Press Bible and Noonday Giveaway!!!

My sweet friends at Press Bible have created an amazing Bible app that is rich in creativity that helps bring the Bible alive and is just plain beautiful. They have also spent the time with expert theologians to help you go deeper in your study. They also feel like this app should be FREE for everyone! Because the app is free they are asking for our help to continue creating this app for the rest of the gospel books and I am personally hoping the entire BIBLE!

How can you help spread the gospel with this app? 

- download the app (Press Bible)

- tell others about the app

-pledge to support them on kickstarter

Watch the video here : Press Bible Kickstarter

The way kickstarter works is supporters pledge amounts and if the financial goal is met in the time period they have listed they get the funding!!! *YAY* 

Your card will not be charged if the goal is not met! 

I believe in them and want this APP to be a huge success! 

HOW TO WIN THE NOONDAY EARRINGS???

***Just pledge $10 or more on Press Bible Kickstarter campaign before Easter Sunday, April 20th***

One entry for every $10 increment!!! 

Comment Below or on Facebook with how many entries you have obtained with your pledge! 

(honor system) but... I will be checking on the winner to confirm they did pledge! 

The winner will choose one of the items below!!!

GOOD LUCK! 

http://www.candaceevans.noondaycollection.com/earrings/renegade-earrings
Retail $40 {made with love in India}

http://www.candaceevans.noondaycollection.com/bracelets/athena-cuff
Retail $34 {made with love in India}

http://www.candaceevans.noondaycollection.com/necklaces/aida-necklace
Retail $46 {made with love in Uganda}

Thank you for partnering with me to help spread the gospel with this app! 

He's Home.

The last 3 weeks have been a whirlwind! Justin did an incredible job getting Mathias from Africa, he is the strongest man I know and he gets full credit for the "labor" of this child. The airport arrival was magical. With the rough time Justin and Mathias had during the 30+ hours of travel I decided to only allow family to come to the airport, Thank you all for understanding! 

I was so happy to have them home and be all together. That night we went home as a family of 4 and it was a great night, gave Mathias his first bath and got he and his brother in 

matching pj's from their Aunt Anna! 

All was cute and fun and good for about a day.

 Then we all realized oh hey, there is another toddler in this house and he doesn't understand us and big brother now gets to share everything including momma and daddy's attention and he's not quite cool with that, the house will never be clean again, parasites make diaper changes a fear factor audition for this potty trained spoiled house, this toddler doesn't know how to receive affection and is the polar opposite of everything we have learned with our bio child. 

Oh hey remember when people said adoption is hard. Yeah they meant that. ;)

Oh, we have learned so much in these last 3 weeks and I am sure the learning will never cease. I am so thankful for fellow adoptive mommas who have said " It is ok to feel like you make a huge mistake and you just want to run out the front door, you are not alone"

Trying to love a child that you just met as your own is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I am clinging to what God describes love to truly be and not how I feel about it or what the world tells me love is. 

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

-The Message-

I was talking to a friend today who was saying 

my honesty was scaring her from adoption a little bit, I told her this.

"There are days when I am actually thankful 
for this struggle because it is 

making me more like Christ, and that is what 
this life is for anyways, right?"

Mathias is precious. He is made in Gods image. 

I am praying daily to see more and more of who this little kiddo is, what he likes(bananas), what he doesn't(anything kitchen related and elevators), what makes him giggle (ticklish ankles), what makes him scowl (a lot of things). I can't wait to finally know him like a momma would know her son. 

I am committed to him and I hope he knows that Im not going anywhere. 

Torn

My heart is all over the place today...  I dropped Justin off at the airport for him to fly to the other side of the globe and pick up our son in Ethiopia. I want to be with him so, so bad. To sit next to him on the plane, to watch his face as he see Mathias again, to see the bond begin to form between he and Mathias. To experience frustrating 3rd world issues with him... My momma heart wants to hold Mathias so badly, to have time to bond before we get home to Texas. Yet it is torn to also be here with Micah preparing him for whats to come. To cherish these last 5 days alone with him.
Im just torn. So excited, yet torn.

Please pray for Justin as he travels. Thank you....

