Adoption Fundraiser

I wanted to adopt early in our marriage, but Greg kept brushing me off saying, "Where's that money coming from? We don't make that kind of money?" Well, I never had a good comeback for that, so I let it go. After a lot of prayer, he and I both realized that if this is what God wanted us to do, He could make it happen, and he certainly has. We were able to come up with the first part of the money that we needed for our adoption with some creativity, generous family members, and Greg's shows and music sales. And now, here we are trying to come up with the second half, so we will resort to more prayer and some creativity once more!

I have become an Independent Consultant with "Thirty-One Gifts," a Christian based company that specializes in personalized items. It is a fairly new and growing company based out of Chattanooga. It was a complete "God thing" of how I heard about it! I absolutely loved the products, and originally just intended to buy a couple of things because the prices were so reasonable. And then I found out that if I became a consultant, I could make 25% off of every sale and put it into our adoption fund to help bring home my precious baby girl.

So, PLEASE check-out my site: www.mythirtyone.com/jessicaadkins There are some really cute products, and monogrammed bags starting at only $17!! Almost every product can be personalized, and the monogramming is FREE! If you are interested in hosting a party, you can earn lots of free products while you are helping to bring Claire home! You can do an in-home party, catalog party, or even an online party. Even if you don't live in Knoxville, you can do a catalog or online party and still help our cause. If you don't want to host a party, you can always shop online at my website! Take a look and let me know if you like what you see!

If you live in Knoxville, I am having an "Open House" event at my mom's in Farragut on Thursday, September 25th at 6:30 p.m. (**Note change of date!!) Let me know if you'd like to come and see what we have!

Celebrating 30!

Reflecting on Thirty Years!

Today, I turned the big 3-0. It would've been a lot more exciting if I hadn't spent the entire week on my back with one of the worst stomach bugs that I've ever had! Every time I think it's passing, it comes back full force! I think I may have turned the corner tonight, and was able to eat solid food at my birthday dinner with my family. Hopefully I'll be in full swing for the big luau Greg and my parents are throwing for me tomorrow!

I have had lots of conversations this week with friends about turning thirty. Some have asked me if I'm where I thought I'd be, or if I had any regrets, and it got me to thinking. Here are my thoughts:

Children: I always thought that I'd have more than one child by thirty, but we're working on that! I feel so blessed to have my precious Connor (even though he's been a little rascal this week!). Sometimes I'll just be staring at him and he'll say, "Why are you looking at me Mom?" I catch myself just looking at him sometimes, amazed at how handsome, big, and smart he is. Even though sometimes I don't understand why we've been asked to wait so long to add to our family, I know we are being faithful to God's plan, so I know He must just have an amazing little girl waiting for us!

Career: I'm really proud of my career, and feel like I've worked really hard to get to where I am. I feel honored to be in my position at such a young age, and feel so blessed that so many people have put their faith and trust in me. People keep asking me if I want to keep moving up in administration, but I have no idea. I've always seen myself teaching at a college level, never as a head principal, but we'll see what God has planned!

Marriage: I've been married eight and a half years, and these days, that's something I am so proud of. My husband is the most kind and least selfish person that I think I've ever met! There are so many times that I just think to myself, "Why does he put up with me?" Greg is genuine, caring, and has such a gentle spirit. He's an amazing and unbelievable father. He has been able to open up new worlds for me in so many ways. He's changed my thinking, my attitude, and how I see things. He's taken me to so many beautiful places all over the country, and even a few outside of the U.S. I love how much we love traveling, and how we place such an importance on family vacation time. I just love him so much!

Faith: I think it took me thirty years to finally get over myself! I have learned so much this past year about the way I want to live the rest of my life, and what kind of impact I want to have on this world. I think growing up, I probably saw myself at thirty having a safe, comfortable life, and now that's the exact opposite of what I want. I want to make a difference, I want to step outside of myself and do something, not just feel compassion, but actually do something with it. A line from my favorite worship song says for God to "Break my heart from what breaks yours". This has been my prayer for the past year, and I feel so blessed to have become part of a community that seeks this in their lives as well.

So, is my life the way I saw it as a dreamy eyed highschool girl? Absolutely not! But I am so thankful that it's not what I dreamed of. It's so much more and much, much more meaningful. I'm so hopeful as I begin looking forward to the things to come, and to see what I can do with the rest of my life! My prayer is for God to just show me what to do next!

A Very Long Week!

This was the first official week of my new job. I have worked 12 hours every day getting everything ready for the year to begin. Most of my week has been consumed with taking inventory of and delivering the school's new Social Studies curriculum, textbooks, and other materials. IT TOOK FOREVER! Greg took pity on me on Wednesday and helped me deliver the last of it to the teachers. Thank God for husbands who are willing to give up their day off to help their emotional and exhausted wives!

Today was the first "normal" day. I actually got several things done and feel a lot better about things. I finally got my new office set up. I decorated it in black and pink polka dots, mainly because it makes me think of this blog and Claire!

I miss my friends at Dogwood terribly! I have stopped by a couple of days to visit. I am so thankful that God placed me not too far away! I literally can be at Dogwood in five minutes, and it is on my way home every night.

I am getting to know the staff at my new school and I really like them. Tonight was our "Meet the Teacher" night and I was very impressed with the turnout. I have also been really impressed with the genuineness of the principal and the way he runs the school. I am excited to get the year started, and I'm excited about this new opportunity. I really feel like this new position is a great match for me, and quite honestly do not regret not being in the classroom at all.

I am hoping to work normal days and be a better mom and wife next week! Now, I just need some sleep!