Beauty Will Rise

What a Beautiful Piece of Paper!

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:02:00 +0000

Look what we got in the mail today...a month after the fact, but hey, it's finally here nonetheless!!

Now we just need our daughter...

Jigsaw Puzzle Fundraiser!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:56:00 +0000

A sweet friend of ours recently gave us the idea of doing a jigsaw puzzle fundraiser. We've looked around online a bit and finally decided on a puzzle. Since we are doing our baby girl's nursery in ladybugs, we thought a ladybug puzzle would be appropriate:

Isn't it adorable?! Here are the details for the fundraiser:

There are 200 pieces to this jigsaw puzzle. You may sponsor a puzzle piece for $5.00. When you sponser a puzzle piece we will write your name on the back of the puzzle piece and add it to the puzzle. If you would like to sponsor multiple pieces, you may do that as well- you have the option of sponsoring for $5.00 per piece, or just make a flat donation of whatever God has laid on your heart.
When the puzzle is completed we will be having it framed in such a way that we will be able to view it both front and back. The puzzle will be hung in our daughter's room; so that when she is old enough to understand, she will always be able to see for herself all the people who loved her enough to help her get here!

Two ways to sponsor-

you may sponsor on our blog where you see the PayPal donate button
you may email us via Facebook or our personal email and request our address if mailing a check is more convenient for you.

Please note- if all goes well, this will be our FINAL online fundraiser. So if you have been wanting to help bring our daughter home now is the time to do so. We will still offer tshirts, coffee, and necklaces for a short time, but we will need to be wrapping those up as well.
If you have any questions, please ask!!

Thank you and God bless you!

Love,

Kris, and Jacob

Reflection

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 07:24:00 +0000

To my sweet angel in Heaven,

Happy Birthday, son! You would be three years old this year! I am not sure how old you are in Heaven- all I know is that there is no time there and it is never dark. How you must be enjoying that beautiful place! We are so happy for you; yet we still miss you very much.

We will have a small party for you again later today. Grandma and Grandpa will be coming up to help us spend the day remembering you. I can't help but wish you were here to eat your cupcake and blow out your three candles. I wish you were here to chase after your balloons instead of having to catch them in the sky. As much as we all wish you could be here, we know that you would never choose to come back. For you are in a place where there is no pain, no sickness, no crying, and no Trisomy disorders. You are safe and never have to fear about anything. And most importantly, you are loved beyond measure. And because of that, I realize that as your earthly mother I have to be at peace with that. For whatever reason, it is God's plan that you live there and we live here for now.

So until the day comes where we all join you in Heaven, we will rest here- knowing that you are being well taken care of. You are never forgotten. Your brother remembers you, and he wears his big brother shirt often because he is proud to be your brother. You will always be loved, and honored, and remembered.

Over 40 people are going to be doing something kind for someone else in your honor today. I know that you would be so happy about that. You have touched so many lives. You have helped us all become better people; and in spite of the pain we have suffered in losing you, we will not let it ruin us. Instead, we will take our pain and turn it into good things because we know that this is what you would have wanted.

Thank you for showing us what true love really is. I miss you, sweet boy. Until we meet again...

Love,

Your mama

Let's play Catch-up!

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:19:00 +0000

Once again I haven't been very good at posting. There never seems to be enough time in the day to get done everything I want to get done! I'm sure none of YOU ever feel like that though! ha!

There have been a few thing going on at our house- the first thing is we are finally in the matchbook!! What's a matchbook? It's a book or adoptive families that birthparents are shown at the adoption agency. Each family is required to write out some text, (kind of like a letter) and upload several photos of themselves. Our brother in law is a graphic design person so we had him do ours for us- it turned out really nice. (we had to stifle the urge to write the words "Pick Us" all through it!)

All that's left now is to finish up our fundraising, wait for the official certification from the judge, and wait for the official phone call. You know, THE phone call. The call that lets you know that you have been picked by a birthmother to possibly parent her child. I have seriously thought that I should tell my friends to stop calling me because everytime the phone rings my heart jumps out of my chest!!

It's a good thing that Jake started school this week and I have started my new job- it is helping to keep my mind busy. We have a great group of staff and students this year- I am very thankful for that.

I had planned to write more but I am pretty worn out so I think I will just go to bed. We hope to be able to announce a brand new fundraiser soon- we are so excited about it! It has to do with jigsaw puzzles...;)

Thank you for your prayers and support...it has been an incredible journey so far. Crossing our fingers and toes that this journey comes to a close very soon!!

The Winner of our Coffee/Tshirt Giveaway is...

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:02:00 +0000

#9....JULIE DIXON!!
Congratulations, Julie!

Winner has 48 hours to email me at jakesmom04@hotmail.com to accept her prize.
Please choose either Coffee or Tshirt...I will email you back for the details!

