Crochet Hats

I'm selling crochet hats (made by me) to help raise funds for the adoption. I know this is a small beans kind of fund raiser but I am pulling out all the stops to bring my little boy home!

This one is the bomber hat. I just love it! It is great to keep little ones ears warm. I also made this for a neighbor of mine without the bow ( it was for a boy). It turned out great!

This is the butterfly. I can't tell you how cut this one is on!

Here is the "dressed down" version. I like this one for boys especially. I can do them in camo or I can add the skater boy look with a stripe around the rim. Anything you like!

Just email me (or call) and let me know what you'd like! Thanks y'all!

Truly Blessed!

This weekend we had the mother of all yard sales. This was our first fundraiser for the adoption and quite possibly the last yard sale I will every do:0) Wow! I knew it was going to be a lot of work but didn't realize how exhausting it would be. I'm not sure having a garage sale in a yard that has the same slope as Stone Mountain was the smartest decision I have ever made. I'm sure the guys who helped us unpack the garage felt the same way.

Anyway, about 2 months ago I emailed everybody I have ever known and asked for any items in their house they were planning on getting rid of. David and I said we would come over with our trailer and pick it up and use it in our yard sale. And boy, did we get a response. We spent weekends and week nights hauling the trailer around the Atlanta area picking up everybody's stuff.

Here is my garage the morning before of the sale. And yes, both David and I could park in here before we got all the donations.

Here's the formal living room with books, games, and boxes of clothes. I believe I had at least 100 boxes in my house full of mostly clothes.

Here are all the clothes that would end up in those boxes. David decided to bring all the bags of clothes into the dining room for sorting (along with the books, CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes). He then jumped on a plane headed for Baltimore as quickly as he could. Grrrr!

Before we started all this I asked God to open or clothes the doors for me. Actually, I was hoping for an email from the Almighty containing step by step directions for carrying out this adoption. But seeing as how that didn't happen, I just prayed that God's will would be done. If He wanted this adoption to take place I knew He would provide a way. When I sent the email out I figured we would get the random bag of kid's clothes and maybe a few dirty kid's toys. I never expected all this.

Or this,

I was completely overwhelmed, but in a good way!

Sooooo many people came out to help. There is no way we could have done it without them. There were people unloading boxes, moving furniture, organizing clothes, and taking up money. During the middle of the day I zoned out and couldn't figure out what I should be doing. I sort of just stood there in awe. I had to ask my buddies to tell me what to do. They were the glue that held the yard sale together.

So, all in all, the yard sale was a success. Some of the nicer items donated I sold earlier on Craig's List. So with the Craig's List money and the yard sale we made..................................................................

$4000!!!

That's double what we prayed for. God truly blessed us!

I want to thank everyone who donated items and also those who helped out with the yard sale. I am thankful beyond belief. It's hard to believe that people would take time out of their busy schedule to come and help us raise money to bring out little boy home. But they did. And we couldn't have done it without them.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Meemaw

Back when my kids were real little, Grandaddy Ang and Meemaw would take the kids to either Six Flags, Ga Aquarium, White Water, or some such entertainment arena.

To be perfectly honest, I thought they were insane. Not only did they take my children but they also took all the other grand kids.

Needless to say, either David or I went with them for crowd control. It was always a hot sweaty day but boy did those kids have fun!

This happened to be one of those times that I was not there, I believe. I'd say my son was either very hot or very sunburned. Maybe a little of both.

This picture must have been taken at Six Flags ( it could have been American Adventures). Meemaw is the one hiding behind Murry Margaret. Wasn't that handsome looking group?

They stopped taking the kids a few years back. Maybe they got a look at their credit card bill after one of their trips and decided they'd had enough. Or maybe they just started having so many grand kids they decided that going to a theme park wasn't a good idea. At last count there were 10 grand kids with one more waiting for them in Hong Kong.

Today is a hard day. Today is Meemaw's birthday. She's not here to celebrate with us. The Lord took her to be with Him on Feb. 14, 2011. It has been a long, hard 7 months. My kids know that Meemaw was not their biological grandmother but it didn't matter because she was their Meemaw. The funeral was awful hard. Both kids sobbed and begged me to take them home.

I just told Holley Kate about her birthday and she started crying again. It's hard to loose your grandmother at any age but 8 and 10 years old were especially hard.

My father-in-law still struggles daily. October is a hard month. Not only is it Meemaw's birthday but it is also breast cancer awareness month. Everywhere you look there is a pink ribbon. For those that are unaware that they are at risk, the ribbon is a subtle reminder to get those mammograms. For those of us who have lost a loved one to breast cancer, seeing the ribbon is a reminder that not everyone survives.

I do know this though. Meemaw would be mad with us if she knew we were crying for her on her birthday. So, I'll wipe my tears that are dripping off my nose and wish a Happy Birthday to Meemaw in heaven!

October Adoption Update

We had our 3rd (out of 4) meeting with the social worker today. David and I were asked questions about our family life separately. Every meeting with her feels like a mini-therapy session. You have to bare your soul in order to adopt. I mean, good grief! All those little things that I tend to sweep under the carpet have come out in these meetings.

