Same old stuff.....

Yep. We're still here. Waiting. But... it's OK. I will admit, July was ROUGH!!!! I was in a huge funk! My anxiety was off the charts--- I had convinced myself that something terrible was going to happen to me, Mike, the kids, etc... and that's why we weren't getting our referral. Yeah. That was a fun place to be in! UGHHH... But, things are better. We got some information in regards to the length of our wait. And strangely, it has given me great peace! Yes, I still want our referral NOW, but I know that they've been working their tails off for our family, but the right boy just hasn't been ready yet. I still have hopes for the end of the month or early Sept., but right now, I'm OK. And... if we get our referral tomorrow or the end of Sept.-- nothing can happen to our file until the courts reopen anyway, so that's making things easier as well. )

So, there you have it. Not much new on the adoption front. But, we've been having a great summer and are gearing up for back to school. I can't believe I'll have a first grader and a preschooler!!!

Never in my wildest dreams...

Getting HARD!!

OK. Who am I kidding. It's not getting hard, it's already been extremely hard!!! We have been "unofficially" sitting at #1 for a 4-5 year old boy for 8 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days!!! I could be reflective about the wait, how I know it's strengthened me, etc..... but today, I'm just tired. Tired of "waiting".

Captured by the curls!

I have to say..... Grace LOVES her hair! She talks about it, always requests to wear it "big"-- "no braids, mommy"-- and whenever anyone makes a comment about it, she always says, "thank you. my mommy made it!!" (melts my heart) A few weeks ago I put in about a dozen box braids. I just really needed to slather it with oil and moisturizer and keep it healthy.
The braids lasted 2 weeks!!! YEAH! Over the weekend, I took them out. The morning I took them out, Grace said, "I just can't stop talking about my big hair! I need to go up to my room and look in the mirror." And she proceeded to admire her hair and dance in her mirror for the majority of the morning!!!
Yesterday. Grace knew she was going to get her hair cut. She had been telling everyone over the weekend that Tete, an Ethiopian lady, was going to cut her hair. She was thrilled! Her hair appointment lasted 1.5 hours. She washed and conditioned it. Combed it out. Blew dry it straight--wowza!!! And then trimmed all the dry ends!! Grace was loving every second of it!!
The rest of the day, Grace admired her hair! She wanted to show everyone. She was constantly touching it. I think it's super cute, but honestly, I love the curls. They are Grace. Her hair is as big as her personality!

But... I say all of this because I LOVE the fact that Grace LOVES her hair. It's different. She gets A LOT of attention for it. She could (and someday may)-- get tired of the attention. But now, I will enjoy the time we get together when I do her hair. I will capture the smiles and silly faces she makes in the mirror while flipping her hair around. I will continue to do my homework and learn more and more about her hair and how to keep it natural and healthy. I am blessed by all that is my daughter!!! She is my ray of sunshine.

Selling Tees and Necklaces!!

A bit about the tees-- I started thinking of a design after our Orphan Sunday at our church, back in November. I really wanted something that was more than just a shirt for adoption. So, "love, pray, protect" came to mind in thinking about orphan care through sponsorship, praying for the widow and orphan, adopting, and foster care. I think most of our friends and family are doing at least one of those-- if not more!! :) And, after help from some very talented friends-- the final design was finished!
The women's tees are Tultex, fine jersey, 100% pre-shrunk cotton. (they're really soft and nice and long) They seem to be more of a Junior's cut/style, so it's recommended to order a size or two up!

**I'm adding an additional women's tee. The Tultex brand are cute, but they do run small-- I'm wearing a large, and I usually wear size small tees (Old Navy, Gap style, etc...) So, the second style is still a women's cut, but not as "fitted"-- but definitely not as boxy as a unisex cut! It's a Gildan Ladies' 4.5 oz. SoftStyle™ Ringspun T-Shirt.... definitely true to size.

The men's tees are Gildan, Ultra cotton, 100% pres-shrunk cotton. They are true to size.
(the words on the guys' shirt came out a darker brown than was expected so the brown will be a bit lighter/brighter on the next printed batch.)

ORDERING INFO: I am taking pre-sale orders for the t-shirts. You can order through the paypal link on the right side of my blog.

Click on the image to see the necklaces bigger!

Necklaces: The necklaces are a scrabble tile pendant with a clear and hard ice resin coating on the top. You can order those through paypal as well. The color/design are the following:
**going from left to right:

1. Green Damask 2. Two-tone green damask 3. Turquoise scroll 4. Turquoise damask 5.Pink scroll 6. Light blue damask

Please feel free to email me if you have specific questions: suzi_little @ hotmail.com

T-Shirts and Necklaces for sale... and an AWESOME fundraiser!!!!

Well, after MONTHS (seriously, we had a rough design of the shirts back in November!!), we finally got our shirts finished and printed!! I also have made some necklaces. By tonight or tomorrow, I will have paypal links for people to order tees and necklaces!! :) But, I'm excited about how they turned out and wanted to share.We also had a fundraiser at the house last night and did a Raffle/Auction Night!! Friends and family donated items to have raffled off--and we even had a few items in a silent auction. It was lots of fun and a special way to spend the evening surrounded by wonderful friends who are walking this adoption road alongside of us (and even carrying us, well me.... when the wait is too much to bear!!!)





And.... yesterday was 8 months of waiting!! Oh, how I hope THIS is the week!!!!! ( I know Gladney's FBI list doesn't represent all the waiting families, but according to the list, we have been in the #1 spot-- for a 4-5 year old boy-- for 8 months!!!) It's been hard... but I'll continue to wait for the perfect boy God has chosen for our family!!

Happy Referralversary, sweet Grace!!!

Three years ago today, we saw our sweet girl's face for the first time!! It was a wonderful day, but she was a wee little one, so there was some fear there as well. But, oh, what an amazing, fun, spicy, spirited, hilarious, silly, sweet, wonderful little lady she has blossomed in to!!!!

We love you, Gracie girl!!!!!!!

Referral photos: our tiny princess-- 7 weeks, 4.3lbs.

getting bigger... and that's Grace's BFF Ruby's leg in the picture (at Hannah's Hope)

3 years later.........

Laughin' it up with Ruby!!!!!!