Sneak peek!!

As I mentioned earlier this month, we are going to be having a online silent auction to help raise adoption funds in the later part of July. One item, that we quite stumbled on by accident, arrived in the mail today and I just had to give you all a sneak peak!! Also, lined up for the auction are Mary Kay products and hair cuts from our dear friend Kim Montgomery!! We are still gathering donations so if you know of anyone who would be willing to donate services or new items please let me know.

 Blessings,

Dawn

Let the crazy commence!

June has been pretty calm around our house. It has been nice to have time to go through closets and spend more time with Tabetha. In fact when I had my own classroom I had (and still have somewhere in a box in the garage) a plaque that says, "Three reasons for teaching, June, July and August". I love the freedom that my profession offers! However July is coming, and that is where my "summer" ends.

 As many of you know, we are preparing for new hardwood floors to be  laid in all of our bedrooms as well as painting in our guest room and bathroom; all of which will be done while we are on our "staycation" in Orlando.  For months now we have been moving things around  and thinking about what will go were when it's all done. Because I can't resist a good sale, we have already bought a second set of baby furniture for whenever K2 (Michael's term) joins our family and we've had a pile of hardwood flooring stacked up in our living room since March. Right now our house looks a little like a furniture store((hair pulling)) but in 3 weeks it will all be over!!! Well, the home renovation part that is......

Earlier this year we also signed up to host a 16 year old from China named Mirabelle. She will be joining us for her entire junior year here at North Port High School. We've been in touch with her for a couple of months now and we are very excited for her to join our family! Her arrival date has not been confirmed yet, but she has told us she will be here at the end of July. The idea that I will be "parenting" a teenager is quite surreal.

Now comes the super crazy part!My husband once said "You will eventually give us to death, but what a way to go!" Maybe it's the teacher in me or just the fact that God gave me the desire to help out whenever I can, but today we signed up to host a second 16 year student from Brazil named Barbara!! I just couldn't get over that "tug" on my heart. Some of the greatest things in my life have come from that "tug"and God has taught me not to ignore it.

So.....that means, in a month I will have two teenage "daughters", a two year old that thinks she's sixteen, four cats, a dog, a husband who's work has required a lot of travel lately, AND..........an open adoption profile in which we could receive not one but TWO children!!!! And as our friend Loryn says, "God has a great sense of humor", that means I could possibly have 5 children living in my house at any point during the school year.

Yep, we are that crazy!!!!


Blessings,

Dawn

Let the fundraiser begin!

Thanks to Dawn's mom, we have partnered with Just Love Coffee Roasters to help raise funds for our next adoption!! The owners of the company are fellow adoptive parents and started the company to help families like us as well as families with special needs children and schools. For every 13 oz bag of coffee sold, we will receive $5. They not only have coffee, but other great products as well!

 We are very excited to be entering into this part of our adoption journey! I beleive we will have the chance to see God work through our need and carve an amazing story out of this just like he did for Tabetha's enterance into our family.

There will be lots of excitement and activity in our family in the next few months, so be sure to subscribe to our blog so can can receive automatic updates directly to your email!!!!

With Richest Blessings,

Dawn

Coming Soon......

As you might be able to see, I've made some changes to our blog in the last few days. After a year, I've finally fiqured out how to manage it! LOL!  But seriously, I've spent some serious time learning by trial and error (and crying a few tears) how this whole thing works.  Not having to work or go to class has helped but mostly thanks to the Florida summer rains that have kept us the house the majority of the week.

All of this has got me thinking about fundraiser ideas for our upcoming adoption. It is no secret that adotpion is expensive and although we have been able to set some money aside the last year or so, we still have a long way to go.  Right now we are leaning toward doing a silent auction here on our blog. So, right now we are in "gathering" phase for donated items and services. So if you or anyone you know has a business (Pampered Chef, Thirty-One, Etc) or items they would like to donate for the auction, please let me know. I am thinking about starting the auction sometime in July.

We also have a new "Donate" button to the right on the page where you can make a donation using PayPal or major credit card. This was our first step to setting up the blog for the upcoming auction.

Thanks for walking this jouney with us,

Dawn

Waiting, Waiting....

Waiting is never fun. Not when you are a kid or an adult. Unfortunately, waiting is often and longest and worst part of adoption.

We have been considered a "wating and available" family since Novemeber, and really, it's not that long. It's just seems that way. When we went through this is first time we were waiting for four months before we were matched. Currently it has been six months. But it's been a long six months for some reason.
We have been blessed to be associated with the best adoption agengy in the world! (Yes, I'm a bit bias!) We have built such an amazing level of comfort and trust with them that we even financially support the ministry and do whatever else we can to help. (I'm sure our family and friends want to run away sometimes when we start talking about it). All this to say, we by no means ever want to "jump ship" but honsetly it is tempting when we see pictures and hear stories of other little boys and girls that need families. It's our own impatience that messes with us more than anything else.

Last week at this time we got a phone call informing us that we were one of two couples that would be considered for a Africian American 3 month old that was being released from NICU where he had been since birth. Long story short, it was not our match. And since then we have found out some addtional details that prove to us, it was not the match for us. Even still, it's somewhat depressing.

This time around has been quite different than the first in the sense that last time, we had no idea how many birth moms viewed our profile before choosing our family. This time we have been up for match four times(that we know of) in the past four months, and that certainly makes things harder. That "pins and needles" feeling is awful.  And honestly, I can't help but think that it's going to be awhile before we are matched.

 As I was laying in bed the other night thinking about this, a verse I have known for what seems like forever ran through my head with new emphasis.  Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own undertstanding (NIV). If there is one thing I have learned in my 22 year jouney with God, he NEVER does things the way you think he will. Just because you think you have it fiqured out means nothing to him or his calendar. This coupled with my favorite verse which also popped in my head at the same time, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine....( Ephesians 3: 20, NIV) tells me he must have something quite specific and special in mind for us. Although the waiting in driving us nuts, we are sure that years from now we will look back and see God's hand every little step of this journey.

In the mean time, keep praying for us. Tabetha is going to be getting a "big sister" in August as we are hosting a 16 year old exhange student named Mirabelle from China this next school year. So we will be busier than ever this coming year!!

Blessings to All,


Dawn