Loving Every Moment

My sweet girl

2012-02-10T21:52:00.000-08:00

Today Tatum turned nine, all I can say is that sounds crazy to say out loud! She was just three yesterday wasn't she? She got to have some friends over for pizza, cake and a movie.

I know this picture isn't very good but I love the girl's reactions to Ash's silly singing.

Tatum wanted a horse cake...simple enough:)

Sadly the night had to end early because Tatum got the stomach flu so the girls had to go home and we had one very sad and disappointed girl:( So lots of extra loving and cuddling tonight.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Thank you

2012-01-29T13:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted to stop in and thank every one who has been praying for us and Sergey. We got some really good news this week and we are so excited for what God is doing. He has been showing Himself to us in ways that have humbled us and grown our faith. I have to admit that I haven't posted for a while because for one we had quite a few visitors throughout the holiday season but mostly because this has been a very hard time for me. I have been in a situation where I have no control whatsoever (not like I ever really did). I have had to totally cling to God. And unfortunately I am unable to talk about all the details for the time being but what a huge testimony it will be of the loving and glorious God we serve! I can't wait to share it all with you! This week we are preparing to send out our dossier, this is a HUGE step! If we are approved we will then get travel dates to see our son. There are a total of three trips we must take until we are finally able to bring him home. We continue to ask for prayer and I will try to be better about keeping you informed as much as I am able to. God bless:)

This is important

2011-12-19T11:58:00.000-08:00

I have been out of the Blog World loop for about a month now. We have been extremely busy with holidays, having family in town and busting our butts with adoption stuff. Getting ready to send some BIG stuff out for Sergey. Important stuff, the kind of stuff that has caused me to find at least five new gray hairs daily! We need your prayers right now. I am not allowed to talk about it but just know we are fighting tooth and nail for our boy and we need you to storm Heaven's gates for us with your prayers!

As I was looking around Blog land I noticed that a lot of blogs were spreading the word for a little boy named Xander. Jeannett, the one who is hosting this fundraiser was the one who introduced me to Reece's Rainbow last Christmas in which we eventually found Sergey. I cannot in good conscience pass by this sweet little boy and not spread the word that he needs a family!!! Like right now!!! There is an amazing amount of things you could win by just spreading the word for this sweet boy, although a donation would be nice too:) Click on his picture to read all about his story.

I needed this today.

2011-11-30T19:44:00.000-08:00

Theses pics were an unexpected surprise today and one that I needed. I wish I could reach right through the computer and hug him...this mama's arms ache:(

The Thankful List

2011-11-26T12:47:00.000-08:00

So I am short quite a few days for my thankful list but I think it's fair to say that I can add these seven people, hopefully soon to be eight people, to my list of what I am MOST grateful for!!!

As I thought about all the things I am grateful for over the last few weeks I noticed all of them were positive things that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. And as I was pondering my list I was thinking that maybe the difficult things should be on there too. God says in His Word that we are to be thankful and grateful for ALL things. Because truthfully it was in those times of suffering that my patience grew, when I was humbled because of my own sin the Lord grew in me a compassion for others and when my disappointment was at its greatest that I felt Jesus comfort and draw close to me. I can honestly say that I am grateful for these things because Jesus is using the not so good things to refine me and make me more like Him. While I still have a very long way to go I'm thankful that He will never leave me and that He loves me so much to allow these things to happen so that I may grow. I'm not saying that it will be easy to make such a list but it is something that I will have to choose daily for the rest of my life to praise Him in the midst of trials. So if I am going to truly be thankful I have to be thankful for it all.

"Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!"
Habakkuk 3:17&18

11, 12, 13, 14, and 15

2011-11-15T11:12:00.000-08:00

The last few days I have been thankful for my warm, cozy bed and sleeping in...a fireplace that I can turn on with the flip of a switch to warm my cold feet...the smell of coffee in the morning that greets me like a warm hug followed by my husband's gentle "good morning" and hug...my Sadie's sweet kisses and hugs (which she calls squeezes)...and for today I am thankful for how the Lord speaks to me in ways that I never see coming:)
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This blog post spoke to my heart so deeply today...especially this part.

"It's been a year in which I've watched you be bigger than I thought you could be, while I cowered in a corner and feared what might happen if you weren't big enough."

Reading that convicted me and brought me to tears when I looked at all that God has done for us and others, and even in recognizing this I still fear at times that certain situations are just to big for Him.

Lord forgive me.

The little things.

2011-11-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

10. Today I am grateful for the little things in life that bring me joy.

Today my hubby brought me this!!!!

I know this picture may look like your average Reece's Peanut Butter cups...so let me give you a better perspective on the awesomeness of this gift.

Kachow!!!! That's right...2 half pound peanut butter cups! So maybe it's not the little things but the big things that bring me joy...ugh now I'm confused:)jk Seriously is there any better combination than chocolate and peanut butter? Another little thing that brings me joy is Avery in the picture above wearing her birthday crown from September with the sticker from her banana stuck on her forehead. As long as I can remember she has always done that. A little thing I love about her:)

Silliness

2011-11-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

9. Today I am grateful for silliness.

Some silly things that happened today are...

1. Madi continues to call the turkey she is coloring for her school project a rooster and sometimes a chicken. No matter how many times I correct her.

2. That I may or may not have fallen asleep (hopefully not with my mouth wide open and drooling)while waiting to pick up my kids from school this afternoon only to awaken to my children running around outside the van with some friend's kids. And I may or may not have looked up to see the parents of those other kids laughing at me:) I blame it on Daylight savings!
*And just to put your minds at ease I meet at the same place and time every day with two other mothers that I have known for years so it wasn't like my kids were not being supervised. Thank you Kayla and Amy:)

3. Finding a tube of vicks on the counter that had been squeezed by someone (not to name names Miss Sadie Lynn) and then confronting this two year old and asking her if she squeezed it to which she replied "no, that's bad girl". I kept asking her knowing that she was not telling me the truth to which she finally replied "no, I bit it". So she was technically telling the truth and let me tell you it was really hard to keep a straight face.

4. Tonight I ordered Domino's for dinner and was met at the door by the pizza delivery lady and three firemen and a giant firetruck outside my house. I can't even tell you what my face must have looked like. They said that they were going around with Domino's delivery people offering to check smoke detectors to see if they had working batteries. And that if the detectors were working that they would give us a free pizza on our next order. Ash had just put in a new battery a couple weeks ago so we got a free pizza! I'm telling you I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!

5. And lastly as I was downloading my pictures I found this...there were eleven more just like it:)

A bunch of random stuff

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

So here's a kitchen update. I was thinking I was going to wait until it was all finished to show before and after pictures but a friend who lives out of state lovingly encouraged me to post pictures so she could see. Basically she said something like "When are you gonna post pictures of your kitchen already?!!!!" So I'm obliging:) So we went with board and batten on the walls as you can see, I still have to paint it with two more coats of white paint. I also have to say that I REALLY don't like the gray paint on the walls now, it looks baby blue and I'm not digging it. So I will be working on fixing this soon. There's still a lot more work to be done and we have quite a bit of wood left over so you better believe I have some ideas on how I will be using it:)

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos.

And another view.

Sorry for the mess.

Do you like my owl cutting board? I think he's pretty cute...my husband on the other hand looked at me like I had lost it.

I got him on a recent shopping trip to Anacortes with this lovely lady...the shorter one, lol!

Remember the pillow I made out of my husband's shirt from this post?

Well I've made a couple more since then.

Here's the backs.

And the fronts.

Here's how they look with the rest of my pillows. We have a large couch so I need to get cracking on some more pillows and throw in a few with some warm Fall colors as well.

For Christmas pillows I am inspired by this picture from Pottery Barn. I just need to find some plaid shirts from Goodwill or maybe a pretty tablecloth...oooh the wheels are turning!

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8. Today I am grateful for prayer...more specifically people that are praying over us and for us. I know of a small handful of people who are consistently praying for us regarding our adoption and I am so thankful for them. Adoption can be a lonely road to walk at times and it is always encouraging to hear from those who are. I have not really shared the depths of my heart about how our adoption is going lately with all of you here on my blog. And quite honestly I'm not able to share specifics at this time but I am pleading with you all now who are following along with us on our journey to please be in prayer for us, for Sergey, for our agency,social worker and Eastern European partner agency. As well as for the judge that will be handling our case. We covet your prayers. I would love to hear from you if you are praying for us it would be such an encouragement to me. Thank you:)

New Friendships

2011-11-07T23:53:00.000-08:00

7. Today I am grateful for new friendships:)

The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. Proverbs 27:9

The Happy Day Project

2011-11-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for this:)

It's all about using your blog for good and bringing some sunshine to someone's day! Go check it out:)

One less

2011-11-05T00:35:00.000-07:00

5. Today I am grateful that there is one less orphan in the world...Praise Jesus!!! My friend Anna and her husband are the proud parents to sweet Blake! Congratulations you guys!!

Movie Nights

2011-11-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

4. Today I am thankful for movie nights with the kiddos and hearing them giggle at the characters is always fun to listen to:)

P.S. I have no idea why Madi is drinking out of a sippy cup.

Laughter

2011-11-03T22:47:00.000-07:00

3. Today I am grateful for laughter and the many little giggles that fill our home daily. If our wealth was measured by our laughter we would be very rich indeed...and for that we are truly blessed.

2011-11-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

2. Today I am grateful for clean laundry! Our washer and dryer finally kicked the bucket and I was without a washer and dryer for two weeks. Thank God for good friends who have let me invade their home and bring mountains of laundry over. We have since remedied our washer/dryer situation...another thing I am grateful for:)

Adoption Awareness Month

2011-11-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

November is Adoption Awareness Month and around this same time last year was when I was introduced to Reece's Rainbow. They are hosting their Angel Tree event again now through December 31st. I encourage you to visit, pray and donate to help these children find their families. Just look at some of these cuties who are waiting for a family!

Don't you just wan't to kiss those cheeks?!
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The kid's had a blast last night at our church's Trunk or Treat:)

I'm loving this idea that Amy shared today and want to do the same.

1. Today I am grateful for words of encouragement.

Today I received an unexpected email from my sweet friend who is in country to bring home her son. Her encouraging words were exactly what I needed to hear today and for her to think of me while she's in another country in the process of bringing home her son meant so much.

Moving forward.

2011-10-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

Oh my poor neglected blog:( We're still here, we had our fingerprint appt. for immigration on Oct. 17th and it went incredibly smooth. We were in and out in less than 30 minutes, so now we're just waiting for our golden ticket! Slowly but surely we are moving steadily forward! Please keep us in your prayers:)

We are also in the middle of construction on our kitchen. Remember all that wood I showed you? Well it is going up as I type this. Here is just a little sneak peak. I feel incredibly blessed to be given this gift in the midst of our adoption. Even though the house is in a bit of chaos it has literally kept me sane as it has kept my mind off of how long it is taking to bring Sergey home.

Also in the midst of all this lovely, beautiful chaos we have been loving the change in the season and have been making some yummy treats!

I had a lot of fun baking with my girls, Prestin is not in the pic because he would rather eat them than make them:)

Guest posting

2011-10-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I'm guest posting over on my friend Natalie's blog today and sharing a little bit of my heart. So come on over and say hi!

Cheese me Mom!

2011-10-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

2011-10-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

Isaac's sweet Mama, Jaime, is guest posting today over on Natalie's blog. Every time I speak with Jaime it's like I'm listening to poetry and her writing is no different. So go read her story today I know you will be encouraged.

Shabby Apple

2011-10-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

Shabby Apple is celebrating Halloween with a special treat! Save $10 off ALL BLACK AND ORANGE DRESSES with code "TREAT' which also includes FREE SHIPPING!! This promotion will run through October 31st. This dress is my favorite!

Beautiful Stuff!

2011-10-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

So I'm sure you all know the talented Chrissie Grace, but did you know that she also has the most giving heart? She is doing an amazing giveaway on her blog to help Amy bring home her sweet Davis! Look at all this stuff!!!

So run on over to Chrissie's blog and donate to Davis' fund, any amount will get you entered into the drawing!