**Winner was selected using http://www.random.org/

The Power of Giving

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:29:00 +0000

We have had quite the amazing weekend here. Not only have we sold a good amount of adoption bracelets, but we also had a friend of ours organize a benefit yardsale. We met Melani a little over a year ago when she lost her little boy. She received one of the baskets we make for Granting Hope and was able to contact us through that. This past March she lost another little boy, and again, she received another of our baskets. Since we have known Melani, she has donated to Granting Hope, purchased supplies, baked cookies for last year's yardsale at our house, and now put together a two day yardsale herself in our honor. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how much work a yardsale is- especially when you have kids. Melani is the most selfless person I know- in fact, (and I hope she won't mind me sharing this) last night she texted me and said that she felt she understood a little bit better a part of the reason why she lost her two boys..."I lost Evan and then met you because of it. If I hadn't lost Kayden I would be two weeks from delivering him now and wouldn't have been able to hold this yardsale for you guys." I wanted to bawl- and I would have if I hadn't been in the middle of dinner at a restaurant at the time she texted this. All I want to say is how much I wish that she could still have Kayden- I would much rather she didn't have to go through yet another loss. I really think that she puts us all to shame. Especially me. I don't know that I could have stepped up and helped someone to this magnitude so recently after losing another child. God help us all to be more like Melani.

The yardsale brought in $715. We needed $850 to confidently be able to go into the matchbook. (that is the short version of the story) The bracelets brought in $90 as of last night. I posted up on Facebook that we needed $45 more. Within a few minutes we had two more donations and an email. I opened the email and saw that it was from one of my fellow Trisomy angel mommy friends who I have only known through Facebook for a couple of months. She sells Trisomy awareness tshirts online and only makes about a $2 commission on the sale of each one. Well, she checked her earnings last night and saw that she had made-- you'll never guess the number-- $45!! Long story short, she said that she felt God telling her to give it to us because even though Grant is an angel, "you are still a Trisomy family." I've been bawling on and off for the last 24 hours!! I am completely speechless!

I guess I had envisioned which people would most likely give to help us with our adoption fees. Some of these people came through for us, however, there are many who have not. As it turns out, God has shown us that He is fully capable of using even complete strangers to work out His plan in our lives. Things don't always work out the way that we think it will; but it will always work out the way He KNOWS it will.

To those of you have donated your time, your babysitting expertise as we attended adoption classes, your personal belongings for our yardsale, your shoulder to cry on, your money- be it $3.00 or $100- we thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus. In these tough economic times we know it is a struggle for a lot of people to give; yet that hasn't stopped many of you. Because of this, I know that God will pour out His blessings on you. We pray that we will somehow be able to be a part of that.

And to those of you who may be reading this and have not yet found the joy of giving- may I encourage you to begin. If not with us, then someone else you know who has a need. God will always always ALWAYS give back to you- and usually it's more than what you gave.

With a heart of gratitude,

Fundraiser/GIVEAWAY!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 22:22:00 +0000

My husband and I have been talking, and with some help from some friends of ours who are also adopting, we have come up with a pretty cool giveaway for you guys. Here are the details:

Please note- THIS FUNDRAISER/GIVEAWAY WILL ONLY BE OFFERED FOR ONE WEEK

From now until Monday, July 18 we are offering these super cute bracelets for a donation of $3.00 towards our adoption fees. Color is purple; wording reads "Support Adoption" on one side, and "Matthew 18:5" on the other side.

IN ADDITION to the bracelets, you will receive an entry into our giveaway contest. One winner will be chosen randomly on Monday, July 18 and will be posted that evening with further instructions for the winner.
The winning name will receive their choice of EITHER of the following FREE: (and ya'll know how much I love the word FREE!)

one bag of fair trade or fair trade organic coffee from www.justlovecoffee.com/abernathyadoption (value is $12.95-$13.45) Your choice! We have decaf, blends, espresso, decaf espresso, dark, medium, etc. you name it, we probably have it!

Or...

One tshirt from www.adoptionbug.com/abernathyadoption There are six designs to choose from on this page. Here is just one of the six designs:

( Value of tshirts starts at $16.99 up to $22.95.) Some shirts are also available in children's sizes!

Here are the rules:

Donate $3.00 for your "Support Adoption" Bracelet by clicking on the donate button on our blog at www.kjabernathy.blogspot.com
Please write a comment either on our blog in the comment section; or on Facebook and let us know you have donated (this will allow us to contact you for your mailing address for your bracelet)
Visit our blog and/or our Facebook page for the winning results on Monday evening, July 18.
Spread the word- share a link on your Facebook page!!

As always, thank you for helping us to bring our daughter home! May God bless you for your compassionate heart!

Love and prayers,
and Kris, Jacob, & our soon to be little girl!

Where do we go from here?

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 18:52:00 +0000

I was going to get on here today and blog about our recent family vacation. Now I am almost ashamed that we even WENT on vacation. What were we thinking? I did ask my husband right before we left if maybe we should put it on hold since we are still trying to raise funds to pay our adoption fees. He said we will be fine and not to worry about it. So we went. And now today, he is telling me that while we DO have the fees covered to go INTO the matchbook; we still don't have enough money to pay for the placement of the baby. He is looking at things logically; I, of course, am looking at things emotionally.

What happens if we go in the matchbook and we get a hospital call a week later or someone picks us to parent their child in two months? (not likely, but still possible I guess) We have to have the money to give the agency upon placement of the child, simple as that. And WE. DON'T. HAVE.IT.

