Hmpf..

It sort of feels as if the process is stagnate. As in, NOT MOVING forward. Its so sad to me. Across the world there is a child, MY child...and I don't feel any closer today than I did yesterday to bringing her home. We're waiting for our region person to be back from vacation, which is supposed to be Sept. 10th. So no traveling until at least the end of Sept. for us. One month more lost!
There were five smiling faces lined up along our fireplace this morning. There should have been six. There were five backpaks loaded with crayons and protractors. There should have been six.
I used to struggle with the financial aspect of this adoption so much that I could generate huge amounts of anxiety over it. Can we do this? Is it right? Well, its sort of testament to me that she really is mine because the difficulty of this process,  and the criticism we've heard(and that which people offer behind our backs) has only solidified my resolve that we are doing what is right. She belongs here. And the fact that it is months away still makes me sad today. Why must it take so long to provide a family for a child? Its got me today.

A glimpse at my life this month!

Please don't judge me by my hoardish looking garage....
Because actually its worse than this pic gives way. This was after about 1 week of collecting. The only thing missing is the stove, dishwasher and fridge. They're sold. But dang near EVERYthing else remains. This is a 3 car garage...and my single attatched garage is full too! So, for those locals interested...here's a teaser of what there is!
2 twin bed frames...one painted and one is the original wood, in VERY nice shape.
Bunkbeds
Red upholstered chair, that rocks.
End table
Tv stand on rollers
2 area rugs
Several HP printers, Toshiba ink cartdridges, and a fax machine
6 office chairs
1 smoker...as in, food smoker
OLD Maytag washer and dryer. Clean. Work perfectly.
Weight set.
Ab Lounger
Smoke stack for wood stove.
TONS of kids stuff. Toys. Books. Shoes. Clothes, the bulk of which are girls size infant-12 big girls. Winter coats. Backpacks.
Fisher price baby swing. Car shaped exersaucer. Carseats. Booster chairs. Jog stroller. 2 umbrella strollers.
Books.
Movies.
2 dressers.
Luggage
Under the cupboard mount cd player
JVC stereo stereo system...hooks to tv. 3 disc.
Home decor. Pictures from a store that are BRAND NEW. Mirrors. Shelves.
Ankle, knee, elbow and back braces. Brand new in box
Kitchen odds/ends
2 George Foreman style grills
2 bbqs
Women's clothing and shoes. NICE stuff, name brand.
Bird cage. Cat climbing tower
Pre-lit 6 1/2 foot Christmas tree
Crib(older, but I would TOTALLY paint this and then antique it. It would be SO cute!)
Ceiling fans...still in box. Also have the mounting brace needed for one.
Brand new mirrored medicine cabinet
16" Poulon chainsaw
Drill
Jigsaw
These are just the things I can remember as I'm sitting here in my jammies...avoiding the HUGE amount of work that awaits me out there!
Oh...and fresh cinnamon rolls. LOTS of 'em.
So, please drag everyone you know over here tomorrow August 18 from 7-1 and help me reclaim my garages!

Sharing...

I've been a little surprised at the shock that most people express at the idea of fundraising for an adoption. And....a little bothered. I mean, we send our kids throughout the community to sell chocolate, cookie dough, Christmas wreaths, pizza kits and fancy bread to generate funds needed to send them on fancy trips to Belize...our to fund the community baseball team and other fun, worthwhile causes. But an adoption? I know...its not the norm. Its taken me a little while to come to terms with it myself. And now it bristles me a bit when I KNOW people are complaining and criticizing our efforts here.
And not that these people will ever read this...and even if they did, I don't care. I don't feel the need to justify our decision to anyone! But I do want to record my own feelings on this.
Buy your braided bread. Perhaps you could throw in a tub of gourmet cookie dough. Do it happily.

We are saving. a. life. A child, living entirely across the world from us, in an institution, is unaware that we are mortgaging what we can to bring her here. She has no idea that we pray for her EVERY single night, for her safety, for Heavenly Father to start to soften her heart to a family...to ease the transition. She doesn't know that we are planning Christmas presents for her the same as our other children. Sweet girl Claire has never known a family. She's never been snuggled to sleep...wrestled by siblings...or raced to the car for dibs on shotgun. We WANT to give her these things. We WANT our 5 biological children to know the blessing that she will be in our home. We WANT this.

It just so happens that its going to cost over $35k. And one person's $20 contribution is in no way going to to eliminate our sacrifice to get her home. But EVERY one person's contribution helps. And we have some incredibly generous friends...that have donated BIG donations of money...and some that have given their time....and some that have basically FILLED our garage sale with things to help us in this pursuit.

I am always amazed by those who criticize others. There are so many opportunities to better someone's life; to serve and lift another; to KNOW the peace that comes from living a Christ-like life. I am not saying my life is always just this. I'm a work in progress too. But it is so sad to me to hear bits/pieces of criticism aimed at us. Why waste your precious time? I for one, have so many better things to do!

Now, that said... take  a look at this amazing adoption fundraiser for our friends. Its wicked! And, there's something for everyone. So...consider the cause!

I stole this from her:
"There are only TWO DAYS LEFT in our adoption fundraiser. There are awesome prizes (iPad, $200 Amazon card, Blendtec blender, Kitchenaid mixer, & 30+ others) and not very many entries. Your odds are great, and entering will help us get our little girl home!. :) A $10 donation gets you two entries!"
http://bringthaliahome.blogspot.com/

Project Two:

As of yet, we don't have a specific date. But we're in the process of collecting as much sellable stuff as we can to sell in a yard sale. So far we've got some good loot, though not enough  to last more than a few hours. So...we'll keep amassing...and keep you posted!

IPAD GIVEAWAY!

We just took the bin full of tickets into the local bank and had the very pretty...very talented bank teller Miss Katie Whitmore pull us a winner!

DICK SWENSEN....my boss, my bishop and friend....is the winner!

Thanks for all of the donations....we're closer than we were last month....hopefully next month we can say the same :)