And if all that loot doesn't entice you to donate then head on over to Natalie's blog where Amy is sharing her heart in a guest post. Seriously beautiful stuff people!

Feeling blessed.

2011-10-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'd like to introduce you to my new friend Natalie and her family.

This lady has a beautiful heart for the Lord and for her family, and wants to use her blog for a greater purpose...to serve others. Love, love, love this lady's heart! October is Down Syndrome Awareness month, so for the whole month she will be doing posts answering any questions you may have regarding Down syndrome. She is also giving away a beautiful handmade hair accessory of your choice with a $25.00 donation on her blog.

So pretty! All the proceeds will go to help get these three boys home to their mama's who are aching to hold them.

Sergey for us, Davis for the Jupin family and Isaac for the Kelley family. So go visit Natalie's blog to see and learn about the beauty and blessing of Down syndrome and if you feel led please consider donating. It would mean so much to me. Thank you Natalie for being such a wonderful example of Christ's love by serving in such a selfless way. We are so humbled by your compassion and willingness to go out of your way for complete strangers. Many blessings to you:)

2011-10-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

Starting on the next project for the kitchen, can't wait to show you! The best part of this project is that we were given all these materials for FREE!!! I feel truly blessed and am so thankful for the generosity of good friends.

Kayaking with the girls.

2011-09-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

This was such a fun day...

Lots of laughs.

And chest bumps.

And apparently some martial arts.

Thanks Ladies for an awesome, much needed day!

Kitchen update and some good news.

2011-09-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pics of the kitchen so far...

Life's been getting in the way of me finishing the bottom cabinets this past week, so I will start them this week. I did however organize every cabinet and made things a little more efficient even though it has seriously confused my husband. lol!!!

I made this our coffee and tea station and painted the inside of the cabinet with chalkboard paint. And by the way I am so not a morning person:)

Here is my pantry, I had bought all of these bins on clearance last Spring.

I got these bins on clearance as well and moved an old shelf into the kitchen for extra storage. I purposely left the lower half of the wall unpainted on purpose, you'll see why in a later post:)

I'm really happy with it so far:)

And for the good news...we got our fingerprint appt.'s today for USCIS!!! I'm so excited!!! We are so close to bringing Sergey home!!!

Avery turned 7!

2011-09-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

In all the chaos of painting my kitchen and getting ready for a craft show I completely forgot to do a post for Avery's birthday:( Her birthday was September 14th.

I think my husband said it beautifully...

"Today our beautiful little Avery turns 7!!! She has such a servants heart. Always wanting to help with whatever she can, whether it be with mommy in the kitchen or daddy pulling weeds...she even attempts to change Sadie's diapers! As she puts it, "I just want to spend time together"...that my friends is a beautiful heart of helping that warms my heart and makes this world a better place, by showing the love of Christ through servants hands and a desire for fellowship."

We love you Avery Karis:)

Making progress

2011-09-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

Something I have always wanted is white cabinets, so for my birthday I asked if I could paint our kitchen cabinets. So for the past week and a half I have been painting and painting and painting. It has taken me 5 coats to completely cover them and that is using the Behr paint plus primer! This last weekend my husband added crown molding to the tops of the cabinets. It looks so much better!

I wanted the walls to be a soft true gray and to say that it has been frustrating picking the perfect gray color is an understatement. I have gone through four different colors trying to find the right color, one looked lavender, the other was to dark and one just looked white. Finally I think I found the perfect color, here is where we are today. Please excuse the mess and the poor lighting, I only have the upper cabinets painted but I will be working on the lower cabinets this week:)

How do you like my tupperware Amy? I definitely need to work on that cupboard:)

I still need to add a second coat of paint on the walls and I have a few more goodies in mind for the kitchen. This is sort of where my brain is going.

(source)

(source unknown)

(source)

So there's where I'm at, I'll keep you posted on the progress:)

Winner!

2011-09-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Willow House Apron goes to....

Jaime!!!

Congratulations, email me your info so I can send you your new apron:)

That was fun, my mind is already turning for another giveaway so keep checking back and go visit Denise's site, the 10% discount is still good if you mention my name at checkout!

Today...

2011-09-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

Was the first day of school for four little Farley's.

A long awaited dream became reality.

AND...

WE RECEIVED OUR COMPLETED HOMESTUDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We can now move forward.

It is such a wonderful feeling to be that much closer to bringing Sergey home!!!

Don't forget about the giveaway! You have a couple more days to enter, it ends Thursday at Midnight...Good luck:)

A Giveaway!

2011-09-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

I have been so blessed these last couple of months by all of you. So many of you have sent encouraging emails and comments, telling us that you're praying for us and still following along on our journey. It really means a lot to me and they usually show up just when I need to hear them. So I wanted to say thank you to all of you that have stood beside us during this journey. So I've been concocting a plan with my dear friend Denise, who is a Willow House consultant, and truly is the cutest thing around with her sweet Texas drawl. I could listen to her talk for hours. We met a little over a year and a half ago when I was looking for a Willow House Consultant (formerly Southern Living at Home) to have a home party. I love, love, love Willow House products!! Here are just some of the things I own from Willow House...

French wired tiered stand

Trivet trio

Glass dome

I really love their products and can assure you that the quality is wonderful. I always know whatever I buy is going to be gorgeous and well made. So I've asked Denise if we could give away a beautiful Willow House apron as a way to say thank you! I'm really excited about this because I love to give presents!

Here's how you can enter~
1. Visit Denise's Willow House site and let me know which item was your favorite!

For additional entries~
2. Like Denise's Facebook page and let me know that you did!
3. Are you a follower of this blog? If so, let me know!
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Denise is also offering a 10% discount on any order $25.00 and above! Just tell her that Danielle from Loving Every Moment sent you in the comments section at checkout! How exciting, thanks Denise:)

The giveaway will end Thursday, September 8th at midnight, the winner will be drawn by random.org and announced on Friday, September 9th. Good luck!

Ruffle pillow

2011-08-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the project I am teaching the ladies at my church for our Fall Craft Night in a few weeks. I made the ruffle pillow out of my husbands old dress shirt and 1/2 yard of paisley fabric. Here is the tutorial I used. The warm colors are getting me in the mood for fall!

Here's what the back looks like...so nice and clean. The back of the pillow is the front of my husbands shirt.

I've got a ton of other projects I'm working on! Getting ready for our upcoming craft boutique to raise money for our adoption and this little baby will be up for sale! I'm really excited about it and hope it goes well. Check back tomorrow for a fun surprise!

Celebrate

2011-08-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

This month we celebrated my son's 10th birthday on the 16th, mine on the 26th and Sergey's yesterday. We don't know the exact date of Sergey's birthday but we wanted to celebrate him and take pics for him to show him he was and is loved.

Prestin loves Legos!

My projects are coming along nicely, I will post pics as soon as I can:)

Lots of fun stuff going on over here.

2011-08-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Can't wait to show you!
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By the way have you read this book?
So good!
Going to see it for my birthday.
Very excited!

We must be doing something right.

2011-08-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

We are in a battle for our sons life to put it lightly. A few days ago we, as well as Jaime and Amy received news that the region we are all adopting from has now gone up to 4 trips and the cost has now moved up to $40,000.00+. Oh and on top of that they are asking that there not be any more than 5 kids at home. Well I was assured by our agency that that is just a preference. Lol, I mean seriously that's all I can do is laugh and throw my hands in the air and say God I give this all to you. There is a spiritual warfare going on and I am encouraged that we are doing something right and are walking the path God has set before us because the enemy is fighting against us big time. he does not want these children to be rescued...you know why? Because love is contagious! Love a.k.a Jesus Christ will show people that these children have value and that someone wants them. And they will start to question things. I believe with my whole heart that God is using all these adoptions to plant seeds. Whether it be in the judge's hearts, the country finally starting to see that these children have worth and can be apart of society or other people following these children's stories and gathering up the courage to start a journey of their own. Either way love is spreading and you can't help but catch it. From the beginning when we started this adoption we wanted first and foremost to glorify God and that is still our desire above all else. To be obedient no matter the outcome. I admit I am feeling beat down but not broken, and in no way am I giving up. I just want to be honest throughout this process, to share the ups and downs. Because when it's all said and done the ending will be so much sweeter and the joy overflowing when we look back and see how He carried us through it all. Baby boy WE ARE COMING!!!

Update on our adoption

2011-08-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

We are still waiting:( Our last meeting with our social worker was on June 17th, in which we were told that we would receive a email of our homestudy to be revised by the following week. We did not receive that email until almost a month later. I was told that the editor was backed up with a lot of homestudies, well hello a phone call might have been nice. So after I contacted them things started to move...a little. The copy was then emailed to our agency and then to Sergey's country to be revised. We finally received an email last Monday telling us what needed to be changed. Our social worker is now working on those revisions and then it needs to be sent back to Sergey's country to be revised again. Waiting on all these people is driving me bonkers! But at the same time I have a peace that it's all going to work out, just not in the time frame I would have wanted. But we all know God's timing is sooo much better. We were also told that it would be in our best interest to wait until after September to travel, the judge is on vacation at the beginning of September, so that means more waiting. Once we get our homestudy though a lot can be finished on our end. Sergey turns three this month, I have no idea what his exact birthday is. I was so hoping to at least have met him by now. And I was really hoping to be able to celebrate his birthday with him. This is one of the hardest things I've ever done, knowing my child is on the other side of the world and having no control and no way to be able to get him makes my whole body ache. We appreciate your prayers. We can't wait to hold this little guy in our arms and tell him how much we love him.

Celebrating

2011-07-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

Remember this little guy? The boy who started it all for us.

Sweet little Cliff, now named Joshua is finally home! Go visit Lisa's blog and congratulate them, this is a very exciting day!! God is so good!!

Summer Pics

2011-07-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

We are progressing slowly with the adoption. We are still waiting to receive our homestudy, hopefully sometime next week. Prayers would be appreciated for the people that we have to wait on. Pray that they would feel a sense of urgency to finalize paperwork for us. Hope you all are having a wonderful summer!

Our baby is two.

2011-07-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

Sadie is two today.
I love her so much.
Even when she's a little ornery.
She makes me laugh every day.
Even when I'm trying to discipline her.
She's smart.
To smart at times.
She's a cuddler.
She melts my heart with the way she says I love you and then squeezes me around my neck.
She has the cutest button nose.
She loves to swing.
She thinks she's a big girl and wants to do everything the big kids do.
She changes her outfit more than five times a day.
She has the cutest giggle.
I will miss these days.
They goes so fast.
So I'm going to soak it all up while I can.
I love you Sadie Lynn.
Happy Birthday!

Sweet Davis

2011-07-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Do you remember a few months ago our Dream Big Fundraiser? And how God did an AMAZING, AWE INSPIRING work through so many people? His body of believers became His hands and feet and blessed us beyond what we could have imagined, I'm getting teary eyed just remembering it all. You all loved on our family and little Sergey (Sarge), we could feel it through all the comments, through every donation and through the string of blogs and facebook pages pleading our case to others and asking for help. We can never thank you all enough:) I'm pretty sure you all know my heart is for the orphans, I want them all to have a family, all 147 million of them. I know I cannot save them all, but I can help, even if it's only one at a time....we all can:)

This is sweet Davis.

And he has a family working hard to get him. He is from the same country and region that Sergey is from and desperately needs to be home with his family that loves him so much.

Amy is having an amazing fundraiser on her blog to help pay the ransom for her son. Here are just some of the wonderful prizes you can win.

Pretty awesome huh? All it takes is a $10.00 donation to get your name put in the hat. And let me tell you from experience that those $10.00 donations add up really quick! That was 90% of our donations during our fundraiser and look at how God used what might seem to some to be a small amount of money to grow into thousands of dollars! Believe me every little bit helps:) Let's help Amy and her family bring Davis home, don't you want to be apart of something amazing? $10.00 is all it takes. Let's be a blessing to Amy and Davis today and be blessed in return by knowing you are helping save a life!

There are so many children just like Davis and Sergey who have been waiting a long time for a family. These children are real people not just pictures on the computer and it is a race to pay the ransom for these children. Children in these orphanages are dying daily. Poor little Warner died a few days ago, he had a family working hard to adopt him, who already loved him and were dreaming of him as part of their family.

