Hey Guys! Please come follow the new blog!

http://inmystationwagon.blogspot.com/

New blog, come see me

New blog: 
inmystationwagon.blospot.com

would love for you to all come check it out.
will not be posting to this blog any longer.

Hello all! Ok, I know, it has been a hundred years since I have blogged!

We have had a great Fall! We have been busy but have had the chance to do a lot of fun things with Ivy. We went to the Fair, visited family, and now we are getting ready for Ivy's birthday next week. She will be 4, sad, sad, sad. I really need her to stop growing! It is killing me slowly each day when she acts a little bit older.

We just got our November numbers from AGCI and for the girl list we are 71 and boy list we are 52. Many of you have been asking how long we have been waiting and how far our numbers have come.... We began the adoption process in January 2011, made it on the waiting list by August/September and we started at 130 girl & 101 boy. At this rate we suspect it will be about another year. We know the timing will be right but we sure are ready for baby #2 to join the family!

Thank you all for praying for us and following our journey. It means the world to us!
With love, Hannah

Long time, no....

Long time, no news. I haven't blogged in quite sometime for two reasons: We have been crazy busy & we really haven't had much adoption news to share lately.

As far as our adoption our numbers, we have only been moving 1-3 spots a month. However, this month we jumped 12 spots! It feels great! We are still probably a good year away from knowing anything about our child but it's okay. John is starting a new job & I a new schedule so we will have plenty of time to adjust. We will have one more Christmas (hopefully) with only one kid on the Christmas card, one more year of spoiling Ivy since she is the one and only, one more year of a family of 3.

Thanks to all of you who keep up with us, pray for us, and those that have supported us in our fundraising. We are blessed!

April

Hey Everyone, We got our March numbers last night and we are now # 83 on the boy list and #105 on the girl list! So we had some decent movement this month, I think it will still be this time next year before we are home with our new babe. As far as our only babe, she will have her Easter party at school and Egg Hunt and all that jazz, so this is what I have been up to tonight.....

Peep Cupcake Pops. I got the idea on Pinterest. I will not show you my inspiration photo, you will no longer be impressed!

Hello, I Love You

Hannah normally keeps everyone updated with adoption news, so I think this is the first time I've added anything to our adoption blog (which I don't think I've ever blogged before, so bear with me). I have been reading a book about foreign adoption that I wanted to share with those who may be doing the same thing. Hello, I Love You is written by Ted Kluck. He has written other books such as Why We're Not Emergent & has received awards for some of his work from ESPN the Magazine, Sports Spectrum Magazine, etc. The book is written as a memoir, a compilation of his personal thoughts during the adoption process for he & his wife's two boys from Ukraine. What I really liked about the book is his seemingly total honesty of the process.

"There's nothing like adoption to make a grown man cry. Repeatedly. 'They called Svetlana tonight & told her we have to go to America & wait sixty days for you. Sixty days! I punched the wall. I paced the room like an animal. I looked at your diapers & your book & I cried angry tears. I can't leave you like this. I miss you already.'"

He & his wife began the adoption journey because of infertility, faced all kinds of financial troubles preparing for & during the adoptions, & trying to understand & get over the culture barriers of a post-Soviet Union country. Kluck adds bits of humor throughout, probably more for himself as he writes than for the reader, but also shares & explains all of his frustrations along the way. It really opened my mind when he shared about the types of flats they stayed in, the people they came across in Ukraine, the major differences between what we're used to here in the U.S. & overseas, etc. I know there will be nothing to prepare Hannah & I before we actually go, & I know there is probably not much in common between Ukraine's processes & Ethiopia's, but this book helped me to really think about & pray for our trips over. It also made me aware no matter how well we plan & prepare, there may be things that don't go our way. We will, just as Ted Kluck & his wife did, trust & obey God along the way.

I have a few other adoption books I'm going to try to go through over the next bit. When I'm finished I'll add a little about them also. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers for us & our families. We love you, & without your intercessory prayers wouldn't be able to do this.

