iPad 2 and More Giveaway!

Some dear friends of ours, the Brownings are hosting a iPad 2 and More Giveaway, on their blog to help us raise travel funds, so we can go get our little Brian! I am very excited about the Giveaway and I pray that God blesses!! Charrissa has been a blessing to me in many ways. Phillip and Charrissa understand what this is all about, they rescued their daughter and son from Eastern Europe last December. Brian is at risk for being transferred to an institution, we are trying to get there as fast as we can, but it will be close. We are praying for God's perfect timing and that he will still be in the orphanage when we get there. This is not a game....this is very real and it is an URGENT matter, Brian is a beautiful child in many ways and we love him so much. The thought that there is a very real risk, that he could be transferred to an institution where he may NOT be adoptable, and would spend the rest of his life without the love of a family...without hope is just UNBEARABLE!!! Please, we know that not everyone is able to give, but you can cross post this and help spread the word!! Thank you so much for your help!!

Go here to their blog to see the Giveaway info:

http://anextraleaf.blogspot.com/

His life is depending on us, we need to get there asap, please, help us to be able to go get him and bring him home, help him to be able to know the love of a family! Thank you!!

Auction Winners are.........

Auction Winners,

I need your Address so I can send your Item/s. Some of you have paid, so I can send out the item/s as soon as I get your address!!

Thank You!!

Auction Item #1 Jill ~~Nursing Cover~~ $20.
Auction Item #3 Jenny~~Little Blue Bells~~$50.
Auction Item #4 Laima~~1st Snug-a-long~~ $10.
Auction Item #7 Nance~~Lady Bug Hair Pretty Keeper~~ $20.
Auction Item #8 Nance~~Wash Cloth & Pot Hold/Coaster Set~~ $10.
Auction Item #9 Kaitlyn P.~~Down Syndrome Awareness Hair Bow~~ $5.
Auction Item #10 Nicole~~Tu Tu Dress~~ $45.
Auction Item #11 Bryan B.~~16x16 Printed Photo~~ $15.
Auction Item #13 Kellan's Momma~~2nd Snug-a-long ~~$20.
Auction Item #16 Malissa F.~~Manual Food Processor~~ $30.
Auction Item #21 Kristy L.~~Russian Hair Barrette~~ $7.
Auction Item #22 Cindee C.~~Pink & Yellow Hair Pretty Keeper
Auction Item #24 Sarah H.~~3rd Snug-a-long~~ $8.00
Auction Item #27 Kaitlyn P.~~Patriotic hair Bows~~ $7.
Auction Item #28 Nicole~~Matroshka Doll~~ $30.
Auction Item #32 SaraElizabeth~~Verse Trivet~~ $20.
Auction Item #33 Dawn O.~~Buckeyes Candy~~ $10.
Auction Item #34 Julia~~Buckeyes Candy~~ $25.
Auction Item #37 Nance~~Buckeyes Candy~~ $20

You can pay our ChipIn, or if you would like to make a tax deductible payment through Reece's Rainbow, just click on Brian's Button and that will take you to our FSP, where you can make your payment.

If you would like to send a check I can send you our address or the address to Reece's Rainbow. Be sure to add our name "Burger" if you pay through Reece's Rainbow. Also if you do pay through Reece's Rainbow,
please let me know you have paid.
We will send your item/s when we receive payment.
Thank you all for helping to bring Brian home. Thank you to all who have donated items to help us Bring Brian Home.

We truly appreciate your help!!

Please remember to pray for our USCIS approval to come this week !!

We really need to get our USCIS approval, so we are asking friends and family to Please Pray that we get our "Golden Ticket" this week. BRIAN will be 5 1/2 in May and is at GREAT risk for being transferred to a mental institution. Where he may not be adoptable. We are trying to get there ASAP....it would be amazing if we got our approval this week, something that only God can do!!

Please remember to include your address, so I can send your item/s, Thank you!!
My e-mail is: missybrgr(at)msn(dot)com

An Important Call To PRAYER

We really need to get our USCIS approval, so we are asking friends and family to Please Pray that we get our "Golden Ticket" this week. BRIAN will be 5 1/2 in May and is at GREAT risk for being transferred to a mental institution. Where he may not be adoptable. We are trying to get there ASAP....it would be amazing if we got our approval this week, something that only God can do!!

