That's a fun word. Even though it's not a word. It's still fun. I have a habit of inventing words, you know (see other blog) :P
So, I have been sans eyebrow since Monday night.
I've only been out of the house once. I went to McDonald's last night. I didn't even remember my lack of eyebrow until I was home and looking at angel tree. No one said anything. LOL.
Elden's grant is currently at $529.50 raised during Angel Tree.
Brett's grant is currently at $577.30 raised during Angel Tree.
So in total the boys have $1,106.80. When $393.20 more is raised, and they are at a total of at least $1,500, I get to shave the other eyebrow and be symmetrical again!
I miss symmetry. I was always fond of it.
I must confess, I've been feeling a little guilty that more of the things I wanted to do for Angel Tree never came to fruition. I really feel like I haven't done anything but beg, yell and holler, and I meant to do so much more. This has just been such a complicated and difficult year that there never seemed to be time or money to get much of anything started. A friend commented one day that she felt like her Angel Tree child got the 'short straw' because she didn't feel she had much to offer as his Christmas Warrior, and I have to admit that this thought has entered my head more than a few times lately. Yes, Elden is over the $500 wall, which is wonderful, but it was all you guys. All your generosity, your kindness, your love for him and the other kids just like him.
We have just under another $500 left to raise by New Year's. I wish I could say I'd been sitting on some sort of fabulous fundraiser all this time, but I have nothing that I can get off the ground quickly enough to make a difference in Angel Tree, so I suppose, as I've done up until this point, I'll continue to beg, plead, and cry out on his behalf. Over the next year I'm planning to do a lot of legwork on some other fundraising ideas I had so that the kids can still benefit from them - but it would really make my year to see Elden reach his $1,000 goal by New Year's, and he's already over halfway there thanks to you generous people. I'm at a loss. If there is anything I can do for you, anything you can think of, please let me know, obviously I'm willing to go to pretty much any extreme for these little guys, but this fundraising thing doesn't exactly come with an instruction manual, and it being the holiday season during a tough economic climate is certainly no help.
I want to say too that I know there are a lot of other Christmas Warriors out there in the same boat. If you feel a pull to support them and their 'angels', please don't hesitate to do so. There are a lot of kids on the angel tree, and ultimately the Reece's Rainbow community wants to see them ALL meet their goals.
That in mind, I want to share another unique opportunity (which I had nothing to do with, but nevertheless benefits Brett, one of 'my' boys) that you should ALL get in on in the next four days.
An organization called Sevenly has chosen Reece's Rainbow as this week's charity to support. This organization designs awesome clothing and each week, the profits go toward a different charity. From now until December 24, that charity is Reece's Rainbow! As each $1,000 is raised through the shirt sales, another RR child has $1,000 added to their grant. The 15th child on the list is 'our' Brett! Already, $11,522 has been raised - in three days! Isn't that amazing? But our ultimate goal is $25,000 and we want to get ALL THE WAY there.
There is no down side to this opportunity. The Sevenly shirts are *awesome*. Check these out for yourself or someone in your life - the style of these is meant to appeal to teens, young adults, and the young at heart - as well as those of us who just LOVE Reece's Rainbow.
This is just one of the beautiful designs - you can see the rest at sevenly.org! Orders will not arrive by the 25th, but these are perfect as a late Christmas gift, a birthday gift for the upcoming year, or just a random act of awesomeness (kindness is to mild a word - getting someone an awesome gift AND helping orphans with special needs? That's just pure awesome).
Because we are trying to reach out beyond the existing Reece's Rainbow/Down Syndrome community, please share the sevenly link with your friends and family - everyone can love these awesome designs! This is a fun and unique opportunity and we want to make the most of it.
So here ends my longish mish-mash of thoughts, which I thought was going to just be a couple of sentences and a picture to update my blog, but apparently, in case you haven't caught on yet, I'm long-winded and it turned into much more ;) Please keep Reece's Rainbow and Elden and Brett in your thoughts and prayers this holiday!
Well, I said in this post that I'd be losing some hair for angel tree this year, starting with my first eyebrow when Brett and Elden hit a combined $1,000. As of today, Brett has $533.12 raised during Angel Tree, and Elden has $507 , for a combined $1,040.12. That means we're over our first goal, and my eyebrow is no longer over my eye! Video of its removal was kindly taken by my young friend M, as well as before and after photos, so without further adieu... enjoy my ridiculously asymmetrical countenance!
