GoodByes and Closure

Our families are awesome.  Our friends are beyond great.  Our life in Charleston was good.  It made leaving very hard.  Especially because we were making new friends through the leaving, or reconnecting with old ones.  

Our special friend, Jaylen. He has been at out house almost everyday for the last year+.

When we just began discussing the idea of heading back to Thailand, one of my fears/hesitations was how FAST it was going to be.  We knew we would need to be in Thailand at the beginning of August, and it was the end of June when this came up.  I talked to one of my good friends, Kristen Fransman, who was also in the process of moving overseas for missions.  She said in some ways, she wished it would have been faster.  Preparing for over a year and a half was difficult in lots of ways.  That made me feel better.  And I knew it was probably easier on my heart to not drag things out.  Maybe harder on those we were leaving though.  

July was FULL of tasks and packing and details, but it was also full of visits and special memories.  I was intentional to soak things up.  Enjoyed watching Tyndall playing with his cousins, with our neighbor Jaylen, with my business helpers Adrienne and Bekah.  Enjoyed coffee and breakfast dates and family dinners and rides in the car.  Taking in the little, everyday things that usually just fly by.  It was special to be able to soak up those moments.  

Those things made it easier to let go of the cars, the house, the 'stuff'.  Majorly downsizing my Mary Kay business was one of the hardest for me.  At first, it almost kept me from coming.  I invested a lot of time, money, energy and prayers into my business for over 2 years.  It was hard to be asked to let go of that.  Eventually, I felt "released".  I'm so thankful I had a year-end celebration with my unit and got to see most of them.  I'm thankful that our meetings in Charleston had some special time for me to say goodbye.  Though I'm not fully done with Mary Kay, it will be very different.  

Rehoming Zoe was difficult.  Thankfully, Zeb made the arrangements and found a family for her who is perfect.  Mom and "Aunt" Brenda made the actual exchange which also made it easier.  The hardest part was Tyndall asking for her.  When we would come home from somewhere, he would say, "Zoe, we're home!" and wonder why she didn't come see us.  We told him Zoe had a new family, and he would be okay with that.  We told him we were moving to Thailand, and he always asked who else was coming.  Precious boy.

The GoodByes were very hard.  Very hard this time.   I know Tyndall is going to be so different the next time most of our family sees him.  I know our nieces are going to change so much.  We know things will change.  That's hard.  Pray for all these relationships and transitions.  We miss our family so much already, and it's really just the beginning!  
 

Tyndall on TV

An interesting thing happened today.  A news reporter contacted me and said she found our family blog and would love to interview us about adoption.  A local family has recently been in national news about their adoption journey, so the reporter wanted to get another adoptive family's take.  I thought it was pretty cool (and would make a fun blog entry!), so at 12:30, plans were made for the crew to come to our house at 1:30. {Read--only an hour to get the house and myself and Tyndall presentable for tv.}

Matt was at work, so I called him to give him a heads-up, but they were busy at work, and my phone didn't ring when he called me back.  So... sweet husband arrived home for lunch just as the tv crew was getting to the house as well.  He had NO IDEA why a news crew was at our house.  The look on his face was priceless!  He was such a good sport. 

They were here for about an hour and asked us about our adoption, our blog, and our thoughts on the "Save Veronica" movement.  I tried not to get too political with my answers related to the case, because the truth is, it's a very complicated case.  But ultimately, I do believe {from everything I've read}, that the birth father signed away his rights and had nothing to do with the birth mother or pregnancy, so the adoption was legitimate.  I believe Veronica was very loved and cared for for the first 2 years of her life with her adoptive family, and I think it's wonderful they and birth mother seem to have such a great relationship.  I do hope Veronica will end up reunited with her adoptive family but also have some kind of relationship with each of her birth parents... BUT... I will admit that I do not know the whole story surrounding the custody battle and probably never will. I have read details of the case here, though, and would encourage those interested to do so as well.  I'm certainly glad I wasn't sharing my opinion as an expert, only as another adoptive family who is excited that the ruling of the SCOTUS upheld adoptive law.

They ended up using more of our interview than I thought they would, but they used less of the 'b roll' stuff I thought they would use.  They had taken some shots of Tyndall 'standing' in his crib with his name mural in the background which I thought would have looked cool. I'm thankful they left the part in there about God having His hand in the details of adoption.  

Our blog even got some air-time... so cool!

I enjoyed working with Ava and John, the crew from ABC News 4.  And I thought Tyndall looked pretty awesome on TV. :)   

You can view the whole 2:22 here.  And I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the case if you've been following it. 
 
P.S.  Fellow blog friends, you never know when your blog will get you a tv interview, so keep it updated! ;)
P.S.S.  You never know when a tv crew is going to come to your house for a news interview, so keep your house clean. ;) 
 

Easter Weekend 2013

We had a great Easter weekend...

