Thursday 12 December 2013

Jet lag is not fun!

I've been to Eastern Europe and back. I did a great job of updating facebook but I never found the time or energy to write a blog post.  The traveling was exhausting! I'm still fighting jet lag.  So for this post all about the trip what I'm going to do is copy and paste my fb statuses and then comment on them where I have more to say. 

Well except of the little mishap of me forgetting my wallet at Jody and Carla's (yes REALLY!!! Carla had to go back for it!) we've made it to the first airport safely. Just a few minutes until we board. Oh and Sara was "randomly selected" for extra security screening. lol

Yeah....I really did forget my wallet.  A huge thank you to my sister in law for driving the 15 mins back to her house to get it for me!
Airplane Selfie!

What a Trip! We made it to B*lgaria Finally! Having supper with the translator in a bit. Soooooo tired right now.

The flights were mostly uneventful except for a rough landing in Frankfurt.  The flight attendant in the back said, "Well THAT can't be normal!" after we had landed. I gave her a hard time about that being the last thing you want to hear from a flight attendant! lol

I've been awake for over 30 hours now so even though it's only 7:30 here I'm going to hit the hay. About 14 hours until I meet Silas! Pray that his heart is ready for this.
Please pray that I have calm nerves tomorrow. I'm feeling a bit sick tonight and I couldn't eat much supper but that's probably because I'm so tired.
Also pray that my body realizes that it's not on a plane anymore. My bed s
eems to be moving around lol
And thank you for your prayers as I traveled. I hardly had a moment of motion sickness. And that's coming from someone who gets sick on a swing at the Park!
We had a very rough landing in Frankfort. I overheard the flight attendants talking about how terrible a land it was lol . Then the two hour flight to Sofia was very turbulent most of the way. The pilot kept going up and down (maybe to find calm air?) And that was really hard on Sara's ears. They finally popped after supper she said. The good news is no more airplanes until Saturday! Just taxis and walking until then.
Sara is in the tub. She slept a little bit everywhere so hopefully she'll be good as new tomorrow.
 
I think I slept not too badly that night with the help of a sleeping pill.
 
Well visit number one is done. I held him and played with him for about 90 mins I think then it was time for him to go for lunch and nap.
He's a sweet little cuddle bug and I got him to laugh a couple times when I tickled him. His legs are Soooooo skinny and he has scratches on his ears because they are itchy and he won't leave them alone. He also has a big scab on his nose between his eyes that h
e apparently gave himself.
He made eye contact very briefly twice and that was it. They say he's like that with everyone. He made some noises and said Mama once. Not that he knew what he was saying but he made the sounds for it on his own.
There is no room for us to visit so we're doing it at the top of the stairs in a little hallway type place. Not ideal but we'll make do. Off for the second visit now!

 
Meeting Silas was pretty much as I expected it would be. I was a little surprised at how much he scratched his ears and he did have some anxiety over all the attention.  I was very happy with how cuddly he is.  He loves to be held!
Having the visits where we did was disappointing because I couldn't put him on the floor to crawl around. Normally there would be a special room for us but because the building they were in before is under renovation they're temporarily in a smaller building until that is finished.  At least we had a couch to sit on!
 
Visit number two is in the books ! This time I got to feed him! He ate a huge bowl of peach puree and he ate like a champ. They say he doesn't drink well from a cup but I'm encouraged to see that he has very little tongue thrust. Everyone in the orphanage has been interested in my work and adults with down syndrome and surprised at what kind of life they live and how well they can do. The director was very impressed that I have this kind of experience.
We won't be able to post pictures or video. We had a very long wait in the notary office this afternoon waiting for the notary to come watch me sign a paper saying I wouldn't publish or sell any pictures or video of Silas. lol But if you see me in real life I can show you.
Sara Wood has been a champ through all the boring waiting and I'm so glad she's with me!
One thing B*lgaria lacks is fresh air! At least in Plovdiv. Every room we've been to was hot and the smell of cigarettes is everywhere and if not that then perfume ! I can't wait to breathe in some fresh Canadian air!
Our translator is having trouble getting a taxi to pick us up after visits because the orphanage is in a bad area so we have to walk to a better street and catch one there. lol How does that make you feel dad? Haha don't worry, we'll be fine!

 
Ugh, the lack of fresh air drove me crazy the first few days. It either got better or I got used to it.  It didn't help that our hotel room smelled of smoke.  Thankfully on the next trip we'll be staying in a hotel with non-smoking rooms!
 
Visit number three was with a tired little guy this morning. By the end of the visit he was sound asleep in my arms. I may have shed a tear or two at that point. He's so sweet. I might get to feed him again this afternoon.
 
Awww, I got a little weepy when he fell asleep in my arms. I didn't expect him to be that relaxed and it was such an amazing sweet moment that I'll always cherish.
 
