Uh oh

Our computer is sick. Very sick. It is currently in the Mac hospital and may need a new hard drive.....which means everything might be lost. Everything. Pictures, files, business stuff. So scary. And sad.

In the midst of all those files is my list of shirt orders and addresses. I have a stack of shirts sitting here and have no idea what shirt goes where.

So....if you have ordered a shirt and have NOT received it, please email me and let me know. I want to get you your shirt as soon as possible!!

I have much more to tell you but am currently updating this using my phone.....little bitty screen, tired eyes. No more writing tonight.

Will hopefully be back on soon on a bigger more legible screen soon!!

Love you all. Thanks for following us. Even through these boring posts. :-)

Joy after Sorrow

Three years ago today, my beautiful sister-in-law passed away from a short 5 month battle with cancer. She and my brother had been married for 10 years. Her boys were 3 and 7 at the time. 

She was so loved. By everyone. She was one of my best friends. We spoke every day. She was hilarious. One of the funniest people I have ever known. She was constantly playing pranks and making me laugh like no one else.

(like stealing my camera when I wasn't looking and taking an incredibly unflattering picture of herself just for me to find it later when she wasn't around)

I miss her terribly. Every day. Her death was one of the hardest things I have ever gone through. My life was not the same after October 15, 2007.

But, I see her still in her little boys (who aren't so little anymore) and I know she would be so proud of them. They have these gigantic hearts and beautiful smiles. I adore them.

Through the birth of Sam and this whole adoption process, my heart has been broken to think that she will never know them. Or hold them. Or spoil them like she did the others. I know she would be so supportive of our journey and would have traveled it with us.  

Today is sad. But, God is good. 

He has blessed these sweet boys with a new mom and myself with a new sister.

Cindy and Chris got married a little over a year ago. She is a wonderful wife and mom. She adores those boys and has helped nurture their sweet little hearts to love the Lord.
And she couldn't be more excited and supportive of our adoption!
How blessed we are to have her in our lives!

She has been planning a book sale to help raise funds for our adoption expenses!
So, PLEASE If you are going to be in the Frisco area on October 30th, go out to Old Orchard Park and buy a book or two.....or 10!! And help spread the word!!!

God is good. He brings new promises with each new day.
And He brings joy after sorrow. 

When we finally get to bring this new little one home, I know she will have an incredible aunt here to love on her, and a precious saint in Heaven rejoicing!!

This must be read

You need to read this.

Not just if you have a few minutes.

Not just if you're bored and have nothing to do.

You have to read this.

It is one of those things that everyone needs to hear and see.

Everyone.

And that means YOU.

This is a girl (who is actually a friend of a friend, etc) who recently moved to Haiti with her four children and husband to BE the change.....

Reality is a Weighty Thing

And then, please....share your thoughts with me.
I would love to hear if God spoke to you through this.

I hope God stirs your soul like He did ours many months ago.

There is a hurting world out there.

We can't sit by while it happens.

for my heart

Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.

Isaiah 43:5

God, write these words on my heart.
Reassure me that the obstacles of this world
 will not deter your greater plan.
You will bring the child whom you have chosen from the east,
As you are gathering us, and those we love, from the west. 
You have already ordained all these days ahead.
All we have to do is trust you.
Please forgive the moments 
when I doubt my heart or my strength or my sanity.
For I know these things are not of you.
Daily remind me that this story originated in your heart,
not mine.
And you will finish the good work that you started.


I can't wait.

one less

Some things I want to clear up.....

Why didn't you choose domestic adoption or foster care?.....plain and simply? Because that is not what God called us to. We are simply being obedient to what God specifically spoke to our hearts. We fully understand there are children here in America who need homes. And I can't explain to you why God didn't speak to our hearts about that. I think He burdened our hearts many months ago with a world vision and reminded us that if we limit ourselves to only having a heart for America (which we totally do have a heart for the hurting and lost here, by the way) that that we would be limiting God's heart to only 5 % of the world's population. We realized that God's heart is limitless and ours should be as well. We also recognize that a child in Ethiopia does not deserve a family more than a child here in the US does. But for whatever reason, God did not call us to that. And that's as best I can explain it. 

A sweet girl that I don't really even know, just someone I have been "introduced" to (over email) who has adopted two girls from Uganda, made an excellent point to me that reminded me of the bigger long term picture of these children from International adoption (wow...that was a really looonnngg sentence).

