tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87027133902800951792024-03-14T01:13:07.722-05:00the sheahen familyMay the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-10438514740316812062015-05-24T21:40:00.001-05:002015-05-25T09:34:35.842-05:00Look, I am doing a new thing<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has been a LONG time. A long time since I've posted, a long time since I've even had anything to post, and just a long time since we've started this adoption journey. 3 years to be exact. And what I'm about to say has been a long time coming. WE ARE HEADED TO UGANDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 6 days, we will be on a plane to Uganda and in 8 days, we will Lord willing be meeting our new daughter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know this news is shocking to most of you that will be reading this. We have been super quiet about all of this, only telling our family and close friends what has been happening over the last few months (although this week I realized that even a few of my close friends didn't know what was going on and I thought they did, so that tells you how quiet we've been). Back in the fall we received a new referral for a little girl that was four years old. We were extremely hesitant, as you can imagine after <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2014/09/a-hope-that-will-not-disappoint.html" target="_blank">what had just happened</a>, but after much prayer and a few other measures that were taken to make sure she actually needed a family, we officially accepted her referral in early December. Since all of our paperwork was already in Uganda, we really didn't have to do anything on our end- we were just waiting for everything to be switched over to our agency's new (not crooked) lawyer and then after that we would wait to be assigned a court date. Although I am not typically a guarded person, I found myself taking on my husband's tendency (as far as adoption goes) of being very guarded with my feelings about all of this over the last few months. And I think that's okay. It's not that we weren't hopeful, but we had just gone through two really bad adoption scenarios, with the second being much worse than the first. We had faced the hard realities of international adoption. We were trying to be "cautiously optimistic", but I will tell you I was getting weary. But God...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our small group family had been praying that Lulah and Jovia would come home by the end of 2014. When that was definitely not happening, we still kept praying for that timeline. Even though we got a new referral quickly, we knew that it was next to impossible to bring any child home by the end of 2014. But we all still kept praying. Mid-December came and nothing was happening and my prayer switched to "Lord, just let us hear something by December 31st. Something from our agency with an indication of when we might get a court date. Anything." I literally checked my email as I went to bed on New Year's Eve, and was so disappointed that there was nothing. No word from our agency. The next morning I slept in late and stayed in bed for a while, scrolling through instagram, and kind of lost it when I saw a couple meeting their son for the first time in Uganda. I was sad that this was all taking so long. And I was a little mad at God for not giving us just something, anything, by December 31st. Then Jonathan came in the room and noticed that I had been crying. He asked what was wrong, I told him, and then he said, "I had a dream that we adopted two girls." I perked up a bit. "You did?" I asked, "Tell me more." He gave me all the details he could, which was a lot. Unlike me, he's good at remembering lots of dream details. None of it made any sense, but I thought at least that was something that he had a dream that we had adopted two girls. It had to mean something, right? We were staying at a lake house with some of our best friends, one of whom just happens to have a gift of dream interpretation (in my opinion). We came out for breakfast and after chatting for a while I brought up Jonathan's dream. She wanted to know all the details and even got more out of Jonathan than I had. There was a family in the dream, the Frist family, that were friends at the previous school where Jonathan worked, but not anyone we kept in touch with or saw on a regular basis. I thought it was really strange that they would have been in the dream. I could see Jen's wheels start turning as they always do and she asked, "Have you looked up the meaning of Frist?" Why don't I ever remember this?? She does it every time with people that are in dreams and for some reason I still don't think to do that. Even though so often that has proven really important in the interpretation of the dream. Anyway, even then, I still thought, "Frist? That doesn't mean anything, does it?" But it does. We looked it up and here is the meaning:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">Old English </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">frist</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">, first "a space of time". </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">As a verb, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">meaning </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">"delay".</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For real. I love that this was not just a conversation between me and Jen, discussing God and all His mysterious ways, as so often is the case, but that Jonathan was a part of it too. Sometimes me relaying things that we talk about don't really have the same impact as they do if he is actually in on the conversation. When she read that definition that she had googled on her phone, he stopped eating his pancake and said, "Seriously?" Yup. God just did that. I believe that God gave Jonathan that dream to let us both know that He was listening and had not forgotten about our adoption, but for whatever reason there was going to be a delay. He gave us our answer on December 31st. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast forward to March. Things had been quiet. We had gotten some updated photos but no news on a court date. A couple of weeks before spring break, we were praying with the boys before bed and Jonathan specifically asked God that we would hear something by spring break. It makes me uncomfortable to put time limits on God (even after the previous story), and at the time I thought, "Well where did that come from?". He continued to pray that prayer, and I honestly can't even tell you if I joined in on praying that prayer. But the Friday before Spring Break, as we had both just gotten off a plane in Haiti, we got an email from our agency with our affidavit from the Ugandan court. It gave no indication of when we would be assigned a date still, but at least it was something. From an actual court in Uganda. Something was moving, and God gave us our answer before spring break. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">We were still cautiously optimistic, but moving a little more towards the optimistic side. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">Fast forward to early last week. Our agency emailed us just to let us know that she had emailed the lawyer in Uganda and that she hoped to hear an update on our case that week. I started praying that we would in deed hear something by the end of the week. Thursday afternoon I was sitting in Jonathan's office after school and saw that I had an email from our agency. My stomach did a flip, which is not normal at all when I see an email from them- because, 3 years. But somehow I knew. The email simply said,</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi Shawna</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br clear="none" />I just got notice that you have a court date for June 2nd. Can you make this? I will ask how long you need to be in country and how many trips you will have to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Regards</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Carol</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was May 14th. June 2nd was two and a half weeks away. We were supposed to be leaving for a mission trip to Malawi on June 13th. We have literally waited three years to get this email. I replied back, "Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes. We can make it." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are so many details that still need to be worked out and so many unknowns until we get there, but what we do know is that we are leaving next Saturday, May 30th. We arrive Sunday night and Monday we are supposed to be taken to meet our {hopeful} daughter. She is five and she is adorable and her name is Gift. (Yes, her given name is Gift. That's how God rolls.) We are planning on giving her a new name but won't decide on that until we meet her. I can't even. So I won't.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rest of the plan is on Tuesday, we are supposed to go to court to declare our intent to adopt her. Then we spend a lot of time with her over the next week and a half, see all that we can see of Uganda, then fly out to Malawi to meet up with our team there on a mission trip that we've been planning for months. It's a lot. I know. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that's what we've been told "should" happen, but we know what "should" happen in Uganda doesn't work out like that a lot of the time. We really don't know what will happen. We don't know how the judge will rule. We've heard stories. We don't know how long we'll have to stay. We don't know when we'll go back and get her and bring her home. We know we have no control over any of that. But God does. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">We ask for your prayers as we journey to Africa. This coming week will bring a lot of stress in getting everything prepared to leave for most of the month of June. Although I am very excited about the trip, I am not excited to leave my sweet boys for such a long time. They have been so encouraging to me though, telling me that they will be fine and that they still want me to go on to Malawi (because I was thinking of not). Eli said, "You've wanted to go to Malawi for so long and I just want you to have the experience and I want to see all the pictures you'll take. " :) I can't really argue with that. Please pray that we will have a peace that passes all understanding no matter what happens. I will say since the New Year's Eve dream, we have both been more at peace with everything than we have ever been since we started this journey three years ago. We know that if she belongs in our family, God will put her in our family. And if she doesn't belong in our family, that God will make this whole thing fail. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">That has been my prayer and I know He will answer it. And if a second daughter is in the grand plan, then He will show us when it's time. Because He is a good, good Father. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">In the first couple of weeks of the new year, God was speaking this verse over and over to me: </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><i>For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. -Isaiah 43:19</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I wrote it on our kitchen chalkboard, decided to keep it there all year, and believe that God will do what He has promised. </span></span><br />
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<br />JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-70271510744799361292014-09-21T21:06:00.000-05:002014-09-21T23:40:50.799-05:00A Hope That Will Not DisappointIt's taken me two weeks to be able to sit down and write what I'm about to write. Two really hard weeks. We never think that we will be the ones to have to share the really hard things, but then the hard things happen to us, and we think, "Oh yeah. God is writing this story, not me. And I need to tell it." I don't want these to be my words. I've been praying that they will be His words, and that the hard things will bring Him glory. <br />
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Two weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon, we got a call from our agency that we were never expecting or hoping for. The girls that we fully believed were our daughters and haved loved and prayed over from afar for the last six+ months, will not be coming into our family. After some red flags were raised and our agency did some investigating, it was discovered that the orphanage director and chief of a particular village were running a scam. They had found children, told their families that they were finding them American families that they would go live with, send them to school, feed them, take good care of them, and then send them back to their actual families at some point. When the people that our agency hired went out to the village to talk to the families and explain to them that the kids were being put up for adoption and would not be coming back, this is not what the families wanted. <br />
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So, there it is in a nutshell. Jonathan and I were together without the boys when we got the call that day and I know that was not an accident. We were driving in pouring down rain, and I eventually pulled over to be able to hear what the lady from our agency was telling us. I wasn't sure how to even respond to what we were hearing. I had had a bad feeling for days, and now I knew why. We asked some questions with what sense we could muster up, but we mostly just listened, trying to process. I kept it together until after we got off the phone, and then after a quiet few minutes, totally lost it. Where I lost it the most, honestly, was at the thought of having to tell the boys. These boys believed that Lulah and Jovia were their sisters. They have prayed for them daily, they draw pictures of our family that include the girls in it, they have worked hard at helping us raise money to bring them home, they have loved them well. The thought of telling them that they would not be coming to live with us and the parts of the story that exposed the evil behind the whole thing- I just couldn't even stomach it at the time. I didn't want their faith that has grown so much during this two year journey to be shaken. I didn't want them to think that God was not answering our prayers. Because I knew in that moment, even through the sobs, that He was, and that our faith was going to be made even stronger through all of this. But I didn't know if they would see it that way. How could they? When we got to where we had been driving to, thankfully I knew no one there, except one sweet friend that has become so dear in a short time. She was the first person I saw when I walked through the doors, which again was not an accident, and I just fell apart. She hugged me tight and said some beautiful things, but the one thing that I will remember most and gave me so much encouragement was this:<br />
"Think of all the people that have been praying over those girls that never would have been before. God is faithful and will answer those prayers. Maybe not in the way that hoped, but He will answer them. If the whole time we thought we were praying them into the Sheahen family, we were actually praying them back into their own families, then it was worth it." And yes, we absolutely know that it was worth it. All the heartbreak that we are feeling now, is worth it to expose what was going on and save these kids from being stolen from their families. As much as we wanted them, we would have never wanted to take them from their families that wanted them. We believe that is where they belong. Although the families situations may be desperate enough to believe such lies, they are families nonetheless, and they want them. Praise God for that.<br />
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A few hours after finding all of this out, we went to the wedding of two people that we love dearly. We wanted to go and needed to go. Most everyone there were people that we don't see that often, so as you can imagine pretty much every single person asked us about when the girls were coming home. We absolutely know that everyone's questions were well intended, and we so appreciated everyone's interest and excitement, but boy, that was pretty torturous. We really were not ready to talk about it, and we deflected a lot of questions and I'm sure acted pretty weird at times. I'll go ahead and apologize to those who might be reading this that wondered why we seemed like we didn't have much to say about that subject, but now you know why. <br />
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The next day we told the boys, and they took it better than I expected. That's not to say they weren't sad and didn't quite understand, but I prayed that God would give us the right words to say to them to try to help explain it all, and I believe He did. We stressed that this doesn't mean that we will stop praying for them and we fully trust that God is going to take care of them. And we trust that He's got a greater plan for all of this that we just can't see right now, and He can take people's bad choices and evil intentions and use them for good. I think simplifying it like that was just what we needed. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span class="text 2Cor-4-8" id="en-NLT-28828" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.</span> <span class="text 2Cor-4-9" id="en-NLT-28829" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.</span> <span class="text 2Cor-4-10" id="en-NLT-28830" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies." </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span class="text 2Cor-4-10" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">2 Corinthians 4:8-12</span></i></span></div>
So where do we go from here? We are pressing on. Not sure what that will look like, but moving forward with unwavering faith and hope in the promises of God. We have been grieving, with some days being harder than others. But, more than that, we are believing in a God that is bigger, trusting that He is working out everything for good and knowing that He will redeem this. He will use this broken mess and heartache and turn it into something beautiful. Let me just say that we absolutely believe that we were led to Lulah and Jovia for a reason. It was no accident that <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2014/03/god-is-in-business-of-being-awesome.html" target="_blank">I found Lulah on that waiting child list, with the same name that we had picked out for our future daughter a year before</a>. This outcome DOES NOT CHANGE THAT. Why, you might ask? I may not know the exact answer to that on this side of eternity, but I do know that I don't have to, and that because we have an eternal hope, we will know one day. Right now, we have faith that He will show us what our next steps will be. <br />
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Just a few weeks after we started this adoption journey, we were able to hear Francis Chan speak at a <a href="http://showhope.org/" target="_blank">Show Hope</a> dinner, and his message centered around this one verse that I have "adopted" as our theme verse over the last two years. I didn't realize at the time how much it would come to mean to me.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">I pray that God, the source of HOPE, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident HOPE through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13</span></i></span><br />
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Would you like to guess what the message at church was about last Sunday morning?<br />
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<<< HOPE >>><br />
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And then Sunday night, a different speaker at a different church, told us that he had been praying Romans 15:13 over us all week leading up to that service. Of course he had.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span class="text Rom-5-3" id="en-NLT-28012" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;">"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.</span><span class="text Rom-5-4" id="en-NLT-28013" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident HOPE of salvation.</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="text Rom-5-5" id="en-NLT-28014" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;">And this HOPE will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love." Romans 5:3-5</span></i></span><br />
