Our Family's Journey.

It's a win win

2011-12-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

Give Away!!!

A wonderful lady named Allana contacted me recently. She has a cloth diaper company called Leetle Hands and Feet. She wants to help raise funds for my upcoming rip to Ethiopia in March!!!! She is doing a give away on her website where she is giving away a Toys R Us giftcard and a Best Buy giftcard!!! All you have to do to enter is donate a minimum of $1. This gets your name in on the drawing ad 100% of what you donate goes towards my vision trip!!! Please check out her page and enter to win!!!!!

enter here---> http://www.leettlehandsandfeet.com/apps/donations/

Help support my friend Tisha's adoption through our t-shirt sales!!!!

My super friend Tisha (www.myrestingplace.blogspot.com) and her husband Monte are in the process of adopting a son/sons from Uganda. The next few weeks leading up to Christmas I am giving them half of my profits from my t-shirt sales!!!!! This will give them $10 per shirt to go towards their adoption expenses!!!! Please check otu our store and make a purchase!!!!! Our t-shirts are super cute and super comfy!!!! (and I am picky about my t-shirts!) So with every t-shirt purchased you are helping bring home a families child/children from Uganda and you are helping to send me to Ethiopia in March!!!!

Our store ----> http://ourtriptoethiopia.storenvy.com/

Thanksgiving Sale

2011-11-18T12:35:00.000-08:00

In honer on Thanksgiving next week and us getting ready to move we are having a sale on our t-shirts on our store!!!!!

click here to go to our fundraiser store -----> (http://ourtriptoethiopia.storenvy.com/)

T-shirts are $5 off making them $15 instead of $20!!!!!

and we will give a free sticker with each t-shirt purchased!!!!

All proceeds will make it possible for Maggie and I to go to Ethiopia in March. We will be meeting the team that we will be working with when we move to Ethiopia, we are doing a The Little Bee Co. diaper drop, visiting and showing Gods love to the poor, visiting orphanages, and whatever else God places on our path. This will only be possible if we raise 100% of travel expenses. Please check out the store and help make it possible for us to go on this trip.

It's totally a God Thing

2011-11-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

This goes back a few months ago...

I was at the point where I wished there was someone to take over Bottom Blessings for me while our family started support raising and moving to Ethiopia. I just didn't know who and I decided that it was time to go ahead and get rid of the last of the diapers and let that be it, the end of my "project". But it kept nagging at me and I really wished I could still keep it going.

I have people contact me every so often that want to take diapers and people who want to donate. I also have the lady that sews the diaper covers for me (which is super awesome!). So I knew that it could really be an ongoing thing and I could locate orphanages for people while living in Ethiopia. Again I just didnt know how this would work or even know anyone who would want to take over the part here in the U.S.

So I had a fellow AGCI mom contact me and say that they were collecting diapers to take to Ethiopia because they were adopting again and would be traveling there in the near future. I had a small amount at that point that I could send her and knew that I had some more coming in the mail that were being donated. But, I remembered an email from a lady named Holly about this diaper company that her and her sister in law, Betsy, had gotten diapers from when they were collecting them during Betsys adoption. It was called envibum and they really helped with there diaper collecting project. So I got on my email, which I barely checked to email her about it. (keep in mind that the email I had gotten from her was months earlier and we had had no contact since) I signed on and I had gotten an email from her! Here is the email..

Hi Christie,

I've been wanting to get in touch with you for a while, but have been busy with a move associated with my husband's job. I've read that you have been busy preparing to relocate to Ethiopia and I am so excited to see what God has planned for you. My sister (betsyandtheboys.blogspot.com) and I were interested in continuing the cloth diaper ministry on a semi regular basis. Possibly doing a drive a couple of times a year. I am connected with the owner of Envibum who helped Betsy and her husband take diapers and covers (at cost) to Ethiopia when they travelled to pick up there daughter and I know she is interested in helping long term.

I don't know how much of a priority the diapers are to you with your new developments?????

I am wondering if you would be interested in receiving the donations once you are in Ethiopia and distributing them to where they are needed.

We have also been curious as to how different orphanages view the diaper donations from a cultural stand point. (Do they view the diapers as a need?)

Please let me know if you are still interested in being involved or if it is a little much with everything else you have going on right now:)

Holly

This was totally a God thing! I told her that yes I would be interested in keeping with the diaper ministry and that we could use the Bottom Blessings name and everything. This was so exciting!!! We have kept in contact since and have been excited about doing this!

So back a few weeks ago a friend on Facebook posted about this diaper company called The Little Bee diaper Co. I took a look at their website and was super impressed but what they are doing! Here is a description of what they do on their website -

With every diaper purchased The Little Bee Co. will donate a diaper to an orphan in need. Once enough diapers are collected for each baby of one entire orphanage, a "Diaper Drop" is organized to deliver the diapers and help in assisting the orphanage workers with their transition to modern cloth. The diapers donated are the same diapers we sell. Every baby deserves the same high quality we choose for our own baby! Check out the organizations below to see how your contributions are changing the lives of babies worldwide! With every diaper purchased The Little Bee Co. will donate a diaper to an orphan in need. Once enough diapers are collected for each baby of one entire orphanage, a "Diaper Drop" is organized to deliver the diapers and help in assisting the orphanage workers with their transition to modern cloth. The diapers donated are the same diapers we sell. Every baby deserves the same high quality we choose for our own baby!

I emailed Holly to see if she could contact them to see if we could do a diaper drop or see how we could be involved. This is what she got back…

Holly,
Thank you so much for contacting us! I don't even know where to begin with explaining how excited I am to recieve your email. The second I read it my heart swelled with joy and my eyes with tears! It is a long story so please bear with me for rambling but I am simply overwhelmed with how amazing God's orchestrations are!

When my husband and I first began our journey into this mission/business it was actually just a business. I had begun cloth diapering my son and created a diaper that I thought was great and my husband and I set out to start our own "Cloth Diapering Business" It was going to be a boutique style store and there was no thought of using our diapers for a mission at all. One morning during my devotions the Lord spoke to me and told me that this "business" my husband and I were working on was not ours but actually His and that it was not to be a "business" but a "mission" to help babies in need, specifically orphans. I talked it over with my husband and shared what God had laid on my heart and he agreed that the Lord was speaking to him as well! We have both travelled on the mission field and missions are so close to our heart. We also share an intense love for orphan ministry. I have wanted to adopt from the time I was a little girl and my husband has a little sister who is adopted from China. He too has always wanted to adopt. We plan to do so in the future. We had no idea how to incorporate a mission with a cloth diapering business and didn't even know if cloth diapers would be a helpful thing for orphans. I started talking to our friends who are missionaries, thinking back to our previous trips and the diapering conditions we encountered and researching online diaper donations for orphans when came to a blog about a family whose sole ministry was taking diapers to orphans! It was Knowing No Bounds! I read their blog and it was during those moments the Lord said, "This is it! Use the profits you would have recieved to instead donate diapers to orphans in need." I shared the blog with my husband and we awwwed over baby Zek and Adam and Christie's journey to him! I put on my "to do list" to email them just to let them know what we were going to be starting up and that we would love to help them by donating diapers to them....and then life happened. The list was lost, we got overwhelmingly busy really fast, time passed quickly and I soon couldn't remember the name of their blog spot or the email info to contact them. I'm sure I could have sat and tried to find them via google but it always seemed that I was busy with something else.

When I read your email my mom and sister were sitting in my office with me and I literally yelled "THIS IS THEM!" "This is the family that God used to speak to me" I then proceeded to share with them the story I just shared with you! I am amazed that God allowed you to find me when for months, actually nearly a year, I have had on my "To Do" list to contact them!

So all of this to say I am so happy to "like" you on facebook and help spread the word about your mission! I would also love to offer Adam and Christie a spot as one of our "Diaper Drop Donations" We are currently working on one in Xian, China right now and have one scheduled after that for another organization in Uganda. Then we would love to add Knowing No Bounds as our next one! Our first major drop was a donation of 250 diapers to an organization called Serving His Children in Jinja, Uganda. Our China drop is 500 diapers and we would love to help Knowing no Bounds put diapers on all the babies of an entire orphanage they are working with in Ethiopia. Because our donations are based on sales we have no idea when we will have the donation available. As we sell diapers we load up the donation boxes and once we have enough for on organization we move right on to the next. If this is something Knowing No Bounds would be interested in we would love to partner with them or Bottom Blessings or however it works best for you all!

Thank you again so very much for contacting me! God is so good! Thank you for choosing to serve him with your amazing ministry! I look forward to talking with you in the future!
Loads of Blessings,

Jona

The Little Bee Co.

My eyes filled with tears and my heart was pounding. It was so amazing how God was working. He is awesome! I have often wondered how much of a difference what I was doing was making. (because I couldn’t witness the difference). Now I am in awe of the difference it is making!!!

Bottom Blessings has been amazing! What started out as a little project to send enough cloth diapers with Adam on his mission trip turned in to sending over 1000 lbs of diapers over so far, plus this! Plus who knows how much more! And how much more it’s going to be. I can’t wait to see all that God has planned for this!

So now we are going to be the next The Little Bee Co. diaper drop when I go on my trip in March!!! And I think I have already located an orphanage to take them to!!!

To top that off Bottom Blessings is going to be a Mission Retailer for The little Bee Co. diapers!!! How this works is

For every diaper you purchase from us a diaper will be donated to Bottom Blessings.
Any profits made from the sell of the diaper will right now go to help fund my trip to Ethiopia in March and once my trip it over the profits will go to mine and Adam’s ministry in Ethiopia and also back into Bottom Blessings for purchasing diapers to donate and any admin costs that may come up.
You can buy the diapers for yourself or as a gift (so for every one you buy one is donated)
You can buy the diapers to be donated (so for every one you buy to donate another one is donated)

I will have a store up and running sometime soon to sell the diapers. I am so super excited about this!!! So keep your eye out for the diaper store!!!!

In the meantime go ahead and check out our super cool shirts to help fund my trip to Ethiopia in March!!! Just click on the store button on the right side of this page!!! or click here... http://ourtriptoethiopia.storenvy.com/

Thanks for reading!!!

He will provide a way...

2011-11-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

Okay, so many of you know that Maggie and I will be going on a vision/mission trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this March. We have some awesome T-shirts for sale that my awesome husband designed to help raise money for this trip.

To be honest we cannot afford to pay for this trip. But, God has laid this on my heart as something I NEED to do. Our family will be moving there in approx 18 months to start ministering there. This trip will provide will provide me with a time to see what God's vision is for our ministry there and give me a sneak peak as to how ministering and living there will be. It will provide Maggie the opportunity to experience Ethiopia before moving there (this will help with the transition for her and for her 3 younger siblings).

I know that God will provide for this trip and it's with your help that it will be made possible. With Christmas coming up you could buy a shirt or two for loved ones. The shirts will have a story behind them and the receiver will know that their gift not only gave them a shirt to wear, but helped a family with their ministry in Africa. If you mention this post with your order we will throw in 1 of each of our 2 stickers that we have per shirt order.

Please take a look at our store and if you feel a tug to help out then that is fantastic! If you don't then thank you so much for looking.

If at all possible can you post about our family and the mission trip store on your Facebook and your blog?

Most importantly please be praying for our family through this amazing but sometimes a bit scary journey.

Thanks so much!!

click here to go to our store
or click on the store button to the right side of this page

sold

2011-11-06T07:17:00.000-08:00

Our house was on the market for less then 3 months and sold...this is amazing for several reasons...

In our neighborhood it seems that either houses are just foreclosed or they are for sale FOREVER before either they finally sell or they just take it off the market.
Our realtor told us that what we had to ask was probably too high and we should probably take it off the market and try for sale by owner- so we could ask less. (though what we were asking was $10,000 less than what we paid for it)
we heard that it is pretty much unheard of nowadays that the seller not at least pay some of the closing costs. (and we are not)

So back on September 21st (adams birthday) we had a showing...we got home and a few minutes later got a call from our realtor saying that the people wanted to come back and see it again in 20 minutes...the night before this showing (our 3rd showing in all) I just felt like I should pray through are house. Pray that the people feel at home when they walk in and so on. The morning of the showing the kids were crazy (pretty typical but overly crazy this day) and the morning just seemed to not be going very smoothly and there were times where we couldv'e gotten bent out of shape but we didn't. I just felt like satan was trying to get in a ruin what was going to be happening over the next few weeks. Well they loved the house and we thought we would get an offer. The realtor just felt that what we were asking wasn't what she was seeing in our neighborhood and she said it just wouldn't work. We knew these people loved the house so I prayed. I prayed that if this house was for them that something would change. So almost 3 weeks later we had a showing. We had no clue that it was them coming back. Same thing happened before the showing. It was just crazy and we had to get the house together quickly and again could've totally gotten bent out of shape. We got a call later on that day and got an offer. An offer that would totally work! We accepted. This was back on October 9th. Everything is going well and we will be moving before the 30th of this month.

We know that God has His hand in all of this. When we felt like we should go ahead and put our house on the market we thought it was because it would take a long time to sell it. Never would I have guessed that it would sell so fast. It's all pretty crazy and has put me in a whirlwind! We have been in our house for 8 1/2 years and it's hard leaving.

I know that God is ahead and of and God is behind us all of the way in this journey to Ethiopia. We feel so blessed to be called by Him to do all of this. There are days that we are completely terrified, though. But terrified in a way where we still know that God is behind it and there is a peace. It's so hard to understand. It's just not easy.

Back several months ago I was just flipping through my bible and came across this verse...

"But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard." Isaiah 52:12

I am taking things as they come and knowing that it is all in God's timing not mine.

We are moving into a 900 sq foot house...there are 6 people in this family...but we know that this is the house that we are supposed to be in. it may seem crazy, but it's what we are supposed to do. It seems super crazy to think about all of us living in this house. I just say it's going to make us a REALLY close family! and hopefully push us to get to Ethiopia even faster! We just pray that support raising goes well next year and we are able to get there sooner than we think.

We are to grateful to be sent on this adventurous journey. There are days, though, that it is super hard.

Would you please continue to pray with us through all of these changes? and begin praying for us as we will begin support raising in the next few months?

Here are some pictures of the kiddos on Halloween (didn't want another post with no pictures) :)

our packing up (so far)

The story so far...

2011-10-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

Adam and I began thinking about missions in Africa after reading an article in Relevant Magazine about femocide in the Congo. It moved us and really got our minds racing about “someday” becoming missionaries and moving somewhere in Africa. (This was January 2009) As we were discussing all of it we thought that when the kids grew up that we could do it. Never imaging any time in the near future.

As a few months passed we went to a Chris Tomlin concert and saw a video about orphans in Africa. Previously discussing how someday we would like to adopt we started talking that night about how we should adopt later, like years down the road. We left it at that after that night and didn’t discuss it again until a few weeks later while sitting down for coffee one night after our girls went to bed. We both individually had been feeling God's pull toward adopting right now and from Africa. I had been doing some research online about adoptions and really felt God showing us that this was something we need to do now not later. So we did. We started our adoption from Ethiopia with AGCI in April 2009. We did our homestudy and dossier and got on the waiting list with AGCI June 2009.

