"Many women are capable, but you surpass them all!" Proverbs 31:29

I dedicate this blog to Mother's Day! (although later than I'd hoped)

Today is the day we set aside to celebrate mothers and all that it means to be a mother. Also, it's the day we celebrate the special gifts God has given to us, our children! As I look at life in a new perspective now than I did 4 years ago when I was not only not a mommy but not even married yet, to now, with my two beautiful little girls, there is a new found awe to the word "mom", "mother", "mommy", or as my sister likes to say "mumkins". What better blog to dedicate to my mother and some of the most beautiful Godly mothers I have known and loved in my 25 years of life than on our adoption blog. Motherhood, whether you are pregnant,  already have your child/children with you to hold and tuck in at night (that's US), waiting and praying for your child/children whom you don't even know their name yet (that's US too), have children that are grown, or have grieved over the loss of one of your own...is still motherhood. It's still a bond, a special and unique bond between a mother and a child; if for a day a week, a year, or tens of years it's a blessing from God!

My mother, Susan Montroy, has always shown me, even from a very young age, what it means to be a Godly woman, mother, and wife. I know that I didn't always make it easy on her (especially my late teenage years) but she has helped me to grow in wisdom and in grace. I just love how Proverbs 31 talks about how a Godly woman, wife and mother should exemplify Christ. As I look back, my mother displayed those things to me and now I get to take what she has taught me and demonstrate it first hand to my children, to my husband, to God, and for our household. 

     'Mom, I love you so much and I'm so thankful for the relationship God has given us! You are not only my mother, but my best friend, my children's Nana, and a wonderful example to all who know you of what a Godly woman, wife, and mother should be! This day could only have been made better if I would've been able to celebrate you in person! I love you, Mom!'

'Hannah and Noelle, I'm so blessed to be your mommy. I look forward to what God will do in and through your lives, but I cherish all of the moments now as I know you are both a special gift from God! You make me laugh so much everyday, yet I'm left with tears in my eyes (tears of joy of course) and you keep me guessing! You make me want to be a better mommy day after day, to strive to continue to show you what a Godly mother is, and to tell you about Jesus' and His love for you!!! May you live according to Gods plan for your life and be an example to all of His love!! 

I love you girls!'

'To our child who is in our hearts, as we still don't know anything about you yet...we wait patiently on the Lord and His timing to bring you home to us! We long for the day we travel to pick you up and bring you home to meet your two sisters and the rest of your family that already loves you and is praying for you!'

Lastly but not at all least, I celebrate all of the beautiful mothers that I have known and loved in my little over 25 years of life. You have helped me to be the mom that I am today and have been an inspiration of Godly womanhood and Godly motherhood! Of course I have left out many because it's late and I'm running on 'mommy brain' (haha) but two special ladies pictured below, alongside all of the other wonderful ladies, is my gorgeous and Godly sister Meredith who is just a wonderful inspiration of strength and Christ-likeness in a busy world, being a wonderful mommy to Caleb and to the 'little one on the way'(so excited to be an aunt for the second time), and to Teresa Fuller (my mother-in-law who went to be our Lord and Savior last year)...what a dear woman who had God's love shining through her and overflowing into the lives of all who knew and loved her. In her short time of being a "mawmaw", she made special memories with Hannah and Noelle that Trey and I will continue to keep alive in our children's hearts forever! I see her example of motherhood through Trey every time he holds our precious girls. Scripture says it all, "Her sons rise up and call her blessed"-Proverbs 31:28....that is a wonderful reflection of how Trey feels about his mother!

