Friday tomorrow DTC

So many acronyms... its crazy but this one is a biggie.. it is the day our dossier - Notarized, Certified, and Authenticated goes to China!!!!!!! So very exciting.  Our part is nearly done.  At this stage - the dossier gets translated then goes to committee.. I am praying for favor.  Will you join us??? We have been miraculously gifted with all the funds so far. Isn't God gracious?!!! Thank you to each of you that have gifted us with your resources and prayers.
My agency received their last payment today and now we wait for Travel.  It will be a long wait.. maybe 6 months or so.  Please join us in prayer for patience and God's continue provision. 
My sweet friends and I have been making bracelets to help fund this journey and we have recently added domino necklaces!!! I have put pictures here...

Aren't these fun???
This Saturday my sweet friend is hosting a Make some Earrings Party. We are ever so grateful for all those that have journeyed with us so far...
So we have just the travel section left to pay for and this is the breakdown:
Orphange fee - $6000
Travel Expenses - $10,000

That is where we sit - resting in God's rich provision and gloryifying His Holy Name!!!!

Please continue to pray for us and our little guy waiting for his family that he doesnt know yet.....

August - 2012

It has been a crazy summer and I have not been on here in a while.  The papertrail is FINISHED!!!! All of our documents are out and about getting Authenticated by the Consulate and once finished there..... they are off to China.  We are inching closer and closer.  Once the paperwork gets to China the waiting game begins.  A prayer that I have is that I become more and more dependant on God and know Him better through this next phase.
Before school started I sat down with Maddux and asked him of the fruit of the spirit which one does he think he needs to work on during this school year.  After some discussion of what some of them meant he answered - "Self Control" ---- AAAAHHHHHHHHH.....  wow is that a tough one or not.  And since school started just a week ago, we have had ample opportunities to explore that fruit.  As for me I have been searching a for a verse... I have narrowed it down to two and am still praying over which one it will be... so what will little guys be??? I sat and prayed and sat and prayed - i will have loads more time to do that.... and I really couldn't come up with anything concrete but what I did find is a song.  So a song it will be until God moves us in another direction for him.  Here are the lyrics to it and I am guessing it fits him perfectly....


The days will come when you don't have the strength
When all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured,
You are sacred,
You are His
You're beautiful
I'm praying that you have the heart to find
Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you've held inside so long
And they are nothing in the shadow of the cross
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured,
You are sacred,
You are His
You're beautiful
Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above
You're the one He madly loves
Enough to die
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
In His eyes
You're beautiful
You were meant for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You are treasured,
You are sacred,
You are His
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You're meant for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful You're beautiful You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His

Read more: MERCY ME - BEAUTIFUL LYRICS http://www.metrolyrics.com/beautiful-lyrics-mercy-me.html#ixzz25EFK4IOn
Copied from MetroLyrics.com

I pray that the message of this song touches you the way it has touched me. 
We are still fundraising!!!!!
please pray for our family and our little guy waiting... may we all wait well....

Waiting and Hoping

My heart is overjoyed at the wonderful news of families before us adopting!!! God is gracious in His timing and mercies, for I can be overcome with tears at the Gotcha Day for my friend.  How wonderful to walk with others on their special journey.  I have not waited well at times, especially when our little guy's birthday came and went.  I didnt know that I would be so sad not to spend it with him: it kind of shocked me.  And to think that we celebrated here with cake and candles and a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday and he doesnt even know about us or that he will be part of our family. So what have I done with my waiting time???? I have prayed for friends that are going through very very tough times - death, cancer and all kinds of uncertainty.  I have read more about just who I am in Christ and the assurances I have through His work!!! I have greatly enjoyed being able to visit with new and old friends. And I have spent a lot of time at the pool with my wonderful boy.
Please pray for us as we continue to wait and fundraise.  We have quite a bit to go - $15,000.

being different - aren't we supposed to be?

recently God has been doing some surgery on my heart for little ones everywhere that for whatever reason don't have a home or a mom or a dad.  i had no idea i would be on this journey or that He would soften me in this direction.  i have had wonderful conversations recently with friends about their struggles with loving their 'different' children -  what wonderful encouragement my mother friends are to me.   Wow !!! i use the word different in that they may not look and act the way we think they should ****BUNNYTRAIL (i think if i were to pick three of my least favorite words in the English language they would be:  should could would) and what a truly wonderful thing.... to be different.. isn't that what we, as Christians, are called to be --- set apart for His use..... Holy????? so, i look forward to having a little guy in our forever family that is 'different'... i pray that God will use us and him to show the love that we freely receive from Jesus to those in such a desperate need for it.   i will determine to be different, set apart, holy.
Thank you so very much - my godly sisters - for praying for us, encouraging me and being a light and an example of what it means to be different, set apart , Holy!!!!!!

Final Garage Sale

I have to say that I am very relieved that that is over!!!! With both garage sales we made about $2000. I am amazed.  Some lovely friends helped out for the day and helped take the remaining items to Goodwill.  God Bless these friends!  So we are waiting.  I pray we wait well.  Pray for us that we can wait well.  We are currently waiting for our Home Study to be finished and notorized.  Then documents certified and authenticated - yes, they are different.  We will have a birthday party on June 1st for our new little guy - cake and lots of pictures to send to him!!!!
I am excited to pray for my friends going to Africa to love on orphans - i look forward to hearing about their trip!!!!
Our summer will be spent doing summer kind of things - summer camp and swim lessons for Maddux and pool and pool and really anything with a pool.  I will be organizing and taking pictures to send to little guy in a care package each month.... so he knows who is waiting for him to come home!!!!

THE garage sale - one

the enormity of what was donated for our garage sale was overwhelming.  I went to bed the night before and we could not get one more thing in the garage to store.  When we got up that morning - there were more items waiting for us at our garage door.  Wow!!!! Amazing people helped us - by donating items, organizing, setting up, supplying sustenance, hanging out, putting stuff back in the garage.  My heart was filled to the brim watching and being a part of friends giving of their time, talents and gifts.  Pretty amazing.  We made a quite a hefty sum - considering it was a garage sale.  When we packed the garage back up, I stood back and knew we would jump into this exhausting pond again.  And soon...... So we are going to have another garage sale in May before it gets too hot down here.  What I loved the most was taking the boxes and boxes of clothes and shoes over to a friend who is going down to Mexico to donate all the items there... pretty amazing...if you missed this first garage sale.... come to next one!!!!!


hopefully we are close to the end of our homestudy!!! We just, I think, have one more document to submit and then its the last meeting!!!!

I got my bracelet!!!! Thanks Dawn!!! I love it!!! you can have one too... check out:

http://www.funkyfishdesigns.com/apps/webstore/products/show/3062303

And i do believe we have decided on a great name for our new little guy.......

humbled by another's journey

do you know just how neat it is to watch and be a very small part of someone's excitement? to be a part of something good..... to be a part of a large body of caring fallen people? do you know what it feels like to watch someone's joy ooze out of them with an intoxicating aroma? do you know what it is like to sit and watch these fallen saints come to the party and give.... just give what they have.  have you seen a smile like that? on someone that has received a gift?  have you seen the tears of joy as a little person gives their own birthday money to someone else?  have you heard the cries of joy as someone receives the news of a court date? or they made their special amount that God could only fill?


I HAVE!!!!!! and it's awesome!!!!! God's immense - ness is too big and His mercy is brand new everyday!!!!!

I appreciate the one that has let me be a small part of her journey...... can't wait to hug on this little guy when he finally gets home... ohhhhh how the tears will flow.......