Happy Birthday, Baby JOY!

These were in our inbox this morning! Oh Joy!

Kasidi celebrated her 1st birthday twice! Once with her foster family and again at the orphanage with the cake we ordered.

I would love to show you the smiles on the faces of her FF, but I feel a need to protect their privacy so I reluctantly cropped these pictures. Our Joy is being loved!

That's the way to do cake!
And again at the orphanage, surrounded by her friends.
What, you want me to take a bite...
...when I'd rather stick my face in it?!?
Know what I notice? All the adorable little ones surrounding my daughter. There must be something we can do!

Hairbows, Squeaky Shoes, Tees ~ It's Christmas!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! After the break I realize it's time to do some Christmas shopping.

If you'd like to make a 'purchase with a purpose' I have a few teeny weeny ideas :) God has truly blessed our fundraising efforts, and we thank you for your generosity!

If you're a local friend and would like to order a poinsettia, please let me know before this Friday. Feel free to email me.

At the bottom of this post are the links to our Wild Olive Fundraiser and Squeaky Shoe Fundraiser.

And we have a full lineup of K&Kompany Kandles. Just use the Paypal on the sidebar.

And here's something else, just in time for the holidays! My friend Tina made these adorable critters for us, and the other bows are a product of my creativity - select and purchase - lol!

You can order by using the Paypal button on the sidebar or sending me an email.

Thank you for blessing us!

Bow prices include shipping!

All bows in this category are $4 each.

Brown & Pink Corker

Red & Black Butterfly

Red & Black Ladybug

Black & White Corker SOLD OUT

Pink & Blue Butterfly

Brown & Green Butterfly

Yellow & Black Bumblebee

Grey & White Butterfly (pic doesn't do justice - it's beautiful)

Lavender & White Butterfly

Pink & White Corker

All bows in this category are $3 each.

Large Red

Large Pink & Brown Zebra

Large Pink

Large Navy

Large Deep Purple

Large Black

All bows in this category are $2 each.

Small White

Small Pink & Brown Zebra

Small Pink

Small Navy

Small Lavender

Small Cream

Shoe Sale! All shoe posts are linked in THIS post.

Wild Olive Tee Fundraiser is found HERE!

You're Beautiful!

One of the toughest things to convey to our kiddos adopted at an older age is their worth in God's eyes. It's a near impossible perspective to them.

So, to all our children, here are the words I'd like you to hear.

And to all my mama friends who have days like I do...it's for you (and me) too! Love you!

Beautiful ~ Mercy Me

Days will come when you don't have the strength
And all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart
They'd see too much

You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You're beautiful

Praying that you have the heart to fight
Cuz you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you've held inside so long
But they are nothing in the shadow of the cross

You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You're beautiful

Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above
You're the one He madly loves
Enough to die!

You're beautiful, You're beautiful
In His eyes

You're beautiful!
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful!
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You're beautiful!
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful!
You are treasured
You are sacred
You are His

Thanksgiving!

I hope you had a beautiful Thanksgiving! We were blessed to have lots

of family and friends around our table(s). The only down side to hosting ~ no pictures.

Well, I have 2 pictures. That's it.

One of a bunch of little kids rubbing their big brother's head - cuz it feels 'soth.' No-Shave November ends soon :)

And then there's this picture!!! Evidence that another Treasure will be around our table next Thanksgiving. Our CIS approval arrived! Next step ~ DTC!

I haven't mentioned that Kasidi Joy's first birthday was Monday. I was hoping for pictures with her birthday cake...but none so far. For certain, it's the last birthday she will spend without her family.

So much to be thankful for!

Another Wild Olive Tee for our Fundraiser!

Oh my, it's a super deal! Wild Olive has added a third tee to the adoption fundraiser, and it's gorgeous!!!!

PLUS, they are offering free shipping for orders over $50!

You will get some beeeeeuuteeeeful tees and help bring Kasidi Joy home!

Please use our Family Code: JOHNSON1119 in the 'enter coupon' phase at checkout.

And for free shipping over $50, also use the code BLACK2010

The event starts now and ends midnight Saturday!

Shoe Sale!!!!

It's a sale!

