7 Months!

Asher is now 7 months old!!! CRAZY!! He is getting more and more personality every day. I love his little laugh and voice. He loves saying "dadadada" and unfortunately he only says "mamamama" when he is tired or mad :) haha. Figures. Here are some pics from our 7 month photo shoot :)

What a big boy! Those solids are really making those cheeks fill out :)

Truth...best gift EVER!

Love this little hand...can't believe it will be big enough to hold onto mine one day.

This is him telling me he is finished taking pictures

What's this momma?

So tired of taking pictures :) This is the face I get right before he starts "mamamama" 

Our Weekend.

So, I have not made it onto the blog the past few nights for my picture posts. We have had a fun-filled and busy weekend.


Friday-Asher's first time in the "big boy" swing at the neighborhood park



It was getting a little close to bedtime...:)

Aunt Kelly and Cousin Addison came over Saturday to play and paint pumpkins!

Trying to get them both to smile at the same time!

Gig'em Ags!!

Hope you had a blessed and fun-filled weekend too! Don't forget to check out the progress and donate to APicADay4Water campaign!!

Why this Mommy is meant for adoption...

I apologize ahead of time if this post is a little bit of rambling and very scatter-brained. It is 10pm on a Friday night, so I am a little sleep deprived, but I just had a thought that I couldn't let slip my mind.

Why I know my heart was made for adoption...

I am an avid blog reader (hence my new desire to be a better blogger myself). Of course, top on my blogs to read are adoption blogs. As I read more and more about families in the adoption process, and more specifically post-adoption I realize my desire only grows more. The blogs I follow are great at being honest. They don't sugar coat things. They tell the truth, both beautiful and ugly. And you know what? None of the ugly scares me away, but only pulls at my heart even more.

I hear about difficulty with attachment, both from the child's and the parent's perspective. Mommies who don't automatically feel an unconditional love for their new child. Babies who don't always want comfort from their new Mommies and Daddies, who after all, are nothing but strangers to them in the beginning. I read about babies grieving their homes thousands of miles away. And you know what? It doesn't scare me away.

It is easy to think "I would be so sad if my baby doesn't let me hold him or comfort him", but what speaks to my heart is how much these babies are hurting. My heart breaks, not for me, but for my baby. That my child will come to me broken hearted. That he/she must be unbelievably brave to cross an ocean with strangers. I know this Momma's heart is meant for adoption because all these "hard" things just makes me want it more. I want to love someone unconditionally, through the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is easy to love those that love you back, but we are called to love even if our circumstances are not filled with butterflies and rainbows.

 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. -Luke 6:32-33

I know it will be hard. I know there will be times I will be so exhausted and so broken hearted for my child that I will wonder if Reagan and I did the right thing in adopting. But when I get to that point, I hope I can remember the truth that has been spoken to us through much prayer. We have been called to adopt, to care for God's children no matter their background, their country, their skin color.

My heart leaps at the thought. It may be years down the road, but nevertheless it is on my heart and mind each and every day. Your family is coming for you baby. You are wanted. You are loved. You have a Mommy and a Daddy and the best Big Brother ever, and we cannot wait to bring you home. Forever.

Dessert Anyone?

And Reagan wonders why I don't ask him to go to the grocery store more often... :)

Weaknesses

2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

I must say "glad" and "weakness" are two words I never thought would go hand-in-hand. Boasting about our weaknesses completely goes against human-nature. We tend to hide out weaknesses, compensate for them, or flat our deny them...but BOAST about our weaknesses? It's so foreign to this sinful mind of mine it almost sounds humorous.

 

However, this cerse has popped into my head over the past few days (and with it brings a humbling truth). As many of you know, I am trying to raise $5,000 to help bring safe, clean drinking water to people in Rwanda. I started this campaign excited and hopeful. I thought, "Yeah, why not, if others can do it, so can I." And that's where I went wrong.

 

"I"

 

"I" cannot do anything. "I" cannot inspire people to give money to any cause. "I" cannot reach enough people to raise $5,000. "I" cannot open other's eyes to the poverty and suffering God's chilren are enduring all over the world. 

