First Snow and First Christmas

Look who likes snow.  

We are celebrating this Christmas as her first... because it is our first as a family.  

Plus this outfit was too cute to pass up. 

Her favorite present was her new Monsters Inc. Boo sippy cup.  

Daddy got her Ramen! He got me squid jerky.

This was her tri-lingual gift.  It speaks and sings in english, spanish, and french.  Now I am going to know how to say colors in french when we go to the Congo.

Angel Baby

Adoption Auction for a Congolese Clements

Beginning at noon today, we will be launching our Adoption Auction. This is to raise funds to help offset the costs of international adoption. We have been immensely blessed with friends and family that have donated items to be auctioned. Here is how it works:
simply go to:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.287053974731229.45991.287045354732091&type=1&l=6046648d67

find the item pictured you would like to bid on and comment with your bid!

Thank you all so much for your help as we get closer to becoming a family of 4!

In the Beginning...

This is only the beginning of our second adoption story, God has had his hand in every step of the way, even before we knew adopting from the DRC was possible.

Many months ago we called our friend, Tresor Yenyi, to see if they were doing adoptions out of the DR Congo.  He told us to pray about it, but that they were considering starting an adoption program. He later told us that his sister (the lawyer in DRC) has been asking him for awhile now if they can start adoptions.  Tresor has put her off by saying, just pray about it. This senario happened several times. Finally a week before we contacted Tresor his sister talked to him.  She told him they were ready for adoptions, and he needed to pray about it!  He has since been praying about it and he told us that God has answered prayers and that the timing is right for their ministry.  The Lord has been preparing the ministry, Mwanganza, in many different ways to do adoptions.  He has also been preparing us in several ways to start this new adventure.

This whole journey is going to be a completely different process, and yet we are excited about the mystery of it all. Evan and I, are also well aware that our family is going to look different, but it brings a smile to our faces when we think about how colorful our family is going to be.  Our hearts are open and ready to love God's children that he places in our home.  Since we found out we can waive the 5 years married stipulation, we have had peace every step of the way with adopting from the Congo.  Please join us in praying for our next little one.

Thank you in advance for all of your donations, encouragement, interest, and bids.  The money will go towards the initial costs of adopting.  Every little bit helps, and we are glad to be able to give you something special in return... artwork, jewelry, or simply time with our little ones in the future.

Ecclesiastes 3

New International Version (NIV)

A Time for Everything

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

T-shirts are here!

"Bless You and Keep You" Africa shirts are here! Our goal is to sell enough of these to offset part of the fees for our African adoption. The cost is $20 plus shipping (shipping is $3 for one and $5 for 2). You can use the paypal button on the site, or mail a check. If you use paypal, please leave a note with the donation stating sizes needed. All adult sizes available. Thanks so much for helping bring our child home!

 BIG NEWS!!!! 

It is with great excitement that we would like to announce that baby #2 is coming soon(ish)! After seeking God’s plan for our family, He has opened a door to adopt from Africa! We will be pursing an adoption in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A great friend of ours, Tresor Yenyi, runs an organization called Mwangaza International (http://www.mwangazaint.com). They partner with orphanages in the DRC to bring hope and healing to those affected by the tragedies going on there. We will begin the Africa portion of the adoption in January and we are already done with the US side of things (homestudy, i600a, fingerprinting). God is so good and we can’t wait to see what exciting things he has for our family! We can also use your help along the way. Please continue to pray that God will bless us with a smooth and quick process as we bring our baby home. Also, be looking for Bless You and Keep You shirts coming sometime next week. Thanks for all your support as we continue on this amazing path called adoption!