New things of Spring

 

This is a picture of a simple display of spring clothes for toddlers.  This is an exciting sign of the end of cold, happy baby colors and the promise of warmer weather.  For at least 10 years this has been an extremely happy sign for me.  I hate cold.  I love chubby legs sticking out of new short pants for the season. I have memories of those chubby legs in my house.

But this year, I feel very differently about this.  As I walking into the store, feeling blessed to buy food to feed my family, this display brought tears to my eyes.  What is wrong with me?!  I have a child somewhere, that God has promised to me, that I am SO ready to provide for.  I am ready to know the size and age and gender.  I am ready to tuck them in at night. I am ready to read stories, kiss boo-boos and say "I love you and am so glad that God brought you to us."  I don't know if there is anyone to make sure that they are eating and getting rest.  I doubt that there is someone to comfort when they are crying.  This is breaking my heart, and the display is reminding me that I can't do this for my child yet.

 

 

Some days I am really much better at this than others.  Thank you for the many people who supported us by buying a shirt or jewelry.  I would love for you to use the piece that you bought to remember to pray for us.  When you wear it, or even just when you look at it. Spring is coming I feel the progress and it's similar to babies kicking in my stomach; We are really doing this!

 

I Love you, My Village, and I couldn't do it with out you.                   

.we went to Africa.

Wow.  What a whirlwind week.

We left for Africa on Saturday @8am from KC, and arrived at our guest house in Kampala on Sunday night @midnight. 
On Monday we met with our attorney and got a game plan together and set out to meet with orphanage directors all week.  Of course, I made lots of time for holding babies and playing with the big kids, too.
We met with 6 different directors.  We saw so many people who were inspiring and trying to do what they can for some needy children.  That part elevated my faith in humanity.  But there was also, starring us in the face, the sad reality that there are so many children with out a family. 
Some of the children were scared of us, we were the only white people that had seen.  The word for it is muzungu.  It seemed to be a term of endearment.;)  Some cried when we left.  Some braided my hair.  Some bit us.  Some squeezed us so tight, afraid we would leave too soon.  Some slapped us.  Some checked to see if our color would rub off. Some peed on me.  Some kissed us. Some danced with us.  Some sang for us.  Some just wanted to sit in our laps.
They all touched our hearts.
The trip was completely confirming that we are on the perfect path for our family.  Uganda is a beautiful place filled with beautiful welcoming people.  We felt safe and happy to be in the land where our 3rd child is right now.  That made it a little hard to leave.  But we rest in the fact that we will be going back to be united with that child soon.

Some of you are wondering about a time line.  So are we.  :)  We are waiting on the Lord to put us on the mind and in the heart of the orphanage director who is caring for our child now.  It may be next week, it may be next year.  We don't get to know.  That is the hard part for me.  I am not good at "not knowing" but He is working on me and I am much better at that than I was when we started this Journey, last February.

On the Friday we were there we went to "Friday Market"  It was full of Ugandans selling their crafts and it was amazing.  Of course, I couldn't help but bring some of it home, to share with you all.  We bought a lot of beaded necklaces from ladies who were making the beads right there in front of us.  Awesome.  This helps put food on their tables, not fund the next girls night out.  They are also going to help us bring the child home to our family. 

 long multicolored bead that I have doubled $10

 

 

 

 

 

Shorter colors shown here $10

 

 

 funky colors $10

 

 

 

 

 Mike Blair's Nebraska Family, you know you need these for game day! $10

 

 

 Funky Bracelets $5

 

 

There is so much more to share about or trip... all in good time, my village. I'm still a lil tired!

XO~tif

 

Here we go!

This is going to be short, I am busy, y'all.  But I needed to say that we are feeling ever so blessed.  We just turned in the first round of shirt orders and every time I got another order and sat down to add it to my list it brought tears to my eyes. not even exaggerating.  Each one of you who are supporting us through prayer and love notes and donations have just filled this Blair house love tank to overflowing!  We are stepping out on faith here.  This is not a required trip, but we feel like it is time to do something.  And with as perfectly as everything surrounding it has fallen into place, we know that God is honoring this decision and we have no fear. 

 

 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 

II Timothy 1:7

 

 

 

 



 

 

To those of you who donated formula, your money and efforts are being delivered this week!  You have been doers and that is a credit to you.  Notice that MikeBlair dumped a bunch of candy in with the formula. Surprised? surely not.

 

 

Guess What!?! It's February!

Yay for February!

Guess what else!?!  We booked tickets and are leaving for Uganda this Saturday!  No, we don't have a child to bring home.  Mikeblair and I are going for just a week to meet with the attorney that we have been talking to and to personally take our home study to some baby homes.  We have been advised to do this, in hopes that it will speed up the rest of our journey to being a family of 5.

Today I am feeling:

ANXIOUS.  Today I have diagnosed myself with stress induced vertigo.  I know this isn't real.  I just googled it. :)  But I also know that i had debilitating vertigo on every Friday in the month of October.  For those of you who know me, know that is the busiest time for us.  I didn't think that i was stressed or anxious, in fact i thought that i was dealing with the stress of it, better than i had in the 3 Octobers prior.  But my body was showing me different.  And after October was over, i didn't have another attack of vertigo until... last night after my house emptied of family who had been over to watch the super bowl.  It hit me.  And today, still here.  It's GOTTA be anxiety.  There are some things i just know about me.

