Prayer request

When someone takes the time to ask for prayer, for themselves or someone else, I think it is important to take the time to do it. I received a request to pass on a prayer need to all who will take a minute to pray for this little guy and his family.

He is a four year old boy who was badly burned while playing with a lighter. Please take a minute...read Maksim's story HERE and pray.

Are you looking?

I went into the living room this morning to find a book when my shadow, Lindsey, said to me, "Are you looking for me?" I chuckled a bit because out of all my children she is the easiest to find because she isn't typically far from me. I looked down at her, ready to explain which book I was looking for, when she repeated her question, "Were you looking for me?". The sweet look on her face told me she was serious and hopeful that I had entered the room looking only for her.

Bear with me here....but as I stared at her, it was as if millions of voices were asking me, crying out..."Are you looking for me?"

And I thought....How many wait, longing for someone to come looking for them? They wait, millions of them, in orphanages and foster homes. Do they wonder if anyone is looking for them? Does anyone care enough to look for them?

Who will? Will you forfeit the new car, a guest room/office, expensive vacations or trips, etc. to go and search for a child who longs for the love of a family and home. While we go on with our busy lives, they wait, they long, they wonder...is there anyone searching for me?

And with that I scooped up my beautiful daughter, her almond shaped eyes disappeared with her smile and I said, "Yes!..I WAS looking for you and I am so, so happy that I found you!"

The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 113: 4-9

Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) - Casting Crowns

Here is a pick-me-up if you are needing a little help getting going on this Monday morning. I find it hard to not rejoice when hearing this song....my new favorite!

Happy Monday!

"got love?" ideas W*I*N*N*E*R*S*

I really appreciate the input that you all gave us for "got love?" logo ideas. Thank you for taking the time to think about it and comment. The one that was nearest and dearest to my heart came from an adopting mom whose idea was a "my adoption fundraiser". Tim and I both have a heart for helping other adopting families. I consider myself a "joyful" giver...especially when it comes to adopting families. One of our main goal for our fundraising, besides the obviously helping pay our adoption expenses, is to get our stuff out there so we can help other families raise money.

Our prayer and desire is that our "got love?" stuff is here to stay and expand. Eventually, we want to be able to somehow use it to support other adopting families more than we are able to now. Obviously we are just starting out with it, but with prayer and continued support from the blogging/adopting world, it could be a great means for many families to raise money and erase some of the financial fears in starting an adoption.

And now........the winners chosen: Boy oh Boy oh Boy! and Future Mama.

( If you would email me and let me know if you would like something we have now or hold out for something from the new line!!)

I was hoping we would have it up this week, but the art proofs are taking a bit longer.......so stay tuned! I hope you won't be disappointed!!!!

-taken Sept. 2010

-taken Oct. 2010

Valentine Tutus

Looking for a sweet something to give to a little girl for Valentines?

And the giggles began...

And the sillies began...

And the tickles began...

And you know the saying "it's all fun and games until...."

Valentine tutus need to be ordered by Feb. 1st to be received by Valentines. Remember you can custom order with a variety of color choices....see the list above the paypal button for tutus.

We are working on getting ready to showcase our new "got love?" gear. I am really excited about the new stuff. Thank you to all who left comments and ideas. You have until Thursday at midnight to leave a comment with a new idea or your opinion on one already suggested. Friday morning we'll pick two winners who can choose an old or new "got love?" item.

GREAT IDEAS...

Keep them coming!! Tim and I have had such fun reading over all the suggestions you have left for our "got love?" gear. Some we are planning to do, some we are considering and some we hadn't thought of......THANK YOU!!!!

Please comment on another's idea if you like it and I'll put you down for two or three! :) Ha!

Seriously...I won't order for you or even expect you to purchase one. We would just like a better idea of what might be the most popular suggestions.

Remember for every idea, suggestions or comment we will enter your name in a drawing to win a "got love?" item (new or old). We will draw a name or two this Friday.

ONE LARGE, BLACK HOODIE STILL FOR SALE $25 & a free car decal!! Shoot me an email if you would like to purchase it. **SOLD...thanks, Lindsay****

"got love?" ideas G*I*V*E A*W*A*Y

With the new year underway, we are looking to expand our "got love?" gear. We have several plans that we will reveal next week...(hint: think pink). We would love to hear your ideas. Leave me a comment or send me an email telling what you would like to see our "got love? adopt. 147 million orphans" logo on.

FOR EVERY COMMENT/EMAIL/IDEA, YOU'LL GET A CHANCE TO WIN A "GOT LOVE?" ITEM OF YOUR CHOICE (NEW OR OLD). We will pick a winner or two next Friday.

Watch for our big reveal next week....who knows maybe it will be one of your ideas! :)

***We still have one Large hoodie and a couple of long sleeve (Large and Medium) shirts for sale. Hoodie is $25, Long sleeve shirts are $18. Order this week and we will throw in a "got love?" car decal!! WHAT A DEAL....we need to make room for our new inventory! Send me an email if you are interested, takva73@gmail.com ***

Check out this cool story about our "got love?" hoodie HERE.

So, put on your thinking caps (something my mom used to say) and be a part of our fundraising efforts!!

"got snow?"

Weekend Swim Meet

We spent the majority of our weekend at the indoor pool for the boys' swim meet. They have both been swimming on a year round swim team. It is great exercise and some healthy, brotherly competition. That has never been clearer than at this meet when they were actually in adjacent lanes for a race.They both have the orange swim caps.

There you have the Apisa brothers taking 1st and 3rd in the 50 free! Lindsey didn't want to be left out of the action when we were writing their race event number, heat and lane.

I am excited to let you know we will be doing another contest/give-away here toward the end of the week. Be sure to check back in. We have some fun, new happenings on our corner of the blog world!!

The girls are growing up!!

Before the holidays we put away some little variations of big things. We said so-long to the little potty.

The girls can no longer have poopie time together. Although, Lindsey was never a big fan of it to begin with (she is a bit smell sensitive!) but..when you both gotta go, you both gotta go!! (This picture was taken in Mar. 2010)

We also said good-bye to the toddler beds. (Picture from last Mar., too.)

This picture was taken right before we replaced the toddler beds with twin beds in Nov.:

It has been nice not having another potty to clean and the girls have been sleeping better in the big beds. I do have to admit that I am looking forward to the day we pull them back out from the basement because that will mean that our little guy or gal is home and all settled in!!

Orange Bowl vs. Blog Post

Can you guess which one won the use of the computer last night?? The males in our home voted for the computer to be tuned into ESPN.com instead of Minus 1 Project!! I am sorry to say that Virginia Tech lost.

On to much more fun things...we had a great time at my parent's house. They live on a lake with a lot of woods. All the cousins ran wild outside making forts with branches and leaves. The older group took turns letting the younger on the trampoline. We were all glad to have warmer temperatures so that the kids could be outside!

Here is a picture of the whole cousin gang minus the youngest baby.

My parents have a drawer of sunglasses, most of which have been left and unclaimed from guests...from the 70s?!

One of my mom's traditions (which I love) is to hand out ornaments. She spends so much time trying to find ones that have a special meaning pertaining to the past year. Tim's was a grill, mine was a bear with a "teacher are angels" saying, Ethan's was a Boy Scout symbol, Ben's was a swimmer snowman, Lindsey's was an Asian little angel, and Lucy's pink ballerina slippers.

So now we have the holidays behind us and another great year of memories. We are moving right into the new year with all it holds--starting by eating all the food in the cabinets . Anyone else clean out of their cupboards this time of year? I am seeing all kinds of soups, beans, tuna and noodles in our near future!