That quote makes me think of the movie 21. Have you seen it? It's fabulous. Genius even. Kind of like Beautiful Mind, except with cards and the people are actually there.
Moving on.
Tiffany and Michelle are the lovely winners of Lindsey's wreaths. I cannot wait to see pictures of those custom creations. I know Lindsey will do a great job on them. Since the frames weren't bid on, I'll keep them going for a while longer.
One person has already signed up for the photo session with Page and there are still plenty of spots let if you are interested. Go to her blog and check out the magic she can make.
This blog is not intended to be solely for fundraising, but I do appreciate the outlet it is giving me in doing just that. For me, blogging needed a purpose. Right now that purpose is to share our adoption story with whoever wants to hear it and pray with us along the way. So pray for my heart to be completely focused on God. Not what God can give me. It's funny that when you're dealing with infertility, your whole world becomes about babies. Who has one. Who doesn't. How many that person has. How you don't have one. In the midst of that, you forget that GOD is still there. Sure, you pray, but you ask for a baby. After all, he will give you the desires of your heart, right? What's wrong with praying for a baby? Well, a lot if your heart is in the wrong place. I had finally gotten to a place where I was okay (not great, but okay) with the idea of not having my own child because we were free to pursue another avenue that we were passionate about-adoption. Now that a biological baby isn't weighing on my heart and sticking to my every thought like day old gum, I'm noticing that adoption is doing that very thing. God does promise to give us the desires of our heart, sure. And babies, biological and adopted, are great biblical things. We are supposed to count children as a blessing from the Lord. However, we are not to make that an idol. Last night at bible study this very scripture was brought up and we briefly discussed how often it is misinterpreted to say that if our wants line up with the Bible we will be granted those things. What I have been learning for a long time now is that it's not enough for my wants to line up with the Bible. My wants have to be molded after my desire for God. GOD should be my want. I have to confess that isn't the case most of the time. I say it's true, and I really want it to be, but all too often I'm loving what God can give me. So pray for me as we continue down this long path that I will seek God daily and be satisfied in Him alone.
Pray for the Bice Family , too, as they adopt. In fact, I think they are having a yard sale Saturday so go and buy!
Also pray for my dear friend Angelyn, who will be serving in Africa this summer in a street kid ministry. She is also fundraising but her timline is significanly shorter than mine. Talk about stress! She is super talented and has created an Etsy shop where you can see all the talent God has given her. I love hearing her describe how she started painting because she had never ever painted before until this fundraiser and God seriously just gave the talent to her. See for yourself. It's amazing. Buy something for you. And then buy something for a friend.
We have an update!!
Villa Hope called today to schedule our first home study meeting for next week. Yay!
I would like to take this time to tell you how amazing our God is. Kevin's been recording for what seems like 17 years now. In reality it's only been about 8 weeks, but who's counting? Well, the band was scheduled to stay in the studio for another week or so to finish up. Recently Kevin got word that next week they would be coming home because their engineer would not be available to work. Good for me, bad for recording. Needless to say, Kevin was bummed to pause the recording because it means they will have to go back at the end of April to finish. Fast forward to this morning. Villa Hope wants to schedule our first meeting with both me and Kevin next week. Guess who will be in town next week? Yup, one Kevin Huguley. Now if we had had our way, that man would be in the studio finishing up some cool tunes, but God had greater plans. For that, I am so grateful! Praise HIM!
Sending Hugs
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
more to auction off
I've had some requests to speed the auctions up. Tighten those seatbelts! :)
There are several people that are still donating items but haven't actually gotten the items (or pictures) to me. I obviously can't post those, but they're coming. Soon.
I will, however, honor the requests of my loyal followers and post the goods that I have.
The wreaths and pictures frames that I posted last week will end this Thursday. FYI.
Tonight's post will end...April 5. Let's go!
First up, a lovely photography package from the uber-talented Page Dollar. Check out her blog to see more pics, but here's a small taste. She took these for us for our 5 year anniversary last May. Beautiful! Obviously this is a local thing, since Page does live in the B'ham area.
Page has offered to photograph as many people that want to sign up as possible! Everyone's a winner! There will be a $100 sitting fee with $75 going to our adoption fund. She's phenomenal, seriously. Catch her now before she's big time! I'm not kidding. Post in the comments if you are interested, drop in your $75 to the donate button, and I'll direct you to Page.
