The Roller Coaster Ride of Life

I feel like life is a crazy roller coaster these days.  From great heights to distant lows in a matter of seconds.  This morning I received a call that my friend Mark Conway was rushed to the hospital and within an hour of that call I was told he was gone.  This was the second Monday in a row that I lost a good friend.  Still excited about some things that happened in my life on Sunday, Monday was promising to be a pretty good day and then in a matter of seconds I felt a great sorrow and sadness on behalf of my brothers and sisters at Zion Baptist Church in Brownsville, TN and especially for Mark's wife Lisa and their 4 children. 

It's a times like the past two Mondays that I am vividly reminded of the reality and hope of my faith.  In fact, if I were forced to boil the hope and message of my faith down to one word it would have to be ADOPTION.  That's right, the Christian faith is all about God's relentless pursuit and calling of sinners (of which I am one) into a saving relationship with Himself.  Adoption is the word that reminds me that though I once was an enemy of God, I now enjoy the favored status of a son.

Thank you God for Adopting me and calling me by Your name.

Please pray with me for Lisa Conway and her children as well as Zion Baptist Church.  May they experience and find strength in the sufficient grace and mercy of God in this time of sadness and heartache.

Better Late Than Never

So Saturday I promised you a post on Sunday night - well I guess it's officially Monday now, but better late than never, right?


Some days it seems like things are right on track and some days your left wondering where things went wrong. Today is definitely one of those days where it seems like things are on the right track. To begin with before Sunday School I was told that one of the members of Team Taiwan was donating two tickets to the Steelers vs. Chiefs game on November 20th with two nights at the Courtyard by Marriott in Kansas City. Then throughout the day we've had times where people told us about someone they knew who had bought a ticket to the auction or something of that nature. Then tonight when we got home from church Gina received one of the most encouraging emails we'd received to date.


I want to tell you more and plan to do so tomorrow as I will be working from home most of the day since they are painting and recarpeting our church offices tomorrow and Tuesday. Please don't forget to tell me if you still need tickets to the chili supper and auction. Advance tickets are $5 and $10 at the door. Childcare is also available if you can let us know early.

Autcion Items Awaiting Your Bid

So here's a list of the items that will be available at the auction next Saturday - November 5th.  There are several more items we are expecting to come in this week, including a number of mystery gifts.  Whatever your likes and wants there's definitely something here for you!  Let me know if you need tickets - of course you can buy them at the door, but save yourself $5 to add to your bidding and prebuy your tickets this week. 

Check back tomorrow night for a new post.

Services

• $1,000 in legal services – Jackson, TN
• Tax Preparation – Jackson, TN
• Auto Detail by Precision Auto – Medina, TN
• Photo Package from Amy Doyle Photography – Medina, TN
• Oil Changes form Serra Chevrolet – Jackson, TN

Recreation

• NASCAR Tickets with passes to DuPont sponsor tent, pit row passes, and box seats
• Weekend Chalet in Gatlinburg
• Guided Duck Hunt with Spike Jones
• Movie & Popcorn Basket – Take One Video Medina, TN
• Cookout Party Pack
• Porch Swing
• One Round of Golf and Cart at Jackson National Golf Course

Food

• Homemade Hummingbird Cake
• Lasagna dinner for six including salad, bread, and dessert
• Specialty Pizzas from Mom & Pop’s Pizza – Medina, TN
• Large Pizza from Rhodes Diner – Medina, TN
• Several Gift Baskets from Tastefully Simple
• Box of Candy from Candyland – Milan, TN
• Basket of Jams and Syrup from Greenway Nursery – Milan, TN
• Dinner for two at Longhorn Steakhouse – Jackson, TN
• Two Gift Certificates from Outback Steakhouse – Jackson, TN

Misc

• Handmade Quilt – made by Mabel Ramsey
• Table Arrangement by Medina Flowers and Gifts
• Christmas Wreath by All Occasions Florist
• Christmas Wreaths by friends
• 10 x 12 Area Rug
• 8 place setting silverware and 5 serving piece set
• 2 Outfits w/ monogramming by Just Say Sew
• Pottery from 2 Blessed Designs
• Set of serving dishes
• Necklace and Bracelet from Leigh Nants – Milan, TN
• Gift Basket From Hometown Pharmacy – Medina, TN
• Thomas Kincaid Decorative Plate
• Various Jewelry items

So It's Been A While . . .

It has been a while since our last update, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been a ton of progress!


To begin with we are now number 13 on the Taiwan wait list.  Now I'm in no way superstitious nor do I even believe in luck, but number 13 and two very cool fundraisers in the works - is there any real possibility of things not going well?


Our first fundraiser exceeded our expectations.  We had planned a yard sale and ended up with a flea market instead - it was awesome (except for that whole getting up at 4:30 a.m. thing)!  We are so thankful for so many people helping out by donating, getting others to donate, organizing, pricing, and working the sale.  So if you are reading this blog and we haven't already said thank you, let me say "Thank You!"


Now on to our next two fundraisers.


