YARD SALE!!!!!

Less than one week until our HUGE yard sale!!! I started pricing the stuff today, and we can't believe some of the great things people have donated! Seriously! I have furniture, electronics, golf clubs, multiple bikes, highchairs, carseats, strollers, toys, building equipment, two (working!) weedeaters, a TON of Disney movies, books, dishes, housewares, fishing supplies, home decor . light fixtures, ceiling fans, a Lazy Boy recliner, clothes - LOTS OF STUFF!!!!! And I still have a bunch of people dropping off items next week. I also have several people making homemade baked goods to sell. Yum yum! So, YOU NEED TO COME SHOP!!!! Here are the details:

ADOPTION YARD SALE / BAKE SALE

Friday and Saturday, Oct. 2nd and 3rd

8am til Noon

at my Mom's house

110 Strathmore Court; Hendersonville

(in Riverchase Subdivision

near Jack Anderson Elementary)

All proceeds benefit our adoption!

On another note, we had our homestudy visit this week! I was kinda nervous about someone coming into my house to see if I was a suitable parent, but it all went well (WHEW!). The lady was very kind and helpful, which put us at ease. We have MORE paper work to do, then another visit with her, and then EVEN MORE paperwork. Our goal is to have the paperwork done and sent in by the holidays. I am a pretty determined person, so I know I can get it done! Once the paperwork is in, then it will take 0 to 10 months to be matched with a child. We have decided that we are going to ask to be matched with a little GIRL (!) age 9 months to 3 years. We are excited to have made this decision - we need to even up the playing field! (There's just too many stinkin' boys in this house! Ha ha!) So now Jason and I are tossing around girl names that we like. Fun!

Anyways, thank for your support! PLEASE SHARE OUR YARD SALE INFO WITH YOUR FRIENDS! And come out Friday and Saturday to SHOP!!!

Movin' right along!!!

Hey everyone!!!! So, my panic attack about the paperwork is over. WHEW! I still have about 3 kazillion papers to fill out, but it seems managable now. The big news is that I found out today that our Homestudy with the social worker is THIS FRIDAY!!!! I wasn't planning on it moving quite this fast, but thrilled! And nervous! This woman is coming into my home to see if we are suitable parents. AGHH!!! (What if she says "no"? I guess Aidan, Hannah and Houston are just up a creek then! Ha ha!) So say a little prayer for us around 9:30 on Friday morning!

Other news...we got our adoption agency's newsletter today and it said that the wait time for Ethiopian adoption right now is 0 to 10 months once our paperwork (also knows as our dossier) arrives in Ethiopia. That was quicker than any of the other countries - China's wait was over 3 years! Anyway, that means that we will HOPEFULLY have our child home by next Christmas. Woo hoo!

I am chugging right along getting ready for our yard sale. I have had some AWESOME stuff donated for us to sell! Furniture, dishes, toys - and more stuff is rolling in everyday. If you have anything you need to get rid of, PLEASE let me come get it from you. I am also going to do a BAKE SALE at the YARD SALE. If you can bake us something (we promise we will sell it - not eat it!) we would reallllly appreciate it. The dates for the sale are NEXT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY 8am to Noon. I don't have the room in our garage to house all the stuff, so I am going to have it at my mom's house - 110 Strathmore Court, Hendersonville. That is in Riverchase subdivision near Jack Anderson Elementary. Come out and buy lots and lots of treasures!!!

Lastly, Jason and I are so encouraged by some friends that just came home with their PRECIOUS baby boy from Ethiopia. How amazing it has been to watch their journey! And now, seeing the pictures they took while in Ethiopia last week to pick him up - it just takes my breath away. (Check out Clay and Tracy's blog at www.OurStoryForHisGlory.blogspot.com ) Jason and I are SO excited to give one of these precious children a home!!!

oooooooooohhhhh my aching brain

You absolutely, positively would not believe how much paperwork is involved when adopting a child. Seriously. I mean, I knew it would be a lot, but I had NOOOO idea what was really involved. For all of you out there that have adopted - kudos to you for surviving this "paper pregnancy". Today I actually found myself thinking "you know, I could totally go for a day of bed rest right now". (For those of you who don' t know, I had a complicated pregnancy with my precious Houston, and this time last year I was on bedrest for almost 3 months.) Tonight I gave Jason his teeny tiny "to do" list for information he needs to get and forms to fill out, and he said "Geez, this is a lot". Let me just tell you, if looks could kill....let's just say that I quickly pointed out that I am doing 5 kazillion times more paperwork than he is doing. But then he says, "It will all be worth it when we have that kid in our arms". And he is so right. And we feel so wonderful with our decision to adopt. There is a kind of peace in knowing that you are being obedient to God, and doing what He wants you to do. Yes, we have received some "not so supportive" remarks about our decision. But Jason and I just brush those off and move on. For every one negative remark, we receive a hundred "Wow, that's wonderful" or "I am so proud of you guys for taking such a brave step". We aren't in it for the praise - but it sure feels good when someone "gets" why we are dong this. Just thinking of getting a picture of the child we are going to bring home gives me chills. Ohhhh...I can't wait. And suddenly, the paperwork doesn't seem so bad.