Oh, and yes, I AM wearing my fabulous and famed skull and crossbones footie pajamas.
Before...
After.....
I think it looks like the left side of my face has gained weight. ,:-P
Here's the video. We couldn't stop laughing!
Now, for the sake of all things symmetrical, can we PLEASE raise this next $460 FAST? $1,500 combined for both boys and the other one goes with it!
A year ago, when I first discovered the plight of orphans with special needs, it consumed me for months. My thoughts, my prayers, my time, my heart... and more than once, my dear M, who was then 12 years old, caught me crying at my computer and asked me why.
My M last Christmas. She's artsy, if you can tell by the present. Oh yeah, and that's me in skull footie pajamas in the background. Be jealous.
I believe in being honest with M, and she's not a little girl anymore, she's a young lady. So I told her.
I told her that sometimes children are born with special needs, just like our A and AJ have special needs, but with some kids, it's really obvious as soon as their born.
I told her that in some countries, people don't believe that these kids can do anything or live normal lives, or they don't feel like they can take care of them properly, so they leave them at the hospital or give them to an orphanage, because they hope they'll have a better life.
I told her that often, at the orphanages, these children don't have a better life. Often, they die. Often, they're starved, neglected, and at very least deprived of the love of a Mom or Dad.
I told her that sometimes these kids can be adopted, but there are so many of them and it costs so much money that many of them wait for a long time.
I told her about the place in Eastern Europe where Katie Musser came from (#11), I showed her the pictures of the children and told her how old they were. I showed her the little girl who is now Amelia Brown, and told her "She's the same age as you."
Amelia back in the orphanage (#11)
I showed her the video that changed my life... 'The Dark Side of Serbian Mental Institutions'. If you haven't seen it, watch it now.
I hugged her when she cried and asked me how anyone could do this to children, and what we could do to help.
I told her that yes, I wanted to adopt one of these children - or more - someday. She told me that she would like to do it too.
Over the past year, I have kept M updated on the children we both have a heart for. I especially reveled in showing her photos of the progress that newly adopted children were making. You should have seen the shock on her face when she saw Katie Musser just after she was adopted, versus Katie only two months home. 'All they had to do was just take care of her.' She prayed with me as the Brown family flew home. She mourned with me when families lost newly adopted children, or children they were on their way to adopt. I showed her the photos of new children to pray for. I told her the stories of children redeemed by adoption.
Then, this year, in August when the Reece's Rainbow community began gearing up for this year's Angel Tree, I explained the concept to her and told her that I was going to commit to being a Christmas Warrior and to helping a friend raise funds for her Angel Tree child. She asked me how I was going to do it. I told her we were going to have an auction - we did. By the way, Bids 4 Brett raised $220, including 20% for Ollie! I told her I didn't know what else I was going to do - maybe try to make some things - I introduced her to Pinterest and together, we looked for ideas of things to make. We made anything we had the materials for and anything I already knew how to make.
One night in August we were having a 'Girls Night', and we were trying to stay up late to watch a meteorite shower (it turned out to be cloudy - boo!) While we waited and tried to keep ourselves awake, I taught her to make God's Eyes, a historically based craft made with yarn and popsicle sticks. The next day, when I woke up (late - because we'd stayed up so late), M had already been up for hours and made a pile of crafts! Over the next few days she made them in her spare time until a huge pile had been accumulated, the intention always to sell them to help raise funds for orphans.
I'll never forget one night, we were sitting together making crafts, and she looked up and asked me, "Katie? Do you think people will buy these to help those kids?"
"Yes," I told her. "I think they will, not just because they're fun and pretty, but because you made them with all the love in your heart for orphans, and that's pretty special."
And it is. I know you could make one yourself. Or a dozen. But my precious M has a heart to help, and I will do every single thing I can to support her in that. So I'm announcing McKenzie's God's Eye Sale - which will go from now until December 31. I've taken a photo of all the ones she's made so far, and she's up for more if they sell, so all you have to do is make a small donation to Elden(how much is up to you - we are thankful for ANYTHING we can raise for him!), forward me your donation receipt from RR (these don't state an amount in case you'd like to keep that anonymous, they're just proof of payment) at Callmecrazycbus@hotmail.com, along with the number and colors/designs you'd like (or I can have M choose her favorites if you'd like), and an address for shipping, and you too can be a part of a little girl's quest to help an orphan.