Visit number four was harder. Silas is overwhelmed with the attention so I kept this visit quieter. It's hard interacting with him while the translator and the orphanage psychologist watch your every move. I am tired and he is tired. He ended up scratching off one of his scabs and bleeding. So they put a bandaid on it. I'm feeling pretty homesick tonight too. Hopefully a full nights sleep will fix that. The air was a bit fresher today so that was nice. Still nothing like that good old Manitoba air though!
 
Tuesday evening was so hard. I was so homesick and tired. I didn't tell Sara because I knew I'd break down in tears if I talked about it. I had a long soak in the tub and a talk with God then tried to sleep and felt much better in the morning.
 
I'm feeling a little more human today. I might be over the jet lag finally. At lunch today I had some chicken and it was Soooooo good! I wish I was a foodie like Sara Wood.
The morning's visit went very well and Silas fell asleep in my arms again. So sweet. We can't let him down on the floor where we are because of germs so I put toys on one end of the couch and he showed us how he could army c
rawl towards them! He's pretty quick when he's motivated. lol I'm sure he could sit independently if he had more practice. His little chicken legs can hardly hold his weight but I did manage to get him to take a couple steps in the shoes that are three sizes too big.
We measured him and his feet are only 4" long and so tiny. His chest was 19.5" and he weighed 8.12 kgs and was 31.5" tall when they last took his measurements. His head was 17.5" I think. He is 2.5 yrs old.
When we arrived there was a B*lgarian couple visiting with a little boy with dwarfism whom they're adopting so it's nice to see that. Near the end of our visit some foster parents came to pick up a little girl that they will foster. Our translator said they were talking about me and if I was from abroad and if I was adopting that boy with down syndrome. Also they were talking about how foster parents don't want kids with down syndrome but they were happy that he was being adopted. Of course by then there were about 10 people in this small area watching me. lol It's weird being the one to stick out in the room.
After that we went out for lunch to the same place we ate at yesterday and there was the same girl there today who was also there yesterday eating lunch alone. She's about 10 and speaks English and today she asked us where we're from. I wish I'd talked to her more she seemed like a bright kid.
Then we went out and bought some snacks for the room and bought bus tickets for Friday. Now we're back in the room and Sara is sleeping. Poor girl is sick. I don't know if she'll come to the next visit. I feel a tickle in my throat too. So please pray that we get better !
 
Sara actually started feeling sick on the plane there.  I really believe that it was only because of your prayers that I didn't get sick and she didn't get any sicker than she did.
 
It's Wednesday night here.......I think? I went on the second visit today without Sara because she's getting sicker. We picked up some Bulgarian drugs for her so hopefully they help. I can feel my immune system working on something right now too.
The visit went pretty well. It seems like afternoon visits are harder on him though. I feed him again and this time he threw up a little about 10 minute
s after. I'm almost convinced that he has some reflux going on because he does this funny swallowing thing for awhile after he eats. He was supposed to drink some juice from a bottle but he didn't do very well at that. So drinking will be a challenge it seems.
Tomorrow we have to take him in the taxi to get a Visa picture taken so it will be fun to see how that goes. Unfortunately Sara won't be able to come because there won't be room in the taxi. I'm disappointed that she'll miss out on that. She also missed out on the yarn store this afternoon. She said she didn't care but how could you not be sad about missing out on a B*lgarian yarn shop? lol
 
I can see a swallow study in our future. I wasn't liking the sounds he made after he ate. There's something going on there.
 
Silas and I went with the translator and an orphanage worker to the photography store for his visa picture. It took four adults to get the job done but we did it! While the we were waiting for the photographer Silas entertained us with some "singing" and saying "mom mom mom mom" and "mama". The poor little Punkin was worn out and fell asleep in my arms on the way back to the orphanage on the bumpy taxi ride. It's hard to believe that I only have two more visits with him. Tomorrow is going to be so hard.
After lunch we'll go back to the notary and I get to sign more documents! I really should have kept track of all the times I've signed my name since January for this adoption process. lol
 
It was so fun taking Silas in the taxi for the visa picture.  No car seat, no seat belts, just trusting God! And for a third time he fell asleep in my arms.
 
One last night in Plovdiv, one night in Sofia, one night over the ocean and then we're back in Canada. Tomorrow we say goodbye to Silas and I don't want to think about that. Sara is still sick and for the first time this trip she went to bed before me. Good night!
 
I really wasn't looking forward to this last visit but I knew it was coming and I'd have to say goodbye.  Interestingly Silas would not fall asleep for me this time.  He was so tired though but he fought it and stayed awake. Either he didn't want to wake up with me gone like the other three days or he was being a typical two year old! I gave him lots of kisses and snuggles and handed him back over to the lady from the orphanage and said goodbye.
 
