Our cookbooks came on Friday and they look amazing!! There are over 300 recipes in there and there is quite a variety! The little boy we put on the cover is pretty darn cute too...so thankful for the Mama that let us use his little face. If you would like to order one, please let us know!! I will ship them for a small fee but they are $15.
So we are still #13 on the list. However I read that there are 40-50 kids in the transition home for our agency between the ages of 2-6. So we are praying that lots of referrals start happening.
Summer officially started here today :) So thankful the kids are out of school and we can just relax and enjoy. We are going to focus on selling our cookbooks and if we can get those sold we will have what we need monetarily to accept his referral, God is good!! He said He would provide one step at a time. And of course He has not let us down :) So thankful this adoption is in His hands otherwise I would be a complete basket case. He has given me such a peace about the waiting process-although the letter writing in Ethiopia isn't back up to what it was before (appx. 5 letters a day now as opposed to 30-50 before) I know that God knows and He has those kids' best interest at heart. He's the Father to the fatherless and loves them more than we do. We will continue to do His work while we're waiting. I am so excited about all that the Lord is doing in our lives...more about that later :)
Thanks again to everyone who is supporting us in prayer, financially or otherwise. It is truly appreciated. Happy summer everyone!!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
2 months DTE...
We haven't moved on the list. We are hoping there are some referrals that come this week so we can move on down. I looked over the proof of our cookbook today, it looks great. Now we send it back and they will start printing them up. I can not wait to see them.
I have decided to do our yard sale the first weekend in June. There is so much going on this month!! Our women's retreat is this weekend as is my sister's college graduation. Next weekend there are 3 things going on in one day, I won't be doing them all! The following weekend is Memorial weekend and I didn't think that was a good weekend to do a yard sale. We will also be celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary on May 25, by celebrating I mean we'll give each other, well, maybe a card or something :) Life has been so crazy lately and we have a fair amount of stuff up in the air right now. I feel like we are just going day to day right now, I guess life is always like that though. We only have today and are not guaranteed anymore than that.
We have done a few things to save money lately too. We cancelled the cable as the price had gone up (we're not big tohellavision people anyways)and we got rid of our land line again. Also my husband traded in his car for something with a smaller monthly payment. We're excited about those small changes. I am also on the wait list to become a thirty one consultant. They have some amazing products and are a Christian company (based on the Proverbs 31 woman :)) Hopefully that will start up in August so I can make some extra money.
Life is sweet. We are truly enjoying our journey, God is good, ALL the time.
I have decided to do our yard sale the first weekend in June. There is so much going on this month!! Our women's retreat is this weekend as is my sister's college graduation. Next weekend there are 3 things going on in one day, I won't be doing them all! The following weekend is Memorial weekend and I didn't think that was a good weekend to do a yard sale. We will also be celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary on May 25, by celebrating I mean we'll give each other, well, maybe a card or something :) Life has been so crazy lately and we have a fair amount of stuff up in the air right now. I feel like we are just going day to day right now, I guess life is always like that though. We only have today and are not guaranteed anymore than that.
We have done a few things to save money lately too. We cancelled the cable as the price had gone up (we're not big tohellavision people anyways)and we got rid of our land line again. Also my husband traded in his car for something with a smaller monthly payment. We're excited about those small changes. I am also on the wait list to become a thirty one consultant. They have some amazing products and are a Christian company (based on the Proverbs 31 woman :)) Hopefully that will start up in August so I can make some extra money.
Life is sweet. We are truly enjoying our journey, God is good, ALL the time.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Cookbook
Well my friend and I have completed our cookbook. It should be published by the end of May/beginning of June and will be ready to sell!!! We have almost 300 awesome recipes in it and it has a gorgeous hardback cover. Someone from my friend's adoption agency let us use a picture of her little boy adopted from Ethiopia to grace our cover. He is precious! We called the cookbook Homeward Bound. I am pretty excited about it, they will be $15 each and we are getting 300 of them. Please let us know if you'd like one.