Homecoming Details & T-Shirt Picture Request

Justin will be leaving Monday the 27th for Ethiopia, please pray for him as he is traveling alone. He will have his embassy appointments and have some bonding time with Mathias while he is there. He and Mathias will return to the San Antonio Airport on the evening of Saturday, February 1st. 

My dream was always to have everyone in their ADOPT t-shirts for a welcome home party but almost everyone who has a t-shirt is in Dallas! But we know y'all will be with us in spirit, you all played a huge part in bringing him home.
We love and appreciate our Dallas family and friends so much. 

I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU COULD TAKE A PICTURE IN YOUR ADOPT T-SHIRT OR OF YOUR FAMILY IN 

THEIR T-SHIRTS AND EMAIL IT TO ME AT JUSTIN.CANDACE@GMAIL.COM

I WANT TO MAKE BANNER WITH EVERYONES PICTURES ON IT FOR THE AIRPORT AND THEN TO KEEP FOR SENTIMENTAL REASONS =)

If you are local and would like to come to the San Antonio Airport to welcome home Justin and Mathias just get in contact with me and I will keep you updated on flight times =) 

Please be praying for Justin as he is in Africa with Mathias that it is a special time for them and for me as I prepare Micah's heart to welcome his little brother home. The time following his arrival we will be on a sort of "lock down/ family bonding time" for a few weeks or however long Mathias needs! Thank you for your understanding =)

I get teary thinking about how many people are invested in our family and our adoption journey! I will never forget, and neither will Mathias. 

-Candace-

He's coming home...

We cleared Embassy this morning!!! Mathias is coming home!!! We are awaiting our embassy date that will be sometime next week.

The Lord answers prayers. Thank you to everyone who joined with us.

Our son is coming home.

Please pray over our transition time, this will be the saddest and hardest on Mathias leaving the world he knows and we understand that.

DETAILS coming soon!!!!

Its a good good day.

referral photo

our sweet son

We can do something.

I joined Noonday Collection a little over 3 months ago because I wanted to be a part of what they were doing. It took an investment on my end, but Justin and I felt it was worth it to join up with such a cause. Noonday uses fashion and design to create economic opportunity for the vulnerable all over the globe. As a stay at home mom I have a lot of impact on my son, and as a pastors wife we have impact on our church family and community, but I crave more than that. Any of us can drive to the airport and be anywhere in the world by tomorrow. So why are we acting like the starving children in Africa and the impoverished in Peru are out of reach? We have full bellies and warm homes and yet still we desire more and are never satisfied. When I let me mind settle on how much "stuff" I feel like I need... it sickens me. 

Matthew 25:35-40
" 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them,‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’"

Guys... this rocks me. This is our hands and feet moment. The chance to be Jesus to the world. There are so many awesome organizations out there that are truly doing this. Noonday is one of them. 

-------------------------

I had the privilege to join with 150 Noonday ambassadors this weekend in Marble Falls. I've never felt sisterhood as strong as I did this weekend. We wept over global statistics, were challenged to keep fighting the good fight, and looked pretty dang cute while doing it all. The talent of our artisans always impresses me and the new spring line launching at the end of February was just beautiful, it is truly works of art. If you are interested in opening your home for the artisans. I would love to partner with you and throw a Trunk Show with you and your friends! 

One of the most fun parts of the weekend was making virtual friends, real friends!

Jessica Honneger - Founder of Noonday

Wynne Elder - Check out her blog The Elder Adventures
She had huge impact into our decision to adopt and
to become a Noonday Ambassaor

More lovely ladies - Ashley, Krista, Debra, and McCall

So I'm Cheating...

After accepting the challenge to read my Bible cover to cover in a month with Justin... I started cheating. I know it't not November yet but I am already in Numbers (the 3rd book of the Bible)

Here are some tips I have learned already!

Variety

Paperback Bible

Iphone Bible App 

Ipad or Kindle

You Version Bible App (audio)

Once I got into the lengthy law part, I found that switching to listening to 

the Bible be read to me on my iPhone, made it more enjoyable! If you listen to the 

NKJ version, the man reading has a sweet Lord of the Rings voice. 

I prefer the ESV translation personally... but the NKJ reader was awesome. 

