Saturday Shopping for Orphans (Vol. 3)

Today I want to share with you the beautiful wearable artwork of Tosha Tanquary.  Tosha makes vintage map necklaces, bracelets and key rings to raise funds for her family's adoption of sweet little Kaydee from the same country as our Abraham.  They hope to travel for the pick-up trip in November this year.

Her beautiful custom necklaces can be made to show any location in the world using vintage maps.  You can purchase her wearable art from her Etsy store, Bringing Home a Tanquary.  Her key rings are $8.  The necklaces are just $15, and you can specify what type of metal finish they would like for the chain, what shape glass you want, and of course which location you would like to be featured in the pendant.  If you can't decide on just one location, for $22 you can order an adorable charm bracelet with several map charms.

Another member of the Tanquary family, Alisha, is working on some cute peg doll sets that will be ready for auction soon.  Look at these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!  You can follow the Tanquary Family's journey on their Facebook page and keep an eye out on when these little dolls are available.  They're also gearing up for a giveaway of a lovely red, white, and blue handmade quilt, so check it out!

We also pray for all the families who will be holding adoption fundraising yard sales this weekend, that many people in their communities will support them and help them raise the ransoms they need to bring their children home.

Mug exchange, field trips, and a sweetie in desperate need of a family

~1~

Another Friday, another 7 quick takes. Yesterday we launched our new fundraiser, a coffee mug exchange. For a donation of $5 or more, you get to help a little boy come home to his family, brighten someone's day with happy mail, receive a surprise mug of your own in the mail, and get entered into a drawing for a custom crocheted mug cozy! Check out the details here!

~2~

We are just one item away from being able to get to the next tier on our Amazon Affiliate account. So far this month, 6 items have been ordered through our link. If just one more item this month is ordered through our link over here, our adoption savings account will receive 6% of the purchases made instead of our current tier of 4%. Anyone have some Amazon shopping they've been thinking of doing? Thank you to those who have helped us in this way!

~3~

Our homestudy is just about done! We've reviewed the rough draft, signed our approval that it is accurate, and now it gets to be reviewed by our social worker's supervisor and people at our placing agency (which is different from our homestudy agency).

~4~

Remember this sweetie I wrote about before? He turns 16 on October 7th and needs a family to commit to adopting him by then, or he will forever miss out on the opportunity of having a family. Please pray for precious Andrei (his Reece's Rainbow nickname is Brenton) to receive the blessing of a family now. He has a grant of $4895 plus an additional $1500+ that has been pledged once a family commits to him. Could he be the missing part of your family?  Colleen has written a great post all about him here.

If he doesn't get a family by Oct. 7, he will spend the rest of his life in a mental institution where the vast majority of little ones with special needs die within a short time of arriving there.  This week we also received the heartbreaking news that sweet Kyle has passed away.  We were all so shocked a while ago to see the awful before and after pictures of him.  Before the mental institution and after.  I hope we don't let the same thing happen to Andrei!

Update:  Praise God, thank You Jesus!  A family filed commitment paperwork for Andrei/Brenton today!  What an amazing answer to prayer, and a truly lifesaving event for a precious little boy halfway around the world.  He is very much loved and wanted.

~5~

We had a field trip to the fire station earlier this week. Our three big kids gave everyone a demonstration of how to stop, drop, and roll. Rosemary was unimpressed that the kids couldn't slide down the pole. And everyone got to ride the fire engine around the parking lot.

Best shot I could get.  Everyone was way too excited and
distracted to look at and smile at the camera!

~6~

And today we have a field trip to the botanical gardens and zoo.  We're signed up for the Bug Hunting class!  Joey's a bit wary of getting to close to the bugs, but I told him that he can look on from a distance if he'd prefer.

~7~

Last AND least, my fundraising venture at Daff-a-Deals is costing more money than it's generating.  Last month I sold only one item.  Same for this month.  Each month I'm not making enough money to cover next month's rent.  So I will give it one more month, stock some fleece ponchos with crocheted borders and hope for the best.  It's disheartening to say the least. 

But I am working on opening an Etsy store, so stay tuned!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Coffee Mug Exchange Fundraiser and Drawing!

I'm so excited to share our new adoption fundraiser!  The glorious season of fall is here, and we are hosting a coffee mug exchange to raise the next bit of Abraham's ransom.  You can help us bring our boy home and get some fun mail in the process!

