#1 SOLD
#2 SOLD
#3 SOLD
#4 SOLD
#5 SOLD
#6 SOLD
#7 White with Orange
#8 White with Pink
#9 SOLD
#10 SOLD
#11 SOLD
#12 SOLD
#13 Red and White
#14 SOLD
#15 SOLD
#16 SOLD
#17 SOLD
#18 SOLD
#19 SOLD
#20 SOLD
#21 SOLD
#22 SOLDSaturday, March 5, 2011
Hair Clips!
I have and will be creating more hair clips and lapel pins to sell. These flowers are made from felt. 100% of the proceeds will go to our adoption fund. Each picture is numbered, so please email me at jennifer-stone@sbcglobal.net or tell me in your paypal payment which number you are ordering. You may use the drop down menu to select the number of clips you wish to purchase. They are $5.00 each, but remember that when you Buy 3, you get 1 FREE! If you see a particular style that you like that is sold, please let me know and I will do what I can to make another one for you. Thank you for helping us bring our daughter home!
#1 SOLD
#2 SOLD
#3 SOLD
#4 SOLD
#5 SOLD
#6 SOLD
#7 White with Orange
#8 White with Pink
#9 SOLD
#10 SOLD
#11 SOLD
#12 SOLD
#13 Red and White
#14 SOLD
#15 SOLD
#16 SOLD
#17 SOLD
#18 SOLD
#19 SOLD
#20 SOLD
#21 SOLD
#22 SOLD
#1 SOLD#2 SOLD#3 SOLD#4 SOLD#5 SOLD#6 SOLD#7 White with Orange#8 White with Pink#9 SOLD#10 SOLD#11 SOLD#12 SOLD#13 Red and White#14 SOLD#15 SOLD#16 SOLD#17 SOLD#18 SOLD#19 SOLD#20 SOLD#21 SOLD#22 SOLD
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Do you trust me?
Do you trust me? That is what I felt in my heart that God was saying to me yesterday. Do you trust me? I know that an earlier post has a similar title, and subject, but I guess I just don't have it down yet... so God brings it before me once again!
We got word on Friday afternoon that we had been given immigration approval! OH HAPPY DAY! Our officier told me that we would receive our letter in the mail on Monday or Tuesday. That worked for me and the timing was just perfect to get all our documents to the Courier service that is taking them to the Consulate to be authenticated. You see, on Tuesday of next week our Official copy of our marriage certificate will be 6 months old. They won't take them if they are 6 months old. Of course we could have gotten a new copy of our marriage license, but that costs more money. MY plan was to get everything to the courier for her to take them on Thursday (tomorrow) and have a few days to spare (She only goes to the Consulate on Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays). I am a planner... and I like to be ahead of schedule. As you can tell from my previous posts MY plan has not worked all that great and EVERYTHING has worked out in God's timing!!!!
Jesus says, Do you trust me? Well, sometimes! Do you trust me? When it works on my time table! Do you trust me? I am trying!!! So, as part of my plan I stopped delivery of our mail (which never comes at the same time) so that I could pick it up at the post office in the morning. Monday... junk mail! Tuesday.... bills and more junk mail... and no approval letter STILL! MY plan was not working! Our documents could not get to the courier for her to take them on Thursday, like I planned!
Today (Wednesday) rolls around, I went to the post office and our approval letter was there! Glory!!! I was so excited to see that piece of paper that we had waited 2 months to receive! Just in the nick of time to get it notorized, certified and sent to the courier for her to take to the consulate on Monday... the DAY BEFORE our marriage certificate would not be accepted! God came through, just as He always does.
Dear friends, this journey of adoption is far more then our efforts to go across the world to get a daughter. This journey is of God teaching me to trust Him!
Proverbs 28:26 says: "He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walked in wisdom is kept safe."
Wow, pretty powerful! How foolish am I to trust in my plan. When I walk daily believing that God is going to walk before me, I am wise! I need to work on that one! But that brings me to one of my favorite passages of the Bible.
I know that I have posted it before, but I need a reminder of it time and time again!
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight!"
God's ways are far better then mine! I pray that soon I can say yes Lord, when he says to me DO YOU TRUST ME?
