Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Love and Support...

As much as this decision to adopt and this baby is for our family, as any woman can imagine, mommy is the biggest kicker! I have wanted another baby so bad for so long and not being able to fulfill that for myself and for my family has been seriously hard. It's been mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting. More than I could possibly tell you. And this last year with the situations I have been involved in and been a part of, it has only made it that much worse. Worse being unless you know what I'm talking about, you can't fathom the heartache this last year has had on me. Now granted, it turned out best for everyone, but that doesn't make it any easier. But anyways, with all of that said, today I just want to thank my husband for being my rock. Being the support I need most. For listening to my vents and for wiping my tears. There have been days where I wasn't sure which way was up, but he helped me to get there. We have had struggles of our own, but what marriage doesn't? He has helped me get to where I am, and he has helped me be the person I want to be. Even when he thinks I am making a bad decision, he tells me what I think but lets me fall on my face if I need to and he is right there to pick me back up. He may not always agree with the things I say and the things I feel and do, but he always supports me and I know without a doubt in the world he will love me til death do we part. So, Randy, I know you're reading this, and I want to say thank you. And I love you more than words could ever tell you. Thank you for everything you do for me and for just making me laugh when I need it most. Thank you for being right by my side through this, and doing anything you can to help us get to our goal : Riley's new baby brother or sister. I love you. So much.

And as some of you may already know- our shirts and bracelets are in!!!!! You can see the attached picture of my amazing husband showing off our stuff! Message me for info! Can't wait to get all the shirts and bracelets passed out!

Thank you to everyone who is helping us by donating, thinking of us, praying for us, and simply spreading the word! We appreciate everything SO much!

God bless each and every one of you!

Monday, December 26, 2011

What a Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I know we did! Despite my really not feeling good yesterday, we had such an amazing day! My brother and his girlfriend (Audrey) got us the cutest frames ever for Riley and Baby and they gave us like 6 full bottles which totaled to be $170!!! Amazing!!! And then, after our gifts, my step dad (Leon) told us Ivey's is splitting their Christmas fund between the women's shelter and our adoption!!! That is roughly $750!!! Needless to say, I cried like a baby on more than one occasion yesterday! It was truly the best gifts EVER!

Riley enjoyed all of his gifts from Santa! The boy is absolutely rotten! He was so cute unwrapping his gifts though. I can still not believe he is three already! He is a sweet little man for sure!

So with all of this said, I cannot possibly tell you how excited it all makes me! I have been so busy getting ready for Christmas I didn't have much time to write! Please continue to keep up with our posts! Never know what info will come! And keep on helping when you can and spreading the word as much as possible!

Sorry to keep it so short tonight, I am really feeling horrible today and my little man is seeming really croupy so I am going to go lay down with him after we have some medicine and hope we can wake up feeling a little better. :-(

Goodnight...stay tuned for more fundraisers!!! Thank you ALL again for EVERY thing!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

T-shirts, bracelets, fundraising galore!

I can honestly say I am continuously blown away by all of the support we are receiving! It is all truly such a blessing! I hope that the good Lord contintues to place such amazing and giving people in our life. In less than a week we have pre-sold 80 shirts! Can you believe that? I am in shock! But I am SO blessed and excited beyond belief! Please, please, PLEASE keep it up! I am excited to get the bracelet sells going, and the same for the bottle and puzzle piece fundraisers! The puzzle pieces are whatever you would like to donate, anything from $1 up! Every little bit helps! On your piece you donate, your name will be on the back. Once all of the pieces are donated for, the puzzle will be completed and framed and put in Baby's room.

We had our second home study appointment this morning and it went great! It is so weird to answer so many questions about yourself! For those of you who know Randy and I, we are generally pretty goofy, but to talk about ourself and each other to someone who doesn't know us, it is so hard!!! We are enjoying every minute of this though. I can honestly say that seeing him helping and cleaning and preparing for these visits makes me fall so much more in love with him. He is such an amazing man. I love him more than I could possibly say!!

