This is hard...

All of this waiting is hard. I have been told a few times that we are taking the easy way to become parents. There hasn't been much that has been easy. No, I haven't had morning sickness nor will I be going through many hours of labor to birth my child. But I have woke up in the middle of the night sick to my stomach with worry for my children and felt such an urgency to pray for them right away. I have no idea, nor may I ever know what my child(ren) went through before they were at the transition home. Were they fed enough, were they loved on, did anyone hold them when they cried? I have also carried my phone around with me at all times waiting for the call for "my water to break" (haha, get our referral). I heard early on from another adoptive mom that there is a reason that pregnancy only lasts 9 months, thats all a mama's heart can handle before they are so ready to hold their child. It has been over a year since we decided to adopt. On December 22nd it will be one year since we applied to AWAA. We have been DTE (on the official waiting list) since July 9th, which is about 5 1/2 months. AWAA says that the timeline for infant boys is 4-6 months, with most referrals coming at the end of that time frame. (That means our referral does have to come soon, right????)
Unfortunately 2 families with our agency have lost their referrals. Both for good reasons, but such a heartache at the same time. And a different family got a referral for a baby girl yesterday. It was such a blessing for all of us in "the wait" because it has been almost 7 weeks since anyone on our unofficial list got a referral for a baby. So we are currently tied for 3rd for an infant boy and 5th for a infant girl. We won't know if we are blessed with a 2nd child until we get "the call". I really do want 2 children and I think God has been placing this on our hearts for sometime, but when I called our family coordinator she said if we request to only accept 2 children, our wait could be years. There is just no telling how long, so again we put it back in Gods hands and He will bless us with whatever children we are supposed to have. I pretty much have to give it back to God everyday, because I find myself wanting to control how many kids and when, etc. Brad has done a good job of being more relaxed about this for the past month. I don't know why but this past month has been hard. I am ready to get on a plane and go to Ethiopia. God continues to bless us along every part of this journey, sometimes through encouragement of others and sometimes with the gifts other people have given us. Brads co-workers threw us a wonderful shower (post coming soon on that). They are so generous and loving to us! Yesterday we received an anonymous gift and Brad emailed me and reminded me that God is in control. I am so thankful that my husband can remind me of that just when I need it!
We had a conference call with AWAA the other day, they let us know that there are many babies close to being referred but due to sickness and lack of proper documentation they aren't ready to be referred out. But soon!!! Please pray for these sick babies and the Ethiopian government. Some families are waiting close to 4 months for a court date after referral, that has to be hard.
Even though this has been hard, I would do it again. Brad actually emails me often some pictures or country he would like to start the paperwork for as soon as we are done with this adoption. So I know we will do it again. God has taught us both so much through this process and we know that we are following HIS will for our lives. People say you forget all the pain from the wait once you hold your child. I sure hope so and I can't wait for that day!!!

5 Months DTE-Slow Month

Today marks our 5th month being DTE. When we got on the waiting list we wer told our wait would be 4-6 months. So we are right in the middle, a great time for some referrals to start happening.
This past month has been very slow with AWAA. There were a couple weeks where there was NO news for anyone. Finally some families have gotten the long awaited phone call that they have been cleared by the US Embassy and they can come and pick up their children. Other families have gotten court dates too. But there have been zero infant referrals (with our unofficial list) and only a few older children referrals since the end of October. Everyone that is on the DTE Waiting list is soooo ready for referrals to come in!!!
I feel like I have done a good job handling the wait (most of the time patience is very hard for me), until the past week. I feel like the dream of going to Ethiopia to meet and bring home our child(ren) is fading away. I know our time will come and we will be matched with the perfect child that God has already picked out for our family, but right now the. wait. is. hard. I think it would be easier if there were some referrals going out to someone, anyone. It's so exciting to check my email with our yahoo group and see that another family has been matched with a child and there is one less orphan in the world!!! I am ready to be excited for someone soon!!! There are many families over in Ethiopia picking up their children this week, so hopefully referrals are coming soon!! What a wonderful Christmas present that would be!!!!!!

