And Away We Go July 8, 2009

Tonight was our last night as a family of 4 and tomorrow we are headed to Ethiopia and we just cannot believe this day is here.  Our flight departs from Nashville at 1:30pm and we arrive in Addis Ababa on Thursday night at 8:45.  The nerves are officially setting in so please say a little prayer for safe travels, that Sol will bond quickly with us and that Harper and Hud have a total blast while we are away.  Some great news to report is that we have officially Pitter Pattered and fundraised our way through this adoption.  It’s official every last dime of our adoption is paid for in cash.  What an amazing feeling that is.  God is SO SO good and we know He deserves all the praise.  And a big thank you to everyone who has placed an order, bought a ticket or just donated in anyway period.  We are SO SO grateful.  We also had a family call us and tell us they wanted to pay for our plane tickets, but wanted to remain anonymous.  How AMAZING is that.  I gladly accepted and I must say what a family this is…especially that they want to remain anonymous.  That takes quite a person to just want to give with wanting nothing in return.  We are extremely grateful.  Lastly a huge thank you to our family.  You’re the best and we love you tons.  And in the category of family, I have to mention the relentless love and support from my mom and dad.  They have made it their personal mission to help bring Sol home and they have done it with a vengeance.  They have donated like nobody’s business and never want a thing in return.  They give because they love us and they love Sol and it’s just that simple.  I know that without them I would not be saying that financially this adoption is sealed and done with.  They have given just that much and worked relentlessly on fundraisers to bring in as many donations as possible.  You both have out done yourselves in every category of giving.  Sol will hear of this amazing love you have shown him.  Thanks you from the bottom of my heart.

We cannot wait for everyone to meet Sol.  We will be landing in Nashville next Friday afternoon and are so excited to have our family of 5 all together.  I will try to update my site while in Ethiopia…hopefully the connection will be good.  Oh and check out the necklace my dad gave me the other day.  It’s the shape of Ethiopia cut out of a Tennessee quarter.  I love it.  Thanks dad.  So thank you again and Solomon James we’re on our way.

And The Winner Is… July 3, 2009

Awesome Bill From Dawsonville.  Congrats Awesome Bill.  Sorry this is so late being posted, but I have had camera and computer (really just Flickr) troubles.  And I know my picture of the name is totally aweful, hence camera problems.  Anyways…thanks to everyone who bought tickets.  5 days from now we will be headed to Ethiopia.  YEA!!!

1 Week From Today… July 1, 2009

we will be boarding a plane bound for Ethiopia to finally meet our little Sol.  We have been absolute crazy people since we got word about having to travel so quickly.  Of course I wanted to make him some items.  His art is still not done, but I added an “s” to his blankie and added his initials to his baby bag.  I have had my eye on this bag at Target, but have been waiting for it to go on clearance and Sunday Josh and I went out to run some errands at Target and that’s when I saw Sol’s bag was finally on clearance…so excited.

And now if you will look closely to this darling picture of me (ha)…what’s that around my neck you ask?  Do you remember this post? Well if my Bible study ladies hadn’t done enough already, Monday was my last meeting before we leave and this is what they gave me.  Was I totally shocked?  Yes and no.  Yes in the fact that I never expected them to get this necklace that I completely adore, but not for the fact that they are just that generous and loving and thoughtful.  Thanks Alissa, Ashley, Courtney, Jessica and Karen.  I really, really love it.

Now for some orders.  This set of paintings are headed to North Carolina to three brothers.  Their mom Lindsay contacted me about these and was so nice to work with.  Thanks Lindsay for your order and good luck with everything.

Next is a baby girl gift that my friend Jess ordered for a friend of hers.  Jess always gives me free rein which I love.  Thanks again Jess.

Lastly is a birthday order for two sisters.  There mom wanted tea towel calendars on the front and their age on the back.  They are having a joint party this year with lots of blues and greens.  Thanks again Vonda, it was a pleasure…as usual.

And don’t forget our Starbucks coffee raffle ends this Friday.  Tickets are just $5 each and buy any 2 tickets and get a third free.  Go here for more details or just scroll down.  Thanks everybody.