Let's not waste any time! Go visit Amy's blog and give and then post their story on Facebook and your blog to spread the word! Let's be His hands and feet today:)

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3: 16-18

I'm still alive:)

2011-06-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

So if anybody still reads this blog I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here and continuing to work on our adoption, but I've just been taking a break from the computer for awhile. I will continue to update about our adoption when things progress, but as of right now nothing is happening. School just got out for our kids, so summer is just now beginning for us. I am also watching three additional children for the summer, so needless to say my life is busier than normal.

I have been busy with lots of other things as well, like we just had a baby shower for my friend Sarah last night where I was in charge of decorations. These were the centerpieces.

I love how my little frogs turned out!

Tomorrow is Ainsley's 4th birthday, that came super fast!

My sister and brother in law come in to town on Sunday, then 4th of July, the week after that is VBS where I am in charge of the craft class, then two weeks after that Ash leaves for Youth Camp for a week. Phew! And in the midst of it all trying to run around getting documents apostilled and sent to Sergey's country so that we can travel by the end of July/beginning of August. I'm just tired typing it all:) So anyways all this to say that if you don't hear from me for awhile it's because there is a lot going on. I love hearing from you, thank you for the kind emails and for continuing to check in and see how we're doing:) Thank you for your prayers, we definitely need them. Please continue to pray for Sergey, for his health and safety, and for the funds that are still needed. If you know anyone that has $8,000.00 they want to give away then send them our way, lol:) Hey it's possible! Thanks again for everything, and hope to have some news to share with you all soon. God bless!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

To an amazing husband and father.

We love you!

Just shove it!

2011-06-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

My friend Jaime will appreciate this title:) So to finish the homestudy I needed to take pictures of every room in the house so that Sergey's country can make sure our home is suitable and child friendly...I'm guessing. It boggles my mind that a country who hides these children away in orphanages and mental asylums, and even outdoor sheds in some cases care what my house looks like. But I obliged because honestly I would do anything for my son. But I have to tell you what a job this was, I have mentally and physically hit a wall. After the garage sale my house has been a little chaotic to say the least. I feel like stuff is everywhere and I have been literally throwing anything and everything away. So with my homestudy coming to an end I needed to get these pictures to them as soon as I could, but honestly there was no time to clean and make it organized like I would have liked it to be. After a much needed call from my husband and then from my friend Jaime, the answer to my problem was to just shove it all out of the way! And that's what I did, for example my laundry was out of control and all over my bedroom floor so after I took the picture of the little girl's room here is where that huge pile went.

And here is my clean laundry room

But here's what it looks like in the hallway, HA!

And here's a lovely shot of the little girl's room on one side

And here's the other side

I actually used these old pics of the girl's room after their beds were built:)

The room is still not decorated so it looks exactly the same minus the new baskets we bought for underneath their beds.

The only room that was completely organized and cleaned was Prestin and Sergey's room. I have been painting, organizing and cleaning for the past two weeks. We had moved all the kid's rooms around to make more space. Here is what the room looked like before.

And here is what it looks like now

I still plan on getting some new bedding and curtains, but for the most part it is done. I was able to take all of the pictures and email them to my social worker, so we are done!!! Our meeting is this Friday at 1:00 p.m. He will hand me our finished homestudy and I will then start getting all of our paperwork apostilled, another silly thing that Sergey's country needs. Basically when you get your documents notarized it should be a done deal, BUT Sergey's country needs them apostilled. An apostille is basically a fancy way of saying that an already certified document is certified. So we're moving right along:) Thank you Jaime for listening to me and for being sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading to give me a call, I so needed to hear those encouraging words today:)

Homestudy is finished!

2011-06-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

We got the news that our homestudy is finished and I will be getting it this Friday! I am so happy to be done with this part of the process. I've been missing from this blog because I have been so busy getting documents ready to send off to Sergey's country once we get our homestudy. I don't want to waste any time:) Once we send everything out we will just be waiting on our fingerprint date and then for our approval from the country. Then we will set up our travel dates to go meet Sergey, this will be our first trip, we have to make a total of two trips. The first trip is set up for us to meet Sergey and to tell them that we want to continue with the adoption. This trip will last about 5-7 days. The second trip will be roughly about a 2-3 months after the first trip which will last anywhere from 2-3 weeks. And this is where we will get to bring him home!! I am so ready to be done with the paperwork, but I understand that it's all necessary. We are still planning on having another garage sale, because we are about $8,000.00 short so I am all ears for any ideas on how to raise the rest of the money. Also please be in prayer for my friend Lisa, she is going to meet the little boy who started it all for me. Little Cliff now named Joshua will be going home to his new family soon. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!!

And I would also like to introduce to you a very sweet lady. Anna contacted me during my fundraiser and since then we have become very good friends. Anna is adopting little Blake who is on my sidebar. We began talking about her desire to adopt but that her husband was still unsure. We have prayed over him for the last few months and a few weeks ago they committed to little Blake. I am so excited for them and hope you will hop on over to their blog and congratulate them. I meant to write this a week ago but got behind, sorry Anna:(

Breaks my heart

2011-06-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

This is what Sergey would have had to look forward to if we had not been led to him. I want to get to him so badly it hurts. Please keep us all in your prayers and donate if you can. We are coming my sweet boy!

Our truck runneth over

2011-06-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

We had our Garage/Bake Sale yesterday, it turned out pretty big! We had donations coming out of our ears and were grateful for every one. It was amazing to see how the donations all came in, totally orchestrated by God. Like for instance one of my favorite donation stories was a week ago, last Sunday. We had gotten home from church and were having a lazy kind of day. Up until this point we had received a few items from some relatives of a lady at our church. I had been praying that the Lord would continue to provide for us, but wasn't expecting anything on this quiet Sunday. I had almost dozed off when I heard the doorbell ring. Ash got up and answered the door, it was our neighbor from across the street. He said that he had a bunch of VHS tapes in his garage that he was getting rid of and wanted to know if we wanted any of them. So Ash took Tatum over to see if she saw anything. A couple minutes later Ash was back and was telling me how they were moving and were packing a moving truck to take to Goodwill. We had no idea they were moving, we never saw a "For Sale" sign ever. Ash told them about our upcoming adoption and sale and they said they would gladly give us there stuff. So we all got up and started filling our garage with tons and tons of boxes. It was amazing and totally unexpected, I love how the Lord works everything out. I must admit I felt heard and loved at that moment knowing that God was and is always listening. After that the donations kept coming in from everywhere. Almost all of them were through word of mouth, and mostly all from people I have never met but were so excited to help. Of course our church body was a HUGE support with donations as well, we would also still be unpacking that truck if it wasn't for their help:) There was so much stuff!!!

We rolled into the church parking lot bright and early and were elated that it was a beautiful sunny day. Which is rare for Washington, but I believe there are no coincidences with God. He picked this day for us:) When I pulled in I noticed that by the front doors of the church was a pile of stuff as tall as I am. I have no idea who they were from, but it brought a smile to my face. We immediately got to work unloading stuff, setting up tables and displaying things. As we were working people driving by saw all the commotion and stopped to look before we even had our signs up, it was great!

The bake sale part was also a tremendous hit! The goodies were seriously flying off the table, I'm so glad Ash grabbed one of these giant cinnamon rolls. Seriously, they are as big as dinner plates, we ate part of it for breakfast this morning. Sooooo good:)

We appreciated our little helpers as well:)

All in all it was a great day and we were able to raise $2,304.15!!! I think that was a pretty successful day:) When it was over and we were loading the truck we realized that we were leaving with more stuff than we came with, so we will definitely have to do another sale. Ash was just telling me how it was like the story in the Bible of the loaves and fishes and he is so right. We definitely filled more than 12 baskets full, try a whole DiGiorno pizza delivery truck! God definitely answered my prayer above and beyond what I imagined, I'm feeling so grateful for His provision. We are that much closer to bringing Sergey home! While we will be doing another sale, my mind is racing on other ideas to raise money. I'm thinking of doing another blog fundraiser, probably smaller in scale than the last one but still with fun prizes. What do you think, are you all ready for round two? If any of you have ideas for me I'd love to hear from you. And if we do another blog fundraiser what kind of things would you like to win? I'm all ears and eagerly waiting for your reply:) I am so thankful for each and every one of you that continue to follow our story and are praying for us and Sergey. It means so much to me when I read your encouraging comments, thank you from the bottom of my heart:)

Love

The Farley's

(missing Sadie in this picture)

And by the way this is what happens when I leave my camera laying around:)

Pillows for Davis!

2011-06-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

I have a sweet friend, Amy is her name:) I love her blog, her house is so beautiful, but I would have to say her heart is even more so:) We have become friends through blogging, we have never met but I felt an immediate connection the first time we talked on the phone. Kind of like catching up with an old friend after not talking for a while. We have become closer over the last few weeks, you see she to is adopting from Sergey's country. Actually from the same region as Sergey! She and her husband were feeling the same call to adopt around the same time we were. Before we even connected and our friendship even grew we were already growing a connection without the other even knowing. We have since connected and have been able to encourage and support each other as we go through this emotional roller coaster ride. And we joke about how the first time we ever meet may be in another country getting our boys, wouldn't that be awesome!! Here is her little love, Davis is his name:)

Meg from the blog Whatever and Chrissie Grace have teamed up to surprise Amy with Pillows for Davis!! Chrissie Grace is offering 25% of ALL pillow sales during the month of June to go to bring Davis home to Amy and her family!

If you haven't seen the lovely things Chrissie Grace makes you need to head on over to her shop right this minute! Here is a sneak peak:)

Aren't those adorable? Chrissie Grace is incredibly talented don't you think? You need to check out Meg's blog and see the ones she made for her girls, ADORABLE!!! So head on over to her shop and order a pillow for Father's Day or that next baby shower you're going to. There are so many possibilities and you'll be giving to a great cause! You can also click on Davis' button on my sidebar and donate there if you'd like, seriously every little bit helps. I'm so excited to see how God is going to work through this!!!

Only God could write this story.

2011-05-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

*So some of you may have seen this post originally posted on May 23, 2011 and then noticed all of a sudden it was gone, well that's because I got a little excited and didn't realize that the Kelley family hadn't told all their family just yet. I felt so bad, but Jaime was so gracious in letting me know. They made the announcement this weekend, so it is official! Enjoy:)

Oh my goodness I had the most wonderful weekend with my Mom. Lots and lots of good food and talking, a good way to spend the weekend I think:) Life is good! So as I'm coming down off the high of the weekend today I'm doing my rounds, checking email, then Facebook and then Reece's Rainbow's "My Family Found Me" page just like I do every day and guess who I saw?

Yep that's Isaac!! I have been praying for this little boy for a while now and am so happy to see that he is going to be with a loving family. But I don't want to give myself any credit at all, this is ALL God and it's only a story He could write. And I think it's important to share it.

Back in February when we were still waiting on God to confirm to us whether or not we were to adopt Sergey I felt I had to do something because the tugging on my heart was so strong and could not be ignored. I thought if we were not meant to adopt that I could at least pray a child home, so I had asked to be a prayer warrior through RR. A day later they sent me this sweet little guys picture and asked me to be committed to praying for him every day until he found a family. Which I have done like clock work, I did this post on him asking all of you to pray for him as well.