The Puzzle - below is a picture of our puzzle that we will be framing and hanging in our baby's room when he/she (they if Eliza has her way) comes home.  The way that works is you can sponsor a piece of the puzzle for $10 - we'll have your name put on the back and you will always be remembered as part of the team that brought our child home!  The Puzzle will be on display at the auction.

The Auction - on November 5th at 5:15 p.m. the doors will open and at 5:30 p.m. we will begin serving dinner at the chili supper and auction to be held in the fellowship hall at Medina FBC.  The live auction will begin at 6:00 p.m.  Tickets are $5 for adults and childcare is available (we need to know if your kids are coming ASAP).  The chili will be great, but the auction is going to be awesome!  We will have three kinds of items up for auction:  silent auction, live auction like you're used to seeing, and a mystery auction.  We already have 2 tickets to the NASCAR race in Bristol with passes to the Dupont sponsor tent and a special meal with the opportunity to meet Jeff Gordon; up to $1,000 in legal services, and a weekend getaway in a chalet in Gatlinburg.  We are working on getting up a list of special auction items on the blog so check back often!  If you or someone you know would like to make a donation for the auction please let us know and we'll be glad to get with you about the item(s).

We hope to see you there!  

We're Moving On Up!!!

No, not to the east side, to the Far East.  We just got word today that our dossier (paperwork) has been forwarded for translation and submission to the Taiwanese government.  Things are moving forward and we are really excited about all that is taking place.  In fact, if wait times remain consistent for referral, our baby could already have been conceived and his/her birth mother may or may not even be aware she is pregnant.  We pray that she will be responsible and make the best decisions for the baby!

Things are moving well on the fundraising front as well.  Our fundraising team, Team Taiwan, is so supportive and such a blessing to us.  We currently have three major fundraisers in the works right now.  First, we are having a huge yard sale September 30^th – October 1^st.  Second, we are having an auction and dinner on November 5^th.  Finally, we are building a puzzle and selling pieces for $10 each.  Below are some of the details for each of these events.

Yard Sale

We need any spare stuff that you’d be willing to donate, in fact, we’ll even come get it if you want.  We are open to just about anything from knickknacks to furniture.  There will also be a drop-off time scheduled for Friday and Saturday September 23^rd and 24^th.   Check back in a few days for some times and places.

Auction

That’s right -- a dinner and auction complete with an auctioneer!  We are in need of some really great items here.  Mrs. Glenda Jones is heading this up for us and we are so thankful for her leadership and service to our family.

Our Puzzle

The puzzle is more than a theme for our blog and adoption journey.  We are actually building a puzzle and asking folks to sponsor us by buying a piece of the puzzle for $10.  Anyone purchasing a puzzle piece will be allowed to sign the back of their piece of the puzzle (you can always purchase multiple pieces and then use them to write a special message too).  If you live out of town, we'll put your name on your piece(s).  After all the puzzle pieces are sold, we are going to have the puzzle double framed and hung in the baby’s room as a reminder of the fact that this baby is a result of the partnership of so many different people.

If you want to help or participate with any of these fundraisers please let us know!  Or if you’d prefer feel free to use the Donate Now button at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for checking in!!!!

Where do we begin?

Some folks get a dog or cat, others a goldfish or hermit crab, us – well we just go out and try to get a kid from the local baby store.  At least that’s what Emma and Eliza may tell you.  This past winter we began the process of talking about adoption again.  It just hit me today as I was preaching that three weeks from today (Sunday) we will celebrate 7 years of being given one of the greatest gifts God could possibly give us.  On September 18, 2004, Emma Claire was born and we couldn’t wait to get to the hospital in Memphis to meet her.  And so began our journey putting together our family puzzle!  Three years later we were met with another surprise and blessing as we almost couldn’t wait to get to the Jackson hospital to meet Eliza.  No, literally we almost couldn’t wait -- we were there about 30 minutes before Gina gave birth to Eliza!  Talk about cutting it close!

Now we are looking forward to welcoming our third child into our family.  This time it won’t be Memphis, Jackson, or even somewhere in our own time zone.  We are literally going half-way around the world!!! The next piece of our family puzzle will be coming from Taitung, Taiwan.  The reasons why we are going to Taiwan are several and we’ll post a blog soon that will talk a little more about some of those specific reasons, but for now we’ll let it suffice to say we are simply pursuing what God is calling us to do.

After coming to a point of understanding that we were being led to adopt from Taiwan, we began searching out an agency who operated there and we found All God’s Children International (AGCI) and we immediately knew we’d found the agency for us.  We began some initial paperwork, followed by a home study and lots of online education.  We have now completed tons of paperwork – certain that we are responsible for some small forest being decimated in order to make enough paper for all we’ve done.  We now have completed our Dossier (this is the paperwork that gets translated into Chinese and is sent to the Taiwanese government and court system).

And so our waiting period begins!  We guess all great puzzles take some time to put together. 

We’ll take some time over the next week or two to fill in some of the other gaps here including details about our anticipated timeline, some specific needs we have, how you can help or even begin your own process of adoption finding your missing piece, as well as some general thoughts and reflections about all things pertaining to life.

Blessings!!!