09 Rewind...

It has been a crazy long time since I have been on here!

I need to start by going back to '09 a bit.

I promised photos of the Carpenter Reunion and never posted those...so here are a few photos from a fabulous Thanksgiving reunion.

First Cousins (3 are missing)

Cousins Kids (all present!)

We had a fantastic time catching up with one another! We hope that it is not another 10 years before we get together again.

The 2nd part of '09 rewind is an update on Miche.

One of the reasons I could not find my way to my blog in December was because Miche Girls were VERY busy! We had our best month ever! Thanks so much to those who sent business our way. We appreciate you!

'09 Rewind, Part 3 concerns my brother.

Yup, hell must've frozen in December, because, after 10 years, my brother came to visit!

I love my brother TONS! I have great memories of him as a kid. However, I do find it hard to hold a conversation with him. He has such an interesting personality and it is a bit hard to connect with him. He is hilarious, though and I find that part of him very interesting! He and my Kaylee seemed to hit it off quite well!

Also, in December '09, we celebrated 3 years of having Kaylee in our family. We had a quiet celebration at our favorite Chinese restaurant.

Well, I think I have brought you up to 2010 now. Can't wait to see what this year has in store!

Come To My E-Party!

UPDATE: My E-party ends Wednesday, May 6th in the evening. I would love to max out the Adoption Love Meter on my E-Party page. Please, consider purchasing some great clothes for your little one and support adoption!

Remember not so long ago when I introduced you to a great company?

Well, I love them so much that I decided I would help them on a new venture...an E-Party!

What is an E-Party, you ask? Well, it is much like any party that an at-home business throws...you know the ones...send out invitations, make some food, clean your house, have the business person come over and talk about her product and get product credit based on what your guests purchase...EXCEPT, I didn't have to cook or clean and people didn't have to take time out of their busy schedules to come over and spend a few hours! How great is that? All I had to do was provide the company some email addresses, write a few blog posts, let my friends get on their computers and purchase some great products and...VIOLA! It's a party!

So, if you enjoy their products and would like to be a part of my E-Party (or better yet, host your own!) just come! You can crash my party!

Let's Party!

Crazy Adoptive Parents

I am amazed at this story.

I just cannot imagine that parents could be this stupid.

I feel that when one adopts a child, that is their child. Good, bad, peachy, horrible, WHATEVER! When someone is in the adoption process, they should make themselves educated. Children, by birth or adoption, come with issues. If one has educated themself, they know this, and know that children may cause a bit of uneasiness in their life. THAT'S WHAT CHILDREN DO!

I think it is sad that this little boy was screaming for help in the only way he knew how and his parents just let him go! Never reported him missing. Now, 10 years later, this has been brought out!

Children test their parents. Biological or adopted, children want to know that their parents love them and will come to their rescue. They want to know that when they do certain things, there are boundaries.

I think of Christine. Who has adopted some fabulous children. They are RADs. They test her...daily...but she is loving them through their issues! I cannot imagine what this family would go through if one of these children decided to test their parents and their parents let them go...without rescuing them.

Adoption is trying. I am sure any adoptive parent would tell you that it isn't an easy road. Although this may be the case, I am sure that those same adoptive parents would tell you that they wouldn't change it for the world!

I urge you, whether you are an adoptive parent or not, stop now and pray. Pray for adoptive families that you may know. Pray for adoptive families that you find on blogs. Pray for the millions of orphans in the world. Stop...pray now!

Celebrate!

Head on over to Kaylee's blog and celebrate with us!

Praise the Lord for His goodness!

Panda Family Fundraiser

UPDATE: I have to say, I am a bit disappointed in my readers. The Panda Family's 'Chip In' meter has not changed since I posted this request! I know some of my readers are experiencing financial difficulties of their own. It is understandable that you would not be able to chip in. I also know that the majority of my readers are doing just fine! Can't you give just a few dollars to this family? Please, help bring a boy home!

I would like to introduce you to the Panda Family.

This family holds a special place in my heart!

You see, Panda Pop, aka Wayne, and I went to college together. We knew of each other, because let's face it, it's a small school. We didn't keep up with each other after college, didn't really know each other that well.

Fast forward 13 years...My family decides to adopt from China. Kaylee comes home and I become interested in reading blogs about others who have adopted from China. I am surfin' the net and, thru another friend's blog, I end up on Pandapalooza.

