Fall Fun & The Challange

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 No comments
Happy Fall Ya'll :) Noah and I just got home from our church's fall festival and let me just say it was a lot of fun!! Between candy, games, eating Chick-Fil-A, getting his hair sprayed red and blue and jumping in the bouncies my son is worn out and fast asleep as I type :) He had so much fun! The best part though was seeing SO MANY people from our community there with their families. It is a great outreach and I am hoping that many seeds were planted tonight in the hearts of those who may not know the Lord.

November 6th is Orphan Sunday and my friends Natalie and JT have challenged everyone to take a stand for the orphans all around the world and instead of wearing your Sunday best to church that day wear an adoption shirt advocating and being the voice for all the orphans in the world. Noah and I will be wearing our shirts as well as Noah's Grammy, Aunt and cousins!! If you would like to join us in supporting adoption both domestic and international and you need a shirt, I would be happy to sell ya one of mine or if you don't like mine I can point in the direction of many to choose from. Just e-mail me at ethiopiaminusone@gmail.com I urge you to take a stand for the fatherless. Even if your church doesn't have a big adoption ministry, pray about how God may use you to not only be a voice for the orphans but also how you may be the hands and feet of Christ in opening the eyes and hearts of your church body to the orphan crisis that is happening ALL over the world!!

Also be sure and check out Natalie and JT's blog for a really neat giveaway they have going on right now in support of their 2nd adoption from Ethiopia!! They brought home their son Tedi last year and let me just tell ya that kid is something else. Such an awesome little guy! He was definitely perfectly and wonderfully made to join Nat and JT's family and I can't wait to watch God mold their sweet family into a family of 4 with their next child. Speaking of giveaways.......

Be sure and check my blog on November 6th Orphan Sunday for a BIG GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! I am one determined momma working hard to raise money for my referral fee and let's just say you won't want to miss this!!! There will be something for everyone :) So be sure and keep watching and tell your friends!!!

While We Keep Waiting.........

Friday, October 14, 2011 2 comments
So today marks 4 months since my dossier arrived in Ethiopia!! The average wait time for a referral is 3-6 months from the time your dossier arrives in country, SO you can imagine how hard it is for me not to hope that sooner rather then later I will be getting "the call" I have been waiting for the last few months! I am STILL trying to fundraise. As of today I have raised a little over $2,300 toward the $8,000 I will need upon receiving my referral. As HARD as it is at times not to let the world into my head and allow the negativity to cause me doubt I know that God WILL provide!! There have been many times of the last year when I have wondered where in the world the money will come from. For every questionable thought the Lord has always blown me away with his Grace and Mercy on my adoption.

So we continue to wait and while we wait we are keeping busy :) I am FINALLY done organizing the new house! I feel so blessed that God gave us this house. It is perfect for us and I could not be happier every day I pull into the driveway. Noah LOVES the yard and the fact he finally has a place to ride his motorcycle. Here is he sporting his newest 147 million orphans shirt. Love it!

For those of you who have or are adopting you know that by the time your child is home you have a new wardrobe of adoption shirts :) Here is my little man sporting a fellow adoptive family's shirt. The Wallace's are adopting from Ethiopia as well. You can read about them here

A must in my new house was my devotional corner. A place where I can go to be alone with the Lord or to spend time reading one of my many books on topics from parenting to being content with this season of life I am in as a single momma. I LOVE my little corner :) It also makes for a great place to snuggle with a certain little boy while reading bedtime stories.