Luke 18:27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

We serve a God who hears and answers prayer!!

Preparing For Rain

We are waiting for USCIS Approval, wow...it seems like it has been so long, we thought that we would have our Dossier in E.E. in February...then February slipped away. We then had our hopes set high, we honestly thought that we could get our adoption paperwork expedited.But for reasons that we can not see right now, God has not allowed our approval to come quickly. We are still waiting.................. Our little boy Brian is at great risk for being transferred, we more than likely will be going to an institution rather than an orphanage to fight to get him., he may go to an institution where he may not be adoptable. We know that the Lord knows about that better than we do. We can only see right here right now, God can see the entire picture. We pray...we cry out, we ask our heavenly father to help us get there soon, we cry out to our God who is in control. We don't always understand. We will wait on Him and trust Him that we will one day soon bring home our son. It is hard to wait, we have been loving that little boy for a long time. I want to hold my son and tell him that I love him. So as March slips away, we trust God's timing and we patiently wait on the Lord. PLEASE PRAY for us....PLEASE PRAY for our little Brian.

While we wait, we prepare, God has placed us on this journey, we did not know what He had in store for us...we just knew that one day we would adopt. We are forever changed now that we see what God has for us, we don't want to be on any other journey, but this one. We are so thankful!! So we prepare... we are still raising funds and we are getting his room ready (this is the paper pregnancy "nesting" part ) we are so excited and so ready to bring him home! PLEASE join us in prayer, may our Dossier be there in April ( very hard to write that, thought we would be there in April ) and that we may be able to travel soon!!

1Thesselonians 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

Psalm 5:1 ¶  Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
Psalm 5:2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
Psalm 5:3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Psalm 5:11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

  

Isaiah 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Remember, our blog auction is going until Sunday night....we still have a lot of Buckeyes candy......also remember that this auction is to bring Brian home. Thank You!!

Please Pray for Kirill and the Davis family!!

Remember...What It Is All About

Across the sea, there is a special little boy waiting for us. His picture is right here where I can see it as I sit here to write this post. Anyone who has ever had to raise a lot of funds knows that this is not easy. In the sea of adopting families we can all grow weary in well doing. There are so many stories...so many families out there raising funds to help bring there sweet little ones home. Our little Brian's sweet face is what keeps me going on this journey! I know that it is the same for many families....there are so many of us, getting so close and we still have some fundraising to do, we still need most of the travel funds to help us get these little ones home. You have stopped by my blog to see how things have been going, I still think that I am a boring blogger....I had a "follower" quit following :(...oh well. Don't they know that these efforts are for something wonderful...to bring our little boy home. Right now most of us are in the midst of one or more fundraising efforts, it is certainly busy for all these families. Not everyone is meant to adopt, and not everyone can give, but the MOST important thing that everyone can do is pray, and we need to...right now it is so important. There so many children waiting for their families to come get them, some families fighting hard for their children, right now they are fighting to be able to bring them home, so many more waiting for their families to find them. So I am asking for prayer...a lot of prayer...prayer and fasting...we need to get these children home......so this is what this is all about:



Brian



We are so close...still waiting for USCIS approval, we still need about 12,000.



Brady

 http://happyhartmanfarm.blogspot.com/

They will be traveling soon!!! Praise the Lord, we prayed for Brady since we committed to Brian:) To God be the glory!!



Melanie

 http://the21stchromosomeablessingindesguise.blogspot.com/

They are close, still waiting for USCIS approval,



Noah

 http://www.silvamoose.com/

and this family too!



Jessica

  http://www.embracinglifesjourneys.blogspot.com/

They will be traveling soon to see their little girl:)



Dariya

 http://www.lifeandtimesofalayna.blogspot.com/

Each of these families



Lucy



http://www.followingthelamb-whereverhegoes.blogspot.com/

are close, they still need funds and they need you to pray.

These are just a few, there are many families in this process...some just starting and some almost there, many waiting...they all need prayer!!

