5000

(rob ryan)

On January 30th, I told Adam that we needed to raise $5,000 for our application fee.

(The following is a not exactly word for word but good enough version of our conversation that night)

Janel:  Adam, we need to have $5,000 just to turn in our application for adoption

Adam:  Well, if we have some fundraisers and if we save like crazy we will totally make that goal by July.

Janel: Ummm...I was thinking that we could make it by March 1.

Adam: (laughing) there is no way.

Janel:  Remember Adam, you always say that anything is possible with God on our side.

Adam: That's true. Let's do it.

I emailed all of my talented friends for donations.

Adam came up with the name "The Push for Pita"

We got busy.

I blogged and promoted the fundraiser like crazy (sorry :D)

and most importantly, we prayed.

We prayed specifically to reach our goal of $5,000 

by March 1 to send in with our application for a baby.

For our baby.

Today is February 18.

A little bit after I posted my blog post  last night announcing the fact that we were only $188.13 short of our goal, I received a phone call from one of my oldest, dearest friends.

She was calling because she had just stumbled onto my blog and read that post.

This amazing friend and her husband decided that they wanted to donate that final $188.13.

What an amazing blessing, a blessing that is beyond anything I can even say.

Our goal is met.

We are going to have a baby!!

Thank you to everyone for their support.

Thank you doesn't seem like enough

 but it's the most genuine thank you times a thousand that we can possibly say.

$5,000 in 18 days.

That's a miracle.

That's a blessing.

PTL!

xo

janel

the BEST couple of days...

This week, Adam and I were blessed to be a host family again for two adorable little girl from Children of the World.

Three days of adorableness with... 

These girls brought so much joy to our lives even for only spending three days together. We painted...

Made funny videos and photos on photobooth.  I could listen to them giggle all stinking day!!

We sang and danced, and we watched Barbie movies like they were going out of style.

On Wednesday night, they performed at our church and I literally cried throughout the entire performance.  Little children singing about the love of God is amazing :)

The performance touched us in so many ways...we left that night vowing never to buy bottled water again, we left becoming sponsors of two children (a little boy from Nepal and a little girl from Honduras), and we left with an even bigger confirmation that international adoption is the way to go for us.

World Help is such a great organization with a ton of options to help out all over the world!! You should check them out :)

These last three days were life changing in the best possible way.

I can NOT wait to be a parent!!!

eeeeek!

xo

janel

Thankful 30-Day 23

Hello Tuesday!

Here we go with day 23.  I stayed pretty simple with this one.

Simple but lovely <3

I wanted to show my love for prayer and "The Word" so I used these verses from Ephesians since it's one of my most favorite prayers.

Day 23- I am thankful for prayer.

I will be back later today to post some bento lunch pics.  I realized that I have been forgetting to share them over here on the blog.  Rest assured, they are always posted on my Flickr :)  I love that I have heard from so many people who have decided to give bento lunches a try as well.

Thanks to my sweet friend, Lehua, my lunches have been looking much much cuter!

I love it!

They are so fun!

xo

janel

Orphan Sunday

Today is Orphan Sunday.

We were asked by our pastor if we would like to share our story and our passion to start a family through adoption with our church family this morning :)

I thought that since you all are pretty much family too, that I would share our little hearts with you as well :)

Adam and I are excited to share the beginning of our adoption story with all of you today.

Janel:

Adopting children has been the desire of my heart for as long as I can remember. I have always wanted a big, colorful family. As I grew older, the fire in my heart continued to grow stronger, and God's will for adoption in my life has been continually confirmed; especially while falling in love with the children I have met in Reynosa, Mexico on mission trips.

