Our family in gingerbread!

Christmas morning!!! Now that the kids are old enough to fully enjoy the gift opening experience and all that it entails, it was really exciting to watch and enjoy it all through their eyes! Madelynn had just turned one last year and the difference is like night and day. Where last year she was just starting to get it, this year she took delight in EVERYTHING. Such a little lady :)





Noah...I must say how PROUD I am of this little man. He is at that age where everyday he would list all the things he would like for Christmas (and he sure made them known). Christmas is such an amazing, blessed, season. We really wanted to take this opportunity to teach our children about giving and how JOYFUL it can be, but not just with our words. We wanted them to LIVE it with us. This year we sponsored two children who are orphans in China through Operation Giggle.Noah played a huge part as he helped pick out the toys for the kids. Here is what blessed my socks off...for one boy he picked out the very thing he himself was wanting for Christmas. Knowing that he was not going to get to keep it. It did this Mama heart good to see him EXCITED to give to these precious kiddos. It amazes me how God moves on these little hearts!

Oh and yes...that oh so special Christmas gift that Noah gave, did make an appearance for him under the tree ;)

As much fun as Christmas morning was, among the smiles and giggles, there was a little piece of my heart that ached...and wondered. I wonder where my Selah is today? Is she warm? Is she hungry? Is someone giving her the love and care she deserves? Oh I wish she could be here now. Will this be the last Christmas that we wont KNOW her face? Next Christmas will we as least have a picture maybe even be close to bringing her home?!? "Lord, be with my girl today. May she know your love. Help us to get to her."

The next day though that ache was met with soothing balm of hope and joy. God is so amazing that He is willing to met us just where we are at and minister to us in the exact way that we are needing. While we were all out running errands I passed by the Christmas clearance section and it was there of all places that my heart found some peace.

You see Christmas time brings about family traditions. One of ours is every year we get a picture ornament and we add it to the tree so we can watch our family grow. Our family is also represented another way on our tree......in GINERBREAD MEN!!




This is Mommy and Daddy








Noah

and Madelynn

The kids LOVE these and I must admit...I do too :) When we had found them a year or two ago these were the only ones they had. I thought " How perfect, our family in gingerbread!" So imagine my surprise when I glanced down and found this little cutie all by herself...

I will or will not admit if I got teary eyed ;) Noah asked what I had and I said " It's a gingerbread girl for Selah, just like you and Madelynn." He said
"OOOOOOOOOH, can I hold it!!" When we got home he went straight for the tree :)

In some small way it felt like a sign of hope and encouragement (which we could use all that we can get). Encouraging us along our way. Not too long now...oh what will 2011 hold ?

The WONDER of it all !

"But this king was a new kind of King. Though he was the Prince of Heaven, he had become poor. Though He was the Mighty God, He had become a helpless baby. This King hadn't came to be the boss, He had come to be a servant." The Jesus storybook Bible


My heart cannot contain it! The WONDER of it all! Oh how He loves us!

I can't seem to get the message from a couple Sunday's ago out of my head, heart and soul. It has left my cup overflowing, so in wonder and awe of his great love for us. A reminder of God's heart, how HE sees things and chooses to do things. All I can say is Hallelujah, What a Savior!

Luke2:8-12

And there were shepherd's living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”


How many times have I read this and missed it. When digging deeper you would find out that shepherd's in this time we a very lowly people. They were looked down upon by all and were considered "unclean" people. Therefore not being allowed to participate in temple ceremonies, which meant, no atonement for their sins. It is believed by many that these particular shepherd's were temple shepherds . Temple sheep were unblemished sheep and were to kept separate, from the other sheep. Therefore the shepherds did not bring them in and go home for the night. The temple shepherds watched over the sheep day and night.

Imagine that. The atonement of your sins stands just feet away from you (gnawing on some grass) and yet it is the same as if it were a MILLION miles away. You tended these sheep whom others would find their atonement. But it would never be for you. Imagine how despairing.

YET GOD.....in His great love chooses of ALL people on earth these shepherds to be the FIRST to know the good news, that His son was born! 

Look at it again....

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

But here's the kicker!!


Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."

Oh wow.....to you....TO YOU! I can imagine only their thoughts..." A Savior has been born for me? For ME!

I am sure that is when God said "Cue the choir!" Because that is exactly what must have been taking place in their hearts!

Luke 2:13-20


Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

They left those stupid sheep in the field! They had a Savior born for them. They responded to the message by receiving it, going and seeing, and telling others. No one would ever be the same. They returned glorifying and praising God!

Praying this Christmas you too will know and experience the JOY found in the Lord.
Hallelujah, What a Savior!!!

Merry Christmas!

The Lord is near!

Today was a BIG day for me. I made the call I had been dreading for a while. I have been praying, being anxious( tisk tisk) and praying some more over this call. To be honest it had me shaking in my boots so many times that I did not make it. I have just waited and held my breath...until today!

Who was this call to and why was I letting it have this affect on me? It was to our agency, which normally does not leave me a ball of nerves. However the questions I would ask today, the request I would make , depending on her response *could* have a major impact on the direction of our adoption.

Up until this point I have laid request after request at the Lord's feet ( a pretty good place don't ya say?) but what perplexed me was at what point do I need to put these requests to action? Many times I have asked God "Show me! Speak to me!" Many times He has answered. So much so that that I am in disbelief over it! Go figure that one out.

One thing God has made very clear HE IS WITH US! This journey thus far has been amazing, it's ups and downs and I am writting it ALL down, each "finger print of God" moment and one day I will be able to look back and see how this road lead us to our Selah.

