Cyber Monday Update

Hello blog, I'm the one who used to write witty stories about my life for all to read.  Then those stories started to move by so fast that I could no longer remember them much less use my skills to make them sound interesting.

We're still here.  I remember those days long ago when I could type away and the farthest Riley could get was into the next room and she could get no higher than ground level.  Boy do things change.  Cute, precious, innocent little ones...well...they turn into small crazy people.  They now have adult skills like climbing, opening drawers, opening cabinets, opening doors, opening boxes of cereal, etc.  Yet they lack the sense to know what to do next.  Important things like: how to get down, how to close a drawer or cabinet or door without slicing off fingers, and how it really isn't wise or efficient to throw the cereal all over the car, especially if your goal is to eat said cereal.

So blogging once again took a back seat to constant parental supervision.  Whew.

Now, an adoption update, which is probably the reason you're here (FN1).  We have completed all of our paperwork and are in the process of presenting our profile to birth mothers.  It's an emotionally heavy process as we wait to meet our newest family member.  But it has been a wonderful experience to pray for these mothers and to pray together as a family for each child.  We are excited to see what God has planned for us in the next few months.

And since it's Cyber Monday, I thought I would let y'all know about some ways that you could turn your Christmas shopping into a huge blessing for an adopting family.

We were able to snag some very limited solid red Ugandan Bead just in time for the holidays.  We only have a few, so please let me know soon if you would like some for your Christmas gifts.  (You can order these with the link on the left, just let me know in the comments that you would like the red beads; they are $20 to pick up or $22 to ship).

Click here to read more about the necklaces

Our friend Alison has a great blog about their adoption in Ethiopia.  She had the brilliant idea of compiling different fundraisers to help consoldate Christmas shopping.  Check it out here and find great gifts that support adoptions.  *Cassady Street is on the list!*

We are grateful to you, our friends and family, for joining us on our journey.  May God bless you through this Christmas season.

FN1.  And now for the real reason why you're here.  Here she is lookin' sweeter than the cookie I used to bribe her for the photo shoot...

Better Late Than Never

I think this has been the longest short week ever.  My good intentions to update the blog more often have gone by the wayside this week.  Instead I've had to deal with more pressing needs like dressing my child.  Yes, I'm that parent who sent my daughter to school in a tank top and shorts when the weather suddenly dropped to 60 degrees.  I mean it's September.  In Mississippi.  Riley's teacher kindly told Ben that she was cold all day.  Whoops.  (Don't worry, I'm working on a fall wardrobe.  I'm sure by the time I get it on her it will be in the 90s again.)

The necklace giveaway got lost in the crazy week, but we've finally got a winner!  My friend Christen won these pretty green beads :)

Christen ordered a onesie dress with the cutest chicks for a shower gift for a baby girl.  Thanks Christen!   These dresses are so great because they're as easy to put on and as comfy as a onesie.  Head over to Cassady Street and check it out if you need one, too.

Many heartfelt thanks to those of you who have bought beads or gifts from Cassady Street.  It's nice to live this life with so many kind, supportive friends.  Happy weekend!

Risky Business

It didn't take us long to find out that adoption is not all warm, fuzzy feelings all the time.  It is full of hard decisions, ethical grey areas, and downright sadness.  The excitement of welcoming a child into our hearts is, well, exciting.  But our child, even if the tiniest of babies, will already have experienced loss and pain.  Words no parent wants to hear associated with their children.  It is thoughts like these that are almost too much for me to bear.  And then I breathe.  And I remember.  Why worry when our story has already been divinely written?

This adoption journey doesn't exactly make "sense" in the way that we use that term.  I've had several people ask me why we are adopting.  It was a hard question to answer at first.  It just seemed like something that we were always meant to do.  It's part of our journey.  It was not a decision that we stressed over or worried with.  It came easily.  So my initial response was always, "why not?"  And then the worry shows up again.  "Will the baby be healthy?"  "Will the birth mother come knocking on your door to take your child back?"  "Will you be judged for having a family with different color skin?"  And, as anyone who's heard anything about adoption knows, a big question is: "How can you afford to adopt?!"

