Andy and I have truly learned some valuable lessons through this adoption process, this puzzle piece collecting process. We have learned that life doesn’t always turn out like you expect – but good comes from it all. We have learned that having total dependence on God, who, we believe has the perfect plan for our lives, is difficult but leads to things better than our dreams. We have learned to love folks we do not even know and care more about them than we do ourselves. We have learned that provision for our needs comes in many shapes and many forms and is ALWAYS on time. But, I must admit the hardest thing we are learning right now is how not to tightly grip what we want in our hands as it could be gone in an instant – “Be Still and Know”.
This adoption has been comprised of so many pieces; paperwork, picking an agency, home study, background checks, being matched with a birth mom, fees, and more paperwork. It has been and continues to be an emotional rollercoaster. We could not make it through this without all of you. To those of you who have supported us from day one, who have encouraged me when I was at my lowest point, who have prayed for us continuously, patiently loved us and those who have cried along with us – thank you. You are all pieces to this journey. You have all helped be an answer to our prayer. 1 Samuel 1:27 says, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.” WE all have prayed for this child, for this missing piece. AND guess what??? She is almost here – only a few short weeks away!
A few weeks ago I was talking with someone about the mounds of parenting advice I expect I will soon be receiving and she said something to me that really hit home. She said, “Flora, this will not be YOUR baby. This is everyone’s baby. Every one of your friends and family have an investment in her. They all love her.” In a way she is totally right. Of course she will be named ‘Savannah Butler’ not ‘Savannah I Belong to Everyone’ but all of you have indeed invested in some way. She is important to all of you. It truly does take a village.
Many of you have contacted me with questions on how to help. Some have sent cards in the mail and others have given baby supplies. We are grateful for all! Since so many have reached out asking about baby showers and what needs we may have, we thought we would make a way for those around the country to participate in celebrating our sweet baby girl.
Having said all of that, instead of an online baby shower, we thought a puzzle sponsorship would be much more fitting (see what i did there?).
How does a puzzle sponsorship work?
- We have personalized a 252 piece puzzle which reads – “For this child we prayed -1 Samuel 1:27”
- Each puzzle piece can be sponsored for $10
- You can give any amount if you wish
- We will put your name on the back of it and once we have completed the puzzle we will frame it in a double glass frame and hang it in Savannah’s room.
- You can pay via YouCaring (I will also add the link at the bottom of the post) or you can email me @ [email protected] to get our mailing address
- If you do not want to leave your name, please consider a word or verse reference to be written on the back
- If you don't want to sponsor a puzzle piece but would like to leave an encouraging word for Savannah's birth family, please do that in the comments below
- All funds collected will go towards our travel and living expenses while we reside in Florida for 2 weeks after Savannah is born
We decided to use YouCaring crowdfunding website as an avenue for this puzzle sponsorship so that it is easier to keep up with the names and encouraging messages. Here is the link to sponsor a piece of Savannah's Puzzle: https://www.youcaring.com/savannah-511303#.Vqlbx_Mqa0k.email
One day we will be able to tell Savannah how all of the names belong to people who are important pieces of her life puzzle.
Thank you all for loving us and Savannah so hard. Thank you for wanting to be a part of this journey with us! We cannot wait to meet her and tell her all about the amazing things God has done!