Arrows of Ivory and Africa

I can't believe this week has already arrived. The weeks leading up to this time have blown by and as things fall in place and life continues on so much has happened in these short couple months that it's hard to keep up.

Andy leaves for Africa this week! He gets to go see our kids and meet them for the first time in person. We are at the point in our adoption journey where we have to establish a relationship with the children so he gets to go to west Africa and meet them! We have been corresponding with them over these months and have gotten to see their faces and hear their voices...and we have gotten to hear bits and pieces of their personalities, likes and character through friends that have visited the center and have met them personally...but now Andy actually gets to meet them and talk face to face.  We are quite excited. :) 

Though, I admit, I am a bit jealous. But getting to send them a care package helps a little and makes me feel like a small part of me is going with Andy to visit them, so I have been busy packing a suitcase of things...a backpack for each with some fun things like a stuffed animal, candy, colorings, pictures of us, etc. As well as some things for all the kids at the center. 

It'll be hard to have Andy away from home and hard not to be there with him--I am thankful to have a big project to keep me busy. While he is away I will be working on the debut of a little boutique my good friend, Jill, and I are partnering on. She is also adopting from the same country we are and we've decided to put our creative minds together and start a little online/craft-fair boutique to raise money to help bring our kids home. 

We have been working hard these last several weeks making things for children...bonnets, baprons, bandana bibs and headbands. This weekend will be our first craft fair to display and sell our product and we hope to get it up online as well. We've decided to call ourselves, Arrows of Ivory, an adoption fundraising boutique. 'Arrows' representing children (based off of Psalms 127:4 "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.") and 'Ivory' meaning precious. It's been fun preparing, but it's been a lot of work, so we are hopeful this will be a big success!

So here we are, getting ready for the big events to happen this week, needless to say we've been pretty busy! As we prepare and scramble we are also thankful...thankful for these opportunities, even the small ones in the everyday because all of this is called life, and we want to live it fully.