Saturday, April 30, 2011

Thirtyone reasons you need a bag from Thirtyone

Actually....I've got only one reason....I know you can't wait to meet Lydia and we can't either!!

That's right folks our next fundraiser is coming from another friend who has an in home business, this time it's Thirtyone!!! Have you seen how cute their bags are?! Oh, I know you want one OR what about birthday, or early Christmas shopping? Monica will be donating her portion of the sales (25%) to our adoption!!! Yay!!

I will be hosting a Thirtyone Open House on May 12th from 6:30-8:30 and would love for you to cone by and visit as well as shop. Live too far away to come OR busy that night but still want to participate? You can order online!!! Here's how:

on the websites www.mythirtyone.com/monicaporter there is a tab at the top that says "place an order". That will take you to a screen that says "place an order" again over on the right side under a picture. From there you can choose my party where it says "shop now". you should be able to click through and order from there. You might want to open the catalog in a second window if you don't like the way the ordering pictures work. Anything ordered on this website will be held until we submit your order. If you want it to come to your house with the order, you will not have to pay the extra $4 shipping.

If you have any trouble or questions just email me and let me know. lara.mattingly81@gmail.com

As usual, please tell your friends and help spread the word!! That has been a HUGE part of our fundraising success so far!! Okay, Happy shopping and thanks so much for helping!!!!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Easter blessings

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. Friday night Nathan and I went to a simulcast of The Secret Church. I'm not gonna lie-I thought for sure I would fall to sleep, but is was such a wonderful time of teaching and worship!! Now I did have to take quite a nap on Saturday, but I'm not as young as I once was either ;)

Saturday Lylah and I did a little craft that I found at Mighty $ a while back. It was a simple banner that said "He Lives" and it had stickers that went on the letters. Lylah loves stickers so this was the perfect little craft for her!!!



She especially loved the Jesus sticker. In fact it never made it to the banner because she had to show it all around her room. She did however insist on calling it Noah!!





We hung the banner on the front porch and she just thought that was about the coolest thing!! Every time we pull up to the house she squeals "he liiiives"! Love it!!

We also made "empty tomb cookies". They were really fun to make!!! They are not very cookie like, but were delish nonetheless!!!! Each ingredient had a passage from the Bible that went with it. We did not read through the passages (not ideal when cooking with a toddler), but we did talk about each. My favorite part was taping up the oven and having to leave our cookies overnight. Lylah's favorite part-tasting the vinegar. She loved it!! Weird, I know!



Crushing the pecans. Symbolizing Jesus being beaten.



Smelling the vinegar. She tasted it too and loved it...



Taping up the oven. Symbolizing the tomb being sealed.

I forgot to take a completed picture or a picture of Lylah tasting them!! Oops!! Anyway, you may want to bookmark the recipe to try with your little ones next year!!!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Seat for Your Sweetie to Help Bring our Sweetie Home

What do you think??



Wouldn't this make a great seat for your little sweetie?? Maybe the perfect piece for your flower garden?? I'm sure you could think of dozens of ways to use this handmade bench!! This is custom designed by my very own daddy!! Oh and guess what else?? He wants to make MORE!!!! He wants to make lots more because he wants to bring his grand babies home! Yes, my clever, hardworking daddy is offering his talents as a fundraiser for not only our adoption, but my sisters as well!!!!!! Interested??? Suggested donation is $65. Just leave me a comment here or on facebook or you can email me. lara.mattingly81@gmail.com



Monday, April 18, 2011

Pancakes, crafts and a big God

As many of you probably know, Saturday was a big fundraising day for us. We had a pancake breakfast that morning and a craft bazaar that day. To say it went well was an understatement. The day started off with Lylah and I spotting a rainbow as we came into town. I was reminded that God keeps His promises and Lylah was thrilled that the rainbow "came back". Anyway, the next sweet moment was when our dear friends daughter (who is a forth grader) donated 3 original paintings for us to sell at the craft bazaar. In fact one of them sold almost as soon as I got there!!!! The breakfar went off without a hitch. We had several friends who helped serve, sell tickets, and bus tables. Mom and Dad helped with Lylah, who of course had a blast running around the restaurant. Lots of people ate pancakes many making donations above the $6 each cost. After the breakfast I took off to the bazaar and Nathan went to help some friends move some brush. As I was working with my bow making partner in crime at our booth, Nathan was accepting a generous donation toward our adoption from the friends he was helping!!! The bazaar went amazingly well. The total so far of these fundraisers+the donation is a little over $1500!!!! Wow!!! We still have a few bow orders to finish up, but to say I am amazed at the outcome is an understatement!!!! Our second agency fee is the next payment we'll make and it is $2300, but now, thanks to many of YOU, we're almost there!!!!! In case you don't know, the adoption process can be a bit exhausting, but it is these baby steps that help get us closer to our little gal!!!

Thanks again for your continued prayers and support. Our home-study is very near completion and our I600A has been sent to our home-study agency. We are getting closer and closer to being on a waiting list for a referral. Oh and if you haven't heard yet, we will begin praying for our little gal by name, Lydia. We haven't seen her yet, but God knows the very hairs on her head!!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

20ish months

Lylah turned twenty months earlier this month!! We had a little getaway to the Louisville Zoo during spring break so I guess you could call that our celebration!



