Citrus and Cream Feature

We are thrilled to be featured on the Citrus and Cream blog this week! A huge "thank you" to the gals running the show over there, they are doing a fabulous job of highlighting local businesses, products, and people.

I had so much fun with the interview questions and hope my answers help to create a more full picture of what we are working to accomplish through our Standard Goods products.

Please head over to the Citrus and Cream blog and check out our feature!! Hey and leave a comment, would ya?

GIVEAWAY: Handmade Dark Leather Clutch

We have some BIG things coming up for Standard Goods and we want to generate some momentum by hosting our own giveaway!! I've made it SUPER easy and the prize is worth every bit of the 10 seconds it will take to enter.

I absolutely LOVE our new handmade, dark leather clutch. I can easily fit my phone, front pocket wallet (shameless plug), lip gloss, checkbook, and a few other necessities in this snazzy little bag.

We sell our clutch on our Etsy shop for $49 but you can get one for FREE by entering our giveaway! 

Here is how it will work:

- Leave a comment on this post telling us about the coolest thing you've ever won (1 entry)

- Share our giveaway on Facebook (3 entries)

-"Like" Dad Will Build Your Leg on Facebook (2 entries)

- Pin our Clutch on Pinterest (2 entries)

Could it be any easier?? Ok, READY-SET-GO!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Standard Goods: Behind the Scenes

Tim surprised me with a new camera for Christmas and we've been having fun photographing life in the Kanallakan house. Here are a few photos of our dining room leather shop. You can see the finished products at our Etsy shop: Standard Goods.

Darn Potential

Good ol' Webster defines the word "potential" as "a chance or possibility that something will happen or exist in the future." Now that we've crossed over into 2014, I can't seem to get this word out of my head. These next 12 months carry SO MUCH potential I can't begin to wrap my head around it all. Some of the potentials of this new year are (hopefully) more probabilities then possibilities: beginning and completing our home study, continuing to fund raise, submitting our dossier to China. These "probable potentials" (see what I did there) are not as hard for me to think about because they are things that I have some level of control over. We have already begun the pre-pre process of our home study and paperwork, we are currently fund raising with our Standard Goods shop, and we are in communication with our agency regarding our timeline to submit our dossier. It's those darn potentials, the true possibilities and chances, that make my brain fuzzy. Possibilities like submitting our dossier in August and receiving a match shortly after being logged in. A match would be a photo and a name and some medical history. A match would mean I would know my son or daughter on some level. Possibilities like submitting our dossier, receiving a match, accepting the match, and booking a flight to China. All in 2014. The potential is killing me. In a good way. 

Now, I am well aware that the adoption timeline is rarely as short as parents hope it will be. It is very likely that our flight to China will not happen till early 2015. But, then, there is that darn potential...

God has been so faithful to us this past month. He continues to provide the finances we need to bring our child home. The story He is writing of this child's journey to our family is a good one. So far it includes random checks in the mail, a steady flow of Standard Goods orders, and a divinely orchestrated dinner with another adoptive couple who blessed us beyond words with their council and gifts. 

I think it was John Piper who said something along the lines of, "Prepare yourself to experience miracles when walking the road of adoption." Not that its all rosy and pretty and supernatural. It is frustrating and confusing and expensive and full of hard conversations. But God is so faithful to provide the kick in the pants we need to keep going forward when we feel like slowing down. Knowing what waits for us at the end of this journey makes it so very worthwhile. As I type this post, it is after 10 pm on Friday night and Tim has been at his office since 7 pm, sewing Standard Goods pieces for current orders and the ones we believe God will continue to bring. Not my ideal Friday night. Certainly not Tim's. But, man, when we think about what each of those leather goods mean for our family and for our child in China, we don't mind at all. Potential is a great motivator.