OK TArget it is! Go " Chip In "

I have decided that the lucky winner of our "give away" will receive a Target gift card for 200.00!! Everyone loves target and we love Jonah so lets get going! To donate to the "Jonah Fund" just scroll down to the "Chip In" and click on the chip in button. The suggested donation for a raffle ticket is 5.00. If you donate 20.00 you will be entered 4 times so enter as many times as you want! I chose Target because anyone can find something they need at Target! I am so grateful to all my family and good friends who have supported us from the start and love every one of you! My little boy is coming home! He has us wrapped around his perfect little finger! Again, thank you so much for your support in helping us bring Jonah home! I am so excited to see who wins the big prize! Here's how it works. We will keep the raffle open until June 1st. At that time we will take all the names and make a ticket for every 5.00 donation. We will then draw a name and mail you the gift card. The donations will go towards the mandatory orphanage donation to our son's orphanage hand carried by us to Jinhua when we pick him up! Oh how I wish that was NOW!!

My Baby is on the left in gold striped sweater

I can't believe this picture was taken 2 weeks ago! The picture we have from his file is a year old! Oh my heart is going to explode!!He is so tiny! The boy in the grey sweater is his best friend named Jin Pei. They are together in every picture. The great news is he is coming home to Oregon just a few months after Jonah comes home to Idaho! They will get to remain life long friends!! Jin Pei is 5 and Jonah is 6 but my Jonah is so tiny it looks like Jin Pei is a good year older than he is!! Oh they will have fun this winter! We are planning a get together with his family as soon as they get home! Oh my goodness, someone get me to China NOW!!!!!!!!!
The good news is that we are officially "DTC" meaning China has all our clearances and paperwork and we have been pre approved as his family. Now we just wait for Travel Approval and we are off! (That is if I don't get myself a boat and row there RIGHT NOW!!!) We hope to get on a plane in June some time! Jack my 8 yr old teared up when he saw this picture this morning and said, " Mom he is going to be my best friend". I believe they will be!

While I am trying to decide on an item for our giveaway(I intend to launch it Monday morning!)I thought I'd share this funny picture. It has been on my screensaver for a couple weeks now. It occured to me that it depicts exactly our individual feelings/anxieties about our upcoming trip to China!! LOL ! I am one happy Momma! I grin ear to ear whenever I think about Jonah finally coming home. While Jarrod shares in the love for Jonah, he is seeing the sacrifices financially that will need to be made and as the breadwinner he is a tad bit stressed. I have to tell you a secret though. He made the comment to me about 6 months ago that when THE child comes along , who is meant to be ours, he would do ANYTHING to get him/her home. His heart is pretty big! I am a lucky woman!

I need ideas friends!!!

OK, I just found out that the donation is now likely to be 5,000 required now instead of the 3,000 for the orphanage donation. It has not increased in 16 years so I can see why but I have to come up with an extra 2,000 by late June. And in case you didn't notice my "chip in" has not taken off like I had hoped. I want to make this fun and more successfull So I am going to have a raffle. I have friends who are adopting a special needs child from China too and on their blog they are raffling off a Nintendo Wii. One "ticket so to speak is 5.00 and so if they donate say 10.00 to the "Chip In" they are entered twice. The Wii will come out of the fund and be shipped via UPS to the winner. Their raffle has done very well so they are closer to bringing their darling little girl home. I need an idea. I am trying to decide what I can raffle off. What do you all want a chance at winning? I have some ideas. I will list them. Leave your comments and help me decide! If you have a suggestion I would love to hear it. My son is on the other side of the globe and it kills me every day. His braces on his legs are too small causing bruises, he needs his Mom and Dad, he needs his brothers, he needs to run around on our sod farm and get all dirty. He needs to meet his Mom's amazing friends and his new great extended family. Please , spread the word about the raffle and have fun with it. Even a little bit can make a big difference! Thank you so much for being a part of our life!
ok- I'll make my list of ideas now so I don't babble on and start to cry!!
1. Wii
2. 4 sessions with the greatest new "Food Coach". (that would be Me)
3. 200.00 worth of gas.
4. A family photo session with Sarah Stokes Photography -
5. 200.00 gift card to "Pottery Barn Kids"
6. A custom made scrap book ready for the pictures-could be a baby book, a life book or whatever you choose!!
7. Maid service(If you live in the area) for a month.(once a week)
8. Target gift card worth 200.00
9.An Ipod and a music download gift card.
10 A digital camera

OK there are some of my thoughts. Give me feedback and I will get this up and running! I can't wait for you all to meet and love our little boy! Now lets help him and other kiddos in his orphanage-they deserve heat, food, education and love . Let's go help!!