Fact Friday! Did you know?

Did you know that the median age in Ethiopia is 16.8 years old?
Did you know that only 42% of Ethiopians are literate?
Did you know Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world?
Did you know my child's birth family lives there? :)

Have a great Labor Day weekend people!

Something Not Related To Adoption :)

I made a super cool phone/money wallet! 

Of course I sewed a tiny Africa on it :)

It's made from an old tie. I folded it over hemmed where I needed to on the raw edge, and top stitched it to finish! (The handle is attached by the tie tag sewed in a loop when I top stitched)

So easy and cost maybe .75 to make!

No Second Hand Stores For You

I wish we wouldn't have decided on just boys from Ethiopia, because now allll I want to do is buy little boy clothes, toys, and stuff. I know we have 2 years (or more possibly) but every time I see an adorable onesie or a really cute diaper pattern I wanna snatch it up! It is so hard resisting myself and some times I just don't and buy whatever it is that I find adorable that day. I have banned myself from second hand stores because of outfits like this:

Second Hand Stores Are Dangerous!

Incredibly cute, yes, however I have no idea if this will even fit the child we get. But, I just couldn't help myself. Plus, it was only 6 bucks for all of it! I think that if we were on both the girl and boy waiting list that I would buy much less but I am probably wrong. I am now looking for tops that go well with this shirt for family pictures (I have a problem) for Howie and I. Hoping our little one is in 12 month clothes or smaller when he comes home! Cause that is what I have started doing, only collecting 12 month and up clothes. I am pretty safe (or so I tell myself) because we want to adopt a boy under 1 year.

I also have to watch myself on the internets, especially sites like this one and this one where I know I will be shopping like mad in a few years but for now I can only browse and dream.

That was my rant for the day. I am going to hang this outfit up in our boys bedroom so whenever I am working in there I can remember who will be rolling around on the carpet I am cleaning, or who will be sleeping in the crib I am setting up. My favorite is every night I go to bed thinking about how awesome that first time I see him will be. It helps me sleep, like a rock. AND have dreams about him having red hair (ridiculous I know but that is what I dreamt), and being so small he fits in my palm (again, I know, but thats how I dream! LOL). I do have some crazy dreams about our little guy! I also dreamt recently about going to Honduras to get our second child, that was a fun dream. It had all my Honduran friends in it and I woke up so hopeful that I will see all of them someday again :).

Anyways, just thought I would post a little something about this. We still have our homestudy to do. I think we have the slowest adoption ever. Most people apply and have their homestudy like a month later. We're on the longer track because of having to raise the money first. Oh well, it's been a crazy ride! Can't wait for some pit stops along the way!!!

Sew Many Opportunities!

I know, the title is really cheesy. But, it's the truth! There are  soooo many opportunities to help bring an orphan home to us that it's hard for me to keep track! SO, for confusion sake I am going to post all of the current opportunities right here! I encourage you to check out each thing and see if it is something you want to do!

I'll start with our Meylah store! We have T-shirts, Duct Tape Couture, bibs, and our latest edition CLOTH DIAPERS! Made all by yours truly (my mom is working on some things to be added soon!) each item has the continent of Africa on it so that everytime you use it you think about Africa and the millions of orphans going to bed without a mom and dad. You can find the Meylah store HERE!

Next would be our Just Love Coffee fund raiser! You get your morning joe, we get $5. It's a win win. You can find that HERE! 

Then we have our fill a bottle campaign. We are encouraging everyone we know, barely know, never met, to fill up a baby bottle with spare change and donate it to our adoption (rest assured we are not using the bottles to feed the baby!). So, get digging in the couch, or go cash only like we did and save all the change you get! Either way, go buy you a baby bottle and fill it up!

We are doing a cornhole tournament on September 8th. $10/person, half goes to a prize half to our adoption. It should be a great time for everyone! We will have food there for a suggested donation. Water bottles for a dollar and tap water is free! So if you are interested in this RSVP closes Sept 1st so message me or comment if you want to come!

That's it for now! We have another garage sale in the works for this fall so stay tuned for that! If something up there interests you get to it! Our deadline for $9,013 is October 16th!