On Octobter 7^th, 2009 we received our referral for our son who was 3 weeks old at the time. God showed us through these months of waiting that his was right for us, but during that referral phone call he proved to us that this what His will for us. Our son was given the name Adam by his birthmother. This was unknowing who we were or that we were even going to adopt him. He shared the name with his daddy. Super awesome!!! We decided to keep his first name Adam and give him the middle name Ezekial and call him “Zek”. A few weeks after our referral Zek became extremely ill. He was only 6 weeks old and very frail. He was hospitalized in Addis Ababa at the Black Lion Hospital. Just google that name and see the pictures that come up. I did. We were feeling so terrible that our son (whom we had never met) was so sick and so far away. Our hearts ached, our minds raced. Then I go looking up the hospital name and the pictures that popped up made me sick to my stomache. My son is at a hospital like that? We prayed and prayed and prayed. They said that he was going to need surgery and get a tracheotomy (because in an X-ray they saw something blocking his airway). Ugh!!! So, we pray some more… he is transferred to a private hospital, but that process wasn't easy. It took an entire day for the hospital to find an oxygen tank to transfer with him to this new hospital. (Why oxygen? He was having extreme troubles breathing.) So, he arrives at the new hospital, but the doctors do not have the equipment to perform the surgery. Later that day another doctor sees him and doesn’t see any reason for him to have the surgery. Really? What is going on? Well, we just continue to pray, pray, pray and after a few weeks in the hospital he returns to health and is able to go back to Hannahs Hope (AGCIs transition home)! He had been healed!

As if the stress of having a child halfway around the world so sick that we were told a tracheotomy was necessary... we found out that we were pregnant! Then we thought that we were miscarrying and that the pregnancy was not a "viable" pregnancy. After a few weeks we were given an ultrasound to check things out and to make sure things were ok. What was found you ask? They saw a tiny little heartbeat! This 3-4 week period was a roller coaster of a time for our family! My emotions were everywhere!!! We passed court November 12^th and traveled to Ethiopia December 12^th and met him on December 13^th. What an incredible day! It was an experience like no other. We met our son who we had been praying and waiting for. Our visit to Addis was ok. I was so sick and missing my girls so much I just wanted to get home. I told Adam, while standing on the side of the street just outside our hotel “I would never want to become a missionary and move here!” I had made up my mind about that!

The next several months were the hardest time in my life... I was so sick from the pregnancy when we brought Zek home. Not to mention that Zek being the fussiest baby I had every met. It was hard to say the least. Bonding took a lot longer than expected. Not just from Zek but from me as well. 6 ½ months after bringing Zek home we brought Emery into the world. Still not bonded as much as I would have liked to have been now I had a new baby. It all rocked my world and it was super hard.

During the 7 or 8 months after bringing Zek home I felt almost fist to fist with God. I wondered where he was when I feel was so low. I did feel Him tell me the whole time "I have big plans for you" "please trust me"...

Over the next few months after Emery was born we got into the swing of things, if you want to say that! Adam and I really started talking more about missions in Ethiopia early September 2010. We began praying about it and God was pulling us towards it. In October 2010 opportunity presented itself for Adam to go on a missions trip to Ethiopia in February 2011. We felt that this would be a good time for him to go and really see if God was indeed leading us there for full-time missions.

Between the time he decided to go and his departure I started collecting cloth diapers for him to take. I wanted him to be able to take enough to diaper twenty or so babies. I began contacting people and got floored by God. Donations started pouring in. Not only was Adam able to take 200 lbs of cloth diapers with him on his trip but I have sent another 800 lbs with other people traveling to Ethiopia! God is absolutely amazing! When He puts something on your heart you better do it and He is going to bless it. We called the project Bottom Blessings. It’s an ongoing project and will continue.

Adam's trip was amazing. We prayed before and during it that God would show him if this is what He wants us to do with our family and when we should do it. He got back and we knew it was the right time. We started really looking into sending agencies for missionaries and prayed about it. I was looking one night and came across CMF. I really loved what they were doing in Ethiopia as I searched their website. I knew that this was going to be at the top of our list of places we wanted to contact. As I searched further I realized that they were in Indianapolis! We contacted them and met with them and really felt pulled there. We officially applied in May 2011. We went through our assessment center in August 2011 and became officially affiliated with CMF (and their Urban Poor ministry in Addis Ababa). We began taking the Perspectives course (http://www.perspectives.org) the day after our assessment center and let me say that this class has rocked our world. It has opened our minds so much more to missions and God's call for it. It has been amazing! We will be doing Launch at the beginning of 2012, which is our support raising training. We will then begin raising support. We will begin talking and speaking with churches, family and friends to raise the financial support we will need to serve in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

There are so many God things that have happened between these times and so many times where we know that Satan is trying to take away His glory. He has caused frustration and confusion a lot. But we have to stand firm and know that this is His will. This is what our lives are supposed to look like.

We are excited to be on this adventure and cannot wait to see all that God has in store for our family!

We Need Your Help!!!

2011-10-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

two years...

2011-10-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

Two years really flies by...at least this past two years has.

This week two years ago (Oct 7th) we saw the face of a sweet 3 week old baby boy named Adam (the same name as daddy) for the first time. Today 2 years ago I was feeling so anxious to receive the call about our son. Now that baby boy is 2 and such a joy. He has been an awesome blessing to this family in so many ways.

A lot has changed in two years. We went from having two little girls to having two little girls and 2 little boys in a mere 6 months. God has really shown us how much He is in control and that He always knows what is best for us. We feel so blessed that Emery and Zek are so close in age (a little less than 10 months apart). If you would've told me two years ago that I would become pregnant during the last of our adoption of Zek I would've thought you were crazy :) and If you would've told me how much I would enjoy having two baby boys so close in age I would've thought you were even crazier. Because I always thought when people had kids really close in age that they were crazy. My boys are awesome. They are best buds already and love to make each other laugh. I tell Adam how much they were meant for each other. All of our kids are amazing and I love how much joy each and every one of them bring to our family.

Zek has changed us in so many ways. He has opened our minds to so much more. If someone would've told me two years ago that in two years we would be working our way to moving our family to Ethiopia and becoming missionaries I really would've thought you were even crazier. My mind has been opened and the need has been revealed. Our hearts are in Ethiopia.

We are taking this Perspectives course for missions and it is so amazing and has been opening our minds to so much. There is so much in the bible about missions and how if we are Christians that we are called to take His word to the ends of the Earth. Does that mean the ends of the United States???? No the ends of the ENTIRE Earth. In an article we read in class the author said "missions exists because worship doesn't" In other words, the reason God gives us our mission is to bring about obedient, love-filled and life-giving worship among peoples in places where there is none. We are to take His words to those places where people need to hear it. That is why missions exists and why it's God call for people to move to places where people need to hear it. We are all called to do it. Either by supporting missionaries financially and with prayer, moving and becoming the missionary, helping to mobilize missionaries, etc. There's so much to learn in the course and we highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in learning more about missions. I thank God for giving us the passion for Ethiopia and opening our hearts to taking our family there.

We are taking the course until the end of November so we still have so much to take in. It's so overwhelming learning so much and hard to really say all that we have learned. Once the class is over we have a few months to prepare for our Launch with CMF (support raising training) in January and then we are off to start support raising. We will be meeting with friends and family, churches, small groups, etc. We will be busy, but we are so excited to start sharing about our ministry and all of the things that we have learned with everyone we meet with. We hope to be moving in the summer of 2013 to Addis. Right now it seems so far off, but I know that it will be here before we know it.

Maggie and I will be taking our trip to Addis in March. We aren't going with an organization. We are going on our own. It will be a vision/mission trip for us. I plan on spending time with the team (Urban Poor Team) that we will be working with and also spending some time with some other organizations and some people that we know. I know that God is going to show us a lot while we are there. I feel like it is really important for us to go on this trip. When it didn't work out for us to go in October this year I thought for a moment that maybe we just wouldn't go at all until we move. But, I know that it's so important for Maggie to spend some time there and to help me to get a vision for what Adam and I will be doing while living there. It will be important as we share with our supporters. We are fundraising for this trip and have set up an online store with things for sale. We have awesome t-shirts that my amazing husband designed for sale. We have to raise every penny for this trip and will not be able to purchase tickets for the trip until $3000 has been raised. the total cost for the trip will be around $4000. I can't wait to see God work out the details for this trip and for how much He is going to show me on the trip. You can visit our store here. Or you can click on the image on the upper right of the blog page. We are receiving our order of t-shirts this week. 100% of the purchase price of everything goes towards our trip. The holiday season is quickly approaching and the t-shirts and things would be great gifts!!! Make sure you take a look at the store. :)

Please continue to pray for our family as we prepare ourselves and God prepares us to serve in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Flexiblity is the key

2011-08-17T08:13:00.001-07:00

Flexibility is the Key...

This is one thing I learned over this past weekend at our Assessment Center with CMF.

Over this past month I have been praying and thinking so much about the upcoming trip to Ethiopia. I was scared and excited about the trip. I felt like a great opportunity for me to go and felt like God wanted me to go. Well...sometimes Gods plans are just a little different than what we imagined...

The awesome news is we are officially affiliated with CMF!!!! So that means we are OFFICIALLY working our way to move to Ethiopia!!!! After the intense weekend of the Assessment Center we were given a personal development plan. Included in this are a few books to read, a plan for Adam to get his cholesterol down a bit (we have to be healthy missionaries!), and some educational things and training that we will complete before moving. One thing we have to do before we start raising support is take this course called Perspectives. If you click on the name it will take you to their website and you can read more about it. It will teach us more about missions and Gods call to missions. It is a 15 week course...That puts us way into November...Our trip is scheduled for October...This class is required of us...That means that I will not be able to go to Ethiopia in October. BUMMER! To be the best missionary I can be I have to get as much out of this class that I can. I have to focus on this...Missing 2 weeks to go to Ethiopia I feel is not in my best interest.

I am so excited for this class and this journey! I am excited to be living Gods plan. and I have learned so well over this past 2 years that my plan usually isnt exactly His plan! We are taking the ride and following His course. I am planning on a mid to late spring trip to Ethiopia. So yes I am still going and taking Maggie, just not as soon as I had imagined. So we are still fundraising, selling shirts, collecting donations and diapers, etc. We just have a longer time to do it in now! (click on our button on the sidebar to go to our store)

We are super excited about this course that we are taking. We finished the Assessment Center and they gave us the personal development plan and the class was on it...and well the class started the day after we were done with this intense weekend. (last night) So once again, flexibility is the key. We shuffled and found a super babysitter last night. Over the weekend the kids had 9 different people watching them and we didnt want to have to use any of them. My aunt stepped up and watched them for us and they all had a blast. If you know us, then you know finding a babysitter can be a challenging job. But God worked it all out :) A lady at CMF is also going to be babysitting for us during these 15 weeks. and they paid for the class for us. CMF is super awesome and the people are super awesome and will do about anything for you. We LOVE them and highly recommend them to anyone interested in the missions field.

Please pray for us as we are moving our way to all of the fun stuff in His plan for us. We are excited about this class and excited about support raising (and a little scared too!).

This is going to be an awesome journey and we are excited to work our way through it and share it as we go along.

Thanks so much for reading!

Heading to Ethiopia - lots of fundraisers!!!

2011-08-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

So back a few weeks ago we were called up by CMF (Christian Missionary Fellowship) and asked if we would like to go on a vision trip with them to Ethiopia this October for 13 days. At first I was like "oh wow yes I would be interested and I could take Maggie along with me" then the doubt starting setting in...

wow I will be gone for almost 2 weeks! there is no way I can be away that long...
there is no way I could wean Emery that soon (I always nurse my babies until they are two)-I would be terrible if I did that!
leaving Adam that long with the kids would be really interesting, what would the house look like?, how would he handle trying to work, etc..
I am just not ready to do this...
I can't raise almost $4000 for Maggie and I to go on this trip...there is no way!
What if Maggie or I get sick when we are there?
What if it's just too much for me to handle without Adam?
the list could go on and on...

But I am reminded...I can do all things through Christ who give me strength...Really, me, I can! I still have moments throughout everyday where I am thinking there is no way I can do this. But I pray or just think about it and really I can do this. This will be great! There have been a few things that seem to say "hey you are supposed to go on the trip" -like maggie being on fall break during that time. We homeschool but use a public virtual school so we have to stay with their schedule and I was worried about trying to squeeze in two weeks worth of school work before we leave...but today I found out we will be good to go! There have been other little things that pop up or I think of from time to time that give me a peace about going.

When we first heard of the trip CMF really wanted both Adam and I to go. Well, with the little kiddos and with him not having much vacation time left this year there was no way he could go. I really wanted to go back before moving there and I really wanted Maggie to experience it before we moved there. We felt like this was a great opportunity for us to go. We will be hearing and experiencing first hand what the missionaries living in Addis working with the Urban Poor team are doing. It will be great getting to experience Addis in a whole new way. Visiting as an adoptive parent just isn't the same as going on a mission trip there. My experience traveling there before was even more different because I was 10 weeks pregnant with Emery! I am excited to love on the people and stand in the place where our hearts are. We will spend the majority of our days there with the Urban Poor team, but also will be making a trip to Shashamane to visit our sponsored son, Misganow, who we sponsor through project 61. We are going to spend some time in an orphanage or two, spend some time in Korah (Kore), meet some missionary friends who work with other organizations (like No Ordinary Love Ministries), and I know that other things will pop up and I am anxious to see what God has in store for this!

I am collecting cloth diapers to take with me (if you know of a particular orphanage in need of them let me know). If there's any out there who would like to donate diapers let me know. I want to take as much as possible. I have been so blessed with my cloth diaper project and have already sent over 1000 lbs of cloth diapers to Ethiopia. I think that is pretty amazing!!! What started as a "little" project has become so HUGE! and it will continue as we move to Addis. We are going to be the contact in Ethiopia and a few other mommy's are taking on collecting donations here in the states!!! I am so super excited for this and it is totally a God thing...More on that at a later time...

Besides cloth diaper we are taking donations for things to take to this orphanage ...

childrens clothing for ages 4-14
childrens shoes for ages 4-14
formula

I can't believe how soon we will be in Ethiopia visiting! We have about 9 weeks to raise these funds to go. We are counting on our t-shirts, bumper stickers, Ethiopian goods, flower clips, and donations to fully fund this trip. I know that God can make this happen! so this is where YOU come in...you can visit our store here... http://ourtriptoethiopia.storenvy.com/ and check out our awesome things we are selling (all proceeds go to fund our trip)! There is also a button over on the right of this page that you can click on. There is also a paypal donate button or you can donate through our store if you feel led.

On a slightly different note we will be attending our 3 day Assessment Center this weekend and a 1 day support raising orientation with our sending agency CMF (Christian Missionary Fellowship). We are super excited to "officially" get things up and running to becoming full time missionaries in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! Please pray for us this weekend as we want clear minds so we can focus fully on the time there. We can't wait to figure out all of the details as far as support raising and our projected time that we will move. We will keep everyone posted as we know more.

We did not fall off the face of the Earth

2011-07-17T10:31:00.001-07:00

Not sure who actually follows this blog anymore considering it hasn't been updated in over 2 months! But, thank you to anyone who is actually reading this.

The last few months have been full of fun stuff. We finished up school with Maggie near the end of June, Maggie had her 7th birthday, Emery had his first birthday, and we have been getting our house ready to put on the market. We have been getting rid of a ton of stuff. It feels really freeing clearing out all of our unnecessary "stuff". Our girls have been great about getting rid of toys. They know that it just gets them closer to moving to Ethiopia. They are so excited to move there. We have been setting things at the curb for free, giving things to thrift stores, and selling things online. and now our house is now officially for sale!