These crafts are great decorations and kids love them. All the kids we babysit begged to pick colors for one of their own (yes, we absolutely let them). Several hang on my Christmas tree every year from a fundraiser *I* headed up in elementary school. After that fundraiser I spotted them all over the place. On back packs, on rearview mirrors, around belt loops, hanging in various places in people's homes, attached to magnet backing and placed on refridgerators, anywhere you can think of. Each one comes with a hanging loop to make decorating easy. You can affix magnets easily with hot glue if you so choose. Here are a couple pictures I took tonight of M's master stash:
Made with love by McKenzie, 13.
My M has a heart of gold, a heart for orphans and kids of all shapes and sizes. I love her more than life itself and I want nothing more than to help her help an orphan this Christmas. Would you please consider supporting her efforts?
For gratuitous cuteness (and, okay, a brag on how awesome she is - M sharing her cell phone with one of the girls we watch and showing her how to play a game <3
And, because I'm a glutton for punishment, I'm tacking on another fundraiser here. Earlier this week I read about something called "Singing Christmas Cards". It's just what it sounds like - you dress up in some sort of holiday related costume, and for donations, pay the person of the donor's choice a visit and sing them a Christmas carol. Guaranteed to produce some laughs (and I don't mind even if they are at my expense!) I happen to own THE MOST EPIC Christmas costume of all time, hand made by my amazing mother, and I'm prepared to make this happen. For a $10 donation to Elden's grant, I will perform a singing Christmas card with your choice of song for whomever you would like to send it to. For a $20 donation, you can send three carols. I am local to Columbus, Ohio and can deliver these in person in the greater Columbus area. If you would like to send a card carol to someone outside this area, or just prefer this method, I'm happy to record the carol and send them a video. I'll even dance a little. If you make a donation for one or more of M's God's Eyes, I'll knock $2 off the price, in case you'd like to deliver a little gift with your card carol. Again, just make your donation to Elden's grant here, forward me the 'receipt' along with your choice of song(s) and your recipient's address(es) or e-mail address(es) at Callmecrazycbus@hotmail.com, and I'll get your card out ASAP. If your card is to be delivered in person, please try to include a day/time that you think would be best for delivery. Also, sending one to yourself just for your amusement is totally allowed. Er, just a disclaimer... I was in choir in middle school... but I'm not exactly a vocalist, if you get my point. If my voice is terrible, just consider it a part of the comedic effect ;)
Epic Christmas Costume
Finally, I just want to share a couple other fundraisers that are on my heart right now.
My friend Laura is launching a new fundraiser (since our auction closed Monday) for Brett called 'With Love From...' - the goal being to obtain a love offering of $5 from at least one person in every state. If you give, please pay directly to Brett's grant (linked above) and let us know via blog, facebook or email where your love offering is coming from so we can add your state to the map! This fundraiser is just starting out, so we don't exactly have a lot of states covered yet... we'd love to add yours to the map!
Love from Laura in Missouri so far!
Also, my friend Jenni, who is raising money to commit to a sweet little boy from Katie Musser's former orphanage (#11), is partnering with another family for a Wii U giveaway! This runs until December 15 and your chances of winning are AWESOME! You can read about their fundraiser at Jenni's blog here. They are in a time crunch to pay some agency fees and desperately need to raise this money, but don't have the benefit of having a Reece's Rainbow FSP yet. If you would like, or know someone who would like a Wii U this Christmas, would you please consider entering to help them out?
So there you are. Lots of fundraising going on, and I know it's a tight time of year for everyone, but I hope you'll pick at least one and give a little bit... maybe as a Christmas present to me? ;)
Oh - and for the sake of updating - $285 has currently been raised for Elden through Angel Tree and $193.30 for Brett (not all auction proceeds are in yet) - so a total of $478.30 has been raised for the two boys - almost halfway to $1,000, and halfway to me losing my first eyebrow! I'm getting excited! (Yes, I realize that I am exceedingly weird). Also, for the record, I've been doing this crazy thing called 'getting up early' lately, and this other crazy thing called 'taking a bath in the morning', which is why there haven't been many bedhead photos (that and they are really exceedingly embarrassing) but I will try to get back on track - if you promise to help me get those grants up so I can stop taking bad pictures of myself!