Last week we put a child on "hold" for us. What that means is that no one else in Bethany is eligible to adopt him. Now, if a couple from another adoption agency decides they want him, there is nothing we can do to stop them from adopting the child. It would just be a matter of who gets there first. Hong Kong won't recognize a "hold" on a child until the paper work is sent to Hong Kong and approved.

Trying to "pick" a child was a pretty hard task. We have prayed over several of the children. I asked for open and closed doors and God did just that. Another couple in the Atlanta are adopting the little girl we had been considering. That left the little boy wide open. I can't give too many details about him here except that it is a little boy and he is less than 3 years old. He is also a special needs child.

I have poured over his medical charts, which thankfully, were written in English. I have called and consulted with my pediatrician (who also consulted with her husband who is a neurologist). I've talked to countless people about his medical conditions. How do you know how much you can handle? How do you know where the child will ultimately end up? Will he grow up and be a productive member of society or does he face a very different future?

And you know what? We decided it didn't matter. If this was the child that God has chosen for us then nothing else mattered. It is no different than if the child sprung from my very own loins. We'll do everything in our power to fix what is wrong and we'll just deal with the un-fixable.

So the big question is, how are we going to come up with the funds for the adoption? Well... We are planning a yard sale for the first weekend in November. If you have anything that you'd like to get rid of ( and you live in the greater Atlanta area) please let me know and we'll come by and pick it up so it can be included in our yard sale. I'm also selling some things on Craig's List.

David and I ask that you pray for us, our kids, and our "to be" kid. Please pray that we continue to follow God's path. Please pray for patience (for me especially). My pediatrician was very adamant that we move as quickly as possible to get him over her as soon as we could. I think I felt my anxiety level rise as we talked.

Anyway, that's it for now. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

My Favorite stuff by Holley Kate Schramm

1.I really like american girls. Visit it at http://www.americangirl.com/play/. I'ts really fun.

2.HARRY POTTER!Mostly.

3.I enjoy writing plays. I finished one called :Princess Petunia Flare. You want to see?https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iQxzr_lZdQOZdbX0F9M8qMwnrdVuc0Oez1LuDrhfu4s/edit?hl=en_US.

4.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXIgNnB_oq4 is a funny video that is good to watch-if you like Harry Potter.

5.I like T.V. , as every child.

6.And I like it when you "happily" read my blog.

7.I also like my animals.

Hm...........Harry Potter...............Harry Potter................Harry Potter................Harry Potter............I guess that's it. Did I mention Harry Potter?Please post a comment as an answer.

My Relationship With Nemo by Holley Kate Schramm

As I said earlier,I will write about my cat,Nemo. These are the reasons he wouldn't like me.

1.One night I took Nemo to my room and dressed him up in clothes. Everyone knew he was in my room because you would hear "Meow......Meow.....". He had so much "fun"(aka misery).

2.I would put him in the flexible crate I mentioned in my earlier post and flipped it around.

3.Once I forced him to eat kitty or doggy food. We had a table on our porch so we were under there and I opened his mouth and forced it in and we had a wild "cat" chase.

4.He's always been scared of Yogi ever since we got him,so I took him inside because it had been ages since he was in my house. I should have known better. I set him free through the doggy door and held Yogi's collar until he escaped. It was about fifteen seconds before I let him go.

These are the the reasons he should like me

1.I feed him.

2.I furmanate him. Furmanate means taking a brush that gets the hair that they will shed.

3.I pet him.

And he cherishes the moments I do that to him.

My Crazy Dogs (and me)By Holley Kate

by Holley Kate Schramm

After experiencing two dogs,we get two more. As my mom says "We can't get a dog without a problem." That is true.

Like people,our dogs have hobbies:chasing balls and wrestling Calvin and each other.

Today,during school,Mom asked me to tell her the definition of embrace,so I said to hug,and I hugged Lilly.

(As always)Yogi was on the floor. Now as I write this my animals are outside. I think they are fighting over the ball (again).

Today,I came down the stairs and Yogi barked at me. He didn't see my face,that's why he barked.

I can't imagine if we took the dogs to an Aquarium. Oh,now I can. Bark,bark,bark. Bark,bark,bark. Bark Bark,bark. (Translated:Bad Fish!Don't swim!Don't hurt Masters!)

I know what Yogi and Lilly would say if they could talk!"Ball". And if I made Lilly get in my lap she would say "Help,help!This person is crazy!Help,help!" That's what she looked like earlier when she was in my lap.

Lilly never looked like she liked me. I know why. Where should I start?I know!One night I took Lilly to my room.(She looked like Uh oh. This won't end pretty)I decided since she wanted to leave,she was bad. It happened a few times,then the big punishment came. I put her in an empty pillowcase and swung her around. I sure was a little ball of rage.
Another time,I think I put her in a bikini. I let her downstairs to show mom.

To add to the reasons of why Lilly shouldn't like me,I took her outside with Maya (and Anya). Yes folks. This won't end pretty. I put on a show called "The Doggy Show". I picked and swung her around. You name it I (probably) did it. Jumping,yes. Flipping,I think so.

I also put her in a flexible crate and made the door the top by turning it and swinging it around.(the other victim was my cat,Nemo aka Nemezy aka Neem)I will probably give you the list of reasons why Nemo does and doesn't like me next.