When we committed to Sergey I was overjoyed and still am:), but could not fully let that joy overwhelm me because of the little boy in pink that had completely overtaken my heart and still did not have a family. While I have only ever seen him from a picture on my screen he is very real to me and in some way I felt like he was my responsibility, how could I knowingly leave him behind. As I prayed for him I started to think that maybe we should adopt him. He is in the same region as Sergey and while it's already a lot to to adopt internationally, it's only $8,250.00 to add a second child. Mere pennies when you consider that you are helping save a life. I spoke to Ash about adopting him and he said he would pray about it as well. Weeks went by and I was still praying for God's will regarding V. Ash and I had a date night and he was the first to bring him up. He let me know that he was still praying for V. I admit that I was excited but tried not to presume anything. After that talk though things changed for me about V., I felt God saying that he wasn't supposed to be ours. I didn't think I was hearing Him right. But slowly but surely I just knew in my heart and it was hard for me accept. He has been God's all along, not mine, and God has had a plan for him from the beginning I just didn't know what it was yet. Fast forward a couple weeks and we are coming back from dinner and I had to know what Ash's thoughts were, we hadn't talked about V. since our last night out and I was curious. He was not opposed to adopting him but he wasn't positive that that's what we were supposed to be doing. I knew in my heart that it was confirmation for what I had been feeling. I said that maybe I should do another post on him and Ash felt that maybe advocating more for him was the avenue we were to take on his behalf. I felt horrible, like I was giving up on him and began to cry. Ash was so great, he just held my hand and let me cry, I could tell that it was hard for him to.

The next day I sat at my computer, staring at the screen just praying for the right words to write. I decided to start on Facebook knowing that I am friends with a lot of RR advocates and was hoping they would share his picture. I admit that I hesitated, I thought because he didn't have an account set up yet that maybe that would hinder his chances. Then I thought that was silly and shared his link anyways. There were a few comments from people saying that they would be praying for him and a few shared his link on their pages. But one comment struck me, it was from a lady named Jaime. We knew the Kelley's from when we had been in the young married's class together back home in AZ. She had asked in general what the process was for adoption. I felt butterflies in my stomach, could God be answering my prayer this quickly? I calmed down a bit and answered her reply and sent her some additional pics of V. that I had. Jaime and I messaged back and forth, she was smitten for V.!! I then contacted Danielle, who through Sergey we are now great friends. She was Sergey's prayer warrior:) I asked her who I needed to get in contact with to get V. an account. She said she would check in on it, a little while later she said that she had gotten an account set up for him and that we could pick an Americanized name for him. I immediately thought to ask Jaime, she knew right away that his name should be Isaac, so Isaac it was! Over the next two weeks we have talked on the phone almost every day and have prayed that the Lord would show them if Isaac was supposed to be their son. Jaime also needed confirmation through her husband that God was speaking to his heart as well. This weekend was HUGE for them spiritually, they prayed and fasted for God to reveal to them His will, and He did!!! They have been given confirmation in their hearts that this is the path God has for them. They know that when they look at Isaac they are staring at the face of their son, God knew that Isaac would be their son before the foundation of the earth and he is already so very loved. I am so excited for the Kelley family and selfishly excited for myself that when we make our trip out to AZ next year that I will get to visit this family, our boys will get to play together and have someone else with whom they share a very special connection in more ways than one. I will get to hug this little boy who I have prayed and cried over for the last couple of months. And I will get to rejoice and marvel in the miracle that God has done in his life, the lives of the Kelley family and even in my own life by just being a tiny part of this journey. It's such a humbling experience. Please continue to pray for the Kelley family they need our support and encouragement, here is their blog if you would like to follow along on their journey and also donate if you can:) God is good!

Just seeing what God has done for the Kelley family and Isaac I would like to ask for prayer for another family who is also seeking God's will regarding adoption and could use our support and encouragement as well. I will share more when I am able. God is doing a work in His people regarding the orphans, it's an exciting thing to see God moving!!!!!

I love it!

2011-05-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

Through this blog I have made some very special friends. One of those friends is Lori over at Morning Glories and Moon flowers, she has been a constant encouragement to me and I so appreciate her! She has a very sweet and giving heart and recently sent me this necklace. Sorry for the poor quality of the picture.

It is really special to me just having this sweet little reminder of Sergey:) I feel like I see matryoshka dolls all over the place now that I have a little connection to the place where they originated. I can't wait to visit this country and bring my little boy home.

Lori has the sweetest etsy shop called Too Silly Sisters where she sells these adorable necklaces as well as many other pretty things. Thank you Lori, I love my necklace!!

I think these would be sweet gifts for anyone adopting from R**sia:) Go on over and visit her shop, she's got a few listed!

Speaking of Sergey, I thought I would share a BIG surprise that I got yesterday with all of you:) Are you ready for this?

Isn't he the sweetest thing ever!!!! Oh my goodness I want to go get him now, only a little bit longer my sweet boy!

*BTW for those of you who asked where the post of Isaac went I needed to take it down for the time being, everything is fine:) I appreciate your concerns and I will share more when I am able, keep the family and Isaac in your prayers! God is so good!

11 years!

2011-05-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

Today is our anniversary, it's been 11 awesome years! I am so very grateful for the man God has given me and am so thankful for the very full and blessed life we have. Ash I love you more than ever!!!!

Lots of stuff going on

2011-05-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a busy week! I never did do a post for Mother's Day, but I hope you all had a wonderful day:) I know I did! I really didn't get any pics on Mother's Day because most of my day was taking a very long nap and who wants to see a pic of me sleeping? But I did get a pic of the cupcake Ash got me, it was as yummy as it looks.

The day before Mother's Day I went to the "Teddy Bear Tea with Mommy and Me" at our church. It was so sweet, and Vil did a great job of putting everything together. My girls loved it!

So speaking of Mothers, mine is coming for a visit this Thursday! I'm so excited, I haven't seen my mom for a year and a half:( We were talking last week (you know having those really AWESOME mother/daughter convos where you are so excited about what God is doing in each other's lives) about how much we miss each other and then my mom surprised me with a call saying she was coming up. Totally made my day! I'm excited to take her to my favorite shops and take her to this yummy restaurant, Cristiano's, I know she will love! And get her my favorite, red velvet hot chocolate from Donna's. To die for!

But for the most part we will hang out and talk and laugh a lot I'm sure:)

She's going to have to have a sense of humor at this funny farm. We had some water damage to our downstairs ceiling in the den, so we had a friend come over to check it out and found out that the leak is coming from the upstairs bathroom. So we will be having the bathroom gutted and the ceiling downstairs torn out. So lot's of stuff is going on:)

And I wanted to thank you for your prayers, Ash was able to get the last document that we needed to finish our home study! We are just waiting to have our next meeting with our social worker and we will be done! Hopefully sometime this week. I can't wait, this is such an important piece of the puzzle and will help us get the rest of our paperwork sent out to Sergey's country. We are now in the process of getting our Yard and Bake Sale together. We are having it on June 4th, so if you would remember to keep us in your prayers that would be AWESOME!!! We are so close to our goal!

To good not to share!

2011-05-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

I was going to catch up on a few posts now that Blogger is semi back to normal:) But I felt this needed to be shared. Anthony Salem, Adeye's husband from No Greater Joy Mom, has started a blog giving a man's perspective on adoption as well as advice to men who are having a hard time with all the questions that arise with adoption. This is huge people!!! If you are considering adoption but your husband has questions you should have him visit Anthony's blog, No Greater Joy Dad. Catchy title huh?:)

Also, remember this sweet face?

Well you can follow Vanya's journey along with his new family at their blog here.

And also I'm so excited to let you know that Vladislav now called Isaac(so much easier to say:) has an account that has been set up just for him! Let's help pitch in and make it easier for a family to come forward and bring him home! You can go here if you'd like to donate to this sweet boy:) Please be in prayer for a family to come forward for him!

Okay so I will get back on track with my other posts tomorrow:) Have a good weekend friends!

Happy Birthday Mr. Boo Face!

2011-05-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

Today is Ash's birthday!

I love this guy A Lot!!!

Here's 31 reasons why:)

1. He loves the Lord with all his heart and soul.

2. He's the funniest person I know and is always making me laugh.

3. He stops at the grocery store after a long day at work to get milk, and brings me home a Dr. Pepper and some chocolate:)

4. He gave me six beautiful children and is about to bless me with a 7th.

5. He's such a good daddy, seriously it's one of my favorite things to watch him interact with them. Makes me fall in love with him a little more each time.

6. His laugh, it's contagious.

7. He smells soooo GOOD!

8. He's still a hottie:)

9. His passion for ministry and his desire to serve the Lord.

10. His fearlessness in trying new foods. Seriously he'll try anything once. ANYTHING!!

11. His sincere love for his family and friends.

12. When we pray in service he reaches over and holds my hand.

13. His adventurous personality.

14. The fact that he still likes to spend time with me:)

15. His lingo and funny sayings.

16. His love for babies. At church every time I turn around he's holding someone's baby:) And I'm happy that it has rubbed off on our son. Prestin is also known for cuddling with the little babies in our church:)

17. He's so smart.

18. The fact that he will hide in a spot for over 5 minutes for the perfect scare. Which me and the kids are often the unfortunate victims. Actually he doesn't even have to try with me, he could walk around the corner and startle me. I'm an easy target. But man you should hear the roaring laughter that follows, he lives for the moment:)

19. The happiness and laughter he brings to our family.

20. His thoughtfulness.

21. The way he tears up when he is speaking to me about our children, he's so proud of them.

22. He's an excellent problem solver.

23. He can build anything and you better believe I have a honey do list a mile long for him:)

24. His sense of style. He always looks good.

25. That he has gone with me to watch every single Harry Potter movie when it has come out in theaters even though it's not his favorite.

26. That he's a better cook than me and that the job is available if he wants it.

27. He's my voice of reason.

28. He strives to look at everything in a positive way.

29. That he still loves me when I'm not lovable at times.

30. That he takes the time to talk with me after a long day, even when I know he's all talked out. It means a lot.

31. That after my salvation in Jesus Christ, he is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Happy Birthday Ash!! I love you so very much!

I'm no wimp!

2011-05-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

Hi friends, I just wanted to ask you to pray for us. It seems like Satan is in full force right now trying to sabotage our efforts to get to Sergey. We are only one document away from finishing our Home Study! We have been trying to get some paperwork that is usually easy to obtain but for some reason it hasn't been. It's for our financial part of the home study and my husband is the only one who has access to it, actually not anymore since his password is not working and when he reset it, it still doesn't work. It's a long story:( But basically my husband has to put a call in to get the paperwork sent to us, but recently my husbands work schedule jumped from a 40-50 hour work week to a 70-80 hour work week, Satan's doing I'm sure of it:( And he just hasn't had the time. The statement that we need comes in the mail quarterly, so I have been desperately praying everyday that it will be in our mailbox. Once we get it, all we have to do is get the document notarized and send it off to our social worker. I have been praying for the Lord's will in this but I have to admit it's been really hard for me to just sit and wait. I have worked really hard to get all of these documents done as fast as possible so that Sergey doesn't have to wait any longer than he has to. So it's been frustrating to me, and to my husband as well. It's been out of his control the work that has fallen into his lap and he's been doing everything he can not to crumple under the weight of it all. The paperwork has been one of the most overwhelming things I have ever done. Sometimes it scares me as I am filling it all out. I get so stressed about making errors and that I'm going to cause delays in our adoption. And other times I feel so under qualified and have little understanding of what I am actually doing. I'm sure my agency is sick of seeing emails from me asking so many questions:) But I understand it's part of the process and I will do whatever it takes to get him, even if I need to step out of my comfort zone a little. Sergey's worth it! But I am definitely finding out that Adoption is not for wimps. Please pray for us, we so need the encouragement right now. Please pray for my husband, he's been under a lot of pressure lately. Pray that his schedule will reach some sort of normalcy soon. Thank you for listening to my rants:) I also wanted to tell you why I changed the donation box on my sidebar to a ChipIn. Through the ChipIn we are able to access the money right away when we need it. And with the Reece's Rainbow donation box, they hold the money until we are traveling at the end of our adoption. So this just makes more sense for us right now. You can donate to whichever one you feel more comfortable with, we appreciate each and every donation. I just wanted to clarify if anyone was wondering. Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our family.

Munchies with Mom

2011-05-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

Today I got to go to Madi's Pre-K class for Munchies with Mom:) It was super sweet and lovingly prepared by each child for their mommies. The teachers, Amy and Kayla as well as many helpers, did a wonderful job of putting this event together. The attention to detail was right up this lady's alley:) We were surprised with a lovely table setting and these lovely hats each made specifically by the children to their mommies. Madi's was precious, I loved it!

Then all the children came out and sang a few songs to us. So sweet!

