5K(ona) Glow Run

I'm the worst!  I haven't been writing because I have been spending every single spare second working to get ready for the Mountain Heritage Festival where we will have a booth of homemade goodies.  Homemade goodies means lots of melt downs with the sewing machine (and I'm not talking about the kids.)

I did want to pause and pay tribute to the amazing 5K Glow Run we had here in Whitesburg.  Our precious friends, Byron and Amanda Thomas, came up with the idea and ran with it.  It has by far, been our most successful fundraiser yet.  We are so thankful to them and to everyone who came out.

We ended up with 215 participants!

  Almost everyone was decked out in glow gear, we had music bumping through town, and the energy was incredible.  We were so overwhelmed that so many people would come and support us.  Here are a few pictures of the super fun night. 

Boot Camp Batwomen

Mad props to my family who came out in force!

215 Participants!

Granddaddy crossing the finish line.

Team Kona

We released Chinese lanterns at the end.

Cousin Kona Love

Greg took first place in his age division.  So proud!

We are unbelievably blessed!

As far as an update on our girl, at this point we have legal custody of her but are waiting on the US Embassy investigation period which is 3-6 months.  We would love your prayers.

Father's Day Gifts!

Give a Gift and Help Us Adopt!!!!!!!

Father's Day is only two short weeks away and as we all know, men are impossible to shop for.  Every year I spend countless minutes racking my brain for the perfect gift for the men in my life.  This year I'm gonna make it easy on you...

This year, send your dad the perfect gift: The Mustache Goody Mug  $20
Included:

• Hand Painted Mustache Mug (dishwasher safe)
• Millstone Breakfast Blend Coffee
• Starbucks Salted Carmel Hot Coco
• Moon Pie
• Candy Bar
• Two Slim Jim's
• Planters Peanuts
• Personalized Note from the Sender
• A Card from us stating "A donation was given to the Berry Family Adoption Fund in your honor"
• Wrapped in cellophane and tied up with twine 

And the greatest part is, I'll mail it to you or straight to the Father in your life. 

ORDER THEM HERE!!!!!!!!!

***All proceeds go toward our adoption fund

Drumroll Please....The New Adoption T-shirt

I was going to wait a little while before unloading the t-shirts on y'all but then I thought that I would give myself a break from chevron (I'm dreaming in stripes) and look at t-shirts for a while.  I will continue taking orders for scarves and the colors that I have available are listed in the SHOP.

So here it is!!

My Beautiful Mom in the Grey 

The Red option

My fantastic niece Alexis buried in shirts

The bro and sis in law representing.  Props to Julie for being awesome.

The words say..."ONE LESS child without a family tree"
As you can see the shirts come in charcoal grey and red and sizes S-XXL.

You can order them here through paypal or contact me directly if you would like to pay by check.
They are $15 each + $2 for shipping. 

Thanks for sticking with us!
Major thanks to my buddy for life...Brooke for lending me the design.  You rock!

T-Shirt SALE!

Y'all remember this old gem? (The shirt, not the guy)

Although we love this shirt, we are getting a new design for our second adoption so all of these must go.  They are only $10!!!! Our sizes are limited so order yours today!

ORDER THEM HERE 

Be on the look out for our new design coming soon...they are fabulous! 

And Then There Were Five!

I know what the world is going to say...are you crazy?  I suppose to the world we are.  We have a one year old and a two year old and we are about to grow again!

We are adopting!!

This time from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  It's a girl and she is one! So my kids are officially...one, one, and two.  Bring it on!

This process will look a lot different than our Ethiopia experience, but in three ways it will be the same.

PRAYING, FUNDING and WAITING

I mentioned in a previous post that the Lord was doing some crazy stirring in my heart and now we all know what it is!!  A little precious baby girl!

So buy your mom something pretty from our store tab up top and help us bring our girl home.

One Year Home and Video

It's been one year since our feet touched down in America with our newest child.  I won't lie and say this year has been easy but I can say with certainty, we are in a great place.  We've had some really hard times this past year and there were times I just didn't know how we were going to make it.  Looking back I realize that Addis was grieving in his own little baby way.  That seemed crazy to me at the time because after all, he was a baby.  However, something that was so special to us, adopting Addis, was possible because of complete tragedy and despair for him .  He was ripped from everything he ever knew, was picked up and taken across the world by strangers, introduced to new food, faces, culture, flashing lights and so much more.  Since then, I have learned so much about the trauma that comes with lack of attachment at a young age.  I wish I would have known more then, but we can't go back and we can only look forward.

About a month ago our precious Addis flipped the switch.  He is like a different kid.  So much more content and secure.  He's started interacting with people and usually doesn't have a complete melt down when I leave the room. 

God has blessed this year in an incredible way.  I would never have guessed the lessons I would learn.  Addis is a completely different person but I'd say we are all different because of his precious little life. 

Here is the link to our video about bringing Addis home.  It was the longest flight ever but was all worth it when we arrived at the airport to so many loving faces!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb_SWVAb9a0


And if you haven't seen our video of meeting Addis for the first time last February, here it is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY5vZZV82KA

There's a stirring.

I've never been one of those people who feels constantly in touch with what God is telling them.  My motto is usually to hunker down, be sensitive to the Spirit, grow in faith, and believe even when things are quiet. 
But today, there is a stirring.  It can't be explained.  For two weeks I've been waking up in the night with nothing but my prayers to occupy me, waking up early (even before the kids) to lay in bed and pray, and I'm distracted in every area of life because of this stirring. It's fantastic.  I love it when the Lord deals with me like this.  It's exciting and scary.  I can't wait to see what God is about to do in our lives.
This song was on my heart all through church today.  It's an oldie that we use to sing back in my youth group days, but it's definitely becoming the mantra of this day.

Check it out here...
(This was originally sung by Caedmon's Call but I can't find that version.)