Atwood Knife Fundraiser

*** We are still taking donation but no  longer taking knife donations!  We are so humbled and thankful to have met our goal.  Drawing coming soon!  Thank you everyone!  When Shane and I were married, I never dreamed I was marrying a knife maker.  I'm sure, Shane never dreamed we'd adopt from China.  Here we are almost sixteen years later and both of these unknowns are coming together in a big way!  Shane always makes exceptional knives and this one is no different. It. Is. Georgeous! Don't you agree? And extra special because as cheesy as it sounds, it was made with love for a tiny baby girl a world away!  One of our most recent pictures. Taken in March around her 2nd birthday. She's in 6-9 month clothing.   Below are the specs from the big man himself.  "Model  Atomic Folder Knife blade is approx. 3.5" Closed length 4.5" Overall open length approx. 8" Blade steel CPM s30v stainless steel with an acid stone washed finish Blade has been heat treated to a 60 to 61  rockwell C hardness Bolster are Moku-ti polished and heat colored Handle scales are Arizona Desert ironwood Liners are .070" 6al4v titanium Pivot is a 3/16" hardened barrel pivot with        bronze washer and anodized titanium screws. Handle screws are heat colored titanium Back spacers are stainless damascus steel with  my Alcatraz pin design I pride myself in making each knife to the best of my ability, and make each knife better than the last. I try to use the very best materials possible, and like using exotic materials. I try to make knives that are extremely tough and will last many life times, but also have that hierloom quality."-Shane Here's  how the fundraiser works.  Each spot is $15 or 5 spots for $65.  ***When you donate (on the you caring site linked below)  it's really important that you leave your name and the word knife.  This way I can track the raffle money coming in.  Keep checking back to the blog and even check the bottom of this post for updates. Also, sign up for you caring updates.         Click on the link below Atwood fundraiser Link    ^^link^^ Any questions email me, Lacy, at l.v.atwood@gmail.com Thank you for helping clear the hurdles that keep us from our baby girl. <3>

Where hope grows...

Can you imagine finding a baby? Just doing your daily activities and there's a baby?! It's seems so strange to me.  Yet in China, this is quite a common occurrence.

I have never seen a file for a Chinese Child that doesn't include a paragraph of where they were found.

So of course, our little one's story is no different then other children in China. She was also "found."

Then, our girl spent her fist half of her tiny life in an Orphanage.  It was rough, for what ever reason, she was not thriving. She was at death's door. She was as tiny as you can be for a thirteen month old child.

That was when an Angel of Mercy swooped in and gave her HOPE.

Our girl was taken from the orphanage and moved to a Foster Home Facility that was ran by the couple we met in China. (You can read the story of meeting the couple and how we found our girl  here.)This couple has been working so hard to help our girl gain weight.  They've been knocking down the walls that our girl had built up.  They've been teaching our girl what love is. They have been teaching her about Christs love. They were growing hope in that tiny heart.

I'm betting that they pushed and got her file ready. Which is where I come into the story.

19 months old

This was the picture that screamed at me to do something!  The picture that brought back all the emotions of knowing a child, your child, is starving a world away! I wanted to be her HOPE.

We committed to this sweet girl and then we found out about her Foster Family. I felt a relief. She was in good care until she was in my arms.
And She has been in the best of care. She has gained 3 pounds sense this picture was taken.
Three pounds are Huge on her!

At the beginning of this week we received bad news. We found out that the Couple who saved her life is being transferred and It's our girls birthday!

Our girl will stay in the Foster home and she will continue to get good care BUT she's going to experience loss AGAIN! It is not lost on me how Ironic it is that it is happening on her birthday.
My heart cant hardly stand it! My heart is breaking for the sweet couple too. This will be hard on them too.

AS I've Processed this and received other bad news about our paperwork being delayed, I was discouraged.  But as I've prayed, I've been comforted to know that God knew this would happen, all of it,  and he loves this baby girl as much as I do. HE is her Hope. He is everyone's hope.

So when a friend sent me this quote I knew it was the one for our Shirt! It seems very appropriate for our girl. Happy 2nd Birthday sweet girl!

   "Where hope grows, miracles blossom."

^^You can see our shirt by clicking on the Quote above.^^

Them's All My Favorites...

I was asked the other day, "Don't you have enough, children? Will you ever be done?" 

So my answer to that is this...

