Thursday, October 31, 2013

A mummy and his mummy





every year, our church helps with our towns Fall Festival. There's always thousands of people, fair food, games, chili cook off, old people singing. We always work the festival, but this year we did Trunk or Treat as well. Nothing more creepy than grown men asking if you want candy out of their trunk.. I kid, I kid. Actually, I think it's kinda a genius idea for churches & event like this! 

 I knew I wanted to dress C up, but buying a costume just wasn't in the questions.. $30 bucks for a few days wear.. no thank you. So, following my mother's tradition of always making our costume, I made C into a mummy. Total it cost me under ten bucks. I bought a yard of fabric from Walmart for 3 bucks, some tights, and sports tape. His costume looked way better before we left the house & when he would let me put his head wrap on.... but real life happened and the kid squirmed, and the fabric bunched together & he ripped the wrap off his head.


Alas, I still think he was one darn cute mummy...
 ^^I know, right? adorable.
 ^^C discovered suckers that day. we're in trouble.
I can't believe he's mine. And that I get to be his mummy.... see what I did there? lame, hilarious. I know:) 

And because it's funny...

Halloween post C... I mean, his tininess... slays me.

I hope you all have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN! For now, tonight's plans include staying at home, watching a scary movie, & passing out candy to the kids who braved the rain.  I just don't think C can make his little legs walk to all the houses. So pumped for that next year! 

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

zoo to the boo

A couple weekends back, we joined some friends for a last minute trip to ZOO BOO. As I mentioned before in a previous post, we are stereotyping the mess out of this fall. & because I have a bajillion things to do today (like clean the entire house before hubs comes home from an out of town trip & cook dinner for my seester) I'm keeping this post short and sweet.

onto the photos.. because let's be honest, of course there are photos.


What fall things are you doing? I want some new traditions!!

Friday, October 25, 2013

Hey all you locals...

This is happening. Head HERE for more details!!

Don't live close or don't need a session, no worries you can still help this family come home for the Holidays by purchasing your Christmas Cards from her shop HERE

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

DIY threadbombed ANTLERS & DIY Link Up




 I've seen these floating around the web. I knew immediately upon discovering them, that I had to find a way to get one in my home. There are shops that sell them and to be honest, they look much better than mine, but I don't have the extra money laying around with this adoption.  Who am I kidding, I don't even if there was no adoption. Husband's budget is no joke folks.

So thanks to an abandoned pair of antlers sitting in my parents garage and my brothers skill in killing a deer, I got me a pair of antlers. No worry dear brother reading... I secured the thread (which I already had from old projects) with tacky glue. It can easily come off... the white paint however, well that's permanent. But I expect a thank you, because it looks better than the wood in my opinion. I'm debating painting the brown cover silver... but we all know how indecisive I am.

I love the pop of color it brings to my dining room & the rustic charm. With my table and clock being so industrial and clean, I need some rustic color to break it up. This project cost me ZERO dollars. The best kind of project there is basically.

All you need is a pair of antlers (check craigslist!! or even FB status asking someone if they have an old pair they could give/sell), some thread or yarn, tacky glue, and some creativity with the colors!

If you are looking to buy & not fool with the DIY, I totally suggest this lady (who is actually running an instagram giveaway right now). I swoon over her antlers and only wish mine looked as good as hers! Check out her ETSY for amazing antlers!

that's all for today. Have a DIY you've recently blogged? I wanna see! I'm a sucker for DIY projects. Leave a link below! Just be sure to be a follower before you link up! Thanks:)



Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Our Adoption Profile Book & Film

Want to know what the most nerve racking thing to ever do? and by nerve racking I mean doubtful, indecisive, unsure, excited, hopeful, and then one more big scoop of unsureness just to make it nail biting. It's not jumping out of a plane, or going skydiving, or even walking with a lion, (which I've done by the way, another story, another time) as one would expect. Oh no, it's the simple but totally not simple task of making an Adoption Profile Book.

This single, little book is the deciding factor for a birth mom. She views them. Reads them. Chooses from them. And then decides that your family is the possible best fit for her child all based on 20 pages of images and text. This book is the gateway to our son. N to the ERVE racking. I labored over this baby for weeks and weeks. Some pages would be completely done and then the nerves set in and I'd completely redo it. 

FINALLY, I was done & it was over and all the indecisiveness paid off. To me, it's perfect. Oh you know, besides the world "sunggle" instead of "snuggle" if you know me, you know that OF COURSE I'd have one tiny word slip all the peoples eyes who proof read it. Story of my life. Even so, it's still true to us. HA!




My inspiration came from a family drawing sweet Emily did for us after C was born. I scanned in her drawings and used Photoshop to create the individual pages. I then loaded these pages into BLURB software (it's free and downloads right to your computer) and from there made and ordered the book. If you aren't as tech savvy, you can create the entire book inside BLURB software. It's so incredibly easy to navigate. I planned to use my photography lab to have these printed, but because we needed several copies, BLURB prices were more affordable, and not to mention still amazing quality!