Next up is a very cool piece of decor. I have never seen anything like it and I'm so impressed. Kevin saw this picture and dropped his jaw! Our good friend Michelle is putting her creative juices on the table to offer you this...
How awesome is that! A book wreath! I just love it.
In the past two days I've gotten even MORE donations. Coming soon: handmade AWESOME jewelry, Thomas Kinkade items, and lots of paintings. Also, some bigger-ticket items will be put on EBay too, but I'll let you know before so you'll have a heads-up.
Sending Hugs
There are several people that are still donating items but haven't actually gotten the items (or pictures) to me. I obviously can't post those, but they're coming. Soon.
I will, however, honor the requests of my loyal followers and post the goods that I have.
The wreaths and pictures frames that I posted last week will end this Thursday. FYI.
Tonight's post will end...April 5. Let's go!
First up, a lovely photography package from the uber-talented Page Dollar. Check out her blog to see more pics, but here's a small taste. She took these for us for our 5 year anniversary last May. Beautiful! Obviously this is a local thing, since Page does live in the B'ham area.
Page has offered to photograph as many people that want to sign up as possible! Everyone's a winner! There will be a $100 sitting fee with $75 going to our adoption fund. She's phenomenal, seriously. Catch her now before she's big time! I'm not kidding. Post in the comments if you are interested, drop in your $75 to the donate button, and I'll direct you to Page.
Next up is a very cool piece of decor. I have never seen anything like it and I'm so impressed. Kevin saw this picture and dropped his jaw! Our good friend Michelle is putting her creative juices on the table to offer you this...
How awesome is that! A book wreath! I just love it.
In the past two days I've gotten even MORE donations. Coming soon: handmade AWESOME jewelry, Thomas Kinkade items, and lots of paintings. Also, some bigger-ticket items will be put on EBay too, but I'll let you know before so you'll have a heads-up.
Sending Hugs
Sunday, March 27, 2011
just checking in
Hey, guys!
The last few days have been "perspective days" for me. I have had lots of people ask me for updates and it's as if I'm having an out of body experience every time I'm telling them. I hear me telling them and I'm wanting to scream Malerie, just be patient! It will happen in God's timing. Even the little stuff! Patience is such a difficult virtue for me, and it always has been. Being in a position of no control only makes it worse. Oh, me....
The only update we have right now is "hurry up and wait." Holt has our info. Villa Hope has our info. Just waiting at this point. I assume we'll be doing a lot of that in the coming months.
I am thrilled to announce that our friends, Jason and Liz, brought home Hannah last week. Adorable! I'm so happy for them and their new family. I can't wait to get more updates from our other friends adopting.
Don't forget about our auctions! There are two going on right now--wreaths and picture frames. There has been one bidder so far on the wreaths so jump on that if you are interested.
Be on the lookout for some cool stuff coming to the blog auction. I'll give you a little teaser: Coach Chizk signed football, Thomas Kinkade goodies, and more handmade crafty jewels! Stay tuned and pass the word to friends.
May 14 is our tentative yard sale date. Mark your calendars; we've had people promise to donate some great stuff!
Kevin is working on a t-shirt design that we will post soon too.
Sending Hugs
The last few days have been "perspective days" for me. I have had lots of people ask me for updates and it's as if I'm having an out of body experience every time I'm telling them. I hear me telling them and I'm wanting to scream Malerie, just be patient! It will happen in God's timing. Even the little stuff! Patience is such a difficult virtue for me, and it always has been. Being in a position of no control only makes it worse. Oh, me....
The only update we have right now is "hurry up and wait." Holt has our info. Villa Hope has our info. Just waiting at this point. I assume we'll be doing a lot of that in the coming months.
I am thrilled to announce that our friends, Jason and Liz, brought home Hannah last week. Adorable! I'm so happy for them and their new family. I can't wait to get more updates from our other friends adopting.
Don't forget about our auctions! There are two going on right now--wreaths and picture frames. There has been one bidder so far on the wreaths so jump on that if you are interested.
Be on the lookout for some cool stuff coming to the blog auction. I'll give you a little teaser: Coach Chizk signed football, Thomas Kinkade goodies, and more handmade crafty jewels! Stay tuned and pass the word to friends.