I've been listening to it while I put away laundry or drive in the car, 

surprisingly Micah doesn't seem to mind. 

Random thoughts while reading (so far):

• The Israelites were super annoying when wandering the desert. "Manna is the worst lunch I have ever had....can we just have a salad or something, don't you know I have had diarrhea since Egypt?" ( a little Nacho Libre humor, sorry....)
• God still uses people who fail Him (be encouraged) 
• I am SO GLAD Jesus came and died for us so we are no longer under the law because HOLY MOLY there were a lot of laws.....
• Also I am seeing God preparing Israelis hearts for Jesus through almost everything he does for them. 
• DO NOT GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH leprosy.... don't do it. 
• Random thought... so Joseph was the reason that all the Israelites ended up in Egypt.... when you read it all in a row it all starts to make sense. 
• There are some pretty hilarious stand alone verses in the Leviticus. I kinda want to make a living off of making prints out of them... no one would buy them. but it would be hilarious.... to me. 
• God cares ALOT about details... just read the account he gave to Moses about the tabernacle... which I can only imagine was GORGEOUS.
  

Bible in 30 Days

I had tried to prepare myself mentally for the time in between meeting/adopting Mathias and going back to get him. I admit I'm struggling. A lot. The emotions I feel being disconnected from my child by oceans and not knowing when I can go bring him home are some of the strongest I have ever experienced. I have felt lost these last weeks, feeling myself sinking into a funk. There are a few other struggles my family is facing that add to the overwhelming sense of attempting to climb up a slippery mountain. God is using the season to develops perseverance, but frankly I just want it to be over. My sweet husband is the best and he never allows me to wallow in self pity. Sometimes that's super frustrating, but for the most part I choose to be thankful for it! 

His challenge to me to help us both get out of this downward spiral is drastic, almost as crazy as asking me to train and run a half marathon with him (which he asked while I was pregnant) I had never even run around the block, but with his encouragement we ran that 1/2 marathon last year! 

His drastic challenge to me this times as reading the Bible cover to cover in the 30 days of November! The Bible is a long book y'all ;)  I am looking forward to having truth overtake my mind and leave no room for doubt, pity, sadness, and lies.

Here is some info if you think your life needs a reboot of truth! 

We are following this plan. 

http://www.teachtochangelives.com/30dayplan/

Tips:

• Use a plain Bible, not a study Bible - you'll be less distracted by all those notes
• Read with a theme or topic in mind.
• Get a partner or small group and do this together - mutual positive encouragement and accountability!
• If you fall behind, don't give up.  Just pick up where you left off and keep going.  Finishing in 40 or 50 days is still a great achievement.

The theme I have chosen to read everything "thought the lens of" is that God is the main character in the bible. Everything is about him and how He is working through his creation. There are a tons of people and history in the Bible and it's easy to get muddled down. I do have a total bonus in having a theologian as a husband... To ask all my questions too. Feel free to email justinevans13@mac.com with any questions you have while reading the Bible! He is the best!

Mathias Tariku Evans

Mathias is now ours! On October 17th we officially adopted our new son. Now we wait to bring him home to Texas! Our agency says to give at least 3 months until that will happen. We had hoped to have him home before Christmas and our move to San Antonio, but it is not looking like that it a possibility.  I wanted to share some Africa photos with y'all! I still haven't been able to process all of my emotion from the trip into words... maybe someday. ;) But for now you will have to be content with photos. 

To everyone who participated in our fundraisers and helped us make this possible, 

we thank you, 

Mathias thanks you. 

Africa!

The streets of Addis Ababa

Mathias Care Center - He is on the top floor

Daddys Boy =)

I miss his sweet face. 

Pretty excited to have a snuggle bug.

after his 1st haircut - handsome little dude

I promise to share my heart with y'all soon. 

It is just the weirdest experience to endure... there really aren't words...

Prayers appreciated! 

I dreamed...

I dreamed about meeting Mathias for the first time last night. I didn't want to wake up. It was amazing. It is the most disconnected feeling to not have your child with you... not just not with me... but oceans away. I need to be with him soon. Thank goodness Oct. 14th is approaching... the first day I will get to hold him in my arms!

