Adoption Update

I am horrible at updating my blog! I guess it's a combination of wanting it to sound "perfect"and not having enough time to make it sound "perfect". I'm just going to kick "perfect" aside and just type.

In February we got to meet our son!

 Man was it amazing...wonderful....glorious...emotional...scary....crazy..so may feelings rolled together! The biggest feeling was love! He has the biggest personality! Such a sweet little boy and strong willed all at the same time. He attached to us right off.We could not get out of his sight with out him having a melt down.. If Justin walked out of the room to go get water... He would sit at the door and cry until he came back....we had to be all together all the time. 

Here are a few pics to recap our trip:

Our first time to meet him.

He feel asleep in my lap on the way to the hotel after picking him up from the orphanage.

He LOVED is moto and carried it everywhere.....

Along with these 3 cars... He is cleaning them. He did not like to get his toys dirty... It was kinda hard to play soccer in the sand.. Lol.

Daddy being a pongo"horse" in the water!

Us being silly... He will fit right into our family!:)

He always picked me flowers.. He is such a sweetheart. 

There's that thumb again.. In about 99% of his pictures he has his thumb up.. 

He loves the swings.

Us enjoying the ocean.. Man was it a beautiful place... It was like we weren't in Africa.... Outside those hotel doors was another world....

 These are a few of the pictures where Aboss was from. I went up and down these streets with tears streaming down my face... I have no idea what his life was like there. I wonder what happened to his mom and dad... Are they still alive? How could they abandon him and leave him on the streets at only 3 years old?!? 

I heart hurts as one day I know he will be asking me those same questions...

We passed court.. His first day to be a Deason!:)

Justin and I on a canopy walk or should I say hike!! Aboss was going to go with us, but he just woke up from a nap and was cranky.. And refused to go with us.So he stayed with our attorney,Boat.Thank goodness because there is no way he could of hikes up the hills to get there.. As we reach the top we get a phone call from Boat. Aboss was having a fit because he wanted us.. So I get on the phone with him... I tell h I will be back soon.. He just kept saying "mommy come back.. Mommy come back" over and over again" make me happy that his missed us..we get back and he is in the front of the taxi pretending to drive. Boat said to get him to stop crying he told him he could "drive" the taxi! He was smiling from ear to ear!

Aboss washed his socked in the pool then laid them out to dry all by himself..

I have so many other stories I will share one day.. It was amazing. I miss him so much.. 

Since then our journey to get him home has been well not so easy! We have hit lots of road bumps.. Well just a few but they are taking forever to get corrected! We received his birth certificate but Justin and I's names were spelled wrong. :( just a simple typo and it has been 3 months and we still don't have it corrected!
This whole waiting thing is wearing on me. There is nothing we can do, but wait..
I told Justin it might be easier to change our names!
I know God has everything under control and his timing is perfect. Honestly if he were to be home now life could be crazy as We are still trying to get moved down to Texas... Another paper work mess up! Could be up to 6 weeks before we move. We are praying for God to work a miracle and for it to be this week! Justin has been gone since February.. Everyday gets harder not to be together as a family! We are stronger as individuals when we are together. I often wonder what Gods reasoning is behind all this wait time. I guess I need to get rid of my bad attitude about it all and let him reveal it to me. Just so ready for the 5 of us to be together and under one roof. I do count my blessings as we are all healthy and alive. With the devastation from the Tornados this past week... It really puts thing into perspective. My heart aches for the families that will not get to see their loved ones again..

As we sit here and wait for things to fall into place...I will be counting my blessings and praying hard for my sweet boy to be home soon. 

I read this quote the other day: " Our attempts to rush God's timing can spoil the beauty of His plans for our lives"

I can't wait until I can look back and see God's perfect provision and plan. My Trust is in The Lord.

Psalms 37:7-

I can't wait for everyone to meet Aboss. 

Please be in prayer for our family:

1. That we get settled into our house SOON!!!! It's been a toll on us. We really want to be settled before Aboss gets here. 

