Pumpkin Patch

A few days ago we headed out to the pumpkin patch. Each kiddo picked out a pumpkin to "represent" themselves, plus one for me and Kenny...and we picked one out "for the child we are gonna adopt". I'm kind of frugal... rather than carve the pumpkins, the kids drew faces (or something :) on the pumpkins. We will enjoy them for a few weeks and them I will bake them, mash and freeze for pies and muffins! Pumpkins are sweetest if you let them "season" for a month or so...just leave them sitting in your house.... hope no kid plays too rough with them...then you are set to make fresh pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Today, Kenny ha to get the power shut off while he worked on the siding. The kid found my camera and passed the time taking pictures. They must have been pretty proud of the job they did making up the beds, for they took pictures of them :) Here are their pictures:

So, I'm pretty much computer illiterate.... up until this site, about 2 months ago, I could email. Yup, that and buy fabric online and print out coupons. I'm not even on facebook. How did I graduate from high school in this decade and not have any computer skills? I am trying to learn, and am becoming pretty interested in web design, etc....I think one could train them self to do surgery by googling enough question. I'm stumped in one arena and, for the sake of my rising blood pressure, I'm gonna quit searching blogger tricks and see if any of you more learned ladies could help. On my home page I have a few collages of pictures. I would love it if one could click on the collage and enlarge it to a full screen (to see better details of the dress, etc). Apparently blogger used to have that feature, but doesn't anymore. ANY tips or advice you can give me would be helpful!!!

Another Appliance Goes Down!

I had thought that every major appliance we own had given out in the last few weeks..... I had forgotten that the dryer was still running faithful..

WAS..

It is no more. I am trying to do a better job of coming up with solutions and just making it work, rather than call Kenny and unload how "woe is me" that something is on the blink or someone is having a rough day. "Buck up and deal..it isn't so bad"... I am trying to remind myself of this!
So, no dryer? No big deal. I tied up a clothes line in the backyard on Monday; then followed a full 38 hours of trenching rain. We were totally out of clean clothes at this point; Landis informed me that he didn't have any "good" underwear, so he wasn't wearing any. Love my boy :) Yesterday, I loaded up the kids, the school books and the 185 loads of dirty laundry we had sittin' and headed to my favorite laundry mat- my moms:) I love my moma... she sent me home with lots of yummy leftovers, so I didn't have to cook last night...which was good, seeing as we were at the "laundry mat" all day.

I finally bought the kids some warm pj's....they love "feet pajamas"! Evangeline wanted to take a Christmas picture...she has already caught on that matching pajamas mean Christmas card! I suppose I could go ahead and check that off my list!

Landis...way overdue for a haircut!

I was soo tempted to buy a matching size 2 girl's pj's.... a bit early for that, I know!

Happy Wednesday to you all!

Market Day Sale

On Saturday we had a booth at Junior League's Market Day Sale. We didn't sale as much as I had hoped we would, however I had no idea what to expect, so I did not have any real expectations. I guess anyone who has gone through fundraising for an adoption knows the feeling of wanting the funds to happen immediately so as to get their little one home. Fundraising is a lot of work, I am learning! We did hand out a lot of cards and am thankful for the all of the sales we did make. This was my first time doing any type of craft fair, and it was a good experience. Here are a few pictures from the sale....

My favorite part of the day was when my mom brought the kiddos up to see us! They were excited about bowl of free candy I was handing out! :)

So, what will happen to the leftover dresses?!? I am thinking of putting some on ebay or etsy, and over the next few days I will be posting garments on this blog at sale prices. Check back over the next few days to see what comes up.

Immunizations :(

In a moment of insanity, I repeated last years moment of insanity and again took all 3 kiddos at the same time to get their immunizations. We needed to leave by 8:30, so I hurried them up, got their breakfast and then announced the plan for the day. Screams and sobs came forth. I tried to talk up bravery and "doing it afraid". By the time we arrived at the pediatricians (whom my kids adore), they were set to be fearless. This went well through Samuel's well check exam....

Then the nurses arrived with the tray of shots.

I'm sure my crew terrorized any dear child sitting calmly in the waiting room.

After the deeds were done, we headed for a "prize" (aka, an on sale item purchased with ECB's) at CVS.