A SHOE Sale (who doesn't love that:)

If you haven't seen our wide selection of "Joy"ful Squeaky Shoes, they are pictured in 3 posts. I've given the quantity and sizes available, as well as the length of the shoes from heel to toe.

Shoes Post #1!

Shoes Post #2!

Shoes Post #3!

But here's the cool part ~ we are reducing the price!

1 pair ~ $20

2 pair ~ $35
3 pair ~ $50

Please email me with questions or your order.

Gotta move these shoes in time for some exciting news...

We Interrupt This Life...

...to bring you basketball season! Jr. High and High School hoops is under way, and I wonder if we'll survive :)

In February we'll come up for air.

Since many have asked about the wallets, here's a preview. They are $5 + shipping, which we'll figure out this week.

As for the squeaky shoes, I'm working on a SPECIAL! Do you love a sale like I do? Stay tuned!

Thank you to those who have supported us through our Wild Olive Tee fundraiser! It runs till December 17. Check the sidebar for details!

Wild Olive + You = Joy!

Have I mentioned how much I love these tees?!?

We are blessed to partner with Wild Olive Tees in our next fundraising venture!

It's a win/win situation. You get awesome tees, and we raise dollars to bring our Joy home.

We are praying to sell over 100 tees in the next 4 weeks. The fundraiser starts tomorrow, November 19, and runs through December 17.

I LOVE THESE TEES! And you will too!

This button will take you directly to the Wild Olive Tee Fundraising page. There are currently 2 tees to choose from ~Love Others and Hope, both are beautiful and both will help us bring Kasidi home!
When you make your purchase, during the checkout phase, please use our family code JOHNSON1119 in order for WOT to track the funds to our family fundraiser. This code does not give a discount on the purchase; it merely ties the purchase to our fundraiser. You may also mention the code or our family name in the 'comments' section when you check out as well.

Family Code ~ JOHNSON1119

So God!

I have to share this with you!

Throughout the last few days of our fundraiser I've received lots of texts and emails from folks telling me what they would do if they won the gift card.

And I gotta tell ya, we praise the Lord for bringing the funds because we didn't have the $500 for the card when we decided to hold the giveaway six days ago (and the card wasn't donated!), but we just KNEW He would take care of it!

Anyway...this morning I received a text from a gal telling me she was praying to win the card...so their family could give it to another family who has faced a medical crisis and is unemployed, leaving them little hope of giving their children a nice Christmas. As with each drawing, I prayed throughout the day that God would guide us to His chosen recipient.

And He did...and there will be an unsuspecting family receiving a $500 WM gift card from a generous winner!

CONGRATULATIONS to...

Thank you for your patience, your prayers, your posting and your contributions! We are so humbled by your generosity!

Our third giveaway/drawing raised $780, netting $280 toward our journey to bring Kasidi Joy home.

We give God all the praise in that He has provided every single dollar we needed to this point! Our fees are paid through Dossier To China!

You're all WINNERS!

Congratulations, LINDA!!!

$500 Gift Card Drawing TODAY!

The $500 WM gift card entries will last until 3:30 CST today!

I can't wait to draw!!!

Drawing for $500 Gift Card Tomorrow!

THANK YOU to all who have participated in our fundraiser/drawing for the $500 Wal-Mart gift card! There's still time to get in!

Here's the original post with the scoop.

The cool part is, the winner will get it before Black Friday!!!

Can You Spare $5?!?

I have to share this with you! I don't personally know this family, but I DO KNOW THEIR DESIRE AND DETERMINATION! They are in a race against time to bring their son home from China before he ages out in January.
I don't know all the details, but it's my understanding their social worker decided they could not move forward, leaving this child no time for another family to complete the process...but just as frustrating, tying the hands of the family who stepped out in obedience.
I understand all too well. The same thing happened to us last year as we were racing to get Kooper home before he aged out in January! Our placing agency approved us for two; CCAA approved us for 2; CIS approved us for 2...but when we got to the point of needing a home study addendum, merely approving us for a 2 year old AND a 13 year old (instead of two toddlers) our home study agency, after making us jump through all kinds of hoops, flat refused (oh, but they did offer to advocate for this boy - how nice!). We were left scrambling for a new home study agency, and it was the BEST thing that could have happened! Now we have an amazing social worker with an amazing home study agency where the 'agency policies' are not given priority over the life of a child.
All that to say....this family has found a new social worker and are in need of funds! They are working hard to raise the necessary funds to get their son home before he turns 14, at which time he has no chance of a family. CAN YOU SPARE $5????MORE???We're Taking Baby Steps

The Gloves - Bad News/Good News

The Bad News ~ driving two hours with nasty lotion and white gloves DID NOT make for good prints.

