Same Old and Bead for Life

I wish that I had something exciting to post. About the adoption, about anything. But I don't. It's the same old routine in the Nelson house. Not that I should be complaining. Life is pretty darn good to us. Today we have officially been waiting 2 months and 3 weeks. I have been fretting the closer we come to our 3 month wait for the referrals. We were told that the wait would be 0-3 months, but shortly after we signed, they changed the wait to 0-6 months. Still hoping to ge that referral in the month of July. Really hoping that it doesn't take us 6 months. Also really trying to rememer that in the world of adoption, this is still lightning fast.

In other news, Ava has started to freak out now that they have school supplies in all of the stores. She keeps stressing how summer is going so fast and it doesn't feel like vacation. (This coming from the girl who just spent a week at her grandparents being spoiled rotten!) I, on the other hand, love it when school supplies come back into stores. Who doesn't need 15 cent notebooks and folders? And a new box of crayons for a quarter? I'll take two! It is the perfect time to get new craft supplies for the kids. Three year old's are pretty hard on those crayons. (and markers and glue sticks and just about every other crafty item ever invented!)

I'll sign off after I mention a program called Bead for Life. This is a non-profit organization that partners with impoverished women in Uganda. They make beautiful necklaces out of recycled paper, and earn fair trade wages, and it rises them up out of poverty. For every dollar spent, 93 cents goes back to the women and to humanitarian programs they have like schooling, and medical, housing and well digging, to name a few. I simply signed up on their website to host a jewelry party. They send you all of the jewelry, along with some pictures and biographies of the beaders, and a short cd on the living conditions these women used to be in, and how Bead for Life has helped them. Then you invite a bunch of friends over to look at the jewelry. They have bracelets that start at $5, earrings for $10, and necklaces up to $30. I suggest you go to their website: http://www.beadforlife.org/. Every woman I know loves jewelry, and this is a great, tangible way to make a difference in the life of a woman half way across the world. It may not seem like a huge thing, but it is huge to them. One billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day. When we were in Uganda, most people we met were just trying to keep from starving to death. This is real life for so many people in the world. And you can make a difference. Check it out. There is no cost at all to have the party. They ship the jewelry to you for free, and include a pre-paid return shipping label for all of the jewelry you don't sell. You have nothing to lose, but can change a woman's life.