Snug as a Bug in Rug

 I often check on the boys multiple times after putting them to bed. There are many reasons for this. One is fear and I know I need to let go of it but its hard. Secondly, I just love seeing them clean and smelling yummy all tucked in their beds. It warms my heart to see them content and without a care in the world.

It also reminds me to pray for my sweet girl and the many others that tonight may go to sleep without someone telling them they are valued and loved, without a warm bed to tuck them into. Will you say a prayer for the many tonight that will experience this and ask God to show his love mightily as only he can through circumstances such as these?

All Trimmed Up

Before we left for our vacation we had another fundraiser to help with the cost of our adoption of little miss. One thing Drew and I continue to feel is the love and support from those around us. I have be blessed by my years of teaching in many ways, one of which as been the wonderful relationships that I have made with my parents.Some of which have become my most cherished friends.

 It still came as a surprise when a parent came too me and said she wanted to help with our journey to bringing Kennedy home. She said I don't have lots of money to give but I can give my time. She is a hair designer and came up with this fabulous idea to give haircuts to my students and friends children at whatever cost I determined and all the proceeds she would donate to us. Is that not the coolest idea? I was blown away by her genousrity and just stood in awe at how the Lord continues to open doors for us. Thank you Kat for your thoughtfulness and your love. We can't wait till the day we get to introduce you to our special girl.

Missing in Action

Where have we been you ask. We were sailing the blues seas of the Caribbean on board the Serenade of the Seas.

We have been planning this trip since last summer to go away with our friends Kristen and Rankin for vacation. In all honesty, I felt a little guilty spending the money. I told Drew we could take the money and apply it towards our adoption fund. He quickly rebuked me and said how important it was that we get away together and that we had planned this trip prior to moving forward with our adoption plans. He was absolutely right in that there is nothing more important that building and strengthening our relationship. There is no greater gift we will ever give our children than to see their parents putting each other first.

 We had a great time relaxing and enjoying each other and having our friends with us made it that much more fun. We laughed, ate, swam with dolphins, napped, played with monkeys, zip-lined through the rain forest and spent countless hours at the pool. What more could you ask for out of a vacation!

 

 

I am so glad that I got to take the time away to be with my hubby whom I cherish so much I just often forget in the hustle and bustle of life that this is where it all began, just he and I. There is nobody I would rather spend my time with. Love ya baby!

Loved by many

We had our Chick-fil-a fundraiser and silent auction on March 8th and I am just now getting around to blogging about it. It was an amazing night. We were shocked at the number of people who came out. We know alot of  people but you just never know how things like this will turn out. All in all we ended up taking in around 1600.00 dollars that will go to our adoption fund.

There were a few different components that made up the night, First was our Africa shirts. A few days prior I made up about thirty Africa shirts and my friend Ashley finished them up by stitching them down.

 

Drew thought it would not be as succesful as it turned out to be. Let's say he was a little off. We ended up selling all of them and I have since had to make about 40 more. It was one of our best money makers.We also had a silent auction with ten items that were donated to us by friends. There was some really great items such as a wine tasting for up to fourteen friends, Lia Sophia jewelry and lots of handmade items. I have some crafty peeps in my life. Thankful for them all.

The last part of our night was the actual dinner at Chick-fil-a. Anyone who came between 5pm and 8pm and had our flyer helped contribute to our adoption fund. Chick-fil-a gave us 20% of the total sales for the night. It doesn't sound like much but we were surprised to learn that we earned 223 dollars and some change from it. We had over 1100.00 dollars of food purchased. That's alot of chicken!

What I told Drew that night and many people since is this. It has never been about the money for us. We will get every last dollar needed one way or another. I have faith that God will go before us just as he has done so far and that when we need something it will happen in his time. What meant more to me than anything is that on that night we were affirmed in the call that we have chosen to answer. We saw those that came to stand beside of us through what will be a long journey and say we love you, we love Kennedy and we are here to walk this path with you. The one that will at times probably seem never ending but one that holds a great treasure at its end; our precious daughter.