We've been DTE for a month and a half now. We are #44 for a boy under 12 months and #14 for a boy over 12 months. So we're still 3-5 months before we hear anything. I can't wait to get that email titled "Referral". We're using this time to prepare for life as a multi-racial family. There are lots of books out there with great advice for us, the children, and other extended family members. There is so much to learn about the right things to say and not say to people.
My friend ran the half marathon and raised almost $300 for us. Tonite she planned a fundraiser with Lia Sophia so we're hoping we get some people there for that. I have also started collecting items for another yard sale in May. So the fundraising goes on...
I have truly enjoyed watching the Lord work out all the details of this adoption. I love watching who's heart He moves and how. We are enjoying the journey knowing that He is in control and that this will all happen in His perfect timing. There is such peace in Him :)
We've been DTE for a month and a half now. We are #44 for a boy under 12 months and #14 for a boy over 12 months. So we're still 3-5 months before we hear anything. I can't wait to get that email titled "Referral". We're using this time to prepare for life as a multi-racial family. There are lots of books out there with great advice for us, the children, and other extended family members. There is so much to learn about the right things to say and not say to people.
My friend ran the half marathon and raised almost $300 for us. Tonite she planned a fundraiser with Lia Sophia so we're hoping we get some people there for that. I have also started collecting items for another yard sale in May. So the fundraising goes on...
I have truly enjoyed watching the Lord work out all the details of this adoption. I love watching who's heart He moves and how. We are enjoying the journey knowing that He is in control and that this will all happen in His perfect timing. There is such peace in Him :)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Looking Up
Things are working out in Ethiopia. They have done some personnel changes with the Ministry of Women's Affairs and they even have a new title MOWCYA (Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs). They are looking to restore the amount of adoptions they process to what they were. With God all things are possible :) Are we really surprised?? Nope!!
Our dossier arrived in Addis Abbaba Ethiopia on March 17. So exciting!! Now we just wait for an email that shows us a picture of our little guy with all his medical and social info. Praising God that we have gotten this far.
So I have been training for this half marathon on April 2. Well I did my long run for the week last Saturday nite, (9 miles) and while I was running I felt a little pain in my left Achilles but nothing major, so I continued running. Well the next day it felt weird. Our friend who does orthotics and prosthetics took one look at it and saw it was swollen. He said I probably tore some ligaments and should stop running. No race for me. I am more than disappointed to say the least. I enjoy running so much. As a stay at home Mom for the past 9 years I have just started running again as of last year. It's my down time, my "me" time, a prayer time. I also get a little grumpy if I don't run almost daily. Not to mention, I have mild scoliosis so if I don't exercise then I deal with chronic back pain. I know training is a little more extensive than what I had been doing so hopefully I can continue running again soon. I know the Lord has a reason for "benching" me so I will not stress about it. "Be still and know that I am God." I am not good at being still, at all. I hate it to be honest, sitting is my least favorite thing. Anyone that sits near me at church can probably testify to that. I fidget and switch positions constantly, not to the point of distracting others of course. I watch in amazement at people who don't move the entire service. The Lord wants us to be still in Him. My husband was just telling me how I always "find" projects to do as soon as I finish one. I wish the Lord didn't have to go to such extremes for me to sit and be still. I will learn...God has something big planned for us and I felt as though He said, "If you were willing to spend that much time training for a race, how much time are you willing to train for what I have in store for you next?" Ouch. So I enter a brief season of rest. "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ." Phil.3:7-8
I have been able to add more recipes to the cookbook we're doing to raise money for the adoption. We were aiming for 200 but are at over 250!! Pretty exciting, I must say. So that's been a way I've been able to be productive. More fundraisers to come...
Our dossier arrived in Addis Abbaba Ethiopia on March 17. So exciting!! Now we just wait for an email that shows us a picture of our little guy with all his medical and social info. Praising God that we have gotten this far.