We went with our dear friends and their son (one of Lylah's best buddies) and we had a great time! Lylah does indeed love the zoo. Every time we tried to leave one animal to go on to another she would get upset!!! Anyway, the day ended with some splashing which may have been her favorite part!!



We did enjoy our little outing, but we're what we're enjoying even more is all that our lil' lady continues to learn!!! Here's a few things we're seeing:

She knows all of her colors. She loves telling the color of cars driving by or the clothes she is wearing!

She knows most of her letters. I attribute this to her signing and her bathtub letters.

She talks ALL the time, often in multiple word phrases. She loves to copy things we say, we call her an eavesdropper!

She is starting to be interested in counting and can sometimes count to 10 with signing help.

She is feeding herself with a spoon/fork occasionally. She does okay with it, but clean up is of course a little more work!!

She likes to pick her own shoes for some reason.

She has recently started trying to put on pants. She can get them on her legs but can't pull them up yet.

She still loves books. We sit and read books sometimes for complete evenings!! The other day while I was cleaning the bathroom she "read" Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear. She turned each page and said the animal, then said "the end" when she finished! So cute.

She has also taken to singing. Her favorites: The Tractor Song, Jesus Loves Me, and The Wheels On The Bus.

So as you can imagine I'm counting down the days until summer break so I can enjoy more tune with our sweetie!!!



Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Donated crafts for our adoption

I met up today with a friend who had purchased a magnet for our adoption. We had a picnic and let our littles play on the playground. It was a fun time indeed! My friend is also a crafty gal who happened to participate in a craft bazaar this past December. Well, much to my surprise she donated a tub full of goodies to sell for our adoption!!!! Thanks so much Stephanie!!!! Here they are:





Small rosette wreath, great for your mantle!! $10. This is the only one available.



Gumball candy dish. Only two available. Wouldn't this be precious on your office desk?! $15



Decorated cloths pins. $4 per set. Three sets available.



These are darlin and would be GREAT in Easter baskets!!! Crayon bag with notebooks. Only four available. $10 each.



Decorated "chip clip"!! How fun!! I have two. $4 each.



This is way cute!!! Wool felt beaded necklace. Only one available!!!



Pearl and ribbon necklace. This is stunning!!! Only one....$15!



Wool felt bead pin cushion ring. Purple one SOLD. One left $8!



Tea apron! Perfect for hostessing. $10

If you are interested in any of these just comment below or email me lara.mattingly81@gmail.com

Remember in purchasing one of these items you are not just buying a cute hand made craft, but you are helping bring our baby home sooner. It is our hope that we will have the money needed for our second agency fee by the time we get our fingerprint appointment. Please consider joining with us. Thanks in advance from us and from our little one waiting.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Lost in translation and other things I've been meaning to blog about

Lylah has been talking for a while now and we can almost always understand what she is saying especially when she adds her signs as well. With that being said, she does have her own way of saying some things and I just have to blog about them now because I realize one day she will not have these little "sayings" and I don't want to forget them!! So enjoy this little list of Lylah translations....

Blanket is "beddie"
Medicine is "meno" (said like "no" in French)
Amen is also "meno"
Emily is "Meme"
Rabbit is "baba"
Cantaloupe is "o-pa-lope"
No is sometimes "no, humah"
Mikayla is "payla"
Ezra (our dog) is Ez-r
Love you is lubba-ooo

Just trust me when I say these are super sweet in person but hard to sound out for a blog. Something tells me I'll still be able to read them years from now though :)

Other things I've been meaning to blog about:

Have your tried letting your toddler pour things from one bowl to another? This idea stemmed from the fact that Lylah loves to pour the dogs food. Anyway, consider it another way to get dinner cooked while your little one has fun!!



Have you tried painting with your toddler?? In the past our lil lady has NOT been a fan of painting, but recently when we were learning all about Dr. Seuss, she was loving some painting!!! Of course I guess we do lots of hand painting crafts so she thinks she is supposed to paint herself!!



Have you tried cutting your toddler's sandwich with cookie cutters to make fun shapes? Here is Lylah's shamrock sandwich for St. Patricks Day!



Have you tried to keep your toddler from climbing in/on things?? Yeah, let me know how that goes! :) Around here we just make sure we check the dryer before we start it ;)



Saturday, April 2, 2011

T. C. Cherry Craft Bazaar fundraiser

On April 16th T.C. Cherry will be hosting the second annual craft bazaar. My talented crafty friend and I will have a table set up with "Clips for Congo"!! We will be selling a wide range of hair clips with all of the proceeds going toward our adoption journey. The bazaar will be from 9:00-3:00; I hope you can stop by and pick something out for a little darlin' that you love!!! My sister will also be there with a table of her own with lots of sewing crafts supporting their adoption!!! Oh and if you haven't gotten your tickets to the pancake breakfast for that same day make sure you let me know how many you need!! :). Here is a little preview of the items I'll bring to the table:






















I'll post more pretty's later but I hope you have already found something you would like to stop by and get!!!