One Year Later...

One year ago, I was here:

One year later...

{I posted over HERE today}

Randomness On A Tuesday

Life has been a bit crazy of late. TaeKwonDo tournaments, birthdays, flag football practices and games, baby showers....

Sharing a little of my adoption heart over HERE

Working on new items and getting some ready to restock in the shop.

Making cupcakes {more later on that}

And playing with some fun new felt!

Over the weekend I made this fun new coffee cuff for myself to test out:

Lurve it. I needed a new Russia one to reflect my littlest little's personality. This does it. :)

It's a new eco friendly wool blend I am thinking of adding to the mix of my felt items in the shop. Recently, I tried out another new and fabulous felt, but not sure it's going to make the cut {haha}. I lurve it as well, but after a few weeks of testing it out compared to the eco friendly felt I've been using, it's just not quite what I was expecting. However, I could totally see it being used in some other crafty applications in the future, just not my coffee cuffs.

{I see a blog post dedicated to felt in my future...}

Shop NEWS!!!

Some of you that follow me on twitter or facebook have already heard the good news....but, we finally got our court date to travel to Russia to see Songbird and (hopefully all goes well) bring her home!!!

SO, that being said, Little Bird will be going into vacation mode starting May 12. Custom (*design your own*) will only be excepted through May 6. If there is something you've been eyeing, go take a peek and snatch it up! I will not be reopening until July to allow time to spend with our new family of four!

AND...to add a little goody for you, use coupon code LBC15 to receive 15% off your purchase at Little Bird!

Thank you and have a lovely weekend!

Uniqueness Box

My son brought this home the other Sunday from church. It's called a uniqueness box. Or at least that is what it said on the paper. It's also like his own little prayer box...you'll see why...

He was so excited to show me all the different sides of it. Especially the one he drew of Songbird:

He even included one of our dog and one of himself.


Then I opened the box and my heart melted into a puddle:

There they were. Three simple prayers of a child. In case you need translating, they say:

-Please keep them safe while they are gone
-Please keep my mom and dad safe in Russia
-Please keep my sister safe

Yeah, I know we need to work a bit on the spelling, but for right now? I do not care. It's the thought and simple plea of a child in prayer.

I am not sure my heart will ever leave it's puddled state....

Finding Balance...

Learning to say "no", or "I cannot this time"....

You'd think it would be easy, but for me? It's not.

This entire year...this whole year of roller coaster land and adoption and Russia...

I have had to say "no" or "I can't" or "maybe next time" many times this year. Not that it's not apart of everyday life and interactions anyway. It is for the most part....sometimes the answer is simply "I cannot this time".

But this year? It's been a fine balance to try and figure out. Early in the year we had so much hope and promise and then so much uncertainty and not knowing what was going to happen...or when we were going to travel for that first trip....or IF we were going to even get to travel.

And yet? Here I am again....not knowing when we are going to travel and not knowing when we will get "the call" about "the date"....

It's meant saying "no", or "I cannot this time", or "not this year" to different events, holiday bazars or shows, possible 5K's or races I otherwise would have liked to do.

I am OK with it...for the most part. It's just so hard to try and plan events or holiday celebrations or even promote my little Etsy shop without worrying about committing to too much. Yet, at the same time finding that balance of not just stopping and pushing that pause button on life, which oddly enough, doesn't exist. I sometimes wish I had a pause button....alas I do not.

Mainly, it's hard with Christmas right around the corner. Yes, my daughter is in Russia, but my son is here with us. Balance....

How to make sure he is taken care of and holiday celebrations continue....and life is not put on hold...and at the same time, plan for what could be in just a few weeks or possibly a few months.

Limbo....uncertainty....balance....

It will all get worked out....it's just not so easy is it?!

Not Just About Me

I have a heart for adoption. A HUGE crazy heart for orphans. Orphans all over the world, but for me, the place God has placed on my heart is Eastern Europe.

Since I was a little, little girl I knew Eastern Europe was somehow going to be a place that I was involved in when I grew up. A place I had heard about....heard about children that needed care. That needed families. That simply needed. Orphans.

And I am going to go out on a limb and say this....it's not just about adoption. Yes, children all over the world are in need of homes and people to truly love and care for them. But, what about the ones who never find their forever homes? Their forever families? What about the ones that age out of the system?

They have little hope. No where to go and no one to reach out to. These children, these orphans, are targets . Targets for trafficking, for drug and alcohol abuse...and so much more. I don't like to think about it, but I cannot help it.

It's my heart. My heart to reach out and do something more. Yes, we are adopting a little girl and yes, we know that is our calling at this time. But, we know we are called to do more...

Orphan care. Former orphans...children aged out of the system. What about them?

I started making coffee cuffs last year and also have made them for other families adopting from different countries. I LOVE, love being able to help out others with a similar calling. Those answering the call to adopt. And through that, I realized this adoption journey? It is not just about me.

