Family Camp

Every Labor Day weekend, my family descends on Miracle Camp. This year was extra interesting because along with my parents, sisters, Josh and me, we had two adopted brothers with us. One of them is actually dating my sister, but the other one was unofficially adopted as my older brother. My dad absolutely loved having the extra testosterone for the weekend and for half of the weekend, the guys actually had the majority, which they took full advantage of....

Here's a few photos from our weekend:

Sassy husband, Sister's Boyfriend - Ryan, Pops, New Brother - J Tan (or as everyone but Josh calls him - Jeremiah...)

Friday, Jack Jack and I got to spend the whole day together. Since we were driving through Chicago anyway, we decided to stop in at Ikea. True to her personality, she made one purchase. It was a pillow.

We're great at taking serious photos.

After about 30 takes, we only ended up with one photo where we were all looking at the camera...but that one is boring and won't be shared.

Family Photos

Other than our wedding photos, Josh and I don't have a ton of pictures together. This posed a pretty big problem when we went to start our adoption profile scrapbook. We decided that we needed some family photos, pronto. We asked our good friend, Britt, if she would be interested in doing these for us and she lovingly obliged.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

Thanks so much, Britt, for capturing such a sweet season of our life! We love these photos and we love you!

Twitterature: A Link Up With Modern Mrs. Darcy

Hey y'all!

As you may have noticed, I haven't been around much. Life has been busy and I've just chosen to spend my time doing things other than blogging.

However, I want to get back into the swing of things, and what better way to do that than with a fun link up?  I'll break this up into two categories: Currently Reading & Just Finished. Maybe next month, I'll have more to say on the books that I'm currently reading this month.

Currently Reading

What the Dog Saw: and other adventures: I've been trying to read books by economists so I can have interesting discussions with my economics loving husband. This is an easy starting book if, like me, you're trying to find a book to facilitate discussion. Also, good if you like eccentric people. #smartreads

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess: Been looking for this one for a while. Finally broke down and bought it and haven't regretted it. Inspiring, funny, convicting. Definitely a must-read!

The Silmarillion: Read if you like getting a headache. But seriously, it's a good book, just incredibly detailed and difficult to get through at times. #passtheaspirin 

Just Finished

Divergent: It's like the Hunger Games, minus the love triangle, plus more descriptive make-out scenes. It's an interesting plot, but (as a conservative reader) don't know if I'll go for book two in the series. #toomuchkissing

Cinder & Scarlet: After reading these first two of the series, I can't decide if I like them enough to wait for the sequels. I find the characters flat and I don't really connect with the books. However, it's an interesting concept. I guess we'll see....

Instant Mom: As a prospective adoptive mother, I came to this book hoping to glean some knowledge about what my future could be like. This ended up being a name-dropping book with really good information sprinkled in. The book would have been better (and much shorter) had she left out the "then I had tea with the queen" stuff. Maybe read if you're planning on adopting out of the Foster Care system.

Tiny Ones.

Hello!

If you read this post earlier this week, you know that I've been working on a brand new product.  I'm so pleased to announce that they have made their way into the shop as of this morning and are now ready to be purchased!

Right now, we have three collections of colors that have been specially chosen and put together. However, there is an option to pick and choose which colors you want. I'm still working on picking out new colors and finding knew color combinations that I think look nice together, so if you don't see your favorite colors, please let me know! I would be so happy to work with you to find a collection that works with your little one's style.

I've decided that to properly kick off this product, there needs to be a sale of some kind. So, for one week only, when you buy one collection, you get a second for free! No joke. It's for real happening. All you have to do when you check out is leave a Note to Seller with your second collection choice, or three new color choices. So, for $10, you're getting 6 [[instead of the usual 3]] hand crafted hair bows! 

Tell your neighbors! Tell your friends! Tell your family! Because, come 11:59 CST August 6th, I will no longer be offering this deal.

Happy Wednesday!

Introducing...

I've been working hard to come up with new products for the Fāyán Knits family for a while. For me, it's difficult to think in terms of knitting when I step outside and it's a thousand degrees.

