Saturday, December 31, 2011

Such.Amazing.News.

People, we have some seriously big news. Seriously, seriously big. But first, an apology: I got sucked into the vortex that is the Christmas week--Eve, Day, Day the sequel with family, and then my daughter's birthday and all of us being sick, and another party the day after Abby's birthday...the introvert in me is on tilt! And because of it all, I never did get around to sorting things out on GiveForward.com so I could pull that last Amazon card winner and the ACFW conference registration winner. BUT I've recovered enough to finally get to untangling the GiveForward confusion I was facing after the fundraiser officially ended, and I just figured out how to access the info I needed, and so now, finally, I bring you...

the last winners! (And this is not the big news I was referring to. Keep reading to get to that.)

Of the last $50 Amazon card, donated by Jim Turner, we have...


Amy Bordoni!!! Congratulations, Amy! Have fun shopping in the new year. :)

And the great big ACFW registration fee prize goes to....

 Sarah Forgrave!!! Have fun at the conference, Sarah!

But now, that really big news I mentioned at the beginning. You're gonna want to sit for this, maybe get a tissue if you're anything like me. Because yesterday, I got this message from Sandi:

We got the PET scan results yesterday, and the doc said there was no cancer to be found: not in the scan and not in my blood work. It was NOT TO BE FOUND and therefore I’m in REMISSION!

She said the pain I have in my back is from a fractured rib because of the cancer and then radiation (it broke when I was coughing; I’ll never forget it, ouch!). It will take some time, but it will heal! Thank You, Lord, for my fractured rib! LOL We thought for sure it was cancer!

Both my husband and I were so shocked, we could hardly believe what she was telling us. We’re still having a hard time fathoming the wonderful news. I can’t tell you how GOOD it was to tell our kids this! It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

Thank You, God! Thank You so much!!

The doc is still going to keep a close eye on me, and I’m still pretty weak. At least, one more treatment from Dr. Brown (the Naturopathic doc in AZ) will be good for me. All the fundraisers have made it possible for me to see him again. Thank you to all who helped with that!!!

Again, thank You God!!!

I’m just so happy I can barely type. My hands are trembling and tears are flowing. A part of me is almost afraid to be happy. Ya know? We just kept getting slammed with bad news, over and over again. How can this truly be real?

All I know is, I’ll take what I can get! And I thank God for saying “yes” to all the prayers that have gone up on my behalf! Thank you all for praying. Thank you!!! I just pray that God will allow this remission to last for a good long time. I want to be here for my kids, no matter how old they are. I know how much I love having my own mother in my life, and I want my kids to have the same. Praise God for whatever He decides is best.

Thank You Lord, my Holy precious Savior. Praise You and thank You!

I tried not to use all caps too often so you all wouldn’t feel like I was yelling, but honestly, all those exclamation points are shouts of joy!

I’m on my knees thanking my heavenly Father, kissing His feet. Thank You for giving me and my family this time of joy.

Love,

Sandi xxx


What an absolutely amazing way to launch into a new year!!

Thank you, God, for healing Sandi. Thank you for bringing her family such an astounding gift. We pray that the money we raised, along with the other fundraisers that have been held for her, will bring her family another dose of joy and relief, knowing they can pay off medical bills, continue taking trips to Arizona for treatments from Dr. Brown, and if she doesn't need as many treatments as she'd anticipated, maybe even taking a little vacation to help shrug off the weight and shadows of the last year. We praise your name and your power, Lord, and we thank you for healing our friend. In the name of Jesus, AMEN!!!!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

The finish line!

I got caught up in all the present wrapping--sorry for the wait! And unfortunately we'll need to wait until sometime on Christmas to get the final number of ACFW contest entries; as soon as I have a winner for that I'll post!

But for now, we have two Amazon gift card winners! The winner of the $50 card is...


"ACFW"! I'm wondering if this might be an error and that the entrant was indicating they wanted to be entered into the ACFW contest as well--once we've got access to our donor contact info again I'll be able to double check it. :) But hey, whoever you are, congratulations and Merry Christmas!

And the winner of our last Amazon gift card, worth $100, is...

Jill Nelson! Merry Christmas to you!!

More later, folks--I have to get to bed because you know the girls are going to be up at the crack of dawn!

Friday, December 23, 2011

The Next Amazon Winner!

So how sweet is this?! The winner of the gift card we awarded on Wednesday asked if she could return it to the fundraiser to be raffled again, in the hopes of helping raise more money. I love it. Thank you, thank you, Rose!!! That means that the *second* winner of this $50 Amazon card is...



Debbie Costello! Thanks so much for donating, Debbie, and congratulations!

Well folks, we're down to the wire now. In 24 hours the fundraiser will close and we'll have our final donation count. But that means we have 24 more hours to shower this family with love and support. Tweet, Facebook, email, blog, whatever you're willing to do, please point folks in this direction and helps us help the Rogs. Tomorrow we'll pull three winners--for a $50 Amazon card, a $100 Amazon card, and paid-in-full registration for ACFW's conference in September. Let everyone know!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Another Amazon card winner!

WE ARE SO CLOSE to hitting our $1000 challenge! We have less than 12 hours to raise another $226--will you help us reach that goal?

A bunch of new donors helped carry us this far--THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you!! Our latest winner is one of these new donors, in fact--congratulations to....


...Rose C.! Thank you for your generosity, Rose! Happy shopping!

Don't forget--we're not done! Another $50 card goes out on Friday night. Until then, please donate and help us reach our $1000 matching challenge! THANK YOU!!!

Monday, December 19, 2011

The first Amazon.com $100 gift card!

I'm so excited to award these cards! The first $100 Amazon gift card winner goes to...


Janna R.! Congrats, Janna--have fun shopping!

Three more Amazon cards coming this week--don't forget to donate!

Those Amazon.com gift cards...

Thought y'all might like to know when those cards will be raffled off! Tonight we'll start with one of the $100 cards. Wednesday and Friday nights we'll do a $50 card, and Saturday--Christmas Eve, the last night of our fundraiser!--we'll finish up with the last $100 card.

And those of you who long to publish fiction need to remember to leave a note with your donation that says "ACFW" in it so you're entered into the drawing your registration fee for the 2012 ACFW conference in September. We'll pull that winner on Christmas Eve as well!

Spread the word and show the Rogs some love!

We have a donor matching gifts up to $1000!

Amazing! We have a donor willing to match all gifts given over the next 72 hours up to a total of $1000! How sweet would it be to know the Rogs were $2000 closer to paying off Sandi's treatments in just three days? We raised a thousand in just 24 hours last week--we can certainly do it again by Thursday!

Please post the link to the blog:

fundraiserforsandirog.blogspot.com

or this link, which will take folks to the post that explains the $2 donation:

http://fundraiserforsandirog.blogspot.com/2011/12/phase-2-commence.html

or this link, which will explain the ACFW raffle:

http://fundraiserforsandirog.blogspot.com/2011/12/want-to-go-to-acfws-premier-writing.html



And remember, tonight we're drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card. What a perfect time to encourage your friends and family to donate!