Visiting Cape Cod

Better late than never is the old saying, right? Well, tonight it seems to be the saying of the day. On Saturday, we spent the day in Cape Cod with our family. We had a great time on the Cape but the drive home was for the birds!!! Four hours in the car just isn't my idea of a good time. But enough about the trip home, let's get to the photos from the visit!

Uncle Mike was intown!

Aunt Ev and her baby bump came along too!

(I can't wait to meet him!)

Grampa, Great Gramma, and Great Grampa

Just for the record...everyone needs a Jo-Jo!

Introducing all of the great-grandchildren!

Presenting: "The Outsiders"

(we're the one's who married into the family)

My favorite picture from the weekend:

The four generations!

Things have changed since our last trip to the Cape. Everyone is doing well but it was a nice reminder that life is passing very quickly. It was a simple reminder to be thankful for the time that we have with everyone in our life. Young and old...we're thankful for our family.

What a Blessing!

With all of the fundraising planning swirling around in our heads, we have successfully secured a handfull of 'gigs' at local craft fairs. As a family, we've designed (and re-designed) a t-shirt to sell as a fundraising opportunity. My mother has offered to make hot/cold packs for us to sell at the fairs. In addition, I'm making trendy hair clips to sell at the fairs...and PQ is going to be selling lemonade right along side of us.

After inquiring about another fair in our area, I was surprised to receive an email back today from one of the local directors. In my original email to him, I briefly explained our reasoning for fundraising at his fair. Within one minute (did you catch that-within 1 minute) of sending him the email, we received an email back from him advising that he would waive all table fees for us because of what we are trying to accomplish as a family. (In case you're not aware, vendors have to purchase space at craft fairs. These can range anywhere from $10 to $100, depending upon the event.)

What a blessing!

We were so encouraged by this gesture from a complete stranger. It was exactly what I needed today. What a blessing, indeed!

Adoption Application

Estimated Delivery Date: 09/22/2010 (my birthday)!

Long Overdue...

Last night we had the pleasure of spending several hours with one of my childhood friends. We ate tons of yummy food, hung out chatting, and listened to hours of giggling. Although we only live 40 minutes away from each other, we rarely ever get together. Life seems to happen before our eyes and before we know it, it's been years since we've connected. Our visit was definitely long overdue!

Miss Sarah and her "Raisinet"

5 sources of giggles

Miss Sarah~ Please promise me that we will both make more of an effort to get together again moving forward! We miss seeing you and we had such a great time last night. Thank you for opening up your home to us. We had a blast!

Creating a Good Habit

Research shows that it takes 21 days to create a habit. It also shows that creating a good habit can take up to 66 days. I've decided to challenge myself to start a good habit...and I thought I would encourage all of you to do the same.

We tend to spend our days worrying about our own needs. Unfortunately, we need to be more intentional about being aware of others throughout our days. Maybe a neighbor is sick and could use a meal. Perhaps someone at the grocery store needs help loading their groceries into the car. Maybe sending a card to someone would lift their spirits. You just never know who might be in need of a blessing...

I don't know about you, but I often have to be quite intentional with my actions. It's easy to think about me and my own wants and desires. It's not as easy to think about someone else that might need a little help or a word of encouragement. It takes effort...it takes intentional effort to be successful at this.

My challenge is this...I want to create a habit of seeking to be a blessing in someone's life every single day over the next 66 days. It can be someone I know....but it doesn't have to be someone that I know. The point is, it does have to be intentional.

My hope is that after 66 days of being intentional, it will eventually become a habit.

All for Jesus

There's something to be said about listening to your husband in the other room share his faith with someone on the phone. Why he believes what he believes and how it has changed his life. Without any hesitations. Without any reservations. All for Jesus. He never ceases to amaze me.

Without a doubt: I'm honored to have a strong, godly man leading our home.

Our News

It's time. It's time to finally come clean about what's been going on with your family lately. It's no secret that we have been trying to extend our family for several years. After two miscarriages within two years and several unsuccessful fertility treatments, we have finally decided to adopt. God has been working in our hearts over the past several years through all of the trials and tribulations related to extending our family circle. Without a doubt, He has been preparing our hearts for what's next to come.

Approximately 6 weeks ago, we met with our caseworker and discussed our desires to adopt. We completed the orientation process and also completed some required testing before getting the final go-ahead. Today, we received the final go-ahead so we are eager to submit our application to the agency. With a ton of emotions pumping through our bodies, we are anxious for the months that are ahead of us. For obvious reasons, we waited to share the 'news' with the blog world until we received today's confirmation.