John

January Numbers

Hi All! We received our January Numbers this week..................................................Girl #115 Boy #92
You may have notice we only moved 1 number this month! That is kind of depressing! At this rate we will not get a baby until Ivy is graduating high school! PLEASE join us in praying that the adoption system will speed up in Ethiopia & all countries with a high orphan populations.

We know that the timing of this adoption is in God's hands, just because we don't want to wait doesn't mean we shouldn't. There is no telling what God will do in this time of waiting. Maybe John & I will have time to go to Ethiopia for missions, or maybe God has other plans for our family but whatever it is, I am praying that we will be listening and we will be ready.

In other adoption news, Tony Dungy has a video promoting adoption & foster care that is available for Super Bowl half time shows. Here is the link:
http://www.adoptionjourney.com/share/dungyhalftime/

Just waiting....

Hi Everyone! I  have not had much opportunity to blog recently and I have really missed talking about our adoption! We should be getting our new waitlist numbers in another week or so.

Now that we have settled in to the New Year, we are preparing for all this year may have for us. We have planning our summer family vacation, which will hopefully be our last with only one child! We are also planning some more fundraising opportunities! But, most importantly, we are praying that 2012 is the year we get to bring home our Ethiopian baby! Now, as far as the adoption process goes, this may be a long shot; however, we are praying that God is going to do something big and not only help bring home our little one soon, but also all of the Ethiopian children who are currently being waited on here in the U.S. by loving families. We are praying for the ET government that they will decide  on whatever changes they feel are necessary but also while doing what is best for the orphans. And mostly, we are praying that they do it QUICKLY! Please join us as we seek God on these topics!

As those of you are in or preparing for a multi race family, you know that you all of a sudden notice all things that have families of all types- commercials, magazine ads, books, etc. Whenever I notice something like this, it just warms my heart a little. That is why I wanted to share this book that Ivy got for Christmas from our family.

It is a very sweet book about the children of the world and how God dreams that boys and girls of countries can hold hands and play together. That they will share, care and love because they are ALL God's children. It has great illustrations and Ivy loves anything that has pictures of kids in it!

December Update

Ok, ok, ok. So I know that some of you are probably thinking that the Wallaces no longer exist since it has been SO long since my last post! Truth is, we have just been crazy busy! And, since there have been some slow downs in Ethiopia, we really haven't had much news about adoption to share.

Today, so sweetly on Christmas day, we received our December numbers! We are #116 for a girl & # 93 for a boy! Sounds good to us, we hope things keep moving right along!

We truly hope you all had a very Christmas! We enjoyed ours spending time with our families & celebrating Jesus birth! Have a happy New Year!

Woo Hoo!

Okay, everyone, big news.... We have made it to the waiting list! We mailed our dossier to AGCI on Monday and they reviewed it today and we don't have to make any revisions which is a blessing! We are on the boy & girl list and we are finished with paperwork! Our numbers are:

130 girl

101 boy

So we ask that you all please be praying for our family over the next year as we wait for our new little one! 

Thanks y'all, Hannah

Adoption Update

Oh my goodness! After 18 weeks, I finally received my clearance from the FBI. My fingerprints were rejected, then delayed, then lost in the mail! But our amazing home study agency, New Beginnings received them last Wednesday and we had our actual home study in our hands by Friday! It was a nice feeling to finally have the home study in hand. So, we were able to mail off our USCIS paperwork, and as soon as we receive our USCIS fingerprint appointment, we can mail off our dossier!!!!!! That will finally get us on that waiting list. I have been watching lots of gotcha day videos lately, and it makes me so ready for the day we get to meet our kid! CAN NOT WAIT! Our friends who just made it to the waiting list waited 8 weeks for their USCIS appt., so I am hoping ours will go at least that quickly.

As previously promised, I want to update y'all on Orphanology. I actually haven't finished it yet, which is ridiculous, but we have been so busy this summer. Anyway, the book is amazing. It spells out so simply how we should look at adoption, Biblically speaking. I love reading it because it is so reaffirming to what led us to adopt. I will share more soon, but it really is inspiring!

Just to hint at a little fun, John and I have gone back & forth, to & fro on the tshirt idea. We are going to wait a while before we do them but we decided tonight that we are each going to design one and then have a little friendly competition to see who can sell more!!!!!! I think it will be a lot of fun. The winners bounty has not yet been determined! Stay tuned!