So I have been training for this half marathon on April 2. Well I did my long run for the week last Saturday nite, (9 miles) and while I was running I felt a little pain in my left Achilles but nothing major, so I continued running. Well the next day it felt weird. Our friend who does orthotics and prosthetics took one look at it and saw it was swollen. He said I probably tore some ligaments and should stop running. No race for me. I am more than disappointed to say the least. I enjoy running so much. As a stay at home Mom for the past 9 years I have just started running again as of last year. It's my down time, my "me" time, a prayer time. I also get a little grumpy if I don't run almost daily. Not to mention, I have mild scoliosis so if I don't exercise then I deal with chronic back pain. I know training is a little more extensive than what I had been doing so hopefully I can continue running again soon. I know the Lord has a reason for "benching" me so I will not stress about it. "Be still and know that I am God." I am not good at being still, at all. I hate it to be honest, sitting is my least favorite thing. Anyone that sits near me at church can probably testify to that. I fidget and switch positions constantly, not to the point of distracting others of course. I watch in amazement at people who don't move the entire service. The Lord wants us to be still in Him. My husband was just telling me how I always "find" projects to do as soon as I finish one. I wish the Lord didn't have to go to such extremes for me to sit and be still. I will learn...God has something big planned for us and I felt as though He said, "If you were willing to spend that much time training for a race, how much time are you willing to train for what I have in store for you next?" Ouch. So I enter a brief season of rest. "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ." Phil.3:7-8
I have been able to add more recipes to the cookbook we're doing to raise money for the adoption. We were aiming for 200 but are at over 250!! Pretty exciting, I must say. So that's been a way I've been able to be productive. More fundraisers to come...
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
PLEASE SIGN!!!
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43714.html
Ethiopia is looking to reduce the number of adoptions by around 90%!!! Our paperwork will be headed there on Friday and we don't want to wait any longer to bring our son home. Please sign the above petition and pass it along. This is very important!!
Ethiopia is looking to reduce the number of adoptions by around 90%!!! Our paperwork will be headed there on Friday and we don't want to wait any longer to bring our son home. Please sign the above petition and pass it along. This is very important!!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
DTE March 11, 2011!!!
In adoption speak this means our dossier will be going to Ethiopia on March 11. I can't believe it!! Our last paperwork and check will be arriving at our agency on Monday, then it has to be authenticated in DC before traveling across the pond :)How did we get here you ask? God. Within a few weeks He provided the money we needed through a matching grant and other monetary gifts. That's just how He works. One of the largest gifts we received was from people we don't even know! It is nothing we could have planned for or foreseen. He will do it His way and in His timing. I can't emphasize enough that God is our provider, Jehovah-Jireh. If adoption has ever been on your heart, please prayerfully consider what God wants you to do. The money may not be there to do it, but God will be, and He will bless you exceedingly above what you could ever imagine. My heart is so touched by ALL of the people who have helped our son get one step closer to home. Seeing hearts break for orphans that never really considered what it all meant, it's all so beyond us. If you have helped at all, whether it be prayers or monetarily, THANK YOU!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
New Fundraisers!!
We've created a Chip In button so people can donate from afar!!!
Right now I would ask you to consider sponsoring me in a half marathon on April 2. I've never run one before so I'm pretty excited and nervous at the same time. 13.1 miles. I will be running to help bring our son home!! Please prayerfully consider sponsoring me for this event!!
Also, a friend and I are are gathering recipes for a cookbook which we plan to sell to raise money for both of our adoptions. If you'd like to help please email your favorite family recipe(s) to jontifstewart@yahoo.com
Thanks!!
Right now I would ask you to consider sponsoring me in a half marathon on April 2. I've never run one before so I'm pretty excited and nervous at the same time. 13.1 miles. I will be running to help bring our son home!! Please prayerfully consider sponsoring me for this event!!
Also, a friend and I are are gathering recipes for a cookbook which we plan to sell to raise money for both of our adoptions. If you'd like to help please email your favorite family recipe(s) to jontifstewart@yahoo.com
Thanks!!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Dossier Sent...not to ET though!