I'm sure I will be fine in a couple of hours, but right now I'm sad, angry, frustrated, and disappointed. I just want my daughter. I just want another child like every other NORMAL mother. Why can't I just get pregnant like most NORMAL people? It's so much easier just to conceive and only wait nine months and your insurance pays for a lot of it. Why does it require thousands of dollars everytime I want a baby???! You know, the same old whining I always do...same old questions, same old "no good answers".

And if I say anything to anyone I always get the same answers-- "maybe you were only meant to have one living child". or "well, be thankful you have Jake" (as if I'm not) or my PERSONAL favorite "be glad you only have one kid, having more kids is hard work". When I hear that I feel like they are saying I should be glad that Grant died because having just Jake is so much easier. That makes my heart hurt. So for the record here we go:

I don't CARE how much extra work it is. I would like to have another child! Isn't that why YOU had another child?
My son is tired of growing up alone. Just two weeks ago he was crying in his bed because he wants his brother back.
We want to help someone else who is hurting. Many birthmoms do not know what it's like to really know love. They have gone through unspeakable things; a great majority of them do not WANT to have to give up their role as a parent but because of circumstances they have no control over they are forced to make that decision. When they come to our agency they find love, support, and sometimes they find the Lord.
Last, but not least, we feel our family is incomplete. Of course, without Grant it will never be FULLY complete; however, we feel like another child will only add good things to the family that we already do have here on earth.

At this point, I really don't know what is going to happen. And as disappointed as I am, I am going to need to step back and trust that God knows what He is doing. Maybe it's time to stop doing and start doing more LISTENING. "Be still, and know that I am God." Realizing that I cannot fully see the big picture yet; and mind you, it's HARD to focus on that when most of your friends and family are expecting babies again and you are still waiting in that back corner wondering if you will ever get your turn. But if I keep pressing on and keep encouraging myself in the Lord, I know that one day there will be blessing and peace- not necessarily in my time, but in His.

Thanks for your continued prayers as we walk this road.

Forty Something...or other..

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 05:41:00 +0000

Forty is a nice number all by itself... it looks harmless, right? Yeah, that is- UNTIL YOU HIT IT! I remember when I thought 27 was old...there was this guy I had a crush on when I was 16 or so. He was 27. I thought he was old, but I thought he was really handsome too and I wanted a MATURE guy. hahahaha Oh my, the things that go through our minds when we are YOUNG and SILLY!!

Then when I was in my twenties I thought 30 was old...and now as of Sunday, June 19, I AM FORTY YEARS OLD! How did this happen? I was 28 on my wedding day (ok, that was TWO days shy of my 29th bday but that's beside the point) and now I am FORTY??!

Wow! Three days in and I'm still not sure what to make of it. The thought of it depressed me for awhile- mainly because of my inability to conceive. When you are 35, the fertility medical world calls you "Advanced Maternal Age." This simply means that your egg quality is going down, and your chances of having a baby with a genetic defect is higher. (yep, been there, done that) When you turn 40, many fertility clinics will no longer let you use your own eggs should you choose to do in vitro fertilization. Yes, I realize that I am about to meet my daughter very soon; but until I SEE that reality I'm still a tad bit stuck in wishing I could also have one more biological child. Maybe I will always wish that- I don't know. I'll let you know when I get that far.

And the other depressing part about turning 40 -- is well- you just aren't 20 or 30 anymore. How much plainer can I put it? But before this blog turns into a novel, I'm going to cut to the chase-I'm ok with it now.
Here are the reasons why:

I have friends that went to heaven before they were 40. So --- I GET to be 40.
I think I look pretty good for 40. Sure, my belly isn't quite as flat as it used to be- but hey, I will wear that belly flab like a badge of courage. My two beautiful sons gave me that belly. (ok, and maybe those cupcakes)
I'm on the upside of a number again.
I'm having a baby at 40! (I certainly hope we get her before I'm 41 anyway) Kids keep you young, don't they?!

Now for the best part- MY Birthday Party!! We went to spend the weekend at my parent's house. Dad was by himself since my mom went to visit her sister in NY. So it worked out great that we could share my birthday AND Father's Day with him.
Sunday morning I woke up to the smell of pancakes. I got up and walked out to the living room only to have my brother physically turn me around and march me right back to the bedroom. (apparently he was decorating for a party--) About ten minutes later he let me come back out. And this is what I saw-

Oh my goodness- what a fun day! By the time we got to the cake my brother had me decked out in all kinds of fun stuff-

The hat said "Look who's forty?" My sash said, "Happy Birthday to me" and my button said, "It's my 40th!". I laughed so hard!
And speaking of cake...THE CAKE...it was from a REAL bakery, folks!! Nadine's Bakery in Tucson whipped me up this decadant wonder of wonders--

Heaven on a plate. Chocolate Fondant, Chocolate Ganache, raspberry filling...need I say more???

And the presents? Where do I start? Cards, and some cash, and the book "Heaven is for real". (thank goodness, because only about SIX people have suggested I read it)

And my hubby is taking me to the OCEAN to celebrate our anniversary AND my birthday!! FORTY ROCKS, people!!

VBS 2011- Rev it up, RACERS!