Thanks y'all, love you all!

Greetings...

Hi Everyone, I know my updates have been few and far between but I feel like as soon as we get ourselves on that wait list, we will have more time on our hands! It has been a very busy time for us, finishing paperwork and then re-doing it, oh, and then re-doing it again! I'm pretty sure we have done each dossier document at least 3 times!

Many of you have asked where we are in the process so here is a brief explanation: Our homestudy is finished, but it can not be reviewed by the state until our agency receives my fingerprints from FBI
(they claimed the 1st set was too blurry, so I sent off 3 more cards weeks ago!) Once the home study is reviewed by the state, we will receive a copy that we will include in our dossier. (Our dossier is our packet that basically tells everything about us on paper.) Once we submit the dossier, we are on the waitlist! We are hoping and praying that all of this happens soon, because once we are on the list all we can do is wait so we don't want to prolong this very long process to our baby at all! We have been hustling to get these document signed, notarized, certified, whatever the requirements!

I can not thank all of you who support us enough! We have been overwhelmed by the positive things people have done for us and our adoption! You have been generous and understanding and we want you all to know how much we love you and appreciate your good will and your prayers! Adoption is not for the faint of heart, and we could not be doing it without all of you!

The world of orphan care and adoption is never ending, I pray that you all will check out Melissa's blog (from which I posted most recently) if you haven't already, and I would encourage you to help and pray for the children of Oasis as much as you possibly can. Melissa is doing incredible things in Uganda and she needs support since she is separated from part of her family! www.roadtomercy.blogspot.com

Also, at my sister's suggestion, I am reading Orphanology by Merida & Morton. I am really enjoying it, it lays out how our adoption by Christ parallels adopting and caring for orphans. I hope to update you on the awesome things I am learning!

We love you all!
Hannah

Please check this out.....

Hi Everyone, I would really appreciate if y'all would read this & pass it on. Let's see what we all can do to help these sweet children.  I posted the story below, but if you want to donate you can go to Melissa's blog here. www.roadtomercy.blogspot.com
(Btw, Melissa is the wife of my high school youth minister. She is currently in Uganda trying to bring home their little girl. She has been there since August fighting the court system while her husband & other 2 children are at home in the states. While it must be very hard for their family to apart, she is doing amazing things with her time in Uganda.)


Oasis of Life
A friend of mine that’s spent time here in Kampala emailed me a few weeks back and asked if I would be willing to help with a project. She’d visited this orphanage and saw their great needs. She and her husband had raised some money to help them out and she wondered if she could wire the money to me and I would use it for supplies and to pay bills for the home. I told her that it would be no problem. I knew she’d said that this home could use some help, but I did not realize how much help, until I got there. 



Children of Oasis

The home currently has more than 60 children from 8 months old to 17 years. The boys’ house has no running water or electricity. The children sleep 2 or 3 to a twin size bed. A few kids just sleep with a blanket on the floor. I only saw mosquito nets on about 4 of the beds, which could explain the huge medical bill that had built up from all of the cases of malaria. The children are fed once per day a bowl of posho (corn meal) and beans, if there is enough food. Many of the children had very tattered clothes and no shoes. To be honest, the conditions really reminded me of “M” the children’s rehabilitation center where “SixtyFeet” began their work. The difference… the director and people working at Oasis love the children and treat them with respect. The man, Pastor Robert, that oversees the home has a huge smile, tons of energy and really seems to love each child. 

Girls' Bedroom.



Room where the babies sleep



Only water source for girls' and boys' home

When I arrived at Oasis for the first time the children swarmed to the car and gave me hugs and started shouting and dancing. They were thrilled with the food I brought. I also brought new underwear for all of the kids and sanitary pads for the girls. They were ecstatic and kept thanking me over and over. I tried to explain to them that I was merely delivering them for my friend, but they wouldn’t hear of it. I could not stay long and did not get to visit with the children that day. It had already taken hours to pay the bills and do the shopping, but I told them I would try to come back on Saturday when the kids would be out of school. 
Saturday rolled around and Mercy and I were tired. I decided that I wouldn’t go to Oasis that day. I could always go another day. Then my phone rang, it was Pastor Robert from Oasis. “When are you coming? The children are waiting. Some of them are so excited they did not sleep well.” How could I say no to that because I was merely tired. I told him I would be there in a couple of hours. I rounded up some of the other people staying at the house with me and we headed out. I wanted them to experience this place with me and get their thoughts on what to do next. And I am so glad we made the effort to go.

