Bring on the Recipes!

Bring on the recipes!!

My recipe collection for Hope's cookbook is well under way.  Thank you so much to all of you who have already contributed.  We have some super yummy recipes already!  I'm so excited.  Is the timing perfect to take on a project like this again? Mmmm.  No. Do doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies care about whether or not we have the time and money to pay them.  That's a big NO.  So this is where you come in.  We need your help!

Over the next three to four months, I'm going to be collecting holiday recipes AND brief write-ups about traditions that your family and friend may have for any holiday.  I would love to get as many recipes and/or traditions collected from all of you, Hope's family and friends, as possible. The more the merrier!!

Please send your recipes to me at my email address bethnagel@ymail.com or you can mail them to us directly at 413 W 8th St, Dell Rapids, SD 57022.

Many of you know the story of how we put together a fundraiser cookbook shortly after Sully was born to help pay for his medical and travel expenses, but I have many new friends from the adoption community who may not know anything about all that so here's a recap and a more clear explanation of what brings us to do another cookbook...this time for Hope medical and travel expenses.

As an overwhelmed mother to a newborn with a medical condition requiring lots of medical attention that could never have been anticipated, I looked for ideas about how to help offset our medical and travel expenses with some kind of fundraiser.  My search didn't go further than our Nevus Outreach community when I found Riley Mitchell's cookbook fundraiser.  I don't know how I can even say that "I" found Riley's cookbook because I know that it with the Lord who led me to his family.  Since Riley earned his angel wings, we've been blessed to see God's hand in weaving our families together in more ways than just our cookbook fundraisers.  Through an incredible turn of events, we've learned that Riley's mom knew about Hope and had prayed for her long before we ever saw her or had any intention of adopting.  That's a story all its own and can only be described as a miraculous revelation of God's love for his children.  So we began pulling together family recipes for the cookbook that became known as "Sully's Snacks & S'more."

Fast forward through nearly 3000 copies of Sully's cookbook sold and many generous donations and Sully's out of pocket medical and travel have been covered 100%.  There's always been just enough.  The Lord has ALWAYS proved faithful.  And that brings us to now...

Choosing to adopt is more than just about loving a child.  Its a decision that impacts every aspect of your family life, especially financially.  Its no secret that adoption of any kind is expensive.  When Carl and I made the choice to adopt, we did so knowing that we would be making sacrifices of many kinds in order to pay the ransom for a child.  Every precious gift comes with a costly price tag.  Look at the price our Savior paid for us...and he found us worthy.  If we are all worthy of His ultimate sacrifice, then trusting his provision and saving a little more and working a little harder is EXACTLY what we should be doing in order to care for one of his beloved children through the act of adoption.  We have a plan to pay for our adoption that includes savings, working extra (I'm providing B to 3 services for again), a loan that we've haven't accessed yet in the process (thank goodness) and saving any "extra" we can through consignment, less spending, more couponing and on and on.  Its going well right now, but the real expenses will begin with our adoption when our child comes home and that is where we're asking for help.

We don't know how many surgeries Hope will need to minimize her risk for melanoma to the greatest extent possible, but it will be just as many as Sully has had we know that for sure.  We are hopeful that Hope's cookbook fundraiser will be an answer to our prayers just as Sully's was.  We're praying that God will bless our efforts to care for Hope's needs and provide exactly what we will need emotionally and financially so that we'll always have "just enough."

Join us in prayer and send a recipe (or 10) our way as we begin putting together Hope's medical and travel expense (not adoption cost related) cookbook!  The goal will be to have the cookbook ready to be submitted by the time we travel to China and sent to the publishers shortly after she arrives home and can be photographed for her cookbook design.  Whether we sell one copy or one thousand, I just know that God has a special plan for our "Hope for the Holidays" cookbook and I can't wait to see His marvelous hand in it all.

Bring on the recipes!

Please send your recipes to me at my email address bethnagel@ymail.com or to Carl at nagel_carl@hotmail.com