May 14 is our tentative yard sale date. Mark your calendars; we've had people promise to donate some great stuff!
Kevin is working on a t-shirt design that we will post soon too.
Sending Hugs
Thursday, March 24, 2011
auction time part 2--picture frames
This week we'll do two auctions at one time. Here are some picture frames that the great and wonderful Lindsey will make for you if you are the luck TWO highest bidders. You will get two frames and will be directed to Lindsey via email to figure out sizes and colors.
And go! This one will close March 31 too.
And go! This one will close March 31 too.
auction time--wreaths
I was completely wrong when I labeled the previous post "the not so fun stuff." I have been giddy today with all the ideas given to me for fundraising. Some ideas will take longer to put in place than others; others can start now! So.... here we go!
Auction rules:
1. the item will stay "open" for one week
2. you can bid in the comments section of this blog or send me a message on Facebook
3. the winner(s) will be contacted...somehow :) and will pay through the PayPal link on this site
4. remember all money goes toward our adoption
Disclaimer: This is my first time doing anything like this so we will learn together. If we run into a hiccup, we shall persevere! I think it will run smoothly, though.
Now for what you really care about.
This week's auction is for the lovers of all things cute and crafty. My good friend Lindsey has agreed to amaze you with her Martha Stewartness (my words, not hers). We are auctioning WREATHS. The two highest bidders will be directed to Lindsey via email to discuss colors and materials (mesh or feathers) so that your wreath is more personalized to your liking. Here are some pictures to show off her skills.
And...let the bidding begin! It will end March 31.
Auction rules:
1. the item will stay "open" for one week
2. you can bid in the comments section of this blog or send me a message on Facebook
3. the winner(s) will be contacted...somehow :) and will pay through the PayPal link on this site
4. remember all money goes toward our adoption
Disclaimer: This is my first time doing anything like this so we will learn together. If we run into a hiccup, we shall persevere! I think it will run smoothly, though.
Now for what you really care about.
This week's auction is for the lovers of all things cute and crafty. My good friend Lindsey has agreed to amaze you with her Martha Stewartness (my words, not hers). We are auctioning WREATHS. The two highest bidders will be directed to Lindsey via email to discuss colors and materials (mesh or feathers) so that your wreath is more personalized to your liking. Here are some pictures to show off her skills.
And...let the bidding begin! It will end March 31.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
the not so fun part
5K races, snack stands, selling goodies at work, walking door to door, designing t-shirts, wishing Belle could talk....
These are all ideas that have been swirling in my brain for the last week about how to raise the funds we need. I realized that I'm jumping the gun, go figure, on the timing, but I say it's better to start early with a task this big. With that said, I have been given this idea from a couple of friends so I'm trying it out. If it works, great; if not, we'll try something else.
Ready for it?? Ok!
There are two people (so far) that have agreed to use their creative juices for the glory of God with our adoption. These lovely women are incredibly talented. Far more so than I can ever aspire to be! They will be donating an item (or items) to me to post here on the blog for y'all to bid on. That's right, it's our own Ebay! I'll post the item, along with the designer and how you can contact the designer if you desire more cute stuff from her, and you will bid for the item in the comment section of the post. The highest bid wins. Once you submit your payment via the PayPal link, I'll mail you the item. Easy, right? You are really going to love this stuff.
On a related note, if you are super talented, or not, and want to donate your gifts to our cause, please let me know and I'll gladly add your piece to our little auction. The more, the merrier!
Sending Hugs to Korea
These are all ideas that have been swirling in my brain for the last week about how to raise the funds we need. I realized that I'm jumping the gun, go figure, on the timing, but I say it's better to start early with a task this big. With that said, I have been given this idea from a couple of friends so I'm trying it out. If it works, great; if not, we'll try something else.
Ready for it?? Ok!
There are two people (so far) that have agreed to use their creative juices for the glory of God with our adoption. These lovely women are incredibly talented. Far more so than I can ever aspire to be! They will be donating an item (or items) to me to post here on the blog for y'all to bid on. That's right, it's our own Ebay! I'll post the item, along with the designer and how you can contact the designer if you desire more cute stuff from her, and you will bid for the item in the comment section of the post. The highest bid wins. Once you submit your payment via the PayPal link, I'll mail you the item. Easy, right? You are really going to love this stuff.