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:55:00 +0000

In the middle of all those birthday/anniversary parties we had VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL at church. I love VBS- it's exhausting but I love it anyway- So.Much.FUN!!

This year we didn't sign up to teach b/c Kris had to work; but I ended up helping with the 5-6 yr old class since I was bringing Jake every night anyway. This year the theme was "Rev it up!". The only thing that would have made it better was if our friend Byron could have brought the race limo- can you imagine how fun that would be to let all the kids ride in the Interstate Batteries limo?

Here are a few pics of our class this year-

And here are a couple pics of the decorations-

Praise the Lord for the big turnout we had- the most we've ever had- over 70 kids came out!!

Parties upon Parties!

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:29:00 +0000

June is ALWAYS a CRAZY month for us. EVERYONE has a birthday...FRIENDS & FAMILY both. I'm not quite as behind as I was last year- I think I'm behind on two of my nieces and one sister in law at this point. Last year I was behind on just about everyone!

We started our June birthdays the end of May. Jake's friend Connor turned four the first week of June but his mom had to have his party early this year. I forgot my camera so I don't have pics of that one. =(
Then we had Haylee's party two Saturdays ago- Haylee also turned four. She lived two doors down from us at our old house. Jake and Haylee get along really well and they have missed each other since we moved. She was hilarious at her party- she dressed up like Rapunzel from the movie "Tangled" and everytime she opened a present (and mind you, EVERY present had something to do with Tangled) she would say "Oh my Goooosh!" and "thank you soooo much!"

I'm really gonna miss our kids when they are out of this little kid CUTENESS EVERYWHERE stage. I try to enjoy every second of it because I know that one day we will blink and they will be off to college.

June 17 was our Eleventh Wedding Anniversary. I really cannot believe we have been married ELEVEN years! In some ways, it feels as if we have ALWAYS been together. I am beyond thankful for my husband- there are really no words to describe how much I truly love him. For all of the CRAP we have been through- and yet we are still here, still married, still ok-- and believe me, there were some REALLY hard times- and still in love- WOW! All I can say is that without a doubt, we are married to EXACTLY the right person. MEANT TO BE, honest to goodness SOUL-MATES.
That being said, here are the AHEM..."Beautiful" cupcakes I made from scratch for our anniversary- Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting-

They might look like they were made by a Kindergartener, but they sure tasted good!!

CARS 2 and Heatstroke!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 19:40:00 +0000

It was Monday, June 6...Jake and I were on our way to see three of the cars from the upcoming movie, CARS 2. WOOHOO!! We were SUPER excited! Jake had already seen Lightening McQueen and Mater two years ago at Disneyland, but he was happy to go see them again. Now, he was also going to get to see one of the new CARS- Finn McMissile - so he couldn't wait to get there and see the "blue car".

Now you would think since we lived in the DESERT, and the forecast was calling for ~~pleasant~~ HOT crazy temperatures, they would hold this event indoors with the air conditioning CRANKED. But No! We pulled into the parking lot to see hundreds of folks standing in a line OUTDOORS. Well, I put her in "park" and we got out and walked quickly to the line. I figured at the stroke of one that they would move the line through quickly since that was the time the event was scheduled to open. NO, SIREE! We stood in line almost TWO hours before we got in to the actual event! At that point sunburn was setting in, sweat was pouring down our bodies and I'm sure we smelled just like strawberries! But hey, we met some interesting people in line and got to hear a bunch of babies and toddlers screaming from exhaustion! This was one day where I was thankful to have an older child with me- of course, had I had a baby or toddler I'm sure I would have left long before we got to the front.

Jake was happy and thought it was all worth it and that's what counts, right?! He got a Lightening McQueen tatoo, magnet, and CARS 2 poster which we just HAD to hang on his wall the MINUTE we got home. Here are the photos that were taken on site- please keep in mind we have just waited in the sun for nearly two hours before you make your judgments on how utterly FABULOUS we look! HA!

And that's a WRAP, folks!

JUNE Fundraiser

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Tue, 31 May 2011 22:41:00 +0000

There are many reasons that Kris & I hated to move out of our old neighborhood- one reason being we lived two doors down from our friends Josh & Shelley. They have been great neighbors and have done a lot for us in the three years we lived there.

That being said, Josh has recently started his own business ( Elite Digital Services) as an authorized local retailer for Dish Network and Direct TV. Beginning Wednesday, JUNE 1, Elite Digital Services will donate $75.00 to our ADOPTION FUND for each person who decides to switch from CABLE to Dish or Direct TV!!!!

Here are the details:

Tired of your cable bill increasing?? For the month of JUNE, Elite Digital Services is offering a FREE no hassle consultation (either in home or over the phone) to review your TV, phone, and internet services. He will show you how to customize a package that SAVES YOU MONEY. If you decide to switch, Elite Digital Services will donate $75 to the Abernathy Adoption Fund.

Packages starting as low as $24.99 with FREE equipment and FREE installation in up to 6 rooms!

Please call Josh at (480) 707-1182 or email him at Josh.Coplan@elitedigitalservices.com to take advantage of this AWESOME deal. ****Please note: You will need to mention you heard about him from the Abernathy Adoption in order for us to receive the credit.

