New Number!!

Things have been moving right along with our adoption. I can’t believe that we applied one year ago!! We sent in our application on Jan. 10^, 2012. I have to say that it has been a busy year and really hasn’t felt like we have been waiting that long. But now that things have slowed down, and we are settling into our new house, I have a feeling that “waiting” might be a little harder in 2013.

Well, the beginning of every month brings us a new number. I am excited to say that we are in the teens!!! Number 17! I thought that December was going to show little to no movement, but 9 children were matched with their forever families and we actually moved 5 spots. YAY!!!

Now, we just wait for a phone call from our adoption agency letting us know that they have a little one for our family!!! I seriously think that I might just fall over when that phone rings. (Let’s just pray I’m not driving).

Recently, we also received news that we were approved for a $2,500 matching grant through LIFESONG FOR ORPHANS. Our goal is to raise this and more by February 11, 2013. As our “wait list” number gets smaller and smaller, the reality of the cost gets bigger and bigger. If you feel led in any way to support our adoption financially you can give a tax deductible donation through Lifesong for Ophans and they will match your donation dollar for dollar! Pretty cool, right?!

There are two ways. Donate online HERE or by check. A check should be made payable to Lifesong for Orphans and indicate preference Videon / #3022 adoption on the memo line.

Send check to: Lifesong for Orphans PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St Gridley, IL 61744 7b.

*100% of all funds received by Lifesong for Orphans go directly to cover adoption costs. Nothing is taken out for administrative costs.

I know that not everyone feels led to help financially.. .but what I would LOVE is for your prayers. Prayer is so powerful and I know how BIG our God is. Here are some things that we are currently praying about:

1.      Finances- upcoming referral fee and then the flights to Africa for Dan and me (twice) . J

2.      Our biological children- that God would prepare their hearts for their new sibling! They are excited, but I know that whenever a new sibling comes there can be mixed emotions. ;) Also, pray that God would prepare them for when we are away.

3.      The birth mother- I pray that she would find salvation if she doesn’t already have a relationship with Jesus. I pray that she would be blessed for choosing life for her child.

4.      Our child that we don’t k now YET J - pray for health, safety, and attachment at home

5.      Smooth Process- like any adoption, it is likely that there may be bumps along the way. Please pray for a smooth rest of our journey!!!

6.      6. And finally PATIENCE while we wait. J

Thanks you so much. We covet your prayers more than anything else. I am confident that God will provide anything else we need along the way. 

New Number for November :)

So....I get an "F" for keeping up with this blog lately. Too much has been going on and I just never sit down to write. We moved at the end of September into a fixer upper. (I will have to add pictures soon). But the lime green carpets will not be missed! So we have been fixing it up (SLOWLY). So many of our friends and family have helped us more than we could have ever asked them to. THANK YOU GUYS!!!! So, the house is coming along, yay!! And the adoption is also moving along! We are now #30 on the waiting list and hoping that that number quickly decreases. :) We are praying for the child God has for us and getting a little bit more anxious each day!!!! Every day is a day closer to when we get the call about our newest member of the family....

UPDATES!

There have been so many nights that I have wanted to sit down and update this blog, but of course, life got busy and other things (like sleep) took precedence.  So, now that I have a few minutes to spare, I will do some updating!! We are MOVING! We have thought about moving for years, but finally decided to do it now while we have 3 kids instead of waiting until next year when we have 4.  J   Maybe a little less stressful? Maybe not, ha! So our summer was filled with getting the house ready to sell, showing the house almost every day for 3 weeks, some headaches after inspection, finding a new house (with some headaches), and finally we are in the packing stage!! We have 2 weeks left in this house and it is very bittersweet. We love where we live, we love our neighbors, but we are also excited to start the next chapter.  Be praying for us over the next two weeks. The house we are moving to is an “updater” and we would love to fix it up before moving in. This would be a lot easier if we didn’t have 3 little “helpers” around. But I have to just remember that it will get done….but it might not be right away. AND THAT’s OK!! J  

On the adoption front, we have some updates too. First, I have to just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE our adoption agency. They truly care about our family and are praying for us often.  If you want to adopt, I highly recommend Lifeline Children’s Services. (ok, done with the plug).  I do love them though.  Anyway, at the beginning of every month we get our wait list number. Every month we move about one or two spots. This month we moved 6 spots! We are now number 34. Very exciting! We also got a call a couple of weeks ago from Lifesong for Orphans letting us know that they got our request for a matching grant / Both Hands project and they will be getting back to us soon. Another thing to be praying for!  They can also set up an account in our name that makes it possible for people to give tax deductible donations for the adoption.  Very cool.  The actual adoption is still far away, but with moving and updating the new house, I am sure that time is going to fly by.  I just can’t wait to meet this little one! 