We have also been in a lot of prayer about our upcoming Assessement Center with CMF (Christian Missionary Fellowship). It will take place August 12th - August 15th. Here is a discription of the Assessment Center...

"The three-day Assessment Center (AC) event is designed to provide a comprehensive approach to the selection of qualified cross-cultural workers. Your skills, abilities, and traits will be evaluated and matched with the profile of successful cross-cultural workers. At the end of the AC, you will receive thorough feedback, including a list of strengths and a personal development plan to help with your mental, emotional, and spiritual growth."

We also stay for a day of support raising orientation.

CMF is located just north of us in Indianapolis. When we first were looking into sending agencies I was looking into CMF and loved what they were doing and had no clue that they were located in Indianapolis. Then I found out that they were! It will be great with them so close. Totally a God thing!

We have, with Gods help, found people to take care of the kids all day for those 4 days. It's not easy trying to find sitters for us and it was something I was afraid of, but it's all working out. I will be coming home each evening to be with the kiddos and go back every morning (Adam will be staying at a hotel near CMF). I still nurse Emery so he nurses before naps. These next few weeks we will be teaching him to fall asleep without nursing for naptimes, so that I can be at peace during the day that Emery is ok. This is huge for me, so if there is anyone out there who could pray about this for me and Emery that would be awesome! Also, praying for peace for all of the kids and ourselves during those 4 days.

We are so excited to get started with this journey and would love all the prayers we can get. If you can commit to praying for our family please leave a comment and let us know that you are praying. I will post prayer requests occassionally and post about what's going on with us and the things we are doing.

After the Assessment Center we will either be a recruit or a candidate. If we are a recruit we will be invited back for LAUNCH.
-"During this intense and full 3 days of training in Indianapolis, the staff will provide further orientation to CMF, equip you with skills for raising support, and help you develop your support-raising strategy. You will have individual meetings with Leadership Team members regarding your budget, support-raising plan, specific field ministry, communication tools, and additional services available to you. Soon after LAUNCH, you will receive your personal promotional materials (display, printed materials, etc.). Throughout your support raising, your coach will continue to assist you with your specific questions and challenges."

Our prayers are that we get recruit status. If we are candidates we will receive guidance in further preparation for field service, such as training, practical experience, and personal growth. We will need to complete these steps before becoming a Recruit and beginning your support-raising.

Prayer requests:

weaning Emery from nursing before naptime - easy transition for us both
for our whole family and the sitters during our Assessment Center in August
Our house - bring the perfect buyer for our house
also, I have an opportunity to go to Ethiopia in October for 2 weeks with CMF! It is a vision trip that they invited us to take part in. I am totally up for it, but want to take Maggie (our 7 year old) with me. She is excited to experience going before we move there. I have emailed them asking if its ok. If it is (which i am sure it will be) then we will be going! So prayer for raising funds to go and also weaning Emery beforehand. (we are so excited that we will get to go so soon!) - and preparing Adam to take care of the 3 littlest while Maggie and I are gone.
Prayers during the Assessment Center. that we can focus and be at peace. Our desire is to become recruits so we can get to Ethiopia sooner. We know it's all Gods plans, but we pray that this is what happens.

Thanks for all of the prayers! and thanks for following our blog. I promise we will update more often!

Ethiopia Mission Trip :: A Look Back

2011-05-13T18:39:00.001-07:00

Ok, I know this has been such a long time coming and I promise I have valid reasons for the delay... 4 little ones to be exact... but I finally found the time to put together a video recalling the mission trip experience from this past February. Here it is...

It was an incredible journey that we set out on as a team; we came together from all sides of the states to form this close-knit, nearly indescribable bond... the best word I can think to describe our experience at the end of the trip was family.

Dealing with the emotions, experiences has been difficult. Christie and I have talked about it, but it is so hard to grasp unless you are there living the moment. A few highlights from our trip include...

• • • • • • • • • •

DIAPERS!!! :: Delivering 4 tubs of diapers to 3 different orphanages: A government orphanage in Addis [not allowed to give actual name], a private orphanage in Holeta [Debre Berhan] and a Catholic Orphanage in Addis [Kidane Mihret]; and giving away to a few different individuals too (including a few moms in Korah and one of our drivers who had a 2-month old baby girl!

• • • • • • • • • •

GIR-MON!!! :: (I'm not sure if that is how it's spelled, but that's how it sounds) is a 6'3"(ish) blind boy (well, he's 20... but I'm 30 so I can call him a boy). He came up to me while I was standing in the road in between the shelter and the church.... he asked if I had anything to help protect his eyes. [Cue Despicable Me voice..."Lightbulb"] "Marcy has sunglasses!" I thought. So I took him inside where the church is and the two of us sat down on the bench and chatted. He was/is amazing. I know I've said a lot of things on our trip were amazing, but this moment was "it" for me. I found out Marcy had left to help Mercy get new clothes so we were left w/o sunglasses for the time being. Then McKenzie came up and gave him her sunglasses... and they fit him perfectly... and I must say he looked pretty stylin' in them. He sung for me, hugged me, kissed me, told me he loved me, called me his best friend... affection for other men doesn't come the easiest for me, but I can honestly say I fell in love with this boy.

• • • • • • • • • •

SOCCER IN AMBO! :: When we met up with the kids in Ambo we played this huge soccer match. Kids vs. Adults. I have a little footage in my video... but it was a blast. It got pretty intense out there... I was dying for water and so were the kids. I had 2 huge bottles in my bag that were all but gone by the end... I scored a few goals (thanks to awesome assists from Spencer) but the most memorable moment came when a boy came up to steal the ball when I was kicking a goal and I kicked him in the shin. He fell down and got up with a limp... I carried him off the field but he ran right back out there... what a trooper... what a game. (Note: by the end of the day his limp was gone... I felt sooooooooo bad.) Another memorable moment came when I let Helen record with my videocamera and she held it backwards and recorded herself, upside down, for a good 45 seconds... my kids think it is the funniest thing. classic. :)

• • • • • • • • • •

ICE CREAM W/ THE BOYS! :: Every evening we'd get back to the Ethiopian Guest House and a group of boys from the neighborhood would show up looking to play some soccer and to see if we had any candy or anything. Well, about half way through the trip we thought it would be fun to treat them to ice cream... so we walked down to the market and each boy picked one out. Interestingly the two flavors available were: Coffee and Milk.

• • • • • • • • • •

COW STOMACH! :: One of the last evenings we were there the whole group went out for a traditional dinner. I sat next to one of our drivers... Bebe. (Who might I add is amazing!) Once dinner was served him and I dug in... we were the only two (at our table) that had embraced traditional cuisine while we were there. I pointed to this odd looking meat on the platter and asked him what it was. He said "Try it." I said "You go first." So, he ate it. Then, as a man of my word... I took a large hunk of injera, picked up the funky meat and plopped it in my mouth. Just about gagged myself, but I managed to chew it and keep it down. It had the consistency of rubber and the taste of worst gristle you've ever eaten. I asked him what it was, his answer... "Cow stomach." EWW!

• • • • • • • • • •

NATURE PARK! :: Returning to Addis from Ambo we stopped by a nature park where we say some amazing sites. Including a monkey drinking an orange soda. How about that. It was super cute. I took a 6-foot leap across the top of a waterfall and climbed to the top of another waterfall (with about 5 others). At the top we took a trail back about 1/2 mile to a super small village where we helped a lady break sticks that she would later use as kiln and met up with a bunch of kids. Upon returning we saw a lady washing her clothes at the top of the waterfall.

• • • • • • • • • •

SHOES! :: Shoes were another big part of our trip. We took part in a TOMS shoe distribution at a school in Dahley. We were able to bless these children (and a few members of the community) with shoes by removing their current shoes and placing new ones on their feet. The condition of the shoes was saddening... every foot was dirty, but several were cracked and bleeding and many were suffering from different types infections. I washed and sanitized my hands several times that day. :) Another part where shoes played a big impact were the 3 pairs I gave away to kids that lived on the street and needed them. One of the boys I gave a pair to (Ti) had asked my wife for her pair of shoes when we traveled to pick up Zek! He was still there and still needed shoes. I gave him the pair off my feet. I arrived with 4 pairs of shoes... I came home with a pair of flip flops.

• • • • • • • • • •

There are so many more things that I could talk about, those are just the ones that come to my head right now. As more come up I hope to share them with you.

This was an amazing experience and if you are considering a mission trip, I highly recommend it. Loving on the people I came into contact with was so soul-filling. I left nearly on empty, I came home overflowing. Joy is contagious and the people you meet are so joy-filled that you will never want to leave. In fact, based on the conversations I've had since returning home, most of our group feels that way.

God Bless!

Urgent Help Needed In Orphanage In Ethiopia

2011-05-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

This young women named, Ashli moved to Ethiopia last November...

This is from a post on the Ordinary Hero Blog...

"as of recently she has been led to an orphanage that is entrusting her with the care of the children. To protect the kids in the orphanage we will call it Restoration Orphanage, because I think God will restore their lives from the mirey pit and use this place as a place of Restoration in the future for other children. God has handed this place to her for her to step in and help when there are certainly children on death's door. She has gone in and described the needs of these children to me, especially the babies, and it is devastating and heartbreaking! They need care and they need care fast. A few babies have not made it and I believe that is why God has now led Ashli to this place through a connection that I have and is now going to use her to bring these children back to life. It is going to take a lot of work, money, formula, supplies, etc but I know it can be done. AND it can be done by this one young girl.....WITH ALL OUR HELP. Here is an excerpt from her as of yesterday......"

BABY X

by Ashli York on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 4:15pm

"As I held an orphaned little girl tonight who is 10lbs underweight, I began to sing Jesus Loves Me. She stared in my eyes as I sang and I started thinking about her life. Her last name is X because she has no father, she is malnourished, found in the street, and has a horrible bacterial infection that if went untreated would kill her. As the song was ending her eyes slowly closed as she drifted off to sleep. A peace that passes all understanding was shown through the sweetest smile as she slept. I whispered, "Lord, you are her Father. She does have a name, and you know her by name. You know her life and her destiny. Protect her heart and give her peace." There are 15 other babies with a similar story in this orphanage, and 10 more on the way, and only 3 nannies to care for them. I pray that all who read this would prayerfully consider helping this orphanage financially care for these helpless lives. The nannies LOVE these babies but the funding just isn't there for proper care. You can turn tears of hunger into peaceful nights of sleep, and the longing for someone to just hold you into security and happiness. Will you help an orphan fall asleep in peace tonight? Please contact me if you are interested in helping!"

go here to donate through ordinary hero - click here - make sure you type in "for orphanage aid" in the message box

to read more about ashli and the orphanage and its needs - click here

Please pass this on...Put a link to the Ordinary Hero blog where you can donate on your facebook or blog!!!

A few pics from the last few days...and some questions answered

2011-05-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Emery fell asleep eating pasta :)

Homemade chalkboard that we made over the weekend.
The girls love it and Zek thought it was a slide :)

Zek playing in sand...do you see it all over his face?
yep he likes to eat sand. I gave up and he can eat it if he wants :)

He likes to eat everything. This is mulch. and no I didnt let him eat this :)

Emery likes to eat sand too! It must be a boy thing.

Aunt Abby (my much younger little sister) stayed the weekend with us.
The girls had a blast! (and it gave mommy a break!) :)

One of Hazels favorite things to do

Emery playing

more playing...

First, thanks to everyone who is praying for us as we begin this journey!

We have had a few questions or comments that people have asked or made about us moving to Ethiopia. So I will answer a couple...

When do you move?

After we do our 3 day assessement we will know a better time frame, but we are expecting 12 - 18 months from August.

You are brave...

We by no means feel brave. We feel that this is Gods calling for us and we are simply following Him and he is bringing us peace about it all along the way. There are days when I feel super excited and there are days when I wish God didn't lay it on our hearts. But we want to be fully devoted followers and we know this is the plan He has for us.

Does someone pay you to live there?

We will be fully supported by our church, other churches, family and friends. We will have to raise the support on our own (this is one reason why it will take 12-18 months before we move) We will raise the support from partners that can make it possible for us to work with and teach God's love to the people in Addis. We will know more details on all of this once August rolls around.

I want to challenge anyone who is reading this post who hasnt read the book Radical yet to read it. I just finished it last week and it is awesome!!! It took me over month to finish it because well it just takes me that long. I love reading but finding bits of time between taking care of the kiddos is impossible somedays :) I am currently reading When Helping Hurts. A missionary at CMF gave it to us when we went there a few months back. It is a really great book and very insightful. I have learned lots of stuff already! So I highly recommend it!

OUR SUPER BIG, SUPER EXCITING NEWS!!!!

2011-04-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

So back a few weeks ago I said that our family has HUGE news and I couldn't announce it for a few weeks. We had to make sure that our parents knew before anyone else did!

This stirring in our hearts came long before we decided definitely to adopt and subsided for awhile during our adoption and our transition from 2 kids to 4 (in less than a 7 month span!). August rolls around last year and we feel it again. This longing for Africa. This desire to give it all to God. Whatever he wants for our lifes we will do. We want to be whole hearted followers of Him.

It was a rough year to say the least. Through this rough patch I could feel God saying to me "Christie just trust in my plan, I have big plans for you...give it all to Me..." It took me a long time to focus. To focus on God. Focus on His plan for our life. To creep into giving it all to Him. To fully trust in His plan...

Back to late August/early September... Adam and I both started to feel the tug...

We began to pray and seriously talk about moving our family
and becoming missionaries in Ethiopia.

So that is our big news!!!! We have been praying about this for several months and researching and talking. We feel that God is calling us to Ethiopia. In fact we know God is calling us to Ethiopia!

There is a peace about it...a peace that surpasses all understanding. A peace that would not be there if we said "no we aren't moving to Ethiopia." I have prayed this a lot lately - "Philippians 4 - 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Adam's mission trip really confirmed all that we had been feeling. (he is working on a video of his trip so he will be posting very very soon about the trip)

We have had our up-and-down moments a lot lately. One minute we will be super excited and the next really questioning and really asking for God's peace and it is always there.

I was listening to the radio on the way to take Maggie to school a month or so ago and really praying to God to please give me peace if this is His plan. A lady was talking about her job or something on the radio and she never imagined herself being where she is right now she said but God will put you exactly where he wants you. and I heard "even if it's 8,000 miles away" I know this was God. He was telling me it's ok I have you in my hands even if you are 8,000 miles away from home you will always be in my hands and these are the plans for you and your family. I could go on and on about things I feel God has said to me or songs that I listen to and know that I was supposed to hear that song at that particular moment. There's a Josh Wilson song that I say is my song. It says "Cause I don't want to live like I don't care...I don't want to say another empty prayer...I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else to do what God has called me to do myself... I could choose not to move... but I refuse." (The "I could choose not to move but I refuse" part makes me smile every time I hear it. - I could choose not to move but that's not God's plan) - if you haven't heard the song do a search for it and listen to it or read the full lyrics, it's a good song. (Josh Wilson - I refuse) Or the Matthew West song The Motions. "I don’t wanna go through the motions, I don’t wanna go one more day without Your all consuming passion inside of me. I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking, what if I had given everything instead of going through the motions " Songs speak to me a lot obviously :) I get some good God time listening to the radio in the car!

