My darling Effie

So - awhile back I posted about what our daughters new name was going to be. Santi Raquel Collins. God gave KC the name Santi last year when we just barely started this journey. We know it's significant, but not 100% sure how exactly. So we made that part of her name. Raquel is my middle name and we wanted it to be part of hers as well. Now, let me tell you a little something: KC had veto power when it came to Caedmon and Oliver's names with the agreement that I would get to pick the name if we ever had a girl. Well, I've been praying - more like pleading, but hey! Fair's fair right? Lol - about another name for her. For the past 4 months.... nuthin'. I have criteria and it seemed like none of the names I was coming across were going to work out. 1. It has to be a long name 2. It has to have a cute nickname 3. It should be an older name (so that's why it needs to have a nickname. A lot of the names are too big for a little girl) 4. It cannot remind me of anyone/anything in a somber way 4. It COULD NOT be a super popular name. 5. It had to have a good strong meaning. 6. God had to approve.
I know, I know. Long list. haha. Well, I had a way of finding names. I had a list of nicknames I loved and looked for longer names to go with them. Here's my list: Millie, Lenni, Effie, Addie, Emmy. Not a whole lot to work with. Long story short, almost all of the names that would work using those as nicknames were either super popular - Amelia (Millie) - or had meanings that weren't what we wanted - Eleanor (Lenni). So, as I was nearing the end of my list and searching for Effie, I just couldn't torture her with a name like Euphemia or Ophelia (the poster child of teenage angst and suffering? Thanks Wikipedia). Then, I came across JOSEPHINE. But, it went against rule #4. I have a Tia Josefina in Mexico.... not very friendly. My dad and his brothers have a big piece of land that my grandfather left them. My fathers is larger than the others. She would move the fence line making my uncles land bigger - she'd do it a little each year so it wasn't suspicious. They eventually found out. But she's just NOT a friendly woman. I didn't like going to her house (the few times I remember being there). She just made me.... uncomfortable. So I definitely didn't like the idea of naming our daughter the same thing. NOR did I want to engage in a deep discussion with my 30 (okay, exaggeration) other aunts on why I named her after that aunt. Lol. Well, God has other plans doesn't He? Her name is going to be Josephine. Haha. It means 'God will increase'. KC and I prayed about it and it was perfect! A. God was increasing our family through her. and B. just 2 days after we began praying about it, KC received the largest paycheck he's ever gotten since he started working from home. His check allowed us to replenish our adoption account after we spent over $2,000 to fix our car. That's another story. Lol. We felt like it was perfect. AND it had the nickname I've always loved. God has a way of giving you what you want - maybe not quite the way you'd expect, but He does. I've always prayed for a daughter, even before I was married. I'm getting one, not in the traditional sense, but in an equally exciting way.

God has been revealing things to my heart through this journey that I never would have expected. I'm learning more about who I am in Him and I'm learning about my strength in Him. His showing me things that I need to change, things I need to allow Him to change. And through it all, the message is the same. 'You are my darling, my little girl. I will always be here no matter what.' It's taken me awhile to get used to that idea due to circumstances with my dad, but I'm seeing new ways to love and trust in my heavenly Father. I think this journey is about more than just the adoption. I've grown so much in Him these past 2 years, especially the last 9 months. I know He's teaching me things through this journey that I'll need for the other plans He has for our lives. Some things, He's revealed to us and they freak me out! haha. But I'm doing all that I can to follow the plan for our lives.

Random (it wouldn't be me if it wasn't random), but have you noticed that my posts always start out about the adoption, then tend to go off on what seems like a tangent? Lol. Hey, I just type what's on my mind. Just be glad I'm not posting about who Lenni, Tuck and Ming Ming just saved on Wonder Pets.  ;)

Is this it?