March

One afternoon in March (I want to say the 28^th?), I was cleaning the kitchen for third (or hundredth) time that day and stopped dead in my tracks. I am not sure how to explain it, but I had this overwhelming feeling that something important just occurred in your life. Were you just conceived and forming in your birthmother’s belly? Or was it your birthday? Did you just lose your family to a disaster, poverty, or HIV? Were you abandoned on this day? There was no way of me knowing at that time, but I had to just stop and pray for you and whatever might be taking place.  A few days later, I was again in the kitchen when my mom called. She said that she just had to call because she had this feeling that our child was just born or conceived or that something big just happened. My heart stopped.  Could the last week of March 2012 be monumental in your little life? Whether it is or not, it was an eye opening time that reminded me to continue to pray for you and whatever you may be going through each day. Your brothers pray for you each night that “Jesus would bring you food if you are hungry,”  “hold you if you are crying,”  “and that Jesus would take care of your boo-boos.”  I couldn’t say it any better. We are anxiously waiting to know more about you and welcome you into this family. In the meantime, I am confident that Jesus is filling your belly, rocking you to sleep, and healing all of your wounds. We love you. 

We sold your JUNK!!

We have been blessed. Period. So many people that we knew and some that we didn't, took the time to clean out their houses and give us their "junk" to sell. Well, we sold your junk and in the end we have raised just over $2,500!!! (and I have lots of friends with cleaner houses now!) ;)  It's a win-win!!  It is so cool to think that we are that much closer to our goal and each day is a day closer to actually meeting the little one that God has hand picked for our family!

Here was the breakdown from our yard sale fundraising! (These are updated because some people bough things in between the sales! Yay!)

NJ Sale: $1,360
Mini PA Sale: $206
Craigslist Items Sold: $492
PA Sale: $460

If I did this again, I would try to have the yard sales for multiple days (give everything more of a chance to sell and less prep for "one day" sales). I would also do more with advertising. I have some ideas, but I can send those along to someone else if you are thinking about doing this. Because of unforseen circumstances, we did not have our bake sale at the PA yard sale, but in the end it all worked out. :)  I would totally suggest selling baked goods or other items at your sale. It brings in a little more money and is just FUN!  BUT I am very thankful for what we made and we couldn't have done this without so many people helping us!! Thank you!!

Here are some pictures from Saturday's yard sale. The weather was beautiful and it was a great time spend with family and friends. :)

 These girls were so nice. :)

 Just some shoppers.

 Thank you (again!)

 Two of my sister-in-laws. :)  Faith made it through the yard sale without going into labor!

 More shoppers. :)

 Some clothes!

 Wow, this couple loves Adoption Yard Sales! ;)

 We love the Tabers!

 Not sure she wanted her photo taken....

 Hannah, Caleb, and Grace. :)

It was a great day and I would totally do it again......but give me some time. ;)

Are you moving??

I think we heard that several times today during our "Totally Off the Cuff Yard Sale" this morning. We threw some items outside, hung out for a few hours, wrapped it up at lunch time so that Dan could sleep before his night shift, and made $206. :) I can summarize the day in one word, "relaxing." It really was nice and low key AND the best part was that we sold some of the cumbersome items we had. You know, like stools, baby swing, a bike...which was the point of our last minute sale. Dan and I knew that the BIG sale was next weekend at his sister's house and that meant that we would be packing it all in a truck and driving back and forth. So the less stuff to move, the better. :)
      Speaking of the BIG SALE, that is NEXT WEEK on MAY 19th starting at 8am!! That one will be out in Downingtown at my sister in law's development ("Williamsburg"). The whole development is having sales, so it is some great "One Stop" shopping! They will be handing out maps, so look for the house that says the proceeds go to our adoption! (Not going to post her address over the web). Message me, call me, or email me if you want to know how to get to the development. :) And tell your friends!!

We will have some great baby clothes (Baby Gap, Gymboree, Old Navy, Carters, etc), kids bikes, linens, costume jewelry, some furniture, some bookcases, books, kitchen items, decorative items, DVDs, toys, a white wooden bassinet. Some cool stuff!! :) Anyway, here are some pictures from today!

                                    Need a beautiful white wooden bassinet?? ;)

 We met new neighbors...pretty cool.

 Some of the nice clothing.

 Random picked over kitchen stuff.

 Thank You!!!!!!!!

 This crib is still for sale! It is a drop side BUT converts to a toddler bed. (too bad I didn't realize that when people were asking, ha...oops....next week. OR if you know someone who wants a solid cherry wood sleigh crib let me know. (With changing table and glider...but the changing table needs a piece od particle board to be replaced. Easy fix)

 Peyton relaxing on the glider. ;)

 the kids hanging out.

 See...relaxed. We don't even know these people! (well, we know Renee!)

Dora bike sold! Other bikes are still here.

 I love this!!

       Here is the crib put together! :)





Well, it was a great day and we had fun and made some cash. All good!! $206 closer!! :)

My New Favorite Number is...

Well, at least for the month of May, this is my new favorite number. Hopefully, next month, I will have a new favorite number and it will be even lower! This is our number on the "wait list" for our adoption!!! There are 47 families with Dossiers in Ethiopia (for Lifeline/West Sands adoption agencies.) We are all waiting for a referral of a child to welcome into our families. The number seems high, but not all of the families in front of us are requesting the same age and gender as us. So really, I am not sure that the number means all that much ;) But it is still nice to have one! 