I had enough children with just one. I did. After Questen was born I had an over whelming sense of responsibility and love for him. I was constantly worried about keeping him safe and healthy and raising him right. I couldn't imagine loving another child the same or taking on the magnitude of double the responsibilities. and I was exhausted! That little boy didn't sleep until he was 18 months. 

In fact, I remember people asking me, "When are you going to have another?" Secretly, I would think. 

I'm Not. He's enough. He's perfect. 

Questen was 2 years old and I started thinking about how I felt to be the only child home. I have two older brothers but they were both 8 and 9 years older then me. I was pretty much an only child from 5th grade on. and I decided Questen needed a sibling.

So, in May of 2004, I started praying. Should we have another child? and now?

One Sunday, I was teaching the primary children. (Sunbeams age 3) I asked one of the little girls to give the opening prayer for class. 

"Please Bless Questen's mom and dad to have lots and lots of children"

Out of the mouth of babes right?? Anyways, Violet was born Feb of 2005.  (You do the math.)

Guess what? I loved Violet just the same as Questen! I was just as tired but not more tired. I had the same amount of unfinished Laundry but not more. 

Somehow, my heart had grown. My capabilities grew with Violet. I actually became cleaner with two kids then I had been with one. I started to really learn to cook. 

And with each child that has came into our family my heart has grown. My abilities as a mother have gotten better. I find that I get more organized with each child and I'm actually more on top of the Laundry then I was with just Questen.  Though, Laundry is still the bain of my existence! 

That's not to say, there hasn't been hard times because there has! I've definitely had months where I wasn't the best I could be but I've grown through those hard times too. 

Lately, a child hood memory keeps coming back to me.


Grandmas sweet voice was suddenly angry. "How dare she!" She said. Then repeated again! "How DARE she!"
As a young girl who'd rarely, if ever, heard her grandma angry I had to find out what grandma was so upset about. I quietly snuck around the kitchen corner past the old wood grandfather clock to take a peek at what had upset grandma.

"How dare she!" she said sitting on the edge of her pink rocker. This time she continued, "That woman said that so and so was her favorite child. Then she asked me which one of my kids was my favorite child. I told her. Them's all my favorites!"

Them's all my favorites... 

Please don't think that any of my children are not enough. They are each enough. Each of them are perfect and each of them are my favorites. (I'm writing this with a very squirmy, squishy, favorite on my lap and I'm so thankful he's here!)

Will we ever be done? I sure hope so. ;) In fact, I'm assuming new baby girl is the last, But that's between only Shane, myself and God.

In the meantime, Know that Them's all my favorites!

New pictures were added to our You caring site. You can access it here. 
https://www.youcaring.com/AddinganAtwood

Looking for Bars, folding underwear, and Chinese sidewalks.

In March of 2014, Our dreams came true. We met our Chu. We were not only thrilled to have our Chu but had the extra BONUS of meeting my dear friend, Melanie, in China. She was not only a fellow adoptive mom but she was also the same Denomination as me, LDS.  Both Melanie and I were amazed that everything had worked perfectly for us to be in Guangzhou together.  If one tiny thing had gone wrong, it wouldn't have happened.
One night, as Shane, Q and I were walking back from Pizza Hut, we ran into Melanie. We said the usual, "Oh Hi!!! blah.. blah.. but THEN Melanie introduced us to a Chinese couple. She said something about the couple running a foster home and I remember thanking this couple for taking care of the children in China and off we went. 

Little did I know that, that one tiny moment would be so significant. So remember that as you read my ramblings. 

I'm changed.
I am no longer the same person.
Shane has changed.
Questen has changed.
Our eyes have seen what most others in the US  have not and I suspect most do not want to see. If you have not yet read about our trip to Chu's orphanage, you can read about it here.  But then come back, because I'm pretty sure you'll want to read what I have to say.

My heart is no longer my own. It just isn't. It belongs to God and to the children of the world. The suffering. I see baby's and children wasting away.   Material possessions seem ridiculous! Christmas held a whole lot of guilt for me this year because PEOPLE we have TOO MUCH and others have TOO LITTLE.

The other day, as I was looking for pictures of the orphanage on my phone  I abruptly realized that subconsciously I was looking for Bars.

For Bars.

Tiny Jail cells for babies and children. Wow! So no wonder I can't sit ideally. No wonder I'm not content.

The last 6 months I've been a little obsessed with the women in the scriptures.  I went so far as to watch Ruth and Esther movies on Netflix while I folded laundry.  (Yes, I'm laughing at my self for admitting that.)

What I gained from these scriptures is that I want to be like these women. I want to do Gods will.

