Hearts of Compassion Yard Sale

May 22nd, our orphan care ministry, Hearts of Compassion, held a huge yard sale to raise money for families adopting in our church and community..here are the pictures to prove that we survived!!!

First and formost, we had to have a cookie cake supporting the cause to get the party started off right...we worked late the night before and this helped us make it through....

Here is what it looked like when we started bringing stuff in (hi Jenny:)...

Matthew working to bring stuff in to the big, bare room...

Laurie, Jenny and Ginger, figuring it all out....

In the thick of it, late Friday night...

Then, delirium sets in and out comes Laurie, all dressed up in her Shrek medieval wear!!!

Me and Meia...

The stuff brought in begins to multiply

Stephanie working in the book department...

Jen and Shana working hard (conveniently right next to the cookie cake)...

Holly and Meia in the children's department...

Then, here it is, the day of the sale, in action, customers and all....

God is good!!! We ended up making about $1700!!!! Praise the Lord!!! Can't wait to see who the first applicant will be that receives these funds that God has so graciously provided---I truly believe the saying "He funds what He favors" and He definitely favors adoption:)

The ol' devil does not want orphans to have loving, Bible-believing homes full of hope and acceptance---he wants destruction and lies. The devil wants families believing adoption isn't feasible for any number of reasons--finances being at or very near the top of the list. (which is why Hearts of Compassion is working to raise money for families adopting!) He wants adoption off of the radar, ESPECIALLY for Christians...but, 'God knows the plans HE has, plans to prosper and not to harm, plans for hope and a future' (Jeremiah 29:11) for YOU and for ORPHANS:)

I have felt this so strongly on my heart lately...Is God tugging at your heart and calling you and your family to something?? If so, I beg you to be open to it....let Him use and work through you-whatever it may be....

My Max Graduates

It is official, I no longer have any preschool boys:( Max graduated from MMO on Thursday! He was so happy and I was so proud. He has grown into quite the little man in the past year--he is so loving, smart and very, very funny (and he knows it!) He is always ready to snuggle with me--he is very affectionate:) He is also very imaginative and full of questions, which I love!! For his graduation, I was not a mess, which is a first! Although I am sad that he is growing up too fast, I am happy because of who he is becoming and because of his excitement to go to kindergarten (with his big brother--he cannot wait!), but I did get a little 'misty' listening to the kids tell what they wanted to be when they grew up. Max said "when I grow up, I want to be a helper who helps everybody that needs help"--that's my boy!!:)

I know that God has big plans for that boy of mine....He gave me Jeremiah 29:11 for Max, even before I had delivered him and I pray that he will be a man with God's heart, who will listen and be obedient to all that God asks him to do. I am blessed beyond measure that he is my son and could not be prouder....
Graduation night....

Me and Lucy with Max...(Dad and Charlie were getting seats!)

DTC, baby!!!!

I emailed our agency this morning and asked if, by chance, she had heard anything on our documents coming back from Texas and she immediately sent an email saying she had not, but would let me know as soon as she heard something....about a minute later, I got another email saying she had just gotten our documents back and we would be DTC (that means dossier to China. Dossier is the compilation of about 13 documents required for the adoption) tomorrow!!! This is huge...that means we are done pretty much with our part and it is out of our hands now...quite a wonderful feeling!! Once in China, they will log us in....LID (log in date) and they anticipate our travel to be in 4-6 months from our LID....so, I ask for your prayers that the hands that get our dossier will find favor once again and move quickly to log us in!!! We are one step closer, sweet angel....I think this calls for the posting of another picture!!!

What's In A Name?

Well, guess what my thoughts have been consumed with lately?? You guessed it, naming our little girl...We are really working hard on naming our "daughter", "our sweet angel", "baby sissy", "S****" (her chinese name)...those are what we have been calling her since February and I am ready to move forward..I think:) I never in a million years would have guessed it would be this difficult. But, when you are staring at a toddler that you can SEE and she is not a little baby...it is really hard. Her middle name will definitely be part of her Chinese name...we have determined that. Her life will not start the day we get her, it has already begun and she is S**** (well, actually they have given her a nickname), so we really want to include that in her name, because it is, in fact, her name and all she has ever known.

Of course, our family is quite opinionated, so the kids have strong ideas about what she should be called and it has been a riot hearing them talk about their "baby sissy in China"....I will say that for the most part, I have been pleasantly surprised in their choice of names. Now, I am smart enough to know better than to post all of these because we all have such different opinions and that is the beauty of it...