2. That the paper work gets corrected and we can move to the final step to get him home.

3. For 1 to work out fast so it doesn't slow 2 down!! 

Thanks everyone!

Love The Deason's

Another update:

Since I wrote this. Aboss's birth certificate has been corrected!!yay! 

Now we need to get into our house! We have moves down to Texas, because we could be away from Justin any longer!! We are not living in a condition to where we could bring Aboss home too. As it is not stable( and here and there) 

Please please pray Hard that our housing situation will be resolved "like yesterday"

I will be crushed if they tell us we can go get him, but we can't because we are not in a house right now. We have to have an updated home study since we won't be living in the same house our home study in.. As of right now we are pretty much homeless:( 

THE WINNERS ARE.......

From: Joely O'Neal

Thank you to everyone who helped us in raising the funds for the Deason family. Whether you have been praying for them, bought tickets, or helped spread the word, they have been truly blessed by you all! We needed to raise $2,500 for them to get them to Ghana next month to meet their little boy and have their court date and did we do it?????????

No, we didn't...we raised $2,720!!!!! God knew the amount this family really needed and that is what was provided because they just had to spend $200 on their visas so they now still have that $2,500 to go towards getting to Ghana!

You can read all about this sweet family and where they are in their journey at the Deason Family Blog.

And now for the winners..........
all entries were entered into Excel and numbers assigned...there were 346 entries and 13 prizes to be won. Then all numbers were entered into Random.org and going down the list in order we got the winners.....see below each picture to find out who won.

5th Generation iPod Touch 32 GB in lime green!!!! Given to the fundraiser by a very sweet anonymous donor. ($299 value) Ilena Varner

Kindle Fire HD 16 GB ($199 value) Charity Teal


2 OKC Thunder vs Dallas Mavericks tickets for Feb. 4th (over $180 Value) The Denson Family

Cuisinart Pure Indulgence™ 2 Qt. Frozen Yogurt-Sorbet & Ice Cream Maker ($90 value). Kami Weems


Thirty-One Making Memories Thermal (14.25"H x 13.75"W x 15"D) Collapsible telescoping handle, wheels for easy transportation in Minty Chip and Jersey Blankey in Oatmeal (60"L x 55"W). ($189 value) Courtney Folsom


Handmade Rag Rug by Leanne to place in front of your kitchen sink and keep your feet very comfy. Kirsten Priest


2 kids size large adoption t-shirts ($30 value) Tiffany Anderson


Uganda package (1 necklace, 1 scarf and 1 bracelet) ($40 value) Julia Leinen


2, ITWorks Body Wraps ($60 value) Corie Perry


Jack Black, 6 grooming essentials/travel dopp kit ($65 value) Shannon Rowe


Baby Gift Set, book, burp cloth, bath and body skin care ($78 Value) Mandy Waters


2 handmade scarves ($30 value) Ashley Barrett


3 handmade necklaces ($60 value) Megan Hackbarth

Adoption update... Raffle update with a crazy twist

Just finished reading through our Travel Packet!! Everything is so surreal right now!!! I can’t believe that we will soon(hopefully in February) be on a plane to meet our son!!! Someone pinch me please!! Ok, Thanks! I am so excited to meet him....pass court then finally show off his cuteness to everyone.

Now on to the not so fun part…. MONEY! I hate that word. I hate the hold that money can have on people.. the control it can have… It honestly almost stopped us from following God’s plans for us… his adoption plans… I said “There is no way we could raise/save $30,000 to adopt from Africa God are you crazy? *If you want a break down of why it cost so much I would gladly share* It took a lot of praying and talking to God for him to finely tell me that “No WE can’t.. but that HE would provide.” I was then ashamed of me putting God in a box…He is way bigger than $30,000.. He has actually blown our socks off and had blessed us with over $15,000 plus so far. Can you say “wow”! . I am in awe of the people that have given, But better than that, the story behind their “Why” they felt lead to help us with our adoption. I have also loved the people we have met along the way..the “I have adopted…”, “I have always want to adopt”, “We are praying about adoption”, “I was adopted..”, “Tell me more about your adoption” kind of people!! I also know that none of this could have been possible without all the prayer warriors I have on our side! Prayer is a powerful tool! The most powerful one I know.