Friday night, Aunt Valerie came and stayed with us.  

Saturday morning, we went to the Easter Egg Hunt at Friendship Baptist.  But I thought it started at 10, and it didn't start until 11.  So to kill time, I went to the outlets and picked out a special outfit for him to wear for Easter. (Isn't that what you're supposed to do with kids?) I also got to see a sweet friend!  Then, I made it to Friendship for the egg hunt.  Tyndall was given two eggs. :) 
 

 He certainly got plenty of attention.

 I enjoyed watching Hailey find and collect eggs... especially the one's in other people's baskets. ;) 

After the egg hunt, Tyndall and I went and hung out with Morgan, who we hadn't seen in over a year and a half!  In the evening, when Matt got home from work, he announced that he had ALSO bought an Easter outfit for Tyndall.  :)  And we settled in to watch Sound of Music.  

Sunday morning, we gathered with our River Church family for the first time since Tyndall came home.  We were advised to wait until April, but 3/31 was close enough, and it was Easter Sunday!  We wanted to celebrate the risen Savior as a family.  I'm so glad we did, and Ginger joined us too, so it was extra special! 

Matt saw this kind of tie knot on Pinterest and watched a YouTube video to learn how to do it.  He was very proud of his special Easter tie.

 Matt had to go to work after church, but Ginger and I joined the family for Easter dinner at Steph and Mark's.  I was supposed to make mashed potatoes but didn't leave myself enough time.  Thank goodness for KFC. ;)

 Ginger, however, made this awesome 'bunny brownie'.  She's pretty talented at the baking thing.

This basket was made by Matt's Mom when he was younger.  Steph had an Easter basket for Tyndall and used Matt's basket, which was very special.  After we went through the basket, we decided to put Tyndall in it.  And he even smiled for some pictures. :)  

 He met Cousin Noah. And Shared some smiles with GiGi.

It's so fun to have kiddos around for family holidays. :)

St. Patrick's Day Adventure

It really didn't have anything to do with St. Patty's Day, but I guess it does make it a little more memorable. 

Tyndall is finally big enough to fit in a carrier + it's beautiful these days in Charleston + I was craving some outdoors time = we headed out on an 'adventure' to Caw Caw Interpretive Center. 


Ginger, Laura, another Matthew, and the three of us piled into Laura's new Dodge Journey Sunday morning.  We made a stop at the grocery store to pick up some stuff for a picnic lunch.  After our eclectic picnic, we were off to the walking trails! 

 You may or may not know that I have a fascination with alligators.  I love them.  I especially love seeing them in their natural habitats, but not-too-close.  So, Caw-Caw was perfect.  Not too far into our walk, we spotted our first gator... the first of 11!

Ginger with our first gator-sighting!

 Not too long after our first gator sighting, we had our second snake-sighting.  But, this one wasn't a little baby black rat snake like the first, this was a Cottonmouth. Very poisonous.  In the middle of the walking path.  Thankfully, we spotted it a few yards before we got to it.  We attempted to startle it so it would move out of the path-- it didn't.  And it seemed way too interested in us when we tried to take the skirt of the trail and leave it be.  So, we just waited.  And waited.  And we let it move off to the side before we walked by.  Well, we QUICKLY walked by, on the opposite side of the trail.  And the adventure continued. 

It was soaking up the sunshine too.
Can you see it in the middle of the pic?

Matt was a trooper to carry Tyndall the whole 2+ hours of walking. 

The biggest gator we saw... from a distance!  Probably 12ish feet but can't be sure. 

Enjoying more of the beautiful day before we headed home!

My thirst for alligators and sunshine and quality time with family and friends was satisfied.  I also can't wait to go back!  We are truly blessed to be able to live in such a beautiful place with such fun, free things to do!

LoveGave Hope

$100,000 in 58 hours?!

The LoveGave organization, which is awesome in itself since it's a collaboration of multiple churches in the Charleston area is taking on a cause that's dear to our heart this year... the fatherless. 

PLEASE take time to check out LoveGave Hope between now and December 8th.  If you're local, you can go to the West Ashley or Goose Creek Wal-Mart to be part of it.  You can also always watch online (always entertaining!) as they are live-streaming, and you can give online as well.   

Our goal is to raise $100,000 in 58 hours to provide hope for the orphans in our area. You know what?!
God can do it.  

Will you be part of it? 

A Very Special Evening

Many have asked about our fundraising dinner and silent auction.  I've still been processing it so wanted to take some time before I wrote.  

From the beginning planning stages, I felt that this was something the Lord prompted us to do... and that it wasn't supposed to just be about us or our adoption journey. I wanted it to be about adoption in general and a night where God would be glorified and where He would use the stories of others to prompt some to consider adopting. I don't know whether or not the latter happened, but I definitely think it was God-honoring.  

A room full!

