Elden and Brett have both reached their goals! WE DID IT! Elden is at $1,000 and Brett is holding steady at $1,607.50, which means my boys have a total of $2,607.50! Yay!
I'll be balded soon - as soon as my dear friend shaves me, and then there'll be video and fun 'after' pictures!
As for tonight - I let my mom give me bangs and straighten my hair just for fun... I'm going to try out various eyebrows throughout the night, so I'll post again later or in the morning with a collection of eyebrow arrangements - four more for each $100 past $600 raised for Elden! For now, here's me with bangs! I like them!
Another post with my crazy brows will be up soon! Thanks to everyone who has has helped us get to this point! Now let's get the rest of those babes over the wall on Angel Tree!
And we have just under $400 to raise for Elden! We hit $600 raised through Angel Tree early this morning, and as promised, I am sharing a fun surprise...
These are my new eyebrows. I will be wearing them until we hit $700. At that point, a new (similarly fun) set will be drawn on. I have plenty of fun ideas.
And I have to go to the store today. It's up to you all what kind of eyebrows I'm wearing when I do it...
You know what to do. No amount is too small! We will chip away at that last $400 and reach our goal yet!
There is no other word to describe how I feel right now.
Heartbreak.
I'm sitting here sobbing as I write this, for the little boy who I could not love more if he were my own flesh and blood.
I know you all remember Brett - one of the boys I've been screaming for for months. Maybe you can even call his face to mind, remember the one picture I've posted of him, the only picture I ever had... this one.
Maybe you remember his story... born in the open country and abandoned in a field by his mother, before he was found and taken to the hospital... and from there to the orphanage. Other than that we had so very little information about him. No one had been to his institution. No one had met him. He was hidden away... precious buried treasure.
Today, this picture was posted to his profile with an update. Someone has seen him, met him, been to where he is, heard his story, and taken new photos and video of him.
This is Brett today.
My boy. My sweet boy! Oh, how my heart absolutely breaks, to see what years of institutionalization have done to him.
Yes, he's still beautiful. Precious. I want to take his little hand in mine. I want to fold him into a big hug, the kind mommies and aunts and families give.
What we knew before about his history was sad. What we know now is absolutely heartwrenching. There are just no words. Read his new description from Reece's Rainbow:
"Brett was born premature at home and taken to an open field, where he was abandoned. He was there for 6 hours before being rescued and taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for shock, hypothermia, bug bites all over his body and difficulty breathing. Once released from the hospital, he was placed in an orphanage and later transferred to a mental institution, where he lives today. From a physical standpoint, he suffered several bouts of bronchitis and other sicknesses as a young child. He does have alopecia (hair loss), but does not have any other health problems at this time. Based on one of the video clips, it appears that Brett is able to pop his hip out of socket, as his can turn his leg at an unnatural angle. He can walk and move freely around in his environment.
Brett suffers from many delays as a result of spending over 10 years in an institutionalized setting. He walks, plays with toys, communicates using gestures and interact with adults at will. He is NOT aggressive. The staff cares for all his basic needs and he is not receiving any academic instruction or any noted therapies at this time.
Several photos and videos of Brett from December 2012 are available."
Poor sweet boy! He was freezing, struggling for survival, covered in bug bites! He was left, all alone, defenseless, and even when he was 'rescued', he only had spending the rest of his life in an institution to look forward to! Oh, sweet boy, how you deserve to know the love of a family.
And now... now he's not even in an orphanage. He's in a mental institution. For adults. If the orphanages in Eastern Europe are bad, the mental institutions are filled with untold horror. Mogilino, the place featured in Bulgaria's Abandoned Children was a mental institution. The place my friend's sweet, loving, beautiful 8 year old son came from, where he regressed from the skills he learned in the orphanage and boarding school, was a mental institution. The place the men lived, young and old, with nothing but the clothes on their backs - not even an old TV to watch in a day room.
Brett DOES NOT BELONG in a mental institution. He needs out.
I'm begging for him. Please, someone. Take a leap of faith and say yes to Brett. His country is a wonderful one to adopt from. Easy travel, no upper age limit for parents, single moms are allowed, large families are welcome, relatively relaxed requirements, a well established adoption protocol (it is a Hague country)... and the costs for adopting from his country are relatively modest - and he already has $1,700 in his Reece's Rainbow grant! In addition, I promise that whomever commits to him will have the full support of myself and a few other advocates - and when I say that, I mean I will move mountains. If you think I'm crazy for shaving for Angel Tree, just wait until you see what I'd do to get this boy home. I'll move across the country and be your live in nanny, for free. I'll travel with you if you want. I'll put on fundraiser after fundraiser after fundraiser to get you funded. Seriously. I love this boy. I would go get him myself if I could.
In the past people have shied away from older boys like him because they are afraid they will be aggressive or have behaviors that are 'too difficult' to deal with. From the new description, we know that Brett is NOT aggressive and it sounds like he would do absolutely wonderful in a family. Some therapy, lots of love, and I can see him being the kind of amazing blessing my friend's son, who was adopted this year at 8 years old, is today (and he's only been home for four months!)
