a sweet sweet baby shower.

a couple months back i helped host a baby shower for my dear friend ashley. i love her so much. she is one of the sweetest, dearest friends I have ever had.

ashley and her families lives have changed dramatically since June, when they adopted their sweet baby, Zion. 

you can read more about their adoption journey here.  and i recommend you do so. it is a wonderful story that reflects God and his glory. 

as I try and think of the right words that would summarize where they've been so far and where they're going...i can't! so much has happened in only a couple months. very hard things and very good things. 

it was so good to get together and celebrate ashley and zion and the precious child he is. 

here are a few images of how we decorated for the shower. 

i left my camera at home, so my dear friend erica took these for us.

thanks to erica, jami, and maria to hosting this event with me. they did A TON of the preparation and decorations for the event...as I was in my first trimester of pregnancy and basically sleeping through life then.

we have HUGE news.

ok, i don't quite know how to say this to the world...

but

please read the whole post as I will try to answer any/all questions that will be sure to pop up in your head.

it's true!! 

are we super excited? YES. 

are we surprised? YES. 

was this planned? NO. 

we could not be more excited, honored and humbled to bring a new life into this world and our family. 

with that said, the past couple weeks since we've known have been a little bittersweet. 

{please don't get me wrong here}

excitement is all over our house, but in a way we have felt like we've mourned some loss.

we were hoping to be matched with a birth mom super soon and have a new baby in the next couple months via adoption. 

now, the plans are changing. 

a BIG yes, we are still adopting. 

our time frame will change now and look different than what we had imagined. 

what's the plan? 

we will have a baby 

{due in Febuary}

we will start the adoption process again when our babes is about 10 months. 

everything we've saved/earned/been granted toward the adoption process, will still go to our adopted baby, but again it just changes our timeline. 

so, that's where we are at. i know God has a plan and he's so trustworthy and His plan is way better than one I could write.

 so, we're trusting and moving forward. 

p.s. the photo above is from when i was 7 months pregnant with lon's. don't worry. i'm not that big yet.

adoption update video!!!! woo hoo.

this post has been a long time comin' ;) 

and i'm so excited to share the news!!

we are officially moving forward with adoption 

IN A BIG WAY.

after a ton of deliberation, and research, we have chosen a new agency.   

the other agency we were with isn't a bad agency, but this one is 

SUCH A BETTER FIT. 

without going into ALL the details, it just fits our family and our timeline better. 

the finances are spread out into 3 parts vs. all at once

the agency and birth mom will be from Arkansas vs. a birth mom anywhere in the US 

(Arkansas is close to us)  

and several other smaller factors that led us to this decision. 

thanks for all the prayers and thoughts as we made this transition the past couple months. 

so, 

where do we stand now? 

take a look...

Landon & Rachel's Adoption Update from reclaim|creative (Jeff Short) on Vimeo.

thanks to our brilliant friend jeff short for making this video!

and a couple other amazing things happened this week. 

1. we reached our t-shirt pre-sale goal. yippee! 

yes, you can still order shirts here through the end of summer, but we needed the initial pre-sale to order in bulk

2. friday morning we received news that our family is getting an adoption grant! 

thanks for watching friends. 
 
we will keep you updated as we move forward in this exciting process.

a pre-order deadline THIS WEEK. and a shop credit!

hey blogging friends. 

so apparently i have a more strict deadline than i thought with pre-ordering these adoption tee's
. 

chalk it up to nievity, not being a printing expert, etc. 