I am extremely far from perfect. Our family misses too much Church and my house is cluttered but I am willing. I am willing to go where my Lord wants me to go.

So folks! Were moving to China.

Just kidding. We are not. (Please, nobody tell my mom that. She will have a heart attack.) Really! I'm just kidding.

But Advocating for children was a natural course for me and I started advocating a bit.  For those who don't know, advocating is sharing about a child so that, hopefully, said child's family will find them. Thus, Advocating put many orphans in my FB news feed.

And as I would Advocate, my little darling 3 year old daughter would tell me things about her  "Teeny Tiny friend in China"
This girl got her momma thinking and praying.  "Lead me, dear Lord"

In November, I saw this teeny little "baby" of a girl. Only she wasn't a baby. She was a toddler.  She was malnourished and her tiny bones spoke to my heart.

This heart that knew what it was like to see your child starving a world away.
Feelings of "please someone help my child" flooded me. 

I couldn't stand it! I knew she needed help. I called the agency with the thought in mind that I could either 

A) Help find her a family. 

Or

B) Maybe one of my volunteer friends at love without boundaries could get food to her.

As I talked to baby girl's case worker (CW),  I told her about Chu. I told her that I hoped the family that adopted her would realize that this little one needed some TLC. 

I was surprised the next day to receive the little girls file.

I was guarding my heart. DON'T FALL IN LOVE, LACY!

And I didn't. Not right off.

In fact, She scared me. And Shane's words were the same, "She scares me, Lacy"

Why? She was 19 months and the size of maybe a 3 month old! But then I kept thinking, If we had seen Chu at 19 months old he might have looked worse.

The one video we had, She screamed her head off. Shane was like, "She's going to hate us."
and I didn't disagree.

So many things were holding us back.

But the biggest thing...WE HAVE NO MONEY!! It's not like with Chu, we don't have anything to sell.

Little girl was also at a whole new agency. That changes the game too. Could we trust this agency?

and She's well, She's a She! I'm such a boy advocate and here I am being drawn to a baby girl... But God laughs at Lacy's plans.

And did we mention, WE HAVE NO MONEY!! and well it was conveniently Christmas too. No Biggie... (Excuse me while I go blow in a bag)

I started researching the agency and baby girls special need. It wasn't long before my Adoption Momma friends were on to me. Adoption Momma's are the best in the world!! They are loving (unconditionally) , giving, God fearing, snoopy, umm... caring about what their other adoption momma friends do, and these momma's change the world.

So of course, I was getting private messages right and left.

 I confessed to friends  that I was scared.  One friend told me,

"Book if Esther tells us  - we can say no but He tells us we will lose out on our greatest blessings"

Oh Golly! There was Esther again. Not only was she showing up while I fold underwear but now she's in my messages.

Then another friend told me this.
 "I think it might seem scarier because you get the feeling you don't deserve her. She is your precious pearl that you found in the desert and will sell anything to get to her. I know what you are feeling. Well I am telling you that God gives us rewards. And she is proof! She is your pearl. And a jewel in your crown too!"

You know what? My friend was right. All those excuses I listed were good ones. NO MONEY is pretty scary but mostly, I felt SPOILED and UNWORTHY.  I also knew that God was testing my Faith. 
In many of my posts I have  begged you all to "Adopt.The money will come," ? Well, Now I'm testing my own faith. and my pride! Wholly Prideful, I am!!! Asking for money, makes me want to throw up!

"Ain't gonna let Satan's goons steal our joy. God gives gifts where he sees fit and if God wants your family and my family to have a little girl, then we are gonna take the gift and praise the Lord" My friend continued. 

Then, I told my friend Melanie about the little girl. Remember Melanie, my friend I met in China? I sent Melanie a picture. "I know this girl!", She said. "Lacy, You met her caretakers!!!"

Yes Folks! The Chinese couple that i met on a Chinese sidewalk, that ran a foster home, have baby girl in their care!!! Out of all the orphans in china, I ended up with one of their kids files!
Could this be, just a coincidence? 

No, I knew then that at the very least, I was suppose to have this girl's file but its not always easy to let go and Do.

Shane and I prayed. My prayer was that Shane would know.  It was really important to me that Shane got the "go ahead" from our heavenly father and NOT me.

Shane kept feeling like "It was up to us" and sense it was "up to us" then we COULD Say no.

So on a Monday morning, I was calling to tell our agency NO. I said one last prayer, "Father, if she's ours, Shane needs a push. because were about to say No."

