A good cause and a great t-shirt

What I quickly learned about adoption, especially international adoption, is that community is essential.  As you are filling out paperwork, working with agencies, and parenting children who have experienced a lot of life in a very short amount of time, it is necessary to walk that journey with others who are also in your shoes.

One of my girlfriends from Atlanta, Andrea Young, is mom of four little ones, including their newest addition, Isaac, adopted from Ethiopia this past summer.  She and some other moms who have adopted have realized the need for a time for women to come together who have a heart for adoption; to network, to share stories, to encourage and learn from one another.  The "Created to Care" retreat for women this coming February was formed out of this need and it is for anyone who has adopted, is adopting, who is thinking about adopting.  When Andrea put the word out about the retreat, they intially expected about fifty women. Very quickly, they realized they had greatly underestimated the need for this conference, because in a few short days over 200 women from across the country had registered.  Since the cost of adopting can be expensive, they really wanted to keep the registration price low, so the cost for the three day retreat was $100, which will cover food only.   In order to cover the additional costs for the weekend, (i.e. conference and break-out space, audio rentals fees, breakdown fees...), they have made a t-shirt to sell in which all proceeds will go toward paying for the conference.  

Here is a link to the blog and the information about the idea behind the t-shirt and how to purchase one. (Or just read her blog....because she's awesome. :) 

I am SO thrilled to be able to go to this retreat. To be honest, when I signed up to go, I felt a little goofy because we hadn't decided at that point even when we would adopt. I really thought it would be a few years down the road.  I was going to be the only one there who didn't have kids and wasn't adopting yet.  But I couldn't stop thinking about the conference, and I knew I needed to be there, even though it didn't make sense.  I am so thankful I signed up and will be able to go and connect with other moms, including some from Montgomery who are currently adopting or have adopted from Africa.  I love how God orchestrates my plans and how He is always, always, always way ahead of me in the process. :)