Here are a few pics from our adventure...(obviously taken before and well after the shots:)

Tomorrow is my last day to get things in order before Saturday's market day sale. I could use a few more weeks! Oh well, it is what it is.... we are praying the sale yields conversations with customers about orphans and adoption....plus lots of adoption fund money!

Happy Thursday!

Bugs

My older brother is collecting insects for a biology project (we Miller kiddos haven't exactly followed the "norm" on college and time lines:) and the kids and I have been helping him out. It has been fun, though Kenny tells me he is tired of seeing Ziploc bags of bugs in the freezer. (A good way to preserve your specimen). A few days ago, the children and I were in the garden center of Lowes. I looked down at a lovely potted mum, and spied an amazingly huge locust of some kind.

Landis shouted, "Mom, Get that bug for John David!!!"

I paused for a brief moment, assessing the situation. This was not inventory, therefore the taking of the bug did not constitute theft, right? Besides, we were purchasing the mums.

I reached out and grabbed the bug....what do I do, hold him through the store and all the way home? Huge locust made it clear he could bite....so, I did what any sane bug-hunting moma of boys does, I opened my purse, gently put him in, and zipped it up. Baby comes out of the cart, bug-in-purse gets the safe ride in. I looked up to see the cashier watching me in utter shock and bewilderment. Cute.

Evangeline asks, "Is the jail man gonna get you for taking that bug?"

The next day, we head to Wal Mart to check out their mums. Guess what I find on them??? This grasshopper was incredible. No hesitation as how to transport this sucker home. Though I did make sure no one was watching me this time. :)

The following pictures are Kenny planting an avocado tree with the kids. I started it from the seed of the first baby food Samuel ate.... an avocado. We have no idea how big these trees get or how many years it will take to produce, but its fun anyhow :)

My First Blog Award!

Thanks to Stephanie!! I have been awarded my first Blogger Award!

The rules for the award are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.

5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each.

Seven things you might not know about me:

1. Our first pet was a llama :) Our big plan...train him to carry out gear so we could backpack into the high country with the kids.

2.The above mentioned llama turned out to have bazerk male syndrome and was dangerous. We had to put him down. Yup, its a real syndrome and a true story :)

3. I heart me some Dr. Pepper

4. I am a P.K. ("pastor's kid")

5. I first knew without question I would adopt while holding a foster baby in the fifth grade.

6. I am one of 5 kids.

7. My most asked question : "Are they twins?" (In reference to Evangeline and Landis). Seriously, I get asked this 5 to 185 times a day:)

Seven Kreativ Blogs I love. Stop by and Check them out!

1. One Day at a Time - Leigh and her husband are beginning the process to adopt 2 babies from Ethiopia! We are adopting from the same agency and the same orphanage, and how I would love to travel with this sweet couple. Leigh has an awesome giveaway fundraiser going on (go here to check it out) and she keeps a sweet, encouraging blog. If you have interest in adopting, you should check it out!

2. Bringing Home Lucy Lane - This family has done more for the children of Ethiopia than they will ever know. How? By just sharing their daily life and pictures of sweet Lucy Lane, who has been in their arms for 4 months. Anytime I meet someone interested in adoption, I say, "You must watch this video!" Their adoption video has inspired so many families to adopt in just the past 4 months alone. Oh, guess what? Sweet Lucy Lane waited for them in Hannah's Hope... the orphanage we are headed to!!! Go here to meet this family and watch their video. You may want to bring along some Kleenex :) I LOVE this family!!!

3. Stefanie Jinelle is a birthmother I found on Adoption Voices a few weeks ago. If you have ever wondered about the love, sacrifice, gut wrenching pain and fear that a birthmother goes through, please stop by her site. Stefanie leaves me in tears with each post. I have deep admiration and respect for this young lady. Stop by her blog and leave her and encouraging note... lets send Stefanie some love and encouragement!

4. Sew Shay- I recently found this site (yup, another adoption fundraiser!) and love this fellow seamstress! Go here to see some way cute bibs, towels and bags which rival Pottery Barn!

5. Its Almost Naptime- How can I not nominate my all time favorite funny, encouraging blog. I love this lady! Definitely check out this one!