After lots of prayer and research about a month ago we decided to take steps to begin affiliating with CMF International. We are now getting our application completed, medical exams, psychological evaluations done, and references done. We will be going through a 3-day assessment in August. (The three-day Assessment Center (AC) event is designed to provide a comprehensive approach to the selection of qualified cross-cultural workers. Your skills, abilities, and traits will be evaluated and matched with the profile of successful cross-cultural workers. At the end of the AC, you will receive thorough feedback, including a list of strengths and a personal development plan to help with your mental, emotional, and spiritual growth.) Click here if you want to see all of the steps we will complete. It is a pretty rigorous process, but we are ready to get it started!

We love what they are doing in Addis Ababa. Here is what we will tentatively be doing when we move there. "Our growing urban poor team works in the slums of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, through Community Health Evangelism – an integrated ministry using Christ’s example of caring for the whole individual of any community, both physically and spiritually. Ministry focuses on those affected by HIV/AIDS, leprosy, and the orphaned and vulnerable children living on the streets." (taken from CMF website) Here is more about the Urban Poor Ministries click here . Click and read about it. It's pretty awesome and awesome to think that we will be part of this.

We are excited of joining the group of missionaries already working in Addis. We do not know details right now as we are just beginning. We do know that we need lots of prayers right now. Prayers for our decisions we are making, prayers for God's provision, prayers for peace, prayers for God's guidance as we begin this journey...the list could go on :) We know that Satan is going to try to make his way in and we have to stand guard. We have already felt it. We know that everyone we know may not fully understand why we are doing this and may think we are crazy. We are crazy. Crazy for Jesus! Pray that negative comments do not stand in the way of the joy and excitement of all of His plans.

Right now we are asking for people to please commit to praying for our family as we begin this journey and continue to seek God's will.

I am going to try my hardest to keep the blog up-to-date to keep everyone informed of the happenings of our family. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I want everyone who reads our blog to follow along on this journey with us.

Happy Easter from our family to yours!

Sorry about being MIA

2011-04-11T18:41:00.001-07:00

So we have been a little MIA lately. Sorry about that!

Adam does plan on posting all about his trip coming up soon. Since he got back he has been a little overwhelmed with work and stuff.

But I wanted to do a little update on Bottom Blessings. I still occassionally have people send diapers or donate monetarily through paypal. Thank you to everyone who is still helping out! We do have a ton of diapers in need of going to Ethiopia or any orphanage anywhere for that matter. So if you are traveling anywhere where you know there is an orphanage in need of cloth diapers please let me know. I can ship those to you for you to take. Just email us at knowingnobounds@gmail.com

I have a lovely women named Rachel, who has a ministry with young people and previously had a cloth diaper business. She made and sold cloth diaper covers. She stopped her business a year ago so she could focus on her ministry. (in a recent email she said "All glory to God. I am just in awe of how He's worked this all out - I gave up the business a year ago so I could focus on the ministry, and it's as if He's given it back, but with a purpose this time. All the fun, none of the stress lol."

Little did she know that God was going to use her cloth diapering business and her ministry together! She previously sent me a bunch of covers and diaper wipes she had left from her business. They are now being used by orphanages in Ethiopia.

Rachel and a group of young people have been busy sewing diaper covers for Ethiopia! She emailed some pictures to me of one of her sewing nights.

When Adam visited Ethiopia in February he said that at least one of the orphanages that he went to were only able to change the babies diapers once a day! Now they have tons of cloth diapers to keep those babies bottoms nice and dry!

Here are pictures of Rachels Ministries sewing night...

I am in awe of how God worked this all out for her ministry and for Bottom Blessings :)

Thanks so much to Rachel and her team of volunteers!!!!!

Here soon Adam will do a post on his Ethiopia mission trip. He has awesome stories and pictures.

Also very soon we will be announcing some big news for our family!!!! Sorry to keep you in suspense, but we will have to keep you waiting for another week or two and then we can make the announcement :) Just keep our family in your prayers as we have a lot brewing right now. :)

Ethiopia

2011-02-20T17:03:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures that Adam has put on Facebook of his trip so far (from his phone) The pictures he has taken with his camera he isnt able to upload them or something. Under each picture I will paste whatever he wrote on facebook. I havent gotten to talk him but once and we have chatted a few times on facebook and gmail. The internet is very chopping and more annoying then anything :) I really wish we could talk more so I can hear about all of the stuff that they are doing. It seems like a pretty amazing experience. I will see if he is able to sign onto blogger to write a little about his time there so far.

It seems like he has been gone for a month already! He left really early Wednesday morning and will be back next Sunday. So we have another week until he gets back, but he has another week of lots of awesome experiences!

Small hut seen along the road on the way to Ambo. (We passed over 100 of these.)

Man with his donkey in a small town between Holeta and Ambo.

Boys from the village.

The drive out to Holeta.

The leap I took to get to the waterfall... About 6 feet across... My heart was racing. :)

More nature along the road returning from Ambo.

Children from an extremely small village we hiked to while at at a nature park.

Man with horse cart in small town between Holeta and Addis Ababa

Sunset on our way to Ambo.

Slaughtered goat for lunch in Holeta. (I have tons more pics from Holeta on my camera but don't have the bandwidth here to upload.)

A lady from the village washing her clothes at the top of the waterfall we climbed to get back to the village

Me and my friend Abraham in Ambo

looking out the balcony of adams room

My carmel frapiccino and lentil sambusas from Kahldi's Coffee.

here are some of his posts on facebook so far...

Done w/ day 1. We arrived. Got settled in. Exchanged currency (16.6 birr to $1!). Got a carmel frapiccino and lentil sambusas @ Kahldi's Coffee (for like $2). Bought a bootleg copy of Tangled for 20 birr (about $1.25). Gave a boy my pair of shoes (he tracked me down as we were leaving and gave me a friendship bracelet, he put it on my wrist through the van window.). Ate dinner. Now bed time. Goodnight everyone! (me this same boy asked me for my shoes when we were there to bring zek home. i didnt give him my shoes and have regretted it. adam "happened" to see him again and he was able to give him his. i cried when adam told me about it. and the boy giving him a bracelet....ahhh....and he remembered Adam...over a year later.) - This same boy has visited Adam at the place where they are staying and brought him another bracelet. Him and his friends are street orphans. breaks my heart...)

Day #2 : just returned from the orphanage where they had more than 30 little ones in diapers! Brought 2 tubs of cloth diapers to donate. They were so gracious and thankful. I showed them how they all worked and they totally got it! The orphanage no longer has to worry about diapers! I will post more on the blog tonight about the whole experience.Also, I forgot to mention that they had just sent 30 of their infants to private orphanages so they could be adopted. So they had close to 60 infants just last week... They were already doubled up in most cribs. I can't imagine what it was like before.

Wow, what an incredible day! The kids in Holeta were amazing... so gracious, so thankful, so happy in life. How inspiring. We played all kinds of games... soccer, football, frisbee, etc... I really wish I could just bring all of the kids home with me. :) We also slaughtered a goat for lunch (which tasted delicious) and capped off the afternoon with a coffee ceremony.

So this is about all I know right now. When I hear more from him I may post more or see if he is able to.

Diapers and other stuff

2011-02-17T17:07:00.001-08:00

Below are some more diapers that we have been able to purchase with monetary donations!!!!! Yay!!!!! Thanks, so much, or all who have donated!!!!

Thanks so much to Celee who donated these cute little diapers!!

Here is what a diaper kit looks like...

Here is what lots and lots of diaper kits look like in tubs going to Ethiopia!!!! 582 + prefolds, 171 covers, 82 Snappis, and 30 + fleece liners!!!!!!! These are currently in Ethiopia getting ready to be distributed by my wonderfully awesome husband!!!!! Thanks to those who made it possible to get 2 extra tubs of diapers checked on as luggage!!!!! This is 200 lbs of diapers!!!!!!! He is going to an orphanage tomorrow that has about 60 babies who wear diapers!!!

Here is my biggest girl....who lost her tooth a couple of nights ago!!!! so cute!!!!

Here are my little loves on Valentines day...

Bottom Blessings - Need donations for extra luggage fees for diapers

2011-02-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

With the cost of extra checked luggage we are only being able to pack one extra tub of diapering kits for Adam to take to Ethiopia. So we have 3 tubs filled up. Each tub contains 20 diaper kits. each kit has 2 covers, 6 prefolds, 1 snappi, and a doubler.

We would LOVE to be able to pack up a 4th tub!!!!!

But we will need your help!!!

It's $150 for extra baggage fees. We really want to get as many diapers over to Ethiopia as possible. Adam will be visiting some very large orphanages and I am just afraid that we wont be able to provide enough. Please help us to raise this money so we can pack up some more. We have the diapers to pack up we just need the funds to take them over.

If you feel led to give to be able to bring these diapers over then you can donate to the right where there is a paypal button. In the message box when you do the paypal just let us know that it is to help with the extra luggage fee.

I continue to get diaper donations and we have been able to place orders for more diapers through monetary donations.

Thank you so very much to everyone that has helped bless this project!!!!!!!

if you have questions email us at knowingnobounds@gmail.com

Bottom Blessings - Another fabulous donation!!!!!

2011-02-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

Here is another fabulous donation that we got yesterday!!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!

Today I started putting kits together for Adams trip. I have already put 72 cloth diapering kits together!!!!! woo hoooooo!!!!

I will take some pictures of those so you all can see. I have more covers coming in the mail soon and other donations. I will be ordering some more stuff for kits because of the wonderful people that have donated to make kits!!!!

You can donate to make a kit for an orphan as well. There is a paypal button on the right side of this blog. If you have any questions please email us.

If you would like to donate any used or new cloth diapering goods email us and I will give you the shipping address.

knowingnobounds@gmail.com

Thanks, again, to everyone that is participating!!!!! not only have I made those 72 kits, but I have also shipped off over 1000 diapers to traveling families!!!!! Isnt that amazing????!!!!!

Make sure you stop on over to our facebook page and "like" us <----click here

My cute kiddos and Emery's eating rice cereal!!

2011-01-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

Emery is doing this new thing now where he looks like he is doing push ups. He gets on his hands and toes. It's too cute!!! He will be crawling really really soon. Where did my little tiny baby go? He's only 6 months old!!!!

We started feeding Emery rice cereal last week. The first night he did really well. Now we are just working on it :)

Mr. Zekie

Sisterly LOVE

Bottom Blessings

2011-01-27T18:30:00.000-08:00

If there are any traveling families going to Ethiopia soon who would like to take some cloth diapers over please let me know. knowingnobounds@gmail.com

also...

I just made a facebook page

"like" us on Facebook !!!!!!!!!!

Bottom Blessings - another donation

2011-01-27T17:51:00.001-08:00

Thank you Clean Green Nappy for the awesome prefold donation!!!!!!

Bottom Blessings - donation pictures

2011-01-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

Here are the diaper donations that have come in so far....

(sorry this is sideways :) )

I couldnt leave out this pictures either. I already posted it, but for those who hadnt seen it....its 1400 pocket diapers!!!

People have asked how many diaper we have gotten...with everything over 2000...isnt that awesome?!?! that includes prefolds, pockets, and covers/wraps

Some donations have come from business addresses so I am unsure of who they came from so I just want to say
THANKS so ALL who have donated!!!!!!!!

You guys seriously ROCK!!!!!!!!!!

and the people who have donated monetarily and bought kits...

You guys seriously ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember you can still donate...email me at knowingnnobounds@gmail.com

prefolds, covers/wraps, doublers, inserts, snappis/pins, pocket diapers, and all in ones. They can be new or used. Also on the right of our blog you can click to donate to Bottom Blessings. Donate any amount or buy a kit!!!

Help us provide diapers to as many babies as possible in Ethiopia!!!!!!

bottom blessings- all about cloth diapers.com

2011-01-26T09:45:00.001-08:00

http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/selling-cloth-diapers-to-help-orphans-in-ethiopia/

I had no clue until a day ago that Autumn from allaboutclothdiapers.com was even doing this. She is selling her used diapers and all of the proceeds goes to buy kits from us for Ethiopia!!!!

Isnt that awesome????

I LOVE how everyone is coming together on this project!!!!!!

Thanks so much Autumn!!!!

bottom blessings- a few links

2011-01-26T07:43:00.000-08:00

A few people have emailed and asked if they could purchase diapers and mail them to me. YES!!! That would be great!!! Here are a few links that you can click on for some stores that I recommend.

http://www.cottonbabies.com/index.php?cPath=51 (these econobum covers are great and this is a really good price- you can also buy econobum prefolds on here as well)

go here for prefolds. they have good prices and really good prefolds...

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/diapers.htm

Also I get alot of our personal cloth diapering goods from Kelly's Closet. If you click on the link on the side of my blog we will get 5% from each purchase made. That means 5% of each persons purchase from clicking on the Kelly's Closet button will go back into buying more diapers for Ethiopia. Kelly's Closet also has codes for free diapers with purchase and also free shipping with purchases $49 or more. Google search for Kelly's closet coupon codes. (the button is on the right side of my blog.)

If you have any questions about these just send me an email. knowingnobounds@gmail.com

You can always find your own stores to purchase from as well. These are just a few that I recommend.

I wanted to also thanks the companies who have so graciously donated!!

Thirsties - I absolutely love Thirsties covers / wraps. These are our favorites for our boys! They donated 50 covers!!!!

Best Bottoms/Nickys diapers - donated 1400 Haute pocket diapers!!! - Best Bottoms covers are great - we recently purchased one and love it!!!

Fuzzinbunz- donated about 300 pocket diapers!!!! - I have one Fuzzinbunz pocket diaper and LOVE IT!!!

Clean Green Nappy - donated 200 prefolds!!!!!!!

Snappi - donated 100 Snappis!!!! - we love these things!!!!!

Thanks so much to these companies who have donated so far!!!!

I will be posting pictures later today/tonight of all of the diapers that we have gotten. :)

Diapers

2011-01-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

We have been getting shipments of diapers everyday!!! It's like Christmas getting a package and opening it to see what kind of diapers are inside!!!

Thanks to every single person who has sent diapers and made monetary donations!!!
It's awesome to see everyone coming together and helping out with the cause.

I have taken pictures of all of the donations as we get them, but I am going to go to bed! I will do a post tomorrow night and post the pictures I have then. This mommy is super tired. I already fell asleep rocking Emery earlier, so I am ready to hit the bed. :)

More tomorrow about the diapers, but I just wanted to thank you all who have been helping out. It's awesome!!!!!

Bottom Blessings - space bags

2011-01-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

We could really get use out of any donations of space bags. click here to see what they are. These will allow us to get the most out of the space we have for Adam to take donations to Ethiopia. He will be taking all of the donations in Rubbermaid tubs, but these space bags would allow for us to pack a lot more.

We will be meeting up with this family soon to pass off some of our pocket diapers and get some prefolds from them. They got an awesome donations of prefolds from a local diaper service. I had contacted this diaper service and they said that they had already donated to someone who is taking them to Ethiopia! I thought that was pretty awesome. Then we got in contact and we will be making a little exchange of diapers and prefolds :)

Bottom Blessings - recieving blankets as pocket diaper inserts

2011-01-19T12:58:00.000-08:00

A really great idea...

Recieving blankets as inserts for our pocket diapers.

Do you have any baby blankets that you no longer use? - flannel ones - like the typical recieving blanket ones like Gerber makes. We can use those as inserts!

Let me know at knowingnobounds@gmail.com if you have any you want to send!

Bottom Blessings - Lots of diapers today!!!

2011-01-18T20:13:00.000-08:00

(don't you love our logo? - thanks to my awesome hubby!!!)

Maggie with our diaper shipment before we opened it

Emery chillin' in the diapers in his cloth diaper.
Aren't cloth diapers just too cute?