In less then an hour, we got new video of baby girl and pictures! With Chu I only got new pictures maybe 4 times in a year! and for them to come right then. Right at the last second....

I knew she was ours, but Shane,
Would he feel or see what I could?

He watched the video. This time, baby girl wasn't screaming like a banshee. She was alert, bright eyed, beautiful.

WARNING: Swearing ahead.

"Damn't Lacy, do not fall in love with any more orphans, Okay? She's the last! But Yeah, She's ours. We need to go get her."

I love my husband. His bluntness makes him so rugged and sexy. TMI, Lacy. ;)



So I'm betting you want details!!


I can tell you this.
We've had a few people tell us that baby girl looks like our oldest daughter. There is something to that. They both have round heads and the same eye shape.

Baby girl will be two in March. She has a cleft palate only. She was a preemie.

Until last April, she was very neglected and was basically on the brink of death. Just after we met her caretakers, they brought her into their foster home. The caretakers are a wonderful Christian couple and they love the kids. It's not a house. Its a facility within the orphanage where they are able to give the kids more one on one care. They have 15 kids total in their care.

Baby girl is steadily gaining weight under their care. She is still only 10.5 pounds, though. I was told she's in 3-6 month clothes. She still needs home quickly.

We think she's going to be stubborn! Ha!  She'll fit right in. Ha ha...  We think she might take longer to warm up to us. She has a good amount of stranger danger.

She's beautiful and we can't wait to hold her. 

We're excited and amazed. We're Trusting.

Fund link below. 

https://www.youcaring.com/AddinganAtwood

How to adopt.

If you've ever, ever, even if it was years ago, thought "Maybe we should Adopt" you should read this.


I can't imagine adopting without my Faith. I just can't. God and Adoption go hand in hand. May I remind you,  Moses was adopted. Ruth was adopted and Jesus himself was raised and I would assume loved very much by a man that was not his biological father, Joseph.

For me, Adoption and all of the decisions that come with adoption have been answered with prayer. First, I pray and ask heavenly father to help me think clearly and to guide my education and instincts. The next steps aren't always in this order but most of the time they are. I educate as much as I can, get a feel of what seems the best for our family, then talk to my husband and get his opinion. Together we pray.

I personally think every married couple should pray about adoption. I think they should pray a few times throughout their life about adoption. What might be a "No" now, might be a "Yes" later. This happened to Shane and I. You can read about it here.
(If you get a "No" don't think that's a "get out of jail" card. haha.. You were suppose to think about adoption for a reason. Maybe you will adopt later and maybe not, but until then Pray for orphans. Pray for adoptive failies. You can also Donate your time or money towards the orphan cause. You can advocate for children trying to find families.)

I also think that some single people should adopt too. (GASP) Yes, I just said that. There are too many Orphan's in the world for me to NOT say it. If a single stable adult has prayed and feels like they should adopt then Yay!!

You know you SHOULD adopt, now what?

This is really important!!! Do not be surprised if now you decided to adopt that EVERYTHING goes wrong! 

I hear of this all the time. I experienced it. 

The week we decided we were adopting. A tire went flat, our cow died, my kids got sick, the neighbor dog killed our chicken, and that was just to name a few. 

Satan doesn't like good things to happen! 

This is where I started.

There's a great site called Rainbow kids.
 Here's the link http://www.rainbowkids.com/international-adoption/country-programs/usa

I spent hours on this site. It lists each country that is open for adoptions.  I wrote each country including the US down on a paper. Then I went through and read about each country. After you click on the specific country there's  paragraphs that say, Children Available, Parent Qualification, Timeline, and Tavel. I studied each paragraph...

Children available- I eliminated a few countries right off the bat because the children were older then 6. However, I would pray about this before eliminating older children Chu was two years older then we expected.

Parent Qualifications for COUPLES- Th
ere were many that I eliminated because we had too many children to qualify. 
*** Today when I looked at the China page it had a few things WRONG and this might be the case for other countries too.
 Note, that you can obtain a waiver for having an BMI higher then 40.
 You may be able to obtain a waiver if you have a serious medical condition too. Especially if your spouse is healthy. 
You can also adopt a child with the same medical conditions you have.    

Timeline- If the timeline to adopt took longer then 3 years, I eliminated it. Which took away the China "Healthy" program and left the "Special need" Program. 

Travel- I had 4 biolgical children so how long I left them was a huge consideration! If it required more then 2 trips or a huge amount of time in country,  I eliminated a country. However, If this is your first child or you can easily take your children with you, then I wouldn't eliminate what I did. 

