Amazed

Sunday, July 31, 2011 No comments
I have been meaning to post an update for the last couple of weeks but here lately life is beyond busy and there just has not been the time! God is doing amazing things in my life right now and I have just been sitting in his presence in amazement at how merciful he is!! He continues to show me he will ALWAYS provide my needs and desires of my heart in his perfect timing. For the last few years on January 1st I have always written my hopes and dreams for the year in my prayer journal. I enjoy going back over that list at the end of the year and seeing how God has worked in my life. A few nights ago I read over my list for this year and was humbled at the reminder of how God has blessed me this year!! I am so thankful for the Lord's provision in my life.

I am currently still fundraising to raise money for my referral fee that will be due upon getting a referral. As of last week I had raised $2,000 through donations!!! Praise God!!! Only $6,000 left to raise. My fundraiser at Applebee's last Saturday went great. It was a wonderful time of yummy pancakes and fellowship with great friends!!! I am so thankful for my sister who manned the kitchen, getting the plates ready to go and running the dishwasher and my niece and nephew who helped serve all morning as well as busted the tables for me, allowing my to greet everyone and thank them for coming. Then there is my other nephew and my mom who stood outside on the side of the road in the HOT heat holding a sign for cars passing by to see. They were all so dedicated in helping that morning be a success. It brings me such joy to see how much love there is waiting for Silas!!

TOMORROW I am having another fundraiser that I am so excited about!!! The Chick-Fil-A in my city has been so gracious to offer to host a fundraiser to help with my adoption cost. Tomorrow ALL DAY you can go by Chick-Fil-A and present a coupon with your order and 20% of your total will go towards my adoption!!! How awesome is that!!! I am praying it is a great turn out!! Luckily I am only working 4 hours tomorrow, so I plan on spending some time there tomorrow afternoon greeting and thanking those who stop by. I hope to see a lot of familiar faces there!! I will be sure to post an update with how it goes :)

Miscellany Monday

Monday, July 18, 2011 No comments
I have been thinking about Silas A LOT lately!! Dreaming about him, praying for him and thinking about the day he is home forever!! Last week I spoke with Lifesong to get an update on my fundraising account and I got some news the brought me to tears!!! There was a donation made to my account for $1,000!!! I was overwhelmed by the gracious giving of that special person and rejoicing and praising the amazing God we serve who not only placed adoption on my heart but also placed orphan care on that person's heart!! I can't wait to tell Silas about all the people who helped bring him home!! For those of you who feel lead to make a tax deductible donation, there is a button on the left hand side of my blog.

This Saturday I am having a pancake breakfast fundraiser to help raise money for my adoption. From 8-10 you can come join us for yummy pancakes and a great time of fellowship!! Minimum $5 donation at the door. Noah told me tonight that he didn't know if he could eat any of the pancakes because they weren't going to have any chocolate chips in them :) Silly boy of mine!

I crossed over to the dark side and thanks to some Target gift cards I now own a Keurig :) I must admit I am slightly obsessed, LOL Even Noah is lovin the hot chocolate!!




I can't believe I am admitting this, but this week my sister and I will be revisiting our youth and are going to see New Kids On The Block and The Backstreet Boys!!! Yes I think we are a little crazy :) Now I just need to crimp my hair, tight roll my jeans and tie my shirt on the side, LOL


Hope ya'll are having a great start to your week and staying cool :)








A Brother's Love

Sunday, July 3, 2011 1 comment
Unless you know me personally you probably don't know exactly what stirred my heart to start praying about starting the adoption process. Last summer pretty much out of the blue Noah started asking me when he was going to have a little brother? My initial response was simply "When God brings Mommy a husband" So every night after that Noah started praying for a little brother. It amazed me to listen to him praying with such confidence that he knew if he prayed God would answer his prayers. How many times do we as adults pray, but sometimes in the back of our minds have doubt that God will really answer?

The next couple of months after that were when God really started speaking to me through sermons at church, scripture, friends, blogs and even strangers to grow the seed that he had first planted. I will always be so thankful to have such an amazing little boy who knew what he wanted and knew to start praying for it. I have watched Noah's heart grow with love for a little brother that he doesn't even know yet. He gets so excited when we take our trips to the airport to help welcome home another child to their forever family, reminding me that someday soon his little brother will be coming home on an airplane :) He is always quick to point out little boy clothes in stores, telling me we need to get those clothes for Silas and even points out certain toys that he says we need to get him. When I ordered his bunk beds he was quick to tell me that he would need to sleep on the top bunk because Silas would be too little and he didn't want him to get hurt! Melt my heart, he is already looking out for his little brother and he isn't even here yet.

