See What's NEW!!!!

Hey there my blogger followers!!! ;) Soooo, we are still waiting for our LOA, I've had some pretty big lows in this wait-but I am growing so much and I am living for the NOW.

So I thought I'd give ya some what's new around me...

For ONE! I have a friend who is having an AMAZING auction fundraiser. She is leaving very soon for travel and is short on funds, but I have no doubt with this awesome auction that she will see God move mountains! For every $5 you bid you get entered into a drawing to win an American Girl doll AND a cute dress for your little girl and her doll!!!! Go check it out, I promise you will NOT be disappointed!!! http://www.gracelikerainauction.blogspot.com/

In other news-I have 3 girlfriends and we chat EVERY DAY! We are all AP(Adoptive Parent) mamma's and they have been a blessing, an encouragement, a shoulder to cry on, cheerleader, and much needed prayer warriors! They truly have been a Godsend through this journey. One of my mamma friends, (our Fashionista southern bell) is now home with her sweet and incredibly cute cute boy!!! If you want to follow her journey her blog is http://mylifesongkb.blogspot.com/2013/07/4-weeks-since-gotcha-day.html.This awesome mamma is also apart of many organizations that help orphans and one of them is the Asher Foundation which helps raise medical expenses for orphans who need it! They sell all kinds of things to raise money for this! You can look them up at:

http://asherbracelets.blogspot.com http://theasherfoundation.org

 Another one of the mamma's is leaving in 15 days!!!!! This sweet friend has a heart of gold! While getting ready to head to China she signed up to for a program called Safe House, where families can take in children while their parents are trying to find a place to stay or get themselves together. She is now gearing up to go get her boy and I just can't wait to see him in her arms!!! This is her blog www.lacockfam.blogspot.com!!!

And last but certainly not least is my sweet friend who is our fighter and our Abraham :)! She  JUST found out yesterday God blessed her families socks off by FULLY funding their adoption to bring their sweet boy home!!! Read her blog, you will see and hear the wisdom in her words! :) http://babyabell.blogspot.com/2013/07/thank-you.html

ANNNNND I told you all I was working on a project to raise more money for our own adoption...well we are ready to kick it off!!!
                                          Our Connected Hearts Project

This design was done by my sweet friend Steph that I was talking about earlier. We are selling them for $15 (shipping included) and all money is going towards bringing home Isac and Nina. If you would like to help show your China love for our babies Email me at joshnsara51504@yahoo.com or leave a comment below! I also have a silver charm that the design can go in but waiting to get a chain for that, so if your interested in silver let me know! We are also working to get other designs together! I would REALLY like to continue to sell these both for other families adopting and for other organizations that helped us out by giving us grants! But first things first...WHO WANTS ONE!!!

And I want to give a BIG thank you to all of you who have bought one of the Adoption Bug shirts! Those are still for sale as well!!! The link to those is on the side! 

Please PLEASE feel free to share the necklace sale with family and friends!!! Let's get these babies HOME! <3 <3!!!

Things to pray for--still waiting for LOA (letter of Approval), and we are having a BIG kids sale this weekend with A LOT of our kids items! We are praying we sell a lot and we are also putting out donation jars there.

That's all for now folks have a Great Week peeps!!

"GOD! Are We There Yet?!"

WELL...still no news.

I remember one Christmas when we got in the car to start another VERRRRY long trip to Michigan, we decided to leave Christmas Eve night after service and drive through the night. We had been in the car for about 5 minutes when we stopped at a gas station to top off our gas when I heard Elli call from the back seat, "mommy are we there yet?! How much longer?! I'm getting tired of driving." HA! Tired already? Was she for real! Some of you are probably laughing because you can relate to how funny it is that little kids have no real grasp on time or distance.

But one day as I heard Elli say that from the back seat (yes a different time, she says it often) I thought to myself, "is that what God thinks of me?" When hears me PLEADING with Him, "God, my children are in an orphanage, in a place of no hope and no future and no love, possibly fighting for all that they have or need. Lord, don't you hear me?! Why aren't you moving the computer systems quicker? Why am I not getting the call I need to move forward?!"

In the Bible it says:

2 Peter 3:8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

So in the grand scheme of things, I haven't been waiting that long. It seems like it. Right now I am the child in the backseat screaming for the drive to be over because I have been here for so long. Because my life is uncomfortable. I long to be back to the semi normal of life, doing life the way I feel I have more control. Yes my children are far away, they are missing out on every kiss and moment of love with a family that is fighting hard to get them. But God knows that. He sees them with His own eyes. He cares more about the children HE created than I do. He created them for a purpose. He brought us to this with a PROMISE.

This morning in church my pastor hit me right where I needed it most. He said. "God has placed you in a unique time in history." 

Esther 4:14b And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

And "God has given you EVERYTHING that you need to accomplish what he has called you too do TODAY."

2 Peter 1:3  His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

I need to live life TODAY! Right where I am. I need to stop living for August or September. It doesn't mean I will stop thinking about it, or planning for it. BUT I need to stop living for those days. I need to keep my mind here and now. Who knows how many opportunities I will, or have missed telling people about adoption because I was sulking the day away because I missed getting something I was hoping for. Or how many days i missed enjoying my kids because I had a bad day adoption related. I will always and forever be grateful for this journey. It has been HARD and had many ups and downs, but I have grown so much, learned a LOT and I have had my eyes made WIDE OPEN to another world, but I want to soak as much up of this moment as I can. Because we were made for "such a moment as THIS"! 