We spent one more night in B*lgaria then caught a really early flight home.  We were met by almost the whole family at the airport which was a surprise! Canada welcomed us back with -40C temps and I could have done without that!  I finally got home on Sunday night and I've been fighting jet lag ever since.  Around about 7pm I get this feeling like I've been drugged and must sleep but it's not restful sleep.  And then of course I'm awake at 4 am.  blah  I did some exercise today in hopes that it would help me sleep harder/longer tonight. I sure hope it works.
 
So here are some thoughts on this trip:
1.) The nausea and nerves I was fighting for the two weeks before the trip were totally gone once I drove away from my house.  I also didn't get air sick on any of the flights and didn't catch any bugs the whole time. Only God can explain that.
 
2.) I go back and forth between excitement and stress most days. "Oh my goodness, I'm going to be a Mom! I need to buy clothes and shoes and we'll go on trips together and have so much fun!"  and then there's moments where its, "Oh my goodness, I'm going to be a Mom! I'm going to be responsible for this child who has Down syndrome and that's not scary, but he also has a heart defect which isn't fully repaired and will probably need further surgery and he's on three different meds and how am I going to do this??"
I really have no idea what life will look like when he's home.  The thought of trying to keep him calm and entertained on the long flights home is a bit daunting.  I'll have him for a week in the hotel first though so hopefully he gets a bit more used to being out of the orphanage by the time we get on a plane.  Poor boy is going to have his life turned upside down.  We'll just have to take it one moment at a time.
 
3.) I know that Silas is just as safe in his orphanage than he would be with me because God is watching over him and He is in control. He also has the power to heal Silas' heart and stop his ears from itching too.
 
4.) Having my sister Sara with me was so nice.  I'm glad she was able to come along and keep me company.  She also took all the pictures and video I have of Silas and those have been watched/looked at every day since I left him. It would have been a very lonely trip without her.  She's also coming with me on the next trip!
 
5.) Trip #2 is when I get to bring him home and that will happen in 4-6 mths.  There will be a court date set and a lawyer will represent me and convince a judge that it's in Silas' best interest to come home with me. Once that happens then there's some other stuff that happens and then I can go get him.
 
So that about sums it up! I'm going to be kept busy with Christmas and work and my courses so hopefully these next few months will fly by and I'll have my little guy home!
 
Also a huge thank you for everyone that prayed for us while we were traveling/in country. It means so much that so many of you love Silas even though you haven't met him yet.  Makes me all teary thinking of it really....or maybe that's just the jet lag. ;)  No really, thank you for praying! Please continue to pray that Silas would stay healthy and safe and that God would prepare him for the change that is going to happen in his life.



Saturday 23 November 2013

Six

Today is pretty much over so it doesn't count. 
That means in six days my sister and I will be getting on an airplane
and flying to Eastern Europe!!!
 
It's getting real folks.
 
Really real.
 
Dad keeps posting links about travel safety.
 
Mom, Dad and Mike (my brother) bought me a tablet for my birthday so that I can keep in touch
while we're there.  I should be able to blog about the trip while we're there. It will also come in handy for on the pick up trip in 4-6 mths to entertain Pete in the hotel and on the plane. And I can put lots of educational games on there for him in the future.
 
So obviously Pete is not this little boy's full/real name.
It is an abbreviated form though and I'm going to keep his first name as his middle name.
 
I will be asked at some point during this first trip what I would like to call my son in order to complete paperwork during the court process.
 
And..........
 
His name shall be called.......
 
Silas!
 
So there you have it!
Now you know!
 
Silas means "Of the Forest" which goes well with the last name Wood don't you think? hehe
 
I like it so hopefully he does too!

Monday 18 November 2013

Growth Charts

Ever since I learned about them in my Early Childhood classes I've always loved growth charts.
There's just something about them.
I can't even figure out what it is that makes me love them so.
 
Anyways, I've plotted the height and weight of a certain little boy with Down syndrome.
The boy who I hope to call my son soon.
 
Keep in mind these are special growth charts for kids with Ds
because they tend to be smaller than typical kids.
 
So.
Height.
 


Not too bad. Lower than the 10th percentile though.
That means that almost all boys with Ds at his age are several inches taller
than he is.
But still, providing that the information I have is accurate, that's not too bad.
 
 
Moving on to weight.
Ummm, yeah....
 
That red dot is way too low.
 
Now it could be because of his heart condition.
 
Or his thyroid.
 
Or it could be because he's not being fed enough.


Or that the food they are giving him is lacking nutrition.
 
It could be that the people in charge of his care don't have time
to feed him a full meal.

 
Breaking. My. Heart.
 
Twelve days until I travel.
Fourteen days until I meet him.

For Pete's Sake

I am happy to announce that I have said YES to adopting a little 2 yr old boy with Down syndrome!

But there's a story behind this that is kind of neat and amazing.