Wow!

Tomorrow night is going to be lots of fun

We are almost ready for our next fundraiser and are really excited. We will be having a dinner and a silent auction at Chick-fil-A tomorrow night from 5pm till 8pm. Chick-fil-A will donate 20% of all food purchased to us to be used towards our adoption costs. We will also do a silent auction and have some wonderful items to be auctioned. We are amazed at the great things that have been given. Last but not least we will sell our Africa t-shirts that Ashley and I have been working hard to get done.

Looking forward to seeing how God uses tomorrow night to his glory and glad we get to be a part of it all. We hope to see many of you there.

I am going to include our invitation here so that I will have a record of it. If you are local and and want to come join us send me an e-mail and I will get you the flyer that needs to be brought with you.

Every little bit counts

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with my bestie doing things like this.

Looks like loads of fun right.We actually did have a good time. A friend told me about the oppurtunity to help set- up the Good to Grow Kids Consignment sale and the owner would pay a set amount for the work. I saw it as another way to raise money for Kennedy's Adoption and jumped at the chance. Kristen and another friend Jennifer came out to help me, along with others that the owner had there to help. We worked hard to get tables, racks and stuff out of storage and set up for there upcoming sale.

  It looks like this is going to be a great sale with some really wonderful things. If you are interested and local its opens Friday 2/9 @ 10am and runs through the weekend I believe.

We are blessed to have great friends who rise to the occasion when needed. It really is amazing to watch God continually walk ahead of us to preprare the way for this journey we are on. Thanks Tammi for passing along the info. Every little bit helps.

My Little Helper

I am forever hearing from people either at church, school or places we frequent often, that Owen is such a helper. He really gets satisfaction out of helping complete a project or feels proud to be asked to help assist in someway. It makes this mommy's heart happy to see him putting others above himself and finding joy in being a servant to others.

Now I will say there are times like anything else where we have to be reminded about putting ourselves last and others first. He is five after all. Shucks, I even struggle some days. However, on this day we went to the post office to send more paperwork out and my little helper was quick to want to help. He set right down on the floor and put stamps on 29 envelopes and then of course had to put them in the box all by himself. Now I could have been quick to say I can do that faster let me do it but I would have missed an opportunity to see my son being like Jesus.

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
 Mark 10:45

Words are enough today!

Shoes for Haiti

On my trip to Haiti last year we took lots of supplies with us but realized really quickly that we did not have enough shoes. I believe we ran out  within thirty minutes. There is such a need for shoes in Haiti. This year when I realized I would be going back I decided I would make it my mission to collect shoes to take. I have gotten my school to do a shoe drive this month and my older son's school will run one in April. My goal is to take at least 500 pairs. I spent  part of my afternoon today rubberbanding shoes together and counting and packaging. So far we are up to 172 pairs. I am so excited to see the need being met by the wonderful people in my community and cannot wait to see the smiles on all the faces of those who will be the recipents of this act of kindness.

Hague Training

We are still working away at the list of documents and training that we have to do.  We are currently working on our Hague classes that we are taking online here at home. Both Drew and I have to complete 10 hrs of  classes that count towards our adoption. Honestly, I am finding it interesting and feel it is very helpful in preparing us for some of the situations that may arise during the process.  We are also gearing up for our next fundraiser and I will tell you more about that soon. Continue to pray and lift us up as we walk along side of our Lord in helping fulfill his calling on our lives. 

Watching the renowned Dr. Karyn Purvis speak.

Where will you GO?

“‎We will miss the greatest adventures of our calling if we remain compelled by comfort. We will be bored stiff and wonder why God never called us to anything. How willing are we to just flat out GO for God? And it is important to remember that in order to go anywhere, we first have to leave someplace else (usually that means our safe place, our comfort zone). If we choose comfort to motivate us we will risk our callings…because this I can promise you -- your calling will always be WAY outside your comfort. God is a whole lot more interested in your calling than your comfort.” -Beth Moore




I read this quote from Beth Moore on a blog called http://tarajill.blogspot.com/ and found it to be a moving quote and one that I would say we should all ask ourselves.Think through it for a moment and ask yourself are you stepping out of your comfort zone and going for God. My prayer is that you are.

