It was all about Jackzhen.....

We had been given an idea from a friend to have a spaghetti dinner and silent auction... We weren't sure if that was the route we wanted to go down, I mean, God had led us to this adoption and has orchestrated this entire thing, He will certainly provide the means!!! However, we had an overwhelming request from our friends and family to proceed forward and allow others to celebrate this adoption as well. I felt a peace that the people that would come and be a part of our dinner, would also feel a closeness to Jackzhen and in turn be a part of this bigger picture! We quickly changed gears and gave the dinner an Asian theme (Stir Fry!!!) My friend Tosha was the motivation behind our dinner. She donated things from her business for the silent auction part, as well as her friends and family. The kids and I also went around to a few businesses and presented our story. We were A-mazed by the kindness that was shown by our community! It was a great life lesson for our kids to see that there is love in this world, and God is present in everything! They saw the love and kindness shown by perfect strangers and as a homeschooling mama, I am always excited for life lessons that are lived right before my eyes!

The day before the dinner we were prepared to cook!!! However, we were not alone!!! My friends Alice, Lisa, Meg, my mom, mother in law, and my big sister Jen were all in my kitchen to help out. Ohhhh how I could NOT have done it without them... We cooked 96 chicken breasts, 40lbs of rice, and 12 bags of vegetables!!!

The dinner was a ton of fun! My favorite part was that no one felt obligated to give, it was not the emphasis of the night, but instead celebrating Jackzhen! We showed his video, told his story, and shared with everyone how we were led to him! I cant tell you how many times I cried that night! They were tears of happiness, joy, and even a few sad for a few people that couldn't be there! The dinner and auction was a huge blessing to our adoption, we raised over $4,000!!! Who but God can provide that type of blessing using rice??? One of my favorite memories from the night came a week after the dinner. A friend told me that she had so much fun and loved the food, but was surprised "we didn't see a box for donations..." my thought was "perfect!" It was all about Jackzhen....