Our Gifts from God

Tree Fort:)

2012-01-03T14:07:00.003-06:00

Cameron is sooo handy!! Not only is he handy, he is also a perfectionist (which does sometimes take a little longer than speedy Jenny can stand BUT the finished product is ALWAYS worth the wait:).

He wanted to build a tree fort in the back yard. He's been working on it for a few months and IT.IS.FINISHED!!! Oh it's amazing. These pictures don't quite do it justice. It's really large. It's an irregular hexagon (that's six sides for those of you who aren't not the queen of Geometry like I am;0). He weighted the door so you can pull a pvc pipe and it opens and then just pull the rope attached to it for closure. OH isn't that SO high tech?!

Anyway, I cannot wait for beautiful 70 degree weather where I can sit up there and READ. We found a great chair at a flea market that is the perfect addition. Many, MANY memories will be made at this tree fort. We are hoping to put a picnic table under it sometime soon.

And YES I am way more excited about this than anyone else in the family:)

In this pic, you can see the door. This was prior to completion.

There are now rails up beside it so no one can fall overboard!

MY CHAIR!!!! :D

My sweet 6 year old leaving the fort.

Introducing....

2011-12-26T22:10:00.002-06:00

Jingle Bells:D

Cameron finally gave in... I mean was SO excited about adding to the family! We are so excited about having a new puppy. Jingle Bells is a golden doodle and she's a very sweet, good doggy. We are in puppy training at Pet Smart and she's learning a lot. Welcome to the fam Jingle Bells!! We are so glad you are here!!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T21:27:00.003-06:00

Oh it's been a good Christmas for us!! I'm not sure we've ever thoroughly enjoyed and soaked each other up quite as much as we have this year and it's been SO good! We have been reading an Advent story this month and finished it today and it was so good. How thankful I am God placed it on my heart years ago to READ, READ, READ to my children. We have read so many rich books over the past few years. So many precious memories we've made through those books.

The kids have had the best Christmas as far as gifts go. Cameron built them the most amazing tree fort!!! We are going to have the most fun in our back yard over the next several years. We also bought them a trampoline for Christmas which they LOVE!!!

Joleigh has thoroughly enjoyed her first Christmas as a Wallace. She has loved seeing the Christmas lights and looking for our Elf friend daily:) She and Piper have played all night long with the doll house. The boys have played all night with legos and Cameron and I were able to watch a movie all alone while they all played.

Thank you God for the blessings You've given us. Oh please continue to guide us as we raise these children You have blessed with. You know I would freeze them in a moment if it were possible. OH I would, I would!!! Please God let them run and chase after You. Let them have a desire to know You more. Let our lives glorify You!!

Oh to have the ability to remain silent...

2011-12-16T15:21:00.004-06:00

God just didn't make me that way. When a dear brother or sister is so obviously heading down satan's road we are CALLED to bathe that brother or sister in love and scripture. We are called to point them to God's truths and let them know what they are doing in no way aligns with that. I've seen a couple really close friends marriages fall apart this year simply because of satan's lies. OH how I have spoken the truth in love to these dear people (both I've known practically my entire life). One just ignored but still knows I love them and they love me and one has shut me out of their life forever. How much easier would it have been for me to keep my mouth shut?! How much easier would it have been to accept and go along with these women leaving their spouses. I wouldn't have received ridicule from them or their friends. I wouldn't have even received ridicule from the christian community b/c let's be honest, how many people truly speak truth into these situations? I solely spoke truth because HE gave me the courage and power to do so. Oh it's been hard. To have lost a friend since grade school and to have been terribly attacked because I'm not just loving and accepting and minding my own business. But you know what... I have done what I have been called to do and no words have been left unspoken and my prayer is that His words will penetrate through the darkness. The reason it's so hard to follow scripture in this is because ANYtime christians stand up for what His word says we are immediately labeled as judging. I will definitely not be patted on the back here on earth for speaking truth but know those truths glorify Him. Believers... you better know satan is out to DESTROY your homes! Keep yourselves so far above reproach in this area. Married men and women ought to have boundaries clearly set up. If not, satan will use those little compromises and take you somewhere you never dreamed you would go. We are ALL capable of falling. None of us are exempt from satan's attacks. Prepare your families, put on the full armor. Pray a hedge of protection around your home. “Radical obedience to Christ is not easy... It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.” David Platt

She is...

2011-11-21T09:39:00.004-06:00

... a joy giver!

She is full of life!

She is resilient!

She is a firecracker!

She is beautiful in every way!

She is 3 years old!

She absolutely LOVES to learn!

She also LOVES her momma's crochet projects:)

She thinks life is a song!

Her mommy has had a very hard 6 months and God has given her healing powers!

She is life for my soul and a light in my heart!

Oh thank you Jesus for each moment with have with Piper Jane! We are soaking her up!!

Fear

2011-11-19T23:21:00.003-06:00

I realized a couple of months ago while doing a Bible study with the women at Grace Fellowship Bible that the thing that really grips me, stands in the way of truly following and trusting Him is fear. While we were sharing our obstacles or things we struggle with all of the other women said several things that they personally struggle with and then it came to me and all I had written was FEAR! Everything pretty much revolved around this in my life. What kind of fear? So many different levels. My ultimate fear is that my family will not know the Lord and will not be FOLLOWERS of Him. Oh this fear sometimes cripples me for my children. I somehow think that if I do A, B, and C then they will come to know Him. I know that's not the way it works but oh I wish it were... and then no, I don't want it to be that way b/c I wouldn't do it good enough to lead them there. None of us could ever earn His favor. Other fears are just terrible accidents. People quit telling me about freak accidents b/c then I fear they will happen to one of us. I mean, the more children you have the greater your odds, right?! Sound silly? Well, that's what has gripped me. BUT He has risen and He is a living God and He is NOT finished with me yet. I truly have lifted my arms up to Him and given Him my fears. Fear is not from the Lord! FEAR IS NOT FROM THE LORD! So why am I allowing Satan to have so much control of my life by fearing!! After giving Him my fears and laying them on the alter, I truly feel He has asked me to study His word for EVERYTHING it says about fear AND trusting!!! Obviously if I'm fearing, I'm not trusting. I am SO excited about searching His word. Confession... I have NEVER hungered to be in the word. I've wanted to so badly but never truly hungered for it. Last year I read the Bible all the way through but I still didn't delve through it to learn more and more. I am so thankful for the hunger for His word He has given me.

Here are a couple of passages I've read about fear ... now I don't just read the verses stated I go back and get the entire context b/c I really don't have a great knowledge of the Word. So if fear is something you struggle with, join me!! I told my husband, "WOW... how scary is it for Satan to know that I am giving up FEAR!!"

Passages:

Genesis 21:16-17 .. Hagar and Ismael: What did she fear and what did the Lord say? I read a couple chapters around these verses to get the story behind them.

Genesis 26: 6-7 .. Isaac and Rebekah: What did Isaac fear? What was the result of this fear? I read a couple chapters around this as well.

Same pump, totally different story!

2011-11-15T17:32:00.003-06:00

A week ago I was at the Kroger gas pump talking on the phone while trying to get the pump started. Now let me add, I was actually waiting on the phone b/c a friend of mine had to take another call. The pump was messing up and said it couldn't read my Kroger card and then it was canceling the transaction, yaddy yada. Now I'm a pro at the gas pump. I don't waste time. I have found the most efficient order to make sure I get the gas pumping quickly;0) it's true... I don't like wasting time at the pump. HEhe!

Well for some reason the pump was just acting up. I hear someone say, "ma'am". I didn't think much of it and then I heard it again really loud "MA'AM!!" I looked behind me and a middle aged man in a nice truck said, "are you gonna talk on the phone or are you gonna pump gas?" WOW! Are you serious?!!! I calmly put the pump back in the machine and took a few steps towards his truck and said, "Are you talking to me?" He then rudely restates his bold statement. I very calmly (this is true I was very calm) let him know he didn't know me and had no right to address me in a rude manner. I told him the pump was messing up and since he was being so inconvenienced he may need to find another pump. His wife was in the truck and you could tell by the look on her face very few stood up to him. He took my advice and found another pump... at another station. I was just shocked at how rude people could be. I was thankful the Lord held my tongue and just let him know he was being inappropriate instead of being inappropriate right back.

Fast forward a week.

Today I was pumping gas and I see a man who is obviously homeless and probably mentally ill ask a couple of people if he could make a call on their phone. Both men he asked didn't really even give him eye contact and said "no". Oh it broke my heart. But those of you who know me know I have the most ridiculous amount of compassion, like maybe to a fault. He began to walk off and then turned around and came towards me. He said, "do you have a phone I could use to make a phone call?" I said, "absolutely". I got my iPhone out of the car and gave it to him but he wasn't quite sure how to use it so he asked if I could dial the number for him. As he was waiting for someone to answer he began pacing around my vehicle, I said with a smirky smile "okay now if you're gonna borrow my phone you're gonna have to stand by me". He said, "oh no I'm not gonna steal from you. I promise I'm not gonna take your phone." I looked him in the eye and said, "I know that. I believe you but it wouldn't be wise of me to let you out of my sight" :) He then sat there with me by the pump. My eyes just continually welled up. He finally got a hold of someone. When he went to return my phone he said, "thank you. All these folks with a phone and not nobody gonna let me make ONE call". I said "you're welcome and God bless you! I'm going to pray for you." He then stood up and looked at me with the most sincere face and gasped, "My momma is saved!! My momma is saved! I get it. That's why you let me borrow your phone." He continually thanked me and wished to pay me back. I told him, "there's no need!!! This isn't my phone. It's His! God doesn't give us things to hoard, He gives us things to help those in need". Oh my heart was full as we shook hands. When I got in the car I verbally said, "God you don't want me to live life SAFELY!!! You want me to seek you in EVERY circumstance."

Lord Jesus protect my friend tonight!

A Wonderfully, painful place to be...

2011-11-01T21:31:00.004-05:00

God has me in the most AMAZING place of insufficiency where I know that I need Him for absolutely EVERYthing. It is the most unsuccessful place to be but the MOST joyful place to be. Unfortunately this joy is not how you would imagine it to look. I am battered and torn and ever so exhausted but I am right where HE wants me!! I know God is speaking truth to me and has a great work in store for me so of course right now I am experiencing spiritual warfare that is REAL. Please lift up my family in your prayers. Don't pray necessarily for satan to ignore us but for us to feel the presence of God SO powerfully that we will courageously stand our ground! That even against attacks we are able to glorify God in where He is calling us. Thank you to my friends who have been a constant encouragement to me! You know who you are and God has brought you along for the battle and I thank you for doing your part!

How YOU can help US!!

2011-10-31T15:57:00.003-05:00

I know it's impossible to understand bonding with an adoptive child (esp an older child) unless you have literally walked through it. I also know that EVERY adoption looks so very different so even the needs of our family may look entirely different than the needs of another. I am writing this as a Momma Bear protecting my family through clinched teeth. My intent in NO way is to offend... but I am also not concerned about offense taken because I have every right to defend my family in a loving way. So here is what we NEED on this journey!!

Please....

DO NOT...

1. Pick up Joleigh

2. Mother Joleigh

3. Offer Joleigh treats

4. Feed Joleigh

5. Treat Joleigh special in ANYway

PLEASE...

1. Let us be the Wallace family and not the family who adopted Joleigh

2. Treat Joleigh like you do our other children ... I wish I could describe the damage that is being done to my 3 year old unintentionally by family and friends who time after time shower Joleigh with comments, attention, etc and neglect her sister. Oh she may not look like she's paying attention but she notices EVERYthing you say about her sister and not about her.

3. Try to even ignore Jo is here right now!!!!! I know this sounds horrible but oh if you knew how much it would help us. This is the biggy and I KNOW it's virtually impossible for people but guys when Joleigh receives special treatment and attention from you, she is pulling away from ME!!!!! Let me retype that for you! When Joleigh receives special treatment from YOU she is pulling away from ME!!! It's called mommy shopping. She literally becomes a different kid towards me when someone has dolled all over her. Oh and I can't tell you how hard it is to bond with someone who would rather be with someone else... anyone else that will show her special attention.

Thank you to my KCA co-op family for being so great with this!!!! You guys have really made Thursdays an enjoyable day and I appreciate you helping me in this area!!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and please be in prayer for our family. Pray for bonding. We are SO very thankful God has called Joleigh into our family. Oh she is a joy!!! An absolutely JOY!!! She needs to feel that love and attention only from us right now. That will, in time, encompass family and friends but right now it has to be only us!!!

Mystery Solved:)

2011-10-20T21:04:00.002-05:00

So last night or I guess I could say early this morning I solved my brain mystery:) It's because of the medicine I'm taking. About six weeks ago I went to the doctor because of terrible anxiety. My blood work has shown that I have had some thyroid issues on and off for over a decade, as well as a cyst, but my blood work never high enough to persuade me to take the long-term medicine for my thyroid, although my doc really persuaded;0). I have struggled and struggled after our adoption. Not because of Joleigh but because I was not who I normally am. I never really struggled with postpartum depression before but I knew I was struggling with post-adoption depression or at least a lot of extra anxiety. I sought God and over and over I knew I probably needed some medical help to move on but kept waiting, thinking it would get better. Several Godly women even brought up the subject with me. Then when talking to my sister-in-law she said, "have you ever had your thyroid checked out?" It was like a wall came down. It hadn't dawned on me that my thyroid being off could elevate my anxiety. I knew I needed to go to the doctor and see if she felt anything could help me. She put me on Viibryd for anxiety b/c it was a medicine I could take for a few months and it would hopefully reset things for me. I have several friends who have taken medicines like viibryd for that very thing and they had positive experiences. I began taking it about 6 weeks ago. A couple to few weeks after I started the medicine, I began having these brain episodes. When I spoke to my doctor about that possibility she didn't think it was possible b/c this medicine doesn't lower your thresh hold for having seizures and that was what my symptoms sounded like. About 3:00 this morning I realized I had googled my symptoms over and over but I had never used the words electrocuted. So this morning I typed in "my brain feels like it is being electrocuted" and sure enough there it was!!! Oh praise the Lord! There were others who have experienced the same thing. I didn't read about anyone having side effects while on different medicines but when they were withdrawing from medicine. There were actually several types of medicine that could cause this when you begin to quit taking it. One was a pain medicine my doc had given me years ago for my endometriosis but it never caused me problems. I fully believe this is happening because Satan knows this medicine is what I'm needing right now. Bonding with Joleigh has grown ten fold in the past 6 weeks because I am ME!!!! These episodes aren't harmful, just terribly disturbing but since I know what it is I think I'm going to try to stay on this medicine for at least a couple more months and give it a chance to reset things in my brain. I think even though it's a terrible feeling to go through, now that I know what is causing it hopefully my body will let me sleep even after the episodes. So please continue to pray for rest for me... my family would appreciate it:)

Prayers please

2011-10-13T13:10:00.003-05:00

For the past few weeks I've been having some strange problems when I try to go to sleep. You know how you fall asleep and jump and wake up?? Well it's been happening to me repeatedly. The first night it happened I woke up with a jump 6 or 7 times within about 15-20 minutes. I didn't think much of it. A couple weeks later I felt as though I was losing consciousness a couple of times during the evening and then that night as I began to go to sleep I woke up violently with a "jump" which was accompanied with a terrible loud noise in my head and a bright light. Scared me to death! That night it happened for a couple hours, probably 10 times total before I was able to fall asleep. This has happened several times since. I went to the doctor yesterday and she was concerned about it and has ordered a CT scan and an EEG. Last night was the worst night so far... I literally did not sleep at all. It's such an unpleasant experience that I literally would not allow myself to rest and go to sleep. Please pray that this will be resolved. I am exhausted! I am very thankful that God has given me a peace about this and I'm not worried about something serious being wrong. I know He is in control but I am in need of a restful night sleep. I literally dread going to sleep b/c it's such a frightful thing to be awakened over and over in such an awful way:( Please pray for me.

