Art Auction Surprises…

Hillsong United has a song called "Oceans" that sings how the Spirit calls us out upon the waters…"the great unknown, where feet may fail."
This is how accepting the challenge to paint 20 canvases and then (gulp) put them out there to be auctioned felt to me.
I prayed like crazy and then slid my toe out into the great, vast waters of the unknown. Boxes of blank canvases sat at my feet on the left, bottles of paint on my right.
And taking His hand, I began.
Now, after the first day of the auction…I am in utter shock.
Not only have you sweet friends and family bid on each painting…the first day's total is over $1,000!!
WHAT?!?!?!??!
…Hillsong sings, "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the water, wherever you would call me…"
And so, I'm walking...
It's been scary, and then downright humbling and tear-inducing.
Then the surprise of all: everyone seems to want a hoodie/t shirt in one of the designs!
Seriously, I am so blown away.
Through all of this, Esty is coming home! 
We begin the Travel Approval wait tomorrow! This approval is the final thumbs up before we buy our tickets and GO!
This wait can take up to 4 weeks. But recently I saw a family get theirs in FIVE DAYS. (double gulp!)
I thought I would share the paintings here that can be bid on through MONDAY NIGHT. If you see something you like, please jump on over to the Facebook group to add your bid!

This is the design we are working on putting into a hoodie/T shirt. If you are interested, comment below or let me know on Facebook! 

The State of Things.

It's Sunday.
We had a wonderful morning with our church family and came home for a family meal. All eight of us around the table…missing number 9.
After the crazy post-meal routine, many of us went upstairs for a nap.
Others read.
Littles woke.
Kids watched a movie.
Parents read on Kindles. (one in particular took an unintentional nap!)
I now dine on Cheerios for dinner (my Sunday special! no cooking here!) and my man works out in his "woodshop" with his youngest daughter at his side.
The house is cluttered with toys, shoes, hats, gloves and homework pages that await parental signatures.
I hear a clarinet, a drum, a guitar and then the feet march past. 
"We are in a PARADE!" they say.
The night sky has darkened to black and I look: 6:00 pm.
Thoughts of summer and playing outside and dirty feet flitter across my mind.
I snuggle into my hoodie a little more. 
It's not warm now.
Tomorrow our Article 5 gets dropped off in China.
In 2 weeks it will be picked up and our Travel Approval wait begins.
That date is December 16th. This is the birthday of one of my lifelong favorite people. It's also the day of the Boston Tea Party. {Do make a note of it! Everyone needs a reason to party!}
We have begun the month of December…and now I can say that NEXT MONTH, we meet Esty and bring her home forever.
How cray-cray-crazy is THAT!?!?!?
We have thousands of dollars yet to raise, but I rejoice in our Usborne Book, Thirty One parties and our puzzle fundraiser that all completed this week with upwards of $3,600 for Esty!!!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THESE FUNDRAISERS!!!!
Our Chosen tees will be ordered on Wednesday (have you ordered yours yet???) and I am working on TWO MORE fun ideas to bring Esty home. 
Seriously, a mother's brain only gets started at 1 am dreaming of OTHER WAYS to raise funds to get that sweet girl home.
Natives are getting hungry and our thoughts begin to swing to the orchestration of basketball practices, groceries, meals and all that goes on around here in a week.
Happy Sunday.
Happy December.
Happy me because of you.