Life A Bit Sweeter

Retreat....Really REVIVAL is What My Soul Needs

2012-01-27T15:50:00.000-05:00

Where in the world have I been you might ask...okay....maybe you're not. But anywho (smile), I've been away from the blog. Quite honestly, I've been disengaging from much adoption talk and many adoption-related things. It has nothing to do with lack of love for my daughter, in fact, me and the boys pray for her each morning on their way to school. My being withdrawn from 'adoption talk and activity' has EVERYTHING to do with the process that has dramatically slowed in Ethiopia adoption. Don't get me wrong, I understand that God has a plan and He is preparing the exact situation for the future of our family.

Then....in walks the Created for Care Retreat. Founded by phenomenal adopting mom(s), they understand and believe:

"While your hearts have been called to care, YOU (adopting moms) were also createdd to be cared FOR. Wow. Lord, refresh me. This retreat...is really not a retreat for me. In fact, it is a REVIVAL. My weary soul has needed this refreshing. I long for this connection with a group of mom who 'get it'. You know...a group of moms who understand that I know the Lord; yet, the flesh in me gets tired and it's okay for me to be sad and teary in one moment and full of excitement in another moment. So come back and chat with me as I share the beauty of what will unfold this weekend at the Created for Care retreat.

Love y'all!

An Ornament So Fitting

2011-12-27T07:36:00.001-05:00

Just because I believe she will be in some ways just like both her moms. (smile)

I Thought She'd Be Home By Now...

2011-12-26T20:58:00.001-05:00

but she's not. Some days, I wait patiently, trusting that God must have more prep that He wants me to do. Other times, I grow weary and tired of being in this stage of the process. Either way, I don't deviate from this truth....God is good and He is so in control.

Two Beautiful Boys Need A Home....is it yours?

2011-12-21T06:41:00.002-05:00

Meet Amistad and Nikelus. These two amazing young brothers want nothing more for Christmas than to have a place to finally call home. Please pray and ask God if just perhaps, you could make room in your home for two more. They are remarkable young men and I just know that their forever family is out there. If it's not you, would you please do me a favor and share the link to this blog post? (http://www.lifeabitsweeter.com/2011/12/two-beautiful-boys-need-homeis-it-yours.html) We HAVE TO BE their voice! Please spread the word.

More than 700 children have found permanent loving families after being featured on Wednesday's Child. For information, please call 1-88-TO-ADOPT-ME.

We can do this for them!

View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

Another Reason I Love Mocha Club....and you should too! (smile)

2011-12-18T04:22:00.000-05:00

If you didn't know, Mocha Club was so instrumental in helping us fund our adoption. We love, love, love Barrett Ward and Emily over there. Barrett was so generous in allowing us to sell their "I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me" t-shirts as a fundraiser. It's not something they normally do and I went out on a limb in asking them....and that "Big Ask" paid off. So like so many others, they are a huge piece in the puzzle of our daughter's adoption.

But hey.....here's what's also so cool about them. Each month, along with many others, I give $7 per month....basically the cost of a two cups of mocha/coffee to support projects in Africa. You get to choose which project category you'd like your $7 to support: clean water, education, hiv + healthcare, orphan care/vulnerable children, or women at risk.

It's so simple to start supporting their amazing projects that are making an impact in Africa. Click here to start donating today. In the meantime, check out one of their "Missions in Action" episode videos:

Meet Josiah White...A Beautiful Miracle

2011-12-10T12:44:00.002-05:00

Meet Josiah White. Watch the video but before you do, here's one of my favorite quotes from his mom:

"It's not about you. It's not about you fulfilling your family. It's not about you doing a good thing. It's not about any of that. It's about obeying God. If He's calling you to do it, you need to do it and not just say you know how like we started out with making a list of well God, this is what I'm willing to do for You so here You go."

How Much I Have To Say About What's Going on in Adoption World....

2011-12-07T19:57:00.000-05:00

Mortellite Family Giveaway (Amharic Language Book/CD) - ENDS TODAY!!!

2011-12-02T05:38:00.001-05:00

Possibly like you, I've met some F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S people along this adoption journey. One of them is Kelly Mortellite. Kelly and her hubby, Nick, are also adopting from Ethiopia. We started chatting about fundraising and we've been keeping in touch ever since. Well, the Mortellites have the awesome privilege of participating in a fundraiser through a wonderful website called Give1Save1 (www.give1save1.com).

Through Give1 Save 1, they are hosting a giveaway of five Simple Language for Adoptive Families - Amharic version guides. It includes a book/CD combo to assist families communicate with their child once they bring them home. I want, want, want one of those book/cd combos so you bet I'll be entering. You can too so check out how here: http://give1save1.com/2011/11/29/simple-amharic-for-adoptive-families/

.....and of course, here is the cuteness of the Mortellites......

If you'd just like to donate to the Mortellites adoption, you can do so via PayPal here. Remember our story? Every single dollar, penny, nickel counts so let's give family!!!

Awesome Kiddie Hair Salon for Ethnic Hair

2011-11-25T21:13:00.001-05:00

So this mama's been practicing and I still don't have a decent cornrow down yet. Contrary to popular belief, including my own, unfortunately, all 'sisters' can't braid hair. Now I can do a french braid, plait, twist, bantu knot and I've got a few other tricks I can even dish out when necessary. Yep, this mama's been practicing to get ready for Selah.

What you may not know is that I have a 3-year old granddaughter. She was at our house last week and as the day would have it, she was due for a new hairdo. We had someplace to go that night and I was totally not up to taking her hair out, shampooing, conditioning, detangling, and the tears....oh yes, the tears!!!! Without hesitation, I called up a kiddie beauty salon that's right in my community called Iconz Kids Salon. I've been wanting to try them out for some time to gear up for Selah and this was the perfect opportunity. I called up the salon which generally stays booked with kiddie clients and as the beautiful day would have it, they could fit us in. Off we went....and the verdict....I loved it!

This salon is very rare in that they cater to African & African-American boys and girls. It's set-up just for kids. Each station is complete with a tv & dvd and they keep great movies in stock for the kiddos. There's a waiting room for parents. From what I learned, the salon is owned by a Christian wife and husband team who also have an adult salon next door. It's pure genius I tell you! We were in and out in a couple of hours, including a deep conditioning and the tears which flowed and flowed but didn't make our amazing assigned stylist, Nesha, miss a beat. She was great in recommending products for my granddaughter's hair. I shelled out about $65 dollars for everything and let me tell you, it was well worth it. With the use of a scarf, this style will keep for days and little miss muffin, or Pocahontas, as she likes to call herself loved it. Being able to shake her hair and hear the music of the beads was just pure heaven for her.

There were only two downsides to my experience or things I'd put on a wishlist for this salon. They don't accept debit/credit cards. For me, this was a major blower because I rarely carry cash and they didn't share that with me when I booked the appointment. This meant I had to go find an ATM and come back to pay. With a toddler in tow, it wasn't my favorite option. Yet, I have to say, they were very kind. Secondly, for waiting parents, I'd suggest adding free wi-fi so parents can get some work done, or maybe even surf the net while they wait.....since I'm guessing the average wait time for your child is anywhere from 1-2 hours.

So basically.....this will be one of Selah's regular spots when mommy needs some help.

Do you have kiddie salons in your area that cater to Ethnic hair.

We're #10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....and 28!

2011-11-21T12:39:00.000-05:00

Yeah baby! We're moving on up. We're number 10 in the toddler girl line and number 28 in the infant girl line. That's it....just wanted to share that little detail. (insert my big ol' grin here!)

We're #11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....and 30!

2011-11-13T18:11:00.000-05:00

Rain, rain go away. Come again another day. Yes...the rainy season in Ethiopia is over and referrals are happening. What does this mean for us? Well....no, we haven't received our referral yet but we're inching on up in the line. We're still in the infant girls category but we're also in the toddler girls line. On the infant side, we're number 30 in line but in the toddler line, we're number 11. Yes, yes, yes.

I've been away from blog land but that's what's happening in my world. What's up in yours?

Who Are You???

2011-10-24T07:28:00.001-04:00

More often than not on this blog, we focus on me, myself, and I. You know my thoughts, my family, my adoption, my fears, my joys....you get the picture. Well.....let's pause for the cause of learning about one another and tell me about YOU! (**insert cheers and applause here--smile**)

I want to know who's reading this blog. I want this to be a community so even if I know something about you, tell the other readers who will read these comments. A little stuck on what to say? Here are some ideas:

Tell us:

about your family.
about this season in your life.
What's been your greatest joy this year? Your disappointment?
What type of work do you do? What's your passion?
How we can pray for you.
Something quirky about you.
What part of the country do you live in?
Do you blog? What's your blog address?

So tell us anything you want, we're listening!

Lots of love!

2 Children, Instead of 1?

2011-10-22T04:08:00.002-04:00

It's a bit past 3am and I can't go back to sleep just yet until I type this post. For the 3rd time, I've had a dream about a second small child with Selah --always a boy. I haven't committed it fully to a blog post yet because I've been so afraid. Afraid of what you ask, well let me spill it here:

-Afraid of what my husband would say. I mean it was a miracle to me that he said yes so quickly to adopting one child...internationally at that. I've thrown it around to him before after the first two dreams and he's not exactly saying no firmly but he's definitely not saying yes either. So 2 children....

-Afraid of the additional cost of the adoption. With no cut cards, I can simply say that the funds to adopt a second child are just not there. We've finished fundraising and quite honestly I'm thinking, how do you start fundraising again because you 'think' you might need to/be asked to adopt a second child?

-Afraid of the the costs associated with having 4 children. I don't see where in the world we'd have money in our family budget to care for the needs of 4 children.

-Afraid that maybe I'm conjuring all of this up in my mind. Ya know...what did I eat last night? And then there's the fact that one of our agency's families had a similar situation and are now adopting not just one but now two boys.

-Afraid that I'd never want to split up siblings.....if any of this materialized. This is exactly what happened to my brother and I after my mom died. It's something my brother and I have been so firm about even with our existing children. In fact it brings me to tears right now just thinking about it. We've held that if something happened to us and our children had to be placed with guardians, we'd never want our children split up. This single act caused so much damage to my brother and I. Although we ended up in the same state, it hurt more than anyone else could ever know. Not only did we lose our mom and dad overnight but we also instantly lost one another.

Yes, I know that God is greater than all of my fears but let me tell you, fear is trying to whip my butt right now as I keep trying to couple it with the reality of what I see with our family and our finances. Do we have enough love to care for two children....absolutely yes....but how would that affect our two boys??? Again, do we have the finances to care for two additional children.....not from my vantage point....but hmmm....what does God see in all this? So....here I am stuck wondering.......are these 'just dreams' or is this all preparation for what's to come? Pray for us friends. I just sit here in tears because this is hard on so many other levels.

More Than a Two Step....Zumba

2011-10-03T22:52:00.003-04:00

Remember our Zumba event, well, here's a peek into what the night was about. It was sooooo much fun! If you live in an area where Zumba is hot and need a fundraiser, this is one to consider. Got questions about how to plan it, just leave me a comment here.

Let's get it girls.....and can't forget the guys who held it down that night.

Photos from Zumba Fundraiser from LifeABitSweeter on Vimeo.

...and here's the photo slideshow! I had no idea that Greg from GiggyMedia was going to do video AND photographs. So blessed by his company for their generosity. Seriously...go check 'em out if you're in the DC area. (His info is at the end of the show.)

(Any lag in the video has nothing to do with the quality of the video. This is because of the streaming from the video host site I used.)

My Birth Mom's Birthday

2011-09-27T17:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the birthday of my birth mom, Karen or Kay as she was affectionately known. By my calculations, she would have been 62 yesterday. She died 19 days before her 31st birthday. I was just turning 5 the following month. Life changed so quickly during those months and then the subsequent years for my brother and I as we split into separate homes.

I had such a GREAT time today as I sat with my Aunt Johnette and cousin John as they shared stories about how my mom used to sit on the couch, suck her thumb, and how much of a home body she was. I ate every single one of those details up and always yearn to know more and more and more about her. I yearn to know what her voice sounded like but people didn't record like they do now. Instead, I inquire here and there with relatives to get more details. Photos of my mom are very rare and I only own one. She was totally not into the whole picture-taking thing....I'm beginning to think she was a total introvert....totally opposite of the little girl to whom she gave birth! LOL.

As we move further into this adoption journey, I think more and more about Selah and her mom. As she grows older, will she wonder about some of the same things that I do and have? Will she yearn to know her birth mother more....her voice....her touch...her mannerisms? I'm absolutely positive that the answer is yes. I pray that God grants us the opportunity to meet her mother in order to learn as much as possible in our brief meeting. That meeting would be as priceless as the little girl she and I will share.

Every child needs a mother and a father for two distinct reasons. I am so grateful that God loved me so much that He did not forget my deep need for a mother-figure/mother in my life. I remember my mom (Grace) who raised me as her child after my mom died, told me that she would never try to take the place of my mom. I am forever grateful for her articulating those words to me because my birth mother is not my past or a fading memory. She is very present in the pages of my life as I continue to grow and even sometimes reflect 'Kay' in pieces of me.

Age Request Change & Home Study Update

2011-09-26T10:29:00.001-04:00

Woo hoo! Yesterday afternoon, our social worker came by to do our home study update since a year has passed since our last home study approval. Things went well.

The one change: we confirmed that we would like to increase our age range request just a little. It was a hard decision just because of fears but heck...this whole adoption journey is often filled with fear of the unknown. It has felt like promptings from God to make this move but we also wanted to be sure. To help with my fears about adopting a child a tad older, I called on my friend, Christine, who adopted a toddler. Christine's candor, love, and support was such a huge blessing to me.

So what's next....we wait for our update to be written and then we wait some more to see what age range God chooses. Who knows....we may be matched next year with a baby or perhaps even a toddler (about 2 years old).

Stay tuned........

I Used To Celebrate DTE Anniversaries....now, not so much.

2011-09-19T16:12:00.001-04:00

I remember getting our dossier to Ethiopia (DTE) was such a happy day....January 7th! We were beyond thrilled because it meant we could begin the countdown to the approximate number of months it would take before we were matched with our daughter. Like many waiting families, we would do something special on the 7th of each month to celebrate our DTE Anniversary. First, we started off trying something healthy to eat but then my Paula Deen lovin' country self got bored with that and decided to serve someone in the community instead on these months. It was fun...it was lively....it was fantastic counting down those months UNTIL we found out through our agency that the wait to be matched with our daughter would now be longer than the original 9 months or so. The wait grew to 12-18 months and at this point, I'm thinking perhaps even longer. I know there are some good reasons for the extensions and our agency is working their tooshies off to make sure things are done ethically which I soooooo appreciate.

Although I've been busy with nesting and I am truly loving it, the truth about today is that for some reason it's hard. Yep, it's one of those days for me. I know all the pick-me up points and encouragements like "In God's timing" and "He's working it out behind the scenes". Those are the same words I use to encourage other moms who are on this side of the coin. I know that I have to be patient but in the meantime, what do I do with this aching mommy heart that longs for the face of a little person who I can only dream about right now. It stinking hurts. Yet, I know no matter how much this hurts today, right now....I have to take my heart, even while it's hung low to my Father. It's only Him that can get me through this valley.