We got word on Friday afternoon that we had been given immigration approval! OH HAPPY DAY! Our officier told me that we would receive our letter in the mail on Monday or Tuesday. That worked for me and the timing was just perfect to get all our documents to the Courier service that is taking them to the Consulate to be authenticated. You see, on Tuesday of next week our Official copy of our marriage certificate will be 6 months old. They won't take them if they are 6 months old. Of course we could have gotten a new copy of our marriage license, but that costs more money. MY plan was to get everything to the courier for her to take them on Thursday (tomorrow) and have a few days to spare (She only goes to the Consulate on Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays). I am a planner... and I like to be ahead of schedule. As you can tell from my previous posts MY plan has not worked all that great and EVERYTHING has worked out in God's timing!!!!
Jesus says, Do you trust me? Well, sometimes! Do you trust me? When it works on my time table! Do you trust me? I am trying!!! So, as part of my plan I stopped delivery of our mail (which never comes at the same time) so that I could pick it up at the post office in the morning. Monday... junk mail! Tuesday.... bills and more junk mail... and no approval letter STILL! MY plan was not working! Our documents could not get to the courier for her to take them on Thursday, like I planned!
Today (Wednesday) rolls around, I went to the post office and our approval letter was there! Glory!!! I was so excited to see that piece of paper that we had waited 2 months to receive! Just in the nick of time to get it notorized, certified and sent to the courier for her to take to the consulate on Monday... the DAY BEFORE our marriage certificate would not be accepted! God came through, just as He always does.
Dear friends, this journey of adoption is far more then our efforts to go across the world to get a daughter. This journey is of God teaching me to trust Him!
Proverbs 28:26 says: "He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walked in wisdom is kept safe."
Wow, pretty powerful! How foolish am I to trust in my plan. When I walk daily believing that God is going to walk before me, I am wise! I need to work on that one! But that brings me to one of my favorite passages of the Bible.
I know that I have posted it before, but I need a reminder of it time and time again!
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight!"
God's ways are far better then mine! I pray that soon I can say yes Lord, when he says to me DO YOU TRUST ME?
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Progress! I see progress!
Good things are happening this week on the adoption front!
I am excited to share that after 9 LONG weeks of waiting for our case to be assigned to an immigration officier, it has happened! We anticipate that tomorrow we will have approval to bring a child into our country!
The dossier is a group of documents about our family that are sent to China. This includes our homestudy, birth and marriage certificates, employement varification, criminal back ground checks and a few other things. Each of those documents have to be notorized and the authenticated by the Sec of State in the state they were notorized in. They are then sent to a Chinese Consulute to be authenticated. There are several consulates throughout the United States. Each state is assigned to a specific consulate. While most of our documents originated in MO, our birth certificates and Jeff's employment letter did not, so they had to go to different locations then the majority of our documents.
Seven weeks ago I sent off 3 documents to be authenticated by the proper Consulates. Today we received 1 of the 3 documents. I am so thankful to have that document and know that it is not lost! I am not sure why it took so long to get the seal on the back of the State Authentication, but what is there to do! I am hopeful that the other 2 documents will be back soon!
What's next? As soon as we get our letter of approval for immigration, we will take it along with several other documents to the Sec of State's office to be authenticated. We will then send all of the documents to a courier service in Chicago. She will take them to the Consulate and then return to pick them up when they are ready. That whole process will take 10 days! Then off to our agency they will go, to be forwarded to China!
So that brings you up to speed on the adoption front! On a different note, I would like to share with you a passage of scripture I read a few days ago.
I am excited to share that after 9 LONG weeks of waiting for our case to be assigned to an immigration officier, it has happened! We anticipate that tomorrow we will have approval to bring a child into our country!
The dossier is a group of documents about our family that are sent to China. This includes our homestudy, birth and marriage certificates, employement varification, criminal back ground checks and a few other things. Each of those documents have to be notorized and the authenticated by the Sec of State in the state they were notorized in. They are then sent to a Chinese Consulute to be authenticated. There are several consulates throughout the United States. Each state is assigned to a specific consulate. While most of our documents originated in MO, our birth certificates and Jeff's employment letter did not, so they had to go to different locations then the majority of our documents.
Seven weeks ago I sent off 3 documents to be authenticated by the proper Consulates. Today we received 1 of the 3 documents. I am so thankful to have that document and know that it is not lost! I am not sure why it took so long to get the seal on the back of the State Authentication, but what is there to do! I am hopeful that the other 2 documents will be back soon!
