So much to talk about...

Well thanks to some wonderful friends and family we have raised $2,000 so far for our trips to bring Seifu home.  All of the items sold fairly quick and we had some wonderful people donate to us for Christmas...we are blessed beyond words.  Thank you to all who have helped support our journey in bringing Seifu home. 

We have gotten many new pictures and videos of Seifu...I wish so badly that I could show you his beautiful smile but unfortunately we aren't able to post any pics of him on a social site until we have passed court.  Sooooo you will just have to keep waiting anxiously, sorry.  But he is seriously so stinkin' precious and his smile will make you melt.  We were blessed to get in touch with a family from Michigan that just travelled over to Ethiopia to visit their daughter that lives in the same orphanage as Seifu and they took a package over to Seifu for us.  We sent him a photo book of our family, a Thunder t-shirt and a police motorcycle Lego set.  They said he was so excited to receive them and was showing everyone the pictures of us.  We saw a video of him playing soccer, talking a little about some of his favorite things and telling us that he loved us.  It's so cute because he is calling Denver "Waqo", which was his Ethiopian name.  The agency nurse who is working with Seifu was in love with Denver and she keeps calling Denver "Waqo" so now Seifu is too.  We think it is really cute and Denver thinks it is so funny. 
The latest report we received on Seifu was that he has not been feeling too well over the last week so they put him on antibiotics and were going to take him back to the clinic.  We are hoping and praying it is just something mild but it's hard when we really don't know.  Please keep him in your prayers that he will get to feeling better and that we can bring him home ASAP.  We fingerprinted for USCIS last Tuesday and now we just have to wait for those to process.  As soon as they are done they will send our dossier over to Ethiopia and from there it's just waiting on them to process our stuff and give us a court date.  We are hoping that our first trip will be within the next couple of months.  The second trip usually occurs 6-8 weeks after the first, so maybe we will have Seifu home by April-Junish time frame. 

Let me try and catch you up on what's been going on over the past month and a half...In early December Grant and I took went on a mission trip to Honduras with a team of about 20 people.  We originally had the trip planned for last June, before we knew that Seifu was meant to be ours, but Grant got a pretty bad virus and we weren't able to go.  Thankfully the airlines gave us ticket vouchers that we could use for the December trip so that's when we went.  Denver got to spend some quality time with grandparents and friends from church so he had a wonderful time while we were gone.  Grant and I were both really blessed by the experience and grew so much in our love of Christ.  We will definitely be returning to help the wonderful people in Honduras.  While we were there we hosted a "Jesus Banquet" for the community that works at the dump in Tegucigalpa and fed over 1,800 people.  We helped build a house for a family that was in desperate need for one and I did more manual labor than I have ever done.  We were able to do much more but Grant reminded me not to make this too long so people would actually read it.  Right after we got back Denver, my mom and I headed down to my cousin's wedding on 12/12/12.  We had a wonderful time and enjoyed seeing our family.  Denver became big buddies with his new cousin and keeps asking when he will get to hug Darren again. 

Denver just chillin with his hands in his pockets while he is supposed to be participating in the Christmas program. 
He did sing a duet with his best bud Walker

Christmas was wonderful...we just spent time with family and it was very relaxing this year.  Denver loved all his presents and was so excited to play with them.  Christmas eve was spent in Cushing with the Morgan's and it was so fun just to get to relax and watch the kid's play together.  Christmas morning Denver opened our presents to him and then we headed out to my parents house to spend the rest of the day.  We had a great time lazing around, fattening up on food and watching Denver ride his new scooter that he got.  The Friday after Christmas we headed down to Dallas to have Christmas with my brother and his family.  We ate some more good food and watched the kids play.  Our theme for Christmas was Fellowship and Family...I just made that up but it sounded good. 



Daddy and Denver being silly

 

I have decided to continue on with the fundraising for our trips by selling Valentine sugar cookies.  They will be like that Christmas cookies I made in 2011 except Valentine's themed.  They will be

$25 per dozen and each dozen will come in a pretty Valentine's box.  These are the perfect gift for someone you love....or if you're stingy you can just eat them all yourself, I won't tell.   I will deliver them to you before Valentine's Day.  If you are interested in ordering just let me know by February 4th.  You can leave me a comment here or email me at vanessa.morgan2012@gmail.com 

 

Hope I didn't overload you with all of the details of our lives but I promise I left some out. 

 Many blessings to you all!!!

 

 

 

 

Get Em' While They're Hot!!!

I only have 2 of the "Puzzle Message" boards left, so get them while they are hot!!! Below are the 2 that I have left.  If you like an item that has already sold and don't need it until about Dec. 20th, then I can make more and have it to you by then.  Just let me know and I will make whatever you want.

15 x 15 Puzzle Message Board
"The Best of Times" $35
The black tiles are chalkboard paint so you can write messages on them with chalk.
The top left tile is blank so I can personalize it for you.
The bottom left tile says "The Best of Times"
The middle tile says "Nothing is worth more than this day"

15 x 15 Puzzle Message Board
"Vintage Red" $35
The black tiles are chalkboard paint so you can write messages on them with chalk.
The middle tile is for you to clip a picture up
The style is vintage Madrid in red and gold



Many Blessings...