The diapers after Adam and I sorted through them

Our big pile of diapers!!!!! Isnt that amazing?
I am still in awe!!!!! Just imagine how many
baby bottoms are going to be blessed by these.

Today we got our shipment of 1400 Haute pocket diaper shells!!!! Can I just say, Wow this is A LOT of diapers!!!! The kids and I dumped all of the boxes out onto our floor and made a mountain of cloth diapers!!! Maggie was diving off of the arm of our couch into the pile. Too fun! Let me tell you ...Actually looking at 1400 pocket diaper shells is a lot more then what I thought it was.

Update on donations:

I have had a several emails about people either donating monetarily or shipping me some items! And I have one lady making diapers for us out of t-shirts!!!!! How cool is that? Thanks so much to you guys!!!

Lets get some inserts for these 1400 diapers!!!!!

I have been contacting diaper services all over the US and some have gotten back with me. I have 3 that are donating some prefolds to us!!!! YIPPPPEEEEE

One of the cloth diapering companies is soooo awesome. The owner has a facebook page and for each time someone hits "like" on her page until February 1st she will donate 1 prefold for our project!!!!! So please swing on over to her facebook page and "like" her!!!!! it is... http://www.facebook.com/cleangreennappy

or you could search on facebook for Clean Green Nappy. Don't you just love the name? too cute! Lets get lots of diapers!!!!!

I also got an email from Fuzzibunz and they are making a donation as well. Not sure exactly what yet, but I know that they are shipping it out soon :)

A little info...

I just wanted to make it clear if you donate monetarily what it will go towards.

(I have a company who sells Kawaii diaper covers. They are selling these to me for 2.50 a piece!!!! That is a deal!!!!! )

So if you donate $20 it will buy a kit that will be enough to diaper one baby.

The kit will include:

• 2 covers (2 because of the great deal I am getting!)
• 5 prefolds
• 1 snappi
• 1 doubler

(a cover and prefolds is what will work best for an orphanage and it is the most cost effective) unless you get 1400 pocket diapers donated!!!! that is pretty cost effective too :)

I am taking donations for any type of cloth diaper. Anything we can send is great! Remember prefolds, microfiber inserts, and covers are our greatest need!!!!!!

Sarah sent me an email and suggested using microfiber kitchen towels for inserts for the pocket diapers we have. What a fantastic idea!!! She said these are around $1 each. Sounds like a good deal to me! So if any of you out there feel led to help and want to go out and get some of these towels and ship them to me that would be awesome!!! of if you want to donate so I can go out and buy these that would be great too!!! Just click on the donate button on the side of our blog.

And we have a winner...

2011-01-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

The winner for our LOVE AFRICA T-shirt giveaway is...

Jenny from http://aheritagefromthelord.blogspot.com/!

Jenny send me an email and let me know what size shirt
and where to ship it to!!!!!!
knowingnobounds@gmail.com

(NOTE: we are all out of XL's, we have held out the last small for you if you want it.)

Congrats Jenny!!!!!!!!!

Bottom Blessing- WE NEED DIAPERS

2011-01-17T18:44:00.000-08:00

God is doing amazing things with this cloth diapering project. A month ago when I was thinking up all of this I never would have imagined it to become what it has and for all of the details to work themselves out! I told Adam before I started that I wanted to get enough diapers to give to 25 babies! I am getting enough diapers to diaper hundreds of babies!!!!! We still NEED your help!!!

There is this blog that I follow from time to time. She and her husband are in Ethiopia right now for their first visit. They were at Hannah's Hope (AGCI's transition home)...This is what she wrote in her post...
"Hannah's Hope needs cloth diapers!!! They are literally rinsing out disposable diapers and hanging them out to dry! Today Addison had one such diaper on. It only had one tab remaining. They had placed a cloth diaper ( the decorative kind like we use as burp cloths) inside of the reused diaper. Of course we had brought them all of those donations, but guess they know that they have to ration them out with over 30 babies in diapers" http://betsyandtheboys.blogspot.com/

WOW! I had no idea that diapers were even in such great need at our agencies transition home! This is where a lot of these diapers that I am getting donated are now going to go!

Think about this...If your child is at Hannah's Hope, is going to be at Hannah's hope, or even if your child is at another orphanage/transition home can you just close your eyes right now and imagine your child in this situation...

I told my husband tonight that if we were there to get Zek and this was the situation I would take him and stay in Ethiopia until the embassy appointment. There is no way that I would want to leave my child where there weren't any clean diapers! The special mothers there are doing the best they can with what they've got, I know. The special mothers are awesome individuals and really take loving care of these babies. The diaper situation just makes me sad.

God placed this diaper ministry on my heart and he is finding donations for me and finding me lots of places to send them!

When I heard I was getting 1400 pocket diaper shells donated amongst all of the other donations that are coming in I had no clue where all of them were going to go. Then Kristi posted about her agency being in need of diapers and now I hear news of Hannah's Hope being in such great need. And the many orphanages Adam will be helping at during his mission trip that are in such great need and the government orphanage that Zek was at before going to Hannah's Hope. We are going to get lots of babies lots of diapers!!!!!

I still have to have your help! I need prefold diapers, flat diapers, or microfiber inserts for these pocket diapers! Please let me know if you have any of these to donate. Even if its a small amount! Anything helps. If you don't have any diapers but want to donate for us to buy some please click donate on my sidebar of my blog. Remember anything helps! WE NEED to get these diapers to these babies in Ethiopia!!!!! If you have covers/wraps we need those too!!!!!

This ministry is going to be ongoing so remember whatever cannot be sent over at this moment will get sent over. There are always lots of families traveling and people going on mission trips so we will always find way to take babies some diapers!

email me if you have any questions or need an address to ship to - knowingnobounds@gmail.com

Lets bless some bottoms!

Bottom Blessings
changing the world one bottom at a time

Love Africa T-shirt Giveaway

2011-01-17T10:35:00.000-08:00

Remember to enter to win your LOVE AFRICA mission trip T-shirt!!!!!!!!

click here to read how to enter...

http://knowingnobounds.blogspot.com/2011/01/love-africa-t-shirt-give-away.html

Giveaway ends tonight!!!!!

Bottom Blessings- Cloth diapers for Ethiopian Orphanages

2011-01-15T21:56:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I have these ideas and dont run with them because I sit and think that little old me cant make a difference. Well I had this little old idea and BAM!!!! Great things are happening!!!! Totally God things!!! This past year I haven't felt many "God things" It's been a rough year where I feel like I was fist to fist with God. I feel like I am getting closer to God lately and giving him my life to take control of rather than me taking the control.

So this cloth diapering things is just really really coming together.

read my last post on the project here

So I started contacting every company I could think of to do this cloth diaper thing I have dreamed up.

I had a company contact me back and said that they had pocket diaper shells that they could donate. I told her we would take as many as possible. She said we needed to be a not for profit. Ok, so I thought we could ask our church if we could use their not for profit tax id. I prayed so hard that they would say yes. Adam works for the church so he called to ask and before he even got to the point of asking she said "do you need to use our tax id number?" "yes" adam said "that is exactly what I was going to ask" So I contact the lady and she said they have 1400 pocket diapers. Wow! That is a lot of diapers!!! she asked how many I want. I said I would take as many as she wants to send. She emails back a tracking number and said she sent all of them to me!!!!

1400 pocket diaper shells!!!!!!
(thank you Best Bottoms diapers/Nickis diapers!!!)
(this was a $12,000 donation!!!!)

Oh wow God this is amazing!!!!!!!!!!

Then a little while later Thirsties contacts me. I had already contacted them previously and they had said that they weren't able to donate at this time. I emailed back and asked if we could get anything "at cost". Someone else from the company emailed back and said they liked what I was doing and said to call him. I did. He said he looked at my blog and it was really compelling and he thought I was really organized and was doing a great thing. He said they have so many people emailing and asking for donations but he really liked what "I" was doing. He said that they are donating...

50 Thirsties Duo wraps!!!!
(thank you Thirsties!)

Also as I said before Sarah is donating 15-17 dozens prefolds and put in a bunch of covers/wraps in the package she sent, as well!!!!! thank you Sarah!!!

This all happened yesterday!!!

Then today I was looking at this blog and read that the orphanage that her son was at is in need of cloth diapers!!!! I contacted her and we plan on being in contact soon to get some details figured out about the diapers!!!

oh and I totally forgot...

we also had...

100 Snappis donated!!!! (thanks Snappi Baby!!!)

this is a snappi

So this is where you readers out there come in play!!!! I NEED to get microfiber inserts for these 1400 pocket diaper shells!!!! The lady said that they will not come with the inserts. and that is ok. I know that God provided these diapers so He will provide the inserts. We could use prefold diapers for these diapers as well. They would fold the diaper into thirds and stuff it in the pocket. I have started contacting companies for donations.

Here is what you can do...

Where it says donate for Bottom Blessings on the right. click there to donate where it says Bottom Blessings Donations.
do you have an inserts you can donate?
do you know anyone who has inserts to donate?
can you sew inserts? I am trying to find patterns...try to google it.
you can donate prefolds too. we can use these to stuff the diaper as well. they can be used ones. even if they are stained.
we are also taking any donations of wraps or covers. I have a company theluvyourbaby.com that has covers for around $5 a piece!!! this is a great deal!!! these are Kawaii diapers.
you can donate $20 to provide a diapering kit for an orphan. there is a button on the side of this blog to donate. just click where it says buy a diapering kit. this kit includes a cover, 5 or more prefolds, a snappi, and a doubler.

So some of you may be wondering what a pocket diaper is...the insert is the piece hanging out of the diaper to the left. I pulled it out so you could see how it goes in.

This is a wrap/cover

This is a prefold

I have felt all along that my little blog isn't going to be big enough and attract enough attention to get any diapers for these babies. I need to think more positively Huh? I need to be more positive about it and realize that God is going to work out the details. We are going to get lots and lots of diapers to put on these babies bottoms. I just know it!!! God is fine tuning the details.

I really want to make this into a long term project. Ongoing. I want to send as many diapers as possible over to Ethiopia!!!! No more using plastic bags as diapers or not having any diaper at all!!! can you imagine your baby using a plastic bag or not wearing a diaper?

I have named my project:

Bottom Blessings
changing the world one bottom at a time

This project really needs YOUR help!!! I know that there are so many mamas out there that have a heart for cloth diapering, a heart for orphans, a heart for children, a heart for Africa. Please let me know how you can help.

I am so excited to see all of Gods plan in this Ministry!!!! So happy that God has placed this on my heart!!!!

So happy that we are going to cloth diaper so many babies bottoms!!!!! Their little behinds will thank you!!!

Let me know how you would like to help out!!! knowingnobounds@gmail.com

update 1-16 - Kawaii diapers is giving us an at cost price for diaper covers (as shown above- the pink one)!!!! and she is donating 20 diapers!!!! yay...keep em coming!!!!!

Love Africa T-shirt Giveaway

2011-01-14T10:56:00.001-08:00

Remember our T-shirt giveaway!!!!

click on the link to see the post and enter to win an awesome Love Africa shirt!!!!!!

http://knowingnobounds.blogspot.com/2011/01/love-africa-t-shirt-give-away.html

cloth diapers for orphanges in Ethiopia

2011-01-13T09:24:00.000-08:00

While in Ethiopia in December of '09 to bring Zek home we visited the government orphanage that he was at before going to our adoption agencies transition home.While there we noticed that the babies there were wearing plastic bags as diapers. Yes plastic bags tied around them. I am not sure what they used as the actual diaper. I am assuming some sort of cloth. I mean really what a great idea that the nannies had and great way to use their resources. The babies were obviously taken care of well, but they obviously didn't have the means to get diapers for these babies.

So fast forward almost a year later November '10 we decided to cloth diaper our boys. This got me to thinking about those babies wearing plastic bags for diapers. Why couldn't we get cloth diapers over to these orphans? They can reuse them over and over again and wouldn't have to rely on continuous donations of disposable diapers. This would be really expensive to get disposables to them over and over again, plus cloth is just better for the environment right? and obviously there are lots of orphanages that dont get any donations of any sort of diaper. (thus using plastic bags or I am sure in some cases no diaper at all!)

Adam is going to Ethiopia in February and visiting orphanages while there. So I thought "why not start this now?" Adam can take over all of the donations that we get to all of the different orphanages that he goes to.

So I started contacting all of the cloth diaper companies I could find. So far 3 have gotten back to me. 2 companies said that they cannot donate at this time (bummer). One company Snappis is donating 100 Snappis!!!!! You ask what are Snappis? These arent your mother or grandmothers diaper pins!! These are awesome little plastic gadgets to get the cloth diaper to stay on. So with them donating 100 of these things I need to get the ball rolling and get some prefolds (traditional cloth diaper) and diaper covers (leak proof covers). I let another adoptive cloth diapering mama know what I was doing and she herself sends diapers over to Ethiopia. She has dozens of prefolds to send to me along with some covers!!! Thank you Sarah!!! I need more prefolds and lots and lots of covers.
Here is a snappi...

So now I am waiting on companies to get back with me. Pray that I hear some good news from some of them and pray that we can get diapers to as many babies as possible.

So we NEED your help!

What can you do?

Do you cloth diaper yourself? If so do you have any prefolds, diaper covers, doublers, or all in one diapers or pocket diapers? we would prefer prefolds and covers, but we will take what we can get! all in ones and pocket diapers would be nice for the baby to wear when the nannies are washing the covers and prefolds.

Do you know someone that cloth diapers? Let them know about my project! See if they have anything they can donate. (items can be used-even if they are stained its ok)

You can buy a kit for an orphan. click on the button on the sidebar of our blog to donate $20 to cloth diaper 1 orphan. this kit will include 1 cover, 5 or more prefolds, a snappi, and a doubler. (a doubler is to use at bedtime so they dont soak through)

You could put together your own kit and send it to us. You would need to include a diaper cover, at least 5 prefolds, and a doubler or fleece liner.

Repost this on your blog and facebook! Get the word out!!!! We want to take as many diapers as we can to Ethiopia! We also want this to be an ongoing thing!

Love Africa T-shirt Giveaway

2011-01-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

Love Africa T-shirt giveaway

We are doing our first ever giveaway!!!! You will win an awesome Love Africa T-shirt designed by my amazing husband, Adam.

You could be the one lucky winner to get a free T-shirt!!!!

We are selling these T's to raise funds for Adam's upcoming mission trip.

Here is what you need to do:

Leave a comment for each thing that you do. You can have up to 4 entries!!!!

1 entry for posting about this giveaway on Facebook -linking people to our blog

1 entry for posting about this giveaway on your blog -linking people to our blog

1 entry if you order a shirt/or Acacia bead necklace (email me to see all of our necklaces $20 plus shipping) (the order for shirt or necklace must be placed during this week - Jan 10 -17th sorry not valid on previous shirt or necklace orders) - you can order a shirt and maybe win one for a loved one :)

1 entry if you become a follower of our blog

This give away will run from today January 10th through January 17th...contest will end at 11:59 EST. We will let you know who the winner is on January 18th!

A few of my favorite things - cloth diapering version

2011-01-06T19:54:00.000-08:00

So I remembered that I wrote a post near the end of November that we had been cloth diapering for for 2 or 3 weeks and I said I would post more info soon. Well we have almost hit the 2 month month and oh do we LOVE cloth diapering!!!!

I wanted to give some of my tips, tricks, and a little product info.

