t-h-a-n-k-f-u-l

• super quick spacer appointment (the beginning of braces for young master eli cash)
• ICPC is approved and we have a court date for finalizing zoe's adoption
• Truth from Alison through marco polo
• the peace and "inviting" of the sussenbach's driveway
• sarah & josiah are here

• shelley's willingness to invite and host - relentless commitment to community
• "what if God is truly better than anything we dare to dream?" - annie f downs
• new music on my device
• reading "letters to a birmingham jail"
• AB Baby saw a need and met it (without prompting or reminding or any vocal cue)
• epic last day of vacation.  games. snacks. tv. naps. never leaving the condo.

• chicken salad with janet
• the deepest reality is grace.  at the center of the universe is not lack - it is abundance. - aaron niequist/father michael
• how much fun emma had mopping the floor
• more lovely quotes/verses:

seeking to be obsessively grateful

• kids climbing into the couch.  
• car naps
• weighted blankets (or three normal blankets that combined feel fabulous and weighty!)
• so many CFA treats
• finding things i really like on instagram 

• celebrating caroline!  what a treasure.
• so many accents at the grocery store
• nick's planning and forethought.
• cinnamon rolls + coffee + stack of good stuff + balcony + sunrise

• facemasks with caroline
• waiting and watching 
• F-A-M-I-L-Y time
• not giving in to the "tyranny of the urgent"
• zoe's contentment (98% of the time!) in the stroller
• good reminders and strong Truth

so many thankful things.

• christal's visit - her deep understanding about foster care (plus coffee and scones!)
• relevant podcast (helping redeem the time in the pick up line)(though my new activity may be coming up with good pick up lines in the pick up line to use on nick)
• wedding food at community group

• 10% off coupon + ebates + giftcard + visa rewards...it's almost like they are paying me to shop (not really...but i like saving money/getting rewards when i spend money!)
• the way it just works with molly - sharing life, sharing kids, sharing hearts and treats (and casserole and soup and on and on and on)
• the pool is blue again 
• the sweet lady at clearwater pools
• the t-shirts came! (and so much quicker than i anticipated)

• lots of little projects getting done around the house (thanks, nick!)
• the table in the cottage has a fresh coat of paint
• when people are easy to be around
• pizza with the myers
• we are officially a bonafide certified foster family
• fabulous quotes/Truth on instagram

• choosing who/what we study in school (in this case the writings of CS Lewis)
• the way suzie lets me help
• running around lakebottom with nick
• sharing shoes with emma to make a polar pop possible
• a sneak peak at the bicycle pillow
• my first water ice (philly phreeze!  with real phruit)(thanks for the introduction p mike)

• sharing of hearts and lives in community group
• real and meaningful conversations at CCC on sunday
• time with amy taylor!! oh how i enjoy her authenticity and grace and kindness. 
• this sweet girl with her elephant onesie (and how she loves the elephant on her bouncy seat)(God is so kind in the details)

evidence of God and His good gifts

• running/riding/strollering/scootering at the riverwalk
• sweating with shelley 
• rob brugler's visit

• eli and caroline are home! (and getting to hear all about their trip!)
• when kids are doing school and they don't even realize it
• the math discs are FOUND!
• great room swap was successful
• good report for molly and the twins
• truckloads of things that remind me of africa (except in africa there would be about 7 x's as many pipes on this truck and they would all just barely be holding on)

• t-shirts are ordered
• already made charts (no need to recreate the wheel)
• nick's presence/arms to hold me when i just need to cry and wail
• new to us slime supplies from naomi hope
• good first few days of school for LJ
• cracker barrel biscuits
• commute to/from school means i'm closer to being caught up on podcasts
• the access we have to worship music through youtube
• nick's guitar is on the bow of the AFM

48 hours left! T-Shirts T-Shirts T-Shirts!

There's still time to order a t-shirt...I'm hoping to place the order Monday morning...so just over 48 hours to get your order in.  If you want one, we'd love to order you one - message me, email me, text me...if you don't want one, no worries - we can still be friends.  One lesson learned from this activity: I don't think I would do very well in a sales/marketing job.  

Here's a look into my very official "t-shirt order taking notebook" from a couple of days ago.  Blue is definitely winning.  We're still far from the goal of 75 shirts of each color...but that's really ok.  We're grateful for each and every order.

Like that Adult Large tally mark game?? I'm not sure what I was thinking/doing/what the actual number is supposed to be - 11? 12? Not to worry...I'm going to go back over each order before giving an actual count.

We do need a few more kid sized orders...we need to have at least 13 (honestly, I'm not sure if that's 13 of each color...or 13 total...) (so we either need 5 more...or 9 more of each color!).  (Even if we don't have 13, we can still order them...it just increases the cost a bit...but not too much!)

Let me know if you have any questions!  Or have any other grand ideas for selling t-shirts!