READY.  Despite my head spinning.  I am so ready to go!  I have my bio babies schedule ready, that is a huge load off of my conscience.  We have such a great village that I don't even have to worry about what my current favorite things will be doing, while their Daddy and I are across the world.  They are loved so much by so many.  This is a huge factor that we took into account in our decision to adopt.  There is plenty of love to go around!  Secondly, I am preparing my heart as best i can.  We are going to see amazing things in Africa, but we are also going to see hard things.  I know, after going to Haiti last year, that one cannot be fully prepared to see what we will see. But i also know that our God is going to walk with us and we will not fear.

SO BLESSED.  I have a new friend who is taking time out of her own life to walk me through this.  For no other reason than because she has travel the path that she saw us wanting to travel, and she knew the obstacles that were ahead for us.  People, this is one of the main reasons why God put you on the earth!  So that after you have traveled a dangerous and HARD road that you can turn around and make it a little bit easier for the next one.  I am forever in your debt, Mandie Cantrell.  And I hope that after I have reached the end of the road, I have the energy to turn around and reach out my hand and help someone else. XO ((tears?!, fa real?? I'm a mess))
     We have had so many in our village offer to wear our shirt, to support us, and pray with us.  We want to that you for the support that we have received so far.  Also, if you have been meaning to get one of our snazzy shirts but haven't yet...you better get on it :)  You can email me with you order or any questions @ tif.pepper@gmail.com.  We will be sending the first order in at the end of this week so they will be ready to wear when we get back from our trip.

Prayer Requests-

• that we can get done the things we need to in this short week
• for traveling mercies
• our hearts to be open to what God will show us in Uganda
• Jaxon and Vivi while we are gone and their blessed caregivers (those 2 can be a lot)
• the directors of the baby homes that we will visit to recognize our sincerity

With so much love to our village,
tif

Shirts for Sale

So, here it is!  I am so excited to show you our shirt!  We are taking orders, they are $20.  This could be a huge blessing to help offset some of the cost in our adoption.  I know y'all need a new shirt.

The border is made up of the words from an African proverb, "it takes a village..." to raise a child.  Uganda is known as the pearl of Africa, so we placed a pearl in it's location. 

Thank you for being part of our village, now you can represent. If you are interested in a shirt, let us know however you would like and we can bill you through paypal, just send us your email address.  XOXO
tif

 

 

It's still January

and I am still under attack. 

My kids have been sick with the flu for almost a week.  So we have been under house arrest with a few restrictions.  We have gone to a drive-thru here and there and my fabulous in-laws came over last night for an hour so I could take dinner to the Children's Haven.  Hooray for listening to Lorde as loud as my soccer mom speakers could blast it. 
I am also sad to report, that we are not going to be able to have a fundraiser at Chicfila.  They called me this morning and apologized.  The manager that Mikeblair spoke to, when he stopped by a few weeks ago, was new and didn't know their policy on fundraisers.  I guess they are asked all of the time for many different things and had to draw the line somewhere.  They only do schools.  Of course, I am disappointed, but I understand and I still love what they are doing for our community on so many levels. 

The message that we were waiting for from the baby home in Uganda still has not come.  I did receive news that there is a meeting coming up that has made her hesitant to do anything until afterward.  She said that it sounds like they are discouraging the baby homes from inter-country adoption, wanting them to do more in-country adoptions.  Our attorney doesn't seem concerned, so I am trying to remain positive.  When the average age person in the country is 19, and it is the size of Oregon with 2.5 million orphans... I know they need help.  Who is able to adopt in-country? 
Feeling my January, yet?

The t-shirt guys is super backed up, but that is still in the works!  And he is being really good to us on the price!  It's going to be an awesome shirt I can't wait to share it with you all!  Thank you for being my village, even while I remain to be DebbieDowner for approximately 8 more days.



Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do,

and he will show you which path to take.   NLT

 

Praying and waiting for him to show us the path.  Please, join us.

the January Funk

Happy New Year!!!

I meant... :/ 

I never love January.  It has rubbed me wrong for all of my adult life.  I remember not caring at all, about it as a teenager, but since adulthood I have always found myself in a nasty funk that I later look back on and realized, "oh, it's just January, again."  Not to mention, that we just experienced 19 days off of routine.  It is even a little bit more annoying right now because I KNOW that I do this, and I am still doing it. (i.e. sitting around, eating too much sweets, not responding to my friends when they reach out to me, ugh! look away I'm hideous!)  Please, if you are being ignored, don't take it personally.  Just know that I am cranky, and you are better off waiting to visit with me until....spring.  ugh. 
 

If you are still reading after I have volunteered too much information about my psychosis...   I wanted to update my lovely village that we have a shirt design in the works! YAY!  My super talented brother is on it. no you can't have him and don't ask him to do anything for you, at least not until he is finished helping me.  We have a dear friend that I was venting describing my ideas to, I want it to be original and meaningful, artsy but not homely, so my people will want to wear it.  A few days later he came back with an idea that we loved, I wasn't even sure that he had been listening to me ;)  I am very excited to show you.  Soon.  ((squeal!!)) 
meanwhile- we are trying to get on the books at our local Chicfila for a fundraiser.  MikeBlair stopped and spoke with a manager who said that they would help us out!!  YAY AGAIN! 

Not sure of the date that we will be hosting it, but you will know as soon as I do.  It's very simple, you get to NOT cook supper, come grab some chicken and tell them you are part of our village, and they will donate a portion of their proceeds to our adoption! So blessed :D even if it is January.