The Good News ~ we know both sets are no good, our police clearance will land at NBC today, which will clear up the matter, AND we have an adjudicator! Our 800A application arrived at the lock box 5 (yes f.i.v.e.) weeks ago, and we now have an officer to review our application. Further good news is that once our home study and application are approved, we will receive the last itty bitty piece of paper to make our dossier complete.

Why, you ask, are my prints no good or 'unclassifiable'? Glad you asked :) The jury is still out on that one. Some people just have shallow prints. Because I'm a court reporter and have handled two forests worth of paper for the last 21 years, some speculate that's the problem. Others say it's an age thing - but I'm not buying that one! I had no problem with prints in our first two processes, then things changed, except for one good set I eeked out in 2009! I'm guessing it's doing too many dishes.

While we're talking about good news, remember our $500 Gift Card Drawing is in two days!!!!

A Giveaway for a Cause!

My friend Sharon has started a blog to advocate for children needing families! She has an amazing heart! Today she is drawing for Mary Beth Chapman's book Choosing to See. Check out her blog to see how to enter and how you may be able to make a difference!

One Quick Call...

...should tell us whether driving to CIS with my fingertips coated with Eucerin and covered with lovely white gloves like this last Friday paid off! Kenzie says I'm a dork - I figure it's a requirement of parenting!

Things Coming Up...

Very early this morning I drive 2 hours back to C*S to be re-printed (yeah, the Corn Huskers didn't work this time, but it's all good!). We are still ahead of the game and hoping to make the 90-day DTC deadline.

But that's not what I wanted to tell you about. I've got some things lined up.

Yesterday I got a new shipment of squeaky shoes! And next week I'll have another shipment!

Sooooo, I was thinking after the Gift Card giveaway and after we announce our Wild Olive fundraiser, I would run a shipping special on Kandles! Those things are so blasted expensive to ship, and I hate that! But I've figured out a plan on a large flat-rate box...

I just need more than a week to make more Kandles, photograph shoes, announce Wild Olive and prepare for our bazaar next Saturday! By then my paperwork is D.O.N.E. and I will be able to formulate my thoughts (well, maybe).

Gift Card Fundraiser/Giveaway!

We are super excited to announce our fundraiser/giveaway to help bring Kasidi Joy home ~ a $500 Wal-Mart gift card! It will run between now and next Thursday, November 18!

Here's the scoop~

Use the Chip-In on the sidebar

$25 contribution gets you one opportunity

$50 contribution gets you three opportunities

1 blog or FB post gets you one entry each (*leave a comment or email me if you did this*)

Thank you for blessing us!

It ends November 18 so I can get it to you before Black Friday shopping!!!

New Fundraiser/Giveaway!

I'm super-duper excited about this one...and I think you will be too! I'm thinking I will post details tonight :)

Check it out!

Oh, that Miss Stefanie has done it again ~ she's got an awesome giveaway going on called 30 Days of Giveaways. Check it out here!

fingerprinting!

On our way to CIS for an early walk-in fingerprint appointment! God is so good! Now praying the Corn Huskers Lotion has done its thing :)

25 Hours In A Day...

...did not put me ahead of the game, despite my hope :) But we surely did squeeze every minute out of it!

Sunday, we were invited to Mark and Anita's church to share our adoption testimony. And it was a doubly blessed day because Bryan and Jodi drove up from Texas too! These two families are also in the process of adopting again, and are a huge blessing to us!

Too bad we didn't have any fun ;-)

Gals, I'm still thinking about our Easy button ~ How about the 'shouldn't-be-bloggin'-don't-wanna-do-laundry-can't-think-of-a-menu-leave-me-alone-I'm-adopting' button 'NOT NOW'!
Adorable kids!
On Saturday we celebrated Kolton's 15th birthday! His buddies fit right into the family!
Hope it's worth it!

Happy birthday, Kolton Tee!