Goodness + Grace

Little by Little, Day by Day

2013-02-21T00:05:00.000-05:00

     When we set out to follow the Lord’s leading that we should open our hearts and home to adoption, we had no idea how much we would grow as a family through this process. Our family had to learn to love the little things and to glorify God in the waiting. Fundraising was going to take time and time was what the Lord was going to use, to teach us all that He had for us. The adoption process has brought our family so much closer, because we all learned and waited together as He brought in the money . . . little by little, day by day.

     We did not have a large savings account or significant property we could sell to bring our little one home. No, we had to start from nothing and trust that the Lord would provide … little by little, day by day. We weren’t able to just write a check; we had to follow the Lord’s leading about how to raise the money that would be needed to bring our son home. And that’s just what He did. Little by little, day by day, we saw our family’s faith grow. Through working to raise the funds as a family, we learned that adoption was not just about us and bringing in another child to our home, but it was actually about walking faithfully day by day, glorifying the Lord and trusting His sovereign hand through it all. The Lord used fundraising to teach us some important lessons about His character and about His power.

     We learned that fundraising can be overwhelming, but the Lord encouraged our hearts from the very beginning to look at fundraising like mountain climbing. When a person begins to a climb a mountain and he stands at the bottom looking up, he can easily grow fearful with how overwhelming the vast height appears. The same was true with raising the funds needed to bring a child into our home. The total cost seemed insurmountable. But just as it takes one step after another to climb to the mountain top, the same was true with fundraising. Each bit of money, no matter how small, we added to our adoption fund brought us one step closer to our child. Little by little, day by day, we saw God’s hand in every aspect of our journey.

     The Lord grew our prayer time together as we faithfully prayed for His provision. He helped us to tirelessly look for ways to bring in what we might need to adopt a child. Whether it was a penny one of our children picked up on the road, or money that we earned through doing extra odd jobs, we desired to completely trust the Lord for His provision. We wanted to show our children that no matter what the Lord provided, our hearts were to turn to HIM in thankfulness and in humility. Little by little, day by day, we were turning more to Him and relying fully on His promises and His provision, not on what our power alone could supply. When someone would donate a jar of coins, we rejoiced in His people. When someone would anonymously donate a large amount to our family, our hearts lept that He was able. And yet when the quiet days would come and nothing seemed to be happening, we trusted that He was still working and that we were just to continue to pray and to trust that His Sovereign hand had not stopped moving.

     The Lord patiently taught us that His Word reminds over and over again that we were to remain faithful to HIM and to take one step after another . . . little by little, day by day. He desired that we trust that what He brought in and how He brought it in, was what we were to have at that moment. If He desired to bring in much, we wanted to praise His name. If He chose to bring in a little or if He chose to bring in nothing during that time, we wanted to praise His name. He revealed to us that it was not our place to grow frustrated with how people were giving. He also taught us that it was not our place to grow angry that the fundraising process was taking so long, but that it was our place to trust Him and praise Him . . . little by little, day by day. We started to praise Him that our faith was growing even while adding to the adoption account seemed slow.

     Through our waiting we began to understand that God’s timing was perfect and we wanted this child to come in His timing and not ours. We did not want to step before the Lord and His will for us. We truly desired that our hearts learn patience in this adoption process. We truly desired to glorify HIM in all that we did. So we kept at our efforts, big and small . . . little by little, day by day.

     There were many times that we wanted to grow weary of the time it was taking, but again and again God’s Word reminded us that He is Sovereign and that He knew what was best for us.

“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. ” Psalm 33:6-9

      As He grew our hearts in faith, He showed Himself to be completely faithful. As we look back over our journey, we see how the Lord beautifully orchestrated Thaddeus coming into our home. He brought in each dollar, and He moved in many hearts to help us raise all of His money . . . little by little, day by day.

     On a brisk day, just a few weeks ago, when we arrived at the hospital and we looked upon our son for the very first time, we knew that this moment had been ordained from the beginning of time and that the Lord was completing in our hearts all that He had been doing for the past three years. Little by little, day by day, we will teach Thaddeus to praise the Lord whose perfect timing and sovereign hand brought him finally home.

Our Son is Home

2013-02-06T00:49:00.000-05:00

On January 23, 2013 . . .

(my husband's birthday)

a call came to us in the early hours of the morning.

Our expectant mom was in labor.

We woke everyone up and packed

the van as quickly as we could,

knowing that we would be a way for

quite a bit of time.

At 3:07 am, he was born.

We spent the week

cherishing each moment we had

in the hospital with him and his birth mom.

On January 26, 2013

papers were signed

and on January 28

we arrived home with our son.

Thaddeus Marquis Honor

has come home

and we are so excited.

Our hearts are full,

life has changed

and we are learning and growing in

new ways - all 5 of us.

Our hearts are praising the Lord for

all that He is has done to bring us to this point.

The journey of adopting has ended for now,

but the road of adoption will forever be a part of our lives.

We will tell our children of His marvelous deeds

for many years to come.

"Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;

incline your ears to the words of my mouth!

I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will utter dark sayings from of old,

things that we have heard and known,

that our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children,

but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds

of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders

that he has done."