First off you DO NOT have to put a ton of money into cloth diapers. I mean that is why we started cloth diapering. Spending so much on diapers you just throw away and have to keep on buying just wasn't working for our budget. I am a stay at home mom and my husband is employed by our church. His job is amazing, but ya know it is a ministry job. We arent rolling in the dough-(but we are rolling in love) :)

So Adam sold a Star Wars collection that was collecting dust, spiders, and who knows what else in our garage. It bought $150 worth of diapering supplies. It wasnt exactly enough for two babies full time cloth diapering, but we made do. I had to a load of wash every day or two.

Since then we have gotten a few more supplies. A few more prefolds -thanks to Adams mom. and another diaper cover. So still less than $200 for two babies.

A fellow adoptive mommy saw that we were cloth diapering and sent us some more diaper covers and prefolds. Thank God!!! I need some more covers!!! They are in the mail right now and I cant wait to get them!!! Thank you Sarah!!!

So What did we start out with... (remember this is for two babies...you will need less for 1 baby)

6 Green Mountain diapers prefolds (prefolds are your typical cloth diaper) (we have the red trim and they could be used for smaller babies and larger than our boys- so they will last)

1 Econobum cover with 3 Econobum prefolds (covers go over your prefold) (with covers as long as poopy didnt leak out you can wipe it out and reuse it. We usually use one a day unless poopy gets into it)
1 Thirsties cover (cover over prefold)
1 flip diaper cover with 4 inserts (the flip diaper has pad-like inserts. this diaper works pretty well but with runny breastfed baby poop it leaks into the cover, but not out onto his clothes)
3 bumgenius doublers (great for night time, so we dont have leaks)
pack of 6 fleece liners (fleece help keep moisture off the bottom...like if they get a rash or if you want to use it when they may be exposed to moisture for a longer period of time)
pack of flushable liners (cutey baby-DO NOT recommend these. it is easier just to rinse the poopy out) - these liners are just too narrow...i am sure there has to be a liner that is bigger out there
1 Diaper sprayer - We didnt have this the first two weeks...this is a life saver...if you are cloth diapering you NEED to get one. This one from Sigma Product is awesome. you can look on ebay and purchase it for around $20. Don't buy the brand name ones because they cost too much and this one works great! -hooks right onto your toilet
2 Snappis (this is to hold your prefold diaper in place in the place of pins) LOVE

10 Kawaii pocket diapers. (these diapers are a one time use then wash diaper. So easy to put on and off. as fast as putting on a disposable diaper. We really like these and they are super duper inexpensive!!!

then we got...
12 more green mountain prefolds
6 other prefolds. (i think bummis)
1 more thirsties cover

I have been looking into getting a wetbag (liner) for the trash can I use for dirty diapers and I couldnt see spending $20 on a liner. I also wanted a few for the diaper bag. These are waterproof bags that you wash with the load of laundry and they are made with PUL fabric. I decided to go to the fabric store with my 40% off coupon and buy some. I made 2 big bags to line the diaper pail and 2 small bags for the diaper bag for $13!!!!!! Yippeeeee.

Really all we need is more diaper covers and we are set...and those will be coming in the mail soon

I have now been doing cloth diaper laundry every 3 days. We have been washing the covers by hand because we dont have enough to wait to wash them with the other diapers. I want to start doing diaper laundry 2 days a week and no washing by hand between. Thats the goal.

All of these things will take us until the boys are potty trained. So I am thinking 2 more years or more!!! Can you just think of all the money that we are saving?!

but wait there...since cloth diapering we had still been using disposable diaper wipes until a week ago...we took the plunge and started using washable wipes. We bought some cheapy baby washcloths from walmart and I also cut up some old recieving blankets and made wipes from those. I fold each square in half and put them in an empty wipe container. I make wipe solution myself. About a cup of water, 2 squirts of baby wash, and a squirt of baby oil. You just take it and pour it onto the wipes. It is so super easy!!!

this is a Kawaii pocket diaper

this is the Kawaii in the inside. It is lined with fleece and has a pocket for the absorbent insert. we put two inserts in for bedtime and never have leaks

This is the Thirsties cover.

A lot of our diapering stash we bought from Kelly's Closet. They always have coupon codes out there for free diapers or free shipping. Just search for Kelly's Closet coupon codes.

We LOVE cloth diapering so much I just wanted to share a little of what I know. I LOVE saving the money that we were literally throwing away.

If you have cloth diapering questions feel free to leave a comment or email me. Our email is at the right hand side of this blog.

Love my boys

2011-01-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

It gets crazy with the boys being so close in age and with two other little kiddos, but I do love how close Zek and Emery's ages are.  I am so excited for them to grow up together.

Best friends...

look they are holding hands :)

Emery is just starting to sit up...he's doing what I call a baby gorilla pose :)

Promote your blog

2011-01-05T18:42:00.000-08:00

A blog I follow Storing Up Treasures wants to promote your blog...

click on the link to learn more about promoting your blog or read below :)

Read more: Storing Up Treasures

(from her blog post)
"I get a lot of e-mails asking me how to grow blog readership. To be honest, I don't really know the answer to that. I never expected to have the following that I do. But there are blogs that have a lot more people reading than I do.

Since I know there are so many GREAT blogs out there just waiting to be discovered, I thought I would start a little promotion. And it is very simple.

I am going to start a page on my linkbar above called "Blogs of note". There I will list YOUR blogs. Then once a month I will choose a blog from the list to promote that I think is really deserving of some recognition. I will place your button on my sidebar for that month and write a post about why I think your blog is so great.

All you have to do to get on the list is become a follower of this blog if you are not already, then place one of my buttons below on your sidebar OR the Blogs of Note button. Then write a blog post on your own blog about "Blogs of note" directing other bloggers to come on over and get on the list. Last, leave me a comment with your blog address and you will be added.

It is simple and easy and as a result, YOUR blog will gain many new followers!!

And I am really looking forward to getting to know you all better through your writing!"

I feel so blessed...

2011-01-03T20:29:00.000-08:00

So my last post I was talking about the girl holding one of the pad kits that my mother in law, grandmother in law and myself had made. This is the picture. It's so amazing and humbling knowing how much this little kit has blessed a young women. I feel so blessed to have taken part in it...

Its a girl thing update

2010-12-31T10:08:00.001-08:00

I feel so blessed to have taken part in "Its a girl thing" that babe of my heart and titushome headed up. My mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law and myself made kits (i think 6 of them) of washable pads and panties to send to Africa. So Andrea from Babe of My heart did a blog post yesterday about how the kits made there way to Zambia. I was scrolling through and saw a picture of a girl and her kit and it was the kit that i sewed!!!! It's so amazing that I can bless a young women in a way that many of us take for granted. click here to read the post and see the pictures.

from andreas blog - "Here’s the DEALIO if this project is news to you. MOST girls and ladies in Africa do not have the money OR access to sanitary items. SO–during their monthly cycles they often just sit at home. These widows NEED to leave their homes to find work to provide for their children–but they can’t!!! And 60% of young girls drop out of school because they have no way to care for themselves during that time and are too embarrassed to go to school. WELL–thanks to women stepping up to the plate ALL OVER AMERICA–these girls and widows now have washable, organic pads. While I know some of you are saying, WHAT???? Is that sanitary. Well…lemme tell you this. THIS IS more sanitary than what they were using–some times making tampons out of old newspaper. They just didn’t know what else to do!!! Many of the girls and women get infections. Not knowing what the infections are, some women are even outcasted by their husbands if they still have them thinking they have been unfaithful. Some even left or worse–abused because of being falsely accused of something they couldn’t help. (I read an EYE opening article about this…it’s just awful!) AND did you know the drop out rate for girls INCREASES to just 8% (did you hear that?!) when they have these?!?!?!"

also from her blog - "We then headed back to Sinia campus where we were greeted by the ladies who attend Wiphan’s Skills Training program. They had been told about the “It’s a Girl Thing Project” and even though they were also told we would not arrive until 1 pm- most of them arrived at 8 am. I asked Elizabeth why they came so early…. she said, “They were just too excited!”. As we talked about them, gave them instructions for use and for cleaning them… they danced and sang and praised God for his provisions. Humbling to say the least… When’s the last time you praised God for your maxi-pad? BUT to these ladies, these gifts are life-changing. They can leave their homes during that time of their cycle- they can work, go to school, and be kept safe from infection. These are the things we take for granted that we truly rarely think about. Toilet paper, tampons:), soap & running water…
Your sister in Christ, April "

amazing that they were praising God for these things we take for granted...it makes me take a step back and really think about things...and my eyes fill with tears

make sure you head over and read her blog post and look at the pictures :)

Christmas

2010-12-27T20:24:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas was great. On Christmas Eve we hid a pickle ornament given to us by our friends in our tree and had the girls look for it. They found the pickle at the same time :) Whoever finds the pickle gets an extra gift. Well really we just had an extra gift for all of the kiddos. We bought them all new PJ's (Adam went out in search for them Christmas eve afternoon-he came back with awesome ones) The girls were excited for their new pajamas and wanted to put them on right then and there, but we were leaving to go over to spend Christmas Eve with some family. So they brought them with them to put on while we were there :) It was a fun evening with family.

(The Christmas pickle is not really a pickle at all. It is a pickle-shaped ornament that is the last one hung on the tree on Christmas Eve. The first child to find the Christmas pickle gets an extra gift from Saint Nicholas. Or so the so-called legend goes. History of Christmas pickle)

Maggie woke up at 3:30 Christmas morning! She said she couldnt sleep and needed her pillow fluffed. "ok maggie bring me your pillow and i will fluff it" so I did that for her. Then every once in awhile I would hear her run down our hall and back. I think she was coming in to see what time it was. So for the next 3.5 hrs she did that about every 20 minutes. That girly was excited for gifts! I remember being the same way when I was little :) She came in around 7 and we told her we had to wait until Zek and Hazel woke up. (Emery was already awake) So Hazel woke up not too long after that and we had to go in a wake Zek up (he sleeps alot later than the others normally)

The girls were so excited to open gifts. It was fun watching them. Zek loved opening them as well, but didnt fully understand. He got a little tykes slide and LOVED it! It was the most excited we had seen him. I actually had tears in my eyes watching him in his excitement. He likes to go down head first. Its really cute!

Later that morning my mom, brother, sisters (and sisters boyfriend, and nephew came to celebrate at our house. We had brunch and opened gifts. I made reindeer pancakes for the kids. It was a lot of fun having them all over.

That afternoon we went down to Adams families and celebrated with them. Everyone had a great time!

Overall this Christmas was excellent! Last year was really rough. Lots of adjustments last year with bringing Zek home and me having terrible morning sickness.

We hope everyone else had an awesome Christmas!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T19:35:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

From Our Family to Yours

awesome gift card give a way!!!!!

2010-12-22T14:21:00.000-08:00

click HERE to enter to win a $100 giftcard!!!!

2010-12-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

Little Ephrem

Ephrem from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

“What first drew me to this little boy was his sweet round face. Obviously, he has suffered a great deal from malnutrition. When we visited the school he and the rest of the children were so focused on their meal. It’s amazing to see how Lifesong was changing their lives. After lunch, I found myself surrounded by children playing a name game. He reached out and kissed my hand. My heart melted... I think of him daily.”

Jenny Anderson, Orphan Advocate

Sometimes it can be hard to imagine the hardships that go on around the world. We sit in our comfortable homes, with pantries full of necessities, and it seems strange that most of the world doesn’t have a pantry, let alone food to fill it. But for millions of children in Africa this is their reality. Hunger is a part of their daily lives. Then add the fact that many of these children are also orphaned, either by death or abandonment… it’s almost more than we can bear. It’s hard to go there mentally and we protect our hearts by pretending it doesn’t exist. But it does. Children are suffering.

Little Ephrem is one of those children. Born in Ethiopia, his father is now dead and his mother disappeared years ago. He was taken into his grandmother’s care, but she has struggled to provide for him. At 4 years old, Ephrem is extremely small for his age, and most likely suffers from a type of growth disorder, though the lack of specialized medical care keeps us from knowing for sure. And since he has been malnourished most of his life, it is no wonder his health is affected.
Praise the Lord, Ephrem is now enrolled in Lifesong’s Adami Tulu Nursery School, where he is getting two meals a day and seems to be flourishing under the care of his teachers. His sweet demeanor and precious smile easily capture your heart.

Bring joy and purpose this Christmas season to children like Ephrem around the world!

*Want to use your blog to advocate for the fatherless? Click here to learn more.

...which transcends all understanding

2010-12-20T20:15:00.001-08:00

Hello! This is Adam. Christie generally writes our posts but I figured I'd give her a break with this one.

In February 2011 (just a few months away) I will be traveling to Ethiopia with the organization Visiting Orphans on a mission trip to help care for orphans and underprivileged children in the area. And by underprivileged I don't mean food stamps and 40 cent reduced-lunches. These are children often solely with the clothes on their back, children that thankful and joyous that they have covering... regardless of how tattered, stained and odorous. Children that would give anything for shoes or a consistent meal or a stable roof over their heads. These are children that struggle daily and by early grade school age are their family's primary source of income... if they even have a family.

So, how did the whole mission trip come about? Well, the past 12 months have been quite the whirlwind for Christie and I and our family. After returning from Ethiopia last December, times were difficult as we struggled to adjust to our new “normal” … not only from the shock factor of bringing a new baby into our home, but the sights we'd seen were unlike anything we'd ever witnessed. Honestly, it didn't hit us at first... it probably took 3-6 months to process everything. And now the thought hits us like a ton of bricks daily… “what can I do?” or “what can we do?” We have life so easy… our family has no worries about food, shelter, transportation… or to an even greater extent clean water, shoes on our feet and the knowledge of our savior, Jesus Christ, the one that loves, accepts, forgives and saves.

I’ve been blessed with a kick in the rear to travel back to Ethiopia on a 10-day mission trip this coming February. And no, this isn’t going to be a mini-vacation. I’m leaving my family at home… not because I want to, but because this is God’s calling right now in my life. That is where I need to be for that 10-day stretch. A stretch that will help continue to shape me into the wholehearted, fully-engaged believer I long to be.

Of course, with any happening of this magnitude, a ton of support is needed. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have reservations and second thoughts about this trip...daily. But then I think and reflect on this passage...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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. -- Phillipians 4:6-7

Knowing that the "peace of God, which transcends all understanding" is my guard and is protecting me from the attacks of Satan lifts a large burden off my heart. I don't have to know how or why, or think "what if..." I just have to believe and trust God to take care of me.

As I embark on this journey I need your support. Prayer comes first and foremost. This is a huge step in faith for our family. One parent, four kids, 10 days... those are difficult odds for Christie and her peace and patience is concern #1 for me. Another point of needed prayer is my safety, we will be doing a lot of traveling and visiting a lot of places and there is that possibility of sickness. Also, please pray that God will teach me more about Himself and that our team will be able to communicate God's love to all that the children that we meet.

These are children that need our prayers, our love, our time and our touch. They need to know that they are valued and that they matter to us and to God... these children need to know that they are important.

In addition to your prayers, I ask that you consider supporting me financially. The cost for my mission trip will be around $3,000. That figure includes all my travel, lodging, food and even a donation to the orphanages we will be helping.

Currently, you are able to help support me financially in one of three ways...

