Jan 25, 2013 | In the Name of Love
Some of you might look at this photo and instantly remember where it’s from.
But some of you might not remember that sweet little Quiver Tree Giveaway around this time last year {we should do that again, hey?} and the photo shoot winners we met in the process. With apologies to the rest of you who entered but didn’t win (I sure did wish all of ya could win) it felt very heaven-ordained that not long after our return from South Africa we had the privilege of meeting this wonderful family, raising two boys from our beloved continent.
The Boltes family – Megan, Samuel, Solomon, and Cameron (I’m listing them as they are pictured above) – have become dear friends to us since then. Their precious sons, from Ethiopia and Uganda, are very close in age to our Scottish-South African-American boys and my heart is so happy when they play together!
They recently shared with us the exciting news that they’ll be adopting another child soon, and this time from South Africa. From the little I understand of the process, international adoptions are absolutely wonderful, heart-wrenchingly difficult, and wallet-pinchingly expensive. The Boltes have been blessed with a grant from an adoption agency that will help cover some of the costs, (about $5,000) but there are still lots more funds to raise to make this miracle happen (somewhere around $15,000.)
As a part of the fund-raising process, Megan took up the craft of sewing and I fell in love with her work instantly and wanted to share it with you. At her sweet etsy shop called “Life, Stitched Together” Megan is selling the beautiful crib quilts she has been stitching with love to assist with the costs of the upcoming adoption.
Some quilts ordered by other adoptive families (that one is a wall-hanging) “tell the story” of the adoption. Oh how I love you, polka-dots.
She will custom-stitch to order and her work is just SO lovely to me.
Gray and yellow, just like the Belle’s nursery!
Do you love that fabric and the contrasting colors? Me too!!
I did a little mini-interview with Megan to ask her a few questions I thought you might have about the quilts and the adoption. My questions are in bold, probably because I have a big head. Here’s how it went.
First, please tell us about yourself! Where are you from? How did you end up in wee Washington?
Cameron was born in Nebraska, and grew up all over the US. I was born and raised in Raleigh, NC. We met our freshman year of college at NCSU. We were married in 2006. Our first son joined our family in 2010. We moved to Washington after career changes for both of us. Cameron was doing full-time ministry, and I was working as a molecular genetic technologist. Our second son was about to join our family, and we knew we had to make a change. I needed to be home with our sons. I was missing so much of their formative young years. So, Cameron found a new job near Washington, and I made the shift to a stay-at-home mom (I still work part-time as a nanny and a science tutor).
Tell us about the quilts. Where did the inspiration come from? Have you been sewing long?
As an adoptive family, we love to celebrate our children’s birth culture and our adoption journeys. What better way to do this than through a child’s nursery and room decor! I love that I can personalize them, and that they will be a treasure for these new families. They are great for adoptive families and nonadoptive families. I can add any applique to the quilts….names, verses, animals, airplanes, etc. I have only been sewing for about 6 months. I took a class at the local community college where I learned the basics so that I could sew curtains for our new home, and I have been hooked ever since!
We (now) know the quilts are a fundraiser for an international adoption. Can you tell us more about that process, and how/why you decided to adopt internationally?
Yes, we are raising funds for travel to be united with our new child. The adoption process is like nothing else. Full of lots of paperwork, a lot of prayer, a lot of excitement and maybe a few tears. Right now, we are working on updating our homestudy. We then will be approved by USCIS to adopt a foreign-born child. We then will wait to be matched with a child by our agency. They look at many things to make this match, but really want an environment where the particular child will thrive. We then will wait for a court date, and then travel to meet our child and go to court. We will be in-country for 2 weeks, and then once issued a visa be able to come home with our child. We chose to adopt internationally…that is a loaded question with an uninspired answer…but we prayed through the different avenues of adoption and ended up at international adoption.
What has it been like for each of your boys as they have transitioned to life in a new country?
Our boys transitions to life with a family were very different from each other. Both full of miracles, learning and grace (for everyone involved).
Are there other items you’re sewing besides quilts?
The main focus is custom adoption and name quilts, but there a few necklaces made with Ethiopian paper beads, and aprons. I will also be adding custom stockings and garland in a few months.
How would you like to be contacted if people would like to place an order for some Stitched Together magic?
The easiest way is through the etsy shop. Or our neglected blog is at Our Life 2-Gether.
****
How’s that for a lovely story, friends? If you need a special gift, or have a friend who is expecting (or mayhaps some of you are??) I hope you will check out Megan’s shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/LifeStitchedTogether. And you can take a peek to see the little banner I created for her! {Do you like the tag line? 🙂 }
Knowing how awesomesauce and generous you guys are, I thought you might like to know that you can also make a donation to assist with the costs of the Boltes upcoming adoption at http://adopttogether.org/theboltes/.
Have a lekker weekend, guys and dolls!
xCC
Jan 18, 2013 | Uncategorized
Thought I’d share a few personal favourites with you on this fine Friday morning.
Who knows why.
Just thought I would.
