Kantha Quilt Fundraiser!

I can not even begin to tell you how much I love these quilts!!! Aren't they beautiful!?!?!?!

They are hand quilted blankets from India and are even more gorgeous in person! They are made with two layers of 100% cotton and natural vegetable dyes. They are reversible and the back side is a solid coordinating color.

They are completely hand stitched by women artisans in Rajasthan, India.

These would be great as a throw in your family room, a picnic blanket or even a great bedroom quilt for a twin size bed! They measure 60 x 90 inches.

There are five colors available:

1. Blue
2. Mustard
3. Purple
4. Green
5. White

These quilts are hand stitched which may result in rare uneven edges or loose thread. However, this adds to the character and beauty of the kantha products and make them unique and one of a kind.

Only a $5 donation to our adoption gets you a chance to win one of these beautiful blankets!!!

When you check out via Paypal, be sure to let me know the color you'd like to win! Your name will be entered into the drawing for that color quilt!

(Feel free to donate as many times as you like and choose different colors too!!)

Blue

Mustard

Purple

Green

White

Each $5 donation gets you one chance to win…so $10 gets you two chances..$15 gets you three chances, etc.

Here’s how to enter:

1. Visit www.paypal.com
2. Click “Send money to family and friends”
3. Enter amount you are donating…$5...$10...$15, etc.
4. Enter our Paypal email address jmparris@cableone.net
5. Check out to complete your donation.

Winner will be notified at the email address on your Paypal account as well as posted here on our blog! We will draw for a winner in two weeks, on Wednesday, March 11th!!!

Please help us by clicking the Facebook button at the bottom of this post to share on your page! This fundraiser will help us raise the remaining funds due to our home study agency when our home study update is complete! 

Thank you so much!

Love,

Jenifer

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE are part of our story!!!

Remember this status from January 7th?

"Roo just asked me for some white paper and then ran off to write. She brought these back to me and said "Now we can adopt Timothy, these are his adoption papers!!" Oh how I love this girl's heart!"

On January 7th, we were not pursuing an adoption....we were not pursuing our sweet boy...

God had other plans in mind.

God used the hearts of our children to speak to us.

So know it is February 15th...and we are ACTIVELY pursuing our son to bring him home. We are knee deep in paperwork to bring him home.  

This sweet little boy...

He has a FAMILY...

We can not wait to bring him home.

When the conversation came up, the desire was there but not the funding.

Any way you shake it, adoption is expensive. I wish it weren't so. But it is.

When we started, we had no IDEA how we were going to make it work. We knew God was calling us and we trusted that He was going to provide and make a way.

We can see Him going before us.

Friends have joined our "Story of 1000"...they have donated to help bring John Preston home. We are forever grateful for each of you.  

We are grateful that you are as excited as we are.

We are grateful that you have given without any hesitation. Because you want to be part of the story...because you want to see our boy home too.

I love hearing your stories too...

I love that a dear friend told her husband about our story...then he went and told their church congregation. Then they wanted to know where to send us a check for $200. A church congregation that does not even know us. How amazing is that?

We are friends with a family that also wanted to help. They declared their desire to help before we were even READY to move forward.  Today they brought us a check for $1000. Then I went into the worship center and the first song to ring through the building was "How Great is our God!"...indeed.

We have another friend that wants to help and has started her own Facebook group, where she is selling extra things around her house to help, not only our family but other families in need. How amazing is that?!?!?!

We are so thankful to the Lord for each of you who have donated and prayed for our sweet boy. Thank you for letting God work through you. You have encouraged us...you have brought tears to our eyes...you have confirmed over and over again that God has called us to this. 

God is good...all the time, God is good.

Want to be part of our "Story of 1000"? Visit www.youcaring.com/thestoryof1000 to donate! THANK YOU!!!! Please help us by slicking the Facebook icon below this post to share to your page!

Love,

Jenifer

EIGHTY are part of our story!!!

We were so excited to get an update on John Preston today!!!!

I was able to email our agency a list of questions and they sent it to their contact in China...our guide Richard.

Here's what we found out:

What are his favorite foods?最喜欢吃什么？He is not picky about food and eats everything.

What are his favorite toys and activities?喜欢的玩具和活动？He likes remote cars, balls, puzzles. He likes sports, music , dancing.

What is his current height and weight?身高体重？Height 112cm, weight 19kg (44 inches and 42 pounds....such a little guy!)

Does he know that he has a family coming for him?是否知道自己要被收养？He does not know it yet. He is in a foster family.

What name does he go by in the orphanage? Bao Song Lang.

Does he have a nickname?有小名吗？Langlang, Laba 

Is he in school? What grade is he in? First grade

If he attends school, what are his favorite subjects?如果上学，最喜欢什么科目？Music and PE.

Does he have any spoken words?会不会说什么？"Mama", "ayi", sometimes "eat", "yummy"

Who is he closest to in the orphanage? Any special friends?在福利院和谁最亲密？要好的朋友是谁？Bao ******, a girl in the same class.

Thank you so much to the EIGHTY that are part of our "Story of 1000"!!!

We are so honored that you have generously donated to help bring our sweet boy HOME!!!!

Today we delivered about half of our paperwork to our home study agency and paid our contract fee and half of our home study update fee. The ball is ROLLING thanks to your generosity!!!

God is good!

Would you like to be part of our "Story of 1000"? Click HERE to donate only $25 to be ONE of 1000!

Love,

Jenifer

TWENTY-EIGHT are part of our story!!!

Most of you know our sweet little boy as "Timothy". This is the name assigned to his file, not only to protect his privacy but so that it is a name others can easily pronounce when discussing him or advocating for him.

Although we love the name Timothy, it has no special meaning to him and we already have a nephew with the same name. So a name change has been in the works!