"How beautiful are the feet..."-Romans 10:15

I know that this is a blog that is used to tell our adoption story, to not only allow you to be a part of our journey and to help others in the future with their adoption, but we also want you to sneak-a-peek into our everyday lives as a family in this amazing process.  Our eyes are opened more, I think, since we've been in the process to how children in other countries live and the conditions in which people in third world countries survive in (or don't survive in). I grew up being taught to help the poor, feed the hungry, cloth the needy, go and be the hands and feet of Christ..and I have done those things, Trey and I have both done those things-still do and now are teaching our children those same principles! I think, however it has hit closer to home (if that makes sense) since we've been in the adoption process. Whereas I might have cried once a week for the poor and needy, I find myself crying daily and praying more earnestly (as I am on the computer on a daily basis looking up info on Malawi adoption and come face to face with images a few times a day of the conditions of the poor/oppressed). I'm so thankful for that too! And you might ask, why are you thankful for the fact that you are teary eyed almost every single day? Well, because I never want to be comfortable! I never want to be so complacent with my lifestyle and walk with Christ, that I'm not brokenhearted when I see pictures of tiny faces that look malnourished, when I see images of families scooping water from a waterhole that is also used by animals to urinate in, or hear stories of Christians who are being persecuted daily for their faith in Christ. No, never do I want to grow comfortable with my middle class life...I long for Christ to make me uncomfortable so that He can show me daily where I need to change to be a better believer, where I need to pray more to hear His voice speaking even more than I think I already hear it, where I need to live out my faith more so that those around me see that I continue to live a God honoring life- a life that serves the poor, cares for the needy, and looks after the oppressed!  So, a sneak-peek in the life of me and my family today would leave you "shoeless"...yup, that's right-not speechless, SHOELESS! Once a year, I think now for 4 years, TOMSHOES holds A ONE DAY WITHOUT SHOES "day" to raise awareness for the millions that grow up without shoes and without opportunities. So, no shoes for the day for my little family, and being a stay at home mom it isn't such a big deal (it may seem to you) but I did still have an opportunity to get the word out. Next to posting it on facebook, I went to the gym this morning and had the chance to share why I wasn't wearing my shoes, to this sweet little old man who volunteered to buy me a pair when he saw I wasn't wearing any. How cute! After I shared with him, he said that next year he would love to participate in something like this and wondered why he hadn't heard of this before, because it was such a neat idea. Who new? A man, from a distance, you may have thought was set in his ways and who may have seen me as a "kook", actually was excited about getting involved next year! And I hope by reading this you will be too! As a Christian, it is more than just a movement of people wearing no shoes to make others aware of those who don't have shoes, but about being the feet of Christ. We as believers are called to be the hands and feet of Christ and I feel like this is just another way to do just that. When you tell the reason why you are not wearing shoes, it gives you the perfect opportunity to share the gospel and to make others aware of a greater purpose in life!!!!!

ONE DAY WITHOUT SHOES...WOULD YOU GO ONE DAY WITHOUT?

Romans 10:14-15 -PRAY THAT GOD WOULD MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE!!!!! Pray today and everyday for those who are without shoes, clean drinking water, food, and MOST importantly the WORD of God and the knowledge of saving grace!


side note: Sorry about the delay of adding a way to buy shirts through paypal on the blog. We have had sick kids since late saturday night. So here are the payment instructions: click on the paypal/donate button on the right side of the blog and pay for the shirts that you want to purchase (adding $2/per shirt that we'll have to ship out of amite, la-amite being a free delivery). Then send an email to Ashley: ashley_fuller@live.com and let her know what specific shirts you have ordered (include sizes and colors) & list a mailing address to have the shirts shipped to. If you don't have a paypal account or don't want to start one (which is free by the way), then still send Ashley an email letting her know that you would like to send a check instead for the order. She will then email back the address you can send the check to (so as to not disclose all personal information on the blog). Thank you in advance for your help!

'Glory in His Holy Name...'

As I have said over and over again, we continue to stand in awe of how our GREAT and AWESOME God works!  On Thursday, we had our home study visit (the first of two) with our social worker Kelly. Although she didn't look through our home, which we scrubbed from top to bottom, we still got a lot accomplished on her check list. We've been working diligently the past 3 weeks to get documents in, state clearances sent, paperwork filled out, & papers filed. So, this left just a few things for us to fill out while she was here for 3 1/2 hrs and mainly left the visit to interviews and discussions about family, life, and international adoption. We're doing great so far (as in approvals from state clearances etc.) and we're still working to finish a few last documents she needs to close our home study. She will return, once we move to New Orleans, to assess our home there and to have us sign a few more documents. Then, she will finish her report which is compiled to be our "home study report" which will tell the government here and in Malawi that we are eligible and capable to adopt a child.

 As God has called us all biblically to care for orphans and widows in there time of need (James 1:27), we have felt, as you have read, to bring that conviction to heart and into our home (if that even makes sense). But the process is not a short one nor is a cheap one. And in the home study interviews, our social worker asked many times if we had the support of our family, friends, and church and we said YESSS because we know that we do! That support mainly comes through prayer and encouragement and we are so grateful for that! Another way to support our journey is to buy a T-SHIRT! My father took the design we had in our heads and put it to computer which will intern be put onto a T-SHIRT. We are selling one design in three different shirt colors: black and white for $15 and the red shirts for $18. Local delivery fees are free and any other shipping will be $2. We are excited to be able to use these shirts to allow ya'll to be a part of our journey, but also to one day show our son or daughter that we had a world of prayer warriors that helped bring them HOME!!!

Thank you for loving us and being a part of this amazing journey that God is taking us on!!!!!!


Starting tomorrow, we'll have a way that you can purchase the shirts through paypal. You can also call with orders: Trey's cell # (985) 474-4930 or Ashley's cell # (662) 554-8038