Fundraisers and Wrappin up the Homestudy!

We have had two great fundraisers this month! Our Chick Fil A Spirit Night went great and we were so thankful for all the support! We made about 750 dollars! Our next fundraiser was a yard sale. We started this past Monday sorting, organizing, collecting, etc. I honestly did not know how we were going to get it all together. But with the help of some WONDERFUL and AMAZING friends, we got it done! And a HUGE thanks to The Orchard Church for putting up with us all week ( and all our kids!!!) and allowing us to have the sale there. The sale lasted two days and we made about 2900 dollars!!! Praise God!!!

Our homestudy is wrapping up. Our social worker sent me the rough draft to read through and there are just a few other little details to be done and then the homestudy should be final! Hallelujah! After that, we will do our I600A application ( I think I spelled that right! ha!). So we’re still moving along!

I went to a conference in Georgia last weekend (Created for Care) with some other women who are adopting or have a heart for adoption. It was so much fun. We stayed up way too late talking but we had a great time! I met lots of nice people and other people who are adopting from Korea. That was extremely helpful! I also met some women with different ministries which I was super excited about.

Mady asked me tonight when we were getting our baby. I told her we were still waiting but in the mean time we would pray for our little baby wherever they are. As Mady prayed tonight, she asked God to take care of our baby. She also told God that she would be the sister and that Mommy and Daddy would be the Mommy and Daddy. Sweet girl. Makes my heart smile.

Final Home study Visit and Fundraisers

We had our final home study visit Wednesday afternoon. All went well and our social worker said it would probably take a few weeks for her to write it up. She will then send it to Holt, our adoption agency. So we are excited to almost have this part of the journey behind us! One step closer to bringing our baby home!

Tomorrow night we are having our Spirit Night fundraiser with The Meurrier’s at Chick Fil A from 5-9 PM (dine in only). So if you’re in Oxford and you don’t want to have to cook supper tomorrow night, come see us! We will also have some Ugandan beaded necklaces for sale and we will be taking orders for 147 Million Orphans tshirts if you’re interested.

Our next big fundraiser is in two weeks! Our big yard sale is March 30th and 31st. We are currently taking any items people are willing to donate for the sale and are spreading the word to come and shop the sale!!! ALL proceeds from this yard sale will go toward our adoption costs. God has provided thus far and I know He will continue to provide. It’s amazing how we have had just what we've needed when we needed it. To God be the glory.

Details about the Yard Sale: The Orchard Church, 1606 Molly Barr Road
Friday, March 30th 3-7 PM (Preview Sale) $5 admission to shop early at preview sale
Saturday, March 31st 7-12 PM
Item Drop Off: (Week of Sale) Monday –Thursday 8AM-12PM, Thursday 5-8 PM
I’m also wanting to do a raffle of some type at the yard sale. So if you have anything you would like to donate for a raffle or have any ideas, let me know!

On another note, we spent some GREAT time in the country during Spring Break with Joey’s family. We really miss the country and it was so great to be there plus we had a great time visiting Joey’s family. Joe even started saying a few words!!! Mimi, Mal (for Pal- that’s what they call Joey’s dad), DoeDoe (for Joe Joe- that’s what we call him all the time!), Mer Mer (his cousin Meredith- we call her MerMer). I’m so excited that his little vocabulary is growing! Makes this Speech Therapist proud!

Finally, please pray for myself and a group of women for this weekend- We will be traveling out of town to Created for Care. It’s an adoption retreat/conference. I’m very much looking forward to meeting other adoption moms. There are also going to be some great ministries there that I’m excited to learn more about.

^“6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

I really needed to hear this verse today in church. To be reminded that God does not want us to worry, but rather present our requests to Him and let go. To have peace knowing He is control, not me.

Movin up in Blog World, Adoption Update, I WON!

So, after much dillydallying around my blog, I figured out how to make tabs at the top of my blog. I know, you're probably thinking... that's not that difficult. But for this inexperienced blogger, it was. I'm so proud of myself each time I figure out how to do something new on here! Keep checking back as I might even get wild and figure out how to change my background!
Ok, so anyway...... :)   Someone asked me today how they can keep up with our fundraisers, our adoption, etc. so.... I have made some tabs at the top. So, if you want to know what were up to in fundraising land or in our adoption process, just click on the tabs to keep you updated!
Speaking of adoption process, we had our third home study this past Tuesday and we have our FINAL homestudy visit this Wednesday. Hard to believe! It's gone by so fast and we are so thankful for our sweet social worker. She is so kind and so patient with us as our two kiddos are usually WILD when she comes!
Plesae continue to pray for us on this journey!
Last, but certainly not least.... I WON!!! I actually WON something today. I NEVER WIN ANYTHING!!!! But today I did! I entered Lara's giveaway on her blog and I won! Go check out her blog at http://thefarmerswifeonamission.bigcartel.com/ and shop around. She is trying to raise money for her mission trip!

