On Saturday, January 28, we hosted our adoption kickoff party. We held the event in the youth space at our church, which had plenty of room for tables, raffle baskets, the dinner buffet, and a whole area where the kids could play and run.
Leading up to the event was honestly stressful. January was a busier month than either of us anticipated, and it felt like we were just surviving for a good bit of it. Many of the details of the party came together in the last week, so we were both tired and stressed coming into the weekend. On top of that, James got sick on Wednesday night and was running a fever off and on throughout Thursday. I was panicking that one or more of us would be sick on Saturday and that we’d have to figure out some way to make it all work with only one of us at the party.
Thankfully, we were all feeling healthy in time for Saturday. We got to the church later than we had hoped to set up, but everything went well. We had plenty of time to set up centerpieces, place settings, cook some of the food, set up the rest of the food, rearrange the raffle tables a few times, set up a bunch of things for kids to play with, and figure out a few small technical glitches.
It was wonderful seeing our family and friends come out to support us, and it was even more special since we hadn’t seen some of them in a long time! We enjoyed catching up with everyone and wished we would have had more time to sit and talk!
We began the evening with games, raffle tickets, and appetizers. Then we served dinner, which was pork from Gran Sabor Latino Restaurant in Lancaster City, homemade mac and cheese, broccoli salad, and fruit salad. Following dinner, we shared our adoption video and gave a presentation about our journey thus far, and where we’re heading in the future. We drew winners for some door prizes, and then had dessert – cookies, coffee, and hot chocolate.
After dessert, we sang three of our favorite songs: A Mighty Fortress is Our God, Be Thou My Vision, and Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor. Sam got teary-eyed (and let’s be honest, I did too) talking about how special Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor has been to us over the last few years. The Lord has been so faithful to hold us fast in the midst of uncertainty and change.
Lastly, we drew the raffle basket winners and began cleaning up. Even though we had reserved the space until 10, we were cleaned up and home by around 9:00, which was amazing. We were exhausted, but so thankful for all the love and support we received.
As of our last count, we have raised almost $10,000 just from the past weekend alone. What a massive, massive blessing that is! We are completely blown away by how generous our family and friends have been.
We want to extend a BIG thank you to the following people:
- Megan’s parents, Sid and Sue, for purchasing much of the food and helping with set up and tear down
- Sam’s parents, Drew and Linda, for making macaroni and cheese, providing drinks, and helping set up and tear down
- those who donated raffle baskets: Sid and Sue Gehman, Matt and Bethany Garber, Drew and Linda Shoemaker, Joe and Lindsey Shoemaker, Phil and Annie Moyer, Brent and Jen Minder, Darrell and Janice Garber
- Lindsey Shoemaker, for creating a lovely, simple idea for table centerpieces, and Annie Moyer for assembling them and setting the tables so beautifully
- Donna Garman and Brenda Johnston for helping serve food
- Tyler Stecz and Caitlin Ross for manning the raffle ticket sales
- Matt and Brianna Kauffman for handling sound and projection
- Kayleigh Hildebrand for taking photos throughout the evening, and Cameron Hildebrand for helping us load our cars (and unload them at our house)
- Michel Shoemaker, Brent Minder, Travis Schock, and anyone else who stayed to help with tear down
