Raffle Time with Junk Posse & Solomon Beads

YES...you heard me right...we are talkin' a raffle with JUNK POSSE and SOLOMON BEADS! We are also talkin' FOUR different prizes! And since we are all talkin'...how about ONLY $5 per ticket!!

There honestly aren't sufficient words to describe my appreciation and complete adoration for Tracy at Junk Posse. I've known this precious mama since way back in the day when she was first making jewelry to help her daughter fundraise for their Ethiopia adoption. I contacted her to make my amazing piece (pictures on my side bar) and the rest is history. God has blessed her business and in return blessed all of us with AMAZING jewelry that screams adoption.

She has, yet again, amazed me with her unbelievable generosity and skills! She has designed this beautiful piece for our family to fundraise with....just LOOK AT IT!!! It reads "Pure and lasting religion in sight of God our Father means that we must care for the ORPHANS and widows in their distress James 1:27" Can you believe it...she stamped that verse 2x's on this gorgeous sterling silver pendant!!!

I've added some Solomon Beads and viola...

Raffle Item #1

(value $110)

Our newest addition to our Solomon Beads...CUSTOM PENDANTS. Our second raffle item can be customized by you with a picture, a verse...whatever your little heart desires!

RAFFLE ITEM #2

Our next item is a Solomon Beads bracelet of your choice.

You pick the colors and charm.

RAFFLE ITEM #3

Our last items in Solomon Bead earrings of your choice.

RAFFLE ITEM #4

Here's how the tickets work:

1. Buy a raffle ticket for $5 and you get 1 chance to win

2. Buy 4 raffle tickets and get 5...FIVE chances to win

3. Buy 8 raffle tickets and get 10...TEN chances to win (and so on.....)

4. Our goal is to sell 100 tickets...once we reach our goal we will then do the drawing.

Oh ya...how about a GIVEAWAY??

How to win a CUSTOM Solomon Bead Bracelet:

1. Post a link on your blog about our raffle and get 1 entry towards a bracelet

2. Post a link on facebook and get 1 entry towards a bracelet

3. If you post a link on both places, you get 2 entries ;)

~you must let me know you've done this though~

You can donate by clicking on the chip-in button on the right hand side.

Honestly...

Could he be ANY cuter?? Just look at this beautiful boy...we just received this update with pictures...

Solomon is a happy and bright, active, lively, and intelligent little boy. He is quite shy, full of energy, with lively active appearance, and behaves well. He likes outdoor activities, like taking a walk, or playing on the slide. He likes to eat. When he is not happy or cries, just give him food (fruit, bread, snack and so on), he will stop weeping, and become happy and eat all the food.

HEHEHE....he's gonna fit in beautifully...my boy loves food just like his mama :) I can not even express how happy it makes me feel to see new pictures of him. It gives me a glimpse into who he is...it also brings me much peace to see he is doing well. Thank you, Lord, for this amazing gift!

Look what I just made :)

Hehehe...wait till I show ya what else I'm makin'....

My Girl & God's calling...Part 1

Well...one of my girls :p I just love this peanut so much! Have you ever met someone you instantly love and you just don't know why...have you ever been around someone who just makes you a better person because they are filled with the joy of the Lord...this is her!!

Our sweet "Tr" introduced us to a world of hope and joy we never knew existed. After the birth of our son, we were eager to become pregnant with our next child. We just knew God had a large family in store for us. We never dreamed that our lives would be devastated with the reality of infertility. Month after month...year 1 then year 2, then year 3...frustrated, confused, discouraged, despaired, and completely devastated can't come close to describing how we were feeling as each month would pass and still no pregnancy.

I struggled with the thoughts of "Maybe I am a terrible mother and God doesn't think I should have anymore kiddos....why can't I be thankful for the one treasure God had given us....why has God given us this desire for more children but isn't fulfilling that desire...." Then I struggled with guilt for not trusting God's plan...not being content in His will for us at the time...for being jealous of all of my friends that were becoming pregnant.... It was a very dark time for this mama.

BUT little did I know that God was molding and shaping my heart...my hubby's heart....He was preparing us for a journey that I had never imagined we would embark on. After 3 years of not understanding, God clearly showed us during our quiet times that He ALONE was in control of our womb. He showed us verse after verse where HE opened and CLOSED wombs. I have to be honest...when I read all of the verses where He closed wombs, I was crushed. I was crushed at the thought that He was telling me that He was closing my womb and that we would not have anymore children. After I scooped myself up and fully grasped that God's plans for me are PERFECT and beautiful, I had peace.

Once I had that peace, I could see that God had another plan for dh and I. It took 3 years of despair and terrible sadness to realize that God's calling for our family was going to be the most AMAZING, UNIMAGINABLE, BEAUTIFUL journey. The journey of adoption but not just any type of adoption...He was calling us to the scary, unknown world of open-domestic adoption :)

I'll leave ya with a current picture of my girl...Part 2 to follow :)