What's next? As soon as we get our letter of approval for immigration, we will take it along with several other documents to the Sec of State's office to be authenticated. We will then send all of the documents to a courier service in Chicago. She will take them to the Consulate and then return to pick them up when they are ready. That whole process will take 10 days! Then off to our agency they will go, to be forwarded to China!
So that brings you up to speed on the adoption front! On a different note, I would like to share with you a passage of scripture I read a few days ago.
2 Samuel 22: 31-37 "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besided the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a blow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn."
The feet of the deer interested me. A female deer can place her hind feet in the exact place that her front feet just stepped. They can do it without being even an 1 inch off. In the same way, we can step exactly in the path that God has for us. After we make the right steps, we can stand in confidence!
I don't know where you are today. Things might be going great! There are others that might be struggling to see what God has in store for you. I pray that you will let God be like the front feet of the deer, so that you can step in the very paths that he has prepared for you.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Why Adoption? Why China?
Many have asked or thought why are you adopting? I thought I would take a few minutes to share my heart with you.
First, the need for adoptive parents is HUGE! There is a need here and all around the world. It is so sad to me that there are over 140 million orphans in our world. While most are not available for adoption, there are thousands that are.
Some have asked why are we not adopting domestically. There is no doubt that there is a need for adoptive parents for the many boys and girls that are in the US. The majority of children that are placed for adoption through the foster care system are adopted by their foster parents. We simply don't feel God directing us to be foster parents at this point in our lives. The wait to adopt a child without being foster parents is very lengthy. We also believe that we should not adopt a child that would interupt our children's birth order. Sam is almost 18 months old, so we are adopting a child that is younger then he is.
The next question we have been asked is why are we adopting from China? The first thing I will say is that both Jeff and I have a real love for the Asian culture. Before we decided on China I did a great deal of research about other countries. Many countries are far more costly and require a lot more time spent in their country. We had to factor those things into our decision. There are also many counties whose adoption processes are not very stable. Some only adopt older children and then others that we don't fall within the given criteria for adoption in that country. With all of that in mind and our love for the Asian culture, China was the right country for us.
I am going to close where I really should have started. The most important thing in our lives is Jesus. Our desire above all else is to be obedient to God. There is no doubt that my first encounter with orphans, while I was a teen was the the starting point of God preparing me for adoption. I am so thankful for the things that I have experienced and the confidence from God that this is the right choice for our family!
A verse that has become very dear to me is John 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." Our lives are full... they are blessed and I am confident that our obedience to God will fill us to overflowing! Oh, what a feeling!
First, the need for adoptive parents is HUGE! There is a need here and all around the world. It is so sad to me that there are over 140 million orphans in our world. While most are not available for adoption, there are thousands that are.
Some have asked why are we not adopting domestically. There is no doubt that there is a need for adoptive parents for the many boys and girls that are in the US. The majority of children that are placed for adoption through the foster care system are adopted by their foster parents. We simply don't feel God directing us to be foster parents at this point in our lives. The wait to adopt a child without being foster parents is very lengthy. We also believe that we should not adopt a child that would interupt our children's birth order. Sam is almost 18 months old, so we are adopting a child that is younger then he is.
The next question we have been asked is why are we adopting from China? The first thing I will say is that both Jeff and I have a real love for the Asian culture. Before we decided on China I did a great deal of research about other countries. Many countries are far more costly and require a lot more time spent in their country. We had to factor those things into our decision. There are also many counties whose adoption processes are not very stable. Some only adopt older children and then others that we don't fall within the given criteria for adoption in that country. With all of that in mind and our love for the Asian culture, China was the right country for us.
I am going to close where I really should have started. The most important thing in our lives is Jesus. Our desire above all else is to be obedient to God. There is no doubt that my first encounter with orphans, while I was a teen was the the starting point of God preparing me for adoption. I am so thankful for the things that I have experienced and the confidence from God that this is the right choice for our family!
A verse that has become very dear to me is John 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." Our lives are full... they are blessed and I am confident that our obedience to God will fill us to overflowing! Oh, what a feeling!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Do you trust Him?
Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.