6. Mom For Him- Wanna be encouraged and save some money?!? Jessica has a lovely blog to help you do just that! Go here to check it out.

7. And finally, one last adoptive family! At Stitching to China, you can help bring home a baby girl to her forever family. This family has 2 bio kids, 1 little girl from China and are heading to China to adopt another blessing. Head on over to see some cute sewing! (I know, I'm promoting some competition here, but I'm passionate about adoption. It's all about the kiddos!)

And The Winner Is.....

And the Winner Is.....(according to random.org :)

Annette A.

Yea Annette! Thank you to everyone who participated in the Giveaway; knowing which fabrics you love helps me to narrow down my selection when placing fabric orders. I have also gotten some fun fabric requests... if you know of a fabric style you would like to see available, just let me know. We will be having another giveaway in just a few weeks. If you would like to be put on my "giveaway alert" list, just email me or leave your email address in the comment section. I will notify you when the next giveaway is up!

Do you have a blog or website, or know of a great site to advertise on? I was thinking of checking into advertising on a few blogs, and would love some recommendations. I have found, which seems to be consistent with most online site, I get 1 to 2 orders for every 200 hits. Business is picking up, but I think some good advertising would further help up our adoption fund :) We are eager to get our little one home! Thank you to everyone who is helping to make that possible!

Now is a good time to place your Christmas order to assure fabrics don't run out and so your little one can start wearing their Flitterbug the day after Thanksgiving (as is the custom around our house:)

Wanna be a part of another great Giveaway? For just a $5 entry, you can bid on some great items over at Leigh's site. Guess what? I have won on her site twice so far! Hop on over here to check out the goods, including a new 8GB ipod touch that are available through this weekend.

I have been a bit slack in updating my blog and pictures on my site this past week. I have been sewing like a deranged woman, trying to get ready for the Junior League sell next Saturday. I oftentimes lament to Kenny that I do not have a sewing room...the truth is, I DO have a sewing room.... we just don't have a bedroom :) Below are a few pictures of our week and a wee bit of sewing I've done. I hope to near 100 Junior League garments by next Saturday....don't think I'll have quite that many...but maybe close!

Thankful For the Flies

A few days ago, while the weather was nice, we opened the porch door for a bit. During this small amount of time, a plague of flies took up residence in our home. I have spent the last few days searching for fly traps/swatters at various stores. Guess what? Fly swatters (along with hula hoops :) are a seasonal item and they only carry them in the summer. WHAT? It was 90 degrees today. I made an impromptu swatter, which was not very effective, however the kids had a blast watching me swipe the air. 10 down, only about 60 to go. Maybe I should check the garden center for a venus fly trap...would be a good school activity anyhow.

Samuel woke up with earache-like symptoms this morning, so rather then achieve my totally over the top goal of sewing 10 flitterbug dresses for marketplace, baby and I headed into town. I whipped up some yummy pumpkin muffins to take to the pediatrician's office, and then walked out the door and left them on the counter. On the way, I hit a squirrel. Seconds before Dr. Berry entered the exam room, Samuel tripped and cute his lip. Great. Thankfully, he a quick recoveror. Both ears and his throat were red, so off we head to the pharmacy. Now, Samuel is way happy in the huge "car" grocery cart...heading down a tight isle to the pharmacy window, I bump into a big display, and a mountain of cough drops comes crashing down. Samuel laughed and clapped his hands in delight! yea, it was loud and embarassing. Onlookers weren't so impressed. After an hour and a half, our prescription is ready. So...off we head home; on the way my check engine, oil and maintenance required lights all come on. perfect. Get home, clean up a terrible exploded diaper and realize I have about 30 minutes to sew before its time to cook dinner.

As I began to fix dinner, I looked out the window to see my happy little ones running and laughing outside. So it was kind of one of "those days". And you know what? My heart is so full of thankfulness. I am thankful for the flies; they aren't the malaria infested mosquitoes that most of the world has to deal with. We have a wonderful doctor whom we love and have total confidence in. For $4 I was able to purchase an antibiotic that will help my baby heal.... so many people have no access to any type of doctor or medicine. Yep, we wandered aimlessely in Kroger for over an hour...guess who we found when we were there...my mom! (she "lives" at Kroger :)So we may have car troubles... we do have a car and we will find a way to keep it running! All these things are really not a big deal or means for complaint. Many of you are facing real trials...some had suffered gut wrenching loss. It would be so easy to look at the world in which we live, to see the pain and the suffering and to be totally devastated. Oh, for the confidence and hope which awaits us, which can be ours to have! I am thankful tonight for the little trials that are but a hiccup in my day. It is good to be reminded what and who life is about. In the grand scheme of things, and looking at the blessing which surround us, what's the big deal with a few flies :) And in the words of Anne Shirley..."tomorrow is always a new day, with no mistakes in it!"

