Fundraising??

Dave and I have been kicking around the idea of having a fundraiser to raise some of the funds for the adoption. I'm really at a standstill whenever I think of how in the world we are going to pay for all of this. I feel like I pray about it, and don't really get an answer. So we're not sure if we are taking a loan out, fundraising, saving like crazy, or what... Any advice??

Last night I was looking on-line at tee-shirts, because we are thinking of giving tee-shirts away in exchange for donations. I found some really funny shirts and mugs while looking that made me giggle. Here is one I'll share with y'all...

Wise friends are good friends

Last night we were hanging out with our good friends, Aaron and Nikki. I told them that on Monday (October 22nd) it will be 2 months since ICAB (in the Philippines) has received our dossier. I was feeling down about the wait time, then Nikki said something that has stuck with me since then. She told me that she considers it two months closer toward getting our children. I have been so caught up in thinking that we've lost so much time in waiting, that I forgot to focus on the fact that every day and every minute brings us that much closer to being with our kids.

Ever since Nikki said that, I've been looking at things a little differently. I'm not feeling sorry for myself (as much) for having to wait, but instead I'm getting more and more excited about preparing. I can't wait to start shopping - I won't know exactly what I'm looking for since I don't know what age/gender/size our child/ren will be, but I can start looking and dreaming. I haven't let myself even think about preparing yet, because I consider being approved as "officially waiting".

So those are my (short) thoughts for now. I have a lot more running through my head so I'll post more about that later. Please pray that we hear our approval very soon. Thank you!!

Wise (and lovely) Nikki with baby Sam (lookin' so dapper)

Gus showing off his new haircut

Pity party

So today I threw myself a little pity party.

Ever since Sunday I'd been despairing more and more about not getting our approval from the Philippines. Today it turned into a full-fledged pity party with the works - tears, "its not fair" thoughts, and fearful thoughts of what is going on with our dossier... I kept worrying that our dossier was lost out there somewhere between the U.S. and the Philippines.

Then God did His thing and I received an e-mail from a gal in my Philippines adoption group on Yahoo. She said some things that were so detailed in what I needed to hear that I knew it was God speaking through her. She reassured me that my feelings are valid, and she is in the same place we are right now so she gets what I'm feeling. I can't even fully describe what it was she said to me, but all I know is that when I finished reading her e-mail, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my chest. The pity party was over.

I am attempting to appear to be a laid back person who has complete faith that this is all in God's hands, and His timing. I don't feel like that on the inside sometimes, and Dave tells me that I'm not really a laid back person :) My friend encouraged me to contact our adoption agency, and so I did. Karin e-mailed me back and let me know that I wasn't crazy, and that our dossier was received by ICAB (in the Philippines) on August 22. It makes me feel better knowing where our dossier is.

So still no news... and if you ever ask us "Any news?" and we answer with a grimace, just know that we are struggling with these feelings at times. And please continue praying, we can use all the shout-outs to God on our behalf that we can get right now.

Gus and his girlfriend, Porter

Augustus Goggles Ribar (Gus)

On Thursday, Dave and I picked up a new puppy!! We would like to introduce you to Augustus Goggles Ribar, for short we call him Gus. He is a schnoodle, which is a cross between a schnauzer and a poodle. He will be about 45-60 pounds when he is full grown.

So far he has been a great little puppy - following us around everywhere and doing his duties where appropriate! He's also been good for a lot of laughs. He's still pretty clumsy, and when he tries to run as fast as he can his front legs can't keep up and he does a face plant. Yesterday we introduced him to Rachel's family, and he LOVED Maddie and Grace. The breeder we got him from had kids who handled the puppies every day. Gus's face lit up and he ran over to Maddie and Grace when they walked in the door.

We weren't sure if we were going to get another puppy after Marley died, but now we are so glad that we did! Marley still holds a special place in our hearts, but we've got lots of puppy love to go around :) We'll update often with stories and pictures!