Again the kids greeted us with singing, dancing, drumming, and shouting. I gave everyone that I could reach a huge hug. Pastor Robert had them sing a few songs for us, then gave us a tour. As I expected, my friends also could not believe the conditions. After the tour of the girls’ house, the kids put on a dance contest for us. It was so much fun to watch them all “bust a move” and to see their different personalities. Then I got the chance to lead them in some silly songs. We laughed and laughed. We took some pictures and loved on the kids the best that we could. Then Pastor Robert led the kids in prayer time for us. Wow!! So sweet.


The Welcome Song



Dancing a song of thanks for their gifts

 

Oh yes, there was breakdancing and tumbling

 

Making Melodies

As one of my friends was hugging one little girl, she realized she was burning up with fever. She seemed very lethargic. We decided that on our way back to town we’d take her and Robert to the clinic. Sure enough, she had malaria. After a blood test and a few shots ( all for $12), she was on the road to recovery. 
I am not telling you about this place or this experience in any way to bring glory or attention to myself. I have not really done anything in this situation except for shopping and pay bills with someone else’s money. You can ask Cody… that comes naturally to me, ha! I tell you about this place because they need help. 

There is a group in the US that wants to partner with Oasis and help with some long term needs. They want to help with budgets, training, buildings, child sponsorship, and finding ways to be self-sustaining. But in the meantime, this place just needs resources. I believe this place is run with a good heart, but with very few resources. The home is sponsored by a church in a poor community that is filled with people barely able to feed their own families. As I said before, Pastor Robert has a big heart, which means it’s very hard for him to turn any child away, although they are struggling with the ones they have.


Pastor Robery singing with the children

Last week my friends were able to pay off medical and school debts, pay part of the water bill, buy underwear and sanitary pads, and buy a week’s worth of food. Last Saturday, we also collected money to have the latrine emptied and buy mosquito nets for every set of bunk beds. 
But there are more very important needs that we need to meet as soon as possible. FOOD! I talked to Pastor Robert today about bringing the mosquito nets to him tomorrow. I asked how they were doing on food. I knew they were waiting on a donation from another group. He told me they ran out of food today. He would not have told me that if I had not asked. I would love to be able to bring them another week’s worth of food tomorrow. I can’t stand the thought of them going hungry another day. 


All of the remaining food last Saturday.  Now it is all gone.

Also, at least 12 of the children cannot attend school because they do not have shoes. All of the children need school fees for the current term. They all need school uniforms. Imagine being singled out every day at school because you are wearing tattered street clothes, instead of a uniform. But let me tell you how much I appreciate the headmasters at these schools that allow the children to attend when their fees are not up to date and they do not have the uniforms. That does not usually happen! The headmaster of the primary school told me he lets them come because all children should be educated and because the children of Oasis are also always among the top performers in the whole school. 

Children needing shoes for school

They also need money for their electricity bill and for the balance on their water bill. Also the babies at the home do not currently drink any sort of formula or milk. I’d love to be able to buy them several cans of formula. They need more clothes, shoes, blankets, mattresses… the list goes on and on.

It is overwhelming to have to try to prioritize these things and figure out what is most important. I hate questions like, “Should they get two meals a day or get their school fees paid?” “Should we pay for shoes or underwear?” I hate that we ever have to consider these things. I know that we cannot meet all of their financial needs, but I would love to be able to help these precious children and tell them that God loves them and that God is the one who sent us to help meet their needs. 

Would you be willing to help? I promise you that any money given for this project will be spent entirely on their needs. I will pay each bill directly and purchase all items myself. I know I’ve often told you about different needs and places you can donate money to help the children of Uganda. They are all great causes. But I want you to know that this place really touched my heart. These children desperately need help. I was so touched by their gratitude, happiness, and love in the midst of such dire circumstances. And we can easily meet so many of their needs.