As I searched for my husband to be, a love for adoption was a must on my 'list' and I knew that God would direct my path. When I met Adam, one of our first conversations was about our families. I learned within 20 minutes that Adam had experienced the joy, love and sacrifice that foster care had meant to his parents and their family as a whole. It's not easy to part with little children you have cared for and loved and I really admire their courage and conviction. In fact, one of the girls that the MacLean's cared for has been reuinted with them after 20 years apart. By the grace of God she was adopted just a couple of years ago. It's amazing that after all she has been through God found a way to bring them back together, leading Cindy to give her life to Jesus, and replace the missing piece in the MacLean family. Both of Adam's brother-in-laws had been adopted as well. He shared with me (before I had even said anything) that adopting a child  was something that he wanted to do someday! Keeper!

Adam and I have been married now for almost two years and are ready to open our hearts and our home to a child.  We have been planning and saving for months now and our prayer is that God will open the right doors, bring us to the right people, and honor the desire of our heart to begin our family in His time and through His will. We can’t wait for Lupita.

And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. -- Matthew 18:5

Adam:

My wife really has a way with words doesn't she? Her passion and fire for adoption was one of the very many reasons I fell in love back in March of 2008. If you knew me back then, before Janel, you would have been astonished that marriage and children were anywhere close on my horizon. But God has a will, and the way is often made clear when He knows we are ready for understanding. The Lord knew that it was not good for me to be alone, and praise God I have Janel in my life as my loving wife. Our hearts, having been adjoined, are now fit to burst with the excitement and hope of chilrden, and specifically, adoption. There will be sacrifice, and our marriage will grow and thrive as challenge forces us to come together only as we place God more and more firmly in the center of all we do. Our prayer and our commitment is to lay down our lives for the children we are praying for. We are not adopting because it's cool or trendy. We are adopting to fill a need, for the child and within us, that God may work, and that we may be His hand's and feet. May God bless the children we are blessed to keep, and allow us to be the very best parents we can be.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. -- 1 John 5:1-2

Here is a great little video that I found on the Orphan Sunday website, that gives a little insight into the need for adoption :)  Enjoy!!

xo
janel

a God thing :)

(source)

Such a simple sentiment :)

I will be the first person to admit that praying isn't always the first thing that comes to mind when I am having a problem.

When Im thankful, counting blessings, seeing wonderful things happen, I pray, I give thanks, I praise God.

When I have problems, I talk to my friends, family, stress, worry, dwell on it, and when none of that works, then I think to pray.

Silly silly.

This week, well this past month really, I have been stressing and stressing about a certain "event" that I was supposed to attend.

Worrying myself sick.

Yesterday morning, I checked my email and I had an email confirming my stressor.  I had felt so much stress over the past month worrying about this that I felt like I was going to fall apart.

I closed my eyes and began to pray because I could just feel anxiety creeping in on me.  

My prayer was simple:

Dear God,

Please get me through tomorrow, please fill me with your perfect peace so that I can do what I need to do tomorrow without any worry or fears.

I know you always have my back.

Amen

At that point I heard a ping! (new email)

The email said that I was no longer needed to attend the much dreaded event tomorrow!

PRAISE GOD!

When I pray, things get taken care of.

I bought the gorgeous print above to hang in my home as a reminder. 

Pray first.

xo

janel

walk this way

(image source)

I am ready ready ready for fall :)

We have had about two days this week where it has felt fall-ish :)

I have set out all of my cute Autumn collections.  Here is a peak at some...

Today, has definitely been one of those days, not in a good way.  Im ready for tomorrow.

Thank God for fresh starts :)

xo

janel

ps. I posted the winners to Jessica's giveaway in the post below, check it out and contact her if you are one of the winners!

pss. I wanted to really quickly address "the zine" that I contributed a couple of articles to, Creative Juice.  The whole situation was pretty disheartening.  Pretty much, all of us writers got screwed over :(  Kaelah did a great job explaining the situation here.  I feel the same way that she feels and Im sorry.

today...

(Seriously, aren't these the cutest headphones you have ever seen?? I scored these over at Late to the Revolution. and I am officially in love :D  Thanks to Amy for featuring them on her blog )

So on this Tuesday I will:

*  journal

*  clean the house

*  make cuckoo clocks with my fifth graders

*  visit my parents and look at all of my mom's American Girl collection

*  Write out my goals for October

*  take a picture of all of the cute things I have gotten for Pita thus far.