So, I'm sure a lot of you have seen, read, or heard about the famine that has hit Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya the last few weeks. I know Somalia is being hit pretty hard and it's just trickling down to parts of Ethiopia and Kenya. To be honest, I would never have thought much about it before now. I would have maybe said a prayer about it while reading some intense article. But now, it's so much closer to our hearts. KC and I were talking about it the other day and our conversation went a little something like this:

Me: Ya know, the more I think about the famine and drought that's going on there, it's killing me! I want to have this process done and over with. I just want to have her here.
KC: I know, I know what  you mean. But we have to be patient and wait on God.
Me: I know. I just can't help but think that this is the event that may cause her to be orphaned - if she isn't already. Just that she's already going to experience something so tragic so early on in her life. Like, in order for her to be here with us, she'll be orphaned there.
KC: Yeah, but just think of it like this - last October God laid it on our hearts to adopt. IF this famine is what brings her to us that means that last October He KNEW that this was going to happen, called us to adopt so that she COULD have a family after this thing. You have to look at it that way. Again, IF this is what causes her to be orphaned, then God called us then to help her now.
(KC always knows the right thing to say to calm my frenzied mind. lol)

As much as I want her here and I want to get this process started (do you sense a pattern in my posts? Lol) I know that God has everything lined up for us. For example: a new thing we've discovered is that in order to adopt an infant, we both need to be 25. Well, I'll be 25 in 6 months. That's not something we originally caught. We match all other criteria - but that might cause a hold-up if we started now. God is teaching us patience through this. But man it's hard!

So here's some info about what's been going on in our lives. Oh, did I tell you all that we had car troubles? Well, we finally got our car fixed but it cost us $2,000!!! Then, we spent 300 on our van to get the battery replaced and the A/C fixed - but the A/C still doesn't work... I know. Once you pick yourself up off the ground, you can continue reading. Lol. So, that was hard b/c we did have to dip into our adoption savings account to get it taken care of. MAN was that hard. I came this close to having a major meltdown. But God told me that I needed to trust Him in the big things not just the little ones. I'm still learning things from Him.  :) 

We did get the boys set up in their own room. The bunk bed is setup and they LOVE it! We still have some more stuff to do in there. But I'll post pictures as soon as I get a chance. We'll start working on Santi's room in the next few months. She has her bed and her Hope chest, we just need to add some details. I'm really wanting to add some forest theme to it. I have a thing for hedgehogs. So, I want to incorporate this picture from Beatrix Potter in somehow. (below) Either in a painting or painted on her wall. I need to brush up on my sewing so I can make the quilts for her and the boys. I'm also going to be SUPER-ambitious and try to make her a crib bumper. Those things are expensive! haha! The problem is going to be finding time to sit down and work on them.

I've really been listening to God lately. These classes at church (Freedom Ministries) have been such a big blessing. It's allowing me to look at ideas and concepts much differently than I had in the past. And it's helping boost my confidence in hearing God. That's something I've struggled with for a long time. Well, I better finish getting ready for church. I'll try to post more often.   :)

Lots of Changes...

So, I know it's been a LONG time since I've updated... almost a month! But things have been pretty crazy around here. Lol. A lot of time spent preparing for our official start to this whole process. But, that still might be a week or two away. I'm a bit down since I'm so ready to get this process started, but at the same time I know I need to be patient and trust in God. So I've been filling my days with things to keep my mind occupied. For example: I've bought a few things for Santi already. I'm trying not to get into the habit, but some things are too good to pass up. KC and I are also working on preparing Caedmon's room so he can be joined by Oliver. I'm going to be painting their room this awesome burnt orange color on Saturday while KC is at his outreach and while my in-laws keep the boys. I've also acquired a few wooden dinner trays that I'm going to use as side tables - so those will be painted a dark brown. And I also have in my possession these nice sturdy wood cubes that are about a foot high and a foot wide. They will be painted brown as well, and I'm hoping to add a cushion to the top of each one so they boys each have a seat and they can be put together to make a small bench. So, Saturday will be full of DIY projects - talk about a perfect day! I hope I have enough time to do it all! Did I also mention we're having a birthday party for my nephew at our house around 3 that day too? Lol.