BUT 

here's where you can help. 

long story short...i need to place my pre-order with my printer for  tee's by the end of this week. 

that's soon!!

basically, to get a bulk discount, I need to order the tee's in a quantity of 50 or more, which i'd really like to be able to do, because that means we are able to put that much more to our adoption fund. 

so, that means i need 20 more t-shirt orders by this friday. 

can you help a sister out?

also as added incentive, everyone that buys a tee this week (and has already bought) will be entered to win a $25 shop credit to my love is rising etsy shop! ! 

we are so close to hitting our goal of t-shirts ordered, but aren't quite there, so this week is key for us.

i will keep you updated on how this week goes.

and if any of you want to blog, FB or tweet about this and our deadline, i would appreciate it greatly.

i hope you don't think i'm being too in your face right now, but we have a need we are trying to meet. :) 

and
  
you guys have been so supportive with our whole adoption process, that i thought i would put things out there and be honest with where we're at with these guys. 

so, if you want a cute tee and are looking for a way to support our adoption fund, this week is the time to pre-order friends. 

here they are again for your viewing pleasure: 

 

let's do this! thanks for your support! 

remember, all pre-orders need to be in by Friday of this week.

and just to be clear, yes, you can still order tee's after the pre-order has ended. BUT, this pre-order push really does help me order more tee's up front, get a bulk discount, and save more for adoption. 

let me know if you have any questions!  

click here to purchase. 

t-shirts hotdogs and adoption.

So, you know the t-shirts they shoot out of hotdog guns in the summer at baseball games? 

Just picture it. you're at a Royals game (or fill in your team name.) 

and then they announce they're bringing out the big guns, literally. 

and people get way too strangely excited about this process. 

some team mascot comes out with a hotdog gun and shoots tee's into the crowd. 

tee's that are XXL. 

tee's that are made of 100% polyester. 

tee's that will end up as an oil rag when you get home. 

well, this t-shirt announcement is nothing like that! 

it's kinda exactly the opposite. 

my brilliant friend heather has helped me come up with two SWEET, whimsical, soft, organic, quality v-neck tee's that we're selling to help with our adoption costs. 

Check these babies out. The design is killer. (chanks Heather) and the tee itself is soft, cuddly and grabs you in all the right places ;) 

my vision was an Urban Outfitters type tee and i think we hit the nail on the head. 

Enough describing, take a look. You have TWO to choose from:

OR

Now, just click on this here link and go buy yourself one, and rest assured you'll get a sweet v-neck tee, that's going to help bring our babes home! 

and maybe your mom or bf needs one too...

p.s. keep in mind this is a pre-order, so thanks for being patient with shipment time. shirts will ship the 3rd week of june.

hooray! something to look forward to getting in the mail.

emerald city. and adoption.

here is a lovely i added to the shop last week and i'm just sharing on the blog. 

it's one of my favorites, but i think i might always be tempted to say that ;)

flying to emerald city- antique birds on a branch necklace with jade charm

remember this week you can get free shipping on your entire order  {until saturday}

by using the code: FREESHIPSWAG at checkout.

----------------------------------------------------------

and on another note...

i wanted to give you guys a quick adoption update. 

or really say, man we're still in the same place we were at a couple weeks back, we don't have any official news to announce yet. 

things should be coming together this week (fingers crossed, and by fingers crossed, i mean, we're praying) and we can't wait to tell you all about it when we know something solid. 

i promise i'm not trying to be evasive, or weirdly mystical about it all. but we really don't want to get ahead of ourselves and say things that aren't official yet. 

make sense? 

we hope we can share more with you really soon! 

yard sale magic.

remember that yard sale announcement i blogged about a couple weeks back?

well, it came and went this past week and it was a

smash hit!

we were completley wiped afterward, but are that much closer to funding our adoption! 

i forgot to take pictures, but the hubs stepped in with his iPhone and here is the way he saw the day...

getting ready with some annoying, attention getting flags. 

 london sampling the baby tunnel merchandise

our friends, the mcgee's, who stopped by in support and obviously left with some amazing things. 

thanks to all who came out and supported us and all who made donations!

the 90's weren't that bad, right??

i went to jazzercise this week.

and for some reason that reminds me A LOT of the 1990's. 

maybe that's when it started?

maybe it's because secretly in my head, Jazzercise is Zumba's ugly cousin.

anyways, i digress.