New Dress and an Adoption Update

Hello Cute.... what says southern lady better than a monogram :) I was going to have Evangeline model the new Monogrammed Flitterbug, but she has been down with fever and so it poses alone. I will update my fabrics page; you can then choose what color corduroy you want for the dress and choose a coordinating ribbon to top the ruffle. Sadly, no, I do not have a monogramming machine, however, I can get the monogram done for you ($12 extra) or you can take it to your favorite monogrammer! As a side note...ever want to re-personalize a garment for a different child...simply pick out the monogram with a seam ripper, spray with a mixtures of water and vinegar... and let dry. You are set to re-monogram!

Evangeline, our never-sick child, and Samuel have been down with the fever thing the past 2 days. Not bad, but enough to feel really lousy. I enjoy pampering my kiddos when they are sick and foresee a "back to reality" day for them tomorrow! I had planned on doing school with Evangeline even when she is sick, but that seemed a bit harsh, so she took 2 sick days. I oftentimes feel this huge weight of responsibility bearing down on me concerning the children's education. This little voice whispers, "It's all up to you....their literacy, their ability to get college scholarships...its all up to you." I need to calm down. We're talking 4K and 5K here.... no SAT'S is sight. I think that little voice is pride... can I "perform" by "making" my children "smart". It is easy for me to loose the vision of why we home school and for whose glory we are trying to raise the children. (This is why I have our "purpose of education" laminated and hung next to our school books. I need constant reminding.)

Landis likes to eat 2 fried eggs each morning for breakfast. (Yup, he gets to go get them from the coop each day!) I made them up and set them at his spot this morning. Someone else found them before he did! Samuel was pretty happy about it:)

And the great part of the day:I was able to spend some time chatting with AGCI today about the adoption. They reviewed our financial worksheet (as we just meet the financial requirements they have set for us to adopt) and everything looks good! Plus, the doctor's letter I had to get looks good (no reason why I should die :) They also gave me some great fundraising ideas. If you have any ideas with coming up with a quick $22,000 feel free to let me know! Kenny and I have talked it over, and we feel best about starting the homestudy when we have raised about $7,000. There are timeframes that certain fees have to be paid along the way (homestudy fee, fingerprinting, more fingerprinting, more fingerprinting :) so we want to gauge our fundraising right to avoid an adoption loan, if possible. That being said, once we have a referral and have passed our Ethiopian court date, we would FOR SURE go into debt for some airline tickets to get our little one. We are praying, confident that the Lord will provide the funds for this little one's passage into a family, and it is so exciting to see how He is already at work!

One last exciting bit ....I WON on Leigh's Giveaway last week! Yippee! You can go HERE to see the amazing goods I got, and go HERE to get your name in the hat for this week. Scroll down to see all of the amazing stuff you could get... yep, that is a brand new Ipod touch...it could be yours!
Happy Wednesday to you all!

E's Party

This weekend was Evangeline's long awaited birthday party. We had a fun, laid back party at MiMi's house. Evangeline loved it...she requested that we not make the cake and Pinata this year... which made it a pretty simple day for me!And of course, Evangeline wore a Flitterbug dress! Here are a few pictures from her party:

I meant to take a picture of all of the kids together, but forgot. It is fun to see how much they have all grown and changed from year to year!

Some of you have asked when my Christmas fabrics will be up... I have started ordering Christmas fabrics and they are soo cute! I will post them this Saturday (Oct. 10) AND we will be having another FREE give-a-way to celebrate! I have been working like mad making dresses for Junior Leagues Market Place.... my goal is to sell 100 dresses. So far I haven't near that many, but am praying the kids "let" me sew a lot this week. The "big chunk" of adoption fees are due at the beginning, so we are so hopeful that the upcoming sell will be a blessing to our adotion account. Check back later this week to see the new Christmas fabrics and to enter into the free giveaway!