This is probably one of my most favourite photos from all of 2012.
My goodness, I love those boys!
And this is one of my favourites from 2013 so far: what the Tank looks like when he wakes up from a nap.
This book, my favourite thing I’m reading right now, is doing good things in my life. More on that later.
My favourite parenthood story at the moment: A few days after Christmas I was changing the Belle’s diaper on the floor near the Christmas tree. She seemed to like her view and surroundings so much, I decided to cuddle her up with blankets and leave her there for a few minutes. (The Tank was napping so this was a safe move.)
I got busy with something in the kitchen for a few minutes and then thought I heard her crying. I returned to the den to find this scene:
Be still my heart.
Although the Bear is a very good reader, he isn’t quite on top of The Enormous Elephant Show yet. But he is very good at discerning, based on the pictures, the general gist of the story, in order to weave such a compelling tale his sister was absolutely riveted. At least for long enough that I could grab a few snaps. 🙂
There is a delightful font called Bergamot that is basically just a bunch of fun little ornaments – my favourite graphic design element at the moment. Besides fake chalkboards. You can download it here. Have fun and thank me later. {Thanks to the tip I found on pinterest from nest of posies, you can also download chalkboard backgrounds here. It’s like decorating the Quiver Tree Gallery all over again. Wheeeee! } Look at this quality fun stuff:
My favourite Scripture verse at the moment is one I’m pondering incorporating into our family life in a more tangible way:
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. {Ephesians 4:32}
I would really like to raise these boys to be strong men of character and integrity, but I sure would like for them to be tender-hearted, too.
So. Do you have any favourites worth mentioning at the moment? Leave a comment and enjoy your weekend!
xCC
Jan 14, 2013 | The Parenthood
Here’s the thing. I don’t know if it’s socially acceptable, but I’m starting to think I’m going to have to blame motherhood for my absent-mindedness for the next… twelve years or so. Anybody else feel that way? Like, the more kids I get the less brains I’ve got to manage ’em? If those two numbers are inversely proportionate, that could be problematic.
Maybe I should’ve finished my PhD.
Anywho. The following two bloopers occurred in my personal recent history, and I am claiming motherhood as if it’s the Fifth Amendment. Instead of the fifth commandment. Which isn’t relevant here. Necessarily.
First, the 12th of December came around, and I felt certain it was time to take the Belle’s one month photos. {Yes! The Belle! Do you like her nickname? I think it has a nice ring to it. ha! But I think I like it with the e so I have to fix that little graphic over there. Thanks HH.} Perhaps it was because in my mind for the better part of nine months November 12th was her due date. (Ya know, in contradiction to what the OBGYN said.) Or maybe it was because the 12th of December was my late grandmother’s birthday. Or it could’ve been because it was almost a Thursday, and the Bell arrived on a Thursday… ya know, I don’t think there’s a good explanation.
However it is appropriately categorized, let’s agree that I dressed and prepped a baby for photos just a little ahead of schedule. And only realized it a few hours after we took the pictures.
Then.
I sat on those three days early one month old photos of the Belle, for — you guessed it — one month. Did I forget? Maybe. Did I have other stuff going on? Fo sho. Did I not want to bother the Hubs who is constantly taking and editing pictures like it’s his job? Because it is? Um, probably.
But, better late than never, I am happy to share the shots with you — of the darling little girl who has stolen the hearts of each of us — including the older older brother who reads and sings and dances Gangnam Style for her. And the younger older brother who insists on regularly giving her kisses on top of the head without removing the pacifier from his mouth.
What’s not to love?
She smiles and stares very pleasantly.
She sneezes with the grace of Jackie O.
She snuggles up to the calabash rattle from South Africa for the sake of giving perspective of how she’s growing just like her Mama told her to.
And when you a pay her a complement, she humbly replies with a face that says… Who me?
Our little dollbaby has brought us heaps of joy in a tiny package.
And look — you can compare last month to this month with the perspective-creating calabash rattle from South Africa!
So there you have it folks! {And especially the far-away-family we are thinking of who haven’t met out sweet little Belle yet…} That’s our darling precious angel pumpkin dumpling one month old, who, as it just so happens, will need to be photographed as a two-month-old… tomorrow.
xCC
Jan 10, 2013 | Quiver Tree Photography
Can you guess what I’m doing for Valentine’s this year? Me neither. But it will probably involve diapers and laundry instead of flowers and chocolate. The Hubs will be away on a much-deserved snowboarding adventure (which I am totally cool with and very happy about) and hopefully one of my friends in town will come hang out for a few days while he’s gone so that I can still remember how to speak in full sentences by the time he gets back.
{I also know I can always count on my Mama to come hold the baby. Thank heavens.}
However — I have an idea that might make your Valentine’s one to remember this year. And if you’re in this neck of the woods, I hope you’ll check it out!
