be a piece of the puzzle

we have to raise all the funds for this adoption. we are hoping and praying we will qualify for a lot of grant money, we have some savings we can use, george's job will reimburse a small amount once she is home and the rest of the funds needed, we plan to fundraise. we hope to have a t shirt sale once we get closer to bringing her home but for now we are selling puzzle pieces.

how does that work?? glad you asked. we bought a 500 piece puzzle and are selling pieces for $20. by buying a piece of the puzzle you are literally partnering with us to be a piece of the puzzle to get her home. we write your name on the back of a piece and add it to the puzzle. it has been so much fun to watch is slowly come together. once the puzzle is finished, we plan to have it framed between two pieces of glass. that way she'll be able to see the back and feel all the love it took to get her here.

look at our progress over the past few months...

just an idea and a box full of puzzle pieces

getting started

making progress

now it's really starting to come together

oops, we did it again

no fancy or clever words...we just want to say...WE ARE ADOPTING AGAIN!!!!

we knew pretty early on that we wanted to add one more child to our family. having raised a sibling set already it just makes sense to do it again. the close bond that jared and brant share is something we want for mallory too. she gets along great with her brothers but they are honestly old enough to be her father. she needs someone closer in age. someone to share all the worlds ups and downs.

there was never any doubt that we would go back to India. we have fallen in love with the country and it's people and feel strongly that our girls should share the same heritage.

we spend the summer updating our home study and in september we registered with CARA (via our agency) to adopt a girl a little older than mallory. we are currently waiting for approval and expect it any day now.

truthfully i thought the waiting would be so much easier the second time around. we would be busy with mallory, we've been through it before...but it is not one bit easier...at all.

last time we fell in love with mallory anitha before we even knew who she was. this time around we are completely in love with the daughter that God has picked out for us. we just haven't met her yet.

our journey is a bit different this time. we are counting on raising all the funds (we self funded last time) and we are adopting out of birth order (don't worry, we've done our research and have talked with a professional)

we couldn't be more excited to be on this journey again or more impatient to get to her!!

stay tuned..........

the pile on the left is our application to start our new adoption. the pile on the right is what it took to bring mallory home. we have a ways to go

really...has it been that long!?!

three years next month! that's how long it has been since i published a blog post. time flies! 

we were in the middle of adopting our daughter from india. our hearts were aching for her! it felt like the waiting would never end. but it did! she has been home for over two years. she is delightful (most days) and is learning to spread her wings and thrive! here are a few pics of our cutie...
             

finally able to reach out and touch her!                                 

outside the courthouse in india                           

home just a few short weeks

it's amazing what a whole lot of love and care can do...look at the change in her eyes!

metamorphosis was the perfect word for vocal day

her eyes are beginning to have a twinkle!

she has changed so much in just two short years

mallory anitha rigo...our little blessing

Adopting with my eyes wide open...a new resolve!

If you've spent anytime around me lately then you know I've gone a little wonky. Yes, we're adopting and yes, I've become a little preoccupied and anxious (okay, so maybe obsessed and anxious would better define my personality traits as of late). I've been trying to settle in during this next phase of waiting and have been struggling...very much! I'm not pleasant to be around and I know it. Ugh!

But...


I am making a new resolve! I've already talked it out with God and almost feel obligated to talk it out with you too...(who are you???) :)

Maybe it was the Sunday sermon about Abraham's faith, or maybe it was the forgotten stanza of the old hymn "Great is Thy faithfulness" that talks about "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow" or maybe it happened when I opened my iTalk to God app on my phone and saw this...

"After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not fear Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great."                           - Genesis 15:1
Followed by "God gives you a shield of faith. This shield protects you by extinguishing all flaming arrows from the enemy, including what is making you fearful.

And then I saw this...

"Do not fear them, for the LORD your God is the one fighting for you."         -Deuteronomy 3:22
Followed by "Moses reminded Joshua that God will fight the battle for the Promised Land. You have God on your side. Does your anxious situation stand a chance? No." 

Or yet maybe I found this new resolve when I was raking leaves and under the leaves was a rock...that jumped out at me because it looked exactly like a heart!

Seriously...when you open your eyes and look all around, God is everywhere! I think we tune Him out with our self absorbed tendencies and (a lot of times) self imposed problems. Why do I/we do that!?!

Back to this new resolve. From this point forward (and in all honesty probably with a few slip ups) I am resolving to quit being a basket case and to look for Him...everywhere...to seek after Him. To find my strength and happy place in Him.

Quitting

I need to quit reading into things. I need to quit obsessing. I need to quit fretting. I need to quit wondering "what if". I need to quit trying to make this adoption process fit into my wants/needs and timeframes. I need to quit allowing satan to trip me up and getting me to take my eyes off the one that deserves my attention.

Starting

I need to start enjoying the here and now (because we aren't promised tomorrow anyway). I need to start looking up (and all around) at Him. I need to have full confidence and faith that God hears my prayers and knows what is best for me. He loves me. My husband keeps telling me that sometimes it's not satan that is tripping us up, sometimes it's God allowing a situation to happen in our lives to see how we handle it. Epic fail on my part because I've been handling things...not so well. I've been sad, I've attached myself to my phone so I can check my email every 5 minutes, I've talked endlessly about how hard this wait is and most importantly, I've not been growing the way I should be. Through this adoption so many wonderful things have happened yet I've dwelled on the negative. Shame on me. I need to spend more time reading God's word and more time talking to Him. I need to soak up each and every moment of this life...especially with my husband and kids and I need to hug my pugs often.

To sum up this resolve (or rant)...

We will get that call (or email) that allows us to move onto the next step. We will get a court date. We will come up with enough money to pay for the two trips. We will fly over there and meet our unbelievably sweet daughter and LORD willing, we will bring her home...all in His time.

Zippy Strippy Quilt

Waiting, it's one of the many things I'm learning to do these day. For anyone involved in an international adoption, you know that you wait...a lot. You wait for an email or a phone call or an important piece of mail. You wait to see the face of someone you already have fallen hopelessly in love with, to find out about her little life up to now. Waiting, waiting, waiting...especially for the day when you can fly across the ocean to whatever country you are adopting from and bring that special someone home. It's brutal and almost cruel, this thing called waiting.

I'm thankful for the waiting...it means we're moving from step to step. It may also mean that I'm learning some much needed patience, or at least trying to learn. God is teaching me lessons through this adoption that He knows I need to learn. Thank you God!

Keeping busy helps the time go by.

The other week I made a Zippy Strippy Quilt. I've made at least a dozen over the past few years. They are a quick project and always turn out beautiful.

This particular quilt was made for the one I'm waiting for. When I look at it, I see her safe and warm, snuggling up on our couch, knowing that she is loved and wanted!!

Picking out the fabric for one of these quilts is a fun process...it was even more fun for this particular project. You can't tell from the photo, but the blue corduroy has glitter all over it.

I love bright colors...and polka dots!

Little piles of fabric...they're waiting too.

Neat  "sandwiches" waiting to be sewed.

You only need to sew straight lines, which is a good thing because that's all I know how to sew.

Snip and wash is all that is left to do.

The finished project! It's warm, and snuggly...and waiting for her!

Lily wanted to check out the snuggle factor.

I think it passed the test...