Ethiopia Trip Fundraiser!!!

Hello all...I know it has been almost a year since my last blog post. I am such a loser when it comes to blogging. I wanted to share some new things that are going on in our life. Denver is almost 3 and he is the cutest, smartest and funniest thing ever. I am absolutley in love with him. He is growing up so fast and is turning into a little boy and growing out of his baby look.  This past year and a half with him home has been so amazing.  Yes, there are have been challenges but it has been about as perfect as I could have ever imagined.  We love our little Denver so much. 

Photos courtesy of the wonderful photographer Rhianon...she is one of my dear friends and does a great job capturing his cuteness.  If you need a great photographer let me know. 

Moving on to why I decided to start posting again...

We have started the adoption process again through Ethiopia and are currently waiting to bring our next son Seifu home.  Seifu is 10 years old and Denver can't wait to have a BIG brother.  We are very excited to have him in our family.  We decided to try and fundraise some for our 2 trips that we will be making over to Ethiopia.  I am selling some picture frames and "Puzzle Message Boards", that would make great Christmas gifts and are for a great cause.  Here are what I have left:

5x7 Picure Frame "Alphabet Soup"
SOLD

 


  5 x7 Picture Frame "Be My Valentine"
SOLD

5 x 7 "Vintage Paris"
SOLD

SOLD
15 x 15 Puzzle Message Board
"Family Traditions" $35
The black tiles are chalkboard paint so you can write messages on them with chalk.
The top left tile is for you to clip a picture up.
The top right tile has the saying " Families are like Fudge, mostly Sweet with a few Nuts"



SOLD
15 x 15 Puzzle Message Board
"Vintage Paris"  $35
The black tiles are chalkboard paint so you can write messages on them with chalk.
The top left tile is for you to clip a picture up.
The bottom left tile says "Friends Make Life Blossom"

 

15 x 15 Puzzle Message Board
"The Best of Times" $35
The black tiles are chalkboard paint so you can write messages on them with chalk.
The top left tile is blank so I can personalize it for you.
The bottom left tile says "The Best of Times"
The middle tile says "Nothing is worth more than this day"

SOLD
15 x 15 Puzzle Message Board
"Vintage Black" $35
The black tiles are chalkboard paint so you can write messages on them with chalk.
The middle tile is for you to clip a picture up
The style is vintage Madrid in red and gold

15 x 15 Puzzle Message Board
"Vintage Red" $35
The black tiles are chalkboard paint so you can write messages on them with chalk.
The middle tile is for you to clip a picture up
The style is vintage Madrid in red and gold
Let me know if you are interested in any of these products.  I only have 1 of each made so they might go pretty quick.  Any orders before next Monday, Dec 3rd will get delivered or mailed out soon.  Orders placed after that will not get mailed until after Dec 16th...due to me being out of town for a couple of weeks.   Also if I have to mail it I will have to charge $5 for shipping.   If you would like to order then leave me a comment or you can email me at vanessa.morgan2012@gmail.com
Feel free to forward this onto anyone who might be interested. 

Many Blessings....



Project Santa CAUSE Cookie Update

I just wanted to give everyone an update on how well our 1st Project Santa Cause went.  Drum roll please...............we raised $1,000 for these women in Ethiopia!!!  I was supershocked that we sold this many cookies but so amazed that we were able to support 2 women with this money.  I want to thank everyone for spreading the word about this fundraiser and all of those who helped by buying cookies.  This project would not have been successful without you!  Also I want to thank my mom, who helped me for countless hours making and sprinkling the cookies, and Grant who was on kitchen clean up duty and in charge of making sure Denver stayed out of the kitchen.  I think he had the hardest task of all.   For those who are interested in the breakdown of everything, here it is. 

We sold 37 dozen which boils down to about:

Well over 24 hours but I stopped counting (no, this is not all at once.  I require about 9 hrs of sleep)

17 eggs

22 sticks of butter

17 lbs of flour

7 lbs of sugar

and

12 lbs of icing

I didn't keep track of spinkle amounts or flavoring. 

Thank you, Thank you and Thank you!!!

I will leave you with some pics of the cookies.

Hope you all had a very blessed and merry Christmas.  Wishing you a wonderful new year!!!

Much Love

Cookie Reminder

First of all I hope that everyone had a very blessed Thanksgiving, we sure did.  It's always so much fun to spend time with family.  We definitely missed those that we didn't get to see.  

Just wanted to remind everyone about Project Santa Cause. If you have no clue what I am talking about you can click on this link "Christmas Cookies for a Cause" and it will take you to my previous post. The last day to order will be December 9th. So far I have made 400 cookies...but I can make more if I need to;) Here are some pics of the mess I made on Saturday making 33 dozen cookies.

There was flour all over the place

This doesn't look like much b/c we were able to get 400 cookies into 6 containers. 