Perhaps I'll be ready to celebrate DTE anniversaries again but right now approaching our nine month mark in a couple of weeks doesn't exactly have me doing cartwheels......and that's real talk.

I almost didn't hit publish on this post but from the very beginning I promised to be honest about my journey....so here goes...............

Nesting: TLC Just for Me!

2011-09-19T11:55:00.001-04:00

Nesting is absolutely glorious! I've been busy getting my house, family, and yes even me into a better rhythm. Ya know when a mama bird is preparing her home or 'nest' for the arrival of her little baby birds. This weekend, I got to focus on little ol' me! (smile). I think it's super important that as women, we take care of ourselves and that we FEEL GOOD ABOUT OURSELVES! ....and seriously, with all of the running around that happens, often mommies put their care on the backburner.

Since I'm on vacation from work for 2 weeks to really focus on nesting, I decided this past weekend, there were 3 things that I did (started doing) that I'm so, so happy about:

#1. Got my hair dyed....yep, I'm still my natural deep black but the strands of gray are gone! Gone! Gone! Gone! Woo hoo!

#2. Got a facial. I've had these little holes and blackhead-looking critters sitting on my face and I hated the way my skin look. I went to see an aesthetician Sunday morning and she literally spoiled me rotten for about 2 hours. At the end of my appointment, my dull, flaky, dry skin was glowing like nobody's business. All this time, I've thought that my skin was dry when in fact, it's actually oily. Go figure!

#3. Started drinking water. I know, I know, I know. We should all drink water but this girly hates the taste and loves everything sweet. Seeing as though I need to set a great example for my boys AND I love looking at my glowing complexion, water is going to become my best friend. Yep, I even downloaded a water app on my iPhone....it's that serious! LOL.

What I love about this whole nesting process is that not only am I getting my dwelling house in order, but I'm also getting my physical body or home in order. Life is good and I feel good too!

What do you do or want to do to take care of you?

Nesting: Organizing the Kids' Lives (Fabric Magnet Board)

2011-09-14T11:08:00.001-04:00

Now that school's back in session, there is just so much to juggle...doctor appointments, school projects, football schedules, basketball schedules...you get the picture. For me, putting these things in a file cabinet is not a good idea...ya know...out of sight, out of mind. Yep, that's right! So, I needed a solution to keep it all together. When I saw this board, I instantly wanted to start creating.....

BUT there was one problem. I remembered that we'll have an infant/toddler in our home soon so a bulletin board with pointy tacks didn't seem to be a win. Time for adjustments! I started thinking and realized that a magnet board might be a better alternative. I was going to go with sheet metal but the sheets at my local Home Depot store were too small and they were pretty banged up. Then, I found a cool tutorial using an Ikea magnet board and I was back in gear again.

...and voila! Here's our neat-o version complete with some racing car magnets I made for the boys. I'm still trying to decide what kind of magnets I want to go with Little Miss Lady's board. Each of kids have their own boards. The boys are on the outside and Selah's board is sandwiched right in the middle of her big bros. Love getting organized!

What's your favorite tip for organizing your kids and family?

Nesting Has Begun!

2011-09-07T18:26:00.001-04:00

If you were to look up the words "busy bee", you'd see my face right next to the definition....go 'head....go look it up. (smile) Seriously though....I am a true busy bee. I've been like this since 'forever'...well almost forever. I love taking on projects, tasks, and learning new skills. It's just the way that I'm wired. I enjoy hard work and being challenged. At the same time, I'm very clear that I can't keep up this same pace when Ms. Selah arrives home. I truly believe with all my heart that God wants me to start now with making some transitions and better choices to bring better balance to our household, our life, and our future together as a family. And if I don't....well this wait time is going to be EXTRA long until I get it together because he loves her too much. So my friends 'nesting' has begun!

Don't get me wrong...we're doing pretty good as a family in terms of spending time together, running to activities, and just plain ol' living and loving on each other. Yet, I'm also clear that when Selah arrives, she and our household are going to require a level of attention, bonding, and balance unlike anything that was needed after I gave birth to my two sons.

So follow along on this journey as I share some of my 'projects, routines, and milestones' that I'll be working towards over these next 7 or so months while we wait to be matched with our daughter. (Yep, I'm thinking it may be that long before we actually even see her face or know who she is BUT....it's all good. Her mama has lot's of preparing to work on for her arrival!)

Meeting Steven Curtis Chapman!!!

2011-08-25T03:45:00.007-04:00

Okay...so when we first started the adoption process, there were two really great adoption agencies that I wanted to go with....America World or Gladney. Although both are awesome adoption agencies, I really felt my heart tugging towards America World for our family. The problem: doubt and thoughts of rejection started creeping into my mind. I mean America World had sent us this amazing package of information and inside the package was a dvd sharing the story of a few families who had used America World, their thoughts, fears, and the joy of adopting internationally. Along with their story was another chapter featuring the Chapman family and their heart for adoption. I'm sitting in my office watching this dvd....crying and thinking...OH.MY.GOODNESS!!! Steven Curtis Chapman!!!!!!!! THE CHAPMAN FAMILY supports this agency enough to allow them to put their story on a dvd?!!!

Of course, the enemy started working overtime with this fear of the unknown....popping ideas in my head about how we wouldn't qualify for this agency. The fear of rejection really is a beast. I mean we didn't have any irregular things in our history but boy did I conjure up some thoughts about why they wouldn't accept us. And then to be as transparent as I possibly can, throughout the dvd, I didn't see any African-Americans who were adopting internationally nor did I know any at the time. At the time of my fear battle, I knew of plenty who had perhaps adopted domestically or were foster parents, which are fantastic options, but I knew no African-Americans, who had gone through the process of international adoption. I kept looking at the awesome packet of info, on the website for the agency and thought....me and Tony, seriously??? How are we going to explain this to our family? I was blessed to have scoured the internet and found a few African-American couples, including one in my area. I was still fearful but I felt God nudging me in the direction of applying for America World. Okay, God.....high dive...here we go....in spite of my own fears of rejection. So after going through the intensive application process, imagine my squeals when we found out that we were accepted into the Ethiopia program of our dream agency - America World!!!! ...and the rest is history. We have LOVED America World, their amazing staff, and know that we made the best choice for our family.

So by now to bring this whole thing full circle....you know the regard (from above) that I have for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family, right? Well just imagine my excitement when last week as we are coming to a close in our fundraising, a really good friend of mine, Kimberly, invited me to attend a Steven Curtis Chapman concert with her and friend, Claire. But get this.....we'd have backstage passes too!!!! Shut up!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Heaven.

I've been soooooo super busy since 2009 with saving, fundraising, and filling out adoption paperwork. Between working full-time, being a mom, wife, staying up late, and getting up at the crack of dawn, boy......I felt well overdue and longing for a refreshing. This night of worship this past Saturday was exactly that. We first went backstage and met their 'friend from a previous road tour', Michael W Smith and then to his right sat Steven Curtis Chapman. You know what I did, right? NO.....I didn't pass out! LOL. I pulled out that America World dvd, my Sharpie, and quickly shared that we had just finished fundraising, and asked if he would sign my DVD. He looked at the America World dvd and said, "I love these guys". This was a full circle moment for me. Back in the Fall of 2009 when I first saw this dvd, I would have never guessed that Chapman would be actually personalizing mine. This very moment in time continues to prove to me that GOD IS SO INTO THE DETAILS! If I could only put into words, how paralyzed with fear I was back then when I got this dvd, perhaps you'd understand the magnitude of him autographing this very thing...ya know, that moment in time that gripped me with fear.

BTW: We were also blessed to participate in an AMAZING day of worship with Matthew West, Big Daddy Weave, Kutless, Jonny Diaz, and Sidewalk Prophets! WOWZER!!!!!!!

Zumba was a BIG Success!

2011-08-23T21:50:00.002-04:00

Friday night was amazing! Zumba kicked my butt but it was worth every bit of the workout. What a great way to conclude our fundraisers...Two zumba sessions...about 45 minutes each....ya know I didn't last, right? LOL.

Because the weather was HORRIBLE that night, it worked out really well that we sold tickets ahead of time. In fact, we sold out of tickets 2 weeks prior to the event! (Yee haw!!!) Tickets were available for a minimum donation of $10. There were 2 ways to donate towards a ticket:

Via eventbrite.com
Through paper tickets that I created. Each was numbered and you could purchase via a designated 'Zumba Ticket Specialist' --basically my friends.

So there was one sweet incentive to get our 'Zumba Ticket Specialists' to sell their little hearts out. We hosted a little contest....basically whoever sold the most tickets or received the most donations within a week would receive a $100 cash prize! True motivation. Let me tell you.....the competition was thick! There was lots of trash talking and it was HILARIOUS! The winner turned out to be my co-worker and friend Cynde. Believe me, the ticket specialists were on her heels but Auntie Cynde will basically do anything for Selah. I think she called everybody she knew, including her healthcare providers! Loved it! To top it off, she took her winnings and donated them right back to Selah. Love that even more!

There was a little lounge area where I played about 5 adoption videos for resting guests.We stocked the lounge area with cold bottled water, granola bars, and cheese/peanut butter crackers.

We had fun with a photo booth that I created out of pvc pipe and some brown/white giraffe fabric. It looked a lot better at home because the torrential rain and the fact that I forgot the base at home made it a bit shorter and a lot more fragile. It was all good though! We still got some flicks! Speaking of flicks, another one of my co-workers --Trenace, had her hubby, Greg, volunteer his photography services. We hope to have those photos soon!

We started out with 1 instructor, Leslie, but then she recruited 2 more instructors --another woman and a guy! They were all PHENOMENAL!!!!!

There were still so many details but the thing that topped it all off is that another adopting mama, Kelly, drove 2 hours from Pennsylvania with three young women to participate. What she didn't know was that another one of my co-workers -Tamara- and I were in cahoots to take any money that people gave at the door and donate it to this sweet mama and her adoption fund. That part was phenomenal AND Kelly won one of the door prizes which was oh too special. We loved surprising her!!!!

There's so much more that I could share about Zumba but I'll leave with this one last important detail. The Zumba fundraiser was a HUGE success! In total, the Zumba fundraiser pulled in before and after the event over $3,000 in donations. I'd say that was a true FUNdraiser!

If you're an adopting parent and want more info on the zumba fundraiser, just shoot me a line at michelle365@me.com. Whatever you do with your fundraisers...make it fun...make it fit what you enjoy....and know investigate what would appeal to your target audience. This has been a blast!

COMPLETELY Funded & 7 Months DTE!!!

2011-08-15T08:58:00.004-04:00

I am so thrilled to announce that our daughter's adoption is COMPLETELY FUNDED! Yep....every single penny! Unbelievable to me.....believable that God is faithful....unbelievable that we got to be a part of such a grand miracle. The fact that we are funded before we're even close to seeing her face blows my mind!!!

But get this....I know from my life and scriptures that God is able to do EXCEEDINGLY, ABUNDANTLY BEYOND what we can ever ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20) Yet, I was still so shocked when once we hit our goal, families and individuals continued to give because they wanted to start now on donations for us to take to Ethiopia for humanitarian aid! WOW. What is so special about it all is that not only will their donations benefit our daughter Selah directly but now their donations will impact many more children in various parts of Ethiopia. Thank you God!

When we first started this journey, I knew we could afford to take care of our daughter once she was home but taking care of the large expenses associated with the process of adoption....now that's another animal altogether. The decision to save our money AND fundraise was a hard one because it was going to make me MAJORLY uncomfortable. But I got over it and really moved into it when I realized it was not about me. Christ paying the price/ransom for my life was downright uncomfortable, possibly even humiliating but He was obedient to what His Father asked Him to do. He knew it was never about Him. It was about 'them'...me...you. To have such a perfect example in Him really helped me to move beyond my hangups and ultimately blessed SO MANY people who have now become so emotionally invested in our adoption and aware of the need of orphans. In fact, yesterday, a friend at church, Gwen, talked about how Selah, our daughter, has really now become daughter to so many of them. That just melts this mama's heart. This video by Eric Ludy time and time again confirmed that we had made the right choice for our family to do whatever necessary to rescue and fight for our daughter.

We couldn't afford to drag our feet. Like Ludy shares in the video, I was personally challenged to call up every one of my family and friends to get to my daughter (well....close to every one of them...I talked to many, even the ones that I terrified to call because I didn't know what they'd say). Some said no and it was heart-wrenching but for every no...it got me closer to the ones who would say yes they'd support our adoption in some capacity. As we saved our share, we've had donors who have given 75 cents and we've had a couple of donors who gave $5,000. EVERY SINGLE donation was instrumental and made a major impact.

To top all of this off, we suspected we were fully funded on the date of our 7 month DTE anniversary! We were still in the process of doing some counting with Lifesong for Orphans and incoming donations but I didn't want to publicly call it too early until we were sure. Just to document it, I sent my cousin, Shelly this Facebook message late that night:

Thanks to so many of you for being on this journey with us. It's been an amazing ride and there's still more to come as we figure out ways to best impact Ethiopia. Stay tuned!!!

Love y'all!

I Won!

2011-08-10T17:30:00.001-04:00

Remember the bet my hubby and I made about who could sell the most Zumba tickets and receive the most Zumba registrations in a week......well yours truly won! Nothing like a little healthy competition between me and my babe to bring our daughter home. It was so much fun. So maybe you're wondering how much did I win by....sorry honey. I have to post this....the people have a right to now. (smile)

He sold about $100 worth of tickets and I rallied any and everybody I could think of because I didn't want to end up mowing the grass. I took in over $1,000 towards baby girl's donations! That was all in fun but seriously Praise God for the people who joined in the fun. Smooches. Smooches. Smooches.

Now I have to get to planning that menu! You know he owes me breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed......so what do you think should be on the menu?

New Necklace Design: Selah (40% OFF with Coupon Code)

2011-08-04T11:15:00.003-04:00

Last August, I shared on our blog that we had decided to name our daughter Selah. This was such a special moment for various reasons. A couple of months ago, I began to consider whether or not I was making the right choice based on a conversation I had with a Ethiopian gentleman. After continuing to give it further consideration and talking to some great friends, we've decided that in some way, her first name or middle name will be Selah.

In honor of the announcement of her name last August, I've created a really special glass tile necklace with the word Selah on it. The packaging is pretty awesome because it shares our story of how God arrested us out of our middle-class little bubble that we had made and broke our hearts for adoption and Ethiopia.

At the end of the little card that also serves as the packaging for the necklace, we ask you very candidly:

So...what’s the Selah in your life?

What do you feel God nudging you to do?

What has He been speaking to you? Have you acted?

If not, what’s been holding you back? Selah.

Perhaps it's not adoption but what I know for sure is that God has something for every person to do that will stretch us beyond our comfort, causing total reliance on Him. Ours was this adoption.....seriously, what's yours?

Purchase the necklace here for yourself or a friend. What a great reminder as you wear it that God calls each of us to something bigger than ourselves.