Finally I just want to send a sincere thank you out to everyone who has supported Elden and Brett so far. If the words existed to tell you what it means to me, I would say them, but there just aren't any words strong enough to express the depth of my gratitude. I grin like an idiot, and sometimes cry a little bit, every time one of them moves up though, if that tells you anything. Thank you so much. You all are truly amazing and none of this - angel tree, fundraising, Reece's Rainbow, over 800 adoptions in six years - would be possible without you.
This is just a quick post to say thank you - Elden's grant grew by $180 today! I have been at a family Christmas party all day spending time with cousins, uncles and aunts who I haven't seen in far too long, and have only been able to check in with the Reece's Rainbow community periodically via cell phone. When I got back to my computer tonight I checked all my usual haunts - facebook, our auction (Bids 4 Brett - see tab above), my email, my blog, and my two favorite pages on Reece's Rainbow - Angel Tree and My Family Found Me.
...And when I checked Angel Tree - where sweet Elden was at the bottom yesterday and I was lamenting that I hadn't been able to do as much for him for Angel Tree as I'd hoped thus far, suddenly, he wasn't there anymore... so I paged down, and down, and down, past all the hundreds, into the 200's, and there he was at $280! Brett's grant went up to $127 the other day from where it was at $100 (after a big gain just before that), and there were several new bids on Brett's auction! After a good day, it was the perfect ending. So to any and all of you who donated, whether I know you or not, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for caring about these precious boys. It means more to me than I could ever tell you.
Now, between both boys, $407 has been raised, which means we are almost halfway to me losing my first eyebrow! Hooray!
There are two more days left in Brett's auction - don't forget to check it out and go do some Christmas shopping!
Whew! That whole 'wisdom teeth surgery' thing proved to be way more exhausting and unpleasant than I expected... and honestly it's still being unpleasant, as the lower right corner of my jaw is still numb (EXCEPT for the teeth/gums part, which just hurts) over a week after surgery, but I've decided I have got to get back on track with blogging! Alas, I have also been suffering from that 'blog block' phenomenon I referred to before... which might cause this post to be a little crazy... but what do you expect from a blog with 'crazy' in the title anyways?
If you're new to my blog (I noticed I have two or three new followers!) you might want to check out this post on my plans for fundraising for Angel Tree! Then I promise the rest of this post will make a whole lot more sense.
First a celebration - since I last blogged, both Elden and Brett have made it to $100 on the Angel Tree! So, since I'm shaving my first eyebrow at $1,000 total, we are now at $200/$1,000, or 1/5 of the way to one-eyebrowed glory!
BUT... also a challenge. We are almost halfway through Angel Tree - and the boys aren't even halfway to their goals. They each need $400 more to hit that halfway point. So it seems to me like we need to step things up! We have an auction going on for Brett (you can check it out at the tab that says 'Bids 4 Brett') but some of the ideas I was hoping to implement for Elden have hit roadblocks, leaving me feeling frustrated and inadequate... so I'm reaching out to ask for your help. If you have any ideas of fundraisers we can do for Elden, donations (I'm willing to put on a mini-auction) of money or items, or just plain encouragement, I could use it right now! I honestly can't wait to get to the part where I get to start shaving facial hair! Because yeah, I'm goofy and strange like that.
I know tough financial times, trust me, I do. The other day I went to the grocery store with $3.50 in quarters. But... if you have $5, $10 even... anything... could I humbly ask you to make a donation to Elden? Consider it your Christmas present to me, if you know me, or your random act of kindness for the day/week/month if you don't. I promise you it will be beyond appreciated. Donations can be made right here - just click the donate button and follow the prompts - it's easier than making a purchase on Amazon.
And finally, I'll try to get back on track with this bedhead thing. This one is from a few days ago... still with the chipmunk cheeks... since then I've actually been getting right in the bathtub after waking up and forgetting to take a picture until afterwards, which would be underwhelming, but I shall endeavor to do better.
See that left eyebrow? How it's like... smaller than the other one? Yeah, it's always like that, I didn't do anything to it. Please. Spare me the horrors of uneven eyebrows. You pick, I can shave the shrimpy one first or the one that looks like I glued a caterpillar to my face.
And, you know, if you want to look at a much cuter face, click the nice little linky to Elden's profile on Reece's Rainbow and enjoy his cuteness. Speaking of said cuteness, I have a PRECIOUS older picture of him that will be in an upcoming post... so you know you want to stay tuned!
