This update is a little late, I apologize. This month we have made leaps and bounds of progress. I keep looking at the fee schedule to see where we stand, and we are about half way through! All of our agency fees are covered, our 1-600A fees are covered, our adoption training is covered (and finished), our home study review fee is covered, our dossier authentication fee is covered, and we have $1,200 toward our referral fee. We are nearing our final stretch of fundraising! We only need $7,000 more for our referral fee and money for travel expenses. Looking at those numbers seems like a lot at first, but when we consider how far we have come…we are filled with excitement. We are almost there!

This month we had an amazing donation from Nathan’s soccer families. They did a fundraiser of their own in our honor. We were completely surprised and touched by their thoughtfulness. We also had several donations from family members, close friends, and the Flip drawing.  All the love and support is amazing!

I am happy to announce that we added 191 puzzle pieces this month! ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY ONE!!!! A big THANK YOU to everyone, we love you and appreciate your participation in this journey.

We now have a total of 311 puzzle pieces sponsored. Only 189 more to go…

For February, we would like to give a special thanks and lots of LOVE to:

♥ The Stephenson Family ♥ The Piotrowski Family ♥ The Shea Family ♥ The Moe Family ♥ The Blomberg Family ♥ The Traube Family ♥ The Evans Family ♥ The Minor Family ♥ The Sutherland Family ♥ The Barth Family ♥ The Gosselin Family ♥ The Obregon Family ♥ The Fletcher Family ♥ The Johnson Family ♥ The Leach Family ♥ The Walker Family♥ The Rusher Family ♥ The Day Family ♥ The Seeger Family ♥ The Stiller Family ♥ The LaConti Family ♥ The Broglia Family ♥ Crew & Kaye Schmitt ♥ Grammy Linda ♥ Michael Analu & Lucas♥ Matt Blechner ♥ Chris Hartnett ♥ Louise & Jonathon ♥ Ayni ♥ Britten ♥ Heather Rose ♥ Zach ♥ Laura W ♥ Wells ♥ Ronan ♥ Mandy ♥

…we heard the news that our home study re-certification was…

We are happily moving on to the next piece of paper!!!!

Laura Willard….FLIP!!!!

AND

Michelle Kelker…for the $25 gift card!!!!

Thank you to everyone for participating. It was a lot of fun and we really appreciate the support!!! xo

The adoption process is long; it truly is a life journey. For us it is a journey across the world, but even more a journey of the heart.

Today I sat down and, without thinking about it, I made a list of items we will need to get for Milo’s room. Items for a little boy, our little boy…and it hit me…this is really going to happen! We are really going to become a family of four, we are really going to have a son, Taegan is really going to be a big sister…finally. We aren’t there yet, but we are getting close. We are closer than we have ever been before and I can feel it, I can feel him and I know he is waiting for us. And, a part of my heart breaks because I know the hard part is about to begin. The part where we see his face, and we love him even more than we love him now, and we are miles away, and we wait, and we feel helpless. I have been keeping myself busy for so long, working diligently toward this dream of our son, and now I wonder what will keep me busy for this last portion of our adoption??? What could possibly distract me from him??? Nothing.

I’ve always known that the path of adoption is difficult, that it is challenging and painful. Our journey so far has been long and emotional, but the discovery, and the growth has changed us, for the better, and we are so grateful for that. Today, I realized where the pain and the challenge lies and I took a deep breath to prepare myself for the ride ahead….because the real journey is about to begin!!!

The support that we have received has really made this journey possible. I feel that simply saying thank you is not enough…..then I remember the beautiful life that will be joining our family, his smile, his laughter…his everything…and I know that you will all rejoice in our dream fulfilled. So once again, thank you!

I watched this (Emmy Winning) movie last week. It was touching, inspiring, heartbreaking, educational, and so much more that I can’t find words for… The story follows 5 Ethiopian women and their journeys to create a new life after childbirth complications. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in learning a little about Ethiopia or anyone just interested in watching a beautiful story. It is only about 50 minutes long. You can find the website to learn more here. I was able to find it on Netflick$ instant viewing. My first thought after watchng the movie was “I want to visit this beautiful place”…I have recently learned that there is now a restaurant associated with this amazing hospital and have added it to our “must do” list when we travel.

Over the holidays we ventured out for an adult date night with family to enjoy an Ethiopian meal. It was fantastic, such a fun experience shared with great company. We all enjoyed almost every dish and I made sure to mark down the ones we liked the most. We wondered as we ate which items Miss Tae would eat, and honestly she might just like it all. She often surprises us with her food selections, such as Eel being one of her favorite foods. We have so much to learn about the food and etiquette associated with a proper Ethiopian meal, but we are looking forward the experience!

