A little bit of everything...

God has blessed us in so many ways in the past week! God laid it on the heart of some very precious friends of ours to donate to our adoption...we were very humbled and extremely grateful for their generosity. Through them, God reminded us again that He is faithful...and He WILL provide all we need!

It was also a wonderful blessing to get to spend a little bit of time with my sister, my brother-in-law, and my nieces last weekend. While here, my sister took pictures of us for our Christmas card AND pictures we will use in our adoption profile book. Here's a little look at some shots she captured...

I absolutely love my sister's camera...However, the amazingnessof her camera means she is able to capture some of the not so pretty moments...like me reenacting a noise that came out of Warren's esophagus while he gave the camera his most serious of looks...

AND, Warren showing me his "real" smile after I was continually encouraging him to "not smile fake"

But, I think this one below (or it's colored version) may be used in our Christmas Card. Doesn't Marley look so cute??

...Which brings me to another topic. Some of you probably know that Shutterfly is giving away fifty photo cards for blogging about their products. If you know me, you know I love a bargain (especially as we are pinching every penny possible to save for baby Gorman)...but it is definitely NOT hard to rave about Shutterfly's products. Warren and I have used Shutterfly for our Christmas cards the last three years. Since we live so far from our family and many of our friends, I feel like photo cards are most appropriate! What I love about Shutterfly is they have so many cute options for really great prices.

Every year for as long as I can remember, my mother has written her annual "Christmas letter" that updated all of our extended family and long distance friends of our years accomplishments...Well, I love this photo card from Shutterfly that connects the family pictures with a short/concise family letter...

...not as much details as my mother's letters in the past, but I think equally as cute and more time efficient!

I really love these photo cards as well...

(really love how unique this one is!!)

I can't quite tell if I love this design or if I really just love the picture of that little girl...I think it may be both...

She's so adorable!! :) And, lastly, though I do not consider myself much of a "glittery" type of person, I kind of like this card...

Some of these options are around .90...which I think that is a great price! Shutterfly's site is easy to use and they have tons of great options for cards, calendars, books, etc! I am considering making some of our adoption profile books (that we may pass out to law firms) through Shutterfly rather than making them all by hand "scrapbook style."


So, I hope you all enjoy this upcoming Thanksgiving week...I pray you will be aware of God's many blessings. Even in the midst of pain and heartache...even when we don't understand why things happen in our lives...He is good...and He works everything out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). He does not promise He will give us everything we think we need when we think we need it...He promises that His plan for us is a good one...even if we can't see it in the midst of our present troubles or pain.