She said " I like to think of all the people the Lord calls to adoption and how His intricate plan works together toward His ultimate plan for all of us. Imagine a family in Texas adopts from Haiti, one in New York from Uganda, and one in Canada adopts from Ethiopia....and those kids become adults who can affect peoples lives with their adoption stories....and even more, because their parents followed their hearts, their kids are where God wants them in order to fullfill His ultimate plan. It's incredible to think what God has in store for our kids!" 

We want to be obedient to what God called us to. For whatever His reasons, this is His plan for our life.

Do you have a child already "picked" out?.....No. But I fully believe God does. In this application process you specify what you would be open to....girl, boy...0-12 mos, 1-3, etc. We would like a girl under 12 mos, but we are pretty open to a girl from 1-3 as well. We are currently praying through being "open to siblings". Please don't hold us to that. God hasn't spoken directly about that, but we are both fairly open to it.  Once we get through all the paperwork with the agency here and the government in Ethiopia (probably another 6 months or so) we are put on a waiting list. Then as we move down the waiting list, they notify us of our status. Then we will get a call one day that we have a child (or two...yikes!). They send pictures and we start planning our trip. 

So, no. We don't get to "choose" the child. But, I feel very confident that that child (or children) is already "chosen". I can't wait for that call :)

Is Mitch on board with this whole thing? Like completely sold out like you are?.......Yes. But, I am not going to speak for him. As much as he hates to write, we have been encouraged by others that it is important for him to share his heart as well. So, look for a post from him soon!! 

We have raised over $5,000 y'all. That's so exciting and so affirming that we are doing the right thing. My evenings (and late into the night) have been full of sewing and sorting and writing thank you notes. And it is such an honor to do it all. Thank you so much for your support. Even if it is simply prayer that He has called you to, we need it and appreciate it.

I wanted to share this video with you (and I am so frustrated with blogger lately, it won't let me enbed any videos! Ugh, so you have to go old school and click on the link). Many of you may have already heard this song by Matthew West about adoption. This is his explanation of how the song came about (along with the song). It reminds me that even though this process is long and difficult and sometime wrought with opposition, in the end, there will be one less (maybe two less) child (children) alone in the world.

                                                         http://vimeo.com/15064039

one of my favorite days ever

Today was amazing. 

The weather was uncharacteristically autumn-like here in central Texas. 

I got to spend the morning shopping for shirts with my favorite little 2 yr old. 

Had lunch with an amazing friend and her 3 cutie pie boys. 

And then sewed 25 Africa shirts for 7 hours with my front AND back door open, breeze blowing and music playing.

One of my favorite days ever.

Here is a sampling of the shirts I made today. (They will be on their way to you shortly!!) 

If you haven't ordered one, please consider it! 

(it's what all the cool kids are doing this season... ;)  )

Loved every second of sewing those shirts.

 I had grown to kind of despise sewing things for money over the last year. 

But this..... this feels totally different. Those 7 hours hunched over that machine were 7 hours spent in prayer over that little girl. And I loved every second of it.

Thank you for allowing me to do it for you. :)

Small request (as if you haven't already done enough)

Hello friends!

I just wanted all of you that have ordered shirts to know that I did get your orders, I am working on them, and I will get them to you as soon as possible. We opened a bank account specifically for our adoption fund, so trying to set paypal up with that bank account has proved to be more trouble than I thought. So, if you are wondering why that transaction is still pending, it's because Paypal likes to make everything difficult and we are waiting on our bank to be "verified". :)

BUT more importantly, I want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting us. I want to hug each one of your necks every time I see a new order! Makes me so excited!!

I also kind of have a thought, and want to see if you would indulge me......

I was thinking how sweet it is that this little girl has this huge family that loves her already. And that they are buying homemade shirts to support us in bringing her home. Will she ever know this? (this is where my idea comes in.....bear with me...).

Would those of you that have bought shirts, or are buying them, consider taking a picture of yourself or your child in the shirt and emailing it to me? I would love to be able to show her someday all the people that helped us bring her home. What a precious thing you all are doing, and I don't want it to ever be forgotten. I know those shirts won't last forever, but we will never forget your generosity and I want it to be part of this little girl's legacy. What a blessed one she is already!

So, if you get the time....email me a picture! It doesn't have to be fancy, just a regular ol' snapshot will do! My email is oureyesareopened@yahoo.com

Thank you all! Love you!!

Now, off to work. Got lots to sew........