Starbucks Coffee Raffle June 27, 2009

This is our last and final fundraiser and in my opinion it’s a good one.  My sweet, sweet sister-in-law Becky, worked at one of the Starbucks in Memphis before they moved back to Nashville and on our last visit down there to see them, she made me go by her work before we headed back to Nashville.  To my surprise, when I went in they had a big box of coffee that the employees had donated for our adoption.  They even wrote cute little comments on the bags.  One even says, “Kyle Loves Babies”.  I was so taken back by their generosity.  So this raffle is for 10 bags of Starbucks coffee.  When I went tonight to write down all the flavors I realized that there were 9 bags instead of 10 (no, we didn’t borrow a bag for breakfast).  So I went to our Starbucks to purchase one last bag to make it 10.  I talked to one of the employees and he said they have 3 brand new flavors coming out Tuesday, so instead of buying a flavor they already had, I am going to head back on Tuesday and get a brand new flavor to add to the raffle.  So here is the list of flavors:

* Ethiopia Sidoma Bold Africa/Arabia

* Breakfast Blend Mild Latin America

* Caffe Verona Bold Mulit-Region Blend (Three bags)

* Komodo Dragon Bold Asia/Pacific

* Gold Coast Extra Bold Multi-Region Blend

* Decaf Sumatra Extra Bold Asia/Pacific

* French Roast Extra Bold Dark Roast Blend

* NEW FLAVOR RELEASED ON TUESDAY

So there you go.  Tickets are $5 and as usual buy 2 tickets get a third free and so on and so on.  Use the donate button on the right side and please spread the word.  The raffle will end Friday, July 3rd at noon.  We will post the winner soon after that.  Thanks everyone and thanks Becky.  You really know how to rock your coffee.  Love you!

Ethiopia Here We Come June 26, 2009

We just got word this afternoon that we need to be in Ethiopia July 9th!  Can everyone say WOW in unison?  Yes it is super short notice…in less than 2 weeks we will be leaving for Ethiopia to finally meet our little Sol in person.  If someone took my blood pressure right now it would not be good.  We will be leaving from Nashville on July 8th and returning home July 17th.  Please say a little prayer for us and we have TONS to do in less than 2 weeks to prepare for our travels.  Also for all those who have asked about donations for the orphanages here are some items we were told are needed:

• Clothing for older children ages 5-14
• Toys and puzzles (that do not require batteries)
• English learning supplies
• Walmart Parents Choice Formula with Iron

Financial donations for:

• Infant formula
• Weight scales (that show kilos) for infants and for toddlers and older children
• Medical exam materials

Also we will now be starting our last Starbucks coffee raffle this Saturday so check back then to get your tickets.  Thanks everyone.

Announcing A Much Needed Break June 25, 2009

I am officially drowning in orders, which is wonderful, but I will be taking NO NEW ORDERS FOR JULY. If I have already talked with you then you are currently on my order list and will have your order done before we leave for Ethiopia.  I have just got to get caught up, along with making some goodies for McKinley’s birthday, some special pieces for Sol, Hud’s scrapbook, Sol’s adoption announcements, some special items for Harper while we are away, planning our trip to Ethiopia, getting 7 vaccine shots (you read that right) and enjoying our last month as a family of 4.  Our travel dates are currently set for July 23rd-30th, but we are still waiting on confirmation from our agency.  Once we get the big okay then let the planning begin.  We are also going to start gathering donations to take to the orphanages and we will start our last raffle on Monday.  I will still be posting new orders that I am working on and keeping everyone in the loop about Sol.  Also once we get back from Ethiopia and get Sol all settled in, I will be back at it in no time.  You know I can’t stay away for long.  Thanks again for everyone’s support and for literally drowning me in orders…it feels oh so good.  And here are a few recent completed orders:

This order is headed to Florida to a family that is missing their good ole’ Tennessee.  Thanks Jess!

This little order is actually headed to Ireland.  How cool is that?  Thanks so much Kelly and I hope little Nathaniel and his family will love your thoughtfulness.