Today, will be a day that is written down. I have not only laid it at God's feet but I put my feet to action and asked those very important questions that could very well change our lives. The response.....POSITIVE! I can BREATH knowing this is in GOD'S HANDS! Holding dearly onto these very precious verses:

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:5-7


Please continue to keep us in your prayers. As we continue on this journey I can take confidence in knowing that GOD knows WHO our Selah is and WHEN it will all come together. I can put my confidence in HIM as His peace guides us as we lay all things at his feet through prayer. So thankful that His will, will be done!

Signs of Love

Meet my dear friends Daniel and Jessie Fox :)



I must say, my family has been TRULY blessed by this amazing couple. We are privileged to have spent this time growing in community with them. They have been such a beautiful example of pure love for God and His people. They are willing giving up their careers, selling and giving away what they own to follow God's call on their lives. They serve others selflessly, no motive other than love and for God's glory. That is why I want to take the time to advocate for my dear friends and the journey they are about to embark on.


In February Jessie will be leaving for Honduras (Daniel will join her in March) for at least two years to work with an organization Signs of Love. Jessie will be working in the local school for special needs students and also providing literacy training for the Deaf leaders. Dainel reinventing their current micro enterprise. Together they will be filming for a native sign language program on a local television station, facilitating camps and retreats, mentoring young deaf, and implementing community development programs.

In case you are still scratching your head and thinking WHY??? Why would a young couple with their lives ahead of them give up great careers (which they love)leave family and friends and the comfort of all things that is home to go to another country to love on people they don't know. These numbers will explain their passion:


250,000,000 deaf or hard of hearing people in the world.

115,000 deaf in Honduras

200 deaf believers in Honduras


(As a whole the 4th largest unreached people group in the world!)

But we are more than just numbers...

...if you have a relationship with Christ Isaiah 43:1 says "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine!"

Christ died so He could claim every person as His and call them by name.

"How then will they call on Him who have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear [or see] with out a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!" (Romans 10:14-15)

In this case I would say how beautiful are their HANDS as well :)






Would you please consider being a partner in all things BEAUTIFUL! My friends will need people to support them with prayer, one-time donations or monthly financial commitments. Please pray about how God might have you be a part of His mission among the deaf in Honduras!

Please check out their blog at

http://signsoflovefox.wordpress.com/

Thank you and God bless :)

Hallelujua! What a Savior!

Did you know the word HALLELUJAH is only used 3 times in the new testament? I was so blessed by this morning message. Until this morning I "thought" I always knew what the word ment. There is so much more to it! If you have the opportunity I encourage you to have a listen when it is posted:

http://www.austinstone.org/



I snapped some "Christmas Pictures" while the kids were dressed and ready to go for church this morning. One of these days I should do a post like my friend Amy did where she just posted the out-takes! HA! For now I will leave you with the giggling/hand holding version of my kiddos ;) Hope you enjoy :)

A messy but thankful heart.

I am sorry it has been so long that I have posted. I have had a bit of a messy heart lately and have not been able to get myself to a place to writing. How do I come here and describe to y'all what is going on inside of me? I want nothing more than to be real. This road I am on is changing me. For good in some ways, but in others like the other week I wonder if only time will heal or if I will ever be the same.

I was sitting at dinner with my family . Taking in the scene, my kids were happy, giggling, nibbling away on their food. My beloved was sitting across from me...the source of where the kids giggles were coming from. Taking it all in my heart *seemingly* full...then it hit, PAIN. My heart felt as if it was crumbling. SHATTERING PAIN! My ears tuned in on the worship song playing in the background. Hoping that would comfort my aching heart. No... that just made it worse! I could not ignore it, or run from it, "Oh Lord, she should be here with us!" I cried out, inside my now braking heart. As I looked around that table I could just see her with us. Sitting in her chair, sharing fries with Madelynn, crawling all over Nathan, making Noah laugh. I could not hold back the tears and they started pouring down my face. Nathan was taken a little back at first...LOL! Poor guy! But all I had to do was mutter "Selah" and he smiled and nodded as he usually does. I love that he gets me. Messy heart and all. I was able to pull myself together but this ache of mine does not just go away. It lays low and resurfaces at any given moment. Like when putting up and decorating the Christmas tree for example. It was bitter sweet.



The thing is, it just doesn't end there. Selah is not just my little one who I wait for. She represents all the waiting children in the world. My heart hurts for these children who deserve a family. I look around at the joys my children get to experience and I then I think of the precious faces who don't have a family to experience these things with. To have some one tuck them in at night. To hold them after they have had a nightmare. To celebrate every birthday and every Christmas with them. To teach them about Jesus! This is why I think my heart will never be the same. Even after Selah is home. I will continue to advocate and be a voice for those that don't have one.

Psalm 68:5
A father to the fatherless, a defender of the widows, is God in his Holy dwelling.

This is the very heart beat of God. As messy as it is for us. As heart braking as it is, his holy dwelling is found in the heart brake! We sing worship songs "brake my heart for what brakes yours" but do we really mean it? We pray things like "Give me your heart oh God." Do we REALLY mean it? Are we ready for what that might mean in our lives?

Needless to say... yes, I have a messy broken heart. Maybe it is not ment to be healed. Maybe I will never be the same. Maybe that is a GOOD thing. I want to be close to His heart.


As you all know our Pillow Pets fundraiser has come to an end. Thank you to all who participated! Our sales totaled $353.86 of which we will get 30%.Which means $106.15 will go twords our adoption fund !