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If we had an earthly perspective of hope, then what has happened would be devastating. When the world would ask why are we continuing on this journey after two years with nothing to show for it, we rejoice in the hope of God's glory. We move on knowing that in the end, He will get all the glory for this story. He is developing patience in us and He is strengthening our character, which is producing confident hope. Even when there is no reason for hope, we keep hoping. Like Abraham did, never once wavering in believing God's promises to him. In the face of insurmountable obstacles, Abraham believed. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises. Hope was real to him, and so it is to us. Abraham's hope allowed him to see far and wide the innumerable amount of people that would come from that promised child. And this is what we see. Our flesh cries out, "God, we can't get there from here! We can't keep this up much longer!" And that's right, we can't, without Him. But we have to hope against human hope; a hope that springs from God's perspective. The belief that God will do what He has promised. God WILL DO what He has promised. <br />
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What you can do for us is continue to pray. Pray for those precious girls that you have already been praying so hard for. Don't stop. We're not sure of exactly what is going on in their lives, but we know that God does, and He hears our prayers for them. Pray for Jesus to be in their hearts and evident in their lives. We may never know here the impact our fervent prayers will have on their lives and what kind of forces for the kingdom they might turn out to be, but we trust in a God that has already written their story, and we are honored to be a part of it. Pray for our family, that we will continue to follow Him wherever He leads us, no matter what. We are still 100% planning to adopt children who actually need a family. And we still feel strongly that those children are in Uganda, and that is where we are staying for now. Although part of me feels strange to be moving forward when our emotions are so raw, the other part of me knows that the door on adopting Lulah and Jovia has closed and moving forward is the only thing we can do. Pray for our boys and their tender hearts. Pray that this will only make their faith bigger, their trust stronger and their hope more confident. And pray for those who intended all of this for evil. Pray for their hearts to know the peace and joy and confident hope that only Jesus can bring. Because He not only died for us, and for Lulah and Jovia, but He died for them too. And praise God for that. JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-85344412603255308882014-05-19T02:14:00.000-05:002014-05-19T02:44:04.845-05:00It's our week!! {Give1Save1}This week we are so excited to be featured on the fundraising blog <a href="http://giveonesaveone.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Give1Save1</a>!!! This is something we have been looking forward to for a long time and the initial reason we had <a href="http://lildragon.tv/" target="_blank">lil Dragon Entertainment</a> create our gorgeous video for us last year. Things have changed a bit since we made the video and we are now getting two daughters instead of one!!! I think it just makes the story more beautiful though to see what God has been up to since then. And the best part about the video is that we wrote our letters to <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/06/i-have-called-you-by-name-you-are-mine.html" target="_blank">Tallulah</a> (or Lulah) before we even knew who or where she was, then <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2014/03/god-is-in-business-of-being-awesome.html" target="_blank">God showed us exactly who and where she was</a>. <br />
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If you are just visiting our blog for the first time, welcome! We are so glad you found us! You can find out more about our family's story <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/p/hello.html" target="_blank">here</a> and follow us on facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/loveforlulah" target="_blank">here</a>. There have been so many people who God has shown His love and shined His light through on this adoption journey. We know that we wouldn't be anywhere close to where we are now to bringing our girls home without so many of His people blessing us immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine. He has been so faithful to answer all His promises in ways that we could never have dreamed up, and to write an incredible story that we couldn't feel more blessed to be a part of. <br />
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We have a lot of fun things planned this week as part of our feature week on Give1Save1. First of all, if you've never heard of G1S1, the whole idea is to have a whole lot of people give at least $1 to bring one orphan home- and this week you get to help bring TWO home! Here's how you can help:<br />
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<li style="font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>WATCH</b> our video.</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>GIVE</b> $1 or more. (see donate button on right column)</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>SHARE </b>our video on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, email, etc.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>COMMENT</b> to tell me you donated AND shared to be entered in our giveaway </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">(two winners will win either a small cross or a vintage map print!)</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>REPEAT</b> each day for one week.</span></li>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It's that simple!! </span></b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/83075957" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/83075957">Love for Lulah</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user22864544">Shawna Sheahen</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Second, check out our new <a href="http://loveforlulah.storenvy.com/" target="_blank">Love for Lulah Shop</a> on StoreEnvy. We are excited to finally have a site to sell our handmade crosses, vintage map prints and t-shirts that so many of you have been asking about. This is my first online shop experience- so if there are issues (as I'm sure there probably will be) then please just email me and we'll figure it out!<br />
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And lastly (for now), the sweet girls at <a href="http://instagram.com/lilliesofthefield" target="_blank">@lilliesofthefield</a> are hosting an instasale on Instagram for me this Tuesday and next Tuesday at 8pm CST. I've got LOTS of great clothes and some handmade goodies that I'll be selling at great prices and all to get our girls home! <br />
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Whew!!! That's kind of an overload of stuff! More to come soon! <br />
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{Check out the gorgeous photo story that our friend <a href="http://www.nathanmorgan.com/" target="_blank">Nathan Morgan </a> shot for us of our family making crosses and prints to bring our girls home on our "<a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/p/hello.html" target="_blank">hello</a>" page.} <br />
<br />JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-83322413356751338122014-05-10T23:21:00.001-05:002014-05-10T23:30:13.310-05:00A Double PortionIt's been two months since I saw our sweet Lulah's face. Two months since God blew our socks off and answered my fervent prayer of "Please Lord, just let us see our daughter's face." And boom- there she was. If you are just joining our blog, you can get caught up <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2014/03/god-is-in-business-of-being-awesome.html" target="_blank">here</a> with how we found our daughter. I have so loved to tell others about Lulah's story, and now, God has given us a lot more of the strory to tell. <br />
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To get to the rest of the story, I first need to go back to the story I told in my <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2014/03/god-is-in-business-of-being-awesome.html" target="_blank">last post</a> about that morning that I felt God put Uganda heavy on my heart and in my head. The part I left out because I wasn't quite ready to share was this: the night before that happened, I had a dream. Although I wish I were different about this, I rarely remember my dreams. I sometimes start to faintly remember a dream I had, but then usually everything gets fuzzy and I can't really remember any details. Well, this time was similar, except that there was one distinct detail that I remembered as soon as I woke up. And it kept playing in my head over and over that day. I can still picture it in the corner of my mind's eye. It was a big number 2. It was black, like a house number. At that point in our journey, this wasn't really that shocking to me. I had begun to feel strongly that maybe we were supposed to be adopting more than one for several months. Jonathan had been coming around to the idea too. Just a couple of weeks before I had this dream, in the week leading up to our benefit concert, I prayed a lot that week for God to make it clear to us if He wanted us to get more than one. I was feeling more and more like He did, but the only catch was that according to the adoption laws in Madagascar, they would not let us adopt more than one child since we already had three children living in the home. This was something we hadn't realized until we were well under way with the process, because when we first started we were definitely not thinking about adopting two children. He provided abundantly at <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/12/these-are-things-i-will-remember.html" target="_blank">Pickin' & Pies</a>, and at that point we were pretty much fully funded for what we needed to adopt one child from Madagascar. I wasn't fully convinced that this was an answer on my question of two, but with a couple more fundraisers that were already in the works, it seemed to me that He was telling us, "Do not worry about a thing. I've got this totally covered." Then what we thought we knew about the Mada program started to fall apart, and in comes (after looking back on it now) some clear answers from God. A dream with a big black "2" and then "Uganda" playing over and over in my head the next morning while I was praying for God to give us guidance. I wasn't sure how He would work it all out, but I trusted that He would. We just had to be open to whatever His plan was.<br />
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Fast forward to March. About a week after we found Lulah and started switching everything over to Uganda, our new agency emailed me to let us know that there were some other kids at Lulah's orphanage that were available and to let them know if we were interested in getting more information about any of them. I opened up all of their pictures and info; there were five little boys and one little girl. When I saw her, I just had that feeling. The feeling I had read about people having, but had not experienced myself. With Lulah, it happened differently, because her name is what made me know it was her first. But this girl. Her name was Jovia, and her precious face just looked like she embodied joy. I immediately looked up the meaning of her name and it means "happy" or "joy". Of course it does. I emailed our agency back and asked about her, but the reply I got back made me think that she had already taken by another family. I emailed back again and said to please keep me updated. Then later I got another email from the agency asking if we would please consider Jovia, since she was at the same orphanage and of similar age to Lulah. (we have since learned that Lulah is four and Jovia is five) Later that day, I showed Jonathan all the pictures and info of the kids that the agency had sent me. The boys caught a glimpse of Jovia's picture on the computer and started yelling "Yes!! We want her!! We want two sisters!!!" All three of them were jumping up and down and getting so excited about the possibility of TWO sisters. Jonathan needed some time to process it all, so we agreed to pray about it and see if God would confirm the same child for both of us. In the next week we both prayed fervently- that God would make it clear to us which child He wanted us to bring home with Lulah. During that time, two of my closest friends, both very Holy Spirit-centered, told me without a doubt that they felt like Jovia was the one- and they had some hair-standing on your arm kind of stories of why they felt this way. A week went by and I felt more and more confirmed that Jovia was the one. After a couple of days of trying to ask Jonathan how he was feeling about it all, I decided I needed to shut up about the whole thing. This is not something that I wanted to convince him of. God needed to help him come to a conclusion about it all on his own. One of those same close friends suggested that I change my prayer and to start praying for God to soften Jonathan's heart. Within two days I saw this happen and he started bringing her up to me and asking me questions and what I was thinking. Towards the end of the week we had a conversation with our agency, and we got more information on each of the girls. The next day, we were in a cute little coffee shop that had a gift shop in it. Literally everywhere we turned, there was something that said JOY or HAPPY on it. Later that day I discovered on my phone (I think I saw something on ig) that it was International Day of Happy. Seriously. I don't make this stuff up. When we got home, Jonathan sat in the living room by himself with his computer and pulled up all the kids pictures again. After a few minutes, he called me in the room and said, "Okay. It's her." I squealed and thanked the Lord. <br />
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Lulah and Jovia. Our <i>two</i> daughters that God has been weaving into the threads of our hearts for so long. Oh, how He is faithful and so full of grace. <br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><i>"Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, </i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><i> and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance.</i></span></div>
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<i style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,</i></div>
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<i style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">and everlasting JOY will be yours." Isaiah 61:7</i></div>
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So what now? Paperwork, and lots of it. Since finding Lulah, we have basically had to start everything over. I actually can't think of one single piece of paper that we have been able to reuse for this new process for Uganda. We are so thankful to have found a wonderful and quick case worker to do a new home study for us, and we received our new completed last week. While waiting for that, I have been focused on gathering documents that we will need for our dossier to send to Uganda. If Madagascar's dossier requirements seemed hard, Uganda's seem haaaaaaarrrrrrrd. Four copies of everything, certified or notarized. Bank statements, house deed, medical reports, employment letters, references, college diplomas, high school diplomas (I'm pretty sure if we have a college diploma, then that means we would have graduated high school?!!?), birth certificates, marriage certificates, fingerprinting... (oh there's lots more). I'm pretty sure they could just say, "Every single piece of paper that you've ever touched in your entire life." and be done with it. But, I am making progress. I sent off our I-600a application to get approval from the USCIS yesterday (although I forgot to enclose a check. oops. I'm literally losing my mind) and once we get that back (hopefully in a few weeks) we can send off our dossier. After our dossier gets to Uganda, we have been told that we should travel soon for our first trip. We will meet the girls and apply for court, then travel back for our second trip whenever our court date is. The way things are going, I am hopeful that we would be going on our first trip by the end of the summer. We really have no idea, though. After what we've already been through, we know not to expect anything quickly. What we do know is that God is working it all out. And that's all that matters.<br />
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Mother's Day is tomorrow and I know it will feel different this year. Besides relishing in the sweet hugs and kisses that my three precious sons will undoubtably give me, I will be looking at the pictures of my beautiful daughters and praying that the day will come quickly that I can be hugging and kissing on them. I will be joyful and oh so thankful that God has entrusted me to mother these five little ones that are only mine because He is gracious. But, in the midst of the joy I will also grieve for the mothers that my daughters have lost. I will grieve that they are sitting in an orphanage, with no family- no mother to hug and kiss, no mother to make a handmade card for, no mother to give flowers to, no mother to call their own. They need a mom. They need love, and hope, and joy, and Jesus. Soon, sweet girls. Soon. <br />
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<span class="" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Fear not, for I am with you</i>;</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_08" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043005" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I will bring your offspring from the east,</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_16" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043005" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and from the west I will gather you.</span></div>
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<span class="" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I will say to the north, Give up,</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_09" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043006" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and to the south, Do not withhold;</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_16" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043006" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">bring </span><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">my sons from afar</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_21" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043006" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and <i>M</i></span><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>y daughters from the end of the earth</i>,</span></div>
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<span class="" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">everyone who is called by My name,</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_08" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043007" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">whom I created for My glory,</span></div>
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Thanks for sticking with us through this journey. We are so incredibly appreciative of those who continually pray for us and our girls and want us to keep you updated on what's going on. Later this week I'll give a fundraising status and be sharing about our upcoming feature week on the <a href="http://giveonesaveone.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Give1Save1</a> blog- which starts Monday, May 19th! We will have lots of opportunities that week to help, including lots of crosses and map scripture prints for sale here on the blog. Stayed tuned! <br />
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xoxo,<br />
shawna<br />
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<br />JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-45849065911589273762014-03-14T09:40:00.000-05:002014-03-14T22:15:21.666-05:00God is in the business of being AwesomeSo, we've got some news to share. News that I've been dreaming of sharing for 18 months when we started this long journey. News that I know many people have been waiting and waiting to hear. (and waiting and waiting--I know.) Now, it's time to spill a lot of stuff. The good, the bad and the awesome. Did you know that God is in the business of being Awesome? Of writing stories that only He could pen? Of working out details that only He could know about? Of giving answers that only He would even know of the question asked to get that answer? Yeah, He's good like that. <br />
