What a week... What an awesome God!

This week has been full of wonderful things! So many wonderful things, that Paul & I are actually exhausted. I guess we should get ready for more exhausting weeks ahead of us in preparation for little Eli :) We have just recently found out that Eli weighs 14lbs and is 25in long. We love learning new things about him! He is also now on formula. Even though he didn't take to it at first, he's doing great now. 

Annie Agarwal posted our pictures from our photo shoot this week. We love her! We love the photos! And we can't wait for our family pictures to include Eli! Check out her blog and the photos by clicking here. 

Friday we had a shower at the Albritton's home. We were showered with love and many, many wonderful gifts! But our favorite part was getting to see all our friends and share photos of Eli with them.

On Saturday we had a shower at our church. Our church family is so important to us and we know will be a very important place of worship for Eli as well. 

The shirts are coming to an end. We will be placing our final order on Thursday, September 5th. So if you haven't ordered your's yet... do so soon by emailing us with your shirt size & quantity. Remember that every $ we raise will help bring Daniel home to his parents, Shawn & Melissa. 

Lastly, we have prayer magnets. If you didn't pick one up at either of the showers and would like to have one sent to you, please let us know by texting, fb, emailing, with your address and we will see that you get one. It's a great way to just remember to pray for Eli as he waits for us. 

Eli is growing - PRAISE THE LORD!

We received some updates today... Eli is growing and getting so big. So are the boys (Ben & Chase). Thank you all for your prayers. 

We are sending out a package in the next few days. This package will include our affidavits (which they need in order to schedule our court date) and it will also have a book that I've recorded and read to him. Along with a photo album of our family. And I just might try to stuff an outfit in there as well, so that we have an idea of his size. 

What we can tell right now is that he probably is no longer in size 1 diapers and could possibly be wearing 6-9 month outfits (just a guess). 

We have several more pictures and he smiles in so many of them. For this momma, that does my heart good. 

Thank you all for continuing to pray for him and the boys in the foster home. Remember the ladies in your prayers as well, as they are the ones looking after our little ones right now. They are such a blessing to have. 

We hope to have more updates soon (maybe even a court date). 

Namanya Shirts $15

Don't forget that we are still selling the Namanya Shirts for $15. The Trivette's (Ben's parents) received the profit from the first order and now the Goggin's (they have baby Daniel, who is in another orphanage in Uganda) will receive the profit from the 2nd shirt order. Email me the sizes you want by Sep 1st or if you are coming to any of our adoption showers you can order then as well. 

September 4th - Sharing about our Adoption Journey

I'd also like to personally invite you all to join us on September 4th at Oak Grove Baptist Church at 5:30pm. We'll have dinner at 5:30pm and then service at 6:30pm. Paul & I will be sharing about our adoption, why Uganda and also showing a short film from World Vision that gives a better understanding of why so many children are abandon and left as Orphans. Hope you can join us!

Namanya Shirts are everywhere!

The Namanya shirts were a huge hit! Thank you everyone for your orders. We will be announcing on Sunday the amount that was raised from our first order and introduce to you the Trivette's.

Here are some of the pictures that have come in of others wearing their shirts. Don't forget... if asked about your shirts... take the time to share about adoption with your friends & family.

If you have a shirt and want to send in your picture, please do so by Friday evening so we can include your picture with the Trivette's card.

If you didn't get a chance to order your shirt this past time, we are placing another order on September 1st. The cost is $15 per shirt (including toddler & onesies). Email your orders to: McJad_99@hotmail.com

Eli's Updates

It's been a few weeks now since we found out that we were matched with Eli. Just looking at the few pictures that we have of him has caused us to fall even more in love. 

Many of you have been asking when we will leave, have we received any updates, etc. So here's a few answers to your questions. 

1. When will we be leaving? We have been told that we will leave sometime in September or October. However, the way this process works... when we get "the call" we will need to leave within 7-10 days for Uganda. This is not much notice, so our "goal" is to be as ready as we can be by September 1st. 

2. Have we received any updates? We've been told not to expect any additional updates before we leave. If we do, it will be a complete surprise & blessing! 

(Pictures can only be seen through our Email Distribution list. If you did not receive an email today, you are probably not on our email distribution list. If you would like to be added for future updates & pictures, please email us at mcjad_99@hotmail.com and in the subject line put Eli's Updates. If we have accidentally left you off the list, we apologize and please just resend an email. Thanks) 

3. How old is Eli? Because Eli was found abandoned in the forest, his birth date and his current age is really unknown. The doctors and caregivers have guessed that he is around 5/6 months. 

4. Who are Baby Mace, Chase, & Ben? During the adoption process, many families meet other adopting families. We have been very blessed to have known some that have already gone before us like The Graham's who adopted Baby Mace (originally from Hardee County who now live in Parrish). We have also been blessed to meet (virtually) 2 other families that will be going around the same time as us to Uganda. The Trivette's are adopting Baby Ben (we will be meeting them on Saturday and all the t-shirt $ has been raised for their adoption) and the Deckard's are adopting Baby Chase. I introduce these 3 families to you by their names, because you will most likely be hearing more about them all throughout this journey. So other than getting to know them, what's so special about these "random" people you may say... Mace, Ben, Chase & Eli are all from the same orphanage. They will forever have a bond and our families will forever be connected because of this reason. I will be asking throughout this journey to keep these families in your prayers and I'd like for you to be praying for them by name. Deal?!  

I'd also like to personally invite you all to join us on September 4th at Oak Grove Baptist Church at 5:30pm. We'll have dinner at 5:30pm and then service at 6:30pm. Paul & I will be sharing about our adoption, why Uganda and also showing a short film from World Vision that gives a better understanding of why so many children are abandon and left as Orphans. Hope you can join us! 

We have 2 baby showers coming up in August. We are so blessed to have a church family (not just Oak Grove) but an extended church family as well, Brothers & Sisters in Christ, that are so gracious to help us out with preparing for Eli's arrival. I'm overwhelmed with love and joy for each and everyone of you that have either purchased an adoption shirt, given financially, prayed, shared our story with someone else, or planning to attend one of the showers.

Every time I look at Eli's picture I think to myself, "Thank you Jesus for all your many blessings in my life and for never leaving me or forsaking me and for looking out for Eli, even when he was all alone." I'm reminded so often that any one of us could have been left to starve & die in a forest, but God's mercy, love & grace is everlasting and always enough! 

More updates to come...