Earlier this year I asked my agency about the possibility of getting the files of two different little boys with Ds that were listed on Reece's Rainbow.  I was told that I had to have my home study done first as well as have my letter of approval from the MB gov.  Before I got those, two families came forward and started the process to adopt the little guys.  Yay for families adopting! Disappointing for me though.

At some point in July "Pete" was listed on RR.  (See what I did there with the title of this post. Ha! So clever.)

Around this time I was also looking at the B*lgaria waiting child list and I found a child with a very brief description that sounded an awful lot like Pete. It turns out it was him as I found out later.

I still didn't have my letter of approval at that point so I didn't ask my agency about him. I decided to just step back and let the process happen so that I could be sure that I got the boy God intended for me.  I was going to wait and let the agency match me with a child.

I didn't forget about Pete though. I checked almost daily to see if a family had come forward for him.  I even posted on the RR facebook page that I couldn't get him out of my mind.  I did ask if I could see the videos and pictures in his file but then I was told that there was a family coming for him! Yay for Pete!

Then ONE WEEK after I got the Letter of Approval I got another phone call from the agency.  There was a file that the lawyer in B*lgaria thought I might be interested in.  I got on the computer and opened the file.  It was Pete!  And he's adorable! And so small! And so sweet! And his medical file is confusing.  I had my doctor look at it and even he wasn't sure what some of the things on there meant. Maybe that's what made the family who was going to commit to him change their minds.  I may never know why they changed their minds.

Anyways....I said YES! Yes I would like to be his mommy. 

Yes, even though that means different medical things that might be scary. 

Yes, even though he is two years old and is still unable to sit up on his own and only weighs 17 lbs.
 
Yes, BECAUSE he only weighs 17 lbs and he needs a mommy.
 

So now what?

Now me and my sister will travel to Bg to meet this precious little boy.

In 12 days.

Yikes!!

We'll visit with him for five days and get to know him and his needs.

And then we'll fly back home.

I won't get to bring him home on this trip.
That should happen in 4-6 mths.

Between the first and second trips a lawyer will represent me in court
and a judge will decide if I should be Pete's momma.

Then there's visa and passport stuff to do and
then I can go back to Bg and bring him home!!

Did you happen to notice my fundraising thermometer?

Yeah! Thanks to a donation from the local assembly of Believers I am....
FULLY FUNDED!!!!

I'm still going to be doing the Avon fundraiser until mid-December
because there will likely be other unexpected costs that come up at some point.
And I have a few commissioned pieces to finish up.
It won't hurt to have a bit extra.
You just never know what might happen with international adoption/travel!
 

 
 
Keep in mind that at any point in this process it may all fall apart.  Stuff happens. Countries shut down. Sometimes kids don't live long enough and pass away before their parents reach them. I still have to pass court in B*lgaria.  I don't expect that to be too difficult but you just never know. So far everything has gone very smoothly.
 
So I'm trusting God still and always.  It's in His hands and it fills me with awe that He's been so good to me in allowing me to do this.

Sunday 3 November 2013

A little bit of everything

Orphan Sunday.  Today is Orphan Sunday. 
Churches all over North America brought awareness to the
orphan crisis today.
 
Many of my facebook friends posted about it today.
Lots of people blogged about it.
 
Renee said everything I was going to say, only better,
plus a few things I hadn't thought of.
 
 
So go ahead and read her post.
 
Another Renee wrote about how we need to say "I'll take anyone."
 
I'll take anyone.

And here's a video about love featuring some
adorable former orphans.

I AM LOVED

So there you go. That's what Orphan Sunday is all about.

Now, on to fundraising!
 
 Right now I've got an Avon Fundraiser happening.
I'm really looking for people who will be willing to take
catalogues and generate a few orders.  Know anyone who
likes Avon? There's plenty more than just makeup!

 
 
I'm also in the beginning stages of planning an auction on facebook. 
So I'm looking for people who would like to donate things that can be auctioned off.
 
It could be something you make (hats, cards, cakes).
Or it could be something you do (house cleaning, ski lessons, child care, lawn care).
Or gift cards to businesses. Those don't have to be local businesses.
Online gift cards are great too.
So if you have any gift cards laying around that you aren't using please consider donating them.
Or maybe you have a home based business and could donate a sample of your product.
 
How it will work:
I'll use the existing facebook fundraising page.
 
There will be pictures of the items that will be auctioned off.
 
Place your bids in dollar amounts in the comments of the picture of the item you wish to bid on.
 
There will be a set amount of time for bidding. Probably about 10 days.
 
Like any auction, highest bidder wins!
 
The winners will pay for their items plus whatever shipping is mentioned
and I'll get your winnings mailed out to you or delivered if you're local.
 
Doesn't that sound fun?!
 
Let me know if you have anything you'd like to donate!
 
One other exciting thing on my busy agenda is
an opportunity to speak to a group of 50 or so women at a
woman's night at Solid Rock church.
 