You don't wanna miss this!!

2011-10-12T22:08:00.002-05:00

God has really brought SO many dear women to my life through adoption and today I'm gonna introduce you to one of those ladies. Mary Beth and her husband have brought two children home from Ethiopia. She is a dear friend of mine who God is using to speak life into my heart. I am so thankful for our friendship. She would like to share with you guys what He is doing in the lives of His children in Ethiopia. This is definitely a post you don't need to miss. Thank you Mary Beth for letting me be a part!!
Jenny:)

Thank you so much Jenny] for allowing me to post on your blog about a subject that is so important to me.

Over three years ago, my husband and I began our journey to adopt our son from Ethiopia. And since that time, God has been filling our hearts with an overwhelming love and passion for the people of Ethiopia. We returned a year after our first adoption to bring our daughter home. After arriving home with her, we knew we had to do more.

We have been so blessed to team up with other adoptive families around the U.S. and with Lifesong for Orphans. Lifesong is doing some amazing work through a small nursery school that they support in Adami Tulu, Ethioipa. You can read more about Adami Tulu here.

Last year, we, with five other families, raised over $40,000 to build a new building, restroom facility, and gate at the Adami Tulu school. In August, we got to return to Ethiopia to see the new building. We had an amazing trip, and have absolutely fallen in love with Adami Tulu. You can read more about our trip here and here. The school is changing the lives of so many vulnerable children in the area by offering them a wonderful education and two nutritious meals a day.

We've returned home with the knowledge that we have so much more to do in Adami Tulu. So we've agreed to continue our work with Lifesong by raising funds for another school building on the Adami Tulu campus. This will enable the school to expand to include 1st and 2nd grade. More details will be coming soon, but we're anxious to get a jump start on fundraising. We know that this project will cost at least $50,000. But, for these sweet faces, we'll do anything!

We are very excited to announce our first fundraiser for our next phase of the Adami Tulu project: another Aspen Giveaway!

Our Aunt and Uncle have, once again, generously donated toward our fundraising efforts. Only this time they've offered us not one but FIVE stays at the Hyatt Grand Aspen.

Any one of these November stays might make a great early-Thanksgiving get together for you and some friends or family!

We will begin the giveaways today and draw winners on October 15. To enter, donate $20 by clicking the link for the stay that you're interested in. For every $20 you donate to Lifesong for Orphans, you will get one entry in the drawings. By the way, 100% of your donation will go to our work in Adami Tulu.

Here are some details and pictures about the Hyatt stays:

Hyatt Grand Aspen has complimentary continental breakfast, a pool and hot tub, fitness center, fire pit, daily room cleaning and nightly turn down service complete with chocolates. There is even a little hut by the hot tubs where you can hang your robes to keep them warm for you! The hotel is within walking distance of lots of shops and restaurants in Aspen.

The retail value of each stay is approximately $2,500.

To get to Aspen, you could fly into the Aspen airport. The hotel will pick you up and, since everything is within walking distance, you can go without a car during your stay. Or you could fly into Denver and rent a car to drive to Aspen. Or, of course, you could also just drive to Aspen.

Hyatt Stay Giveaway #1:

Sat.- Sat. November 5-12 (full week stay)

Studio Unit (Like a nice hotel room with small kitchenette.)

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #1, donate to Lifesong for Orphans here:

Hyatt Stay Giveaway #2:

Sun.- Thurs. November 13-17 (five days/ four nights)

Two Bedroom Unit (Two Bedrooms and Bathrooms, Kitchen, Livingroom, Dining Room, Washer and Dryer, etc.)

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #2, donate to Lifesong for Orphans here:

Hyatt Stay Giveaway #3:

Sun.- Thurs. November 13-17 (five days/ four nights)

Three Bedroom Unit (Three Bedrooms and Bathrooms, Kitchen, Livingroom, Dining Room, Washer and Dryer, etc.) Maybe a family could do an "early Thanksgiving get together" in this one.

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #3, donate to Lifesong for Orphans here:

Hyatt Stay Giveaway #4:

Tues.-Sat. November 15-19 (five days/ four nights)

One Bedroom Unit (All the things a two bedroom has but only one bedroom and bathroom)

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #4, donate to Lifesong for Orphans here:

Hyatt Stay Giveaway #5:

Tues.-Sat. November 15-19 (five days/ four nights)

Two Bedroom Unit (Two Bedrooms and Bathrooms, Kitchen, Livingroom, Dining Room, Washer and Dryer, etc.)

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #5, donate to Lifesong for Orphans here:

Just imagine, you could win a stay in Aspen, just for donating $20. What a deal! Plus, you get to be part of this amazing project to help these precious kids in Adami Tulu.

If you are unable to use one of the stays, you could donate your entry to a friend, or minister, or someone who could really use the time away.

Help us raise money to expand the Adami Tulu school and spread the word about our giveaway. Please repost on twitter and facebook! Thank you!

Filled!

2011-10-11T15:01:00.002-05:00

We are doing well! This is possibly one of my favorite seasons in this life He's given me. Yes, I'm busy and exhausted. Yes, I'm terribly proud that my kitchen and living room are CLEAN while the rest of my house is dirty;). Yes, there are times that the whines of a 3 yr old or defiance of a 2 year old get to me... but oh the JOY, pure JOY I am soaking in on a daily basis. I LOVE LIFE!! Always have really but I love it even more right now. Teaching the boys has been such a blessing for me. They are both doing so well right now in school. They'd rather be playing but they never really complain about having to do work which is such a blessing for me right now. Piper is SOOO incredibly eager to learn. I have no doubt if I spent just a handful of minutes with that girl she'd be reading in no time. She's a sponge. She desperately wants to be able to do the schoolwork they are doing and will often whine "but I just can't READ!!". She can entertain herself easily. She has SO many imaginary friends, it cracks us all up. Joleigh is just a little ball of sunshine. She is content usually in all circumstances. She'll definitely let you know if she's been wronged;0) but she just plays her little heart out day in and day out.
I know God has blessed me with such an amazing amount of contentment. Life has been a whirlwind over the past few months but God has been an ever present strength for me. He has given me a great group of women who have traveled down the adoption path and have poured life into me. He fills me daily with joy and when I lay down joy is still bubbling over. I know I'm the kinda person that easily gets on others nerves b/c I'm just "so happy" but really why shouldn't we be?!? I am a sinner chosen and saved by grace and I pray that I will always be filled with joyful praise!

First week wrap up

2011-08-22T22:16:00.004-05:00

We had a great first week of homeschool! We learned about the Vikings and Leif Ericson. We learned about the meaning of names. I wrote a letter to the boys telling them about how we came up with their names and the meaning of their names. They really enjoyed that. At the end of the week, we made cupcakes and put their initials on them to celebrate their names.

We did our first science experiment. They had a lot of fun doing it. Piper wouldn't let us start until she had her "journal" to take notes on the experiment;0).

This week we are learning about the meaning of the name Jesus. We are also learning about Christopher Columbus. We will be making some special little ships to sail across the ocean blue... aka swimming pool. The boys had a great first week. Piper and Joleigh were fabulous. SO far... I haven't had to use the television as entertainment for the girls. Actually, I'm not sure the tv was turned all last week during the daytime. Piper thoroughly enjoys playing with legos while we do school, unless she hears something fun going on at the school table, then she's all aboard. Joleigh just roams from one toy to the next. My house is a WRECK but we're having fun and making lots of great memories! :)

So I'm really hoping...

2011-08-16T14:57:00.004-05:00

to start blogging again! Life has been tough but I feel the fog may be lifting:)
We celebrated Joleigh's 2nd birthday this week. She thoroughly enjoyed a b-day cookie and some b-day cupcake!! She is doing well. She is fully potty trained and we are SO happy about that! We went to Texas for a wedding a couple weeks ago. This was her first big trip and she did so well. All of the kids were so good through the long car ride. We really enjoyed ourselves.

Yesterday we started a new chapter in our lives... homeschool! We are using Adventures in My Father's World and are loving it! Andrew is in the 2nd grade and Parker is in the 1st grade. The first two days have been great! We are not beginning Math until next week but so far they seem to enjoy all their subjects. Here's a few pics of our first few days.

Jo's favorite part of the school day is definitely recess!!
We made American flags to put on the cover of our US History notebooks.
First day of school pic:) Jo was still sleeping;0)

We're good...

2011-07-10T20:00:00.002-05:00

Things are going well around here! We've been busy the past two weeks with swim lessons. We are soaking up summertime and spend a good portion of time in the pool:) Andrew and Parker are swimming so well. Andrew's swim teacher said he is 100% ready for swim team so we're thinking of letting him do that in the fall. we'll see.
The girls are great! Piper is a doll face. Tomorrow she has her FIRST dentist appt:) The boys will go for a cleaning and she will go for a counting;0) and Joleigh will probably be stuffing her face with cheerios. That's how she rolls;0)
Joleigh really is doing SO well! She has many new words. She's potty training, too. She is doing very well. It's hard for people to understand that bonding isn't automatic and that not only does she have to bond with me but I have to bond with her! It's really a complicated but beautiful process but it's tough. It's definitely getting better though. I love her more everyday. She is precious.

We have also been busy building a table!!! I'm SO excited about it:) We got an old door from a friend, bought some legs, some base boards and a piece of glass and tada... we bought some fun chairs to go along. Everybody has their own special chair. AND ignore the terrible mess on the bar! It was already cluttery and then we cleaned off the other chair arms which added to the mess:)

We're still here:)

2011-06-24T15:34:00.003-05:00

Things are going well! Joleigh is adjusting very well. She's happy as a lark... well most of the time;0). She's pretty infatuated with food which is normal for a little girl whose been through all she's been through. Bonding is going well. She does really well when it's just "us" but when we venture out, you can definitely tell bonding is a process! She had lots of "mommies" at the orphanage so when we are out and mommy (ME:) tells her no then she wants to go to another mommy (aka stranger) and see what they'll do for her. It makes for awkward situations b/c I pretty much just have to ask my friends/strangers, "no, please don't pick her up". She really is doing well though. Cam and I talk about how she couldn't be any better. Perfect personality, funny, SWEET!! Our kids love her and she loves them. Every morning we all barge in her room singing the theme song for Jo Jo's circus.. b/c we call her JoJo a lot:) She is a blessing to our family and we are peeling back more and more pedals of blessing a day. Has it been tough? Oh certainly! Honestly I never went through post partum with my bio children but I definitely think I've had some Post Adoption depression with her. I've heard before adoption isn't for sissies and now I totally get that concept. Definitely a tough road but daily God is filling me up and guiding me (us) through. I am thankful He has led us down the road of adoption and I look forward to all the other adventures He has in store for us. We are blessed!!

What are the boys up to? Enjoying summer to the fullest! Swimming daily, catching bugs to feed their lizard, reading, etc. They are so fun to watch grow up together. They really do enjoy each others company and I thank God for that.
What is Piper Jane doing these days? Oh she couldn't be cuter!!! She constantly talks about going to the beach. Thanks Barney:/ I think she saw a beach episode so now everyday she ask when we are going. Sigh! One of these days:) She is a great big sister. I haven't changed a diaper without her:)

Our Adoption Journey Video

2011-05-11T19:30:00.000-05:00

Things have been going really well! We are all still adjusting but everyday gets better. Joleigh is doing very well! She is still trying to figure out all of her surroundings and new family but she is doing very well!
Here's a little video of our journey!

HB to PJ!!

2011-04-30T15:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Piper Jane!!! Wow! THREE years old!? Hard to believe. Seriously Piper has been a breath of fresh air since she arrived:) She is the sweetest thing. Mommy is her best friend... well and Joleigh now. Piper's favorite thing to say is ... "Dad, he's not my best friend.. no! Mommy is! He can't jump!" haha! We always laugh. She always says he can't jump but sometimes she'll add something else random in there like.. "he doesn't have a nose" or "he can't do a backflip". I hope she doesn't think I can:/ hmmmm

We celebrated Piper yesterday all day long. She's been sick this week with a fever virus which has made things extra sticky for me with Joleigh adjusting and all. Joleigh has always been sick with the crud:( She is congested. She sounds pitiful! Joleigh is doing superb and adjusting more and more everyday!! Very few tears and lots and lots of laughs. Her favorite thing right now is Piper's shopping cart:) She likes to push it around and gather things. SO sweet!!

Here's a pic I took of the sweet sisters yesterday with my phone. They're doing very well together!

Wow! It's been a wild ride!!