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First, you have to start with <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/06/i-have-called-you-by-name-you-are-mine.html" target="_blank">this post</a> if you haven't already read it. (g i v i n g y o u s o m e t i m e t o r e a d i t) Now, let's go back to November. The week after <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/12/these-are-things-i-will-remember.html" target="_blank">Pickin' & Pies</a>, we found out some pretty discouraging stuff that led us to believe that the Madagascar program may not be the best program for us to continue with. Without sharing too many details, it started looking as if adopting from Mada may not happen anytime soon, if ever. We were pretty distraught and very unsure of what to do next. We prayed a lot in that week (and ever since then) asking God to give us guidance, wisdom, discernment, and more trust. One particular morning I had texted a friend to tell her what was going on and asked her to please pray specifically for guidance. I sat down to eat breakfast and started to pray, asking God to just speak to me and let us know what He wanted us to do. As I prayed, the word Uganda kept playing over and over in my head. I can't really recall that this had ever happened to me before, so I wasn't really sure what to make of it except that I knew I couldn't get it out of my head the rest of the day. Later I saw the same friend I had texted that morning and told her that I couldn't stop thinking about Uganda. She asked me when that had started. I told her it had been all day, but specifically had started at 8:15 when I was praying at breakfast. She looked at me straight in the eye and said, "Shawna, I was on my knees praying for God to speak to you at that exact same time. He's telling you Uganda." When you aren't used to things like this happening, you aren't really sure how to take that. But this friend in particular, through a crazy Africa story of her own, has taught me a lot about listening to God and those words that keep playing over and over in your head or have been put on your heart. I shared about my breakfast experience with two other friends that day. One (who has adopted from Uganda) said, "Looks like you're going to Uganda, sister!" and the other texted back, "He is speaking to you. Keep listening." I began to feel that this was a very clear answer He had given me. So, over the next couple of weeks I started calling several agencies and inquiring about their Uganda programs. All but one (who seemed very shady) told me that they were not recommending any families join that program. It was just too unstable, wait times were getting really long and they didn't even know if it would be open in six months. They were happy to tell me about some of their other programs in Africa, but discouraged any ideas I had of switching over to Uganda. I started to think that maybe He hadn't been speaking Uganda to me or that it maybe didn't mean what I thought it had meant. I know He is the God of making the impossible things possible, but I just kind of put those thoughts in a back corner of my mind. <br />
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The holidays came and I put off calling agencies for a while. We were still holding on with Madagascar, but began working on writing a grievance letter to our agency with four other families in our program. We felt like they had been negligent in a lot of areas and had not been forthright with some information that would have probably made us choose another program from the start. We finally sent the letter at the end of January. We waited three weeks for a reply from them and the reply we got was pretty much a whole lot of nothing. No answers to our questions and concerns. No reason to gain back the trust that we had lost in them. Three of the five families pulled out of the program at that time and the only reason we decided to still hold on was because the director of our program was actually traveling to Madagascar at the end of February. We felt like we had invested too much time and money to pull out before we learned of what would come out of that trip. I didn't want to wait any more, but it did seem to make sense to wait two more weeks after coming that far. I wasn't expecting much, but we were hopeful that he might come back and say that they were about to start referring kids left and right. We just didn't know. <br />
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That brings us up to last week. There is a website called <a href="http://rainbowkids.com/" target="_blank">Rainbow Kids</a> that has a composite list of waiting children all over the world. "Waiting children" are kids who are considered harder to place with an adoptive family because they are older or because of some special need they have. Several agencies have waiting children that are available at the orphanages they work with and they put up a picture with some general information about the child on this site. They give you their approximate age, if they are considered healthy or not and what continent they are on. I have looked at this sight just about every day for the last four months. I have shown some of the children to Jonathan that I thought were cute and he has just smiled and said, "Yeah, they are cute." But ultimately (just like with the name) he couldn't "go there" until we knew for sure what was going to happen in Madagascar. I understood, but I still looked anyway. So last week we were in Oregon for my nephew's wedding. Jonathan and the boys had left on Monday while I stayed with a dear friend for the rest of the week. I realized it had been a few days since I had last looked on Rainbow Kids, so that night I decided to open up the site and see if any new children had been put up. There had been. One of them was a little girl. And her name was...<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">Lullah.</span></b><br />
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Are. you. kidding. me. {just got chills all over again} I kept staring at the name, at HER, making sure I was seeing this right. Her name was <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/06/i-have-called-you-by-name-you-are-mine.html" target="_blank">Lullah</a>!!! Yes, yes, I could see that it wasn't the exact spelling that we have used, but COME ON PEOPLE!!!!!!!! That is not exactly a common name, here or in Africa. I don't care how it's spelled. Her name was Lullah. That was enough for me. *And just a note about her name (if you didn't take the time to go back and read <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/06/i-have-called-you-by-name-you-are-mine.html" target="_blank">this post</a>!)- I truly believe that God gave me that name. It wasn't like we each had a long list of names that we liked and we narrowed it down to something that we both could live with. That was the only name we could come up with and I had no idea where it had even come from. It was just the name that had been put on my heart.* I texted Jonathan in the middle of the night Nashville time and told him to look at Rainbow Kids when he had a chance. I wasn't able to talk to him until late Tuesday and he hadn't had time to look. He said, (kind of sarcastically) "What- is there a child on there that you want to bring home?" I said, "Yeah. There is one girl. Her name is Lullah." His response was almost a whisper- "What?" I was thinking I was going to have to do a little convincing, but I didn't. The name was enough for both of us to inquire about her and just see what happened. I had already sent an email to inquire about her of course, but it wasn't until Thursday that I actually talked to someone at the agency that was representing her. The girl told me that yes, she indeed was available, what the process would be like and what the next steps were should we chose to move forward. We had been talking for a while when I finally asked, "Can you tell me where she is?" to which she quickly replied, "Oh yeah! She's in Uganda! Did I not already say that?" No, no you didn't. I would have remembered that. I was shaking uncontrollably at that point and my heart was beating something crazy. Those three days that I had been waiting to talk to the agency about her, I kept feeling like Gideon. Part of me was like, "Her name is Lullah. The end." and another part of me was freaked out and like, "Well, I don't know...It does seem like it might be something..." I kept telling God (and my friend Kimmee that I was staying with) that it wasn't like I needed more confirmation, but if she happened to be in Uganda then OH MY WORD. And she was. She is. She's five years old and she is beautiful. She has been put on hold for us and we are working to get her home. She will hopefully be ours-- soon.<br />
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Yesterday we officially withdrew from the Madagascar program and from our agency. We did get the report of the director's trip to Madagascar last week. It was just more confirmation that we need to be doing something else. So, we are. And we are okay with that. From the beginning of this journey we have always known that switching countries was a possibility. We've just heard of it way too often. So we tried to never get attached to Madagascar itself, just to the fact that we were adopting. Of course the longer we were in the program, the more we began to love the country and get excited about bringing a child home from there, but I think after this many months of there being a strong possibility that we were going to switch that we had already grieved the change. Now, once it has happened, we are fully at peace with it and ready to move on. We are working on getting our home study updated and a new dossier put together. Once we do that, we should be traveling *somewhat* quickly for our first trip to meet our girl. Please pray that this new paperwork phase (ugh) will go super fast. <br />
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I still can't believe what I've just written. My, how things can change in a week. God has shown us where our daughter is and we couldn't be more grateful to Him for the way that He has revealed His steadfast love for our family. <br />
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(from <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/12/these-are-things-i-will-remember.html" target="_blank">December 2nd post</a>)<br />
<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">We're not sure exactly what road we will be taking in the next few weeks, but we know that He will lead us down the right one because He already knows where we are headed, and I have a feeling that He's got something very special planned. </span>JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-1815370895953550882014-01-01T13:18:00.000-06:002014-03-13T01:07:33.122-05:00Love for Lulah: the movie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have a lot of talented friends. Two of them are Gabe and Mandy McCauley. Mandy, aka <a href="http://mixmastermandy.com/" target="_blank">Mix Master Mandy</a>, is a rocking guitar artist. Gabe, aka <a href="http://lildragon.tv/" target="_blank">lilDragon</a>, is a rocking video artist. Together they are a power couple of creativity and inspiration, aka Gandy. We love Gandy. Gandy brought the house down at <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/12/these-are-things-i-will-remember.html" target="_blank">Pickin' and Pies</a> closing out the show with songs and video magic. This blog post is about the video magic. </div>
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About a year ago Shawna found this blog, <a href="http://giveonesaveone.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Give1Save1</a>, that features an adopting family's story every week. Here is how they explain it, "Every Monday we are going to ask you for a dollar. We’re going to tell you who it’s going to and what it’s being used for. We’re mostly funding adoption for the people, by the people. The premise is for lots of people to give a little and let it all add up!....And your dollar will be saving and restoring lives in all kinds of ways. Removing a child from an orphanage gives that child a family and a future, something everyone needs. It also frees up a bed in an orphanage for another child." Give one dollar, save one child. A little bit of money, a big difference. </div>
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This has been our approach to fundraising. Share our story and hope that a lot of people would give a little. God had something else in mind. A lot of people are giving a lot. Over and over again they (you) give. Whatever we thought people might give God said, "Just wait. I am going to take your small little dream and explode it." They bought tickets to a basketball game, tickets to a concert, stuff at a garage sale, handmade crosses, t-shirts. They just wrote a check or handed us cash. Strangers sent us money in the mail with a note like, "I heard about your story and was touched by it." And the gifts haven't been limited to money. Several people have generously given their time and God-given talents, which brings us to lilDragon, Give1Save1 and the video magic. </div>
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After finding the blog, we decided we wanted to share our adoption story through a video. Maybe people far beyond our circles would be touched by what God is doing. The problem is that we stink at making videos. lilDragon doesn't (check out their <a href="https://vimeo.com/70145415" target="_blank">2013 Hype Reel </a>). Shawna made a phone call and a few minutes later we had a video in the works. I don't think they really knew what they were getting into. It took seven months and several takes to get something they could work with, because we are bad on camera. Really bad. We both freeze when we see the red light. Somehow they took our mess and made it into a masterpiece. I don't know how they did it, but they captured our story and turned it into something beautiful. We can't say thank you enough to Nick Nichols, Gabe McCauley and Dave Boyd for logging countless hours filming and editing. </div>
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We don't have any fundraising events planned for 2014, but we do have this video. Here is some good news- the people at Give1Save1 liked our video and we have been chosen to be featured on their blog. The bad news is that this may not happen for six months (or even longer). When you have been given something like this it is hard not to go ahead and share, so we're going ahead and sharing. We think the New Year is the perfect time to do that. Here is what you can do: 1. Watch the video 2. Share the video with lots of people 3. Pray that God will bring a little girl across the world home soon. More than anything we want to bring God all glory and praise for how His hand is working in our lives and in the life of one orphan. Praise to the One who gave One to save everyone. </div>
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So here it is. Be sure to watch in full screen mode.</div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/FHU7Ru_JKFs/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FHU7Ru_JKFs?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FHU7Ru_JKFs?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><br />
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You can share it with either of these links: <a href="http://vimeo.com/83075957" target="_blank">http://vimeo.com/83075957</a><br />
or: <a href="http://youtu.be/FHU7Ru_JKFs" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/FHU7Ru_JKFs</a><br />
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"Called Me Higher" song by <a href="http://allsonsanddaughters.com/" target="_blank">All Sons and Daughters.</a> <br />
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jonathan & shawnaJONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-26308866266307135072013-12-31T16:35:00.001-06:002013-12-31T16:36:06.174-06:002013.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A little late to post, but here is our Chistmas card this year. Two sweet friends helped us pull it together, both with very little notice. <a href="http://instagram.com/twelve16photography" target="_blank">Dolly</a> did a last minute photo session, and <a href="http://instagram.com/jbosgirl" target="_blank">Lydia</a> did the beautiful handwritten words. I love how it all came together. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M9-4JJL6SEU/UsMhyGj5zDI/AAAAAAAABDI/wZ-l0uD8Q9E/s1600/joy+to+the+world+card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M9-4JJL6SEU/UsMhyGj5zDI/AAAAAAAABDI/wZ-l0uD8Q9E/s640/joy+to+the+world+card.jpg" width="456" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This past year has truly been a year filled with the glories of the Lord's righteousness and wonders of His love for our family. I am amazed every single day by the way He is working out the details and making straight the paths that He has laid before us. Our faith has grown by leaps and bounds and our trust in His promises has never been stronger. I couldn't be more thankful that He has laid adoption on our hearts and will be forever grateful for this journey we are walking, hand in hand with Him. I am full of confident hope that 2014 will bring great and wonderful things that God will do, things that we haven't even begun to imagine. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you great and wonderful things that you could never figure out on your own." {Jeremiah 33:3}</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To see the rest of our family photo session at Radnor Lake with Dolly, visit <a href="http://twelve16photography.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/twelve16photography-joy-to-the-world-a-christmas-portrait-session-with-the-sheahen-family/" target="_blank">twelve16photography's website.</a></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SU-hY1Fu6ro/UsNGV1lSPNI/AAAAAAAABDU/g4qEW_M6C3w/s1600/family+photo+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SU-hY1Fu6ro/UsNGV1lSPNI/AAAAAAAABDU/g4qEW_M6C3w/s640/family+photo+collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Check back tomorrow for something pretty great that I can't wait to share. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Peace and blessings on your New Year! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">xoxo</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-17179842807394849622013-12-02T01:04:00.003-06:002013-12-03T10:09:26.411-06:00The things I will remember<span style="font-family: inherit;">November was definitely a month to remember. There have been some awesome highs and some discouraging lows, but what I want to remember out of November are all the mighty works of the Lord.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">First of all, I turned 40 on the 5th and my sweet husband threw me a surprise party! Although I had been a little suspicious that he was up to some kind of planning, he got me good when it actually came party time. With the help of some family and friends, it was a lovely night and I'm so thankful that I got to spend it with so many people that mean so much to me. The Lord has blessed me far greater than I deserve in my 40 years on this earth, and I am so thankful to Him for every good gift that He has given me. My prayer for my birthday was that this will be the last birthday I spend without Tallulah home with our family! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">{me, Jonathan and my sweet parents who drove up for my birthday and then drove back the </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">next</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> weekend for Pickin' & Pies!