The unofficial "And we're off" post...

No this isn't our OFFICIAL "And we're off" post. Not yet anyways! Hopefully that one will come within the next 3 or 4 months however. We are headed to Mexico for some much needed r&r! The cell phone, camera, & camcorder are all packed just in case we get a nice, little phone call while we're away (if you know what I mean) :) It's going to be soooo nice to get away and clear out the cobwebs that come with this whole adoption journey. We are sooooo close yet the end result seems so so far away. Perhaps waiting for a year on the Vietnam wait list only to have it close down will do that to a person. It's almost like the reality of it all hasn't sunk in yet. In fact, I don't think it will until we actually get THE call.

On the adoption front, the courts officially closed the 21st of August and will remain so until late September/early October. Supposedly, the court closure will have no effect on referrals. Congrats to all those families that got their court cases heard before the closure. For those that didn't, hang in there. You're day will come! It's been a long 3 or 4 weeks since our last set of referrals. So long that I can't really remember how long it's been right off the top of my head (haha). Perhaps this is the week they start rolling in again! We're desperately hoping that we'll be home in time for Christmas with Marley.

A quick little update on Miles for Marley: A few of the beanies are ready to be posted to our Etsy store. We just need to take some pictures. We were going to get our little cousin Abby and our niece & nephew, Jenna & Jarret to model but that didn't go as planned. Stay tuned as we'll be posting these next week. We'll also be taking special orders for colors and sizes not listed in our etsy store.

In exactly one week, this will be our view...

...and after the past 2 years of adoption programs shutting down, a seemingly endless trail of paperwork, and ever growing wait times, we are certainly ready for a little vacation! NOW COME ON REFERRALS!!! Better check with CHI and make sure they have our cell# juuuuuust in case something happens next week :)

Miles for Marley is open.....kind of

Hey guys, just wanted to drop a quick line and say that we've got our first item available in our new Etsy store. The "my heart's in Ethiopia" line is now available. I know it's only one item but hey, it's a start! Check back often, more items are on the way including custom swarovski crystal bracelets and beanies.

As for adoption news, no referrals but I did notice that the Hoaglands FINALLY passed court today and will be traveling to Addis in September to pick up their baby girl. Congrats guys!!! I'm not for sure if all of the families that were effected by the abandonment issues have now successfully passed court but I do know that a majority of them have. This is great news. Now, more referrals!!!

BBQs, Friends, and Team Marley...

Nothing new to report on the adoption front this past week. However, eleven families who's court cases were held up by the abandonment issues had their cases APPROVED this week. Congrats to these lucky families! The House of Hope will probably be pretty empty after they travel. Room for more kiddo's possibly?!?! Hopefully we will have some more good news to share later this week.

We spent Saturday evening with some of our friends and their families at a BBQ. The kids had so much fun playing on the swing set, swimming and eating smores. It was a great evening just hanging out in the Missouri heat with friends and family! It is so exciting to think that next year Marley will be here to enjoy these festivities! Thanks Steve and Wendy for the great evening.

Let me introduce you to River of whom River's Ribbons is named after. She was sporting the cutest little t-shirt; one of the Ethiopia adoption shirts listed in her mom's Etsy store, along with "Team Marley" on the back. It was the cutest thing EVER!!!

One of my oldest and dearest friends is getting married next weekend. It is long over due and I am so happy for Robyn and Tim, they are going to be so happy together.

I will end with some pics from the BBQ, I promised no swimsuit pics of the adults on the blog so just my niece Jenna and nephew Jarrett, whom we love dearly!

Jarrett, 6 months old

Jenna, 3

Introducing River's Ribbons...

You'll remember a few posts ago that we told you of our dear friend, Kim's intentions of starting an Etsy store and donating the proceeds to our adoption fund. Well, the time has come and we are very happy to announce the grand opening of her store, River's Ribbons. Kim has worked very hard creating some very cute adoption-themed shirts for our cause. Although the shirts are shown in toddler size, they are also available in infant sizes if you so desire. We plan on getting a onesie done of the shirt pictured to the left and having it sent to our daughter in Ethiopia upon our referral. That will make a great pic one of these days! Kim also has alot of awesome hair ribbons ready to go, she just hasn't had the time to upload photos yet. Click HERE or the button on our side bar to visit River's Ribbons.Thanks in advance!

We would also like to announce that WE are opening our own fundraising-Etsy store very shortly. The name...Miles for Marley. This store will feature some very cute, hand-made beanies (courtesy of Kris' grandmother) for infants and toddlers among a few other things. We're very excited to get this up and running and hope you'll like what you find. Until next time, stay tuned for Miles for Marley!