We will have the sign-up period open for one week (Sept. 26 - Oct. 2), and then participants have two weeks (Oct. 3 - 16) to mail off their mugs to their partners.  Please only sign up if you are sure that you will be able to mail your partner a mug by October 16th.

If this sounds like fun, you can enter by sending a donation of $5 or more to our PayPal account, baileyak [at] bellsouth [dot] net.  We are scrambling to raise our next agency fee of $5,500 which is due soon.  As I have written about before, the vast majority of our savings toward this fee was decimated by an unfortunate (and illegal in many states) action taken by Bank of America.  If you would prefer to donate to our Reece's Rainbow fund, that is fine, but we won't be able to use that money toward this particular fee.  That fund is also very important to us though, and will become available to us for expenses later on in the adoption process. 

Everyone who participates will also be entered for a drawing of a custom crocheted mug cozy like the one above from Projects Around the House, which will be made by me.  Winner gets to pick color and size.


After sending your donation via PayPal, please e-mail me baileyak [at] bellsouth [dot] net or leave a comment here (I won't publish comments for privacy reasons--I will be the only one able to see them) specifying:

1. The name you used for PayPal (or make note that you donated to the RR fund if you chose that way of giving),
2. Your mailing address, 
3. An e-mail address where you can be readily reached, and 
4. Whether or not you are willing to mail internationally.  This exchange is open internationally, however participants living outside the USA must be willing to mail internationally.  I will do my best to pair partners up within their home countries for those who prefer a domestic exchange.

****Update: Comments have not been working!  In fact, NO comments have gotten through at all.  What timing for Blogger to go on the fritz.  So please e-mail me instead.  Baileyak [at] bellsouth [dot] net

After the sign-up period, I will randomly pair participants together and give them their exchange partner's mailing and e-mail addresses.  You will have this information sent to the e-mail address you specified on October 3rd.

Each participant is then responsible for mailing out a mug to his or her partner by October 16, 2013.  You may pick for your partner any mug in new condition, but please use common sense and taste in selecting a mug that is family-friendly.  Please also use common sense in packaging your mug to ensure it doesn't break en route to your partner.  Recycled wadded up plastic shopping bags make an effective and free packaging material.

When you receive your mug, feel free to send me a picture of it and I will post it here, just for fun!

Saturday Shopping for Orphans (Vol. 2)

Happy Saturday, everyone!  Fall is definitely in the air now, although here in South Carolina we still have many hot days ahead of us.  We're enjoying the cooler mornings! 

This week I want to share with you a lovely little shop called Owls for Orphans.  Amy Moss started crocheting these cuddly owls to raise funds for her family's adoption from "Abraham's" country.  Now that her daughter Maia is safely home, she is continuing to create owls to help other families fund their adoptions!  She gives 50% of each sale to her featured family of the month.  What a beautiful mission!

She makes plush stuffed owls as well as little owl lovey blankets and owl hats.  The little stuffed owls, loveys, and hats are $23 each with $5 for shipping, and large stuffed owls are available for $31.  Amy also sells adorable owl mug cozies for $15.  For the crafty among us, she even has a few patterns for sale.

What are you waiting for?  Go order one or a few!  The cool weather is coming, and these are perfect for some cozy fall cuddling!  Those loveys would make such a unique baby gift.  Look at this one here that looks like a baby owl peeping out from a pile of autumn leaves!

 

And oh my, she just added an original 9" by 11" owl painting to her store yesterday!  Hand painted and ready for framing, just $20 plus $8 shipping.  Which little girl wouldn't appreciate this painting hanging up in her room?

Today we also remember to pray for all the families who will be holding adoption fundraising yard sales this weekend, that many people in their communities will support them and help them raise the ransoms they need to bring their children home.

Facebook, Fall, and Happy Adoption Updates

~ 1 ~

We have a Facebook page!   We decided to call it "Stitching Our Family Together" with the brilliant acronym SOFT.  Have you seen "Abraham's" cheeks?  I can't wait to kiss those soft little cheeks for myself!  But the main inspiration for the name came from my attempts at earning money to help fund our adoption through knitting and crocheting all manner of fluffy, soft items for sale.  I will be making cute tags for the items I have for sale in our local consignment store, and someone suggested this for my "brand" name.

