3 months celebration

Sorry this is...3 days late.  We celebrated 3 months of waiting on the 22, like every month.   This month on the 23rd was our 7 year anniversary! YAY for marriage! :)
 We weren't able to celebrate either one on the actual day because Saturday the 22nd we had a leaders get away day and then church on the 23rd. ( Joseph now preaches 2 services and it wears him out...so proud though!) So here was our agenda.  Monday we celebrated our Anniversary by having a delicious (spaghetti) picnic in the park and walking around the zoo, (one of Joseph's favorite places.)
Here are a few pictures of the picnic with our cheap champagne! hehe :)

 

That was a fun day! :) Then today (Tuesday) Joseph took off again! YAY!
So we decided to do our DTE monthly celebration.  I had already started re-painting his changing table, which my dad built for me when I was a baby, so I decided to complete it today and sew the next link in the "Wait Chain."
No pictures of the changing table because it is still in the garage drying, but as soon as I get the nursery set up you will def see it. (that will still be a while, don't want to get ahead of myself.)
But here are a few pics of the new link! :)

 

 Til next time! :)

7 years

I have yet to post our 3 month waiting celebration post, because Today is our 7th Anniversary and we are focusing on that this weekend. :) I will be back mid week with how we celebrated the 3month waiting. Thanks for being patient! :)

Another Adoption Blog

I just read this blog post from another Adoption Blog that I follow, i thought it a great example of the emotions that come with Adoption! I find it to be pretty true in my case...for the most part. Hope you enjoy

http://www.pureandlasting.com/not-easy-but-so-worth-it/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PureLasting+%28Pure+%26+Lasting%29

Ordered the Cookbooks

Well, I finally ordered my cookbooks! They are going to be super cute! I had a graphic designer friend, Amanda, design the cover and it is exactly what I wanted. I am so excited! :)
Here is a peek at the cover.

Amazon Affiliate

As I am reading "Adopt Without Debt", she gives many fund raising ideas. I clearly love fund raising!

One of the suggestions was to become an Amazon Affiliate. This means that I promote Amazon on my web site and any purchase made using the link on my page to Amazon.com, I get around 4-6% of the purchase starting off. So I thought, i know a lot of people who use Amazon, why not try it.
So I am asking if you are an amazon user if you wouldn't mind getting to amazon by clicking the banner on the bottom on my blog. That is all you have to do. The only down fall is that I don't get credit if you use the 1- click order option. I don't know why but that's the rule!

Of coarse this will go towards our adoption fund! :)

Love,
Emily

Raffles Coming Soon!

Please be watching this blog for some upcoming Raffles! I will be raffling off amazing one of a kind homemade items, at $5 an entry! You will be able to purchase more entries or gain extra entries by sharing the raffle on either your blog, facebook, or twitter! Winner will be selected at Random!
All proceeds go towards our adoption!

Coming soon! :)

Recommended Books for Parents & Adoptive Parents

I wanted to share a few books that either, I am reading or was highly suggested that I read...
I will start with the ones I am currently reading and recommend:

-"There is no me without you" One woman's Odyssey to Rescue Her Country's Children by Melissa Fay Greene- so far this book has had amazing history of Ethiopia. A personal story of a woman's life in Ethiopia and shares the things that people struggle with and see on a regular basis, that we in America can't even fathom.

-"Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp- this book helps you to remember to care for your child's heart in the way you raise them. Don't forget that they have souls and everything you do or neglect to do effects who they become. Reminds you to always point to truth and explain your choices.

-"Adopting without Debt" Creative ways to cover the cost of adoption by Julie Gumm- Very encouraging, she uses a lot of Dave Ramsey method's and influence, also personal fund raising success stories and ideas.

-"The Connected Child" For parents who have welcomed children: From other countries and cultures, From troubled backgrounds, With Special behavioral or emotional needs by Karyn B. Purvis, David R. Cross and Wendy Lyons Sunshine- This book helps you through the tougher parts of parenting your children. It walks through the unique challenges adopted children face using compassion, care and consideration. AMAZING!

And some that were highly recommended:

-" Give Them Grace" Dazzling your kids with the love of Jesus by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson- This book was recommended to my husband by an amazing friend and Mentor/Pastor Daniel Montgomery of Sojourn Church in Loiusville, Kentucky . He is an amazing Dad and said that this book helps you to teach your children Grace. I can not wait to read it.

-"I'm chocolate you're Vanilla" Raising healthy black and biracial children in a race-conscious world by Marguerite A. Wright- I have seen other adoptive parents say on their blogs that this is a great book, the back reads: Teaches parents and educators of black and biracial children how to reduce racism's impact on a child's development- from preschool through adolescence- and in doing so to raise emotionally healthy children.

-"Instructing a Child's Heart" by Tedd & Margy Tripp- This book helps you to raise your child in biblical truths to point them to the greatest joy and happiness that they can experience- delighting in God and the goodness of his ways.

I realized I have yet to complete any books because as you can see I have started a few at one time and this is only the adoption/ parent category! :) I'm reading more often now so hopefully I will finish and move on to the others! :)
I have more books I have purchased and look forward to reading. Here is a list:

-" Parenting with Love & Logic" by Foster Cline & Jim Fay
-" Bringing up Boys" by James Dobson
-" The Whole Life Adoption Book" by Jayne E. Schooler & Thomas C. Atwood
-" Adopted For Life" by Russell D. Moore
-" Big Truths for Young Hearts" by Bruce A. Ware
-" Orphanology" By Tony Merida & Rick Morton
-" Raising Adopted Children" by Lois Ruskai Melina
-" Boundaries with Kids" by Henry Cloud & John Townsend

Better start reading :)