Oh, my heart just skipped a beat.

How I LOVE my MAN! Yes, I love my precious kiddos and all, but I'd be nothin' without this guy - and he's SUCH an incredible Daddy. And seeing him praying with our sweet Macy, makes my heart go KABOOM. Yep, in these days of Mommy-hood, these are the things that make my heart skip a beat. (And I mean skipping a beat in a good way. Not in the "OH MY GOSH Houston is falling down the stairs AGAIN!" way.)

Just had to share the sweet pic!

Oh, and go on over to my friends The Schells website and order a cookbook they have compiled to fundraise to bring home their sweet boy from Korea. I can't wait to get mine! I've found these are the BEST kind of cookbooks - ones that everyone submits their BEST recipes. I can't wait to get mine! And if you are out of town, she will ship it to you. So go getcha some.

A "Sorta-Silent" Auction"!

One year ago today, after a moving service at our church prompting us to do something CRAZY for the Lord, Jason and I got in the van and while sitting in church traffic, Jason turns to me and says, "I think we need to adopt". My first response was, "You realize that we have a just-turned 4 year old, a 2 year old, and an 8 month old". He says, "I know, it's crazy". I said, "Okay, let's do it". And we jumped into the adoption-world with both feet.
Now exactly a year later we have been matched with the most precious little Ethiopian girl. And in ONE MONTH FROM TODAY, on September 30th, we will stand in an African court stating why we want to bring this precious child of God home to our family. Forever. And there will be ONE LESS orphan in the world due to us deciding to do something totally crazy one year ago. THANK YOU, God, for breaking our hearts for what breaks yours! It hasn't been an easy year (but that's a whole 'nother blog post!), but it has been worth EVERY single second!
So to celebrate, we are gonna do a "Sorta-Silent Auction"! I have had three people/companies very generously donate gift certificates. I will have a "starting bid", and then the person with the highest bid on Friday at 1:00 (that's naptime in the Humphrey house!) wins! Okay, I say "wins", but I really mean "gets to make a donation to our adoption account with their winning bid". :) Just leave a comment on our blog with your bid. You can check back to see if anyone else has outbid you.

Sooooo....the first item up for auction is....



A $25 Gift Certificate to Nana Rosa's Italian Food and Market in Hendersonville. YUM YUM! Check out their menu at www.NanaRosa.com
Starting bid - $15.00

Also...



$40 worth of Mary Kay gift certificates, courtesy of Jennifer Green.
Starting bid $20.

Also...



A $50 gift certificate for AB Recyle. This is that service with the red tubs all around town. This covers 3 months of Recycle/Pickup service. Check out their website at www.abrecycle.com Gift certificate courtesy of owners, Stacey and Julie Hull.
Starting bid $25.

Let the bidding begin!

I am also determined to sell our last four t-shirts. (See picture to the right!) I am sold out of the adult shirts, but have three kids pink ones (sizes Youth XS and Youth Small), and one kids blue one (size Youth Small). I am marking them down to $10 each. (Will add shipping charges if needed.) Get yours now!

Manic Monday...and BOY, is it MANIC today!

First of all, if I EVER EVER EVER decide to have another yard sale, will someone PLEASE punch me in the face? I am being serious here. If you could just SEE how much stuff we have, you would have pity on me. Our two car garage is completely full, as is my Mom's three car garage - and STUFF IS STILL COMING! Just today we got FOUR truck loads of stuff. Just in clothes, we have 15 large plastic tubs and about 25 garbage bags full of clothes. PLUS three rounders of them on hangers. The toys and movies and books....oh...I can't even describe. I have now spent 4 days pricing stuff, and will continue to do so every day this week until the sale opens Friday morning. So my Manic Monday is actually just the start - it's going to be a rather Manic week. )(And OF COURSE it is supposed to thunderstorm on Saturday. So prayers are needed for the weekend forecast!)
But for super happy news - Jason got home from his mission trip to Haiti on Saturday. It was a lonnnnnnng 8 days with him gone, and the kiddos and I were THRILLED to see him Saturday evening. He had an amazing time, and I can truly say that he came back a changed man. (I loved the old-Jason just fine, but this new-Jason is rather spectacular!) He spent over a week building an orphanage and loving on sweet orphans in Port au Prince. Hearing his stories and seeing his pictures makes me want to get Macy home even faster. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, as Ethiopia is the poorest one in the Eastern Hemisphere. Similarly sad places for little children to live.
I am off to bed - this momma is pooped! Hope you all have an incredible week!

Easter portraits!!!

I am going to do some Easter portrait sessions this weekend. I have some precious, live bunnies that will look so sweet with your little ones! I will be doing these at Hazel Path Historic Mansion in Hendersonville (across from Wendy's on Main Street) on Friday and Saturday (26th and 27th) mornings from 10am to noon. Sessions will last about 5 to 1o minutes, no appointment necessary. I will contact you next week to pick up your cd of 8 to 10 edited images. You will have all rights to the images, and can reproduce them as you please. Cost is $20 per family. Hope to see you there!!!

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!