2011-04-27T14:55:00.004-05:00

We are HOME! I've been home with Joleigh Bereket since last Thursday... One week ago TOMORROW! Crazy! It's been good, it's been hard, it's been rewarding, it's been so difficult, I've witnessed miracles, I've witnessed tragedies, I've witnessed a sweet baby, I've witnessed a lot of anger. We are all adjusting to her and she is adjusting to us. She is doing well. Today has been hard. Piper is under the weather and Joleigh is still really clingy so I have two clingy girls on my hands.
Joleigh is a sweet, fun soul but she can also have quite the little attitude. I've tried to nip that quickly, especially when she's ugly with the kids. The first couple of days she was ugly to them at times, almost like a kitty cat would hiss at someone, she's been snarly but I quickly tell her, "no, be nice!" and she's getting it ... quickly. She has done SOOO well the last few days! She really only wants ME. She did good with Cam last weekend b/c he was always here but hasn't done as well about letting him be with her this week while he's been at work. He's going to take a couple of days off soon. That will help.
I'm good.. right NOW. Not always, but right NOW. He's providing strength and rest to me and I am so thankful. The children have been AMAZING! We asked them to just live and allow her to join in as she wants and that is EXACTLY what they've done. I am so impressed with them.
I have friends who have literally been used by Him to carry me through. Whether it's by bringing a meal or by loving me unconditionally through this time. I have some who have adopted and know EXACTLY what this momma's heart is going through and to that I am forever grateful!
Thank you all for riding with us on this journey. Now we need prayers. We need prayers for bonding for sweet Joleigh, prayers for God to heal her heart, prayers for patience for her forever family!! Hopefully we will settle into our new normal soon:) Thank you for letting me be real in our journey and not try to flower it up... adoption is awesome.... God is so evident in this process... but stretching hurts.

Bittersweet and His hands

2011-04-13T05:46:00.003-05:00

I leave tomorrow morning to bring my daughter home! I thought I might never type that sentence. It's been a loooong 18 months and we're finally HERE! Oh goodness the emotions! We are thrilled and so excited but we are also realistic. We know the heart ache this little girl has faced. We know it's going to be a tough road but we are SO thankful He has chosen us to walk through this road with Joleigh Bereket.

Today is my LAST day of teaching for a while. Cameron and I know God is calling me home for a while to be with our children. We are SO excited about this but oh my goodness it's tough. We are definitely choosing to sacrifice money in this situation. Not only do I make good money b/c of my Master's degree but I'm also National Board certified which means I am loosing a yearly bonus check of $7500/year. But you know what... none of that matters to us. That's not at all why this is so hard on me. It would be so easy to be happy about today being my last day if I were just a teacher of a subject. It would be so easy to call it quits if I did not have a passion about what I do but oh that is so far from the case at hand. I absolutely LOVE my job and by job I mean my family (faculty), my children (students). It's not from me but from Him, and He has given me an ability to connect with those kids on a level to truly touch their lives. They need me... and I need them. We have been so blessed to have a nanny come to our home for the past 6 years to take care of our children but God is giving me the gift to be able to be here now and POUR into them love and truth. I know years from now I will NEVER regret this time we followed Him and I stayed home but today is going to be hard.

Here's an amazing way He chose to bless me through my faculty yesterday... only He could be so cool!! I was told Monday I had 11.5 sick days (7 of those were donated to me by co-workers) and that I would not be paid for 23.5 days. So I was trying to plan out how to spread those days out. Well, one of my co-workers asked the faculty if anyone would like to donate days for my maternity leave... I had no idea and cried and cried at how good these folks are to me. A couple hours later, this teacher came to me with a total of days donated... TWENTY-THREE! I was a mess yesterday. He cares so much about every detail. Then last night another teacher wanted to donate and rounded me up to 23.5. I will be on leave for the rest of the school year but will not miss any pay. This journey has been so tough in many ways but so, so very rewarding and His hands have been all over it!

'round here...

2011-03-30T16:27:00.003-05:00

Things have been going very well 'round here. We're just waiting for our phone call to tell us to come pick up Joleigh:). We are hoping it will be the 2nd or 3rd week of April.

While we wait...

-We've been getting Joleigh's room ready. Here's a pic I painted to go above her crib:)

-I've been doing TONS of paperwork at school. As a special education teacher, I have to hold Annual Review Conferences (which involves TONS of paperwork) every year for my students and I have just THREE left! That is HUGE news:) They "should" be completed by next week!

-We've been watching some Cosby episodes on our Free Trial Netflix instant watch through the Wii:) We love it!

-I've been sewing a little. I made a couple of shirts for the girls and one for Joleigh. I've actually made several like the one for Joleigh for some of her friends at the transition home:)

I got the idea for the little owl shirts from this blog:) BUT I had NO idea I was using the same fabric. I saw this onsie a while back and wanted to make one so I pulled out some material I had on hand from something else I made for Piper and it was the exact SAME:)

She's Ours and We are Hers:)

2011-03-17T20:53:00.006-05:00

We got the call today that she is OURS! We were so excited!! We actually passed court yesterday but our in-country director didn't send an update to our agency letting them know we passed so we had to wait to get the news today. We cannot wait to get our hands on this little koala bear!! We should get to travel in 3 to 6 weeks.

Prayers please:)

2011-03-14T19:09:00.003-05:00

Our papers were not submitted to court in time for our first court date. We have a new court date this Wednesday, March 16th. PLEASE remember our family in your prayers Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. If our papers are there and we pass, then Joleigh is OURS!! We will then wait for her to go through the process of getting her VISA and travel back to bring her home within 4-6 weeks. ALSO... let me add that there are two other families who are hoping to pass on Wednesday. Please pray for our friends, also!!

Once you have seen...

2011-03-09T11:21:00.007-06:00

you can NEVER forget. One of the best parts of our trip was visiting Korah. In the city it was hard to see the PEOPLE of Ethiopia. I felt like so many we came across were so desperate they were trying to figure out what they could get from us. It was somewhat uncomfortable in a lot of places but not Korah!! Oh the people of Korah were amazing! The children oozed of passion for life... a life that we cannot even fathom living. Watch this video to find out a little more about the village of Korah. They are in need!! Watch the video... it'll definitely make you think as you eat your next meal.

Here are some pics of our time in Korah! I will never forget these faces. I met many sisters in Christ here who shared stories of suffering but they were also stories of LIFE!!

For some reason you can't view the width of the video... here's the link on youtube.

Our daughter

2011-03-08T20:17:00.003-06:00

We met Joleigh Saturday morning. The director's wife brought her in and handed her to me. She cried just a little but was easily consoled. She is very, very reserved and does not care for meeting new people. I think definitely part of that has to do with her age. Piper had terrible stranger danger at 18 months. Joleigh has many reasons for it to be elevated though. She's gone through a whole lot in her short life. She's had to tell the closest people goodbye. I think another reason she was reserved is because the other families were all getting babies so when we were all together in the parent's room, there wasn't anyone her age. The last time I got to be with her, she was able to be around a 3 year old and you could tell she really enjoyed it. Cameron was not able to hold her b/c she just wasn't ready for that. She will come around but it's going to take a little warming up first:) Oh but I had the best time just letting her snuggle me like a little koala bear!

Joleigh's mother is an angel! She's had a tough life. We were able to meet with her for about 30 minutes. When we first introduced ourselves, she hugged us SO tightly and didn't let go. One of the first things she said to us was how Joleigh got her Ethiopian name (I'll post it after court is totally final). She said she knew she would be a blessing from God and that's why she wanted to name her that. We were able to ask her a lot of questions and video tape her answers, as well as write them down in a journal. It was such an incredible peace meeting her. Literally I felt as if she were passing off the baton. I know that sounds strange but I feel God has called us to care for her and raise her b/c her mother is unable to do so. I feel Joleigh not only has one mommy but now has two. Joleigh's mom was able to spend some time with her again. I am SO thankful for that time she had with her. She held her and loved on her. Very, very sweet!!! I even have a couple of pics of Joleigh with her birth mom. Cam and I have several pics of us with her mother, as well. She is short!!! Probably same height as me. I love that:)

I can't post pics until we officially pass court. The Ministry of Women's Affair did not have a paper turned in on time so we had to have reschedule for that info. It happens but OH it's so discouraging when it does. It actually happened to 3 out of 5 families in our group:( Please be in prayer for us about this... they are once again making some changes into the process and since our stuff will not be finished by March 10th, these changes could really have an effect on when we get to bring Joleigh home. Right now we are hoping mid to late April.

Well, I am going cross eyed. I have spent over 30 hours either in a plane or in an airport waiting on a plane. I.must.get.some.SLEEP!! Lots more to share later. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be awake enough to share some of our trip!

And we're off...

2011-03-03T11:12:00.002-06:00

We board a plane in a few hours to go to Ethiopia! Oh we've waited for this day for soooo long! We are full of emotions. Goodness it was hard to say bye to our kiddos. It was HARD!! We so look forward to meeting Joleigh and her family. Please pray for our trip and all of our children.

Thank you guys for all your support!

Constantly humbled

2011-02-24T19:32:00.002-06:00

I am constantly in awe of how He's writing our family's story!! He literally is using people from ALL walks of our lives to help bring our sweet girl home.

Tonight we had conferences at our school until 7:00 and as I was packing up my CAPs folders, I heard my phone beep. I looked down and had a donation from a friend. It was so weird all of the emotions that came with that beep. Amy was a girl I went to elementary school with at a VERY small school. There were 18 kids in our class and we were definitely family. When she moved off during our middle school years, I always wondered about her. YEARS went by and I still always wondered about Amy. You see.. people didn't move off from our small town so she was like a missing piece to our puzzle. A couple of years ago I found Amy on Face Book and was SO thankful! She lives in another state but we were able to get a lot of our old classmates together and she came for the weekend. It was so surreal being together again! A void had been filled for me in our class, our family. So tonight when I saw that my childhood, now lifelong, friend became a piece to our family's PUZZLE.. I was overwhelmed with how He continues to amaze me. God has used SO many in our journey and we are so thankful for each one!

Just ONE more week and we head across the world to hold our baby!

Oh I wish you would...

2011-02-23T20:41:00.002-06:00

help out my friends!!!!! They are bringing home an adorable little girl who just so happens to have down syndrome. Rochelle's heart is pure as gold and I love her!! She was actually one of my Assistant Principals at my first teaching position. She and her family are having an iPad GIVE AWAY!!! They actually have several nice prizes but of course the iPad is my personal fav:) If you've got $10 to donate, it would help out a LOT and you might just win ya something special!!!

Check out their post right HERE!

Perspective

2011-02-22T19:30:00.002-06:00

Sometimes I daydream about having a couple of nice pieces of jewelry. Something I could leave as an heirloom to my daughters. A nice bracelet, a nice necklace, etc. One year I even really wanted some small diamond earrings. I hadn't really mentioned it but Cam knew I had wanted some so years back he bought me a pair of pretty, small diamond earrings for Christmas. Crazy thing is after I got them, I just couldn't get comfortable with the idea of him spending $200-$300 on a pair of earrings. Literally by that night, I told him I LOVED them but just couldn't keep them, especially when I could get a pair for a few dollars that you literally couldn't tell the difference between the real ones and the fake ones.
Sometimes I still fall into that lie. Now don't get me wrong, I'd still love to have something sweet and special to pass down to my girls... but you know what I'd rather pass down to them... character, grace, mercy, love, etc. I want them to understand that we could have really nice things and we do have some nice things but really... that is NOT what is important. I want to pass onto them that we're not here to constantly shower ourselves with blessings with the resources He has given us to steward. My girls may not ever have a pearl necklace or earrings but oh I hope they get IT!
Funny thing is the only real, nice piece of jewelry I've ever owned, besides my wedding ring, I sold to help raise money for our adoption:) and I don't regret it at all! I do have two beautiful quilts made from my wedding gown. I am trying hard to teach myself to sew some fun quilts so I can continue to make some special heirlooms for all the kids but Lord help me to never lose perspective about what I'm REALLY here to leave them with!

Celebrating Parker

2011-02-20T15:45:00.005-06:00

This week my little ball of passion turned SIX! Oh... be still my soul. He was SO excited! His actual B-Day was on Thursday so daddy took all the kids to McDonalds for some breakfast. I went and checked him out for lunch and we went and had some more McDonalds:) We had a brunch birthday party for him yesterday with fam and a couple of friends. Oh he was SO excited!! He got a lot of fun toys that he has just played with over and over!! Good toys that I can see them getting a lot of use out of:)

We bought him a fun marble maze type of game. Cameron played this when he was a little boy and just knew Parker would love to have one. I just couldn't resist buying him his FAV cereal and juice, too:) He loved it!!! Since I started couponing a couple of years ago, I just refuse to pay over $1.50 for cereal and Parker's FAV cereal is about $3.50 so we don't ever get it anymore. He ask for it every once in a while... same thing with his Plum Smart. He LOVES Plum Smart!! But it's over $3.00, too. SO... for his birthday we wrapped up a box of Cracklin Oat Bran Squares and some Plum Smart and he was SUPER excited to have these all for himself. Last night we ended the celebration with a family trip to the bowling alley. It was a good, good day!!

Happy Birthday Parker Isaac! You bring joy to every room you enter. You are a wonderful boy and have such a sweet spirit. We love you and have loved watching God shape and mold you into who you are today.. can't wait to see what He has in store for you!

He gets it...

2011-02-11T23:11:00.002-06:00

I am reading a book to the boys entitled Caleb's Lamb. It's good! A friend read it to his kids and I pretty much copy cat anything he does:) hehe. Thanks Aaron! Anyway... it's about a boy who took his eyes off of a lamb that was about to have a baby. His dad made him stay out all night to find this lamb but when he got there, the momma lamb had been attacked and her baby lamb had fallen in a hole surrounded by thorns. The boy rescued the lamb and ached for it to get better. The baby lamb was resistant against the boy at first but then kind of took to him like he was his momma. So that's how far we've gotten in the book.. just chapter 3. The boys LOVE it! After we finished tonight's chapter I told them it reminded me of Joleigh and how Caleb is now the lamb's "momma".. we will become Joleigh's "momma". How Caleb's heart ached with love for this baby lamb... how my heart aches for Joleigh. It was really a neat conversation. It was like a lightbulb came on for Andrew. I could see his eyes fill with tears and he just laid his head down. His heart literally welled up and ached not only for Joleigh, but for her momma. We talked about how sick Joleigh was when she entered the orphanage and how her mom knew that she could not provide for her. Andrew was heart broken for what the mom must feel after giving up her child. We then talked about how Joleigh might be scared, like the lamb was at first with Caleb and then how God will fill her heart with a love for us as if we were her "momma". It was so sweet to listen to Andrew's prayer for his sister and her family in Ethiopia. We talked about how HE sets the lonely into families and how we are so thrilled that HE chose our family. My heart is full!

