Mary Kay Anyone...

Chris' Aunt (Missy Ayers from St. Marys) is a Mary Kay Consultant, and is very gracious to help us with financing our adoption!!  For the month of December, anyone who orders or books a party with her will actually be helping us finance our adoption!!!  With each item sold, Missy Ayers will donate 20% towards our adoption!!! 

If anyone needs makeup,perfume, or skin care products let me know (yes, they do have men's products)!  I can get you books & order forms, and I will even get them to Missy!  Please remember, it's only for December, so please book parties or order soon!! Order by 12/10/12 for delivery before Christmas.



Thanks Doug & Missy for your support of our growing family!  Thank you for graciously helping us bring our baby girl home!

www.marykay.com/mayers1239

Thanksgiving....

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so today at lunch I talked to our three ladies about what the holiday means, and what they are thankful for.  Here is what they said:

•  Oldest daughter (age 6) "Everything, especially my sisters"

•  Middle daughter (age 4) "My whole family and all the animals that God made"

•  Youngest (just shy of 2) "Juice" (she was actually requesting juice rather loudly as she didn't want her milk, it was perfect timing)  

•  My husband and I are thankful for our children.  They are willing to open their home, share their toys, and become big sisters again to someone who will look nothing like them (yes, we talked about this with them before beginning the process).  She will be loved by 3 big sisters and 2 parents!!

As all of you are with your family enjoying a feast,  please remember those without close family, who may be sitting alone in their homes.   

Psalm 107:1 "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Ethiopian Flag

Great Books....

Anyone looking for great books to read this holiday season?  Here are two books about awesome families helping orphans in Africa!  

 Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis is a great book about a young lady doing God's work in Uganda!  She has an amazing love for the people in Africa and is still there doing her amazing work!  
  Check out her blog: www.amazimaministries.blogspot.com

No Greater Love by Levi Benkert is an awesome book about a family who moved to Ethiopia!  This book shows you about the Ethiopian culture, and the great things that this family is doing for Africa!  
   Check out their blog: www.BringLove.in

Just Love Coffee....

As we are coming closer to our USCIS appointment, we are also getting closer to our big payment of thousands of dollars.  We have faith that God will provide, but wanted to remind all of you coffee drinkers that Just Love Coffee has great coffee, and every bag you buy donates $5.00 towards our adoption!  So, drink up and enjoy!!   They sell fair trade coffee from all over Africa, where coffee was originated from! They also sell clothing, mugs, etc.  Makes great Christmas gifts!

 https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/mullenhour/


We are not wanting to make our blog about fundraising, but it is apart of the adoption process.  The country of Ethiopia does not receive a profit off of international adoption, but the cost is still enormous!  Thanks everyone for supporting our adoption!  100% of the proceeds will go towards bringing our girl home! 

 
Hey, just noticed they have some cute new t-shirts!  Check them out!  If you order them from the address above your also helping us bring our girl home!  They also have some great Christmas coffee!  Happy Holidays friends!

Cup of Love shirt. The steam says love in different languages!

Have a Nice Day shirt. The coffee stain is a smile!!

 

Matthew 25: 35-40

The past few weeks have been difficult for our family.  We have had health issues, dental issues, & now illnesses.  All of us rose to the occasion, did what we needed to do to insure that we remain healthy, and pulled together as a family.  During this time, it got me thinking....

Dental issues....ouch!  I was rendered useless and was only able to lay in bed tolerating the throbbing pain that came from my bottom jaw and extended all the way to my ear and to the back of my head.  During this time, all I could do was think.  Dental problems are common, especially in a community that is so poor they could not afford a tooth brush, let alone tooth paste or proper dental care.  I had Tylenol & Motrin to dull the pain while I waited my two days for my dental appointment.  The poor in Ethiopia don't have the option of such simple pain medication.  They don't have the resources to travel from their tribe to the capital city of Addis Ababa to see a dentist. With all the different languages, it is unlikely that tribal Ethiopians will be able to tell the dentist what is wrong. Third, how do you pay for dental services when the average income is $1.00 US a day? I couldn't imagine living one more day with the horrific pain, but we are privileged.  I was able to get help.

Illnesses...it breaks my heart to see our little ladies sick.  All I want to do during this time is cuddle them and attend to their every need, while taking their temperatures multiple times a day hoping and praying for improvement.  There are millions of orphans in Africa that are abandoned and have no mommies or daddies to help and cuddle with when they are sick or hurt.  God created ALL children, even the lease of these, for a very special purpose.  I pray that more Christians will step up and help by adopting these beautiful children into forever loving families.  

