Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Goodbye 2013

This year has been CrAzY to say the least but I am beyond thankful for Gods overwhelming love and prevision and I am so excited to see what He is going to do for my little family in 2014!
Here is a quick recap of 2013 ... 
3 Upcoming Fundraisers . . . 

Getting excited about our upcoming 12 week Run for God Bible Study combined with a Couch to 5K training! If you live near the Plano area and are interested in making spiritual and physical changes in 2014 come join us starting January 12th. We will be hosting a 5K in Plano at the end of April and all of the money raised will be going to help us bring baby Dallas home!
Message me with any questions you many have or for more details:
blopez519@gmail.com

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

Raising Cane's
1902 North Central Expressway
McKinney, Tx
* More details coming soon!

The Austin Family is hosting a BBQ dinner and silent auction to help us get one step closer to bringing 
baby Dallas home!

Date: Saturday, Jan 25th 
Time: 6:30-9:00pm
Dinner: Starts at 7pm
Silent Auction: 6:30-8:30pm
Location: Collin Creek Church
1905 E Parker Rd
Plano, tx

Cost:
Adults - $20
Children (10 & under) - $10

Meal includes:
*Pork, brisket, and fried chicken with all the fixings
* Banana pudding
*Tea, water and coffee
~ soft drinks available for purchase~

Silent Auction Items & Companies represented:
Custom made book cases
Autographed football by Daryl Johnston
Granite cutting board
Custom artwork
Edible Arrangements
Thirty-One
Premier Jewelry
Shear Beauty - Hair Makeover Gift card
burlap heart product
Advocare Products
Nerium Products
Photoshoot with Amy Horton Photography
Starbuck goodie basket
& much more

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas Y'all!

We want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Right to Left:
Mason, Levi (3), Anna, Nolan (10 months), Hannah with George, Nate, 
Judy(Mom), Robert (Dad), Me, and Chris!

Nina and Papa

My little family

My sister and her family

My little brother and his girlfriend, Hannah Banana

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Please remember the REAL reason for the season . . . .

Monday, December 23, 2013

God Found Us You

I opened one of my Christmas gifts yesterday and I couldn't help but share it . . . I cry every time I read it and one day I will have my sweet baby Dallas curled up in arms and I will be reading it to him/her!

















Sweet baby Dallas, 
When the day finally comes that we get to bring you home you are going to have more love then you will know what to do with but until that day comes I am working on getting everything perfect for you! 
Love, 
Your Mama!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Meaning of Christmas

Christmas is our all favorite time of the year.
We are those crazy people who have the Christmas lights up outside before Thanksgiving! Yes, we celebrate Thanksgiving but why not have a pretty yard to look at to put you in a thankful mood. :)
Our front porch & penguins playing keep-a-way with the snowman's head :)

My birthday is NeXt WeEk and last Sunday when I got home I found this super cute snowman in my yard with a sweet note on the back.
(THANK YOU Papa & Grandma!!!!!)

 Even though we had our outside decorations up early we did wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate the inside. *I just now realize that we haven't hung out stockings yet*


 Our Annual tradition is to go with our friends and cut down our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. This year we went to Ivanhoe Tree Farm. The trees were all beautiful, it was so hard to pick the perfect one!
 Chris, Korbin, Bret, and Kylee
 Brody, Me, Heather, Blade, and Baxlyn

We found our perfect tree!!!!!



After we got our tree home Chris had some little elves help him decorate the tree.

All finished!

We hope you all have the best Christmas ever with your friends and family and take the time to remember what Christmas is really about. Yes, the lights, tree, gifts, goodies, and being with family and friends is all wonderful and all that helps to put us in the "Christmas Spirit" but what if you didn't have any of that? 
Would you still be joyful? 
Would you still have that "Christmas Spirit"?

PLEASE take the time to watch this video and remember that Jesus is the reason for the hope and joy we have during this season and all year!

Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Certified . . .

Yep, that's right, a few weeks ago Chris and I became CPR, First Aid, and AED Certified! :)
This week we are both getting to get our background checks and finger prints done. Next we have to complete our physicals and TB tests then on to working on our Adoption Portfolio (the book the birth mom's will look at when finding a home for their baby).

One of my closest friends, Amy Horton, is a photographers and she came out and took some pictures for us to use in the portfolio and these are the 3 we've seen so far! We LOVE them!
  

Chris and I prayerfully watching for EVERY opportunity for God to bless us with our baby, one way is through an adoption agency and as of right now we plan on adopting our baby through Chosen Child, but another is the possibility of a private adoption.
We are asking that you Please keep us in your prayers if you know an adoption minded mom that might want to help us in our journey!

Thank you for all the love, prayers, and support that we have received, it makes our wait for baby Dallas so much easier!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

New Total

We had about 140 people come out and support us at Chick-fil-a and we raised $200!

With the money raised from the PJ's sales, Chili's, 
Chick-fil-a, youcaring.com, other donations, and our input 
the total is: $1,234.25
only $28,765.75 to go!

*Remember you can still order PJ's
(click on the link for details)

*This coming Monday, Nov 18th I will be selling homemade crafts at a Craft Fair in Prosper
If you or someone you know is crafty or has any crafty things around the house that you would like to donation 100% of the money raised will be going to baby Dallas!

Friday, November 8, 2013

Fundraising Update

I turned in my first order of PJ's this past Friday and I am happy to announce we raised $370!!

I will be placing my last order on Dec 6th so it's not to late to get you and your family some comfy PJ's or do some Christmas shopping! It's very simple!!