Inked Up

We are still making head way in our paperwork and feel we are close to getting all our documents in order for our home study. Hoping to have them completed and ready to go by the first week in March.  We had our fingerprints done on Friday and sent everything to SBI today. Hope it comes back quickly. Does anyone know how long that usually takes?

I look at Drew often and say how I cannot imagine going through this and not being organized. The paperwork alone is crazy but it's the little details that will get you if you are not careful. I try to be intentional in giving thanks to the Lord for this stage of our journey. Every signature,  every paper notarized,  every appointment is all helping us get closer to the day when we will bring our daughter home.

Parent's Night Out

Our first fundraiser for the adoption was a huge success. We held a parent's night out at my school and had over 65 children and 15 teacher friends who helped make it all possible. Our theme for the night was love and we started off with a pizza dinner. We followed up with fun crafts, decorated sugar cookies and game time.

Making heart cookies for Parents Night Out.

The cost for the night was a donation to our adoption fund. We ended up taking in $1195.00 that will go to help bring Kennedy home. We are blessed beyond belief to have such wonderful friends and parents who want to be a part of our journey. Thanks to all who made last night possible.

And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:16.

Lots of paperwork and we are super happy to get it

Our paperwork arrived for our home study and our dossier. I have never been so happy to fill out paperwork in my life. This puts us one step closer to our sweet girl. We'll keep you posted as we continue to move forward.

Accepted

We found out on Friday around 4:30pm that we were accepted into the America World Adoption's Ethiopia Program.  Cindy was dancing and screaming because she was so excited and calling everyone she knows.  What an amazing way to start the weekend. We went out to dinner to celebrate at Red Robin.

While we were there Cindy ran into a student she had a couple of years ago. She is good friends with the mom and shared our news. When we were finished with our dinner the sever came over with this dessert and note for her. Let's just say there were happy tears that were shed.

Then all of the paper work arrived. Lets just say it was a very large stack of papers that needed to be read and signed. Unsurprisingly, all of the papers were signed and mailed back on Saturday afternoon. Those of you who know Cindy can understand.

Now we have to send them the first of three payments for there services and then start the process of setting up our home study visits.

We are remembering what God says in Romans 8:28 "and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

We Have Decided to Adopt From .....

After much prayer and discussion our family has decided that we will be adopting a little girl from Ethiopia.  We are very excited and have chosen to use America World Adoptions (awaa.org). They are a Christian based adoption agency with a long standing Ethiopia adoption program.  The process is expected to take anywhere from 12 - 24 months and we anticipate God's perfect timing in bringing our daughter home.  Cindy and I are working hard to follow God's plan and trusting him throughout the entire process. 

We have decided to create this blog as a way for all of our family and friends to join us on this journey. Please read Our Story to gain a better understanding of how we arrived at this decision.


Here are some facts about Ethiopia's orphan population from UNICEF:

• 1 out 20 Ethiopian children die before they are a month old
• 1 out of 10 Ethiopian children do not see there first birthday
• There are over 5 Million orphans in Ethiopia
• 1.2 Million of them have HIV or AIDS
• 82% of the population survive on less than 1 dollar a day

After reading those statistics it makes us want to get on a plane and get our daughter now, but we know that this process will not be easy and we ask that you pray for our family as we go on this journey.

As you are aware the cost to adopt a child is significant and if you feel lead to contribute to our adoption fundraising we have a few options that are found here:http://cindyanddrew.blogspot.com/p/fundraising.html

Most importantly we ask that you lift us up in pray as we follow God's call on our lives. Finally we leave you with a video of the sweet babies in Ethiopia.