Thankfulness

With the arrival of November, many of us reflect on things we are thankful for. I'd like to give you an update on what's been going on here, while also expressing how thankful I am!

I am THANKFUL our home safety visit is done! I was nervous about this and pictured the social worker coming into my home with white gloves on and walking through the house analyzing everything from the crumbs on my kitchen floor to the titles of the books on our bookshelves. My house got an overdue deep cleaning last week in preparation for her visit.

She turned out to be a lovely lady who just sat and chatted with us for an hour, asked a few questions and took a few notes (getting to know you kind of stuff) and then shared a bounty of information with us about her experiences hosting Eastern European orphans. It was fantastic! And the added plus is that my house is sparkling clean...ha.

I am THANKFUL for your prayers about Nastya's medical care! At this point, it looks like I've got two hospitals on the hook that are going to be able to see Nastya for us without charge! The application is in for one of them, the other will be submitted soon. Please pray that they accept her into their programs and that we are able to find appointment slots as early as possible during her visit (to allow time for follow up).

I am super THANKFUL that we are only $400 away from our fundraising goal!!! I'd say I can't believe it, but that's not true. Even before we plunged into hosting, we knew that our friends and family are some of the most generous people out there and we are so glad that you all are on this journey with us! We very much appreciate those of you who have been able to step up and support our efforts.

For those who would still like to help, we have until November 15th to raise the rest of the funds so if you are considering a donation, you can click through to our Active fundraising site at the top of this page where it says "Help us bring Nastya to America". The donation is tax deductible which might be of benefit to some of you as the end of the year approaches.

Also, don't forget that we still have our Souplantation fundraiser next Thursday, November 8th if you'd like to help out that way. I'll be posting the flyer again soon for those interested (but it's on my last post if you click back one...) Please share the flyer with your friends and family as well!

I am THANKFUL that there are almost 200 children from New Horizons that have been chosen by host families this winter. It has been amazing to read the stories of some of these families and what they are doing to reach out to these children. However there are still more than 100 children that have not been chosen. There are only two days left for most of the kids on the photolisting to be hosted. If any of you are possibly considering it, take a look. Many of these kids have significant scholarships now so if money was holding you back, that may no longer be an issue: www.newhorizonsforchildren.org

Finally, I am THANKFUL that we have 10 families hosting in California this winter and as a result we get to have one of the chaperones staying in Southern California rather than in an adjoining state! If you aren't able to host a child (and you live in So Cal), consider hosting our California chaperone...it's FREE! You can even host for a week if that's all you've got. Contact me if you want to know more. I'd love to have our chaperone staying with someone I know!

Thank you all for keeping up with us and for your words of encouragement. We have a lot to be THANKFUL for!