Orientation Packet

We got our orientation packet in the mail... So that was exciting :)

Our agency has you look through the orientation documents and then they call and we discuss any questions we have and such. The fee schedule is confusing. It feels like it is all due at once when you are looking at it but in reality it is due over the course of the next 6 months. God is going to have to move a pretty significant mountain here in the next 6 months... So be praying about that.

My mom and I are thinking of opening an Etsy store to help families who are adopting from Africa... Details on that to come soon.

Just wanted to write a quick update! Here's a story from the Olympics that involves adoption: http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/Reese-Hoffa-long-journey-from-orphanage-to-Olympics-111611?fb_action_ids=603552265023&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%22603552265023%22%3A10150401861534000%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22603552265023%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=[]

Orientation!

We got a call today to schedule an orientation conference call! GAH!!! Don't know why but I feel like this all won't be so bad, the waiting and that. I feel like God is planning on using us during the wait for something. I am super excited right now though! Howie thinks I am crazy for being so excited at this point but hey, why not be excited! God just handed us a shovel and said "go for it" and I am digging so fast I can't even breath!!!

I will update after we do the orientation about how I feel then. My guess, overwhelmed and blessed beyond measure.

Thanks for sitting through that post! I spent the day making bleach shirts so maybe that's what's wrong with me. Been killing some brain cells with the bleach! lol

DIY Freezer Paper Shirts

Things you will need: 

Shirt that is mostly cotton (Others may work but I have only used shirts that are mostly cotton)

Printer with paper and ink (lol)

Pen

Freezer paper

Iron and Ironing surface

Bleach

Towel

Something to place between layers of shirt (I used a kids placemat)

A sink with running water

Step one: Print out a design (we are adopting from Ethiopia so I used Africa!) and trace it on the DULL side of the freezer paper. A note on freezer paper: I had to call around EVERYWHERE to find it so good luck!

Step two: Cut out Design

Steps three and four: Iron on the paper SHINY SIDE DOWN. (I've been able to reuse once)

Step five: Dip your towel in bleach and rub outward from the design

Step six: Peel away paper

Optional step seven: Use a bleach pen to write on shirt!

And voila! You have a really neat shirt that you can sell and make a pretty good income for the adoption! Good luck! 

More on fund raising!

Simple Pendants you can incorporate into a necklace or add on a keychain! 

You will need: Mod Podge and a clear sealer of some form.

Wood squares (got mine at Michael's)

Different kinds of paper

Scissors

Paint brush

Here's how:

1. Cut out your shapes. I traced around a printout of Africa but you could just print out a bunch and use them. 
2. Spread a fairly good layer of Mod Podge on your wood square and place the first layer of paper.
3. Mod Podge over that layer and place the Africa.
4. Mod Podge over that and place the heart.
5. Let it dry and then spray the sealer over it so it has a shiny coat.
6. You then have to hot glue the "Bail" (the thing that makes it a pendant) to the back.
7. I sprayed a coat of sealer over the back as well just as an extra. 

Now, I have read a couple of DIY's on these and just sort of made it my own. You could sand down the edges before praying it with the sealer for a smoother look. I like mine as quick and simple as possible!

Good luck! If you have used something different comment on it below so others can try it too!

Book Reviews!

I was asked to do a review of these books when we got them so here it is! (I love presents from Amazon!!!)

My favorite of these two was God Found Us You by Laura J Bryant. I don't really like the art style used in Over The Moon by Karen Katz but the story was really well put together. 

My immediate purpose in buying these was to explain to my niece (who my husband and I are extremely close with) who is 5 about how we are going to be bringing a baby home from far far away. So Over The Moon really will work well for that purpose. I really like how the book talks about the mommy and daddy going to get the baby and how they were feeling about everything. 

Now, God Found Us You is going to be my go to book when we get our own child! I really really liked when the mama fox tells the baby fox how it made her sad to see other mama's with their children because that's how it is for me. Especially when they have a baby. I shouldn't be so upset, it's not fair to my friends to like this. I do get all excited and am really happy for all my friends who have babies it's just a hard time for me on the inside. I like the illustrations in this book too. I really appreciated the mama fox being so open with the baby fox when he had questions about his birth family. 

Either way both books are great adoption books for kids. I can't wait to read them and discuss them with my niece! They make me tear up a bit when I read them so it will be interesting to say the least.

