Pause to Pray

To the dear friend that pulled me aside at church before Sunday School to pray for our adoption...

Prayer. I often feel I don't pray enough. When I do, I feel at times like I rush through prayer, much like I rush through my busy life. As a mom, focusing on one specific thing is near impossible. Multi-tasking becomes a mastered craft and my brain is fast-forwarding to the agenda next at hand. You can't multi-task prayer in fast-forward. Through this adoption process I've taken on one of my favorite verses from the Bible, "Be Still and Know the I am God--Psalm 46:10". Stillness is an important ingredient in order for me to pray...really pray. When I accomplish this, I feel a closer connection to God; I'm able to actually listen instead of rattling my checklist of prayer requests. "Being Still" has helped me through the last 8 weeks of this adoption journey, trying not to stress over paperwork and still maintaining focus on my family. My prayers have slowed down because I have slowed down. I'm able to pray with an open heart and mind and for the first time, feel God's hand on my shoulder...it's indescribable.

Which leads me to the beginning of this post. My dear friend--who is known to be as fast-forward as I, THANK YOU for taking time out to pull me aside to pray. You came to me wanting to pray over our adoption because it had been on your heart. Meanwhile, I feel God sent you to me for these reasons:

Pause Life.
Be Still.
Pray.
Listen.

Isn't He amazing!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

Adoption Video Friday

To pass the time, I thought I'd post my favorite adoption videos every Friday. I found this video through a blog that belongs to a couple who are going through a very difficult time. Please visit their blog and keep them in prayer. I also want to put a prayer out there to the families who are affected by the new USCIS procedures and hope that the first families involved in the change have smooth adoptions. My heart also goes out to those that were hoping to have the children home for the holidays and are now facing a extra two months without their little ones. I promise, God will not disappoint and His love will shine brighter the day your baby is placed in your arms.

Have a great weekend!

Yard Sale

Our yard sale on Saturday turned out to be a huge success! We were able to raise over $1500 in six hours! I must admit, it was hard work preparing for the event...but so worth it. If you are looking for a fundraiser for your adoption, a yard sale is the way to go. We had generous donations from friends and family and even a few from perfect strangers. One lady stopped by because she saw our ad in the paper and donated a truck load of items...already tagged and ready to sell! Thanks to Amanda who showed up at 6:00am with coffee, donuts and a smile on her face. More thanks to Linda, Will, Terri, Greg, and of course My Boys...we couldn't have done it without you!

A Few Tips:

1) Put an ad in the paper.

2) Ask anyone and everyone you know for donations.

3) Arrange for a charity to pick up items you do not sell. (We didn't do this...but wish that we had)

4) Make small signs that say "Please Haggle/Barter Lightly, Raising Funds For Adoption. (This was a Biggie! People will talk you down over a 25cent item. Those professional "yard-salers" are vicious!)

5) Slash prices in half during the last hour or two of your sale. Exclude high-price items. (Another Biggie. We made quite a bit of money towards the end)

Busy Week Ahead

Over the last few weeks, we have been planning an Adoption Benefit Yard Sale. We've collected so many donations from friends and family. The out pour of generosity makes us feel so blessed! So now...it's time to get busy. Sorting, organizing, pricing all the items for Saturday's event. We've cleaned out our attic, our closets, boxes that have remained sealed for the past sixteen years of our marriage--it's quite amazing what you accumulate in a lifetime. Stuff. Well, let's just hope this "stuff" will make our yard sale a success!

Not too much going on with the adoption. Now that the paperwork part of the process is complete, I feel so useless. At least when I was filling out paperwork, running to get forms notarized, going to doctor appointments--I felt like I was accomplishing something. With it being out of my hands, it feels like time has slowed down. Now...we wait. As of now, we're waiting for our home study agency to finish the hard copy of our home study. Once that is complete and reviewed by our agency, it'll be sent to USCIS to obtain our I-171H form. An I-171H states that you are approved to adopt a child from the foreign country you specified. We're hoping we get this form quickly. Issue time in Maryland has been running under two weeks. So for now, we wait. Guess we better find a comfy chair...

Sweet Baby Shoppe

COME VISIT OUR NEW ADOPTION STORE!

We've decided to design a few adoption related items to raise money to bring Sweet Baby home. In the upcoming weeks, I will start to add country specific items. Please leave me a comment if you have any suggestions or ideas. Hope you like what you see! Pictured below are a few examples.

God Bless!
~Kate
Sweet Baby Shoppe

Luci Bella's adoption journey

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Where is baby sister?

**Pause the music playlist at the bottom of the blog before viewing**

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Cinderella

I love, love, LOVE this song! It's sung by Steven Curtis Chapman. For those who don't know him, he's a Christian artist...but more importantly, a huge advocate for adoption. He has three daughters adopted from China. Anyway, this song is written for his daughters and it reminds me so much of my husband and his relationship with our daughter, Luci Bella. She is certainly the apple of his eye and I enjoy witnessing the love affair between daddy and little girl. I can't wait for our Sweet Baby to get here...another Cinderella to step in and dance with her Prince Charming!