So, I stare at her picture and have said a dozen names, over and over and over. And I write her name(s) over and over and over....it really is a fun process, (naming is), but at the same time I am ready to call her, *her name*...so, we are narrowing it down. We will continue to 'work on it' and hopefully I will be able to report that we have made a decision soon:) The Lord already knows what her name will be....In the meantime, I am still enjoying her pictures from the update...I saved some to post so I could stretch it out and enjoy the sharing:) Isn't she perfect!!???

SIKE!!

You just thought I was going to post the winner last night!!! No, seriously, I had waited all day so that everyone who wanted to comment would have an opportunity....so, I rushed home after church and choir to do the drawing and MY COMPUTER WAS DEAD AS A DOORNAIL!!!!!! This has NEVER happened!! I did everything I knew to do...all of the troubleshooting tricks I could think of....I tried to post from my husband's phone...NOTHING!! It was just DEAD!! I felt sick...I can't stand not doing what I say I will do! So, please forgive me, I did my best.....got up this morning, headed 30 minutes away to my sister's house just to post this:) Only because I love you all;) So, without further ado....







the winner is.....










CARLA!!!!!!!!

Thanks to everyone who commented...this was so much fun for me...I am sure I will do it again soon:) So, stay tuned....NOW, off to the MAC store....

Almost Time....

I am headed out the door for church, but wanted to let you know I will be choosing the name of the BLOG GIVEAWAY winner as soon as I get home and will post tonight!!! STAY TUNED........


Oh, and our documents are on their way to Houston, TX to be authenticated by the consulate....when it comes back-----our dossier is off to China....man, it feels good to be getting close!!!!! Praise the Lord:)

UNBELIEVABLE:)!!!!!!

I have said before to several people that I feel sometimes this is all just a mean trick being played on me...that somehow, her orphanage doesn't really exist because we have not been able to find anyone that is adopting or has ever adopted from there NOR have we found anyone or any care package service that has ever even heard of it!!! So coupled with all of the hoops and crazy stuff you have to do in this process, I have actually had those crazy irrational thoughts that someone was just playing a trick on me and she was just a dream....

Well, over the past 4 days that has all changed!!!!

Not only did we get this picture of our precious daughter looking at pictures of her brothers and sister (which is just plain out joyfully STRANGE & MIND-BOGGLING!!) Talk about making it feel "REAL". This will do it for you!!....


But, I also was able to locate 2 families adopting from the same orphanage!! Praise the Lord!!! These are not just any families, but the families of 2 of her 3 closest friends in the orphanage. I had asked what children she was closest to in the orphanage and they sent back 3 names and a picture of her with the 3 children. One family lives in Orlando, FL and one lives in North Carolina. What an answer to prayer! I spoke with both families yesterday and we exchanged information and pictures....they were both such lovely families. What a huge blessing!! Now, I will have many pictures to show her with her sweet friends:) Have I mentioned that GOD IS GOOOOOOOD!!!!?

On another note, DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE BLOG GIVEAWAY on Wednesday...looks like the odds are going to be pretty good!!!:)

Happy Mother's Day:)

I had the best Mother's Day yesterday....the kids had made me wonderful treats, (I got my update from China on Friday), Charlie set the table and color coordinated the plates and cups, they got me flowers and candy, Charles grilled and did alot of the things I normally do, so I could relax a little....they were so sweet to me! It was a wonderful day with family and my precious little ones...these little treasures I got to hold in my lap.....

...and this little treasure is held deep inside my heart!!!!

The Best Update Ever:)

Last night before I went to bed, I prayed a very specific prayer...I prayed that God would let us hear some little tidbit in response to the care package we sent to our daughter over a month ago. BOY, DID HE DELIVER!!!!!!! Lucy and I were running errands and I got a text from Lifeline saying 'check your email'....well, of ALL days, Charles borrowed my computer for work and I was without, so I frantically called my sister and drove to her house. I was so nervous and shaky, just so much anticipation...we had only seen her referral and file...her pictures were so sweet, but so very sad. I remember seeing the most recent picture in her referral and just breaking down seeing the sadness in those big brown eyes--not one smile in all of the pictures....so, I get to Regan's, finally get my email pulled up, to see this unbelievable smile......

