaccines and are ready for travel!  I am so thankful for our health.  I feel like we take for granted how easy it is here in the US to get the medical treatment we need.  How often do we overlook this?  My heart is in Ethiopia; thinking about what Yonas and Yosef are going through.  How have they had to suffer?  I pray that God would continue to give me a desire to help those in need.  I pray that He open my eyes to the world around me.  This life I live is not about me.  How can I be used to glorify the Lord today?

Kelli