I’m asking for donations of any amount to help these children. I need at least $150 to buy them food for the next week. You can donate by clicking the PayPal ‘Mama Kit’ Donation button on the top right of this page. Put “Oasis” in the notes and all money will go towards these children. If you would like to make a sizeable donation to this project and need it to be tax exempt, please let me know (melissabusby@hotmail.com) and I will get you in contact with the right people.

I am so grateful to have wonderful friends and supporters like you that see the benefits of helping others.



Matthew 25: 35-40 “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”




Thanks for reading y'all. The part that stayed with me the most was about the children having one meal a day. Can you imagine if our children only had one meal a day? 

Hi Everyone!
We had a great day at the zoo yesterday! We visited the Memphis zoo with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece and the little girls had a big time! Even in the rainy weather! My sister-in-law works for a company that sponsors the zoo so we got free tickets! The weather was terrible but we decided to go for it & see what happened. Needless to say, we were wet all day! My camera is currently charging but I will get photos up soon- the girls in their zoo ponchos were too cute!

I also want to tell y'all about our new fundraiser! My friend, the wonderfully talented, Kristen Lee King has made us Africa magnets! She makes beautiful pottery and we love her for lending her skills to make these pieces for us! Each one is handmade & unique!

Now, of course I am excited about these because they represent our soon-to-be child but these are not just for those adopting in Africa. My hope is that they will serve as prayer reminders. We will not only be praying for our baby but also for the fatherless, the sick, and the lost. We are also praying for people who we know who are in Africa right now, Melissa, who is desperately trying to bring her baby home, and those are doing what they can to help like SixtyFeet & Restoration Hope. 

"...my house will be a house of prayer for all nations." Mark 11:17

Right now I have 50 of these guys...Here are all 50 on my fridge!

The magnets are $10 or $11 if I need to ship it to you. (We prefer check or cash because the paypal fees are so high but if that works best for you, that will be okay.) 

They are each different ...

Send me an email if you would like one!
wallacelc@aol.com

Thanks y'all! -Hannah

Day Over

Today has been one long day! We had our fundraiser today: Spin Off 2011! We didn't have a huge turn out but we still raised a lot of money & we learned a lot about how to run this event. In other words, Spin Off 2012 will be awesome, and we can't wait to do it again since next year we want to give all the proceeds to another family that is working on adoption. We want to say thanks again to our sponsors: M&S Auto, Brandon Discount Drugs, Jason Harper: Century 21, Camille Griffith: Guide One Insurance, Studio Hair & Tan, Dozier & Associates, Bryan Bailey for Sheriff, & Mississippi Medical Massage Therapy! We also want to thank our friends who helped us put this thing together & those who came out to visit us today! Our grand total was $716! We were so excited about that! We are getting really close to our goal that will need to send in with our dossier paperwork which will hopefully be soon! And oh yes, I completely forgot to take pictures today! I know, I'm sorry!
Also, we have a few event tshirts left, if anyone would like to buy one!

In adoption news, we heard from our New Beginnings social worker this weekend and our home study should be ready for us to proofread by Monday! This is very exciting, we can't move further with our dossier until the homestudy is finished, and the sooner we are on that waiting list, the better! So, all of our homestudy paperwork is finished and I have completed about half of the dossier paperwork. I feel great that everything so far has gone so quickly and smoothly! God has provided every step of the way. We knew that He would when He called us to this plan, but living by faith is still so hard! He has proved himself even more than we expected!


I wanted to leave you with a few sweet pics of International Families....can't wait for family photos with 4 Wallaces!

Thanks for yall! Love, Hannah

Spin Off 2011 Flyer

Spin Off 2011

Spin discs, support orphans

disc golf fundraiser

for international adoption

may 15, @ the rez

pelahatchie shore park

$20 to play includes player pack & event tshirt for first 50 players.

