Another Successful Fundraiser.....

Happy Halloween!!!

I just wanted to take a minute and share about today...
A co-worker of mine and I had a great idea a few weeks ago when we were taking turns making lunch runs to local restaurants... We decided to attempt a Staff luncheon.... we checked the local ads, and figured out a menu based on sale items, to allow for the most profit.. we got permission and today had the first of several Adoption Fundraiser Luncheons at my school. We served BBQ Sandwiches, baked beans, chips, homemade chocolate cake and blackberry cobbler. It was ALL homemade and I must say DELICIOUS!!! We put up signs that said "let us make your lunch.... while also helping an orphan find their forever family!" We made $225.00 profit... PROFIT!!!!!!
It was a huge success and we are going to do this about every other week. I am so blessed and fortunate to work with such an amazingly supportive and wonderful staff and administration!

I want to thank Janet for all her hard work and for the help.... you are the best and your encouragement and motivation pushes me to know that I can do it with your help! Thank you... thank you.. thank you!!!!
I also want to thank my mom who made the desserts.... Mother, you are amazing and thank you so much for you love, support, prayers and absolute unwavering love to me and your future grandbabies in Kaz.... I can't wait for them to see and know what an awesome Nana they have!!!!

I'll post some pictures of the dinner... and of my girls tonight (Halloween)! Phil and I were the honored chauffeur of Miss America - 2008 and an adorable lion cub tonight... it was a blast... and man o man did Bailey look pretty! She was in the evening gown portion of the competition.... Brook on the other hand didn't really even want to wear a costume... Daddy convinced her that she had to wear one to get the candy... she happily obliged then... :-)

New Family Pictures....

We took some new family pictures this past weekend, and I thought I'd share...
Our family picture did not turn out very well.. as you can see.. I don't care for it very much at all... no idea what the chick was thinking with that stupid WHITE background....but, lots of the others turned out ok... My mom, my brother and his family also went.. it was the first family picture we've all had together as a family in about 27 years... so it was LONG overdue! It was fun... So, below you will see my mom, my brother (Keith), his wife (Christy), my nephew (Cody), Phil, me, and the girls....
enjoy!!!










I just have to add... isn't that the cutest cowboy you've ever seen?!

Pumpkin Patch Fun.....

Last Sat. we took the girls to our local pumpkin patch.. it was a beautiful day.... 80 degrees and wonderful. We had a blast... Phil and the girls always find the "perfect" pumpkin or 2 or 3... LOL! I have to always remind them that we have to pay for all these!!! The van was loaded down... and then it was SO hard to narrow it down to our favorites... LOL!!!! Enjoy the pictures... We are so blessed... our girls are wonderful, and we can't help but wonder as events like the "annual pumpkin patch visit" occur if this will be the last visit without our boys.... we sure hope so... but, I remember being at the pumpkin patch last year and Phil and I talking about it this year and how the boys would be home with us... and in all reality we don't "feel" that much closer to them now than then.... :-( God's timing will be perfect and we know this... but, sometimes it's hard just to sit and wait!!! I can't help but to remind myself here again of the newest scripture God led me to: "And the Lord answered me: "Write the vision... For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end - it will not lie. It if seems slow, WAIT FOR IT; it will surely come; it will not delay!" Thank you Lord for my precious girls and for my children who are in Kazakhstan... Your word will not return void... and one day they will be with us forever!!! Thank you Lord for your promises!!!

Here's the pumpkin patch pictures....

Just a fun picture I snapped of the pumpkins...



Little Miss Brooklyn posing for a picture... NO idea where she gets that fun lovin' attitude.... ;-)



Here's Brook checking out some little pumpkins she found, while Daddy and Bailey are in the background looking for the "perfect" 1 or the "perfect" 12!



This is one of my favorite pictures... Doesn't it make you want to break out into song..."We're off to find the pumpkin, the most bestest pumpkin of all!" (to the tune of the Wizard of Oz!)



This is a fun one of Brooklyn resting on a pumpkin... (no it's wasn't posed... yeah right!)



Here is a picture of the "real" Brooklyn... sassy, adorable, and spunky... until someone she doesn't know is looking... then it's bashful, shy, and reserved!!! She's gotten such an attitude... in fact, in this picture she was telling me that Bay and Daddy were leaving us... and that she wanted to pick pumpkins, not take pictures!!! I about died laughing... I looked up and sure enough Bay and Phillip are over a mile away... still searching...