…a custom order that is more fun than I ever anticipated it would be!!! What do you think??? I hope the families LOVE them

Donut, Sugar Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Strawberries

Carrots

Fried Egg

Ravioli

Bananas

Potatoes and Peas in a Pod

And guess what??? There is still more to come…this isn’t even the whole order!!!

I just have to share how incredibly proud I am of these letters I made for a wonderful person to give as a Christmas gift. All the proceeds went to baby, isn’t that amazing? I just LOVE these felt letters and seeing the whole alphabet together was really amazing. I am big on the spirit of giving and it warms my heart to think of the little hands that will enjoy these letters. One day, I will have to make a set for Tae and M. So here is the awesome-ness known as felt letters!

Wool Felt A to Z

Spelling fun…even a simple word looks amazing!

Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune–without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

~ Emily Dickinson

….something wonderful that starts with an M. We are very excited, we keep repeating the name and it feels right. Tae did have her own ideas for a name but her names are better suited for her stuffed animals . I remember when we decided on Tae’s name, we knew it was different, but it felt right and we loved it. We love this name too! I honestly feel like our baby boy is here, I can feel him…in my heart. I see little glimpses of what his face might look like when I close my eyes and wonder what it will feel like to hold him. I am anxious…so I am keeping myself busy. I am so analytical and so emotional about this whole process …I have to watch myself…I have to make sure I don’t get wrapped up in the emotions. Right now I try to find the joy in the waiting process, pour all my energy into fundraising, and just believe it will all work out in the end.

We are so excited that 35 pieces were sponsored in the first month. It is amazing to watch the puzzle grow and heartwarming to feel the love and support of our friends and family. 35 down…465 to go!

Special thanks and LOVE to:

The L Family ♥ Hana & Dave ♥ Ann & Louis ♥ Dave, JR, McCain & Marra ♥ Ellie & Stacie ♥ Mama Joyce ♥ Amy, Jon & Maggie ♥ Johanna & Richard ♥ Noni & Poppy ♥ Cerrie ♥ Rebecca ♥ Janet & Bob.

**the ♥ represent $ that people gave above the $10 to sponsor a puzzle piece**

To find out more about this project please click here.

Yesterday we reached 25 pieces sponsored!!! The first month isn’t even complete and our progress is amazing! I have to tell you that each time a piece is sponsored my heart skips a beat and my eyes get a little teary. I can’t describe the gratitude that we feel for everyone’s love and support. It reminds me that this really is possible and we will accomplish this dream! Today we sat down, added the names to the pieces and took a look at the progress…it was VERY exciting! I keep walking by to look at the pieces and the names smiling back at me…a few steps closer to our little guy!

I will post a picture update and a ‘shout out’ next week when the month is complete…so exciting!!

Notice a new tab on the blog…see anything caffeinated around here…like coffee and helping?????

“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”

~ Gail Devers

Tae's baby brother & Tae dolls

It finally arrived! Tae was very excited to get started. Table is covered, pieces are sorted, and we are ready! 8 pieces have been sponsored so far, 492 pieces to go. If you would like to participate in our Puzzle Project click here!

And once again…Thank You Thank You Thank You!!! xxx

Happy Girl

Covering the table...

SO many pieces....

Getting started...

We found the edge pieces...

The puzzle arrived and we were so excited to get started on the project. Seven pieces to put in place and corresponding names to lovingly write on the back!!! We were very disappointed to discover they shipped the wrong puzzle We received a beautiful image of the Taj Mahal…when we should have received a beautiful image of Africa. Hopefully our “Heart of Africa” puzzle arrives soon!

It seems like we have been missing from here for a bit. I have a lot of small projects in the works behind the scenes and I am very excited to introduce the newest project shortly. It is time to wipe the cobwebs off this site and get back to work!!!

If you are still checking on us…Thank you! If you just found us…Welcome!

Welcome to “The Smiling Heart” This website has been created to help our family fulfill our desire to expand through adoption. We are very happy to be at a point in our lives where we are able to realize that our life journey was leading us to adoption all along. We, as many others, have had a difficult time expanding our family and we feel truly blessed that adoption is a viable option. We are excited and eager to be united with the baby boy that already has a spot in our hearts, a little boy that we love from afar. This website has been established as a fundraising tool for our adoption and travel fees. While our desire to adopt is endless, unfortunately our funds are not. Please look around to learn more about our family and maybe even discover that adoption makes your heart smile too!

“You are the poem I dreamed of writing,

the masterpiece I longed to paint.

You are the shining star I reach for

in my ever hopeful quest for life fulfilled…

You are my child.

Now with all things I am blessed.”

it is also raining, which i have always known to be a blessing. it is auspicious to have rain on a special day. today was a day of acceptance…today we were approved by our agency. let the fun begin.

today i mailed our agency application…very exciting!