As soon as the pictures started loading, the tears started falling....it all seemed sooo real seeing her with the clothes and pictures of us that we sent....and it felt so good to see her show some emotion....We got 7 new pictures and a letter from the orphanage answering some of our questions.....I will post more a little later, but just wanted to give you a sneak peek!!! My eyeballs feel like they have sandpaper in them from crying and staying up late, so I am hitting the hay and I know I will probably dream about our little angel....I give God all of the glory...he is so faithful!!!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us...Ephesians 3:20

I Think It's Time.....

...for a BLOG GIVEAWAY:) There is nothing better than being the person who "never wins anything" and then, unexpectedly winning something:) I have always thought it would be fun to do one, so that is exactly what I am going to do....since the blog hits are getting close to 10,000 we will just go for it...yeah, that's why we'll do it! Sounds like a good enough reason to me...

ok, now let's make up some rules....let's see, ok, I think I will just do it the old-fashioned way...a hand-drawing...that way, I will get to write all of the names on paper...(I love writing)..I know, that is weird. Add it to the list of my weirdnesses....so, if you want to 'win', all you need to do is...


You may have to create an account with google, but it literally takes seconds and is pretty easy...leave me your name, a way to reach you and what site you want your prize from under THIS post....I will get with you on the details, sizes, fabrics, address, etc

You can choose from 2 of my favorite sites...
either an orphan shirt (your choice from women's apparel) from 147millionorphans.com. Click on the link, then 147 gear, then womens apparel...

OR

for those of you with daughters or granddaughters...you can choose a dress, a Poppy Dip dress, from Sallee at It's Poppy Dip...

I LOVE both of these sites and support the efforts of both!!! So, you win a prize and the purchase of that prize helps feed sweet children in Uganda or helps fund an Ethiopian adoption!! Everybody wins!!!

I will choose a winner on May 12th, so you've got one week!!!

Have a great day:)

The Lord Heard My Prayers

This week has been a good week.....we got our Immigration approval, I got to see Julie, no major catastrophes! But the best thing that happened all week was that my 8 year old Charlie accepted Jesus!! It happened on Monday night, the 26th and it was a precious time. The Lord heard my prayers...I have always wanted to be sure that he understood, that he wasn't doing it too young or just doing it because his friends were and well, I have none of those fears, but a sweet peace that it was truly time. We have had the chance to talk alot this week about what it means to have a relationship with Jesus and that once you become a Christian, it doesn't end there...it is a daily choice to know him more. It has been really good-for him and for me!!

Then, today, he was baptized....he wrote his own "faith story" and our children's pastor helped him record it Wednesday and they played it during his baptism...it was so sweet and innocent...truly a blessing that we have a copy of it in his own words and voice...priceless. Of course, I was a mess. Big surprise:) It was a day I will never forget...I am one proud mom...God is faithful:) He takes our efforts and turns them into something sooo beautiful!

Here he is with Brother Chris....

Here we are with our pastor, Todd, as he shares with our church family, Charlie's decision...

We couldn't be happier...and you can tell by the smile on his face that he couldn't be happier either!!!

I cannot believe how the time has flown and how my sweet 'baby Charlie' is growing up....he brings me such joy!!!

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth." -3 John 1:4

Julie

I know I haven't posted any pictures in a while...I borrowed my sister's camera and just haven't taken the time to figure out how to get the pictures from there to my computer. If there was a time when I wished I had some (current) pictures to post, it would be today because I have been with one of my dearest friends in the world (so here is a photo I drug up from last summer..that is the best I could do...and what a LoVeLY photo it is)....

I spend last night and most of today with my precious treasure of a friend, Julie. God truly sent her to me and our friendship has changed my life. We only see each other a few times a year and in our time apart we always collect lots of 'happys' for each other and each others kids...then, we have a little mini-Christmas every time we see each other!! So, I met her and her Bible study group in Birmingham and we had a really good time. It is always good to be with her--feels like we haven't skipped a beat. The funny thing is, pretty much every time we leave each other--one of us is boo-hooing and cannot get a grip. Well, guess who's turn it was today...yes, it was mine...I cried like a baby. Got in the car and ugly-cried it right down the road. That is how is always goes.... He usually lets one of us be stronger (thank goodness)...otherwise, we would just be a big ol' mess and I can't imagine what would happen. He's just good like that...he even keeps our goodbyes in mind.