To learn more about these families and many more visit:

http://reecesrainbow.org/

Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

We are running another blog auction to raise funds, I am not sure what else to do, any ideas would be helpful. Please take a look around and see if you can help.

We are still going with our Blog Auction...take a look. It will end at 11:59pm next Sunday night March 27th. To bid, just add your bid to the comment area of the item you'd like to bid on. Also, remember to hit older post to see everything, thank you!

Auction Item #16

This is a Manual Food Processor,it is being donated by Shelly Wilson, my

Pampered Chef Consultant.

I am also having an on line fundraising party, just follow the link below, 

 Reece's Rainbow is the organization and I am the host.

 

Your Pampered Chef® Host
Sheri Burger    
 http://www.pamperedchef.biz/shellywilson

 Minimum Bid is $20.00

Auction item #13

This one is also made by a friend of mine from church, I have known her for a long time, Teresa S. These are called Snug-a-longs....little square blankets for little ones to carry around instead of full size blankets. They are VERY SOFT and so nice to have! This one is the second of three! Bidding starts at $8.00

Auction Item #11

This picture was taken by a sweet friend of ours from church, Rachel R.

She will have this printed up for the winner, minus the studio mark. It will be a 16"x20" size and it can be done in Glossy or Matte.

Minimum Bid is $10.00

Auction Item #10

These BEAUTIFUL Tu Tu Dresses are made by Deanna S, this is a picture of her daughter...she is beautiful! Deanna will make one Tu Tu dress up to size 4t for the winner, you will get to choose the color you would like. Deanna, has been such an encouragement to me, she has a heart of gold. She and her husband are on a journey to bring home their little girl Melanie from E.E. They are so close also. The Min. Bid is $20.00

Auction Item #9

This is so sweet, a Down Syndrome awareness Bottle Cap Ribbon Hair Pretty made by Malissa F. or one of her associates, she is another friend who has been such a blessing to me!! Min. Bid is $3.00

Auction Item #8

This auction is for a crocheted washcloth and 2 small woven potholders/coasters made by Sarah Henson, a 9-year old that wants to have a part in bringing Brian home.  Sarah has just learned to crochet so the stitches are not perfect and the items aren't exactly square.  However, these items were made with love and a heart that wants to bring Brian home to his forever family.  Sarah made another washcloth and potholders for her mom and she loves to use these potholders/coasters for her coffee each morning...they are just perfect for that!!  The washcloth is durable and helps get those dishes clean!! Min. Bid is $5.00

Auction Item #7

This was made by our friend April N. These are made to store those Hair Pretty clips and barrettes

 they are so nice to have, this is so cute and would look great in a little girls room!! Bidding starts at $10.00

Auction Item #4

This is made by a friend of mine from church, I have known her for a long time, Teresa S. These are called Snug-a-longs....little square blankets for little ones to carry around instead of full size blankets. They are VERY SOFT and so nice to have! This one is the first of three! Bidding starts at $8.00

Auction Item #3

These little Blue Bells were made by my daughter Sarah, she has been doing so much to help us raise the funds to bring her little brother home. She is a blessing!! These little items are not perfect, but Sarah loves little Brian and has a heart to do whatever she can to bring him home.
Bidding starts at $1.00

Auction Item #1

Our friend April N. will custom make a Nursing Cover. You will get to choose the color/s you would like to have. These are very nice to have. They have a boning peek-a-boo at the top so you can easily keep an eye on your sweet bundle. One of the MOST useful baby products available. These are not easy to come by, and when you are able to find them - they are pretty expensive.
Bidding starts at $15.00.

Trying....

I am trying to get a Blog Auction up and running. For some reason my pictures are not loading, Please keep checking and I will try again later. Thank you for you patience :)

Any help from you Veteran Bloggers would be much appreciated, Thanks in advance!!

25 Wonderful Years

Today We Celebrate 25 Wonderful Years of Marriage!!

Our life is a dream, someone once said that the kind of happiness that Bill and I share only happens in the movies:) What a great compliment. We have Christ in the center of our marriage, we are not perfect, our marriage is not perfect, but we strive to keep Christ in the center and we love each other very much and we love our life, we love our children and we love this journey we are on to adopt our little Brian.

