Friday, September 30, 2011

Crash and Burn

So when I decided to do a giveaway on this blog, I thought for sure that I would at least get a 4 or 5 entries, and hopefully a couple of new followers.  I mean seriously, who doesn't want free stuff.  And an itunes gift card is good for EVERYONE, not just my adoption friends.  I've pushed this and pushed this, but as the clock ticks down and I have to draw a winner tomorrow I'm starting to feel like a total failure.  Kudos to Nathan and Kit for entering!  They may win by default.....

Then God punched me in the face....

This whole thing has been about my own pride.....

I want more people to read my blog; more people to like me; more people to swoon over Layla; and more people to decide to donate money to V4V because of me.....

It's pathetic how I can so easily change something that has nothing to do with me into something that brings ME glory.  Even now, I catch myself pondering some new scheme to get people to follow my blog, etc. 

"I am a whore, I do confess.  I put you on just like a wedding dress and I run down the aisle.........."   Derrick Webb

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Giveaway!

Our first Giveaway is finally here!  Voices 4 The Voiceless needs your help to build an orphanage in the D.R. Congo.  So please help me spread the word!  The prize is none other than a $25 itunes gift card.  Woot Woot!
So here's the deal:
You get ONE entry PER item you complete.   
I will randomly choose a winner on Saturday, October 1, 2011. 

1. Become a follower of this blog (or let me know if you already follow us)
2. Become a follower of Voices 4 the Voiceless's Blog
3. Become a fan of Voices 4 the Voiceless on Facebook
4. Buy a V4V t-shirt! (you get 3 entries for doing this one!)

Remember: You NEED to leave me a comment telling me which items you've completed in order to be entered to win.

GOOD LUCK!

Monday, September 26, 2011

We have a Court Date!

It's true!  Our court date is set for December 5, 2011.  Layla will get to celebrate her adoption day right before Christmas every year.  She is currently punching me in the throat, so I'll leave you all with her first video clip. Enjoy!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Stop, Collaborate, and Listen....

Ice is back with a brand new addition....." 

Sorry I got carried away with that one.  I'm not completely sure why I started singing that song, but I do have some news about a couple of things.

1) We're postponing our trip to the Congo until Fall '12.  A couple of things fell through for the March trip, and honestly it just wasn't the right timing.  I'm dissapointed that we aren't going in March, because I CAN'T WAIT to get over there and love on some kids that are so desperate for attention.  BUT, logistically it is better for me to wait until next fall.  Layla will be a year old by then and I will be completely done with school (HOORAY!)  I've also felt a real burden to push fundraisers for the actual building of the orphanage and not so much for my own travel.  I know that pushing the trip back a bit so we can focus on giving those kids in Kinshasa a place to sleep at night is the right thing to do.  But don't worry,  my heart is definately still here:


2) My little booger turned 2 months old yesterday, and 9 weeks old today!  Her daddy took her to the doctor to get her first set of vaccinations.  :(  I'm not going to lie, I'm glad I wasn't there.  I'm going to take and actually hopefully post some new pictures of her tomorrow or Sunday.  I just got this AMAZING new photo editing software so maybe they will actually look good.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

God Is Moving

A fellow adoptive Momma and an amazing woman after God's own heart recently wrote a post that puts adoption and our Christianized country into perspective.  Check it out at Love Makes a Family "Seeing".  I promise you won't be dissapointed.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

The Seed and The Soil

Way back in the day, I was forced to read a book called The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.  My classmates all hated it.  I ADORED it.  A completely dysfunctional missionary family from a little town in Georgia moved to the Democratic Republic of Congo.  They had no idea what they were doing.  Some of them went crazy, literally, and others grew to love the country so much that they stayed there forever.  Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, I was completely heartbroken for this country and its people.  I've never been to the Congo.  I've never even met anyone from the Congo.  Yet somehow, years later, my desire to see this nation healed and all of its orphans loved has shaped a ton of my life without me even realizing it.  My heart for orphans is rooted in the Congo just as Ryan's is rooted in Nicaragua.  Layla is rooted in the Congo.  That obscure book was a tiny seed, and God has been working the soil in my heart for years, knowing that one day that seed would grow.

The seed is growing.

In March, I'm heading to the Congo.  And I'm going to help set the groundwork for rebuilding an orphanage that will house 70 of the some 15,000 street kids.

This is the orphanage now: structurally unsound and uninhabitable.


This is the new orphanage: Larger and properly built. 

For more info: Head on over to http://www.voices4thevoiceless.org/

Thursday, September 1, 2011

6 Weeks

Layla turns 6 weeks old Friday.  I think I may cry.  She also decided that she was now old enough to be able to roll over by herself.  She discovered her thumb this week and she tries to talk to us.  She holds her whole upper body up when she's on her stomach and has become quite a wiggle worm when we hold her. Apparently, she's dead set on growing up WAY too fast.  Anyways, here are a couple of quick pics I shot today when I got home from work.  Hopefully, I'll get some better ones outside this weekend.