P.S. For a limited time, if you enter the word ZUMBA in the coupon code at checkout, you will receive 40% off the cost of the necklace. I love a deal! Don't you?

I Don't Want to Mow the Lawn....so please help!!!!!!!!

2011-07-31T08:00:00.001-04:00

So we can be a bit of a competitive family. We really like pushing each other which can be good thing....well... until you make a friendly wager with your husband, right? So far, Tony has sold 10 tickets to the Zumba adoption fundraiser. I have sold two. Of course that's given him bragging rights...and I wasn't having that so I made a wager with him.

The Wager: I bet Tony that I could sell more tickets for the Zumba adoption fundraiser than him by next Sunday, August 7th. Of course, he'd never stand down from a challenge so the bet's on!
The one bonus is that donations can be included into that total.

What's at Stake: You guessed it! If I lose, I have to mow the lawn. Please understand that I have NEVER mowed our SIZABLE lawn before and I'm pretty okay with that. I hate the outdoors and it's pretty humid outside now so you have to mow it earlier in the morning.

If I win and collect the most dollars/tickets from July 27 to next Sunday, August 7th, he has to clean the ENTIRE house AND make sure that I have breakfast, lunch, and dinner served to me in bed. I L-O-V-E it!!! So let's go team! I'm sure his boys will be trying to help him out so I have to get moving because I sure would love a clean house and meals served to me in bed for an entire day!

How To Cast Your Vote

Make a donation because you can't attend the event...

1. Go to www.firstgiving.com/michellemckinney
2. Vote with your donation by putting my name or Tony's name in the comments section.

Purchase a ticket to the Zumba event...

1. Go to www.zumba4selah.eventbrite.com
2. Vote with your ticket purchase by putting my name or Tony's name in the 'who referred you to this event' box.

Since he's not typing this post, I sure hope you'll favor me, me, me this time, right? (smile)

So She Thinks She Can Zumba!!! (Fundraiser Video Promo)

2011-07-30T07:47:00.004-04:00

So by now, you may know I'll do 'just about' anything for fundraisers that we dream up to bring our daughter home...that includes gettin' right silly! This week was no different. Check out this crazy video promo with me and my friend, Trenace. BIG thanks to Marty Cunningham for the camera work and putting it together, as well as Kristen for her hand in directing. These are all my co-workers (believe it or not --lol) but they're actually more like family.

Enjoy....and don't forget you can purchase a ticket at www.zumba4selah.eventbrite.com or if you'd like to donate but can't attend, hop on over to our partners at www.firstgiving.com/michellemckinney and let us know that you saw the video. Many thanks friends!

Final Fundraiser...Zumba! Zumba! Zumba!

2011-07-28T08:39:00.002-04:00

Yes indeed! Yes indeed! We are all set to host our final fundraiser on Friday, August 19th and I can't wait! As some of you know, I don't like to work out or eat healthy BUT I found something that I actually really like....Zumba! Don't get me wrong...I'm not the most coordinated chick in the bunch. Beyonce would totally pick me last on her dance squad....trust! Yet, there's something about Zumba that makes me happy. Sometimes I have taken the back row spot at the class and other times, I venture up to the front. It's a great workout but it's so much fun. So....why don't you join us and heck, if you can't come, purchasing a ticket at $10 will sponsor me and I'll shake my booty just for you. LOL!

Purchase tickets here: www.zumba4selah.eventbrite.com

Announcing Twins!!!!

2011-07-21T23:32:00.002-04:00

Not me sillies....but my friend, Chelsea who is an amazing photographer in Fairbanks, Alaska just posted their recent adoption of twins....and oh my goodness! They are soooooo super perfect. Yes, I watched every single minute of this video and was in awe. I totally felt like I was there as I watched this beautiful love story unfold that her hubby captured. Check it out for yourself and then head over here to Chelsea's blog to see her amazing photography work. I bet once you see her work, you'll be ready to throw on your heavy coat and head over to Alaska just for a session with MachC Photography! Well, at least that's what I want to do! Ya think Sarah Palin will stash me in her suitcase on her next return trip from here in Washington, DC????

Untitled from Chelsey M. on Vimeo.

Pink Never Looked So Good: New T-Shirts!

2011-07-19T22:42:00.002-04:00

So this is my girlfriend, Deborah. She is all things international and a phenomenal mom. We first met while working in the corporate world together. Since then, Deborah has moved on to do bigger, better things. In fact, check this out -- she owns an awesome business called Lessons From Abroad where she and her dynamic team teach children and adults foreign language and culture. Check them out by clicking here. Deborah's been a dynamic supporter of our adoption from the very beginning.

So here she goes again....she's looking FANTASTIC in our newest t-shirt by Mocha Club. Pink never looked so good on! So much so....you have to snag one for yourself. Just like the original Mocha Club shirt we were selling, this one also has the explanation of the shirt printed on the inside....quite clever! Haven't seen the explanation of 'I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me' yet? Check out the YouTube clip...every single word shared is printed inside the shirt:

Beautiful message for a beautiful person like you! Yep...even strong men wear pink so if you're a gal, grab one for your guy. Sizes: XS, Small, Medium, Large, XL. (Deborah is wearing a Medium in the picture above.)

Ordering (requesting a t-shirt) is easy as 1-2-3!

1. Make a donation of $20 or more at our partner site www.firstgiving.com/michellemckinney. As a thank you gift for your donation, the shirt is all yours! We'll even pay for shipping within the USA.

2. Put the words 'shirt' in the comments section when submitting your donation information.

3. I'll contact you via e-mail to retrieve your size and mailing address. (I currently have some shirts on hand but will need to place an order if we run out. In which case, please allow 7-14 business days for your shirt to arrive.)

BONUS: Your donation through our giving partner, First Giving, is tax-deductible. Double yay!

Really....Why Are Our Medical Exams Always Drama-Filled???

2011-07-16T12:37:00.002-04:00

So....here we go again on our merry-go-round of lab work and physicals! As we prepare to update our home study, as with last time, the medical piece is never a piece of cake. So we fasted this week and went in for our labs. When I went online to review our lab results, I immediately realized that they did not pull all of the required labs to comply with our America World physical examination form. So....I went to my doctor's office to let them know and it was agreed that we would fast again last night and then go back this morning to get the additional labs pulled along with a urinalysis. Now please know that I REALLY enjoy food so fasting for me often leaves me crabby. My solution: go to bed really early so that I don't have to deal with myself. (LOL...yeah, it's that deep.)

I got up this morning, kept myself busy with house work and was then off to the lab. I arrived only to find that the labs hadn't been ordered and I'm thinking No! No! No! There's no way I'm going to fast again. So the lab tech said they could just pull a 'rainbow collection' of my blood work and just wait until the doctor is back in on Monday to have her order the tests. Cool with me! So my blood was drawn, I tinkled in the cup (like a lady --lol), and was then headed home to get me some grub.

Next up was my hubby....he didn't start his fast until later the previous night so he had to go to the lab later. He arrived at the lab only to have them tell him the same thing about no lab orders being in the system. He had the lab tech call me. I explained what the previous lab tech did. She said we really didn't need to fast for this second set of labs....I'm thinking 'oh great!' She shares her take on what needs to be done which is different from what the other technician had me do. So now....I'm just hoping that somewhere in the middle of this madness, we get what we need before our physical exams on Thursday with our doctor ....and then on to the paperwork nightmare of dealing with Kaiser's medical form process. The one highlight in this part is working with our doctor and her nurse. They really are sooooo sweet. But really....why are our medical exams for this adoption process always drama-filled???

New Orphans & Widow Glass Tile Pendant! FREE with Donation.

2011-07-12T09:10:00.004-04:00

Limited quantity available. (Will post here when supply runs out.)

Whether you're an advocate for orphans or widows, or perhaps both, this necklace makes such a beautiful and bold statement. "He fought for me. I'm fighting for them."

On the back of the necklace the scriptures from John 3:16 and James 1:27 serve as a reminder of how He fought for me and what I should do about it.

How did He fight for me? John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

How should I honor His fight for me? One way is by doing what He shares in James 1:27 for them: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Make a bold statement and remind yourself each time you put it on that we are called to be His hands and feet by taking care of orphans and widows. Hold the reminders of those two scriptures close to your heart.

Great gifts for: Adopting parents, family and friends who are supporting your adoption, missionaries, orphan advocates, widow advocates...and others.

Ordering (requesting a necklace) is easy as 1-2-3!

1. Make a donation of $20 or more at our partner site www.firstgiving.com/michellemckinney.

2. Be sure to put the words 'necklace' in the comments section when submitting your donation information. Because of the various types of donors to our site, you MUST state in the comment section the words 'necklace' to trigger us to send you this special gift. Note: If you would like to request more than one necklace, your donation should be in multiples of $20.

3. I'll contact you via e-mail to retrieve your mailing address. (Because each necklace is handmade, please allow 7-14 business days for me to create your necklace. I generally try to get completed on the earlier side of that time frame.)

BONUS: Your donation through our giving partner, First Giving, is tax-deductible. Double yay!

Fearless....well at least today! (smile)

2011-07-11T16:37:00.003-04:00

Well last, week -- July 4th to be exact-- I confessed that I had been procrastinating on getting started with our home study update. Our adoption agency, America World (AWAA) sent us the info but based on how things went last year, I've been putting it off....BUT guess what? I got over my pity party and moments of fear right after I typed that post! Yes indeedy! That's one of the things I love about blogging. It's so therapeutic because I get to blurt out all of the craziness and then usually, I'm totally fine.

So....I filled out all of our paperwork! Milestone! Here's a brief version of our remaining things to do:

Get fingerprints done at local police station and then send them in to CJIS in Pikesville, MD.
Drop off medical forms at our medical center for me, Tony, and the boys. THIS PART IS THE PIECE THAT WAS THE NIGHTMARE LAST YEAR. Get the forms notarized and sent in to AWAA.
Get lab work done prior to physicals scheduled for next week....yep, 12 hour fast needed first. Send completed forms back to AWAA. (Our medical center takes about 14 business days to complete).
Drop off child protective clearance forms off and obtain receipt.
Send completed Home Study update form to AWAA.

Now here's what the long version looks like....yep, I'm pretty much into writing out the details:

Six Months DTE!!!

2011-07-07T14:53:00.001-04:00

Yes sir! Today marks 6 months of us waiting to be matched with our daughter. It's so funny that we are here in THIS seat because I remember when we were still waiting to get our paperwork, I was in such AWE at those who were at this milestone. So....we wait!

Each month, we try to celebrate by serving others. I don't have any specific pictures of what I've been doing to serve someone specific. One really cool thing since our church's 'God is for the Poor' series is that I've been working with a homeless gentleman to prayerfully get him on his feet. I learn a lot from him but it is his faith in God that always humbles me. My kids know him by name and if they see him while we're out, they'll say, 'Hey there's Mr. Such and Such'. They see me talking to him in the parking lot, giving him money, groceries, or whatever. I just pray that they'll do the same and so much more in learning to serve others.

So family............here's to 6 Months! We're getting closer!

I Have A Confession

2011-07-04T20:13:00.001-04:00

Yes...I have a confession. I have paperwork anxiety. We found out last month that we had to renew our homestudy and clearances because it's been almost a year since we were first approved....darn lengthy process! (smile...okay...maybe I'm not smiling)

I've had the update paperwork that our adoption agency, America World, sent to us but I haven't been able to budge yet. Yeah...I've been extremely busy at home and work but I was busy when I went through this paperwork pile last year. I was fired up and ready to take on the challenge. The difference now is that I remember how difficult....I almost want to say horrible....the process was with our medical records and clearances. We have an HMO plan and our providers go through a particular process. Every single piece of it was tedious and sometimes the 'system' doesn't work as simple as I'd like. We had to mesh our agency's process with our provider's process and both are pretty particular. So.....here we are...having to do this all over again--YET.....when I think about my daughter, it gives me just a 'little' push to beginning tackle this tomorrow. Pray for us, our medical clearances, security clearances, that I don't get cold feet, and that things won't be as bad as I remember last time.

Happy 4th of July! Hopefully, this is the last one we'll spend watching the fireworks as a family of 4.

My Very FIRST Adoption Airport Arrival!

2011-06-24T21:08:00.003-04:00

Remember my girls (Jenn, Stacey, Monica, Susan, and Bethany) who also live here in the DC area and are also adopting from America World??? WELL....Susan and her hubby Ed came home with their THREE children from Ethiopia and OH MY GOODNESS...it was more than I could have ever imagined. The love, joy, and tears were beyond words. Don't believe me??? Catch this.....BUT WAIT! Among many others parts, one of my very favorite moments in the video is when Susan's son, "J", meets back up with his Ethiopian friend, "A". Who but God could orchestrate something so amazing so that these two 'best buds' who lived in the orphanage together now also live only minutes from each other in America. God, You Rock!!! Take a peek....

Hold on to your hearts though....Stacey and her hubby, Evan are leaving TOMORROW to go pick-up their son! I don't know if my heart can take another one of these airport arrivals.............nah....yes, I can!

We Hit Another Milestone This Week!

2011-06-20T11:52:00.001-04:00

What another phenomenal week! As we continue to chug along in saving and raising funds to totally complete our adoption costs, including travel, I am astounded at the love our daughter receives. So on June 13th, I tweeted that I thought we could hit 88% completion of our adoption goal:

Well we did it! This morning, I entered the offline amounts and we made it with a few bucks over. Beautiful!

Totally amazing that we may be totally funded through our savings and fundraising BEFORE we are even matched with our daughter! Who knew?!

Rev Run on Adoption....gotta watch this!

2011-06-15T23:16:00.001-04:00

As we journey through this adoption process, I always find strength in hearing other family's stories. Well, imagine my delight when I came upon this video today where Rev Run (of rap group Run DMC) TRANSPARENTLY shared their family's adoption journey at Catalyst West. I loved every single bit of this because it was from a man's perspective. You see, I know what we think about as women as we travel this adoption journey, but it was so great to hear Rev Run (ya know...a real dude) share what the adoption journey was like for him. Trust me, all 3 videos are worth viewing.

From Tragedy... (Part 1)

To Love... (Part 2)

**....and please (smile) don't ride him about his comment about loving his adopted child more than his biological children. Take it into context and what he's really trying to articulate....in the beginning, he didn't know if he could love his adopted child the same way he loved his biological children. In fact, he discovered that he loved Miley more than he could have ever imagined.

A Dad's Perspective (Part 3)

Whether a family decides to adopt a baby or a teenager, he's right -- adopting a baby (a child) will blow your mind! Can't wait to see when our daughter gets here how she turns this testosterone-dominated house into a pile of mushiness! (smile) I'll keep you updated.

Big hugs,

We're Closing the Gap!!!

2011-06-11T08:29:00.002-04:00

I am so excited because since my last blog post, we've reached another milestone! We shared then that we had about $5500 left to complete our adoption. Well, the word got out and we saw some amazing movement. Everything from straight-out donations to t-shirt and necklace purchases. Here is just a small sampling of how God moved people's hearts. There was:

the widow without much money who donated $5 via my aunt Johnette (simply amazing and beautiful);
the adopting mom who keeps coming back to donate even though she's raising money herself;
my pastor who keeps putting the word out on his personal twitter and facebook page;
friends who are repeat donors;
the family member who shocked me with $200 in an envelope...i literally screamed!;
the friend who keeps supporting and is now donating $20 every pay period;
the beautiful people who donated who don't even know us but just heard our story;
and truly...the stories go on and on.