Each child then said something that they loved about their mommy. Madi said, "I love my Mom because she gives me good food!" That is so something Madi would say, she asks me at least, AT LEAST, 40 times a day for something to eat. They then gave us a gift of a beautiful handmade necklace that I forgot to get a picture of:(

Me and my little lady:)

We dined on blueberry muffins, chocolate covered strawberries, crackers and pretzels.

We had such a wonderful time and Madi was so proud of everything she made. Thank you to Amy and Kayla for putting this together, it is now a very special memory for me and Madi:)

No we don't have goats.

2011-05-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

So today I was walking through the kitchen and saw coco puffs all over the floor in our kitchen and I thought to myself that they looked a lot like goat droppings. Welcome to the mind of Danielle Farley:)

Please excuse my messy floor, I blame it on the dog! I can easily see dog hair and muddy paw prints, grrrr! I give up:( So anywho, here is the coco puff culprit.

She's no goat, but can easily be just as stubborn:) She has not been feeling well and has been a snotty, clingy mess for the last two days. She is very sweet when she's sick which makes it easy to love on her and want to snuggle. But she was not really excited to have her picture taken:( Poor girl, mommy giggled the whole time:)

Mommy's still giggling!

But I made it all better.....with sprinkles!

Sprinkles have the magic to make everything better I have found:) Really, you should try it sometime!

Ash and Prestin made a doghouse for the messy floor maker, Zippie is his name. They did a great job:)

Zippie didn't want his picture taken I guess.

And just so you know I kind of like Zippie.... sometimes:) And if you want to know the reason I said yes to getting him in the first place well here ya go.

Seriously, how could you say no to that!!

Easter

2011-04-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

This post is late, I know:( Trying to get caught up on all the stuff that I had let build up during the fundraiser, like the mountain of laundry!! Unfortunately God did not move that mountain for me as well:) It's not so much doing the laundry as it is folding it. I LOATHE FOLDING LAUNDRY!!! Then putting it away, it takes hours. And there's never the satisfaction of knowing it's done for the month, or week for that matter. It's like the laundry is reproducing, sorry that was a weird little tangent. I'll move on to the real reason for this post, Easter weekend. We started it off by making a resurrection garden, idea found here and here. My description won't be quite as poetic as theirs. Making it with the kids was a wonderful visual for them and stirred up a lot of questions. Ash said this was his favorite new tradition, and I agree:)

Jesus laid in the tomb.

Guards are placed at the entrance of the tomb.

Early Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. "Don't be afraid!" he said "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as He said would happen. Come see where His body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and He is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there. Remember what I have told you."

On Saturday we did an egg hunt with our neighbor across the street, the kids had a blast! Prestin was to cool for a basket:(

So that was our weekend:) I will finish this post with my new apron that a lovely friend of mine just got me. I love it and have been prancing around in it all day. I was making a weird face, hence the headless pic:)

God Moved the Mountain!!

2011-04-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

I am crying as I write this because I am just so overwhelmed at all the love we were shown throughout this fundraiser. You ALL have blessed us more than you will ever know. Through the Chip In you helped us raise $13,156.01, combined with the money donated to our Family Sponsor Page(Sergey's blog button that you added to your blogs and Facebook) and money that was already in Sergey's account from Reece's Rainbow's Christmas Angel program, we now have a grand total of $17,017.00!!! Seriously people that is AMAZING!!! We are well on our way to bringing Sergey home, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, I wish I had more than a thank you to give you. I feel like I know so many of you from reading your blogs and conversing through emails, you ALL have been an encouragement to me. Thank you for your prayers as well, they mean the world to us! I have tried to thank each and everyone of you personally, but got a little behind, so I will be working on those this week:)

So now on to the prizes!!!

The winner of the iPad2 is....

Jennifer who said...
As a Mom of 2 adopted boys, my heart goes out to you. I hope my 10.00 along with lots of other donations will help get him here soon!

The winner of the Silhouette is...

Tami

The winners for the two handmade flower pins by Charlaanne are...

Sophie - pink flower pin
&
Deborah - mint flower pin

The winner for a Scentsy choice of warmer or $30.00 in product goes to...

Katie B. who said...
Donated again-thanks for the chance to be apart of this! (Thanks to Meg for the tip!) :)

The winner of the Fiona Lattice Shelf from Willow House is...

Jillian who said...
I just donated and I'm praying our dear Lord will bless this adoption. Thank you for opening your heart and home.

The winner of the Matryoshka Doll pillow from PETUNIAS is...

Megan H.

The winners of the rainbow hoodie and 'Whatever' print from Meg over at Whatever are...

Julie@Joy's Hope- rainbow hoodie

Sara- print

The winners of the premade blog designs by Two Happy Mamas blog design studio are...

Kari
&
Kathleen Taylor

The winner of the "Trust" print from Delightful Distractions is...

Melissa Hoop

The winner of the $100.00 Gift Certificate to Target is...

Annalea

The winner of the $50.00 Starbucks Gift Certificate is...

mysteryhistorymom

The winner of the "Love you to the moon print" by Dazeychic is...

Leal

The winner of the $20.00 Gift certificate to Happy Hooks Crochet is...

Scott and Mo

The winner of the necklace by Linkel Designs is...

Rebecca S. who said...
And donation #3!

The winners of the prints by Jones Design Company are...

Jeremiah and Briana-'You're here to be a light' Lamp print

Heidi-'I can not do it all' print

lisabrandow- 'Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord' tree print

The winner of the $25.00 Gift Certificate to mary had a little party is...

Nikki who said...

on April 17, 2011 @ 6:20 AM

The winner of the 'Start every morning with God' print by Chrissie Grace is...

Kristina Proffitt

The winner of the tea cozy by Knit Storm is...

Colleen

The winner of the $25.00 shop credit to a Little bit funky is...

Anonymous who said...
Donated! Hugs and kisses to Sergey #3

on April 15,2011 @ 11:49 AM

The winner of the Greenridge Organics Deluxe Facial Care Kit is...

Robin@thesweetestpear

The winner of their custom size and color 'Dream Big' onesie from Cassidy for Soren Lorensen Design is...

Stephanie who said...
I just donated to bring that sweet boy home!

on April 25, 2011 @ 6:47 AM

The winner of the $20.00 Gift Certificate to The Adorned Abode is...

The DeVisser Family

The winner for SophistiCATEd Posies where you will get to choose one hair accessory or your favorite piece of jewelry is...

Su

The winner of the Rainbow flag bunting from Daisys and dots is...

Lisa Johnson

The winners for the Erin Leigh prizes are...

Whitney - 'somewhere over the rainbow' print

Erica Lea - set of sweet birdy art, your choice of color

Misty Schluchter - $50.00 credit to Erin's shop

The winner of the Energy bundle is...

Amy Swanson

The winner of the Legacy of Clean bundle is...

Lee K.

The winner of the Kaleidoscope Gift Certificate is...

Laura

The winner of the 6 oz. tin of Watkins cinnamon is...

Shannon Morrison

The winner of the Life Made Lovely blog header, navigation bar and blog button set is...

Jessica H. (jah019@shsu.edu)

The winner of the Nescafe Piccolo Coffee Machine is...

Katie

The winners of the Matryoshka necklaces from Too Silly Sisters are...

Brianna - Little Miss Kitty Cat
&
Rachel - Little Miss Sweets
who said:
I donated. I can't wait for that precious little boy to be part of your family. God bless!!

Congratulations to all the winners!!! Please email me with your contact info:)

Last Call!

2011-04-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that today is the last day to donate to our Dream Big fundraiser!!

It will close tonight at midnight, and winners will be announced tomorrow morning! I'm so excited for all of you:) So keep spreading the word and I'll see you all tomorrow!

An answered prayer

2011-04-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

Remember this urgent post and how I asked you to pray like crazy for him? If you'd like to read the beginning of the story you can go here to catch up. But I'll go ahead and give you the short version.

This is Vanya:)

He had a dream, a dream of being adopted. Everyday he would ask his caretaker if a family was coming for him and everyday he was told no:( Could you imagine? At only eight years old, what disappointment he had to go through on a daily basis, ugh and such a heavy burden for an eight year old to carry. My heart couldn't bare it. But there's also something else, this little boy is HIV+ and being an older child on top of that, he had a lot of strikes against him. But our God is good, isn't He:) Just two weeks ago he was on a list to be transferred to a horrible institution for older children and adults, where once transferred he would never be able to be adopted, EVER!!

In steps Adeye dun dun dun! Prepared with the full armor of God ready to do battle for the least of these. She held a fundraiser to raise $15,000.00 to help a family come forward for him and ease the financial stress. Praying with all her might that a family would come. She took a risk, she was obedient and she looked at this fierce giant standing before her and asked us to help and pray. Over 100 items were given to help with this fundraiser and a little over $15,000.00 was raised to completely cover the cost of all his adoption fees. Things were looking great, God was answering our prayers financially, but then it seemed like it all came crashing down when the need for a family was needed in only a few days. Vanya would soon be transferred. And it couldn't just be as easy as a family saying that they wanted to adopt him, they had to be home study ready for his country and open to adopting a child who was HIV+. Seems like a lot to ask for...

But not with our God:)

I am happy to say God has answered our prayers for sweet Vanya. HE HAS A FAMILY!!!! I giggled and cried all at the same time when I saw this post. Our God is still a God of miracles. This all happened in a matter of two weeks, TWO WEEKS people!!! Two weeks ago this boy was destined for the institution, his dream was about to be crushed. But oh how the Lord loves the orphans and how He delights in showing His magnificence in His perfect timing. How exciting that day must have been for him when he asked his caretaker if a family was coming for him, fully expecting to hear another no. Can you imagine the double take this kid must have done when she said yes, oh it makes me so happy to think about it:) I am a happy girl tonight and breathing a sigh of relief for sweet Vanya, he will be with his family soon. But sadly there are still more just like Vanya who are still waiting.

There's been progress made in educating people about how to care for children who are HIV+. Project Hopeful has done a great job of answering FAQ and clearing up a lot of myths that tend to hold people back from adopting these children who need a home so badly. This video is adorable by the way, love the Joe dirt wig:)

He's Alive!!!

2011-04-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

(source found here)

Joy during trials

2011-04-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, I got my first negative comment today, EVER! An anonymous commenter posted these words on this post regarding our fundraiser.

The little one needs to be with a family that have some money in the bank!!!
how are you going to raise him if you don't have money???

So just for clarification, I want everyone to know that I am writing this with sincerity and without a sarcastic tone, because sometimes our words are not always properly conveyed through writing. I have never ever said that we don't have the money to raise this child. Quite the contrary, God has provided through my husband a very comfortable living for our family of eight soon to be nine. And no adoption agency in their right mind would even allow a family to come forward and adopt a child without first meeting certain criteria, including finances. This fundraiser is to raise the money to help offset some of the enormous fees that are required. I don't know about you but I don't know anyone who has $25,000.00 just laying around in a bank. We know we have been called to adopt Sergey and we are trusting in the Lord's provision and at last count of $11,000.00, He's providing very well:) And I think the 506 commenter's would also agree. We went into this knowing that their would be trials and those that would disagree with what we are doing but you know what this negative comment actually confirms in my heart that we are doing exactly what the Lord would have us do.

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4: 12 & 13

So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. 1 Peter 4:19
Satan you intended this to bring me down but you will not win! My spirits are lifted and I am moving forward fiercer than ever!!
And to the Anonymous commenter, I am choosing to believe that your intentions were only out of concern for our child's welfare and I hope that I have put your concerns at ease. Please know for future reference that I am happy to answer any questions as long as it is in a loving manner.

A BIG reminder!

2011-04-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder there's only a few more days left of our Dream Big fundraiser!!

So let's go out with a bang! If anyone who has already donated is willing to re post our fundraiser on their blogs, Facebook or Twitter to get the word out one last time you may add an extra comment for each one on the original fundraiser post! Thank you so much to ALL of you that have helped us already, you have ALL been such wonderful blessings to us and we appreciate EVERYTHING you have done to help us bring our little boy home! I know he will appreciate it to:) God bless!

