$1300 in 2 weeks! What?!

So let's do the calculations.

It's $650 per week, $92.86 per day, $3.87 per hour.

That's what we need....$1300 in the next two weeks so that we can send in our Dossier and get on the wait list! I can't bring myself to believe that's what stands between us and the "list".

This weekend at church we talked about the fact that we are overcomers. It was such a wonderful message.

Romans 8:31 says, "...If God is for us, who can be against us?" Pretty powerful. With Christ, we are overcomers. We are conquerors.

Makes me feel like we CAN do this. We TRUST in the Lord and we pray, and we work hard....we are doing what He has called us to do...and we know He will bless it.

It's hard to think about all we have left to do....all the money we have left to raise...it's a bit overwhelming at times. But, I remember that anytime I have felt doubt and prayed, He has always blessed us. Be it with a new order from my Etsy store, or maybe a new "side job" for Clint, sometimes even a sweet donation in our mailbox or through our Paypal account. He has shown us time and time again that we CAN do this, we CAN trust Him. We CAN!

Craig went on to preach that as an overcomer we have to FIGHT WITH CONQUERING ATTITUDES! He said there is power in our story...in our testimony.

When Craig was talking about this, all I could think of is MY story. My testimony of pain and loneliness....and of hope and faithfulness. I HAVE A STORY. One day I will figure out how to tell it.

Psalm 18:29 "In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall."

He also said that as an overcomer we have to FIGHT WITH SUPERNATURAL WEAPONS!

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 says, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."

We have to remember to put on our armor. To be able to deflect those negative comments, those snide remarks...those doubters. We have to fight evil with the power of the Holy Spirit and know that when we do, we will be OVERCOMERS!

I have to believe that every day....remind myself that we can overcome this.

$1300 in two weeks..... we can OVERCOME that amount!

I am working like crazy to come up with new things for my shop, work on existing orders and really just try to get the word out!

If you would like to donate to our adoption fund, you can do so here on our blog....or you can purchase an item from my Etsy store.

We also still have adult T-shirts left (sizes L & M, a few Sm too)....I have heard MANY people say that they are the softest t-shirt they own! :)

So, thank you in advance for the love and support!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

2 Years Ago Today

Two years ago today we had to say goodbye to one of the loves of my life. Two years ago today we had to help load his things into a Jeep and watch them drive away. I cried silently as I had to put him into the carseat in a car that was unfamiliar to him. It was like he knew. Clint and I made it through the day in a fog. Coming home to a house without Bruce was so unreal.

Bruce was such a ray of sunshine in our family. He was funny and sweet and had such a cute disposition!
When he came to us, he was so little. He was 14 months old and so wide-eyed. He was so unsure of this new place.
I remember the first night he was with us. He had gotten so used to the living room in our house that he wouldn't sleep in his crib. He cried and cried.
I made a pallet on the floor in the living room for he and I. He cried most of the night. I felt SO bad for him. I was helpless. All I could do was hold him and love on him. My connection with him was instant. So was Clint's. Bruce loved Clint SO much. They were precious together. He was always so excited to see Clint walk in the door at the end of the day.

Here's Bruce when he came to our house that first day. He just sat next to Clint on the couch. We had Clint's parents there and our sweet neighbors from across the street came to say hi too.


Bruce really warmed up to us quick. I think once he knew he was safe and not going anywhere, he was able to relax.
Here he is a few weeks after he came...and 1 haircut later!

Our lives were so enriched. We loved him more than words can say.

Today is tough. Each year the details of him seem to get harder to remember. One thing is for sure, the love I had (have) for him has never gone away. I know it never will.

Our first Christmas with Bruce. He loved to see our reaction when he would touch the ornaments on the tree. What a funny boy.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the kids together. Stockings hung, PJ's on....it's just sweet.

This was the night before Bruce left. He got some sweet time in with his baby sister, who we brought home from the hospital on Feb. 14th. He was really sweet with her.

Bruce, we will never forget you. We will never stop praying that you are loved and cared for like you deserve! We miss you every day.

Blame It On The Rain!

For some reason I am in an "adoption funk" today. Not sure if it's because we haven't seen a BIG response to our Dinner and Silent Auction, or if it's because I just REALLY want to be a Mommy NOW, or maybe it's just the rain today. Whatever it is, it's icky! Feelings like this are never productive. They dont solve anything, or make me feel any better.

I know that God has a hand in this adoption and that alone makes me feel like I can overcome any kind of "funk" i'm feeling!

Tonight I get to dine with my "dinner club". It's a group of ladies from my neighborhood that have come together to do a book study, but we have decided that going into spring and summer that we needed something a little less demanding. So....dinner club it is! I'm looking forward to Kerri's lasagna and poppy seed cake!

I also plan on sewing tonight (we'll see...with dinner club and American Idol I may not have time!!). Last night I made this cute bag. I left the name area blank (but photoshopped a name in on the first pic so everyone would get the idea). I LOVE the deer! So cute!

Good Mail Day

I love when I go get the mail and discover we have something to add to our Dossier!!! Yesterday we got all of our authenticated paperwork back and I was so thrilled. I thought for sure that I had waited so long and it was going to take forever! nope. Now I can say I have everything done (except the USCIS fingerprints, etc) for the Dossier! COME ON March 4th (fingerprint day)!!!!!

Last night I made this cute little personalized tote bag for my Etsy store. I'll make a few others, including a boy one, tonight. They are in my store now, and are $15. :)

Just Added

I added a couple things to my store today. Over the weekend I made this cute 1st Birthday shirt for Creed. Creed's Mommy wanted brown, red, blue...so I came up with this! I can pretty much do whatever you can think of!