Psalm 78:1-4

Expectant Hearts

2013-01-16T20:31:00.004-05:00

The Lord has allowed sweet blessings these past few days.

We have seen His hand over and over.

He is a God of providence.

He has everything worked out ahead of time
for His glory and for His will.

"I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD;"
Isaiah 41:14

We have been able to participate in His work of adoption this year

and we are now coming down to the last few days

of this part of the paperwork, fundraising journey.

Our little one will be due in a short time.

We stand here in AWE of our Father,

humbled by his provision, thankful for His people

and trembling at His goodness to our family.

Last week we had $4,500 to raise to have all of our adoption

expenses met. Today we are down to only needing about $500.

If you were a part of this work the Lord did, thank you so much!

It has been a beautiful year of provision from so, so many!

We are praising the Lord!

We are preparing this week for what is to come

and we are anxious to hold the little one
the Lord has prepared for us.

Sweet Love

The Gullett Family

The Lord's Provision

2013-01-14T13:45:00.002-05:00

There are about 15 days until the Lord

brings our little boy into this world.

Last week the Lord provided $2,600

in donations toward our adoption.

We were amazed that many would continue

to help us and amazed at how the Lord brought it in so quickly!

We are down to only needing $1,200.

Will you pray with us?

Thank you friends.

All glory goes to our Father in Heaven!

Exciting Days Ahead

2013-01-08T09:36:00.000-05:00

THE MOST NEWEST UPDATE BELOW!!!

There are some exciting days ahead

and we have begun our countdown . . .

We have about 25 days until we meet little Thaddeus

and can bring him home.

It has been a year of fundraising and we have had

so many help us raise about: $24,000.

It has been AMAZING to see the Lord provide!

We have about $1300 left to raise for our adoption.

This includes our lawyer fees

and post placement visits.

We had not cashed out our Amazon Adoption Fund
yet because we were just letting it grow.
Well, we just realized that and decided it was time to
cash it out. At the end of January we can cash out
what has been made up through November
which we think we around $500.

We are going to be using that money that everyone helped us
earn, to go for the travel expenses we will incur for the few days
we are up near the hospital while we are waiting for the papers to be signed.

We were so excited when we remembered this!!!

We are putting all of our effort

into trying to raise the last

of the money in these last 25 days . . .

If you want to help or know of others who enjoy helping -

we are looking for 65 people to donate $20 each.

There is a wonderful place called Adopt Together

and all of the donations made to them are

100% tax deductible

and

100% are given to the family

for their adoption.

You can find our page here:

ADOPT TOGETHER

We have already had 7 donations made.
The ball is rolling :).

If you have already been a part of our adoption journey,

and you just want to share the word with others,

we would so appreciate that extra hug!

Thank you again, for your help

for your prayers and for your support . . .

The Gullett Family

Hope in Christ

2013-01-07T18:29:00.001-05:00

It is a new year.

I love new beginnings and reasons to look ahead.

Without Christ there would not be much to hope in,

but in HIM there is

everything to rejoice in

and everything to HOPE for.

We have 24 days until our little one is born . . . .

We are hopeful and we are excited . . . .

"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the LORD his God"

Psalm 146:5

Growing and Learning

2012-12-14T01:25:00.003-05:00

Our daughter opened an ETSY site:

"Katie Did It"

She likes to sew, to experiment with photography and to love and play with children.

She is trying to combine all of those loves into this special place.

She has a few fun items she wants to sell

and has them ready to go.

There will be a few more things she will be posting in the future.

(made by her gma)

31 Gifts Fundraiser

2012-12-03T22:41:00.000-05:00

It is a 31 Gifts Party Fundraiser!!!

There are many ways others can show love - hugs, love notes, baking someone's favorite food, kisses, even pitching in on work that needs to be done. Our family has had numerous friends and family show us love and support over the past couple of years as we have been raising the funds for our adoption.

The Lord has brought in about $20,000 this year alone and we are down to the last few thousand that we will need to finalize our adoption. The wonderful news is that our adoption has become very real this past month as we were matched with a little one to be born the first of next year. So, these last few thousand dollars are the last little mountain we have to get over to have the financial part of our adoption completed.

Our family has been praying for the Lord's provision and for Him to help us keep scraping our own dollars together. We realize it is our responsibility to save as much as we can to help with our own expenses. But on Saturday night I received an unexpected call . . .

A dear friend wanted to help us bring our little guy home and she asked if she could do a fundraiser for us. We were so surprised by this sweet gift to our family. This is one of the many ways sweet friends have spurred us on in this journey. Our hearts were so excited. We are still waiting to hear back on a couple of grants we applied for and we know that sometimes there are so many that need grants that the funds are limited. So, this 31 Gifts Fundraiser gives us another avenue to use to maybe raise some of these last funds.

Now we know that many of you have already helped us, many of you have already purchased through our fundraisers and many of you have already donated. So, this is in no way another pressure on you. This is just an opportunity for those that have not helped and that want to.

It is also a chance for you to get a gift for someone you may still need to find something for. This was a sweet, sweet gesture from a precious friend in our church that really just wanted to do something to help bring our little one home. If you think 31 gifts has cute things and you need to find a way to organize your life - you might find something here. There are things for men and women. There are things for boys and girls. There are things for those that love sports and for those that love to hunt.