Start the savings NOW and help support our adoption all at the same time!! Woohoo!! Thank you!

Did you remember the CAMERA??

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:33:00 +0000

Yeah, that was the question of the evening last night. On one of the biggest nights in our child's life- KINDERGARTEN graduation- we forgot the camera.
Actually, it was K.R.I.S. who was in charge of bringing the camera. And bless his heart, he tried so hard- he charged the battery all day, he cleared the memory card...and then my parents walked in the door. Between that and getting Jacob dressed, making sure we had the teacher's gifts and Jacob's graduation cards in hand- well, the camera got left on the table.

We got all the way to school- which is now 29 miles away since we moved last December- before I remembered to ask my husband if he brought the camera. He didn't even answer- the look on his face said it all. There was nothing we could do. By the time we went anywhere to buy one, we would miss part or all of the graduation. It was not until the whole thing was over that I remembered that one of our GOOD FRIENDS who lives RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE SCHOOL would have been happy to lend us her camera!! UGH! Where was my brain?? If you find it anywhere, please let me know!

We got a few pics with our cell phones; and one of the other parents promised to tag us some photos on Facebook. All in all it was a wonderful evening- we were so proud of Jacob! He learned the whole program in a week's time! (if you remember, I homeschool him; and he only goes to school Friday mornings for Chapel and P.E., with the exception of the last month where they allowed him to come the entire morning on Fridays.)

They sang songs in English AND Spanish, signed the entire alphabet with their clue words in sign language; they called out words that the teacher signed to them, quoted Psalm 23, and more. What bright little scholars we had there! They were just too cute! And I just sat there with tears running down my face, thankful for that little miracle that came into our lives six years ago. He is just so precious!

After it was all over we had cake outside, posed for more pictures, and then it was off to Barros pizza with grandma and grandpa! What a great and memorable night it was!

It's a Jungle out there!

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Wed, 11 May 2011 23:03:00 +0000

I homeschool Jake every day; however, Fridays are special days. He gets to spend the morning at the school he did PreK in- Calvary Christian. Yesterday his class had a field trip to the zoo and we met them all there. What a fabulous day for the zoo! The weather was cool, the sky was bright, and there was a slight breeze blowing. I took several photos, but here are some of my favorites:

I figured I may as well start off with our very own Grand Canyon rattlesnake!! My dad sees rattlesnakes quite a bit since he lives right in the desert; however, I have been lucky not to have seen one yet. (other than at the zoo of course!)

This little guy wasn't afraid of ANYTHING!! He scurried out into the path right in front of us!!

Here is a photo of Jake with his class, (He is wearing a tan hat; behind the boy in the blue hat) listening to the guide talk about the animals they were looking at--

Our favorite exhibits for the day though were these--

Who's the king of the jungle??? Obviously, THIS GUY!!!!

This is the closest I've EVER gotten to see this fellow! I think TIGERS are so pretty!

Jake likes cheetahs because they are the fastest runners!

The new orangutan exhibit was cool; but all the orangutans put palm tree leaves over the heads that day- guess it keeps them cool.

What's a zoo without elephants???

And most importantly, what's a zoo trip without a crazy class picture???

Thanks, Kindergarten Class! We had lots of fun!

Jody's Jammin Deals

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Tue, 10 May 2011 04:30:00 +0000

Ok...so Sheryl from The Cents'able Shoppin is temporarily showcasing people's shopping deals on their blogs for a little while- just to see how it goes. I haven't linked up to that yet- just haven't taken the time to do it...I may do it tonight- we'll see.

Most of you know by now that I have joined the world of couponing. And not just groceries either- I don't buy ANYTHING unless I have a coupon for it- even clothing! (occasionally there might be something we need that doesn't have a coupon- but that's the key- it has to be a DIRE need for me to buy it without a coupon)

That being said, I thought I would share a jammin deal I got on my groceries last week. There were a couple of things I wanted that the store ran out of- for those I got a raincheck. So here's what I was able to find- $216 worth for $36 ...minus ten Brut deodorant that I would have gotten for free and added to that total. (less tax) 87% savings; would have been 90% had they not been out of the deodorant!

Many items are hidden so I will try to make a list of what I bought:

1 Mission Corn tortillas
1 Mission Flour tortillas
4 jars of Ragu spaghetti sauce
3 cans of refried beans
2 bottles of bbque sauce
2 bags Tias! tortilla chips
2 bags Boulder tortilla chips
3 boxes rotini pasta
1 apple juice
1 vitamin water
1 bunch bananas
2 bags of rice
1 box of Mom's Best cereal
1 carton of So Delicious Coconut Milk
3 half gallons of Silk milk
1 eight pack of Bounty paper towels
1 12 roll of Charmin
2 packs of Ocello sponges
4 Larabars
1 bag carrots
2 bags shredded cheese
2 Freschetta pizzas
4 Nivea Body wash for women
4 Nivea Body wash for men
2 two packs of Safeguard soap
2 two packs of Ivory soap
3 boxes of Uncle Ben's rice
2 Right Guard deodorant
2 boxes Quaker chewy granola bars
A raincheck for ten FREE Brut deodarant (after coupons of course)
and a partridge in a pear tree.