LONG SLEEVE T-shirts now available

We still have a few t-shirts left and we will be placing another order on Wednesday, December 15th!! Please let us know if you'd like to order one so we can have the correct sizes!!

This time around we also have LONG SLEEVE t-shirts for only $18 (plus $3 shipping).

It's been so fun to see people wearing our t-shirts and the conversations that have sparked about what "Break my heart for what breaks Yours" means has been awesome!!!

You can order on the sidebar or by mailing us a check.

THANK YOU!!!

Thanksgiving Weekend and Shirts Pictures

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend spent with family and some crazy shopping on Black Friday. I think I am still tired from missing sleep that Thursday night/Friday morning. We also got to hand deliver many t-shirts to friends and family. Here are some pitures of us and others in our adoption shirts.

Brad and Tara

Our niece Kaylee and Tara

My cousin Keely and I (with my new Ethiopian cross necklace she gave me, she has been saving it for several years since her last mission trip over in Africa)

Our niece Kylie and Keely's two boys Eli and Levi

Keely, Levi, Amy, Kylie, Tara, Eli, and Chelsea

At my dad's with Tony, Brad, Cathy, Grandma pat, Dad, Pete, Chelsea, Tara, Kylie, and Amy

We still have many t-shirts available if you would like to order one! Its so fun to see so many pictures of our friends and family supporting our adoption and spreading orphan awareness!!
THANK YOU!!

Thankful

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

Colossians 3:15

This is the verse that AWAA sent out this week, so fitting for the time of our life. We wish we had a referral to be thankful for, but we are at peace knowing that God has our children picked out and has our referral day already planned out. We are patiently (smile) waiting to see our childrens precious faces!!

We are also VERY thankful for all the love, support, and encouragement we have recieved from all our friends and family. We couldn't have made it this far without all of you!!!

An Adoptive Family is raffling off an iPad

Another AWAA Adoptive Family is Raffling Off an iPad!!!

The Wade Family is raffling off an iPad on Friday! The tickets are $10 (if you buy 5 you get a 6th free). All proceeds from the raffle are going toward the expenses of their adoption. Please support them by purchasing a raffle ticket!
www.ourethiopiandaughter.weebly.com

Stampin/Scrappbooking Retreat

For all my Stampin or Scrapbooking friends around here...

Email me with any questions or if you'd like a registration form emailed to you!tara_mowen@yahoo.com

Stampin/Scrapbooking/Crafting Retreat
January 7-8, 2011

Join us for a relaxing 30 hours with no interruptions!! No kids, No husband, and No housework!

What does it cost? $25-$50 (depends on what option you choose) Package options are broken down to allow you to find an option that works for you.

What does it include? Meals and drinks, two Make-n-Take projects, and door prizes. Fri. morning to Sat. package includes a 5 minute chair massage.

What to bring? Your choice of craft projects, a snack for the snack table, bedding (plenty of floor space to claim as your own!) and toiletries, friends, DVD’s and CD’s.

Where? First Church of the Nazarene, 1501 Webster St., Galesburg, IL 61401

Extras available: Silent Auction- there will be a variety of items for you to bid on. Massages (full or chair) will be available. Yard Sale table-bring items you would like to try and sell (limit 10). A few scrapbooking or stampin items will be available for purchase.

Why? Uninterrupted time for avid stampers/srcrapbookers/crafters to get your projects completed. Costs associated with this weekend will cover facility, food, prizes and fun! All additional proceeds from this weekend will go towards Brad and Tara Mowen’s adoption costs. Brad and Tara will be bringing a child or two home from Ethiopia in the very near future!!