Piece by Piece

2011-02-07T21:27:00.003-06:00

Twenty-FOUR days until we board a plane to meet sweet Joleigh. WOW... what a journey! There have been ups and downs along the way. Definitely more UPS than downs. Satan seriously was constantly attacking in the beginning but God gave us a peace early on that He was totally in control. He has used YOU to encourage us along the way. Money has obviously been an issue in this journey. Two weeks after we sent our application in, Cameron was laid off and didn't find a job for 8 months. God gave us peace all along the way. We have had people sacrificially give that I've NEVER even met. Literally blows me away.

So... we're nearing the end of our journey and are doing one final fundraiser. We are not sure how much our tickets will be for our second trip but we had a lot of the money UNTIL we spent $1000 on vaccinations:( Everything we've done so far to raise money has been a lot of work and the reason is because we HATE asking for money. We chose to collect cans... folks it doesn't get any nastier than that. I felt SO much better about asking for people's trash instead of asking for their money. We've had parties to raise funds. I've taken pictures to raise funds, even at a WEDDING.. talk about stress! Scary stuff! I've become a Coupon Teacher... who would've thought?! We had a yard sale. We sold t-shirts. All of those fundraisers have been time consuming and some of them were just down right tiring BUT none of them are harder than just flat out asking folks for money. SO... here we are... humbly asking you to give, if you feel led. ANY dollar amount will get your name on a puzzle piece. We are writing EVERY name of EVERY person who has helped us bring our sweet baby home. What a treasure this puzzle will be for her as she gets older and reads the names of all of YOU!

Please know that we are thankful to Him for constantly bringing people along like you who have encouraged us. My heart is full of gratitude. This journey isn't about us. It isn't about Joleigh. It's about Him being glorified!
If you would like to give, you donate via the PayPal button on the top, left side of the blog OR email me @ jennyglover0302@yahoo.com and I will send you our address.

Thirty-ONE...

2011-01-31T11:43:00.002-06:00

We leave for Ethiopia in THIRTY-ONE days:) SO exciting! This past week, we received the sweetest video of our sweet little girl. She is SO very serious when strangers are around and just very observant. She really is a beautiful little girl with the most amazing eyes.
I'm home today with two sick little boys... and a pinched nerve:/ but OH what a great sick day we are having. We've played games and just enjoyed each other this morning. Piper is SO stinking adorable. She's really into playing "let's go to school". She puts on a back pack and LOVES to get all her stuffed animals in their little stroller and push them to the "school room";). I pray so much that little Joleigh bonds quickly with her sister. I really believe Piper is going to be an amazing big sister to her.
Andrew and Park have been doing great! Andrew got a Bible for Christmas and he is reading all the sections and little "did you know?" things on each page... which honestly is quite a bit of reading. He is now in John. He is SO proud of himself. He literally has spent HOURS and HOURS reading it. Parker is just a breath of joy! He is really a sweet little boy. Sometimes a little rowdy but he has such a tender heart.

Please be in prayer for our family as we near the end of waiting but as we begin the real journey to adoption. God has grown us in so many ways over the past year.

Such an incredible journey...

2011-01-25T16:43:00.002-06:00

Ugghhh! This roller coaster of ups and downs and ups and downs sometimes leaves me an emotional mess. When we first got our referral we were told Joleigh was 17 pounds @ 15 months old. They told us they would do another weight check b/c they wanted to see if she had grown that first week of being in the transition home. Well, long story short... we've waited for almost two months and still don't have that weight check. We did get word that she "shrunk" but they attribute that to how they measure and discrepancies, etc. To be honest, it has weighed heavy on my heart. I know it's all in God's hands but as a mom, I just want to get there and make sure she's okay.
I have two friends there right now who have made this SO much better for me. One sent me a txt @ 1:30 in the morning to tell me she was outside watching Joleigh play with others and she looked healthy. They both have taken video and pictures. Leah even got some footage of Joleigh in an outfit I sent her:) I don't have the videos yet but it's SO wonderful knowing friends are there loving on her. AND when I say friends, of course I'm talking about folks I've never met but have an incredible bond with.
This is Sabrina's blog... please take a second to read about her Gotcha day with their sweet baby girl AND about the birth family meeting. UGgghhh... I dare ya to not cry!

$.50 a vote:)

2011-01-22T16:26:00.002-06:00

If you have a facebook... go to this link and type "vote jw" and $.50 gets donated toward our adoption.. Now seriously, could it get any easier than that?! ;)

CLICK HERE AND TYPE "VOTE JW"

Coupon 101

2011-01-20T19:53:00.003-06:00

A good friend and I are having a coupon 101 class tomorrow (Friday) night. If you live in the central Arkansas area and are interested in learning about how to save a bunch of money... message me @ jennyglover0302@yahoo.com. The class is from 7:00-8:00 and cost $10. All money goes toward our adoption:)

Not Yo Momma's Date Night;0)

2011-01-17T19:07:00.002-06:00

I have a FUN husband:) We have the best time together. Cam and I have the same sense of humor and we LAUGH and LAUGH all the time. This past weekend for our date night, we decided to borrow some of the boy's masks and scare some of our friends. Our youth pastor was having a men's night and so we went and TRIED to spook them but they kinda weren't really scared. So we went to Marvin and Pearlie's. We snuck into their backyard... I know.. not very smart but we were counting on the fact that we knew them well enough to hope they weren't packing heat ;0). We got close to the backdoor and there was a doggy door. I thought "jackpot.. I'm gonna stick my head through the doggy door". THEN I see little Cujo come to the door and show some teeth at me. We changed our plans and decided to go to their front door and ring the doorbell. We both turned around and put our hoods on so our backs were facing the door. We heard Marvin tell Pearlie, "I don't know who it is but they got their backs turned". Pearlie said, "don't you open that door". Oh, I ruin everything. I couldn't contain my laughter so Marvin saw my shoulders bouncing up and down and knew it had to be someone he knew. So we turned around screamed and yelled... "Give us all your tea cakes" :) ... it's his speciality. We then had an impromptu visit with the Williams. SO fun:)
Here's some cell phone pics of the masks and tea cake! Can't wait until next date night!!

She needs a sister...

2011-01-11T17:06:00.002-06:00

Piper constantly talks about "my sister". It's SO sweet. She said yesterday... "when my sister is here, I'm going to ask her to sleep in my bed with me". Piper keeps us laughing constantly. She is an absolute joy! She is our little song bird. She sings ALL of the time and her favorite song is Jingle Bells. She was so excited about the snow b/c she said, "when I go play in the snow, I'm going to sing ... dashing through the snow, in a one horse...." :)
She loves her brothers but OH how she aches for a sister. We are SOOOO excited for her to get this gift.
This is Piper in her new bedroom, in her new bed, beside her new tree:)

I never know who...

2011-01-05T17:09:00.003-06:00

reads my blog soooo just in case you are in need of an excellent travel agent, I've got the girl for you! God has brought a kindred spirit into my life for such a time as this! She and her family are about to bring home their second adopted child. We were HOPING our court dates would match so we could travel together but she'll probably be a couple of weeks behind me... BUT that means I get to take pictures of her BEAUTIFUL four year old... who I kinda matched with her fam;0)
Anyway, if you are in need of a great travel agent... especially if you are adopting and needing some help getting your flights booked you can email Erica @ erica.shubin@mkigrouptravel.com. If you need her phone number just leave a comment and I'll send it to you!

Thank you Erica for helping us get to our daughter! We can't wait to love on your little girl:)

Leaving on a jet plane...

2011-01-04T21:23:00.003-06:00

WoooHOOOOOO! Today we got THE call for our court date. We will go to court in Ethiopia March 7th to become Joleigh's family. We are OVER the moon excited!!! We will probably leave on Friday, the 4th, and fly back home late the night of the 7th. We'll only be there for a few days... just long enough to meet our little girl, meet her family and go to court. We will then come back home and wait a month or so and then travel back to bring her HOME!! We are so excited!! After 3rd period today as I walked back into my classroom from my Teaming class, I prayed "Please Lord let there be a message on my phone". Sure enough.. I open my drawer, check my phone and I had a message from our social worker. I literally floated throughout the rest of the day!

Favorite shirt and some pics:)

2011-01-02T20:58:00.005-06:00

So if you've seen me over the past two weeks, chances are you've seen me wearing this.....

YEP, my new FAV shirt:) One of my dear friends (okay so I've never physically met her but still a dear friend who I look up to:) is planning an adoption conference for mommies!! OH I wish I could go but I knew it would be too close to when we would be leaving for our court trip to Ethiopia so I didn't sign up. BUT the proceeds from the sell of the shirts go to help other mommies come to the conference. This is a HUGE blessing for moms. Not only are you surrounded by other sisters in Christ who share your heart for the orphan but there are several sessions designed to equip you to take care of your little and meet their special needs. I've not experienced it yet but I know parenting an adoptive child is entirely different than parenting a biological one. This conference will be a blessing to many. If you'd like to order a t-shirt to help with the cost... go over here and do so:) and then you can have a new FAV shirt!!! Oh and they run small... I ordered a Medium.

So I took pics at a wedding this weekend. I pretty much begged the lady to use someone else b/c I've NEVER done that before but she insisted so I obliged. It went really well. The only prob was the lighting in the sanctuary was not great so my camera wouldn't take quickly enough for my liking but I did get to capture some fun memories for the couple.

... and the happy couple:)

Did you hear that scream????

2011-01-01T16:28:00.004-06:00

That was ME checking my email... seeing 13 new pictures of my baby girl. MY baby girl!!! The more I see her seriously the more and more I fall in love with her. Thank you Sweet Lord Jesus for the most amazing New Years Eve ever!! She is absolutely adorable. Her nose is so, so sweet. Small little button nose. Her lips are ridiculous!! BUT those eyes are captivating! Those eyes are actually haunting.... they pierce my heart and beckon me to grab her little frame up and hold her!! We've yet to see her smile. I long to see her smile!

Just when I was OVERwhelmed with all of the photos... I go back to my email and see THREE videos! OH goodness... really it might have been too much for my little heart. I screamed and screamed and screamed! Seeing her body in movement is like nothing I can describe. Watching her walk, hold a toy, follow her nanny, fall down and get back up. There are no words for that! BUT the thing that gets me is when she makes her fish face in the 24 second video... at about the 4th second. OH MY! I've rewound it over and over to see that little fish face. No words!

Here's a pic of our sweet little girl. We are unable to post her image really on the internet but here's just a glimpse of what is taking our breath away at the Wallace house lately. While Piper was watching the video over and over she said, "I want to go to Joleigh's house". Those two are going to be such a gift to one another!
Look at that little sweat shirt... Hug Me! Court date come soon!!!! Please!

Christmas at our house

2010-12-26T19:53:00.013-06:00

We had a GREAT Christmas this year. First of all Cameron and I were not sick as dogs with the stomach bug like we were last year... whew.. we were SO thankful for that!
We had a great time celebrating with both families. This was Piper's first year to really understand that she had presents. We had to wake her up about 8:45 so we could all open our presents. She was not very happy about us waking her.... until.... she saw the presents:)
Here are some pics of our day....

Andrew and Parker got Bibles this year. Andrew is so funny! He was giddy about it. He can read now and so this was a HUGE hit for him. He has read every chapter/verse commentary they've placed in Genesis so far. It's so sweet! Today I was trying to get he and Park to play quietly so I said, "Andrew go read one of your new chapter books".. he said, "but I just wanna read the Bible". hehe

Our family photo by the tree included everyone:)... even Buster. He was intrigued by the camera going off by itself he had to have a look at it so that's his fuzzy self you see on the right side by the picture:)

We are thrilled at the thought of how wonderful our next Christmas will be!!

** oh and might I add... I sewed Parker and Andrew's pajama pants:) They were a little jealous that Piper got all the new "sewn" clothes;) and by the way... here's her cute little Christmas dress I made.

Family Day

2010-12-23T10:42:00.004-06:00

Yesterday we surprised the kids with a trip to Mid America Museum in Hot Springs. It was part of their Christmas:) They all had a BLAST! Here's a few pics of our day.. via my cell phone;)

Andrew said, "Dad isn't it funny how on the girl's bathroom signs they make girls only have one leg?!" hehehe

We have a BIG girl:)

2010-12-23T10:30:00.009-06:00

We moved Piper to a big girl bed this week and she has done very well! A month ago we moved the boys to the playroom and decided to move Piper to their old room. So not only did she move to a big girl bed but she was also in a different room, which probably caused a little anxiety. She cried a couple of times the first night but since then, she really has done great! She stays in her bed talking to Lotso and her other friends:) until we go get her the next day.
We've also done away with diapers at nap and night time!!! YAY! She has been potty trained since 18-19 months but has still worn diapers at night and nap. She's done great with that.. no accidents... yet:) We are VERY thankful because we cloth diaper. Yesterday I washed my LAST load of diapers. We're not sure if we'll have to use them on Joleigh yet. I really bet she will be potty trained by the time we get her but you never know. There are two families taking pictures and one taking a video of our little Joleigh next week. I can't describe how excited we are about this!!! I canNOT wait to get more pictures of our sweet little one.

Worship

2010-12-15T21:22:00.003-06:00

The last two mornings have been so drastically different! Yesterday morning I woke up early to go kiss my dad before he went in for a 5 bypass heart surgery. This morning I woke up with the knowledge he was off the ventilator and his fever was down! SUCH different emotions both mornings BUT the one thing that was constant was worship. I drove to the hospital yesterday morning praising my Father. The song Light up the Sky came on... light up the sky to show me you are with me... Tears flowed as the sun was coming up and my Father comforted me with a peace only He can give. This morning as I drove to work, I praised and worshipped Him again!! So even though there were so many uncertainties yesterday morning and so many reasons to be thankful this morning, He was the same. He worthy... WORTHY of ALL praise!

My dad is doing well tonight. He's been sitting up and talking today. His boss even stopped by tonight to let him know about his raise and Christmas bonus:) He still needs prayers for his recovery. I know he is in a lot of pain!