For our next step to happen, which is getting on a plane to meet our son we need to raise/save $2,500

This journey has been a roller coaster with lots of up and a lot of downs, but I know when I hold our little one(s) my arms it will all be worth it! Here is a little song… It brings tears to my eyes, happy and sad. For I know that there so many Kings and Queens out there needing a forever family…but happy tears because I have got to witness some of those Kings and Queens get their forever Family! Listen if you want to...


Kings & Queens by Audio Adrenaline


So since Money is the last thing I really want to be talking about and raising…. We are going to have a little fun with it! So how about an online Raffle with lots of prizes to win!?!?!?!?

And here is the twist....... My crazy friend, Joely O'Neal, who I love so much has thought that this would be fun take upon herself to take over this fundraiser and help us!? Which I am soooo thankful for... But she is not going to let us in on how much money we have raised until the Raffle is over!! I hesitantly agreed :)... I'll going to give this to God and trust he will supply our need.It's going to be fun.... Or I'll be a crazy person by the end... Whichever, Let the fun begin!

Here are the details:

Its an online raffle. We have a few items so far and are looking for some more so if you would like to donate something for this, please let me or Joely O'Neal know every little bit helps and will be MUCH appreciated!
So here's how it all works....
*You can buy raffle tickets for $10 each or discounted for multiple tickets:
3 tickets = $25
6 tickets = $50
9 tickets = $75
12 tickets = $100
....and so on.....
*We will give each buyer a number for their ticket and at the end we will place all numbers into Random.org to pick the winners. Yes there will be multiple winners because each prize will have its own recipient.

*Tickets can be purchased through Januray 25th at midnight and the winners will be announced on January 26th

* If you have purchased at least ONE ticket, you can also get additional tickets by helping us get the word out. You can do this by Facebook, Twitter or post about it on your own blog and then let us know that you did and we'll get you your numbers. So please share, share, share!

*Tickets can be purchased via PayPal using the "Buy Now" button on our blog at www.hisdefender.blogspot.com. I do not have any info/passwords to this account.... so it will be a surprise! You may also do so by mailing us a check (e-mail me for our address) or in person(I won't peak and give it to Joely) :)

Here is our email addresses- autumnlj@yahoo.com or joelymelissa@yahoo.com

Now for the Prizes……..We will update as new prizes are added.

Adoption Fundraiser Raffle for..... 2 OKC Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks tickets

We are having a Raffle for 2 tickets to the OKC Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks on February 4th, to help raise money for our trip to meet our Son!!!

We are expecting to travel in the next month!!! Eek! I cant beleive that it is almost here!! I can not wait to hold our son in my arms! 

In order for this trip to happen without any hold ups, we need to come up with $2,500! So we are thundering up with a fun give away!!! Go Thunder!!

  

Here is the Info:

What are you buying chances for?

2 tickets to the OKC Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks game on Feburary 4th at 7pm!

(Value $180 plus...based on ticket prices online)

When does it start and finish?

Donations will be accepted January 3rd-January 25th..ending at Midnight.

How can you donate-enter a chance to win tickets?

Donations will be accepted by PayPal...you may use the donate button on the blog.Please indicate your contact information and reference it for the Thunder ticket raffle/giveaway.

$10=1entry

$25= 3 entries

$50= 6 entries

You may also donate by contacting me at autumnlj@yahoo.com and I can give you my information to send a check.

How is the winner selected?

For every entry purchaced your name will be put in the drawing that many times. After January 25th we will use random.org to generate the winner. 

Who can donate?