Let the fundraising begin!

So now that the "reality" is setting in with everyone about our plans to adopt, it is time to start raising some money! We will need $20,000 to $30,000 to bring our child home from Africa. So I am wracking my brain trying to come up with ways to make some money. Here is what I have come up with:

1. We are going to have a HUGE yard sale with all $$$ going toward the adoption. But we need LOTS of stuff to sell! So, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to take some of your "junk" (other people's treasures!) off your hands! If you have a stack of stuff for Goodwill, I want it! (Sorry, Goodwill!) Look around your house and see what you need to get rid of before the Christmas holidays come (and all the new toys that come with them!). We would be more than happy to come pick your stuff up. Even furniture - we have access to a truck, and I have a strong man to load it up!

2. Photography! Lots of you know that in my "former life" (pre-kids) I did photography. I have done senior pictures, weddings, babies, families - you name it, I have photographed it. (Well, just about!) In the past several years I have had lots of people tell me they wished I still did photography. Well - I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack. For an $80 donation, I will meet with your family and do a photoshoot. (Think fall pictures or Christmas cards!) I will then burn the images onto a cd and give it to you, with all copyrights waived (this means that you can take the cd to Walgreens, Walmart, Wolf Camera, etc. and get them printed and not pay me to do it for you!). I know some great places around town that provide beautiful backgrounds for outside photos. I'd love to photograph your family, let's set something up! And again, all $$$ goes toward our adoption fund.

3. T-shirts - I am working on getting these designed and printed.

4. Donations can also be made here on our blog (see link to the right) or at any Green Bank, where our adoption fund is set up.

Every little bit helps!!! And a little is a lot when God is in it!

You may want to sit down for this!

We are adopting a child from Africa! Yes, it's crazy. We realize this is something totally out of the "norm" for us to do. But we are taking a huge step of faith, and it feels AMAZING to know that we are being obedient to God in doing this. We are doing this CRAZY thing because God has laid it on our hearts. A year ago Jason and I would have laughed at the idea of adopting at all, especially internationally. Six months ago, we said "ohhh...maybe someday". And then a few weeks ago our wonderfully faithful God broke both of our hearts for the astounding number of orphans in the world. (Over 140 million...yes, MILLION!) And on August 31st Jason came home from church and said, "Let's do this. And let's do it now." I was floored, but who am I to question what God is telling my husband? So I jumped on board.


Here is the "game plan" with the details. The first step is to choose an adoption agency and the country we want to adopt from. We have picked an agency. And picking a country was kind of easy because it was narrowed down for us. Some countries have specific restrictions such as our ages, the number of children you already have in the home and their ages, the length of time we have been married, etc. Jason and I also wanted to find the part of the world with the greatest need. So we decided on Ethiopia. (See link to the right to see why.) We have started our application. From there we will have our homestudy, then several months of paperwork, and then wait for our referral (info about a child). We are requesting a child under four years old, and are not specifying a gender. We know God is going to pick out the perfect child for us. We were told by the agency that the "long end" of the wait would be 12 to 18 months. We are hoping to have him or her home for Christmas next year.



WHAT WE NEED:

1: Prayer: We need prayers for our family: Jason and myself - for wisdom, strength and patience during this process; for Aidan (who is SOOO excited!), Hannah and Houston as they prepare to welcome another child into our home; and our new child waiting to come home. Since we aren't strictly requesting a newborn, there is a very good chance that our next child is already born and waiting for us in Africa. We can only imagine what kind of conditions he or she is living in right at this very moment.

2: Money: Children aren't cheap...even orphans. And it is going to take a lot of it to get our child home to us. (See cost breakdown to the right.) And we have nada....zero...zilch of it. We are going to start doing some major saving and lots of fundraising. (More about that to come!) If you feel led to make a donation, I PROMISE it will be very, very, very appreciated!

So, now that this has been probably the longest blog post in history (and did I mention that I am brand new to this whole blog thing? bear with me...I'm learning!) - we hope that you are as excited as we are about this whole new adventure in our lives! Yes, we are crazy. We get that. But we are doing this crazy thing completely for the glory of God.

"...once our eyes are opened we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:12