Would have done even better had I had a few other certain coups I either couldn't print or find...but hey- we were quite happy with this haul!

Another step closer to raising money for our little girl's adoption...So Priceless!! I am so thankful for Sheryl, and for my friend Shelley who helped me to find Sheryl's website.

Mother's Day Musings

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Mon, 09 May 2011 04:40:00 +0000

It's Mother's Day. A day of mixed emotions for me. Before Jake was born, I loathed Mother's Day. Kris and I would get up and go to church and listen to the preacher as he gave out gifts to all the moms. Roses for the oldest mothers, and for the mothers with the newest baby. All the mothers were asked to stand- and I felt humiliated because I could never stand. A few years later we were able to conceive because of a high tech fertility treatment- and nine months later, I was FINALLY a mom. I could finally stand up with all the other moms at church; and I was thankful. But for some reason, I still felt weird about Mother's Day.

And then, miraculously, I found myself pregnant with Grant. That year I was on bedrest for Mother's Day but at least I had both boys with me- alive and breathing. After Grant passed away that old feeling came back; and I've hated Mother's Day again ever since. I gave birth to TWO boys; so I should have TWO boys with me on Mother's Day. For the last two years I have been unable to get out of bed for Mother's Day; all I did was cry. My poor father- he knew what was going on. He called me both years and would say "Hi. How are you doing?" He knew I couldn't get out of bed...

But this year was different. I'm not sure why? My best guess is..TIME. Sometimes Time is our enemy; other times- well, maybe it is our friend. I got out of bed this morning and went to church. I stood up with the other mothers, and you better believe I raised my hand high when the Pastor asked "How many of you have more than ONE child?"! While Mother's Day will always be a bittersweet time for me, I have realized that the number of children you have does not define you as a mother. Whether your children are in heaven or on this earth - that doesn't define you as a mother either. What defines a mother, is simply the love that she has in her heart. So for those who ARE mothers- whether you hold your babies in your arms, or you hold them in your heart; whether you are still longing to have a child, or are content to be a second mom to everyone else's children- I wish you a wonderful day. Because you ARE a beautiful mother who deserves to be celebrated and honored for who you are.

Blessings to you and yours,

We are approved!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Tue, 03 May 2011 02:53:00 +0000

Most of you probably know but I'll say it anyway- We got the official word from our case worker last Thursday--we have been presented and accepted by our agency to adopt!! Yeehaw! We should be getting an official letter in the mail anytime now.

Wow, it's been a long time coming! I can hardly believe it though, even still. So the next step is to finish our matchletter and get ourselves in the matchbook so any birthmoms here in our state can have a look at our family. Oh..and there's the other little thing-- the rest of our fees. These are due upon placement- so I'm not too overly stressed about it. God has brought us this far; I know He will provide the rest. (REALLLLLLLLLLY hope it's soon though! I am ready to meet my daughter!!)

Sunny Days

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:05:00 +0000

Kris had the day off last Monday and the weather was so beautiful we decided to go somewhere fun. At first we were going to take Jake to the children's museum--we've been trying to go for weeks now and everytime Monday rolls around there is something else we have to do. This day would have been perfect, however upon looking at the info online we saw that the Museum is closed on Mondays! What a DRAG!! So I thought for a bit and remembered the railroad park. We have never been there, but a friend of ours had talked about going sometime and that it was a very fun place to go. So we loaded up on sunscreen and water and headed out.

The McCormick-Stillman Railroad park has a ton of things to do; and the best part is admission is FREE. There are a couple of play areas for the kids, a train ride, snack area, picnic areas, old train cars to walk through- including the one President Eisenhower used during his presidency. There is also a building that houses model trains. At present there is no charge to walk through this building; however, when all the trains/railways are built they will begin charging admission there.

I would post pics, but BLOGGER is not allowing me to for some reason. You can click the link I posted above for the MS Railroad park to see the website photos for now.

It was a fun, relaxing day. We need to do it more often!!

Easter Deals

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 05:09:00 +0000

So yes, I coupon for Easter deals too! Now I did splurge a little bit on these little babies--

Only saved a $1.00. But look what I got for FREE with my Cadbury coupons--

6 Cadbury Creme/Caramel eggs and 6 of these yummy eggs--LOVE me some peanut butter & chocolate--

And then I got 2 bags of these for $2--

Wait till I tell our daughter how much money we were able to save for her adoption just because her big brother and I look through recycling bins every Tuesday for coupon inserts!!!! Is she gonna be proud or WHAT???

Adoption Timeline

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 07:18:00 +0000

I thought it might be a good idea to post an update about our adoption. I have asked at least three friends this week if they've seen the updates on Facebook and they all replied "No." I"m not sure if it's a Facebook setting or the fact that once you like several pages you hardly see your friends posts anymore- but it seems to happen quite a lot. Hence my update now!