Questions, questions, and more questions. I'm sure all of you have plenty of questions. To keep it simple, I'm going to run through some basic questions and answers below. I hope this helps. If by chance you still have a question, please let us know. We are THRILLED to be able to share this journey with all of you...so please ask as many questions as you want! :)

Q: What's next in the process?
A: We need to submit our application to the in-state adoption agency for processing. From there, they will be requesting documents and they will be scheduling our homevisit.

Q: What is a homevisit?
A: A homevisit is a lengthy interview process that requires everyone in our family to be involved. This process will help the agency evaluate all aspects of our life from social and employment history to disciplinary practices and beliefs.

Q: You mentioned your 'in-state agency'. Does this mean that you have an out of state agency as well?
A: Not yet...but we will. The wait time for a baby in our own state is 2-4 years so we will need to link up with an out-of-state agency to get a baby from another state sooner.

Q: Where will you be adopting from?
A: Once our homestudy is complete, we believe that we will be adopting a baby from Texas. Based on the birthmother laws that are in place for Texas, we feel like this state has the best laws that meet our adoption needs.

Q: Do you want a girl or a boy?
A: We are open to either a boy or a girl. We are also open to any race...so bring it on!

Q: How does PQ feel about the adoption?
A: PQ is PYSCHED about it. We have been talking to him about it ever since we decided to pursue this avenue. He knows every move we make with regards to this process and he is extremely excited to have a baby brother or baby sister!

Q: How much does it cost to adopt a child?
A: It will cost us ~$30,000 for everything related to the adoption. This includes application fees, homestudy fees, agency fees, and travel to pick up the baby.

Q: How are you going to afford this?
A: With God, we know that anything is possible! We are trusting Him to provide the resources that we need to make this happen. For now, Papa H and I will be living off from 1 income starting this week so that we can save money to put towards the adoption. In addition, we are cutting back on the 'extras' in our life so we can save more money for the adoption. Lastly, we will be raising money to help us pay for the adoption.

Q: How can I help your family through this process?
A: Your prayers are always coveted! Aside from prayers, we will be selling t-shirts in the upcoming weeks. We plan on having several fundraising events and we will soon be opening a savings account so cash donations can be accepted for the adoption. (If you or someone you know wants to help us out, please let us know!)

For now, I'll leave it here. There is so much that goes into the adoption process. I don't want to overwhelm anyone on this first post about our big news. If you could please keep our family in your prayers, we would really appreciate it. We love you. XOXOXOXO

Say What??!!???

2 minutes after Country Mouse's Cousin meets me, he asks: "So, how do you fit in here?"

Mama H: "I'm L's sister...and I'm also married to the guy with the mohawk."


(It's true...I said it...and I meant it. Thanks for pointing out the SAY WHAT, Country Mouse! *wink* As an FYI, today was the Fantasy Football Draft and Papa H loves to be dramatic with his hairstyles on draft day. This years draft day hairstyle included a mohawk that was dyed blonde...except we learned that people with black hair end up with RED hair after they dye it blonde. Oh my...)

So yes, I'm the one married to the man with the FIRE RED MOHAWK. Excuse me, Papa H...the 80's called and they want their hair back! *wink*

***I have to be honest, this is the type of stuff that I LOVE about Papa H. I love how eager he is to have fun. He enjoys being funny and I personally think he's hilarious.***

Fruits & Vegetables, Anyone?

What happens when your Mom works as the District Health Coordinator for the local school department? You guessed it...we get a little fruity from time to time!

Introducing Studmuffin...I mean, Spud-muffin!

...Mr. Carrot...

...Mr. Banana...

...and Mr. Watermelon!

Friday night's are typically Family Fun Nights at our house. The summer months distracted us from this family tradition but I think it's safe to say that Family Fun Nights are back in full affect. Seriously, it doesn't get more wild and crazy than it did tonight. We're all a bunch of fruitcakes, that's for sure! *wink*

The Crossroads

As you know, our family has something in the 'works'. Something that we are excited about and something that we are still processing on our own. Right now we are standing at the crossroads and we are humbling ourselves before the Lord. For now, we will leave it at that. Only time will tell how our story will unfold, so in the meantime we choose to walk by faith. CLICK HERE...this songs sums it up...we will walk by faith.