Family

2010-12-13T16:37:00.003-06:00

Yesterday morning I was awakened by a call that no one wants to get. My mom called and said my dad was having a heart attack and was on his way to the hospital. It's been a VERY long two days. We found out there's massive blockage and he will go in for 4 -5 bypass heart surgery in the morning. It's strange b/c he's really a pretty good eater, not really overweight, 58 years old.. very unexpected.
The Lord has given me joy in this time of uncertainty though. I remember when my grandmother was dying in the hospital... oh how I loved that lady!!! She had 10 children so there were probably close to 20 people surrounding her bed into the wee morning hours waiting on her to meet Jesus. Parker was just a baby and I remember driving home early, early that morning thinking about what a blessing it was for her to have such a large family! What JOY we shared as we shared stories about her. Oh, I love those moments with family. God has given me that over the past two days. I've been with aunts, uncles, loved ones and just shared so many memories of their past. I remember thinking before that night with grandma that two children were plenty but when I left that hospital room... I knew He wasn't finished in our home. I hope 30-40 years from now if I'm in the hospital all of ours are gathered laughing, crying and loving each other.
I'm tired and don't really plan on resting anytime soon. Please be in prayer for my dad in the morning. The surgery begins @ 7:30 and he should be out by 11:00.

Doc visit

2010-12-02T19:03:00.004-06:00

Joleigh isn't even here yet but we took "her" for her first doc appt today:). Our agency requires us to get all of her medical information looked at by a doctor and he said she looked perfect... on paper:). She did have a parasite and has been treated and he said she may require another round of treatment b/c a lot of kids do but other than that everything was great. We are "hoping" to get some pics taken of her by a family traveling there next week.. if we can get our notarized permission letter to them by Monday... cross your fingers:)
I LOVE having her picture! It's my wallpaper on my phone and I look at it ALL the time! I just LOVE it! She's so pretty. I know the wait will be hard but I also know before we know it, she'll be here.
Here are a couple of pics of us seeing her picture for the first time. I didn't capture Piper seeing it for the first time b/c her first time to see her sister was a picture on my phone so I couldn't use my phone to take a pic;) BUT she was excited. We have a BIG picture hanging at her level on the fridge and she loves to look at it.

Indescribable JOY and pain!!

2010-11-30T20:55:00.004-06:00

We got THE call!!! It was an amazing moment. I sat there and cried through most of it in disbelief at how perfect little Joleigh sounds for our family. She's 15 months old. Happy, healthy baby girl. She was terribly sick with a parasite but is now better. She's beautiful. Just Beautiful! I memorized every detail of her photo. I've been on cloud 9 all day... literally telling strangers about her and pulling out my phone to show them a pic.. I'm sure they thought I was crazy;).
BUT now... honestly... I'm so heartbroken! My heart aches, physically for a mom a world away who had to make the decision to give up this beautiful baby. She sacrificially chose to give her life! I honestly can't imagine the pain she is going through. I remember how much my heart hurt just to leave my babies in the church nursery when they would cry. I really can't wrap my mind around the pain. I have sat here and bawled and bawled for this lady who I don't know but yet am forever tied to. She's so much stronger and more selfless than I could ever be.
Would love to write more... but honestly I just don't have words to describe everything I feel right now. Please pray for a sweet, terribly needy family in Ethiopia tonight. Pray for a little girl in a crib missing her mommy. Pray that God prepares our hearts to help heal hers.

Final push ...

2010-11-28T21:00:00.002-06:00

When we began can collecting people thought I was NUTS! Okay... so maybe I am a little nuts but no one really thought we'd make much money with it. It didn't help that aluminum has been terribly low over the past year but even with low prices our can collecting has been SO successful. We've raised almost $2200 in just one year! The most amazing thing is we've gained SO many supporters for our adoption through this collecting. We have hundreds.. HUNDREDS of folks collecting cans for us! We are in awe at how these cans have invested people in our adoption process... so many people are longing for our Joleigh to be home!

We are wrapping up our collection efforts at the end of January. We are hoping to collect another $300 so our final total would be $2500!! Soooo.... we need you guys to help us finish strong. We NEED all your CANS! Tell your momma, your aunt, your cousins... everyone you know to drink, drink, drink and save, save, save! Thanks so much for supporting us!! You have no idea how much it has meant to us.

P.S. I'm hoping this is my last blog post until our referral:) THIS week... I can feel it... this WEEK!!!

You are the Highest Bidder!!!

2010-11-17T21:18:00.003-06:00

I heart eBay! Always have... even when I bought that really cool phone and then the guy dropped off the face of the earth... with my phone:/ but Bank of America made it right and I didn't lose any money... LOVE eBay (and Bank of America;).
Our latest purchase is by far our biggest purchase. We are the PROUD owners of a NEW (to us) 2006 Nissan Quest.

It.Is.NICE! This is a much, much nicer vehicle than we've ever had. Low mileage, excellent condition, EVERY feature known to man at an EXCELLENT price (2 dvd players, heated seats, back up camera, sun roof, 4 moon roofs, GROCERY hooks!!, automatic doors, etc). The people we bought it from could NOT be any nicer. I felt like we were old friends by the time we finished the transaction. We met the sweetest old man who bid on shipping it from Alabama.

I am VERY excited about the mini van BUT nothing compares to the excitement of the boys. Andrew has talked about that mini van for DAYS!! His teacher even told me on FB that Andrew was pretty excited and had told her about it. THEY love it! We look forward to MANY, many family trips in our new van.

Oh AND I told Cameron there is plenty of room for at least ONE more adoption;0)

Holiday pics....

2010-11-16T19:26:00.004-06:00

I.LOVE.PICTURES! Luckily, the fam is always pretty kind to mommy and lets me take pictures pretty often. We need to get out and do some family photos for Christmas cards! This past weekend, we drove up to Branson to see the Lighting of the Christmas Tree @ Silver Dollar City. It was SO much fun! We've never been at Christmas time and couldn't pass it up since we have Silver Dollar City passes... which I think we'll do again next year (well Cam and I will get season passes and just use our bring a friends to bring the kiddos;). We LOVE that place and it's such a short fun trip for the whole fam.
Anyway, back to the pictures. Every year I buy a calendar with photos from the previous year. The kids absolutely LOVE these calendars. I started this when Andrew was a baby so we have the last 7 years documented on the sweetest calendars. I always buy them at Shutterfly. AND anytime I do pics for people, I always recommend they use shutterfly... easy to use and great pics!
The past couple of years, I've also bought some cute photo desk calendars as presents off of shutterly. They are adorable and make the PERFECT gift for Grandma. I've always been able to find great deals on them. As a matter of fact, I've ordered one for a gift this year BUT don't tell.... shhhhh!
I've contemplated doing some photo books for the kids b/c I think they would LOVE to have their own. We have a couple that I got a super deal on and we look at them often.
Last but not least, I always buy our Christmas photo cards from Shutterfly. We need to hurry and take a pic so I can get them ready AND get my 50 free holiday photo cards for doing this post:)
Do you have any "photo" traditions like calendars, etc that you and your fam do?
This next sentence is for my brother in law...
Witch is you're favorit holiday greating card? ;0)

**Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly. Sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Hard to describe in words...

2010-11-12T16:49:00.003-06:00

The waiting has been so hard the past couple of weeks. EVERY time my phone rings, I get knots in my stomach. Every time the office calls into my classroom, I get knots in my stomach. We know we're at the very top of the waiting list for a little girl and it's just so hard to wait any longer. I know His timing is perfect and we find peace in that but I so badly want to hold our little girl. I want to watch Piper fuss over her. I want to watch the boys stare in amazement at how sweet and cute she is. I want to watch her daddy melt with tears because she's HOME! I want to feed her, clothe her and watch her breathe. I want her to know she has a home forever... a constant, consistency, a haven. Joleigh, your absence is painful but your homecoming will be a picture of Heaven. We are longing for your arrival.

SO thankful God has called us to adoption but once you KNOW ... you can never not "know" again so it's hard. Joleigh will have a home but close to 150 million still do not. My heart longs for Joleigh but it literally aches for those children who are waiting for someone to answer that call.... for a family to say yes to being PRO-life in the truest sense.

Live Simply...

2010-11-01T18:10:00.007-05:00

I am pretty confident we are at the top of the waiting list for a little girl from Ethiopia so we are on pins and needles around here waiting on THE CALL! We still have t-shirts to sell and would LOVE it if you'd consider purchasing one to help bring our little girl home. My friend Shanna (pictured below.. what a cute shirt model;) bought one, took a pic and posted it on facebook and has sold almost 15 shirts FOR US!!! Our friends Mark and Phoebe did the same a couple of months ago. We are humbled by those who've helped us. Please know asking for money has been SO very difficult.... which is the reason we've collected cans. Much easier to ask for trash, than money. Sad to say though isn't it?? I mean honestly how many of us throw away $15 a week or a month and have no idea where it went. We've love for you to use your $15 to make a huge difference in a little girls life. We currently have White, Red and Turquoise shirts available for $15(plus $2 shipping). We even have some kid's sizes in Red beginning @ size 6-8. Thanks to those of you who have already purchased a shirt... especially to those we have never met. God has used you all to encourage us and to help bring our little one home! If you are interested in purchasing a shirt send me and email and let me know what you'd like:)
wallace0302@windstream.net

AND if you're looking for a way to do some thoughtful Christmas shopping this year, head over to this blog and check out all the fams who are raising money for their adoptions. There are some PRETTY cool items that would make great gifts!

This and that..

2010-10-27T18:18:00.004-05:00

Oh how I love being a mommy to these little boys!! Today was rock star day @ school. They are the cutest little Kindergardener and 1st grader I've ever seen:).

I am SO proud of myself because I am learning to sew!! I'm really just blindly walking myself through it but it's going pretty well. Unfortunately I never took a Home-Ec class in high school. All of my electives were with Agri:) So I can't sew but I can put together a lawn mower engine... okay Mr. Passmore may disagree with that;0) Maybe I should've taken a couple of Home-Ec classes and not taken Beef and Swine but Oh what fun we had castrating pigs. Seriously though some of my fondest high school memories are all of my years in FFA. LOVED it. For years though I've wanted to learn to sew. When Andrea called all gals to help sew cloth pads for some girls in Ethiopia, I thought THIS.IS.IT!! After successfully making some pads, I went and picked out a pattern and some material and WHALA here's the final product. I definitely made some mistakes and it's not exactly like I wanted but I am very pleased with my first attempt at sewing:) I did have a sweet friend ask "how do you do it all?" to which I chuckled!! So just to clear up any misconceptions.... while I was working on my project Cameron said, "you need to get up and clean something" :) hehe. I should've told him... "hey I took all FFA classes, not homemaking classes":) SO just so you know I'm pretty much a horrible housekeeper. I mean it's not terribly dirty but it's not ever really clean;0)

And I leave you with Andrew's adorable artwork. He read Flat Stanley last weekend and drew a pic from the front cover. SO cute. He didn't trace at all. I was so impressed! AND I just LOVE his little tree. Isn't this cute??!

Could this be our last number on the list??

2010-10-24T18:11:00.003-05:00

We are now number NINE! SO very exciting. I know there are many ahead of us who are requesting siblings so I know we're really towards the top of the list for a little girl. IF there are several referrals at once, like usual, it's possible our referral will be with the next group. That. Is. SO. Exciting! I cannot even imagine what that phone call will be like but we are so ready for it.

In other Wallace news... we have a READER! Andrew is in the 1st grade this year and has just read his first Chapter book. It was SO adorable. He stayed up late reading Friday evening and woke up at 5:45 Saturday morning and came to our bed and said, "mommy, can I finish reading my book?" :) so cute. He finished another chapter book today. He's reading so very well. Parker is doing fantastic, too. Both of their teachers had nothing but great things to say about each of them. We are very proud of them both!!

Our life through pictures..

2010-10-17T21:04:00.016-05:00

I thought I'd upload a few pics I've taken lately of the littles. The boys are playing Fall soccer and we LOVE it! The weather is SO much nicer than the Spring season. The boys are in different divisions b/c of their ages so it can be pretty crazy on Saturday mornings. Most of their games are at the same time so I'm back and forth between the two fields AND trying to watch Sassy-Fras while she plays on the playground. It's been a lot of fun and the boys really enjoy it.

Parker's kindergarten class went on their first field trip. They went to the pumpkin patch. Cameron went with them and I came over during my prep period and lunch. It was sweet to see him interact with his peers. He is a sweet, SWEET little boy and we are blessed to have him as part of our family.

Isn't this a cute pic of Sassy and her daddy? She LOVES her daddy! Piper is SO much fun. She sings constantly! She is currently stuck on Cedarmount kids "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart". We listen to it over and Over and OVER again:). Tonight Andrew was taking his shirt off and Piper said, "no don't take you shirt off... I don't want to see you belly button". HA! Andrew and I just laughed and laughed!

A girl thing...

2010-10-16T21:00:00.003-05:00

I know, I know... I hardly ever blog anymore. I want to. I have things to blog about BUT just no time to follow through with it. I mean seriously I'm running a t-shirt business;), I'm killing it in the classroom teaching some Geometry;), I'm loving on sweet littles and my best friend, and just never find time to sit down long enough to blog. BUT I have found time to learn to sew:) I'm SO excited about this b/c I've wanted to sew for so long. Well, my friend Andrea has summoned all gals to help sew some cloth pads for some girls in Ethiopia. You see girls in Ethiopia have to drop out of school when they begin their period b/c they have no way to stay clean. Well, this past week some teachers and I (and a couple of high schoolers) had a pad party. We got a little accomplished but mainly we figured out what type of pads we didn't want to make. This weekend I came home and found a GREAT AIO (All in one) pattern that is really easy to do. I've NEVER really sewn and for sure I've never pieced together a pattern so this was new stuff for me and I am SO proud!! We'd love some help! We're trying to put together 10 pads per girl. Would you be willing to sew some pads for us? If you feel you can't really sew... would you be willing to cut some patterns for us? That would be GREAT help. If not, would you be willing to get some fabric for us? We're using 100% cotton (colorful material) for the outer layer and flannel for the inner layer.

I also have been a little busy painting a cute picture for my cousin's birthday. Isn't it fun?? I'm going to make one for our house, too!

Almost in our TWEENS:)

2010-10-12T21:21:00.003-05:00

We received an EMAIL yesterday from our agency letting us know we are now number FOURTEEN! We've never received a personal email stating our status before. We've just kept up by knowing how many referrals there are so that they personally contacted us to let us know is EXCITING! To be honest... I was a little sick at my stomach yesterday! All the unknowns are just so emotionally overwhelming. I'm not fearful or worried about the unknowns but just very excited and .... well.. not sure there are words to describe the feeling. We will get to see our baby girl for the first time. We'll know how old she is. We'll know her history... that may be the most overwhelming part of the whole thing. I'm not sure how I'll feel about or deal with her history. She may have parents that literally cannot provide for her and OHHHHhhhh what an honor it would be to take care of their/our little girl because they cannot but my heart will grieve with them because they canNOT. The wait has been hard but I have a feeling knowing the unknowns and coming to terms with them and trusting Him with them will not always be a cakewalk. BUT oh how honored we are that He is letting us follow Him into the homes of the broken.. into the world. Thank YOU Lord for opening our eyes to the needs of Your children. Help us to constantly be on the look out for ways to serve Yours while we're here. Not to us but to Your name be the GLORY!