We are BEST friends and we love spending time with each other, we have "date" nights whenever we can.  Our oldest will sometimes treat his younger siblings to pizza, and they all send us on our way.  Our children have said many times that they love having parents who love each other!!

We love where we are at in life, we love our marriage!! We both have learned so much, we know each other very well. We thank God for this 25 years and we praise Him for all He has done in our marriage!!

I Love You Bill, You are an AMAZING man and I thank God for you!!

I am loading our Blog Auction items, they will be up later today!!

Pampered Chef Fundraiser

We are having a Pampered Chef on-line fundraiser to help raise the travel funds we need.

Your Pampered Chef® Host
Sheri Burger    
 http://www.pamperedchef.biz/shellywilson

We are also working to get our Blog Auction up and going, still trying to gather items and info, we should have it going Monday night! Please keep checking back, we thank you all for your help and prayers!

So Much Going On

It is not easy trying to rescue an orphan. There are many things that my husband and I are working on together, he has been a huge help. I really appreciate my husband, he works hard everyday to provide for us, he  has been working 10 hour days and when he comes home, he helps when I need it. Because I am a stay at home mom, I have done a lot of paper chasing and blog stuff, but when I need help he is there for me.:) We had some documents to "fix"...we are done with that...I hope :) I am putting together our case for expediting our USCIS paperwork. Please pray we have an appointment Tuesday morning at 10:00 am to present our case! I am finishing up the dessert auction and I am also gathering items for a blog auction...Whew!! I love to be at home, I am the kind of mom that likes to home school my children curled up on the couch all snuggled and warm this time of year :)...but I have not had much time for that this season. I am thankful that most of the time when I am working on adoption things, my children get their school work and chores done, they are not prefect but they are a blessing and they help. I have been hard at work trying to bring our little Brian home...and it is worth every moment it takes to get him home, I don't want to be doing anything else, but taking care of my husband, my children and trying hard to bring our little Boy home!! I am happy and Christ is so amazing!!

We are fundraising for the last of our adoption needs, this time it is for Travel Funds, we have no doubt that God will provide, He placed this burden on our hearts and we know He is faithful.

We are praising God that He uses us. many people have asked about funds and how much more is needed, so here it is, we are almost there. God will provide :)

Where we are at right now.....

Funds Needed $13,643.00 praise the Lord as this number goes down!!

Please Pray that our USCIS be Expedited.

We have an Appointment Tuesday morning at 10:00 am.

Please Pray for Brian.

Please Pray that our next Auction comes together soon.

Please Pray that the rest of our documents are accepted which would complete our Dossier.

Please Pray that we will become 100% funded in these next two weeks.

2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

p.s.

I Love comments!! I have many friends who tell me they read my blog...but they never comment, so PLEASE...leave a comment, it is an encouragement to me. Thank you!!

Quick Post Today

Had a great day, we had our Biometrics done today and have also started the process to get our Adoption paperwork Expedited!! We are so excited, this is an answer to prayer!! Thank you all for praying for us, and please continue to pray to have this process go quickly.  So we can go get Brian soon! To God be the glory!!

Again and Again and Again......

Well the Dessert Auction is over and I am working hard to get all those desserts planned for delivery...it has been hard, every time I look at my blog those desserts make me hungry!! We are gathering items for another Blog Auction and planning a Spaghetti Feed Fundraiser,possibly with two other RR families,we will see.