I WENT because my new friend Heather is also adopting, but from Ethiopia, 

and tonight's class supported their adoption process.

heather and friends after class

they are adopting baby Arthur and were matched with him just two weeks ago,

and they waited more than a year for a match!

now, they are waiting on a court date to go to Africa. 

we have been able to share so much together in such a short time, and i love their precious family. 

she's been a great friend to get to know. 

 

and our adoption update? 

well,  i've thought about giving you guys an update several times, but it just isn't the right time yet. 

i'm not trying to be secrative, but i don't think i'm quite ready to share the newer details with the whole of the intranet yet. :)

so, thanks for being patient and thanks for your prayers. 

i will just say, it's been a much different process than we ever imagined and we have some big decisions and possible changes to make and we're still in the thick of it, so i'll share more when we know more and make a decision. 

thanks for stopping by. 

rachel

i am tired.

to write a serious post or not???

warning: this post is only text, so if you like the fluffy stuff. this will be too much for you :)

i feel like i'm a pretty open person. and i'll share my story if it will help someone else. or sometimes it's even good for me to share just as a way of processing through things on my own. 

but there's something about posting it on the internet...

not that i mind sharing with new friends and followers, but ANYONE can read this blog, and for some reason, i get slightly weirded out by that.

never the less, here i go. sharing. 

looking for adoption grants and loans has been really frustrating.

first of all, they aren't in one central place. i have spent hours online researching...

only to find...

we aren't working with a 501c3, so we can't apply for some grants that require you work with a 501c3

we aren't going international so that takes out a lot of grant opportunities

and the hardest catch 22 thing we have to continually deal with is this: 

 once we go active and are placed with a birth mom/baby 

(which practically speaking, when you go active with our agency and are adopting a black baby, you are matched typically in less than 24 hours)

our agency requires the full remaining balance as soon as you're matched,

BUT

most grants/loans won't give to you until after you've been matched. 

so...it's a weird and sad place to be.

so, that's where we are at right now in our adoption funding journey. 

i just feel tired.

i feel like i've put so much into all this.

i don't know what to do next...

grant update.

last night a got an email from the Gift of Adoption Fund.  

i got so nervous. 

they gift grants monthly. 

they have more than 50 applicants per month

and award about 8 grants in any given month.

the grant manager emailed to say, 

"The Gift of Adoption Fund has tentatively scheduled 

your grant application for review

at the April Grant Selection Committee meeting."

This is such good news that they are going to consider us next month. 

Please please pray for this opportunity. 

We still cannot move forward with adoption unless we get grant monies. 

We long to be matched with a baby and bring our new little one home soon! 

garage sale for our babies

hey friends. 

on april 23rd 

my friend elizabeth and i

are hosting a 

garage sale

in Kansas City. 

to help bring our babies home!!

(my friend is in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. yeah!)

if you live in Kansas City and want to donate items

please email me asap. 

if you live outside of KC, well...surely you still want to donate and ship items here, right? ;)

thanks for all your help and support!

 

i only hope our sign will look THIS good. :) 

the waiting game.

so, right now we're waiting on a lot of things...

at least it feels that way.

homestudy sent off.

can't go active yet because we don't have all the funds.

waiting to hear on our grant submissions.
(don't they know we're on the edge of our seats?)

it's hard being patient.

but God's timing is perfect. i must remind myself of this a lot.

happy weekend friends. see you here next week.

thanks for listening.


and just for fun, i came across this picture of my man and i when we FIRST starting dating.

this was actually taken at the K-State Union at their bowling alley.

on a side note: i finally talked landon into smiling with his teeth after we got married :) before then, he thought he looked goofy. i had to prove him otherwise.

so dating= smiles with mouth closed

i am SO nervous...

Dear Friends and Friends of Friends and Random Blog Readers, 

Your Prayers are needed and wanted.

Deep Breath. 

This morning is a big morning for the Porter home. 

I'm sending off 3 applications for adoption grants/loans.