At first, the questions got under my skin.  I was being called out.  Challenged to defend my decision, which to a lot of people just didn't make sense.  I mean people never (*rarely*) ask you why you decided to get pregnant!  The honest truth is that we don't have the answers to any of these questions.  We cannot be guaranteed a healthy baby (but really, who can?).  We will do our best to have a healthy relationship with the birth mother, but who knows how that will go?  We will love this kid with all that we've got no matter how blindingly white my skin looks against theirs!  But we cannot protect our children from all hurt, or ourselves for that matter.

Well, I guess there is one question that we can answer with 100% accuracy.  We cannot afford to adopt a child.  It is crazy expensive (the topic of a growing debate that deserves its own post).  But as crazy as it sounds, this is one of the most exciting parts of our journey.  If we could afford the adoption, we would treat it like any other bill.  We would moan and fuss and write a check and send it in.  We would take the credit for working hard and producing the funds as a result of our own intellect and strength.  And life would continue with the focus where it naturally tends to be -- on us.

Not so when the money isn't in our account.  We begin to pray and believe.  Our faith is challenged.  We step back and let God do his thing.  God has already led some of our family and friends to help us in ways that we would have never imagined just a few short months ago.  Even our brand new church has come alongside us with prayer and support.  It's amazing.  And it makes me sad for all the times I worried about our finances.  We are doing our best to replace that doubt with belief.  Our prayers are bigger and our hearts are eager to see what will happen when we step back and make room for mighty things.

We can't do this alone.  But God has surrounded us with amazing people in our lives.  And we are grateful for whatever role you can play in our journey.  There are several ways to help if you feel so moved.  And to kick things off, we are giving away....

This beautiful green necklace! (Adorable toddler not included. Although I will negotiate on the toy frog. He makes incredibly annoying fun ribbit sounds.)

This necklace was made from recycled magazines by widows in Uganda.  It is a necklace full of blessings because not only did it provide a wage for the widow who made it, but it was sold as a fundraiser to help an organization that aids orphans in Uganda.  It's so special that this is how Riley felt when I told her we were giving it away:

 

So here's how you can be the lucky one to wear it:

1. Share our blog with a friend (http://www.asyouwishblog.com/).
2. Sign up to receive email updates (in the box at the top left).
3. Repost to Facebook.
4. Click here to read about our adoption fundraisers.
5. Buy a necklace or a puzzle piece.
6. Spread the news about Cassady Street (you can grab the button on the left to put on your site).
7. "Like" Cassady Street on Facebook.
8. Pray for us and others taking a leap of faith.  And join us!

Leave a comment or send me an email (asyouwishblog@gmail.com) and let me know which ones you've done or want to do.  We'll randomly pick a winner next week.

Love and gratitude to each of you!

 

There's news. And then there's big, exciting news.

We have big, exciting news...

Yep, Riley is right, it's hold-onto-your-britches kind of exciting news...

We're getting ready to add a seventh member to the Classady clan (and for those of you thinking, wow, when did Katie have three extra kids that we don't know about, remember that three of the Classadys are four-legged friends).

We are so blessed and excited that our newest member will join our family through adoption.  As we are learning, adoption often raises more questions than answers.  There are many unknowns, but we have committed to step out in faith and trust that our family will grow in the way God leads us.

Stuff that we know:  this will be a domestic adoption, we are about half way through our home study, we seriously need to clean our house before our social worker pays us a visit, Riley will be the most amazing big sister.

Stuff that we don't know:  when the next Classady will arrive home, the exact age of said Classady, everyone's favorite question - girl or boy?, and probably every other question that comes to your mind!

So keep us in your prayers as we attempt to gracefully navigate this journey.  We need your love and support now more than ever.  We hope you'll enter your email address above so you can stay connected.  Here we go.  Hold on to those britches!

All About the Benjamin

Normally this blog (and our lives) revolve around one girl and one girl only.  But not this past Memorial Day weekend.  Don't get me wrong, she was still a hit, but her daddy got to be the star.

Ben was asked to be the guest speaker at the Memorial Day celebration at Andersonville National Historic Site.  This meant four straight days of at least four hours in the car.  Can you believe we survived?  Yeah, me neither.

Riley kicked things off by getting patriotic courtesy of her GG.

Then she used her charm to sell books (or perhaps scare away potential buyers) at Ben's book signing.

Finally, someone (mama) pulled out some good books.  Gramps and Grannie were kind enough to assist.

