Waiting Stitches

We've got ourselves a ticket folks! We raised almost exactly $1500!! That will help cover at least  one of our tickets to and from the Philippines. What a blessing!!!!!!!! A HUGE  thank you to all of our family and friends that donated items. This couldn't have happened without your donations! We had 58 items on the auction. FIFTY-EIGHT! Unbelievable. Thank you isn't enough. Another BIG thank you goes to all those who bid! Admittedly, I stayed up many nights looking and watching for new bids - it was all very exciting the whole week. We hope all of our final bidders are happy with their winnings!!! As far as when we will be purchasing these tickets - that is still very much unknown. Just got another call tonight from our caseworker at AGCI. She was able to contact our Philippines caseworker at the ICAB and was told that we were once again put to the side for another week. From what she gathers, there are several other cases that have been discussed at the board meet...

Thanks all for your birthday wishes yesterday! It was overall a pretty good day (some adoption woes...). I stayed busy with work, being Mom, and play practice; and among it all some fun highlights... *Jon and Caleb made me our family's traditional birthday muffins *Caleb made me the sweetest birthday drawings *Ronald McDonald (at our school for a presentation on respect) sang a birthday song to me to the tune of "Love Shack" when he learned my name was Mrs. Schack! Kids didn't get it, but I found it quite witty and amusing. *Got my costumes for "Les Miserables" and both fit really well! Always nice when you feel comfy in a costume. Now, trying to take a picture without smiling - that was not as much fun - I look so awkward!  :) *All the warm fuzzies I got through phone calls, texts, and Facebook  were really awesome! It's fun to hear so many well-wishes from family and friends. I'm loved! Yey! Unfortunately, among this all there wer...

Hello to Monday! It is RAINY here today. Oh my goodness the rain was whipping around. Hopefully the grass seed we sprinkled yesterday didn't blow away, but instead will sink into the ground quickly so all of the snow salt & sand that destroyed are lawn will disappear and the lawn will look pretty again! We had a really nice weekend with family that I wanted to share. It was nice to have a couple days away to keep our mind off of "the wait". My parents and sister hung out with us Friday and Saturday. We stayed at a hotel, shopped for bathroom tile, played mini-golf, ate really good food, and then saw "The Little Mermaid" at Chanhassen Dinner Theater. A big thank you to my parents who took us to all of these events! We had so much fun!  Caleb and his Aunt Rachael had a fun time while my parents helped us make decisions on bathroom tile... Caleb's favorite activity, mini-golf, was once again a hit! There was a fair amount of silliness... ...

Our On-line Auction Fundraiser is up and running!!! Everything listed has been donated by our friends and family! Plus a couple things I have made.  :) All proceeds will go into our travel fund to bring Little C home! The money will help with the plane tickets to and from the Philippines and all of the expenses for lodging, travel, and food while in the Philippines. Go here: https://www.facebook.com/BringHomeLittleC  to see the items. Yes, this is a facebook site, but if I understand correctly, you do not have to have Facebook to see this page. If I'm wrong, please contact me and I will figure it out!!!! If you would like to bid, but don't have a facebook account, let me know and I can help place the bid for you. Bidding starts today (May 18) and goes until Saturday, May 24. Once the Shipping and Handling costs are figured out, that will be added to the final bid. THANK YOU for all who donated and for all who are bidding!!! You are such blessings! Happy Biddi...

No, no word yet on our Little C.   Still waiting.  :( BUT - Here is the excitement around our house lately... 1. Caleb has his very first wiggly loose tooth. He is beside himself! He can't stop talking about it, looking at it in the mirror, and/or wiggling it. Very exciting stuff, let me tell you! 2. Caleb had his Preschool "graduation" program today. They sang a ton of songs, poems, and even showed us some artwork. I smiled the whole time as a proud Mama. Caleb's teacher - Mrs. Gobel 3. We are starting a new fundraiser on Sunday! A bunch of our family and friends have donated items for an on-line auction. All of the proceeds will go towards travel expenses to, in, and from the Philippines. Check it out now and start perusing the items! More will be added in the next couple days!!! Feel free to spread the word to all of your friends! Thanks sooooo much to those who have donated items and thank you to those who will be bidding. We are really e...

Not gonna lie. It was kind of a rough day. Where I should have been thankful, I wanted more. Where I should have rejoiced, I wept. Where I should have felt God's peace, I felt like a storm. Mother's Day 2014 was not one of my finest. Caleb wanted to have fun with me since according to him "Mother's day is when Moms play games with their kids!" :) But within five minutes of every game, or the walk we took, or whichever else, Mr. Caleb was a bit whiny and tempered. Or maybe I was the one tempered. Maybe I missed the opportunity to enjoy the now. I know I tried, but it was really hard to find it in me. I'm having a hard time expressing how urgent I feel lately. I want to hop on an express plane to the Philippines and bring our Little C home. I want him here. In our now I want to see him, feel him, hear him, smell him. I want to learn about every freckle, hair colic, smile, temper, giggle, and look that he has. I want to hear his voice, watch him mov...

The Philippines is 13 Hours ahead of Wisconsin; therefore, our paperwork has officially been handed to the ICAB board already... craziness! We have been told not to expect an answer anytime soon. They review the paperwork, have reports to write, double check things, etc. Hopefully we hear soon though, as my anxiety is starting to heighten on this one! Keep praying that the whole review process goes smoothly and we are officially accepted as Little C's parents! We will let you know when we know!!! Have a great day! In Christ, Mara

This is where my son currently lives... My heart yearns to be in this place with him.. It is a home much different than ours... More people, more water (hard to believe in this part of the midwest!), more heat... Poverty within eyes view, among... an amazing backdrop of beauty.  Praying for my Little C tonight. Longing to bring him home... although, what will he think of Wisconsin? This is NOT  the Philippines. I hope he is happy here... That he can enjoy the snow... That the geese don't scare him...  :) And he learns to love the less hectic life of the Midwest... Wanting him here now so we can share in this home together... Please keep praying he comes home sooner than later... we are anxiously waiting. In Christ, Mara

We have become the project household lately. Our last couple weeks, with many more to come, have been filled with new projects - and not just the small, time to organize the corner pile, type project, but the all out whole room makeover type projects.  A couple of the projects were planned and/or could have been worked on ages ago and one of the projects fell into our lap - almost literally.... First, the one I am most anxious to accomplish - the boy's room! We are "upcycling" a couple old pieces of furniture, well, really just painting them and making them look presentable again. I've been even letting Caleb get in on the action. He has tested our patience (it's really hard teaching a 5 yr old how to paint!!!) but he is really excited to be a part of it all. A shout out to Grandpa too! He helped us (and also had to stay patient!) last weekend do a bunch of sanding and painting. The first coat of paint has been put on this end table and the bunk beds we found...