So I say a big THANK YOU! We are now only $3,713 short of closing the gap on our adoption costs!!! Thank you for being a part of our daughter's adoption story. What a beautiful story we are weaving together. Collectively, I believe we'll finish this by the end of the summer! *eek* so excited!

Don't forget, when you donate through our partners via our First Giving page, it's a tax-deductible contribution! Check it out here: www.firstgiving.com/michellemckinney

We Couldn't Have Done This Without You!

2011-06-01T20:14:00.002-04:00

If you've followed our adoption journey from day one, you know that this has been a remarkable journey for us. We started out as a family stepping out on faith with a big dream....a God-sized dream.

From the very beginning, we were staring at a debt of around $25,000 that later grew to around $31,000 due to changes the Ethiopian government made to the adoption process. Staring at that debt was well beyond anything we could ever do....but you know what? The God we serves specializes in paying debt. If you don't believe me, check out John 3:16 in the New Testament. (smile)

...and TODAY, in looking at our fundraiser thermometer, we see we only have about $5,500 left to finish out our adoption costs. This is MONUMENTAL!!!!

Why? We are the average middle-class family without boat loads of money sitting in a savings or retirement account. We save as much as we can and find cool ways to raise funds. Most of all, we have seen what your sacrificed donations of $5, $10, $20, and $50 have done at chipping away at this debt. It may have seemed little to you at the time, but your donations have meant the world to us. We've been blown away in the past year by two separate $5,000 donations....and then how one of those donors decided to also do a donor match back in February. Your stories of sacrificial giving amaze me and are making a difference in the life of a child who has grown in this mama's heart for the past 2 years. Like today, receiving an unexpected donation did this mama's heart so good.

We're at the home stretch family! Will you partner with us to finish strong by donating today or this week? Don't forget, your donations are tax-deductible when you donate through our partner at Lifesong for Orphans/First Giving. As you've seen every little bit of sacrifice is changing the world....one orphan at a time.

Love y'all!

God is in the Details

2011-05-31T18:45:00.002-04:00

Today, I had the privilege of witnessing God bring to fruition the beginnings of a homeless man's dream. It really is an amazing story and I can't wait to share all of the details within the next month. But for now, I'll share this about it. The very thing that was just a wish of this wonderful man is becoming a reality even down to the details. What's so wonderful is that the donor had no idea about the homeless man's wish. The donor simply sent an e-mail to me and another colleague out of obedience for what was stirring in his heart. When I got the e-mail from the donor about the specifics of what he wanted to do for someone, I was floored. It was so specific and matched up exactly with the homeless man's wish that I thought for a moment this must be a scam. After doing a tad bit of Google research and probing, I quickly realized that no...God had seen this homeless man and was into the details of his life.

You know what that made me realize? If God is in the details of this man's life, then surely He will be into the details of my daughter's life. Where will the remaining $6K come from for her adoption? I have no idea but God does and He's into those details. When will I lay eyes on her for the first time? God knows and is into the details. Why is this process taking so long? I have no idea but God does and He's into the details about why it can't happen today. How this brings me such peace.

I'm trusting that God is into the details of my daughter's life in the same way that He is in the details of this wonderful man whom He also call His child.

For you Zion Church folks who were wandering....yes, my daughter who I am adopting from Ethiopia is my Lazarus on the back of my puzzle piece. (smile)

What's the Scoop??? ....and I'm Not Talking Ice Cream.

2011-05-30T18:11:00.001-04:00

So...here's the scoop. The adoption process has been taking so long that we were informed by our adoption agency we'd have to update our home study. (insert tears here). Basically, this just hurt my heart because out of the entire process thus far, the home study was the hardest for us. Last July, I remember so clearly how tough the back and forth was with our background and medical records....ugh!!! It was tough to say the least.

So now that I've sat a week in shock that the reality is that we have to do the homestudy update, I'm now ready to move full steam ahead this week and knock this right out! Let's get it! There's a little girl on the other side of the world waiting for me.

My Name is Michelle and I'm Addicted to Adoption Videos (smile)

2011-05-18T21:58:00.003-04:00

Yes, I have a sickness....

I love, love, love finding new adoption stories on YouTube and Vimeo. To be honest, in these slow-moving adoption days, it's one of the things that sustains this mama. Here are a few recent ones that I stumbled across. What are some of your favorites? (Of course this addict would love you to leave the links in the comments section...LOL)

Be Still My Heart....Tiffany's Story Will Blow You Away!

2011-05-16T14:12:00.001-04:00

I first heard about Tiffany's story (okay...I know it's really God's story) from my DC/MD/VA adoption buddies over breakfast. When I got back home, I wanted to read it for myself. Now that I've read it for myself....I have to share it with you.

Tiffany and her husband had been matched with this precious little boy and were all geared up to go get him and bring him back home. But then Tiffany uttered a small prayer to God: shatter my heart.

So God did...in a MAJOR way. NOT by coincidence, Tiffany meets Habtamu who becomes the catalyst for her prayer to God to shatter her heart...(read the first part of the story here: http://amomentcherished.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-answered-prayer.html)

In the sweetest way, Tiffany finds that she is also 'mother' to this amazing, young, handsome little boy as well....(read that part of the story here...http://amomentcherished.blogspot.com/2011/03/rich.html)

As if my heart can take any more of this story, Tiffany now fights likes any good 'mother' on behalf of her other boy who is thousands of miles away. Follow their story and intercede in prayer on behalf of Habtamu and the many other children who find themselves living on the streets. (read this final part of the story here...http://amomentcherished.blogspot.com/2011/03/other-boy.html)

So love how God is into the details of our lives.

Breakthrough: Two GREAT AHA Moments About Our Adoption

2011-05-14T20:51:00.002-04:00

Friday morning I was feeling a bit down but as I journeyed to my favorite Ethiopian Cafe in Silver Spring, MD, I received a great breakthrough of understanding about our daughter from a stranger. It will forever ring deep in my soul...a local's view of Ethiopian international adoption and changing your adoptive child's name....some things to consider...

Adoption....Not Some Half-Baked Decision

2011-05-11T06:00:00.002-04:00

I was hanging around Vimeo looking at adoption videos and stumbled across this one....

Did you hear what she said at minute 3:13? She says,

"What it means to me to think that his mom gave him up so that he could have a better life is that I better not drop the ball. I better be the mom that she wanted to be but wasn't able. I take it as a huge responsibility."

Enough Said.

4 Months DTE with NEW Focus on Celebrating!

2011-05-09T10:26:00.003-04:00

Hey Friends!

I am so excited to share that as of May 7th, we are 4 months DTE baby! That's right, 4 months ago our dossier (stack of adoption paperwork) made its way to Ethiopia to share our intent with the ET government that we would like to apply for adoption!

Because many families celebrate their DTE anniversary each month in a special way, I decided that our southern-fried, Paula Deen lovin' selves would try one new healthy food option each month. The first month we tried Kashi cereal. The second month it was a milk taste test (almond vs. coconut vs. our regular vitamin D). The third month, we jumped way out of the box and opted for sushi. This was great but as I become more and more challenged to think outside of my own little world, I realized that I needed to change things up a bit. Instead of trying new things to implement in our diet (I can do that any old time), we needed to shift our focus back to why we're adopting in the first place....the need to serve others and get uncomfortable.

Beginning in May, as we celebrate our DTE anniversary, I will begin finding new ways to serve others through volunteerism. There was no better way to get things kicked off than yesterday --- Mother's Day! Yesterday, our Pastor, Keith, and his wife, Vicki gave away over two thousand roses to all of the women who attended. The lavender thornless beauties are her favorite flower. We knew we would have leftovers so I asked Pastor Keith if I could identify a couple of places to deliver them. He shared he was thinking exactly the same thing about donating the remaining flowers. So....while my honey and the kids were preparing Mother's Day dinner for me, I decided to spend my time delivering flowers. With the back of my truck full of flowers, I was off.

My first stop was to a women's and children's homeless shelter. What a blessing! As I dropped the roses off, I was able to talk more about ways that I can further assist the residents in this transitional home. In fact, today, I've started collecting disposable diapers and shower shoes for the residents. I'm hoping that this is just the beginning for what my hands will do at this shelter. So excited!

The next stop was a rehab nursing facility where a friend's mom once stayed. I remember this particular facility always bothered me because of the condition of the facility and the lack of care I 'felt' the residents received. In fact, we moved her from there after the first couple of days. No greater opportunity to serve than a place where I thought there was a problem. (See a problem? Be a contributor to its resolution and not just a nag.)

So in I go with the buckets of roses. First reception...not so warm but that's okay, I was determined to keep it movin'....I had residents to see! Imagine my surprise when I found out there were over 100 female residents divided up in the facility on two floors. (Mind you...this chica had on heels today with a fresh pedicure.) I quickly got over myself and loaded my arms with tons of flowers. I had a ball as I went into each resident's room, greeted them, shared why I was there and then presented them with the roses from Zion. I quickly made friends and then it was off to the next beautiful resident. They were so appreciative and my heart was full.

Now one of the funniest moments for me was when I hit one area of the second floor and the nurse said, oh there are more patients back there...enter the code. (The fact that I needed a code to enter should have been my first clue. *chuckle* She never told me that this was the wing of the hospital that houses elderly patients with mental challenges. Actually, I'm glad she didn't because I wonder if I would have been apprehensive about going....honestly, yes. So picture this....me, sandal high heels, an arm full of roses....and my unawareness of peas or something green sloshed on the floor...boy do I hope it was peas! LOL. As I stood in the community room trying to figure out who to serve, while walking aimlessly, I hit the glop but was somehow able to keep my balance and still serve the residents and enjoy them all.

Throughout the course of my visits, I came upon some really sweet people and the one who sticks out is Ms. T. We spent a little time together and she commented on how much she loved my nail color (they're a bright green...yep, I'm experimenting y'all --smile). She said if she had a camera, she'd take my picture with my arms full of the roses. I told her, I had one better...I had my camera on my phone and I'd take a picture of me and her together. Bingo! We enjoyed our cameo together and I promised to come back to bring her a printed copy. What a day! What a day! Probably one of the best Mother Day's I've had in a really long time. Happy Mother's Day to you all! (Sorry...I blocked out Ms. T's face a little to protect her privacy.)

Smack Dead in the Middle!

2011-05-05T20:20:00.000-04:00

How do I begin to articulate what I'm feeling. I'm not in a rut because I'm definitely not experiencing sadness or frustration or anything like that related to adoption. Perhaps I feel disconnected because I've just been so busy at work. Perhaps my disconnection is because I have been out of the loop with my adoption buddies via our Yahoo Discussion Group, Facebook, and Twitter.

or...Is it just that this journey is just such a long one that I feel like a kid in the back seat with her parent in a dialogue like this:

me: Are we there yet?
parent: No.
(few minutes later)

me: Are we there yet?
parent: No.
(few minutes later)
me: Are we there yet?
parent: No.
(few minutes later)

After a period of time, the child just stops asking. Maybe I've just stop asking, "Are we there yet?" in this land of the in-between. Ya know...the land where we aren't in the very beginning exciting stages of the adoption filled with lots of action and we're no where near our referral yet. So...I busy my hands to other things....and we wait. Hopefully, I'll snag some time soon so that I can get plugged in again soon.

I'm Back!!!! Gotta tell you where I've been....so exciting!

2011-04-30T04:41:00.000-04:00

Hey there friend! I'm so sorry I've been gone so long but I just finished being a part of the most amazing thing at work/church. Pastor Keith has been teaching on the poor, in fact, the main point in each of the past 4 sermons was "God is for the poor."

For Easter Sunday, my boss/pastor decided to break us off into 5 teams, each with a budget. The mission: help a family in need resurrect a dead situation in their life. The families were pre-chosen by our staff and it was a tough process to get down just to five but it was really as if God just stepped in and helped us wiggle it down. Each family would be totally surprised by their blessing at the individual services. Of course, the tricky part was making sure they came to their designated service. I served as project manager for all 5 projects and also worked on the specifics of the 7am service.

Here's a profile of the families:

7am service: A third grade public school teacher who became homeless and was living in a shelter with her four children. Our resurrection moment for them: Among many other blessings, we purchased a home for her and her family and told her that morning that they no longer had to go back to the shelter. The home was fully furnished. Words cannot express the feeling when we showed the video of the home to her, the children, and our congregation.

8:30am service: A family where the husband needs a kidney transplant and is unable to work. They have been temporarily living with the one income with their two children and really just need a helping hand to get them back on their feet and moved into a new place. Our resurrection moment for them: Among other things, movers showed up at the service announcing their move at no cost to them, 6 months rent paid in advance, and a $1500 gift card to Costco to get started in their new home.

10:00am service: A single mother with a 1 year old with 3 congenital heart defects and down syndrome has been struggling financially as she fights for her daughter's life. The state medical assistance she receives for her daughter now helps to take care of most of her medical needs but it leaves her in a state of poverty as she still struggles to pay the rest of the bills. (She's only allowed to make a certain amount of money each month to keep the state assistance -- in her case, it equals out to 4 days a month). Because of all of the needs of her daughter, she had given up all that she needed. She was down to one pair of black pants that she rotates tops/blouses with and hadn't been to her favorite hairdresser in a while. Our resurrection moment for them: Among other things, a gift of $10,000 and after telling her story to her hair dresser, she donated 1 year of hair services to mom. Simply beautiful.

11:30am service: A man who needed a double lung transplant which cost $980,000. He would need to pay $180,000 of that costs. He's not a rich man by any stretch of the imagination but needs the transplant because the doctors have estimated that he would only have 2 more years left on his life without one. He's on public assistance and was just on the verge of having his utilities turned off because he couldn't pay. The bulk of his family doesn't live in the area so he deals with much of this on his own. When the team first started working on this one, God kept stepping in ahead of us. The week before Easter, the government decided they'd go out of policy and pay for the transplant at 100 PERCENT! Our resurrection moment for him: where do I start...among other things, 6 months rent paid, 6 months utilities paid in advance, 7 months of groceries delivered, a like-new donated car to replace his old car, maid service while he recovers from his transplant, and to surprise him even further, his family was brought in from out-of-town to share in this celebration moment.

1:00pm service: A single mother with six children wants nothing more than creating a better environment for her children. The car she did have died and left them most times confined to having to ask others to get them to where they needed to be, including church. Getting a ride with someone else as a family of 7, is no easy feat. Most times when she was able to get a ride, although the children wanted to come to church, she had to pick which ones would get to go because they all wouldn't fit inside the car. Our resurrection moment for them: among other things, a like new Toyota Sienna mini-van!

We were so blessed that we had the opportunity to partner with God to help resurrect what seemed to be dead situations in the lives of our 5 families. Awesome experience for each of us and we witnessed some unbelievable God moments as we worked on-behalf of the families. Our work isn't completely done, we will be walking alongside these families to help them sustain these resurrection moments. If you're curious about what the families still need, take a look here.