I'm looking forward to sharing what God has done through this
adoption and to open some eyes to what the orphan crisis is all about.
And then I'm going to show them why they should help and how they can help!
Please pray that I let God use me to say the things He wants.
 
I found this poster that I think I'll use in my slide show.
 
 
 
 
Hopefully it gets bigger if you click on it.  I can't seem to change it.
 
See any of those five things that you could do?
 
And just because this post is a little bit of everything
here's a picture of the wool pants I have knit for my little guy.
Hopefully the first of many knits for him! :)
 
 
 
 

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Just keep trusting

On Saturday Oct 12th my friend Holly and I pulled off the biggest fundraiser yet. A home based business trade show.
We sold the tables for $20 each.
I had two of them. One for my etsy store and another for my
Usborne books.
We sold chili and a bun.
We had a bake table.
There was a raffle with prizes donated from the vendors who bought tables.
One of the tables had her own raffle going and donated the proceeds of that.
The Janzen sisters entertained us with their fiddling and had their fiddle cases open with a sign asking for donations.
It was a crazy, busy day and I'm so thankful for everyone who
donated baking or chili.
For everyone who came to help, including all my siblings who just happened to
be in town for Thanksgiving weekend.
For Holly who thought of this idea and who planned the majority of it.
For Febe and Jody in the kitchen serving chili and scrubbing pots.
For mom helping out where she could even though her feet hurt.
For Michelle, manning the raffle table.
For Janelle who played accountant and kept track of the money.
For Ester, Hannah and Trinity and what they did at their own tables.
And for everyone who came and checked it out and bought chili.
 
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!
 
We sold 63 bowls of chili!
 
And we raised a grand total of $1379!
 
We're getting so close to that $30000 mark now. 
Less than 10% of the total to go!
Less than $3000.
 
I have been doing some number crunching as I get closer to travel.
It looks like $30000 might come a little under the final total
but so much depends on what season I travel and where the Euro is in
comparison to the Canadian dollar.
So don't be surprised if my thermometer gets a little bigger.  It shouldn't
be by much though.
 
There are big, exciting things happening with the adoption progress right now.
Sometimes it's hard to breath when I think about it.
I have moments where I can't believe that God has trusted me with this task.
How can I be so blessed to be the mommy of such a special boy?
 
There are times when I'm certain something bad will happen and
it will all fall apart.

But I'm still trusting that if God wants this to happen it will.

Sometimes I feel a bit like Dori the fish.
Only instead of swimming I'm trusting.
"Just keep trusting. Just keep trusting."

 
It's alright
Everything will be okay.
Just hold tight
I'll be with you the whole way
When you're week I'll be strong
Keep going we're almost home.
It's alright
Everything will be okay 
 
 And it will be alright, no matter what happens.


Here's a picture of all the "men" in my family.
There's just one little boy missing.
 
And I'm trusting that he'll be here soon.

Monday 16 September 2013

Triple the Fun!

There's a big, important meeting happening
in B on Sept 18th.
Amazing things are happening!
I'm down to just needing
travel costs!
 
I can hardly believe it.
 
Less than $5000 needed now.
 
So.
Here's the poster for my current fundraiser.
Three consultants.
Three awesome companies.
Three ways to get that Christmas
shopping done before the snow flies!
 
 

Tuesday 30 July 2013

His Goodness

One week was all it took to raise the $500 it took to get that thermometer over the $20000 mark! How amazing is our God and the people He moves to help!
 
That's $10000 raised and saved since February when I started this blog.  Just six months!
 
I'm blown away by His goodness.
 
So depending on travel I just need about another $9946.  Maybe more, maybe less.  I won't know for sure until I have to book my travel.
 
I have to tell you, I like that nice, small four digit number!
 
The more I think about Garreth (see previous post) the more I want to get my son home fast.
 
Sadly, agencies and governments don't feel the same urgency as we do.  I've checked my email countless times this week hoping for an update.  Nothing yet.
 
Maybe tomorrow!
 
I want to share something with you that I read tonight.
 
Mental institutions are not a great place to be.
 
Pretty terrible....no, downright nightmarish.
 
Especially for people with Down syndrome.
 
They're smaller and weaker than the others.
 
Sometimes it's not the caregivers you have to look out for.
 
It's the other inmates.
 
 
Please pray for my son even though we don't know who he is yet.
 
Pray that paperwork would move quickly and that my son will never know the horror of a mental institution.
 
Pray that the funds will be there when they're needed and that there will be no delays because of lack of money.
 
Consider buying a puzzle piece and getting entered into draws for prizes.  Just 27 more to go before the next draw! I've got three rows of the puzzle already filled with names and it's looking great!  :)
 
 
Coming soon: a break down on fees and costs and why adoption costs so much.
 
 
 

Friday 26 July 2013

"Garreth"

Last night I learned that this sweet boy passed away.
 
He was from the same country in Eastern Europe that I'm adopting from.
 
