Happy Halloween!!!

Here are a few pics to give you a laugh.  We had dinner with our friend Jason tonight.  He was getting his Halloween costume ready which was Wayne from Wayne's World (a movie that came out Feb. 14, 1992).  Wayne is known for his long flowing mullet, hat, black t-shirt, and jeans filled with holes.  Jason even got his girlfriend to cut his wig because it was too long for Wayne!!!!  Too funny!!!

 

Love how Jason has a picture of Wayne on his Iphone so his hair can be just the right length!

Hope you all have a fun-filled weekend!!!

Fourth Watch Productions

Here is the promo that David Watson did on the Weimer family.  The documentary tells the Weimer's story of adoption.  PLEASE WATCH!!! 

(You can click HERE to be linked to Fourth Watch Productions)


Promo for "3 by 3 by 3" Documentary from David Watson on Vimeo.

Meeting and Greeting

Yesterday Russ and I had the privilege of meeting one precious little girl already home from Ethiopia and another couple in the process of bringing their little ones home.  We headed to Nashville yesterday morning and I met Kristi and Lucy Lane for lunch.   Click here to go to their blog.

The night we decided on adopting from Ethiopia I stayed up most of the night.  I was excited yet very anxious.  Somehow I found their blog and watched Lucy Lane's coming home video.  During the video God used a verse (Proverbs 24:12) to just completely put my mind at peace. Please take the time to watch this video.  You can thank me later :)



We had such a great time at lunch and it gave me such hope to see that our Lucy WILL BE HOME EVENTUALLY!!!!

Kristi, Lucy Lane, and myself

(how cute is she???!!!)

 Don't you just love her bow??!!

Lucy Lane giving me some love :)

Russ and I also got to have coffee with another couple adopting from Ethiopia (which I have no clue why we didn't take any picures!!).  David and Amy are in the process of adopting a sibling group.  Such a crazy story of how we found their blog.

A good friend of mine ran into David's mother in Memphis.  Somehow they began to talk and she told my friend about their adoption.  Immediately my friend thought of us ....SO, she got Amy and David's email address.  She then called me and said "You have GOT to talk with this couple.  I really think it will help you to talk with someone that is experiencing the same types of emotions." So, we did.  You can click HERE to read their blog.  What a great time we had talking about the ups and downs of adoption.  So encouraging to talk with someone who know's exactly what we are feeling.  After talking with David, I realized I had seen a promo for a video he is working on.  The video is called 3x3x3 and it tells of one families quest to adopt.  The promo is amazing....hopefully, the full video will be done soon.

We had a great day and felt so alive after talking with people that understand completely. Thanks Kristi, Lucy Lane, David, Amy, and Isaac for a great day! We are still in Nashville...hanging out with my fabulous sister-in-law :)  Have a great weekend!

Atlanta Bread Company (in Tupelo, MS)  has given us an awesome opportunity to raise money for our adoption process. All you have to do is eat at Atlanta Bread in Tupelo on Monday night, November 16th from 6 to 8 and some of their profits will go towards Lucy's adoption.  It will be a great excuse to not have to cook!

Even if you don't have time to eat at Atlanta Bread that night, come by anytime between 6 and 8 and order something to go!

 We will be there the entire time talking about Lucy and just adoption in general!!  Look forward to seeing you all there!!!  Please pass the word around to as many people as possible.


Where : Atlanta Bread Company
              312 S. Gloster Street
              Tupelo, MS 38801


When: Monday, November 16 

Time:   6:00- 8:00


Thanks for all the support!!!  Glad you all love Lucy too!!!

why?

I found these on a blog of a couple adopting from Ethiopia.  Click here to see their blog. They just reminded me all over again of why we chose Ethiopia.  Adoption is hard. Period. But hearing these renew my passion and my fight for my child.

Why Adopt From Ethiopia
• One in six children die before their fifth birthday

• 44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old

• 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition

• The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years

• 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)

• 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone, and there are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia.

• Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa

• In the 90s the population (3%) grew faster than food production (2.2%)• Drought struck the country from 2000-2002 (first year no crops, second year no seeds, third year no animals)

• Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school.

• Coffee prices (Ethiopia’s only major export) fell 40-60% from 1998-2002.

• Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000.

• In 1993, after 30 long years of war, Eritrea broke from Ethiopia and became an independent nation leaving Ethiopia landlocked without any major seafaring ports.

We need to make a difference in the lives of orphans.  How are you going to be a part?