I absolutely love how it turned out. It's so us. So many of the profile books I viewed at our agency as examples were just too boring, and they really didn't represent the families personalities. I'm so thankful for Emily's drawings, because they were exactly what I needed to make our book pop, and hopefully stand out to the birth mom. 

If you are an adoptive family viewing this for tips and tricks, here are my few suggestions:

-Start on this sucker weeks in advance. Trust me. You'll need it.
-Photos, Photos, Photos!!! Choose photos that tell a story!
-More images than text... I kinda didn't follow this own suggestion, even though I really tried.
-Use a design that really reflects your family verses just cute vector images or scrap book looks.
-Keep the book 20 pages or less. you don't want to overwhelm.
-Keep it crisp & use layouts. Collages of images can work, but make sure they is a layout to it.
-Use simple sentences and words. Keep it at a basic reading level.
-Don't use cookie cutter text. You can't tell, but we really let our personalities shine through our text, -Josh joked around a lot, and I wrote like I was talking to her in person.
-Use relevant photos. Showing images of years passed could be confusing to the birth mother. Let them see what your life is like NOW.

If you have any further questions, feel free to email me! My info is on my contact page.

&& I'll leave you with our adoption profile video. We are allowed to substitute a third image for our web profile with a video. We jumped on it! It's a chance for the birth mom to get an even better feel for what our family is like. I suggest asking a friend or even hiring a professional to shoot your video for you. Our friend and professional, Evan Logan, did ours. He did and incredible job. Just remember... MAKE IT YOU!!!


oh, and one last thing, if you are short on funds, you can check out my adoption giveaway HERE. It helped us raise $2400! Need more info, email me! I'm here to help!! Us adoptive mommas gotta unite:)

Monday, October 21, 2013

totally stereotyping




some things need to be stereotyped. It's a must. Like perfect 60 degree weather straight up begs to be stereotyped into the perfect fall day. & of course, we obliged. Pumpkins, Hay rides, gourds... anything you usually stereotype with the fall was included. We didn't do a single "fall" thing last year since C was, oh you know, two weeks old. But this year, this year, we are doing it all. We met up with some friends and my sisters family at a farm a few towns over. Groupon being its splendid self gave us a massive discount to the days activities. We spent several hours just talking and letting the kiddos run around, basically doing nothing. Doing nothing at all is sometimes the best doing something, at least in my opinion. You know, you are out doing something, but it's really nothing too grand but seems grand because you are there doing nothing with all your favorite people. And that's pretty much what we did while we were there. nothing. well except the hay ride & pumpkin picking & talking. Which are all really somethings but when done with friends and not given much thought just feels like you're enjoying doing nothing. It all makes sense in my head at least. reread if you must.

I hope you all stereotype the mess out of fall. It's basically begging you to.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

A very MASSIVE BIG THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!


 Let me paint you a picture real quick. There's a 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 year old me sitting right here at the computer reading story after story after story on adoption and how the Lord overwhelming blessed all different couples and provided for their needs. There my younger self was probably crying reading each one because adoption was so strongly a calling in my life, asking the Lord that when her time came, He would do the same for her. 

Fast forwarded to last week. I specifically asked the Lord for $2,000. I felt like this was really asking a lot of a blog giveaway, but I'm so often guilty of not asking the Lord for big things when He wants to bless us with BIG things if we will have the faith to believe He can do it. 

I had faith. I really had faith He would answer this prayer.

My friends, the time has come, and He did the same. And more. 

This week because of your love, support, generosity, and donations, we raised $2,410!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just can't quite figure out how to say thank you. Laying in bed last night with husband, we just marveled that God blessed us this much. We are so unworthy, undeserving, and sinful people. How great is our God that He still chooses to bless us? All glory to Him!!!! Some of you may think it was just coincidence that you found my blog, you watched the video, heart strings were tugged, so you donated what you could. 

No. It was the Lord. Not a coincidence. And I'm so thankful. 

Thank you to the family and friends who entered daily and pushed hard on social media. Thank you to the strangers who have never met me a day in their life but acted as if they were friends and family. Thank you to strangers and friends who gave $5 because it's literally all they could give. You are like the old woman with her small coins sacrificing to be obedient. Thank you to the strangers who donated well over $25. You don't know us, but you have blessed us greatly. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts ( I don't even know what that phrase even means but like i said, I'm struggling to get my amount of thankfulness out in words). My heart is overwhelmed.

I'm grateful, humbled, thankful and thankful some more. You have made an impact in our sons life. You have helped bring him home. My momma heart is just barely holding it together here. You have no idea what your donations have meant to us. 

Winners are announced on the giveaway post below on the RaffleCopter Entry Form, and were picked randomly by RaffleCopter. I will check their entries & email them shortly!! 

Thank you again EVERYONE!!!!

Monday, October 14, 2013

Our Adoption Profile Film & Giveaway FundraiserS!!