~ 2 ~

Yesterday we received wonderful news from "Abraham's" country.  Some things behind-the-scenes regarding international adoption in that country are starting to move more quickly again after the country's summer break and in light of the vacant governmental office that normally handles international adoptions.   They still need to appoint someone to fill that office, though.  Things aren't going as smoothly and quickly as they should.  And sadly, many orphans are falling through the cracks there, waiting to be listed for adoption.  But yesterday's news is definitely movement in the right direction!

~ 3 ~

We mailed in the last of our homestudy requirements yesterday too!  Our letters from the doctor, our education certificates, and the forms detailing our adoption education are on their way to our homestudy agency.  Yeah!

~ 4 ~

This man, Stephen Jepson, and his message are so inspiring.   Sean said that he reminds him of my brother and my Dad.   I like to think I have some of these naturally playful genes too.  Why didn't Mr. Jepson remind Sean of ME too?  Hmph!  Guess I still need to work on it.

I'd love to try out those roller skates, but I'd probably end up with a nice bruise collection if I did...

~ 5 ~

We picked this book up from the library this week.  It's been such a hit, with everyone from the baby to the big kids to the adults!

~ 6 ~

Our city is having a Greek Festival this weekend, which we're planning to check out.  Greece neighbors "Abraham's" country, making it even more interesting for us this year.  I believe there is a geocache hidden in the vicinity too, which should be fun to hunt in the throng.

~ 7 ~

These quick takes are extra quick this week.   We have things due back at the library, and I wanted to go before school lets out.  That's when it gets inundated with noisy teens happy to have escaped their classrooms.  Can't blame them!   And if we get out early, we'll even have time to hit the park and enjoy this beautiful fall weather. We're busy compiling a list of things we want to do this fall season. So far on our list we have:

• pick apples
• explore a corn maze
• bake pumpkin bread and pies
• collect leaves and make leaf rubbings
• enjoy the daddy longlegs in the back yard
•  jump in a leaf pile
• visit the State Fair (and yay, this time we live in the city where it is held!)
• hike many nature trails
• and for Sean, take and pass his next actuary exam (prayers please!)

What did we miss on our list?  What's on yours?

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

St. Sofia's Day

We had 11 o'clock appointments at the post office to apply for our passports this morning.  This was our third attempt at applying.  We went on Saturday and found out they only do passports Monday through Friday.  Then we went yesterday (Monday) only to find out the man who works with the passport applications was out that day and we needed to make appointments.  I half expected not to be able to apply today, but everything went smoothly, and we should have our passports in a few weeks.

I found out after out passport trip that today is actually St. Sofia's Day!  What a fitting day to apply for our passports, especially since we will be traveling through the city of Sofia as part of our trips to meet and pick up "Abraham."

This video was shared today in an online adoption group for families going through the same process that we are.  My kids and I really enjoyed watching it.  I'm counting it as our homeschooling social studies lesson for today!

Saturday Shopping for Orphans (Vol. 1)

I've had an idea for a new set of posts on Saturday mornings to highlight some adoption fundraisers that have caught my eye.  Mainly, these posts will focus on fundraisers involving items for sale.  Occasionally I might feature giveaways or other types of fundraisers.  It just depends on what I've noticed during the week! 

To get us started, here are some adorable pet collars handmade by Amanda Jones as she and her husband Collin work to fund their adoption of Annie, who lives in the same country as our Abraham.  They're just $7 for a small collar, $8 for a medium, and $9 for a large one, plus $3 to help offset shipping costs.  Wouldn't these make sweet Christmas gifts for a dog or cat lover?

She also makes domino block sets in two different styles.  One is for younger children who will enjoy matching the pictures and learning words.  The other style helps children match upper case and lower case letters.  These would be great additions to homeschool and Montessori classrooms!  They're $20 for the set shown below and $30 for the alphabet set (which includes more blocks), plus $4 to help offset the shipping costs.

The Jones Family is also currently selling these great T-shirts, available in both short- and long-sleeved styles for $22 and $26 respectively.  And they ship for free!  Christmas is coming.... !

And we pray for all the families who will be holding adoption fundraising yard sales this weekend, that many people in their communities will support them and help them raise the ransoms they need to bring their children home.