Through this fundraiser we were able to meet a wonderful lady Sara Fleeman who has a big heart for adoption and God laid it upon her heart to support us in our adoption fundraising. She has graciously offered 10% of all her sales through her new boutique Snuggle Bunny boutique. How AMAZING is that??? Please check out her ADORABLE items here:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Richmond-TX/Snuggle-Bunny-Boutique/121649164562603




also

my very sweet friend Jacqui has offered from now until the end of Dec to give 10% of all sales made in our name, to our adoption from her vinyl designs business! You can check her things out here:

http://www.myrefineddesign.com/



SO BEAUTIFUL!!! I just love it when we can come together with our gifts and talents to do great things! Thank you Jesus, may you be glorified!






In closing I would like to leave you with this music video. Be sure to hit PAUSE on the music at the bottom of the page if you are going to watch! It's such a beautiful song. I can't watch it with out crying. It speaks to the very pain within me. Yet it reminds me, beauty is coming. :)

Pillow Pets for adoption....what a FUNdraiser!

I am SO EXCITED to announce we are partnering with PILLOW PETS for our next FUNdraiser! How COOL is that?? Just in time for Christmas too! I was so thrilled when we got the e-mail! Here is the what, when and how of it all:

What: "The Coriell Family Adoption Fund"

When: Will run from November 1st-30th

How :

Step 1
Visit the website, www.mypillowpets.com

Step 2
Browse the site and shop the extensive line of cuddly pillow pets, blankets, backpacks, and slippers. Add your selections to your shopping cart.

*Step 3

(Very important)
At checkout, enter the promotional code “adoption” in the space provided at the bottom of the "checkout" page and complete the process. By this code they will know to credit us for the sale. Your selections will be shipped directly to you by Pillow Pets!

It’s that easy...at the end of the term, we will receive a check for 30% percent of all the sales! Which will go directly into our adoption fund! How great is that? You buy an adorable gift for your child/ren, or a Christmas gift for someone you love and it supports our adoption at the same time! It's a WIN WIN :)

* Helpful Tips*

Non-Pillow items (blankets,slippers,etc.) and Mini Pillow Pets that are sold out, will not be restocked until next year.

If the PILLOW/S you want are not available be sure to check back daily as they get their PILLOW shipments in DAILY :) (After a week into this I have yet to see them restock daily ;)PLEASE keep checking back though!

UPDATE:
Looks like they are finally updating their site with more stock! RUN don't walk..these sell out fast!

Here to model just a few of the MANY ways she loves on her Pillow Pet is my little one Madelynn :)

So don't delay! Order now in time for Christmas, get some great gifts and at the same time help us in our efforts to raise money for our adoption! Thank you and God bless!

Chosen Marathon , Chosen Heroes!!

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
2 Timothy 4:7
I got a *glimmer* of this verse this past weekend at
Chosen Marathon for Adoption .

Over 1200 people ran in support of adoption and adoptive families. Over $100,000 was raised! Praise God!!

Nathan ran to support our church's adoption fund. Which will help support adoptive families with the financial burden. It was so great to see many from our church running and crossing that finish line, including my niece Katie and her boyfriend Jay. Our dear friends from our community group Brian and Sid, you guys ROCK!!! All who ran are truly my heroes! They easily could have saved their money and slept in. Instead they spent one beautiful morning sweating it out along 13 miles of scenic New Braunfels Texas. All so that it would be made possible for children to be placed in their forever families!!! Heroes I tell you!

There is one hero though that I would love to draw your attention to ;) Yes that is him, the one with the look of determination on his face.





As this daddy was running he thought about his kids that God has blessed him with. He thought about the deep sweeping, overtaking love that he has for them. Then he thought of Selah who we have yet to meet. We have not been matched yet, not even a homestudy started. Yet God has placed her so strong in all of our hearts. As he was running, thinking of Selah and how that same love just swept over him for her. As he ran he would say " I am coming baby, I am coming."

Oh dear one, do you know how much you are loved??? You have been loved LONG before you were ever born. You have been WANTED for so very long. Yes ...as your daddy said, We are coming baby! We are coming!

The GREAT Provider!

Adoption fundraiser Yard Sale

Day 1:





Preparing for this fundraiser has been months in the making! With many of our amazing friends and family donating to our sale my prayer for one packed garage was answered!

Being that this Yard Sale is a 2 day sale, I thought "Hey, Friday might be our "slow" day but that's ok. It would give us an extra day of selling and even if only a few things sold, that was a few dollars more than we had before. But as of late I have really started to struggle with fear in a new way. Fear induced by other peoples words. People naturally and not meaning any harm at all, question why I would have a Yard Sale on a Friday?? Well....that's what they do out here ;) At least , that's what I have seen. But then I started questioning myself. Then doubting...would anyone even show up?? Would we be sitting out there like fools with our yard totally loaded and not a person in sight? "Oh God, it really doesn't matter if I look a fool. I just pray that you will bless this sale. Please help us! Bless our efforts, Send us buyers so that we can raise the money we need to bring Selah home! Keep showing us that you are with us and will provide!"



We got up at 5am (Yikes! I know but there was ALOT of stuff!) to get everything out and organized. We officially started at 7am and right at 7am people started pulling up! It was NONE STOP all day! What was really amazing was sharing with others about our adoption journey and the bonds and connections we made with neighbors and people in our community that we had never made before! To watch and listen to God moving on their hearts, I never want to forget these precious moments!



When we finally wrapped things up for Day 1 and got everything loaded back inside, we got the money together and counted it up..........$500 WOW...ok $800...$900 "No way!".....$1000! Finally when every last piece of change was counted.....$1128!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!! That was just on Day 1...and on a FRIDAY!!! In a still small voice I could hear Him whisper to my heart " He who is able to do exceedingly beyond what we ask or think!" He loves to not only show up but to show in ways that we don't expect. How great is our God?!?