The 2nd Guess

Dont you hate the 2nd guess? I know I do. When you think you should do something (or not do something) and the decision you made haunts you.
Tonight a very sweet (and sweaty) (its like 100 degrees) african-american young man in his 20's came to my door and was selling books/magazines. He was dressed very professional and had great manners. He explained that the real point of selling things was to learn people skills and how to be professional. I like to think the best about people so I believed him. I for some reason had no cash on my so I came up with $2 (and a cold 7up) to give him because I didn't want to buy a $40 book (thats crazy). He said thank you and went on his way. He never pressured the sale or made me feel uncomfortable.

When I went for a walk later in the evening I saw a Frisco cop car pulled over on the side of the road and the young man was standing next to it. The cops were in there car while he stood looking awkward on the sidewalk. He saw me walking on the other side of the street and smiled and said quietly "I think I won two tickets to chuck-e-cheese" he was obviously embarrassed and trying to make light of it.

Everything in me told me to walk over to the police car and ask what was going on. I thought I could at least give my experience with him to help his case. Soliciting is not illegal in this neighborhood. I hated to think it, but I'm pretty sure they pulled him over for his skin color... which makes me real, real mad.

I ended up not going over. I wrestled in my mind over whether the cop would get mad at me or if the guy really was a crook and I would be defending him.. basically I failed to live up to my life motto, Micah 6:8 "And what does the Lord require of you, that you seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."

The more I think about it... the more I realize my decision was all about me. He needed my help, my voice. I failed.

Praying for forgiveness and hoping I learn from this.

Court Date!!!

So excited to receive the call today letting us know that we will get to go meet and adopt our sweet Mathias on Oct. 15th, 2013. That will be a wonderful day. We plan on staying a few days to experience Addis Ababa and his home country. Then we will say a hard goodbye and await our embassy date where we can go pick him up and bring him to his new home and family. He has one excited big brother who is ready to meet him. With the estimated times we are hoping this pickup date will be in January or early Feb. The sooner the better! Prayers appreciated!

Good News

So I never could muster up the courage to write about our first court date because we were told that everything went well and we rejoiced and then we were told, "oh never mind, the birth mom never came" soooo Ive been praying and also a little crabby for a few weeks. BUT we found out today that the birth mom has been found! Praise the Lord, thank you so much to all who prayed for this. She is willing to cooperate with the adoption but does not have any government issued ID. Our agency is working with her to get one and then she can sign the paper she needs to. So it looks like we are back on track! Our MOWA letter is still not there, which is a bummer, so please continue to pray for that!

Thank you everyone!

Court Progress.

Found out today that the 1st of 3 court dates has been set for July 9th! This is the birthmom court date. 

The only bad news is that our court date was set with such short notice, and MOWA is running at least two weeks behind, they have already let us know that the MOWA letters, which are normally there at first court, will not make it.  What this means is that the court will happen as scheduled but until that MOWA letter is there, an adoptive parent court date (2nd court) cannot be issued by the judge.  At this point there is no way to guess whether or not we will be able to travel for court before they close mid-August.  It is a possibility that it may be October before we are able to go meet Mathias. Insert sad face. I know this is all in God's hands, so I will not worry. I just pray that we meet him sooner than later. 

Prayers for crazy fast MOWA letters appreciated!!!

- Candace & Justin 

Wednesday.

Wow... Wednesday was one of those days. The days you dream about as an adoptive parent. 

When God convicted us last winter about adoption we knew there was no way we could raise ALL the funds on our own. But we were for sure that God wanted us to start the process anyways. Then begins the roller coaster of amazing people stepping up to help us bring this child into a forever home. When we first saw Mathias's face we knew that nothing would stop us from bringing him home... I mean I would have probably stood on a street corner asking people for money if needed. =) 

My sign would have been really cute, I promise! 

Thankfully God had other plans. Our community, new friends and family surrounded us with generosity and as of Wednesday the 19th we have met our fundraising goal of $30,000 which is the estimated cost of the total adoption. This includes all legal fees, document fees, and travel. I dropped to my knees in the middle of our apartment when Justin called and told me about the donation that pushed us past our goal and just cried. Although if you have a toddler you know that dropping to the floor equals being tackled... so I was also crying because Micah leveled me. 