Moral of the story: next time you hear YOUR 'Elli' in the back seat yell "ARE WE THERE YET? Remember Not one of us has refrained from complaining when we are stuck in an uncomfortable situation. Live where you are to the best that you can! 

Thank you friends! Please pray for the computer systems in China. There are rumors that this week could be a big one for those of us who have been waiting for a while...we shall see ;)

A Promise of Soon and a Big Boy Birthday Wish

When I was pregnant, well I'll be honest, I was a HOT MESS!!! I wasn't the picture of motherly bliss that I had always hoped and thought I would be. I was HOT, and tired because though I really didn't have to get up for the bathroom much I NEVER slept, I was insanely emotional (poor hubby),  and had pre-eclampsia each time so I was a balloon! And being the ever impatient one I strongly disliked hearing someone say, she will be hear soon. Not because i didn't believe them, I knew they weren't going to stay in there forever-but because I was ready to get to the good part. Don't get me wrong I LOVED feeling them kick and move inside me but I wanted to see who they looked like, what personality traits they got from Josh or me, or watching them play and trying to guess what their future might hold.
Why do I tell you all of this (if you haven't guessed yet), I LOVE seeing the blessings during this adoption. I have LOVED meeting some of the people I've met who have AMAZING hearts, around the WORLD, that I would have missed out on, I love getting pictures of our children from far away to see a little into the life they are living now, and I love getting to see God MOVE mountains so we can get these children home. BUT I want to see their faces. I want to know when Isac wakes up in the morning he will be greeted with a kiss and a hug and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY little man!! I want to know Nina is being told how beautiful she is and how much she is loved! I so want them to feel safe and not have to fight for a pair of shoes or food for their bellies. I want them to laugh and play and not have to manipulate one more day to survive. I know these things WILL happen SOON-but I'm ready for soon to be TODAY!
BUT I know that I know that I KNOW, that this plan was not mine from the beginning-so I KNOW that my God had a plan from the beginning to bring them both into our lives at just the time HE wants them here.
SOOOO in the mean time I shall continue to plan a million play dates. This will be the most productive summer EVER!

Join me in wishing this sweet boy a happy birthday!!!  I look at Levi daily and wonder what my other sweet 2 year old is doing on the other side of the world. Not too much longer and these two will be running me ragged no doubt!

We sent Isac a birthday package with an outfit, a doll some more pictures of his family a birthday cake, a flash drive, some fruit and veggies for his family and balanced it out with some candies for the other children if there are any) and for his parents. A lady who delivers packages for families will send our package to the orphanage where Isac's foster parents will pick it up hopefully Isac will get to enjoy them all. And we hope to get pictures of him eating the cake (we are still waiting on Nina's pictures.) We aren't sure where when or if they will celebrate it but we hope it is soon!

Happy Birthday little man! This WILL BE your last birthday with out a mommy and daddy! I hope your day is filled with celebration of you! 

I pray for your parents, where ever they are, will get a chance to know God and one day they can see your sweet face again. I pray if their hearts are aching around this time of year they get a chance to know you are loved and will be loved for the rest of your life.  Know sweet boy we pray for you daily. We pray your are happy and healthy and that God is preparing your young heart for the change that is about to come.  I can not wait for you to meet  your little brother and 4 sisters! Oh how they pray for you and talk about you daily!  We love you Isac!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Have a great Week everyone!!!

The Big Reveal-Nesting

Okay, you remember when you were pregnant and you couldn't stop cleaning and preparing? Well, the same is true of adoption. I have decided one way to fight the blues of feeling the ache in my arms from not having my babies here,  instead of being frustrated at a process that hits bump after bump, and instead of sitting on the couch on my computer waiting for the next email or phone call and getting sad, I am going to try and put that energy to thinking about all that just HAS to be done before they arrive! (After all no child can come home to an empty room right!! LOL) Right, so as you will see below I have gone a little crazy, umm I mean had a little fun, decorating. And I will admit, this is way more nesting than I have EVER done before, so I have a little catching up to do! Sorry hon. xox

That's a picture of China if you couldn't tell-the picture is tiny-easier to tell in person.

Still working on getting Isac's name on the wall. (Hubby and I are going back and forth the the spelling. He will not win. :))

Bigger picture of China in this room. :)

Used to be more sticker's on the wall, all the ones Levi could reach...are off! LOL STINKER!

If your wondering why it looks like there is more done to Nina's room it is because Nina's room used to be the playroom so there was NOTHING in there on the walls...and well...I just got crazy! REMEMBER!  Hehe. 

Anyway I want to say a BIG thank you to my hubby who has appeased me to get this room done! :) 

Now I just need my babies to be in THEIR beds!!!

I leave you with a song that a friend on our adoption page posted today...and they never meant more to me than they do now!

these words get me...

'Cause I just wanna be with YouI just want this waiting to be overI just wanna be with You[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/smile-lyrics-chris-rice.html ]And it helps to know the day is getting closer

And every minute takes an hourEvery inch feels like a mile'Til I won't have to imagineAnd I finally get to see You smile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVApAfA0iG0


-Disclaimer for any of you who listen to the song-I know what it is really talking about, but thought it could still apply :)-

Thank you Friends! Have a great Week!!!!