*****Sign up a friend and you will get to stamp an extra project!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Registration Form
___ Friday 8am-Saturday 2pm $50 (includes 4 meals, 2 MNT’s, 5 min chair
massage)
___ Friday 8am-midnight $35 (includes 2 meals and 2 MNT’s)
___ Friday 5pm-Saturday 2pm $40 (includes 3 meals and 2 MNT’s)
___ Stamp-a-Stack only $25 (make 20 cards) Friday 6-9pm or Saturday 9am-12pm
___ add Stamp-a-Stack to another package $15 (make 20 cards)

Payment and Registration due by December 30th. Send to Tara Mowen. Email with questions tara_mowen@yahoo.com

T-Shirt and Cards WINNER!!!

Thank you so much for everyone that has purchased a shirt already!!! An extra thank you to everyone who helped spread the word about our Adoption t-shirts!!!


The Winner is.....

Maddie
http://maddieburris.blogspot.com/


Congrats Maddie!! Email me with your t-shirt size and address!


Our T-shirt Pre-order will be going on until Thursday night. We should get the t-shirts back by Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for supporting us and bringing awareness to the orphan crisis all over the world!!!!

Conversation with a First Grader

Over the past couple weeks I have began to tell my students a little more about us adopting a baby from Africa. One student in particular loves to ask questions about it and talk about it. He always tells me that he wants to have a brother from Africa, but I don't think his mom is on board with that. I love to see a 1st grader have a heart to adopt though!

This was our conversation the other day:
N: Is that Africa? (I had another families adoption shirt on)
ME: Yes, how did you know?
N: It has animals on it.
ME: Yeah, this is a shirt from another family that is adopting a baby from Africa too. I will be going to Africa soon to bring my baby home.
N: Why?
ME: They don't have a mommy or daddy, so Mr. Mowen and I will get to be their mommy and daddy.
N: You mean they are orphans?
ME: Yes, how do you know what orphans are?
N: I watch All Dogs Go to Heaven, duh. The girl and the dogs are orphans, they don't have a family or food. can we write a story about that??
ME: Absolutely! (I usually have to ask him to write something, and today he offered)
Here's what he wrote...
I can't get the picture to rotate, but you can see it was still a cute story!

T-Shirt and Cards GIVEAWAY!!!

Would you like to win a FREE T-Shirt and a pack of our Handstamped Cards??

Please help us spread the word of our fundraiser!!! Share the information by Friday, November 12th. I will draw the winner Friday at 4pm.

Each time you post a link to our blog and reference the t-shirts on either your blog or on Facebook, you get an entry for the GIVEAWAY.

Please leave a comment below so I know who to put in the drawing!! Remember you must post on your blog or FB by Friday at 4pm.

Thanks so much for helping us!!!

Adoption T-shirt Pre-order!!!

Our adoption T-shirts are finally ready!!!! From now until November 18th you can order our "Break my heart for what breaks Yours" t-shirt. T-shirts come in 2t, 3t, 4t, youth small-large and adult small-XL. They are $15 each.
The design is on the front and it says "Break my heart for what breaks Yours". The shirts are all Gildan brand 50% cotton.




If you would like to order please mail us a check or email me at tara_mowen@yahoo.com and I will send you our address(preferred method)or use paypal on the sidebar.

After a couple months of trying to decide what words we wanted on our t-shirt, Brad heard the song Hosanna (one of the songs on our blog) while driving in the car. He called me and said "that's what we should put on our shirts". We know that God's heart is broken by all the orphans in the world and He has definitely broken our hearts too. God has given us the desire to adopt children into our family and love them the way He loves us. We know that God's heart is broken by many things in this world and we hope these shirts will remind people to be compassionate and loving to all people and all circumstances.

Top of the List

Last Friday we were excited to find out we are tied at #1 for an infant boy!!!! There are four families that were all DTE on 7/9/10, so we are all sharing the #1 spot and we are all anxiously awaiting THE CALL!!! We also filled out an unrelated child application last week. So we might get a call for one baby and one child around 3 years old. We are #8 on the girls list, but we are assuming we will get a boy since we are on the top of that list. But nothing is for sure in the adoption world, so we will see!!
It's easy to worry and fret over when the call is coming, but I am constantly reminding myself that God already knows our children and He knows when is the perfect time for us to get The Call!!! And until then, we wait.