Magazine Bead Necklaces

We are selling these popular necklaces through the wonderful ministry 147MillionOrphans.  They buy them and resell them to families who are fundraising to help bring home their child.  They're so popular, in fact, that they're sold out on their website right now, so get them here while you can!  These would make great Christmas gifts for friends, family, teachers....anyone you can think of!

"147 is honored to share the story of our sisters in Uganda who hand make these necklaces from recycled paper.  They roll the beads by hand, dip them in varnish, and thread them onto the string.  Prior to learning how to make these beads, most of the women 'picked trash' or turned to prostitution to provide for their children.  By purchasing this necklace, you help a mother make a sustainable income to provide for her family.  This purchase also helps feed a child in Uganda."  {147 Million Orphans}

To order, simply click the "Magazine Bead Necklaces for Sale" button on the right side of our blog.  You can select your quantity up to 6 (if for some reason, you want to order more than 6, let me know and I'll change the quantity for you!).  You can pay with your PayPal account or by debit/credit card.  I will ship your necklace(s) directly to the address of your choice.  Order now and I'll send them in time for Christmas gifts!  Your purchases go directly into our adoption account and help get us one step closer to bringing our little boy home!  Thank you and feel free to message me with any questions!

Friday Finds: A Little Holiday Pinspiration

Hello, Wayman Family Nesters!  Sorry for my 2 weeks off, but my mind has been a little preoccupied lately (I hope to be able to share with you next week.  Sorry for keeping you on pins and needles!).

I'm back today to share a little holiday pinspiration with you.  Here's a few of my favorite holiday decor ideas from the always amazing Pinterest.

I think these beautiful globes are F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!  I bought some supplies a couple of weeks ago to try my hand at my own version, but I still need to find my own little trees.  Michael's only had a bag of assorted sizes for $20 and I was NOT about to pay that!  I'll be sure to report back to you when I complete the project!

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I'm loving this red and white bunting.  This is another little project I've got planned for our tree (Which we have yet to buy by the way.  But I have grand plans, so don't you worry!).  I'm envisioning this bunting with a burlap tree skirt.  What do you think?

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When I saw this post on the fabulous Emily Clark's blog, I knew this was the perfect solution to display all of our Christmas cards.  I have yet to try it out (I really need to get crackin' on all of these projects-I'm definitely behind this year.  Eeeek!), but I'll be sure to show you picture of the finished product!

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Here's a little DIY snowglobe project.  So cute and I bet your kiddies would love it!  I saw another one pinned where they put gift cards inside-believe me, it was WAY too cute!  What a creative way to spice up giving a gift card!

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Want a cheap way to glam up your holiday decor?  Go grab a can of sprapaint and some twigs in your back yard and go to town!  When they're dry, put them in a vase and voila!  Cheap and chic decor!

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Obviously I've got these jars on the brain right now.  These are so adorable!  Can't wait to try mine!  Can you ever go wrong with glitter?!  (please don't answer that because I don't think you can!)

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How cute is this untraditional wall tree?  I love this unique tree composed of "useless but pretty objects" (according to the creator).  Definitely a one-of-a-kind that would be sure to make a statement!

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So hopefully you're feeling inspired on this happy Friday, my Wayman Family Nesters!  I know I am!  It's time for me to get going on our Christmas decor.  I figure better late than never!  What about you, Wayman Family Nesters?  Do you have any fun Christmas crafts and decorating going on this weekend?

Happy Friday!

Another Milestone!

This morning we had our USCIS biometric fingerprints made! Woo hoo!

Sorry, this picture is not too great! I only had my iPhone camera, and we had to take pictures outside the building. They asked us THREE TIMES inside if we had cell phones and informed us they needed to be turned off.  I was like "They're off. Jeez!"   But I still wanted to "document" this SPECIAL DAY!!

I've been so EXCITED about this day ever since we got our appointment times a few weeks ago! It felt very official to be in the USCIS office! The appointment went very quickly. I guess everyone was too busy scouring Black Friday deals!  Not us!  We slept in today!

It was neat because these fingerprints were done digitally...so none of the messy ink!  Now they will send them in to be processed, and we will just wait on our FDL (Favorable Determination Letter) to come in! This will be the official approval for our family to adopt internationally! Huge milestone!!!

Giving Thanks

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Wishing my Wayman Family Nesters a very happy Thanksgiving.  Hope you're spending the day surrounded by ones you love (oh, and that you're eating lots of good food!).  Take some time to reflect on all that you have to be thankful for.  We are truly blessed.

DIY Wreath Round-Up

With Christmas around the corner and a week off for Thanksgiving, I think it's safe to say that I've been bitten by the craft bug!  So I rounded up some easy, DIY wreaths for you to try out this Christmas season.