We sent our dossier to AW today (our adoption agency). We still need to send them about $3750 though but I just figured I'd send it along to them for review and just so it was no longer in my possession. Having 5 months worth of paperwork in my house was scary. I just wanted it gone!! So we need to get about $2000 more...hopefully from a matching grant or from Show Hope.
I am going to start making up flyers for the half marathon I'll be running on Apr. 2. The goal is to get people to sponsor my run as a way to raise $$ for the adoption. I will try to have J set up a "Chip In" on here as well so people can donate.
That's all for now from our freezing state...Please keep praying!!
I am going to start making up flyers for the half marathon I'll be running on Apr. 2. The goal is to get people to sponsor my run as a way to raise $$ for the adoption. I will try to have J set up a "Chip In" on here as well so people can donate.
That's all for now from our freezing state...Please keep praying!!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Birthday gift
I turned 30 yesterday and I am pretty excited about it. Really not sure why, but I am. I am thankful for every day I get to spend on earth, so turning another year older is a blessing for me. My husband made me a yummy lemon cake, my friend got me a manicure/pedicure, another friend stopped by with a card, some chocolate and $600 towards the adoption!!!! What an amazing gift!!!! We also got another $25 from our soap sales, $20 from our Tupperware fundraiser and appx. $60 from bottles that people brought to church for us during another family's adoption fundraiser. The pendulum is slowly swinging over the $4000 mark. We should be hearing from Show Hope anytime now...and we're also waiting to hear from Lifesong. We are also submitting our application to our church's adoption ministry in hopes of getting a matching grant. Our friend is organizing a bottle drive for us next weekend AND a friend and I are doing a Valentine's bake sale next Sunday at church. Another friend and I are in the planning stages of doing a cookbook fundraiser as well. So again I am up to my eyeballs in fundraising...I guess it will be the story of my life for a while. It's all good though...whatever it takes to bring this little guy home.
I have to add that my hubby planned a surprise for my birthday as well. He had his sister and brother-in-law drive down here to stay the nite with the kids and he took me to dinner at a really nice inn and we stayed the nite. It was sooo wonderful. The whole day just made me feel so special. It's nice to have one day out of the year where it's alllll about you :) And today I had a great day playing out in the snow with the kiddos. It was gorgeous out there and we all had fun. Tomorrow my brother and sister are going to come visit and take me out to lunch. And the icing on the cake is the Superbowl tomorrow nite!!! It's always bittersweet though because it then means that football is over for the season and I go into a bit of mourning....Pretty sure I have plenty to do though to keep me busy ;) Until next time...
I have to add that my hubby planned a surprise for my birthday as well. He had his sister and brother-in-law drive down here to stay the nite with the kids and he took me to dinner at a really nice inn and we stayed the nite. It was sooo wonderful. The whole day just made me feel so special. It's nice to have one day out of the year where it's alllll about you :) And today I had a great day playing out in the snow with the kiddos. It was gorgeous out there and we all had fun. Tomorrow my brother and sister are going to come visit and take me out to lunch. And the icing on the cake is the Superbowl tomorrow nite!!! It's always bittersweet though because it then means that football is over for the season and I go into a bit of mourning....Pretty sure I have plenty to do though to keep me busy ;) Until next time...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Waiting...
I could probably title every post with this...
Isaiah chapter 40 is so encouraging and puts any anxiousness away that starts to stir my heart...Which also reminds me of another verse I have hidden in my heart. Phillipians 4:6-7.
I checked the adoption account last week and we are still $4250 short. God knows this. He knows I have all the paperwork ready but He is not concerned with that detail because He has the big picture laid out before Him. When He is ready for us to move forward, we will. He knows where our son is, whether he is born yet or not, He knows the perfect time for our dossier to get to Ethiopia. I have to keep reminding myself of this...This always has been about Him and I won't let my excitement interfere with that.
