top 10 :: favorite office supplies

{source}

I'm kind of obsessed with office supplies.  I still dork out over the school supply aisle at Target.  It's a bit of a problem actually.  New ink pens and spiral notebooks make me happier than they should.  I don't think I'm the only one either... any other office supply junkies out there?  We should start a support group... for real.

Regardless... here are my top ten favorite office supplies right now...

1) binder clips wrapped in washi tape {source}

2) cheeky business cards {source}

3) thumb tacs covered in glitter {source}

 4) a progressive DIY calendar {source}

5) chalk pencils {source}

6) gold scissors {source}

7) a clever mail bin {source}

 8) state-shaped return address stamps {source}

 9) pretty photo/document boxes {source}

 10) neon sharpies and washi tape {source}

There you have it.  Office supplies that are sure to make your heart go pitter-patter.  What about you?  Do you have any can't-live-without office supplies?  Do you get all mushy in the school supply aisle?  Tell the truth...

Linking up this week with Angie at Many Little Blessings.

top ten :: things i've learned through the adoption process

Top ten things we're learning from the adoption process...

1) Paperwork ain't for sissies.   For real.  No one can fully prepare you for the ridiculous amount of paperwork that is involved for the adoption process.  It's insane.  When I think "paperwork" I think, you know... just sit down and write out your full name and address a handful of times... But nooooo... it's more like get 7 notarized copies of this... and 7 notarized copies of that... and a local background check... a state background check... a federal background check... get your birth certificates... get your marriage license... answer a billion personal questions... get a reference letter... then another one... seriously... this is some serious paperwork.

2) Fingerprinting should be a sport.  There is an art to getting your fingerprints taken.  No, really... it's not as easy as it sounds.  If fingerprinting were a sport, Lance would be on the varsity team and I'm pretty sure I would have been cut altogether.  Basically, for every one time that Lance got his fingerprints done, I had to do mine twice.

3) Memorize your adoption agency's address.  This will be extremely helpful when you're rushing to the UPS store (again) to mail another pile of paperwork off and you forgot the little sticky note with your agency's mailing address.  Don't worry, by the 4th time, you'll probably have it memorized anyways.

4) Make friends at the post office.  ...or the UPS store, or FedEx, or whatever.  Learn their names... they will become some of your best friends during this process.  We have received some very kind discounts because of this.  Typically after we've notarized the 30th document or had our fingerprints done the 3rd time, they start to feel sorry for us:)  But more than that... they care.  They are excited about our adoption... they want to meet our baby girl... the one they've helped bring home in a small way.

5) Don't get attached to timelines.  This has been hard.  I desperately want to know exactly when our baby girl will be home.  I want to believe our agency when they tell us our first trip will be soon.  I want to believe the Ugandan court system almost has our court date ready.  But the truth is, I don't know.  And the waiting is already hard enough.  We have learned to hold these dates and timelines with a very loose grip.

6) Do get attached to your baby.  While we've been trying our best to not get too attached to timelines, we have done quite the opposite with our baby girl.  We were pretty much done for the moment we saw her little face back in June.  Her sweet picture instantly captured our hearts.  We tried our best to guard ourselves early on... but it became practically impossible as time went on.  And I think that's okay.  She's our girl... and we love her.  We're attached.  Done for.

7) Listen.  There were several times during this process that Lance and I had to step back and re-evaluate.  We were/are constantly seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit... listening to God's quiet promptings.  Plans changed... we went from Haiti to Uganda... from multiple children to one... all decisions that at one point we felt very confident about, but God had different plans... and I'm so glad we listened.

8) Let others be a part of it all.  We have been so amazed at the outpouring of love and support that we have received over the past several months.  We have received letters and encouragement from friends and family both near and far... some that we talk to everyday and others that we haven't spoken to in years... and some that we've never even met before.  It's been an incredibly humbling experience.  We have been brought to tears on more than one occasion and are in awe at how our little girl has already managed to capture the hearts of so many.

9) Pray together.  I would be lying if I said this process hasn't been hard.  Our emotions have been all over the place and we've been frustrated more than once.  This has been a physically, emotionally and spiritually draining process.  But man, am I so thankful for Lance.  I cannot think of anyone I would rather make this journey with.  Throughout this adoption process we have been constantly reminded of our great need for Jesus, which I'm sure will only magnify as we step into parenthood.