}</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">{some dear friends wrote a song for me (and about me) and sang it at the party. most of it was nice. :) }</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A week after my birthday party was our benefit concert, Pickin' & Pies, and what a high that was! It really was an incredible, God-glorifying day. I can't even put into words how much it meant to us that so many people were there and shared in such a special day with us. We had a crew of friends that were there helping set up starting at 8:30 am and didn't leave until 6 pm. Several hours were put into it before the day even arrived- not just by us, but by several of our friends. Anyone that was involved with the event went above and beyond what we asked of them, and we can not thank them enough for what they did for us. For what they did for our daughter that they've never even met. So much love was poured into that event and into our family- not just by our friends who were there helping, but also by the people who came to support us. People drove from near and far, some as far as 4 hours away. They came and they gave generously. They brought pies. They bought t-shirts and our handmade crosses. They pooled their money for auction items. They ate, they visited, they played, they listened and they watched (<i>we</i> watched) as God made a small fleeting thought about a concert to help bring Lulah home into something bigger than we ever thought it could be. But no surprise there. He's really good at doing that. Through so many generous, loving people, we raised around $5,000 that day. Praise the Lord for He is good!!!!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are so many ways that we saw Him at work in the details over the last several months. I don't have room or time to tell them all, but I will remember them all. I'll remember </span><a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/10/pickin-pies-benefit-concert-for-lulah.html" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Farmer Paul</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> telling me about why he said yes to us having the event on his beautiful farm when he didn't know us at all and had never let anyone do that before: "Well, I don't know. It just seemed like the right thing to do." I'll remember how DJ at </span><a href="https://justlovecoffee.com/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Just Love Coffee Roasters</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> responded to my email asking him if they would be willing to donate coffee for the event: "We don't normally do this, but I read your story and I'd like to see what I can do for you." I'll remember the man who owned the </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/caneseats" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Cane Ery Antiques</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> on 8th Avenue, when I went to his shop to buy a few pieces of vintage hardware and decorative wood pieces for the 50+ crosses we were working on. I told him that my husband and I make and sell the crosses to raise money for our adoption and he told me to pick whatever I wanted from two huge boxes full of stuff that hadn't been put out yet. Then he gave it all to me. Over $300 worth. I'll remember Lindell, the lady that I met at Chick-Fil-A a few days before the concert- a day when I was pretty anxious about some details that were not really coming together out at the farm- that spoke scripture over me and </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+6%3A24-26" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">spoke exactly what I had asked God for in prayer</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> just an hour before I met her. I'll remember Ray, the precious 90 year old man at church who couldn't make it to the concert, but spent his Thursday making six delicious pies to send with us. I'll remember </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/outofthedustmusic" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Chris and Steph</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, who I don't think had any idea who I was when I emailed them about playing at the concert, but without hesitation said, "Adoption is near and dear to our hearts...we would love to be a part of it...we're here to serve." I'll remember how I had prayed for the Lord to provide us with a photographer that would be willing to just be there that day and document the event for us (at no charge), and instead of providing one, He provided two- sweet </span><a href="http://twelve16photography.wordpress.com/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Dolly and Lindsay</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">- who again, even though they had never met us, were so happy and excited to be there and serve in whatever way we wanted them to. I'll remember what someone wrote me after the concert when I had thanked him for his gracious help: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"...<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">it was one of those things that was just a huge blessing to me to be a part of. There were so many people there that I love. It was just awesome to be able to be with those people, all joined around your family and your sweet girl. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also, since the event, I've found myself so much more mindful of the Lord around me. Through your journey, there are no telling how many people who are understanding more fully the beauty of adoption and it's parallel to us as orphans. We're praying daily for God's blessings on your family and on your daughter." </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I could go on, but you get the picture. </span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are the things I constantly pray that others who are following our story will remember, so that He will be glorified. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">These things are not about us, but they are about Him. In no way should they lift us up, but they should in every way lift Him up, because this is who He is. These are the things I will remember.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: inherit;"><span class="text Ps-77-11" id="en-NLT-15081" style="background-color: white; position: relative;">But then I will remember all you have done, O <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>;</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-77-11" style="position: relative;">I remember Your wonderful deeds of long ago.</span></span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="text Ps-77-12" id="en-NLT-15082" style="background-color: white; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="display: block; font-weight: bold; left: -4.8em; position: absolute; vertical-align: top;">12 </span>They are constantly in my thoughts.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-77-12" style="position: relative;">I cannot stop thinking about Your mighty works. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: inherit;"><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="text Ps-77-12" style="position: relative;">{Psalm 77:11-12}</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">{For more gorgeous photos from the day, click on </span><a href="http://twelve16photography.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/twelve16photography-pickin-pies-benefit-concert-love-for-lulah/" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">this link</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">.}</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Two days after the concert, we were hit with a low. The enemy started messing with us and made it clear how much he doesn't want this adoption to happen. We were reminded that this is a battle that we are fighting against one who </span>doesn't want the lonely to be set in families- against a whole army of darkness.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: inherit;">For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: inherit;">{Ephesians 6:12}</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But we will not lose hope. We know God has already won the victory. After that low came, a wise friend gave me much needed encouragement that I believe came straight from God, reminding me to TRUST. She said, "The concert was a mountain-top moment for you all as you draw closer to the reality of welcoming another child into your home with loving arms. With that, I want you to understand that moments like that set up conditions for the perfect storm. TRUST that when you asked Jesus into your boat, storms would come and come quickly. Our peace in that storm comes from our faith that we TRUST that He desires what is best for you even more than you do." I <i>know</i> He does, but it was nice to have the reminder. Although I can't go into all the details of this particular low we are facing right now, we ask for your prayers during this time of uncertainty. We're not sure exactly what road we will be taking in the next few weeks, but we know that He will lead us down the right one because He already knows where we are headed, and I have a feeling that He's got something very special planned. Please pray for our peace in His leading. Pray for greater trust. Pray for our willingness to be led into even greater depths with Him, even when we cannot see. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once again, He encouraged me with scripture just when I needed it most- this time coming through a friend of a friend. That scripture also comes from Psalm 77:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: inherit;">Your road led through the sea,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Your pathway through the mighty waters-</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666;"> a pathway no one knew was there!</span></span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: inherit;"> {Psalm 77:19}</span></span><br />
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<span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="text Ps-77-12" style="position: relative;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He will make a way when it seems there is no way. He will make a pathway through the waters to our sweet <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/06/i-have-called-you-by-name-you-are-mine.html" target="_blank">Tallulah</a>. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="text Ps-77-12" style="position: relative;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="text Ps-77-12" style="position: relative;">Even through the hard days, November reminded us of how much we have to be thankful for. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you so much to those who have continually lifted our names up before the Father. You are a blessing to our family. We ask that you boldly continue to do so, and if you aren't already, we would especially love for you to join us <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/09/a-call-to-prayer.html" target="_blank">Sunday nights</a> at 9pm CST. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white;"><span class="text Ps-77-12" style="position: relative;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">xoxo</span></span></span>JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-10802786607207902822013-10-28T13:25:00.001-05:002013-10-28T20:40:31.882-05:00Concert update and auction item<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/10/pickin-pies-benefit-concert-for-lulah.html" target="_blank">Pickin' & Pies</a> is less than two weeks away! Aaaahhhh!!!!! We have been super busy making final preparations and every day more and more things are falling into place that I can only attribute to God working out every detail for us. I went out to Roaring Creek Farm last week and took Jonathan and the boys with me for the first time. It was a gorgeous fall day, and I was just imagining how beautiful everything will be out there in the next two weeks as the leaves start changing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">We are so SO excited! (I know I keep saying that, but we just are!) Remember to bring a pie (or two) and some blankets, chairs, whatever you want to make yourself comfortable for the afternoon. In addition to the music, Joseph Kirkpatrick will be doing a live auction of a few items as well as some entertainment that I'm sure will not disappoint. :) Annnnd... we have two sweet, talented photographers that have generously donated their time who will be documenting the day for us as well as taking some family photos on the farm with your choice of some vintage props! At the end of the concert, we will hopefully be showing a very special short film that some </span><a href="http://lildragon.tv/" style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">great and talented friends</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> have been working on for us. S</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">o we hope you will come prepared to stay for a whole afternoon of fun and fellowship! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">We will have t-shirts for sale- our adoption shirts and some limited edition Pickin' & Pies shirts- and Jonathan has been spending many many precious weekend hours building crosses that we will have there to sell. They are beautiful. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">In addition to what's going on at the concert, we </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">have some seriously exciting auction items that have been donated to help bring Lulah home. Our dear friend, Hall of Fame Songwriter and Producer </span><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100004600329283&extragetparams=%7B%22directed_target_id%22%3A0%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/roger.murrah.9?directed_target_id=0" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Roger Murrah</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">, has generously donated the following items that we are offering as an online auction:</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Hall of Fame Songwr</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #37404e; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">iter Roger Murrah</span><br /><span style="color: #37404e; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">To Offer Services At Auction</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #37404e; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Nashville, TN For songwriters wanting to become more professional, this may be an opportunity for you. Hall of Fame songwriter, Roger Murrah, will be offering-at-auction 3 Two-Hour Consulting Sessions (with the bid starting at $250 per session), as well as 2 Six-Hour Co-Writing Sessions (with the bid starting at $2,500 per session). All proceeds will be going to benefit the Jonathan and Shawna Sheahen family, for expenses incurred in the adoption of thier new little daughter, Tallulah, who will be coming home soon to Nashville from Madagascar. For complete information, please call Shawna at 615-513-4168.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #37404e; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">About Roger Murrah: </span><a href="http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/l-o/roger-murrah.aspx" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/l-o/roger-murrah.aspx</a><br /><span style="color: #37404e; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">**************</span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Roger with Al Jarreau</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">This man is a precious and gifted man, and we are so grateful to him for such an incredible donation. But, we need your help to get the word out to the right people that will be interested in this. I figure that everybody knows somebody that is trying to get in the music business or already is but would greatly benefit from either the consulting session or songwriting session. Just look up Roger's bio and see all the amazing things he has done and awards he's received! He wrote Don't Rock the Jukebox and High Cotton, for cryin' out loud! Please share this on your blog, facebook page, copy it and email it to people you know, tweet about it, whatever. This doesn't just apply to Nashville people! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We would so much appreciate your help in letting people know about it. Bids can be placed either by commenting on this post on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/loveforlulah" target="_blank">our facebook page</a>, sending me an email or calling me. The auction will be open until November 13th. Let me know if you have questions or need more information. </span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Thank you for your help. Every day, every act of kindness, every donation made, every prayer lifted up, brings us one day closer to bringing one orphan home. To God be the glory.</span></span>JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-28372899919131999402013-10-15T12:44:00.002-05:002013-10-28T15:40:31.468-05:00Pickin' & Pies! A Benefit Concert for Lulah<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am so so SO excited to share with y'all about this concert right here. Did I say SO EXCITED?? This has been in the works for a loooong time and it. is. finally. happening. A friend had suggested about a year ago that this would be really cool to do (which I agreed) and especially here in Nashville where we know so many incredibly gifted musicians that are more than willing to share their talents. So, after a long time of thinking and praying about it, <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/09/a-call-to-prayer.html" target="_blank">waiting for certain things to happen</a>, gathering the right people, it's time. </div>
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{Thank you to <a href="http://www.amandaspeercreative.com/" target="_blank">Amanda Speer</a> for designing this lovely poster for us!}</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I can't even tell you how much we have already seen God at work in this. For starters, He has totally blessed us with a beautiful venue. When planning first began, we really had no idea where we were going to have this concert. Several ideas were thrown around, but the one thing I kept coming back to was that I wanted it outside, ideally on a farm, in my favorite little Tennessee town of Leiper's Fork. Okay, I know that's getting pretty picky, but that's just the picture I had in my head. I'm a dreamer. Work with it. Well, we know lots of people who know lots of people that have farms all over middle Tennessee. I asked these people who asked their people, but nothing was working out it seemed. Then about a month ago, after weeks of looking and coming up with nothing, I started emailing people. Random people, that is. Meaning- people that I don't know. This is kinda how I work. I just start asking, thinking it doesn't hurt to ask. (if you don't know our wedding story, ask me sometime) And, it just so happens that one of these random people said "Yes" and made me one happy girl. Meet Paul, aka "Farmer Joe" of <a href="http://joenaturals.com/" target="_blank">Joe Natural's</a> Cafe in Historic Leiper's Fork. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">I had met Paul a couple of years ago at his adorable little locavore cafe in Leiper's Fork. He has a farm where he grows much of what they use at the cafe and sources locally anything else that he doesn't grow. He hosts a farm to table dinner every month that I know about only because I am on their email list. So I knew that they hosted some events on the farm, although I had no idea if they ever did anything else there besides the monthly dinner, and if they were even willing to let anyone that they didn't know host something there. I knew this was a long shot, but, like I said before, it doesn't hurt to ask. We have had a couple of brief conversations before but I knew he wouldn't remember me, so I emailed him and told him who I was and what we were doing, and that I was just wondering if they ever hosted any outside events at the farm. Within a few minutes he emailed me back and said, "Let me see what we can do." I read it and started crying. It honestly blew me away that he was even considering it. But why should it have blown me away? Earlier that very week, after hitting dead ends everywhere, I started praying hard that God would work this detail out. That He would lead us to a great venue; just <i>any</i> venue at that point. Could this be it? I replied back to thank him and let him know that we could work with just about anything and started praying more. In two days He answered that prayer when I got this second email from Paul:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm inclined to let you use the farm free of charge. Our customary fee for the venue is $5,000 for the day. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">WHAT??!! Although we were hoping to not have to pay for a venue, we were thinking that we may need to the way things were looking. In my emails to random people, I had said that we could pay something, although not much, since we were trying to raise money, not spend it. My mind was blown even more. Not only did we have a venue, but it's a farm, in Leiper's Fork, and we are paying $0 for it. $0 when they typically charge $5,000. AND- it's a man that we don't even know. Our Father keeps on blessing abundantly. I went out to the farm the next week with a couple of sweet friends, and Paul gave us the grand tour. The chickens and the pigs and the horses and the dogs were all there to greet us. We tasted some unbelievably sweet cherry tomatoes and enjoyed just walking the farm and getting to see a little snippet of farm life. {He is a New Yorker and former mall developer, with a really <a href="http://nashvillepost.com/news/2012/1/29/the_food_biz_its_only_natural" target="_blank">interesting story</a> on how he came to this bitty little town in Tennessee.} When I thanked him over and over and told him he really didn't know how much this meant to us, he just said, "Well, I just thought it would be a good thing to do." He is using what he has been blessed with to be a blessing to others, and so the circle continues. <span style="color: #454545;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We have an awesome line up of musicians that I can't wait for you to hear. Each one of them are different and special in their own way. From close family, to close friends, to almost strangers, they all share a love for our Lord and have eagerly and graciously joined our cause. We can't thank them enough for their generosity. We are asking everyone to bring a pie or two to share, a blanket and chairs and we will provide coffee, cider, water and some other treats to snack on throughout the afternoon. We have some fun activities planned along with some live auction items and an emcee that provides a level of hilarity that I can't even describe to you. If you don't know Joseph Kirkpatrick, you need to come just for him alone if for no other reason. If you do know him, you might be coming for him alone, and we're okay with that. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">You can purchase tickets ahead of time at </span><a href="http://www.loveforlulah.eventbrite.com/">www.loveforlulah.eventbrite.com</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> or pay at the gate. We have a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/583764645014762/" target="_blank">facebook event page</a> that you can join and keep up with more specific details as we get closer to the day. It's set up so that you can invite your friends so please share and help us spread the word! </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We'll be doing some giveaways soon so keep checking back for your chance to win! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">We hope you will join us for a day of great music, yummy pies, good people, beautiful scenery and God's glory. All for a little girl named <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/06/i-have-called-you-by-name-you-are-mine.html" target="_blank">Tallulah</a>, who we are patiently waiting for in hope. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">"Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8:24-25</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">***please see our most recent <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/10/concert-update-and-auction-item.html" target="_blank">post</a> for a concert update and fabulous auction item that has been donated for our cause! </span>JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-49129476515943682042013-09-02T22:50:00.000-05:002013-09-03T08:22:52.169-05:00A call to prayer<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's official. Our dossier has made it to it's final destination- the Adoption Central Authority in Madagascar!!! Hallelujah praise Jehovah!! We have filled out every single form ever created, gotten every certification/authentication that is possible for us to get (from here to Madagascar) and jumped through every hoop necessary to finally make it to the wait list. 50 weeks ago we <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2012/10/something-pretty-huge.html" target="_blank">started this journey</a> and sent in our initial application. We've been told that the estimated wait time from here to be matched with a child is 6-12 months. We know that it could be longer than that, but we also know that it could be shorter than that. Only God knows. All we know for sure is that we are praying hard that God will move quickly on <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/06/i-have-called-you-by-name-you-are-mine.html" target="_blank">Tallulah's</a> behalf and bring us together soon, if that is His will. We are overjoyed to get to this point and just can't wait to see her face. Thank you God!!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A few weeks ago, I was spending the day with a dear friend. I was sharing with her something about how our process was going (can't even remember what specifically) and she said, "So why aren't we praying about this more?". She is a prayer warrior if there ever was one, and her saying that really has stuck with me. Not that I think people aren't praying; I know lots and lots of people are because you've told me you are. But, just like in my <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/08/really-really-really-good-news.html" target="_blank">last post</a>, I do think we need to be more public and more specific with our prayer requests during this process, and I know that the more people that are praying for us and for Tallulah is what will bring God the most glory. And isn't that the ultimate goal here?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I love the passage in 2 Corinthians where Paul is dramatically recounting the story of he and Timothy's impending death in Asia. After telling them how God rescued them and he knows He will do it again, he asks the Corinthians to join him in prayer:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">"Join us in this work. Lend us a hand through prayer so that many will give thanks for the gift that comes to us when God answers the prayers of so many." </span><span style="background-color: white;">(2 Cor. 1:11 The Voice)</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And I love how the New Century Version words this passage. As I was reading it, I added my own words in regards to Tallulah's story: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text 2Cor-1-8" id="en-NCV-28691" style="background-color: white;">"We had great burdens that were beyond our own strength. </span><span class="text 2Cor-1-9" id="en-NCV-28692" style="background-color: white;">Truly, in our own hearts we believed that {Tallulah might never come home}. But this happened so we would not trust in ourselves but in God, who raises people from the dead.</span><span class="text 2Cor-1-9" style="background-color: white;"><b>..</b></span><span class="text 2Cor-1-10" id="en-NCV-28693" style="background-color: white;"> We have put our hope in Him, and He will {bring her home}. </span><span class="text 2Cor-1-11" id="en-NCV-28694" style="background-color: white;">And you can help us with your prayers. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Then many people will give thanks because of what will happen to us</span><span style="background-color: white;">—that God blessed us because of their many prayers."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, as we are praying that God will move quickly, we are going to ask for you to do the same. We are not trusting in our own strength or resources to bring <a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/06/i-have-called-you-by-name-you-are-mine.html" target="_blank">Tallulah</a> across oceans, but are trusting God totally and putting all hope in Him. If you feel compelled to do so, we would like to invite you to join us in prayer on Sunday nights at 9pm CST, until Tallulah gets home. Yes, you read that correctly, until she gets home. Our specific prayer requests may change, but for now, we ask that you join with us in our prayers: </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">for her to know that she is God's child and He loves her and takes great delight in her</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">for God to comfort her and for her to know that comfort comes from Him</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">for her to feel God's presence with her</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">for God to give her hope that she indeed has a family and that they are coming for her</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">and lastly that God will move quickly on her behalf and that she will be an orphan no more</span></li>
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<a href="http://www.loveforlulah.com/2013/05/loving-while-we-wait.html" target="_blank">Like I've said before</a>, this is a battle we are fighting against the evil one, who doesn't want this to happen, who doesn't want her to know God's love and the love of a family. And every spiritual battle needs to be covered in prayer. <span style="font-family: inherit;">If you're anything like me and have to set a reminder on your phone to put clothes in the dryer, then by all means set your alarm! Pray by yourself, with your spouse or make this a part of your family prayer time. Again, I know that many of you have told me that you are already praying daily for us, (and thank you for that!) but what a beautiful picture it would be if so many of God's children (yes, I know that there are only 8 people subscribed to my blog, but I have to believe that a few more than that read it :) were praying all at the same hour of the night for this precious child, to the Mighty One who saves. Praying to the </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">only</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> One who will win this battle for her. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We would love to know how many prayer warriors will be joining us, so feel free to leave a comment here or on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/loveforlulah" target="_blank">Love for Lulah</a> facebook page. Thank you for loving us and helping us bring her home. </span><br />
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JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-209582590831057972013-08-14T22:56:00.000-05:002013-08-14T23:30:09.502-05:00Really, really, REALLY good news.<span style="font-family: inherit;">Two weeks ago, our dossier F.I.N.A.L.L.Y. made it out of the Malagasy Embassy and boarded a plane for Madagascar. Can I get a big AMEN!!! It was beginning to look like we were never going to get out of the states after being <a href="http://buy.stuckdocumentary.com/" target="_blank">stuck</a> at the embassy for over 7 weeks, but just when frustration was setting in, I opened my email to see this:</span><br />
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Hi Shawna,</div>
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Your dossier is on its way to Madagascar! Congratulations!</div>
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Best regards,</div>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1376533870786_13915" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Micah </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh, you can imagine how happy that little sentence made us!!! I'm sure that sweet Micah at our agency had no idea that she just made our summer!! Well, she might have had some idea since I had been bugging her every week for about the last seven weeks. The coolest part of this milestone was this: The day before this email came, during prayer request time at church, I asked for prayers for our adoption process and specifically that God would get our dossier unstuck at the embassy and move it on to Madagascar FAST. It had been a while since either one of us had asked for prayers for our adoption in a public setting, but that morning it was really on my heart to ask everyone to pray about it. I had been getting some conflicting reports about how things were going in the Mada program from different sources, and I just was feeling discouraged and unsure to be honest. Jonathan told me when we got home later that he actually was going to ask for the same thing but I beat him to it. Then, the first email I opened up Monday was that little jewel above. I love how God loves to so quickly and obviously answer our prayers sometimes. He gets ALL the glory for that. Hallelujah!! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"And this is </span><sup class="crossreference" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30622A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the confidence that we have toward Him, that </span><sup class="crossreference" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30622B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">if we ask anything according </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to His will He hears us." 1 John 5:14</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you, Father, for continuing to blow us away by Your faithfulness and Your love. </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our dossier has made it to Madagascar, so what does that mean? Well, we are not on the official waiting list <i>yet</i>. It still has a couple more weeks of certification that it has to go through before it gets to the Central Authority. (I'm surprised they didn't make it stop at every country it flew over to get their certification too) When it gets to the CA (hopefully by the end of the month), we will be put on the wait list to be matched with a child. We have been told the wait time for a referral is around 6-12 months. We are currently the 4th US family on the list as it is such a new program here in the states, but ahead of us are European families and we have no idea how many. </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, we ask you to continue to pray BIG that God will move QUICKLY and bring us to <a href="http://thesheahenfamily.blogspot.com/2013/06/i-have-called-you-by-name-you-are-mine.html" target="_blank">Tallulah</a> as soon as His time and purposes are served. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I feel bad that I've been sitting on this news for two weeks, but it has been the last two weeks of summer break around here and I have been trying to <a href="http://www.savoringtheday.com/category/something-to-savor/" target="_blank">savor</a> the time that was left with the boys. Today was the first full day of school, so summer break is officially over. We had a really great summer and had the opportunity to take an incredible two week trip together. It was a trip full of dear friends, beautiful sights, hard work and amazing witness of the light of Jesus that is breaking through in a very dark place. I am hoping to share about it soon. It was a summer we will never forget- and this news was a wonderful way to end it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have gobs of photos from the trip that I will eventually share- but I'll leave you with this sweet one for now. After a 70+ hour work week last week for Jonathan, he spent a lot of time Saturday making more of the crosses that we are selling. Eli wanted to help of course, so I snapped this of them both working hard. Can't wait until she can see this picture one day, of a <a href="http://thesheahenfamily.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-belated-fathers-day-post.html" target="_blank">father</a> and brother's love for a girl they've never met. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">ps- I am having an <a href="http://instagram.com/p/dAGd_qJEpc/" target="_blank">instasale</a> on instagram Thursday night at 9 CST. I'm cleaning out closets as another way to raise money for our adoption! If you don't follow me already, find me on ig if you'd like to participate. </span><a href="http://instagram.com/sugarmillie" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">@sugarmillie</a> <span style="background-color: white;">If you've never done one before, well I haven't either, so I know just about as much as you. :) </span></div>
JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-62109172947401543032013-06-22T16:02:00.001-05:002013-06-22T22:17:36.159-05:00The {belated} Father's Day post<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, the whole reason I stayed up super late last week to write <a href="http://thesheahenfamily.blogspot.com/2013/06/i-have-called-you-by-name-you-are-mine.html" target="_blank">the name</a> post was because this post was coming. I asked Jonathan if he would write some thoughts on being a dad. I won't say much, because I want this to be his post, but I will say he is an incredible dad. Silas, Eli, Cooper and I are so blessed by his love. Get a tissue ready...</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will readily admit I am cautious. Why jump into the deep end of the pool, when you can ease yourself in down the stairs and into the shallow end? It is much easier on the body and you can go at your own pace. This is not how adoption works. There is only one end of the pool and it is deep. So we said a prayer and jumped in. Feet first, eyes closed. We just jumped not knowing what was going to happen. I still don’t know what is going to happen, but I believe with all my heart that God will join us with a little girl. He has picked her out. He knows her name. We haven’t seen her, at least not with our two eyes, but we see her through God’s eyes. I see her most clearly when my three boys pray that she won't feel lonely or sad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is such a blessing to be a dad. A couple of days ago Eli came up to me and asked, “What time is it?” I told him the time. He then asked again with a grin on his face, “Are you sure it is not tickle time?” You know what my first response was? It was “No”. I then turned around, picked him up and said, “YES. Why yes it is tickle time.” Between the no and yes it hit me that he is here and I am here so why not tickle. And boy did he get a tickling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can’t tickle my little girl. Not yet. I want to hug her, hold her hand, teach her how to skip. I can’t whisper I love you in her ear, but I am going to anyways. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear Tallulah,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are so many things I want to tell you; about how much your brothers love you and they don’t even know it, how your mom lights up every time she talks about you, how you got your <a href="http://thesheahenfamily.blogspot.com/2013/06/i-have-called-you-by-name-you-are-mine.html" target="_blank">name</a>... For now, I will begin and end with this thought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love you with all of my heart. And there will never be another man in your life who will love you as much as I do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t ever want you to forget that your worth and value and beauty come from God and God alone… and that is the most liberating reality you will ever experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lean into God and you will grow into what He wants you to be. Love Him and you will bloom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love you, Lulah. I will leap over oceans for you...soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dad</span></div>