Beginner & Novice 

Prizes for 1st place in each category

For more information 

email Hannah 

wallacelc@aol.com

 Hey Everyone, this is the info I have been meaning to get out! We are so excited about the fundraiser, its this Sunday!Please come out & join us if you can and send this to anyone who might be interested. There is a facebook event page too with more info.

I picked up the event shirts from Pollchaps yesterday and they look great! I know you will want one!

Thanks y'all!

Hannah

Fundraiser this Sunday!

Hey Everyone, I only have a minute so I will post more later but I wanted to let yall know about our fundraiser this Sunday. We are having a disc golf fundraiser at the Rez course at Pelahatchie Shore Park. It starts at 3pm. Its $20 to play & the first 50 players receive a player pack and a tshirt. The shirts are really cool, I will post photo soon.
Thanks yall!

Babies, babies...

Well, while we may have to wait quite awhile for our next little one, there always seems to be babies coming in the Shanks family! Baby Sawyer, whom I told yall about a few post ago, got to come home from the hospital today! She is back up to 5lbs, 2oz. and she is the cutest, tiniest little thing. Ivy loved checking out all of her stuff, especially her video monitor! She kept saying, "ivy's on tb!" It was really cute.

I also have another new niece today! I know, right! My sister gave birth around 1am to Sicily Ann, she was 8lbs, 8oz! I haven't gotten a photo yet but Im sure she's precious, as are her two older siblings! We have so much to God for this week, that is for sure!

We have really busy working on our disc golf fundraiser that is coming up on May 15th! We are really excited and we have some awesome friends that are helping us get everything in order. It is going to be a fun day & our hope is that we can do this event every year with the profits going to a different family in the adoption process each year.

For all of you African mommas, I have some special coming soon....so stay tuned!

Thanks yall! -Hannah

Cupcakes & Haircuts!

Alright! So more news on our exciting & busy week...

Last Thursday we had an amazing night! We attended a showing of the documentary Bereaved created by 60feet. There were many families who are involved with adoption and it was great to meet some of them. We also got to finally meet, drumroll, local blog celeb, Allison of Lovinmuch! She is as nice as anyone can be and passionate about orphan care! 

The documentary is very moving and I highly suggest checking it out! It can be hard to watch but it is such an important truth, orphan care is not just for those called to adopt, it is a commandment to all believers.

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts & keeps our souls, knows that we know, & holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:12

One way that 60feet raises funds is through the Cupcake Kids. It is such a cute project, it was started by the children of the creators of 60feet. Last year they decided to have a cupcake stand to raise money for Ugandan children, and last weekend, only one year later, there were cupcake sales in 31 states and 4 countries! Our church had a sale that was headed up by the amazing Jenni of 1in17 blog. She worked so hard & they raised about $650! I had to work on Saturday but Ivy & I made some cupcakes to send.

These supercute tshirts are available on the cupcake kids site, I added there button to the side of the page.

Of course, we had to keep just one to sample!

I also wanted to share a little bit about our haircut fundraiser! Andrea & Leni were troopers! Working nonstop on their day off and for free! It was an amazing blessing! I am still blown away by their generosity! Jeff & Ashley hosted this event so we owe a huge thanks to them for letting us use their home! They have been a great support to us & our adoption in more ways than one! 

Our lovely hosts!

Andrea and our Megan who is also adopting from Ethiopia!

Check out her blog!

 Thanks to all of friends who participated! We raised over $500! Yay! A little bit closer to our dossier fees!

Craziest week ever!

Hey Everyone! I have so much to catch up on, I am going to have to send several little post because we have had so much going on! It has been crazy, crazy, crazy!
First of all, the biggest & greatest news:
Baby Sawyer is here and doing great! My brother Fred & his wife Kristi had their first baby this weekend! She came about 6 weeks early so it was scary for awhile but they were being prayed for by so many people, and God totally took control of it! Kristi is doing much better and I think she is glad Sawyer is here even though she had to come early and Sawyer is doing great! She is 5lbs., 2oz. and cute as a button! PTL!

Sorry for the poor picture quality! It is from my phone, and I was crying when I took it because it was the first time we were seeing her! She is so sweet!

I have more updates coming on the haircut fundraiser, the tornado, the dossier call... it never ends!

Thanks yall! -Hannah