He's a SHE???

So, it's about time I tell the exciting story.  We had just had a super cute little gentleman's shower the night before for Malachi. So, keep in mind that I have received monogrammed stuff, boys clothing, and had a Malachi puzzle as well.  Our birth mom had had a Dr's appointment the day before, so I was just waiting to hear how her appt went.  At some point I looked down at my phone and saw that I had a missed call with a voicemail.  It was from the attorney's office.  In the message she said she had something to tell me but just added "All I'm gonna say is, I hope you didn't buy blue paint."  At this point I was in total shock. Did she say what I thought she said?  I called Casey immediately and told him what the message said. I kept trying to call her back and didn't get an answer. Was this true, could it really be a girl and not a boy.  I was hyperventilating, in case you were wondering. :) I did eventually get in touch with her and confirm that we were talking about the same birth mom and that the Dr also confirmed that it was indeed a girl! So, back to the store I went and exchanged all the blue for pink and can I tell you how much fun it is to buy girl's clothing? I had a blast. I took all the monogramming off the blankets and such and bought a new puzzle. So, we are now in girl mode. We are frantically trying to get her nursery done in these next 5 weeks before she is born. We'll see if we can do it.  So Malachi Davis is now Eden Elise, and we can't wait to have her in our arms.

We also had an awesome garage/rummage sale where we made over 3,632 dollars.  Such a blessing.  We have mailed our August check and only have to pay for one more month. We are in the home stretch.

Ethiopian adoption news.  It has been an incredible month of referrals for Ethiopia. We should get our new wait list number tonight and should move a lot of spots. Will let you know asap what that number is when we know.

Thank you to everyone that has prayed and supported us through this amazing adventure of adoption.

The Houghs

My Three Boys Soon To Be More

Today I am so thankful for these sweet boys.  They love each other so much.  Words cannot express the bond they all share.  I wanted to show you a few recent pictures that I love of them and tell a few cute stories they told me today about their brother and sister. 

They are so ready for their new brother and sister to be with us.  

Today the older two ran into the room where I was and excitedly exclaimed. "We need to go to McDonalds." Why, I asked. "Because they have a game where you can win 1 MILLION dollars." "What would you do with a million dollars," I asked.  "We would have enough money to bring Malachi and Willow home." Bless their little hearts. They are always thinking about our babies. 

We went swimming today which the boys absolutely love.  Everyone got a big sun burned. I told Carter "You got a little sun burned today." He replied "Well, then my dreams came true." I asked him what he meant by that. "I wanted to be tan like Malachi so we would match and now that I'm darker we will match."

These boys bless me every day.  Not every day is easy and not every day is fun, but at the end I'm so thankful that I get to be their mommy.  

And there is definitely room in my heart and my arms for a few more. :)

Be A Piece Of Malachi's Puzzle

So this is the puzzle we decided on for Malachi. Now let me tell you how this works. The pieces cost $10. For every piece that you buy we will right your name on the back. After all the pieces are sold and we have put the puzzle together we will frame it in a glass frame in Malachi's room and we will be able to tell him that all these people prayed for him and helped bring him home. 

The puzzle is 252 pieces. We are trusting that we can sell all of them. We have a pretty big deadline at the beginning of August, so we are praying that we can sell quite a few. We ask that you would prayerfully consider donating just $10. 

We will periodically post pictures of how the puzzle is coming along. And friends, please feel free to share this blog with anyone and everyone you know. :) 

You can simply click the Help Bring Our Children Home button on the right side to donate. Just leave in the comment section the name you would like on the puzzle piece :)

Thanks, the Houghs

Thirty-One fundraiser party

A sweet friend is hosting a Thirty-One party for us to raise money for our adoption of Malachi. She is giving us all the commission from the party. So sweet of her.  Any ways if you want to order they have some really neat stuff.  If we weren't trying to save every penny I would definitely be buying something. But you should check it out. Here's the info. 

To view a catalog please visit www.mythirtyone.com/rachelpenwell 

To order directly online for this event please visit www.mythirtyone.com/rachelpenwell click on "My Parties" and "Shop Now" under the Hough Adoption Fundraiser link. Or you can place your order directly through Hannah Hough. Please make note that online ordering DOES NOT open till Monday, July 1st. 

The party will go till July 15, so get your order in. 

We appreciate you so much for contributing. You are helping us more than we know. 

Ethiopia Update

This month we are #

We moved 9 spots this month. This is huge movement for us. Definitely the most we have moved since being on the list in February. We are very encouraged and are hoping that we have many more months where we move a lot of spots. :)

There were 11 orphans matched with forever families. Praise God!