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JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-3206894387188183212013-06-16T00:43:00.000-05:002013-08-29T21:35:45.266-05:00I have called you by name, you are mine.<span style="font-family: inherit;">For a looooong time I have had this name in my head. I have no idea when I really started thinking about it or where it came from. Every time since starting this adoption process when I would bring up the name thing with Jonathan he would always say, "I can't go there yet." So, in my head and in my heart this name just stayed. Picking out names for our kids has not ever been an easy task for us. We would both come up with lists of several names that we each liked (not usually ever both liking any of the same names from the start) and start crossing them off based on how strong of a reaction we get from each other when we mentioned the name. Silas was not quite as difficult as Eli and Cooper. Two names, that we both liked, liked together <i>and</i> that didn't rhyme or sound too cutesy together. It was HARD. Many hours were spent discussing names, looking in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Name-Wizard-Revised-Edition/dp/0770436471/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371356308&sr=8-1&keywords=the+baby+name+wizard" target="_blank">books</a>, researching meanings, etc. I'm talking HOURS, people. I always had a ton of girl names on my list that I loved (which also made this time around strange- just one), but God kept giving us boys and the boy list was way shorter for some reason. During these last few months when Jonathan wouldn't talk about it with me and I was trying to get my list ready for when he actually was able to "go there", I came up with nothing. Nothing except this one name that had been on my heart since the beginning of our journey. Couldn't get it out of my head and couldn't think of one single other name that I liked for this little girl that is across oceans from us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, a couple of months ago, we started a <a href="http://lildragon.tv/" target="_blank">film project</a> for a fundraiser that's coming up (that we are SUPER excited about, btw) and I brought up the name thing again with Jonathan. I said, "You know we really need to pick a name before we start filming. She needs a name so we can talk about her and make her real to everyone." He reluctantly agreed that we could "go there". Now, don't think because we hadn't been allowed to talk about it that I hadn't at least let it slip over the last few months the name that was on my heart. I at least wanted to let it be brewing in his subconscious. And I guess it had been, because although he was cautious at first about it being that easy, within a few days of us thinking and praying about it, he couldn't come up with anything else either. I literally couldn't believe that it just might be this easy either. It NEVER had been. So, the last deciding factor was to look up the meaning of this name. I had never even thought of doing that. DUH! We both got on our isomethings and started researching. This is where it gets good. The first meaning we found was of Gaelic origin and was <i>"abundant princess"</i>. Okay, so you had me at that, but to top it all off and for complete confirmation, the next meaning that came up and the more well-known one is of Indian origin (Choctaw to be exact). And. it. is... <i>"leaping water"</i>. Okay, maybe I'm being dramatic here, but ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!? We were totally sold. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This little girl, God's little </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">princess</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">, that He is </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">abundantly</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> providing for so that she can <span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">leap over waters</span> to get to her forever family;</span><br />
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is her name.</div>
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<span class="selected" original-title="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"But now thus says the </span><span class="small-caps" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font-variant: small-caps; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lord</span><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">,</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_10" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043001" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He who created you, O Jacob,</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_16" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043001" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He who formed you, O Israel:</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_22" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043001" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_29" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043001" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>I have called you by name, you are Mine</i>.</span></div>
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<span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>When you pass through the waters, I will be with you</i>;</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_12" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043002" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_21" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043002" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">when you walk through fire </span><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">you shall not be burned,</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_31" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043002" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and the flame shall not consume you.</span></div>
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<span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For </span><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I am the </span><span class="small-caps" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font-variant: small-caps; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lord</span><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> your God,</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_08" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043003" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_15" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043003" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I give Egypt as your ransom,</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_21" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043003" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cush and </span><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Seba in exchange for you.</span></div>
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<span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Because you are precious in My eyes</i>,</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_08" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043004" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>and honored, and I love you</i>,</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_14" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043004" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I give men in return for you,</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_21" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043004" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">peoples in exchange for your life.</span></div>
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<span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Fear not, for I am with you</i>;</span></div>
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<a alt="esv_08" class="va" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8702713390280095179" rel="v23043005" style="border: 0px; color: black; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I will bring your offspring from the east,</span></div>
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<span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I will say to the north, Give up,</span></div>
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<span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">everyone who is called by My name,</span></div>
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<span class="" style="border: 0px; font-size: 17px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">{Isaiah 43: 1-7}</span></div>
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JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-21071223337118683852013-05-13T10:11:00.000-05:002013-05-13T12:00:46.111-05:00Loving while we wait<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Yesterday was a different kind of Mother's Day. I was getting ready for church and could hear the boys were sneaking around and whispering, setting up all the handmade goodies they had for me. Eli went outside to pick some flowers for me and made sure that everything was set up just right on the kitchen island. When they were ready, I went in and opened my gifts- two handmade necklaces, a clay trinket box shaped like a cupcake, a pot of marigolds, bags of goodies that they put together at church Wednesday night, sweet cards that I will cherish forever. I love reading what they write to me or about me: What is your mom really good at? "Yoga" (Eli) What does your mom do to relax? "Laying down on the bed." (Cooper) Where does your mom like to shop? "Trader Joe's" (Eli and Cooper both put this- they know I'm there more than any where else besides home!) What do you love most about your mom? "I just love her." (Cooper) 10 Things I Know About My Mom "She has a kind smile." "She encourages me to do better in everything." "She loves God with all of her heart." (Silas) </div>
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Eli setting up everything just right and Cooper and Silas grinning as I read what they wrote to me. Look at those faces.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">These are some sweet, sweet boys that God has blessed me with. I am so blessed to be their mom. After they had gone back to doing their own thing and I continued to get ready, it hit me. This overwhelming feeling that I am mom to not only these three sweet boys, but to another child that I love but I don't even know. The sadness overtook me for a moment until I could get ahold of myself. </span><br />
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Lately I feel like I've had a black cloud over my head (okay, maybe more gray than black). It's nothing that I could really put into words (I'm not good at that anyway); just a sadness that has crept in. I don't want to be sad. I want to be joyful! And I have every reason to be for the most part- it's just that when you know the Lord has chosen a daughter for you, and you can't get to her, that's sad. And no matter what situation she's in, it's probably not a good one. And no one really knows when she can join our family. A family that wants her so desparately. Brothers that want a sister. A dad and mom that want a daughter. All of that is just sad. Sad that it takes so long to bring an orphan home. Sad that it costs so much money. Sad that there are millions and millions and millions (keep going) of orphans in the world in the first place. The number is too staggering for me to even wrap my mind around. And one of those orphans is ours. I'm discovering that the farther we get into the adoption process, the less abstract she is becoming to me. We started a year ago by praying for "our adoption"- for God's guidance, for the process to go smoothly, for God to provide what we needed. Now we pray more specifically for "our daughter"- for God to protect her, for her to feel loved and to know that love comes from Him, for her to have (if she is old enough) hope that a family will come for her one day. We love her, even though we haven't met her or seen her or even know her name. What a blessing that God has put that love in our hearts. But loving her makes it really hard to wait. I have entered the pain of orphanhood and it hurts. That's where I think the seemingly uncalled-for gray clouds are coming from. I want my daughter to come home to this family who is waiting for her. I want her to know who we are and how much we already love her. But we have to wait. I know that this is normal to feel this way. This is not a lack of faith and I am not doubting for one second that God is faithful and He will bring us through to the other side. The bright sunshine in all of this is the unmistakable truth that God knows who she is. He hasn't just met her, He made her. He chose her for us, and He loves her waaaaaaaay more than I do. He will bring us together. And while we wait, He is forming us more into His image every day; trusting Him to provide, trusting Him to take care of her when we can't, trusting that He is refining us. Just trusting Him. This is a battle that we are fighting against the evil one who doesn't want the lonely to be put in families. I love this quote that I read from Jen Hatmaker- "To the degree that God loves something, we can expect our enemy to hate it in equal proportions. With a mission to steal, kill and destroy, redeeming abandoned lives out of the rubble of injustice is surely at the top of his Hate List." I am not sad at God, I'm sad with God. He is clearly on the side of the orphan and those who defend them. And all we can do at this point is trust. Trust that no matter what, He has the victory over loneliness, hunger, sadness, darkness and death. And praise Him for that! </div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffefd; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;"><i>"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." Revelation 21:4</i></span></div>
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I haven't updated in a while for a few reasons. 1. We have been super busy with the end of the school year and me working part-time. 2. I have had this sadness looming and haven't been able to put into words where it was coming from. 3. There was nothing to report on how the process was going. Well, I finally tried to put the sadness into words (hope that made sense) and we finally have some good news to report! We've been waiting for our dossier to be translated in Madagascar since March 22nd. Last week, our agency received the final pages of our translation (YAY!!) and is now preparing our dossier to be authenticated at the US State Dept. This next step should take 1 to 2 months and then our dossier will be headed back to Madagascar and we'll be put on the waiting list for a referral of a child. Our child. So, we have lots more waiting to do, but things are progressing. </div>
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On the fundraising front, we have more good news. God has continued to bless us abundantly through His people and money keeps coming in. In 8 months, between our own savings, fundraising efforts and donations, we have raised over $20,000 of the approx. $33,000 that we need. That is unbelievable to me. People are blowing us away. We have had donations of $1 to $5000 (wow.) and everything in between. And every one of them brings us to our knees. My favorite so far (can I say that?) was last month when a sweet mom at school that barely knows us texted me late one night and said that they were in between churches and had $3600 of tithe that was looking for a home. God put our baby girl on her heart and she wrote our agency a check the next day. Seriously supernatural generosity and love. I want to love like that. He is teaching us how while we wait. </div>
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We desperately desire your continued prayers, encouragement and support. We are eternally grateful for those of you who are walking alongside us on this journey. Your love means more to us than we can ever express. We have a couple more fundraising opportunities that are in the works and I'm excited to hopefully share those before too long. In the meantime, if you haven't gotten a shirt yet, we still have plenty left. Or, if you want one of the beautiful one of a kind crosses that we are making (see post below) then please email us. Thank you all for loving on us!! </div>
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JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-60691124595113718582013-03-20T10:12:00.001-05:002013-04-30T14:39:25.402-05:00Fundraising items<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
As I mentioned in my previous post, we have partnered with the <a href="http://www.147millionorphans.org/" target="_blank">147 MILLION ORPHANS</a> Organization and are selling a limited selection of their merchandise as well as our own t-shirts and the handmade crosses that we have been making. If you would like to purchase any of the items, email me at <a href="mailto:sheahenj@bellsouth.net">sheahenj@bellsouth.net</a> and let me know what you would like. I will send you an invoice with the total amount, including shipping, and you can pay through our donate button at right (goes to our Paypal account) or you can mail a check. All profits go to helping bring our sweet little one home!</div>
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red 147 shirt in adult sizes XS-XL <span style="color: red;">$20</span></div>
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brown 147 distressed trucker hat <span style="color: red;">$20</span></div>
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handmade earrings in cobalt- made by artisans in Haiti <span style="color: red;">$15</span></div>
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earrings in clear <span style="color: red;">$15</span><br />
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earrings in green <span style="color: red;">$15</span><br />
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earrings in brown (root beer colored) <span style="color: red;">$15</span></div>
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red silicone kids cuff bracelet <span style="color: red;">$3</span>, gray silicone adult cuff bracelet <span style="color: red;">$3</span></div>
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large black silicone cuff bracelet <span style="color: red;">$6</span></div>
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Ugandan paper bead necklace in multi (they are extra long!) <span style="color: red;">$20</span></div>
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Ugandan paper bead necklace in red <span style="color: red;">$20 </span><br />
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red triple strand bead bracelets- handmade in Honduras <span style="color: red;">$20</span></div>
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our adoption shirt in heather gray- adult sizes XS-2XL <span style="color: red;">$20</span><br />
and kids sizes 6,8,10,11,12,14 <span style="color: red;">$15</span></div>
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{back of our shirts}</div>
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<b>Handmade crosses</b></div>
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These are handmade by us (mostly Jonathan) and no two will be alike. They are made from recycled wood pieces, found objects and pages from old hymnals. This is just a sampling of what we can make, but if you would like a more custom one then please contact us about that. Please indicate what "look" you like best (use # under each cross) if you are choosing from the pictures below, and we will try to make yours look as much like that one as possible (but it will not look exactly like this!). Also tell us what word you would prefer if you would like to have a word on yours. Will ship in 2-4 weeks. We do have some already made that are not sold, so if you need it sooner please contact us. </div>
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#1 <span style="color: red;">$48</span></div>
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#2 <span style="color: red;">$52</span></div>
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#3 <span style="color: red;">$52</span></div>
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#4 <span style="color: red;">$48</span></div>
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xoxo,</div>
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JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-43518857309795328702013-03-14T17:36:00.000-05:002013-03-14T21:11:37.818-05:00Our God is AWESOME!!Wow. Can I just saw that our God is AWESOME!! I haven't had a chance to sit down and write an update on how our Adoption Rally went until now, but with every day that passes I am more and more amazed at how God is providing abundantly! Either from an email telling us that a donation was made through our blog or from some old-fashioned (and lovely) snail mail, the donations keep coming in. I am so ecstatic to say that we raised over $7,500!!! You heard me, OVER $7,500!!!. (well, you technically can't hear me, but you can probably hear me screaming in your head!) $3400 of that was from ticket sales and anonymous LU donations, and the rest, over $4000, is from private donations and merchandise sales either at, leading up to or since the game. Woohoo!!! We have raised half of our $30,000 goal, in just five short months. I'll say it again... GOD IS AWESOME. <br />