Fundraiser Friday!

I have found a new passion in life... telling ANYONE who will listen about adoption and sharing info about adoptive families fundraisers. So, here are a few more families to introduce you to. I hope these links are encouraging and show you to "normal" families, just like you and I, who have NO idea WHERE the money will come from, but trust God and follow the call, the CONVICTION to adopt. There are 147 million orphans in the world; what is the life of one one...nothing but a drop in the bucket... yet it is a life created in HIS image for HIS glory! And to think WE will be the ones who truly receive a gift.. a child, a life to love and raise! The reality is, adoption, especially international adoption isn't free... and in most cases, MONEY is the only thing that stands between an orphan and a home.... so here are a few families working hard to come up with that money which stands between them and their child!



I LOVE this family! Daleea and her husband have a son, adopted from Russia and a daughter, adopted from China. They are now in the process of adopting a little girl, who has special needs, from China. She makes beautiful bracelets; 3000 bracelets sold will be her daughters "ticket" home. Go here to see her lovely site.

Like my great blog design? I totally cannot take credit for it. Jen over at "The Art of Living Designs" is amazing. And, what do the profits from her fabulous work fund???? Their adoption from China! It is so neat to think the profit she made designing this site goes to help her little one in China, yet the work she did in this site will benefit a child in Ethiopia.... I love how it all fits together! If you want to customize your blog, check out her work!

If you have not yet check out Leigh's site, go here to do so.... But please don't bid bid on the "Africa Moma" Giveaway ... I really want that one :)he,he. She has such great stuff on this weeks bid!

Do you have an adoption fundraiser, or know someone who does? Leave your link below so we can all check it out!

Oh, What A Day!

After living without an air conditioner for the past 2 months (not by choice, it broke:) the weather this week has been nothing short of a gift. It has been BEAUTIFUL.....the kind of weather that smells good, feels good and makes you happy. I can't seem to keep the kids in the house! Here's what I saw when I looked out my kitchen window on Monday:

Like Landis's attire? If that boy owned nothing more than a pair of hanes, he'd be happy as a lark. Yup, those would also be new white socks.... they are now red clay mud stained...and will be worn until he outgrows them :)

Today is also lovely. The kids woke up SOOO happy. So, we set off to run some errands to prepare for Evangeline's birthday party tomorrow. Note to self: When planning a hula-hoop party, first make sure you can find hula-hoops... apparently stores only sell these in the summer (is it not always summer in the south?) First to Dollar General... all started off well. Suddenly Landis spied a plastic gun for $1 and totally lost it. I'm talking "fall apart in the store" like we haven't seen in a long time. No, though tempting, I did not buy the gun for the sake of sanity. During this through down, he decides he has to go to the bathroom now. So, we break out of line and haul off to find the bathroom. Great, Dollar General doesn't have a public restroom. On the way back to line (yea, Landis still crying and doing the "have to go to the bathroom" dance), Samuel goes to bite me, misses and smacks his lip on the side of the cart. Now, 2 crying boys. Finally, back in line.... I smile at the lady and ask how her day is going. She sizes up our show and mumbles, "fine." Then comes the inevitable question... "Do they not go to school?" I haven't yet figures out if that is a polite way of asking me if I am crazy or honestly wondering why kids are in public during the sacred quiet morning hours at the store. "Yes, we have completed our studies for the morning and work more on reading this afternoon," is my well-thought-through reply. ("We home school" sounds like a "we don't do any school" reply.) She just looks back at me, perplexed. I continue to smile as the crying and potty dance intensifies. I would regale you with our next stop at Wal-Mart and then Ingles, but for the sake of not totally stressing you out, I will leave it at that. Just use your imagination, as more of the above was our morning. Now, back at home, Samuel is resting and the kids are happily playing outside. I lots more to post about the adoption, fundraising, etc., but while Samuel is asleep, I must go sew. I am going to have a booth at Junior Leagues Market Place on the 24th, and my goal is to have 100 Flitterbug dresses, plus lots of hair bows, ready for it. So, off I go to sew like a nut! Enjoy this beautiful day!