Background Info

Reposting this to make it easier to find if you are reading this blog for the first time because you received an email on our "Little Rockopoly game".



I have began this blog to tell you a little about my family and to ellicit some help.

My name is Tiffany. I was born in Mississippi, the 3rd of 4 children and the only girl. All my life I have dreamed of the family that I would once have, never seeing few children in my future. I have always wanted a big family so I was devasted when I ran into infertility problems after getting married. But before I go into that, let me tell you a little more about my past.

I was always a very healthy child, never sick...until my sophmore year in high school. I began to feel very weak and winded. I thought that I was sure getting out of shape..even though I went dancing every weekend and was in gymnastics. I really didn't know what was going on. That January, I turned 16. Like any ordinary teenager, I got to have the car that weekend and took my friends "cruising" town. We had so much fun that night. Little did I know what was about to happen. My birthday was on the 13th. On the 19th, my mother woke me up, told me to take a shower (not to put any makeup on), and to get ready to go to the doctor (again). This was not my 1st visit. This was probably the 4 or 5. We had already been to my PCP and the ENT because of a swollen lymph node behind my right ear that was soo big my friends were teasing me about having a tumor. (Boy did they feel bad later!!)

That morning, I was so tired that I didn't want to do anything. I got up, took a shower, and did what my mom said to do. As we walked into the doctor's office, I could hear to nurses talking to one another. I was so white that they could not beleive that I was walking on my own. This doctor's visit, the doctor took blood for the 1st time and sent us home with iron pills for anemia. I went home and crashed on the couch. The next thing I knew, my mom was waking me up and telling me to get in the car. I was so confused. My dad was home in the middle of a work day and my mom had packed our bags. I was told that we were going to Arkansas Children's Hospital but nothing else. (oh yeah did I forget to mention we moved to Arkansas)

At Children's, the news was finally broke to me. I had leukemia (ALL--acute lymphacytic leukemia). I underwent 2 1/2 yrs of chemotherapy, lost all my hair, and missed 1/3 of my sophmore year in school (however my teachers found it in their hearts to send my work home to me). I tried to be positive through everything even though I occassionally got boughed down by the chemo or by loosing my hair again after it had begun to come back in.

Good did come from this time in my life. I met my husband during this time. I was ball headed and he had just come home from the Army. We had mutual friends and had both stopped to talk to them "cruising town" (on one of the few nights that my mom let me out of the house). We instantly hit it off and have been together for 15 years (married for 11 of those). He has seen me during my worst and best times. His friends use to ask him "who the little boy was riding in the truck with him", but it never bothered him.

Years later after high school and during my last semester in college, we got the news that I was pregnant. We were so excited but the pregnancy was accompanied by appendicitis. Following a appendectomy the doctor said that the baby was fine. We were elated until our 1st miscarriage. I was 4 1/2 months along and devastated. A year later, we got pregnant again. Worried but excited again, I found myself trying to do everything right. At our visit to hear the heartbeat, we found out that I had had another miscarriage at 7 wks. Devastated is putting it lightly. I fell into a pretty deep depression. Crying myself to sleep nightly.

When we decided to try again, I was terrified. I didn't think I could go through it again. I got pregnant again and this time with the help of my doctor (who saw me weekly because I was always frightened something was going wrong), I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. He came 3 weeks early and I was on bed rest for 6 weeks but everyday that I look into his face, I know that he is a gift from GOD!!

I couldn't have been happier until my son was 6 months old and I found out that I was pregnant again. Scared but very happy, I called the doctor. This pregnancy ended in disaster too but was alot easier to take since I had my precious little boy.

My son is the light of my life, my little miracle baby, but I still have that desire for a larger family. He is now 3 1/2 and wants a baby sister badly. We have not prevented getting pregnant since the last miscarriage but have not been pregnant since (3 yrs). I really don't want to be pregnant again and neither does my loving husband. In the last year or 2, we have felt a very strong pull to adopt. We started the process last June through DHS but have decided that we want to adopt internationally.

Now I have finally come to the reason that I began this blog.....We need your help! Adoption is a very expensive process and we are now in major fundraising mode. We will be posting ways that you can help us in the days to come and I will be keeping you updated on our progress along with family news and decisions. I am very excited about this blog and plan on trying to write something on it daily. Please keep us in your prayers and check in with us often to see how we are doing. Our goal is to raise $30,000 and so far with our 1st fundraisers (Rhea Lana and Duck Duck Goose consignment sales and blankets), we have raise $1200. Not much but it is a start:)

Well it is getting late and I need to go to bed......Love your sister in Christ

New Addition to the family

We welcomed a new addition to the family this week. It is a 13 week old cocker spaniel puppy!! He is so sweet! I had a cocker spaniel when I was little and knew what good dogs they are. My son loves him (but being a little boy, he is a little to rough with the puppy and we have to get onto him frequently). He is a family dog and gets to stay in the house when we are home. I missed having a dog around....