Sweet 16!

2010-10-10T15:12:00.006-05:00

There were 3 referrals this week so we are now #16 on the waiting list! SO very exciting. I know for a fact there are four families ahead of us wanting sibling groups and I'm assuming there are a few that want boys. SO really it could be anytime! I'm hoping, hoping, HOPING it's this month or at least November but we'll see. Who knows... we may spend Christmas in Ethiopia this year??

I just had to get some pics of us at number 16:) so before church we ran out to the back yard and snapped a few.

If you are interested in buying a shirt... shoot me an email @ wallace0302@windstream.net
We are currently out of turquoise but have some more ordered. THANKS for supporting us and just for being an encouragement to us through this journey!

All I want for Christmas..

2010-10-10T15:07:00.003-05:00

Just when I think Andrew can't get any cuter... he loses his two front teeth:)

He's loving the first grade and learning SO much! He just randomly picks up books and will read, read, read! I'm SO proud of him. Parker is doing FANTASTIC, too! He is constantly drawing and writing words to go with his drawings. It's adorable. Those two could sit for hours making little books! They are precious little boys who bring pure joy to our house!

They're here...

2010-10-04T16:27:00.005-05:00

Our shirts are in:) They are $15.00 each (plus $2 shipping:). We're running really low on the turquoise already BUT the red and white are adorable, too! God has really blessed us in the sell of these t-shirts. If you don't know the story behind all the trouble we've been through buying these shirts... know that Satan was against it but God was for it:). We chose "Live simply so others can simply live" b/c it is something we have been learning over the past year or so. He has opened our eyes to His truth about how we should steward over what HE has entrusted us with.
If you are interested in purchasing one please email me @ wallace0302@windstream.net with your size and color. You can either pay through paypal or send us a check. I'll give you all info in my reply to your email.
We appreciate all of you who have helped us on our journey to our daughter! We are very grateful to each of you. We are getting closer and closer to her each day and God has been so faithful to continue to provide through friends like you!

Let me also add my friends are raising funds to help with their adoption over HERE. They are giving away an iPad tonight @ 8:00.... go buy a chance to win for $10:)

You could have...

2010-09-19T21:02:00.004-05:00

Fundraising for our adoption has been totally different than I thought it would've been. The places I assumed would be great opportunities have not panned out like I thought they might. To be honest, the beginning of the journey was so very difficult. We knew that we were doing His will but were being met at every turn with obstacles trying to stop us. We began brainstorming other fundraising opportunities. Everyone thought I was nutso for collecting cans. Aluminum cans are at an all time low. I was hoping that within a years time we could maybe raise $1000. I knew that was pretty unrealistic but it was my goal. Hundreds and hundreds of collectors later and we've collected over $1700 in just 8 months. We have another $300 or so sitting on a trailer waiting to be cashed in.

We got word a few months after beginning the process that two trips would now be required. Our initial goal was to raise enough funds for our travel ($5000). We planned to use savings and continue to save for the rest of the expenses (approx $20,000). After finding out we would have to make two trips, we knew we were needing to come up with close to $10,000.
We've made about $500 through coffee sales and have so far broke even on t-shirt sales and if we sell all that we've ordered (144), we should make around $1000. We did great with a yard sale and made over $1500. So if you add up the coffee, cans ... the jewelry party and gold party, yard sale... we've raised a little over $4500. BUT that's only if you count all the ways we've tried to raise money. That does not include those of you who have felt led to join us in this journey. God has used a handful of people to sacrificially give. We have been given a little over $4000 from people who decided to use the resources they've been given to give to something so much bigger than themselves. He has placed people in our lives, some I've literally never met, to help write Joleigh's story. She will be loved, fed and held in our home but she has a place in the hearts of SO many. We thank you so much to those of you who could've used the money you gave us to take your family on vacation, to buy something really nice for yourself, to take your families out to dinner, etc. We thank you for storing up your treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19). You have no idea how much your giving has encouraged us. Our family is forever grateful and we cannot wait to share our Joleigh with you all. We are still saving away and picking up every aluminum can we see but we have no doubt He will provide.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" Jim Elliot

We are in our TEENS:)

2010-09-15T16:33:00.003-05:00

We are now number NINETEEN on the waiting list. We are very excited to finally be in our teens. This adventure has literally been amazing. Gives me chills to think about how we've grown over the past year. I'm sure I've shared this before but Cameron and I definitely didn't have a goal of having a large family. You know the strange thing is we never really had that "perfect picture" of what our family was suppose to look like. I remember so well the weeks leading up to our decision to adopt. It was literally like I was hot or cold about the issue. There were days that I was literally scared to death pondering the "what ifs" and then there were days when God took a huge eraser and erased every what if and reminded me that NOTHING is bigger than He is and NOTHING brings more joy than following HIM. It's not like Cameron and I would have felt like horrible people had we said no to adoption. We could have lived our lives, things would've continued on the way they were. But it was as if God was asking us "Do you want to go on adventure with me? Do you trust me? Do you want to do more than care about my children?" I cannot imagine had we decided to stay the way we were. Literally, I can't imagine life before Joleigh and we don't even know her yet... but it's more than just Joleigh.. it's saying no to the fears of the world and saying YES to Him.

If you are contemplating adoption... let me warn you ... YOU WILL BE CHANGED! Get ready for the ride of your life!!

What you've all been waiting for....

2010-09-08T20:00:00.003-05:00

Okay maybe it's just ME whose been waiting but don't you want to play a part in bringing Joleigh home? :) We are trying to finish up our fundraising with some t-shirt sells. Aren't they cute? My brother-in-law did an excellent job designing them.

We are ordering 3 different colors. Red, Torquoise, and White. They are $15 each with $2 shipping, for those that will need them shipped. If you're in the area, we'll deliver;0). We are also selling White Ringer Tees. These cost us $3 more, so they're $18. Know this about me I DETEST selling things. I could never be a salesman. I'm just too cheap and always feel like people aren't really getting the best bang for their buck. BUT I do feel different about these shirts. First off, most people who sell shirts for adoption fundraisers sell them for $20-$25 so I am trying to be frugal with your money but I also want YOU to have a hand in helping us bring Joleigh home. Today, I got an email from someone wanting some shirts. I haven't seen or spoken to these people in years. They knew me in elementary school and I had NO idea I was on their radar. They just simply sent an email saying, "we'll take two". I checked that email during my prep and literally cried and cried b/c of how GOOD HE has been to us! God has used people from all walks of our lives to help this little girl come home to us. Our hearts ache so badly for her to be here, to know she's safe, for her to know she's loved. Literally, physically I ache for her. So I'm asking you to purchase a some-what overpriced, CUTE t-shirt to help us get her home. We would LOVE for you to share this post with your friends and family.

What do you need to do in order to buy a shirt? I've placed a DONATE button on the top left side of our blog. You can pay either using paypal through that button OR send us a check. Please email your order to wallace0302@windstream.net. In your email include:
Color of shirt and Size of shirt. If we need to ship your shirt to you, include your mailing address. Please also include method of payment. If you are mailing check, I will email you back with our mailing address.
Available SIZES: Youth 6/8 and up and Adult Small - 3XL
Okay, I'm new at this so if I've missed anything of course feel free to email. We would also LOVE it if you would mention our shirts on your blog:) We tried to make the shirts not be totally specific to our adoption but just to the heart God has given us about how we are to use what He's blessed us with.

Here are some pics of the shirts. They are just the graphic pics. I'm hoping to have them in hand by Sept 20th. They will be shipped out as soon as we get them. I will also post more pics of what they look like when they arrive.

Feeling lucky??

2010-09-08T17:15:00.003-05:00

We got the news today that we won 32" flat screen Sony HDTV from our local television station. We are of course OVER the moon:) So while I'm feeling LUCKY, I'm gonna head on over HERE to buy a couple of chances at a FREE iPad while I help bring home a baby girl from Ethiopia. Our friends are adopting and are trying to raise funds by raffling off an iPad.. you MUST go enter:) and help bring Nora home!!!

Perfect Weekend

2010-09-05T16:10:00.006-05:00

We have had a wonderful Labor day weekend. We spent the day Saturday @ Silver Dollar City with family. The kids all had a blast riding rides with their cousins. It was a super fast trip to Branson but we had tons of fun.
This morning we went to Woolly Hollow and had a great day at one of our state parks. We all went on a hike and then played on the playground. Grandma then came and picked up Piper Jane while the rest of us went on a canoe ride. This was the first canoe ride our boys have been on and they loved it!

Andrew has lost 2 teeth in a week and another one is loose. I told him we're going to have to feed him baby food until he gets some new teeth:) Breaks my heart that I'll never again see that little boy with his baby teeth:( I want to freeze time so badly!!!

Happy birthday Andrew!

2010-09-02T20:53:00.004-05:00

I can't believe you are SEVEN years old:( breaks my heart how fast time flies! I honestly cannot think of enough nice things to say about you. You are an amazing little boy with a heart of gold. We are thoroughly enjoying watching you grow and learn more about Him. You are determined to be a scientist and it pretty much consumes your every thought! I love you more than words could ever describe sweet little Andrew Reagan!

Teens, here we come!!

2010-09-02T18:16:00.004-05:00

We are now NUMBER....

The next time I share our new number, we will be in the TEENS!!! My guess is that we won't make it to number 10 before we get a referral. We have an unofficial waiting list on our yahoo group and there are only 9 ahead of us on there. So 10 that are ahead of us have not put their info on the group website BUT here's the rundown on the 9 that are ahead of us. 4 of the families ahead of us are requesting sibling groups. 2 of the families are asking for either boy or girl. Only 3 ahead of us are asking for a girl and two of those are requesting infant. So if the rest of the folks that haven't put their info on the board are like these, we should be around #8 - #12 (my unscientific guess;0) in line for a little girl. How exciting is THAT?!!
I'm guessing we'll have a referral sometime in October... my guess is October 17th:)

AND get ready for some SUPER cute t-shirts. We are hoping to have t-shirts ready to sell in the next couple of weeks.

She's always up for a quick shoot...

2010-08-29T16:22:00.004-05:00

Piper is always so willing to take a few pictures and I LOVE that about her! I picked up this adorable bench the other day for our backyard and thought it would make a great prop!

TWENTY-ONE:) oh the joy!!

2010-08-25T18:30:00.002-05:00

We found out Monday we are now number 21 on the waiting list:). So here's my science... not the next group of referrals or the next but for sure the NEXT will include us!!!! (I could totally be wrong... it could be sooner!!! ... but it could be a little later, too) This has my stomach in KNOTS and BUTTERFLIES! This is SO much different than being physically pregnant. We have NO idea when she will be here so the anticipation is so much greater because we know it will be so surprising when it happens. We didn't find out if Parker was a boy or girl and it was so much fun. THIS is so much more fun but soooo tough at the same time. As I cautiously parent over my children and watch what they eat, make sure they're safe, tuck them in at night.. it's hard knowing Joleigh is exposed to malaria, malnourishment, even abandonment. God is preparing our hearts and filling them full of love for our sweet Joleigh. The kids talk about her all the time. Piper says, "my want my sister". I can't wait to see them together!!

I'm reading the book Radical by David Platt and oh my is it good? LOVE it!!! Here's an excerpt from it that I think speaks volumes.

So what is the difference between someone who willfully indulges in sexual pleasures while ignoring the Bible on moral purity and someone who willfully indulges in selfish pursuit of more and more material possessions while ignoring the Bible on caring for the poor. The difference is that one involves a social taboo in the church and the other involves the social norm in the church."
I mean how many of us think that helping the poor is someone else's responsibility?? Those who are called, not all christians but just the ones who have a passion for the poor. One thing that is terribly sad about this situation is that "believers" are missing out on such an opportunity to be used to further His kingdom, to feed His children. We are not at all where we want to be but thank GOD our eyes are opened, He stepped all over our toes and we have a desire to obediently follow Him.

Not quite sure what to expect..

2010-08-21T20:59:00.002-05:00

We are still number 27 on the waiting list. It's been a couple of months since they've had any referrals but there should be several soon. The medical clinic our agency uses ran out of AIDS and DNA test. There are several children who are waiting for these test to be referred. We are pretty confident we won't have to make it all the way down to the #1 spot b/c we're asking for a 6 mo. to 2 year old (actually 3 yr old but they won't place out of birth order). Many ahead of us are asking for infants. SOOoo, it is very possible that it will not be too long before we have our referral. Assuming there are 6-10 referrals soon after all the testing is done, we would be in the teens and probably will only have to move 8-10 more spots. Okay, I'm sure this is kind of confusing for some and for others you're probably thinking, "get a life" ;0) BUT this is what I do, I constantly play with the numbers and try to guess when our referral is. It keeps me sane.. most of the time ;). For the longest, I just knew we'd have a referral by October but now I'm thinking it will be November-ish, possibly December. After our referral, we would travel about 8 weeks later for a court appearance and to meet Joleigh. We would travel home and then return for her about 6 weeks later.
With all of that being said, I can't help but daydream about what the "call" will be like. Our agency will call us and tell us they are about to send us our referral through email. We will have a picture and information about our DAUGHTER. I cannot even imagine what it will feel like to see her for the first time. Literally, just typing about the "call" gives me butterflies.

Parker's First Day

2010-08-19T20:56:00.017-05:00

Today was Parker's first day of Kindergarten. He did fantastic!! I was much more together than I thought I would be. I really had a peace about him going and am excited to see him be "him". He's never been anywhere but home really and always kind of been "Andrew's little brother". It will be exciting to see how he grows as an individual. We love you SO very much Parker Isaac and you bring so much joy to our house. There's never a dull moment when you're around!!

Today was also Andrew's first day of First Grade. He had a great time! We got his Kindergarten state test back today and he did fantastic!! He only missed 3 questions out of 70. We were very proud:) He told me today he was the quietest kid in class. hehe. He is such an absolute sweetheart. We love you Andrew Reagan. I constantly day dream about who you will become.