How many orphans?

FACT FRIDAY!

I will start with the basics. These can be found  here on our agency's site. Of the 75 million people in Ethiopia 4.3 million are orphans. To give perspective, there are 311 million people in the US and only around 100,000 orphans here. Just to show you the need of adoption from Ethiopia. That is crazy to think about. I am sure the poverty of the country is felt the most by these orphans. One in 6 Ethiopian children die before their 5th birthday. My friend's little girl is having her 6th birthday in Sept. To think she could have never had this last year is heart wrenching to me. So pray for the orphans in Ethiopia (and around the world) and consider stepping up and supporting one. Or even going out on a limb and starting an adoption. I know of some great agencies if you are interested!

Ways to cut spending

Check out this site "How To Cut You Spending By $400 Bucks A Month" it has all kinds of great ways to cut your spending!

So what will yo do with that extra $400?

We're going to put it in a baby bottle!

We're already started on our Baby Bottle Campaign! Ask me how you can help!

Fact Fridays!

On Friday's I will be posting a little fact morsel about Ethiopia, adoption, or whatever it is I find interesting that day! So stay tuned on FRIDAY for some fun (or not so fun) facts!

On an unrelated note, be praying that I don't become a "ball of insane"... Emotions have been going CRAZY the last few days!

Cash vs. Card

We have been praying about ways we ourselves can save more and spend less for this adoption. We have decided to step out on faith and start a cash only form of budgeting. No more credit cards (except for getting a card that gives us Frequent Flyer Miles, a post to be written later) for everyday purchases, they will be saved for big things like bills and payed off immediately. We plan on saving all the coins we get for change for the adoption. So here is the reason I am posting about this:

1. We need accountability! We are going to have a debit card "icing" party! We would like everyone who can come to this to be here! I'll send out invites soon.
2. We want to challenge you to do the same (if you don't already). Even if it is just choosing one thing you usually pay for with a card and paying cash instead. Save that change and donate it to a good cause (like our adoption). 
3. We seriously want everyone to know how our journey takes place fully! This process is a lifestyle change and we want everyone to know how we are approaching it. Hopefully, out of this journey, you will be inspired to adopt. Domestically, internationally, the kids are all in need of home with a warm bed and good food! 

So, I ask you to pray for us (or send good vibes whatever you chose) on this journey! If you are interested in partnering with us we are going to buy the giant baby bottle coin banks for you to keep your change in! So let me know if you want one! We are also going to be starting a "Fill The Bottle" campaign SOON! "Fill The Bottle" is where we buy those super cheap bottles in bulk and hand them out to people. You fill them and then return them! So if you are interested in that, let me know!

Duct Tape Purse Deal # 2

Special deal for all you blog followers! If you are the first to nab this awesome purse you can get 5 dollars off any t-shirt! So get over to our store HERE and purchase it with a message attached on which shirt you would like a sizes. You'll have to pay the rest via the "Donate" button on the top left of this blog but you get 5 BUCKS OFF! Can't beat that. All while helping an orphan find a forever family! So do it, quick!

COFFEE!

We are happy to present a cool way to help us raise funds for our adoption! Just simply go to the storefront by clicking the link below, buy some coffee, and simply show your love by drinking it! A great way for you to support an orphan just by drinking coffee every morning! Plus, BONUS- it is delivered to your door! SO hop on over there and order some coffee! (And check out the really neat thing that Just Love Coffee is doing!)

Our Just Love Coffee Store

Duct Tape Bags Etc. Land In The Store!

Be the first to purchase a duct tape couture product and we'll include a keychain absolutely free with your purchase! So hurry! Just posted the first bag HERE!

<EDIT> Congrats to Nat and Brenee Thomas on winning the free keychain! Enjoy and make sure to tell people why you bought your bag! If you are still interested in a bag like this then shoot me a comment or message and I'll get to work on one for ya!

All proceeds go to the adoption!

Hope your weekend is spectacular! The hubs and I will be taking our last vacation child less next week so I may not post anything unless something happens! Much love, have a great week!

