What t shirts I have left

I just wanted to do an updated post on how many t shirts we have left.
As of today in the womens shirts, we are sold out of sizes Large and Extra Large. We have 6 small left and 7 medium. Keep in mind that these shirts DO NOT run small at all. They are true to size. In the men's green shirt we have 2 Medium, 5 Large, and 6 Extra Large left.

T Shirt Winner!!!!!!!!!!

I just want to say an extra thank you to everyone that participated in helping to spread the word of our t-shirt sells and entering for the giveaway! We appreciate all who are willing to help! So without further ado, the winner of our t shirt giveaway is PATTI RAMSEY! Congratulations Patti, let me know what size you want and I will get it to you :)

Fundraiser Fun and GIVEAWAY!!!!!

We had our Fall Fundraiser this past Saturday and it was a great success! There was face painting, games, cake walk, bake sale, food and drinks, bounce houses, multiple raffles, t shirt sales and professional local photographer Sharon Brannick offered her skills and shot many photos for families and individuals, and all proceeds went towards our adoption. If you live local you should check out Sharon's work at..... http://brannickphotography.blogspot.com/ She is very talented, takes beautiful photos, is great with kids, and is a sweetheart!
Everyone had a great time, especially the kiddos! A friend told me her son said, "mom, I could live like this everyday." so very cute! It was a perfect picture of how the body of Christ works together.... Friends and family pitching in to help and donate. I am very pleased to say that yesterday I went to the bank and deposited a little over $4,000.00 into our adoption savings account! Thank you Jesus, and thank you to everyone that helped and contributed. Whether you gave a little or a lot, baked yummy goodies for the bake sale, donated candy, donated your time or skills, or helped serve, you played a part in God's plan for bringing this little boy into our lives! You were His hands and feet! We were truly blessed by you! So where does this put us now money wise? We are half way there!!!!! So our next step is selling our awesome t-shirts!
And that brings us to our AWESOME T SHIRT GIVEAWAY!!!!!!! All you have to do to enter is post about our giveaway on your blog or facebook or twitter and leave me a comment letting me know what and where you did, and I will enter your name into the drawing for a t shirt of your choice. If you post on all three places, your name will be entered in 3 times! Our women's t shirt is a chocolate brown women's cut shirt (they are true to size, and do not fit tight) with a red Africa and cream writing. We have women's sizes available in small, medium, large and extra large(we only have 2 extra large left). The men's version is sage green with red Africa and brown writing. We have men's sizes available in medium, large, extra large and 2x. They both say the same thing...front says..."Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine, and injustice in the world when He could do something about it, but I'm afraid He might ask me the same question. (Anonymous) The back says " I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse the something I can do." (Helen Keller) "What can you do?"
Once again, our hope with these shirts, is to not only raise money for our adoption, but it is to challenge people to think about the something that they can do to help a child in need. If you would like to purchase one of our shirts now, you may do so by donating $25.00 to our chip in account at the top right corner of our blog page. $20.00 is for the cost of the shirt, and $5.00 is for shipping and handling. Be sure to leave a comment through paypal when you donate on what size you will be needing. Otherwise try your hand at the giveaway first and help spread the word about our shirts! Contest ends Tuesday November 9th at 6:00 pm. Hope you win :)

October Fun!

I will savor every second of my chidren when they are so little, and still like to trick or treat and dress up like cute little clowns and mermaids. Oh what fun it is to see them get so excited!

The Great State Fair of Texas!

It's tradition. It's one place I use to love going to as a child, and where I still love going to and taking my girls now.


Funnel cakes,

Funny looking animals

Games and prizes




Sweet sweet smiles


Lots of laughter




And of course Big Tex and Fletchers corny dogs :)

Every year the fair has something crazy they fry up and everyone has to try it. Last year was chicken fried bacon....eeeewwww. This year's big item was fried beer....double eeewwww! Aaron and I walked over to purchase some deep fried waffle balls (lol) and a man was eating the fried beer, and we asked how it was and he let us try one. It was the grossest thing I ever put in my mouth! It was like a deep fried ravioli with beer inside. But, in saying that, it was the experience that was great, not the nasty tasting fried beer thingy.
I love everything about the fair and getting ready to go and walking in those gates and seeing all the same familiar things from my childhood, makes me feel like a kid again. As a kid, the last thing we would do was stop at the salt water taffy shop and my dad would buy us a big box of assorted flavors....walnut being my favorite!
Another tradition I still keep is the Fletchers corn dog and a nutty caramel apple! I cannot leave the fair grounds until I have had both! For my girls, it's the cotton candy. If you have never been, you should check it out next year. It never disappoints and is always a great time!

