I'm an aunt!

The biggest  news around here is that my first ever nephew was born on Saturday!!! Calvin Davies was born into the world after only 5 hours and 50 minutes of labor! Can you believe that? Amazing!!! He weighed 6 pounds and 4 ounces and was 19 inches long. As a new aunt, I had to share some pics of little Calvin and my family.

(And don't forget, we have a yard sale THIS WEEKEND for the adoption! Click here for details. )

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price

I watched my first documentary back in 2008 and I have been watching them ever since. You might say I am a bit of a documentary junky. The first one I watched was "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price." It was shocking. Sure, I had heard people talk about how Wal-Mart beat out the local competition, but I had no idea the extent to which the company deliberately denied the basic needs of others to make money. Sure, I was aware of this reality, as I am sure you are, on some level but watching this film opened my eyes to just what that entailed.



Blog post from personal blog on 10/6/08

"I watched this documentary today about the biggest retailer in the world: Wal-Mart. I was dumbfounded at the way this company functions and treats all of their workers. Managers are instructed to forge time cards to keep payroll down, Chinese labors are threatened to lie about the conditions they work in or risk losing their job, and the average employee makes a wage that is under the national poverty line. There are too many wrongs to list here.

I feel naive and foolish for supporting this company my entire adult life. Prices are cheap, but I am not willing to continue to support a company that lives out so many of the things I do not believe in. Yes, all companies will fail, and there will be problems and moral issues with any place I shop, but I can no longer support Wal-Mart when I now know what I know.

Here is the official website for the movie, click here.

If you have Netflix, the documentary is available on instant watch and I encourage you to educate yourself about this. This movie was made in 2005, but new statistics are included on their website.

I am taking a small stand by supporting local stores and more reputable companies. Who will join me?"

So there you have it. My first thoughts after watching my first documentary back in 2008. We have not shopped at Wal-Mart for over four years and we do not miss it. I have learned a lot more since then and am excited to share with you what we have learned and hope you will watch a couple of these documentaries for yourself.

Common Objections to Adoption

While searching around some Ugandan adoption blogs, I discovered a video. A video that touched on my post about the American dream and about downsizing our home. He does a much better job at being articulate, direct and honest about the objections we all have to adoption.

Several months ago, Craig and I were not at a place where we could have heard this. We would have thought that was a nice thought.... for someone else. But all of that has changed since God has moved our hearts to how truly rich we are. We can become blinded by everything around us and forget that we are citizens of another kingdom. Craig and I are called to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, defend the cause of the fatherless, and look after orphans. Is this a special calling that we have been given? No. They are commands given to every Christian.

Take a look at this video from The Zoe Foundation and let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Adopt-umentary- Eposide 2

Wonder what our kids think about having a new brother and sister from Uganda? Check out our newest adopt-umentary where Asher and Alethea share their thoughts on adoption. Enjoy!

To view Episode 1, click here.

Burritos, Birds and Butterflies

With two preschoolers in the house and a limited budget, Craig and I get creative with our date ideas.

•  People Safari {Make a list of different types of people and whoever spots them first gets a point}
• Gift Card Date {Save gift cards from Christmas and only go to those places for dates}
• Game Olympics {Play a series of boardgames and whoever wins the most is the the gold medalist}
• Star Gazing {Crawl into a sleeping bag together in your backyard and spot the constellations}

This past week, we headed to Carter Road Park (Loyce Harpe Park) for a walk. As we drove there, we ran through Taco Bell (I know. Very organic of us) and grabbed a quick burrito to eat on our date. We explored nature and just relaxed without the kiddos. Here are some pics we took of us on the date just being silly.

Ready for our walk with the burritos.

Walking and relaxing

There were TONS of butterflies in this part, so I pretended to be a tree so they would land on me. It didn't work.

"The hills are alive!"

Ummm.... I think we are lost...

I tried to run here one day for my marathon training. Bad idea.

We tried to lay down to relax. Ouch. Not a soft choice.

Just thinking about life.... and how big he was going to grow his beard.

Do you have any creative date ideas to share? I'd love to know them! Please share in the comments below.

Adopt-umentary- Episode 1

And here you go, folks. The first episode of the Barber Adopt-umentary! That wasn't too long of a wait, was it? Just one day since we posted the teaser and we have many more to come. We are excited to document this journey we are on and share our joys, frustrations and the things we are learning along the way with all of you and with our heart-grown kids when they are older.


And we would love to know what you want to know about. In the comments section, please ask us questions about anything and everything. And you might just see it in the next adopt-umentary. Thanks!

Adoption Fundraiser #2

My husband is a wiz at designing! I asked if he could design a logo for our adoption journey and quick as a flash he made our idea a reality. I LOVE it because it expresses our sentiments perfectly. Adopting from Africa is a dream come true, but it is a big one. One we can't do alone or on our own strength. We have a big dream and that is part of the journey. Here is the awesome logo.

Our second fundraiser is to sell this logo on t-shirts! We will have these shirts available at our yard sale on February 25th from 8AM-2PM, but we also have them for sale on Etsy. Check out our shop and buy yours today! Click here to go to our Etsy shop.

And here we are modeling our amazing new t-shirts! This is a functional and fashionable way to support our adoption. And when wearing the shirt, it will always be a reminder to pray.

Even my Mom is sporting a shirt! She is ready for more grandchildren!