Nothing To Do With Adoption, Well, I Guess It Might

"Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world. Where you can live with your perfect little wife, and your perfect little children, and your perfect little house where you have no gay or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken." -Rich Mullins

Often times when I am feeling philosophical I will listen to recordings of Rich Mullins concerts. That little nugget of a quote up there is why. How often do we try and secure ourselves from all the sin in the world? When what we need to do is expose ourselves to the sin and LOVE those who we find. If Christians could just love people who are hurting and healing alike, the world would be so much healthier spiritually. Why do we not love?

My opinion is that there are a couple reasons why some Christians find love hard or even find hate easier. Some people get jealous of sinners (I think the Bible has something to say about jealousy). We do though. We see them in their lifestyles and wish we could be there with them, often times our hate is born out of sheer regret for falling into the sins we are jealous of. I also think it can be born out of a legalistic stick in the mud mentality. Constantly watching others, waiting for them to screw up their lives for a split second and then we attack. Like little vultures sitting atop our steeples waiting for some little child to step on a crack. Those are the two things that I see the most. Don't lie, we all have been guilty of being legalistic vultures or jealous sin haters.

"Ok", you say, "then how am I supposed to know if people are REAL Christians?" Guess what? NOT YOUR JOB TO KNOW. I know, it sucks to not have control over other people... But it isn't your job to judge (pretty sure the Bible has something to say about that too). So then, how are we going to just stop, it's a habit! Well, Jesus loves your vulture attitude and he loves you even though you hate. So I would think the first step to repairing that relationship would be to start focusing your energies on how you can be more like Him. Loving people even though they are idiots and screw up constantly. Loving the unlovely, unloving, and unlovable. L-O-V-E.

It's awful easy to love the faces on the adoption brochures, but what about when our child comes home and they tell us for the time "You're not my real mom/dad!". Through our heartbreak (our hearts should be breaking for the lost too ya know) we have to love that child. When we lose our hope in getting the finances to adopt, the love for the child God has for us will pull us through. When you lose hope that you will ever do anything right, the love you have for God should help pull you through.

Ok, I think I am done ranting. I usually just write these things in my journal (which is why I have one Howie) but decided with all the "Christians hate gays" talk going around that I would share with the world. Have fun reading that, I am horrible with punctuation! lol!

Adoption Saves Lives

I bought a shirt about 2 years ago with that title on it. "Adoption Saves Lives". But how? Well here's the nitty gritty of it all. In Ethiopia 1 in 6 children will not see their fifth birthday. In the countryside of Ethiopia most kids are working, by carrying water jugs and other laborious tasks, by the age of 2. So you still not sure how adoption saves lives? This is not about us adding to our family or getting what we "want" but it is about giving a child a hope and a future. So that is how we plan on saving a life, adopting from Ethiopia. Our agency also does lots of community work through their Hannah's Hope homes and other work you can check them out here.

Partner with us then in our effort! We have a cornhole tournament coming up so check Facebook for that if you are local, if you are not friends on FB comment and I will get you the info. We also have a Meylah store you can check out here. All proceeds go to our adoption!

A Nine Thousand and Fifteen Dollar Mountain!

We just got off the phone with our agency... The orientation call went as expected. We will need $9,015.00 by October 16th. So, prayers would be appreciated. I fully believe that it is possible to get it done. We have great friends and family and an awesome church family. If you are interested in donating there's a donate button at the top left hand side of the page. If we can get 200 people to gift 45 dollars we will raise this amount! So help an orphan come home and donate now!

Thanks for reading! We'll update ya'll on the fund raising process as it moves along!

Online Adoption Store

Hey all!

Check out our online store where we will be selling our adoption wares. It will have other crafty stuff not related to adoption but all proceeds will go to our adoption! When we are finished raising money we plan to give all proceeds from the shop to help other families from our agency in their process! So happy shopping! If you don't see something you want, let us know and me and my team of craft elves (mom) would be more than happy to make it for you!

Meylah.com/compassion4theorphan

Oh, and our Orientation call is on Tuesday!!!! (August 7th) Can't wait for all this "Legalese" to be explained to us! Woohoo!