When I was done. I was left with Ukraine, Poland, Russia, The special need China program, and the US.  Russia closed shortly after that and I eliminated it.

 I started praying about a specific country and I used the link at the bottom of each country that says "Agencies placing children from this county" to call agencies. 

I called a few  agencies from each country and asked 

1. What are the fees for this country?
2. Has this country closed in the past?
3. How stable is it?

Funny thing, when I would call about other countries, I kept hearing "Chinese special need adoption are very stable, cheaper fees compared to other countries, and don't be afraid of the special need program."

Pretty soon, I was down to China special needs and the US.

The US had two options. Infant adoptions or Foster care.
I specifically prayed about Foster care and felt No.

Both Shane and I Prayed about infant adoptions and Shane felt No.

So China it was!

But maybe you'll end up in a different country. If you do, ask on your fb wall. example. Do you know anyone that has adopted from Africa? Try searching on the FB search African adoptions.
Also, You can send me a pm on FB and ill try to help you. or comment below.



How to navigate the China adoption world will be my next post.

8 months home.

There's so much to post about! 

I hope I can remember it all! 

Here's a few pictures of firsts! 

First pumpkin harvest. 

First Halloween, 

We've had a few good changes. 

He was blessed in our Church and will be known as Oliver ChuSheng Atwood on the records! 

It was a very special day for our family! Lilly and cousin Millie were baptized too. 

I'm happy to report that Chu doesn't throw food as much. Yay for mommy! 

Lydia had a birthday so now they are both 3. 

Together Chu and Lydia keep this momma busy. Every time I turn around there's a new mess. These two are partners in crime. ;) AND they are both climbers. 

Yup, that's a sippy cup! Ingenuity, right? 

What one doesn't think of the other does. There's lots and lots of giggles at our house. 

These two have such a cute little bond now that it's hard to believe the first 3 months they did NOT like each other! 

Sometimes, momma feels left out. ;) 

Common guysss...someone give the momma a snuggle! 

This will do. 

Lately, Chu has been telling me, "I da baby" He loves to snuggle. He has the sweetest giggle when I tell him "momma's baby, your mine."

Yes, he's that tiny. Those are 12 month Jammie's! 

But he is growing. 

At our Big November appointment we met with quite a few different doctors. 

First he was weighed and measured! 

He weighs 21 pounds! 

He's 28 inches tall! 

(The day we met our boy he was 13 pounds and 25 inches. )

Left-in the orphanage. Right- Halloween night. 

Then, we met with the speech therapist. 

I should tell you, we are currently in a language rush.  I think Chu is trying his hardest to catch up with Lydia because is he quite a jabber box lately. 

Chu is trying so hard to carry on conversations. The problem is, he thinks telling Lydia "no" or tattling on her is a great conversation. Haha... Little stink. 

About three times a day I have to say, "Chu, quit telling Meim, No!"

(Chu has shortened Mei Mei (little sister) to meim) 

The speech therapist said Chu is doing so good that he does not need speech therapy.  

Next, we went to hearing test. He failed again. I'm not worried yet. We will get a more in depth test later. 

Finally, it was our big Genetecist appointment. The Genetecist was the nicest, kindest man. I felt like Chu was in capable kind hands. 

Chu's official diagnosis is SED dwarfism. 

Which didn't surprise us. :) 

He's perfect. 

Chu also had his first thanksgiving. 

He approved. :) 

And my goodness! Thank you Heavenly Father for this sweet boy...

What a blessing he is!

Something to think about...

There's been a thought going around and around in my brain. 

Have you been to your local animal shelter lately? 

I have been in ours quite a bit lately. (Lilly's birthday is coming up and I'm keeping an eye out for a small breed dog.)

Our local animal shelter is quite nice. It's clean. The animals are clean and well fed. But I'm sad every time I go in there. Because I know some will never be adopted. :( some animals will never know love. 

Today when I ran in there, I was happy to see they had half the animals. Most of the time they have about 40 dogs and 40 cats. 

You know how there's a humane society in just about every town in America? 

Well there's an orphanage in just about every town or county in China! 

Our local animal shelter has better conditions then Chu's orphanage had. 

My local pound had way less animals then the orphanage had children! 200 children in Chu's orphanage. 

Children people! Babies, toddlers, little ones who want snuggles, hugs, and blue balloons! 

And the pound smelled better. 

Next time you go to your local animal shelter, picture babies in cribs instead of dogs in runs. 

Please pray about adopting.