Good Hair

     This is a movie I will be seeing for many reasons!!!  I have had trouble with my hair since I was young.  I did not wear it all the way down until 8th grade when I was going to my first dance.  My mom got it as straight as she could and by the time we got to the place for the dance, it had grown into a mushroom!  My mom and I could NOT control it!!  I am so thankful that it is a little better now (and that they invented hair straightners :) )

    One of my co-workers and I were talking about me fixing Lucy's hair. She was giving me advice and then told me about this movie.  I watched the trailer and think it will be pretty entertaining! Maybe I can learn some good techniques!

Chris Rock explores the wonders of African-American hairstyles.

Hope

I saw this video on Annie's blog.  The message behind this video is amazing.  Take a look :)


Bethany Christian Services - A Story of Hope from Catalyst on Vimeo.

2 months

Today marks 2 months since we made the decision to adopt from Ethiopia.  God has done more than we could ever ask or imagine.  My heart is so full and at peace.  For 2 years now, God has been preparing Russ and I for this.  We felt him calling us to adopt...that there was a little girl out there (or to be out there) that we were to parent.  At first, we thought maybe we misunderstood.  Why would be adopt when it is not necessary?

He continued to work on our hearts...opening them to whatever child HE had for us.  This was a process that completely exposed the ugliness of our hearts (well, specifically my heart).  He told us to "Be still and know that He is God."  I didn't understand.  We were called to adopt but then we felt Him telling us to wait.  Then, on August 10...we KNEW what he was telling us.  And for the first time, my heart and flesh were willing.  Not because of me but because of the work He had done in me.

Russ and I were talking last night about how much has happened since that day...2 months ago.

We have (or should I say God has):

1.  Made the decision to adopt
2.  Found an agency
3. Sent off our I600A to immigration
4.  Told all of our family and friends  ( and been completely supported!)
5.  Completed our fingerprinting
6.  Began AND completed our homestudy (as of today.  Yea!!!!)
7.  Sent in most of the paperwork to Gladney
8.  Organized a HUGE yardsale to raise money (Thanks to our great friends and family!!!)
9.  Raised almost $3,000 at the yardsale
10  Been given almost $5,000 towards our adoption
11.  Cleaned out the room that will be Lucy's
12.  and finally, fallen more in love with her.

So, today on the 2 month anniversary of us deciding to adopt, we are thankful.  Our homestudy lady will be here in 4 hours to let us read over our homestudy so it can be sent to Gladney.  Then we can officially work towards getting on the waitlist.  My mom once told me we should not just be thankful for what God does for us but we should praise Him.  Today, we will do just that.

Icing on the cake

After the sale, friends and family all gathered to add up the total money made.  Such a special moment....we are so supported! We all made guesses and all underbid.  I had prayed that God would multiply the money made and the people that came and He did just that.  We are a few steps closer to bringing Lucy home now.  

I thought people would not care what the cause of our sale was.  I was wrong.  We had people donate money, let us keep the change, and most did not even try to get us to reduce our prices.  We had people come by to share their adoption stories and to wish us good luck.  We even met someone that has an Ethiopian friend that we can take language classes from.  God is so faithful, even when we doubt.  While I am confident in our decision, I love the times that God makes things so clear and reminds us that He has a plan.  

Oh yeah, the amount we made was the exact amount of our next payment to our agency.  Icing on the cake :)

Thanks to everyone that helped to make the sale a success.  We are so thankful!

The Big Day

Thanks to great friends and family, the yard sale DID happen!!  I am so glad that we moved the sale to a house where we could have it indoors.  The rain decided it wanted to make an appearance but people still came!

 Jessica making our sign to let people know about our little Lucy!!

Russ' mom and her AWESOME shirt!  She was ready to sale some stuff for her grandbaby :)

Me and my mom.  We would not have made it without the help of our sweet moms.

We had a double stroller for sale and my mom felt the need to try it out :)

Our friends Margaret and Crystal.  They made the sale happen! Such great friends.

Can't wait to have her home.

Great Finds

We found some GREAT items from the garage sale!!  Russ and his mom (Mrs. Birdie) modeled a few for us.

Too funny!!!  Russ looked GREAT in his fur coat!

Our Messy Life

Our friends were so generous to donate LOTS and LOTS of stuff to our garage sale. Here is a little preview of how much we had! I also added a creepy pic of my sweet husband :)

This would be the creepy pic:)

I have NO idea how we ever got this organized!

We got SO many clothes that we couldn't sort through them. We ended up selling Wal-mart bags full for $3 and garbage bags full for $5. I must admit, I was skeptical BUT I was wrong. There is no telling how much we made off of these clothes!