If you need to pay for your shirt, you can mail us a check or use this pay pal link: paypal.me/cashfamilyadoption

We are so very grateful for the fact that God can use t-shirt sales to provide for a little girl to permanently become a part of our family.  

Apologies and Corrections: I was mistaken!  There IS Hunt Brother's pizza available nearby.  Hallelujah! :)  I THINK both of the gas stations that I've been told that have it are in Harris County...so Columbus is still missing out (but Columbus DOES have the goodness that is Marco's Pizza) - AND one of the gas stations is on the way to LJ's school...I foresee picking up a slice or 7 far too often.  I told a friend that we may need a new line item in our budget.

Surely there is more to come.

Signing Day

All went well on Wednesday with our "Signing Day."  We had a peaceful, uneventful trip to Birmingham (it ended up feeling sort of like a date day thanks to Molly's willingness to have LJ and Emma for the day...Eli and Caroline are still on their choir tour/mission trip).  In hindsight, maybe we should've done something more like what football players do when they sign on to an NFL team...hype videos and various hats and jerseys and stuff...it could've been so much more exciting.

Zoe slept right through the vast majority of everything.

Recap of the day:  We signed some papers at a lawyer's office (and by "some papers" I mean very important documents that will play a significant role in Zoe officially becoming a Cash)...met some dear, dear friends for lunch....went and had our 5th set of fingerprints done (seriously. 5th - granted 2 were for the foster care process...but still...why in the world is there not ONE fingerprint database?  just one.  maybe even every person could register their fingerprints...and then the fingerprints would BE THERE and there would be no need to pay upwards of $300 having fingerprints scanned again and again.  I'm not befuddled at all. I'm assuming it makes sense to someone...so it's ok if it doesn't make sense to me!)(and I'm still grateful that fingerprinting isn't painful or embarrassing - no need to have needles stuck in us...or urinalysis drug tests in front of strangers -- pants down, turn around, pee in a cup...yup.  that happened.)(so sorry for that tangent...back to our regularly scheduled programming...)

...and then we found the Lifeline office (which happens to be in the WMU headquarters...brought back some Camp Pinnacle memories...)...signed some more important papers...and then got in the car and headed back to Columbus (with a stop for gas station pizza on the way.  we really love hunt brother's pizza...and there is NONE to be found in Columbus!  i found the flaw with our city.)

When she was awake, Zoe shared more smiles than ever.

Isn't she lovely?

We are amazed by this precious gift...and amazed by the way God is providing for this adoption through so many incredible and wonderful people.

So now we're just waiting for a letter to show up in our mailbox that will summon us to court in Gadsden, Alabama (since Zoe was born in Alabama we were counseled that it would be wise to submit our adoption paperwork to the great State of Alabama) ...it could in the next few weeks - or it could be in a month or 2...my understanding is that it depends on how busy the court is (all of the waiting periods that we would've needed to happen have already happened).

Thank you all for your company on this journey.  Thank you for your prayers.  Thank you for your support - financially, emotionally, spiritually.

Surely there will be more to come.

not just counting my blessings...sharing them, too.

• it never fails...there is always more to be thankful for. 
• "build the places where people belong." - mike foster
• anytime a kid asks "can we play outside?" 
• the amazing generosity of so many. goodness.
• listening to nick talk about theology
• the cat was in this flower pot all afternoon

• pretty new nail color (thanks, april)
• hearing kayla's heart
• the way the folks at pineridge are excited about LJ being back there with them for the school year
• "all my fears and doubts, they can all come, too - they can't stay long when i'm here with You." - the way/housefires
• LJ's offers to help
• the way emma was studying my "wedding planning" notebook (created in 2001)

• "there is great vulnerability in joy.  joy isn't cool...cynicism is really easy and really cool.  Anyone can criticize...anyone can be jaded...joy is vulnerability...laughter is vulnerable." - conversation between jon acuff and mike foster
• we've got a home that gets dirty.  we have a HOME and people alive in it...therefore the dirt that must be swept multiple times a day is a GIFT.  the arms to sweep it with...GIFT.  the eyes to see it with....GIFT.  the broom that makes it so much easier...GIFT.  the coke i drank as a reward for sweeping for the 4th time today...GIFT.
• the way drinking OJ with an iron tablet helps
• big fat stack of outgoing mail. 
• one would think that i'm thankful for the scripture on the wall in the bathroom stall...but i think i'm even more thankful for the amusement of it all. fun times in the WMU building/bathroom near the lifeline office

• flamingo jokes that bring big smiles
• helping LJ connect with his family (aunt, uncle, grandmother)
• michelle showed up with coffee and doughnuts
• box of golden doughnuts (never a bad time for those)
• kat's surgery went beautifully
• papa's generosity
• rainy days
• more marco's coupons (a set was in nick's truck!)
• seeing videos/picture of the youth on their trip
• easy peasy signing day in birmingham
• getting to see sam and christy (20 minutes with the collins is better than no minutes with the collins)
• more and more smiles from our zoe