I'm beside myself because today is f i n a l l y the day to launch this giveaway. It's like Christmas morning over here. Honestly. Just hand me a Christmas tree & you couldn't tell the difference. I've stressed too much over this giveaway and lost too much sleep. Fearing that not a soul would enter. That we wouldn't raise any money. That no one would share about the giveaway. That we would fail. & then I remembered, that whatever happens, fail or succeed, the Lord is in control. And I can rest assured that He will provide in whatever means He wants.

If you are new here or if you've been following along for a while, here's a quick film as to why this post is even happening. This is our adoption profile film, meaning, this is the film our birth mother will watch as an introduction to us. Totally nerve racking. We couldn't be more thankful to our film maker and friend, Evan Logan, for all the hard work and dedication he put into this film. He's the best of the best. No doubt.


So, husband and I are adopting. Obviously.
We know without a doubt that the Lord has called us to adopt domestically this time around.
Our home study was recently approved, so now we are just waiting for a birth mother to pick us. 
Our sweet little C is a big brother.
Cray to the Cray!


If I could have it my way, adoption would be free. But since no one is electing me president or the changer of adoption laws and such, I will gladly pay. No amount of money is too much to keep me from getting my baby.

BUT, we broke. I'm a SAHM and husband is a pastor. In case you didn't know, that means we gots zero moneys. I started panicking when the price of adoption showed its ugly face. Then the Lord silently reminded me that this is His will, so I can rest that He will provide. I started googling ideas on how to raise money. That's when I met McCall. This sweet lady "mentored" me on all things adoption fundraising and here we are. 

I've teamed up with some incredible blogs & Etsy shops in order to bring our son home. 

I'll let this image do the talking: 


^^share this image on Pinterest or your Blog. PLEASE!!

So, all you bloggers out there. This is HUGE. Like, I kinda wish this wasn't my giveaway so I could win all that ad space. Those ladies up there have over 50,000 readers combined. Think of all those people seeing YOUR ad button on the side of their blogs. EEK! That's big stuff. Your ad on TEN blogs NEXT month!!!! Blog changing stuff right there. Can we just give a round of applause to all these magnificent ladies for graciously donating to this giveaway?? Authentic sweethearts, they are! && if you don't read their blogs, you are totally missing out!

Check these ladies out:
Small Fry, Tales of Me&the Husband, The Wiegands, The Anderson Crew, Gloriously RuinedWalking in Memphis in High Heels, Hello Little Scout, The Chiffon Diary, Keep Calm & Carry On, & Bloom.
 
"But wait Kate," you say, "I totally don't have a blog. Shucks."

No fears my friend. I've thought of you, too! 

The Etsy Round Up giveaway is for all! Bloggers and Non-bloggers alike. This is an incredible chance to win all that loot for yourself, guys win for your lady, or even give it to your loved ones for Christmas!

Browse through these seriously AWESOME ETSY prizes & the shops they belong too! I love love love these shops & I know you will too!
You could win:
An Infinity Scarf, $50 credit to one of my favorite jewelry shops, your Christmas Cards this year, a 2014 geometric wall calendar, a seriously cute printable, a custom wired name bracelet, a custom embroidery hoop, a diaper envelope/cosmetic bag if you will, a custom kids t-shirt, 20 no crease hair bands,& a set of note cards

SO here's the rundown. 

for just a measly $5 bucks, you can enter yourself into either one or both giveaways. That's it! That 5 bucks will be given straight to our adoption agency, Bethany Christian Services.

After your donation of $5 (obviously we would accept more than $5 if you felt led to give it), you can earn other entries for sharing about this giveaway on your blog, twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest. 

I'm totally paraphrasing this next phrase from dear, sweet Mccall-

Five dollars can make a difference. 
Five dollars can work to change the life of one little boy. 
Five dollars can help bring our child home. 

So, Let's recap: 

for the bloggers out there: 
^^Please share this image on instagram or twitter

For anyone out there: 
^^please share this image on instagram or twitter


& ONE more time in case you're confused.
^^Please share this image on instagram or twitter

After donating $5, you can enter one or both giveaways! Two winners will be chosen on October 18th at midnight. 

YOU CAN ENTER DAILY! 
(you only need to donate once, but you can come back the following days and enter again for sharing on social media)
You can then earn extra entries for sharing. 
So share. SHARE. S H A R E. SHHHHAAARRRREEEE please:)
I wish I could express in words what your donation means to me. To us. We are so overwhelmed already & just thankful you are even here reading. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for donating. For helping. For supporting. For bringing our son home. Every penny is cherished. 
Here's where you can make your donation:



If you can't see the entry forms below, scroll down to the next post, I added them there too just in case. Not sure why they aren't loading for some people:(
Grow you Blog Entry: 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Etsy round up entry: 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
Winner chosen randomly at Midnight October 18th by Rafflecopter. 

PLEASE SHARE!!! THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. 

If you wish to enter the giveaway without donating to our adoption, please email me at katie dot kubler at yahoo dot com.