We have a winner!

We have a winner! Our winner is Doris Confrey. Congratulations, Doris, and thank you to all of you for participating in the raffle. We appreciate everyone who helped in this effort and is continuing to support us as we raise money for the adoption. We love you.

We have a winner!

Raffle Extension

We are extending the raffle one more week! The raffle now be on Saturday, March 27, 2010. Please help us this week to promote the raffle and thank you so much for all your support.

THE BEGINNING OF OUR ADOPTION JOURNEY...

Our family has always considered adopting children. Around June of this year, I had come to the realization that with our children almost grown, moving on to marriage and lives of their own, adoption was no longer in our plans. While driving one day, our daughter Megan said, "You know, you're not done, Mom. Our family's not complete." I explained to her that with each of our children getting closer to marriage and kids of their own, we would have grandchildren and we would be fine.

About two months later, on August 6th, a Thursday, a friend of our family called, and in the course of our conversation, it was brought up that she and her husband were hosting orphan children from Ukraine for a summer camp. There were around eleven more children who had come in all and were staying with other host families here in the valley. They asked if I knew of anyone interested in adoption. I told her I thought I knew of someone, then an overwhelming feeling came over me that maybe it was us. The feelings were so strong that I began to cry and could hardly speak to her on the phone. She invited my husband Jay and I to a craft day the children were having on Friday and also a barbecue on Saturday. It was agreed we would come.

We went to a local church for the craft day, and there were three craft tables set up with children surrounding each table. I was instantly drawn to a little girl at one table and a little boy at another table across the room. I mentioned this little girl to my friend and learned that she was already being adopted. She said that the girl had a brother there. I wondered who he was, thinking they would be sitting together. No, he just happened to be the boy across the room that I had also been drawn to. We left feeling confused. Why was I so drawn to these two little children who were already being adopted?

On Saturday morning we went to the barbecue. While watching all the children play, Jay mentioned for the first time that he was also drawn to the same boy and girl. We were disappointed to know they were being adopted. The coordinator of the group told us that there may be another group of children coming around December or January, and asked if we would be interested in hosting at that time. We just figured we had received the message that we were to adopt and maybe our kids would be in the next group.

The particular group of children that we had seen were to return to the Ukraine the following Saturday.

Friday morning we received an unexpected call from the coordinator. She explained that the couple planning to adopt the brother and sister we had been drawn to had just learned that the husband had a brain tumor and were no longer in a position to adopt. We had the call on speakerphone in our home office and as she told us the situation, Jay and I both began to cry. Our hearts went out to that sweet couple, but we also knew without a doubt that they were to be our children! We wished we could see them one more time before they went back to the Ukraine, but knew it was impossible.

Due to a scheduling mix up, the children were unable to fly home and had to wait until Sunday. We got our wish of spending a few hours with them on Saturday.

As you can see from all these incredible experiences, we know without a doubt that these children are meant to be in our family. The cost of having children is high, and due to the economy and how it has affected our income, we have to seek out other ways of finding the funds necessary to bring our boy and girl home. We hope our experience has touched your heart and that you've been able to feel even a portion of the amazing feelings we've had over the past four months.

Below, we have set up a raffle fundraiser to help raise the funds needed. You are invited to enter to win a Vizio 40" HDTV! All donations are very much appreciated as we have a long way to go until our journey is complete. Please share our story with everyone you know so that hopefully we can bring our children home that much sooner!! Thank you for taking the time to read our story. May God bless you on your own journey!

ADOPTION RAFFLE~FUNDRAISER!!!

Here it is, the raffle you have all been waiting for-- we are raffling off a 40 inch Vizio HDTV! Our adoption expenses will total nearly $50,000, which as you can imagine, is a stretch! In our quest to raise the money we still need to bring our boy and girl home from the Ukraine, we have put together an amazing raffle, with a prize package worth more than $700!

Here are the details of the prize:

Consuming less energy than traditional HDTVs, this 40” ECO HDTV is 25% more energy effective, saving you on your utility bills. The Full High Definition 1080P resolution and 50,000:1 contrast ratio deliver crystal clear, razor sharp images for an amazing viewing experience. Enjoy ultimate connectivity with 7x high definition inputs, including 3x HDMI inputs.

Features:
Screen Size: 40"
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Contrast Ratio: 50,000:1 (Dynamic Contrast Ratio)
Brightness: 500 cd/m2
Response Time: 6ms
Viewing Angle (HxV): 176* x 176*
Tuner: NTSC/ATSC/QAM
HDTV Compatibility: 1080p, 720p, 1080i, 480p, 480i and for HD only: 720p, 1080i, 480p, 480i
3D Comb Filter
Progressive Scan Video
Table Top Stand: Included
VESA Mount Compatibility: 490mmx200mm
Dimensions (WXHxD): 39.24" x 25.32" x 3.91" (w/ out stand), 39.24" x 26.56" x 9.25" (w/ stand)
Weight: 37.92 lbs (w/ stand), 35.94 lbs (w/ out stand)
Audio:
SRS TruSurround HD ™
10W x 2
Inputs/ Outputs:
HDMI x3
Component x2
S-Video x1
Composite Video and stereo audio x1
RF x1
Computer RGB plus Stereo Audio x1
USB (Service Only) x1
Stereo Audio x1

How to purchase raffle tickets:
Every $5 donation you make using the secure PayPal button above will buy you a raffle ticket. The suggested donation is $5 per ticket, but you can donate any amount you choose. Enter as many times as you wish. Each $5 donation buys you one ticket. (You can donate more than once and get one ticket each time, or in one lump. If you donate, say, $30, we will know you want six tickets.) The more tickets you buy, the more times we'll enter your name in the drawing and the more chances you'll have to win the HDTV! Donating is secure and will be accepted through the PayPal icon at the top of my blog. When you donate via PayPal, you are automatically entered in the raffle to win the HDTV. Soon after you donate, we will send a reply email to the address on your PayPal account, letting you know what your raffle ticket number(s) are. Then you wait until the raffle-fundraiser is over on March 20th and see if you won! Please feel free to email me at binghamadoption@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Another way to win!
So you want to increase your chances of winning? Just put a post up on your blog linking your readers to this post, leave a comment after this post with a link to your blog so that we can verify your post, and we will double the amount of raffle tickets you buy!
IF YOU WANT YOUR TICKETS DOUBLED, YOU HAVE TO EMAIL ME WITH THE NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS YOU PURCHASED YOUR TICKET NUMBERS UNDER. I CANNOT DOUBLE THEM WITHOUT KNOWING WHO YOU ARE!

Not interested in the prize package?

This would make an awesome gift for just about anyone. But, if you are not interested in the prize, you can also make a donation to the adoption fund without purchasing tickets. Just make sure to mention that you don't want ticket numbers. We are very humbled by all donations.

Contest Details:
All it takes is $5 to make a huge difference in an orphan's life. Contest ends at 11:59 pm, March 20, 2010. Winner to be announced March 22, 2010. Void where prohibited. Chances of winning are based on number of tickets sold.Winning number will be selected via random.org. We will post a photo of the winning number to verify the results. The TV will be shipped immediately following the end of the Raffle-Fundraiser!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us raise the funds we need to bring our boy and girl home from the Ukraine! Every $5 donation is a miracle to us... God bless you all!

Our warmest regards,

Jay, Kim, Chelsey, Hilary, Megan and Stetson