We got back from our NY trip last Monday. Our lives have been a whirlwind ever since. (in a good way, though) Still recovering from jet lag, I had a meeting with our case worker that Wednesday morning. In spite of my exhaustion, it was a pretty good meeting. Basically, we went over some last minute things just to make sure all of our "ducks are in a row" for when our caseworker presents us to the adoption agency. What this means is that she will be like our advocate-- she will present our family, our lives- work, finances, marriage, grief & loss, reasons for adopting, etc. before the agency for approval. This is to take place the third Thursday of this month- which, according to my calculations is the 21st. If the agency approves us, then we are able to go into the matchbook and at that point we could get "THE CALL" at anytime. It could be two weeks or six months- you just don't know.

We had originally thought that we had to wait 90 days for the judge to review everything before we could go into the matchbook but not so. If a baby became available before that time, we would need to get some type of temporary custody order.
So really, the only thing that would hold us back would be the $$$$ we still owe. All fees are due upon placement of the child. We are getting there, but still not quite close enough. So it's back to the fundraising drawing board again! We have some possibilities in the works, but are still doing some research. I am just NOT creative in this department. I look at other adoptive families blogs and think- "Wow! Why didn't I think of that?!" So it's slow going for me...

In spite of it all, I know that it will all come together. How do I know? Because it always does...well, almost always.!!

What to pray for this week:

That the agency will approve us for certification to adopt this month
That we can raise the remainder of our fees
our child and her birthparents
PATIENCE in our wait!!

Thank you!

Grandpa Thom

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 06:39:00 +0000

My Grandfather is very sick right now with acute pneumonia. His doctor has given him six months tops and my aunt, who works with these type of patients all the time, says that really Grandpa only has a few weeks. I'm not ready for this! I don't want to let go of ANYMORE people that I love! But I knew this day would come; I've known it for some time. He has almost died two other times in the last couple of years. But he is a STUBBORN MARINE--nothing keeps a good MARINE down. He always manages to pull through. But not this time. This is the real deal.

I should be thankful--and I am--God did answer this prayer that I prayed two years ago. "Please God, I just lost my child. I cannot stand to lose anyone else for at least a couple of years..please, I beg you. I cannot handle anymore loss." So here we are...and I am thankful that I could talk to him on the phone for two more years. And I pray that I get back to NY in time to tell him in person that I love him one more time and to beg him to please make his peace with God.

I would like to tell you a little bit about my Grandpa. He is awesome! Though he is my step grandfather, noone would ever know it...I feel lucky that I got to have an extra Grandpa hanging around- especially now that he is the only one left! He is definitely a favorite- when I was little, I remember going to see him and my grandmother and having cookouts late at night out in the backyard. He cooked the best hamburgers for me!! Oh my goodness, he spoiled me rotten! I have LOVED to eat pickled eggs ever since I can remember. Sometimes two or three at a time! (I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted and never gain any weight!) Grandpa would go to the convenient store and ask the employees there to save him the jars that all the pickled sausages came in. When the sausages were gone he would go pick up the jars and take them home and put hard boiled eggs in them. He'd leave them in for a long time so that they were perfect by the time I came over for a visit. Then he would call me over and whisper in my ear to go to the back room and check the fridge. I would run out there and open the door to find a HUGE jar of pickled eggs!! Oh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! He did this for me well into my teenage years...boy do I ever miss that!

And Christmas...oh what fun we had for CHRISTMAS! When my grandmother was alive we'd go up to their house for Christmas breakfast. Grandpa would have on his Santa hat, and you could smell the ham and eggs he was cooking from the driveway!! Nobody makes ham and eggs like Grandpa! And the TOYS! Nope, I'm not talking about the toys we opened as gifts. I'm talking about GRANDPA'S TOYS! He had dancing Santas, and Santa heads up on the wall. Whenever you would walk by the Santa head he would roll his eyes and either talk or sing a Christmas Carol. Three Christmases ago I sent him a singing Christmas penguin. It sang, "I'll have a Blue Christmas without you". He played it for me over the phone to prove to me that he'd gotten it in the mail!

And then there were all the time I came home from college; and the times I came home with Kris after we got married. As soon as I/we got into town, he was always on the phone, wondering when he could come pick me up to go eat out at the "Trough" he called it. The "Trough" is what you all know as the Old Country Buffet. So he would come and pick me up- sometimes it was me and my siblings- and he always showed up way before he had told me he would come so most of the time I was never ready to go. But he didn't mind- he'd ask my mom for a plastic bag and go help himself to the garden outside in my parent's backyard while he waited. Then when I was ready, we'd leave and drive down the highway with the turning signal turned on for the entire ride. We would pig out at the "Trough", dessert and ALL, and then check out all the dollar stores in the area. Then he would take me home and come in for some coffee and a chat with my mother before he would stand up and stretch, leave with a parting laugh and a "you be good", and head on home.

To his friends and World War II buddies he is known as just "Howdy". To me, for now and for forever, he is just "Grandpa". I love you, Grandpa and I can't wait to see you. Please hold on till I get there. Semper Fi.

Grandpa with Jake, December 2004

I Refuse

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 05:54:00 +0000

Sometimes I wonder what exactly I'm doing with this blog. Sometimes I write about babyloss and grief, sometimes I write about adoption, and other times I write about seemingly silly things. I guess that's who I am-- kind of a helter skelter kind of person. For the most part, I feel comfortable with that because I know that everyone goes through different seasons in their life. And for me, I'm in the season of "all over the place." But in a GOOD way because I feel like I am making great progress through it all!