I was still trying to get one good picture with her "really" smiling.. but, as you can see things turned silly... and it was over... she's a hoot!!!



Wow! Looking at this picture of Bay melts my heart... she's growing up so much.. it's amazing how much she's growing and maturing... it's happening WAY to fast... She's always been so easy to get good pictures of... even as a little kid... she's always, ALWAYS ready to pose.. She is such a good kid!



Phil took this picture of the girls and me... I love those 2 babies so much....



Here's a picture of us about to journey into the corn maze... it was HUGE and a blast... I ran off from the girls and Phil.. and then jumped out and scared them... it was a lot of fun... we were the only ones in the maze... so the girls LOVED it!!!



ok.. so I have to explain about this picture.. Bay decided she wanted to take one of Daddy and I.. so we let her.... and then I said.. hey take one of us kissing... so she says.. OK! and snaps it... and it turned out fairly good.... I love that guy so much and am so thankful that God has blessed me with such an amazing family!



Sisterly love at it's finest... what you don't see is the fight and fall from climbing on the fence that's right behind them....

Check out the new look.....

OK.. so I just have to ask... Have any of you (my fellow blogger friends) attempted to change your blog totally to make it better ;-) and then thought about 2 hours into the mess... OMG, why did I start this????
LOL... that would be me... I decided I wanted something way more cute... I knew I wanted something cuter from the beginning of my blog, but didn't know how you other more experienced bloggers got all that adorable cute stuff on there... LOL! I finally asked... (Thanks Heather).... and found out that you guys haven't paid for it... that some backgrounds are free!!! yippee...
So, I was very excited and embarked on a little blogger journey of my own... OUCH! What a mess... I ended up in a HUGE mess... and then things all of a sudden were in the wrong places... man o man... What started out as a fun adventure ended up as a nightmare... and now I'm not so sure I even like the newer look.... I have to admit that it so hard for me not to pick one of those ADORABLE backgrounds that screams girls!!!! Those are so much cuter!!!! I struggled with which one to pick.... and I would love every ones HONEST opinion... do you like it??? It was hard getting the colors just right... and I still don't think I have them exactly like I want them.... maybe I'll quit for tonight and come back later....
please, tell me I'm not the only one who this has happened to... LOL!

We are so excited around here that it's Fall Break!!! YIPPEE!!!!

New scripture.... and cookbooks

I am so happy to report that the cookbook order is in the mail. After much prayer and discussion, Phil and I placed the order today for 500 cookbooks... (SURPRISE, SURPRISE... we are stepping out in Faith!) We felt that was the number we needed to order... so we did!! God will sell them.. They will be here in around 27 business days.... and the selling will begin.. We've had about 130 pre-orders.. and more coming in everyday. I did forget to mention shipping when stating the price... there will be a small charge for shipping if I have to mail them to you.. I promise to ship the cheapest way possible, and will probably just set a small fee of a couple of dollars in order to make things simplier for me.. I will let you know when closer to time for the cookbooks to arrive. If you are interested in buying one, I'd love for you to pre-order.. I have a list and it would be SO awesome to have them all sold before they arrive... wouldn't that be just like God?!?!

We are counting down the days to fall break... ONE day to go... YIPPEE!!!
God revealed a new scripture to me last night.. I was looking for some scriptures to list in the cookbook.... and WOW!!! This one POPPED out at me...

This is dedicated to all the fellow PAP's out there who are waiting... Hang tight...

"And the Lord answered me: "Write the vision... For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end - it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay!" - Habakkuk 2:2-3

GOD IS SO AWESOME!!!

Hello to everyone tonight...

I had to share about the last few days in our lives, to give God all the credit and glory that is due to him!!!!

So, as you all know I sent out that last adoption update on Thursday evening... about the cookbooks, the craft fair booth, etc.....