The party link is here: 31 Gifts Adoption Fundraiser for the Gulletts

The Fundraiser Party ends

Monday, December 10th at noon.

If you do find something and you spend over $31 there is a special deal you can add onto your purchase.

This month there are 5 different items you can purchase for $5.

If you spend over $31 you can pick out 1 of these items and add it to your purchase for $5.

If you spend $62, you can pick 2 of these items and add them to your purchase for $5 each.

I also found out that anyone that makes a purchase will
be entered into a drawing for the black women's wallet
from 31 Gifts.
It is so fun Jessica is making this so fun!

Here is a link to Jessica's page if you have any problems with the event link:

https://www.mythirtyone.com/JRoszman/
Then you can click on her "parties"

at the bottom of the page and click on that

and you will see "Fundraiser"!

That will take you to our party too.

Here is a sweet video to will give you some gift ideas.
You can get in on these deals through our Fundraiser Link.

Thank you for praying for us and helping us.

We are so excited to be able to

share this with you.

The Gullett Family
If you would rather just give a donation,
we have an account here for tax deductible gifts:
Adopt Together
If you don't like purses, but you love coffee
buying here will also help our family
Just Love Coffee

Counting Down the Days

2012-11-30T00:15:00.000-05:00

"And let us not grow weary of doing good,

for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone,

and especially to those who are of the household of faith."

Galatians 6:9-10

Our adoption is drawing closer.

This little one we have been matched with is growing

and we are praying for him every day.

Our hearts love this little one we have not even met.

We have named him, we have made a bed for him,

and we "want" him to come home.

There are so many that have come along side of us

and encouraged us, helped us persevere and helped us not to give up.

Many have believed when we did not believe we could get this far.

Many helped when the mountain seemed so large.

Many prayed when they knew we were in the midst of

doing paperwork, fundraising and grant writing.

There have been so many that wanted to help

us make this a reality in our lives.

We are almost there . . .

We have some final things to prepare for.

We have some final dollars to raise.

We have some final days to walk through

and some final papers to sign . . .

This is a time of waiting . . .

but the Lord is even using this time of waiting

to sanctify our hearts, to sharpen us and to glorify His

name in the midst of all that is going on.

If you have helped us in one way or another,

we want to THANK YOU for all you have done.

If you have prayed for us during your busy day or family worship,

we wanted to let you know your prayers have helped us so much.

If you have given through a fundraiser or a donation or bought

something we were selling, THANK YOU!!!

Every little bit, every little prayer, every hug, every note of encouragement

has been such a HUGE blessing to our family.

We just wanted to say thank you

as we count down these final days!

Abundantly Thankful

2012-11-22T01:04:00.000-05:00

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

for His steadfast love endures forever."

Psalm 136:1

Little Things I am Thankful For:

*Seeing my Imperfection so that I desire His Perfection in my Life

*Eyes that See my Soul and Love Me Overwhelmingly Anyway

*30 Fingers that Love me

*10 Fingers I am now praying for

*Pain that He has brought,

that has taken my heart closer to HIM

*Sandpaper People that Cause me to Pray

and Love Harder and Deeper

*Iron that Sharpens me

*His Word that Penetrates My Core

*Dross that He has Purged

*Life that is Full and Busy

and People to Invest In

*A Church that I can call Home

and Brother and Sisters that Know me and Love me

in Spite of my Crazy Ways

*Time to Sit and Cherish the Days

that He has Given Me

*One that is Just Like me that I Love to Just BE With

*One that gives me Zerbert Kisses and is just so Sweet

*Those that Have Come Along Side of Us

in our Adoption and Have not Given up on our Dream with Us

*The Sun that Warms my Days

*One that has Taught me How to Love

Others with Honesty and Truth

Living Life with a Vulnerable Heart

*Friends to Grow Me Strong Toward my Savior

*Love that I have known for 22 years

*A Savior that has Sealed me until the

Day of Redemption

There is much my heart can be thankful for.

I am really working as a momma to teach my

children how to be thankful to the Lord

for all of the sweet blessings that He gives

us each and every day.

But I have found that the most important way to

teach this, is to be have THANKFULNESS

on my own lips each and every day.

Abundantly Thankful to my God

who gives me so very much,

so much that I just don't deserve!

My cup is FULL and it is

Overflowing!

Matched with a Little One

2012-11-17T15:41:00.000-05:00

We met with an expectant mom,

and it was so surreal.

We both were nervous beyond words.

Our bodies were trying to relax

but our minds were full of so many thoughts,

so many  "What ifs?"  

My husband looked at me before we went into 

the little restaurant where we were going to meet with these special people 

and he said, "If this is what the Lord has for  us,

we can not mess it up. No matter what we say, 

whether we flub our words or say the wrong things,

if the Lord desires for this little one to come into our family, 

He will make it happen, in spite of our mistakes."   

These simple words so comforted my heart!

We have been trying to rest and wait on the Lord 

through this whole journey and now here we were 

at a "meeting" with a birth mother that wanted to 

meet us in person after seeing our profile book.  

My heart was beating to quickly and my mind was racing

with so many thoughts.

"What would she look like?

What questions would she ask us?

What if she did not like our answers? 

Was she having a boy or a girl?