T-Shirts ($15 or $18.50): I designed t-shirts specifically for this mission trip (see picture @ top right of blog). They are one of a kind and are probably limited to this initial run of 100. If you live in or around Indy you can pay in cash or check and pick up a shirt for $15. If you need it shipped you can pay online for $16 ($1 extra to cover PayPal fees) + $2.50 shipping, for a total of $18.50 ea. They just came in today and look/feel awesome. I love mine! More info on the shirts is available in the top right corner of the blog. At least $9 from each shirt sale will go to support my mission trip.
Acacia Bead Necklaces ($20): These one-of-a-kind necklaces are handmade by widows in Uganda. The necklaces are awesome, the girls (Maggie and Hazel) both emptied their piggy banks because they wanted to each buy one (they were a little short, so we had to make up the difference). :) The beads are made out rolled magazine, they are beautiful and fascinating... I stare at them and wonder... how did they do that? I have a variety of colors available (pictures of all available necklaces will be posted on Facebook soon!). I have a few necklaces with super large beads and those necklaces are slightly more expensive at $35 each. $8 from each necklace sale goes to support my mission trip, the remaining balance is split between the Ugandan Widows that actually make the necklaces and Visiting Orphans so they can continue their ministry.
Donate ($1 and up): Or if necklaces and t-shirts aren't your forte you can always donate the old-fashioned way. You can drop off or mail checks. Or you can donate online via PayPal! The link is just below the T-Shirt link up in the upper right corner of the screen. Include your shirt size with any donation of $20 and up and I'll send you a T-shirt! All these monies (minus cost of shirt for donations above $20) will go to support my trip.

Over the next several weeks I will be profiling different places we will visit and things we will be doing while in Ethiopia.

God Bless and Merry Christmas!

check out this shirt

2010-12-18T12:30:00.000-08:00

http://networkedblogs.com/bZJmf

I absolutely LOVE this shirt and she is giving one away!!!!! and will be buying one unless I just happen to win 1!!!

We met our sweet little guy one year ago today...

2010-12-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

December 13th, 2009:
Meeting our Zek for the first time

It's so crazy that a year ago we got to take a walk to Hannah's Hope to meet our 3-month old baby boy. (He had just turned 3 months old the day before.)

We had thought and prayed about him for so long and now it was our turn to meet our son. We saw so many families travel before us to bring home their babies and wondered when our turn would be. It is just so crazy now that it has been a whole year since we have had him our arms. He was such a tiny little guy cradled in our arms. Now he is an oh so active toddler running around and jumping off of things. He is quite the little dare devil.

We have come a long way this year. Lots of happenings in our lives that we are so grateful for. So thankful for. Sometimes we felt so overwhelmed with everything that was happening. It's crazy to feel so blessed and so overwhelmed at the same time. I am not saying we are anywhere near having it together because we are so far from it, but we are definitely adjusting well. -most days :)

Zek is adjusting well. He had a rough time having a new baby brother after only 6 months being home, but he loves his baby brother so much. They are going to be so close we can already tell.

Today we celebrated by watching Zeks Gotcha Day video that we had put together before his birthday this year. We made a cake. We went out for Ethiopian for dinner. We ate cake and sang "Happy Gotcha Day to You" and Zek opened his gift. We bought him a book called When God Found Us You. It's an adorable book and I recommend it for any adoptive family.

We all had a great day today! It's been fun looking back and thinking about all that we did today one year ago. Before we met Zek we went out shopping. We got a taxi with 2 other couples. So 1 taxi 3 couples and a driver. If you have been to Ethiopia you know how tiny those taxis are. It was hilarious. Adam and I squished in the front seat and 4 people squished in the back. We tried to get a taxi to take us all back but they told us that it was illegal to put all of us in one car :) On our way back the driver didn't know where our hotel was. Well neither did any of us...We were getting ready to meet our kids in an hour and nobody knew where to go. Finally they found someone that knew where the hotel was. Yay! We got back ate lunch and met with Almaz (the director) We filled out paperwork and all walked to Hannah's Hope. It was awesome taking that walk that we had seen (in pictures) other families take. It was surreal. Meeting our little Adam was surreal.

We love you Zekie and we are so blessed to have you in our lives and are so thankful that God found us you.

Zek reading his book

Daddy blowing out the candle.
Yep, it's pink...that's how we roll (with 2 older sisters)

"Mommy, why are you making me pretend to be eating this food?" - Hazel

"Mommy, I will pretend to eat this
but I want to try their pizza if we move to Ethiopia" - Maggie

Zek enjoyed the food tonight. Previously he wasn't so sure.

Mommy and Emery (he's sticking his tongue out)

Our Ethiopian flag cake that mommy made

One year ago today...

2010-12-11T06:29:00.000-08:00

Us at the airport early in the morning...

Our bags before we left.

One year ago today Adam's dad picked us up and we left super early in the morning to head to the airport and make our way to Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

It's crazy to think at this time last year we were sitting in the airport in DC waiting to board our Ethiopian Airlines plane and head to our son.

I have done alot of reflecting this week. I always reflect about our trip but this week just more than normal.

So much was happening at once and it was so hard to process. I have to admit I am glad it isn't this time last year :) I was 10 weeks pregnant with Emery and we were headed to bring home our 3 month old baby boy. Wow, so much to process. It was hard to get excited about the trip as I was feeling terrible. When I am pregnant I have horrible morning sickness.

In DC we met up with other families that were in our travel group. Some of them were families that I had been following their blogs. It's interesting meeting people that you had been following along with. We sat for awhile waiting for our plane. I had a peppermint mocha from Starbucks. yum...Adam didn't get anything because we didn't want to run out of money...(read 2 paragraphs down)

While waiting at the DC airport we get a call from Adams mom saying that Hazel had thrown up. Great! My 2 year old daughter that I had never left (except for one overnight stay at a hotel in our same city) was sick and I was getting ready to be 8,000 miles away! All I could do was pray for her. I knew she would be taken care of, but she needed her mommy.

Also waiting at the airport we discovered neither of us brought our debit/credit card. We had lots of cash, but what if we ran out????? Luckily that did not happen! :)

It was such an exciting time with mixed emotions. Leaving our 5 and 2 year old daughters was tough. Being on a plane for lots and lots of hours feeling like I was going to throw up was not fun either! Luckily it only happened once. God really had His hand in this trip because I felt better in Ethiopia than I did at home. It may have been the adrenaline, but really it was, I am sure, God.

I cried when I left the girls that morning. They were sleeping. I am so glad that we had to leave so early. It would've been too hard leaving them when they were awake. I cried on the way to the airport, I cried when our plane took off, I cried when our plane took off from DC, I cried as we were landing in Addis. and I cried when we got into the van headed to our hotel. Yes, I did alot of crying that first day. I guess being pregnant and hormonal didn't help! :)

This past year had been crazy. So many adjustments for us in so little time. It's gone so fast and I am so grateful that it did. Now time can slow down again :)

I will post more reflecting on our trip on Zek's gotcha day December 13th. WE are having a little party just with our family and going out to eat Ethiopian.

Here's the post from one year ago yesterday... http://knowingnobounds.blogspot.com/2009/12/leaving-tomorrow-morning-for-ethiopia.html

flying to DC sunrise and the moon

Our departure time

Our plane

Here's our Card we chose...

2010-12-08T19:16:00.000-08:00

We received 50 free cards and only had to pay for shipping!!!
Totally worth blogging about!!! Thanks Shutterfly!!!!

Christmas Cards Made Easy.

2010-12-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

Ahh... Christmas. A time of glorious celebration and infinite stress...when the hours of our day seem to grow less and less with each passing. Not to mention that having 4 kids doesn't really slow things down either. :)

As our family and friends can probably attest, we haven't sent Christmas cards in a while... it's not that we don't want to, it's just that we never have enough hours in the season. And with Adam working at a church, well, this isn't exactly a slow season.

But, this year will be different. We've had enough change over the past year to more than warrant the annual Christmas update from our clan. Many of our far reaching friends and relatives have never had the pleasure of meeting our little guys Zek and Emery.

So, what are we going to do? Well, after a little searching we stumbled upon Shutterfly.com's Christmas Card selection. We've ordered multiple photobooks from Shutterfly before so we know the high standard of quality in the product. And, with these particular Christmas Cards you can actually drop your family photos in... which is perfect for us. We don't have to include the wallet pics of the kids or the family because they're all right there on the card. It's a nice little keepsake that friends and family can hold on to for seasons to come.

And the best part? It's FREE! Well, sort of... Shutterfly is running a promotion right now for bloggers, woo hoo!!! Check it out here: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

So, which card will it be?

"It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
5x7 folded card.

We really like the clean feel and the fact that there are four small pictures surrounding a single larger picture is perfect. All four kids have their own spot along the sides and we can put our family picture in the middle. Plus, we are able to craft our own special message and more pictures to go on the inside of the card. It's perfect for us!

So, if you are in a pickle and still want beautiful, personalized cards you should check it out!

Here is a link to Shutterfly's Christmas Cards and a couple other neat things they offer:

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Smarty Ants giveaway

2010-12-06T16:49:00.000-08:00

Click this picture to check out an awesome giveaway!!! They are giving away a ONE YEAR free membership to SmartyAnts, along with the interactive Reading Pup AND a $100 Visa gift card!!!!!

Watch this amazing video...

2010-12-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

I just watched this video and wow it is really powerful...

lets get educated about HIV

2010-12-01T15:11:00.000-08:00

Today is World AIDS Day. Would you take a few minutes and learn something about this virus and the stigma around it? Watch this great video!!!!

Did you catch the part about kids on ARV medication will live a NORMAL LIFE SPAN?? NORMAL! i had no clue!!!!

“You cannot contract HIV from casual contact. HIV is not found in tears, sweat, snot, feces and urine. You don’t have to fear catching HIV through day-to-day activities with people who are HIV+. You are free to share plates, cups, utensils, food, drinks, toilets, towels, linens and other household items without risk of transmission. HIV cannot be spread by shaking hands, hugging and kissing infected individuals.” -Project Hopeful

meet baby Judah

2010-12-01T12:53:00.000-08:00

Please visit this blog to read more about baby Judah who lives in Korah (in Ethiopia). Please be praying for this sweet little guy...

I will be your listening ear God...

2010-11-30T17:32:00.000-08:00

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."

2 Timothy 2:20-21

I was reading/scanning my bible today and came across these verses.

I think God was speaking directly to me...

God wants to use me and I want him to use me, but I first need to clean house of things that are ignoble to God...

I am listening God...

ig·no·ble Adjective /igˈnōbəl/

Synonyms:

adjective: base, mean, low, vile, scurvy, low-down, villainous, sordid, ignominious, dishonorable, dishonourable

ignobler comparative; ignoblest superlative

Not honorable in character or purpose

I want to honor God...I want to listen to God

meet another Christie

2010-11-30T16:49:00.000-08:00

These words were taken from this blog...

http://jmjordan23.blogspot.com/2010/11/meet-christie.html

she says exactly what I would want to say and it was just easier to copy and paste her words :)

Meet Christie

I would like to introduce you to my new friend Christie from COMPASS IN MY HEART. She took a trip to Uganda, fell in love with a village where they still practice witchcraft, and came back here to the US determined to make a difference for them. She has helped get the village people clean water, helped build a new school so that 100 more children can attend school than were able to before, took on the task of finding sponsors for the 120 children who were already enrolled in school who had their sponsorships pulled this year (plus the 100 NEW students the school will have), and did I mention she has given up everything here in the United States to MOVE to that village in Uganda? In fact...she leaves TOMORROW! I am giddy with excitement for her....it's not an easy path to follow and go to the hard places for Christ. But she is doing it. And we can help her. AND we can help the 103 children that still need sponsored for the school year that starts sometime after the first of the year.
First off....go to her blog and spend a few minutes reading. Get to hear her heart yourself. Other ways you can help is with her jewelry. She is selling Ugandan bead jewelry as fundraising for the village. Currently she is giving some away for FREE!!! Definitely go learn how you can do that. The next thing you can do is sponsor a child for the school.

Sponsorship is only $100 for the whole year. That will give the child education, school supplies, uniforms, new shoes, medical and dental care (for the first time ever for most of them) a chance to hear the gospel and how much Christ loves them, and best of all that child will get HOPE

HOPE that they can do something with an education to hopefully help impact the poverty they live in.
HOPE that they can change the country and world they live in.
HOPE for an amazing future.

Don't have $100 to spare? Do you and 9 others of your friends have just $10 each? How about at work? Think you can get enough co-workers on board for $5-$10 each to sponsor a child? Make this Christmas count. Invest in a life instead of investing in something that you will need to keep buying batteries for every month or two....or something that will end up in a closet never to be looked at again....or something that will just end up being re-gifted because the recipient never really wanted it in the first place......

contest

2010-11-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

Check out this give a way that this amazing lady is doing!!!! She leaves for Uganda in two days to live!!!! click on the picture of the necklaces to see the contest.

I like big butts and I cannot lie

2010-11-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

(the boys in their big fluffy cloth diapered bottoms)

With two babies 9 months apart we were spending a ton on diapers each month. We usually were buying the diapers that were the best value, but pretty good quality and were spending over $80 a month on diapers! We are trying to figure out some ways to save some money so I started researching cloth diapering. I was a little skeptical at first because really who wants to wash poopy out of two babies diapers all day?

So after lots of hours of "researching" and talking about it with Adam he was all for it. So we dove in. At first the cloth diapering lingo was really confusing, but I soon learned what everything was. We bought a few different brands/types of diapers to figure out what we like best. Right now we have enough diapers to full time cloth diaper one baby but we are cloth diapering two with what we have. I am doing a load of cloth diaper laundry everyday. So we will need to purchase a bit more. We are hoping grandparents will purchase some as Christmas gifts for the boys.

So we have been cloth diapering now for two weeks and LOVE it! We are still in the learning phase right now, but I want to share some tips we have learned and give some insight on what types and brands of diapers we use and how well they work. As we try new things we will let you know how they work.

We were going through at least 10-14 diapers a day previous to cloth diapering. It feels so good to not be throwing money away and doing our part being a little greener and the cloth is so much better for their little booties:) Truthfully at first it was just saving money, but now I realize how many diapers we were using and it was just crazy.

So in my future posts I will do a little Cloth Diapering 101 :) So come along with me as we learn this cloth diapering thing together...

contest

2010-11-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

http://busybudgetmom.blogspot.com/2010/11/black-friday-giveaway.html

check out this give a way...

some new pictures

2010-11-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

Emery tends to be the subject of most of my pictures lately because right now he is the only one that will stay still long enough :)

Stop the Nakedness

2010-11-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

http://stopthenakedness.com/

I came across this organization and its pretty awesome! Click on the link above to read about the company...

Puttin up the Christmas tree

2010-11-26T20:26:00.000-08:00

I just want to go to bed people!

This year we decided to give away our old artificial Christmas tree and start a new tradition and get live trees every year. So we all went and picked out a tree. Really Daddy and Maggie picked out the tree while the 3 little ones and myself stayed inside the warm store and ate some free popcorn they were giving out. They strapped the tree to our car and we brought it home. Adam was afraid the tree was going to fall off because the young kid at the store didnt get it on all that tight. But we arrived home with the tree still on the roof. It had slid around though.

Maggie and Hazel were so excited. It took a little while to get the tree straight, but other than that it was great. The girls had fun putting the ornaments on. Zek didnt stay up for the festivities because he was super tired as it was an hour past bedtime. So we will see what tomorrow morning will bring with a 14 month old little boy and a bright and shiny Christmas tree! Hazel kept on singing "We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy day" tonight. it was too cute!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T20:11:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving. Woke up and got ready for our day and did our 4th annual gingerbread making. We went out to my Grandpa and Grandmas house for several hours and then went out to Adams moms. It was a great time chatting with family all day. This was the best family picture we could get. It was the end of the day so who could blame the kids for not cooperating? :)

Hazel took some pictures of Zek...Isnt his hair great?