Wanna see it for yourself, check out the service here: http://zc.sermon.net/sermonid/2669121
The sermon setting up the moments is phenomenal! You have to take a listen to it but if you're pressed for time and want to hop straight to the 5 epic moments, place your cursor over the video and drag the time lapse bar to minute 21:40

So here's a question for you: Are you willing to partner with God to help someone receive a resurrection in their life? Who is it? What can you do? Don't be afraid to move. I'm a witness that God is for the poor and will work alongside you to advocate on that person's behalf.

Sisters By Adoption

2011-04-09T08:01:00.000-04:00

No...perhaps it's not quite what you're thinking. I'm not speaking about two girls joined and united into a family by adoption. Instead, I'm talking about grown women, some many miles away, who have been united by a common thread that has deemed them as 'sisters'. This common thread is adoption.

Along this adoption journey, I have gained many sisters, many of them also my 'sisters' in Christ. They are adopting mamas at all stages of the journey. I simply just can't bring myself to just call them friends because these women are simply incredible. Some of them I've met, some I have not, some I have chatted with on the phone, others we have talked through facebook statuses and late night facebook chats, and of course, the wonderful blog post comments. Yet, no matter how we communicate, they are my sounding board, prayer warriors, and have become additional aunties to Selah. (Woo! When this little girl finds out how many aunties she has, she'll be blown away!)

No matter what you do in life, I think it's so important to have a strong support system. Ya know, people who are walking your course or have walked your course.....been in your shoes. I have grown LEAPS AND BOUNDS with these wise women in my corner. They pull me up and help me to blossom into my best....God's best. What they have exposed me to has been simply beautiful. They are too numerous to name but I'll just share a couple flicks of a few of them that I've recently met for some quick socials.

The picture on the left represents the ladies from DC and VA who have adopted/are adopting through the America World Ethiopia program. We met bright and EARLY last Saturday morning in Tyson's Corner for breakfast. There were lots of laughs, hugs, and of course we had our share of tears as we relished in God's love for these amazing journey that God has allowed us to be a part of.

Then there's one of my sweetie pies --Melissa. Since she's on the west coast, she and I can be caught in the middle of the night chatting on Facebook about what's happening in adoption and life. Our pic above is meeting each other in-person for the first time at Dulles Airport. I was so excited they were stopping on the east coast before Ethiopia that I got up at 4am. I needed to leave home at 5am, beat the traffic, and meet them for their early morning arrival at Dulles Airport. Told you I loved these women! (smile)

So clearly, these are not all of the beautiful 'sisters' in my life. They are numerous and I'm so thrilled to call them family....all connected by adoption.

Three Months DTE.....The McKinneys MEET Sushi!

2011-04-07T21:04:00.001-04:00

Three months! Three months! Three months! Woo hoo. That's right baby. The 7th of every month, we celebrate the date our dossier (official stack of adoption paperwork) landed in Ethiopia.

....and you know how we do it over here in the McKinney household! We kick it healthy-style....LOL. So today, we thought we'd stretch our palettes. We decided to trade our fried croakers in for Tuna Tataki Nigiri.

Let me be honest here.....I purchased it around lunch time. Each time I'd go to the fridge to try to eat it, I'd look at it and put it back. Raw fish? Who does this???? The almost good thing about this piece is that it is seared a little...might I say VERY little. The rest is well you know......sushi.....raw. eek!
I was SHOCKED when it was video time. "C" in his usual form played the camera man but "MJ" decided he wanted to actually try it. So he did. I was such a baby about it. (You'll see my half-enthusiasm at the beginning of the video and how long it took me to respond after I started chewing.....smh at myself!) So check it out.....but first can I get a WAHOO! for THREE MONTHS DTE?!!!!

One Day Without Shoes: Out of Our Comfort Zone

2011-04-05T19:06:00.001-04:00

Wow! What an amazing day! I'm going to be really transparent in this blog post so if you can't take some of it, please skip this particular post.

This was a huge stretch for me. Especially considering I have had 'feet issues' since I was in high school. I never had ya know what men would call 'pretty feet'. I don't know about other cultures but I can definitely say that in the African-American culture, many men have a thing about women with pretty feet so for years I hid them. In fact, I remember during a summer break during college, I had foot surgery done to get rid of the extra long bones in my toes and to get rid of some corns....yes, I said it. LOL. For years, I wouldn't wear sandals because even after the surgery, I didn't like the way my toes looked. They still weren't 'pretty' enough. Yep, my own hangup. It wasn't until I was at DSW shoe store with a girlfriend who also had some feet issues. She simply did one of those girl please. I wear my sandals. Who cares! As simple as it was, that 'Girl, please' and her encouragement got me over my 'feet issues'.

Fast forward to today, TOMS One Day Without Shoes....how freeing to be able to participate in a great cause and not be hung up on my own insecurities about my 'appearance'. But you know what....I discovered that there are still others, not just me, who have had/do have 'feet issues'. Yet, although they had 'feet issues' they gave up their own will to be the voice of those who really do have major 'feet issues'. Ya know, serious 'feet issues' like podoconiosis because of the lack of clean water and proper shoes to protect the feet.

So take the journey with me and my colleagues from Zion Church, even our Pastor, as we participated in TOMS shoes One Day Without Shoes. A real good eye opener!

BTW: Are you a TOMS shoe lover? You can still get $5 OFF your pair of TOMS shoes through their online site when you enter ZION in the discount code at checkout. Each pair counts towards Zion Church's April shoe campaign....we're collecting 4,000 pairs for local and international distribution! Join the fun and make a difference!

$5 Off TOMS shoes!!!

2011-04-04T13:41:00.000-04:00

You know I love TOMS shoes and my church. So this is a super sweet deal! It's almost too good to be true but I promise it's not!

Our church has partnered with TOMS for the month of April in an amazing effort to help us collect over 4,000 pairs of shoes. Not only will we be collecting brand-new and like-new shoes BUT if you love TOMS and all that they do, you can now receive $5 off your TOMS on-line shoe order through the month of April if you put the code ZION in at the checkout.

The Benefit for Zion: each pair purchased using this code will count towards our shoe goal of distributing 4,000 pairs of shoes. But wait there's more (lol...I sound like an infomercial...sorry.) This is really a three-fold win:

You get a $5 discount off TOMS shoes.
A child will still gets a pair of shoes donated through TOMS because of your purchase.
Zion gets to count your shoe purchase towards our goal of collecting 4,000 pairs of shoes.

Please note: While our church's goal is to distribute shoes in targeted areas (DC/MD/VA area, Haiti, Kenya, and the Dominican Republic, we are leaving it to TOMS to decide where they will distribute the donated pair provided thru your purchase). In the grand scheme of things, it's still a huge win, because a child somewhere will be served in an amazing way.

So here's your chance! Share, share, share this with your friends and family! If you'd like to donate your new or like-new shoes to Zion Church, feel free to e-mail me at michelle365@me.com OR hop on over to the TOMS site. Remember, you have to put ZION in the discount code at checkout.

BTW: Our family has committed to collecting 100 pairs of shoes in this effort (new or like-new). If you purchase on-line through TOMS because of this blog post, I'd love our boys to be able to add your shoe count to their goal thermometer. The boys are excited and so am I as they try to change the world one pair of shoes at a time.

goodbye 39......HELLO #34!!!

2011-04-03T00:00:00.002-04:00

Perhaps you remember back on March 21st, I posted that we were #34 on the unofficial waiting list for a girl in the birth - 12 months category in our agency. (details here) . Well there has been quite a bit of movement since then and guess what, we have a new number.....yep, yep! Even 'C' is thrilled!

Women Around The World Amaze Me!

2011-03-31T18:44:00.001-04:00

No matter if you're in the United States, Africa, India, China, or wherever.....women simply amaze me! No matter what our conditions, we have a way about being resilient. Although this video was recorded in 2005, I'm not sure that much has changed. Whether you are an adopting mama or have birthed children, there's just this God-given thing we have to be nurturing, compassionate, strong, and adaptable to our conditions. Yes, we have a long way to go to ensure that every woman and every child counts in receiving adequate healthcare. Today, I celebrate you because you're YOU -- PHENOMENAL!

Did You Know I Had A Twin?

2011-03-24T22:41:00.001-04:00

Yep, a twin! Well, at least according to the lady in the grocery store, the one in the doctor's office, the man on the street, my hubby, and.....you get my drift! My twin is many years younger than me....and at least a foot shorter than me. My twin.....well.....he's none other than my 10 year old son, MJ.

Today was MJ's bday and we had a ball! This year, I took a queue from my Pastor and his sweet wife who use Christmas as a time to celebrate Christ and serving others instead of slathering their kids with gifts. Instead, they make their kids' birthdays a really big deal. We honestly had done just the opposite in years past. Christmas was 'their' big deal day more so in terms of gifts, not necessarily in making memories. Birthdays were cool but just not really thoughtful. By making this switch, in the words of both boys (the other's bday was last week), "This was the best birthday ever!"

Early this morning....about 5:30am, we decorated the outside of MJ's bedroom door with red and black streamers serving as curtains as you enter the room. We got things shaking by waking him up singing Happy Birthday, followed by 3 surprise cans of silly string and 3 of those large punching balloon balls! Fun!!!! He received his bday gift which he went WILD over and then it was off to school. The boy was all smiles.

I picked him right up after school....no aftercare! He got some 1-1 time with Mom at McDonald's while big brother remained at the aftercare facility. We had so much fun talking and posing for the camera! Afterwards, we came back home and then picked up his brother and other friends around 4pm and the impromptu party with a few school friends was on from there....yep, on a weekday! I would have NEVER done this before. They played ball in the backyard, ate pizza, cupcakes, ice cream cake, and drank root beer and tea. Fun times!

I so enjoyed planning their birthdays this year. They were a lot less stressful but jam-packed with memories that will last a lifetime. I savor these moments because I really believe Trace Adkins gave the best advice in his song below..."You're gonna miss this. You're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast. These are some good times so take a good look around. You may not know it now but you're gonna miss this."

As bad as I want baby girl here right now, I can't rush these present days with "C" and "MJ" because each day they're growing into amazing young men. I'm such a blessed mama!

Have you had the "ADOPTION" conversation with your spouse yet?

2011-03-23T22:10:00.004-04:00

I dare you to pray and ask God if He'd like you to open your home up to a child. Do you have room for one more? If not a physical room, what about just a spot for another bed? Whether you consider adopting domestically or internationally, there are over 147 million reasons why you should pray and be open to perhaps what God might say to you. I triple dog dare you. (smile)

I remember how afraid I was to have the 'talk' with Tony about adoption, especially, when I felt God was leading towards international adoption. We were getting older and into our middle-class 'rhythim'. Ha! Are you serious?!

What's interesting is more and more, I end up finding wives who are the first to feel the initial prompting. Some husbands end up being on-board right away or over a shorter period of time and others need some time to digest it and allow God to lead them to that place. Each couple's story is a little different. Regardless of the difference, someone needs to initiate the conversation to see if this is where God is leading your family.

Perhaps if you're concerned about your current age, you'll decide to adopt an older child. Maybe you don't feel called to adopt but you can pray about whether you should be a foster parent on some level.

What's your hold-up? What has you shaking in your knees? Who/what has you fearful? Trust me, I understand the questions. We've had hundreds ourselves. Maybe after seeking God, you'll get a 'No'. BUT what IF, a 'YES' is waiting on the other side of your prayer?

Let's talk about it....you just may be missing out on one of the greatest opportunities of your life.

Much love!

We Were Featured On Mama's Got Moxie!!!

2011-03-22T08:32:00.000-04:00

Hey there! Check this out.....we were featured yesterday on Mama's Got Moxie's blog. In this blog, niki (yes, that's all lowercase baby) celebrates women she admire, creativity that inspires her, music that moves her and things that just tickle her fancy. It's a cool spot so hop over to take a peak: http://mamasgotmoxie.com/2011/02/14/about-niki-the-mama-with-moxie/

....and if you love her funky style and you're really in for a laugh, you have to visit the Dutch Files on her other blog "Bees & Things & Flowers". It's truly a hilarious adventure of life with her son, Dutch....and I do mean HI-LAR-IOUS! But be careful because in her words, "don’t dare call me a mommy blogger or i’ll cut ya." Love her....she's really got moxie and I'm honored that she thinks I have it too!

Number 39!!!

2011-03-21T09:48:00.001-04:00

A friend of mine, Katie Seevers, shared with me this weekend how to tell where we are in line for our daughter. While I surely knew that we were some kind of huge number, Katie pointed out that we are NUMBER 39 in line for a girl in our age range! 39! 39! 39! Can you tell I'm thrilled?!!! (I'm still secretly hoping that she'll be home by this Christmas....guess it's not a secret anymore, huh? smile)

Basically, this is an 'unofficial' list in that it is not put out by our adoption agency. It's a group of parents that compile the list based on each of us disclosing our DTE (dossier to Ethiopia) dates. There's always the chance that your number can increase because new parents may pop up on the scene who hadn't disclosed their adopting plans; however, as a really sweet adopting mama, Debb Marquez, pointed out, the upside of your number going up is that an additional family just means one less orphan in the world! Love that perspective in the grand scheme of God's plan for the approximately 147 million orphans in this world.

....and I love lookin' at this sign on my desk. I'll keep ya updated as it changes.

Soundtrack of My Life....what's yours?

2011-03-18T15:27:00.000-04:00

I love music! It helps me express my joy, sadness, excitement, and a myriad of other emotions. I often like to think about what is the current 'soundtrack' of my life. When I say my life 'soundtrack', I mean what's the theme in my life in that season. I thought I'd share mine with you and I'd love to know.....what's yours?

Point of Grace.....How You Live (Turn Up the Music)

Getting My Sexy Back.....Zumba

2011-03-16T22:28:00.000-04:00

If you missed out on my intro to this series on 'Getting My Sexy Back', check it out here. As an adopting mommy, heck as a mom, I wanted to just share where I was in this season of my life. Things can get so busy in our lives (from work, keeping the home, shuttling kids, etc.) that sometimes we forget to keep things...shall I say 'interesting' with our honeys. In Getting My Sexy Back, I felt that one of the prime ways is not necessarily found by heading to Victoria's Secret. I think one of the most attractive things (perhaps sexiest) is a spouse oozing with self-confidence (not arrogance...there's clearly a difference). You know, someone that is confident in their own skin.

So.....what have I been up to as I look to boost my own confidence??? Now that we're in the waiting period of our referral and basketball season is ending for my kids, a little of my time is being freed up. Tonight, on a whim, I decided to drop-in on a Zumba class in my neighborhood that I had been talking about. Well, I'm excited because contrary to my belief and fear, I made it through the ENTIRE class! If you've never been to a Zumba class, I highly recommend it. It's an amazing atmosphere with the perfect mix of aerobics, dance, and at times, extremely sensual moves (yes, I said it....don't faint church ladies...it's really okay! you're married, right? smile).