What was her story?

What were her hopes for this little one?"       

We prayed together, took a deep breath and headed in.  

When I saw her, she was shy but she had the most beautiful smile. 

 It just lit up her whole face.   

We grew to love her and we were blessed

to find out she chose LIFE 

for this little one growing inside of her.

We agreed to walk forward in faith

and "match" with this special woman and 

the little boy she is carrying.

If the Lord allows this little one to come to our lives,

we will have a son the first of the new year.

We made lots of little mistakes at our meeting.  

I flubbed my words so many times.

We were asked questions we were nervous to give answers to,

 not knowing if our answers would skew her

  from liking us anymore. 

But we put our faith in the Lord and answered them honestly and openly, 

knowing that if this little one is to come to our family 

 our answers would only confirm that.

So, now our hearts are praying as we prepare 

        for this little bundle to come.   

We know there are still a few months we have to walk

through and we know that this whole situation 

could all change, but we both want to experience 

the JOY of these days knowing that 

if the Lord does see fit to change any of it,

it was meant for our good and we can go forward

trusting in HIS goodness to us.   

We are praying these words for our little one 

                   as he develops in the next few months:                  

"For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.  

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well. 

 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 

 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them."

Psalm 139:13-16 

What beautiful words these are right now.

The Gullett Family

A Gift of Love

2012-11-09T23:40:00.000-05:00

We are giving a special gift to someone tomorrow . . .

someone the Lord has for us to meet!

There are times in our life when we step forward in faith

and we feel like we are stepping into the dark!

There are a lot of unknowns and there are a lot of uncertainties,

but in the Lord, you trust Him because you love Him.

You hold onto His promises and you take that next step,

completely unsure of what He is bringing you into.

You are only assured of the fact that He loves His children

and He will not bring them into anything they can not handle

and you trust that what He brings to you,

He brings to you for your very good

whether it turns out your way or not!

That is what we have been trying to do all along on this adoption journey,

trust Him for all the things that are unknown to us.

There are days we have been able to

and there are days we have completely failed at it.

There have been days we have been scared

and days when His Word reassured us!

All we know is that His Word calls us to take care of orphans,

to share with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ

and we so want to be obedient to that call.

The way we would go was uncertain -

He showed us!

The paperwork was ongoing -

He took us through!

The money was not there -

He brought it to us!

Every step of the way, He has guided us and grown our faith.

He has not once left us alone to figure it out.

He has allowed us to cry out to Him,

to seek His face, but He has never left us alone.

Another step is coming, one that is very unknown to us,

but what I love is that all of it is KNOWN to my Savior!

My heart is resting in that,

trusting Him and imperfectly

stepping forward in faith.

We prayed together over our little gift,

that the receiver would feel loved

and that we would be faithful

to glorify His name,

no matter how this turns out!

"Praise the LORD!

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,

who greatly delights in His commandments!

His offspring will be mighty in the land;

the generation of the upright will be blessed.

Wealth and riches are in his house,

and his righteousness endures forever.

Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;

he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.

It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;

who conducts his affairs with justice.

For the righteous will never be moved;

he will be remembered forever.

He is not afraid of bad news;

his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD."

Psalm 112:1-7

He goes before us,

The Gullett Family

Celebrating Womanhood

2012-11-01T02:18:00.001-04:00

This is one of our favorite DVD's.

It is so sweet and celebrates

being a woman of the home

in such a beautiful way!

Family Vision Films

is having a special sale

on this DVD:

25% off

from November 1st - 6th.

It will be $11.95 a DVD

and no coupon code is needed.

If you want to be encouraged as a mom,

wife and as a woman of God,

you will so appreciate the

simplicity and beauty of this

encouraging DVD!

Check it out:
click on either picture,
above or below.

A Beautiful Downpour of Blessings

2012-10-25T02:09:00.002-04:00

The Lord brings the harshness of the drought

and the Lord brings the beauty of the rain.

His hand is so beautifully responsible

for the hard times as well as the blessings!

This past weekend we experienced a

DOWNPOUR

from His hands!

Our auction plus some sweet donations raised:

$3,100.

AMAZING!

We had such fun watching

everyone enjoy the auction!

We are now diligently working together as a family

to write up emails and mail off packages.

Thank you friends and sweet family

for helping us to raise so much!

We are so overwhelmed with your love!

Thank you for praying

and continuing to join with us.

"Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!"

Psalm 146:1

May His name always be glorified!!

The Gullett Family

Auction Announcement from Our Kids

2012-10-17T19:06:00.000-04:00

Only 2 more days

until the fun starts!!

October 19 - October 23rd

Plus there will be a

GREAT GIVE-A-WAY

that any one can sign up for.

It has prizes totaling

over $125.

Come back here on Friday to

get the auction link

so you can join in on the FUN!!

Some Adoption News to Share

2012-10-09T01:03:00.000-04:00

We thought this might be a GREAT time for an adoption update!!

We are doing two parts of the adoption process at the same time right now:

Profiling and Fundraising.

The Profiling has been going on for a couple of months now

and we have been involved with 8 situations.

From these 8 situations, we have been matched 2 times.

When you are matched, that means a birth mom (or birth father) likes your family

and wants you to raise the little one.