Coffee Raffle With Some Orders June 20, 2009

I am totally running out of good titles for my posts…seriously could use some help. So we are still waiting for word about our travel dates. Hopefully we will find out soon and then we will be able to start all the planning for Ethiopia. We will have our last raffle soon…my sweet sister-in-law Becky worked at Starbucks when they lived in Memphis and on our last trip down there, her store gave us a big box of 10 bags of Starbucks coffee. It was so sweet. We are going to be raffling off the entire box of coffee for $5 a ticket and as usual by two tickets get one free. We will post more details soon.

Also we are going to start gathering items together to take to the orphanages we will be visiting in Ethiopia.  I will hopefully have an exact list soon and if you would like to send some items with us, we would gladly pack them up and fly them over.  We are planning on taking extra luggage and filling them with tons of donations, so if you would like to help then by all means.

Onto some orders: This shirt was ordered by Jen in Texas for her little boy’s first birthday. Jen decided on a big polka dot circle with a #1 in it, since her little guy’s birthday plates were covered in circles as well with a large #1 also. And I do love the matching 1 on the sleeve. Thanks Jen for your order and I know Grady will just be a doll sporting this for his 1st birthday.

This is a 18×18 Names of Jesus piece I did for a Father’s Day gift. I won’t mention a name because it’s not Father’s Day yet, but thank you so much for you order…you know who.  Hope the dad loves it.

Hope everyone has a great Father’s Day weekend.

Jewelry For Adoption June 15, 2009

I really LOVE Etsy.com and if you have never checked it out, you should. I have been a huge fan of one shop called JUNKPOSSE and have been meaning to blog about it for a while. This super talented lady named Tracy makes the best adoption jewelry that I have always admired. Even better is that 30% of the proceeds goes directly to benefit adoption or orphans in some way. She has everything laid out on her site. So if you are in the market for some totally rockin’ jewelry that benefits such an amazing cause check her out. Below is by far my favorite piece–see details here. The tree is the shape of Africa on its side. The piece reads “There is no me without you” and then on the back she will personalize it however you want…adoptive child’s name, date, country, whatever you would like. Awesome! Please check our her shop here.

God Is SO Good June 12, 2009

Wow.  What a day!  Just heard from our agency and low and behold they got word today that our court case was shown yesterday and WE PASSED!!! Our little guy is officially a Kelley.  I am just so blown away and just in total awe of our God.  So overwhelming.  The other amazing news, is that we might get to travel even earlier than our first travel dates.  We will get word about this next week.  One of my friends, Tracy, came by our house today, gave me a big hug and said “Congrats, Momma of 3!”  That will stick with me forever.  I really cannot explain what this child means to us.

So our agency advised still not to post pictures of him on my blog, so I will gladly abide, but I am tired of calling him baby boy, little guy, etc.  So what’s his name going to be?  Solomon “Sol” James Kelley.  Josh and I like for all of our kids name’s both first and middle to have an importance so Sol’s name was to be no different.  Solomon is actually an Ethiopian name meaning “wanted” “longed for” and “peaceful”.  We also choose a verse for each of our children.  Sol’s was so perfect…it was God’s response to Solomon when he asked for a discerning heart:

1 Kings 3:12 “I will do what you have asked.  I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.”

How perfect for our sweet little Sol.  As for James as his middle name…easy…what led us to adopt in the first place was this verse:

James 1:27 “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.”

James is also a family name on both sides of Josh’s family.  So there “he” is our little boy Sol Kelley.  I just cannot thank everyone enough for all the prayers and this has got to be one of the best blog posts I’ve had the priveledge of posting.  Thanks everyone and Ethiopia here we come!

So… June 12, 2009

we got word today that our court date did not take place along with some others.  Not sure why, but apparently it was not just cases specific to our agency.  We have been rescheduled for June 24th.  This may push back our travel dates, but nothing is for sure yet.  Are we a little bummed?  Of course!  But God is good and SO faithful.  We know that our little guy is meant to be ours, so we will pray and wait patiently.  I know it may only postpone us meeting him 2 or 3 weeks, maybe, but it’s just like not getting to be with Harper or Hud for another 2-3 weeks.  He is our son and if we could, we would hop a plane today to hold him in our arms and see his sweet little face in person.  Please pray with us that we pass court on June 24th and that this would not delay our travel plans.  We know full well that God is in control and we are just trusting and resting in Him.  Thanks everyone.