On a related note, if you are super talented, or not, and want to donate your gifts to our cause, please let me know and I'll gladly add your piece to our little auction. The more, the merrier!
Sending Hugs to Korea
Monday, March 21, 2011
don't worry, be happy
Today was a work day at school (that means no students). As I was sitting at my desk I saw my phone ring, and it was an Oregon number. Our agency, Holt, is based in Oregon so I knew it was some kind of news about the adoption. When I finally got around to checking the message, I learned that Holt sent us a very important email...yay! Basically we now have all the inside access to Holt's site, including the waiting children. I learned that we actually do not have to have our home study complete to be matched with a sweet little one. Wow, such a blessing! We are still pressing through with the home study, obviously, but now we can pursue a child at the same time. I cannot wait to start looking at some files!
Thank you for all the sweet emails, texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages regarding our adoption journey. It really means a lot to us knowing that we have a lot of support. Love you all!
Thank you for all the sweet emails, texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages regarding our adoption journey. It really means a lot to us knowing that we have a lot of support. Love you all!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
anxious already
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
Philippians 4:6
Kevin made a surprise visit home today! And while that meant good hang time and grass cutting, it was also a prime opportunity for us to fill out home study forms. We sent off the Holt forms last week (they are being processed), but the home study will be done through a different company called Villa Hope. As soon as I figured out that VH would conduct our home study, I contacted them to basically say How do I get things moving? I didn't even wait for Holt to tell me what to do. VH emailed me their packet/application with directions, but I've been waiting on Kevin since I can't really forge his signature. Tonight was Villa Hope night at the Huguleys! I have a large envelope here ready to be mailed first thing tomorrow morning with our initial check. One of many, I'm sure. I'm so anxious to get everything going that I'm afraid I'm moving out of order. Does Holt have to contact VH and tell them about us? Do we have to wait for VH to call us after talking to Holt? Who knows!
After getting all the paperwork together, I immediately emailed Villa Hope to ask if our home study could possibly be finished by the end of May. WOW! Talk about shooting for the stars. In the midst of all this, I was gently reminded that God commands us to be anxious for nothing. Nothing. Even when it's something as dear as adoption. The Greek word for anxious means, from my little research, "to promote one's interests" or "troubled with cares." I was taken aback by the first definition. Am I promoting my own interests in all of this? Yes. I am so excited about being obedient to God's call of adoption, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about having my own child. And the sooner the better. I have been encouraged with stories of one year (or shorter) adoption, and I'm spoiled. In my head our adoption is one of those fast ones. God might have another plan that will drag it out longer than what I want, but that's just it...what I want is not always best.
I am to be anxious for nothing, but pray for everything.
Philippians 4:6
Kevin made a surprise visit home today! And while that meant good hang time and grass cutting, it was also a prime opportunity for us to fill out home study forms. We sent off the Holt forms last week (they are being processed), but the home study will be done through a different company called Villa Hope. As soon as I figured out that VH would conduct our home study, I contacted them to basically say How do I get things moving? I didn't even wait for Holt to tell me what to do. VH emailed me their packet/application with directions, but I've been waiting on Kevin since I can't really forge his signature. Tonight was Villa Hope night at the Huguleys! I have a large envelope here ready to be mailed first thing tomorrow morning with our initial check. One of many, I'm sure. I'm so anxious to get everything going that I'm afraid I'm moving out of order. Does Holt have to contact VH and tell them about us? Do we have to wait for VH to call us after talking to Holt? Who knows!
After getting all the paperwork together, I immediately emailed Villa Hope to ask if our home study could possibly be finished by the end of May. WOW! Talk about shooting for the stars. In the midst of all this, I was gently reminded that God commands us to be anxious for nothing. Nothing. Even when it's something as dear as adoption. The Greek word for anxious means, from my little research, "to promote one's interests" or "troubled with cares." I was taken aback by the first definition. Am I promoting my own interests in all of this? Yes. I am so excited about being obedient to God's call of adoption, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about having my own child. And the sooner the better. I have been encouraged with stories of one year (or shorter) adoption, and I'm spoiled. In my head our adoption is one of those fast ones. God might have another plan that will drag it out longer than what I want, but that's just it...what I want is not always best.
I am to be anxious for nothing, but pray for everything.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
the starting point
James 1:27
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
I'm sitting in Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, MS as I type this, in awe of everything God has done in the last couple years.