For me this waiting period has been about learning more about His promises and it's very exciting. I am going to be starting another study with some gals soon. I haven't done one since last spring so I am looking forward to that. It's always a great time of fellowship and growing. Our church does have a Women's Bible Study but because my husband works at least 12 hr. days that means that he is not home in time to stay with the kids while I go. So I figured I would start doing something that worked for me and some of the other Moms I know who have young children and can't always make it to the Study at church.
I am also looking to get some ladies together to head to MA to go to a conference called Faithlift in April. I have gone in the past and have always come home with my cup overflowing!! I love those conferences!!
J will also be starting to fill in playing worship at a church about 45 min away from here. This is also a huge blessing as he has not been able to play at our church and really wants to be able to use his gift.
Tomorrow I get to go help make quilts for an orphanage in Nepal where our friends have adopted their son from. However they have not been able to bring him home yet as the US won't issue his visa. Please keep this in prayer as they are trying to raise money to hire an investigator so the little guy will be able to come home to his family. http://ifwehavefaithofamustardseed.blogspot.com/ Check out their blog!!
So that's about all she wrote for now...We still have our coffee site which you can connect to at the right, as well as the soap site, which is also on the right. ANNNNNDDDD....www.EllieAnnaPurses.com is still donating a portion of her sales to our adoption. She has some great purses and jewelry which are handmade right here in the ol' US of A...So feel free to help us out as God leads you!! God bless...
Isaiah chapter 40 is so encouraging and puts any anxiousness away that starts to stir my heart...Which also reminds me of another verse I have hidden in my heart. Phillipians 4:6-7.
I checked the adoption account last week and we are still $4250 short. God knows this. He knows I have all the paperwork ready but He is not concerned with that detail because He has the big picture laid out before Him. When He is ready for us to move forward, we will. He knows where our son is, whether he is born yet or not, He knows the perfect time for our dossier to get to Ethiopia. I have to keep reminding myself of this...This always has been about Him and I won't let my excitement interfere with that.
For me this waiting period has been about learning more about His promises and it's very exciting. I am going to be starting another study with some gals soon. I haven't done one since last spring so I am looking forward to that. It's always a great time of fellowship and growing. Our church does have a Women's Bible Study but because my husband works at least 12 hr. days that means that he is not home in time to stay with the kids while I go. So I figured I would start doing something that worked for me and some of the other Moms I know who have young children and can't always make it to the Study at church.
I am also looking to get some ladies together to head to MA to go to a conference called Faithlift in April. I have gone in the past and have always come home with my cup overflowing!! I love those conferences!!
J will also be starting to fill in playing worship at a church about 45 min away from here. This is also a huge blessing as he has not been able to play at our church and really wants to be able to use his gift.
Tomorrow I get to go help make quilts for an orphanage in Nepal where our friends have adopted their son from. However they have not been able to bring him home yet as the US won't issue his visa. Please keep this in prayer as they are trying to raise money to hire an investigator so the little guy will be able to come home to his family. http://ifwehavefaithofamustardseed.blogspot.com/ Check out their blog!!
So that's about all she wrote for now...We still have our coffee site which you can connect to at the right, as well as the soap site, which is also on the right. ANNNNNDDDD....www.EllieAnnaPurses.com is still donating a portion of her sales to our adoption. She has some great purses and jewelry which are handmade right here in the ol' US of A...So feel free to help us out as God leads you!! God bless...
Monday, January 3, 2011
I-171H RECEIVED!!!
We got the document today that says we can adopt internationally now!!! Big step!! We have about half the amount needed before we can send our dossier though, so we're just praying and waiting on the Lord. We've received $700 from 2 friends within the last week!!! We know it's going to continue in this way with gifts because God has told me to be still in regards to fundraising right now. A friend and I plan to do a cookbook fundraiser and I am thinking of doing a chocolate sale around Valentine's Day but for right now we are waiting to see Him work. Please continue to pray that God would be glorified as we raise this next chunk of change as it will be all His doing. Happy New Year!!! 2011 is going to be a great year!!
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