It is so wonderful - when you here those words:

"you were chosen."

Your heart just leaps!

But because we live in a fallen world, and because

the Lord has a different plan, there is some times

disappointment on this road of adoption.

So far, both of these situations

have "fallen" through.

Neither of these little ones will be coming into our family.

Each time the situation has come to end,
it has been painful for our family.
We all have to work through these emotions of loss.

What is interesting to me as we have walked through these profiling

situations, is that each one teaches us more and more about God's

Sovereignty over this whole journey.

"Our God is in the heavens; He does all that he pleases."

Psalms 115:3

None of these situations have been out of His control,

none of them took God by surprise. They are a part of our adoption journey

and a part of His story He is playing out in our family.

The other part of our journey right now is the ongoing:

FUNDRAISING.

It has been the most exhausting part of our journey so far and also the most rewarding.

It has been exhausting because there is many pieces of paperwork

to fill out as you seek out grants to help with the expenses

and at the same time you are trying to be creative with ways

to bring in the money as you spend time praying and seeking the Lord

for what He desires to bring in.

It has been overwhelmingly rewarding because

over and over again the the Lord has worked through special people

He has brought into our lives.

We have a little notebook of names that we have kept.

Names of people that have reached out and donated, offered to do

fundraisers for us, given us unexpected gifts, showed up with jars of money,

allowed us to do little jobs, offered a percentage from garage sales, beef sales,

and even just surprised us with an envelope of money.

This little book is a testimony to our little one that we have not done this alone.

There have been countless families that have donated to help us

bring our little one home to us and we want him/her

to one day know this.

The Lord has used many people

and it has been so humbling to our family.

We have had many, many people give us things to sell

so that we could bring in more funds.

Because we have had so many donations,

we decided to put them all in one place and to sell them in --

one last fundraising event:

an online AUCTION.

It will be taking place from October 19 - 22nd

on the website 32 auctions.

We will be posting the link to attend the auction on our blog next week.
We will also be sending out an email to all of our contacts.

We are already praying and trusting the Lord to bring in

what He already knows we will need for our adoption.

We have about 150 items that have been created, donated and given

to our family to help us try to raise just a little more.

We are excited for this special event.

Will you please join us in praying for this weekend?

We have some final details to bring together

as there will also be a chance at a Give A Way package
to all those that help us spread the word about our auction.

The Give A Way has fun prizes totaling over $120.

Thank you for praying for us.
Thank you for supporting us.
Thank you for encouraging us.
You have helped to spur us on so much.

Because of the Lord's goodness to us,
He is sustaining us and giving us hope.

We so appreciate all of you,

The Gullett Family

Thankful for His Work in My Life

2012-09-28T01:25:00.001-04:00

There is much to thank the Lord for,

even in the midst of trials and hardship.

I am thankful for His work in my little life and I am

grateful He has even desired to reveal Himself to me.

That is where the Lord has taken me this week.

He has reminded me of His goodness and that

I had nothing to do with anything "good" within me,

it was all a work of Himself.

“When you thank God for the good things He has done for you,

thank Him not only for keeping you out of sin,

but also thank Him for enabling you to do His will.

No man has any right to take credit to Himself

for His own integrity, for, if he is a Christian,

that integrity is the gift of God’s Grace

and the work of God’s Spirit within him.”

—1902, Sermon #2810

Charles H. Spurgeon

Simply Beautiful Hair

2012-09-20T01:27:00.000-04:00

A couple of days ago, my mom and I started a NEW endeavor. We are now Lilla Rose Consultants! I am very excited to have started doing this with my mom. Many of you may already know of Lilla Rose and the beautiful hair accessories that they sell. But for those of you who do not, I will explain what they are.

The most unique item that we sell at Lilla Rose is the Flexi Clip.

The flexi clips range from the "Mini" which is for either super thin hair or a cute little "pull-back" of the hair, to the "Mega" for thick hair down to your waist. Here is a picture of all of the sizes.

Lilla Rose also has a variety of adjustable headbands for short or long hair. My mom has shorter hair, so she really enjoys the headbands. These girls below have longer hair. They are wearing a "Daisy Headband" and an "Etched Cluster Headband." Aren't they so pretty?

I can not leave out the bobby pins. We have a couple of bobby pins. They are tighter than regular bobby pins, and can make your hair look simply pretty. The bobby pins below are called "Hawaiin Flower."

The Lilla Rose hair sticks are like a dressed up Chinese chopstick for the modern girl. I do not have any of these, but have seen some very beautiful hairstyles with regular chopsticks that might look very pretty with the Lilla Rose sticks. I plan to purchase some of these very soon and try them out.

Lilla Rose sells lanyards for a name tag that you might have to wear at work or an event. The lanyard below is called "Festive Fallen Leaf." These are very stylish.

I personally love the Flexi Clips. I have been wearing them for about 8 months and I can wear my hair so many different ways. If you notice the thickness of my hair below ... the flexi clip that I am wearing is a medium.

You can find all of these hair accessories and

much more at our online web store. Here is our web address:

http://www.lillarose.biz/gullettgirls

You just set up an online account,

browse through the many styles,

make a purchase, and it is shipped out to you

in a matter of days.

It is so simple.