He was 4 years old and he had just been transferred from the baby home to a mental institution.
 
And he died.
 
This boy is also 4 years old.
 
He's been staying at Auntie's house for a few days.
 
In half an hour we'll be enjoying the rodeo parade.
 
"Garreth" will never get a chance to see a parade.
 
He'll never ride on the Ferris wheel.
 
Or eat cotton candy.
 
All because he was born with Down Syndrome.
 
And because of that he was abandoned and imprisoned.
 
This just makes what the Lord has told us to do in James 1:27 all the more urgent.
 
We're supposed to take care of these orphans and we're letting them die.
 
One way you can help do that is by supporting the adoptions of these special needs children.
 
Please donate any little bit you can using the "Give Now" button on the side of this blog.
 
Every dollar helps.
 
It won't get my little boy home any faster. The process will still have to happen in it's agonizingly slow way.  But it will insure that the money will be there when the fees are due and when I need to pay for travel.
 
Because 4 years old in a mental institution is just wrong.
 
Garreth's life could have been so much more.
 
See you in heaven, little guy.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday 21 July 2013

Drawing For The First and Second Prizes

If you don't know what this is all about, click on "Puzzle Fundraiser" tab at the top!
 
There have now been 111 pieces of the puzzle bought!  I put the first 50 names in a bucket and drew a winner for Mr. Sock Monkey.
 
 
Linda Carpentier is the winner!
I may have pronounced her name wrong on the video but I'm sure she won't mind.
 
  If all 1000 pieces sell I'll be doing 20 draws. So that was the first of up to 20 prizes.
 
Then I added the next 50 names to the bucket.
 
And Mark Russell won Mrs. Sock Monkey!
 
We're 39 names away from making another draw.
Donations of $1 or more will buy a piece of the puzzle.
If you donate $5 you can give me one name or up to five names.
I just don't want to write the same name on five different pieces. 
That way when the puzzle is finished there will be 1000 different names on it.
 
Perhaps a rather ambitious goal.
 
But you can help by sharing my blog with all your friends!
Feel free to talk about me over a cup of coffee at the coffee shop.
The more people that know about special needs orphans and their care or (lack of it) the better.
 
Let's bring my boy home!
 
 

Blog All the Things!!

So much to blog about.  Let's start with the yard sale.
 
The sale was advertised on the radio.  My supervisor at my part time job knows someone there and said he'd get us some more air time.  I don't know for sure if he did because I certainly didn't have time to sit and listen!
 
I hung posters on Thursday and Friday morning.
 
A mystery helper was hanging posters too.   Someone came because they saw the poster at the arena.  I did not hang that poster.  So THANK YOU mystery helper!!
 
I made a double sided sign.  It was a work of art I tell ya.
I really think I should have another sale just so I can use this sign again.
 
The sale was technically supposed to start at 4 pm on Friday but people started showing up at 2:30.  We got mobbed y'all.  Insanity reigned for several hours then it died down.

Saturday was a bit slower.  People were less frenzied but there was a fairly steady flow of shoppers.

The bake sale did well.  I decided to do some more baking Friday night at work. I brought my own ingredients and did some late night baking.  Pizza cookies.  I hope they were good! They sold before I even got a taste!
 
I had my puzzle fundraiser out next to the cash box both days and we got 77 more names put on the puzzle for a new total of 111 pieces sold!
 
Just 889 more to go.....
 
 
I couldn't do this without my helpers.  It was a lot of work and these friends sacrificed their weekend to help bring my son home.  I can hardly tell you how much that means to me.  Such selflessness! Just like Christ wants us to be and I wonder if I'm there yet. I get so focused on this adoption and fundraising that I fear I may be getting too focused on myself and less on helping those around me. Something to think about for sure.
 
But I know you're all waiting to hear how much was raised this weekend.
 
So here it is......
 
The grand total of yard sale, bake sale and donations was....
 
$1193.45
 
 Praise the Lord! That really moved the thermometer up!
I've set a goal to have it over $20,000 by the end of July.
I won't cry if that goal isn't met but it will be something to reach for. :)
 
Dossier Progress
 
All of the money in the world won't get my son home unless there is progress with the dossier.
I'd been wondering how it was going.
I signed it a month ago and the next step was for the facilitating agency to okay it.
 
They did. :)
 
It's perfect.
 
Now my documents are on the way to Manitoba Family Services for the approval letter. We should get that this week.
 
Tomorrow I will be sending off colour copies of my passport to the agency.
 
And then everything gets sent to Elena at Loving Heart Adoptions and she'll get it ready to send to the country I'm adopting from.
 
So amazing.
 
One small step at a time is bringing a little boy closer and closer to having a mommy.  I'm so thankful to God for putting this on my heart and for giving me a burden for orphans.
 
Thank you for being a part of this journey.
 