So not just about me. I want to help others. I want to help these children that do not have a forever family and a place to call home. A place to be loved.

So, I have made up three different Coffee Cuffs. All three are countries in Eastern Europe: Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Russia.

For each coffee cuff sold, I will be donating half the proceeds to an organization that is devoted to helping these children. These aged out orphans.

The organization I have chosen is called The Harbor. You can find out more about them HERE.

These Coffee Cuffs will be making their debut in the SHOP next week. "Design Your Own" will be available for these as well.

These will be available in the shop until Dec. 1st. Then, not again until the New Year.

Will you help spread the word? What is your calling or God sized dream?

An Urgency...

I have this insane urgency...this feeling in my gut. I feel it, but I cannot explain it.

Everything is about to change.

No, we don't have our travel dates yet, but we are in the "any day" moments and I just feel...well...you could almost call it "nesting".

Her room is ready, for the most part. She has all the basics she will need, plus a little.

We bought her "gotcha day" outfit. The first new items of clothing she has ever had. Bought just for her...her very own.

A few other new items (shoes, socks, tights, jammies, etc.) and some other clothes my sister has given me from my niece.

I got this feeling and I went to work, laying out everything we will need to take for her. I have it on her bed all ready. Ready for what I'm not sure....to be packed in a suitcase? Perhaps.

I know when "that call" happens, my brain will just get overloaded with all the planning....

Which is why I seem to be "nesting" and getting it all settled and ready to go now. I even have our court clothes all picked out....shoes and all....

If it's one thing I don't want to forget it's our clothes for court and her gotcha day outfit. The rest we can deal with later.

Oh, and coats...it's gonna be much chillier there than here!

Even my son feels it. I can tell in the way he is more snuggly than usual. I breathe in those hugs a little longer knowing I will be away from him the longest I ever have. Yet, at the same time going to take care of my daughter.

I do not know how I will find the balance....being away from one to be with the other. It will be only my second experience doing this. But this time? This time is different. This time she is coming home.

Songbird is coming home with her mama and papa to her forever home. Her forever family.

Yes...everything is about to change...

Happy Face!

I didn't get a chance to post this last week with all that was going on. Mainly with me and illness...UGH!

However, before I got food poisoning and migraines from a bad, bad place....I baked cupcakes!

Yes, it was Songbird's birthday. She turned 3. While my boy was at school, I baked the yummy vanilla cupcakes and then we decorated them when he got home from school. The theme he chose for his little sister? Happy Faces! We decided on pink and yellow frosting, with white eyes and mouths.

And here they are!

I wish I could tell you more about our Songbird and show you a picture or two, but I cannot. Not until we are official and given the go ahead to post her name/pics etc. However, I will tell you this....her smile lights up her face. Which in turn lights up ours. It took her a little bit to smile at us when we first met her, but once she warmed up to us that little smile kept popping about.

Oh how I wish I could have been able to give her one of these. I know she does not understand what a birthday is yet. And I know that in the future birthdays can/will bring up emotions and feelings in her of sadness and questions. It will break my heart to see her hurting, but I also understand it is something that she needs to process. I too would wonder about the person that gave birth to me if I were to never have known them. I think it only natural. And? We will be there for her, loving her through it all...no matter what.

So, have a cupcake will you?! I made plenty to share...so here you are! A virtual cupcake all for you. :)

March...wow!

March, how quickly you came! I was enjoying the lull of January and, well, as much as I usually enjoy February...this year? It was full of sickness of both myself and my child.

But March?! March is full of promise. As a matter of fact, March is when my little girl in Russia has a birthday. A birthday I just might get to celebrate with her! Well, not in the traditional sense, since she really doesn't even quite know (or has ever had) a birthday party.

However.....we are expecting to travel pretty dern close to the actual date of her birthday!!! Wouldn't that be super crazy awesome?! Yes, yes it would.

So, March, let's keep with this excitement on your very first day. There is so much promise and the month is full of possibilities. I think I just want to hang today and soak it all in and enjoy it for the time being.

Then? Well, then I have to get busy making a very special little doll to take on our trip. Ah, joyousness.

Matryoshka Sisters

Meet Liliya, Nadia and Tatiana.

They are three lovely Matroshka ornaments made by yours truly.

They are each one-of-a-kind and available in my Etsy Shop now!

Obviously, I have a soft spot in my heart for anything Russian related, being that we are adopting from Russia. Therefore, all proceeds from the sale of these lovely ornaments will be going to our adoption fund!

I am not sure when I will be making more of these lovely ornaments, but I am hoping to soon. If you are interested in a particular color of Matryoshka not currently available, let me know and I am happy to work with you for you own custom order.


Happy Friday and Enjoy the weekend ahead!