2011-04-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

One Happy Mama is doing a sweet little giveaway over on her blog for a custom Sarah + Abraham print! Just look at the sweetness they sell in their shop:)

They also have boy products as well:) So go on over and check it out it's free to enter! Have a wonderful day friends!!

What's He calling you to do?

2011-04-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

I read this post yesterday from one of my favorite blogs, No Greater Joy Mom. Adeye is the one who usually writes but this post is from her husband Anthony, and it is so awesome when men take a stand and speak up for 'the least of these'. His words tell of the very sad and real truth that these children face on a daily basis. Christians what are we going to do about this? Let's get a fire started underneath us and ask God what He wants us to do! Not everyone is called to adopt, but as Christians we are ALL called to help (James 1:27). This life we are living is not about us, it is about service to others and denying ourselves and glorifying God in everything we do. We are here to do the Lord's work whatever that may be, it's different for everyone. If you are not being called to adopt, then GIVE! And I'm not just speaking about our fundraiser, there are so many families in the process of adoption and so very many children that need your help as well, actually 147 million and counting! This shouldn't be!!! Give of your time, finances, and PRAYER!!! We are fighting a battle people!!!! "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12. This is VERY REAL and we as Christians are turning a blind eye to this growing problem. And when I say WE I am speaking to myself as well. It wasn't until December that this fire started in my heart. I was the one who turned the channel when they would advertise of the needy children in other countries. I was the one who scrolled past blog buttons asking for prayer for a child in need of a surgery or struggling for their very lives. I was the one who wouldn't watch the news because I didn't want to be effected by all the sadness that's out there. BUT NO MORE!!! My heart has been changed and for the better and I have found JOY amidst all the pain. For those of you women who are feeling called to adopt DO NOT stop praying for your husbands. God will get a hold of their hearts as well, I've heard many stories of how God has worked in their husbands lives, even my own hubby:) Over at "And Carter makes three" Jake, a new daddy to be, talks about how God worked in his heart. After saying "no" to his wife's request to adopt he tells how he was moved after seeing a picture of a little boy and knowing without a doubt that he was his son! Also ladies be mindful of what he says at the end...

I know there are folks out there that may have a resistant husband or family to the idea of adoption or even special needs adoption, but a bit of advice.....pray. One of the most encouraging things to me was the fact that Ashley prayed and prayed, but never once pushed the issue with me. She valued my thoughts but knew that if her desires were of God’s design, then I would come around at some point. She trusted, trusted that God would reveal himself to me a very real way. He did, and I am grateful.

So I'm gonna step off my soap box now, but I encourage you to really think and pray about what your role is regarding the orphan crisis. Let God lead you in this, taking that first step is always the scariest but I promise you will never regret it:)

My hope is in you Lord!

2011-04-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

Wow! The Lord is really speaking to my heart today through His word and His people. A lovely reader encouraged me to read these verses today and they were exactly what I needed to hear, thank you Aly.

She has also made this beautiful print as a reminder, go visit Aly over at the mommie diaries to print your own copy:)

We are worried about time, but He is concerned with timing.

2011-04-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness how this post spoke to my heart this morning! Here's a little blip of what Amanda shared...

Our Jesus loves us SO much! His waiting is truly His love for us! How hard this is to believe, but how awesome it is to share in bringing Him glory through our testimonies that are birthed through these hard waiting times. Be comforted knowing that God does love you and SO empathizes with your longings. He'll come through...hold on...

Please go and read the rest of this post, I know it will be a blessing to you as well:)

The title of this post were words of encouragement sent to me via a text from my husband a few weeks ago that I have been holding onto throughout this adoption process. Love that man!

I've been tagged!

2011-04-18T17:21:00.000-07:00

I know this is probably nothing new to many of you but this is the first time in four years of blogging that I have ever been tagged! My sweet friends Angela and Alyssa have asked me to share my favorite things. But on top of that I have also received an award from a very dear friend, thank you Katrina!

So here it goes...

My Favorite Things~

Food~ Mexican!!!!! Or a cheeseburger and fries with a Dr. Pepper, that is the meal I've had after I've delivered every baby:)
Color~  Red, ooh and add a hint of aqua or turquoise and I'm one happy girl:)
Animal~ I'm probably going to upset some people but I have found over the years that I am just not an animal lover. We do have a cat and a dog, which drive me CRAZY!!! I dislike pet hair very much as well as barking and wet dog smell, bleh!! Sorry, I'm still a very nice person!!:)
Dessert~  Paradise pie at Chili's, why are there no Chili's in WA? Or that don't take an hour and a half to drive to anyways:(
Artist~ U2, Pearl Jam, Muse... there are so many memories wrapped up in some of those songs. There are actually too many to list. I'm pretty complex and so is my taste in music, it's pretty much whatever mood I'm in as well as the season of year. I know weird huh!
Pair of shoes~  I'm an AZ girl so flip flops will probably always be my favorite, but they aren't always the smartest shoe of choice here in WA:)
Outfit~ Good pair of jeans, a feminine top with a cardigan and cute flats!
Skinny jeans~ What are those?:)
Brand~ I love to shop at Target, Old Navy and the Gap.
Perfume~ I don't usually wear perfume because I haven't found one that I like or can afford:) I'm usually sporting Downy fabric softener, lol! I'd love to hear some of your favorites.
Accessory~ A pair of faux diamond earrings and my wedding ring are usually what I wear.
City~ Phoenix
Hobbies~  Other than blogging I haven't really done too much hobbying(I'm making that a word) lately. But I like to go to vintage/antique stores when I can.
Beauty Products~ My straightener for straight days and Garnier Fructise Curl shaping spray gel for the curly days.
Holiday~ Christmas
Snack~ I like to scoop cottage cheese with lays potato chips, yum!
Movie~  The Matrix Trilogy, Transformers 1... I really like action and scary movies! Although, my taste in movies is just as complex as my taste in Music. One day I can watch the movie 300 and the next, Mary Poppins. It's a gift really:)
Song~  I think it's safer if I go with a hymn on this one:), "It is well with my soul"
Guilty Pleasure~ Dr. Pepper with crushed ice, just hook me up to an I.V! Ummm, pretty much any candy that has milk chocolate and peanut butter, BEST COMBINATION EVER!!!! A good decorating magazine, I love to get inspired from the pics.

I am going to tag Amy, Courtney, Kimberlee, Meg, Amy J. and Kristina because I would like to know a little more about them!

And here is the award from my friend Katrina. Thank you for thinking of me, I'm blushing:)

Rules of this Award:

1. Thank and link back to the person giving me this award.

2. Share seven things about me.

3. Pass this award on to other bloggers I have recently discovered and think are fantastic!

4. Contact these bloggers to tell them I have awarded them.

Seven things you may or may not know about me~

1. I was a massage therapist for four years.

2. When I was in High School I wanted to go to school to be a special effects makeup artist, my how things have changed...for the better:)

3. I have never seen a movie in 3D:(

4. I love monsoon season in AZ.

5. I still get butterflies in my stomach when Ash walks into a room:)

6. I drive a 12 passenger van, that I affectionately call "The Beast".

7. My biggest pet peeve is when someone doesn't clear the timer on the microwave, grrr! I will get up and clear it when I'm eating because it bothers me that much. Yet I can walk past 5 loads of laundry needing to be folded for days and not bat an eye. I really have my priorities in order, don't I?

Okay so I am going to give this award to Madison over at From My Heart To Yours, she is 13 years old and her parents have recently adopted her little brother from Eastern Europe who also shares Sergey's extra chromosome. And she is also one of the biggest advocates for Reece's Rainbow's children I've ever met!

And also Kristina over at One Happy Mama, because my blog is now cuter than ever because of her:)

And if you've read this far, thank you:)

Urgent!!!!

2011-04-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

I'd like to share this story with everyone, let's storm the gates of Heaven for this little boy. He has a BIG dream as well:) Please Read!!!!

This is getting pretty BIG!!!

2011-04-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

God is so good!!! And you ALL have been so wonderful, we still have prizes coming in. So many that I have to start another post:) Keep em' coming!

Amber over at Timeless Treasures is donating 10% of every sale to our fundraiser if you leave a message at checkout saying that you are helping support Sergey and our family. This however will not get you an entry into our fundraiser, you must still donate the minimum $10.00. Thank you Amber for supporting our family:)

Kate over at Knit Storm has donated this very sweet tea cozy! I LOVE IT!!!

Crystal over at a little bit funky is donating $25.00 in shop credit to her UBER CUTE Etsy shop!!

Here are some of my favorites from her shop:)

Colleen from Greenridge Organics is donating a Deluxe Facial Care Kit worth $130.00, WOWZA!! Get ready to pamper yourself:)

Cassidy has lovingly purchased an adorable onesie from Soren Lorensen Design . One lucky winner will get to pick their choice of color and size, ADORABLE!!!! I love the shop's name and of course the logo on the onesie, perfect!

Kelly over at The Adorned Abode is donating a $20.00 Gift Certificate to her shop!

Here's some of the sweet things she has in her shop:)

Gretchen from SophistiCATEd Posies is donating to one lovely winner their choice of any hair accessory or jewelry from her shop! She has some very lovely items, here are just a few of my faves, but don't take my word for it go check out her lovely shop for yourself:)

Trish over at Daisys and dots is donating the HAPPIEST bunting EVER!!! Look at those CLOUDS:)

Erin is offering 3 donations!!! Yay!!! 3 people will be winning Erin's lovely art, SO FUN!!!

1. The first prize is this lovely print and also my favorite:)

2. The second, is a set of these sweet birdy prints. The winner can choose pink, blue or colored.

3. And last but not least Erin is offering a $50.00 Gift Certificate to her shop, PHEW!! That's awesome:)

Stephen and Erin are donating 3 separate items from their business to 3 lucky winners:) Erin also happens to be my little sister:)

1. The first prize is an Energy bundle, valued at over $90.00!!!

2. This is a huge cleaning bundle! Legacy of clean products are made with natural ingredients and won't irritate your skin or the planet! This bundle is valued at $65.00, one lucky winner will get ALL of this!!!

3. And lastly a Kaleidoscope Gift Certificate valued at $30.00. Comes with a full-colored album showing the gifts in this collection.

Monika is donating a 6 oz. tin of Watkins cinnamon, mmm don't cinnamon rolls sound good right now:)

Heather over at a Life Made Lovely is donating a blog header, navigation bar and blog button set valued at $78.00!!! Heather has a very lovely blog and is one of my favorite blog designers, I'm so excited to add her to our fundraiser! Here are a few examples of her designs:) Gorgeous!!

Megan is giving to one lucky winner a Nescafe Dolce Gusto by Krups Piccolo Coffee Machine in the winner's choice of color as well as five boxes of coffee, winner's choice:) Wow thanks Megan!!

Lori from Too Silly Sisters is donating two of the sweetest little necklaces I've ever seen!!

*Please kindly go to the original "Dreaming Big" post to leave comments to enter our fundraiser. Thank you:)

Dreaming Big!!!

2011-04-11T00:19:00.000-07:00

*The Fundraiser is closed*

*Check here for an important update of how you can gain a few more entries to our fundraiser, hurry there's only a few days left!!!

*MY CUP RUNNETH OVER:) Yay!!, I had to add another post because there are so many prizes coming in that this post can't handle anymore!!! You can go here to see all the other GOODIES!!!

*PRIZE UPDATE!!! 4/13- More prizes are coming in, I'm so EXCITED for you guys!! Scroll down to see the new arrivals. Thank you to ALL the people who continue to email me about donating items to our fundraiser, it is greatly appreciated and very much welcomed:)

*UPDATE!!! 4/12- I just want to say that you ALL have greatly blessed us with your donations and words of encouragement. EACH AND EVERY donation is greatly appreciated no matter how much. Me and my kiddos do a HAPPY DANCE for ALL of them! You are very much appreciated dear friends and I am working frantically to reach all of you to thank you personally, whether through your blogs or by email. I am sorry to say that some of my messages have been sent back due to errors. But I will keep resending them! Just know that we are sincerely grateful for the outpouring of love you have shown us and our very special little boy:) THANK YOU!!!