Anyone! If you love orphans, donate. If you love OkC Thunder donate. Even if you love the Dallas Mavericks..Donate!             

Please email, Facebook, tweet, tell everyone you know about our raffle!

Thank you so much for helping us bring our little guy home!        

We are SO excited! Let the fun begin and Good Luck!

                                           

Adoption Update

Adoption Update

I just wanted to give everyone an update! I know I have been a little quiet about our adoption lately. It’s just been hard for me to take it all in and to share. I want to apologize because I need to share our story! Because it is not “our” story it is God’s story being played out through us. I give all the Glory to God, even through the good the bad and the ugly.

A LOT has happened the last few months.

We actually got word in October that we might not get to adopt Ali. It’s still in limbo as we were told “you cannot adopt him right now But you MIGHT in the future”……… when that future is, we have no idea…3 months? 6 months? 12 months? 2 years? Never?

Our hearts have been crushed… the only thing that keeps us going is

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Not just for the Deason Family but for little Ali as well. It breaks my heart that he is still in the orphanage when we should actually be so close to having him home with us now. My prayer is that he will be adopted soon, If not by us then by someone that can give him a loving home.

That same week God opened another door. We were given another referral of a little boy, Abass , that needed a home. He is around 4-6 years old. I have to admit. We had no clue what to do. Do we just wait on Ali, not knowing if we will ever get to adopt him? Do we move on?

Talk about emotional overload. I cried for a week straight! I cried out to God and sought out Godly Christian counsel from people I knew and could trust. It came clear to me that I would never give up on Ali! He is my son. Until God tells me otherwise I will fight like heck for him! My GOD can move mountains! He parted the Red Sea! He died on the Cross for My sins! I have faith that God will one day bring my baby boy home to us!

Then I looked into Abass’s eyes and saw a little boy that so desperately needed a family to love him too! I told Justin,”You don’t want to know the answer I have”. But he already knew what I was going to say. He knows the person he married. And the person God put him with. He thinks God is crazy sometimes LOL.

So looks like we are going to be adopting two little boys! Both are different situations. And I have to admit. I am a little scared, but I’m putting my trust in God.

So here is what happens next.

Our next step with Abass is a court date and to travel to meet him. –they have told us it could be as soon as the end of the year!!!!! Yes that is in 4 weeks!!! I am not counting on it…..but I guess I should have it in the back of my head. J But more likely it will be in a few months.

For this to happen we need to raise $6,5000!!

So that is our Goal as of now! We need to be prepared to travel to meet our sweet boy Abass. So we could need $6,500 is less than four weeks… ok I just had a heart attack!

In the meantime we are in continuous pray that the situation in Ali’s region will resolve and they will call us and tell us that we can proceed with his adoption. If they do we will that that road as it comes. I give my complete trust and faith in God!

I want to thank each and every one of you for your support if our adoption. It really means a lot to us.

If you feel the need to help us with our next step in our adoption you may do so my contacting us. autumnlj@yahoo.com

Love, The Deason Family

Uganda Necklaces, Scarves, and bracelets

My sweet mother in law had a friend that went to Uganda on a mission trip this summer. She had heard about our adoption and want to help us out! She purchased, along with my mother in law ,hand made scarves, necklaces, and bracelets from local women that make these for a living! The necklaces and bracelets are made our of recycled paper! I love these! The scarves are beautiful! And with winter coming around they will make a great accessory to any outfit! Check them out! You would would like to buy one message me at autumnlj@ yahoo.com! I also accept Paypal via that same email!!
Thanks for supporting our adoption!!

Orphan Love Mud Run

We, along with some pretty amazing people, are hosting an Adoption Fundraiser event. Thisevent is called Orphan Love Mud Run!!!! It a mud run, in case in you didn't gather that from the name, lol! As of right now it will be help 6 families(us included)bring their children home through adoption! It is going to be super fun!!! Our goal is have this every year to help adopting families!

You can check it out at www.itsachildslife.org. Sign up at www.earlysign