The Reason

This weekend I attended a conference designed just for Moms.  I had been asked specifically to join a few other ladies from my church at this two-day event.


I wasn't sure why, but I felt like I should go.


In case you didn't know.  I don't have any kids.  So I felt a little silly attending this event.  


As other moms shared about the life with their toddlers or their school age kids all I could add was that Knox ate two bibles, a book, and some colored pencils this week.


Obviously, I'm in a different place.


A couple of hours into the conference I was feeling discouraged.  Though the information was good and was encouraging for so many of the women there, it just isn't wasn't where I am currently. 


As I sat in one of the break-out sessions, I prayed that God would give me something...just one thing, that I could walk away from the weekend with for the right now in my life.  


Not even fifteen minutes later, one of the speakers on the panel said something that spoke directly to an issue that Brian and I have been wrestling with for our family.   It confirmed what I had already felt God leading us to do.  


Love that. 


But.....He wasn't done. 


He's promised more than I can ask for or imagine, right? 


At the end of the session I happened to hear one of the woman state she had adopted from Ethiopia.  Of course, I had to trot on over and introduce myself to her.  I told her that we were adopting from the DRC, her eyes lit up and she said, "You've got to meet Carrie! She's coming to the session tonight and she just brought home her daughter from the DRC last month!" 


I have never actually met anyone who has adopted from the DRC.  Now, I have my amazing blog and agency friends who email back and forth as we wade through this process.... but I have never met a real, living, breathing human in person who has been through this crazy process. 


You see, the DRC isn't a warm, fuzzy place to adopt from....it's not a place that many families choose because of it's instability. 


To actually meet someone who has been through the wait and has traveled to the DRC to bring home their child was more than I could have asked for or imagined. 


Later that night, I got to meet and talk with Carrie.  Not only was this their first child as well, but they live only an hour and a half from us....  the first DRC family I know of in Alabama.  


There is a small percentage of families that have experienced adoption with the DRC...and God gave me face to face time with one of them. 


What. a. gift.  


Those few minutes with her were just the encouragement that I needed.  


For the right now.  


More than I can ask or imagine. 



 

Shopping and Adoption

Some wonderful friends of ours in Montgomery are helping us fundraise for our adoption! 

20% of your purchases from the Southern Treasures store inside the Curves for Women on Atlanta Highway will go toward our adoption travel expenses!

There are a ton of cute gift ideas and they are tax-free! 

This fundraiser will go through the Christmas Holidays, so please stop in and take a look! 

We've moved!

We are now number....

Woohoo!!!  

Last week, I put out a pretty, big prayer request about our referral. 

And mountains are moving...

Please keep those prayers coming!

 

 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Fall is my favorite.


Montgomery, Alabama unfortunately only logs about 3 days of fall each year.


I refuse to let that deter me from enjoying every second of it.


Here is how I celebrate:



1.  Eating copious amounts of Candy Corn.


2. Watching football.  And lots of it.  Not that I have much of a choice- Brian just about cried with joy on opening day of football season.  Our TV stays programmed to football all weekend long from September to December.  (Go VOLS! Go EAGLES!)

3.  Brief bursts of craftiness.  As I've stated before,  I'm not creative or particularly skilled in the world of DIY.  However, there is something about the fall where I just get an itchin' to make something.

Last year, I made this wreath, inspired by my good friend Andrea, over at Babe of My Heart blog.

And... thanks to being exposed to the wonderful world of Pinterest,  I found how to make this very cute, very EASY wreath yesterday...

You need about 125 scraps of 7" x 1.5" fabric (I used five patterns), and a wire hanger as your frame. Tie each scrap in a basic knot.  Here's the original blog where I found it...

Since I didn't have any fabric, I headed to our local fabric store.  The total cost for me ended up being $6.  Not bad!

Trust me, people.  If this girl can do it....so can you.

I've now filled my crafting quota for the season.


So tell me, what are your fall traditions?

And...we're holding...

Steady at #6. 


The first two months on the referral list spoiled us.  We started at #21 on the infant list in late june and by mid August we were already #6.  


I thought FOR SURE we'd have a referral by the end of September. 


But, we haven't moved in the past month. 


I'm not giving up though.  


A girl can pray can't she? 


And I'd love for you to join us. 


I'm going bold, folks.  


And it's totally against my nature. 


Because I'm a type-A realist.  And I'm a doubter.  And I don't like looking like a failure. 


There, I said it. 


If you don't know me personally, I have just made myself sound like a real winner. 


Back to my point. 


God is bigger than my realist/doubting/glass half empty self.


He's a miracle-maker.   


He's sovereign.  


And He's pretty big on prayer. 


So I have a question for you. 


Would you join us in praying for a referral by the end of September? 


Yes...I realize that is in two weeks. 


Here's the deal....By the end of September, two things could happen. 


1. We have a referral.  Which would be UH-mazing. 


2. We don't.  Kind of a bummer.  BUT...what we will have are a whole lot of people PRAYING about adoption. 


I've decided it's a win-win situation. 

Good Things

1.  We have some awesome people in our lives.


Seriously.


The kind who sacrificially have given to help us with our referral costs for the adoption.  


We had over $12,000 donated to our matching grant.


Family. Good Friends. Fellow adoptive families. People we've never met.  People we haven't seen in over 10 years.  


We are so humbled by each and every donation. 


There have been some waterworks around here lately... just in awe of the ways in which God provides.




