Yep, that’s a leash

Before I had kids Noah, I could not imagine putting my child on what I refer to as a “leash”. I remember seeing children who were wearing a backpack with something attached to it for the parent to hold on to. I always thought it was odd to put a child on a leash.
And then I had Noah, and now I am eating my words. I most definitely would put him on a leash, and today, I did.

Our friends asked us to go to Cheekwood and we gladly agreed. Mark had never been and we figured that the kids would have fun running around.
For those of you who don't know Noah, he is not one to be still. He is on the move, ALL the time. We figured today would be the perfect day to try out the leash backpack. He was not a huge fan, but it gave us a little piece of mind and we did not have to spend the entire time chasing him down.



Taylor decided she wanted to pick up worms and cicadas the entire time we were at Cheekwood. I love how this girl can be all pink, dolls, and princesses one minute and then be picking up all kinds of critters the next.

the BIG one

Our family has already done several fundraisers that have gone wonderfully! When we started the adoption process, we knew that we needed to do LOTS of fundraising to bring our baby home. We expect our adoption costs to total around $30,000. Of that, God has already brought in $7,000! Pretty amazing, huh?

Now, it is time to start planning the BIG fundraiser. We are going to have a benefit concert and silent auction! It is going to be pretty awesome!

It is scheduled for October 15^th in Franklin, TN. The venue is HUGE and we want to fill it. So we need you, your family, your friends, your co-workers, your church, people you meet on the street, and anyone else you can think of to be there!

We already have 3 awesome artists who have agreed to play at the concert;  Allie Hays and Brandon Ingle, and the band Colorfire. I get all excited just thinking about it.

There are also some fabulous auction items that are rolling in!! This is one of those events that you just CANNOT miss.

Tickets will go on sale July 1^st, so look for more details then. But for now, you NEED get it on your calendar :)

She is OURS!

We have loved for her for over a year. We have been praying for her even longer. We have known her sweet face for over a month. But yesterday, she officially became my niece!

My brother and sister-in-law have been in the adoption process since early last year. It is hard to believe that they are officially the parents of Elle, a sweet little girl from Ethiopia. We are praising God that Brandon and Blair passed court and that they are now a family of 5.

Seeing them gives us hope for the sweet baby that we are praying and waiting for. It is hard to imagine that we may be holding our new child sometime next year! God is SO good.

God, gettin’ it done

Our adoption process is moving right along. We have completed 2 of the 3 sets of required paperwork. The third set, the Dossier, is the most extensive. We are ALMOST done. There are only a couple of things that we lack, all of which we have no control over. So basically, I have to wait on OTHER people (namely, the government) before our Dossier is complete (not one of my strong points).

With the completion of each set of paperwork, a fee comes due. Amazingly, God has provided EXACTLY what we need every time. One of the larger fees is the first adoption agency fee of $6,200, which is now due. Between what we saved and the donations we have received, we have exactly what we needed to cover this expense.

I was once told that “God funds what he favors”. There is not a doubt in my mind that God favors adoption. We have been able to see Him during this entire process.

If you feel the pull towards adoption, but worry about the cost, PLEASE don’t. God will provide what you need. Mark and I are both numbers people, so we like to see everything on paper. I still struggle with not knowing where all the money will come from for our adoption. But God has a plan and He has already proved faithful time and time again.

You NEED this Cookbook

Our family does a pretty good job of eating healthy (most of the time). God has opened my eyes to how eating healthy can impact our lives. I still have lots to learn, but I strive to make healthy food choices for my family.

I used to think that eating healthy was all about low fat. Well…turns out I was WRONG. Eating healthy has nothing to do with low fat. It is all about eating real foods. Enter my favorite cookbook, the real food diet cookbook by Dr. Josh Axe. This cookbook is awesome (and by no means a “diet”)! It is packed full of healthy, yummy, EASY, kid friendly recipes.

My favorites include chicken kabobs, personal pizzas, wild rice and spinach soup, and chicken bryan. I could go on and on and on. Dr. Axe has some great recipes here on his website. I know once you try a few you will be hooked.

Enjoy!

You know you want one!

We still have TONS of t-shirts and I think you probably need to go ahead and get one. You know you want one. Look how cute your kids can look. Or how sexy your husband can look. C’mon, just do it :)


On a different note, we had our yard sale yesterday and it went great! We raised a couple hundred dollars to put towards our adoption. Praise the Lord!
We had several things left and so did some of our neighbors. We decided to just pile stuff in the garage until the Fall when our neighborhood will have another sale. So, if you are cleaning out between now and then, let me know. I will be happy to come and take your junk stuff to save for garage sale #2.

Summer Lovin’

It has been HOT here lately. Not that I am complaining, I love me some warm weather. We decided that this was the week to break out the water activities. It started with a sprinkler and then moved onto mud sliding (we are in the south). Good times in Tennessee.

Favorite new accessory

I am not much of a jewelry person. Most of the time, I wear my wedding rings and occasionally some little stud earrings, but that is about the extent of it.

HOWEVER, when I saw this necklace on Etsy, I HAD to have it. I figured that when I am pregnant, I have a pregnant belly and pregnant clothes. Now, we are expecting a baby but I won’t be sporting the pregnant belly. So instead, I get to wear this….

Pretty good trade off if you ask me :)

On the adoption front, we are cruising right along. Our homestudy was just approved by our adoption agency! Now, it has to be notarized, and then sent to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services along with our I-600A (the petition filed to adopt internationally). Once the petition and homestudy are approved, I THINK we will get on the wait list. In my perfect world, that would happen by the end of the month…we will see.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Taylor turned 3 today. I cannot believe another year has past. Taylor has grown so much in the past year. She talks much more, interacts with other children on a different level, has “friends” who she love to see, and is such a pleasure to be around.

Today we celebrated Taylor with some close friends and family. Taylor requested a “pink princess party” and that is exactly what she got.

Reece’s Rainbow

I was introduced to Reece’s Rainbow by a friend, Audrey, from our church. Reece’s Rainbow is an organization that supports orphaned children with special needs. Audrey is such a huge advocate for the organization and the children it supports. After reading her blog and the love she has for these kids, it inspired be to become a prayer warrior.

As a prayer warrior, I have committed to pray for a child everyday until she is adopted. There is no cost involved, just a daily time commitment. I LOVE this ministry. It is such a wonderful opportunity to pray for a child who may not have anyone else praying for them.

I wanted to share this with you because I think it is such a wonderful organization. If you are interested in becoming a prayer warrior you can visit
http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorship/prayerwarriors

Soaked!

Adoption Yard Sale

Our neighborhood is having its spring garage sale on Saturday, May 14th. We are going to participate and ALL of the proceeds from our yard sale will go towards our adoption.

So….if you have ANYTHING that you no longer need or want, we would LOVE to come and pick it up. Email me at lindseychenelle@yahoo.com if you have anything to contribute.

OR if you just love a good yard sale, come and buy stuff!
8616 Altesse Way
Brentwood, TN 37027

Hope to see you there :)