Have you thought about trying it but feel like you're not the best coordinated person? Trust me....no worries because I'm not either. There were some women in the class who had the choreography nailed but there were also a large portion of women who kept up at their own speed and did what they could. I was totally shocked that my non-exercising self made it through ONE HOUR of workout! Woo hoo! I've never done that! Just the boost of confidence that this chickadee needed! I'm planning to go back next week and maybe after a few more weeks, I'll be ready to show my hubby some of my moves. Pray I don't break anything y'all! LOL.

BTW: I can't wait to get one of those cute little hip scarves with all the jingly coins that some of the ladies in my class wore. Go 'head girl! Shake it! Shake it! LOL.

What have you all been up to? What's your 'sexy' been lookin' like? Have you been thinking about trying something new?

He's 12 today!

2011-03-15T09:14:00.000-04:00

What a fun morning it's been! Today is my son's 12th birthday! "C" looks maybe more like dad but has his mommy's mannerisms. While his youngest brother "MJ" is a risk-taker, "C" and I like to color inside the lines a bit more. Tell us what the law is and we'll do our best to follow it. Now, don't get me wrong....we're no stick in the mud type of people (if I might say so myself--smile) but we appreciate order. Now "MJ" and dad on the other hand, they love new adventures, being in the spotlight at a party, and are just loud! (LOL). Regardless, it's a great mesh of all of us to keep things interesting to say the least. (It will be so much fun to see how Selah shakes things up.....so stay tuned!)

So when I look at "C" and how he is shaping up to become such an amazing young man, it's so beautiful to see that God trusted this gift to me and Tony. Yesterday, as we went for his annual check-up, he was so stoked when the nurse announced that he was 5 feet tall. He was beside himself because this milestone meant that he is out of the 'kiddie' 4 feet range where he's been for a while. While I'm thrilled for him, the mama in me is torn because I know he's in this in-between phase....no longer a kid but not an adult. He's coming into his own...girls will follow.....and then the talks of going away to college will begin.

One other great thing that came out of his doctor's visit was a conversation I had with his pediatrician. She has an older son....about 23 years old. As we were wrapping up both boys' physicals, she reminisced with a huge smile on her face about when her son was my boys' ages. I asked her, "If you could do anything differently, what would you have done?" She quickly shared, "I would have spent more time having fun with him." So....that's our goal today and the coming days ahead.....Have more F-U-N! This morning, he woke up to cans of silly string and us singing Happy Birthday. We'll see what the rest of the day holds!

What about you....how do you intentionally have fun with your kid(s) or what has been your best memory?

Hugs,

...and the Winner is......

2011-03-14T08:58:00.000-04:00

Envelope please! ....and the friend who accurately guessed which TOMS shoes this mama purchased on Friday at Nordstroms is.....

The Davidsons!!!!

Robyn Davidson guessed that I'd step out of my box with the silver glitter TOMS! Great guessing my dear. Shoot me an e-mail (michelle365@me.com) and I'll get your t-shirt right out to ya!

My friends you all were totally awesome! See what these friends thought and go check out their blogs if their name is underlined:

Kelly Jo and Mandie --I have to tell you that I was sooooo close to getting the black glitters but my heart walked into the store knowing I really wanted to get the silver glitters on Friday. In fact, the silver glitters have apparently been in such demand that after calling around to at least 10 stores, I settled on going into one of the stores to try them on and then placed an order to have them shipped to my house (Nordstrom offers free home shipping when the order is placed in the store...didn't know that! woot! woot!) Can't wait to sport these babies this week!

Melissa, you're right those red canvas are a hot little number and you know with trying to get my sexy back and everything (lol), I might have to consider those!

Allison - ooh! ooh! ooh! I think those might be my very next pair! Love the concept and the map! (Did all y'all check them out --http://www.charitywater.org/TOMS/http://www.charitywater.org/TOMS/)

Angela - I can totally see me rockin' the Kenya Stripe wedges....seriously! So many TOMS that can fill my closet. I think my cousin is purchasing these babies very soon.

Erik - I have to say.....I never considered the botas until you mentioned them. At first....I honestly thought no way but then I started explorin' to see how folks were wearing them....then I caught a quick vision in my head of how I could wear them with some shorts for the Spring. Do you have the botas?

Alice - The Petals are indeed a perfect spring shoe. You've gotta grab those. There appears to be a little sheen to them too!

Erica - Those olive classics would totally work with some pops of color in an outfit! Do you have any TOMS yet?

Maureen - I've been entertaining getting the pink glitters for Breast Cancer month....since I don't walk...just lazy/so sad I know....I figured perhaps I can hang out with these pink sparkly babies during the month! :-)

Shelly - You were definitely full of lots of cool guesses! Of all of them, I think my 'fav' right now is the Journey is the Destination! Lots of great pops of color!

Thanks everyone for taking this TOMS journey with me! Hope to hear that many of you are doing One Day Without Shoes! Ta Ta for now!

Win A Shirt......Guess Which TOMS I'm Purchasing Today!

2011-03-11T09:28:00.007-05:00

It's no secret that I am a TOMS fan!!!! Remember when I got my first pair.....(see here) okay, I love the shoes and the business model so much I bought TWO PAIRS that day! My first pairs were the funky brown burlap and the classic canvas black. I honestly wore those puppies out! Seriously, that's how much I wore them.

Well, it's time to get me another pair but I'm not tellin' yet! Can you guess which style I'm going for today? Well, if you can guess correctly, you'll WIN one of our cool Mocha Club I Need Africa fundraiser t-shirts!
(Inside of shirt features the explanation of the t-shirt....click the wording to check it out below):

So run over to the TOMS store and check out the styles. Leave me a comment detailing the style and color that you think I'll be purchasing today. You have to be specific. Who knows....there may be more than one winner! Offer ends this Sunday night and the winner will be announced on Monday.

Still clueless as to what in the heck this TOMS shoe thing is all about? No worries....check out the story of TOMS Shoes here:

... and guess what? I'm doing One Day Without Shoes on April 5th with some friends. We're called Team Selah! I'll be sharing more about this in a future post. For now, check out the beauty of going One Day Without Shoes.

If You Only Knew.....You Wouldn't Have Bothered Me!

2011-03-10T23:31:00.002-05:00

With all of the news swirling, including the March 9th State Department confirmation that there could be a significant decrease in the number of adoptions processed through Ethiopia, Tony and I are standing firm. We had an amazing talk the other night about all the 'what ifs'. As we looked at the current 'facts' and weighed them against what we believe to be true of God, we've resolved that we are standing firm. We believe God has led us to this place and there is so much that he wants us to put our hands and feet to in Ethiopia. We are excited!

Ya know Tye Tribbett has this song that's called "I Want It All Back" and in it he says (talking about Satan) ...."If you only knew what I was gonna be after the storm you wouldn't have even bothered me." Love that! This storm has so deepened our faith and many others who are orphan advocates. So even if there is a significant delay in the 'adoption' process, there is absolutely no delay in how God will use us in Ethiopia. That may have just been sped up! It may mean a missions trip will come sooner than we thought. Who knows what's on the horizon for how God will extend us in Ethiopia but I'm excited to be on this ride! Let's go!!! Can't wait to see what God does on the other side of this!

*singing* Might not be what I would choose but this is the stuff you use.//So break me of impatience. Conquer my frustrations. I've got a new appreciation. It's not the end of the world.//Might not be what I would choose but this is the stuff you use.//

Two Months Expecting: Us vs. The Milk!!!

2011-03-08T21:39:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the 7th! Yesterday was the 7th! What's the big deal?! The big deal is that we hit another milestone in preparing our family for the arrival of Selah! Our paperwork was officially sent to Ethiopia on January 7th so like any other expecting mama, each months represents a milestone for us.

We decided back then that instead of indulging in one of our southern comfort foods to celebrate, we'd try out something a little healthier. Last month, it was Kashi cereal. This month is was............MILK! ...but not from a cow! "Say what?" says the country girl in me. What other kind of milk is there???? LOL. You see I don't get out much. (smile)

So mama McKinney headed down to MOMS Organic and chose a couple varieties to host an in-home taste test. Each of us received 3 glasses....each labeled "A", "B", and "C". Option A was Almond Milk and option B was Coconut Milk. Our good ol', fatty, creamy, faithful was Vitamin D as option C. Then of course to get our tummies revved up, what decent mother holds a milk taste test without a plate of chocolate chip cookies?!!! The kids sniffed, stared, and we finally tasted all three milk varieties. They took the pre-printed ballots and cast their votes.

The verdict: We unanimously chose our fatty Vitamin D milk but the Almond Milk came in as a close second. (I had to initially tell them that it 'might' be chocolate milk since the brownish color is a dead giveaway that it's not our good ol' faithful.) ....and option C, let's just say they spit it back into the cup!

So there you have it! The McKinneys are stepping out of their box thanks to this adoption journey. What do you think we should try next?

Stop the Fighting! The Children have to come FIRST!!!

2011-03-05T21:26:00.001-05:00

So.....there is a single article circulating that has orphan advocates up in arms right now because it claims that Ethiopia adoption cases heard by the court will be drastically cut by about 90% per day. You could imagine, to an adopting mama, like me, who believes her daughter is waiting in Ethiopia, that is almost a drastic blow to my heart. Although some of the statements in the article don't add up, it does accurately share the sentiment that the system is trying to figure out how to get rid of the corruption that exists. Don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE advocate for making sure that every child that is placed in a family is a true orphan. How painful for the child, birth parent, and adoptive parents to later find out that their child was a part of a sham or kidnapping. At the same time, my heart hurts for the children who get caught in this bottleneck of adults not working together to come up with the BEST solution for the child.

I remember as a child, when my mom died, there was a lot of confusion about where to place my brother and me. My parents who were married didn't have a will and my dad couldn't take care of us. I think my mother never thought that at the age of 30 (when she died), that she'd need to make plans for who would take care of her children. As it often happens in many families when a person dies, there was a lot of confusion because there was no plan. My mom's family wanted us and so did my dad's family. Both families were hurting because of my mom's sudden death and both families had the best intentions and deeply loved my brother and me. So what was the result? Cut us right down the middle --so to speak. My brother went to live with one side of the family and I went to live with the other. Talk about trauma!!!! Within a very short period of time, my brother (age 10) and me (just about to turn 5), suddenly loss our mom, our father, the life we knew, and each other. Again, EVERYBODY really meant well.....I believe that with my whole heart; yet, in the midst of their quarreling with one another, I think they forgot what was most important......What will be best for the children? What will be best for Michelle and Michael? WOW. The lack of focusing on just that question alone did major psychological damage to my brother and I as not just children, but human beings.

I'll always believe that God's #1 plan for children is for them to be with their birth parents; however, because I know we live in a fallen world, that's not always possible. If you noticed in my first paragraph, I said that this potential news about Ethiopian adoption is ALMOST a drastic blow to my heart. The reason it's not hitting me so hard is because I know God's love for the orphan. Because he loves the orphan so much, He'll make sure that these little ones (over 4 million of them in Ethiopia) won't be forgotten. You know why I know that for sure? Because He didn't forget about me. Sure, the emotional part of my situation wasn't ideal but I was well provided for and spent significant time with both sides of my family. God promises in Romans 8:28 that ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD. My situation worked out for good because here I am today, still standing and now an orphan advocate. Although we grew up in separate homes, my brother and I remain very close.

So...be encouraged orphan advocates.....this is God's battle. He knows that the children have to come FIRST. So let them talk but let us pray, stand firm in love, be obedient to the word, and work together. Let Him use us as the vessels for people to see a miracle and His love. In the words of another adopting mommy....."He's got this!"

2 Families, 2 Ethiopian Daughters & One Beautifully Made Doll

2011-03-04T08:41:00.005-05:00

I've said it time and time again. God has truly blessed us with amazing friends along this adoption journey. Some are adopting families and some are folks who just are compassionate about orphan care. One of these such families is The Vermes. I met them in the blog world and we also share the use of the same adoption agency --America World.

Jenn is an amazing photographer in Texas and her hubby Chris is a gifted landscaper. They are the type of couple that you'd love to hang out with. Ya know the type who would invite you into their home, tell you to take your shoes off, and then settle in for some good southern hospitality.

Chris and Jenn are also adopting a little girl from Ethiopia and her name will be Maya. You can follow their adoption journey here: http://www.pureandlasting.com/.Well, being the crafty person she is, I believe Jenn is totally finished with Maya's room already! One of the final touches was a doll she was making for Maya. Well, imagine my tears when I found out she was also making a doll for Selah too!!!

When the priority mail box arrived at the front door, the boys ran to the front door because they were excited to see the gift for their sister. We were all floored. Beyond the amazing craftsmanship of the doll (thanks to Jenn and her mom), she took it to another level of tears when she included a personalized note to our family and the photos above of her and Chris with Selah's doll and the little sign that said "The Vermes Love Selah". Priceless. Ya know, more and more, I realize that Selah is not just ours. There are so many people like you and the Vermes who are loving on her extravagantly. So blessed to be a part of this miracle. Thank you Vermes for your support, love, and the gift of Selah's first doll! We love you too!

BTW: Did you check out that Chris has on our "I Need Africa" fundraiser tee they purchased to also support Selah's adoption. That was too cute!!!!

President's Day Blitz: Grand Total & Full Body Massage Winners!!!

2011-02-28T17:43:00.001-05:00

As you recall, last Monday, we announced an impromptu fundraising blitz where a friend of ours decided that their family was going to match all donations for a week! Wow! Amazing what God does even in the spur of the moment. By our deadline of last night, we raised $2,720 once our donor matched all incoming donations! Are you serious God! I know you don't need me to be a part of this story but I am blessed that you chose to allow me, my family, and friends to be a part of this miracle! David Crowder's song "Come and Listen" just makes me stop and really reflect on this amazing thing God has done. $2,720 Dollars in a week for Selah's adoption! Crowder says, "Come and listen to what He's done. Let me tell you what He's done for me....He has done for you....He has done for us."

Well, if that wasn't enough, another friend of mine from church, Nichole Jefferson, decided that she wanted to motivate our donors during the week so she donated TWO fully body massages. Say what! Next to my love for southern comfort food, massages are tops for me! Could you imagine what would happen to me if I got southern comfort food and a massage all in one day.....oh my goodness! I'd probably fall apart! Sorry I digressed!

So for every $5 that individuals donated, they received an entry towards one of the full body massages. Without further chatting, I present to you the two cutest little boys on this side of Maryland who have chosen the winners for the full body massages:

Congratulations Elwood/Cheryl Matthews & Bob/Angela Washington! You have won one full body massage! (I'm guessing these hubbies will probably give the certificate to their wives....well, I'm just wishing that's what my hubby would do in this situation....smile)

Many thanks to everyone for your support and loving on a little girl who for now we just know by the name of Selah. Love y'all!

President's Day News: THIS IS BIG, BIG, BIG!!!!

2011-02-21T15:39:00.000-05:00

Can you believe the generosity of my friends????? Of course you can because you're probably one of them. Today I received an AMAZING call from one of them! Check out what he had to share!!!

Can you believe it! He's matching donations beginning TODAY thru Sunday at 11:59pm. Family and friends....catch the fever! We have an opportunity to finish our adoption funding. If Obama's campaign could reach new giving heights because of people who gave $1, $5, $20.....so can we!