I'm also on the hunt for some awesome fabric so I can try my hand at making both of the boys a quilt. THAT should be... uh... interesting. Lol. My sister and I are going to Dallas just for a trip to IKEA the weekend after next. I'm SUPER DUPER excited about that. I love IKEA. We're going to buy the loft bunk bed below for the boys' room.

I'm sure having them share a room will  be bit of an experience the first few weeks, but they need to get used to it. Then, it'll give us a lot of time to turn Oliver's old room into Santi's new room. I'm also on a mission to create the perfect atmosphere for both her room and the boys. I'll definitely post pictures of their rooms upon completion. I've stolen an idea from JJ Heller and I'll be painting birch trees in both of their rooms. The boys' room will also have a lamppost like the one from The Chronicles of Narnia. They love that movie and it's the perfect touch. We're going to hang old styled lanterns up in their room too. KC is in charge of designing for their room and I'm in charge of Santi's.... I think it's a fair trade. Lol.

I've also started selling Scentsy as a way to earn money for our adoption. So, here's a link to my website in case you want to order anything or setup a party, etc. https://collinsadoption.scentsy.us/Home I'm also planning another fundraising party for an organization called One Mango Tree. That should be sometime in August. All ways to help us raise money for our adoption...  Anyway, that's pretty much all we have going on right now. Praying that I can stay focused and positive and patient throughout this whole process. I know it's going to be hard! lol. But, I know I'm being molded to become the best person I possibly can in Him.

More News!

So, we finally have some news to report! I spoke with our social worker, Sarah, last week. It looks like we are going to be able to start the process VERY soon! Hopefully in the next few weeks! You have no idea how excited KC and I are. We also found out that even with all the delays that have been going on in Ethiopia, it's not nearly as long as what we had originally thought. We're praying that by the time we are ready to travel to pick up Santi, there won't be any delays at all; but, that's all in Gods hands. We have enough money saved up for the first 3 steps: the Formal Application, the Home study, and the USICS paperwork. All 3 steps will take between 2-3 months. Then, we can wait up to 6 months before preparing the 4th step which is the Dossier - the big file we send to Ethiopia so the can review and determine if we're suitable guardians/parents. That period of up to 6 months between those 2 sets of steps will give us time to save up more money. God has blessed KC and I tremendously by allowing us to stash away KC's income for the adoption. He has an amazing job working from home - and while it's not his dream job and it's something he's not used to, he's doing incredible! We're putting the entire financial aspect (well, along with everything else) in God's hands. It will all fall into place like it's supposed to. I'd hate to try to get "a step ahead of God' and screw everything up. I've been known to do that. Lol. Get impatient and think that I'll give God a hand. I've learned to be patient and trust in Him. He's never let us down and has gotten KC and I out of more difficult situations than I care to count. All I need to know is that He's got this.  ;)  

So, how else are we trying to raise the funds? Why, thank you for asking! (hehe) I'm working on 2 fundraisers right now. The first is with Scentsy. I know many of you know what that is, but I'm adding my link so that you can check it out. If you would like to have a party just let me know. Or, if you already know what you like, you can order it directly from my website. We will receive 20% of every order and it all goes to the fund to bring Santi home.
https://collinsadoption.scentsy.us/Home

I'm also working on a fundraiser through One Mango Tree. I will be having a party for this one, I'm just not sure when or where. But you will be the first to know. They are an amazing organization out of Uganda. If you want to know more, you'll have to come to the party.  ;) 

I also just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for our family as we go through this process. It's long and drawn out, and we are doing our best to be patient and positive. Even though every fiber in my body aches to hold her in my arms; to see her playing with her brothers; to protect her in every way I can. I know God already has her chosen for us. I just can't wait to see her.