Day 2

It did not take very long for that fear to creep back in. How is that??? God just moved a major mountain and did a miracle, what a miracle it was! However we are made of flesh and in keeping it real I will be honest with you with my struggles. Fear DID creep back in and the next day I started having thoughts as we set back up. "Well, you sold most of your big stuff yesterday. Surly today wont be as good." What they heck kind of thoughts are those? Even if we did not do "as good", yesterday was such a BLESSING it should not matter! I quickly tossed those thoughts out. I would not allow them to have a place. This day belongs to the Lord as did yesterday. "God, I give you this day. Please bless it. May we be a blessing." Things started off slow then all of a sudden the WAVE hit! Things and people started moving all around. I must take a side note here to say we were also so incredibly blessed with people stopping by to visit to bring us lunch and to help watch our children for us. We could not have done this with out them. To those of you, you know who you are. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Thank you, Thank you!!

By the end of day 2 we brought in another $700 dollars!! For a grand total of $1828dollars !! But wait there is more...sense then there has been a few more things that have sold our total is now at $1900 dollars. PRAISE GOD!!!

It is just mind blowing, I started off with a secret hope that maybe just maybe we could earn $1000 over the 2 days. I really did not know if it was even possible and I was not holding onto any expectations, I just turned it over to God the great provider asking that he would help us and provide. Not only did He provide but he near doubled it :)

That leaves us at $2700 to go to cover our homestudy and agency fees. We still have a few more months to come up with it but as we all know there is going to be MANY more fees and payments to fundraise for in the future. There is so much work to be done but God is faithful and He is spurring on my faith. Ever so gently whispering "I am here, I am with you, do not worry! I will provide. It is my Joy!"

A Brother's Prayer.....

Tonight was like any other night, we got on our "cozzies" (pajamas), brushed teeth with Spiderman tooth brush and crawled into bed with Grover.







I said a goodnight prayer over Noah, and sang our special song. We have done this sense he was a baby. I love this time with him. Especially now that he is older and he participates with me. It gives me such insight into his world. His little mind, what he thinks about....his faith. After I prayed I asked him if he would like to say a prayer. "Yes." He said with a big smile. "Dear Jesus "We bless the adoption yard sale. We bless that you bring Selah home. We bless and have you open that box for her in Jesus name Amen."


Tonight...I knew what his little precious heart was thinking of . I gave him a big kiss and said "You are such a good boy!" He said "Yeah but Selah is a crying baby right now ." I said "Why?" He said "Because she does not have a Mommy and Daddy. But don't worry, you can be her Mommy and Daddy her Daddy. I can be her big brother and Madelynn her big sister." I wrapped my arms around that little guy and kissed him up some more!! Holding back tears I said "Selah will be blessed to have you as a brother Noah. I love you!" Noah has talked about Selah before but there was something different about this moment and in this brother's prayer. It was no longer a subject to him, it was reality. Somewhere along the line his child like faith embraced in his heart his soon to be sister and in this moment he was announcing it!



Then I paused and thought about his prayer.... "Noah, what box were you talking about in your prayer for Selah? He said "The one in the garage that was given for our yard sale. We can open it for a surprise for Selah."



This is the box he was talking about.








It was donated to our yard sale by a good friend along with a bunch of other stuff her daughter had out grown.Something about this "box" made him think of her. I find it interesting sense it has pandas on it. When I opened it I found some old shoes, when I removed the shoes I found two little baby dolls :)



Just like Noah said " a surprise " indeed! Needles to say I will be buying this "box" and "baby dolls" off myself and it wont be making it into the sale.


I love how God uses our little ones to see things we would completely miss with out them. They may be "little" but they have great FAITH! Their love is pure and there are so many lessons to be learned from them. We just have to take the time to come off our high horse and meet them at their level. It's a beautiful view ...

"The Beauty" a Puzzle fundraiser for Selah! How only $10 can help!

What a perfect name! "The Beauty" .....this is the name of this indeed beautiful 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle we have chosen for our next adoption fundraiser! There is a whole back story of how I came across this particular puzzle, but I will save that for another time. ;) I will say this, I have NO DOUBT that God lead me to this little "Beauty" of a puzzle! It is really special to me. Given the circumstances I also see how prophetic it's name "The Beauty" is. This is the verse that came to mind and came to life before my eyes:

Isaiah 61:3
..and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

AMEN!!!

There is pain,ashes, mourning for the orphan. but OH...a day is coming..there WILL BE BEAUTY!!!

So with out further adieu.... We are inviting you to “sponsor” a piece (or more if you choose) of this puzzle for $10 and take part in bringing our Selah Joy home. With each piece sponsored we will write your name on the back and put that piece of the puzzle in place. A permanent reminder of the part you played in our daughter's life. I will post updated pictures as the puzzle grows so that everyone can track the progress of our puzzle and our adoption journey. Once the puzzle is complete we will frame it in double sided glass, and hang it in our home.We are EXCITED just thinking about one day being able to physically show Selah how much she has always been loved! Not only by us but by all of you who will be apart of her journey home.

If you would like to join us in our puzzle fundraiser, you can make your $10 donation by clicking on the paypal link in the upper right hand corner of my blog. Or you can send me and e-mail if you would like our mailing address. nathan_coriell@yahoo.com
Please be sure to indicate what name (or names if sponsoring more than one) you would like to have written on your sponsored piece.
Also, it would be amazing and so helpful if you could spread the word to your friends and family! As always feel free to spread the word through Facebook ,twitter, e-mail or on your own blog! I know 1000 pieces seem like a lot but if everyone could tell a few people we can surly join up together and complete this puzzle!


Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. --James 1:27

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. --John 14:18

ACBabycouture...wipe cases and more!

