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!

We can check that one off the list!

So we had our homestudy last night, and all went great! Our case worker was very nice, and made us feel at ease. Aaron and I did, however, spend a lot of time cleaning up the back yard, organizing closets and such to prepare for it, and she didn't even look in the closets or the backyard....figures. But that needed to be done anyway (although the girls will destroy their closets again within a matter of days.)She very briefly interviewed our girls alone first and all went great with them, then it was mine and Aaron's turn. It felt like she was writing our autobiography with all the questions we were asked about our past and present life, but it wasn't unpleasant at all. There are just a few odds and ends to tie up with the homestudy and we will be done. It will then take about a month for them to process all our information before we "officially" pass! In the meantime we will be putting our dossier together. When the sweet woman left she assured us that we had nothing to worry about...whew!! What a load off! We were so full of joy when she left! I think I did a toe touch in the kitchen followed by a little booty shaking....I couldn't contain myself :) Aaron just sat back laughing at me and enjoying the entertainment.
When I was writing out the check for the fee we owed, normally with a check that big, my face would be hot, and I would be sweating, but not this time! I felt such a peace and just plum giddy to do it! Whoo hoo! It just feels so much more official now! Thank you so much for your prayers if you had been praying for us!

Homestudy tonight!

Well, folks,
It is FINALLY here! We have our homestudy tonight at 7:00 pm. I am surprisingly calm. I have had numerous people tell me that it's not as big and scary as we make it out to be in our heads, so I'm good. I told Alyssa this morning we were having a woman come over tonight for a homestudy. She said," Mom, what's a homestudy?" I told her it's a step we have to take to be able to get our baby brother. I told her they just want to make sure we are a good, nice family before they allow a baby to come into our home. She looked up all puzzled and said,"but we ARE a nice family, mom." So there you have it! Nothing to worry about at all. This is just a step on the road that will lead us to our little guy! Please pray for us to remain at peace and to just be ourselves and let God do His thing! He's called us to do this, so He's got this!

Secretariat Private Screening

A friend of mine...Jen...writes an online article for "Today's Mama." You can find that at www.dallas.todaysmama.com. One of her perks for working for Today's Mama was 10 free passes to a private screening of the new Disney movie,"Secretariat." One of my many perks of being friends with Jen, is that she asked me, along with others, to go with her to the screening:) We just made a girl's night out of it. It was so much fun!
I have to say that I was excited to go to a private screening for free, but I wasn't too excited about seeing the movie. I loved the movie Sea Biscuit, but I just thought this movie would compare too much to it. Let me just say that it was nothing at all like Sea Biscuit. This was probably one of the best movies I have seen in a really, really long time. Another friend with us said it was the best movie she had ever seen. It really was that good! John Malcovich was the horse trainer in the movie, and he brought a lot of humor. So it was humorous, touching, exciting, and just a great story. It was an on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of movie. So I was pleasantly surprised, and I think you will be too! So go see it! It's one the whole family would enjoy!

A man that Leads (warning :a mushy post)

I think every woman longs for her man to be the leader. To support her, even through her faults, to stand up for her. There are for sure times when I, myself have needed to let my man lead me...to step back and let him be the decision maker. I am always so glad and blessed when I do. I am so thankful for Aaron. He is my quiet leader... so gentle and humble. I can't say enough that I am more than blessed to have this man as my husband. He is more than I could've ever imagined or asked for in a husband and father. He makes me feel so beautiful and cherished. He brings out the best in me. I love the way he leads us....going above and beyond as a father to our girls. He is our spiritual head, our covering...and he doesn't take that job lightly. He is smart and wise and always quick to listen and slow to anger. He is a rare and precious find, and I recognize that! He's not perfect, but he is perfect for me and my children! Lord, help me to be a better wife for my sweet husband, honoring him, so that he can always be his best for you, and don't ever let me take him for granted.