Adoption Yard Sale THIS WEEKEND!!

If you haven't made it over to our new blog yet, let me go ahead and fill you in here. That way, you will have extra time to go thru your things and see if you have anything to donate :)

My sweet friend Jordan planned an adoption yard sale for this weekend for her own adoption but VERY kindly invited us to join her and split the profits for our's! Is that not the nicest thing?!

Specs:
This Saturday, July 2nd
Beginning at 7:30am
WH Church of Christ

We have a LOT of money to raise in order to bring Anna Gray home and if you feel led to help, this is your first opportunity!

1) Please help spread the word! Tell your friends, neighbors, family, church family, etc.! EVERY DOLLAR we make that day will go toward these two adoptions.

2) If you have ANY items you can donate for us to sell, let me know. OR just bring them by the church tomorrow after 5:30pm or anytime on Friday. We will be there setting up.

3) You can also donate your precious time to help set up or help the day of the sale. Unfortunately, Nathan and I will be out of town the day of the sale. It would be AMAZING if our family and friends could show up on our behalf! The more help we have, the more organized the sale will be. The more organized the sale is, the more stuff gets sold. The more stuff gets sold, the more money is available to help bring Annie HOME!

4) Come buy things! There is nothing that can't be fixed up with a little love, care, and a can of spray paint or extra material- AND you will be helping us bring our babies home :)

5) PRAY PRAY PRAY.


"We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life. But those who make their journey home across time & miles, growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them,
are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us by God's very own hands."
--- Kristi Larson

I just happened to have my camera out yesterday morning when the littles rolled out of bed. Somehow, one shot turned into "Take one of me!" and we had a little impromptu photo shoot right on our front porch, in our pajamas (yes, my girls slept in the dresses they wore to church... we got them home a little too late the night before and just moved them from the car to the bed. Eh, not the worst thing I'll ever do as a parent.)

These are some of my favorite pics ever: pajamas and dirty dresses, hair all a'muck, scrapes scars and all.

These are my kids.

Oh me, my heart is full!

The "official" announcement!

For those of you who haven't heard....

We have a sweet new baby girl!!!!!!!

Shew! It was killing me keeping that in!


We are pursuing an international adoption through Reece's Rainbow. This is not what we ever thought we would be doing, but when the Lord calls- you answer!

We have started a new blog specifically to journal our adoption process, our wait, and our love and support for this new treasure- AND the other waiting souls who need a forever family. Please follow us at www.ephesians15.blogspot.com

We are so excited!!

L: Oh, no. I'm starting to shed my skin.
Me: You're what?
L: I'm starting to shed. I do it every summer.
Me: Shed?
L: Yes, isn't that what animals do when they lose their outer layer of skin?
Me: (trying not to laugh) Yes, but human's don't shed their outer layer. Is your skin peeling?
L: Oh, riiigghht. That's the word I was looking for... I think I like shedding better. Yep, I am definitely shedding.

I STILL have paint between my toes.

It's been there for exactly one week.

Honestly, although I know it will, I wish it would never wash away. That paint between my toes is a PERFECT reminder.

It reminds me of the freshly painted churches we worked so hard on: the blue and white fence row at Grace, the brightened ceiling (with Jody's name hidden underneath!) at Deliverance, the ENTIRE inside, outside, trim and details at Hope. It reminds me of what can happen to a group of people when they work together to genuinely serve others and what happens when they don't.

The paint between my toes reminds me of "my" children at Calvary who tried to pick it off for me. They are mine. They are my family, my Jamaican family. I truly love them, and will hold them in my heart until I can get back to them.

The paint reminds me of my sweet Jada. It reminds me to pray for her and her beautiful voice. I pray that she sees in herself the gift God has given her. I pray that she believes in herself enough to follow her dream. I pray that she does well on Friday's exam. I pray that she gets something, anything, for her 14th birthday on September 8th.

The paint between my toes reminds me that we didn't have enough paint thinner (or paint 'tinner in Jamaica!) to get it off my hands AND my feet, because we had stretched their paint, and their money, as far as it could go. It reminds me of a world not so far away where people put on their Sunday best and stand out in the heat waiting as long as needed for the PRIVILEGE of going to church. It reminds of a church (churches) where people worship freely and openly and wildly, with no fear of judgement, but with HOLY JOY. A world where they eat whatever is available, play with whatever is available, wear whatever is available. The paint reminds me how SILLY America is. While we are SO blessed to have the opportunities that we do, we are also lazy and spoiled and ungrateful.