FUNDRAISER T-SHIRT PREVIEW!!!!!!

So we FINALLY got our sample t shirts in!!! It seems these things have been in the works FOREVER!!!!! We are so pleased at the way they turned out! The front is a quote I got from Amy Block's blog (Thanks Amy :). The first time I read it, it just really struck a cord. I thought it was very thought provoking. It reads: "Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine, and injustice in the world when He could do something about it- but I'm afraid He might ask me the same question."
The back of the shirt is a Helen Keller quote, to which also really just jumped off the page at me when I first read it, and it says...."I am only one. I can not do everything; but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse the something I can do." and below it we added "What can you do?"
We love these quotes, and we love the shirts. Our hope is to not only raise money for our adoption with these shirts, but when people read them, we hope that it makes them think of the "something" they can do in this world to impact others in need. Anyway, I hope you like them too. Let me know what you think! They will be on sale here shortly!


This handsome man here modeling our men's version is my husband Aaron. The men's version will be available in sage green with a red Africa and brown lettering.




The makeup-less model here modeling the women's version is me :) It is an actual fitted women's cut, in chocolate brown with red Africa and cream lettering. These shirts run true to their size. Actually this one I have on is a little tight. It is a small and I typically wear a medium, so if you want a tight fitting shirt, you may want to go a size down. I think I will be sporting the medium myself in the future, just for comfy sake :)

Not so trendy

The other day I was shopping at the mall, and I was at the checkout counter. The girl at the counter started chatting with me and asked me how many kids we had. I told her we had 2 girls, and that we were pursuing adoption of a little boy. One cool thing was that the girl at the counter told me that she had been adopted from Romania when she was a child. As we were talking I could see this other woman out of the corner of my eye looking at me. She very sweetly spoke to me and said,"may I ask where you are adopting from?" I told her from Ethiopia, and she had this look on her face like 'of course,' and she told me,"we are about to pursue adoption in Ethiopia as well." Come to find out, this very sweet woman and her family live very near to us and visited our fruitstand the following Saturday. She shared with me that she knew before she even asked the question that I was going to anwer "Ethiopia" to her. God is so great like that! He brought encouragement to both of us while we were at the mall and I believe confirmation :)I am excited to see what God is going to do in this family's life through adoption!
It sure seems like a lot of people are stepping out and adopting now-a-days. In fact, the case worker from our homestudy told us that there were more adoptions coming out of Ethiopia in our area than anyplace else, and that there is a HUGE Ethiopian adoptive community in this area...whoop whoop!
I have heard several people say that adoption within the Christian community is "trendy" right now. I guess if you are on the outside looking in it sure may seem that way. There are more and more people opening up their homes to adoption these days, which is so wonderful! Trendy it may seem, but I don't think that is the case. In fact, I know it's not. It's too hard to be trendy. The adoption journey isn't an easy road to walk down, and ours has only begun. It's surely expensive and difficult, and stressful, and an emotional rollercoaster. You meet people who are wonderfully supportive, and then you meet a lot of people who aren't understanding and don't quite get it, and don't agree with the path you are on. One day you are excited and the next, fear tries to creep in with all the what if's. It requires a lot of work and sacrifice. You kind of have to toughen up, and you for sure have to have your game face on. IT IS A SPIRITUAL BATTLE! I think people are pursuing adoption because God is calling them to, and because their hearts have been broken and changed forever. Their eyes have been opened and they can't look back. It's not because it's trendy. God is doing something! He is magnifying His heart for the orphan! His timing is perfect and He knows what He is doing! He is opening eyes, changing hearts, and breaking down barriers. I can't wait to see the day when the new "normal" is the culturally diverse family. God's way is beautiful and it's going to catch fire and blaze through other hearts. It's not trendy my friends, it's God's work and His heart for His people, for we are ALL adopted as orphans into His kingdom. It's a reflection of His kingdom! On earth as it is in Heaven!