T-shirt Orders

When L and I got married and combined closets, the two sides looked very different. Not just because I had a bad shopping habit and my side was crammed full, but also because 75% of his side was t-shirts. Until that day, I didn't even know people wasted a hanger on t-shirts. The man still has more than I can ever imagine owning, which he would say the same about my shoes, and jeans, and shirts, and...anyway, back to my point. :) So as we are in this adoption process, we couldn't think of anything better than to add to his collection...so we created another one!



Front

Back

  In all seriousness, we really wanted to design a t-shirt that not only helped bring Little R home, but could also be used for awareness. If you would like a shirt, please visit our t-shirt page for details. We are placing the order THIS THURSDAY, July 28th, so please let us know your size by tomorrow night. You can do so via the comment box below, PayPal on the t-shirt page, or emailing us.

Also, if you do get a shirt and feel picture happy, please send us a pic of you in your shirt! We would love to add it to our scrapbook for Little R so he/she will know everyone who helped bring them home.

Yard Sale: Success!

Every Wednesday our community group meets. We meet to catch up on the week, worship, and spend time together in the Bible. This Wednesday was a little different, but such a selfless and true visualization of our friends being the hands and feet of Jesus as they served us and Little R with yard sale setup (we changed it to a yard sale because there was no way it would all fit in the garage!). We all gathered at the Starnes' home to bring the yard sale donations we had collected and begin pricing them.

L and I were completely overwhelmed with the amount of things that were donated. The donations were from family, friends, and complete strangers. The items ranged from things destined for a yard sale to many things that were too nice and the donors could have made a real profit on, but donated anyway.

Just a glimpse of the donations

Our dear community group spent hours pricing and organizing things in the intense Texas heat. Then Saturday morning, we got up super early and met again to put everything in the yard for sale. In the midst of the sale, we also got to share our story. We met people who had also adopted and even had connections in our child's homeland, people who wanted to adopt someday, and even one lady who was confused and rubbed my stomach to say hi to Little R :) Oh the many joys of adoption - I immediately looked to the first friend I could find to confirm I did not look as if Little R, at any age, could be inside there. Normal girl behavior, right?!?

WE RAISED OVER $1,500!!!!!!!!!!!

This sale was a blessing in so many different ways. There are not words to express how grateful we are to everyone who donated, shopped, our dear community group, and God. Little R is so evidently loved and we feel so supremely blessed.

We took many pictures and video, so someday, Little R will know all everyone did to bring him/her home. Little R will be able to see and feel the love we all had before we ever knew him/her.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

PS...you can get a sneak peek at our t-shirts here!

Garage Sale for Adoption

A few months ago I shared how blessed we were with our community in Austin here. A major part of that community is our group from church that we live life with and see weekly. L and I have been continually amazed by the outpouring of love, support, and selflessness these dear friends have shown us, especially in our journey of adoption. They graciously offered to host a garage sale for our adoption, all proceeds going to help bring Little R home.

If you are free, in the Austin area, and in need of some new things, we would love to see you there!

The location of the sale is 13217 Broadmeade Avenue Austin, TX 78729. The sale will be THIS Saturday, July 23rd, from 6am-530pm.

Some items that will be for sale:

• coffee table
• computer (just the tower, but in working condition!)
• 5.1 home theater sound system
• Jay Turser guitar
• GE black dishwasher
• home decorations
• rugs
• microwave
• Graco strollers
• crib
• lamps
• taupe chairs and ottoman set (like new and modern)
• baby gates
• clothes

...and much more!

To our community group,

You mean more to us that you can possibly know. Little R will be so blessed to know you and your children. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your daily encouragement and helping make this adoption possible. May the Lord richly bless you.

Love,

L and M

His timeline eh?

We thought referral wait mode was far away, like months. Some days it seemed like we may never get there. We have not adopted, or known anyone that has adopted from our agency, so we were just going off generic timelines and assumptions. Then the email came. The one that says our referral wait time starts now. Our home study paperwork was completed, and we have almost everything for the dossier, but the paperwork is not complete. But it will be soon. And now we find out, that even before it is complete, we could be referred at any moment. That moment could be in an hour or months from now. But it could happen.

I think my heart stopped for a few minutes. Tears came in a flood of happy, scared, excited, worried emotions. I cannot compare being pregnant to this process, or vice versa, because I have not done both. But it felt like, I think, it would feel if the doctor told me I was pregnant and soon, one day, we could see a sonogram picture. I quickly called L and he was so perfectly excited, the way you think your husband would be when you tell him you are having a child, even though he already knew, this just makes it so real.

It is all so weird. Just last week I was telling L it felt like we weren't really even in the process because our home study was taking longer than normal and we weren't "doing" anything. Basically, I like to be in control and nothing was happening. And then a few days later, a surprise like this speeds everything up, mostly, my emotions.

Yes, it could still be months before we know our child. But just to know our agency is working on our match is very exciting.

It was really easy for satan to start with his fear and anxiety games after something like this, but we were able to use today to praise the Lord. To continually commit this journey to Him and His timeline. This is such a roller coaster and I am so glad He is leading it.

If you would like to join us in prayer, here are a few things we are praying...

• For our agency to have discernment, wisdom, and God's leading above all
• Little R's comfort, health, safety, food, family
• Specifically, Little R's mom. Somewhere, someday soon, a mother will have to leave her child, and it breaks my heart. More than anything, we wish that was not the case. I weep for her. We pray she is made complete in Christ and knows His love.
• God's glory and purpose in this all, above all

A time to celebrate

This past weekend was full of celebrations! L and I look forward to this weekend each year for a few reasons including getting together with friends and my birthday. We packed up the car Friday and headed to Port Aransas for our annual 4th of July weekend trip with close friends. We spent the weekend at the beach in a wonderful beach house, all 14 of us. The ladies each took a meal and cooked some of our favorite dishes which included: sopapilla cheesecake, fajitas and guacamole, yummy breakfast casseroles, baked powdered donuts, breakfast tacos, homemade Dominican ice cream, chicken salad, turkey burgers, sliders, fresh cut fries on the grill and so much more. To say we ate well is an understatement, but the best part of the trip is simply the time spent together. We get to catch up on each others lives and have fun. Only 362 days until we do it again...

This year we had the first kids along. Our dear friends Drew and Rae have twin girls that are simply precious. They are the best babies and have the best parents. It was great to watch our friends with their babies and how they integrate so well into all of our lives. As I set on the beach, I wondered if Little R will be there next year? I thought about how great it would be for Little R to play in the sand and catch up on sensory development (a few too many books, I know!). Or will we be meeting our child?

I find myself constantly wondering what the next year will look like. People's automatic question now is "When will you travel?" - if only we knew. A million questions run through my mind. I do not even know Little R, for goodness' sake; I do not even know Little R's gender or age, but still, I wonder.

The first verse that comes to my mind is Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." In reading all of these situations, we have to put the fears and negative thoughts aside and trust in Him alone. We cannot trust in ourselves, the process, in people, in anything else but Him. Little R is His child, He knew Him before He was conceived, and we know the Lord has a wonderful plan, far beyond what we can imagine. So we are grateful. Grateful that we are not in control and that Little R has a Father who promises to comfort and love.

As for an update on the paperwork trail, we received our home study paperwork today (another reason to celebrate!) and hope to have that portion completed and in the mail shortly. Then we will move on to the dossier (aka, more paperwork).