About Our Family:

We have six children at home and are in the process of adopting our seventh child from China. He is four years old and has Down Syndrome.

We have three biological children ages 11, 10 and 7. We also have two children adopted from Uganda ages 8 and 6. 

Our youngest daughter is two years old. We adopted her domestically and she also has Down Syndrome. She is such a joy and blessing to our family. She has been through a lot in the last two years including open heart surgery at 3 months old, multiple hospitalizations, therapies and medical procedures but she amazes us all with her determination and strength. After we adopted her we knew we would most likely adopt another child with Down Syndrome. 

Our son in China has waited for over two years to be adopted. We first saw his picture in the fall of 2013 but we weren't in the position to move forward with another adoption at that time. We hoped and prayed another family would step forward to adopt him but no one did. In the fall of 2014 our circumstances changed and we began the paperwork process to adopt him. We are very hopeful that we will travel to China to bring him home very soon. 

 Click here to donate towards our remaining adoption expenses.

THANK YOU for helping bring our son HOME!

Bracelets for Sale!

As I mentioned in the previous post my daughter and her cousins have been making bracelets to raise funds for our little guy for almost a year... long before she knew he would be her little brother! Several people have asked if they can still buy bracelets and the answer is definitely YES! 

Both of our older girls are working hard to make bracelets to sell. Below are some examples of what they have made so far. These bracelets are made with an elastic band and are available in child or adult sizes. 

"Faith", "Hope" and "Love" bracelets pictured above are available for a suggested donation of $5 each or 5 for $20 shipping included. 

"Best Friends" bracelets (set of 2, pictured above) are available for a suggested donation of $10 shipped. 

Custom bracelets also available...please specify size (child or adult), color choice, and word (if you would like a special word, name, etc.) in the notes section of Paypal. 

If you would like to buy a bracelet please click on the "Buy Now" button on the right and choose your options from the drop down menu. 

*** Bracelets are available for a donation to our adoption fund. The suggested donation is only a suggestion which was based on the cost of the materials, shipping and time it takes our daughters to make each bracelet. If you would like to donate a different amount than is listed please donate via our "Donate" button on the right and leave a comment in the notes section with your order details (number of bracelets, color, size, special wording, etc.)***

Thank you!

The Journey Continues...

This journey begins almost a year ago so let me start at the beginning... 

Last fall as I was browsing through pictures on an adoption advocacy site, I saw the picture of a sweet little boy with Down Syndrome in China waiting for a family. He was so precious and I kept his picture open on my computer for several days. He must have caught the eye of our oldest daughter as well because she chose him as one of the recipients of a fundraising venture she was planning to help raise money towards adoption grants for kids who are waiting for families. Love her heart! 

A few months later, in February, I sent an email to the agency who had this little guy's file just to learn a little bit more about him. After considering several factors, we knew the timing just wasn't right for our family to adopt again so we hoped another family would step forward to adopt him soon. Our daughter and her cousins continued to raise funds for this little guy by selling handmade bracelets. 

Several months passed and at the end of September I saw this little guy's picture on my computer screen once again. A new agency had his file and he was STILL waiting for a family. I talked to my husband about it and we both agreed that we were in a different season in our family and the timing  just might be right to begin another adoption. We committed to pray about it and within a few days we were in compete unity on the decision to pursue this little one and bring him into our family.  

Oh my heart! How precious is it that our oldest daughter has been raising funds for almost a year to bring home her little brother...and she didn't even know it?! 

We appreciate your prayers and support as we work hard to bring this little one home! We are stepping out in complete faith and confidence in the Lord's provision and are so thankful to have a community of family and friends to join us on this journey! 

It's a GIRL!

First... we have VERY exciting news!!!

Our sweet baby girl was born on Wednesday afternoon!  She is currently in the NICU and we hope to travel to meet her in the next few days! While we are overjoyed at this news we know this is a very emotional time for her birth family. Prayers are much appreciated as they walk though this difficult time. 