Let's see if we can at least raise $4,414.50 this week! I think we can! Let's go. There's a little girl in Ethiopia counting on us.

To donate via credit/debit card, please hop over to our fundraising site at www.firstgiving.com/michellemckinney

If you'd prefer to donate via check, please contact me at michelle365@me.com so that I can give you instructions on how to get your check to us before the cut-off date. Checks must be made payable to Lifesong for Orphans and you must write "McKinney #1469) in the memo section of your check.

Let's go Team Selah! Love ya!

I'm Bringing Sexy Back.....

2011-02-14T15:41:00.000-05:00

Say what! Isn't this a blog about adoption???? You bet your baby booties it is!

This past year, as we prepared all of our documentation for the adoption of our daughter, things were crazy busy. With that said, I was doing good to make sure I had on clean clothes with all of the early mornings, late nights, and running around to get paperwork completed. Given the craziness of everything, this mama and wife put 'primping' on the backburner. Okay...can I be fully honest? Even before the adoption, 'bringing sexy to our marriage' has not always been my number one priority. Yet, I really believe that it is important to continue romance, excitement, and even 'sexiness' in marriage.

So, for those of us who are on this adoption journey together, let's not forget about our hubbies. Although we take care of the needs of our families (meals, laundry, errands, etc.), try not to give a backseat to taking care of YOU and your hubby's desires. But how in the world is a mama...an adoptin' mama....supposed to fit this all in with all of the other craziness???? Little by little.

So....here and there in a series of blog posts called 'Time Out for Mommy", I'll be sharing with you how I'm bringing my 'sexy' back in my marriage....***giggle*** I really believe the key to being 'sexy' for your mate is really about exuding self-confidence. Sure a cute piece of lingerie and lips poppin' with gloss don't hurt either but self-confidence is at the top of the list.

Along with exuding self-confidence, I like the idea of being just a bit more 'girly' but I'm really a no-fuss type of chick. In the past few years, I've grown to prefer flats over pumps and wash & wear over dryclean only. Whether it's throwing on a little lip gloss, learning to do make-up, or stepping up my wardrobe game, I'd love for you to come along this journey with me in my "Time-Out for Mommy" blog posts. There's even a 'class' that I've been intrigued about taking but if I do....I'll have to decide whether I blog about it. (smile) Watch out Justin Timberlake-------cuz----------I'm bringing sexy back! LOL

What about you? Is there anything you'd like to do differently or more of to spice up your marriage or make yourself feel a little more confident?

One Month Anniversary DTE....How did I celebrate????

2011-02-08T10:08:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, we celebrated our month anniversary of officially waiting for the referral of our daughter, Selah. Woo hoo! So.....I decided to figure out a way for me/our family to celebrate this momentous occasion. Well....I guess I'll be gettin' fit.....oh brother! smile

Forgive me southern girls. I know that you all aren't poor eaters like me. As for me, if possible, every morning my breakfast would really consist of bacon, fried fish, grits, fried apples, fried corn, fried potatoes, and Jiffy Corn Bread. I'm the kind of girl that will often pull out dinner for breakfast....the other morning it was turkey wings, cabbage, mac & cheese, rice & gravy.

Needless to say.....these months ahead will be interesting! I mean really....my palette is not broad so unless it's Paula Deen and a stick of butter, this ain't gonna be pretty! smile. Any thoughts of great healthier foods that this girl can lean into?

The Pain of Choosing to Relinquish Your Child

2011-02-02T17:07:00.001-05:00

The other night, I awoke from one of the most heart wrenching dreams that I've ever experienced. I had to make a decision to relinquish my youngest son. It was the worst pain that I've ever felt as a mother. I remember him being dressed in blue plants and a white shirt. I gave him a little food to take with him on his way. I remember saying something to the effect of mommy loving him. I led him to the front door and then watched him walk away from the other side of the door.

Because this was a 'dream', there are still some things that are unclear for me in that I can't answer all the whys. However, what I do recall is that as his mom, nothing in me wanted him to go. Yet, I knew I could no longer provide for him. I was terrified of what his future would be without me as his life guide. On the other hand, I was even more terrified of what his future would be if I kept him with me in our hopeless situation.

As I awoke and realized it was 'just a dream' for me, I knew in that moment, for another woman, part(s) of this is her reality. I pray that I never forget this pain I felt so that I can remind my future daughter of the anguish her mother/father/family must have encountered as they had to make one of the toughest decisions, possibly in their lifetime.

God, please continue to make me sensitive to the need of mothers and fathers on the other side of adoptions. Even as I have wrestled with my own feelings of what felt like abandonment by my own parents, this dream finally put in perspective how much my parents must have agonized over some things in which they really had no control over. Thank you Lord for insight.

Baby Steps: Financially Preparing for Selah

2011-01-25T21:21:00.000-05:00

So....while I'm waiting to be matched with our daughter, we've got plenty to do here on the home front to make for an easier transition. I'm looking forward to sharing some of it as the months progress. One area that is important is in our finances. Before signing up for the class, one of our objectives was to start budgeting by early Spring as if little miss muffet is already here. That includes childcare (for the few days I won't be able to be with her), diapers, clothing, food, etc.

To help activate this goal, I recently enrolled in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and LOVE IT! I'm taking the online class so that I don't have to be away from home...it's basketball season in our house and the kids' schedules are bananas! I'm looking forward to taking Dave's Baby Steps towards Financial Peace. If you haven't checked out the class before, take a look at the clip below:

Click Here to go to the video!

....and here are the baby steps....ya can't skip around....gotta go through the process honey!

Step 1: $1,000 in an emergency fund.
Step 2: Pay off all debt except the house utilizing the debt snowball.
Step 3: Three to six months of savings in a fully funded emergency fund.
Step 4: Invest 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement plans.
Step 5: College Funding
Step 6: Pay off your home early.
Step 7: Build wealth and give.

Yep.....taking 'baby steps' sounds right in line with my life!

It has been delivered!!!!

2011-01-17T13:56:00.000-05:00

Our dossier has been delivered and I feel like the lady in this commercial....

Woooo!!!!!! LOL. That cracks me up. So now the wait is OFFICIALLY on! In the coming days and weeks, I'll share some of my favorite baby things, wish list stuff, nursery decorating dreams, and what's happening in the McKinney family as we prepare for one more family member. Start the car! Start the car!....'cuz this ride is gonna be sweet!

Traveling Around the World

2011-01-14T16:22:00.002-05:00

So....what have I been up to? Well, now that the furnace has been replaced (woohoo!), I have been traveling around the world...well sorta. My heart is in a FedEx box that is headed to Ethiopia. Inside that wonderful box is a heap of our paperwork to be submitted as we wait for our referral. (I'm guessing that our wait will be about 8-10 months before we're matched with a little girl.)

So, check out where "we" have been:

So cool! I think I'll have to celebrate when we finally land in Addis Ababa!

Waking up to Carbon Monoxide

2011-01-10T20:07:00.003-05:00

This past Wednesday morning, I woke to a robotic voice saying "Carbon Monoxide has been detected. Carbon Monoxide has been detected." I have never heard this before but clearly knew where it was coming from....the hallway that connects all of our bedrooms. I frantically woke up Tony, dialed 911, and hurried the kids to quickly get up and throw on some clothes. As we hurried from the house, Tony kept insisting that surely it must be that the batteries needed to be changed. I kept insisting that that couldn't be right. We shuttled the kids into the truck and drove away from the house until the fire department arrived.

Two trucks pulled up our street about 10 minutes or so later. They went into the house...Tony followed thinking surely they'd say everything was fine and that we could go back in. To our dismay, they went back to the trucks but not to go back to the firehouse....instead, they pulled out a few large fans, opened the front doors and windows of our house so that they could suck the carbon monoxide poisoning out of our home.

Even to this day, I sit in awe in tears that God spared our lives. He must still have more for our family to do. Here's the ridiculous part...I almost didn't buy carbon monoxide detectors for our home. I balked at the prices and then finally told myself to stop complaining that my family was worth the 30 bucks for the detectors.....I mean, hey, we drop $30+ dollars at a restaurant. This was clearly one of the best investments of my lifetime. You see...in order for this particular detector to go off, the deadly gas had to pass through several levels and vents of our home....so to me, that said that the gas level was intense. The firefighters agreed. The furnace was immediately shutdown and we've been in a cold house every since that morning....bundled up with space heaters. Even still, I don't complain because even this cold house has sensitized me to those who are homeless and bear this cold weather every day/night. So much so, Tony and I have talked about starting to collect blankets to give out.

You know, I do believe that the enemy had a plan to knock my family out of here in one big swoop but so glad that God has our back and I cling to one piece of Isaiah 54:17 that says "no weapon formed against you shall prosper".

I'm so glad to be still sitting at my desk to type and share this story with you. Afterall, instead of reading this blog post, you could be reading the following news article...."Family of Four Dies While Sleeping Because they Didn't Have Carbon Monoxide Detectors". Please don't let that be your family's fate. Go out TODAY and get one or two for your home and if you already have one please go and test it right now.

Love y'all! (BTW: A new furnace is scheduled to be installed tomorrow and man when it does, I'll have a whole new appreciation for the privilege of central heating.)

A Year of Jubilee

2011-01-04T05:41:00.002-05:00

If you've followed this blog for a little bit, you may know that I love a good adoption-related video. I follow a really cool woman named Elora on Twitter. Her and her hubby recently made the decision to adopt but Elora will tell you in her personal blog:

"i wish i could tell you i jumped feet first into this whole adoption thing. i wish i could tell you as soon as i recognized the whispers of my heart i nodded my head, pushed back my shoulders, and jumped. but i didn’t."

I love her transparency. So of course transparency like this always intrigues me so I went over to the blog to find out more about this cute couple. Finding this video just totally melted my heart. Check it out...

Year of Jubilee from Elora Ramirez on Vimeo.

Love it! To learn more about Elora & Russell's adoption story, visit them here: http://www.ayearofjubilee.com/

Finishing Strong in 2010!

2011-01-03T08:43:00.001-05:00

For the month of December, as a gift to our little girl, friends and family members sponsored ornaments on a Christmas tree that we placed in her bedroom. We are thrilled to share that for that month, over 2,344 ornaments were sponsored on Ms. Selah's tree....(each ornament representing a donation of $5). What fun!

As we enter the new year, we're excited about what 2011 holds....primarily the opportunity to bring little miss home to her family. Thanks so much for your love in 2010 and following along in our journey. We're so glad that each of you play a part in your own special way.

God Bless!

Dossier Submitted! Signed...Sealed...Delivered!

2010-12-28T04:36:00.002-05:00

Woo hoo!!!! We submitted our dossier! Many times, I've felt like we were the 'turtle' in this journey in comparison to other families. As other families who started this journey 'after' us turned in their dossiers 'before' us, sometimes it was discouraging but I'd quit my little pity party after remembering that God's timing for us was perfect. This is why it's so important to NOT compare yourselves to others. You can miss smelling the roses in your own journey because you're so busy sniffin' your neighbors. Okay...sorry...I digressed. The point being that the joy I experienced from submitting our dossier today made me put on the backburner those feelings of discouragement. Yesterday was amazing! Take the journey with us as we traveled up to America World's suite to turn in our documents!

So what's next...as I shared in the video, our agency will take it to the State Department and then it will be translated into Amharic and THEN it will be sent via FedEx to Ethiopia! Once it's received, we will begin the wait for our daughter! More to come so be sure to continue in the journey with us!

Lots of love!

Monday is Dossier Day!!!!

2010-12-23T11:26:00.000-05:00

Monday, I'll be heading to our adoption agency to drop off our dossier. We first began the journey Can somebody say SWEET! Life is definitely getting a bit sweeter! Can't wait to announce the day that our dossier is sent to Ethiopia...in the adoption world that's known as your DTE date.

These documents and the payments have been in the works for a full year and finally we're at this point....ahhhhhhhh....crazy! I think we'll celebrate when we have a DTE date with dinner at one of our favorite Ethiopian restaurants. It would be cool if I could get some family and friends to join us....now that would be a big step so we'll see!

You Won't Believe This!!!!!

2010-12-20T05:31:00.001-05:00

Check out Selah's Christmas Tree and how crazy the decorating party has been! We have already reached 64% of our adoption fees/travel...our dossier is headed out the door as soon as LifeSong for Orphans clears the recent checks! I can hardly stand it! Take a look...

To donate towards Selah's adoption, click here: www.firstgiving.com/michellemckinney

Remember, every donation through this site is tax-deductible.

Forever grateful for your love towards Selah!

Much love,

Please Don't Turn Away.....again.

2010-12-13T12:52:00.002-05:00

I used to despise the words 'rescue' in talking and thinking about our daughter but the more and more I consider how beautiful God's rescue of me was/is, I embrace it more and more. No, I don't have a 'God complex' but I do want my heart to look more and more like His. After watching this video that appeared on Jenn Verme and then Meg Miller's blog, I was done. I saw it on Jenn's blog but ~~didn't get a chance~~, okay I didn't watch it. Then this morning before an amazing phone call I had with Meg, I saw it on her blog. God challenged me, stretched me and continues to make me say Empty me of this selfishness inside.... This is a rescue mission. Like the man in this video, I'm running full force after my daughter and anything else that God puts my hands to. There's no pity on her just absolute love like what God has for me.

Take a look....I bet it will challenge you.....or will you 'choose' to not click the link because of depraved indifference?

129 Ornaments on the Tree!

2010-12-12T20:45:00.000-05:00

This is so sad that I'm letting technology spank my butt! I've been bummed that for whatever reason my Flip camera software has decided to stop working and my little camera well, let's just say it's had it's day, I think! I'm all ready to share another video and flicks of Selah's tree but no deal. The stinky technology doesn't want to work. But............that won't stop me from sharing the good news about our ornament progress.

We are up to 129 ornaments on Selah's tree and I can't wait to share the photos. Thank you so much for your donations. This is just so cool!

Much love!

Selah's Christmas Tree of Hope

2010-12-03T14:45:00.004-05:00

Check out how we're celebrating Christmas (with/without) Selah this year.....it's really cool and you can join in on the party!

Don't forget.....Hop on over to www.lifeabitsweeter.com so that we can get an ornament on Selah's tree from you and your family.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Extreme Home Makeover

2010-12-01T17:31:00.002-05:00

Remember the awesome Both Hands project we worked on last month? Well, here is a very small sampling of what our amazing crew did. After 2 dumpsters, 15 volunteers, and some big bowls of chili (courtesy of my mother-in-law), the end result was awesome! Tony and I ended up pulling out about $500 that we had personally set aside for our adoption to take care of a lot of supplies. (Generally, donations are provided for the materials but we were at the last hour and wanted Mrs. Holt to have an amazing end result.) But you know what? It was totally worth it. God calls us to take care of the widow and the orphan (James 1:27) and so we're banking on Him to help make-up what we invested and beyond. Trust me when I say the pictures I took don't do justice to the unbelievable work by our team of volunteers and contractors. Thanks so much everybody! It was everything I hoped it would be. (Oh yeah....forgive my drowsy eyes in the pic! One day I'll learn to take a photo without blinking!!!)

