The Pioneer Woman - How have I missed this?

5/9/2011

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Wow.  If you are feeling good and successful with your own blog today, you need to check out The Pioneer Woman and give yourself a reality check.  Wow.

Or maybe you are already one of the 4.4 million people who visit her blog each month?  4.4 million.  I was floored the first time our blog had 100 visitors.  Like, really there are 100 people out there who want to read this in a given day?  Weird.

The Pioneer Woman started out in 2006 with "one of those blog things" to chronicle her simple life on a ranch with her husband and children and has since written a novel (#2 on the best-seller list), a cookbook (#1 on the best-seller list), and a childrens book about their dog.  She's been on the Today Show and on Throwdown with Bobby Flay.  And, there is a movie being made based on her novel in which Reese Witherspoon will play her.  

There is a six page article in this week's New Yorker, which I have obviously just finished reading. 

In the first few minutes of looking at her blog I was laughing out loud at a voice recording of her son trying to say the words "juice bag." 

So, maybe you all already know about her, but for those of you who, like me, live relatively in the dark on these sorts of pop culture phenomenon, take a look and enjoy. 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/
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Happy Mother's Day!

5/8/2011

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flowers and card by Tonia Johnson (Thank you Tonia!)
Thank you Memaw and Meme for being two of the best mothers/grandmothers in the whole world.  Where would we be without the two of you?  Especially these past few months.  You'll never know how much you have helped us.  We love you both so much.
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Logan with his mom, River's Meme.
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River with his Memaw.
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Fair Trade Ethiopian Coffee

5/6/2011

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The amazing journey of a coffee bean from Ethiopia to Europe. 
Logan and I have been selling Fair Trade Ethiopian Coffee for seven or eight months now, and I'm going to be honest, the only person who has ever bought a bag is my Dad. 

Thank you Dad. 

We had kind of put coffee sales on the back burner, since it hasn't actually been working, but we got an email today from Just Love Coffee and if we sell $150 worth of coffee by June 1st we'll get a whole bunch of other free stuff that we can turn around and sell to raise even more for our adoption. 

$12 -$13 a bag is more expensive than the coffee you buy at WalMart, but consider that $5 of that goes directly to us and it is purchased from farmers in their country at fair trade prices.  And it's not only Ethiopian coffee.  They sell from many different countries.  If you're not a coffee drinker they also sell apparel and accessories.  They also sell coffee samplers and have a coffee by the month club, where you can order once and have coffee delivered every month or every other month.

So, please check out our store and help us reach our $150 goal this month!

You can order from our store at:
http://www.justlovecoffee.com/OurEthiopianDaughter
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Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit

5/5/2011

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This year the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit is in Louisville, KY May 12 - 13th.  I had read about it a while back, but I didn't want to assume that I would be feeling up to it so soon after surgery.  Fortunately, I am feeling great and I'm going to try to go to both days of the Summit.  Logan is going to join me on Friday. 

We're going to be able to attend breakout sessions on Becoming a Multicultural/Multiracial Family,  Advocating for Children with HIV, Building Church Orphan Ministries, and Launching a Church Adoption Fund.  There are are so many great breakout sessions that I wish we could attend more of them.  We're also going to be able to meet some of the America World Adoption staff (for the first time!) and several AWAA adoptive families. 

Here is the website with more information:
http://www.christian-alliance-for-orphans.org/summit


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This AWAA family from Ohio has just begun to sell these Go. Seek. Love. Africa t-shirts.  All proceeds go toward their adoption.  Visit their blog here:   http://crossroadsoflightanddarkness.blogspot.com/
You can also get your name put into a drawing for a $20 Starbucks giftcard by sharing their blog on your blog or facebook or get entered five times when you buy a t-shirt! 
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Beneath the Lion's Gaze

5/3/2011

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During Brandy's recovery in the hospital, I read "Beneath the Lion's Gaze," a wonderful, eye-opening novel by Ethiopian-born Maaza Mengiste. The book starts out during the 1974 Ethiopian revolution and focuses on Hailu, a skilled physician in Addis Ababa, and his two grown sons, Dawit and Yonas. I must say, not only is this book a great lesson in Ethiopian history, but an emotional roller coaster as well. I found myself having a hard time putting it down. I highly recommend this to any family adopting from Ethiopia to get a better feel for what the country's endured.
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Mother's Day Shopping

5/1/2011

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Our friends and DTE buddies the Wages are raising money for their adoption by selling necklaces, bracelets, and soaps all made in Africa.  A wonderful Mother's Day gift for an expecting adoptive mother or grandmother.  Or just a nice gift for yourself!  All of the proceeds go toward their adoption of a baby girl in Ethiopia.  A baby girl who will probably get to know our baby girl very well in the coming months. 

Check out their store here:  
http://wagest.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-lil-olivias.html
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