Waiting for the Newest Morris...

The Morris family has an announcement we would like to make.  We are going to be adopting a new baby!

FAQ

1. What kind of adoption are you doing? We are working through Lutheran Social Services of the South to have an open adoption for a domestic infant. (That's legal speak for a newborn in Texas)

2. What will an open adoption mean?  It means that we want to have contact and a relationship with the birth mother long after the baby is born. Both her life and ours will forever be changed with this event, and we want to make sure to do this right.  Her child will want to know where they came from and hundreds of more questions that she can answer.  And she deserves to know how her baby is growing and changing throughout the years. The type of connection varies greatly between different cases.  We are hoping for phone calls, e-mails, picture exchanges, and then see how the relationship grows from there.  

3. What has happened so far? We started talking about this in January, pre-applied in March, went through training in May, completed the applications in July, and were officially approved in August.  Now we are on a waiting list with other approved couples.

4. What happens next? We wait and work on our patience.  When a potential birth mother is 6-7 months along, the agency will help her find a match. She looks through photo albums/scrapbooks we've made that show our lives and who we are.  She's the one that picks us, so we have no way of telling how long this will take.  We hope to be matched within a year though.

5. How can you afford this?  With costs totaling over $18,000, we can't.  But we have been overly blessed with gifts from family and friends that will make this dream a reality.  We will forever be grateful to those who have donated. How do you properly thank a person who has helped change your family and your future?  We have longed and hoped for another child for over 4 years, and now loved ones are making this dream a reality.  

6. Why are you adopting?  We have tried to get pregnant for the last 4 years, but have not been able to conceive. We both feel called to have more children, so we're entering the adoption process to open another avenue for God to bless us with a child.  

Please keep our family in your prayers as we walk through this journey!

10 Years Ago: Will You Go Out With Me?

   Ten years ago this day, it was a warm Sunday.  Kevin & I had just gone to the CSA formal the week before as friends.  I lost my disposable camera at the dance, and Kevin had got it back for me.  As I dropped it off at Walmart's one-hour photo lab, I called him to let him know I was getting it developed.  Kevin said, "Really?  How long is it going to take?"  I said sarcastically, "I'm not sure, but I'm guessing an hour."  Little did I know, Kevin had added extra pictures to the film.....

The last two pictures were taken under the pretense of trying to capture what our finals were like.  Me thinking, and him hoping. 

I looked at the pictures at the Walmart kiosk, and immediately called him with a big "YES"! 

Tutorial: Turn a Plain T-shirt into a Fitted Tee

 
 

 
 
 


 

Skill level: Beginner    Time: about 30 minutes   

1.       Find a fitted shirt in your closet that you like.

2.       Turn inside out the shirt you are adjusting and the shirt that already is fitted.

3.       Lay them on top of each other as shown.  Because this is jersey fabric, you will never get it to lay perfectly flat with no wrinkles, so just do the best you can. 

4.     Using a marking pen, chalk, pencil, or whatever else you can find, trace the sides of the fitted shirt onto your shirt that needs adjusting.  Don’t trace the sleeves just yet.



5.       The line for the sleeves takes a bit more thought.  Sleeves of an ordinary t-shirt are cut much different than the fitted tee.  I like to take my side line up to the point of my fitted tee’s armpit.  Then I draw a line from that point to the edge of the sleeve, trying to keep it parallel to the sloping line of the top of the sleeve.

6.       Take off the fitted tee, and pin your original shirt to make sure the fabric won’t slip around.

7.       My machine has a “slant over edge stitch” made for stretchy fabric.  If this isn’t an option, you can use a zigzag stich, a straight stich using stretchy thread, or just a straight stich with plain thread. 

 

8.       If you have my stich option, keep in mind that depending on the way you start sewing you want the straight line to follow your traced line and the flaring slants to be on the outside.

9. Sew up both sides!  At the shoulder seam, just hold it down and sew over it slowly.

 



 

10.       Try the shirt on inside out, just to make sure everything looks right.  (And I hope it does, because that’s a lot of thread to pull out if you need to! Arghh)

 

11.       Trim the excess material close to your new hem line.

12.       Turn right side out and enjoy!