Noah and I are blessed with an amazing church that I thank God for leading us to. I have met wonderful people and Noah has made lots of friends since we started going there earlier this year. Being surrounded by a body of believers has always been very important to me. I pray that God would lead us to where he would have to go and I am so thankful he did! Our church has a huge adoption ministry and it is always so much fun to go to church on Sundays or Wednesdays and see so many children from all over the world in one building! A little glimpse as to what Heaven will look like :) This past Sunday my ABF class had a family cook out which happen to be hosted by a good friend of mine and her hubby who also live on my street. Noah just LOVES their little girl Grace and I think the feeling is mutual, LOL These two are just precious. I see them being good friends as they grow up. We had a great time spending time with everyone and the kids had a blast riding on Grace's jeep and Noah's motorcycle that he drove down there (and I pushed home since the battery died as soon as we hit the sidewalk, Ha)

Noah above giving Grace a ride in her jeep, and below doing the same for her sweet little sister Avery. These girls are just so sweet. They have a little brother who came home from Ethiopia a little over a year ago but he was too busy playing for me to get a picture :) Trust me he is a little cutie! I can't wait for Silas to get home and have lots of playdates since they should be close in age.











I'm finally doing it!!

Monday, October 10, 2011 No comments
Well I finally did it! After a year of wanting to sell shirts to support my adoption but never having the money to pre-order them I am finally able to do it!! How you may ask? By the gracious giving of my wonderful mother who has offered to pay to pre-order the shirts!! I tell ya I am one blessed gal :) SO.........let me introduce you to the shirt I am selling. Please know the shirts are going to be short sleeved and not long. The front of them will say Chosen with a little red heart over the spot where Ethiopia is and the back will say 147 MILLION ORPHANS MINUS ONE as well as have scripture on below it. I am in love with the design and it could not speak any clearly on how I feel God has chosen Silas to be in our family before I even knew I would be on this adoption journey!!


So how can you order? Easy! Simply click on the pay pal donate button and specify in the message part how many shirts and what sizes. Each shirt is $22 and yes I will ship them to you!! I am so excited and can not wait to get them in!! I would love it if you purchase one to take a picture of yourself wearing it so I can make a scrapbook for Silas to see when he comes home of all the wonderful people who prayed for him and supported the journey to bring him home!! If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at ethiopiaminusone@gmail.com

Thank you in advance for your support and prayers!! This adoption process has definitely been a journey of emotions and my friends said it best last week at church when she said "If I were you I would be scared of what God has in store for you" (meaning lots of blessings) because there has been a lot of negativity and bumps thrown at me over the last couple of months! No matter what though I pray God's name continues to be glorified for all he is doing!!

Hope you have a blessed week!!

At His Feet

Saturday, October 8, 2011 No comments
"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" Luke 5:16

This is exactly what I have been doing the last few weeks. I wish I had the words to tell you what has been going on, but the truth is a time came where all the raw emotions of this adoption journey came out, judgement was placed by people who don't even know me, words were said that hurt, and I found myself at the lowest place I have ever been since starting this adoption journey almost a year ago...........it was then that I found myself at the Father's feet, surrendering all the hurt, pain, fear and worry to him!! To say the last few weeks have been amazing would be an understatement!! To withdraw myself from all the business of the world and just find comfort and solace in the Almighty Father who is the same yesterday and today, has been amazing. These last few weeks have been filled with prayer (LOTS of it) and scripture reading and just spending time with the one who created me, the one who knows my hopes and dreams. It's funny how the devil uses our insecurities against us, but when we make the decision to stop allowing him to have control, God is able to do wonderful things. I allowed Satan control for too long over my insecurities. While I am still a work in progress and I pray daily that my strength comes from HIM, I know that my future is bright and that there will be a day that I am standing in Ethiopia, preparing to meet my son and by God's Grace there will soon be a day where I have him home and in my arms forever. Until that day I will keep my eyes focused on the ONE who matters most, the one who pierced my heart for the orphans and adoption years ago and not the people of this world who want to tear me down.

Heavenly Father, I pray tonight that you continue to give me strength to walk this journey with your eyes, seeing past the hurt through to the person and instead of allowing their comments to control me, I pray I take that time and opportunity to pray for them. Praying that they too will have a heart for your children all over the world. May we all see past what the world says and thinks and see solely with your eyes and your heart. Watch over Silas Father, keep him safe until he is in my arms forever.