Thank you for all of the prayers, thoughts, and support!! I cannot possibly say thank you enough! Every single thing helps, no matter how big or small! Keep on following us on here, we are hopefully going to have a few other things up and going soon! OH--our Aunt Debbie made us some cookies tonight to sell!! :) Peanut butter with chocolate on top. One bag (of 3 I think) will sell for $1. Everyone loves cookies!!! So, come on peeps! Let's buy some cookies, shirts, bracelets, puzzle pieces, or even just donate! We accept it all! ;)

That is all for today I think... Thank you ALL again for everything! Please continue to support, share, and spread the word!! Tell EVERYONE you know! You never know what could happen!! :)

p.s.... you can also follow us on FB :)

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Tis the season of giving!

Christmas is only a few days away! While I prepare for this by decorating and wrapping presents for my little man, my niece, and my two nephews, I think of all the babies and kids out there who need a good home with loving parents who can provide for them not only financially, but mentally and emotionally. I am so blessed to say we will be one of those families one day. I hope with all my might that this is not a long process for us. I hope it's fairly quick, but not too quick of course! We cannot wait to bring home the sweet baby that belongs with us. I know with time and prayer, that will happen. And I can NOT wait! :)

Christmas is about family, happiness, and the gift of giving. This year instead of buying gifts for each other, and buying useless "junk" for our families, we bought for the kids, and we bought for four sweet angels. We got things they needed that their parent(s) couldn't provide. We got things they wanted because every child deserves that. As I look back at that and the decision we made, not even knowing them personally, it makes me feel sk blessed to know that people are donating to our adoption! People we have known forever, people we have known a short time, and some people who don't know us at all. This means more to me than I can express. I mean giving to someone you don't even know so they can adopt their child? This is truly amazing and it is so close to my heart right now! So, whether you have donated to us or simply said an extra prayer, thank you. From the bottom of my heart. We truly appreciate everything everyone is doing for us. Family, friends, friends from school, and the complete stranger. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I am truly blessed to have so many absolutely amazing people to support us in life, and to support us in our adoption. You are in my heart and you will stay there forever!!

On another note, our friendship bracelets came in today! They are $2 or 3 for $5! I attached a picture. Message me if you want one. 615-972-4189 or BrittanyVaught07@yahoo.com
We also have started our bottle fundraiser so let me know if you want a bottle to fill up! I have ordered more t-shirts too so if you haven't already ordered one-please do! :-)

I want to say a special thank you to my counter guys at work today - Pat and Hector - Thank you SO much for being so willing to have our bottles on the counter! It means so much to me that you are so willing to help us out and raise any money you can!

Thank you EVERY single one of you for your donations, your thoughts, and your prayers! You ALL have a special place in my heart!!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Weekends are never long enough!

I'm sure I'm not the only person who's ever sat down on a Sunday evening and wondered where my weekend went. We have cleaned up, cleaned out, and just cleaned so much this weekend! It's one thing to have friends and family visit, but to have someone come into your home who you're hoping will eventually give you a sweet baby - TOTALLY different story. Every impression you make has to be the best. And having never done this before- that's scary! So, we have worked our hind ends off! We still have a few things to finish up tomorrow and Tuesday night just to cover all our bases. Exciting, nervous, overwhelming!

On another note, I'm so blessed to say we don't even have our shirts yet but we have pre-sold 52 already! I canno thank you all enough! Please please please keep it coming! We need all of the help we can get! It's crazy how much adoption costs, but when it's what you're put here to do, you just "know" God will provide. Some way, some how. He will make this happen for us.

Our Threads of Hope bracelets will be in this week sometime, and so will our puzzle to start our puzzle fundraiser! I'm super excited for the fundraisers we have coming up! So definitely stay tuned to keep helping when you can! Plus you can always feel free to just click away on that little donate button on the blog! All donations are always greatly appreciated! :-)

Well, we are out for the night. All this cleaning has me exhausted! I'm including a picture of my two favorite sweet little boys just because I love them so much! They make my heart smile in so many ways! Riley and Carson - cousins who absolutely love each other. I'm so glad they have each other! Please continue to pray for all of our family during this adventure and while you're at it, say an extra one for my sweet nephew. He could use a few extra ones right now. His life is in a sort of tailspin and as he's too young to really know, pray for guidance for all involved that the good Lord continues to provide the support and love that Carson truly deserves. I truly appreciate it! He's such a funny little guy! :-)

Good night and God bless!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

I cannot say thank you enough...

