One link at a time...

We have been in the process of our adoption since December 2010 - a long time!  We never anticipated that it would be the spring of 2013 and we wouldn't have someone new pitter pattering around the house yet.  Well, we did get a new dog last summer, but you know what I mean!  But we all know that God's plans are more often than not quite a bit different than ours.

Throughout this time, we have tossed around the idea of fundraising for our adoption.  We have learned that in order to adopt a baby you really need to have a large wad of $1000 bills hidden out under the ceramic gnome in your flowerbed.  If you don't, it's time to start living on noodles and toast or figure out a way to raise money.  We feel like God has specifically asked us to do this and because of that, the money problem is ours - not everyone else's.  But I have had several wiser-than-me friends point out that when people come alongside us and contribute to our adventure, they are able to be a part in something bigger than themselves, something that will hopefully make the world for one person a little brighter and something that will most definitely bring glory to God.  And I pray they will be blessed for their giving. 

So, we are starting out with the inspiration for the title of this slow-to-post blog -- Linked by Love.  My daughter Ella and I are making tshirt scarves from upcycled shirts we purchase at thrift stores or have donated to us.  The scarves are made from "links" of shirts.  And although this new child will not be ours by blood, it will be linked beautifully to us by love.  Love will be the connection that makes us a family, that makes us Momma and Daddy to one more little heart, that gives Will the chance to be the big brother and Ella the dream of a having a little sister. Love will be the way we are linked together forever.

So, scarves for sale!  Pick 2, 3 or 4 colors.  They are lightweight and super soft, perfect for spring, for Mother's Day, for a friend's birthday, or for helping one family bring a little girl home forever.  Feel free to share our link and pass along our efforts to move toward our baby - one link at a time.

And so it begins...

Wow - so here I am in the Land of Blogs.  It is definitely somewhere I really didn't think I would ever be.  But something bigger than my disdain for most of this social networking stuff has led me here...a child.

And ironically, it is a child I don't even know yet.  I have no idea how old they are or what they look like or if they have even been born.  I don't really know if it will be a boy or a girl, if it will like to eat bananas, if it will like to play in the dirt, if it will go to sleep peacefully or fight it every step of the way.  What I do know is that they are meant to be part of our family and come live in our life and in our hearts.  This child will need us, but we will need them, too.  This child will be an amazing testimony to the faithfulness of our God and an example of how His will is perfect - in His own time.  This child will be a reminder that God never leaves us or forsakes us or forgets about His promises to us.  I don't know where they will come from - maybe Ethiopia, maybe Knoxville.  But they will come home with us to stay and they will make our family of four into a family of five.  They will keep us up at night and usher us once again into the land of diapers and sippy cups and naptimes.

We are adopting.  We are adopting!  We are adopting...