So now, we wait....and wait...and wait. :) 

And the grand total is...

$1,204.99!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Today was our yard sale (in NJ) to raise money for our adoption and I can easily say that I am more tired than I was after birthing any of my 3 children. It was an exhausting day, but we were so blessed by so many people. We got to see friends from high school, growing up, and friends from PA! Everyone helped us out more than they probably know. The entire day was packed with laughing, wheeling and dealing, and moments where I just looked around and wanted to cry knowing that everyone was sacrificing their time to help support our adoption.

I am too tired to write more, but here are some pictures from the day. All in all we had a great time...so blessed. :)

                                    The house before the sale....just one room.

                                      Wheeling and dealing! (Ronnie's watches)

                                            A view of the clothes area.

                                        My dad....totally stressed.

                                                 Faith....the MVP.

 Derek. Supporting his wife and mother-in-law as they shopped using his money.

                                                      Tessa shopping!!

                                               Lori- Our supplier of goods.

                                                 Ha, love her face here.

                          Wow, this customer loves the item he is purchasing ;)

                                         Some baked goods made by Janice!

                                                     My Africa bags! :)

                                                                   Wow.

                                                           Exhausted.

                                         Jessica and Faith - 2 faithful friends!:)

                   

Kristen and Mark....traveled from PA to support (and HELP) us!

HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!!!!

Treasures for Sale!!! Saturday April 28th!

The day is almost here! Our first fundraiser for the adoption! We have been collecting, loading, unloading, cleaning, organizing, and pricing for a few weeks now. When I go into our basement, it looks like we have done none of the above. :) Oops, how is that possible, ha! On Friday we will be loading up as much as we can and driving to NJ where we will continue to organize, clean, and price the items that are taking over my parents' house. (what we can't fit will be used for the May 19th, PA Yard Sale).  I LOVE IT!! So many people have been so generous and have given us some pretty great stuff!!!
      Now that we have some great buys for Saturday we need some BUYERS!!! Right now the weather for Saturday is cool and sunny.....perfect yard Sale-ing weather. So tell your friends, family, co-workers, a stranger at Starbucks about the awesome yard sale taking place THIS Saturday (8am-2pm) on York Street in Old Bridge, NJ!!!!! (The whole block is having yard sales, so even better!!!)

Here are some of the things that we have collected. More items are at my parents' and at my in-law's houses.  (Oops, Josh's blue ball is not for sale. I need to make sure their toys don't get thrown in the pile that day or we will have tears!)

       Here are some more awesome things that we have been given. We had a great black dresser/changing table, but I put it up on craigslist and it sold that day!! WOOOHOO!!!


 If anyone wants to come out and help, that would be great too!! The more hands the better. :)  I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April 28th- NJ Yard Sale!

Ok, New Jersey, here we come! My original plan was to have our Yard Sale fundraiser (for NJ) sometime in June. BUT the street that my parents live on is having a "Block Yard Sale" on APRIL 28th, so obviously it makes more sense to have the sale then! This also means less time to collect stuff from everyone!! If you live in PA and said that you have things to donate, I want to set up dates soon that I can get that from you. :) I will be taking anything that I can over to NJ first and then whatever is too big or doesn't sell in NJ we will try to sell again in PA (on May 19th). Feel free to email me if you want to get rid of it now. Otherwise, I will be sending out an email soon to anyone that told me they have stuff. NJ FRIENDS: if you have junk amazing items that you no longer need ;) LET ME KNOW! The less I have to transport from PA, the better. :) Please let me know through email or facebook if you have stuff. It doesn't have to be big....it could be clothes, baby clothes or baby items, toys, purses, decorations for your house that you don't use, throw pillows, comforter sets....all that stuff is great. :) I went through my house (for the 3rd time) and found more stuff...crazy how much I have collected along the way and just don't need. (Since I totally forgot it was there). If you don't have stuff to get rid of, I would still love to see you on April 28th!!! :) It will be fun!!

    Along with the Yard Sale, there will be delicious goodies at our BAKE SALE!!! When I started thinking about this yard sale, I told Dan that I pictured lots of items for sale, people having a good time, a bake sale going on, and BALLOONS....at that Dan did what he usually does...looks at me like I'm crazy and tells me that's great but to reel it in. :) As I thought about it more, I realized that I am not a great baker and realistically I wouldn't have time to be baking before the yard sale anyway. About a week or so after Dan and I had our little conversation, my mom's good friend Janice called me on my cell phone. She asked me if I would consider having a bake sale along side the yard sale AND that if I wanted this SHE would do all of the baking!!! I love how God cares about the little things that we care about!

All that to say....I am looking forward to April 28th in NJ and May 19th in PA. I think that we are going to have a lot of fun, raise some money together for our adoption, and get to share with others about God's love for ALL and how that love spills out of us so that we can therefore love others...even those that we do not know. So let me know if you want to help! :)