If you are just not sure which size to buy,

Lilla Rose has a wonderful sizing video here:

Sizing Video

Let us know if you have any questions.

There is a spot at the bottom of the

Lilla Rose website to contact us.

We would be happy to help you.

With love,

The Gullett Girls

Me, Katie and my mom, Kristi

A Beautiful Fragrance Unto Him

2012-09-15T01:02:00.003-04:00

Has the Lord changed you, and called you to Himself?

Is He challenging you in new areas that scare you a little?

Is time in His Word stretching you

and causing you to see how differently He wants you to live?

He is making you more Fragrant.

In January of 2009 the Lord began to reveal to us

He desired for us to expand the size of family

and to bring more little people home to love.

At the time we were scared to death,

and uncomfortable with this idea,

but we began to study Adoption in His Word.

We began to take those baby steps

of obedience because we loved Him so . . .

Little by little the Lord began to stretch our hearts

and give us a deep deep desire

to disciple more hearts for His Kingdom.

Here we are 3 1/2 years later, our faith has grown,

our children's faith has grown, and He has provided for this little one.

We are not the same family we were.

He has begun to change us all.

We still don't know where our little one is

or when he/she is coming home,

but we know the Lord knows these things.

He is preparing the whole situation

and He has stretched our whole family in Amazing Ways!

We challenge you as a family to listen to the Lord's ways,

to obey His Word, even if it seems scary to do.

If the Lord is placing something from His Word

on your heart, be willing to take that

step of faith and watch Him provide for it, watch Him grow you

and watch Him glorify Himself in your lives.

Whether it is adoption, homeschooling, getting out of debt,

losing weight, changing your diet, discipling your children,

learning how to stay at home as a woman and make your home His sanctuary,

submitting to your husband, finding a church

and committing to it no matter what,

whatever it is . . .

taking the next baby step toward obedience

will grow you and your family in the most BEAUTIFUL ways.

And you will find your life becoming more Fragrant Unto Him.

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us

in triumphal procession, and through us

spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

For we are the aroma of Christ to God

among those who are being saved

and among those who are perishing,

to one a fragrance from death to death,

to the other a fragrance from life to life."

II Corinthians 2:14-1

Going Once, Going Twice . . . SOLD

2012-09-12T01:05:00.000-04:00

We have a very exciting event planned in the very near future.

We are going to be having an

ONLINE AUCTION

to help with some last

fundraising for our

Adoption.

We have been doing fundraising for 3 years

and as of now we have a little over $20,000.

It has been such an exciting year.

So many have jumped in to help us and encouraged us along the way.

But as a family, we are starting to wear down

from all of the fundraising we have been doing.

So, to celebrate all of the

fundraising we have done,

we thought we would do one last

FUNDRAISER.

Are we crazy?

YES!!

We are crazy ready to meet

the little one the Lord

is bringing to our home!

We have had so many friends and family

offer to donate things we can sell for our adoption.

So, we are going to do ONE LAST EVENT.

We thought it would be fun to put all of these

items together in one place for others to

look at and bid on.

Right now we are in the planning stages of our auction.

We are gathering items, uploading pictures,

writing up descriptions and getting everything organized.

It will be a fun event.

Mark your calendars if you want to be

a part of the EXCITEMENT!

We will be having an auction the first week of October.

Our tentative dates are October 6 - 9, 2012.

It will be an online auction at

32auctions.

It will have pictures, descriptions and a place
to put your bids right on the website.

We will provide the link to the auction very soon.

Keep looking here for more information to come.

The Gullett Family

The Longing of a Heart

2012-09-08T14:30:00.002-04:00

I have tasted

and it has made my heart long

for those things in eternity.

The Lord is so Good!

"Here God gives his people some taste,

that they may not faint;

and He gives them but a taste,

that they may long to be at home,

that they may keep humble,

that they may sit loose from things below,

that they may not break and despise bruised reeds,

and that heaven may be more sweet to them at last."

THOMAS BROOKS

A Strong Tree Rooted in Christ

2012-09-07T00:40:00.001-04:00

"The LORD tests the righteous"

Psalm 11:5

Adoption is beautiful.

Adoption is gut wrenching.

Adoption is hard work.

Adoption is an emotional roller coaster.

Adoption is worth fighting for.
I just love adoption!

Our family is now in the throws of profiling
and I can now talk candidly about this part of the journey.

It has been the most emotional part so far.

We have entered into 7 situations and so far none of them
has been the little one the Lord desires for our family to love.

But each one has brought blessing,
because we have been given the privilege to pray for each
of these little ones and for the birth moms.

That has not been wasted time.
I can honestly say that even after being "matched"yesterday,
and today finding out that match was not going to go forward.

My heart is wrenched with emotion;
the grief of letting go of one I was excited to meet,
yet gratefulness for being allowed the opportunity to pray
for this little soul and for the family
that will be gifted with this bundle.

This part of adoption is good and yet it is so hard.

But I would not trade any of it.

I am glad we are walking through it
because it is refining my heart.
This journey is also refining the heart of my children.

I see beauty coming out of my children's lives
as they pray for the little one the Lord has for us.
And I cry out to my Lord so thankful that He is allowing us to
work through these tears and joys.
We are learning every day how to praise HIM.
He is growing us to be strong trees DEEPLY rooted in Christ,
and I am forever grateful that He loves us enough to
grow us so strong.

