The Bottom Line!

It’s finally sinking in... the reality that we are back to adopting three little girls. I think having to eat, breath and sleep stacks of paperwork for K, K and R helped me to finally get that this is real. This is happening. I think. Haha. It also helps that I found some more pictures online. Look at this! Chocolate! Little R can have all the chocolate her heart desires if she'll never stop giving me kisses with those lips!

We are excited and happy and so many of you have expressed that you feel the same way, but here’s the bottom line of the oh so sweet and amazing reality that, Lord willing, our girls ARE coming home... we have a lot of money that is due immediately and I am super, super nervous about this! It’s so easy for me to look at these numbers and see nothing but the word “IMPOSSIBLE”, but God continues to remind me that he is our provider and that there is NOTHING impossible for him!

For some crazy reason, God likes to speak to me through kids church messages. I think it’s just God’s sense of humor. He knows I love it when he’s funny. Every Sunday that I’m scheduled to serve in kids church, I think, “Man I really wish I could listen to the sermon this morning!” but it seems like every time I serve in there, I have to hold myself together because I am just completely bulldozed by the simple truths that are being taught. It’s like they are the exact messages Mrs. Kristian needed to hear! 

God did it once again this past Sunday! The message was about Jesus feeding the 5,000 and then we also tied in the story of God sending quail and manna from heaven for the Israelites. Truth: God provides. Truth: God provides miraculously. Truth: God often provides in ways that require us to trust him. Truth: All of these truths apply to Mrs. Kristian! Gaaaaah! No, Mrs. Kristian isn’t crying... she just has allergies! 

So going forward with those truths in mind, here’s the skinny on what we are looking at. Our adoption fees for all three girls (to our adoption agency and !ndia) come to a total of $40,500. This does not include travel which will likely be around $10,000. We have paid right at $20,000 toward these fees. So right now our most urgent need is $20,500. We need this as soon as possible!

What’s our game plan? Well, I have a lot of things swirling around in my head, but we feel led to focus on three things right now:

Our Both Hands Project- This is our primary focus because it’s just such an awesome thing! Our project will be on March 8th, and as I’ve mentioned before, we are super excited about this one! For this project, we will be partnering with House of Heroes to serve the widow of a veteran by doing work in and around her home. The widow we will be serving is Ms. Bernice Wright. Ms. Wright’s husband, retired Sergeant First Class James Lee Wright, passed away in 2011. SFC Wright served in the United States Army for 20 years. He served three tours in Vietnam and was awarded the Purple Heart. When her husband passed away, Ms. Wright was left with taking care of their family home and paying for the mortgage by herself on a very fixed income. Our team of awesome volunteers will be helping Ms. Wright with some things like cleaning, organizing, painting and landscaping. If you aren’t familiar with the Both Hands Foundation, please watch this video:                                          In the same way that people run in 5Ks or play in golf tournaments and raise sponsorships to support a specific fundraising cause, we are asking for people to sponsor our team for our day’s work on Ms. Wright’s home. All of our supplies are donated so all the funds that are raised will go directly to bringing K, K and R home from !ndia. Will you help us by sponsoring our team? Please visit and share this link to our Both Hands webpage: http://www.bothhandsfoundation.org/lance-and-kristian-ogden 

A Grant- We will be applying for a specific grant. The foundation who gives this grant is such a wonderful and generous organization that has helped so many families bring their children home. The deadline for this grant is March 15th, but we won’t know if we’ve been awarded any funds until the end of April. Please pray that this organization will see our need and feel led to support our adoption. 

Photography- I am still doing all my photography sessions on a donation basis. Let me know if you would like to schedule any type of session! I still have some open dates for February and March!

You can track our progress via our YouCaring Page. We are also still letting folks sponsor puzzle pieces for $10 each on this page.

This momma is asking for your help! These feet belong in Columbus, GA!

If you haven’t already, would you please pray about partnering with us to bring these girls home? There are so many ways you can help, but our most critical needs right now are PRAYERS and FUNDS. Please, please, please, if you feel led, share this blog post, our Both Hands Page or our YouCaring Page with anyone and everyone. The more shares the better!

Thank you all for being such a wonderful support to our family! I look forward to the day when I invite you to praise the Lord with me as I shout to the world that our God has supplied ALL our needs! He is faithful! Lots of love to you all! -K