my mom told me that i had to ask for a christmas present that isn't "money for the adoption." so i've been compiling a little christmas list of things that (1) i love (2) i probably wouldn't buy for myself right now (3) support either an organization that i care about or fair trade. let me show you what i've added to my little wish list:
how cute are these sandals! my friends erin and leigh both blogged about them, and now i have to spread the word too. but seriously, check out the website to read the wonderful story behind this organization (and to see the other patterns they have). and if you're thinking about buying some, hold off for a bit. my friend leigh, who is adopting 2 kids from ethiopia, might be partnering up with them. just stay tuned...
OK, i can't get the other picture to load, but you can go here to see it. i have decided to make it my goal to see if i can clothe myself completely in fair trade/supports good cause merchandise. this may be a crazy goal because i'm not sure if anybody sells fair trade blue jeans. obviously, i have already found shoes, tops, and accessories (oooh, and for jewelry and scarves, go here). really the whole point of me putting all this stuff up here is to say that it's actually VERY EASY to buy something for yourself (or for somebody else) and still support good causes.
what's really annoying (speaking of christmas presents) is that lately i've been feeling guilty that we can't buy our families lots of great christmas presents this year. and that really makes me mad -- not that we can't buy lots of presents but that i'm feeling guilty. never before have i been so angry that our society has turned christmas into a huge consumeristic orgy. and i guess i've been wondering why people (including myself) get so bent out of shape about what gifts to buy their kids and how many presents to get for their spouse and whether they really have to buy their boss something...and yet, there's a little girl in my sister's kindergarten class who walks around everyday in shoes with no soles, and nobody gets bent out of shape about her...
in adoption news, please just be praying for us and all of our friends who are adopting. pray for money to come in for us. pray for money and other fundraising opportunities for leigh and gray ladd. pray for a referral to come for daniel and abby umlauf, who have been waiting almost 6 months. as i have begun to realize, the holidays are HARD when you know your child(ren) may very well be alive RIGHT NOW -- perhaps without food, in an unsafe situation, or sad and lonely -- and you cannot get to them. and like us, the ladds and the umlaufs are first time parents through adoption, so we are all experiencing the intense emotions of just wanting our babies SO BADLY. but what hope we have in jesus, EMMANUEL. he is with us. he is with our children. amen.
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