A Light at the end of the tunnel

It will be two years, at the end of this year, since we started our adoption journey to Uganda and even longer since God put in on our hearts.
About 8 weeks ago we got a call that they were working on our adoption and that we were number 1 on the list. So currently they are working on getting children paperwork ready for those of us who are waiting.  My cousin is also adopting from there and she was told the same thing. How awesome would it be to be able to travel to Uganda with her and her husband as well!
So now we wait some more. We were told to be ready to travel any time from September-December (which probably means Jan- March 2015- everything has been taking longer than they say/hope) BUT there is a light at the end of our tunnel and I know my boy is there now! Oh my heart aches for him and I have a hard time sleeping at night, I am so excited and nervous all at once.  I will be traveling to Uganda with my husband, but I will be staying for 6 weeks and he will have to come back home for work. Its going to be a long, hard, exciting journey and I'm ready.

While I wait I am keeping busy and working on an adoption line of jewelry as well as custom orders and adding some new things to my etsy shop- Nat's Knapsack
All the proceeds are going to go towards our adoption. With me as a stay at home mom I want to do what I can to help and this is how I felt I could help.
So if you know of anyone looking for a special piece of jewelry and a good reason to shop, send them my way.

Adoption Update

Dated: may 2014

Hey everyone! I know I've been asked a lot lately about an update and so I am here to give you one.

Our update is really that there is no update. Man is this a hard and long journey. I contacted the agency this week to see if they had any further news for us and they really didn't. 

The one thing she told me was that the families in front of us have requested either siblings or a young baby so that gives me some hope, but the likelyhood of anything happening anytime soon is slim to none. 

Right now in Uganda the courts are changing again and things have slowed down yet again. I'm not sure if this is normal for an agency to really have nothing to tell us, or if it's just ours. Either way, there isn't much we can do but pray. 

I do know that God has His perfect timing and a plan for our family and lives but honestly I still struggle. It's a hard thing to hope for when there is little to do. My heart longs for a bigger family but I am so thankful for the one I have now. I am very blessed and sometimes I just need a reminder of that. :) 

Thanks for asking and thank you for your prayers during this waiting period. 

A mommy cry

Sometimes as a mom I need a good big cry. In those moments I need to cry out to my Father and open my heart to His comfort and grace.

Today was a beautiful and rough day. It was a day that, in the end, I needed a good big cry. As I sat down and had my moment, I put on headphones and pandora... This song came on and was truly my hearts cry.

Plumb- Need you now

Well, everybody's got a story to tell
And everybody's got a wound to be healed
I want to believe there's beauty here
'Cause oh, I get so tired of holding on
I can't let go, I can't move on
I want to believe there's meaning here

How many times have you heard me cry out
"God please take this?"
How many times have you given me strength to
Just keep breathing?
Oh I need you
God, I need you now

Standing on a road I didn't plan
Wondering how I go to where I am
I'm trying to hear that still small voice
I'm trying to hear above the noise

How many times have you heard me cry out
"God please take this?"
How many times have you given me strength to
Just keep breathing?
Oh I need you
God, I need you now

Though I walk,
Though I Walk through the shadows
And I, I am so afraid
Please stay, Please stay right beside me
With every single step I take

How many times have you heard me cry out?
And how many times have you given me strenth?

How many times have you heard me cry out
"God please take this?"
How many times have you given me strength to
Just keep breathing?
Oh I need you
God, I need you now.

I need you now
Oh I need you
God, I need you now.
I need you now
I need you now

dreams

AMEN

Oh what a great reminder.

For me it is definitely our adoption and dream of a big family one day.

How great our God is

What about you?

Polar Vortex Projects

Well winter has finally gotten the best of me. I go stir crazy being inside and it ends up with too my pinterest and a lot of moving things around. :) Today I was actually productive and hung up all my pictures and frames that have been in a pile waiting for a house. I must say, it was quite fun and i'm pretty proud of myself. (Can I say that)

My project started on the floor, in a giant mess. What to use and not use

After that I tried placing them on the ground in the arrangement I wanted. The problem I had with that was that my floor was not as big as my wall. I was running into things. So even though I loved it on the floor, it wouldn't fit on the wall. and that simply doesn't work now does it. 

Next I decided to trace and cut out the frames I wanted to use and tape them to the wall. 

This worked out amazingly

I was able to place them and step back and have a look. Then when it was time to hang them I could hammer my nail right into the paper and tear it down after. 

When I first started out all I had on this giant wall was one giant mirror that I had hoped to decorate around. When I took it down i had no intention of using it again on this wall. I actually taped off a space for a large (24x28) picture and frame I would like to have one day. 

Once everything was up, I couldn't be happier. It turned out perfect, but I needed to put the mirror back on the wall for safe keeping. I do have a 3 year old running around and this mirror is one heavy beast. Take a look - it actually fit with everything else

So fun

What have you been up to during this polar vortex?