ACBabycouture for those that do not know, this is the name of boutique items that I make. It all started with baby wipe cases and tubs but now include nightlights,nursery letters, room decorations and hair pretties!

You can check out my blog here for more wipe case styles:

http://www.acbabycouture.blogspot.com

All profits from my sales will be going to Selah's adoption fund! So if your looking to buy a great baby shower gift or to pick up something fun for your self or your little one look no further!

Wipe Tubs $25.00

Wipe cases $15.00 or

buy Tub/Case combo for $35.00

Hair pretties $2.00 each

or 2 for $3.00

Message me for pricing on custom room decorations @    nathan_coriell@yahoo.com

Update and Sneak Peak.....

UPDATE: We will be postponing our adoption fundraiser Yard Sale. Instead of being a one day sale it will now be a 2 day sale and be held on OCTOBER 15th & 16th 2010. With an extra day of selling and this giving us a little more time to spread the word we are hoping to make this fundraiser a great success! Please continue to join with us in letting others know!

Along with all of our Yard Sale goods, I will be setting out some of my ACBabycouture creations! Here is a sneak peak of one of my new wipe case designs:




If you are not familiar with my ACBabycouture creations check for my next blog post! More info to come :)

Orphan Sunday...November 7th 2010

Hope is Fading – Orphan Sunday from Allan Rosenow on Vimeo.

This years Orphan Sunday is November 7th 2010! What is Orphan Sunday? Taken from http://orphansunday.org/about

"Orphan Sunday is an opporunity for believers all across America to speak for those unspoken for; those the world has forgotten. There are millions of orphans in the world. It is clear in Scripture that Jesus loved and cared for these children - how can we do any less?

Vicki Mullins, Director of Orphan Ministry, East-West Ministries International


“We believe God is moving in the hearts of His church around the country in big ways, waking up His people to the joy and call to care for the fatherless. Orphan Sunday is the perfect opportunity for local churches to join in this movement. We are encouraging everyone to take part if possible.”

Dwain Gullian, President, ABBA Fund

Let's all help keep hope alive and defend the fatherless (Isaiah1:17 ) :) Check out and see if there is an Orphan Sunday event near you, if not...maybe you can be the one to start one!

It is already done!

I cried when I read this.....like baby! It was one of those fingerprints of God moments, I had went looking for some encouragement on this very subject. Knowing this website had a forum I was going to just randomly post some questions to some strangers only to find a whole blog dedicated to encouraging fundraising adoptive parents! I hope this may be an encouragement to someone else out there who may need it :)


http://www.wearegraftedin.com/299/fundraising-facts-101/


I know we just announced our fundraising but I was surprised to be meet with the "silence" that she talks about right out of the gate. This article could not have came at a better time. I needed the encouragement! It was these words that set my heart at ease:


"What God favors he funds......it is already done"


This is about a child being an orphan no more! A child that some in the world said had no future. But Jesus died to give her a future and a hope! He spoke into eternity before she was ever born " I have a plan for her life!" We were all once orphans! But through Jesus He paid the price! It is already done! We can now be called son's and daughter's of God! Now we pursue our daughters physical need for a family (and our need for her) and her spiritual need too meet the same Father that gave us our spiritual adoption.




I know we have a long way to go, but I have a peace. Our fundraiser Yard Sale is still 20 days away. I am praying that the word will spread and it will be a huge success! Pray for me, that God would give me wisdom on how to spread the word. As much as I am a chatty box in person, I am rather timid behind the scenes when it comes to new people/situations and I am just so new to this. I really get in the way of my self sometimes. I really am going to need to the help of my family,church family/friends on this journey to help advocate for our Selah Joy. It will be long road full of up and downs but SO WORTH it! SHE is worth it!!!! :)


If you live in the Austin area please spread the word FACEBOOK, TWITTER, E-MAIL, BLOG and let others know of our adoption Yard Sale on September 18th 2010. It will take place here in Kyle. We are still looking for donations, we have plenty of room cleared out in our garage. We can be contacted at nathan_coriell@yahoo.com and can arrange pick up :)

Adoption YARD SALE Fundraiser !

WoooHoo!This is it! The kick off to our adoption fundraisers! We are doing a good old fashion YARD SALE! We would love for you to be apart! Do you have items you would like to donate? Have you been looking for the motivation to clear out some room in your garage or attic? Or are there things around your home that you or your kids have out grown? Want to help a child become an orphan no more??? You can be apart of helping us bring home our Selah Joy! So if you are in Austin or the surrounding Austin area join us in our adoption YARD SALE fundraiser! 

Details: Yard Sale will be held September 18, 2010 at 7 AM.

Location: To be announced

We will start collecting ASAP, so if you or anyone you know would like to donate items send us an e-mail at nathan_coriell@yahoo.com.
Please feel free to Blog, Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and spread the word!

Where we are at...........

I am going to let y'all in on a little secret. Actually if you know me it is not a secret at all. I don't mind talking about it with people and I hope and pray my experience can help others. However I will confess I have been reluctant to share this on my blog. I have been worried about how this will impact our adoption process and the more I have been praying about it the more I feel the need for transparency. I believe God is at work here in our adoption story and I don't want to hinder His work by getting my hands in there and trying to make things happen on my own. I want those who will be supporting us to know the full story of what we face. I will need your prayers and encouragement along the way. I want GOD to get the FULL GLORY for the work HE will do!