2.  Our friends, the Martin family, have been given clearance to head to China THIS WEEKEND to meet their new son, Joshua, and it couldn't come a minute sooner.


He is no longer an orphan (woohooo!!)  and will be given the chance to have his heart defect repaired by doctors in the U.S.


Please be praying for this family and for Joshua's heart.  He could not be going to a better home.




3.  Things have been a little rainy around here lately.... but rain brings some pretty beautiful sunsets...

Created for Care Retreat

That's right, I'm talking about it again.  Because I really think you should go. 

That's right....YOU. 

As long as you're female. 

Are you thinking about adoption? 

Are you in the process of adoption? 

Are you an adoptive parent? 

This is the conference for you.  

It's in a beautiful lodge near Lake Lanier, GA.   

And it's affordable. 

It's refreshing and encouraging. 

Connecting with other women in the journey.  Encouraging one another in the waiting.  Praying with one another through process.  

Learning about adoption and foster care and orphan care. 

Registration opens this Thursday,  September 1st.  Last year it sold out in 48 hours.  

For more information about the conference click here. 

For information on the specific breakout sessions during the retreat click here.

Hope to see you there!  

Deadline

There are only a few days left to donate to our matching grant! 

We have been SO blessed by the donations of our family, friends, and strangers.

If you are still interested in donating, please click here for more information.

All donations MUST be POSTMARKED by September 1st.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to all of you who have donated!!!!!

40 years...A Love Story

Forty years ago this week, my parents were married.  Their story started out much like other couples, a chance meeting, a budding romance, and eventually marriage.  It was what came after their wedding that was truly a unique love story

But first, back to the beginning...My parents were in the same physical education program in college.  They met when dad misspelled mom’s name on a sign, and she was sure to let him know it.  He thought she was cute and started pursuing her. She eventually fell for my athletic, muscular, funny dad.  After dating for a while, my father was drafted into the army.

In his mind, the sensible thing was to break up-- no need trying to make things work long distance.  Mom most definitely disagreed, and an argument ensued which involved a brick being launched toward my father’s head.  Though athletic, my mom is a lefty, which automatically garnered her with a tendency for wild pitches.  She fortunately missed, and dad left for the army. Somehow through letters and cards their love endured while dad was away.

They married in 1971 and started life as young newlyweds.  It was about a year into the marriage that my father contracted encephalitis, otherwise known as inflammation of the brain.  Though often fatal, my father escaped death, but was left with an extensive road to recovery.  After a lengthy stay in the hospital, my dad was sent home to recuperate.

He was no longer the man my mother had married.  My father, who at the time of their marriage was known to show-off his one-handed push-ups, could now barely get out of bed.  Neurologically, he had to learn most things over. 

My mother, still a newlywed, became a care-giver and a provider for them. While she went to work, my father recuperated and stayed with his sister-in-law and his three year-old nephew.  Most afternoons would find my father and his nephew watching Sesame Street, both of them learning their ABC’s and numbers.  

It’s hard for me to picture that dynamic.  Though infertility was a great possibility because of my father’s illness, I was born six years after he was diagnosed. By then, he had returned to work full-time, was again actively playing sports, and heading for his master’s degree in counseling.   

I never witnessed the years of devastation and heartache in my parents marriage. 

The years that should have been filled with adventure and young love that were instead eaten up by illness and recovery.  

The hopes and dreams that were lost. 

The days where my father dealt with being inadequate as a husband and a provider. 

The moments when my mother questioned whether she would get back the man she once married. 

I’ll never know the man my father was before his illness, whether he had different personality quirks or temperaments. I’m okay with that, because the man I have grown up with is the kindest and most gentle man I know.  He was and is fiercely devoted to my mother and to the Lord. I am so honored to call that man my dad.

My mom was and is the voice of reason and wisdom, much learned perhaps, in the early years of her marriage. She is a woman of integrity, honesty, and truth.  I am blessed to call her mom.  

Through the years, their love has only flourished and grown.  While my sister and I worried that mom and dad would be lost without us after we left for college, they found new hobbies and adventures.  In this year alone, they have done mission trips to the Dominican Republic, Florida, and New York. They’ve traveled from Maine to Alabama.  They are the still the best of friends.

I was privileged to have a front row seat to watch a love that had been forged out of fire. A love that stepped in to the flame; sacrificed it’s own hopes, dreams, and future, and rescued someone else. 

My parents did not show me a perfect marriage or a perfect love.  There was no way they could.  It was not the fairy-tale love of movies, but instead, the compassionate, loyal, and unequivocally committed love that can only be made visible through crisis and suffering.  For the past four decades, they have chosen to love through all circumstances.

In a world full of conditional love and marriages that end when the road gets a little rough, my parents have lived a true love story.

Thank you, Mom and Dad.  

A few things...

1. Head on over to the awesome website,

We Are Grafted In where I'm honored 

to have one of my blog posts 

featured today!

2. These are my "outside" shoes.  I use them when taking Knox out. Clearly, he's snacked on them. 

Yesterday, I was in such a rush to leave for work that I forgot to change my shoes after taking Knox out. 

I wore them to work. 

It took me an hour to realize it.  Now, that's embarrassing. 

My BIG toe hangs off of my shoe and I didn't notice it.  

I can only imagine what my co-workers thought.  

I most likely got a "Bless her heart," from them. 

I think I deserved it. 

3.  Have a Heart for Adoption?  Join us at the Created for Care conference this coming January.  Registration starts September 1st.  Last year it sold out in 48 hours.  It's that good.  

Come join me there!