What if you were the orphan???

2010-11-26T17:45:00.005-05:00

What if YOU were the orphan? What would YOU want someone to do on your behalf? Here's our adoption story and why we need you to consider partnering with us.

We desperately need your donations to partner with us to bring hope to the life of one little girl.

.....and GUESS WHAT? We now have 2 amazing friends who together will match your donation dollar for dollar up to $5,000 when you donate via check or credit/debit card through our fundraising site.... www.lifeabitsweeter.com

Please don't delay. There's a little girl counting on all of us to be her voice of redemption. Please don't forget to share our video link with your family and friends! We'll keep you updated via our blog as our partner, Lifesong for Orphans, sends us our donation totals throughout the week.

Much love!

Selah's Room....It Makes My Heart Melt

2010-11-16T06:35:00.000-05:00

Selah's room will be my former office space....yes, my coveted office space. (smile) It was the place where I hibernate to get work done or when mama needs a little 'time out'. As I shared before, giving up this space was a big deal for me but one that with God's help, I don't mind sacrificing at all.

Since the yard sales, I was able to let go of a LOT of 'things' that I've been holding on to for years. You know those...'one day I might need that' things. Yet, with each goodbye of an article in that office space, I said 'hello' to making room for baby girl.

Here's the result....a blank new canvas to create a feel of home for a little girl without one. It warms my heart every time I walk past her 'space' with anticipation that one day a heartbeat, laughter, kisses, and hugs will fill this space and a family will be forever changed.

Girls Night Out...Every Mama Needs A Break!

2010-11-14T21:46:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday night, a few of the Ethiopia adopting mamas and I went out for dinner and dessert. This is the same crew that Tony and I went out to dinner with in the Summer. The venue this time....dinner at Clyde's of Georgetown and dessert at the now world-famous Georgetown Cupcake! Yum, yum and yum!

This was a super treat because it's rare that I get a chance to get out for some 'girl time' with all of the fundraising, being a mom, working-full-time, and trying to keep it grown and sexy in our marriage....ha ha ha....did I really just say that???? Yep, I did! LOL. All that to say, balancing it all leaves little free time so hanging with Susan, Stacy, Monica, and Jenn is a big deal! So here's a little photo flashback of our night out. I think the next trip is going to an Ethiopian church service together with the husbands and kids. Should be fun!

Yard Sale #2 SUCCESS!!!

2010-10-31T06:57:00.002-04:00

Wow! So....here's a quick rundown.

Yard Sale number 2 happened yesterday. We still had some things left over and friends/family members donated some additional items. My goal was simple...$500 for the day. Although we made much more from yard sale #1, I figured $500 was adequate as I knew I wouldn't be able to put as much time into marketing/advertising and many of our family members/friends had already been to sale #1. Now the two things I did do was place it on Craigslist and hire the same young man to hold our sign on the main street for a few hours.

So our total funds raised for the day.....$1081.36!!!! God truly blew me away! As I came back from a quick errand during the yard sale, I asked God....I know I had a smaller goal of $500 but if You would help us hit the $1,000 mark, that would be truly awesome! Simply appreciative of His awesomeness!

Thanks so much for your continued prayers and words of encouragement! Your girl is pooped but it's 6:45am and I've got to get to work this morning! The first service starts at 8:30am. I'm looking forward to an awesome time of worship with our church family. See ya and thanks for stopping by!

Yard Sale #2

2010-10-25T06:44:00.001-04:00

Numero Dos. Yep, we're heading for Yard Sale #2 in an effort to getting steps closer to bringing Selah home! To get things moving, prices will be extra low and I can't wait. We're not putting as much into marketing it as we did before. Our goal for this one is to make $500.

I hope to post some preview pics for our early shoppers. Here we go!!!!!

Pooped & Busy but Excited About A Great Opportunity to Bless Others

2010-10-24T05:06:00.000-04:00

So...what's happening over here in adoption land??? Lots! We are busy little bees lately as we enter fundraising central. Who ever thought fundraising was such hard work and time-consuming? Well it is but it is so worth it! I'll say that time and time again because I believe it.

Sometimes I get a bit weary because there are lots of long nights and early mornings. We are coming down to the wire with our Both Hands project. This project is founded on the principle in James 1:27 where God challenges believers to take care of the widow and the orphan. It's really amazing! We select a widow within the community and just have an opportunity to shower her with blessings in the form of home repairs. As we hit the home stretch, we'll be focusing hard on getting the necessary supplies to repair a widow's home. We are busy looking for businesses who will donate things like paint, bathroom fixtures, a vanity, and a host of other supplies. In total, we'd love to make around $3,000 - $4,000 in repairs to her home. We have a crew of A++ contractors lined up who have generously agreed to donate their time. It's a big feat but we're excited about what God will do. Stay tuned to see what God does....this is all really so unbelievable!

Here's a quick view of the Valdez family working on a widow's home. I love these stories. There will be more to come and guess what....in the coming weeks, you'll be able to see ours!

Clean House: Ethiopia Adoption Style! (Yard Sale Results)

2010-10-17T19:43:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was simply amazing to say the least! In total, we raised a little over $2600 and are waiting for confirmation of a possible ATV 4-wheeler sale! God totally showed us much favor and grace throughout the day. There were so many times that we saw the hand of God. Despite the fact that the signs were removed from the road that led to our main street, the people still miraculously showed up. Simply amazing! Then, what about the gracious woman who while walking her dog asked if she could bring back some donations for us. In the midst of receiving our donations, she left us with a truly AWESOME financial blessing. Then, what about the young person from our church, Devaughn, that agreed for a few hours to wear a Mr. Incredible costume to attract traffic from the main street to our side streets. His sign read 'Incredible Yard Sale'.

We had so many things left, so much more to put out, and more people that would like to donate and volunteer their time. Because of this, we will have part 2 of this Yard Sale event. A friend reminded me that this was truly like the show Clean House....in fact, we raised what some of those families average in sale. The only thing we missed was Niecy Nash's matching amount of $2000! Any takers???? smile. If so, here's the link on how to donate! *smile* http://lifeabitsweeter.blogspot.com/p/donate_21.html

In the meantime, check out an overview of our great day as well as our awesome volunteers and shoppers!

If you'd like to purchase one of the necklaces or soft, comfy unisex t-shirts featured in the video, simply click here to shop! Necklaces are handmade by me and t-shirts are sold through us for fundraising courtesy of an amazing organization called Mocha Club.

If you liked the designs of our face painter, Mikal, you can get more information about her services by contacting her at belovedrhf@gmail.com or 202.437.4567.

Thanks for your prayers, words of encouragement, and donations. What is happening in our lives is truly beyond anything we could ever ask or think! (Ephesian 3:20)

Yard Sale Preview Items: Very Small Sampling

2010-10-14T10:13:00.003-04:00

What Time Is It? YARD SALE TIME!

2010-10-13T08:41:00.001-04:00

Tony and I having a little fun sharing about this Saturday's Yard Sale....

Preview of yard sale items will be uploaded a little later today!

Spread the word please! Love ya!

When God Goes BEYOND BEYOND!

2010-10-03T05:39:00.006-04:00

This past weekend, I had an amazing opportunity to have a vendor table at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden's Women's Conference. AMAZING! My cousin, Shelly and her husband, Rodney truly knocked my socks off when they offered to sponsor a table for us. Okay,WOW! What a generous offer!

I decided that I wanted to create something special for the conference in an effort to raise funds for our adoption. For the entire year, the church's theme is "Beyond, Beyond" based on Ephesians 3:20. In keeping with our theme of glass tile necklaces, here's the final product:

We also focused on our upcoming Both Hands project for those who may want to receive a tax deduction for their contribution. This time around, no takers for contributions for the Both Hands project BUT we were definitely blessed with straight out contributions. WOW! Take a look at the videos below, sharing Day 1 and Day 2 of the conference!

....and this wouldn't be complete without saying BIG, BIG THANKS to Shelly and my Zion co-worker and friend, Cynde. These ladies worked their butts off for Selah - sharing the vision and asking for purchases and donations. Thanks also to my FBCG friends who walked through the conference sharing what we were doing. You all are amazing!

In case you were wondering, our grand total sales and donations from the conference was $842.47!!!! Guess what? We also have a few additional sales and donations expected in the next few days or so! So...our fundraising thermometer on the left side of our blog just did some major movement!

If you missed us at the conference and would like to order a necklace, pop on over to our Etsy store and pick one or more up! These necklaces are also perfect for gifts and evangelistic opportunities. Someone is bound to compliment you on it which opens the door for you to explain what it means. Gotta love that! If they no longer appear on the site, shoot me an e-mail (michelle365@me.com) as they may be sold out and I just have to upload more for purchase.

BEYOND! BEYOND! Only you God! Nobody greater! Thank you Lord for such an amazing gift and creative fundraising to bring your jewel, Selah home to her forever family!

(Note: The videos shown at our table can be viewed at the author's Vimeo site. Ordinary Hero: A Day in the Trash Dump (http://vimeo.com/13948413) and Tim/Carrie's Both Hands project (http://vimeo.com/7278767)

Paper Pregnancy is Complete!

2010-09-26T21:12:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I'm saying this.....The Paper Pregnancy Is Complete!!!! The photos at the end of the video share what a paper pregnancy looks like.....3 sets of documents and this is still not all of the paperwork! There was still a LOT of paperwork that we had to submit during/before the home study process also. We still have a bit of work to do but check us out........

Our I-171H Was Approved! LOL

2010-09-21T20:25:00.000-04:00

Yep, so God definitely has a sense of humor but more importantly, His love for me is so EXTRAVAGANT! Believe it or not, after learning yesterday's lesson of praising and magnifying God over my problem, something amazingly wonderful happened. Out of the blue today, my phone rang at 12:10pm with UNKNOWN listed in the caller id. I grabbed and lo and behold, it was the officer from USCIS who was reviewing our case! She sweetly informed me that she had approved our I-171H!!! She said she tried to send me a return email but it kept coming back to her as undeliverable. huh? Go figure! I'm believing that God needed me to get yesterday's lesson. Thank you God for helping to grow me up in my faith towards you!

So....she said the I-171H is in the mail. Can't wait to see that baby in my mailbox! woo hoo!

Next up on the list....waiting patiently for the passports to arrive for me and Tony. We're getting close!!!

....but wait, this blog post wouldn't be complete without saying big thanks to my friend Rochelle who pushed me yesterday and made me do something that I was scared to do related to the adoption. In fact, we both believed that unless I stepped out of my comfort zone and completed that task, God wouldn't move this mountain. Guess what? I stepped out of my comfort zone, completed the task, and the mountain was moved.

Thanks to YOU too for continuing to follow us in this journey and encouraging us along the way. You're simply the best!

Stop Comparing Your Journey!

2010-09-20T15:33:00.000-04:00

I think God is in heaven scratching His head and wondering, when will this child of mine ever get the lesson??? Well.....maybe He's not actually scratching His head but He sure ought to!

No matter how many times I discover that our adoption process is not the same as anyone else, I seem to falter because I keep hitting that same rock. So...here's the deal. We went for fingerprinting appointments on September 3rd. Many couples whose blog or facebook status I have read or have talked to in the DC area, have received their clearance in about 9, 10, or 11 days of their appointment. So of course, I was banking that by September 13th or 14th, we'd surely have our clearance, right????? Wrong! We're at day 17. In fact, the postman just left our mailbox with the bills but no government notices. (laughing at myself)

In the past week, I've called the Immigration Office several times and sent a couple of e-mails as I was instructed. All to receive no follow-up 'within 2 business days' as the initial operator told me. Not even a routine thank you for your e-mail. We are processing your application. This has frustrated me. It has angered me. It has caused me to worry that something is wrong with our clearance. Yep, I'll even admit it, this morning I cried as I wondered why does every step of our journey seem to be so much more difficult than other families. After I brushed myself off and dried the tears, I was able to gain better perspective in reading these words from the blog of We Are Grafted In as she shared the lesson she gleaned in waiting after observing the growth of the rose bushes in her home garden:

This past weekend the Husband and I worked for hours in our garden: pruning, weeding, even widening one of our flower beds. I spent quite some time puttering with my roses. We have several rose bushes, but the ones most people notice are the two largest. The first sits in the front yard, along the walkway leading to our front door. It blooms with gorgeous, fragrant red roses. The bush in our backyard next to the herb garden blooms with smaller, pale peach and less fragrant roses.

While I worked with these two plants, I remembered something my friend Lizard once called to my attention. If you look closely, you’ll see there exist less obvious differences between our two rose bushes. And, if you grab hold of a stem from each plant, you will learn of their differences painfully.

Our red rose bush sports the most wicked thorns I’ve ever personally handled. Our peach rose bush? It hardly contains any thorns at all. I can cut this bush back without even bothering to wear gardening gloves.

Lizard, a former florist, once told me that you can predict how large the blooms will be by looking at the thorns . . . the larger the thorns, the larger the roses.

The larger the thorns, the larger the roses.

The larger the bumps in the road, the larger the blessings.

Wow, Selah. I must believe that your life story and ours is going to be one beautiful rose bush when God is finished with us!

As for me: God, I trust you. I have seen how you have delivered every single paper in this process. I have seen your faithfulness throughout my life. I believe You are for me, my family, and Selah. I believe that Your Will will come to pass. I believe that you have called me worthy to walk in this process. I believe that You are in control and that you have set everything in order and in Your timing. I believe that You can move mountains. I believe that You are building our testimony as You have written so many beautiful chapters in our life story already. I believe that this entire thing is more about You than it is about me so please decrease my will so that Your Will will be magnified and accepted in my heart.

Certified in Annapolis!

2010-09-15T19:44:00.001-04:00

You would think since I'm a native Washingtonian that I would have seen all of the sights, right???? WRONG! Yet again, this adoption process has exposed me to so much rich United States all in my backyard. The other week, I shared photos of Tony and I hanging out in Baltimore to get our fingerprinting processed through the FBI (biometrics). Well yesterday, I had tons of fun all by myself hanging out at the State House in Annapolis, MD. It was a bit of a pass through to getting to the Secretary of State's office but it was really neat! I took a few pictures and took in the beauty of this amazing building. As I have now learned, the State House in Annapolis is the oldest state capitol still in continuous legislative use and is the only state house to have ever served as the nation's capitol. Check out me and George....

Once I arrived at the Secretary of State's office, my paperwork was processed pretty quickly and it was a wrap! Well...almost a wrap! Historic Annapolis is so beautiful that I took a little time taking in the sites and because Annapolis is about 20 minutes from my house, I'm very familiar with the shopping! smile. I ventured over to my favorite clothing store (Paradigm) but you'd be proud. I didn't buy a thing....but it was hard!

So all that to say.....we're two steps closer to wrapping up the paperchase! The Secretary of State's office certified our Power of Attorney and Dossier Cover Sheet forms! woo hoo! Now, we're waiting for our passports and I-171H form. After that, it's all saving and fundraising to get to our $7700 to submit our dossier. Gotta love progress!