1. Go to: www.pajamafundraiser.com
2. Pick any 3 items for $30.00 (be sure to click on the size drop down menu on the patterns you like to make sure the size you need is still available)
3. Email me the pattern, size and quantity you would like.(blopez519@gmail.com)
4. Make the check out to BETHANY LOPEZ 
5.Add $2.48 for every $30 you spend for tax. 
**If you are not local I will be happy to mail your order to you (add $5 for 3 PJ's & $7 for 6 or more PJ's)
40% for everything we make will go help us adopt our first baby!
We received the check from Chili's yesterday... $230!!
The lady at Chili's called and said that we had about 110 people come out and support us!
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

***We are still waiting for a responds from Chick-fil-a and when I hear back I will be sure to pass on the news!!***

As of right now with the money raised from the PJ's sales, Chili's, the donations on our youcaring.com account, and the money Chris and I have set aside our total is: 
$964.25

If you aren't already follow us on Facebook 
& please spread the word!

Friday, November 1, 2013

Our Adoption FAQ

I want to start out by saying thank you so much to all those who came out to Chili’s and Chick-fil-A as well as those who have purchased pajamas. I will be updating our fundraising site as soon as I get the totals.

I wanted to take the time to update everyone and answer some questions on where we are in the adoption process so y’all can continue to be praying for us as we make decisions.

1. What agency are we going through?
We have selected an adoption agency called Chosen Child. They are a Christian based agency that works with birth parents that want their babies to go to Christian homes. We have been working with a lady there who walked us through all the steps of the adoption process and is working with us as we move through each step.

2. Have we been accepted by this agency?
We will not actually be applying to the agency until January when we will be attending an orientation but they already have all of our information and we have been told that there is really no reason why we would not be accepted.
       ***With that being said, we also have other agency that we have not completely ruled out in the case that this one does not work out and if, for any reason, Chosen Child isn't the agency we go with we will not be losing any money we would simply move onto the next one.  

3. Is it really that expensive?
Every agency we have looked into cost roughly the same amount to adopt an infant so our fundraising goal will remain the same. Yes, $30,000.00 is a lot and sadly we don’t have that sitting in a bank account so in order to reach our goal we have done and will be doing different fundraisers as well as Chris and I are making sacrifices so that we can set aside extra money each month.

4. Where is all the fundraising money going right now?
We have a fundraising website set up through You Caring and when donations are made on that site or given to us through the different fundraisers we have a separate account set up just for baby Dallas. We have been keeping track of who has given through the website and the amount in which was given so that if for any reason (Highly unlikely) the adoption falls through and we chose not to adopt those that have donated will receive their money back.

5. Why are we fundraising already if we haven’t been accepted by an agency yet?
When you give birth to a baby insurance covers it and the parts they don’t cover you can make payments on after the baby is born but in an adoption you can’t make payments after! You have to have the money in full when the baby is born whether it’s through a loan, grant, fundraising, saving etc. so after talking with the ladies at Chosen Child as well as many other families that have been through the adoption processes both domestic and international we were told start fundraising NOW so we took their advice.

6. So what are we doing between now and January, other than fundraising?
Chris and I have a long check list of things that we need to get done by January so that we will be ready to go to the orientation and the application process. Some of those things are preparing the house for a home study, becoming CPR and First Aid certified, and creating a portfolio for the birth parents to look at.

7. When will we actually be holding Dallas in our arms?
That is the million dollar question! We were told that once we have completed all the paper work and everything is official then the real waiting begins! Chosen Child’s average wait time once all the paperwork is completed is 6-18 months. We wait for the birth parents to pick us then depending on how far along she is and depending on if everything goes through (signing over parental custody at birth and 
such) will determine how long the wait actually is. Hence “Waiting for Dallas”!

8. Type of adoption?
Through Chosen Child we will be adopting an infant and it will be a semi-open adoption in which the birth parents will pick us for their baby. We will meet them and together we will work through other details of the adoption. For the first year after Dallas is born we will communicate with them with monthly letters and a picture sent to the birth parents through the agency.

If you have any other questions about this whole process PLEASE do not hesitate to call, email, or text! We are new to all of this and we are learning as we go.


Again, thank you for all the prayers and support that we have received!!! 

Monday, October 21, 2013

Who doesn't love PJ's?


is partnering with



This is your chance to do some Christmas shopping and help us out at the same time! 
It's very simple!!

1. Go to: www.pajamafundraiser.com
2. Pick
any 3 items for $30.00
3. Email me the pattern, size and quantity you would like.
(blopez519@gmail.com)
4. Make the check out to BETHANY LOPEZ (add $2.48 for every $30 you spend for tax) 
*I will send you my address when you email the order.
*Payment due when I place the order. I will be placing my first order on Friday, November 2nd but I will also be accepting orders from now until Dec 10th!
40% for everything we make will go help us adopt our first baby!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Eat Mor Chikin!


We have been overwhelmed with all the love and support that we have been shown! Chris and I are working on organized different fundraisers and we both love Chick-fil-A so we wanted to the have one there but after doing some research we found out that they changed their policy and now they only do spirit nights/fundraisers for school. One of my awesome co-workers emailed the coordinator our story and she emailed us yesterday and said they were going to make an exception for us!! GOD is GOOD!!

So we are happy to announce:

is partnering with
Tuesday, Oct 29th, 2013
6am-10pm2011 W University Dr. McKinney


Tell them you are there supporting the Lopez Family Benefit and a percentage of you order will go to helping us as we prepare to adopt our first baby!