I have lots more to say, so I'm hoping to get a couple more post out this week, but hoping this one will clear up my blog block somewhat and keep you all up to date on where we are with Angel Tree. Please consider a donation or a bid for these sweet boys!
I challenge you to tell me what could be more important today than helping this little girl find a home, a family, a Mama to love her. What could be more pressing than the need to SAVE HER LIFE?
Yes. These pictures are hard to look at. They're not something that belongs in your 'thirty days of thankfulness'. They're not something you ever wanted to see, let alone force someone else to see.
But if we don't see her... if we don't share her... who will?
And then we'll just be more people who failed her... who saw her starving and gave her nothing to eat.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his
right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the
kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For
I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I
needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I
was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you
something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and
invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When
did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fireprepared for the
devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me
nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I
was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not
clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did
we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in
prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you,
whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Friends, my heart is in my throat as I type these words to you tonight. It has been broken again... for, a year ago, I prayed that God would break my heart for the things that break His... and He has... and the reality that we live in a fallen world that is constantly breaking God's heart has never been clearer to me. Over and over, mine has been broken with His, and some days, like today, I long to know... how much longer? How much longer can we go on like this? How much more must we take?
This is Zoey.
Many of you are probably thinking, oh, what a cute little baby. But those of you who have been around my blog, around the world of international special needs adoption, for a little while, know that looks can be deceiving. You see a very, very sick baby. Or is she?
No. Zoey is not a baby. Yes, she is very, very sick. But she's not a baby. She is a six year old little girl suffering from severe malnutrition. Her main diagnosis is cerebral palsy - the diagnosis that landed her this life inside the walls of an institution instead of home with a family to love her. She also has some problems with her lungs. But these things are not what caused her, at six years old, to weigh less than ten pounds.
And she's not the first. Far from it.
Katie.
Age 9.
Keith.
Age 4.
Kolina.
Age 9.
Amelia.
Age 11.
Annabelle
Age 10.
Anna.
Age 4.
Payton.
Age 7.
Sophia.
Age 15.
Those babes, thankfully are either already home or have families coming for them. Those with families coming are still in need of funding, so if you would like to know how to help out, please look for them on Reece's Rainbow and consider donating to their family's FSP. Many of them also have fundraisers going on on blogs or facebook, so if you'd like to drop by and participate, you could knock out some Christmas shopping and help a family or two!
But Zoey. Oh, my heart.
Zoey.
No family is coming for Zoey. No one has committed to her yet. The agency only has her file for two months, and then it will go back to the government and she will have significantly less of a chance of being adopted. Zoey doesn't have time to wait for a family. She needs them now.
This is life and death.
If you have, maybe, heard that still but small voice urging you to consider adoption, would you consider taking the leap of faith for Zoey? It's not the time to wait and see, that time has passed, Zoey doesn't have that time. It's the time to act. NOW.
Her country is a wonderful one to adopt from. Here are the requirements for adoptive parents from this country:
2 trips, 5 days each
Approx cost only $19-25k! (depends on how many people travel, time of year for travel, etc)
NO UPPER AGE LIMIT
Single mothers may apply
Easy dossier, very few restrictions
Only one parent has to travel, CANADIAN FAMILIES WELCOME!
See? Awesome, easy program! And I know a family who just brought their daughter (4 years old, 10 lbs) home from Zoey's orphanage and she is already doing wonderfully with love, care, and proper nutrition. On top of that, look at what Reece's Rainbow has to say about sweet Zoey:
DOB: 2006 Diagnosis: Congenital anomaly of the broncho-pulmonary system; Infantile cerebral palsy – spastic quadric paresis; severe malnutrition Zoey is almost 6 years old and weighs less than 10 pounds. She is currently fed through a feeding tube, though it is obvious that she is not receiving the nutrition that she needs. We have very little information on Zoey at this time, though we are working to get more detailed medical information. The current information indicates that she moves her upper extremities and that she smiles and responds positively while being fed and when caregivers interact with her, change her, bathe her or talk to her.
This sweet girl needs a family. Please consider sharing her, praying about her, that a family will come for her soon. As soon as a family commits to her Reece's Rainbow can start collecting donations toward her adoption. This sweetie already has many people crying out for her. But just one family needs to step up... just one... to say, "That's our daughter".