Orphans in the United States live with Foster Parents until they are adopted and have a forever home.  I know that the Foster Care system is not perfect, but the temporary parents can show the child proper love, teach about God, and care for your needs.  In other countries (including Ethiopia) being abandoned means you live in an orphanage.  It means having 1 caretaker for 30 to 40 children, where meeting simple needs such as diaper changing, bathing, and 3 meals a day is almost impossible.  The poor staff at the orphanages are unable to show love and individual attention simply because there is to much....to many children and to much need.  Please pray for these children as they are sitting in orphanages not receiving love, not knowing (but so longing) the true meaning of family, not receiving an education, and not learning how to be a child of God. 


I was hungry, you gave me food to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I had no place to stay, you welcomed me into your home. When I was without clothes, you gave me something to wear. When I was sick, you cared for me. When I was in prison, you came to visit me. Then the godly people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you with no place to stay and welcome you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear?  When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you? Then the king will answer, The truth is, anything you did for the least of these, you also did for me.  ~Matthew 25: 35-40

Capital city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Praises....

 Opened the mailbox this afternoon after work, and there were the two letters that we have been patiently waiting for!  It's official, we have our USCIS appointments on November 30!  It's a miracle!  Our case worker told us it takes two to three months just to get the appointment, and then at least a month to get the approval. We received our appointment time and location exactly one month after we mailed in our request!!  We are so excited that things are still going quickly, because you never know when this will change.  

Thanks everyone for praying for our baby girl.  She's somewhere out there, and were getting closer to bringing her home!!

Statistics....

Statistics about Ethiopia

There's nothing to report, were still waiting on our USCIS appointment.  Lately I've been reading a lot of books and learning as much as I can about Ethiopia (our little one will eventually ask questions about her native country).  So I thought I would share some information about the beautiful people of Ethiopia and their hard life that they face everyday...

• Life expectancy is 39 years for Males & 42 for females.  The leading causes of death are communicable diseases such as malaria, typhoiod, meningitis, cholera, AIDS, tuberculosis, & yellow fever. 
• One in ten children die before their 1st birthday.
• One in six die before their 5th birthday
• Maternal morality rate is one in fourteen.
• Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world.  Over half the population live on less than $100 U.S. dollars each year.  
• Ethiopia is home to 4 to 6 million orphans, which is 12% of all the children in Ethiopia.
• Only 45% of Ethiopians over the age of 15 can read and write (education is not mandatory.  There are expensive school fees each month, which the majority of the families cannot afford).
• Only 18% of Ethiopian children reach the fifth grade (82 % of children don't).
• There are 84 different languages in Ethiopia (many tribes have their own unique language).  The official language is Amharic.
• Ethiopia's main export is coffee (Ethiopia is the founder of the type of coffee we drink today). 

Simien Mountains in Ethiopia

Baboons that live in Simien Mountain range

  

Quote from Mother Teresa

"How can there be too many children? It's like saying there are too many flowers." ~Mother Teresa

 Everyone is precious to God and deserves a home where they are loved.  That is our mission, showing an orphan what a loving family truly is. There are orphans all over the world, even in our own country.  We have set out to make that number one less.  One child at a time we can change the world!

Many of You Have Asked......

Many have asked recently where we are at in the process.....
Here is our Journey so far:

11/07/12 Mailed draft Dossier to CWA (will not be finalized until USCIS approval)
10/31/12 Mailed paperwork to USCIS, which is a part of Homeland Security.  Waiting on an apt (can take 2-3 mos).
10/29/12 Home Study Approved!!
08/22/12 Switched countries to Ethiopia & began our Home Study!
07/19/12 Kyrgyzstan's adoption program is suspended
07/12/12 Approved to begin the process of adopting from Kyrgyzstan!!
07/01/12 Applied with Christian World Adoption (CWA)

Wow!  It feels like this process is going slow, but as I typed it out, it is moving rather quickly right now!  Please continue to pray for us!

Why...

Many of our family ask why....why Africa

We choose Africa for many reason's.  Currently Ethiopia has 5 million orphans that are without parents to love them.  The majority of Africans still live in tribes, with grass homes (called Tukles).  They have no running water or electricity.  Ethiopia has a great need, and we are opening our hearts and home to make one less orphan.  The biggest reason that we are adopting from Ethiopia is because we are listening to God! We were called to adopt, just as God adopted us into his family! 

And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.  Matthew 18:5

We didn't take this decision lightly, in fact we have been praying about this for 7 years, just waiting on His timing.  We have talked to the girls about this, making it a family decision, and they are ridiculously excited!  Our baby girls is out there, God will lead us to her!  

We do ask that our family and friends so something for us.  We ask you to pray.  Pray for the process, for the biological parents, and for the precious baby!