"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps," says Proverbs 16:9. That has never been truer for me than right now in my life. Kevin and I are coming up on our 6 year wedding anniversary, and we always thought little kiddos would be with us by now. Wow, how God laughs at our plans sometimes. We learned a little over three years ago that infertility was in our life in a big way. I'm still not 100% sure what that means for us, but I do know that God is sovereign over that and we are trusting Him with the desires of our heart. While praying and crying and losing sleep over this massive boulder in our road, God showed me that the heart I had for adoption prior to getting married needed cultivating. This was about 18 months ago. I started listening closer to the ones around me who were adopting or had adopted. Their stories were amazing and all had the distinct fingerprint of God. For me, adoption has never been something you do if you can't have your own kids, but it was something to do after having our own kids. I knew I would adopt; I just thought it would be after little Huguleys were here. God's thoughts are bigger and higher than my own and I'm learning that one day at a time. After almost a year of talking with Kevin and praying about when to get started, we finally felt the green light. That is the quick version of the story that brings you up to speed to today. Kevin and I have spent the last several weeks sifting through adoption agencies, trying to find the "right" one. I'll spare you all the tiny little details of how we made our decision, and I'm happy to say that we have started the process of adoption. Holt International is our agency of choice, South Korea is the country. Where are we exactly in the process? We have submitted our application to Holt and by the end of the week we'll have our home study application finished. Then the fun will start!
As heavy as my heart has been for biological children, God has graciously turned that energy into an excitement for adopting from South Korea. I cannot wait to share this journey with you! Please, please, please keep us in your prayers during this process. From our very limited knowledge, we are understanding this to be at least a year's long adventure with a lot of ups and downs. We have a huge support system of people that have adopted and are still in the process, and they have been honest about the good, bad, and ugly. We are mentally prepared for it....we think. :)
The first big hurdle that we will face is fundraising. You'll notice that there is a donate button on my blog where you can give whatever amount you feel is appropriate. I'd love for you to pass the blog address along to your friends and family so we can gather support from all areas. Know that we are in need of your prayers first; anything above that is icing on the cake.
Love!
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
I'm sitting in Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, MS as I type this, in awe of everything God has done in the last couple years.
"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps," says Proverbs 16:9. That has never been truer for me than right now in my life. Kevin and I are coming up on our 6 year wedding anniversary, and we always thought little kiddos would be with us by now. Wow, how God laughs at our plans sometimes. We learned a little over three years ago that infertility was in our life in a big way. I'm still not 100% sure what that means for us, but I do know that God is sovereign over that and we are trusting Him with the desires of our heart. While praying and crying and losing sleep over this massive boulder in our road, God showed me that the heart I had for adoption prior to getting married needed cultivating. This was about 18 months ago. I started listening closer to the ones around me who were adopting or had adopted. Their stories were amazing and all had the distinct fingerprint of God. For me, adoption has never been something you do if you can't have your own kids, but it was something to do after having our own kids. I knew I would adopt; I just thought it would be after little Huguleys were here. God's thoughts are bigger and higher than my own and I'm learning that one day at a time. After almost a year of talking with Kevin and praying about when to get started, we finally felt the green light. That is the quick version of the story that brings you up to speed to today. Kevin and I have spent the last several weeks sifting through adoption agencies, trying to find the "right" one. I'll spare you all the tiny little details of how we made our decision, and I'm happy to say that we have started the process of adoption. Holt International is our agency of choice, South Korea is the country. Where are we exactly in the process? We have submitted our application to Holt and by the end of the week we'll have our home study application finished. Then the fun will start!
As heavy as my heart has been for biological children, God has graciously turned that energy into an excitement for adopting from South Korea. I cannot wait to share this journey with you! Please, please, please keep us in your prayers during this process. From our very limited knowledge, we are understanding this to be at least a year's long adventure with a lot of ups and downs. We have a huge support system of people that have adopted and are still in the process, and they have been honest about the good, bad, and ugly. We are mentally prepared for it....we think. :)
The first big hurdle that we will face is fundraising. You'll notice that there is a donate button on my blog where you can give whatever amount you feel is appropriate. I'd love for you to pass the blog address along to your friends and family so we can gather support from all areas. Know that we are in need of your prayers first; anything above that is icing on the cake.
Love!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)