Ben got all gussied up for his speech despite the day's high of 101 in Andersonville.  Can you believe he survived?  Yeah, me neither.

You can get away with just about anything at 16 months.  While Daddy wears a suit, you get to wear ruffles on your butt and show off some seriously precious chunky thighs.

The crew was lucky to get set up under a nearby tree.  It was only about 99 under the tree.

The speech is finally here!!  Time to go...  Sure, Daddy is talking about something important, but have you seen me pull this giraffe around?

The Cloyds and Kennedys were kind enough to make a very long trip to cheer on their Benjamin.

Four whole generations worth.

The cemetery was an amazing site with all of the flags.

And we had time for one last shot with GGG (Grumpy Grampy Greg) and Grannie.

Ok, well not too much time.

In all seriousness (I know, it's rare...), Ben did a great job and his speech was challenging and inspiring.  (This coming from one who isn't exactly in to history...)  Here's the video if you'd like to watch the speech.  It's in two parts.  And, if you're just into Riley, there's some pretty awesome babbling around minute 6.  I told her that it was Daddy's time to shine, but that concept did not compute.  I think we may be in trouble.

Click here to read the Americus, GA newspaper article about the day

Don't play the bongos with your face

This week Riley learned that important lesson the hard way when she tried to carry a set of bongos across the room to her teacher.  Her official accident report says that she lost her balance and fell onto the bongos.

If you think she looks rough, you should see the bongos.

Good news is I think she'll get her good looks back.  Here are some pictures from Easter, just in case you forgot what she looked like without her shiner.

The dress is a GG original that yours truly wore oh so long ago.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter and a big Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.  You all deserve a nap.

Mine!

Don't worry, Riley has not yet learned to verbalize this word, but I see the wheels beginning to turn.  Of course she finds other ways to communicate the idea, and as she is our child, it usually applies to food.  She's not exactly happy when mama and daddy are eating something different (usually something extremely less healthy) than what's on her plate.  There are also the various items (cell phones, mail, remotes, dog bowls, dog bowls, and dog bowls!) that she knows she can't have.  A simple, sweet "Riley, you may not play with _____" can cause her to go into an all out screaming fit, especially on the tired days.  I mean, she is not kidding.  It starts with a loud scream and if the situation doesn't change, she will sit down on the floor and continue screaming.  What?  Still nothing?  She then starts of flail her arms about (which ironically is the same move she uses while dancing).  You have got to be kidding me?  Still no help from the giant people?!  And for the grand finale, she slams her ever-lovin head onto the floor face down in utter defeat.  That's when we give in.  Don't get me wrong, she doesn't get what she wanted when all this began, but she does get a big hug to bring her back from hissy-fit land.  By the time we get to that point, she (and we) have forgotten what started the whole mess in the first place.

One of my greatest joys in being a mom is having a front row seat to observe basic human desires and emotions without the filter that comes with age.  (Well, for most of us...)  Riley desires food, shelter, sleep, and love.  By nature, our sweet girl is down right selfish.

She has not yet developed the concept of putting others first.  I'm not sure that she'll totally get it until she has a little fit-thrower of her own.  But the big question is -- do I get it?  I fully acknowledge that, as a human being, I naturally put myself first.  It is truly a learned behavior, and a skill, to be able to get my ego out of the way and act in alignment with my true purpose.  And the truth is that I'm not here to create a successful, stress free, incredibly comfortable life for myself or even for my family.  But, wow, how easy is that to forget?

In Anusara yoga, one of the "Grand Purposes" for our practice is to remember -- to remember who you really are, your greater purpose, your connection to God.  I personally believe that this is a huge reason why this yoga is spreading like wildfire all over the globe.  Yoga offers us the gift of sweet, uninterrupted moments to reflect and connect with God.

At the Classady house, we are slowly but surely learning this lesson.  Don't get me wrong, we are all selfish.  But the first step in our growth is awareness.  We hear God whispering (and sometimes yelling), "This is not about you."  And while initially I thought that becoming less selfish would not be a good thing for ME, I couldn't have been further from the truth.  Stepping out of the way, in faith, is exciting and freeing.  The fullness of life that we long for can only happen if we let our limited view of ourselves melt away to reveal the limitless power of our God.