Today was such a happy day for me. Our babylost ministry just unveiled a new project- something that I am so excited about. No sooner had I posted it on the blog and on our Facebook page when I happened to glance down at my blog reading list to see a horrible blogpost from a friend of mine. She had just found out for the SECOND time that her baby was again going to be silently born. I, of course, was immediately in tears- a mixture of sadness, horror, and disbelief that this could be happening to her AGAIN.

As the evening progressed some new revelations came to me. To be honest, from time to time I have wondered if our babylost ministry is really worth all the effort. I have wondered why it is that so few people are willing to help us with it- especially those who know first hand the loss we have been through and what this ministry means to us. I wonder why people are so uncomfortable discussing the loss of a child and why they cannot see how badly these families are hurting?
And then I wonder if what we do is really helping people? What is it about, anyway? Has it unknowingly turned into a competition with other babylost organizations? Does it really matter if I don't get 400 LIKES on our Facebook page?

If so...then SHAME on me for losing focus of what this organization is really about. It's not about who can have the most LIKES, or the most comments, or the most projects going on. It's about people like my friend-- who I never would have even MET had she not received one of our Remembrance Baskets in the hospital the last time she lost the child of her dreams. It's about breaking the silence and making people aware that losing a child is REAL and can happen to ANYONE at ANY time. It's about having some compassion, and making a difference. It's about making beauty rise up from out of the painful ashes of the loss of a child. It's about making sure that no mother EVER has to be wheeled out of the hospital to her car without something in her arms to hold. And finally, it's about doing what I know I was called to do- for the rest of my life.

Lyrics to a brand new song by Josh Wilson that I heard today called "I Refuse"-- you can hear him sing it on YouTube.

Sometimes I,

I just want to close my eyes

And act like everyone’s alright

When I know they’re not.

This world needs God

But it’s easier to stand and watch.

I could pray a prayer and just move on

Like nothing’s wrong.

But I refuse.

‘Cause I don’t want to live like I don’t care.

I don’t want to say another empty prayer.

Oh, I refuse to

Sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself.

Oh, I could choose

Not to move but I refuse.

God help me to keep my focus--

Fundraiser SUCCESS!

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 05:08:00 +0000

Just a little update on how our latest fundraiser went. After two weeks of selling Tupperware to benefit our adoption we pulled in $1,092!! Now, our goal had been $2,500 so that we could make a profit of $1,000; however, with the exception of two, every last one of our "helpers" (those who had taken a packet and agreed to collect orders for us) got sick, so we ended up doing most of this fundraiser ourselves and were only able to pull in $1,092 retail. That said, our profit will be a little over $400-- which is the best we have ever done on a fundraiser, with the exception of our adoption garage sale. On top of that, we received a sizeable donation from a family friend.

I know that this was a direct answer to prayer; because when I stopped stressing about it and gave it over to God to work out, He worked it out better than I could have imagined! To those of you who participated in this fundraiser, we want to let you know how much it meant to us. We can't wait to tell our daughter just how much people loved her and did everything they could to help her get here!!

God bless,

Adoption Update

noreply@blogger.com (Jody) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:28:00 +0000

So I haven't been on here in awhile...AGAIN...I don't know, I guess I have to be in the mood to blog. Life really does get crazy around here; however, there have been a few times that I could have blogged but just didn't feel like it.
Today I am by myself for a couple of hours so I decided it would be a good day to write.

I can hardly believe February is almost over already!! Time goes way too fast when we don't want it to, and it goes too slow when we need it to HURRY UP! As in our adoption for example-- is it just me, or is it DRAGGING by like a snail???

It's probably best though, that it is going slow. We need the extra time to get our FUNDRAISING on. It's hard to wait though, when it's your child that you're talking about. Most folks wait nine months for their children; adoptive parents usually wait much longer than that. As a parent who has now experienced both waits, I think the nine month wait was a walk in the park compared to this wait!

Fundraising HAS kept us busy though. Some of you may not have known that we were picked as a finalist for our custom design tshirt we had entered into the Adoption Bug tshirt design contest. My brother in law designed it- we think it's pretty cool! It says "Got Love? Adopt." Go HERE to see it! We were emailing, and Facebooking, and calling everyone we could think of to vote for our shirt-- me and Jake even got on the local news-- just so we could spread the word for people to vote for our shirt. We lost by only a few votes; however, Adoption Bug decided to feature our tshirt on their website, as well as the winner's shirt, since the race had been so close! What a blessing!

The last two weeks we have been running a Tupperware Fundraiser. You can visit that one HERE . We have two more days to finish that one up. After that, I'm going to take a short fundraising BREAK. Fundraising is EXHAUSTING on so many levels! But we know that it will be worth it the minute we look into our daughter's face.

About two weeks ago we got a call from our case worker, saying that my grief counselor had given the okay for me to be finished with counseling. So with that, we are now cleared to proceed with the second Homestudy visit. This visit will take place on March 2nd; so please be praying that it goes well. After the last visit's proceedings, I am now a nervous wreck; so I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers on that day.

Back soon-- hopefully sooner than later--,