The kids have thrown out MANY names...some of them silly and crazy...some of them quite good! We have discussed and discussed and discussed again.  Bryan and I finally had some time the other day to sit down over dinner and discuss by ourselves. 

At first, I had not considered keeping part of his Chinese name. But it was important to Bryan and so we settled on dropping his Chinese surname and keeping his two other names but putting them together as one name. 

Preston has always been a name that I loved. It was my grandfather's name and my uncle's name as well.  It was part of the name we had picked out for Neely if she had been a boy.  I never knew my grandfather but I love my uncle  who is also named for him. What a good way to honor them both.

John is another favorite of mine. I have an uncle and a cousin named John...both whom I love dearly and our little ones have an uncle named John as well.  All three are great men of the Lord and it is special for us that we can honor all of them by naming our son John. John also means: "the grace or mercy of the Lord" and in Hebrew means "Jehovah has been gracious". I love both of those translations.

Now, we would not be a true southern family, I don't think, if at least some of our kiddos did not have double names.  We already have Ruby Kate (Ruby Kathryn) and the Lord knows, she's got enough persoanlity for two names!  One just isn't enough for her!! HA!

So our sweet boy will go by his double name as well...

John Preston Songlang Parris

And we'll call him "John Preston"!

Thanks to those of you who have been covering us in prayer and who have partnered with us to be one of 1000.

God is going before us...we can see it daily.

Exodus 14: 14 says, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

We are still in the peace that the Lord has given us in pursuing our son.  We see Him fighting for us...making a way...from the waiver we needed...to financial obstacles being laid aside in front of us...from you who have partnered with us...you are all part of our story...part of John Preston's story...part of something bigger than you and I....thank you for letting the Lord use you to bring a little boy all the way in China home to his forever family.  Your $25 donation is making a difference.

#oneless

Love,
Jenifer

SIXTEEN are part of our Story of 1000!

A huge thank you to the sixteen people who have partnered with us already and donated towards bringing our son HOME!!!  We are so grateful for you and pray for God to bless you ten-fold! Only looking for 984 more people to partner with us and become part of the story!

Be sure to check out our little ticker to the right...it will be a running tally of how close we are to our goal...right now we are at $720!  When it jumps a little more, you'll be able to read the number at the bottom better...it is kind of squashed right now! Praying it jumps up today and is readable! ;-)


We are so thankful for all of you who have committed to pray for our little guy and our process to bring him home. Feels like it has got to be mentally easier on us the second time, right? Because we know what to expect? Praying that is the case!

The kids are beyond excited...now they are talking in terms of "when we go to China" and "when 'Timothy" is home", etc.  So sweet to hear them talk about their brother. Amazing how God can create a bond a world away. I have no doubt that God puts families together just as He wants them. What a miracle. Who knew when Ellie was hugging this sweet little boy in China, that one day he would be her brother...

I have talked to several families with a new diagnosis of Down syndrome in their family...many times they are afraid of how it will affect their other children. Let me tell you...there is NO doubt in my mind that having siblings with special needs is a positive influence on children. Are there times it makes things hard? Of course, but overwhelmingly it changes who they are for the good. It makes them kinder, it makes them more understanding and compassionate. It makes them the best cheerleaders...have you seen how excited my big kids get when Neely or MinLan hits a milestone!???!

Please pray for us as we begin putting pen to paper to complete many forms for our adoption. The great news is that MANY can be reused from MinLan's adoption...can I get an AMEN!?!?!?

We have to update several forms that have expired, things like our medical reports on all seven of us, our fingerprints, and our clearance from the US government to be approved to adopt another child. None of these are terribly difficult to do...will just take a little time. This weekend, Bryan and I are sitting down to sign our names, fill out forms and get our thoughts together on our to-get-done list! So excited! Who knew paperwork could be so exciting!?!?!?  When you have a precious face staring back at you on the fridge, it gets very real and you get very busy!

Our next financial goal is to pay our contract fee with our home study agency and half of our home study fee. These are BIG mountains to us but I know to God it is nothing. Our social worker can not be even assigned to our case until that is paid.  So even though we can get all of the paperwork ready on our side pretty quickly, things won't progress with our home study until our next fees are paid.

But let me tell you something....I have never felt more at peace. I'm at peace knowing that God has called us to this. That he has placed our boy in our family and that He is going to provide.  Do I know how? Nope...not a clue. But I know He always amazes me. I know HE can do more than I could ever possibly dream or imagine.

We are praying.

We are watching and waiting.

Would you be willing to be part of our story...part of only 1000 people who feel called to give a donation of only $25?

We know we can not do this alone. We know that God is going to work a miracle through 1000 people that He calls. We would be honored and blessed to have you as part of our story.

Would you be willing to personally share about our story? Maybe call up a friend on the phone and tell them about our "Timothy"?

Maybe share with a co-worker over lunch about how God has woven our family together and how we would be so grateful for their help.

Maybe share with a family member about our precious girls with Down syndrome and how they are such a blessing to our family and how we can't wait to bring our little guy home to join them?

We are blown away by your prayers and blown away by your giving hearts. May God bless you as you have blessed us.

You can CLICK HERE to donate today and be part of our "Story of 1000".

Love You All,
Jenifer

Pre-approval

It's official!!!!! China says we can start the paper chase to bring "Timothy" home!!!! Thank you so much to all of you who have prayed and given for our sweet boy!!!

He is seven, just three months older than Ethan. He has Down syndrome and has been in an orphanage since a very young age.

Ellie and I were able to meet him briefly as part of the tour we took of MinLan's orphanage. He is precious!!! He just kept hugging Ellie and was quite the basketball lover! We need to put up a goal at home ASAP!

So excited to share what God has laid on our heart with "The Story of 1000".....details coming later today!!!!

Love,
Jenifer