This process has been WAY harder and emotionally trying than i thought already.

a few grant we thought we were applicable for we aren't. BUMMER.

there are some pretty steep hills to climb with these grants as well. 

so MANY people apply. so many "prefer" international adoption. so many "are less likely" to give you a grant without being placed with a birth mom. 

(sidenote: with our agency, as soon as we're placed with a birth mom/baby our FULL AMOUNT is due within 24 hours. whew! ) 

but...

we still move forward...hoping and praying that through the pages we filled out they can see our hearts and desires and know how much we long for this. 

so, here's to sending them off! ! 

please pray for us. 

pray they would look kindly on our applications.

pray they would give us adoption money, no matter how large or small the amount. 

pray that it could happen soon and we would hear an answer either way.

thanks friends. 

oh, and here are the 3 names, incase you want to pray real specifically 

- the Abba Fund

- the Gift of Adoption Fund

- Lifesong

love, 

the Porters

the homestudy is complete!

I was so excited to see FedEx pull up to my door this morning and drop off our completed and approved homestudy!! (is homestudy one word btw?) i like to think it is. :)

and the paperwork. oh how much paperwork we've had the past couple of months. i'm sure there is plenty more to come.

now on to applying for EVERY GRANT IMAGINABLE. your support and prayers at this stage of the process are needed and much appreciated.

IT IS TIME

for the give-a-way!!  

let's do this thing! so, as a lot of you know, my husband and i are in the process of adopting. we've completed our home study and are now raising funds to help us be able to bring our sweet baby home. 

let's be honest, adoption is EXPENSIVE and our total cost is going to be around $22,000. whoa! that's overwhelming just typing it. we've saved around $2,500 so far and are doing everything we can to get the rest as soon as possible. we're saving any additional income, applying for a TON of grants, we get to receive the federal tax credit (super helpful!) and we started an Etsy shop. 

well...

today's give-a-way is handmade accessories from my etsy shop. all proceeds from my shop and this give-a-way go to support our adoption fund to help bring our sweet baby home sooner! so, let's do this and give away some fun goodies. 

the give-a-way package includes: 

this ADORABLE headband 

this GORGEOUS pair of earrings

and lastly, this BEAUTIFUL brown speckled ear warmer

this bundle is worth $50!! 
 

that's only $10 for your chance to win $50 worth of sweet cuteness!

 wanna know how to enter? here's the nitty gritty. it's pretty easy:

a simple donation.

1 entry is $10

2 entries is $20

5 entries is $50

and so on...

so, how do you donate?

see that donate button on the left hand side? just click away, enter your donation amount and voila. you are entered in the give-a-way.

*be sure to leave a comment below letting me know you entered*

the give-a-way is open till sunday evening (midnight central time) friends.

winner will be chosen at random and announced Monday morning on the blog.

have fun!

 and please grab our give-a-way logo and share on your blogs, facebook, twitter, etc.

thank you SO SO much for helping support our adoption. we are so grateful. 

love, 

the Porters

fine print: give-a-way is open to US residents only, but you can still donate, if you live outside the US. Give-a-way ends Sunday at midnight, central time. please email me with any questions you have. 

the give-a-way is now closed. thank you so much for your support in our shop!

Our New Family Blog and Adoption.

So, the Porter family is giving this whole blog thing a try. I've done a blog for my business, but somehow never brought myself to do a personal blog. Maybe it's because I sit there and think, are there really people out there that want to hear about my life? online? So, here we go. Hope it's exciting.

Another reason I wanted to start blogging is because we're in the beginning stages of adopting a baby and I thought it would be fun, maybe even encouraging or informative, for others to read and be encouraged along the process.

So far the idea of adoption is....joyous. scary. exciting. complicated. and that's only the beginning. so...we started this blog to share our progress and also in hopes of encouraging others that are looking to adopt. it's been hard to find credible websites or blogs that truly share a start to finish story. so, we hope we can share a little bit of our story and hope this blog might be helpful to you in your journey.

love,

the porters