I always pray before even beginning to write those (these ...) and I did that again on Thursday night... After writing it all out... I reread it and began to cry... (OK, I am going with total and complete honestly here... hoping that my honesty will touch someones life... and encourage them!) as I began to cry... my heart was breaking... I am not really sure why it was breaking..but, it was breaking for a ton of reasons... I can just tell you that I cried out to God... saying... God HOW??? WHY??? WHEN??? Is this for real??? How will we ever have the money to complete this??? How will we afford to be a family of 5 or 6 when we get them back here.... I was very honest with God... and even admitted that sometimes I feel like such a fake! (You know I think God really loves it when we truly cry out from our darkest, deepest, most hidden places!) So, I did just that... I was so honest with God and continued to talk to him about how I knew he spoke to my heart about the timing and that the reason the timing was so LONG was that there were MORE people who we were supposed to share our story with... more people who he wanted to reach and touch as a result of hearing and seeing our lives so changed and seeing God move in amazingly awesome ways in connection with this adoption... ( Most of you probably remember that I felt this when our dossier was rejected as the Consulate back in May....) so, I tell God that it's been weeks since I've even told anyone new about the adoption... since I've seen or known that someones life was touched.... so basically I begged God to show me somehow that he was still involved in this... (isn't that silly... how o how could I even question or wonder that... but, I did!) I asked God to just let someone come across my path or Phillip's who we could minister to within the next couple of days...
I also shared with God that I had NO idea how I was going to pay the hundreds of dollars required to place the cookbook order (1/2 the total is due when you order and the other is due before they will ship them!) Depending on how many books we order it will probably be well over $1000.00.... so, I was like God how will we pay that.... and then we need to buy a few things to make the crafts for the craft fair.....
So, you get an idea of my night... last Thursday... I went ahead and clicked send in FAITH... that when it came time to order... somehow, someway I'd have the money... and that I knew if we continued to be obedient, God will continue to bless and provide..

So, God began to work.... and on Friday morning about 10 am.... I received an e-mail from the pay pal account that we have set up and $5000.00 was donated on line from someone we do not even know personally!!!! Yes, you read that right!!!! Not $50.00 not $500.00, but $5000.00!!!!!!!! God is so awesome... I was in the library and was absolutely in shock... I quickly got out of there and fell into a million pieces... I could hardly make it back to my room... I totally felt like God gave me a swift kick in the pants... LOL!!! I've of course shared this with others... and everyone has said... no, it's not a kick in the pants.. .it's a hug, a hang in there... a... remember that I am here!!! WOW!!! We are still in shock, but so very thankful!!! We are very encouraged and know that God will continue to provide.. and that this $5000.00 will be multiplied beyond our imagination.

Please, be encouraged tonight and trust GOD!!!! He will be and is so FAITHFUL...

I could go on and on.. but, I'll stop... I just felt that I had to share....
Thanks so much for your continued love, support, and prayers....

Blessings and Prayers Always,
Lanetta (and Phillip)

P.S. If you'd like to preorder your cookbook.... please do so asap...

Cookbook and Craft Fair Booth

The following is a portion of an adoption update (e-mail) I sent out tonight:

Hello to all family and friends tonight.....

I hope and pray everyone is doing well... I know we sure are glad it's almost Friday!!!
This e-mail serves many purposes... the first is to update all of you on our adoption.

Adoption News: Our agency was on the list of "approved" agencies that was sent out by the NY consulate a few days ago... the next step is that officials with the country of Kazakhstan are going to check out all the in country staff of the agencies to make sure they are doing things correctly and following procedures that have been set up.. after those in country staff are checked out.... the consulate should at that point begin to start accepting dossiers again... We are in line with AWAA when that process starts back up... so we are waiting.... Fellow PAP's (prospective Adoptive parents) like to say that we are waiting to start the "real" wait... the wait for the call!!! so, if this isn't' real waiting... well, I dread the other.. LOL!
We continue to hold onto our God, who called us to this journey and know that "those he calls, he equips!" We know that his timing will in the end be perfect.... Perfect for our children...(in Kazakhstan and the girls), perfect in relation to our jobs and taking off work and just perfect for his ultimate plan for our lives! This brings me to the next point....


We are using this time to continue to fund-raise... God has blessed us with around $17,000 so far.... and if we do adopt 2 children the total cost could be as much as $58,000, so we would still need around $40,000. I really like to focus on the fact that God has provided the $17,000 and not the remaining balance... but, you know what??? God provided that and he'll provide the rest and we know his word WILL not return void!!!!


