And the Winner Is....

The kids in Biruh Zemen orphanage and the House of Hope Transition Home!

Kathy's (or as we call her... Mom's) raffle was quite a success. The drawing was held on January 22nd and the winner was Kirsten Manning. She was able to choose one of three original paintings that was being offered by Kathy.

We continue to be astounded by the generosity of our friends and family. The raffle raised over $1300. Not to mention lots of other donations of clothes, blankets, toothbrushes and toys! We can not thank everyone enough!

With the money we are purchasing a basketball hoop, and have purchased 3 infant swings and $150 worth of soy formula for House of Hope. We have also purchased pots, pans and utensils to equip the kitchen, toys, clothes and lots of over the counter medicines for Biruh Zemen (the orphanage where Reeves spent his first few weeks).

The acquisition.....

The haul....

But wait.... there's more!

A family friend knitted 59 hats!

....and yes, we actually will be able to fit this all in our carry-on & checked baggage.

We received updated photos yesterday!

Reeves at 5 months....

Thank you Crouch family!

Pictures

All of our other Reeves pictures not yet posted....

Can't wait to meet him!


Reeves at 4 1/2 months...

Reeves at 4 months....

At 3 months...

Referral Photo at 11 weeks......

He's Groooowwwwiiiiinnnnggg.........

Yesterday we recieved an updated photo and length and weight of Reeves.

Reeves at 20 weeks:

12.9 lbs

25.5 in

Sleeping like a baby...

We got some new photos of our little man today, I'm pretty sure this is the sweetest thing ever!

Huge thanks to the Wilson-DeVries Family!

A Family of Three

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Fundraiser for Ethiopian Orphanages

We are so fortunate to have family who have shared in our journey and been overwhelmingly supportive every step of the way. As many of you may be aware, Ben's Mom (Kathy) is a phenomenal artist who specializes in watercolor paintings. She has decided to conduct a fundraiser to raise money for donations to the orphanage and transition home that continue to care for our little guy until we get there to pick him up. She will be raffling off one of her amazing original watercolor paintings. Tickets cost $5 each and can be purchased on her website. The winner will be able to choose one of three different paintings that are being offered.

International adoption standards prohibit us from donating money directly to the orphanages while we are in country; however, we are able to donate items of need. The funds raised by this generous event will be used to purchase clothing, developmental toys, formula, and over-the-counter medications for orphanages and the CHI transition home (House of Hope) in Addis Ababa. We will take these items when we travel and will deliver them personally while we are in country. The raffle drawing will be conducted on Friday, January 22, 2010 - so don't wait if you want to participate... now is the time!

If you would prefer to donate items rather than participating in the raffle, we will be happy to take any items on your behalf with us when we go.