Delta Adoption Fares

Do any of my oh so helpful friends have any experience with Delta's Adoption Fares? Please, PLEASE share if you do!!!  Thanks!

Miscellany Monday!

Because it's Monday, and I'm feeling quite Miscellaneous! :)

1.  Who knew booking international plane tickets could bring so much stress into my life!?  Whew.  Layovers and changes and dates, oh my!  We're almost done.  I can see the finish line!  Pressing on...

2.  I've started drinking Green Monster Smoothies almost every day.  It's basically a fruit smoothie with the addition of spinach (hence the Green).  They are so good for you and taste surprisingly like fruit, not spinach.  Win-win! :)

3.  My sweet adoption buddy Julie sent me an amazing can of Godiva Double Chocolate Hot Chocolate.  Um, YUM!

4.  Our USCIS fingerprints expire in Feburary, and we had applied for the extension long before we received our court date.  Our court date is before they expire, but we've been advised to get them done "just in case" and we have learned that lesson well in this adoption.  So, we're heading to Charleston this weekend to get re-fingerprinted (how do your fingerprints expire, anyways?!  they're just the same as last time, maybe a little older and more stressed out... but still haven't committed any crimes!) and enjoy a little time away while it's still just the two of us.  Can't wait!

5.  I'm much more relaxed about this second trip than the first.  I guess I know more what to expect, since we've been once.  The list maker in me is not too excited about this laid back approach, as there is still SO MUCH TO DO!!  (So, I'm blogging instead.  HA!)

6.  We've been total slackers and have been procrastinating getting our Flu Shot and Hepatitis A Vaccine.  So we're going to take care of that this weekend.  :)

7.  My brain feels like a ping-pong ball.  Well,  I guess it's more my thoughts than my brain; it actually feels much larger than that.  There's so many things going on, I can't focus on any one for longer than about 3 minutes.  I've stopped 5 times while writing this miscellany and tried to work on something else.  AHH!  :)

In the meantime, come join the link up fun with Carissa at lowercase letters and share your miscellany monday!

So ready for Hudson to be home!

If our house is any indicator... we are so ready for our boy to be home!

And thank you all for your wonderful suggestions on Adoption Books- The Connected Child is my next read!

I need an adoption book recommendation... Please!! :)

For those of you who have adopted out there, or in the process...

Could you please recommend to me the best, practical, hands-on "field guide" for when you bring your child home?

Please let me know what you would recommend if we could only read ONE book for when Hudson comes home as far as practical what to do advice concerning attachment, development, schedules, eating, etc. 

Thanks so much for your help!!

We have a COURT DATE!!!!

Just in case you didn't hear the screams from here...

WE HAVE A COURT DATE!!! The end is in sight!!!!!

We don't know a lot yet, but here's what we do know:

We fly in on Hudson's birthday(!!!!) and we'll see him the next day, as we prepare for court.

Our official court date is on February 10th.

We'll most likely come home the next day, to wait out the 10 day wait here, and fly back on the 20th.

All THREE of us should come home on March 3rd!!

It's finally happening!

(Can you tell by the exclamation points that I'm just a LITTLE excited?!!?!?!!!)

Showered with Blessings!

We had the blessing of going to TWO showers for Hudson this weekend, and let me tell you- that little boy is so loved!

The first shower was in my hometown and given by my "second moms" and "sisters."  We had such an awesome time visiting with everyone, and enjoying Hudson's gifts already!

Ryan and I with the hostesses

 The adorable diaper cake

 Hudson is so loved already!

The gorgeous table decorations

Opening Presents

Some of Hudson's gifts!

The next day, our church family had a shower for Hudson.  It was so sweet and such a blessing as well!

Ryan and I with the hostessess

 The first gift we opened got this reaction because...

It was a drum set!  I asked where the earphones were, and everyone just laughed. 

As you can see, he is one loved boy, and everyone can't wait for him to get here!  We are all praying him home!

"7" Winner!

I let random.org do the drawing for the giveaway typed in 1-12, and here were the results...

True Random Number Generator Result: 4

And comment #4 said:

Melissa said...

I've heard of her but haven't really read much of her blog. I will now!! I have way too much stress in my life...and ultimately issue with food! : ) yep I'm a stress eater. I'd love to read this book. Even if I don't win it'll definately be downloaded to my kindle!

January 5, 2012 12:47 PM

Congratualtions, Melissa!  I'll send you an email for shipping details!