The cookbook is almost to the publisher... let me just say that I had NO IDEA what a time consuming task this would be... It has and is turning out to be a great looking cookbook.... I am hoping to get the texts completely finished and ready to drop in the mail to the publisher on Saturday.... but, I also have to figure out how many cookbooks to order... We ended up having an overwhelming amount of recipes submitted and I didn't even use all that were given..... Thank You so much if you gave recipes!!! We appreciate all your love and support so much!!! The cookbook will have around 240 recipes in it... lots of YUMMY sounding foods and desserts.. I am more than pleased and know that anyone who purchases one will enjoy it so much. The cost will be $12.00 for one, $20.00 for 2, $30.00 for 3, etc. (so if you purchase 2 or more you get a discount!)
I was just thinking tonight that if all our family and friends who get this update would buy or sell 5 each for us... we'd make an EXCELLENT profit. The problem is that I need to know ahead of time.. if we reorder, the books are more expensive, thus cutting into our profit. If you are willing to help us sell the cookbooks or would like to preorder one, please try to let me know within the next 24 hours. I plan to use the response to know how many to order. Keep in mind that the books will be here in around 30-35 days... so just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas.... what a get Christmas idea and also helping to support God's children at the same time. Please consider helping us out...


The next thing I wanted to share about is Nov 7-9. We have purchased a craft booth in the Stillwater Annual Craft Show. If you have anything you would like to donate to help us fill our booth for the show, we'd appreciate it so much. We are going to make country signs, hair bows, homemade goodies, jewelry, etc.. I've had a couple of people tell me they could donate some homemade birdhouses, and various other items. Please also pray for that weekend and that not only can we make good money, but also that God will allow us to use our story to minister to others. It's always amazing when we publicly fund-raise how blessed people are when they hear our story. It's so much fun to share how God is still moving and working today.. and that if you are obedient to him... he will supply all your needs.
Please pray that God will fill our mouths and that we will be true examples of Christ!

Thanks to everyone for reading these long e-mails... I try to keep them short, cause I know that time is so valuable.... but, when it comes to my Jesus and my babies... I could go on for hours!!!
Please continue to keep the child/children in your prayers... I know that they are in the safest, best, place... and that is my savior's nail scared hand...

Looking forward to hearing from all of you soon...

Blessings and Prayers Always,
Lanetta

7 year olds...

SO... the story begins something like this...

It was a fairly typical afternoon, Bailey had rode the bus across town to my classroom, and we had then loaded up and headed back across town (keep in mind our town is VERY small!! ;-)) to pick up Brooklyn at her daycare.... (Let me give you a little background... Bailey has made some not so perfect grades lately, like forgetting to turn her paper over, and therefore not completing the back of a worksheet or other things and thus resulted in a couple of NOT so pretty grades... We have had a couple serious family discussions about this and how important doing you best is, etc..)

So, we come to the first stop sign on our drive to Brooklyn's daycare and Bailey says, "Mom, I sat with _______ on the bus today and we counted her 100's! She had like 12, and she had NO grade lower than a 88%." I was preparing to say something... figuring out what to say... and before I could even form 1 word, she continues... but, I see her picking her boogers all the time... and it's nasty... so, who cares how many 100's she has... that is just gross!!!!
I about died laughing...

Moral of the story: Who cares what your grades are in 2nd grade.... but, you sure as heck better not pick your nose!!!!! Just thought I'd share the wisdom of my 7 year old.... Kids say the darnedest things....

Much excitement for fellower blogger friends....

Hello to everyone tonight... I am so excited to send out a HUGE Congrats to Bob and Jill in TX tonight.... if you don't follow their blog you should.. LOL...
There address is: www.babyspang.blogspot.com
There blog is private, so you'll have to e-mail for an invite.
Bob and Jill followed the promptings of their heart and began a concurrent adoption domestically while also pursuing their Kazakhstan adoption. It has just been days since making the domestic decision, and today they brought home a baby girl.. Sarah... We are so thrilled for them and I ask all of my faithful blogger followers ;-) to remember Bob, Jill, and baby Sarah in your prayers... they have some legal hurdles to jump, but with God all things are possible!! They are enjoying a new precious bundle tonight and we couldn't be happier for them!
We are so happy for you guys!!!

Adoption News for us:
AWAA was on the list of approved agencies.... Honestly, we were never worried that they wouldn't be.... so this is just one more hurdle and timeline we've seen completed. We continue to hang onto God and know that, "The one who calls us is Faithful, and HE will do it!"