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!!!!!!

Well, today marks month 7 on the waitlist for our 4-5 year old boy!!!! Oh, how my heart is breaking. Over the past few months I've had to let go of a lot of expectations I had created for my little family. I truly thought we'd be home by now and we'd be getting ready to enjoy the summer bonding and getting to know each other before the craziness of the school year starts back up in the fall. Little guy could be ready for kindergarten and I was really hoping to have a chunk of time with him before sending him off to school!! But, obviously, that was not God's plan for us. And, I'm starting to be OK with that. I will wait as long as God wants us too, because in this wait, He is loving me. He is loving my boy. He is loving my entire family! And in that, I'm at peace. I do wish we'd have a few answers as to "why" we've been waiting for sooo long, but, for now, I guess we're not to know the details quite yet. His story will be told through this, and it will be His glory that shines through. I just need to step aside so God can work. :) I've also realized, that in this wait, I'm learning more about the depth of Christ's love for me. And no matter how messed up I am, how many mistakes I make, how sinful I am.... He loves me NO MATTER WHAT!! And, as I step away from the fairytale I've created of bringing my boy home, I'm going to need Christ's love to love my boy the way he deserves to be loved! As my sweet friend said, Love is a Fruit of the Spirit for a reason-- we NEED Christ to love the way He wants us to!

So, thank you Lord for giving me this wait to learn more about you and the depth of your love!!! Thank you for preparing my heart to LOVE my boy--because this momma's heart will mess up, make BIG mistakes, and feel broken. But, through you, I pray that my boy will only feel your steadfast and unconditional love!


***and I sure do hope this is my LAST number post I have to make!!!!! Because these two cuties really want their brother home!!!!!

6

It's hard to believe that it's been six months!!! I have my stretches of peace about the wait, but I also have my times of frustration and anxiety. I never dreamed that we'd be nearing the possibility of missing court before the courts close!!! But, that is now quite a reality for us. Yet, I know God is using this wait... teaching me something. And I'm good with that. :)

Orphan Ministry

I am working with a few other people from my church in the hopes of launching an Orphan Ministry. We're in the meeting with the pastor/researching/gathering info stage. I would love your help! Do you have an Orphan Ministry at your church? If so, would you be willing to share your church's website link or leave some info about it in my comments section?!?

Thanks for your help!