And if you didn't win, but still want to read "7," which I would HIGHLY recommend, it's only $7.83 for paperback and $7.44 on Kindle on Amazon.com right now!  I'd snatch it up!

Your signature is urgently needed!

There is a petition now to extend the Adoption Tax Credit Refund through 2013.  This tax credit refund ended 2011, as well as many parents dreams to adopt.  This tax refund helps to offset the $25,000-$40,000 many families pay to bring their children home, and without the refund, many familes are unable to pursue adoption.

 

PLEASE take a minute and sign the petition here, and share the word!

*Also, don't forget to enter the "7" giveaway here!
  

Wasteful.

After reading "7" (see review here and enter the GIVEAWAY!), I knew something had to change. I processed for a few days. And today, we sprang into action. We're tackling waste this month. Ick.

"But as certainly as God created man in his image, he first created the earth. With the same care he designed 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body, he also crafted hydrangeas and fresh water rapids and hummingbirds. He balanced healthy ecosystems with precision and established climates and beauty. He integrated colors and smells and sounds that would astound humanity. The details he included while designing the earth are so extraordinary, it is no wonder he spent five of the six days of creation on it. So why don’t we care for the earth anywhere near to the degree we do our bodies? Why don’t we fuss and examine and steward creation with the same tenacity? Why aren’t we refusing complicity in the ravaging of our planet? Why aren’t we determined to stop pillaging the earth’s resources like savages? Why do we mock environmentalists and undermine their passion for conservation? Do we think ourselves so superior to the rest of creation that we are willing to deplete the earth to supply our luxuries? If so, we may very well be the last generation who gets that prerogative."  - Jen Hatmaker in "7"

I don't even want to talk about the mounds and mounds of MY trash that are sitting in a landfill somewhere. I don't want to talk about the gross excess in our lives that leads to this much trash. A lot of it is because I'm too lazy. It's sickening, disheartening. So, I do want to talk about how we took some steps in the right direction today.

Composting and recycling, to be exact. I found this awesome tutorial on Pinterest about building a simple compost bin. So, we built a simple compost bin like this:

Purchase or repurpose one 30 gallon tub with tight fitting lid.

Drill 8-10 holes in the bottom of the tub and in the lid.

 It should look like this when you're done. 

Fill 1/8 to 1/4 of the tub with dry leaves/grass or shredded newspaper. 

Cover with dirt.

 Add your food/paper items to be composted. 

 

Cover those with dirt, add water to dampen.  Close up and wait!  I'm looking forward to adding the compost to my square foot gardens this year!

 We also set up a little recycling center under the carport.  I don't think you're supposed to have this much fun sorting through the trash, but it's liberating when a lot of it gets to go out here instead of in the trash can!  I'm working on some cute labels for them.  I've always WANTED to recycle, but I've just been too lazy to care enough.  That stops now!

We have a few other things we're thinking about changing in regards to waste.  I'll keep you updated as we journey through minimizing our waste and begin to take care of the earth God created!

"7" and a GIVEAWAY!

I love Jen Hatmaker. No, I've never met her...in person. I was introduced to her through her book, "Interrupted" and we have been fast friends ever since. At least as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure she has no idea who I am, but she has challenged me, made me laugh, and provided me with lots of opportunities to share her hilariously real-life FB updates. I forward my hubby every.single.blog. she writes so he can read it too. She's fabulous. Like I said, I love her. So, when she announced she was writing a new book, "7," I was on board before there was even a board to be on. I knew it would be good. I also knew it would kick my butt. And it did.  I highlighted almost the entire book.  Jen, I blame you entirely for unleashing the inner weird girl.  Well, I guess God had a little hand in that too.

This book is a look into the Hatmaker's lives as they tackle 7 areas of excess in their lives over the course of 7 months.

Clothes.
Food.
Possessions.
Waste.
Shopping.
Media.
Stress.

It's raw, real, hilarious, and convicting all at once. So much of my life has been spent as a consumer, with no thought to how the products came to be, needs verses wants, or the consequences of having these products. What a wake-up call this book has been. It's a call to make a change. I was challenged to evaluate all the "stuff" in my life, how it got there, the costs (not just for me, but for the world as a whole!), and how that "stuff" is crowding God out of my life and keeping me from obedience to His commands. Is it hard? Yes! Is it worth it? I haven't made it there yet, but Jen says it is. It's time to stand up and say NO to the "American Dream" and get on board with God's plan of justice. Ignorance isn't bliss.

