Adoption Celebration

Can I just say it one more time? Adoption rocks and we know first hand because we finally got to finalize on our sweet guy. I don't know how many times I can say that before it gets old. I don't think it ever will. We were so excited to celebrate our Little Man.

Through the couple years leading up to it, we had so much support. Beyond our greatest expectation, friends and family stepped up to support us from day one. We were blessed with clothing and formula and basic essentials when he came to us. You never know how to prepare for a foster child until they arrive. There is no way to know what to expect, so once we had him, people rose up and brought supplies.

Since his birth parents were out of the picture in the beginning, when they finally came forward, we were shook pretty hard. Reunification is always the goal in foster care but when it appears to be an adoption, your world is rocked when it looks like it may not be. People came to us and prayed over us...for whatever may happen, that Nixon would be protected.

When things kept stalling, when the process took too long, our support system lifted us up. Assured us that he was ours and that these were just technicalities. They pushed us through when we felt like we were stuck.

Then came the autism diagnosis. We went from a simple, time consuming adoption (with a child who was just a little challenging) to being in the middle of a special needs adoption. Once again, we were met where we were at. We were given advice and resources and safe places to play and be real without worry or judgement.

We did NOT go through this journey alone. We went through it with friends. With many of you. So it felt silly to celebrate alone. We knew it had to be done with the people who went through it with us.

Once again, our people showed up...and kept showing up. The amount of people who came to celebrate our family being official was insane. Even the ones who couldn't make it flooded our phones with calls and texts. The same people who cried during our heartaches, shared our tears of joy.

I cannot begin to put into words how blessed we are by it all. You guys, the ones who keep showing up. The ones who keep pouring into our life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

Wordless Wednesday...kinda

I'm linking up with Angry Julie for Wordless Wednesday but I am unable to be completely wordless with this picture. I will keep it short though :)

 

 These past few months have been so different. Rhiannon and Talon are so close in age. I knew that they would be best friends...or worse enemies. Their age just sets them up for it. Even being so close in age, the younger you are, the larger the gap seems.

When Talon was born, Rhi was 22 months and the difference seemed like an eternity. Rhiannon was my big girl, an almost 2 year old toddler, while Talon was a newborn, obviously. Gradually, the gap has appeared to shrink. They are both toddlers. The 22 months that once kept them 3 stages apart (infant, baby, toddler), now has them in the same category. Two toddlers.  I have two toddlers.

The gap that was between them was bound to send them one of two ways, as  I mentioned, Best Friends or Worse Enemies. The truth would be revealed eventually and I knew it. I prayed for this moment. God listened. Rhiannon tells me daily "Talon my BEST fwend". Talon wakes up and no longer calls for mommy but "Nanny" instead. Their friendship is what I prayed for and it melts my heart.

 

WIWW- More than just an outfit post

In our day to day lives, we (women) wear two different types of... items, for lack of a better word.

::Top and vest- Old Navy.  Jean-Target.  Boots-Ross  Headband- Local boutique with Whippy Cake Clip::

There is our clothing. We wear it for practical reasons. You know, like staying warm and being modest. It is also worn to make us feel good about ourselves. We keep up with the latest fashions. We wear accessories to help out the cute factor. We wear our clothing as an expression of ourselves and our likes.

Then there's the second type of "item". The items that mean so much more. They serve a symbolic purpose.
It's our wedding band representing a commitment between ourself and our spouse. It is the heirloom piece handed down from one generation to the next. We hold these pieces near and dear to our hearts. They stand the test of the trendy times. We cling to them for a life time.

Today I received one of those items from a close friend.

If you know my story or have read my blog recently, you know of the loss of not one but two babies that we never got the chance to hold.

I have struggled so much lately to simply get by. My heart aches for the babies I am missing. My friend Tess was able to capture it all in one gift. To help this hurting mommy on a path of healing. All with this necklace.

::Necklace- Amy Cornwell::

A bar with mine and Stevens initials and our wedding date. Where it all began.
The heart charm. One heart for each one of our children. The two who are here with us and the two who are not.
And then two angel wings.

For the first time there is a visual of our family. Complete. Not just what meets the eye but what truly is.

Beyond that, this necklace represents the support and love of our friends. The prayers that they have poured out on us. The love they have for, not only us, but for our family. Our COMPLETE family. The extent of this gift cannot be expressed. The appreciation for this gift cannot be expressed. The joy that came from this gift cannot be expressed.

Because of what I'm wearing today, I feel a little more whole than I did yesterday.

Blog Sugar

Where do I even begin sharing about Blog sugar? There is so much to say about it and yet I cannot find the words. Can I just start by saying that God met us there? I know that sounds chessy but it is 100% true.

