T Shirts

Our T Shirts are in!!!  We are selling t-shirts to help raise money for our adoption.  We have long and short sleeve shirts available.  Prices are as follows:  Short Sleeve - $20 for one or $35 for two.  Long Sleeve - $22.50 for one or $40 for two.  Add $2 for shipping. You can email me at allyson_barden@hotmail.com if you would like to order a shirt or shirts!  We would love to see people all over Jackson and surrounding areas wearing our shirts!!  If we don't have your size, we will be making another order soon, and we can order it then :)  Thank you for your continued support in helping us bring our child(ren) home!

It's There!!!!!

Our Dossier was sent by America World on August 11, 2011 to Ethiopia.  That is very special because it is also Baylee's birthday!  Our actual DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) date is August 12, 2011.  I'm not sure why this is, but that is what I was told.  Apparently, DTE dates are always on Fridays.  I was sent an email the day it was sent explaining and the stops it would likely make along the way, along with the tracking number for FedEx so that we could track it.  I got online this morning to see where it might be, and it is there!  It was delivered at 4:00 AM this morning.  We are continuing to be amazed at how God is working in this process.  This is going more quickly than we ever imagined!  Please continue to pray for us in this journey!  Now we WAIT!!

Allyson

PS.  Don't forget to order your "Thirty One" item this week or next for 15% off and help with our adoption!  Email if you have questions.  allyson_barden@hotmail.com

On It's Way!

We officially mailed our Dossier to America World on Friday, August 5, 2011!  It arrived safely on Monday morning.  Barring any unforseen circumstances it will be heading to Ethiopia this Friday, August 12!  That will be our "DTE" date (Dossier to Ethiopia).  Once it arrives in Ethiopia, the wait begins!!  We are so excited and completely amazed at how fast this process has gone. 

In other news...
We are having a "Thirty One" Adoption Fundraiser from now through August 26.  The actual party will be Tuesday, August 23 from 5:00 until 8:30 (come and go).  My aunt is graciously giving us the majority of her earnings from this party toward our adoption.  If you are interested in ordering you can contact me for a catalog, or you can go to www.mythirtyone.com/malesadyer.  Click on "My Events" and then find my name.  You can also come on Tuesday, August 23 and see the products and enjoy some time of snacks and fellowship! 

We will also be pre-selling our t-shirts very soon.  The design is almost finished.  We are just waiting for some finishing touches! 

Thank you for your support in our adoption.  Please keep us in your prayers as we continue this journey.  We are constantly amazed at what God is doing!

Allyson

Amazed

We went last Monday, July 18, to have our Biometrics (fingerprinting) done in Memphis.  It took about ten minutes for the both of us including wait time, and then Justin and I were able to enjoy some time in Memphis childless (thanks to my wonderful mother!) 

After this, we wait for USCIS approval which comes in the mail as a form.  We completely expected to wait at least two months for this approval letter.  HOWEVER, the approval came today!!  We are completely in shock and can once again feel God's hand on our adoption!  Praise Him! 

We should be set to send of our Dossier next week!  More to come on this!

Yard Sale #2

Our first Yard Sale was a HUGE Success!  We were able to raise a significant amount toward the next installment that we owe.  God blessed us beyond our imagination through the last sale! 
We plan to have another yard sale the weekend of July 9th at our house in Milan to try and sell what we have left.  Thank you to all of you who donated to our sale and came out and bought things.  We are so blessed!  We do have some larger items left if anyone is interested.  You can email allyon_barden@hotmail.com to inquire about the following items!

Set of French Doors
Electric Guitar
Entertainment Center
Coffee Table
2 Elliptical Machines
Old Sewing table w/ sewing machine
4-drawer Filing Cabinet
Books, Books, and More Books
TV stand

Yard Sale items

We have been very blessed with donations to our yardsale this coming up weekend.  I am listing a FEW of the items we have received.  If you are interested, please contact me at allyson_barden@hotmail.com to come look at them before Friday.  Or just come out Friday or Saturday and see what we have!!
table and chair sets (dining rm./kitchen)
entertainment center
coffee table
elliptical machine (2)
treadmill (manual)
Mattress and box springs (2)
electric guitar
saxaphone
johnson bros. Blue Willow dishes
8 televisions
2 computers
3 laptops
computer accessories
dvd player
vcr
2 student desks
2 tv stands
2 dog cages
strollers
changing table
breast pump
small fish tank
bathroom vanities
bathroom light fixtures
shelf for kitchen
filing cabinet
2 sets of golf clubs
books
clothes
shoes
electronics
household items

We have tons of stuff!!! 
Thank you for supporting us!
Justin and Allyson

Yard Sale

Those of you who follow adoptions and have adopted know that it is very expensive!  Many people do different things to raise money for their adoptions.  We are just beginning!  We would like to ask people to donate "stuff" to our Adoption Fundraiser Yard Sale.  We are planning on having it on June 17 & 18.  Since we live in Milan, we will be glad to work out a time to come pick up any items you might have to donate.  Anything you have to give is much appreciated!  You can send me a message on facebook or email me at allyson_barden@hotmail.com to work out a time that we can get together.  Thank you for your support and continued prayers to help us bring our child(ren) home!

How We Have Come to the Decision to Adopt

Early in our marriage we decided that we would one day adopt.  Our original plan was to have two children biologically, then our third would be adopted.  We planned for our children to be three years apart in age (which are first two are - almost exactly).  Then after Baylee was born, we began talking about having three children biologically, then we would adopt - maybe we could handle four children!

During "orphan month" at our church (West Jackson Baptist Church), we began talking and feeling God's call that our next child should be adopted.  Our plans invovled waiting until we could move into a bigger house and put back some money to be able to afford it.  However, God had different plans in mind.  At the beginning of this year, Andy and Charity spoke in our Sunday School class about adoption.  Andy said "God called us to adopt even though we didn't have the money or the space."  I hadn't even thought about trying adopt while we lived in our current house and had not planned for it financially.  A few weeks later while sitting in church I felt God's call to adopt "Right Now".   I felt that to delay was to disobey.  Justin and I began discussing it, and within a few weeks we had applied to America World's Ethiopia program. 

We have requested an infant boy (Justin needs a male in the house!) with the possibility of a sibling three years or younger.  There are not many sibiling groups in this age range, so we have been informed that it will be unlikely.  However, we feel that if God wants us to bring two children home, we will.  We have taken a leap in faith and have already seen God's hand in this.  We can't wait to see what else He is going to do to help us bring our child(ren) home!

Just getting started

We have to admit that we are new to the "blogger" life. However, with such a huge God-ordained journey taking place in our lives, we felt a need to share with others what God is doing for us and through us. Allyson and I ask for your daily prayers as we move through this long, and sometimes slow, process of adoption. We are so excited with the prospect of having a son (or maybe 2). God is doing a great work in our lives, and we can't wait to see how it all comes about.


"He predestined us to be adopted as his sons
through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—"
Ephesians 1:5 (NIV)