Arbonne Love

Arbonne products are wonderful, from the skin care, to the cosmetics, and the weight loss and nutrition products.

If you have sensitive skin, you will find Arbonne to be your best friend.

And they even have baby friendly products, too.

We are so excited that a good friend is planning a fundraiser for the adoption, and she is an Arbonne Consultant.

If you don't know about Arbonne you simply must find out about it, and I have the BEST consultant around. I will be happy to set you up with Bridget Gould!!

Soon, we will be announcing the details of our Arbonne fundraiser.

In the meantime, just set your eyes on this delectable illustration of "what and who" Arbonne is:
 

A Pure Approach to Looking and Feeling Great… with Premium Skin Care Products

Arbonne premium skin care products are formulated in Switzerland at the Arbonne Institute of Research and Development (AIRD) and made in the U.S.A. Our proprietary skin care formulas are: Botanically based pH correct Hypoallergenic Dermatologist tested Never tested on animals Formulated without animal products or by-products Formulated without mineral oil Formulated without dyes or chemical fragrances* Stay tuned!

Blessings, Lynette

Did you know? There are 147 million orphans in the world?

I am betting (unless you are a hopeful or past international adoptive parent) that you did not know that there are said to be 147 million orphans in the world!

If that does not grab your heart, and cause you to stop and think, I don't know what would.

Part of the reason we have chosen to adopt, beyond building our family, is to be part of making the world a better place for at least one orphan.
What can you do? If you are able to sponsor a child ins some way, such as Compassion, that is great. We have a Compassion child, which Kev has been involved with since well before we got married.

...or....please do stop and pray for these children, every day.  That is truly  a great gift in and of itself and and I thank you for this.

I'm on the very cusp of introducing a couple of our fundraisers for our own adoption process, so you can give back on a more one-on-one personal level by supporting our adoption:  

For those who know us personally, there is an approximately $5,000 orphanage donation fee, and you can give directly to the care of these orphaned children by passing along a donation to me or Kev. Thank you. Any amount, whether large or pocket change is helpful, it all adds up.


We hope that you will join us in our effort to give back to the orphanage that has been caring for our Bundle, and to help bring him or her home to us.

If given the chance we would love to adopt a sibling group, though that seems much more harder to do for a few reasons, but either way, this little one is a brother or sister of yours in Christ Jesus, and we welcome you to share along with us on this journey of  hope, love, and growth as we watch God do a mighty work



Blessings, Lynette

Thank you J. David Jones, documentarian, for this incredible video.

Around the world in a week...

...and boy are my arms tired..ha ha?

Two webinars this week:

Tuesday night: Africa.

Thursday night: China.

It will be a whirlwind tour.

Prayers please that I collect the information needed, and ask the right questions, according to the Lord's leading and not mine or Kevin's will, but HIS!!

I am getting more and more excited as I feel we are very close to applying with the agency.

These webinars should help immensely.

I am particularly confused about the travel fees, since these seem to be separate from the fees listed on the site.

Also, specific questions that are close to my heart, about the little ones.

I know our Bundle is out there somewhere, and I pray for the Lord to give him or her sweet refuge under His wing. I pray this for each and every orphan here in the US, and abroad. Thank you, Jesus.



Blessings, Lynette

Why fundraisers?

Adoptions can be very expensive.

5 daunting words to begin a blog post...LOL...but it is true.

I hope I do not regret the way I handle myself in this blog post. It is just that I have read some very negative things online recently, and being that the adoption world is so near and dear to my heart I felt a need to clarify adoption fundraising and donations.

These negative nellie's appear to want the adopting family to "suffer" in some way...or terminate their dream to both build their family, and provide a loving, nurturing home for an orphan simply because the astronomical cost for the process is not readily available.

One thing I read said "if you can't afford, it then just don't do it". Needless to say, the author is not on my happy list. (nor do I think they are on the got-a-brain-or-a-heart list.)

In fact there are many families that have much more income and assets than mine, and I still support them doing fundraising because I know the cost of the process.

Oh, and let me clarify here that you are not paying to "buy a child", gasp, do not say this to someone who has or is adopting. Instead it is the process which costs money, not the child. The costs cover fees to help the orphanage run, for your paper work, travel, and so much more...

