An Incredible Journey Home

Monday, March 6, 2017

Bozeman to Atlanta

On Friday, January 20th, we started our 5 day trek to Roswell, GA! It was a beautiful blue sky sunny day in Bozeman when the movers showed up to start packing up the truck!

It was also Emilia's last day at ED Elementary. She has grown so much over the last few years and we have made relationships that will last a lifetime! I didn't cry at all about the move ... the next chapter awaited us and we were excited for what was to come. But when I showed up to E's school, I completely lost it. The bell had rung, but all of her class stayed in the room and gave her a group hug. We have had such an amazing team of teachers and staff to help guide her over the years, and this year alone she has made incredible gains. We will miss everyone so much!

We embarked on our journey early evening once our house was packed up and we went through one last time and cleaned up the old place.

"Bye house, see you never."

These sweeties were together until the last minute.
We sure are going to miss our amazing neighbor/friends!!

We had our valuables packed up in our little RV and the truck cab with the most important cargo: Emilia and the fur babies - Dora, Gipsi and Tiva!

We only made it about 2 1/2 hours, but wanted to at least get on the road!

So. Many. Hours. On the road.

Burning off some energy!

Dora checking out the Ohio River

Somewhere in Kentucky

Montana ... Wyoming ... South Dakota ... Nebraska ... Iowa ... Missouri ... Illinois ... Kentucky ... Tennessee ... GEORGIA!!

We made it!

Home Sweet Home

#BZNtoATL
#Scheelscrosscountryadventure

Sunday, March 5, 2017

You Slay Me, Universe

We're moving ...

Of course the hose to the ice machine is leaking, which causes damage on our floor.
Of course the kitchen sink is leaking.
Of course the lawnmower quit working.

But we are strong ... we will not fall victim to the "obstacles" you put in our way.

We are moving on to new adventures.

#Scheelscrosscountryadventure

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Choose Love

Election hangover ... Whether or not your candidate won the election, the last couple of months have been extremely ugly.

My responsibility to be fulfilled and happy is totally on ME. I will not allow anything or anyone to take that power away from me.

We need to BE THE CHANGE.

Our responsibility is to keep doing our part. We still need to fight for what is right ... but not with hatred. We need to find our voice and work to make the difference that we seek. We need to continue to fight for injustice. We need to lead with compassion.

Love conquers all. Do not give into fear. Fear is not the answer. Fear is what got us to where we are.

My mantra during this season will continue to be "I am a kind steward of my thoughts and energy."

Be kind. Spread love and light.

O X O X O

Thursday, October 20, 2016

2016

It's 2016. And already 3/4 of the way through the year!

No real news yet about Little Brother. We are still fighting to be able to bring him home, but have seen zero movement.

But we will continue to fight. All children deserve families. Period. We will never stop fighting for that.

Life in Montana has continued to move at lightening speed. It's been far too long since our last update, so obviously we will give you a quick recap via photos!

If you don't already, please follow our adoption page on Facebook, we seem to be able to post a bit more regularly over there :)

2015

E started FIRST grade!

We're so lucky to have access to such beautiful adventures

Killing it at her annual school run

Halloween is still our favorite!

Spunky girl turns SEVEN!

We are still enjoying skiing together as a family!

2016

Her fashion just continues to amaze me!

She sure does love her garden!

Cliff jumping in Glacier National Park

Exploring Paradise Valley

Soccer!

Color Run!

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Thirty-One Fundraisers

In early 2013 my husband and I completed an adoption from Ecuador and brought home our daughter, Emilia. This process was in the wake of a 4 year, failed adoption in Kyrgyzstan, and the loss of our sweet boy, Akyl.

Emilia's process took a year of paperwork, saving, working like cray-zy and fundraising. There are significant expenses associated with adoption that make it incredibly difficult for many families to adopt. We were one of those families!

One of the most successful fundraisers we had for Emilia's adoption was a Thirty-One Gifts party hosted by a fellow Adoptive Mom, and someone I am now blessed to call friend! Prior to that fundraiser, I had never heard of Thirty-One! I was excited about how well our fundraiser had gone and how popular those Thirty-One totes were. So when I started looking for ideas to help other families fundraise, Thirty-One was at the top of my list. After finding out it was a faith based company that was experiencing remarkable growth, I decided to join.

Doing a Thirty-One fundraiser is FREE for the fundraising family. It is something that will interest others who aren't already in the adoption community. And it's something that gives those who want to support a fundraising family an avenue to do so (while shopping for some amazing products)!

Since starting my fundraisers in early 2013, I have been blessed to meet so many great families who are working diligently to bring their children home. I love the opportunity to get to know these amazing families and be part of the journey to their child. I've met some pretty amazing people!

All of the commission from each fundraiser will go directly to the fundraising family. If you are not in process to adopt, but know someone who is and would like to help, you can host a Thirty-One fundraiser for them!! The adopting family receives commission from the party, and YOU receive all the hostess credit and incentives!!

If you are in the midst of your adoption process and would be interested in hosting a Thirty-One Fundraiser, please contact me. I would be so honored to help your family!

Jes
scheeljes@yahoo.com
www.mythirtyone.com/scheel