Saturday, May 28, 2011

Auction!

Please plan on coming to our auction on Saturday, June 18, at 10:00!! All are invited, and please bring family and friends. We'll be having a continental breakfast with plenty of coffee and juice too! It's being held in our church's auditorium, The Journey Baptist Church, 7 Amarosa Drive, in Rochester, NH. The church is located behind the Stonewall Kitchen. We would love to see you there!

We already have some really cool things donated so far:
2 admission passes to Santa's Village in Jefferson, NH
4 tickets to 19th Century Willowbrook Village in Newfield, ME
a big (I need to get the measurements) ocean watercolor painting
4 tickets to the Children's Museum of NH in Dover
2 adult and 2 children tickets for a train ride at Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad in Portland, ME
2 ski lift tickets at Pats Peak in Henniker, NH
4 tickets to a Portland Sea Dogs game in Portland, ME
Lia Sophia jewelry donated by Patricia McSharry from Rochester, NH
2 tickets to the Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, NH
4 VIP passes to York's Wild Animal Kingdom in York Beach, ME
2 tickets to Clark's Trading Post in Lincoln, NH
Pampered Chef Hospitality Set donated by Tammy MacDonald
4 vouchers for Amtrak

and just in:
2 tickets to Soulfest 2011 donated by Amber Weststrate
Autographed J.D. Drew photo donated by Boston Red Sox
Coach wristlet bag donated by Leah Sprowl
6' Picnic table donated by Nutes Trading Post
16 hours of electrical work donated by Andy Becker
Cupcakes donated by Krista Willis
$25 gift certificate for Avon donated by Robin Healey
Custom airbrush work donated by Vic Healey
Tree removal or pruning donated by Dennis Chapman and Burke's Tree Service
Apple Pie donated by Donna Devoid
Something sweet donated by Wagner Family
Bathroom Cleaning donated by Linda Wentworth
25% off oil change donated by Rich Wentworth
2lb box of Goldenrod Salt water taffy
2 rounds of golf with cart from Ragged Mountain Resort
2 tickets to Ogunquit Playhouse
4 box seat tickets to NH Fisher Cats
2 tickets to Manchester Monarchs
2 passes to Childrens Museum and Theatre of Maine

Plus, Lino (from Lino's in Wakefield, NH) has offered to help us with the breakfast. Thank you, thank you, thank you to Lino!

Pretty awesome, huh?! I'm so thankful to each person and business that has helped us in this way! Please come and bid on these awesome things and enjoy some breakfast and coffee! We still need more donations. If you or someone you know would be willing to donate for the auction, please let us know. My email is: sweetshoreforme@gmail.com, or items can be dropped off at our church (info above).

To be honest, we still need to raise $19,000 more for the whole adoption. We realize we need to take it step by step, and right now we are praying specifically for $1760 to help with some paperwork and the home study. Please pray for God's blessing and provision with this adoption. We are so ready to have this child in our family, the only thing holding us back is the funds to do so. We know it's all in God's timing, and if this is what He wants, He will provide.

We are sponsored through our church's adoption fund which accepts tax-deductible donations on our behalf if you feel you would like to help us monetarily. Words really can't express how much we would appreciate it. Here is our church's info:

The Journey is a non-profit organization (Tax ID #20-1066486) and donations received for this event tax-deductible. All funds received through sponsors will be used to underwrite the costs of this event and a contribution letter will be sent back to any sponsor within 30-45 days of receiving donation funds. All that is needed is a mailing address, a contact name, and for each check to have in the memo “Adoption Fund.” All checks can be sent to The Journey, attention Elizabeth Kesselring, at 124 Milton Road, Rochester, NH 03868.


I'll try to keep updating as more things come in for the auction and as we have more updates with the adoption process. Currently we are working on paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. (Trust me, there's a lot!)

Again, we really need people to come and bid on June 18!! If you can't make it but would like to bid on an item(s), let me know and I can be your absentee bidder!! My email is above.

Thanks for taking time to read this. We love you and are thankful for you in our lives.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Upcoming Events

Seacoast Christian School Bell Choir performance is this Sunday, May 22, from 6:00pm to about 7:30pm. The concert is being held at Kaleo Coffee in Dover, NH (in the Janetos Plaza in downtown Dover). Please invite every one you know to come! The concert is free, and any donations go to our adoption fund. We will also be selling out adoption t-shirts at the concert (my brother designed them...Thank you, Luke, we love them!), and our friend, Amber, is graciously doing a raffle for us. (Thank you, Amber, you're a wonderful friend!)

The bell choir plays many genres including hymns, classical, patriotic, show tunes, etc. Every age will enjoy their performance. We are so thankful to the high school kids (and their parents!) at Seacoast Christian School and to the music director, Mrs. Towne, for holding a concert for us this Sunday. They are coming not expecting anything out of it for themselves, but just to be a blessing. We appreciate their selfless generosity!

Also, our church is sponsoring an Adoption Auction on Saturday, June 18 at 10:00 am. We will be having a continental breakfast along with the auction. We would love for you to join us and bid on some items (a list of items is to come in the next couple weeks). Pastor Rob will be the auctioneer (woo-hoo!!! Thank you P. Rob!), and my cousin, Jaimi, will be singing a song that we love called "One Less" (Thank you, Jaimi! Can't wait!) The Journey Baptist Church is located at 7 Amarosa Drive (behind Stonewall Kitchen to the left) in Rochester, NH.

We still need more items to be donated so we may auction them off. If you would be willing to help, we would really appreciate it! Items can be given to us or brought/mailed to our church. All donations through the church are tax-deductible.

My cousin made a website for us (Thank you, Leah, it's awesome!), it's downs4love.com. We can be contacted through the site. Our church's mailing address is: The Journey, Attn: Elizabeth Kesselring, 124 Milton Rd., Rochester, NH 03868. (Thank you, Elizabeth, for doing all the paperwork and record-keeping with wonderful precision and organization!)

As I'm reviewing this post before publishing it, I am reminded how blessed we are to have such incredible people in our lives. Thank you so much to everyone for your support, help, and love. We love you so much! May God bless each of you, as you have blessed us and the child He has for us. What a joy it will be to introduce His little one to all of you!!!