The Numbers Change...

Making the leap from our agency to adopting independently is going to impact our financial goals. If you missed the announcement about this big change go here.

We have adjusted our fundraising thermometer to reflect the new goal. The numbers have dropped from needing to raise $40,000 to now $25,000.  Many of these were agency fees and required donations/humanitarian aid fees to help maintain the orphanage from which we would have adopted. Our fundraising goal is also reduced by the costs associated with taking our entire family over to Uganda. This was our plan, but now we are no longer sure this is in the best interest of the new Shaws' adjustment. The new figure is based on just the two of us going.

If you haven't already, I would encourage you to purchase a beautiful, ultra soft tee shirt from Wild Olive for the women in your life (or for yourself!). This fundraiser officially ends this Saturday, April 2nd. When you order, please be SURE to mention the code SHAW0305 in order for us to get the financial benefit of your purchase!

Thank you to everyone who is partnering together with us on this journey of a lifetime!! We are blessed because of you!!

Update and Tee Shirt Sale!!!

NEW UPDATE!! (May 2011)

We have been given a FURTHER extension to sell our Wild Olive tee shirts for our adoption! YAY!!! 


Check it out with the button to the right!
Wild Olive tees has put many new wonderful tee shirts into the adoption fundraising section!!


Be sure to mention our family code when you place your order: SHAW0305


Happy shopping!!


Great news!!! Our fundraiser has been given 4 more weeks!! You can order shirts until April 30th!!!  Mother's day, Easter and birthdays are all GREAT occasions to purchase these shirts for the women in your lives! Please help us bring home our precious littles from Uganda!!!

Many people have asked us how it's going so I thought I'd give a quick update and introduce our new fundraiser.

We have completed our home study...ALMOST! (I can't wait to just say it's done!) In Ohio, the document we are waiting on to complete the study takes up to 4 months. Each state has it's own pace, Texas gets it done in 1-2 days!! We have been waiting on this since the end of November. It should arrive in our mailbox any day now! You'll probably hear my shouts of joy when it arrives!

Once we have our home study completed, signed by the necessary people and sent to our agency, we will then begin the application with the United States Immigration. Then we wait for another two months while those papers are processing.

Key word: Wait!

In the meantime we have some time to raise the necessary funds for the next step. We are about 1/2 way there and would love your help, if you would like to become part of the story. Here's what's next:

Our friends at Wild Olive have opened a family fundraising account for us! We have FOUR WEEKS to sell as many tees as possible (see below for the fun patterns to choose from!)

If we sell more than 50, we will earn more per shirt! If you would like to help out our adoption fund, please consider buying for yourself...and then think about Mother's Day, birthday gifts, Easter gifts (the Hope shirt!). If your are connected to a church, will you consider inviting the youth group to "get their verse on" too?

We have 4 weeks to make our sales and it starts---TOMORROW! March 5 - April 2, 2011. Take a gander below at the creative tees to choose from:

Front of tee

back of tee

Available in brown and pink or black and green!

Front of tee

Back of tee

! Important Note: While Wild Olive has other items for sale, only these three designs qualify for our adoption fundraiser. When checking out, please enter our family code: SHAW0305. Without this code, we will not receive any credit for the purchase. It is not a discount code but rather a tracking code for sales. !


Click here to shop for tee shirts. (You can always use the sidebar widget as well.)


We look forward to updating you with the good news from our last fundraiser! Thanks to each of you for your loving support! Someday soon the world orphan population will be reduced by two and the Shaw family will have increased by two! :)

Wishing you blessings!

Hoodie Giveaway!!!

Everybody likes free things...but everybody loves AWESOME free things!!! My friends over at Wild Olive are giving away five free hoodies with a fun original design that illustrates a FAVORITE verse of mine:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

                                                                         Romans 12:2

Go here and read the rules to get IN on something so cool as this!!!