Like all big events, not everything went according to plan.  There were 2 families we asked previously to share their stories who weren't able to swing it.  Then, a few hours before it started, one of the families that was planning to come to share their story called and said they wouldn't be able to make it.  Many others were kept from coming due to sickness, work and traffic.  We didn't follow the timeline exactly.  Some moments of me in front of the microphone were definitely awkward.


But, overall it was super-encouraging!  The food was delicious thanks to a great deal from Sticky Fingers, who also hooked us up with the great location... the grand ballroom at the Holiday Inn, Mt. Pleasant. The room was beautiful thanks to some special ladies who decorated!  

 

 

Kathie and Theresa... decorators extraordinaire! 

What made it incredible was all the people who were able to make it.  We had friends from all different seasons of our lives in the same place, and that is always special.  It was even more special because these people were gathered together in support of our future child.  Just the presence of so many people (around 70) meant more than we could have imagined.  We are not alone in this journey, and this past week proved that. 

Everyone enjoyed music from a friend, Brian Vanoy.  And our friends, the Hyatts, shared about adopting their son Will from China.  We also had some new friends, the Fischers, share about doing foster care and adopting through the state.  I'll never forget their stories... 

The Fischers have had over 30 children in their home through Foster Care and have adopted 4!

Also, we weren't planning on sharing about our adoption at all, but there were many new faces and some had never heard about our adoption process... so we did end up sharing.  Actually, Matt shared out story, which is incredibly touching to me because of how much he has changed towards adoption.  Hearing him share his heart in front of the folks gathered did something in my heart that is hard to explain.  I wish we had recorded the whole evening! 

The Silent Auction part also went well.  We didn't make anything off the dinner portion, but we made about $1,500 on the Silent Auction (with possibly more still coming in).  Though it didn't finish off the final adoption costs as we had hoped, we are very thankful for the wonderful evening we shared with so many people who are special to us and who already love Baby Flagler. 

 

Aunt Valerie, Aunt Laura and Uncle Steven hard at work!

Thank you so much to everyone who came and made it such an unforgettable evening!  And we missed those of you who couldn't make it.

Election Day Special for Fundraising Dinner

We haven't sold any tickets yet.  :/ 
So, in honor of Election Day AND to get this show on the road, we're offering a special.

Today only:  Buy 3 tickets, get 1 free! 
That way, you can bring friends and have even more fun! 

Purchase tickets here (change the quantity before you hit "Checkout").

Our Church and Orphans

Yesterday, Matt and I had the opportunity to share briefly about our adoption with our church.  Yesterday was orphan Sunday, so we were asked to share our story and spend time praying for orphans from stage.  (We were far down the line of people asked, but it was cool anyway!) 

I can't explain the JOY and passion that I felt while hearing Matt talking with the Lord about orphans, adoption, and the parts we play.  His heart has changed so much, and I'm beyond thankful!  It's further proof that GOD is doing this... not us.

We are so grateful to be part of this church.  There are 3 other families who have adopted in our church.  Of those 3 families, we've been in Community Group with two of them.  What a blessing!  And one other family (that we know of!) is starting the process.  It means so much that we have this support system... that our child(ren) won't be the only one(s) who don't look like Mommy & Daddy. :)

Even more awesome is that our church is doing a HUGE event in December to raise awareness and funds for local orphanages.  Check out the video below.

LoveGave Hope Trailer from LoveGave on Vimeo.

'Tis the Season...

... for more change!  

Our season as a Cares Team has come to an end.  A little earlier than originally planned but definitely the right time.  Thankfully, we had been house-hunting 'just for fun' since April.  And we had a really good idea of what we wanted, where we wanted to be and what we could spend.  

We have now put in an offer, had it countered, countered again and gotten another counter.  We have settled on a price, and as long as the Home Inspection doesn't find any major problems, this will be our first home!  

Isn't God good?!  We will hopefully be bringing our child home to a real HOME and not an apartment, on the 3rd floor.  And we will have more time to focus on bonding and growing as a family without the commitment of Cares. 

More later on "our first house" if all goes well.  

Love at Chick-fil-A

We had a great turnout at our Chick-fil-A Fundraiser last night!  Right at 100 people ate with us in the Dining Room and several went through the drive-thru who we didn't get to see. 

Check out the fun pictures on Facebook. Here's a preview!

 
We did free entries into our Gift Card Giveaway for those who came, and we gave double entries for those who donated a little extra than the 10% from their meal.   

All in all, Chick-fil-A had $878.83 in sales receipts that were turned in, so they donated $87.88 to our adoption.  And we had almost $300 in donations that night.

By the time it was all said and done, we felt very LOVED and ENCOURAGED.  
We had people represented from so many stages of our lives, and it was so sweet to see how much Baby Flagler is already loved.  He/she is going to be a SPECIAL little one with LOTS of people who love him/her!

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who came out and supported us!  It means SO MUCH!