Faustina.

Let me just say, God is good. He is everything good. He works on our hearts and convicts us of things in order to do His good. I'm so thankful for this, because left up to ourselves, nothing would happen. God has done quite an amazing thing in our lives over the last few weeks. He has squeezed past the craziness and the clutter of our lives and has given us an amazing gift that we want to share with you…Faustina.

:::backing up:::
A few weeks ago Brandon and I decided that we had had enough of "commercialized Christmas." We were tired of going to the store with cash in hand to find something (anything) to give someone              (everyone) for no reason other than, hey, it's Christmas, we're supposed to, right?

Someone posted this picture on Facebook and, quite honestly, it rocked my whole world.

I was convicted. And when I say, "convicted," I mean I threw up a little…not really, but I wanted to. Disgusting. I was ashamed to be a part of such a selfish culture. Then I realized that while our culture is often self-absorbed God has given us the precious gift of options. Those children on the left have no options - they hope to receive their basic needs but they have nothing to give anyone. The women on the right have their basic needs met and the option to decide what to do with the rest. We are blessed with the ability/means/resources to give!

Brandon and I discussed it and decided once and for all that Christmas was going to be different. Don't get me wrong, we're all for gift-giving. I love coming across that perfect gift for so-and-so and being so excited about it that I can't WAIT to give it to them…and I usually don't wait. What I have a problem with is excess. And getting stressed out about finding something to wrap up and give someone when, to be honest, I have no idea what they would like…or what they need, if anything. 

So, we decided that the best gift we could give anyone this year is not a trinket that will need to be dusted every other week or a toy that will be played with for 5 minutes and cast aside. The best thing we could do is give the gift of purpose. Of a relationship. Of caring for someone on the other side of the world who desperately needs it. 

This year, please accept our gift to you all - Faustina. She is 5 years old and lives in Ghana, West Africa. She lives in a one-room tin home with her brothers, sisters, and her mother who is sometimes employed in the local market. In the names of you, our family and our dear friends, Faustina will be provided with food, clothes, medical care, and better educational opportunities throughout the coming year and beyond. 

Please join us in praying for Faustina regularly - for her health, for her provision, for her family, and most of all that she would hear of the love that our Messiah, our Savior, the God of the universe has for her. 

The same God that loves you and me loves this precious little girl. She is His princess. 

May your holiday season be a time of peace and thankfulness!

us.

progress!

Here's a little of what's been going on lately:

* Over the last few weeks, we have received two financial gifts from two very generous, amazing families.
 (Funny story…I wasn't quite prepared for our home study to cost as much as it does. I was, of course, fretting a little over this newfound information. Within just a few days of speaking with our home study agency, we received these two gifts that covered the cost exactly. I'm not exactly sure why I was so stressed about it - we had just seen God work through others in an amazing way not even two weeks before. Someday I'll learn about this thing called faith…)


* Our adoption agency sent out an email saying, "In honor of National Adoption Month, we will waive our "program fee" of $1,000 if you get us your contract by December 31st." Yay! Needless to say, our contract is ready to go out first thing in the morning.

* A friend and I were talking about a month ago and she asked me if we were planning on designing t-shirts to sell for fundraising. I said that we were and that I had a few ideas, but that I hadn't decided on anything for sure. She said, "Well, my husband is a designer and he loves to do this kind of thing. He'll help you out!" One dinner/meeting at Freebirds later, he's designing our t-shirts and working on making our blog more awesome and a bit less "free template-y."

* We found out that there are other families right here in Midland that have adopted/are adopting from Ethiopia! Three of these families are friends of friends, and I can't wait to get together with them, hear about their experiences, and get a few tips and tricks.

Did I mention that my Lord is faithful?

um, whoa.

An anonymous donor knew that we were $3,500 short from being able 

to write our first check to the adoption agency.

(Don't worry. From my experience, your jaw dropping and your eyes watering are a normal reaction).

Father, I'm overwhelmed by your goodness and so thankful that you work through
good people to accomplish your good works. 

Thank you for allowing so many people to be a part of YOUR story of hope and redemption. 
It's so wonderful to be reminded often that this isn't some harebrained idea that we dreamt up but that this is actually your plan for this child and for our family. I love you immensely.

Fundraiser #1 - complete!

Our first fundraiser is officially behind us, and as you can see, 

it put us a lot closer to our first goal!

After it was all done and everything was counted, 

we had made just about $1,900 which made our total $4,442. 

Only $3,558 to go!

People started showing up an hour early - as soon as the sun came up!

We had a little of everything…including the kitchen sink.

Yard sales are incredibly annoying. 

They're stressful, tiring, and way more work than they're usually worth. 

But, this one was wonderful and was worth every single second of work that went into it. 

We're a little over half way to our first goal! 

(We are incredibly grateful to all of you that donated "treasures" 

and your time to make this happen. 

We could never thank you enough, and we love you all.)


The yard sale's "closing ceremonies."

what made me cry today.

I simply cannot comprehend this. I can't wrap my mind around the 5 million that live in Ethiopia alone, much less 147 million?!  That's 147 million people that will never hear their birth story. Never see a picture of themselves as a newborn baby wrapped up against their mother's chest. Never be playfully thrown into the air and land safely in the arms of their father. Nobody cares if it's their birthday. Or if they get enough to eat. Or if they've outgrown their shoes. These children are out there literally on their own.

My heart hurts.

"how many kids do you have?"

Someone asked me this question the other day.

And I actually hesitated.

Then I slowly answered, "Well…we have two here with us right now, but our third one is in Ethiopia. Soon we'll get to find out who he or she is."

It was an amazing feeling. I have no idea who our next child is, but he or she is already taking up residence in my heart. Simply wonderful.