I thought this was a cute one that she took of him.

The kiddos

Emery (aka Mr. Smiley)

Hazel and Emery chillin out watching My little Pony

Mr. Zekie

Maggie

Hazel

Gingerbread house making

drowning

2010-11-23T20:46:00.000-08:00

Often times lately I have felt I have been drowning. Drowning in the overwhelming feelings of life. The craziness of my days. It's hard to keep up.

I fall short of what God wants me to be. God has great plans for me. I just know it. I feel the presence of Satan weighing me down and knowing every little pressure point. I feel like alot of days every single one of my weaknesses is tested and I fail. I fail to do what God wants me to do. I try to be who the world wants me to be... and I cannot keep up!

I need to step up and call out "I want to be what you want me to be God" "I will be who You want me to be" " I will do what You want me to do"

No more feelings of drowning. Lord lift me up out of these roaring waters. Calm my seas. Help me to be the follower you want me to be. Help me to be the wife you want me to be. The mother you want me to be. Comfort me, give me strength (and courage and everything else I need to live this life that You have so abundantly blessed me with).

God's teaching me though all of my circumstances and I am ready to learn. Ready to listen to his calm still voice.

Sponsor a child in Uganda for $100 a year

2010-11-15T20:41:00.000-08:00

Sponsor a child the Bugabo Village in Uganda this Christmas!

Think about how much YOU can change a kids life for only $100 a year!

yes only $100 for an entire year to provide tuition, uniform, shoes, school supplies, a meal during school, and medical/dental visit.

how cool is that?!?!?

We are called to look after orphan and widows in their distress...

lets all step up and make a difference!

Here is the blog of this amazing woman changing her life to change lifes of many kiddos...

http://compassinmyheart.blogspot.com/

Lets spread the word. She leaves in two weeks for Uganda! Lets get ALL of these kids sponsored before she leaves!!!!!!! Once she is there she will post pics of the kids and you can choose which one or ones you want to sponsor.

Please post about this on your blog or your facebook page!!!!!

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

2010-11-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

I wrote this a couple of weeks ago on notebook paper. I have so much going on in my heart and in my life I need somewhere to put how I am feeling. Putting myself out there and being transparent is something that I don't like to do and am scared of doing. I feel I am not good with words and what I write usually wouldn't make much sense to anyone else. So trying to write about how I am feeling and letting others know how I am really feeling is hard for me. But, here is what I wrote...

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

I heard this question on the radio this morning. It seems like listening to Christian radio is or happens to be my quiet time in the morning car ride back home from dropping off Maggie at her at school days. She goes only two days a week, but I seem to get a lot from God on those mornings (unless someone is crying in the back of the van!) So I know I need an actual quiet time to pray and read my bible and I am going to. I am working on that. Having 4 kids 6 and under is hard stuff. Especially having the youngest 3, 3 years old, 13 months old and 3 months old. It wears me out!

So to the question I heard...What would you do if you weren't afraid? or better yet...What would I do if I wasn't afraid?

That question rocked me...

Lately I have felt lots of tugging on my heart...

I will be the first to admit...I have been terrible this past year with my relationship with God and going to Him with the things on my mind. He should be the first I go to when things are crazy or when I do feel His tugging and His great plans for me. I need His guidance. I have been trying to figure out just on my own what difference I am suppose to make in this world. I know there's something BIG for me to do. I feel this because I know when He has big plans I get attacked spiritually. I NEED to go to Him with my requests, my needs, my wants, my hopes, my dreams, my everything. I need you Jesus, come to my rescue.

Obviously Ethiopia lays heavy on my heart. Adam and I both have a love for it and its people. Are we supposed to pick up and move there and help? I don't know. Do I feel like we should? Yes a lot of the time I do. But then doubt seeps in. Have a gone before God about it? rarely. I do feel like He has placed this on ours hearts. He doesn't place moving your family 8000 miles away on the hearts of everyone. Some would call me Crazy! He has placed it on Adams heart as well...

So we give to our church, we give to mocha club, sponsor a child through World Vision, sponsor a child in Korah, we are doing Operation Christmas child, we give to World vision to fight hunger, I give change to the guy on the corner...These things are awesome, but its not stepping out of my comfort zone. I am not afraid of them.

When I think about these things that bother me that I want to help do something about (orphan crisis, hunger, HIV/AIDS, lack of clean water, etc... in the back of my mind I hear "you can do these things later, you need to focus on being a mom, Focus on your kids." Cant I focus on them and focus on making a difference?

So the question...What would I do if I wasn't afraid? I never really thought it was fear getting in the way. I thought it was life, my crazy busy life. Also not having enough money to help, or not having good ideas, or someone else is probably already doing it, or you are afraid of talking to people, you don't like being the center of attention, the list could go on...It all boils down to fear. I could make a 1000 excuses to not act on my dreams.

This past year has been hard. Bonding with Zek has been harder on me than expected. he screams a lot and is very sensitive. i love him so much, its just hard sometimes. I never expected to have 2 babies 9 1/2 months apart. that is hard. Hazel has had a hard time transitioning to her roll as being a big sister 2 times in 7 months. With her having a hard time its been hard om me as well.

Society and the people around me tell me "its exhausting having 4 little kids", "are you crazy?", "it must be so hard", "you must be exhausted", "how do you home school?", "you have your hands full". "how do you do it?" I am frankly fed up with the comments that people make. I think its made me really think that this life must just be so hard because I have these 4 little ones to take care of. They are a blessing to me. Yes they keep me on my toes, but I love them and they are not a burden that some people may think they are. My kids are a blessing.

Transitioning to Adams job at our church has been difficult. Ministry jobs take their toll on you. Life has taken a toll on me.

I am ready to give it to God. I am done trying to figure this life out all on my own. i am taking the first step against my fears and taking it all to God and letting Him let me know what He wants from me.

So while I was writing this stuff down a few weeks ago I heard..."you (God) use the weak to lead the strong" I know He will use me. I just have to step out there. So I, Christie, am taking the first steps in making myself a whole hearted follower of God instead of a half hearted follower.

God really placed Africa on our hearts even before we started our adoption. We actually thought about missions in Africa someday (as crazy as it seemed then and still seems now). We set that aside then God really laid adoption on our hearts. We went through the adoption scared. So I really do know whats its like doing things I am afraid of doing. I know what its like living my life for God and going to Him. I have been there. But I have let it go to the back burner, trying to figure things out for myself.

God has placed lots of dreams on my heart. I just have to wait for His answers and guidance and His timing. Are we supposed to adopt again someday?, are we supposed to work in the missions field?, are we supposed to do something here in our own city to make a difference?...we will see :)

So here I start. I am going to go to Him for everything, I am going to read His word.. and I am going to serve for Him. Maggie and I are going to start volunteering weekly at our outreach house at church. It is open several times a week and people can come in and receive food from the pantry and other items.

Something else that has been hard on us is our finances. We have debt and we need to get rid of it. So we have taken a step this month and for the whole month of November we are on a spending freeze. We can only get groceries, any toiletries we may need, and gas. Its not like we are big spenders or anything we just need to get ourselves on track. So far so good and we are 5 days into it :) I am learning that instead of sweeping my "crap" (sorry for the language) under my rug and letting it all pile up under it. I need to clean it up immediately. I keep ignoring the things that are going wrong in my life and sweeping it under the rug trying to hide it, but it starts to seep out again...I try to sweep it back under but the more and more I sweep under the more and more it seeps out. If I take my "crap" to God then He will help me clean it up. I know this is long and if you have read it this far...thanks for reading...sorry if it doesn't make much sense :)

I am currently reading this...

operation christmas child

2010-11-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

So I have heard of it before, but had never looked into it until recently...Operation Christmas Child. You can fill a box with age appropriate gifts for the age range of child you choose. You can look for a drop off place in your area (you can search on their website) or mail it in. Theres a $7 donation that you pay to cover shipping. If you donate online you can track your box and find out its destination! I think thats awesome!

I think this is a very inexpensive way to show Gods love to a child in need this Christmas season. You can do as many boxes as you can.

So who wants to join our family this Christmas and give a little LOVE away?

you can visit their website by clicking on the gifts at the top of this post :)

(drop off dates are Nov 15th-22nd)

Celebrating Adoption - photographers

2010-11-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled on this website. If you have adopted your child within the last 12 months you can get a free photography session and free proofs. How cool is that?

You can go to their website and find a photographer in your area that participates.

http://www.celebratingadoption.org/#

trick or treating

2010-11-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

Little baby chicken

Hazel and cousin Ashton dressed as Dora and Diego (arent they cute?)

So when you have 4 kids 6 and under this is what kind of picture you get

Emery hated his costume at first

the girlies

Dora

Hannah Montana

Big Baby chicken

We did some trick or treating on a few streets in our neighborhood. It was pretty cold out, but the kids had a great time. They were so excited to get so much candy. Emery fell asleep half way through and Zek chewed on a candy wrapper so all was good. Mommy keeps on sneaking some candy...I just cant resist

Lots of Fall 2010 pictures

2010-10-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

taking a break

2010-10-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like I get too caught up in reading peoples blogs, checking my email, checking my facebook, etc...

As of tonight, I am taking a week break from anything computer.

I think I may have withdrawals :) ...I sometimes just get the urge to get on the computer and look. I think sometimes it gets in the way of things that I should be focusing on.

So that is why I have to be disciplined and take this break.

Be back on the 26th!

crazy give away

2010-10-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

You should check out this give away if you havent yet...buy a shirt and be entered in a drawing for a FREE mission trip to Ethiopia!!!!!!

As of last night Adam is going on this mission trip to Ethiopia...maybe he will win a free trip....who knows. someone will...will it be you!?!?

Information

Prize: Mission Trip to Ethiopia, February 17-26, 2011
Prize value: $3100
Number of winners: 1-2
Number of Tee shirts to sell: 183 + 183
Ending date of the giveaway: 10/28/10
Where it can be won: My Crazy Adoption Blog
The prize is from: www.mycrazyadoption.com
To enter this giveaway, you can: purchase a tee shirt at My Crazy Adoption Store

I (heart) these

2010-10-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.toms.com/charitywater

cuteness

2010-10-13T10:58:00.001-07:00

my emery

Apples - One reason I LOVE fall

2010-10-13T10:48:00.001-07:00

Before I post about the Apple orchard I would just like to say....I love this man!!!! He is so awesomely amazing!!!!!!

So the weather has been less than fall like this past week but the previous week it felt very fallish...I know I am behind on posting because this was two weeks ago...We went to a local orchard where you can pick apples and the kids had a blast. We discovered that Zek loves apples. We all had such a wonderful day...we wish every day could be such fun :)

Our little Hazel-nut...isnt she too cute?

so maybe i am crazy obsessed with give a ways

2010-10-12T18:21:00.001-07:00

I have come across several contests lately. I havent really ever won anything so I am giving it a shot. Check out this give a way...

http://starkeyfamilythree.blogspot.com/

I hope to do some new posts soon...things have been crazy busy....

check out this crazy contest

2010-10-11T04:49:00.000-07:00

You can order a simply love shirt and it will enter you in to win a mission trip to Ethiopia. How cool is that?!?!?!

http://mycrazyadoption.org/round-2-i-want-to-give-2-trips-away-to-ethiopia

another giveaway...

2010-10-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

Here is another giveaway worth looking at for those adoptive families :)

http://www.onethankfulmom.com/adoption/aint-no-mountain-high-enough/

One year ago today...

2010-10-07T16:32:00.001-07:00

One year ago today we got a phone call that would change our lives forever. We got our referral for a 3 week old 6 lb baby boy named Adam. We got to see his beautiful little face for the first time and were instantly in love.

Here is the post for that day...http://knowingnobounds.blogspot.com/2009/10/we-got.html
You can click here to read about our call...http://knowingnobounds.blogspot.com/2009/10/our-call.html

It is crazy that is has been a year already! We are so blessed to be Zeks parents and so happy that he was brought into our lives. It is also crazy how much was going on this time last year. Started with our referral, then Zek was in the hospital in Ethiopia, then I found out I was pregnant, then we didnt think the pregnancy was good, then Adam started his new job with our church, then we passed court, then we found out that we really were having a good pregnancy, then I quit my part time job as nursery coordinator with our church, then we traveled to Ethiopia right before Christmas. (so all of that happened in a span of a little over two months!!!) crazy...wow...

and then 9 months to the day after Zeks referral we had Emery...

and if you havent watched our "gotcha day video" here it is...

Check out this contest

2010-09-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

Check out this contest to win an Ergo carrier.

http://www.heavenlyhold.com/pages/contest.htm

Today one year ago...

2010-09-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

(picture of Zek the same day that he arrived at Hannah's Hope)

One year ago today a 6 lb., 13 day old beautiful baby boy named Adam was brought from a government orphanage in Addis Ababa Ethiopia to Hannahs Hope, AGCI's orphanage and transitional home. In his short 13 days of life he had 3 different homes. He was with his birthmother his first week of life, the government orphanage his 2nd week of life and his 3rd week would start off in an all new place with all new caregivers. I can't imagine what goes on in a baby's mind when so many changes are happening so fast.

Across the world we were sitting unofficially at #2 just imagining our little guy and when would be the day that we would receive our referral. 12 days later would be our referral call.

Here is a post from one year ago yesterday...i was so ready for that call...little did I know that our baby boy was moving to Hannahs Hope the very next day. http://knowingnobounds.blogspot.com/2009/09/every-time-phone-rang-today.html

Emery's dedication

2010-09-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

Zek likes to make sure we know when he is not happy :)

the zoo

2010-09-22T19:43:00.000-07:00

Cuteness...

2010-09-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

lots of Birthdays...

2010-09-20T19:12:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Zeks first birthday on Sept 12th. We had a party with family. He wore his traditional Ethiopian outfit we bought him when we traveled to bring him home.

He loved the icing of his cupcake.

He really wanted to grab that pretty candle.

Birthday cupcake

Mommy made him a Baby Einstein caterpillar cake
______________________________________________________

We celebrated Hazels 3rd birthday on August 30th. We had a party with friends and family and went to a state park and rode ponies. She is in love with horses. Her party theme was My Little Pony.

Maggie riding a pony. (i forgot to turn this pic)

Hazel and her birthday doughnut. It's a big doughnut. We have a tradition of getting doughnuts for our birthday morning.

blowing out her candle.

Her cake.
_____________________________________________________________

We celebrated Maggies 6th birthday on June 27th and had a party with friends and family. It was a hula party. We all put our faces on the surfer person and took pictures. We have pictures of all of the guests at the party. I didnt include my picture because I am huge and pregnant. I had Emery 10 days later.

Her huge cupcake cakes.

Blowing out her candle.
____________________________________________________

So our birthdays start in June with Maggies, then Emery was born this year in July, Hazels is in August, Zeks is September. So our kids birthdays are literally ALL summer. and then....Mommy and Daddys birthdays are in September. My wonderfully awesome husband will be 30 tomorrow!!!! then 7 days later mommy turns 30 (and i am ok with it)

Happy 30th Birthday Adam!!!

Our Gotcha Day video

2010-09-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

Here is our gotcha day video thanks to my awesome husband! We have had Zek in our arms 9 months as of yesterday!

If you watch this please leave comments :)