How adorable is this felt ball wreath?  This would make a colorful addition to your Christmas decor that the kids would sure to love!

This stunning trio would be sure to wow your guests when they arrive at your home!

And what about this adorable cookie cutter wreath?  It looks simple enough-I think even I could tackle this one!



This adorable wreath would be a fun way to hold all of your Christmas cards!

This beautiful wreath is made from paper doilies and white lights.This one would be sure to make a statement in any part of your home!

This homemade pom pom wreath is  another colorful one that would be sure to please the kiddos!

  

This present wreath would be sure to make a cheery addition to your home!

This cheap and easy peppermint wreath would be sure to brighten your spirits this holiday season.

Yarn=Love. Wreaths=Love.  Put them together=Pure genius!  Try your hand at this yarn ball wreath.

This kid-friendly wreath would be fun to have "hanging around" this holiday season (I'm cracking myself up as we speak I write!)

So there you have it, Wayman Family Nesters!  10 of my favorite wreaths for this holiday season.  I don't know how I'll ever choose which one(s) to do!  But I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished product(s).  Do you plan to try your hand at any wreaths as you begin to decorate?

2 for 1 Airport Homecoming!

On Saturday night the hubby and I went to welcome our friends David and Sara home with their precioius Jude.  Turns out another local family was bringing their sweet little boy home as well on the same flight!  2 for 1!  Awesome!

{I borrowed these pictures from Kelly at Ordinary Hero since apparantly I was way to caught up in the excitement to take any!}

I think the crowds made the aiport security people nervous, but they were very nice about it!

Here come both families walking up together!  Such a special night to be a part of!

Welcome  home Teddy and Jude!  Your families are so so happy to have you home!

Dossier to Ethipia! (Belated Post)

I emailed our agency earlier this week to ask if our dossier had made its way to Ethiopia yet.  They told me that it had on November 10th!!!  Woo hoo!

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So, we're just waiting waiting waiting!  Our agency has no idea how long the wait will be, but we do know we're 2nd in line for our parameters (baby boy 0-12 months).  So I guess we' re #2 on the waitlist! : )

Happy Friday Wayman Family Nesters!

Hannah James' Partnering Family

I'm so excited to tell you that we are one of Hannah James' partnering families for the months of November and December! 

What does this mean? 

It means that you should go shopping.  Go shopping for yourself.  And while you're at go ahead and do a little lot of Christmas shopping. You can purchase from Hannah James {storenvy}.  There are several partnering families for the holiday season so be sure to include something like "Wayman Family Adoption" in your note to the seller.  50% of the profits help us bring our little home.  And 50% help bring her little one home.

So, it's a win-win! Head on over to check out more of her pretty things!

Give Hope Shirt

One of my sweet blogger friends Brooke who is adopting from Taiwan is having an online silent auction to help raise funds to bring her little one home.  When I found out about the auction I was all abou trying to help in any way that I could!  So head on over to her blog Taking the Road Less Traveled to enter to win one of our Give Hope shirts and to check out the other items.  $10 gets you 1 entry, $25 gets you 5 and $50 gets you 20, so head over there now!

Everybody who enters gets one of these "One Less Orphan" writbands!

Here's a sneak peek of some of the other awesome items:

Want to buy one of these?  Then head over to Taking the Road Less Travled now!

Happy Monday Wayman Family Nesters!

Orphan Sunday 2011

What a difference a year makes!  This time last year on Orphan Sunday I was praying for my hubby to hear the call to adopt that I was hearing.  Now we've turned in our dossier and are waiting to be matched with our little boy!

Here are a 2 videos in honor of Orphan Sunday (which was yesterday) from 2 different wonderful organizations.  Great videos and messages for Orphan Sunday.

Ordinary Hero~ The Orphan from Kelly Putty on Vimeo.

Orphan Sunday 2011 from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Happy Sunday everybody!

Happy Birthday to My Hubby!

I'd like to wish my sweet hubby a happy happy 30th birthday (from his MUCH younger wife-hehe!)

I love you so much and I'm so thankful to have you in my life!

xoxoxo

HAPPY DAY!

I am so excited to say that our dossier is on its way to Washington D.C. to the U.S. Embassy! When it's approved here in the U.S., it will make it's way to Ethiopia!  The hubby got it mailed off yesterday. It was funny to hear his take on things. Yall know I was freaked out if you read yesterday's post. He said, "I was so nervous because we only have 1 official copy of all of this paperwork." We also had to mail 2 copies to our agency, so he mailed those off as well.  We overnighted both the official dossier and the copies so they would get there ASAP.

I did a little happy dance after talking with the hubby and having confirmation that it was sent off. 
Enjoy the famous Carlton dance for a peek at what I looked like!

