UPDATE....

So, in the course of 24 short hours, I have gone from a momma of 7 to a momma of 10!!!!!  There are NOT words to describe what it has been like.

First of all, we have been blessed with so many kind words.  So many offers of help and love.  I am just amazed.

Secondly, we have raised about $4,000 already.  We are praying that things will keep going.  There is money in our paypal account from people I have never met....never heard of....they just felt moved by God to help our three boys.

We leave on Monday morning.  At this point, I cannot give many details but can give specific prayer requests.  Please pray for safe travels - I HATE PLANES!!  Second, pray for the helpers with our seven here and our babies.  They are all having a hard time with us leaving.  Z-girl and JoJo have never had us leave them like this.  And the other kids are feeling like it is Ethiopia all over again :(  Some sadness for them....

But most of all, please pray for our boys.  Pray for their families.  Pray for Fred and I to have the right words for them and the boys.  My heart breaks and the decision they are making right now.

And pray all the interstate paperwork goes through much quicker than they are saying.  I am not sure I want to be in Arizona for two weeks or more!  Not to mention that Fred cannot be gone from work that long....so picture Ethel, alone in AZ with three new boys, flying home alone!  Ya, for those of you that know me - you are laughing like crazy!

For now I am chanting this "I can do ALL things through Christ"  ALL NOT SOME!   Love you all, we really, really do!

The roller coaster of our lives...

So, my wonderful friend, Kim, told us about three boys that need a home.  We agreed to pursue - just hearing about them yesterday.  And the family and agency picked us.  NOW WE NEED YOUR HELP!!  We need $25k by Friday.  God gave me a sign....we trust these are our boys.  Please help us bring them home!  I do not think the biological family will want to wait for us to raise the money.  :)

Gone...

Set #1 of the headbands is gone already!  I will keep listing what ones sell.  Also, I have medium and large for sale also.  If you are interested in those, please let me know.

NON SLIP FUN HEADBANDS!!!

We are selling these super fun homemade headbands.  My friend makes them....anyone who knows me know I cannot even sew on a button!  Anyway, the top is made with fun ribbon and the bottom has a non slip fabric.  I have them in lots of three - these are size small which fit my Ethiopian princesses.  Below is pics of the lots.  They are 3 for $25 and I will ship them free :)

Just let me know which set you want.  I have ONE of each set available.  Thanks!

I CANNOT WAIT!!

Look at these beautiful children!  And God is allowing me, us to raise them all. I cannot wait to add more to this family.

We are officially waiting now.  Ghana works differently...once the home study is completed, you are on the waiting list.  Given the fact that we are waiting for older children, at least one a boy if not both, we are not anticipating a long wait.  However, we were not anticipating the trials we had adopting our Ethiopian Princesses either.  God is in control...He will give us our new additions when it is time.

Memorial Day Weekend....what it really means

It's Memorial Day weekend where I believe most of us think of it as a time for outdoor barbecue and gathering with family and friends. But why have we forgotten it's true meaning? It falls into the same category as Christmas and Easter. The true meanings get clouded by our current world and it's "value's system." What I am most thankful for on this weekend are the past, present and future men and women who put themselves in the line of fire from real bullets and bombs to preserve our freedoms here in America. We have the right to worship the one true God....but we also have the right to not worship the one true God. Our forefathers worshiped the one true God and they even opened sessions of Congress with prayer! Oh the audacity of them! Could you imagine what and where our country would be if our Congress still opened with prayer? We wouldn't have both parties arguing over idealistic partisan "values". They would probably be arguing over how best to welcome our returning service members from a tour overseas; debating which way God wants the country to go; debating how best to perform God's will for this great nation. However, we are where we are today.....Lost.
So, on this Memorial Day weekend I want to thank all of those men and women for serving this country so that I can sit in my living room and type out a blog on my personal opinions and not feel the threat of a government to break down my doors and throw me in jail...although we are slowly approaching that arena soon.
I can sit here and ask God to protect this country, show me His will for my family, and freely worship the one true God without repercussions form a rogue government with whom the enemy has led astray.
It's great to be an American, but it's even greater to know that there is a loving God leading me and my family to carryout His perfect will.

Home Study Approved!

Our Home Study was approved today and we are on our way to .....well.....uhm.....wait. Whoever thought that getting put in line would be such an accomplishment! Today, we are officially on the wait list for Ghana.
We know and trust that God is working in our lives in so, so many ways that it's hard to express in words. Circumstances that we look back and reflect on turn into divine appointments rather than chance encounters.
Lately, it's hard to keep a blog up-to-date, but we know that it will start to pick up more and more as we get closer and closer to some of the more important dates.
Stay tuned and check out all of those cool shirts on our site!