Blog Sugar is a faith based blogging conference where about 150 bloggers came together to learn, to mingle and be inspired. The mastermind behind Blog Sugar is Rachel over at No. 17, she made it very clear in this post that this was not her event but belonged to God. This proved to be true as we listened to some of the speakers and watched a video about an organization that I plan to share with you all soon. Rachel, along with the other organzizers Andrea and Jen, did an amazing job of planning and following the plan for this event. It was beautiful and fun and inspiring and so much more.

What I took away personally from Blog Sugar?

• Even when I am discouraged over numbers or sales, you all chose to follow me. You choose to listen to me. You have so many options of what blogs to follow and you chose me. For that I am so thankful to you and so inspired to blog more often and more intentionally.
• I am not one dimensional so why should my blog be? You should be seeing all aspects of my life not just the pretty stuff I create.
• It is okay to let somethings slide. Laundry, cough. If I want to run a business and have a happy family, I need to realize that I cannot do it all.
• I need to make sure that I am honoring God in my business, my blog, how I handle customers and even how I deal with competition.

A few of my favorite quotes of the night?

• Look at your goals and what works best for your family and do it all for that. -Maggie at GussySews
• It's not always easy, it's not always fun but it's ALWAYS worth it.- Julie at Joy's Hope
• It doesn't matter the why, it's happening! -Jeanett at LifeReArranged

I left Blog Sugar feeling inspired and lifted up. I feel like this blog has a purpose. It is not my blog but HIS. I will still post about my day to day life. What it is to be a mommy. About what I wore. I will still share the little things. As Julie pointed out, sometimes that is what will light up someones day. BUT I will also be posting about what it means to be a follower of Christ and where my walk has/is taking me.

Now that I have shared all about what I learned I can't figure out where to place the pictures from the night. So let's just add them here.

On top of all that I learned, I got to come together with friends from all over. Some friends I had already met in real life and hang out with regularly. Others I was meeting (in person) for the first time. Regardless, there is something about blog and twitter friends that I cannot explain to people who aren't a part of it. Our friendships are real. Many of them I hold more dearly than some of the friends I see everyday. I love this world I am a part of!

 {April, me and Monick}

 {Me, Monick, Alissa, Kimmie and Lindsey}

 {Nicole, Me, Maggie and Monick}

 {Nicole and I being real with ya!}

 {Me and Ruthanne}

 {Me, Nicole, Julie, Heather, Erin and Alissa}

{The girls from my Blog Sugar Table- Top: Me, Lindsay, Casey, Monick, April Bottom- Nicole and Ashley}

Seriously an amazing group of woman and an amazing event. I linked everyone to their blogs because you are going to want to follow them!

New Friends and a Giveaway

Have I mentioned to you all that I am an introvert? Because, oh boy, I am an Introvert. I like break out in hives thinking about meeting or talking to new people. I hate that about myself but it's one of those things you just have to deal with and move on.

Have you noticed that the blog and handmade world is more of a community than anything. That people come together and make great friendships before even meeting? This works out great for me. I get to stay in my comfort zone. By the way comfort zones suck. They keep us in little shells and don't allow us to grow.

Luckily for me there are bloggers like Kimmie at Sugar and Dots who decide to invite friends from twitter into her home. Ripped me right out of my comfort zone and forced me to meet new people in real life.Now when Kimmie invited me to her craft night, I knew that I would have fun but that I would just be a little uncomfortable. I was only half right. I was not uncomfortable at all. I felt like I had known all of the girls for years as we chatted over cupcakes.


We did eventually get around to crafting. It took us a while to migrate because we were having way to much fun. But Kimmie taught us to make some adorable frayed blooms.



When a few of the girls realized what time it was we said our goodbyes and Kimmie sent us home with these goodies.

Which brings me to this...Have you heard of LemiShine? No, neither had I. But let me just tell you, the stuff is amazing and I am hooked. Our generous hostess even gave us a little extra to giveaway so I'm offering you the chance to win a little bundle of LemiShine. You will be entering to win a reusable LemiShine bag and a couple of LemiShine samples. To top it off, I am going to include a coupon for 25% off in my shop.

To enter go over and "like" LemiShine on Facebook, follow them on twitter and/or follow any of my new friends from my crafty night. Come back here and comment for each thing you do.

Here's a list of the girls and links to their blogs.
Kimmie @ Sugar and Dots
Nicole @ Olive Blue
Andrea @ Four Flights Of Fancy
Jennifer @ Crazy is my Superpower
Alissa @ Rags to Stitches
Kara @ Eli's Lids
Mandy @ Life in the Fashion Lane

Giveaway will close on Monday at 9am