10) Persevere. We continue to push ahead.  Hopefully we're done with fingerprinting and notarizing... but I expect we are really just at the beginning of a whole other journey.  And we can't wait.

top ten :: take aways from the state fair

The Kentucky State Fair is in town this week.  Lance and I have said every single year that we've lived here that we are going to go... but we never seemed to make it happen... until this year.  The fairgrounds are literally less than 5 miles from our house and this past Friday I was in desperate need of some fried food and cotton candy.  So... we met up with some friends of ours and had our first Kentucky State Fair experience.  It did not disappoint.

I forgot how awesome the fair was.  The lights, the smells, the sounds, the fried food... I mean, really... you can't beat it.  A few thoughts on the fair...

1) Corn dogs are a perfectly acceptable dinner.

2) Riding the "scrambler" after above mentioned corn dog dinner is probably not the best idea.

3) Fair games are deceptive.  

They always look so easy... but really you're about to drop loads of cash for a giant over-sized sock monkey.

4) And who doesn't need a giant over-sized sock monkey?!?

5) The bigger the beard, the bigger the turkey leg.

Oh, and apparently you can put anything on a stick at the fair.  We will pay big money for food on sticks and bonus points if it's fried.

 6) Really, anything goes at the fair.  

Record size pumpkin??  Yep.  Got it.

7) Cotton candy is a non-negotiable. 

 8) You should never trust a ride that can be completely put up and taken down in only a few hours time by a 16 year old.

9) Unless of course, it's a ferris wheel.

(Actually, I'll be honest here... I rarely follow rule #8... I'm a sucker for a good fair ride.) 

 10) The view is always better from the top of a ferris wheel.

Have you been to the fair lately?  Any of you Kentuckians heading out to the Kentucky state fair this week?  If so, be sure to get a corn dog.

black family reunion 2013

Last weekend Lance and I traveled to Georgia for the annual Black Family Reunion.  And this family doesn't mess around when it comes to reunions.  It is seeped in tradition, laughter, food, and fun.  I look forward to it every year.  Lance's family has a knack for making anyone feel loved and welcomed.... college roommates, childhood friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, fiancés, and all of us in-laws (or out-laws, rather:) 

There are so many things that I love about these reunions... but here are some of my favorites...

1) tradition...

Lance's family started this reunion in 1988... one year after Nanny Black passed away.  Lance's dad was 1 of 8 siblings and after Nanny passed away they wanted to make sure they carried on the tradition of family year after year, no matter how many miles or much time passed by.  This year marked the 25th Black Family Reunion... and I think we had a grand total of 70 people this year.  Told you.  This is serious stuff.

2) golf tourney.

Every year a big group heads out to the golf course on Saturday... teams are strategically selected the night before, and the previous year's winning team gets to defend their title.  And every year one team wins the trophy and another team "wins" the cow patty.  This is serious business people.

 3) pool time.

While all the golfers are out sweatin' it up on the green, the rest of us spend the day lounging by the pool.  The pool festivities includes magazine reading, an intense diving board competition, crazy pool games, and lots of finger foods.  

4) food. food. food.

Speaking of food... Did I mention that we eat a little bit at these reunions?  It feels like this is all we do... and I'm not complaining.  A reunion in Georgia means awesome southern home-cooked food all.weekend.long.

 5) pictures.

We take a few pictures over the weekend.  Just a couple.  None of which are incriminating... none.

6) cookies.

As in "face the cookie."  We play ridiculous games on Saturday night... one of which is the infamous "Minute to Win it" game, "face the cookie." My sister-in-law is a pro at this game... obviously. 

7) sister-in-laws

Speaking of sister-in-laws.. I love these girls.  Lance is extremely close to both of his brothers and I am so thankful to have these two girls as my sisters:)  All six of of us went to college together in Troy, so our friendships started even before our marriages.

 8) memories.

Reunions are all about memories... remembering old ones and making new ones... and sometimes digging memories out of the depths of your high school glory days:)  Before we left we went through Lance's mom's garage looking for some stuff we never moved with us to Kentucky... and lo' and behold... looky what we uncovered... ALL 3 of the boys high school jerseys.  And even more amazing is that they all still fit... not sure if they could fit pads under there though...

 9) spoon game.

Aka, the-most-hilarious-game-I've-ever-witnessed-in-my-entire-life-game.  Seriously... hilarious.  Most of my pictures from this game are far too incriminating to post online, if that tells you anything.  If you're still dying to know more, I explained things in a little more detail in last year's reunion post.  Just take my word for it... hysterical. 

 10) these goobers.

These two little munchkins are one of my favorite parts of these trips, hands down.  Our nieces Jocelyn and Gabbie keep us in stitches... and they are beyond excited about their new baby cousin and keep asking if she's home yet:)  I love it.