Saturday 13 July 2013

Catch up post

Last time on the You Are Worth More blog I was just finished the first yard sale and I was preparing  a presentation for a Ladies group and looking forward to travelling to the city for the education component of the adoption.

And apparently it's been a month since I last blogged.

Opps.

The presentation for the ladies group went great! I was hardly nervous at all but I did miss talking about a few things and I went way over on my allotted time.  I wish I had emphasised the conditions that orphans are living in a bit more.

I had my table set up of my etsy store products and I made quite a few sales and received some donations.  The ladies were so supportive of what I'm doing and I left feeling very blessed and encouraged.  God's people rock!

So that was June 20th.

On the 21st after work I travelled to the city and stayed the night with my brother's family.  I got to spend an hour in the morning with my niece and nephew.  An hour is never enough to spend with those sweeties.  It was soooo hard to tear myself away.  I ended up being a few minutes late for the education seminar!

Sunglasses for breakfast just because he's cool like that.
 
It was so nice to be with a group of people who were all in various stages of adoption.  I wish we would have had more time to talk but there was learnin' to be done!  We talked about attachment for quite a lot of the morning.  I was given a binder of reading material to take home with me.  I'm sure I'll consult that more than once!

One of the highlights of the day was meeting an online friend and her husband.  Hi Cathy!

But the biggest highlight of the day was.......


 
Signing the finished home study!!!!!!!!!
 
Someone who's job it is to determine so thinks I'm capable of parenting!
So cool to see that in writing!
 
 
I didn't even know that the social worker had finished writing it up! So I was quite pleased with having that step done.  The next step is sending the home study to my facilitating agency in ON for their approval.  The director of that agency is on holidays until the 16th so hopefully that can happen next week.

 
After the seminar I rushed the 5 hours home to make it back to work on time for 9pm.  Way too quick of a trip.
 
And then a couple days later my sister-in-law had a baby girl!  I just missed Tabitha Marie's entrance by a couple days! I hope to travel back to the city to see her and her siblings soon.
 
So June ended in a bit of a whirl wind and here we are half way through July already.  Slow down summer!
 
Yard Sale #2
 
I will be having another yard sale next weekend.  This time I'm going to try having it on Friday and Saturday and see how that goes.  Once again I'm asking for donations of yard sale items.  You can drop them off at my house or give me a shout and I'll come pick them up.  Any donation will be very appreciated. Someone donated a box full of baby girl clothes.  They're soooo sweet.  Girls get all the nice clothes. ;o)


Friday 12 July 2013

Friday 14 June 2013

I thought things would slow down....

Check out that thermometer!

Last weeks yard sale was success I'd say.  It raised $436 which is pretty good considering 98% of the stuff I had was priced $3 and under.  We sold a lot of stuff!  We had 14 8 ft long tables piled high!  There wasn't a time from 8:30-2 that there wasn't at least one person shopping. 

And the rains held off until we were packing up.  Tuesday before the sale there was a 90% chance of rain all day for Saturday.  By Friday it had been downgraded to 40% of afternoon thundershowers.  And that's exactly what we got.  I know there were many people praying with me for the rain to hold off.  :o)

I couldn't have pulled the yard sale off on my own though so I owe a big thank you to Cindy, Mom, Dad, Mike, Byron, Darlene and Reta!  And thank you to all of you that donated items as well!

I would like to have another sale in mid-July.  I'm thinking of doing a bake sale along side the yard sale.

I thought things would slow down once I got the yard sale over with and it did...for about an hour!  I've been working quite a few extra hours at my "weekend" job.  I picked up an extra 11 hrs on top of my regular 17hrs this weekend.  That should make the thermometer move even higher!

On June 20th at 7pm at Living Word Church I've been asked to do a 20 min. presentation on adoption and orphan care to the ladies group.  I'm not nervous about this at all. haha  I'll also have my Etsy shop set up there that night so it will be a bit of a fundraiser as well.  This is open to any female member of the community. I'm so honoured to be chosen to be one of the speakers that night!  Pray that God gives me the words to say and that many hearts will be stirred towards helping orphans.

As far as adoption updates go, I'm still waiting for the social worker to finish typing up the homestudy.  She said she'd have it done two weeks ago so I hope she gets it done soon!  Next week I'll be going to Winnipeg to take the education seminar that's required for adoption.  I'll be learning about general adoption issues, transracial/cross-cultural adoption, nature vs nurture, and bonding and attachment.  Hopefully I retain lots of useful information!

One more praise item - I took my car into the shop today for an oil change and inspection and nothing showed up on the inspection! With a car that's 16 yrs old you never know when the mechanic is going to tell you that it shouldn't be on the road so I was a bit nervous of that happening.  I just need it to hold out for another year!

And now I must dash off to work for the weekend! 

Monday 20 May 2013

Big Steps Forward and a Yard Sale

The homestudy is almost done! My social worker came a couple weeks ago and checked out my house and asked me more questions.  She says she can have it written up in a couple weeks! So that's exciting.