Then I whipped up this cute Rocket Ship Onesie. I love the cowboy fabric paired with the polka-dots....so boy'ish! I can also put the Rocket Ship on a t-shirt...again, whatever you can think of!

I'm working on some cute personalized little girl tote bags, ruffled diaper covers, lovies, etc....

On the adoption front: We are excited about our Dinner and Silent Auction coming up in April. If you want to buy a ticket, you can email or call me anytime! They are $15 for adults, kids 6-12 are $6 and 5 & under are free. It will be held at the Christian Life Fellowship in Moore.
There will be live music, dinner and a silent auction. Should be lots of fun.
Again, just comment below for tickets!!

We go March 4th for our USCIS fingerprint appointments. I received our OK state authenticated documents back on Saturday..so $365 later, that's done! Ahhh.
Really all we have now is for our fingerprints, the approval letter from that...then send that Dossier IN!!!! yippee!

New Items in the works!

I have been sewing like crazy...in-between blowing my nose, coughing, and taking Robitussin like it's the magic cure-all! Lately I've had a few ruffle pant orders....

and a LOT of key fob orders, which I love to make!! They make great teacher, coach, friend, grandma, birthday gifts! I put one in Blake's teacher valentine this year. She really liked it.

NEXT I'll be working on a few things for St. Patty's day, Easter, etc......

These ruffled diaper covers are coming SOON to my store. If you want to order some, let me know. They will be $18. SUPER cute!!! Of course I will have matching onesies too!

So, preorder now if you wish...just email me (or comment below). Check out my Etsy store at www.craftycreations2.etsy.com

LOVE being able to raise money for our adoption AND be crafty too!!!!

Dinner & Silent Auction!!!

Hearts for Adoption, Dinner and Silent Auction....


I am super excited to announce our next fundraising event! We are partnering with the Linck's and the Habuda's to host a dinner and silent auction. All the proceeds from the event will benefit our adoptions from Ethiopia. God has faithfully provided an amazing facility to have our event and a great deal on catering.
Please join us for a fun night of food, music and a silent auction... to raise money to support adoption!


Hearts for Adoption

Dinner and Silent Auction


When: Saturday, April 16 from 6 to 9 p.m.


Where: Christian Life Fellowship
1400 NW 12th Street

Moore, Oklahoma


Dinner will be catered by Primos D'Italia. Cost is $15 for adults and $6 for children 6 to 12 years old. Kids 5 and under eat free. We will have a lot of cool silent auction items and live music to keep you entertained while you eat.

Would you please help us spread the word about this event?? Post it to your Facebook, invite all of your friends. It's going to be a good, good, night!

Thanks for your support!

LOVE

Happy Valentine's Day to the most amazing husband, father, friend!
I LOVE YOU!!

USCIS Appointment!!

What makes a beautiful Saturday even more beautiful? When you go to the mailbox and find your fingerprint appointment letters of course!!!! I skipped all the way back up the walkway to the front door! I'm not sure Clint knew exactly why I was so pumped,
but he quickly got on the "happy train" with me!
So... March 4th at 9 & 10am!!!! We're getting closer to the waitlist and I'm overjoyed!!!!

Mompetition Video

This video is so funny! I've seen one of these before about twins, from my sister in-laws blog ...super funny.

Cherry Pie turns 2

Two years ago today I got a phone call from the Mother of our sweet foster son. She said she had gone into labor and that little Cherokee Marie was born. I was excited and nervous....how was I going to handle being a foster mom to this teeny-tiny little 4.5lb baby!? Clint and I had her "older" brother Bruce living with us at the time and he was a year and 1/2 old.
Now here's this tiny miracle, born to a mother that can't care for her...and by the grace of God, placed in our home for us to love and care for her for however long God needed us to.
Cherry (as we called her) was in the hospital for about a week before she got to come home with us on Valentine's Day 2009! She was SO tiny and SUCH a wonderful baby. She was 5 weeks early and weighed 4.5lbs when she left the hospital.
Here is a picture of her in her car seat test at the hospital. Poor baby failed it on this try, but passed the next day..just enough to get her home, then we had to switch to a preemie car seat...that was interesting.

She got to ride around in this little "bed" for about 2 weeks. (no she wasn't in there when I took the pic) :)

Here she is in "Aunt" Kerri's car....it was her first ride in her car seat. I'm glad it was with Kerri, because I think I would've been checking every 2 seconds to see if she was still breathing (I'm telling you, she was the quietest baby ever!)

Her brother, Bruce, just loved her. He wasn't jealous or anything. He always kissed her and even held her a few times (under supervision...obviously).

Here she is in her little bed car seat. SO TINY! That paci was for preemie's and it looks like it's more then 1/2 her face!

With lots of love and a whole lot of spoiling...she grew really fast. She was gaining weight so well and really thriving.
Here she is about 3 weeks before she left.... so snuggly!

I miss that sweet face!

She's 2 today.... walking, running, eating big girl food, sleeping through the night, laughing, talking, playing... so many things.

I pray she is loved and cared for. I pray she has books read to her every day and has someone teaching her about how much Jesus loves her!!

I think of her often.

Happy Birthday sweet Cherry Pie

Snowpocolipse 2011

Oh my goodness! This snow is so crazy! Monday night the storm came through. It dumped about 10" and shut us in the house on Tuesday and Wednesday.






So I did a lot of sewing, making key fobs, watching TV, etc... It was nice!












Penny enjoyed us being home too!!



Lots of snow out our front door...




And in our driveway!






My poor hubby got the flu on Tuesday afternoon... So we got out in the snow on Wed. to make sure we were able to get him on Tamiflu in time. And wouldn't ya know, I'm getting my first symptoms of the flu today! Yuck!!

On the adoption front... We got our receipt from USCIS today in the mail... Hopefully we will get our fingerprint appointments soon!!