This journey we are on has been so amazing....God has really taught me so much about myself and my dependence on Him, and He has shown me my weaknesses in a different light. The reason for this blog is to write about our journey to our future son Brian...Lord willing. In our efforts to raise the needed funds and putting together the paperwork God has been faithful and He has answered our prayers. He always goes above and beyond what we pray for.....again and again and again....still I find myself going through moments of doubt and worry....oh my flesh is so weak. If I never knew that my flesh is so weak before....I do now, if I never knew why we need to kill the flesh every single day....I do now. If I never knew just how much I need the Lord in every single step of my life I do now....if I never knew just how longsuffering the Lord is, I do now. We are completely dependent on the Lord for every thing on this journey, His timing, His provision, His mercy, His faithfulness, His grace, His love, His longsuffering, His goodness, His kindness, His strength. He knows every single detail, He can see all that we can not see. He knows right where Brian is at, He is the one who sustains Brian's life, He is the one who will lead us to Brian if we let Him...if we stay out of His way and trust in Him. I have never been through anything like this in my life, my God is truly amazing, He is alive and He is working in my life every single day and I am so thankful for Him. It is me, Sheri writing this post, though we all have our besetting sins, my husband Bill has a far greater understanding of all of this than I do. Bill is so quick to say that God is in control, that God's timing is perfect, that we need to trust God, we need to stay out of God's way, we need to do this in God's strength and not ours. My husband is right!!  I have seen my husbands relationship with the Lord in a new light also, not just on this adoption journey, but over that past three years, I am so thankful for my godly husband and I don't ever want to take him for granted.
Col 1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;



Jenn A., Grace S., Charrissa B., me and Grace P.



I had a great day yesterday with some Reece's Rainbow moms, it was so good to see them and we all met Grace S. for the first time, she is a sweet lady and I am thankful she was able to be here. Wish all the Western Washington moms could have been here. We are planning to have a big get together as soon as we are all home with our children...what a joyful day that will be. We all learned from our "trailblazer" Charrissa, she shared some travel info with us, some do's and some don'ts. I am thankful for her, her friendship has been such a blessing to me.

Please pray, we will be having our Biometrics Appointment on Monday, and then we will be going to our Senator's office to ask for our USCIS to be expedited, please pray that everything goes well and that we get our "Golden Ticket" very quickly, we are trying to get to E.E. as soon as possible. We want to get to our little man before he gets transferred.

To God be the glory!!!



Dessert Auction is FINISHED

The WINNING BIDS are:
C. Houston~~Bananas Foster Cheesecake~~$30
Gretchen Thibault~~Candy Bar Cheesecake~~$20
Gretchen Thibault~~Chocolate Chip Cookies~~$20ea. Total $40
Bryan Burger~~White Choc Mac Nut Cookies~~$20ea. Total $40
Gretchen Thibault~~German Chocolate Cake Balls~~$25
Mark & Donna~~Butterfinger Dessert~~$15
Steve Pabody~~German Chocolate Pie~~$20
Benjy Potvin~~Peach Cobbler~~$5
Browning Family~~Decadent Chocolate Torte~~$25
Bryan Burger~~Cinnamon Rolls~~$10
The Farmer Gang~~Spring Log~~$20
Garth & Becky~~Pecan Pie~~$20
Mark & Donna~~Puppy Chow~~$15
Mary Mcarther~~Rice Krispy Cake~~$20
Luba Bowden~~Apple Pie~~$20
Gretchen Thibault~~Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bakes~~$15
Garth & Becky~~Cherry Pie~~$15.01
Gretchen Thibault~~Streusel Kuchen~~$15
Garth & Becky~~Red Velvet Cake Balls~~$30
Sarah Hensen~~Jumbo Rice Krispy Treats~~$5
The Farmer Gang~~Chocolate Eclair Dessert~~$15
We planned this Dessert Auction to help raise funds to use for the final paperwork fees, so we first want to thank CHRIST, He put the burden on our heart and He is faithful to provide!! We want to thank all of you that have participated in this auction, you all are a blessing, thank you for helping to Bring Brian Home!!
These funds are to help with the final paperwork fees, $500.00 for Dossier Translation and $485.00 for Apostilling our Dossier Documents. Please pay our Blue ChipIn, and thank you so much. 

ATTENTION, DESSERT AUCTION, ATTENTION

There has been a slight bit of confusion on when the DESSERT AUCTION ends. So to clarify it, please note the correct time. The DESSERT AUCTION will end at MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY NIGHT, that is the SECOND that WEDNESDAY ends and THURSDAY begins. So for all of you last second bidders and you thought that it ended tonight (Tuesday) at midnight, there is still over 24 hrs of bidding left, so someone just might come alone and out bid you. ;) In fact, I dare people to out bid what is already there, for I know that Brian will thank you in his own special way when he gets here to his FOREVER FAMILY. Thank you for all your support. Now lets see some bidding wars!!!!