Mady’s 4th Birthday

Friday, March 2nd was Mady’s birthday and she turned the big 4!! Mady and I made this cake for our family to eat Friday night.

On Friday night, we took Mady to pick out an outfit for her birthday party and then headed to eat. We had all intentions of going INTO a restaurant, but with two tired and hungry kids…. we opted for Sonic for the kids and Oby’s take out for us! We stopped and got a movie too. The next day was Mady’s birthday party at Chick Fil A.

Morning of the Party!
Mady had a great time at her party. She loved playing with her friends but wasn’t a huge fan of the “Moo Cow”.
    
Mady’s cake was super cute! I usually make the kids' cakes with my mom, but we have been so busy lately so Emileigh’s Bakery did it this year. Mady’s only request was a Princess Cake. She, of course, had to have red hair!

She had a great day. Thankful to God for 4 precious years with her! Happy Birthday Mady Moo!!

Cheesecakes! Cheesecakes!

I have mentioned it before: Our family and the Meurrier family (adopting from Ethiopia) are having a Spirit Night at Chick Fil A March 19th (Monday) from 5-9 pm. Some of the proceeds from dine in sales will benefit our adoptions.

We have to sell cheesecakes for the Spirit Night so if you would like one, let me know! They are New York style (Chick Fil A) cheesecakes. If you order one, you can pick it up on Spirit Night. They are $20 each. They will be frozen, so with Easter coming up, they might be a great dessert idea!

If you would like to order one, you can email me at jillcarpenter@hotmail.com

Thanks! Have a great rest of the weekend! –Jill

Homestudy #2, Family , Revival

Well, homestudy visit number 2 is complete! It went well (I think!). Our social worker interviewed us together and then separately. We only have two left and I hope the next one will be next week. I’m ready to get it done and get on to the next step!

I remember reading somewhere to remember that adoption is not about us. Its not about making me feel good or feel like I’m doing something special. It’s about giving a little baby a home which is my heart’s desire and sharing the gospel with him/her. It’s all about HIS glory. So often, I get lost in my own selfishness. This revival is revealing a lot of areas in my life I need to work on. Selfishness is at the top. (There are other areas too that’s for sure! But Praise God for forgiveness and repentance!)

I pray this revival will change our lives forever. I want to be a servant of God in ALL I do. I want to put on the mind of Christ in ALL I do. I want to give Him ALL the glory in the good and the bad. I loved this saying tonight- It went something like this…. When disappointment comes, praise God. So simple but oh so difficult. If I would praise God in everything, giving thanks in everything…. what a better woman of God I would be! How much more joyful I would be. Heck, what a better wife I would be! I’ll work on that just for Joey!

Revival is winding down and although my entire family is Wo’ Out, I will be sad to see it come to an end!

So, tomorrow is the big day! Mady turns 4! So hard to believe. I’m not sure where these past 4 years have gone, but I am OH SO thankful for my little fireball.  Mady, you are my sweet little girl. Your daddy and I love you so very much. I pray for you each day. I love watching you grow and learn. We love you very much Mady Moo! Happy Birthday! Here are a few pictures of our Mady when she was 2…..

   

Now when 3 years old……..

 

Oh she has changed so much! I’m sure we will have a birthday party post soon so we will have some 4 year old pictures!

I came across these next few pictures while searching for some old pics of Mady. Can anybody guess when these were?

Wow! Hard to believe this was almost 2 years ago. Joey and Mady in his hospital bed at our house after his surgery.

While Joey slept in his hospital bed, I refused to sleep in a different room. I wanted to be right there beside him! So, I slept on the couch for a little while. Mady of course wanted to join in on the fun. This was us reading our books while getting ready to sleep on the couch!

These pictures are THE WEEKEND BEFORE Joey got sick. We went to a festival in Cleveland on Saturday and then church on Sunday. That very Wednesday, Joey got sick.

I LOVE MY HUSBAND!

You can tell in this picture how much weight he lost in just one week. Still hard to believe. But Praise God from whom all blessings flow. His name was glorified through all of it.

Okay, I’m finished for tonight. It’s 11 pm and I’m worn slap out! Night!

-Jill