Along the way I hope to organize the blog ins such a way that I can share the costs and process with you. This will help it to make more sense to you.

For example, our first fee will be the application, at a cost of $300. Just the tip of the proverbial iceberg my friends.

One must understand that a couple (or family) must still live their lives while somehow coming up with the money for the adoption, and in at least my mind, this is where the fundraising and donations come in. 
 
So, here you are living your regular life, and needing to somehow come up with 30,000 dollars. No small feat.

You regular life does not just stop, nor should you have to cut out every little "luxury". 
Within means: a vacation now and then, purchasing a home for a move in order to support your growing family, a new outfit, a special date...etc...these things do not stop when a family plans an adoption.

However, there are many positive ways that one can try to finance an adoption while still living their regular lives and not going into extreme debt.

Here are just a few ideas:

There are grants. Not everyone is awarded them, but they are worth a try. God bless those who have made them available. Thank you!
The adoption tax credit.
Donations buttons on one's blog.
Country specific themed fundraisers. (Such as coffee companies selling Ethiopian coffee which has part of the proceeds going to the family, part to the bean farmers, and part to the middle man)
Etsy shops.
Yard sales
 Friends very often plan their own yard sale, and donate the proceeds to the adopting family.
 Raffles, on blogs and in person at events, with donated items or services given by local businesses.
 "Home" party fundraisers such as Arbonne, Tupperware, or Party Light.
Community support.
Food events, such as pancake or other fundraisers.
Tshirts....
and the list goes on and on....

Above, these are things I have seen through blog searches, or found on adoption resource sites.

Soon I will share exciting news of how K and I have already begun to save-up over the last year and a half, and the upcoming ideas that we are cooking up for our future fundraising. (hint hint)

Blessings, Lynette

(ps, negative nellie comments will not even be entertained on this blog. It is a happy place for a growing family!)

Bonnet Love

Another project "while we wait..."

I am doing a photoshoot for my sister, it is called Bonnet Love and is also done as part of my Knit{Craft}PhotoEssay.

Still looking for a few more little girl and boy models to don the hand sewn and hand knit bonnets; many of the little ones are from the preschool where I teach.

There will be babies and young toddlers. So sweet!

It is all happening super-very-soon!!!!

I can't wait.

Blessings, Lynette

paninis on the dinner menu...while we wait

While we wait for Bundle, there will be lots of things to do.

Including one of my favorite past times....EAT! ;-P

So, I consider myself a very good cook, and baker, but tonight I got the words "exquisite" and "perfect" from my darling husband. whoot~whoot!!
On the menu? Homemade Caprese Paninis (mozz, tomato, basil leaves, ginger dressing, & evoo on wheat Italian loaf, hand pressed) served with hand cut and baked sweet potato fries (MMM!), with fresh grapes on the side.

The picture above is from food.com which is actually not where I got my somewhat made up recipe, but had this great picture that looks a lot like our paninis this evening. Mouthwatering, right? (and I don't mind giving a shout out to food.com, because they do have awesome recipes!)

Here, about.com, I found some inspiration.

And for dessert? From-scratch blueberry-walnut-blondies.

I have to say, it was delish!

Blessings, Lynette

tag, you're it

We are now playing email tag.
Tag, you're it!

Waiting for the email that will hold answers for us. I fear it may be a week or two before we hear back, but when even one second feels like eons, you tend to see a week as a far-off, unattainable event.

Psalm 40:1
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry

When we get this email back we will be that much closer to making our official decision for our agency. and therefore application.

Each of these steps gets us closer to being able to share exciting news with you!

News of the agency, and the country.

Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint

Once either of the agencies we are interested in would receive our application, we wait to hear if we are "accepted" into the actual program.

However, our criteria has been reviewed beforehand by the agencies. So, I presume that if we get a green light from them to apply, that we are well on our way to official acceptance.

Bundle, we are almost there, baby.

As a grandma at the preschool said today,
 "Lynette, there is light at the end of the tunnel".

Amen to that!

Blessings, Lynette

Us :)

Here we are, in all our artsy-goofiness. Our little family comprised of me, Kev, Phantom of the Opera or "Phanty" (our kitty) and Chapeau or "Posie" (our dog). Oh, and we have a camera shy goldfish, too. 