What's your favorite adoption book for kids? How about adults, what book helped you the most?

Thanks for reading! Hope your day is blessed!

Personal Statement=HOPE

At first I felt like it was just busy work to be writing a personal statement about fertility loss. Then, I started writing it. What a relief we both felt getting down certain feelings and moments onto paper. Even though it was just a "application supporting document" it truly was a consoling experience. We are putting that chapter of our lives behind us and focusing on what God has in store for our family. It may not have been our first option but now I cannot imagine adding another child to this world when there are 4.3 MILLION orphans in Ethiopia right now without mother's and father's. While writing that personal statement I realized, we are not hopelessly attending doctor's appointments and treatments. We are HOPING for a referral call, we are HOPING for those first moments when we see our baby (boy (: we're trying for a boy!), we are HOPING for the first time his grandparents meet him, we are HOPING in a matter that used to feel hopeless. 

Reflecting on this made me think about how we were trying to do things our way. Now that we are following God (blindly holding his hand, letting him take the lead) we have this hope of being parents. Thanks for continuing with us on this journey! Our home study will be scheduled once they get our Personal Statement!

Journaling

(it's early in the morning!)

Not too long ago I purchased a journal at Target (in the dollar bins OF COURSE!) to put our thoughts down on paper. We plan on giving this journal to our adopted child when we feel the time is right. We are hoping to keep recording our feelings and thoughts in the journal (might have to add a few to the collection) until the child turns 18. That way even when we aren't around they can see how we felt, feel, thought, and think. I saw this idea on pinterest and thought it was a great way to keep track of all the ups and downs of the adoption process!


Have any of you done similar things? How long did you write? Did you continue it as long as you thought you would? 


Still all happy, scared, excited, tired, adventurous, confident, courageous, and overwhelmed. That's a lot of emotions to be feeling all at once!

The Beginning!

Well, our garage sale generated the funds we needed to put in our application fee and then some! Most money I have EVER made in a garage sale. It was great to see our community coming out and supporting us. Also, found out a family who has adopted from ET lives about a mile from us! Yay support!  

So, this morning at 7:55 am EST we submitted our application! I still have goose bumps. This is happening. There is not much that can put me in a bad mood today, not even one of the babysitting kids being fussy and making me get up in the middle of the application... Cloud 9 is nice, love the view from up here! 

Have a great Monday!

T-SHIRTS!!!!!

I am all about the DIY so here's a little something on my DIY fund raiser shirts!

I was researching fund raising t-shirts and all of the ways to do it are either awfully expensive or I didn't like the designs. So I thought, I'll just make them myself! Here is the product of that! 

They all have this blog site on them so if people are interested they don't have to talk to whoever is wearing the shirt, they can just go here :) 

I was being really messy but here is my work table! I used bleach gel pens and bleach with a rag. They are turning out AMAZINGLY well! 

I also made shrink dink necklaces and keychains... I absolutely LOVE them!

Thanks for checking out the blog! 

GARAGE SALE!!!

We're having our first fund raising event this weekend and I am incredibly nervous but feeling incredibly blessed! We have had so many friends step up and support us, it is unreal! Our shirts will be on at the garage sale so I am hoping to get more local people involved in our adoption and help them to see the need for orphan care in Ethiopia! Thanks for reading, I'll post more about it later!

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! First things first I will warn you that I am incredibly emotional at this point in time. We are starting a process that causes many ups and downs and all arounds, it's called international adoption. I will be changing our names on here for some safety reasons but really it's cause I enjoy calling people in my life by little nicknames... My husband (soon to be daddy) is "Howie." We'll be calling our future child "Bug." I am "Frizzled" all the time! When I look back on the last 4 years I wonder how I couldn't see God working from the beginning because it is all so clear. The infertility battles we have faced; the heartbreak following hopes; it all has led us to surrendering and saying "God, use us." We are called to defend the orphan. We feel God has a child out there for us, one he will place with us when the time is right. "God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land." Psalm 68:8 


So I encourage you to follow our story and see just how you can be blessed through adoption. 


If you are here because you have seen a fund raising shirt of ours and want one too you can leave a comment about it and I will get with you and get you one. We have a paypal account setup for payments and donations you can do that by the button at the upper left that says "donate". Most of what we need is your encouragement though!