However, I am proud to introduce a new product that will be hitting the shop this week.

These adorable bows will come in a variety of colors and can be completely customized depending on your taste. Once these babies launch, I will be holding a sale, so be on the lookout for the coupon code! 

 Much love,

Short Update + Some Exciting News

Lately, people have been asking me, "So, how long until you guys get a child?" This is a very valid question, but the answer can be quite complex. Right now, the pressure is on us because we still have paperwork to finish and a profile to complete. We're hoping that will be finished in the next month or so. However, once that is completed and handed in, we aren't really sure how long it will be before we go into circulation. After we are in circulation, we don't know how long it will be until we are chosen by the birth mother as viable parents for her child.

So, while I would like to tell people exactly when we can expect to have our little one, I can't. Imagine the excitement of finding out you're pregnant, you know that a baby is on the way, but you have absolutely no clue as to when baby will arrive. It could be tomorrow or it could be in a few years. There is honestly no way of knowing and in this place, we have to really lean into God and trust His timing. Adoption is definitely a waiting game, but God is working and preparing the way, it can just be difficult to see at times. We believe that God is busy orchestrating all of the right circumstances to lead our child to us, if only we're patient.

I would now like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have been praying for us and those of you who have chosen to help us out financially. We are now very happy to announce that we are fully funded for Phase 1! This means that we can go ahead and submit our paperwork to begin the finalization process.

We are feeling so blessed and in awe as we've seen God work. As the money continues to come in, we are constantly humbled at the kindness and the generosity of others. We see how much people want to see our adoption come to fruition and that they're willing to help us get there. We honestly couldn't have made it this far so quickly without everyone's help and we will be forever grateful.

We're still working hard to raise the rest of the money and we will have a few new opportunities in the coming months for ways you can give. As always, you can visit my shop, donate via Paypal [[button in sidebar]], or shop through Pure Charity.

Print available here.

Much love,

My Week as a Mama ( or Lessons of a Foster Mama: Part 2)

We said that once we started the adoption process that we were finished with the foster care business. We told our agency not to call us unless they had an emergency.

Well, last Monday, they must have had an emergency because as I type this, I have a two month old sleeping on my chest. He is a tiny little thing who just wants cuddles [[which I am more than happy to provide!]] He is only with us for 8 days, so we're doing our best to pour as much love into the little guy as we can.

Here are some things that I've learned in my short time with him:

{1} It is 100% okay [[and as it turns out very much expected]] to ask others for help! I was afraid that admitting that I needed help was admitting defeat and pretty much saying that I'm too much of a wimp for motherhood. But the truth of the matter is that you need people to help you do things for the first few days [[Weeks? Months?]] It doesn't mean that you're weak, it means that you are very, very wise.

{2} Let others hold the baby. I think that I have developed carpal tunnel syndrome from too many snuggles!!

{3} Once you get the "mama rock" down, you may, awkwardly, find yourself doing it even if you're not holding the baby. Yesterday at church, I had passed Little Dude off to someone else and was talking to another friend when I noticed myself swaying/bouncing...I even had my arms crossed as though there was still a babe there...I hope this isn't a lasting effect...

{4} You may also develop other strange habits.  I have recently started sleep walking. Josh was taking his nightly shift so I was in our bedroom getting in a good solid 4 hours. I don't know if I actually heard Little Dude crying or if it was in my dream, but I woke up in my closet...I remember being extremely confused as to why there were clothes in my kitchen and why I, for the life of me, couldn't find the bottles. Another night, I woke up to find myself frantically searching the bed covers because I couldn't find the baby and was afraid I had smothered him.[[He was fine + on the complete opposite end of the house...]]

{5} It is awesome when babies smile at you, even if it's just from gas...Although Little Dude smiled at me all morning and he didn't even have gas! So that was even more exciting!

I'm really looking forward to becoming a full time mama at some point, but until then, this has been a fantastic learning experience.


What are some things that you learned when you first became a mama? Did you develop any strange habits?