We need your help!

Hi Everyone! This Sunday is our Haircut Fundraiser and we need your help spreading the word to fill up the appointments! I know I have blogged about this already, but in case anyone missed it: My stylist of 10 years & her coworker are donating their time to cut hair for free! Donations are welcome & 100% of those donations go toward our adoption. They are both stylist at ULTA Salon in Flowood and have tons of experience. The event will be held at our friends home in Brandon.
Please help us fill these appointments! We still have a lot of spots available!

Thanks Y'all! Love, Hannah

Fish & Loaves

     Hi Everyone, Just wanted to let yall know we had an awesome fundraiser tonight! We are so thankful for the all of the jewelry orders that helped us raise money to bring home our baby! Thank you, thank you. I will give yall the grand total next week when it's all wrapped up but I am pleasantly surprised!
     I wanted to share something this week that is on my mind from my devotional, I hope it encourages those considering adoption.
"They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." Matthew 14:16.
Jesus said this to the disciples because they assumed they had no food to provide the large crowd. We all know, that He provided food to many with one boy's lunch. It reminded me of how each time we discussed adoption, we would decide we couldn't afford it. Well, we can't but God can. He is taking our 5 loaves & 2 fish and turning it into the huge sum of money that we need to save the life of one child. We are giving Him what we have, which isn't much, and He is blessing us more than we thought He would.  (Which was just silly on our part, right?) The point is that God can take anything and turn it into something amazing, we often think our issue is too big or too small to bother Him, but He created something as small as 2 fish & He created the universe. Nothing is too big or too small for Him.
    In other adoption news, we had a big week! We mailed off our contracts for AGCI and with a huge check, thanks to all of you sweet folks! The baby bottle fundraiser has been a huge blessing. We also got most of our home study paperwork in the mail. We got blood test and finger prints this week, finally. Finding the time for that without taking off of work was difficult for both of us.  Our FBI packet should go in the mail on Monday! We are trucking right along and thank goodness because I am ready for kid #2 to be here with us! Also, I don't think I have shared this yet, but John & I decided to change our status from baby girl to either gender. So, that means when we finish our dossier, we will go on the waiting list for a boy & a girl and see which comes first! It is more likely to be a boy since they are less in demand. I am starting to get really excited about the possibility of having a son! John, of course, is happy because he wants a camping buddy!
     Ivy had her first big "bobo" at school this week, she tripped, busted her lip and got pretty scratched up. It was tough! Luckily, it was on the way into school so I was there to take care of her. She looks like she got in a fight! So sad, but she is fine. She was out playing on the playground later that day.
    All in all, we have had a big week! Ready for rest, hopefully Sunday will bring that to us!

Save the Date!

Hey Guys, We have several fundraising opportunities coming up and we wanted to share all of the info in case anyone is interested. 

April 2- Amanda Brewer is hosting a Premiere Jewelry Party for me at her home in Brandon. ALL of the profits of the party go toward our adoption, which is so sweet of her to do this and without taking a dime! Also, if you interested, they a promo for April that if buy $75, you can get one item up to $40 for free!
Don't forget Mother's Day is coming up soon- they have great jewelry for gifts.

April 10- My awesome hair dresser of 10 years, Andrea Foster and her coworker Leni Martin are donating their time to cut hair for free! I am taking all of the appointments and ALL donations go to our adoption!

Also, if any of you have bottles that you are ready to turn in, we will take them at any time. You can bring them to me at the drugstore or contact one of us and we can try to pick them up! The bottle drive has been going amazing! So we are excited to see the final results.

We are moving right along with all of our adoption/homestudy paperwork. We still have some things to do, physicals and fingerprints, but we will mailing off a good bit this week and I know that will be a great feeling!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday, we are heading to Pinelake Clinton today, so we are really excited to worship with our extended church family!

Good News!

We have recently heard some good news about Ethiopian adoptions.  The Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) has just added new members and workers to allow them to work full force.  They are currently working extensively to catch up on adoptions that have been postponed during the debates to cut the number of adoptions or not.  They also are planning on keeping this full force team working to make future adoptions in Ethiopia as ethical and timely as possible.  We thank you for your prayers and support and for signing the petition with us to voice our opposition against a 90% reduction.  We thank God for being faithful and providing a way for our family and others to continue with the journey.

My sweet cousins!

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't updated in a while, I have been waiting to hear about the news with Ethiopian adoptions. There was a meeting yesterday so I am hoping to hear something soon. We are trying not to worry and not to get stressed out, but I am so sad for all the families who are already on the waiting list for their children! I couldn't be as calm if I were in their shoes! I know whatever comes next for us will be what God wants so we are being patient.

The point of this post however, is to share with you about my sweet cousins who are raising money for our adoption. Since I first shared our news these girls (and their mom) have been so excited about our new baby and so generous spending their time raising money for us.

One afternoon, they took one of our baby bottles and our newsletter and went door to door in their neighborhood asking for spare change. They made $58, that's alot of change and probably alot of houses too!

They then decided they would have a lemonade stand for us! I loved this idea. Its so sweet that 3 girls their ages would spend their Saturday morning doing something to help others! I had to work so I didn't get to go, but John & Ivy stopped by and said the girls did such a great job. My cousin Gina, the girls mother, took a few pics for me....

We appreciate these girls so much! We are so proud of them and so excited to see what God will use them for throughout their lives. If they are already such cheerful givers at a young age, then I know God is going to use them to big things!

twist of sunshine

Hey Everyone, I just wanted to share a few pics of the jewelry from twist of sunshine...

She has some really cool stuff and it is a green company! If you order, just mention John & I!
Check it out- www.twistofsunshinedesigns.com

Thanks, Hannah

Jewelry Sale

Hey Everyone,
A sweet lady in Texas makes this custom jewelry and for the month of March she is donating 50% of sales to us for our adoption. You just have to put John & Hannah on your order form!  She has some neat stuff and keep in mind that Mother's Day is coming! Please check it out.


http://www.twistofsunshinedesigns.com/


Thanks, Hannah