Update- Numbers and Chads Wedding

Brad and I were sitting on the couch the other night and we were like, Oh shoot we forgot to celebrate one month waiting on the waiting list, haha! Luckily this month has flown by and we have been busy, it makes it go quicker! Our unofficial list was updated the other day. Some families have joined our Yahoo Group since we were DTE, so our number haven't changed much. We are #16 for a boy, #17 for a girl, and #7 for siblings. Some of the sibling requests are for 2 of the same sex, so who knows what will happen!! We rest assured God already has it all figured out, so we don't need to!! (I have to type that for a reminder for me too!)

One of the main reasons we have had such a busy month is that my little brother Chad married a wonderful girl Emily. We are so excited to have her in our family. Emily is always so sweet, kind, and positive. Emily's maid of honor described her as a person who is a great example of a person who loves people just like Jesus loves us. What a compliment and so true at the same time! Chad is a lucky guy to have a great wife! She is from the Philly area so they had a Philly wedding and a reception in IL for our friends and family. Both were beautiful and fun weekends! Here are a few pictures:

Bride and Groom eating and dancing

My sister Amy, brother Chad, and me

Brad and I

Amy and Kylie
Amy, Emily, and me

Chad and Em in IL

Aunt Tara with Kylie

Africa Cards

As most of you know, our largest fundraiser has been making and selling hand-stamped cards. So far we have sold over $3,000 of cards. This AMAZES me!!!!! When we started this, I thought I'd be thrilled to sell a couple hundred dollars worth of cards. So many people have offered to sell cards to their friends and family. Thank you to everyone who has helped!! God hasn't stopped amazing us throughout this whole process, I just didn't know how big to dream. Brad and I assumed we'd be taking out a loan for a big part of the adoption expenses, but so far God has provided just what we needed just when we needed it. Don't ever doubt how BIG our God is!!!



I wanted to share a new set of cards I have for sale. I just got a new Africa stamp, so I've begun to stamp some new cards with it. For now, I am making a simple card:

Since this card is simple, using only white cardstock, I will be selling a pack of 16 cards for $15. I have been using these thank you cards as thank you to people that have helped us in some way and the blank ones I have sent to other Africa adopting families.

If you would like to order any, please email me at tara_mowen@yahoo.com. We can work out all the details then!!

Thank you again to everyone that has helped us in any way along this process. God has used you to help bring our children home!!!

Like Dandelion Dust

This week our church showed a screening of the movie Like Dandelion Dust (based on Karen Kingsbury's book). This book/movie tells the story of a domestic adoption and the sacrificial love the birth mother had to give her son a better life. It really made my heart ache for these birth mothers who love their child enough to give them up so they may have a better life. Another adoptive family told me that if times were tough they would live in a cardboard box with their kids before giving them up. Which is so true, I would do the same thing. The decision to give a child up would be so hard and something most of us are fortunate enough that we don't even have to consider.

When I started thinking about adopting a child I assumed that these birth parents didn't want their children or the birth parents had died. I wondered how this would effect the children in the future. But as I have talked to more and more adoptive families, almost all their children's birth parents sacrificially gave their children up so they could have a better life. WOW! What love! God did the same thing for us, He gave His Son so we ALL could have a better life. There aren't many people in the world that have had to sacrifice something so special, but boy are we glad that God was willing to sacrifice His Son so we have the chance to be forgiven and live our eternal life in heaven!!!!! Believe it and embrace HIS wonderful gift!!