As you may or may not know, I like to have a plan and I like things to go the way that I have planned them. Well, things so far have no always gone the way that I have planned. There is no reason to give for why Jeff had to have a biopsy to find out that nothing was wrong, other then that I need to trust that God has a plan that is far greater then my plan.
What are you going through that is unwanted or unexpected? Are you trusting in God for direction an guidance? If not, I can't express to you how much of a difference it will make in your life!
Before we left Arizona to head home after Christmas, we had to buy new tires and get some repairs done on the van. We didn't expect that expense. This week we had a very costly plumbing issue that had to be repaired. Through it all, while sometimes kicking and screaming (not really) I have down deep in my heart the peace that we need to trust in God. God will make a way for us to bring our precious daughter home from China.
I can't say that I have this mastered but I can say that my focus is on Jesus and His plan is far more perfect then mine.
On to adoption news..... Documents have been sent to 2 Chinese Consulates for authentication and more will be sent soon. We also received our finger print appointments and were able to walk in early to get them done. I hope that going nearly 3 weeks early will speed up the process of immigration approval. We just have to wait and see.
Please see my earlier blog about our coffee fundraiser and go out there and buy some coffee, if you have not done so already!
Thank you everyone for your love, support, prayers and words of encouragement! They are so valuable.
Much Love,
Jennifer
As you may or may not know, I like to have a plan and I like things to go the way that I have planned them. Well, things so far have no always gone the way that I have planned. There is no reason to give for why Jeff had to have a biopsy to find out that nothing was wrong, other then that I need to trust that God has a plan that is far greater then my plan.
What are you going through that is unwanted or unexpected? Are you trusting in God for direction an guidance? If not, I can't express to you how much of a difference it will make in your life!
Before we left Arizona to head home after Christmas, we had to buy new tires and get some repairs done on the van. We didn't expect that expense. This week we had a very costly plumbing issue that had to be repaired. Through it all, while sometimes kicking and screaming (not really) I have down deep in my heart the peace that we need to trust in God. God will make a way for us to bring our precious daughter home from China.
I can't say that I have this mastered but I can say that my focus is on Jesus and His plan is far more perfect then mine.
On to adoption news..... Documents have been sent to 2 Chinese Consulates for authentication and more will be sent soon. We also received our finger print appointments and were able to walk in early to get them done. I hope that going nearly 3 weeks early will speed up the process of immigration approval. We just have to wait and see.
Please see my earlier blog about our coffee fundraiser and go out there and buy some coffee, if you have not done so already!
Thank you everyone for your love, support, prayers and words of encouragement! They are so valuable.
Much Love,
Jennifer
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Adoption Fundraiser!
Do you love coffee or do you know someone that does? This is the perfect opportunity to buy
some coffee and help our adoption process.
Please visit http://www.justlovecoffee.com/TheStones and shop for coffee! For every bag
of coffee you purchase $5.00 will be donated to our adoption. We will also receive a donation
for other items that are purchased.
Please also share our website with your friends and family!
Thank you for helping us with our adoption!
Jeff, Jennifer and the boys!
some coffee and help our adoption process.
Please visit http://www.justlovecoffee.com/TheStones and shop for coffee! For every bag
of coffee you purchase $5.00 will be donated to our adoption. We will also receive a donation
for other items that are purchased.
Please also share our website with your friends and family!
Thank you for helping us with our adoption!
Jeff, Jennifer and the boys!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Progress, Progress, Progress
Our homestudy was completed and mailed to us in Arizona, so we were able to apply for immigration approval on Dec 27th. We will now wait until we are given finger print appointments and then we can actually walk in early to be fingerprinted.
In addition, we have gotten 3 of our documents authenticated by the appropriate Sec of States and they are soon to be sent off to the appropriate Chinese Embassy's.
We are a bit behind where we wanted to be at this point, but we are confident that God has the right child for us and that if we were on our time table we could have missed out on the perfect blessing for us.
God is so good and I feel blessed to be on this journey. I am excited to see God work!
In addition, we have gotten 3 of our documents authenticated by the appropriate Sec of States and they are soon to be sent off to the appropriate Chinese Embassy's.
We are a bit behind where we wanted to be at this point, but we are confident that God has the right child for us and that if we were on our time table we could have missed out on the perfect blessing for us.
God is so good and I feel blessed to be on this journey. I am excited to see God work!
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