please pray for abby

i usually only post things about our family on here, but God has placed abby and her family on our hearts lately, and abby, brent, and michelle are having a tremendously bad day. their blog is www.riggsfamilyblog.com and abby is in surgery right now while the doctors try to figure out what they can do to help her breathing. Please pray for healing for abby, as this is just one complication of her cancer, and for Brent and Michelle as they struggle to stay strong and full of hope in the face of yet another struggle. Thank you for lifting them up with me!

family

i love family. i love everything about them. i love spending time with them. i love telling my kids how important family is. i would rather be with my family then almost anywhere else. i love family:). The kids and i are down in Richmond for a week (spring break) with my parents and brother. I love watching my kids interact with my parents. and, if I am being completely honest:), I love being mothered. I feel like I am back in middle school - the smells, the tastes, cuddling with my mom on the couch...I am truly a mommy's girl!!! So, this post is for my family- thank you for giving me life, for raising me in a God-loving household, for home schooling me in order to give me opportunites for service and learning in a completely different way than traditional schooling, for instilling in me the importance of family, and also opening my eyes to the wonder of serving others on a daily basis (my parents have taken in over 80 foster babies, and through that I have two beautiful adopted African American siblings~). Thanks Mom and Dad - I love you~!~

what a happy day!!!

oh, our God is sooooo good! he always knows when I need a pick-me-up! First off, I have to say again what an incredible group of families we are on this journey with. The other families that are adopting from our agency have become another family for us through this journey, supporting us with encouragement and prayer - thank you guys from the bottom of my heart!!!
Next - I made (yes, you read right:) two bandana dresses for Hannah last night - so adorable and so easy! I will post pics when I can.:)
And - I made over 75 bars of soap in the last two days. We have sold over 50 bars so far, and have paid for all the supplies, so everything from here on out is going straight towards our plane tickets!!!
And last but not least......the government announced yesterday that they are extending the adoption tax credit through December 2011 (it was going to end this year) and increasing it to $13,170 and.....it is refundable now, not just a credit! We are flying high today, because that means that half of our adoption is paid for!!!! Oh, I cannot tell you what a huge weight has been lifted! We are still going to continue to fund raise:), but this helps so much!

new soap pics!

still having fun with the soap - the boys and I have made almost 40 bars! Today we tried the layering technique with my favorite colors - lime green and blue, with a clear middle. We love it! So now I just need to work on marketing and hopefully we can start raising money to help with the second trip to Ethiopia! And I just have to add - I am constantly amazed by our agency, with the way that they strive to keep us up to date with the newest developments, and the adoption family that we have through all the other families adopting through our agency - we are encouraged daily by these friends who are truly living our God's calling to care for the orphan and widows. One of these families helped found Wiphan , our organization helping to equip widows and orphans with food, shelter, jobs, etc in Zambia, Africa. Check them out at www.wiphan.org.
Enjoy the pics of the soap:)

a fun fundraising adventure

so, I have been praying for awhile about how to raise money for our adoption. I thought about writing a letter to friends and family, t-shirts, selling coffee, etc. But nothing really jumped out at me, or if it did, there are already a lot of people doing it (like the t-shirt idea). So, I was wandering around hobby lobby on friday (Andrea - you started this obsession with your blog last week!) and I found the soap making isle. and I loved it! So, I bought 5 pounds of glycerin, some dyes and fragrances, and two fun molds (zoo animals and bugs) and went home. And saturday morning Noah and I made soap. We had so much fun - he is my artistic one and he loves doing projects. It was great to be able to spend some one-on-one time with him. Anyways, we made 15 bars of peppermint and vanilla soap in about 10 minutes, green and purple and yellow - and they are incredible! So, after mulling it over this weekend, and looking stuff up on line, and talking with eric, we are going to attempt our first fundraiser - homemade soap. I'll post a few pics when I talk the hubby into getting the pics online (he has a specific way he wants them on f spot and I can never remember how to do it:). So, is anyone interested in buying some fun soap? I ordered a bunch of stuff this evening on line and it should be here by friday! new scents - I will have peppermint, vanilla, lavender, snickerdoodle, strawberry, cherry almond, grapefruit, tangerine, and hot apple pie. And tomorrow I am going to experiment with layering and additives! the fun beings! and, if it flops, my friends and family will be receiving a lot of soap for birthdays, Christmas, mother's day, etc:)!!!

awestruck

I am truly awestruck by our awe-inspiring, magnificent, life orchestrating God. Only our God could give me peace when I would usually be over the top anxious. Only our God could give me excitement when I would usually be in tears. We received an email yesterday from our agency telling us about a conference call today concerning changes in Ethiopia's adoption policies. The long and short of it is - 1. the US embassy will be carefully scrutinizing adoption cases before travel visas - which they have always been able to do, but in light of recent media coverage of Ethiopian adoptions they are going to be more careful. 2. We get to travel to Ethiopia twice. Notice I said get. Yes, you read correctly. I am sure that I will have days were I will not be excited about this, but now I am truly excited to travel twice. Many reasons - here are a few: we get to meet our daughter weeks before we thought we would (2-3 weeks after our referral instead of 6-8 weeks after referral), Eric and I get to travel internationally twice in a few months (something that we love to do - travel:)- but have not since the kiddos came along, and we get to soak in much more of Ethiopia than we would with just one trip! The financial side is daunting, as well as leaving my three kiddos here in the states for two weeks instead of one, but I know that this will all work out - we serve a very wealthy God:), and He will provide. Many times in the Bible God lays out His heart for the orphan and widow - and I believe that the changes that Ethiopia has made to their adoption process will only continue to safeguard the well being of the children that have been put up for adoption. Yes, this makes it harder, and longer, and more expensive, but we never thought this road would be easy, and the end result is the same - our daughter will be in our arms!! I am also truly amazed with the integrity, openness and love that our agency has shown in the past few weeks - we are so blessed to be in this journey with such amazing people. We are truly blessed.

Birthday Parties!~

Who does not love a birthday party?!!! For awhile now, a group of stay at home moms in the Hudson Valley have felt God tugging at our hearts - to reach out to our community in a tangible way. Most of us have at least two children, many not in preschool yet, so the opportunities were not jumping out at us.:) We read about a program that three friends started in Boston to provide birthday parties for children who would otherwise not be celebrating their birthdays. Gini - our fearless leader:), is the world's best organizer and planner (her closet takes my breath away!) and she has started a blog as a way for us to plan, organize, and throw a monthly birthday party at Hudson River Housing, a nonprofit organization that strives to help individuals and families get back on their feet. We are throwing our first birthday party this saturday - for seven children ages 1-12! We are bringing our families, and praying that this would not only touch the hearts of the children and their families and friends, but also be a great way to show Christ to our children. If anyone is interested, our blog is hvsweetbirthdays.blogspot.com. We would love prayer, suggestions, etc.

we are on the wait list!!!

Oh, I have been waiting to write this one!!! I just got the call from Christy, our case manager at AGCI!! We are number 50!! on the girls list! We are so thankful - and excited!! Let the fun begin!! Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement - we definitely felt and appreciated this weekend!