Earlier on Wednesday morning we had received the call we had been waiting for. Our adoption case was SUBMITTED to COURT! This is huge news considering the Ethiopian government is doing some adjusting and was going to be on hold for a couple months, not accepting any new cases until October. This momma did not want any delay on bringing home my Mathias. 

************************************

I will keep you updated as to when we will be headed to AFRICA to meet Mathias (hug, love, kiss, carry, snuggle, tickle) and adopt him, then sadly and with broken hearts we will return home without him and await our embassy date when we can return to pick him up and bring him home forever!

Thank you for your prayers! There are a lot of amazing things happening in our family during this season and we are so humbled to share our life with each and every one of you. 

Love - Justin, Candace, Micah, & Mathias

If you haven't ordered your Adoption Shirt yet, the official end date to order is JULY 1st!!!

You can do it at the link above =) 

THANK YOU!!!

The Butterfly

I took this photo last year in April and it was at a really relaxing time, Micah was a tiny baby but I was away from him for just a little bit because I had a cool opportunity to photograph a small wedding at a butterfly garden. As I sat in the peaceful garden alone this little guy landed near me, it was one of those "moments" that I will never forget. Little did I know that before God had even stirred my heart toward adoption. My son was being born that day on the other side of the world. 

Today at 1:38 on May 13th I received the call that every adoptive parents wants to get. 

"Would you consider adopting a one year old boy?"

"YES"

"ok, go check your email"

<insert ugly crying for about 30 mins>

<oh and also insert the apartment repair man who came to fix my lightbulb in the kitchen who now thinks I am a crazy lady, he asked no question, I gave no explanation for the sobbing>

These are his hands =) Im gonna hold them real soon. 

March 20th - Dossier

and now we wait....
 we mailed off our dossier and $$ to our agency last week. Thank you Jesus that everything looked great. There are so many crossing t's and dotting i's that it is a little weight lifted when it finally gets approved!
We now have an estimated 4-6month wait to receive a referral for our child! =) I will update the blog as much I can, feel free to ask us questions =)

Check out our fundraising link! Good things are happening!

Dossier

This is an "adoption" word I just cannot pronounce correctly! Basically big ole' pack of paperwork.

WE ARE ALMOST DONE WITH!!!

I am awaiting the "approval" of our dossier from our agency and then I can send it to them and then... we wait.

I am so excited. This is the step before we actually find our who our child is =) 

I am so ready! Come on baby Evans!!!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! We are almost 1/2 way funded! =)

Dont forget to order your support t-shirt before the 31st of March!!

I Think He Knows

I think somehow Micah knows that he will not be an only child for long. He has started looking at me, like really looking at me. He makes me feel like a piece of art. He studies my face with this little smirk on his face just like his daddy always does. The last few nights he has requested that I rock him before he falls asleep. He hasn't wanted this since he was about 3 months old. I have to say I love it. I love getting to stare back at him. Micah will be 20 months old this week. Fastest 20 months of my life. I love everything about my little Micah Doodle. He is going to be an amazing brother. I just know it.

Today he helped me put our thank you notes to all our financial donors in the mailbox. It was one of those mommy moments. I know he doesn't understand yet but I know there will be many times in his life that he is so thankful to us for bringing his African brother or sister into his life.

Handwritten

Today I received a handwritten letter from some friends of ours. There is something very sincere about a handwritten letter. They explained that on their hunt for a new mattress God quietly spoke to them saying "You are looking for a replacement mattress, but you already have a bed, the Evans baby needs a bed before you do" With the letter came an amazing donation, that they decided to give towards our child instead of buying a new mattress. Tears, lots of tears. 

Last week a friend called me to meet her at a grocery store where she proceeded to tell me that God told her to give us a donation towards bringing our baby home. She handed me a check right there in the middle of the grocery store.

I also received a $250 check in the mail from the April Wade. 

The Created New Infinity Scarf Fundraiser is going amazing!! Thank you so much for buying scarves to support us and help us bring home our baby.

I could literally go on and on. God is using our community to completely bless us on this journey.

I am blogging this because I want to remember this part of the journey. 

I know this journey wont always be easy. But today is a good day. A very good day. 

Thank you Jesus.