Updates on the fundraisers. We are currently trying to sell the game ads through email and nobody is biting. Next step is to start going business to business. We sent a brochure to the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce but haven't heard from them either. This weekend is going to be busy as I start to go from business to business by myself with a 3 year old in tow. Maybe we will have more luck face to face. We have to have all the ads sold by June 23rd (I think) so that we can have the game out by Labor Day! I will be mailing out our contribution letter soon to family and friends. Maybe that will bring some $$ in too. Through Rhea Lana, Duck Duck Goose, and the blankets, we have raised over $1200. Small start but still a start. Most the $$ will come from our games (if we can get the ads sold). I am feeling a little stressed out! But we know that in the end God will take care of everything and that we will raise the amount needed to bring home our baby Ivy!

Adoption Update

Well....I finally got our application totally filed out and mailed into Dillon. It has been such a process and I had to type 4 pages worth of questions they wanted answered. I really had to think about some of them. But it is totally done and sent in....so the next step is to go online and watch an orientation and then fill out another application. Oh boy hope it is not like the last!!

I am so excited that the process is progressing but worried about the earthquakes in China!! I hope my baby girl is ok .... I pray for her safety and hope that GOD brings her to us quickly. I haven't heard anything about damage to orphanages but I have heard that a school collapsed. I heard a statistic that there are over a million children in orphanages and foster care in China and only 4% of them will ever find homes!! That is so sad!! They are in my prayers daily!! I wish more people would take adoption to heart.........................

another kind of fundraiser

Ethan is involved in a Trike-a-thon for St Jude Children's Hospital tomorrow at the daycare. We went door to door tonight getting him sponsors for the event. He raised over $100.00. It was so cute watching him try to explain what he is doing. He kept saying he was raising money for his bike instead of for the kids or for the hospital. All he knew was that he was getting money to ride his bike!! even though we discussed what it was for...our neighbors are great!! They all talked with him and told him what a great thing he was doing for such a worthy cause!! I love it that he is getting involved with giving to others at such a young age.. God truly gives us opportunities to grow in spirit and grace from very young to very old!! HE is so good!

Busy, Busy

Wow, I haven't been very good at this lately but been really busy..We have finally set deadlines for our game..have been making blankets and they have been selling like hotcakes at work...and I have been trying to get all out application filled out and our contribution letter written. We are getting down to the line on our game but are trying to find a couple of people to help us sell the ads. Think I might try at church...surely someone will volunteer (I hope).

Well I have been looking for a new car since mine is giving out on me and is way too small to add a 2nd carseat into. We have found a Dodge Journey and I think I really like it. Could get better gas mileage but it has tons of room and lots of extras. Think it may be the one....a very good friend of mine said the name is appropriate for the adoption journey we are currently on. and I agree:)

Well wish I had more funny stories to tell but can't think of any right now..I will try to get better about my updates...Love you all---your sister in Christ

Monster Under the Bed

Last night, we spent the night at my mom and dad's house. At bed time, Ethan gave me such as scare that had me laughing my booty off. As I put Ethan to bed, I performed our usual routine. We changed, read books, I laid down with him for 15 minutes and then left him alone in the room. He got up 1 time and I put him back to bed, tucked him in, and told him that I would be back soon (since we were sleeping in the same room). Well about an hour later, I got ready for bed, changed into my jammies, took my contacts out (yes...I am blind), and retired to bed. Once in the room, I glanced at Ethan's bed to check on him but couldn't see him so I felt around the bed....No Ethan! I thought "that little stinker, he is in my bed" but he wasn't there either. Well I was carrying my phone and shone it around the room....No Ethan! I began to freak out....until I hear a small noise. I listened closely and could hear him breathing. I began to look harder and found him underneath the bed. He had purposely crawled under the bed because he had his pillow, blanket, 2 stuffed animals, and a toy tractor! I couldn't beleive it! I laughed so hard and I had to share my find....so I called my mom into the room to help me try to fish him out. We got him out and he never even woke up. We had a really good laugh but the night was not over yet....

Later that night Ethan woke me up making noises. He was in the act of shoving everything back under the bed! I asked him what he was doing and he responded "Momma your here!" then grabbed a spare pillow and pulled up his blankets and went back to sleep...very odd. When my alarm went off the next morning, I found Ethan again trying to crawl under the bed but this time he was trying to pull out his pillow, blanket and the stuffed animals! I asked him why he was under the bed and his response was that he was playing with his tractor! nothing else.

What I find really weird is that he is terrified of shadows but he can crawl under the bed in the dark!!!

Easter fun

Took Ethan Easter egg hunting in the front yard yesterday..It was so much fun. He gets so excited when he finds one. He has this funny little dance and yell. He made us hide the eggs 2x. We put change in the eggs and after we were done, he was even more excited about the $1.49 he had gotten! So cute....he puts all his change in his piggy bank and when it is full, we deposit it in this savings and start all over again.

When I was logging everything into the computer for the Rhea Lana sale, Ethan found a tractor within the toys that he wanted. I told him that it was for sale so he went into his room got his bank and wanted to know how much. I told him that it was $4.50 and he dumped his change out and made me count out the change. I guess it was his finacial contribution toward his little sister!! I was adorable and a real teaching method about $$.

Well Easter is almost here. HE IS RISEN!! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Hoping everyone has a great Easter and remember that Christ died on the cross so that we may all have eternal life.

Happy Easter---you sister in Christ