I've also gathered more documents and I went for my physical.  I will travel down to Winnipeg at the end of June to do the education component of the adoption.  And then I think after that my dossier will be pretty much done.

So now I'm going to start actively fundraising!  I have a love/hate relationship with fundraising.  I love seeing money raised for good causes but boy is it ever a lot of work.  Most of the money raised so far has been from my own savings and from selling things I've made. I did have two donations from people I haven't even met.  And look at the thermometer! I'm almost half way there!

Some of the ways I'm raising money are:
1.)Extra shifts at my weekend job.  I haven't had a pay period without a few extra hours on it for a long time.  I'm also going to apply for a casual position tomorrow.  It's just a temporary thing for a month or so.

2.)I've picked up an extra daycare child for evenings.  He starts next week.

3.)Etsy store! https://www.etsy.com/shop/YouAreWorthMore  I need to get better at advertising this and I also need to get more things made and listed.  I had seven items that sold this weekend. :)

4.)Selling my unused "stuff".  I've made a few hundred dollars by selling things like my bike, a filing cabinet, etc online.

5.)Custom orders.  I knit a lovely yellow sweater for a friend to give as a baby gift.  I'm working on another sweater to list on Etsy. Oh and I made a sock monkey.  I named him Melvin but I think his new family may rename him.

 Isn't he sweet??

So I've been working pretty hard and I don't have much of a life right now but it's all going to be worth it! Something that has been going through my head/heart through this whole process, but more so in the last two weeks, is Trust.  Trust God.  When I feel anxious and I don't know what to pray I just say "trust" over and over in my head.  There is so much of adoption that is out of my control and reminding myself that God is in control calms me down.  I've been blessed with such a smooth process so far.  I can't imagine what families who are caught up in red tape are going through. Adoption is hard folks.  We need to pray for those who are stuck.  Families who know who their children are and some have even met them, only to have governments shut down adoptions or stall the process with their governmental stupidity. 

Anyways......

Yard Sale

My next big fundraiser is going to be a yard sale on June 8th.  I've had some very generous friends donate items but I'm always looking for more.  The more stuff I have, the more stuff I'll sell right?  I hope!  So if you have a few items you could donate I would appreciate that very much! 

And if you don't have anything to donate that must mean you need to come and shop at the yard sale!!!  I'm sure you'll find something that needs to come home with you. ;o)

If you have nothing to donate and no money to spend I could always use help with setting up in the morning.  Any help or donations mean so much to me because it brings my son one step closer to having a mommy!

Friday 19 April 2013

Progress

I am happy to announce that progress has been made regarding the preparation of the dossier!  I travelled to the big city yesterday for my first visit with the social worker for the first part of the homestudy.

She asked me questions about my childhood and how I was raised and what my relationship is like with my siblings and parents.  There was nothing unexpected and I was very calm and relaxed for the hour and a bit that we talked.  In two weeks she will come to my house and check it out and we'll talk some more.  We have a plan to be done the homestudy by the end of June.

The weather was pretty terrible on the first two hours of the drive back home but the last three were totally fine.  Welcome to spring in Canada! For about an hour of the trip there was an ambulance right behind me.  I thought that would be perfect if I ended up in an accident! But the Lord protected me and I made it home safely.

 
Today I took my three daycare children out and about to gather a few of the documents I'll need.  The only hiccup I ran into was that my fingers are so dry that the ridges weren't being picked up well by the fancy digital finger printing machine.  It took quite a few tries but we managed to get prints that the computer would accept in the end.  The kids got a kick out of seeing what the inside of the police station looked like and they came home with tattoos from Officer Korey. :o)

I also got my tax info to my accountant today.  I'm not looking forward to seeing how much I owe the government!  No big refunds when you're self employed that's for sure. lol Doing the taxes was one of the things that needed to be done for the income part of the dossier.

So in the next few weeks I'll continue to get the house ready for the homestudy.  Dad and I finished the flooring in one room and there's one more room to go.  I'll be very happy when that is done.  Having the livingroom full of bedroom furniture has really messed up the daycare nap/rest times.  Not to mention that I can't get to my sewing machine and I haven't sewn anything in two weeks! Withdrawal I tell ya!

I'm also starting another course for my Early Childhood diploma.  This one is called "Guiding Children's Behaviour".  How perfect is that?  I bet I'll find some answers in the textbook that will help with some of the questions in the homestudy.  Once I'm finished this course I'll be ready for my first practicum so that's exciting.  There are four practicums to do and I'm just a little worried that I'll end up doing practicums and travelling overseas for my first visit at the same time.  But God has worked out the timing of everything so well so far that I think I'll let him worry about that. ;o)

So there's your update! Things are really underway now and that feels great!  Now I'm off to rip carpet out of the second bedroom.  Should be fun.