As I was pounding and rolling out the dough I was getting tired and my back started to hurt but the thought of these women battling HIV was what kept me cheerful.  To think that we are going to help support them by selling sugar cookies is what made it sooooo worth it.  We are so very grateful at how blessed we are that we must always be trying to bless others.  Christmas to me is not about buying kids a ton of gifts, or getting presents myself, but a time that we can give to others.  It saddens me to think that Christmas is becoming more and more commercialized.  Honestly what do we need that we don't already have...I know I have much more than I ever need.  Seeing kids rip through so many presents that they don't even know what they got, or even who it came from makes me so sad.  I know, I know I'm on my soapbox but now that I'm a mom and I'm trying to raise a child to be Christlike I really think about these things more than I used to...and I've always thought this way so it's becoming stronger than ever. 

Thanks to Grant for taking Denver to visit his Mimi and Grandad so I wouldn't have to worry about little fingers getting burned by hot baking sheets.  Also thanks to my mom for helping me, I couldn't have done it without you...well I probably could have but it would have taken 14 hours instead of 7...so thank you, thank you, thank you.  Plus we were rocking out to Christmas music together so that made the time go by super fast.    God bless you all!!! 

Project Santa “CAUSE”

Christmas Cookies for a Cause

This Christmas season our family has decided to give to those in need and raise funds for a cause that is very near to our hearts.  We are raising money for the “Bete-Se`ida's project” which helps support women in Ethiopia who are HIV+.  Our adoption agency, Illien Adoptions International, Inc., is one of the organizations who have committed to invest in the well-being of HIV+ women, many of them mothers with children.  We have chosen to support this cause because it is very likely that Denver’s biological mother was HIV+.

How can you help???

I will be selling decorated “homemade” Christmas

sugar cookies to raise money.  Very yummy and great for

Christmas gifts…that is if you don’t eat them before

you have a chance to gift them.  Feel free to pass this information along to

 anyone you think might be interested.

Cost is $25 for 1 dozen

If you are interested in ordering please let me know by Friday, December 9^th.  You can leave me a comment and I will get in touch with you. 

Pickup/delivery will probably be on  December 16^th and 17^th. 



Long time, No blog

Sorry for the long break in posting...I don't have any good excuses so let's just jump on into the details.  Life has been absolutely wonderful, in fact so much that I can't even remember what has happened since the last post.  I will try my best to recall all of the exciting events but I make no promises to get them all right. 

We had a good fall break in Branson with my family from Kentucky.  We got to spend time with my aunt and uncle and their wonderful kids.  Denver had a ball with them and loved all of the one on one attention.  My uncle was the one that went with Grant to Ethiopia and we weren't sure if Denver would rememeber him but he did.  He really took to him in a way that he doesn't ususally do with people.  That was very exciting to see. 

My gramps got to stay with us for a week before he moved in with my aunt and uncle in Houston and it was fun to see the interaction between Denver and him.  They are both very stubborn so the staring contests were so fun to watch.  It's funny how a 87 year old and a 1 year old can butt heads but they did.  I will say they did enjoy one anothers company but you can tell they are both used to getting their own way.

Halloween and trick or treating were a blast. I wasn't sure how Denver would do but he was a rock star. He didn't get scared of anything and he thouroughly enjoyed knocking on people's doors and saying trick or treat...and bye bye about 10 times per door. Needless to say we didn't go very far but he was so cute that he ended up getting his fair share of candy. Good thing his mama likes chocolate. Grant had to take the candy to work with him because I couldn't stop. I was seriously out of control and I was bribing Denver way to much with candy. He also enjoyed going to the pumpkin patch with his buddy Jackson, they had a great time together.
Now I will be quiet and post some pics because I know that's what most people care about anyways.

**Be watching the blog in the next couple of days because I have something exciting to post about!!!
No we are not adopting another kid yet but I am hosting a sugar cookie sale for a great cause so come back to check out the details. 

A recent pic of Denver so you can see how big he is getting

Family picture

Denver with all of his Morgan family cousins

Denver with his "Kentucky" cousins.  We were the  most multicultural family in Branson...it was so fun to see all of the people trying to figure out what kid went with who. 

Gramps with his "little black Philly"

Denver's trip to the pumpkin patch

Denver and his buddy Jackson

Lion doing a funny face

Roaring lion...so scary

Lion cracking up at himself

2nd lion costume of the night...if you dress up in different costumes you can go around twice and get more candy.  Just kidding, we didn't do that, although I would've been more tempted if we had another costume besides another lion.  Grants mom made the 1st lion costume when her 1st grandson was 1 and he just turned 11.  The 2nd costume was one that Jackson wore when he was little. 


*I have a disclaimer to make that the professional pics were taken by Amanda Carrie of AMC Photo and any of the other good photos were taken by my good friend Rhianon who is an awesome photographer.  The bad quality photos were taken by none others than yours truly. 
I have never claimed to be good at taking pictures.

God bless you all!!!