I will refrain from posting the TWENTY ONE pages of highlights I have from the first reading of "7."  Yes, you heard me.  And I'm not even the highlighting type.  But there is SO MUCH content I want to be reminded of, convicted by, CHANGED through.  I know I didn't get it all in the first pass.  Jen compares her 7 experiment to drinking from a fire hose, and I feel much the same after setting it down.  I have spent 27 years of my life being duped by consumerism, and it will take some time and real effort to turn things around.  But I am ready for change.  Hungry for it.

Did God mean what He said in His Word?  Are we to model our lives after Christ? If we believe these are true, why are we living the opposite?  Why are we amassing more junk for ourselves while so many in the world are literally dying because they lack basic necessities?  If we are supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves, why is so much of our money being spent on US? 

While "7" is extremely convicting, it's not discouraging or disheartening.  Jen shares her real failures, mess-ups, and struggles all throughout the book, which offers each reader the opportunity to TRY without the fear of failure.  It is a catalyst for great change, not for despair.  While I am still processing what I am supposed to do as a result of this knowledge I now have from "7," I have hope in my heart that I can chase after more of what God desires, not despair that I have been doing it wrong.

I have been deeply challenged to decrease, so He can increase.  I hope you will pick up this book and do the same.  It is worth the time, the conviction, the awareness.  If you want to stay caught in the rat race of consumerism, chasing the American dream, and crowding God out, this isn't the book for you.

My eyes have been opened.  Now it's time for action.

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act." 

-Proverbs 24:12

Now for the GIVEAWAY!

I would love to mail to one of you your very own copy of "7" (so I can have a co-conspirator against excess so I'm not the only weird one! :)).  All you have to do is leave me a comment of one area of excess in your life that needs the most work.  (If you need some ideas, Jen's 7 areas were clothes, shopping, waste, food, possessions, media, and stress.) I will select one commenter at random on Wednesday, January 11 and announce the winner here.  *(Unfortunately, I have to limit this to US only- so sorry if you live outside the US!)

I hope it challenges you as much as it challenged me!

One Word: 2012

 

In thinking about the goals I've set for this new year, there's been a common thread running through them all.   God has been speaking to my heart the past few days in many ways, and while a lot of it is still jumbled up in my finite mind, I know there is one thing, one word, that sums up my focus and direction for the year.

Surrender.

I'm so tired of fighting my own, needless battles when I know the Lord fights for me.  I'm choosing each day to surrender my hopes, my dreams, my fights...for HIS!  He has great things in store.

So I surrender.  Today, and every day.  Lord, I'm yours.  All of me.


*And if you have a "word" for 2012, and would love an awesome button like the one above, Melanie has been so sweet to make them for free!  Hop over to her place and check it out!

Goals for 2012

Welcome to 2012!

A new year provides a great time to reflect on your life and look for areas you want to grow in.  Many people set New Year's Resolutions, but I'm more of a goal girl.  Resolutions are lofty hopes that often get lost in the shuffle of January and February.  Goals are tangible desires that work in parts to make them happen.  At least to me.   I wanted to share a few of my goals with you, to help me stay accountable!

*Memorize 2 Scriptures a Month

I've already selected the scriptures and printed them out in fun colors and fonts business card size.  I then laminated them, two scriptures in each, to carry them with me.  I have 12 cards, one for each month!

*Read 2 Books a Month

The list is long, but there's a lot of good ones out there.  We always say we want to read more, but without a plan, that never happens.  Very thankful for my Kindle and lots of Amazon gift cards to help me through this list!

-7
-Grace for the Good Girl
-Mission of Motherhood
-Character Makeover
-One Month to Live
-Sticky Faith
-Wild Things
-Give them Grace
-WEIRD
-Not a Fan
-Forgotten God
-Ministry of Motherhood
-Big Truths for Young Hearts
-Guilt Free Motherhood
-Kisses from Katie
-Hopeful Parenting
-Jesus+Nothing=Everything
-What Women Fear
-Honestly
-Jesus Calling
-Resolution for Women
-Becoming Your Spouse's Better Half
-Every Woman's Marriage

*WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!

I've felt God stretching and tugging at me in this area for a while, but I've been afraid to surrender.  I love to write, but the world of writing is so unknown to me.  I have a lot of research to do, and a lot of writing to do, and I'll just follow and see where God leads.

Excited to journey with Him for another year, and looking forward to what 2012 holds.  I know He has a lot of stretching and growing in store for me, and my desire is to remain pliable to become more of what He desires!