I have faced this computer screen many nights typing... deleting, typing....deleting. Why is this so hard for me to share this? Maybe because I have searched google many nights, looking for an adoption blog similar to my story only to find none. I am comfortable putting my story "out there" to my family and friends that surround me, but putting something so personal out there for the world to see ... not that the whole world is reading but you know what I mean. I just can't deny the nagging at my heart. "Tell your story...all of it". Maybe it's a little humbling....ok not a little ALOT! Maybe He wants to reach out to someone who is out there searching blogs just like me...I don't know, but I trust Him. He can write my story!

So....what's this secret? I have had 4 seizures in my life. They have been spread out over the past 10 years and all have been triggered by sleep deprivation and stress until the last one when I was 5 months pregnant with Madelynn. That is when we (my doctor and I) decided it was time to start seizure medication. We needed to focus on getting through the rest of my pregnancy with out it happening again. I always said Madelynn was our miracle baby. In the beginning I was told my pregnancy was "No good" by a nurse because at my first ultrasound she could not be seen, just the sack. My "numbers were too high for there not to be a baby". My doctor later reassured me that I must not be as far along as I thought I was (even though my numbers indicated other wise). Needless to say I thought it was over. Imagine my shock when the next ultrasound came around and up on the screen in the teeny tiny corner is a little baby bean! "Is that....is that...is that my baby???" I asked. Chocking back sobs. She pulled the image closer. Flicker, flicker, flicker......"Is that a heartbeat?!?" I cried. "It sure is." the tech said. I completely lost it and started to bawl and shout praises to the Lord "Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus!" I am teary eyed even now thinking back at the miracle of Madelynn's beginning. So when I had my last seizure when I was pregnant with Madelynn and I knew she was ok, again I praised God, He had protected her ,my miracle baby AGAIN! And YES , He protected me again!

I have now been seizure free for two years. While I feel great about this and I have always felt great and never let this affect my life or let it label me, for the first time I have felt labeled by it. Who would have thought it would have come via the adoption journey. Who would have thought just four moments in my life would make such an impact. Thinking back to the dream God gave me as a teenager ( and if you are just joining in, skip back to my first blog entry to read about that dream). In my dream I remember the government official telling me "No" that I could not adopt Selah. The reason he gave was because I was single. At that time I was single. I did not realize how foretelling this dream would be of the opposition I would face one day. I would be told "No" in a sense....not because I was single but because of a few seizures, which is a disqualification in China's requirements.


So why would we pursue China if we don't meet their requirements you might ask? Because I believe God can move mountains! I can't describe to you the feeling that is in my heart for this country, and believe me I have tried to look else where, for an "easier" route. My heart is always lead back and I am reassured that God will fight for us. He knows where our Selah is and I will follow Him. If for whatever reason the door should close here I will not loose heart, I will follow where He leads. There is a purpose to this journey, He is writing a story and may His name be glorified!

So with all that said, we have some good news! We have decided on an agency that knows our situation and will advocate for us! Would you join with us in prayer? Let's move some mountains together!


"With God ALL things are possible"
Matt 19:26


"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth." Isiah 42:16

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things, at all times, having all you need, you will abound in every good work."
2 Corinthians 9:8


Where do we go from here? We are still waiting to wait as far as getting to start our paper work. We have been told the earliest we can start is Feb next year due to our age. What we NEED to start focusing on is fundraising! The first goal is our agency/ home study fees which will equal $4600. So we are going to kick off our adoption fundraisers with good old fashion YARD SALE!!! More details to come ...please stay tuned!

A Divine Appointment

Who would have thought going to Chic-fil-@ for some free A/C playscape playtime would bring about something so amazing?!? I tell you who...God! I love how He works!

So as I said we went to Chic-fil-@ so the kids could play, this was not our local Chic-fil-@ but one in a town over as we had stopped at the library in that town first. We met a sweet little guy there named Jacob and the kids had a blast together. He said he wished he had a little brother named Noah , I asked him if he had any brothers and sisters and he said no. Thoughts start running through my head I wondered if I met his mom maybe she would be interested in getting together to play. As we were about to leave he asked if we came there often and when would we be coming back (Awwwwe......). I knew I needed to meet his mom. I asked him to point her out she was sitting just outside the room at the tables talking with his Grandma. When I got closer I noticed she was wearing a "Help Haiti" T-shirt!



For those that don't know these shirts were started by our worship leader after the earth quake hit Haiti. They had just adopted their daughter from Haiti but were still waiting on the adoption of their son to go through (which was being held up by red tape) when the quake hit. While fighting to find a way to bring their son home they came out with these shirts and 100% of the profits go to serving the people of Haiti.You can check it all out here http://helphaitishirt.com/

Anyways already feeling the connection I introduce my self and we get to chit chatting and she mentions that they are in the process of adopting! I asked her if she knew about the adoption conference in October that our church is hosting http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=7165 and she says she does! That they know the Ivey's (our worship leader) and Matt Carter (our pastor @ the stone) SMALL WORLD! We talk some more I told her of our plans to adopt from China through the waiting child program. Here is the kicker....her husband is the pastor at Riverstone and they JUST had team get back from China who were serving at an orphanage and THIS Sunday they would be presenting on it!!!You could have knocked me over with a feather! She went on to say that many of the children were still on the waiting child list and adoptable. We exchanged phone numbers and we have been chatting through f@cebook, we have become instant friends and it feels like we have known each other forever!

So today we came to their church and it was such a blessing! The young man who shared about the trip really blessed my heart. He shared on behalf of the group videos and pictures and stories, his open heart, humility and honesty tugged so heavily on my heart. The strong point of the message was suffering. Which could not have been anymore perfect. It seems this subject seems to have been coming up a lot in our lives lately and I think it is often misunderstood. It was a great message that made you look into your own heart and reflect and refocus.I am going to devote a separate blog to this message because it was so good and SO NEEDED!

