Twas the morning after Thanksgiving...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and feel really blessed that we were able to share our home with family. We have so much to be thankful for in 2009.

Here are just a few of our countless blessings...
-Raleigh and I both have jobs.
-Raleigh and I are healthy.
-We love each other very much!
-Both sets of our parents love us so much and have taught us how to love others well.
-In February, we met the 2009 quota for our adoption agency and are in the process of adopting a treasure, our child, from South Korea.
-Our home was filled with laughter today.

Enjoy a few snapshots from the day...

Please join me in prayer for God to move mountains in the Canadian governmnent...

Just a few days ago, the government in Canada stopped issuing visas allowing little treasures to be adopted. Many families are at the end of the adoption process and now they are not allowed to bring their child home.

Please refer this post and this one from A Place Called Simplicity to read more.

As Christians, we have to speak up for the orphans that cannot speak up for themselves. God is much bigger than any government. Please pray today that God will move in the hearts of the Canadian government and that they will reverse their decision.

Quite a good read....hard, but true

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/2009/11/we-have-had-one-of-those-really-great.html

Thanksgiving

This year Raleigh and I are blessed to be hosting Thanksgiving. My grandmother, Mamaw, loved Thanksgiving so much and always spent the month of November making sure Thanksgiving would be great!

Since my grandmother passed away, my mom and her five siblings have taken turns hosting Thanksgiving each year. It is always such a special time to gather with aunts, uncles, and cousins.

This year Raleigh and I decided we would like to have everyone gather in our home. (maybe by this time next year there will be a little one in our house and it might not be quite as easy to host...:)

My parents are coming a day or two early to help out. Mom and I are planning to do as much as possible Wednesday.

So far this is our menu:

Snacks while people arrive
hot pepper jelly with cream cheese
vegetable tray
spinach dip

Main Course
turkey
ham
dressing
pinto beans in the crock pot
deviled eggs
mashed potatoes
mac and cheese
rice casserole
broccoli casserole
salad
fruit salad
angel biscuits

Dessert
chocolate pies- Mamaw's signature dish...delicious
pumpkin pies
Texas sheet cake
sour cream pound cake

What foods are staples at your family's Thanksgiving meal?

November is National Adoption Month!

In honor of National Adoption Month, I thought I would post a few of my thoughts about our adoption.

Before Raleigh and I got married, we had all of the important conversations you have when you are dating someone seriously...do you want kids, how many years to you want to wait before having kids, how will we handle finances, do you want pets, how will we share household responsibilities, etc.

We always agreed that we wanted children. A little over a year ago, when Raleigh and I started talking about children, we had plans to have our first child biologically.

And then God totally rocked our world. Through a series of events including the stroke of our 26 year old friend Katherine and the death of sweet Maria Sue Chapman, God broke our hearts for the needs of the world and taught us so much about prayer and interceding on behalf of others. I can specifically remember sitting in our tiny little guest house in Atlanta have hours of conversations about what it means to pray without ceasing.

Through that journey of God grabbing our hearts for the needs around us and teaching us how to pray without ceasing in many different ways, God broke our hearts for the orphans around the world. I read the book The Lost Daughters of China by Karin Evans and God began to confirm that it was His plan for us to adopt our first child.

We knew that we wanted children. We knew that we had the love to give a child. We knew that it would not always be easy. We knew we wanted to raise a child to love God deeply.

God's lavish love to us and through us compelled us to adoption.

Adoption is not our 2nd choice. Adoption is our 1st choice.

I am so humbled that God is allowing us to join Him on His mission to love orphans.

Will we adopt again? Who knows! (Well, actually God knows:) Will we have biological children? Not sure.

But, in honor of National Adoption Month, know that adoption is not a last resort or a 2nd choice. Adoption is a beautiful picture of God setting the lonely in families just like He adopted us as His children and brought us into His family!

147 Million Orphans and an Adoption Fundraiser

I have been following the blog of Katie Davis for several months now. Katie Davis (Amazima Ministries.org) is a 20 year old girl who lives in Uganda, has custody of 14 little girls, sends 400 children to school, and now has a feeding program. I originally found her blog because she is from my hometown, Brentwood, TN. Within a year , Amazima (which means THE TRUTH) has grown from 150 to 400 children. If you spend some time reading Katie’s blog I know that you will be both encouraged and challenged.

147 Million Orphans has partnered with Katie and Amazima Ministries. Their goal is to help as many people as possible to see the 147 million orphans worldwide as their brothers and sisters in Christ.
147 Million Orphans has also decided to partner with adoptive families to help them raise money to bring home beautiful treasures!

Raleigh and I are excited to announce that we will be selling 147 Million Orphans shirts. The purchase of each adult shirt feeds a child in Africa for two weeks. Please consider purchasing a shirt for yourself and others on your Christmas list! Simply click on the right side of the blog on "Gresham Adoption Fundraiser" to see the shirts. When I wear my 147 Million Orphans shirt it is a great conversation starter!

Did you know there are 147 million children worldwide who have lost one or both parents?

Every 14 seconds an AIDS death leaves another child orphaned.

Approximately 88 million orphans live in Asia.

Approximately 45 million orphans live in Africa.

Approximately 14 million orphans live in Latin America & the Caribbean.

Approximately 1 million children live in public care in Central and Eastern Europe

More than 800,000 children pass through America’s foster care system each year.