It's nice to meet you!

Blessings, Lynette

snow day, and waiting on agencies...

It is another snow day here in New Jersey, and the preschool is closed. Actually, this morning it is the icing conditions that kept us home.
Our Pajama Party Groundhog day celebration is rescheduled.
We read this book the other day, and it was very cute for my almost 5 year olds.

So, this preschool teacher has the day off.
What to do with my time?

1 cyber obsess over adoption
2 wait for agencies to call back
3 cyber obsess over adoption
4 clean the house
5 cyber obsess over adoption
6 organize laundry room and basement
7 cyber obsess over adoption
8 photo work for friends and clients
9 wait for agencies to call back
.....
..........
............... rinse and repeat.

I did have a great conversation with a lady from an agency the other day, she was wonderful, but I am waiting on her director to call me, and I am figuring the bad weather has made it hard for them to get back to me.

I am playing email tag with another agency who vows to call me soon. (guess what, she just called me as I typed this blog post. yippee)

And I personally need to call another representative back myself who has my questions in email format, but requested a call, so that one is on me.

Soon, we will have this solidified, can then make our application, and get the party started!

 :-D)))

I'm  thinking early spring...hope hope hope and pray pray pray!

In my heart of hearts I can tell you this. I do have two wonderful agencies in mind that I feel very strongly about, and one specific plan if we were to use either of these two agencies. I do feel led by the Lord clearly. But I will hold off on that big announcement until Kev and I are in perfect, prayerful agreement, and pursing application.

My husband is still praying to feel specifically led, and he should, as he is an integral part of this, he is going to be daddy after all, and that is a huge step.

Blessings, Lynette

Chubby adoptive hopefuls everywhere, UNITE!!

In 2011, I vow to get better fit so that when we adopt I will have the energy to run around after the little Bundle.

Plus, BMI is often a piece of information one must include in their Dossier, I think? And I dont even want to discuss where mine falls. (ouch)

How demented is it to say that with pregnancy woman watch their bellies grow, but with my adoption journey I hope to watch my belly shrink. LOL (is that a totally strange statement, or have other chubby adoptive hopefuls had the same thought?)

Before Kev and I got married, I did not know that hormones were reeking havoc with my body, but I did manage to slim down to a nice, cute chubby shape. Not skinny minny, but more a smaller-chubby-me. I worked SO VERY HARD for a year to just lose "some" weight, 2 to 3 sizes but I looked good and felt good and was a street size 14.

I ate something sweet only once a week, drank tons of water, hiked, bicycled 6 to 8 miles about 4 to 6 times a week, did several types of floor crunches, and added walk-aerobic videos.

For how hard I worked I should have been teeny-tiny and >ripped<...Honestly!

But I instead, my weight was "ok", and I felt very pretty. (see blushing bride, below)

After the wedding, I packed on some pounds, and am now prewedding weight plus a few.

I work out less (though I am still active and I do love hiking) Plus I am an emotional eater, so you can just imagine how that is working for me this past year.

How much of this is menopause? hormones? the fact that I am simply older (40 in March-gasp) I don't know?

Anyone else out there experiencing premature menopause or other hormone issues and and having serious trouble with weight loss, reach out. We can all use the support.

Doctors seem to think I simply need to try harder. Hmmmmmmm.....

I tried Pilates earlier last year, and I really liked it, but I had super duper serious hot flashes every time.

Still, it was exciting to go from someone who could not roll up off the mat, to being able to successfully do so weeks later.

The plus side, Pilates made me feel very strong and very relaxed.
The down side, I did not lose any weight and the hot flashes were awful.

Add to all of this my vegetarian status, and the fact that I do love carbs and sugar, and..well... it paints a bad picture.

What is a "hormonal-menopausal, infertile, vegetarian, sugar loving, emotional-eating, hot-flashing" gal to do?

Somehow, I vow to lose weight this year.

Winter wild weather here in the Northeast? That's ok, I have my friend Leslie Sansone to motivate me while walking in front of the tube. Let the snowflakes fall, and the ice freeze, I will be walking away my worries!

Spring will be here soon and I will get out there to bike and hike again with my handsome honey.

Chubby adoptive hopefuls everywhere, UNITE!!

Blessings, Lynette