The paint between my toes reminds me of the HUNDREDS of kids at Vacation Bible School, who knew their Bible better than I did. I thought I was going there to teach them (ha!), but I was the one who learned something. I learned how to play "Brown Girl in the Ring"! I learned to try new foods, like curry goat and ackee swordfish, when someone gives all they have to provide ME with lunch. I learned about the heart of Jamaica, the heart of the Jamaican people. I learned to yell sing at the top of my lungs when you are teaching 125 Jamaican children a new song- because THEY.WILL.SING.IT....LOUDLY, excitedly with you, every time. I learned that God WILL answer you, if you will listen. I learned that is oh, so important to share what the Holy Spirit gives you. I learned that lives can be changed, in one moment- and it may not be the life you were planning on changing.

I left part of myself in Jamaica, but I brought something back too. I brought the paint on my toes.

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:12

HOME!

I got home from Jamaica Friday afternoon and it's been a whirlwind ever since!

I have SOOOO much to say about the mission trip, but it's going to take a day or two for me to get caught up and get this house back in order so we can function again (although... Nathan did a GREAT job while I was gone! I got a few desperate emails and a million "How do you do this every day?!" but he did great :)

I will tell you all about it and fill you in on everything else going on in our lives VERY SOON!!

There are a lot of words that B & C don't quite say correctly...
(Hmmm....C can't say "plate" but he CAN say "step-ball-change, step-ball-change, step-ball-change, WORD!" :Thank you, Mr.Popper's Penguins:)

"borbot"= forgot
"bace"= face
"truff"= trust
"frite"= Sprite
"choctot"= chocolate

Some of that is just "baby" talk that they will outgrow. I get that. But sometimes, they mistake an entire word for another. My favorite?

Instead of "privates", they say "promise".

As in... "C hit me in my promise".

I won't be correcting that one anytime soon!



And have to tell this little story:

L recently got her words mixed up too.
She got a new stuffed dalmation puppy and couldn't decide if she should name him Spot or Dot. Then she asked, "Are spots and dots different, or are they homophobes?"

Lol. I honestly have no idea where even heard that word, or if she truly just mispronounced homophones (which, of course... would not be correct of spot/dot... more like to/two/too, etc. but I knew what she meant lol).



Oh I love just these littles :)

B's first (and last!) ball game :)

The twins had their first tee ball game Saturday! I really thought it would feel like we were watching a bunch of chickens run around, but it was REALLY fun- they were little ball players! What a pleasant surprise :)

B has said from about the 2nd practice (they only had 3) that she was done with baseball. We were hoping once she had a real game and she was kept moving, with her fan club there cheering she might get into it... nope. Before the game even started, she came over and said, "I don't want to do this baseball!". We told her she had to stick it out the first game and then she could decide. I mean, let's at least say we gave it an honest effort lol.

They were just hysterical to watch. C love love loves it! And he does SO well! His attitude is GREAT! He listens well and plays hard :) He did tackle three people, but... he came up with that ball, by golly! He had two great hits and he even made a stop and got the out!

B... well, B really liked her new bow. And the gatorade. She yelled from the field, "I.WANT.TO.GO.HOME.", several times, and refused to play the last 1 1/2 innings. But she sure looked cute :) On our way out of the park, we drove past their coach with the windows down and she yelled out, "Bye, Coach! I'm done!!!" hahaha. She's a hoot. She did have a great attitude and stuck it out, but has made it very clear that she has no intentions of returning for Thursday's game.

Post game treat :)

Nathan had drill and had to miss all the excitement, so I can't wait for him to see the next one!

Littlest Single Ladies

Lulu's 2nd recital was Friday night :)
She did GREAT! She was adorable and so fun to watch and even better... she had a blast!

She was also asked to join Company! We haven't made up our minds for sure yet, but she is going to do the required six week summer intensive (one hour a week for six weeks) and decide after that.

I think she just naturally picked her "extracurricular". She forgot all about cheerleading. I even brought it up the other day, and she said... "Oh yeah, I forgot." No mention of Hey, I wanted to do that! And the child dances all.the.time.

She's gettin' good!

It's summer by my watch.

Bare feet. Watermelon. Swimming. Popsicles. Baseball. Ice cream. Sunshine.

Sounds like summer to me!!