I'd have had this up sooner if I hadn't slept for the larger part of the last 24 hours, but alas, here it is - I am now an eyebrowless woman!
Thanks to Sevenly, Brett (one of 'my' boys), received $1,000 in his grant account late on Christmas day. When added to what had already been raised for him during Angel Tree, it amounted to $1,607.30! Hooray, Brett!
Elden's grant has been sitting at a pretty steady $529.50 for a few days - and I have been racking my brain trying to think of ways to raise it, but for the most part coming up empty handed - and some complications I will mention later in this post are not helping either.
Regardless, the boys are now WELL over a combined $1,500 - actually at a combined $2,136.80! However - since Elden is still not over the $1,000 wall yet, thus not at HIS goal, this only means one less eyebrow for this girl... in another $470.50, I get to shave my head!
But without further adieu, let me share the final de-eyebrowing with you all.
Here's a picture taken before, me and my one-eyebrowed glory:
And then here's me after The Shaving, no eyebrows left to speak of:
Yes. It is weird.
Now for the HAIR! Come on guys, we are so close and we only have five days left to raise that money! Let's complete the effect and baldify me! Once bald, I'm going to order cards from Vistaprint explaining why I'm bald with a link to Reece's Rainbow - so that every time someone asks, I'm spreading awareness!
Actually, that has started already. Eyebrows aren't usually enough for perfect strangers to ask what happened, but I did get to have an excellent conversation with some family members about orphans and Reece's Rainbow at family Christmas (which I attended one-eyebrowed).
Today, after posting the second eyebrow shaving video (will be seen below), I received two 'follows' on you tube and a private message informing me that I'm crazy, but for a good cause! Why yes, that's the point!
I've never been happier to have no eyebrows.
Wait. Pretty sure I've never done this before.
Now, here's some fun - the video of the second eyebrow's disappearance. In case you're noticing the theme here, yes, I am wearing footie pajamas again, only leopard this time. That's right. I have the most epic footie pajama collection in the world. Be. Jealous. ;)
Let me remind you all that WHEN the final money is raised and Elden is over his goal, the head shaving will be videotaped as well. I promise hilarity.
Now, despite the mostly upbeat and fun nature of this post, I'm feeling compelled to share something a little more serious with you all tonight. If you keep up with international news, you might know that the Russian parliament has passed an act that would ban all adoptions by U.S. citizens. The only obstacle left between this legislation and a legal decree that would essentially be a death sentence to many, many orphans, is President Putin, who can either sign or veto it. He has hinted at support for the legislation, even though it will have serious ramifications not only for the children, but for the Russian economy and US/Russian relations, as there is currently a treaty allowing such adoptions in place which this legislation would essentially be breaking.
For those of us who advocate for adoption, this whole thing is terrifying. Russia is a big country, obviously, and it has literally thousands upon thousands of orphans and not enough families to adopt them. Thousands are adopted by US families every year. Some of our dear sweet Reece's Rainbow babes - indeed, some of our Angel Tree babes - are in Russia - though I can't tell you which ones for their protection - and if this passes... well, think of what could happen to them!
Some of you might recall the post I wrote earlier this year about transfer. About how children are often transferred to adult mental institutions between the ages of 4 and 6. About how few special needs children survive this transfer, and how bleak their future is even if they do - unless they are adopted. Entire lives spent behind the walls of an institution. Do me a favor, go check out my other blog, the post about mental health in America, and imagine sending a five year old with down syndrome to live in a place like that - no - ten, twenty times WORSE than that - for the rest of his life.
Yes, there are other countries, but the vast majority of Russian children who are internationally adopted are adopted by American families. Without adoption to save them, how many more will be forced to live out their lives in bleak, horrible places? Even if the legislation were later revoked, it would be too late for many of them.
It is because of this that I ask you to pray. Pray with everything you have that something will soften Putin's heart and cause him to deny this legislation. Only God can intervene now. Share the plight of these children. Ask your friends to pray. Do not allow governments to use children as pawns in their political agendas without being held accountable for their actions.
It is also because of this that I again beg you to donate. Again, I can't tell you which children are in Russia, or which ones will be available to Canadian families even if the legislation passes, but those children are going to need our help even more. International adoption is even more costly in Canada than it is in the US. Awareness will need to be spread. Comfortable grants will need to be available for children to encourage families to take a leap of faith. And since I can't discuss exactly where kids are, if this moves you to donate, donate to any child. Many of them are in Russia. Many of them are not, and they need funding too. You can do no harm by giving to a child who has nothing.
Might I suggest a certain little boy with down syndrome, whose advocate wants to go bald just like he will?
Donate to Elden here.
Please help me get him over $1,000. Please. I don't really have anything to offer (except, you know, my amusing hair removal on video), but if I'm feeling discouraged right now I can only imagine how he would feel if he were transferred to one of those awful institutions - and he will be six in February - it is a very real danger. Together we can do this.
After the next $100 is raised, I'll post again with a little surprise... ;)
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.