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We had so much fun at the game. Thank you to so many who came out on a freezing cold, snowy Saturday! The support from our friends, church family and LAES family meant so much to us. It was a sweet sight to see all of the gray t-shirts scattered throughout the arena! We were able to set up two tables full of merchandise as soon as you walked in the main doors to the arena. We were the only one of the nine families to do this, and I think a lot of people that came thought we were some kind of organization there at the game instead of one of the nine families. That definitely worked in our favor! It looked beautiful and we had several volunteers working the table all night (some of them for over five hours straight!) and there was always a crowd gathered around. Besides selling our own t-shirts, we partnered with <a href="http://www.147millionorphans.org/" target="_blank">147 Million Orphans</a> and sold a ton of their beautiful merchandise, handcrafted by artisans in Uganda, Honduras and Haiti. This was kind of a last minute decision to have their merchandise there, and it was totally a blessing from God!! We can't thank the girls at 147 enough for contributing to this blessing! Jonathan and I pretty much stayed at the table all night, just visiting with people and thanking everyone for their support. The boys had a blast seeing so many of their friends and running around the arena. It was a beautiful, Spirit filled night. So incredibly thankful to have been a part of it. <br />
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As far as how our process is going, we received the approval we were waiting on from USCIS about three weeks ago, and this week we mailed our final documents for our dossier to our <a href="http://www.swa.net/" target="_blank">agency</a>. That should be (I think) the end of our mountain of paperwork that we've had to gather/write/sign. Our <a href="http://www.swa.net/" target="_blank">agency</a> has to do a few things on their end, but should be sending our dossier to the U.S. State Department soon! After that, it will go to the Malagasy Embassy where it will be translated, and then on to Madagascar. Then we will await a referral of a precious child that God has chosen for our family. Only He knows her name. How comforting is that?! We know so many of you have been praying for us and we ask that you continue praying fervently; for us, for the process and for her! <br />
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Here are some pics from the Adoption Rally:<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Our table turned out so beautiful! Total bonus that all the 147 merch matched our own adoption shirts. Probably something that only I cared about, but I was really excited!!!</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Notice the wooden crosses, handmade by Jonathan. He worked really hard for two </span><span style="text-align: center;">days getting those ready and everyone loved them. Love my creative husband!</span><br />
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This was Eli's little project to help me get stuff ready for the table. Can you find Madagascar?</div>
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It made me happy seeing all the little girls shopping. </div>
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Wanted to take this little orphan home, but alas she already has a pretty fabulous family. <br />
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This was the only time the boys were together in one place all night. They had fun visiting with friends, playing in the kids zone and hanging out with us at our table. Eli somehow even got into Dr. Lowry's suite (President of LU) and had a nice visit with him. </div>
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So thankful to these ladies for all of their hard work!! </div>
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And this adorable couple worked pretty hard themselves!</div>
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I'm pretty sure this sweet girl gets the award for who travelled the farthest. *love.*</div>
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All nine families were brought out on the court towards the end of the game and </div>
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they told us the total raised that night- over $22,000! </div>
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The Snow Family (in yellow) had brought their three girls home from Ethiopia<br />
just two weeks before the game!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you, Father, for your abundant provision. We pray that You will continue to provide eveything that we need, all to bring our little girl home. We trust that You will continue to be faithful to Your promise to the fatherless. <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">We pray that Christ Jesus and His children, the church, will forever bring praise and glory to You. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">xoxo,</span></span></div>
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ps- I didn't want this post to be crazy long (oops! too late) so I'm working on another post with pics of all the 147 merchandise and wooden crosses. Will be taking orders to continue our fundraising efforts! </div>
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pps- I encourage you to subscribe on the sidebar to get email updates. That way you won't miss out on anything (and I'm getting better at this blogging thing)! </div>
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JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-21936025335010406362013-02-28T00:23:00.000-06:002013-03-14T17:35:30.354-05:00Blessed for a Global Purpose<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our Lipscomb Basketball Adoption Rally is just three days away, and we are so excited! Things are all abuzz around here getting ready for the big day. I have been amazed at how much work some of our friends have put into this event and am so incredibly thankful to them. Just some of the things they have organized and put together: a facebook event page (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/232597116877332/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/232597116877332/</a>), a letter that went home to every child at Lipscomb Academy Elementary, save-the-date bracelets for every child at school, numerous emails reminding people about the event, online sign-ups for volunteers to help with the event, school parents hosting entire classes for dinner at their home before the game, collected donations (they won't tell us how much) outside of tickets sales, sponsors, custom bags with our logo, tons of t-shirt sales... the list could go on! Now you see why we are kind of blown away by all that they have done. My favorite part was that they orchestrated (in one day) the most precious chapel last week at school that was completely focused on adoption. So many children, parents and teachers at Lipscomb have been touched by adoption in some way, and to see them together and hear them speak was such a beautiful thing! Truly the Spirit was at work in that gym that day!! I definitely feel the whole chapel had an impact on the kids and all who were there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have set my alarm on my phone for 8:15 am every day for the last month to pray for this event. My main prayer has not been that a lot of people would come or that we would get a lot of money, (although sure, that would be helpful!) but that many hearts would be moved to care for the fatherless. I pray that lives of orphans will be forever changed because of the overwhelming power of the Spirit that was at work that night. I pray that God will work in such a mighty way that people will know that He is the only one that could have pulled something like that off. This is not about us. This is not about any of the nine participating families. It's about God, and what He wants to do for the over 140,000,000 orphans in the world. And what He wants <i>us</i> to do for them. That number is stagering to me. How can you even make a dent in that</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> number? How can we make a difference? Well, you can start with <b>one</b>. We are trying to do that. Not for our glory, but for His. And again, not just for this event, but my prayer for this journey is that hearts will feel the call that we have felt. That people will realize that with God ALL things are possible. That people will see that this is doable, and honestly, it should be done a lot more often than it is. It makes me sad when people tell me that they've thought about adoption many times, but just don't think they can afford it. Well, that might be the case on our own, but <i>we</i>, as God's people, can afford it! My friend sent me this from a weekly email devotion that she receives from Max Lucado. The message is simple: </span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Two-thousand years ago the disciples of Jesus started a movement that changed the world. Are we still changing the world? We can. We can be two-thousand times more effective—if we only try!</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Here’s an example. There are 145 million orphans worldwide. Nearly 236 million of us living in the U.S. call ourselves Christian. From a purely statistical standpoint, by ourselves, we have the wherewithal to house every orphan in the world. There’s enough food on the planet to feed the hungry! But the storehouse is locked.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">God has given our generation everything we need to alter the course of human suffering. Change must start with us! With our transformation! Ours is the wealthiest generation of Christians ever! We can be mo</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">re effective—if only we try! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">-Max Lucado</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">We truly can be the change. We have been blessed abundantly so that we can in turn bless abundantly. As David Platt puts it, we need to </span><span style="background-color: white;">embrace the notion that each of us is blessed by God for a global purpose—to make Christ’s glory known to all the nations! You don't have to go oversees to make a global impact, you can do it from right here in Nashville, or wherever you live! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">If you are in the Nashville area, we would be honored to have your support on Saturday night. I am confident that God is going to work in a mighty way at that event. I'd love for you to be there to see what He has planned. To order tickets online, follow this <a href="http://lipscomb.streamlineticketing.com/web/section.asp?eventId=176" target="_blank">link</a> and use the code: ADOPTSHEAHEN. Or, you can buy tickets at the game. Just be sure to tell them you're there for the Sheahen Family! We will have some tables set up in the main lobby, selling our t-shirts and also some of <a href="http://www.147millionorphans.com/" target="_blank">147 million orphans</a> merchandise, who have been so kind to partner with us for this event! If you already have one of our t-shirts, please wear it to the game. If you don't have one and want one, check them out on <a href="https://www.bluecotton.com/proof/proof9684-EX.jpg" target="_blank">this link</a> and email me what sizes you need! We even found out today that a car will be given away to someone at the game on Saturday night! But that's not why you should come. (although it is pretty exciting!) :) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The details are below:</span></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Saturday, March 2nd</span></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Lipscomb Allen Arena</span></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Lady Bisons play at 6 pm</span></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Bisons play at 8:15 pm</span></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">We get $10 for every ticket sold in our name</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">GO BISON!!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">xoxo,</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-56034760155946774592013-02-02T22:17:00.000-06:002013-02-03T00:06:22.514-06:00This is where we are...<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello! Wow, I can't believe it's been over two months since my last post. Well, I actually can believe it since I am HORRIBLE at blogging. A LOT has happened since I last wrote in November and I'll just hit the highlights since then. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have been working on our home study since early October and finally got to have our actual home visit with our case worker in early December. That went great and then we were just waiting on a couple of other clearances and documents to come in for the study to be completed.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> While waiting patiently, w</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">e spent Thanksgiving at Rosemary Beach with Jonathan's family. That is a tradition that we started when Silas was a baby and we meet Jonathan's family down there every other year. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous and we had a wonderful time just relaxing and playing. Then at Christmas we spent a few days in Georgia with my family. We had a lot of fun with three of my four siblings and 13 out of the 16 Tant grandkids able to be there. It's always crazy and I love it! This year was the first year during both holidays that I was really thinking of our sweet little one and what they would think of it all when they get to be there for the first time. Can't wait to take her to the beach and see her joy at the sand in her toes and the waves crashing around her. Can't wait to introduce her to her cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents. From nothing to all that. What a blessing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the holidays and after three months of working and waiting on paperwork, we finally got our completed home study in the mail on January 5th. I don't think I've ever been so happy to receive anything in the mail in my life! This was the first of many documents that we'll be waiting on, but just to get this huge thing completed was, well, HUGE! Our next step was to apply to the US Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS), so I had our application ready to go and sent that off with our home study documents right away. We just received a letter from them last week with our scheduled fingerprinting appointment, which is next Thursday, so we are excited that things are moving! I'm not sure how long the approval will take once they get our fingerprints, but hopefully not too long. After that, we get our dossier together and send everything off to Madagascar to await their approval and finally a referral of a child. Then more waiting... but we won't talk about that now. :) Just so happy that things are progressing!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the meantime, we got word last week that we have received a Lipscomb Bisons Basketball grant. Woohoo!! We were very excited to learn this because this has the potential to be a huge help to our family in bringing our little sweetie home from Madagascar! Here's how it works: On March 2nd, there are two LU home basketball games. For every person we get to come to the game and buy a general admission ticket, we get $10. That translates into 100% of the ticket proceeds going to the eight families that have been chosen for this grant. For each person who buys a ticket, they will be asked which family they are there to support, so we won't be splitting it eight ways, we will actually get $10 for every person that specifically identifies our family when they buy the ticket. So again, this has great potential and we are confident that God will make it a wonderful night for us and for all the families involved! We would love for any of you locals to come and to bring as many people with you as you can get there! We have had some sweet friends volunteer to be our "campaign managers" on this event for the next month, so we will be making a big push to get out the word and fill the arena, all for God's glory! So thankful for these three Lipscomb moms that are on fire and full of great ideas! There are plenty of ways that you can help spread the word, so if you are interested in helping out on another level (besides just coming to the game) then please let me know and we can give you a job! One way to help is to be a "row host". The rows in the arena seat 20, and "row hosts" will commit to getting at least 20 seats filled. You can either buy the 20 tickets up front and have people pay you back as they commit to coming, or you can just bring your 20 people to the game and each buy your tickets individually. Let us know if you would like to sign up to be a row host. We are working on flyers to hand or mail out and should have those available soon. <span style="background-color: white;">I'll be updating the blog with more info as I get it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just imagine, the arena seats around 4000, so between the eight families, if each of us get 500 people there, that would be $5000 toward bringing our little ones home! That would be awesome!!! We are so incredibly thankful to LU for their heart to do this. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">We went to an informational meeting last week and met the o</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">ther seven families that we will be sharing this night with. What a blessing to meet so many families in one night who are so willing and ready to answer God's call to care for the fatherless. I was already in tears in the first two minutes of the meeting, as Brent, the guy in charge of all of this told us that even without getting one person to the game, we were each going to be getting a significant donation because of some people who had already donated to this grant. People that none of us will know who they are, but that just have that kind of heart for adoption. Wow. That blew me away right off the bat. This day is a big deal to Lipscomb. They are opening up the arena to any agency or organization that wants to come set up and help educate people on adoption. They are going to be doing a lot of promotion for the game and are taking none of the proceeds for themselves. None. This is the third year that they have done this, and Brent told us he's gotten a lot of calls from other teams and schools that have heard about it and want to know more. They all seem totally on board with the idea until they ask what portion of the proceeds goes to the families. When Brent tells them, "all of it" they basically thank him for his time and hang up. "This is at the heart of who we are," he told us. I can't tell you how thankful I am to be a part of this school. Just another example of God working in mighty ways. </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">I left feeling so pumped and excited to see how God works through all of our families to show His love to the orphans that He has already chosen for each of us. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are continually amazed at how He is providing everything we need, right when we need it. He is faithful and we know that He will continue proving that over and over. Thank you to those of you who have supported us and have been praying for us- we have been so blessed already on this journey. More than anything else, we would so appreciate your continued prayers for us and for the little one that He is preparing to bring into our family! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="text Eph-3-20" id="en-NIV-29272" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now to Him who is able<sup class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29272AI" title="See cross-reference AI">AI</a>)"></sup> to do immeasurably more than all we ask<sup class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29272AJ" title="See cross-reference AJ">AJ</a>)"></sup> or imagine, according to His power<sup class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29272AK" title="See cross-reference AK">AK</a>)"></sup> that is at work within us,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="text Eph-3-21" id="en-NIV-29273" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Ephesians 3:20-21</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Here is our life in Instagram over the last couple of months:</span></div>
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So blessed to go to the Show Hope Fundraiser Dinner in November. Got to hear Francis Chan!!</div>
