Family Tree

Awhile ago, I posted about my husband's sister, Amy, and her husband, Robert, and their desire to adopt a child. My brother, Ike, and I (i.e. The Rough Drafts) wrote some songs together and recorded an EP to help them raise some of the funds needed for this journey. You can still download that album here. Name your price! Even if you don't download it, though, you still need to visit the webpage, so you can view the cover art for the EP. Pretty cool tree, huh? It was created by my husband, Mitch, who-in addition to being a brilliant family man, commercial construction manager and organizational guru-is quite an artsy-fartsy fellow. He sketched it with pen and paper in only a few hours!

As far as the adoption journey: After a long, hard couple of years full of fasting, praying, and fundraising Amy, Robert, and their daughter are hoping to add a new member to their family very, very soon! The donation link posted on The Rough Drafts' Bandcamp page is no longer working, but I know they would appreciate your prayers over these next weeks and months. We couldn't be more excited to see what God has in store for their family!

As a gift, we gave Amy and Robert a canvas decoupage made from the sketch Mitch drew for the EP. I used oil pastels for the bold colors. The aging effects took several weeks. 

The tree, itself, is so symbolic of a family. No 2 trees will have the exact same features because so many outside elements determine how a tree will grow. No 2 families will look exactly alike, either, for the same reason. Ultimately, what helps us grow stronger is how we respond to those outside elements to grow into something strong, useful, and beautiful. I could go on, but I'll let you look for yourself to see what other family correlations you can find. 

What makes your family tree strong, useful, and beautiful?