 



BUT

 

God Can! Is blogging the best way to raise money? Probably not. Is sharing a picture a day the best incentive to get people to help? Definitely not. I am not the best marketer. I have no idea how to raise money. I am self-absorbed in thinking that others want to see and know what my family is up to each and every day. I am selfish in asking others to give money knowing that I could probably give more myself. Though I am flawed with these weaknesses (and many more!) I will boast in them because only then can God's power work its magic. I know I cannot make this campaign successful. I am not enough, so I plead for God to intervene.

 

Father, show us how your children are suffering. Show us the solution, what we can do to help. Open our eyes to the truth and open our hearts to give of ourselves freely.

 

I know this water campaign will be completed. I don't know when and I don't know how. I know it will not be because of what I do, but because of what God chooses to do through me. I am excited to see this campaign grow despite my bad ideas and poor marketing skills!

 

Thank you God for allowing me to be a part of your work when I know very well You could do it all without me. And thank you to our first donaters: my sister Kelly, Aunt Marty, and dear friend Patsy. I love you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity.

 



Check it out for yourself! http://mycharitywater.org/apicaday4water

YAY! 4 Rwandans will be saved with our donations so far!

The beautiful face of a life changed!

New Things...

This is what my big guy has been up to this week...Sippy Cups! We were given the green light at Asher's 6 month appointment to start trying sippy cups with water! He of course just holds the cup for a little bit and then drops it as of now, but sooner or later he will catch on :)

The timing of this milestone and my charity:water campaign must be God-ordained. I cannot fill up Asher's cup without remembering the nearly 1 billion people around the world without clean water. It is God's little reminder each day to keep fighting for those suffering from lack of clean drinking water. This video says it all.

Don't forget to donate to APicADay4Water campaign!

Pic #3

Hope you enjoy the pic of the day! Asher loved playing in cousin Brooklyn's bassinet!

Don't forget to visit APicADay4Water campaign page & help bring life saving water to the people of Rwanda.

Pic #2...today was a great day shopping with Gigi, Aunt Koko, Brooklyn, and Asher. I think all this shopping wore the babies out! And good thing we had the stroller to hold all our purchases :)

APicADay4Water...if 250 people donate $20, we will provide 15 families with life saving clean water.

APicADay4Water

“Then the King will say to those on the right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home… ‘I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”

An overwhelming burden has been placed on my heart these past few weeks and months for the orphans of this world, and more specifically, the orphans of Africa. Reagan and I are in the prcoess of praying about how God would have us be involved in taking care of his children. The first of hopefully many things we will be doing to help, starts today. APicADay4Water campaign is NOW OPEN!!

What is APicADay4Water? Well, it is a clean water campaign that Reagan and I just created through an amazing organization called charity:water. charity:water is a non-profit organzition that uses 100% of funds raised from water projects like APicADay4Water to provide clean and safe drinking water to those that are dying without it. In many parts of the world, women and children spend hours a day fetching water from dirty rivers and ponds. They return home with water contaminated with parasites and bacteria. They give this water to their family knowing it will probably make them sick, but what other option do they have? Time taken by these women and children to fetch dirty water is also time away from going to school or working at a job that will allow them to provide for their family.

Did you know, that 1 billion people are without clean drinking water? Or that today alone, 4,500 children will die from water related diseases?

Providing clean water is one way to help children stay with their biological families. Our goal is to raise $5,000 by the end of 2012 to fund water projects in the Rulindo District of Rwanda. Up to 70% of people in this district spend hours a day fetching water from contaminated sources. 100% of money raised will go to creating piped systems that help protect natural water sources and deliver water to these communities.

You can make a difference. Together, we can save lives and give children a future with their mommies and daddies. Please consider donating to APicADay4Water TODAY!!

And because everyone loves pictures, I will post APicADay until this campaign is complete in return for your generous donations.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and love for the people and children of this world who are in need of a miracle.

Pic #1...of course no one can kick off this campaign quite like this adorable guy...