It's not been easy

2010-08-10T20:44:00.002-05:00

This has been the most stretching year for me as a believer. Well, probably the last 2 years have been the most eye opening. God has broken my heart for what breaks His and I wish I could say it's been easy to follow Him there but it has not. Satan has continually attacked all along the way. I wouldn't trade it for anything though. God has literally opened my eyes so much to the things that are really important. Please know that I am saying He has opened my eyes and that I am taking steps to follow but it is a process and I am in no way THERE. I'm getting there, but I have far to go. For those of you who feel I've offended you in anyway by sharing what He has laid on my heart for the needy of the world, I am sorry you were offended. My prayer is to be used by Him to cause you to question what you do to further His kingdom and care for His children. It is not meant to judge you. BUT I will state this boldly because I strongly believe it is the truth... His children are not the responsibility of the "called" they are the responsibility of all who claim to be His children. God calls us over and over in scripture to care for the poor, the widow and the orphan. My writings are not that you will grow bitter b/c you feel I'm questioning how you're spending your money but that you will examine how you're spending it. Is it being used to care for His? Could you nit pick my life and question my spending? Of course... but we are searching for ways to become more and more obedient to His calling. Yes, we take lots of trips to Branson (you should've seen the last roach hotel we stayed in there;0), yes, I have lots of technology gadgets, we are terribly frugal in all of them but honestly I'm not going to be legalistic here because I think if we are truly searching His heart and asking Him to use us He will let us know what our lives are to look like. Can you ever go to Starbucks again and splurge on a latte? Sure. My challenge to you though is to seriously look at your finances over the past 6 months and see if they are centered around you or around Him? He will help you center them around Him if you desire to follow Him. That is where we are right now and I love it! We have a lot of unknowns in our near future, but what we do know is that we want to live sold out for Him and we want our lives to be a testimony of His heart for all people. I'll be honest this type of lifestyle feels downright lonely at times. It's unpopular. Not welcomed by many.... BUT there are those few who get it and God has used them to bless me over and over and over.
I urge you to read Radical, The Hole in Our Gospel or Crazy Love and allow Him to use you in ways you never dreamed you would've considered.
Here's a video that shares a little about the book Radical.

Season passes..

2010-08-08T15:36:00.002-05:00

We are all about some staycations! We have memberships for the year to the Little Rock Zoo, Silver Dollar City and Mid America Museum. Here's my arguments on how they've saved, will save, us a fortune:)

Little Rock Zoo sold their memberships for 1/2 off last November (I believe it was November). Zoo membership is normally $85/family and we were able to purchase our for $42.50. It would actually cost us over $45 just to go to the zoo one time so it's well worth it, especially when they are discounted. Not only can you go to the LR zoo, you can also go to a lot of other zoos for free or 1/2 off. The Memphis zoo is not too far away and we get 1/2 off admission there. It's a wonderful zoo and the kids love it!

We purchased Silver Dollar City passes this year for the first time. We actually just bought passes for Cam and I and used the 2 free bring a friends to bring the kids with us. We were able to upgrade those to season passes, which really you're not suppose to do that but the lady didn't know and we were clueless it was against their policy until reading it later somewhere. So we spent probably $225 for all of us to have season passes at SDC. We've gone several times this year. The boys love it! Season pass holders get a lot of discounts to different things around Branson which has also come in handy. Honestly, I know lots of people spend tons of money going to Disney World but to us right now we'd rather visit SDC often instead of just a one time trip.

This weekend I purchased a family membership to Mid America Museum in Hot Springs for $65. The boys LOVE science museums. We could literally spend days looking at everything. The reason I decided to purchase season passes was b/c with a membership there, you virtually have a membership at any science museum. This summer, we went to a children's museum in Fort Worth and loved it! We could go back for free now. We can also go to the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock (about 40 minutes away) for free with this membership. I'm sure we'll use this pass numerous times before it expires August of next year.

So for about $350, we've been able to have so much fun with our family of 5. I'm sure it'll be a long time before we're taking any lavish vacations but who needs 'em when you can have fun all year long?

A Must Read...

2010-08-02T15:48:00.002-05:00

You should take a minute and hop over here to see what's going on in Katie's life. If ever you need a pick me up or a word of truth and encouragement her blog is the place to go. I actually chatted back and forth with her before we made the final decision to adopt. She is WISE beyond her years and sharpens me with with every word.

Old Navy is destroying the American family...

2010-07-29T17:04:00.003-05:00

So this morning I decided to run to town with the kiddos in tow. Crazy, nah we do it all the time BUT I usually don't make so many stops. We went to Bath and Body and bought 7 soaps for $20.00. Then we went to Old Navy and bought 4 camisoles for $2.00 each. On to the Children's Place where we bought 2 pair of jeans for $10 each, 3 fisherman hats for $.99 each and I had $10 free there. Last stop Chik-fil-a. I bought 17 nuggets total and a regular fry for us to split, oh and a lemonade for me;) for about $10.50.
So, everything went fine at Bath and Body, the kids picked out some soaps they liked. They each got to carry their soap to the car. They were excited. Next stop Old Navy... they get us EVERYtime! I'm picking out my $2 camisoles and Piper is lusting after a shiny pink ball, with a light in it. I try to explain to her that $5 is ridiculous for this shiny ball... I mean look Piper at these cute camisole shirts for ONLY 2 bucks and they're trying to sucker you into that BALL.... don't do it girl. Put it down. Then come the screams of our sweet, precious, adorable, Jesus loving 2 year old (or as John Rosemond would call her.. little criminal;)... NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! I WANT THE BALL!!!!! Finally I got her to stop crying and we get to the register where Old Navy has placed some more pink, shiny, light up balls and the drama continued. So here's how Old Navy is corrupting our homes. I wasn't ABOUT to pay $5 for that pink ball. Most parents would agree and say no like I did but a LOT of parents would've shut her up by just obliging to get that pink, shiny, light up ball. no, No, NO parents!!! Just like I told Piper, they're trying to sucker you into letting your child have what they want. It's not good. Not good for you, not good for your pocket book and most importantly NOT good for your child! Please be consistent and DO WHAT YOU SAY! If you say no, stick with it. There was NO way I was giving into that little monster scream. Just think about it, you're saying "No, but if you scream really loud and throw a crazy fit then we can get it just so you won't embarrass mommy". It's GREAT for your child to hear NO and hear it often. They need to know that the world does not revolve around them.
Okay... I'm finished... well almost.
Dear Old Navy, please know that parents are smarter than that. You are not a ball distributor. You sell clothes! Don't try to undermine parents by letting our children sucker us into buying junk that's going to get played with for 2 minutes. Oh and thanks for the $2 camisoles. They're great:)

How are you different? Radically different???

2010-07-22T22:21:00.002-05:00

My cousin Amy and I were having a conversation today about what exactly does it mean or look like to lay down your life and follow after Him. I've been reading some books lately that cause me to ask the same thing. Honestly, I was probably asking that question before reading the books which is what led me to them. The books are The Hole in Our Gospel and Radical. They are amazing! They pretty much cause you to question your "American" lifestyle in regards to the millions who are in need. Why?? Because if we are HIS and they are HIS then why don't we care? And I don't mean "care" as in get teary eyed when we see some sad video footage but CARE as in giving all we have to change it. I see it FAR too often in "believers" who've gotten on the "keeping up with the Jonses" bandwagon. Constantly concerned about earthly possessions that are going to FADE away instead of meeting the needs of HIS children. We are all guilty! I was reading an article about the author of Crazy Love the other day. They lived in a nice home, he had a nice salary and felt led to sacrificially follow HIM. His wife was NOT on board. She went with it but reluctantly. They looked at trailer homes, and ended up downsizing to a home in a lower socioeconomic area where they could MINISTER to those in NEED. Today they have numerous people living in their home. I believe they have 3 children of their own and they open their home up to widows and people in need. His wife has had a change of heart. She said it's been the best thing for the entire family. Imagine how freeing and joyful it would be to live a life completely sacrificed to His calling.
So, my question is how are you different? It's clear in the Bible we are suppose to be a LIGHT in a dark world, we should appear as aliens to the lost world. What does that mean to us in America? Maybe it looks like downsizing. WHAT? Do you know we barely have enough room now for all of our THINGS? Hmmm.... how important are those THINGS? Cameron and I are hoping and praying we can live frugally over the next 4-5 years and become debt free. One reason we're able to come close to that is because we purchased an $80,000 home. God has blessed us with absolute contentment! That doesn't mean when we walk the neighborhood and see the $150,000 - $250,000 homes we don't admire but we know what comes with that. CHAINS!! We are hoping to be free of debt so we can give in anyway He calls us. I would LOVE to plan family "vacations" to Ethiopia, Rwanda, etc. My prayer is that my children do not grow to lust after the things of this world but are willing to sacrifice their comfort and wants for His purposes.
So how are you RADICALLY different? Is your lifestyle really a testimony to how you've laid down your life, desires and followed after Him? I'm not asking do your neighbors or coworkers know if you go to church and love the baby Jesus? But do they REALLY see a radical difference in the way you give up ALL to follow Him?
My prayer is that He will show me and you where He is leading us to radically sacrifice.

Book Reading List

2010-07-18T20:58:00.003-05:00

Last August, I began reading to the boys bigger books. We've always read books from their room or the library but after teaching a year in the elementary schools, I had a huge desire to help them love books and stories. I'm writing this post mainly so we can remember all the books we've read this year. I hope to keep a list of all the books we read together. They love trying to remember them all.

The Narnia Series
1. The Magician's Nephew
2. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle

We then moved on to some heavier material;0)
The Ralph Mouse Collection
1. The Mouse and The Motorcycle
2. Runaway Ralph
3. Ralph S. Mouse

Little Pilgrim's Progress

Chronicles of Faith Books
Elijah
Ben Hur (which we're finishing tomorrow night)

We'll either begin David Livingstone or Corrie Ten Boom next:). The boys love to listen to the books. It has been a wonderful, special time with them and I look forward to many more years.

Tough week...

2010-07-16T14:47:00.009-05:00

I've had the best summer with these 3.

We've played and played and played... well, until this week. Hardly any tv all summer long, well, until this week. Poor Piper Jane has a bad case of the fever virus. To be honest, I don't even remember what day it started b/c I haven't slept in days!! She feels fine except when the fever starts and then she's really whiney, must have mommy and wants to read a million books. Over. And Over. And Over again! We've been up the past three nights for hours watching PBS specials. Last night there was a special about international aid in Kenya and another about a kid with severe autism. You'd think that would put her to sleep but NOPE she was wide awake. Last night I noticed a rash on her arms but today she's got a polka-dotted rash on her little cheeks. The doc thinks it's just part of the fever virus. We are hoping this virus leaves us FAST!!

I did get a couple of cute pics of the boys this morning. SO hard to believe I'll have two little ones in school in a few weeks. Andrew is going into the 1st grade and Parker will begin Kindergarten. I'm sure I'm a little bias but aren't they just the cutest little things? I could just eat them up!!

Radical Sacrifice

2010-07-13T22:16:00.002-05:00

My heart is so heavy today. A young man named Nate Henn sacrificed all he had to follow after Him. Nate was killed in the bombing in Uganda. He chased after God's calling to care for the orphan and he did it with GUSTO! Dear God, help me live a sacrificial life. Don't let me buy into the "christianity" we've created in America. Thank you for reminding us in Luke that you require complete abandonment. Help us leave certainty for uncertainty. Safety for danger. Self-Preservation for self-denunciation. Thank you for using the words of David Platt, author of Radical, to remind me require me to give up everything to follow after you. Thank you Nate for your example!

God has shown our family another example of sacrificing for His will. A sweet lady, whom I've yet to meet, sent us a check that almost equals ALL we've raised so far in all of our fundraising for our adoption. All our can money, donation money, garage sale money, coffee money, everything! Did she send it because they're overly wealthy and it's not a big deal to them? No. Not at all. Her husband was just laid off from his job. She and her husband sent it because they were obedient to His small voice who urged them to be RADICAL in their walk. To abandon comfort, lay down worries, and totally go against the norm here in America... the norm in American churches. Ouch. But so true. We are RICH! Everyone of you reading this is RICH. You have clean water, a place to call home, and on and on and on. Dear friends, we are chosen but are we obedient?

Jesus loves the Little Children...

2010-07-11T22:01:00.002-05:00

Here's a little clip of Piper singing over breakfast this morning:) she can sometimes sing rather LOUD!

Kids Eat Free in Conway

2010-07-09T14:52:00.003-05:00

I've been wanting to put together a list of all the places in Conway where kids eat free so last night, I did it;0). I called and checked with the following restaurants and here's the info I got. If you know of any other restaurants, let me know BUT do call and check and make sure b/c 1/2 the ones who are advertised on the internet do not have kids eat free nights;/

Larry's Pizza free buffet for kids 4 and under (you have to buy drink so take a juice box;0)
Denny's 4-9 DAILY
Stoby's Monday and Tuesday evening
Shorty Smalls Monday (she said all day)
Fish House Monday after 4
Stromboli's Monday all day
Zaxby's Tuesday 4-8
Fish House Tuesday after 4
Slim Chickens Tuesday all day (summer only)
Stromboli's Wednesday all day
Tropical Smoothie Wednesday 5-9 with purchase of Paradise Combo
Moe's Southwest Grill Thursday after 4
Dixie Cafe Saturday 11-4 (kids meals are 1.99)
Pizza Inn (Oak St) Saturday - kids eat for $.99
Lenny's Sub Shop Sunday 11-6
Market Place (Mon-Thur after 4) during the months of March, June, Sept and Dec

Lebron who?

2010-07-08T23:11:00.008-05:00

Honestly I use to be a sports junkie! I remember in high school, even college, I really enjoyed watching sports and was really into the NBA. Okay, so I loved Michael Jordan and dreamed of watching him play someday.. never happened. What a tragedy I thought.... but then I changed. Sports totally fell off the radar. You know what else took a dive off the radar.... materialism. Just to be quite honest, I spent less than $1000 on my wedding, dress and all! I was dead set to not throw money away. Our wedding was beautiful, my dress was gorgeous. Everything was just what I had always dreamed of. So what brought about the change? The summer of 2001, I prayed a prayer that God would forever change me and never allow my heart to forget where He led me. That summer I taught in Rwanda. I went all by myself, carried only by His strength b/c it was not an easy trip. I was the only America but met a dear sister in Christ named Kim. God completely broke my heart for the things that breaks His. I can't pinpoint what moment changed me exactly. I think back... was it the women with their children? Looking at these women with these babies and knowing their hearts longed for a future for their children. You know, like we do. What school should they go to? Will they make friends? How much tv is too much? Only their concerns embarrass me for ours. What will they eat? How will they survive without an education that we can't afford? Will they have a future?