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Riding horses at the Sullivans farm for my birthday in November </div>
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Thanksgiving lunch with my sweet boys</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt;">Thanksgiving with the Sheahens and Koonces at Rosemary Beach</span></div>
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Toby Mac Hits Deep tour with great friends in December</div>
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Lipscomb Christmas party</div>
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Silas reading Twas the Night Before Christmas at the party</div>
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My mom and dad at Grandparents Day</div>
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The boys with Santa</div>
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in Georgia for Christmas</div>
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Enjoying a quiet night at home during the holiday break</div>
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Cooper's New Year's resolution. So sweet. He's worked hard at it, too!</div>
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Eli's "dream"- studying MLK- "My dream for the world is that the orphans would be adopted."</div>
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Church retreat at Cumberland Mountain State Park over MLK weekend</div>
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JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-80969512678782869702012-11-13T11:00:00.003-06:002012-11-13T21:13:51.147-06:00A quick note...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a while! We have had so much going on lately around here and lots more going on in the next few weeks. I have been working on a post in my head that needs to get out of there soon, but in the meantime I wanted to let you know about another fundraiser we are blessed to be a part of tonight. Our friends who own the fabulous Katy's store in Belle Meade are having a special night of shopping to benefit our adoption tonight from 5-8. A portion of the proceeds from this event will go towards are adoption. How great is that?! And, what even makes it more great is that Katy's has great stuff! If you are local, we'd love for you to stop by and see us. Even if you don't buy anything, just say "Hi!"! We will be there with bake sale items and selling our t-shirts. We are so thankful that our friends, the Tallents, have offered to bless us in this way. God just keeps providing!! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a sampling of the great products they have! Come out and see us if you are in the area!</span></div>
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<br />JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-31149880767573988462012-10-15T23:08:00.000-05:002012-10-16T20:31:19.725-05:00Not a typical yard sale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last weekend we had our first event to raise money; kind of a kick-off fundraiser for this adoption journey we're on. Let me just start with, WOW!!! It was truly amazing to see the love of God at a yard sale. We were blown away with the love, support and generosity that was shown to us, much of it from people who have not known us long at all or had never even met us! We had gotten the word out only a couple of weeks before, asking for any of our friends that wanted to donate items to the sale or bake items for the bake sale. I thought maybe a few people would have a few things that they already wanted to get rid of and maybe a couple of people might want to bake a couple of batches of cookies for the boys to sell at their lemonade stand. What I did not think, however, was that so many people would freely give so much stuff. I really couldn't believe how much stuff we had. And the bake sale- friends drove from Hendersonville and Franklin to bring us cookies and s'mores bars. Teachers at school baked muffins and amazing loaves of bread and pans of delicious cinnamon rolls. And people bought them. Tons and tons of people came and bought tons and tons of stuff. Stuff was selling that doesn't ever sell at yard sales. People were buying $8 loaves of pumpkin cranberry bread. People bought lemonade and hot chocolate and popcorn from the kids. A huge number of our friends came and helped us set up the night before and were here helping us for two days straight. Some of them came for both days to help. Friends came from Hendersonville just to say hi. Families from school came because their kids that are friends with our kids, begged them to come because they wanted to help Silas, Eli and Cooper bring a little sister home from Madagascar. A sweet girl "just happened" to stop by, not even knowing it was an adoption fundraiser, and that girl "just happens" to work for <a href="http://www.showhope.org/" target="_blank">Show Hope</a>, an organization that among other things gives grants to families trying to adopt. She emailed us some information within an hour of leaving our house. People that had never met us told us their own adoption stories and that they will pray for us. It was not a typical yard sale, and we give all glory to God for that. We cannot thank those enough who helped us in any way. Even just praying from afar means more to us than you can imagine. God provided abundantly in more ways than one. Doesn't He always?</div>
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I woke up early Friday morning the first day of the sale, and opened my Bible app on my phone before I got out of bed. As I was opening it, I was praying for God to bless our efforts and to just speak to me through the verse of the day that I was about to read. Do you know what the verse of the day was? This was what He said, "But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26) Gave me chills. And confidence. And hope. And peace.</div>
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I, we, cannot do this alone. For us, this is a huge task to take on- bringing this little child home when it will cost so much, when there is so much paperwork to do, when it will take so long- but for Him, this is so very small. With Him, this is totally possible. And He's already showing us that.</div>
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Thank you, Father, for Your constant abiding presence and Your abundant blessings. We know that You are able to do immeasurably more than all we can ever ask or imagine.</div>
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<br />JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-17006332520951746612012-10-03T00:29:00.000-05:002012-10-16T00:40:36.685-05:00Something pretty huge<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><br />This seems to be a pattern with me, updating the blog once every two years. I guess maybe it takes something pretty huge to get me back on here and actually keep up with it- like maybe an adoption? We are excited to say that we have officially started the process to adopt a little girl from Madagascar. Yay!! This is something that we have been prayerfully considering for a long time. If I'm being totally honest, I used to think adoption wasn't for me- "why would I adopt when I could just have my own? how could I love another child as much as I love my own children? we could never afford it!" But, thankfully God has been working on my heart, teaching me lessons that I wish I would have learned earlier in my life. In the midst of my questions, God cried out these truths to me, "I decided in advance to adopt you into My own family by bringing you to Me through Jesus Christ. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I will love you no matter what. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I will provide all of your needs from my glorious riches."</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> He wants me to be the hands and feet of Jesus. He wants me to love others as Jesus did. He actually commands us to care for orphans. His love for the fatherless is written throughout Scripture. The Bible says that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for Jesus. Adoption is a picture of what Jesus did for us, for me. I was that orphan, without hope. But then Jesus came and gave me hope by dying on the cross. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">He offers unconditional love towards undeserving me. My lightbulb moment about adoption was, "</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with Him."<br /><br />We can each do something to care for orphans, whether it be adopting, fostering, donating or visiting orphans and supporting families who have taken them in. In our case, we feel that God has placed adoption on our hearts for a purpose. We want to offer the hope of family and unconditional love to one of the least of these.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We covet your prayers and humbly invite you to engage with us as we move forward with this call that God has placed on our hearts. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Who knows where this journey will lead. Only God knows and only He is the author of this story. We are simply stepping out in faith and moving forward. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And so begins our journey, to a far away island nation, where a little girl just might be waiting, hoping that little 'ole her, might be adopted by underserving us. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"For who</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">ever welcomes one such child in My name, welcomes Me." Matthew 18:5</span></i></div>
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JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-71127068733005509102010-08-21T22:40:00.005-05:002010-08-22T20:37:33.284-05:00Back in the Saddle Again... 5 Quick Takes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/THCvk1jQlUI/AAAAAAAAAZE/I4BCQ850RK0/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/THCvk1jQlUI/AAAAAAAAAZE/I4BCQ850RK0/s320/004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508095391659234626" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Well, here I am again. I am obviously not the best blogger in the world, although I have hopes to be one day. For now, I am going to try at the end of every week to sum up our week with 5 quick takes... an idea I got from my favorite Idahoan, </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://dramaqueenslivehere.blogspot.com/">Sarah</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1. School started this week for Silas. CAN NOT BELIEVE that he is a first-grader already! He absolutely loved his first two days (that's all he's had so far) and when I asked him how his first day went he said, "It was so so so so so so so so so so great!" (with a few more sos in there I think) He is such a sweet and agreeable kid (except when his brothers are bothering him). So happy he loves being at Harding. What a blessing that he can go to such a great school and best of all be there with his dad!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2. The not so happy flip-side of Silas starting school is that means that Jonathan started school too. Although his job is a 12 month job, summers for him are very easy and flexible. We get used to having him around a lot more than normal which makes it really hard when he starts the school year. Not only does he not have his summer hours anymore (9-2 with lots of time off), he also starts off the school year coaching volleyball, which means even longer hours. Getting up super early, coming home late, falling asleep by 9 pm... we miss him already! But, I am so thankful that we do have the summer months when we get to spend so much time with him, and I'm thankful that he is willing to work so hard for our family. He is a great man and I love him dearly!!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">3. Eli and Cooper are doing great. They are 4 1/2 and pretty fun. They are going to preschool two days a week now and can't wait until they can start Kindergarten next year. They talk about it aLOT. Eli has been sick this week with his nasty cough that he often gets, but has been complaining about his ears hurting for the first time ever. So, I took him to see Dr. Johnson yesterday and he has a sinus infection and an ear infection. Yuck. He is already better today though.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">4. I have had a very busy week! Finished up a bat mitzvah order that I've been working on (woo hoo!) and started on another one. Seems the little Jewish girls in Atlanta love me! :) These orders have been really fun to work on. All cute and girly for sure. I took Silas and his friend from school, James Ryan, to the Adventure Science Center on Tuesday. E & C were at school, and that was the last free day we had that I could take Silas to do something special. They had a blast and I had fun too watching them have fun together! I think Silas felt special getting to do that without his brothers! Silas chose where we went to lunch, which was </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.thepicniccafe.com/">The Picnic</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> in Belle Meade. Kind of a funny choice for a seven-yr. old (we picked up some Taco Bell for JR on the way), but he likes their mac and cheese. His first choice was actually Whole Foods (a child after my own heart), but I told him we didn't have time to go there as we needed to get back to pick up E & C from school. The Picnic is a Nashville tradition- yummy sandwiches, salads, desserts and tea punch! The best quote of the day was when JR said, "This is a strange question, but why do only grandparents work here?" (in his British Forrest Gump accent) I told him I didn't know but that was a really good question! (yes, there are mostly old ladies working there!) Too funny. Other events this week included... saying good-bye to our dear friend, Anna Lee, who is moving back to Texas, a </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.thirtyonegifts.com/">Thirty-One</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> party, school starting (and all that goes along with that!), 1st grade picnic, visiting our good friend and neighbor, Amanda, and her new sweet baby, Helena at the hospital, a visit from an antiques appraiser who made some very happy discoveries in some of our treasures from Jonathan's grandmother, GaGa (more on that later), and to end the week, serving lunch at the Ronald McDonald House. I said I had a busy week!<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">5. Jonathan and I have started a Bible Study with the High School kids at Broadmoor, and our first class was tonight. It is on Being a Servant and I think it will be really beneficial for them and for us! We have really been thinking lately about how we need to be doing more. We are so blessed to live in such a great city and be members of a wonderful group of God's people, but sometimes I think we are a little too comfortable with our life here. I was listening to an audiobook by Beth Moore a while ago, and something she said really spoke to me. In short, she said that God has not appointed you to a life of mediocrity, but to a life of profound harvest. The last thing Satan wants is for us to bear much fruit. But God, however, desires to be glorified by us bearing much fruit. I realized that sometimes I feel like I don't bear much fruit at all! Anyway, I want to write more on this later, but for now I think this class is going to be great. Every other time we meet we will be doing a service project, either for our members at Broadmoor or something in the community. Really looking forward to it! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So, those are my 5 Quick Takes for the week. Not so quick, but maybe I'll condense it more once I start writing more often!<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">A couple of verses that really spoke to me this week... "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.</span><sup style="font-family: verdana;" class="versenum" id="en-NIV-29439"></sup><span style="font-family:verdana;"> I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Phil. 4: 11-12</span></span>JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-77077253279605626622008-12-25T00:19:00.004-06:002008-12-25T00:35:44.480-06:00Visit with Santa yesterday...<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMpHWjuX3I/AAAAAAAAAY8/bwtemDiBqFU/s1600-h/Christmas+2008+001.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMpHWjuX3I/AAAAAAAAAY8/bwtemDiBqFU/s320/Christmas+2008+001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283611994126966642" border="0" /></a>wish I could have been faster on this one... it is still so sweet though!<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMpHMjJgLI/AAAAAAAAAY0/nYYmqEUBJmU/s1600-h/Christmas+2008+004.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMpHMjJgLI/AAAAAAAAAY0/nYYmqEUBJmU/s320/Christmas+2008+004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283611991440195762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMpGxYAdFI/AAAAAAAAAYs/PTIIF8RDsZY/s1600-h/Christmas+2008+005.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMpGxYAdFI/AAAAAAAAAYs/PTIIF8RDsZY/s320/Christmas+2008+005.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283611984145708114" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMpGrUUsUI/AAAAAAAAAYk/_D-6W2jeBTw/s1600-h/Christmas+2008+010.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMpGrUUsUI/AAAAAAAAAYk/_D-6W2jeBTw/s320/Christmas+2008+010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283611982519644482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMpGGMxO6I/AAAAAAAAAYc/oLLiqa9nWZo/s1600-h/Christmas+2008+016.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMpGGMxO6I/AAAAAAAAAYc/oLLiqa9nWZo/s320/Christmas+2008+016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283611972555848610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMoQfffCyI/AAAAAAAAAYU/m-fTc_onPH0/s1600-h/Christmas+2008+017.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMoQfffCyI/AAAAAAAAAYU/m-fTc_onPH0/s320/Christmas+2008+017.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283611051632298786" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMoQG0fmCI/AAAAAAAAAYM/41YkvmycGvU/s1600-h/Christmas+2008+020.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMoQG0fmCI/AAAAAAAAAYM/41YkvmycGvU/s320/Christmas+2008+020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283611045009528866" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMoPxxw9TI/AAAAAAAAAYE/DwabkYGFTlQ/s1600-h/Christmas+2008+024.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2dCPmD4DE5Q/SVMoPxxw9TI/AAAAAAAAAYE/DwabkYGFTlQ/s320/Christmas+2008+024.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283611039360939314" border="0" /></a>and even Katy was there!<br /></div>JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702713390280095179.post-39383580083334972772008-12-22T23:42:00.005-06:002008-12-23T00:22:21.023-06:00Merry Christmas Everyone!I promise I haven't forgotten about our blog... I've just been super busy since my last post! Besides keeping up with our three wildly energetic and always getting wilder boys, I've had alot of <a href="http://papermillie.com/">work</a> to do. In November, I did four shows for <a href="http://papermillie.com/">my stationery</a>, and I've been going non-stop since then. At last count, I did over 2190 holiday cards, 1760 notecards, and 1395 enclosure cards just since November. Wowzers!! I just delivered my last order yesterday, so I am officially DONE for the season! I basically worked myself into a sickness and was pretty much down for the count all last week, but am better now and actually got our own cards out just in the nick of time! My poor husband and children are tired of me saying, "I can't right now, I have to work"! So no more of that for a couple of weeks anyway. (although I am meeting with a bride tomorrow, but she's not getting married until August, so we've got plenty of time) Now we are just enjoying Jonathan's time off and getting ready for the big day on Thursday, when we'll open presents with the boys and Jonathan's parents, and then drive to Atlanta to spend a few days with my family. The fun never ends! I will post pictures soon, I just wanted to write a quick update on why I haven't been updating! <br />New Year's resolution #1- update blog more.<br />Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! May God fill your lives with His goodness and grace.JONATHAN and SHAWNAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565473905543362595noreply@blogger.com1