I just can't believe (but I can ;) ) how amazing God is to work and connect people and hearts. Ever sense we took the first step in this journey God has been surrounding and sending people and events in our lives like this. He is spurring our hearts on and answering those prayers for signs and confirmations. My prayer is that we too can be that for others in this journey.Never ending... even after all is said and done and Selah Joy is home and in our arms.

Oh yeah...I am counting down baby!

So this time last year I was realizing that I was turning the corner and entering into my late twenties (waaaah right? ) LOL! Really, so lame :-P I have never made a big deal about my birthday, my children however....that is another story! I love celebrating their birthdays! I usually plan a few months in advance (which reminds me I need to get started on Noah's :) ) I love picking out a theme and now that Noah is old enough having him pick out what he likes. Last year he picked a guitar party , we got him his very own personal little man guitar which he has yet to put down. Thinking this year we will get him a case (if we can find one that small) sense he loved taking it with him where ever we go. All that to say I LOVE kid parties :)

One week from today I will be turning 29, now get this...were some start to freak because they are in their last year of being in their twenties, for the first time I am SO excitedfor my birthday coming and getting older. Turning 29 means I am almost 30!!!! Yes, I can't wait tell I am 30!!! Why? Because 30 years old is the magic age for when a dossier can be logged into China! This is the country that has been on our hearts and we will start our path to finding Selah! This time next year we will be paperchasing and completing a homestudy (which makes up the dossier). Once all things are gathered and both Nathan and I are 30 we will receive a LID (log in date) and will be another step closer to our Selah Joy :) For now we wait to wait as I like to call it. However I pray I will use this time wisely as we prepare, educate and advocate. Every child deserves a loving family! Maybe not all are called to adopt but we are all called to defend the fatherless.


I can't help but wonder where she is. Is she born yet or is she in her mother's womb. I pray God's protection over her. That she will remain safe. That the hands that will care for her will be compasonaite and she will find favor. That God would be filling her even now with peace, for whatever she has gone through or will go through. I pray for her mother, only God knows what she has gone through or will go through. I pray for her mother just as much as I pray for Selah. God knows her name, her heart, her pain. I have great excitment but how can I forget adoption comes with tragady and pain. In the end I pray for GLORY for all! With Jesus there is GLORY :) Sweet Jesus go before us!

Building Towers of disappointment

Building Towers of disappointment...this was a message given a couple weeks ago at my church Austin Stone on Genesis 11. If you have the time check it out! It is truly worth listening to :)

http://www.austinstone.org/resources/sermons

This is the gest....Ever wonder why you sin? Why you can't just stop? Even though you love God and desire to follow him on any given day sin will be there staring you in the face. So what do we do...we try to stop sinning..which is treating the symptom and not the source. We need to get to get to the source if we are really want the power to over come it. What is so appealing about sin?

Using the Tower of Babel as an example, why did the people find the need and satisfaction in building this great and mighty tower? We can find some of these reasons in our own life for satisfying ourselves with sin.

1.A sense of home
2.A sense of greatness
3.A name for ourselves

We were created to have these desires and to have them met! They are not bad. We look for these things and long for them because we once had it all...in garden of Eden before sin. Our home is with God, our greatness is with God, God knows our name!So why do we sin...because we try to meet those needs/longings with other things that only God can fill!

We all long for significance.

Psalm 139:17 How precious also are your thoughts towards me,O God! How fast are the sum of them! If I should count them they would outnumber the sand. When I awake I am still with Thee.

How comforting is that? I would be THRILLED if God thought of me even once a day! Oh how He loves us...His thoughts twards us we can't even count. Who will ever love us that much? The good, the bad and ugly and He still thinks of me! He still loves me!

Our number one purpose in life is to know Him! Not to find our soul satisfaction in our goals, our degrees , our relationships or possessions.It's not wrong at all to enjoy these things or desire them BUT when we rely on them to satisfy us, give us our self worth they become an idol unknowingly, an idol that will never satisfy and leave us with disappointment wanting for more . We are to find our satisfaction in Him! He is more than enough for me :)

The Stirring Of My Heart!

How is it that my feet have not been on this ground more than 5 minutes and I have witnessed a miracle? I came off a plane with a hope filled heart. Saw a symbol of peace, watched an event that confirmed my hearts desire and when looking forward my heart was stirred for more.  I could have been on any other given flight at any given time. Yet we got here at just the right time! His timing is perfect. God help me remember this on this long journey ahead! The rest of the trip would prove it is not all about the emotional high....they are many low points and especially for the  children from hard places.

We got out of the main airport and into the ground transportation area. Originally we planned to take a shuttle to our hotel (renting a car was out of the question $$$ )and sense the hotel said the would provide transportation to the conference we really only needed a ride to and from the airport (or so we thought). We checked in with the Taxi service first...hmmmm more than the shuttle online quote, so we went over to the shuttle service. Hello! That is the same price as the Taxi and w/ the Taxi we would could leave right then, just the two of us, no waiting on other stops along the way. So taxi it was! The service guy asked if we were newlyweds...LOL!  No, just two parents of two getting away for the first time! I could only imagine the look/comments we would have got had we said our first time away is centered around adopting! Ok so first time in a taxi...it was clean, smelled of burning incense and the music was assortment of indian tunes. It was a quiet ride to the hotel, I was taking in how beautiful MN is! Pine trees.....I miss pine trees! Maybe I am still floating on my emotional high from the airport but my spirit is at complete rest. Or maybe it's that Texas has taught me home is not where you live it is attitude, a spirit. I already miss my kiddos like crazy! However I know they are having a blast with Gram! I later find out that they had fun at 31 flavors  .31 cent scoop day. Later at the park Noah needed to use the potty but there was none in sight and no one in sight so his Auntie taught him how to go pee the nature way (Ahhhhhh!) I guess he must have been disturbed by it because he later mentioned that he did not want to go in the grass ever again. LOL!