Through this adoption journey Noah has watched me fundraise and fill out applications for grants. While he doesn't fully understand what it all means, he knows that we need money to bring Silas home. One night I was sitting on the couch doing some adoption stuff and Noah came out asking me if I had any tickets? In Noah's language that means receipts. I wasn't really sure why he wanted them, but I went along with it and dug some old receipts out of my purse and gave them to him, then he went on to ask his Grammy and Aunt. By this point I was very curious as to what he was doing, so I just kept watching him. After he had gathered all of his tickets he placed them in an empty tub, then proceeded to get his markers and start writing on the side of it. Below is a picture of the finished product.


I seriously almost lost it when I realized what he was doing. In Noah's 6yr old brain whenever there are receipts involved so is money. He believed that the more receipts he gathered, the more money he would have for Silas. I was speechless. I sat there thinking how blessed I am to have a son who has such an amazing heart for his little brother and how he wants to do whatever he can to help bring him home!! To date that tub is overflowing with Noah's "tickets" and just this afternoon during our trip to Sams Club he was quick to grab the receipt from the door greater and inform me he has another ticket for Silas!!

There are so many things I am anxiously looking forward to in the coming months! Getting a referral, seeing that precious face that I have dreamed about for months, getting to meet my little boy for the first time, seeing his birth country and soaking in as much as I can about his culture BUT the one thing I can't wait to see is the moment my two boys meet each other for the first time and Noah finally gets to have his little brother home forever!!

How Can You Help?!?!

Saturday, July 2, 2011 No comments
A couple of weeks ago I found out that not only was I approved for the Both Hands Project through Lifesong but that I was also approved for a fund raising account. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is an account that Lifesong sets up for you so that those who feel lead to support your adoption financially can do so by making a tax deductible donation to Lifesong. All funds raised go directly toward your adoption expenses. Please take a minute to read my support letter on how you can be a part of this amazing God lead journey to bring Silas home to his forever family!!

"God Has Written Adoption On My Heart"
Since I was a teenager I have always known I would adopt after being told I would never have children due to a medical condition. Then God blew me away when I unexpectedly got pregnant and had my little miracle man Noah. Life was crazy and I was enjoying being Mommy to my little guy. Having never forgotten about the child I knew I would adopt once day I placed adoption in the back of my mind, but never did it leave my heart. God used many different people through the years to grow this seed that he had first placed, and it was through Noah that he confirmed now was the time to start the process. Last October after much prayer I started the process to bring home Noah's little brother from Ethiopia!! Currently my dossier is in Ethiopia and I am now waiting for my official referral of the precious little boy God has chosen to join our family, who will be named Silas!!

"How God Has Already Provided"
I could write pages and pages on how God has shown his faithfulness during this journey. Time and time again he has used Brothers and Sisters in Christ to come alongside me and bless me with words of encouragement, prayers and financial funding. Some of these people are those I know well and some are those I don't know at all but who believe in adoption! I fully believe that God has called me to adopt and therefor trust that he will continue to provide as he has so graciously done.

"Joining My Journey"
I am solely dependent on the Lord to provide funding for my adoption. While has placed adoption on my heart, I also believe he has placed orphan care on the hearts of others and will continue to use others to help bring Silas home. If you or someone you know may be interested in helping bring Silas home please prayerfully consider joining my journey. What an honor and blessing it will be to one day share with Silas the details of this journey and how the Lord used so many people to help bring him home to his forever family!

Will you please consider making a tax deductible donation to help pay the remaining adoption expenses to help bring Silas home? If you would like to be a part of bringing Silas home please make your check payable to Lifesong and mail them to:
Lifesong For Orphans
PO Box 40/202 N.Ford Street
Gridley, IL 61744
In the memo section of your check please write:preference Elliott #2084 adoption

Lifesong is a trusted organization administering the funds on Silas's behalf and will pay adoption expenses out of funds received. Funds need to be received by August 1, 2011
*Note: In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to the named non-profit organization.

Thank you for investing in the Kingdom through prayer and finances. It will be an investment with an eternal return~ Matthew 6:20

Please continue to pray for Silas as well as his anxious momma and big brother! Noah and I love you and thank you for your love, support and prayers!!

For online donations go to http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/donations.html
Don't forget to put preference Elliott #2084 in the purpose box after you click donate