Maybe the change started because of the children I saw. Words can never describe how my heart broke over and over again for the children of this beautiful land. These were HIS children and so many had no parents, no homes, no food. They were breathtakingly beautiful, you know like our American babies. They were created in His image but there was no one there to care or provide for them.

I know one thing that for sure changed me, it was meeting this man..

His name is Emmanuel. His job to lead people through the Rwandan Genocide Memorial. To this day, I cannot think of that place without having a huge lump in my throat and tears well up in my eyes. It was a building intended to be used as a technical college. They were almost finished building it but when the genocide began hundreds of thousands took refuge here and died here. Emmanuel was one of the "lucky" ones. He survived a bullet wound in the head but lost all of his family. There were dozens and dozens of classrooms full of skulls, dozens full of children. Emmanuel wept while sharing the story of where he and his family hid and were murdered. Around 800,000 people were killed in just 100 days.
These next images changed me deep down in my soul. They poured lime over the bodies so they would stay the same way they were when they died, hands clenched. Mothers holding tightly to babies, etc. I remember feeling like I couldn't breath going through each room but they deserved for me to look at them all. They deserved to be remembered. They were HIS children.

I long to go back to Africa! I ask God constantly to break my heart for the things that break His. I desire to be in His work and love His children. So why are we adopting from Africa? Because if our lives can change the outcome for just ONE child, praise the Lord! If our lives inspire someone to change the outcome for one child, Praise the Lord!! My prayer for you my sweet friends is that your heart will be BROKEN for the things that breaks His AND that you will respond. We are RICH!!! The divide between us and the poor is astounding. It is not our fault they are poor, but it is our responsibility to meet their needs. That's why He's blessed us so much. Not to live comfortably, not to buy a nice new car, or a big huge house. Do we realize we are using what He's blessed us with not to meet our needs but to meet our WANTS when HIS children are dying b/c we refuse to meet their NEEDS. Cameron and I were talking the other night and he said, "I hope Ethiopia changes me" I have no doubt that it will.

Axe the cable..

2010-07-06T16:21:00.005-05:00

The kids and I have had a great summer thus far:) A little over a year ago we axed cable at the Wallace house. One of the best things we've ever done!! We weren't huge tv watchers but it always seemed to just be on. I hated that. I didn't want the kids to constantly be entertained by the tv. We now have a handy dandy converter box and get about 7 channels and love it! It makes us not near as tempted to turn it on b/c honestly there's never anything on. Best part... it's FREE:). One of our favorite channels is THV2. It's all behind the scenes during the weekly news. We love it! Anytime someone goofs up, they make fun and crack up at themselves during the commercial break. I know, we have no life... but really it is quite entertaining! AND just the other night Craig O'Neal gave ME a shout out on THV2. WHAT? I was turning off the lights in the living room and Cameron said, "Jenny, are you watching THV2? Craig O'Neal was just talking about you" haha! It was a hoot!
So, what do we do? Well, here's what today looked like... wake up @ 8:30 (I know, what a blessing that they sleep in:). Grab a quick breakfast and then head out front to find some bugs. There's always PLENTY of bugs to study in the front yard and we do it everyday! No kidding!! Sometimes we spend a couple of hours out there but this morning it was more like an hour and then we went to the backyard for some pool time and then some backyard fun. We try to go swimming around 9:30-11:00ish so the sun is not directly on us in the pool. Yes, that's why I have the WHITEST legs in Faulkner Co. They NEVER see the sun;0) but hey, that's okay, that's how HE made me.

We then headed in the house for some home cooking. 2 cans of Ravioli;0) with a touch of shredded cheese. The boys then played in the playroom while Piper and I read a couple of books. Right now Piper is sleeping and the boys are drawing and coloring pictures. I'm blogging from the back porch next to the butterfly garden. my FAVORITE place "in" the house:)

This summer has been really pleasant. I can count on one (okay maybe two) hands how many times I've lost my cool with the kids. That's good for me, b/c I kinda have a habit of losing my patience. I've written character traits and posted them above our door that I want to affirm in my kids. I'm really trying to get out of the habit of getting onto them and getting in the habit of teaching them. I want to teach them how to be and not just tell them how not to be. I've gathered some names of some elderly folks in our neighborhood and I'm going to try to start having a weekly/monthly meal time that we have them over, take them food, etc. I have such a desire to teach my kids about empathy, compassion, giving and figure the best way to teach it is to have them involved in it.

Overwhelmed ...

2010-06-30T21:36:00.002-05:00

Tonight I am so overwhelmed with the responsibility of parenting. Not overwhelmed in a bad way but overwhelmed with gratitude that He has blessed Cameron and I with three little ones to parent. Then to add to that, He has blessed us with an opportunity to parent someone else's baby. The realization of this brings a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Literally causes me to lift my hands to Him and praise Him for choosing us to raise Andrew, Parker, Piper and now Joleigh.
I strongly encourage you to visit my friend Andrea's blog. Okay, so we've never met but if I have a kindred spirit out there... it's Andrea. She is currently in Ethiopia picking up Isaac. You really should read her latest post about meeting his birth mother. Your heart will be richly blessed.

And then we were...

2010-06-30T16:53:00.003-05:00

27 (twenty-seven) is the natural number following 26 and preceding 28. Twenty-seven is the smallest positive integer requiring four syllables to name in English, though it can be unambiguously defined in just two: "three cubed." Thank you Wikipedia for all the useless info about our new number:)

Texas Vacation

2010-06-29T14:49:00.008-05:00

We went on vacation a couple of weeks ago to visit my cousin Amy and her husband Brian. They live in Denton, TX. We had tons of fun. We spent one afternoon @ a Fort Worth kids science museum. The boys LOVED it! They had the coolest 3-D video/ride exhibit. Piper was terrified. Bless her soul;0). Here's a pic of the recycle exhibit:

Amy and Brian kindly watched Piper for a couple of days so we could go to San Antonio with the boys. We spent one night there and then went to Sea World the next day. It was a lot of fun. We enjoyed looking at sharks and whales but our favorite thing to do was feeding the dolphins. If you were really quick, you could pet one for a few seconds during the feeding. Quite the experience!
Piper had a good time in TX and really loved Amy and Brian's dogs. Her favorite was Queen:).

Here are some pics of Sea World (and yes, all of these pics were taken with my iPhone, I was too lazy to get out a real camera;)

Continually moving down...

2010-06-29T14:22:00.004-05:00

We are now number ....

God has continued to break my heart for the children on the waiting list. I literally just stare at their faces over and over. I've begged Cameron to let us take them but in all honesty, we probably wouldn't be allowed to b/c of the birth order rule. They try really hard to not place out of birth order, so our daughter will most likely be younger than Piper. We are VERY excited about finding out who Joleigh is and are in constant prayer for her and her birth family. Honestly, some days I just feel a little overwhelmed about the whole thing and question, "are we crazy?" but then God reminds of His plan for us. When I look at it through human eyes, it's really hard to make sense of it all but when He gives me His perspective, I am so overwhelmed with gratitude that He is choosing to bless us with another one of His children. I would gladly sacrifice comfort, finances, sanity (some days;) to be blessed by another one of His children.
The can collecting is still going strong! We've raised just over $1700 since late November! Someone said the other day, "I bet your kids are going to look back and say remember that year we collected all those cans and ran over them with our car" hehe... I hope so! We are definitely known as the "can family" and I am so thankful for that. SO grateful God is using aluminum to make a difference in the life of a child and a difference in the life of those giving.

A little of this and that...

2010-06-06T09:39:00.003-05:00

We are now number 33. There were no new referrals this week BUT a sweet baby girl was taken off the waiting list so we went down a number! There's a little girl on there who is 5 that has captured my heart but we are not eligible to adopt her b/c she is Parker's age and they do not do "artificial" twinning. I'm at peace with the fact, she's not who God has chosen for us but my heart still aches for her to find a home! Please pray with me for her.

School is OUT!! YAY! We are leaving Tuesday to go to Texas to stay with Amy and Brian and can't WAIT! They are going to watch Piper one day/night for us so we can take the boys to SeaWorld. They will LOVE it... maybe not as much as me, but they will LOVE it:).

Andrew finished up his first year of Kindergarten and Parker is on his way next year. Hard to believe! Parker did GREAT at Kindergarten screening. I was so proud of him. God really put my mind at ease and helped me see he is totally ready. His Asst. Principal went over the scores with us and she said, "he did as well on this test (PPVT) as he possible could have... he scored like he was 8 1/2 years old." Parker said, "WOW!!" I was so glad his first experience @ school was positive.

Some of the BEST news we've had lately is that Cameron got a job at Acxiom. He was laid off in October and has been feverishly hunting since. While it was hard, we knew and trusted He was taking care of us and providing for us. It has been such a blessing for Cameron to be home. His severance package has practically paid for our adoption cost, all but the travel. He was able to be home with Parker and Piper almost all school year. He helped teach Parker how to read. It has been a time he will cherish forever. His job doesn't start until June 21st so we have a couple of weeks off together. We are so thankful for how He cares for us. We are also SO thankful that He has burdened us to live well below our means so this time without a job wasn't financially straining. He is GOOD!

Fundraising is going well. I am a little nervous with the school year being over b/c my fellow teachers/students were the bulk of my can raising. I trust He has funds in store for us, though. We've actually raised almost enough for one trip to Ethiopia which is GREAT! We're just trying to raise for our second trip. I've been taking pics to help raise money, too. Yesterday I took some sweet pictures of the cutest newborn named Ella.

NoW, we'Re

2010-05-24T18:10:00.001-05:00

thirty-FOUR!!

Then we were

2010-05-22T21:05:00.000-05:00

#35!

We are now number....

2010-05-19T20:28:00.000-05:00

36!!

Prayers needed...

2010-05-18T21:19:00.004-05:00

Two weeks ago tomorrow, one of my students was injured in a terrible car accident. She has held on and fought so hard. Things are getting really hard for her now and she needs a lot of prayers! I have Jamie 1st and 7th period at the high school and my heart is broken for what she is going through. Please pray with me that God will work a miracle in her life, one way or another and that HE will be glorified. You can check on Jamie's status at carepages.com by searching for jamiemechelle.

I love you Jamie and think about you constantly. I have a stack of your papers that are graded just sitting on my desk. I can't quit looking at them. I still have the picture you drew for me and Joleigh:) hanging up right by my desk and I pray for you every time I look at it. I love you sweet girl and pray so much that God will heal you! I pray that you wake up and see how much everyone is pulling for you!

We are now number....

2010-05-16T16:53:00.004-05:00

I am SOO hoping next week we'll make it to the 30's. There are several families in front of us that are wanting an infant so we're really not so far down the list. Only a handful will take an older toddler.

Hard to believe...

2010-05-08T16:07:00.009-05:00

you're TWO! We celebrated Piper Jane's second birthday last night. We had a cookout with all the family and then watched the new Ice Age on the back porch. It was a beautiful night and lots of fun!

Piper... You are so sweet! You are very well behaved (almost always;), funny, kind and beautiful! You are a gift from above to each one of us. Mommy and Daddy adore you and the boys can't get enough of you!

Journaling

2010-05-02T16:45:00.003-05:00

I bought some journals about a year ago to write entries for the kids. Each kid has one and I bought an extra for me to journal in. The first page of "my" journal was some scripture and a prayer that God would open the eyes of our children's hearts. That journal has now become Joleighs:). Today I sat out on a blanket and wrote in each child's journal. I write about what they're doing now, what they want to be, their prayers, my prayers, etc. It's such a fun time to just reflect on who they are and I really hope it's something they cherish as they grow. Andrew, Parker, Piper, Joleigh... I love you more than words can say and I hope the words I write in these pages touch your hearts and point you to Him. We are blessed to have you!

Around here...

2010-04-27T17:02:00.003-05:00

Things have been good around here. I haven't blogged much b/c we've been busy bees. We've been really enjoying spending time together intentionally, not out of guilt or duty but purely b/c we all really like each other:) The boys and I are 3/4 of the way through Pilgrim's Progress and thoroughly enjoying it. We have a devo time at meal time and it's always a really special time. Cameron and I haven't missed a day yet in our Bible reading. I'm not saying any of this stuff to brag on me but to brag on HIM. It's definitely with His help that we've been able to enjoy each other and relax in the here and now. Where are we in our adoption process? We are now NUMBER..... (and forgive all the pics, they are all iPhone pics:)

that's number 43, in case you couldn't tell;)

What does that mean? Well, we are #43 on the referral list. Soooo.. 42 folks ahead of us to get a referral before we find out who Joleigh is. We've asked for 6 months to 2.5 years. There were 16 referrals in Feb, 18 in March and so far only 8 in April so it's anybody's guess at how long we'll be waiting.

We took the kids to The Wonder Place AND Chucke Cheese the other day and Piper

fell in love with "the Bear". We tried to tell her it was a mouse and she kept saying, "No, it's not, it's a bear"

Can collecting is going GREAT! We've raised over $1400 in just about 5 months. We have a new way of crushing cans, too... The Wallace Monster Highlander Rally:) the kids LOVE it!

We went to the park yesterday after dinner and Andrew used

some mad skills to climb the tree:)

... and that's about it. We've just been having fun enjoying each other and learning more about HIM. 27 school days until summertime:) VERY excited about that.. my special education due process paperwork is about to be the death of me. Well, maybe it will be proctoring EOC test but one or the other will surely send me to an insane asylum.

Bling for a Cause...

2010-04-14T19:02:00.002-05:00

Okay I KNOW you need some new jewelry! Good news for you, we are having a Premier Designs Jewelry party this Tuesday night! Our consultant is being VERY gracious and giving a large percentage of the proceeds to our adoption. We are also having a Gold party the same night. If you have some old gold jewelry you know you'll never wear again, bring it for cash! How fun is that?! This consultant is also giving us a percentage of all jewelry she buys. So you can come make money, spend money and help bring a little girl to her forever home. Did I mention I'm going to have door prizes?

For those of you who don't live on this side of the blog world or have other plans Tuesday, shoot me an email and I'll send you a mini catalog to order from! There's also a special going on where if you spend $50, you can buy anything in the magazine for 50% off. I'm seeing a lot of GREAT Mother's Day gifts!