Funding Update...

We have been so humbled over the last few weeks since we first announced our adoption. We have been blessed by donations from so many people we know and love as well as people we have never met.  We've received gifts ranging from $1-$1,000 and we are thankful for each and every one of them. We found out this week that it looks like we will owe an additional $3,300 in medical fees that we were not expecting. We are amazed at how the Lord has provided for our family up until this point and we have faith that He will continue to do so.  


Fundraising Update...

I have updated our fundraising thermometer (on the right) to reflect the additional amount we now owe. To help offset these unexpected fees we have multiple fundraisers going on.  

TODAY is the last day to place an order for Scentsy or Thirty-One Gifts. 

Sweet friends are hosting two fundraiser garage sales for our family. The first one is scheduled for TOMORROW (2/16) and the second is scheduled for next Saturday (2/23). If you have items to donate or are available to help please let us know!  

There are additional fundraising opportunities (Juice Plus, Just Love Coffee, etc.) listed here.

ADDITIONAL Matching Grant

UPDATE: Thanks to all who shared and donated! We were able to reach our matching grant goal of $1,000 in donations in less than 12 hours! With the match we were able to add $2,000 to our adoption fund! Praise God! We are completely overwhelmed with the love and support our family has received over the past few days.  We are very, very close to being fully funded! 

Original Post:

We have been offered an ADDITIONAL $1,000 matching grant! 

That means continuing today for every $1 that is donated an extra $1 will also be donated. What a blessing!  

 To make a donation please use the "Donate" button on the right of this blog. 


To read more about our other fundraising opportunities click here.

Matching Grant Opportunity

Matching Grant Update: A total of $1,850 was raised in just 10 hours bringing our total with the match to $2,850.  Thank you to all who donated and shared.  We are humbled, amazed and overwhelmed at God's provision.  

Original Post:

We found out today that our family has been offered a $1,000 matching grant! 

That means that starting today for every $1 that is donated an extra $1 will also be donated to our adoption fund.  Your gift automatically doubles! What a blessing!  

You can read more about this amazing opportunity and track our progress by clicking here. 

To read more about our other fundraising opportunities click here.

Please Note: You can donate towards the matching grant using the "Donate" button on the right of this blog or you can click here to donate.  ALL donations made towards the matching grant will be tracked on the fundraising thermometer on our friend's blog.  Once we have reached the matching grant goal of $1,000 we will add the new total to our blog. The fundraising thermometer on the right of this blog shows the donations made before the matching grant was offered. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Join the Journey

It is with great JOY that we share with you that our family is growing once again! We are adopting domestically this time and have been working with the NDSAN (National Down Syndrome Adoption Network). We recently found out that we are matched with a baby GIRL who is due in just 2 WEEKS! She is expected to be born with Down Syndrome and a heart condition which will require surgery in a few months. We appreciate your prayers as we prepare our hearts and home to welcome this little one into our family! ♥


We have a very limited amount of time to raise funds. Over the years we have continued to be amazed at God's provision in each of our adoptions.  Every gift is a blessing that brings us one step closer to bringing our child home. Would you please consider becoming a part of HIS story in our little one's life? Below are some opportunities for you to join the journey.

1. Scentsy Fundraiser- order from the link below and 25% of the sale will be donated to our adoption fund.  Buy the products you love and help our little one come home at the same time. Win, win! :) 

Click here to order Scentsy

2. Thirty-One Gifts Fundraiser- order from the link below and 25% of the sale will be donated to our adoption fund.  


Click here to order from Thirty-One Gifts

3. Order coffee from Just Love Coffee & $5 will be donated towards our adoption expenses.  Make sure you use this link or click on the image on the right:

Click here to order from Just Love Coffee

4. Make a monetary donation (see "Donate" button on right). Any amount helps! Thank you for supporting our family!

5.  Pray for our little one and our family as we prepare to welcome her into our family!