Well, look at that, it's Wayne up there and he has a daughter from China! Amazing!

I now read about Jana, Wayne and Zoe on a daily basis. They are a precious family!

Now, Jana and Wayne feel called to adopt another child. This time, God is leading them to a boy in Haiti.

I don't know if you have any idea, but adoption is expensive. When we were saving to bring Kaylee home, we had plate lunch sales, collected aluminum cans, took on part-time jobs and much more! We tried many ways to earn and save money.

That brings me to this post...I would like to hold a Fundraiser for the Panda Family.

For the month of August, I am challenging whomever stumbles upon my blog to head on over to Pandapalooza, click the 'Chip In' button and donate.

For those of you who decide to help a family who are striving to give a boy in Haiti a better future, I ask that you come back to this post and leave a comment.

At the end of August, I will choose a random winner from those comments to win this:

Just a little token of my appreciation for you helping a friend.

Remember, anything will help this family bring their son home (If every one who has ever visited my blog would hop on over and donate a just dollar, this family would have $3000+ to save for bringing home their son).

Now please...

Go...

Give...

Help bring a boy home!

Prayers, Please

I'm in the house and settled. I have alot to catch you up on (if I didn't lose all my readers during my absence), but I will get to all that later.

Today, we need to pray for this family.

In case you havenm't heard, last night, The Chapman's youngest daughter was killed when run over by an SUV that her older brother was driving. What a terrible loss for this family.

Please, lift them up to The Lord!

One More Thing...

Well, I thought I had posted all my thoughts about adoption for this month, but lo, I have not...

I started thinking I needed to cover one other topic before National Adoption Month came to a close for another year.

I was thinking today as I was driving down the highway how different each of my friends adoption stories are...I have one friend that had cancer and could not carry a child. Adoption was her only choice. She adopted internationally and domestically twice...closed, open and foster-adopt, respectively. I have another friend that birthed 2 children and wanted to provide a loving home for a child in need, so her family adopted a 3rd...domestically, open. She knew international was not for her family. We have some friends that were in our wedding that always thought they would have a lot of kids. They had a son and when she got pregnant with her daughter and delivered, both she and the baby almost lost their lives so she was told she should never get pregnant again. They wanted more children so they adopted internationally. They adopted a biological brother and sister from Haiti. We have an amazing biological son and thought we were finished...until God tugged at our hearts. We adopted internationally because we knew that domestic was not an option for our famiy. It's amazing how the stories are so different!

I guess what I am trying to say is that while you are trying to decide if adoption is right for your family, put some thought into what type of adoption. Do you want to know your child's birth parents? Open might be for you. Are you afraid of the birth mother coming back when your child is 10? You might need a closed or international adoption. Maybe you want foster adopt, maybe you want to be in the delivery room, maybe you want to help a child from a poorer country. The list goes on and on!

There are so many options with adoption and so many great agencies to help make your dreams come true! Do your research, ask your questions, be educated, adopt a child!

National Adoption Month

Happy Adoption Month!

Who would have ever thought that I would know that November is National Adoption Month?

You see, this wasn't in my human plan. Not that I was against adoption, but that was for other families. I didn't want to adopt and raise someone else's 'problem'.

Sounds closed-minded, huh?

Yup, it was!

God had other plans. He introduced the thought of adoption through the possibility of adopting a relative's child. I mean, after all, it's a relatives' child...I couldn't let someone else raise it! Then, He let that fall through...not the feeling of wanting to adopt, but the adopting of this relative's child. My heart had softened to adoption. I now knew that this was God's plan for our family.

But now, I had to take this up to my husband. Who I knew would not like the idea!

Or so I thought! When I talked to him about it, he said that he had always wanted more than one child! I truly believe that God had softened his heart too because, although he had always said he wanted more than one child, he had also said that he never wanted to adopt.

So, the journey began...and 2 years after 'conception' we brought our daughter home. We would not change a thing! Yes, it's been crazy, yes, tensions run high at times, but we have the most beautiful, perfect daughter ever!

I challenge you to think about adoption. I challenge you to tell your friends and family. There are so many children that need a loving family...and so many families that need a loving child. Adoption truly is a great choice for making families.

Remember, God is in control. He chose your children before you were even on this earth...whether they come from the seed of your body, or through the seed of a set of birth parents. He knows, he has them chosen for you.

Trust God, adopt a child!