*  write love letters to at least 5 people

*  drink  apple cider

*  skype with some lovelies

*  photograph some more cute fall themed decor DIY's

*  Count my blessings

*  thank God for everything

I love you.

xo

janel

p.s. Jessica chose the winners for her giveaway!!  The winners are Janelle Eller for giveaway #1 and 
ani hearts japan for giveaway #2.  Please contact Jessica at daveloughrey@comcast.net.

never think...

Are you ever so inspired that you just want to yell, or run outside and inhale the beauty of everything?  Sounds weird, but that is just how I felt today :) True story!

I have been listening to some new music and it is moving me, creatively. 

 I love that feeling!  I seriously need to search for new music more often.

Whatever. It's a great feeling :)

*  I've been painting...

*  I've been coming up with some really cute fall decor ideas and getting them ready :)

*  I made some ridiculously awesome rings that I am planning on putting in the shop (that I haven't taken photos of yet :)

*  I've been reading

*  I have been hanging out with my amazing family

* I have been falling more in love with Adam with each second that passes

*  I have been packing for Chicago :)

*  I have been scoring some amazing vintage treasures at garage sales today :)

**  this adorable little fawn family 

** and the three sweetest little ponies you ever did see

LOVE.

thank you God for every single thing.

xo

janel

tuesday

(image source)
Has anyone ever tied a ribbon around their finger to remember something?
Here are some things that I want to remember today:
* to be so thankful for friends who are so willing to help Adam and I make our adoption dream come true :)
* to give a shout out to Tiphanie for sending me those awesome peg board containers from Ikea!! She made my whole month :)
* to buy like 100 glue sticks because the kids run them down soooo quickly in art class.
* to not get behind on my Tell Your Story journal pages.
* to not get discouraged by what other's think.
* Glee! is on tonight :)
* to give thanks to God
* to not wear flip flops when it's this cold outside and I have recess duty.
* that there are only 23 days left of school this year!
That sweet little bow in the above picture is my virtual reminder.
Have an amazing day!
Tomorrow I am going to post some update pictures of my "studio" space.
I am also going to post pictures of my new art journal pages.
love.
xo
janel

The adoption.

For those of you who don't know...Adam and I are planning to adopt :)
This is something that I have felt led to do ever since I can remember.
Fortunately, God sent me a man who also shared the same love for adoption as I did.
With that said, one of my goals for my 30 before 31 project is to start an adoption fund.
Adoption, especially foreign adoption, can be VERY costly.
I had done tons of research years ago and back then it looked close to $35,000.
Insanity.
It is very important for us to have a good chunk of that saved before we actually begin the process.
I have started saving money but there is no possible way we can come close to our goal of adopting in the next 2 years, without help.
That is where YOU come in :)
I'm not a big fan of asking people for money but I decided to have a little fundraiser of sorts.
To help us reach our goal.
Here is my idea.
My little fundraiser is going to be called "Pennies for Pita"
(Lupita is the name I have always wanted for a little girl...Pita for short).
For anyone who is interested in helping here is the low down.
After I hear from you that you are interested in helping, I will send you a baby bottle in the mail. (Or you can use your own if you already have one :D)

All you would have to do is throw your extra change in the bottle when you have some.
When your bottle is full, you will send it back to me and I will add it into our Adoption Fund.
I think this is a cool idea because that little bottle will actually be representing a little life that Adam and I can NOT wait to bring into our lives.
We feel very blessed to have so many caring friends around the world.
We know how tight money can be so we aren't expecting much BUT if you could just help with spreading the word of our fundraiser, saying prayers, and anything else we would be beyond appreciative :)
We love you and we can't wait to start sharing our newest adventure with you sometime in the (hopefully) near future :)
Again if you are interested in helping out with "Pennies for Pita," please email me at janel(dot)maclean(at)gmail(dot)com and I will send a baby bottle right out to you!!!
Thank you for listening.
This was a really hard post to share :)
I love you!
xo
janel

tuesday tuesday

Today is gorgeous.
I feel like I am just surrounded with beauty and love!
I feel blessed for sure :)
Did I tell you that Sunday was one of the best days of my life??
It was.
My dad got saved...FINALLY :)
Adam is going to get baptized and become a member of the church.
Praise God.
I finished three portraits last night:



How lovely are these three girls for real??
and how cute is this alphabet?

ok...must get to work.
Second graders will be here in 5 minutes!!!
Thank God for loving my job!!
xo
janel

one year.

One year ago today, I married Adam.
Just he and I, our very close family members, and God.
We weren't formal (the above picture shows what we wore), and the ceremony was dripping with personals touches just for us from our Pastor.
It was perfect.
I can not begin to tell you how blessed I am to have been the one chosen for him.
Seriously, there are no words.
There are looks, smiles, touches, kind thoughts, prayers, gifts, laughs, promises, acts, feelings...
I love him.
so much.
times two.
double.
Thank you so much Adam for choosing me.
Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for being you and loving me for me.

xxxo
janel

TGIF

as in thank GOD it's February :)
Happy February 1. I know that there is something that you are supposed to say on the first of each month while you spin around in circles right??? What is it? I know that my college roommate Suzie would remember!! Suz??

(image source)

Anyway, I am sooooo glad it's February.
Reasons Why include:
I have a valentine to spend Valentine's Day with.
My art show starts on February 12.
We have no full weeks of school
The 28th is Adam and I's 1 year anniversary! (I have been secretly looking forward to eating that top tier of my wedding cake. Like it was sooooo good I have been craving it ever since!)

Do you all want to see what totally made my whole week...?

Is it not perfect?? Silje did a custom portrait watercolor of my sweet Catalina!! It captures her personality and cuteness soooo well.
She is offering her amazing talent to everyone for such an amazing price so if you are interested, let her know!!
She is amazing :)
in love.

My mom is on a cruise all week and the last time she called it was 80 degrees where she is...jealous. I guess another thing that I love about February is that it's one month closer to SPRING!
Dear Groundhog,
When you come out tomorrow, can you please do whatever it is that you do that means spring is coming sooner!!
It would be greatly appreciated.
BTW-how did it come about that you were the one who was the deciding factor in all of this?? just wondering, not judging :)
Love,
janel

Have a great Monday and a great February :)
xoxo
janel

10 things i love about you...

well, not you really :)
I never posted pictures of the book that I made Adam for Christmas!
I used Elsie's "10 things i love about you" kit that I purchased from RVA.
I had made Adam a "10 things i love about you" book when we first met so I decided to do a married edition for his present.
Here we go:











I put a white piece of paper behind the clear pocket pages for the pictures to give you a better idea of what the pages look like.
I really love the simplicity of this book :)
As you can see from this book and my last mini book that I posted, I have really turned to a more simple, upcycled style in my scrapbooks. I like using items that I just have laying around and random supplies. I literally can't even tell you the last time I have been to a Scrapbook store :)
I hope you enjoy this book. It was a huge hit with Adam :)

**Speaking of Adam, his heart surgery that was supposed to be tomorrow has been unfortunately re-scheduled for March. There were some insurance issues (!!!!) so we have to wait until Adam's new insurance from ATT kicks in for his surgery to be covered. We are still unfortunately stuck with over $6,000 worth of bills from the ER and doctor visits. Isn't insurance kind of lame??
On the plus side though, God provides and we are just thankful that we were able to re-schedule, and that his new insurance will completely cover his surgery and he will feel soooo much better :) PTL!
AND...Adam's dad was planning to fly in for the surgery and decided to keep with his plans and is flying in today! Yay! We are so excited to be able to spend some time with him this week!
Soooooo happy!
Ok I will be back later for more loveliness so please check back.
I love you <3
xoxo
janel