Rummage Sale!

Okay, so, needless to say I'm uuber excited about everything God is doing for us! This entire process leading up to the garage sale (which, by the way, is on June 11th and coming up fast!) has been pretty seamless. We've had many awesome people donate TONS of stuff - all we've had to do was get the word out and pick stuff up. God has amazingly done the rest! I'm seriously in awe of God's faithfulness. It's one thing to hear about the thing's that God's doing in other people's lives, and even another to see it as a third party; but to see it first hand?!?! It's incredible to say the least. We have just been bombarded with people's generosity. Seriously.... I CAN'T GUSH ENOUGH!! OR THANK THOSE WHO HAVE DONATED ENOUGH. Thank you for following God's leading. I know He will bless you for blessing us. I pray He blesses you double! I've posted some pictures of our dining room.

And for those of you coming to Caed's birthday party this Saturday - I completely forgot that we had all of
these donations in here. Lol. If I'd thought about it, I would have had it somewhere else. But if the weather is warm (like I'm hoping) it'll be outside anyway.

We're still accepting donations and even baked goods for the bake sale we're having at the same time as the Rummage Sale. I'm going to try to bake some stuff, but I know I'll be super busy keeping everything organized. We could also use extra people to help that Saturday if anyone is available. We even have awesome aprons for you to wear. Don't worry, they're not girly or anything.  ;-)

We have hardly any room left in our dining room, but that's a problem that I LOVE. AND we still have a few more loads to pick up! Big stuff too! We're so excited... seriously - I'm sure you can tell. Haha. I am giving God all the glory for this. Including KC's pay that he's received from this job. God is providing for this adoption in a way I never thought possible. HE IS SO GOOD!

UPDATES!!!! Woooo-hooooo!

Hello everyone!! It's been awhile since I've updated, but boy do I have a lot to share! On Thursday, May 5th, KC and I met with Sara at Bethany Christian Services. We went over fees, time-lines, details, requirements, the whole she-bang about the adoption process. After 2 hours there, we felt even more confident that Bethany was the agency for us. *cue cheering*  We talked about the fees associated with the adoption and the time-line of when those will be due. We were a bit surprised when we found out that about a big portion of those fees would be due in about the first 6 months of the process. But God has called us to do this and we are more than confident that He will provide. God has even opened our eyes and shown us more of the picture - He has revealed to us how He will provide for us to take care of those fees.  :)   We have decided to wait a few weeks to "officially" fill out the the paperwork. We want to more funds saved before we start this. We'd hate to jump in, and have to stop or wait because we don't have enough saved up to move to the next step. But this is all in God's hands; it will all work out at the right time.

So, our first step (before starting all the other steps) is to raise some more funds. We are having a garage sale on June 11th at the Tyson 412 West building in Springdale right across the street from Hastings. It will start at 7am and last until, well, whenever!! We already have some donations (thanks guys!) but are always willing to take more. If anyone has anything that they would like to get rid of, you could donate it to us and know that it's going to a great cause.  ;)  We are also hoping to sell some t-shirts. We have a design that we've come up with, now, we're just looking for the right person to help us create the shirts without charging too much. We'd love to have these ready so we can sell them at the garage sale too! We're also thinking about having a bake sale there too. If anyone can help out in any way, even just coming to help set up, organize, or just hang out and give moral support, we would greatly appreciate it.

God has been so amazing throughout this entire journey that started with a prayer last October. At first, it just seemed like we were looking through a small hole in a fence, then, every couple of months, God would reveal something else to us and that hole would get a little bigger each time. Now, it seems like we are just about to see the whole picture. You have no idea how much that excites me. We have had people support us so much on this entire journey - physically and spiritually. We have had two people, who, when they heard about our garage sale through a mutual friend/acquaintance, got in touch with me and said they had a trunk load of stuff that they would love to donate to us for our adoption. These are people I've never met, but because of our amazing family, friends and church, they have heard about what we are doing and are wanting to help in any way they can.

God is providing for us in unimaginable ways! I am SO blessed that he has called me to be a mother of two amazing little boys and that He saw me fit to be the mother of an amazing little girl across the ocean. People sometimes get confused when I talk about her; they want to know why they didn't know that we already got our referral. I can't help but laugh. We may not know anything about her physical attributes or characteristics, but we know that Christ has called us to all be her family. We pray for her every chance we get. I know all I need to know right now; there is a little girl somewhere out there that is ours. There is a piece of my heart out there somewhere and pray my hardest that she is safe and that she knows that there is someone out there who loves her tremendously. When I was pregnant, I prayed for my boys every single day. I didn't know anything about what they looked like, or who's temperament they would have, mine or KC's. But that never stopped me from praying for them every chance I got. Why would it be any different for our daughter? I am putting everything in God's hands - the timing, the funds, everything. I know that He will make a way. All I have to do now is pray for patience! Hahaha! I get too over zealous sometimes!

New Agency

Hello everyone! I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to update. We just have had a busy month. So, here it goes! We have switched agencies. After taking a step back and praying about it, we felt that Bethany Christian Services was the best fit for us. We have nothing against Gladney and they were a big help, but we feel as though Bethany is the best agency to guide us through this long process. We have been talking with Bethany for the last few weeks and have a meeting with them this week. We are so excited to sit down and talk with them - to go over timelines, fees, etc. It's one thing to pray about it and do tons of research about adoption, but it is something completely different to finally sit down with the agency and go over all the details and ask the questions we have burning in our heads. I cannot wait!! I know this process will take a long time, and we are doing our best to pace ourselves.    :)

I did get a chance to go to a Q & A session hosted by Russell Moore, the author of Adopted for Life and the father of two adopted sons. He had a lot of amazing points about adoption/foster care. I was very lucky to get a chance to go. A woman there asked a question about financing adoption. I loved his response: "As cliche as it is God will handle it... God will provide the funds for you when the child He has chosen for you is ready." I will need to tell myself this 'when the child He has chosen for you is ready'. It's all in His timing. I need to continue to remind myself of this. Wherever she is, she may not be ready for us and we may not be ready for her. We need to put this all in God's hands and trust that He will give her to us when the time is right.

I will update again once we meet with Bethany. It also helps that they have a local office here in Springdale; right behind Susan's believe it or not! We are so excited to officially begin this journey. We would appreciate everyone's prayers - for strength, for patience, and for obedience.