                                             Looks like Madelynn had her fair share of fun :)

                                Can you see the sugar trance Noah is in! Thanks Aunt Jess!

  After settling in at the hotel we walked down the road to a nearby restaurant.



Only to order BBQ of course! LOL! It was yum! 

We also meet up with a really cool guy Jason Kovacs  at dinner ;) He is a pastor at our church and also works with this great organization http://www.abbafund.org/which helps adopting parents with interest free loans. It was really great meeting up with him and getting to hang with him throughout the rest of the trip! It was an amazing start to our trip and the conference had yet to begin!

to be continued .....

John Piper closing message @ Summit

I have been SO excited to share what I have learned, I hope I can do the speakers justice! It's taking a while to process it all. My brain was feeling like MUSH and I am slowly recovering! I wanted to start with John Piper first, he was the last speaker of the event and the message he shared really is a great place to start!

Things started of with a Q&A w/ John Piper. One of the questions asked was "How as women we can get our husbands on board with adoption?" There was a lot of chuckles in the audience.  His response was that "First men need to understand the Fatherhood of God" that "fatherhood is built into the very nature of the universe." and the universe is the story of the Father's love for his Son. Men need to get on board with fatherhood before they get on board with adoption." He counted the cost.... God poured Himself out for us! Now talk about a GOOD dad! We too need to count the cost (Luke 14:25-33) and learn from the greatest Father out there!

Another question asked "Do you see a tension/conflict in the cause between the passion for the cause of the fatherless and discipleship? His response : Yes. There are tensions everywhere!( This was said in a load kinda scolding way, however a very needed :) ) The most commonly used verse used by orphan care advocates is James 1:27 . But many of us stop with "to visit orphans and widows in their affliction" and don't continue with "keep oneself unstained by the world" OUCH! That is true....many times we lean more twords one or the other. We need both, His word says so. To be unstained from the world  is not to carry a  holier than though attitude, it's not about others! It is about Him and for Him! Apart from Christ our righteousness is filthy rags.

John Piper went on to say how we (Christians) get into each others faces with our tensions that we are passionate about when really we need to hold ourselves together! I have to add an AMEN here! Nathan and I  talk about how we did not know becoming parents would be so controversial, home birth vs. hospital birth, breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding, cloth diapers vs. disposables etc. etc etc. Then all of a sudden these things becomes an issue of faith??? God help us! Pastor John goes on to say that from the moment we put our faith in Christ everything we do we do BY FAITH! That He is on our side 100% because of CHRIST! He is on my side, not "my virtue" . What comforting words to hear! Amen???

He goes on to teach about Hebrews 11:29-38 (The "By faith..." passages) That Paul said I die everyday! Not looking for a perfect life here, our perfect life is to come! what gets me is this:

 By faith ...Some will escape, by faith....some will die. By faith some will be experience miracles and some will experience great suffering. However HE will sustain our faith!

God is better than what life can give and what death can take! He is always with us, and for us! We need to keep our eyes on Him! He is our happy ending adoption story! 

The start to our trip...

Before we left for the Christian Orphan Alliance Summit we had two prayers requests 1. That we would leave knowing where we are adopting from. My heart has been so pulled for China. I did not want to start this process doing what "I" wanted if God had something different. #2 What agency we were to go with. The more I research the more I realize that finding an agency feels like dating all over again! I just want to find "the one" :) Most important though we really just want God to confirm again that this is His desire for our family. It's like what Jeff Mangum spoke about on Sunday at church. When going over and understanding the genealogy of Christ. It not only shows the history of Christs linage but it shows God's faithfulness to His promise. It shows that despite the messed up and broken people in there that HE remains faithful forever and always! Jeff was talking about how his daughter will pull out her baby book over and over and over again. Looking at the pictures wanting to hear the stories even though she knows them ALL, she is comforted and reassured and finds joy in hearing them told again. This message was comforting to me because that is where I am at right now. I can't deny the faithfulness of God in my life. How He has got us this far and yet I find myself asking Him for more and more reassurance. The amazing thing is....He is happy to oblige! His word is a lamp unto my feet and and a light unto my path. He places people in my life, events that show me

" YES I am here" "I am with you". I love that He does it too often when we are not expecting it. Our prayer was to leave the Summit with extra confirmation. He decided to not wait and give it to us before we even began the Summit!

We landed in MN and we stepped foot into the airport I looked off to left. There, in a nearby window was a reflection of a rainbow. This made me smile and I pointed it out to Nathan. Rainbows have always been special to me. Whenever I have ever gone through a rough or scary time I am always caught of guard by a rainbow, it speaks deeply to me. I feel God say " I promise, I am with you" and I am comforted. A few moments and steps later our breath was taken away we witnessed an adoption homecoming right before us! The little girl was welcomed with flowers and balloons, signs scribbled in crayon saying "Welcome Home Sallie!" Of course I start to cry! To see outpouring of love for this sweet girl... as we passed them I just could not keep my tear filled eyes off them. When I could not stretch my neck back any further, I turned to look forward and right in front of me starring back, face to face and in the arms of her daddy was a little Asian girl. The lump in my throat got even harder to hold. I have not even left the airport yet and I am going to be a bawling mess! As we continued to walk (with this sweet little girl right in front of me)I just kept praying " Really God?!? What are the odds that all these events would line up like this? You are really here! Thank you God! I can't believe this, but thank you!" What was happening in my heart at that moment can't even be put into words but I know God was at work!

To be continued....