Someone dear to me sent this to me the other day.
It was just what I needed to read.
The Lord's timing is always perfect
and when that little one does come to us,
that is ours, I will be saying that same thing:

The Lord's timing in perfectly perfect!

__________________________________________

"All events are under the control of Providence;

consequently all the trials of our outward life
are traceable at once to the great First Cause.

Out of the golden gate of God’s ordinance
the armies of trial march forth in array,

clad in their iron armour,
and armed with weapons of war.

All providences are doors to trial.

Even our mercies, like roses, have their thorns.

Men may be drowned in seas of prosperity
as well as in rivers of affliction.

Our mountains are not too high,
and our valleys are not too low for temptations:

trials lurk on all roads.

Everywhere, above and beneath,
we are beset and surrounded with dangers.

Yet no shower falls unpermitted from the threatening cloud;

every drop has its order ere it hastens to the earth.

The trials which come from God are sent
to prove and strengthen our graces,

and so at once to illustrate the power of divine grace,

to test the genuineness of our virtues, and to add to their energy.

Our Lord in his infinite wisdom and superabundant love,

sets so high a value upon his people’s faith
that he will not screen them

from those trials by which faith is strengthened.

You would never have possessed
the precious faith which now supports

you if the trial of your faith had not been like unto fire.

You are a tree that never would have rooted so well

if the wind had not rocked you to and fro,

and made you take firm hold upon the precious truths

of the covenant grace.

Worldly ease is a great foe to faith;

it loosens the joints of holy valour,

and snaps the sinews of sacred courage.

The balloon never rises until the cords are cut;

affliction doth this sharp service for believing souls.

While the wheat sleeps comfortably in the husk
it is useless to man, it must be threshed out
of its resting place before its value can be known.

Thus it is well that Jehovah trieth the righteous,

for it causeth them to grow rich towards God."
Charles H. Spurgeon

_____________________________________________

No matter the trial we find ourselves in as Followers of Christ,
we can believe without a shadow of a doubt,
that our Loving Father brought it to us,
because of HIS AMAZING love for us
and for His desire to REFINE us.

The Lord is so good, all of the time!

Lord, I love you.
Always,

Kristi

Healthy Shaving Solution

2012-08-31T00:49:00.003-04:00

I so enjoy learning how to live naturally.
It is a sweet hobby of mine.

At first my heart was not willing to learn
about the healthy side of living, I liked the ease of the products I was using.

I was brought out of my lifestyle

by a sickness that the Lord allowed to come into my life.
I am thankful He awakened my heart and taught me
so many things beautiful things through that time.

I am now happily enjoying this different side of life,

trying to live without as many chemicals and trying to

find new ways to make products that I use.

I want to share how to make

a wonderfully natural shave gel (oil).

There is a lot of shaving that can go on in a household,

as there are legs, chins and underarms that may need to be cleaned up.

So, as the Lord began to show me that His bounty was enough

to cleanse my inward parts as well as my outward parts,

I began to one by one purge the chemical filled products

that I had in my cupboards and in my shower.

One of the last items I stopped purchasing

was shave gel for myself and shaving cream for my husband.

Now we make our own.

It is safe, natural and easy.

You will need 3 things:

**an old soap pump

**castile soap (I used Dr Bronner's Baby Mild)

**olive oil (I use organic olive oil from Costco)

I have been using this shave gel for 2 years now.

It is easy to mix up and easy to pump in the shower.

When you are first mixing up the solution,

you may want to alternate putting in a little olive oil

and a little castile soap

into your pump bottle and then do it again until it is full.

Maybe start with a 1/4 C of olive oil and a 1/4 C of castile.

Put that into the pump and then do it again,

until the bottle is full.

That is it.

I give it a good shake and then when I am in the shower

and about to use it, I shake it up again.

I lather up my legs with our homemade castile soap,

and then I put a couple pumps of my shave gel in my hand

and clean my legs up.

You can wait until the bottle is empty to refill it again,

or what I do is keep a bottle of olive oil in my shower a
nd we use castile soap for our shampoo,

so I just refill it as the pump bottle goes lower,
when I am in the shower.

If you like a lot of lather, you can put lots of

soap into your shower scrunchie and

lather up your legs with this shave gel solution.

I find doing that together really keeps the knicks away.

Well, let me know what you think.

We love it around our home and

won't be going back to shave gel anytime soon.

Blessings to you

as we all discover how to live

more naturally with God's Goodness,

Kristi

Raising Ransom for an Orphan

2012-08-21T01:00:00.002-04:00

Sometimes my heart lives in a fantasy world.

A place where all of life is good and true, people are honest,

a place where children are able to run free.

But there is a reality to life that I don't always like to face.

Life is hard. It is painful. There is death and sickness.

Many children are held captive and many

have a large ransom on their heads.

The children that I am talking about

are the many orphans all over the world.

From the beginning of time Satan has wanted to be God.

He has wanted to rule over and to destroy the life

that God creates, and to this day that battle is still raging.

Each child bears the image of God

and Satan just absolutely detests anyone

that bears His Holy image.