* I am adding an update to let you know that as of right now we have $610.00, I have no idea why my ChipIn is not updating. If anyone can help me with this please by all means HELP:) I would also like to add that I just got the BIGGEST SURPRISE EVER!!!!! A couple that is now near and dear to my heart has generously donated an iPad 2 (32 gig) to our fundraiser!!!!! TO GOD BE THE GLORY GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!!!!! I am adding it to the list of prizes below, many blessings to ALL of you dear friends and THANK YOU!!!!!

It's finally here!! We are so excited to see what God is about to do! As my new sweet friend Meg said to me in an email "Dream BIG Danielle, this is God we're talkin' about! He dreams big for us so let's dream big together." So Perfect!! Hence the inspiration for the name of our fundraiser:) So that's what we're doing, there's no holding back. We're dreaming BIG and going for the whole shebang! A whopping $25,000.00, do I believe we can raise this kind of money? I believe that anything is possible with God, but no matter what, God is still good! His thoughts are not my thoughts and His ways are not my ways, and I am perfectly fine with that:) He tells us in His word that even if we have faith the size of a teeny tiny mustard seed we can say to that mountain "MOVE" and it will be done. So here we stand with all the faith we can muster, facing a mountain of money that seems overwhelming and waaaaaay over on the other side waits the sweetest little boy you've ever seen.

This is Sergey (insert awww!!) This is the precious little boy with a special extra chromosome that we hope to make apart of our family very soon! International adoption from Eastern Europe is not cheap, after all is said and done we will be paying almost $33,000.00 to bring Sergey home, who by the way is worth every single penny:) Why so much you ask? Well here's a break down:

*$250.00 for application fee to our agency

*$1,000.00 Consultation fee to our agency

*$7,000.00 Dossier (this is the paperwork that is sent to Sergey's country which includes translating the documents)

*16,500.00 Foreign program fee (this covers the processing of the adoption)

*then there are a multitude of a lot of other little fees that all add up to a very big fee but if I were to write them all here this would be a very long post, but if you would like to know I would be happy to email you the list:)

We believe God is asking us to step out in faith to bring Sergey home, He has a plan so we are trusting in His provision. It's heartbreaking that it has to cost so much because truth be told these children are living on borrowed time. If these children are not adopted between the ages of 4 and 5 they will be sent to an adult mental institution where they will be tied to cribs to live out the remainder of their lives. Which statistically 95% of these children will die in the very first year of being in these institutions mainly due to starvation, as well as trauma from the other adult patients and just plain loss of hope. I share this with you not to be a downer but to be a voice of hope for these children. "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves...defend the rights of the needy." Proverbs 31:8,9. And because until last December I was completely ignorant to the fates of these children, so I know for some of you reading this right now it is also the first time you are hearing of this. Just like you I sat reading a blog about a sweet little boy needing a family and my heart was broken. I clicked on the link to learn more about these children who were waiting for their forever families and was led to Reece's Rainbow. When I visited RR I fell in love with these precious children, which inevitably led us to find our son. I cannot in good conscience start this fundraiser without first letting you know about this amazing organization and I implore you to please visit their site. You will not be sorry you did and who knows you just might find your son or daughter waiting for you to:)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I would like to start out by saying thank you to all the lovely ladies who generously donated to this fundraiser. I am humbled and blessed beyond words that these women jumped at the chance to help me without ever having met me. What wonderful examples of Christ's love:)

Here's how to enter the drawing for the happiest prizes EVER!!!!

*The Fundraiser will run from April 11-25.
*Make a donation of at least $10.00 to Sergey's Dream Big ChipIn on the top right hand corner of my sidebar.
*You can leave one comment for every $10.00 you donate to receive extra entries!
*After donating you can make additional comments(1 for each) if you tweet, blog or Facebook about this fundraiser! Please help us spread the word and please feel free to grab Sergey's button for your blogs as well:)
*All winners will be chosen by Random.org.

All right here we go!!

*PRIZE UPDATES!!!! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!!

You could be the winner of a brand spankin new iPad 2 (32 gig)!!!!

* Charlaanne is donating two of these BEAUTIFUL handmade flowers!! If you have never visited her blog before it is a MUST, absolute pure loveliness.

* My VERY good friend Lisa back home in my lovely hometown of AZ is a Scentsy Independent Consultant. If you have never smelled these wickless Scentsations then you have been missing out my dear friends. Your house will smell AMAZING as well as your car! Lisa is generously donating to one LUCKY WINNER, their choice of Scentsy warmer OR $30.00 worth of other products!!

Here are just a few examples of what she has to offer:)

The Faith Warmer

And just look at these adorable Scentsy buddies for your kiddos, so CUTE!!! Go visit her site to see more:)

*Sweet Jenni, has graciously donated a Silhouette SD machine, WOO HOO!!!!

*One of the Loveliest ladies I know,my friend Denise, is donating a (1) beautiful Fiona Lattice Shelf from Willow House. They have the most beautiful accessories for your home, so be sure to check out her online catalog!

* Kelly over at PETUNIAS is giving away one of these sweet Matryoshka/Babushka doll pillows! If you didn't already guess where Sergey is from by his name then this will give you an extra hint:)

1. An adorable custom sized rainbow hoodie and Whatever print (Phil. 4:8) by Meg, you can visit her blog here.

2. Two predesigned blog designs by Kristina over at:

She is the lovely lady who designed my banner and logo for our fundrasier! And here are just a a couple examples of her work:)

3. This lovely print of my favorite verse by Amy J.

4. Marisela, a friend that I have recently come into contact with after we committed to Sergey. She has prayed for Sergey to find a family ever since she saw him on Reece's Rainbow. She loves him with a Mommy's heart and has generously donated two gift cards to help us reach our goal!

The first is $100.00 Gift Card to

And second is a $50.00 Gift Card to

5. Shelli over at Dazeychic is donating this very sweet print! And by the way she's having a sale:)

6. Sam is donating a $20.00 Gift Certificate to her shop at:

Just look at some of the adorableness she has to offer!! Go on over and like her on Facebook so you can be kept up to date on her newest designs and sales!

7. Kelly is donating this BEAUTIFUL necklace from her shop

8. Emily has donated 3 beautiful prints to our cause. You can visit her lovely blog and shop over at:

9. Kristen is donating a $25.00 Gift Certificate to her shop at

Here's a little taste of what she creates, I have ordered her cupcake toppers in the past for my daughter's birthday party and can attest to the quality of her work:) So CUTE!!!

10. Chrissie Grace is donating this happy print, also a very important reminder, from her shop

So there you have it folks! Keep us in your prayers and thank you all for being His hands and feet and coming along side us to help bring our little boy home! MOVE MOUNTAIN MOVE!!!!

In Him

Danielle

*The Fundraiser is closed*

Yay!!

2011-04-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

We just got Sergey's button!!! Please feel free to grab it from my sidebar and add it to your blogs and FB pages. It links directly to our Family Sponsor Page at Reece's Rainbow. And please drop me a line to tell me you did, I'd love to visit your blog and say thank you personally:) Have a great day!

2011-04-04T00:28:00.000-07:00

I just want to take a moment and say how incredibly thankful for ALL the wonderful women I have met through this blogging world! In the last week women I don't even know have generously donated items to our fundraiser! I feel overwhelming joy right now, thank you Lord for these women's hearts and their willingness to serve others! Over the last week I have made a very special friend with Kristina over at One Happy Mama , she makes the most cheerful blog designs and art you've ever seen. If you haven't been over to her blog yet, YOU NEED TO GO NOW!!!! Go ahead I'll wait;)

Wasn't I right? Seriously, it's the happiest place ever, right up there with Disney Land! She has a beautiful heart for the Lord and has been richly blessed with a beautiful family to boot! She is donating some really cool stuff, I can't wait to show you!!!! And if that wasn't enough, she decided to make me the beautiful new blog banner that you see above. Seriously when she told me she wanted to do this for me my jaw fell on the floor. I was so excited! I love how it turned out. But let me tell you a little something about Kristina, this girls got a GREAT BIG heart. So much so that after I told her what I was going to name the fundraiser she went ahead and designed a logo for that as well! I am just so THANKFUL!!! By the way I know I am using a lot of exclamation points, and I don't foresee an end coming soon:)

So with all that being said I'd like to reveal the name of our fundraiser........

Is that not the most adorable thing you've ever seen? The name was inspired by a lovely lady who is also donating to our fundraiser who wrote in an email to me "Dream big Danielle, this is God we're talkin' about! He dreams big for us so let's dream big together." Seriously amazing women that have come into my life! All coming alongside a fellow believer in Christ, whom they have never met, and being His hands and feet to help bring this precious little one home. I'm amazed by God's goodness, but really I shouldn't be surprised at all. I serve a loving God who has always provided and has blessed me beyond my imagination, even when I am undeserving. I am sincerely humbled.

So please put this on your calendars, the fundraiser starts on April 11th and will end on April 25th, I hope you will spread the word like crazy for us and please keep our family and this fundraiser in your prayers. Also, if you still have something to donate or know someone who might, please let me know. I want this to be BIG!!! I want this fundraiser to be a blessing to others, I'm already praying for the people who are going to be donating, that they would be greatly blessed to know all their lives that they were apart of something BIG. That they helped save a life and brought abundant joy to a family who is in love with an amazing little boy. And I am hoping for the blessing of making some more friends along the way, please if you've never said hi before I'd love to hear from you in the comments below:)

*I have no idea why my font changed at the end of the paragraph, but I can't seem to fix it:(

The word is getting out!

2011-03-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful to Amy J. over at Delightful Distractions for posting about our story and fundraiser, you can go see it here. You will also want to go check out her Etsy shop, because she has the most lovely stationary and prints ever! And she is also going to be apart of our fundraiser, Woo Hoo! This woman is AWESOME!!! Not to mention she has one of the biggest hearts for the Lord, LOVE that even more!! Our fundraiser is filling up, I'm so excited I can't wait to show you! But you'll have to wait just a little longer, hee hee:) Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Birthday Girl

2011-03-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Madi's fifth birthday!

We made a fun cake together.

After we ate cake we all watched Tangled together, such a good movie!

Here are some fun facts about the birthday girl:)

She has her Dad's wit.

She is gorgeous!

She has a GREAT big heart.

She is by far one of the funniest people I know.

I absolutely adore this girl! And I want to enjoy who she is at this moment in time. I love her so much and I am honored that God chose me to be her Mama. She is a huge blessing in our lives and I can honestly say that when I look at her I view her as a blessing from God. I remember when I was pregnant and we just knew she was a boy, she just had to be.

I am so glad that God does the choosing for us:) Happy Birthday baby doll!

Putting it out there

2011-03-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

So as many of you know we are adopting a little boy from Eastern Europe and we are so very excited about this! But as many of you also know International adoption is not cheap, after all is said and done we will be paying close to $30,000.00 for our little boy, who by the way is completely worth it:) And seriously which one of us would not pay even more to save the lives of our children? Some of you may be asking yourselves, "Why are they adopting if they don't have the money?". Well we believe that God is calling us to bring this beautiful, precious little boy into our family and He has asked us to step out in faith. We already know that He has gone before us and has prepared the way. And we also believe, and know from past experiences, that when He asks you to do something the best thing to do is listen and obey. I also believe that He wants to be glorified throughout this process and wants to see His beautiful bride, His body of believers be His hands and feet. And what better way than to come along side fellow believers and play a part in bringing home this sweet angel.

I am in the process of setting up a fundraiser for our little guy here on my blog and am asking for your help. If you or anyone you know of would like to help us by donating an item to our fundraiser it would be greatly appreciated. Items could be anything from gift cards, to services, or to those who sell their wares on Etsy or are just creatively gifted. I am thinking of hosting it mid-April, so if you could let me know soon that would be awesome!! You can email or Facebook me whatever's easier. So spread the word and let me know. I love you guys and am so thankful for all of you and I know he will be too:)

And just a side note I had to take our pay pal button down because Reece's Rainbow was having so many hits and donations that their server could not keep up! And having the donation boxes on all the blogs was too much for it to handle. Isn't that a wonderful problem to have, the situation these children are facing is being spread far and wide and people are realizing the huge need for these kids! I LOVE IT!!!!! Our donation box will be back soon but if you would like to donate to our adoption just click on Sergey's picture on the sidebar and it will take you to our Family Sponsor Page. Thanks again:)

Happy Friday

2011-03-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

So we got an unexpected blessing yesterday from Sergey's prayer warrior, who by the way is also named Danielle. You can follow her blog here she has a huge heart for these children and has a beautiful love with designer genes herself. She messaged me on FB with an urgent message to message her back when I was able to. I asked her what was up and in literally 2 seconds she sent me this....