Zaitona – the restaurant where the yummy dinner will take place – is a new one here in wee Washington that I’ve been meaning to tell you about. I wrote something about it for the local paper right here {if you click that link don’t be surprised when my gigantic face comes up at the top of the page — I don’t know why it does that}. And I think the heaps of you that know how much I love bacon and Bojangles will be proud of me for trying new things — and liking them!
You can find out more about the Sweetheart Package over on the Quiver Tree blog. And back in this neck of the woods, you can look forward to some belated one-month photos of our precious wee girl coming up soon, along with a book review of a book that is absolutely giving me hope for 2013! It might not be what you’re expecting, either!
Love y’all.
xCC
Jan 1, 2013 | The Good Word, The Parenthood
If you’re anything like me — and in this case, I hope you’re not — you might look back at the year that has passed with a sort of “harumph” in your heart. A lot of good things happened, {for us, some great things — we have a new daughter!} but there are some things that you wish were different. There were some things you were hoping to accomplish, perhaps habits you were hoping to make or break, things you were hoping you could change and you might be looking back and feeling a little like you fell short.
After considering the previous year, the first word that came to mind for me to think on and aspire toward in the New Year was ‘discipline.’ This probably gives you an idea of the conclusions of my self-assessment for 2012. Maybe it’s a pattern — at this time of year, while everyone is resolution-ing and celebrating, I often find myself looking at the door that has closed and I struggle not to mourn the opportunities I feel like I missed. The could’ves and should’ves come to town, just for the party in my head.
Or maybe I’m just sad because I like Christmastime so much and now it’s far away again.
But a great reminder refreshed my soul again this morning. I’m still trying to let it settle in — still hoping my heart will absorb the hope of grace. This is the whisper of it, from a New Year’s three years and 8,000 miles ago. I thought I’d share it again today, so that it might encourage you again, or for the first time.
From the Archives:
I was thinking of sharing an encouragement with you about the New Year, and perhaps challenging you to consider really really diving into God’s Word in a new way. Spending time in it every day, and allowing it to transform your life. But then for a couple of days I was struggling, not really able to put my finger on the source of it, but just ill-at-ease about life in general, and fearful awake and asleep. It took me a while to figure out what was really going on in my heart. I could see places where I was afraid when I didn’t need to be. I could see fear instead of faith leading my course of action. And I could see that I was ultimately struggling to trust God, and therefore trying to figure out how to move forward in my own strength.
But finally, this morning as I was reading, the true issue, the root, and the heart of the matter came to the surface. I was struggling to believe that God really loves me. Yes, we all know the words to “Jesus Loves Me” and we all remember that the Bible tells us so. But sometimes, when things are tough, when life gives you lemons, when things aren’t going your way, when your bank account isn’t pretty, there’s a snake in the grass ready to whisper in your ear…Does God really love you? And if you are caught unaware, little seeds of doubt can begin to produce big fruit — fear, mistrust, an unsettled mind, perhaps even a desire to throw out the baby and the bathwater.
But what good and glorious news I have to share with you this morning! What good and glorious news brought me to my knees, weeping in the shower? God loves me. That’s it, and that’s the truth. He really loves me. He really cares about what happens in my life. He really wants a relationship with me and He really wants what’s best for me.
{He loves us more than we love these three! Amazing Love!}
Do you have kids? I hope someday you do. Every day I have with the Bear inspires poetry in my heart — songs and music of thankfulness. I really, really love him. I really care about what happens in his life. And I really want to lead him and help him to learn how to live a life that will please God — where I know he’ll experience something greater than any other way of life available. But the point I’m trying to make is, I really, really love him. And the way I love that little boy, if you could put it on a calculator and add it up to some numerical value, absolutely cannot compare with the love the Lord has for me, with a thousand calculators. Just me. Little Caroline Collie from Washington, North Carolina — who has this many hairs on her head and has had this many dreams about chocolate on Tuesdays and has seen this many sunsets.
He knows everything about me. And He still loves me. And I am so glad to hold that truth in my heart in a fresh way today. It is absolutely glorious.
So if I could still issue a New Year’s challenge to you, I might encourage you to get into the Bible like never before. To spend time with your Creator and seek His face. But perhaps today, more than any of that, I just want you to know how much He loves you. No matter what you do. It’s unconditional love. He doesn’t need you. But He really, really wants you. You bring Him joy just being who He created you to be. You bring Him joy just being. His desire is for you. And He’s been chasing after you.
In the year ahead, I hope you let Him catch you. Let Him choose you. And let Him shower you with His amazing love. If you do, you’ll want to dive into His Word to know Him better and let Him change you. You’ll want to get up early and get away to be with Him. You will become a part of the greatest love story in history — the story of a loving God, and the generations and generations of people He has demonstrated His love to. In the midst of the billions, the God of the universe wants to know you. Happy New Year.
—-
May your year be filled with the knowledge that He loves you. Because that will change everything.
xCC
I create resources to help people find deeper, more meaningful relationships with God through pursuing, pondering, and prayer. The "Shop" link above will take you to the home of many of the lovely resources I’ve created to help you keep walking one day deeper with Jesus.