Stevens Woodshop: Open for Business!

Hi friends, Bettina here.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to craft and make DIY items for my room, apartment, friends apartments, whatever! Sooo when we bought our first home in 2012, you better believe I went to work! Since moving in, Paul has been a gem; always putting up with my crazy ideas and making them come to life. I started small with things for our walls, but as my taste for expensive items grew, I realized we needed to get some more tools in our belt {see what I did there ;)} 

We started with a couple ottomans, a coat rack, a sign for the guest room and a jewelry holder. Since then we've built a coffee table, side table, headboards, entryway bench, and china cabinet. The more we built, the more we wanted to build, and it became a nice way for us to enjoy time together without just sitting on the couch :)

Initial projects before our home became a local hardware store

Paul and I never imagined we would be building furniture as a way to raise support for our adoption, but as people continued to tell us they would buy our pieces, the more we thought, why not? Over time we've bought the tools required and a few weeks ago made a trip to Lowes to make our woodshop a reality!

If only our garage wasn't built for just a single car! :)

 DeWALT to the rescue!

We started just by word of mouth, and surprisingly had a few items purchased almost immediately! Below is our work on a custom coffee table bought by one of my co-workers (thanks John and Amanda!!)

 Putting the chevron pattern together!

 Gluing them down before the the nails go in

Pattern done with trim attached!

 Sanding away! You can see I have an N95 mask and glasses...safety first people!

Stained per their request!

Complete with legs!

Since we started having more inquiries, we decided to put together a brochure that has a few of the pieces we've done for our own home, stain options, as well as contact info for custom orders! You can view it as a Google document HERE, but download it for best viewing, as the pictures are a little grainy otherwise!

As of right now, I've decided not to list the furniture on my Etsy site (as we currently don't have a good way to ship them), BUT if you don't live nearby and are interested in a piece, let me know and I can get you some pricing to have it sent your way!

We are open to doing custom pieces and would be happy to talk options, colors, and details to fit the needs of your space! 100% of these proceeds will be put toward our adoption, and our future kiddos will forever be represented in your home! :)

Please feel free to contact us with any questions and as always, spread the word! 

Happy Friday to you all! xo

Did somebody say Chick-fil-A?

       

Hello friends, family and fellow Charlottesvillians! 

We wanted to announce our first official fundraiser! The nicest cows in town over at Chick-fil-A have agreed to host a Spirit Day in our honor with 15% of their proceeds going toward our adoption!

Here are the details!

When: Tuesday, August 19 (2 weeks from today!) from 6:30am-10:00pm (all day long!)

Where: ONLY at the Chick-fil-A located at 350 Woodbrook Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22902 (The one on 29 in the Lowes Plaza)

What do you need to do: Bring an invitation or show the invitation electronically on your phone! Chick-fil-A will then keep your receipt to apply to our fundraiser. 

What else is available: 

- You will be able to go in and spin a wheel for $1 which will give you coupons for free or discounted Chick-fil-A food! All of the money from the wheel will go directly to us, so spin away! :)

- If you think your place of work is too far away to make a quick trip that way for lunch, Chick-fil-A has kindly offered all party platters called in for pick-up will also be put toward our fundraiser. Just let them know over the phone that you're calling in for the Stevens Adoption Spirit Day!

- All calendars (filled with coupons for free items!) and plush cows will be available for purchase and will also be applied toward our fundraiser. The calendars make great gifts! :)

Here is the invitation!

Please print or e-mail and share, share, share! 

Every penny counts in bringing our little ones home!

As always, Eat Mor Chikin!

Introduction

Welcome to our blog! 

Paul and I are so excited to officially announce that we are adopting from Uganda, Africa! We always knew we would do this, but never anticipated it would be this soon! Life has unexpected ways of surprising you, and we could not be more excited to begin our family through adoption.

We have decided to start a blog for a few reasons. The first being so our friends and family can follow along with us on this journey, and know how to pray and support us during this time. Second, so others going through the adoption process will have a common place to share, learn and support one another. Third, so people can stay apprised of our upcoming events! This has already been a very humbling experience and we've learned that without the love and support of our friends and family we would not be able to bring these little ones home.

We started the research for our adoption over a year ago, but have been pursuing agencies since February of this year. In June we got down to business, and actively began the lengthy paperwork process of completing our home study and dossier. We have already hit many roadblocks, and while there are still many variables up in the air, we are continuing to move forward. God has already shown us the need to trust and rely on Him through this process, and we are learning to let Him carry our worries and fears as we enter these uncharted waters. 

We ask that you partner with us during this time and continue to remind us of the goal set before us. We know this is going to be a crazy, emotional process, but when we have those kiddos in our arms every minute of difficulty will have been worth it. At this time we are pursuing to adopt 2 siblings, ages 6 and under and we are open to some medical need. We pray daily for the lives of our children and we know God will be with them (and us!) during this time of waiting.

Thank you all in advance for your love, support and encouragement; we couldn't do it without you! Here's to the start of something wonderful!