It's Sergey!!!!!! Doesn't he look absolutely beautiful? And he looks so healthy, that makes this mommy's heart so very happy!!! I can't thank Danielle enough, but a very special thanks needs to go to a very special 13 year old girl named Madison. Her parents are adopting a little boy named Josiah who also has Ds, he is absolutely adorable! Madison messaged Danielle, saying that she knew Sergey's mommy would want to see these pics, Madison you were so very right!! How she found them I'll never know. But what a sweet, selfless heart this special girl has. You can follow her sweet blog here and please go and send her a sweet message:) I am on cloud 9 right now and cannot stop staring at his sweet face, look at those cheeks! Oh what a happy day, I have peace in my heart at this very moment. He looks healthy and happy, thank you God for giving us this HUGE blessing!!!

Just a few of my favorites

2011-03-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

I am so loving these prints from Dazeychic, I love her art period! But these are some of my favorites:) Enjoy!

So sweet.

Love this one for Tatum and Avery's Room.

This one I really like for Sergey:)

Can't forget this one.

Love them! She is having a Spring SALE March 21-25th, she's giving you 25% off your entire order! Hurry on over!

A good day

2011-03-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

Sunday was such a good family day for us, even though Ash was leaving to go out of town that evening. That part was sad:( We had a wonderful time fellowshipping with our church family and hearing God's word preached. Then on our way home Ash treated us all to lunch at Red Robin, this is a very rare treat indeed to go out as a family to eat. It's not that our kid's aren't well behaved at restaurants it's just a lot to take on sometimes. And also the expense of eight people dining out makes these events few and far between, so they are very special to us. There's more meaning when we do it this way, I don't know how many times our kids said thank you:)

They were truly appreciative and knew that it was special instead of just expecting that they're going to be taken out. Now don't get me wrong our kids are not perfect angels all the time, but it was refreshing to see their gratitude for something that is so common now days. The meal was enjoyable, the kids were happy and well behaved even Sadie sat completely content to color. I was completely thankful for this day, it may sound silly to the one reading this, but I was very aware at that time how very much I have been blessed. My husband is a huge blessing from the Lord, I depend on him so much for so many things. I am grateful for him and his love for me and our children. He works hard to provide for us and I love that he is sensitive to our family to know when just such a treat is needed.

I have been given six wonderful blessings, hopefully soon to be seven, and in a world where children are viewed as burdens and financial responsibilities other than what God has intended for them to be, JOY, REWARDS, BLESSINGS, it makes my heart sick.

I can't wait to bring Sergey home to be apart of our family. I'm completely in love with him and my heart aches that he is so far away and I have no idea what is going on in his life. Is there someone holding him, giving him hugs and kisses (I doubt it), making sure he's had enough to eat and drink?

My prayer for him has been that someone would come into that orphanage and love on him, that he would know what love is. Yes this will make it harder for us when we come to get him, he would be bonded to someone already and it would be hard on us and him to separate from that person.

So again while this is my prayer for him and yes it would be hard on us, this journey that we are on has never been about us, first and foremost it is about God and His glory. It is about obedience to Him and stepping out in faith, absolutely blind faith!!

We don't have all the money for this adoption and we don't have a clue about raising a child with special needs. But I do know the God I serve and He has asked us to step out and GO! Do I get scared sometimes, oh yeah you bet. But I believe that if my God can create the heavens and the earth by just speaking it then He WILL give us the ability to parent this very special child.

How can I question and put my human limits on an almighty powerful God? His power is made perfect in our weakness and He will equip us with everything we need. Because all things are possible with Him and this is about His glory being revealed in our hearts, in our lives, in this family, in this child, and in our church and community. So if I question my God about what I can't see then where is my faith, that doesn't sit well with me. So we GO!

Please join me

2011-03-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

Please everyone pray for Tesney and her family! They went to get their sweet little boy this week and were denied by the judge! The judge feels that little Kirill would do better in an institution than with a family who will love him. This is so horrible, my heart is breaking for them right now. I can't imagine what they are feeling.

There is hope though. They are going to appeal, if you would like to read more of this story you can go to her blog here.

I am also going out on a limb here and asking if anyone would like to join me this Friday, March 25th to pray and fast for them, the judge and all who will be a part in this decision making process for sweet Kirill's life. You can do an all day fast, Sunset to Sundown, or skip one meal. Whatever God has laid on your heart to do.

Please spread the word so that we can get as many people praying and fasting as possible for this sweet family who has stepped out in faith and obedience to God. Thank you and God bless!

Happy Friday

2011-03-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

Before

After

I got all of the baskets on clearance at Fred Meyer for .60 cents a piece! This makes me so Happy!!! I never thought my junk drawer could make me smile:) I even open it just to look at it, I know I'm weird:)

I could choose not to move, but I refuse!

2011-03-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Check out our story!

2011-03-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

Go check out our Family Sponsorship Page to see our little story. We are very excited for this:)

Today I sent out for my passport, another thing crossed off the list! I also called some businesses about fundraising, I got more no's than yes's but I'm persistent;) We are trying to get donation boxes out into small businesses, if anyone is interested let me know and I will send you one. Thank you again for all your support and prayers!

Happy Friday

2011-03-11T22:22:00.000-08:00

I have missed doing "Happy Friday" so I need to post for this Friday even though there's only three hours left of it:)

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate, my new fave!

Sadie's new hat.

Sadie's new helmet:)

I'm loving this print "Wee Little Town", especially the little ice cream truck. For those of you who don't know, my hubby has worked for Dreyer's Grand Ice cream, now Nestle D.S.D, for 12 1/2 years. Ice cream is kind of a big deal in our home. I think this would look really sweet in Sergey's(who we affectionately call Sarge) room:)

Sisters

Silly girl

Thank you for all the sweet comments about our adoption and for those of you who have donated, it is greatly appreciated. God has been an amazing provider throughout the whole process. For example, I had to call the records department two days ago because there was a problem with getting my birth certificate. I talked to a very sweet lady who was determined to get the problem fixed for me. She was able to get it all worked out, but I was thinking I was now going to have to wait that much longer for it to come in the mail. Which would mean that I would have to wait longer to get my passport. I kept telling myself it's all in God's perfect timing. Well as I was getting into the car to take the kid's to school this morning the UPS guy drove up and delivered them to me. Perfect timing! I was so excited and relieved, thank you God! We also sent out our fingerprints to the FBI as well as tons of other paperwork, things are moving right along. We ask for your continued prayer throughout this process. We are also trying to raise more funds and have a few fundraising ideas up our sleeves. If anyone has any ideas we'd love to hear them! I hope your Friday was a happy one, have a good weekend and a good night.

We have some exciting news!

2011-03-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

So I have been missing in action for a while now and that's because I have been up to my eyeballs in paperwork...

paperwork for this sweet little guy!

Meet the newest Farley! His name is Sergey, he's 2 1/2 years old and he has Down Syndrome. And we are super excited to make him apart of our family! We just got permission a few days ago to be able to share our news with friends and family. Those of you who read this blog know that I have posted many things about the Orphan crisis, it has been a burden on my heart for a while now. But it wasn't until December 2010 when I first saw sweet little Cliff through Reece's Rainbow's Angel Tree Program that we seriously started praying about what we were to do. We firmly believe the Orphan crisis is the Christian's problem and not the worlds'. We had already fallen in love with our little guy but we wanted to make sure that it was God's will for us. So while we waited for God to show us we did anything we could to help, like becoming a Prayer Warrior for Vladislav. I pray desperately for him daily that a family will find him.

It wasn't until February 23, 2011 that the Lord confirmed it in our hearts that we were to make Sergey apart of our family. We contacted Reece's Rainbow immediately! We are now in the beginning stages of our Home Study, we had our first meeting last Thursday and passed with flying colors:) We covet your prayers though, as we are not yet out of the woods. We still have to send out paperwork to the country that Sergey is from to be matched to him. While we are matched to him through our agency we aren't through the country he is from. So the rush is to get out our paperwork for his country as soon as possible! We are still waiting on certified copies of my birth certificates, my original was damaged by our family dog when I was growing up, so that I can get my passport. Which is imperative for most of our documents. Fingerprinting, medical exams for us and the kids, and coming up with all the funds for the adoption, phew! Our main prayer throughout this whole adoption is for God to be glorified through it all, for less of us and a whole lot of Him!!! He has already shown Himself in so many ways throughout this process, that we are so excited to see Him at work throughout the rest. We are also heading into uncharted territory, we know some of what to expect, but know that there will be many changes to come. We are also humbly asking for any help you can give financially. International adoption is not cheap so we are asking that you would prayerfully consider giving to our adoption fund. All donations are tax deductible. Reece's Rainbow has set up an adoption grant fund in honor of Sergey and our family. We haven't gotten our official link with our story attached yet but it is coming soon. But until then you can go here to donate. Seriously we understand how tight things can be, so even if it's $2.00 it all adds up and will be greatly appreciated. We love you guys and want everyone to be apart of this journey with us. We want you all to see God's work in this!

Love,

The Farley's

Random Acts of Kindness

2011-02-20T21:29:00.000-08:00

Image found here

Did you know that last week was National Random Acts of Kindness Week? I'm a little late, but this has got me so excited! What a wonderful way to minister to our family and friends of Christ's love, but also how exciting is it to show perfect strangers His love. So come on are you with me, let's make this week a week of kindness and every week for that matter. Let's leave cookies in our mailbox for the mailman/woman or take some to the fire station or police dept. and let them know how much they're appreciated and more importantly how much Jesus loves them. Pay for the person behind you at the drive thru at Starbucks or McDonald's and pass along a note of kindness. I can think of so many more, but these will get us started anyways, and get your kids involved. Let's show these people we're crazy, crazy in love for the Lord! I'd love to hear how everyone is showing acts of kindness this week, leave a comment below and put it as anonymous if you'd like. I think it would be fun and an encouragement to others. Have fun this week!

I am also linking this post here

I lovely love this!

2011-02-18T20:56:00.000-08:00

So if any of you are a fan of the show Yo Gabba Gabba like our family is, I know you will appreciate this story. One of the creators of the show has a daughter that was born with some very serious health issues and as we all know that usually comes with some pretty hefty medical bills. Heather over at Blessed Little Nest has posted a lovely story of this family and has shown us a way that we can all help, Merilee of the Etsy shop Tuesday Morning, who created these lovely prints from the lyrics of the song above, is donating all the proceeds from these prints to the Shultz family to help cover their medical expenses. And as a bonus when you purchase one of these Lovely Love prints she is offering you one free print of your choice. But you need to hurry, it only lasts until this Sunday! I just ordered this sweet print

And got this one free!

Tuesday Morning

And please keep this family in your prayers:)

Happy Friday

2011-02-18T13:16:00.000-08:00

Yummy, yummy cocoa puffs!

Daddy with just some of his loves.

Our Valentine's to each other.

The Library finally got it back in, so I rushed over to pick it up. I'm sure it will be devoured in a day:)

Our little love:)

He's looking to us

2011-02-16T22:32:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the love!

2011-02-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

So I wanted to post an answer to a question I got yesterday about donating clothes to the orphans through Reece's Rainbow. I emailed Andrea over at RR, she said they do not have a specific ministry for clothing donation but that you could donate it to Life2orphans. Thank you so much for the inquiry Berry Girl, that is an awesome way to help and I hope this info helps:)

On a side note I want to thank Courtney over at A Thoughtful Place for featuring my mommy tip on her blog today, I am just a little excited! If you'd like to see it click here!

Have a Happy, Happy Day!!!