So Satan has schemed, devised and manipulated ways so that a very large amount of paperwork has to be completed and a very large ransom has to be paid for one of these little orphans to be released.

And so, many become discouraged and do not even

enter into the world of adoption.

Many become disheartened along the way and step out.

Many take on loads and loads of debt to help release

one of these precious children held behind "bars."

These are all schemes to keep these children in bondage.

But the Lord's ways will persevere.

He owns the cattle on a thousand hills

and He provides for the ransom for these children.

One of the ways He has provided over and over

again is through precious family and dear friends

He has brought into our lives.

These friends and family continue to wrap their arms around us

and to help us with this mountain Satan has put before us.

The Lord is teaching us over and over

again we are not climbing it alone.

Yes, we may have to climb a mountain,

but He will be climbing it with us and He will use

others to help encourage our hearts to keep going.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

were put into the furnace, but they did not go in alone.

There was a fourth man in the furnace and He

kept them from being burned.

"And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,

fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste.

He declared to his counselors,

"Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?"

They answered and said to the king, "True, O king."

He answered and said, "But I see four men unbound,

walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt;

and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods."

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace;

he declared, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,

servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!"

Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire."

Daniel 3:23-26

God has met us every step of the way,

giving us ideas, giving us time when we needed it

and giving us beautiful encouragement from friends

that wanted to help with this ransom.

One of those dear friends, is Paula.

All year she has been helping us

raise funds by allowing us to sell Lilla Rose hair accessories.

In January she helped us coordinate a large Lilla Rose Fundraiser.

You may remember it. It was amazing!

We raised over $1,350 for our adoption.

Paula has been allowing us to keep an ongoing

link on our blog (to the left) for anyone that

may stop by and decide to order through that link.

It has been very special to our family.

We have raised more little bits all

throughout the year.

This time Paula is celebrating her two year anniversary

with Lilla Rose and she is offering

FREE SHIPPING to anyone that orders over $20 of

Lilla Rose hair accessories through our adoption link.

LILLA ROSE

If you would like to be a part of our journey to

help us release a little one from earthly bondage,

we would be so humbled that you would desire to help.

Just link through our LILLA ROSE link above

and pick out a beautiful hair accessory.

Here is our daughter, Katie, wearing

one of these beautiful Flexi Clips:

Here are some other beautiful things they sell.
All orders must be placed by August 28th,
and orders will be shipped out after the party closes.

If you would rather not buy a hair accessory,

but you would still love to help us,

you can come over to Adopt Together and make

an online tax deductible donation. It is super easy.

Adopt Together gives 100% of donations made, to our family

and 100% of the donations can be written off at the end of the year.

Thank you for helping us.

Thank you for fighting this battle with us.

Thank you for encouraging our hearts.

Little by Little . . .

we will climb this mountain

and bring our little one home.

The Gullett Family

The Beauty of Suffering

2012-08-20T02:24:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time before our road

became busy with the adoption,

I used to love to post writings

of Reformers from days past.

One of my favorites was Octavius Winslow.

I thought I would go back and visit him.

This was a beautiful writing he put together.

I especially loved how he reminded me

that while I am suffering my Holy and personal Savior is

"Treading that furnace at your side,

controlling its flames, tempering its heat."

My Lord takes me through the furnace,

but He does not leave me alone there.

He goes with me, controls the flame and tempers its heat.

SO BEAUTIFUL!

__________________________________________

"Christ is ever with you — in suffering.

He Himself was a sufferer.

Oh, suffering never looked so lovely,

martyrdom never wore a crown so resplendent —

as when the Son of God bowed His head and drank the cup of woe for us!

Himself a sufferer —

is there a being in the universe who could take

His place at your side in all the scenes of mental,

spiritual, and bodily suffering through which

your Heavenly Father leads you, comparable to Christ?

What are your sufferings — contrasted with His?

And what was there in the unparalleled

greatness and intensity of His sufferings —

to disqualify Him from entering with the warmest love

and deepest sympathy into yours?

Suffering for His sake, or suffering His will —

He is with you to sustain, to mitigate, to sanctify.

It i sgiven to you not only to believe —

but also to suffer for Christ.

Removed from the active sphere of your Christianity —

the sphere and the service which, perhaps,

you too fondly idolized —

He has placed you in the school of passive endurance —

a position the most irksome and trying to you.

Look into the burning, fiery furnace

of the three children of Israel:

“Look! I see four men walking around in the fire,

unbound and unharmed —

and the fourth looks like the Son of God!”

(Daniel 3:25)

So is Christ with you in suffering.

You shall pass through the furnace —

the flames only destroying your bonds

and setting you free from some dominant sin,

some potent spell, some slavish fear —

bringing you more fully into the happy, holy,

realization of your adoption, pardon,

and acceptance of God.

Treading that furnace at your side, controlling its flames,

tempering its heat — is the same Son of God

who trod it with them, and who says to you,

“Surely, I am with you always!”

The blessed Savior is never more

with His people than in suffering.

He himself has been a sufferer,

and He knows how to pity His people

when they suffer; and if best for them —

He can send them quick relief."

Octavius Winslow

_______________________________________________________

Thanks for taking time to join with me

as I focus my heart back on Him.

I am thankful to be back in this place.