                              

When I got home from work our biometrics appointment from USCIS had come in the mail! (which is just a fancy word for fingerprints)  November 25th is our appointment.  So, it was a really good day in adoption land!

State Certification: Check!

Yesterday I took our dossier to be state certified (Monday I took it to be county certified.  Another step required by some states and Tennessee is one of them).

So during my planning period at school I headed downtown to the Secretary of State's office to have a state seal put on our dossier.  It was kind of a long, bit of confusing ordeal  (I REALLY don't like going downtown), but the good news is, it's finished now!

Here's our dossier and our Power of Attorney (mailed together, but considered 2 different documents):

Here's a close-up of the glorious seal!

And here's a side view of the stack of docuements that is our dossier.  I've been carrying it around with me the past 2 days while I got it notarized.  I was too scared to leave it in the car.  If my car got stolen, I would be more upset about it being inside!  Take the car; leave the paperwork!

Today the hubby is mailing off the dossier.  I am a huge control freak (after all this has been my baby for about the last 7 months!), but I thought it would be good for him to do it.  I need to learn to relinquish control!  Adoption will definitely teach you that lesson!

Dossier is ALMOST complete (And Other Friday Randomness)

Today when I got home from work, I was excited to find the remaining 2 documents we needed for our dossier had come in the mail from our agency.  The next steps will be to get them notarized at the county clerk and then head downtown for the state seal.  After that, it will be off to Ethiopia!  Woo hoo!

This week we also received our notice from USCIS saying that our application was being processed and we would be receiving our fingerprinting appointment soon!

When I came home today, I also had received my IKEA gift card that I won from Young House Love and blogged about here a couple of weeks ago.  And much to my surprise, it was a gift card for $200, not $100!  But don't worry, I'll be sending an e-mail tomorrow letting them know their mistake.  I teach America's children for crying out loud.  I have to be honest! 



Don't forget that tomorrow at midnight is the LAST CHANCE to enter our t-shirt giveaway over at Lovin' Life. 

Happy Friday Wayman Family Nesters!

Give Hope Tshirt Giveaway at Lovin' Life

My sweet blogger friend Alison (who is also a future fellow adoptive mama!) is hosting a giveaway of one of our Africa Give Hope shirts over on her fabulous blog. 

The giveaway ends on Friday, October 28th at midnight, CST. She will announce the WINNER this Saturday, October 29th!!!
Wanna know how to enter?  Then head on over to Lovin' Much to check it out!

Airport Homecoming

On Saturday the hubby and I attended our first ever adoption airport homecoming!  It was for my sweet high school friend Katie and her hubby Brent.  We are using the same agency and she's been a HUGE help to me when I've had questions along the way.  They also happen to live right around the corner for us, so I'm seeing playdates in the future!  (Side note: We drove past their house on the way to the airport and saw that a banner reading "Welcome Home Lucy" had been hung up under their carport and I instantly started to cry.  So the tears came before I even made it to the airport!)

About 30 minutes before we needed to leave, I decided I just HAD to make sweet Lucy a sign, so here's what I whipped up...

Here's a picture of some of us waiting excitedly for them to arrive!

And here's a video of the newly expanded family!  (A big thank you to my friend Beth for her video. I was shaking so much with excitement that mine is a wash!). 

Here's a shot of some of Lucy's friends and family welcoming her home!

And here's a picture of the family of three!

I was so excited to get to share in their special day.  It was such a beautiful, emotional event to witness. Congratulations to the new mommy and daddy!  We're so happy for you!  And Lucy, we are so glad that you're home.  Many prayers have been lifted up on your behalf and you are already such a blessing to your family!

Happy Monday everyone!

Africa Beads for Sale

If you've been wanting one of the famous African magazine bead necklaces made by an amazing group of women in Uganda, here's your chance!  The Karamojong women create these beautiful necklaces by hand and from recycled paper.

This Saturday from 10:00-2:00 I will be part of a Holiday Open House in Cool Springs.  It's never a bad idea to get a little shopping done early, right???  These beads would make great gifts for a friend or for yourself!

Address (Behind Cracker Barrell and the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Building):
The Finishes Group
7104 Crossroads Blvd.
Suite 112
Brentwood, TN 27027

We'll still be selling these necklaces as one of 147 Million Orphans' fundraising families.  If you would like one of the necklaces, or one of their awesome shirts or other products, feel free to e-mail me at jenwayman@gmail.com and I will place and order for you!

Goodwill Goodies Get a Makeover!

Last week I posted here about my fabulous Goodwill finds.  Well, I'm excited to show you after pictures of a a small project that I tackled.  And by small, I mean I sprayed them with some gold spray paint!  But I'm happy with how they turned out.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Overall I'm happy with how they turned out!  I love the bit of glam that the gold adds to our home.  What about you, Wayman Family Nesters? What little projects have you tackled lately that make you happy?