It has been such a short time since we have made our decision public and have started talking fundraising, ideas, etc and I have constantly been amazed at all of the support we have. People buying shirts, wanting to buy bracelets, wanting to help in any way possible. This just amazes me. Most people don't know how rough the last year has been for us, and how big of a decision this has been, so the support we are receiving is just a blessing beyond belief. I cannot thank you all enough. For everything. Helping, donating, spreading the word, thinking of us, praying for us, and most of all supporting us! It means so much!

On another note, we have been cleaning like mad men today! We got Riley's room switched over to the I'd guest room and got his old room cleared out to be a nursery again. It's been a LONG day! Hard and exhausting! But we are making progress. We are so excited (and nervous) for our home study appointment Wednesday! It's so exciting to know that even though this could be a very long process that eventually, we will have a sweet little baby in that room again. Ri keeps telling us he wants a baby sister, but we all know he will take anything!! Just like we will! We are just ready to complete our family!

Well, in case you haven't heard from me, we are pre-selling our shirts! They are black with a red heart puzzle less one piece, piece is underneath and it says Support Adoption... 12.50 each. Let me know if you want one and what size!

I will post pictures when the house is done! I'm so excited to see it in its new form! And spotless at that! I'll post again soon...until then, have a great weekend! Christmas is barely a week away!!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Fundraise, Fundraise, Fundraise!

Today I have spent the good majority of the day thinking about fundraisers and money...what can we do? Can we raise enough? Why is adoption so expensive? And I have few answers. So I'm working on a shirt fundraiser, I've ordered the puzzle for the puzzle fundraiser, I'm working on getting bottles for the bottle fundraiser, and tonight I'm working on bracelets. (If you have other ideas, let me know!) My biggest worry at the moment is money! What we need to raise, what I would love to raise. I wish adoption could be as simple as a pregnancy, financially. Most people dont realize the costs of adoption. They are sky high! But worth it. I don't have all the answers. No one does. But I know we will make it happen. Some how. Some way. So all I ask is you support us when you can, and just be behind us for the rest. Sometimes the moral support is all we need. I may not have the answer right this minute, but we will figure it out. God will provide. I know it. In my heart...

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Adoption Application : Approved!

We had the appointment this morning to turn in our application and ask questions and discuss the process as a whole. Our application was approved and we went over all of our home study requirements and paperwork. We have our first home study appointment next Wednesday morning! We are so excited! We also have a zillion things to do in a week! I've also been researching fundraisers. We are about to start a bottle fundraiser. I've also ordered a personalized puzzle to do a puzzle piece fundraiser. T-shirts are also in the works of being created/ordered. Please let me know if you are interested in helping or donatif with anything! We are so appreciative of anything we can get! We are so excited to be starting this process! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers! Thats all for tonight! :)

Monday, December 12, 2011

Our Big Decision

Hey everyone! So, as you now know, we have made one of the biggest decisions of our life...we are going to adopt! We are so excited, nervous, happy, thankful, and scared all at the same time! This is a really big decision, and it has weighed heavy on our hearts and minds for a little over a year now. We are so ready to move forward with this process! We are going tomorrow morning for our first meeting with the agency and we are going to turn our application in! I cannot tell you how happy this makes me! It's sort of that feeling like when you decide you are ready to have a baby and it is time to come off the pill! Except there is no coming off of anything for us, we will just eventually be paper pregnant! This is going to be a long, emotional, nerve-racking, heart pumping adventure for us! Riley is excited to have a little brother or sister, he says it's okay since he is a big boy now! Sweet babe, I love him so much! We will be starting some fundraisers soon to help with the cost of adoption. For those of you who don't know, a typical domestic adoption costs around $25,000. Birthing a child costs NOWHERE near this! It will be so worth it in the end, I know that God will provide for us. We would like to ask those of you who want to help donate time or money in helping us with it, please do! Every penny and every hand getting that penny helps! I will keep everyone in the loop on the adoption and fundraising happenings. In the mean time, on the left side of this page there is a little donate button. Feel free to click away! :)  Thanks for checking out our page! We are blessed and excited beyond belief about this!

"We witness a miracle every time a child enters this world. But those who make their journey across time and miles growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us by God's own hands"