STORE UPDATE!

I've had a blast putting this store together and seeing my friends wearing my creations! I really appreciate your support and it has allowed me to expand!

my cute friends janette and amy :)

A week after I got the shirts in the mail I sold out of two sizes! Which sort of threw me into a panic, because ordering more shirts, means more money I have to spend and more risk I have to take. In the end I decided, if I'm going to do this I just have to go for it... And I have to go for it before Christmas so that I don't miss out on crazy Christmas shoppers! This all happened really fast, but I'm excited to show you some new designs that will be in the store very soon! Sorry guys, this one's just for the ladies.

SPEECHLESS PART 2

This was the first of four sweet notes we received in the mail this month, each containing four generous checks! We're blown away and so so thankful that these four people felt a call give to our family. This was a rough month and these checks made it possible for us to stay on track with our "adoption saving plan"!

Aaron and I have talked a lot about fundraising and writing support letters and so far we just haven't felt really comfortable with it. I'm not saying that I disagree with people who decide to do fundraisers, I honestly just think that Aaron and I NEEDED to get our butts in gear and learn some financial discipline! Ha! We have an amazing support system (I'm talking about our parents, both sets!) And every time we had a new idea they were there to "help us out"... house, car, debt, music... I probably shouldn't be telling you all this, but I want you to know our thought process and how far we've come. When we let our family know that we were going to start paperwork, there was just sort of this understanding, not something we had to talk about, we just sort of knew that we had to figure this out on our own! And I'm so glad because in the past six or seven months, Aaron and I have been able to come together and set goals, and make changes, and work overtime!

We've also had to learn to rely on God when our efforts fail us. Receiving these gifts from you just feels like a big pat on the back for all we've done to get this far :)

GETTING AHEAD OF OURSELVES? ...MAYBE

... but when you want something from IKEA you have to sort of seize the moment or else you will pay a mega ton in shipping. Am I right??

I've had my eye on this crib for a while. Simple, modern, affordable, just love it! And get this, it was Aaron's idea to go pick it up on his way back home from Waco a couple weeks ago! What a sweet dad this one will be :)

Almost as soon as he picked it up, my sweet cousin, who has two beautiful kids, expressed some concern in our choice. Aaron even made a comment about the crib looking really small. So together, my cousin and I did some research. At first glance we found some things that were a little questionable. 1) they don't come out and say that the lacquer is non-toxic and 2) the measurements were quite a bit smaller than your average crib.

I was very happy to find this review on consumerresearch.com. Turns out the paint is non toxic AND it's one of the best reviewed! As far as the size goes, we thought maybe it fit the description of a mini crib, but it's more like something in between the mini and the standard. Sort of perfect for us and our tiny house. The more I research the more I find amazing reviews... like this one!

"We used the Ikea Gulliver crib. It was 80 dollars or something, but went through 4 kids. My friend has it now and she has 2. I loved the look of it, and it was one of the best cribs I have ever seen. My friend spent $400 on her crib for her first and took mine for her second and third because the first crib fell apart."

Probably more than you ever wanted to know about cribs, but I'm so glad my cousin voiced her concerns, because I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE. It's so wonderful to have people around you who love you and want what's best for you. I am definitely inspired to do my research from now on! Thanks Dinah :)

THOUGHTS FROM THE CONFERENCE

Walking into the conference on Friday, I expected to find encouragement, support, community and maybe some good tools to be successful as a parent. And, somehow, walking away from the conference I felt, confused, scared, stressed and sort of alone. NOT what I expected at all!

The very first break out session was all about foster care. The speaker was from Cornerstone church in California. After he and his wife found out that they couldn't have kids of their own, they looked into being foster parents. He shared story after story about his experience fostering kids, loving on them and then learning how to let them go. He talked about how the final goal with foster care is reunification with their parents. He talked about God's Sovereignty. He is ruler over all, and these children are not our children. These are God's children. I thought it was so beautiful that this man's desire for these kids was to reunite them with their parents even if it didn't seem to be what was best in his eyes. He was fully trusting God with these kids even when it didn't make sense.

Walking out of that first break out session, I have to admit, I was starting to feel insecure about our decision. My heart was starting to break for these families! A lot of children are orphaned in Ethiopia because of poverty. Poverty? If that's the only thing keeping Arthur from growing up in Ethiopia with his mother, then there's got to be a better solution. right? I don't know Arthur's story, these are just the things I was thinking about. It was really hard for me to go to these places in my mind. Especially since tomorrow will be two weeks on the waiting list!

I believe that Arthur was always meant come into our home. I just feel like, now I have a bigger picture and a better understanding of what we're doing, and moving forward I wonder if we can talk about more solutions to this problem.

OTHER TAKEAWAYS:

Dr. Karyn Purvis. This lady was amazing. If you're looking for great parenting techniques, (adopted kids or not), check out her Empowered to Connect program.

Carlos Whittaker. This guy talked about ways to create awareness by sharing your adoption story online. Here's his YouTube video that went viral. The popularity of the video has allowed him to share his story with millions of people.

And Finally, Aaron Ivey. Aaron and I got to see him at a house show here in Kansas City. We were already talking about adoption quite a bit, but after that show, we knew for sure that we were going to start the process. He and his bandmates all shared their adoption stories and played beautiful music in between. It was a beautiful night :)