Packing up is always our least favorite part... but it always helps when you have good help:)  The girls made sure everything was securely fastened for our ride home.  Another reunion for the books.  Can't wait until next year!

top ten :: nursery favorites

Confession: I've been pinning nursery ideas like crazy lately.  If you follow me on Pinterest, you're probably completely over all of my navy and pink pins.  Yeah... sorry about that.  Here are a few of my favorite nursery looks right now...

1) classic wainscoting walls

2) pink & gold triangles 

3) shabby fabric pennant

4) navy herringbone 

4) seafoam gallery walls 

 5) rustic grey panelling 

6) twiggy fabric birds

7) double trouble

8) white plank walls

9) yellow & grey

10) floral statement wall

Any of these strike your fancy??  I'm kind of obsessed with all of them.  Linking up this week with Angie at Many Little Blessings.

top ten :: things you should buy from our etsy shop

This is an incredibly shameless plug of a post.  The entire plan being that you will see all of this amazingly awesome stuff and head directly over to the Etsy shop and purchase everything.

Absolutely everything.  

We have lots of handmade jewelry posted... and then my incredibly talented father has posted some of his gorgeous woodwork as well.  You'll find beaded necklaces, earrings, bracelets with meaning, one-of-a-kind wooden bowls, incredibly cool writing pens, and much, much more.

But the best part??

Every single penny goes to towards bringing home our sweet baby girl.  For any of you that have adopted or know a family that has gone through the adoption process know how insanely expensive the adoption journey can be.

Therefore... the shop.  

So, without further adieu... here are the top 10 things from our Etsy shop that you should go check out... (and then immediately put in your shopping cart:)

1) Princess Agatha Fire Agate Earrings ($20.00)

These earrings combine stunning fire agate stones with swarovski crystals... and look amazing with the Princess Agatha necklace.

2) Color Explosion Texas Live Oak Wood Bowl ($79.99)

This is one of my favorite bowls that my dad has made... I love how the dyed wood resembles the deep blue of the ocean.

3) Red & Black Beaded Bracelet ($58.00)

This simple beaded bracelet makes a bold statement.  The cut of the red and black stones catches the light just right and creates the perfect amount of sparkle.

4) Napa Valley Wine Cork Keychain Pill Holder ($39.99)

How cool is this?  What seems to be an unassuming key chain actually unscrews to reveal a small compartment that is the perfect size for your daily pills, or emergency advil.  Brilliant.

5) Cord of Three Bracelet Set ($32.00)

This set is probably my all-time personal favorite of jewelry that I've created.  The set includes a small card that has the scripture verse Ecclesiastes 4:12 (Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves, but a cord of three strands is not easily broken.)  I have always loved this verse and how it reminds me to keep God in the center of all my relationships.  And there are matching earrings!

6) Texas Honey Mesquite Hand-Turned Vase ($89.99)

This gorgeous piece boasts a genuine turquoise inlay that adds just the right amount of detail.  This vase would look amazing on your coffee table or office desk.

7) Gold & Green Paige Necklace ($72.00)

The color combination on this necklace makes a powerful statement.  The natural green stones bring the perfect balance to all of the gold and sparkle.  Looks great paired with the Paige Trio Earrings. 

8) 30 Caliber Bolt Action Pen with Redwood Burl ($52.99)

My dad makes a ton of cool pens, but this one is one of my favorites.  It has an "artillery-type" release and a riffle pen clip that makes this the perfect gift for any hunters on your list.

9) Life of Christ Story Bracelet ($32.00)

This colorful bracelet tells the story of Christ... each bead and stone represents a different portion of Jesus' life and death.  The three larger stones represent the 3 Wise Men and come in green, blue or pink.

10) Maple Bowl Natural & Hand Painted Marble Effects ($110.00)

This gorgeous bowl was featured in the 2012 Woodworkers International Calendar.  Yeah... my dad is pretty dang awesome.  The underside and the rim of this bowl were hand-painted to create the effect of granite or marble.  Love this piece.

So.  There you have it.  My top 10 recommendations for what you should be buying in our Etsy shop:) A big, big THANK YOU to all who have already purchased!!  Every item brings us closer to bringing our sweet baby girl home from Uganda.

You can also make tax-deductible donations through Helping Hands.  Simply select "ADOPTION" as your project category, then choose "BLACK, LANCE and JULIA" as your project. 

It would also be totally rad if you would share this info on your own blog (facebook, instagram, twitter... or whatever your social media of choice is:)  

Linking up with Many Little Blessings today!!