Anyone Interrested?

So right now we are in the midst of way more adoption paperwork than I want to think about. ( I really should have become a notary--or at least befriended one.)  And instead of dwelling on how long all of this is taking and getting frustrated, I decided I would ask y'all if you could help me out with something.

  I am going to be setting up a craft sale sight on Facebook here in the next few days.  All the proceeds will go towards our adoption and it will contain various craft items that I have made and some of my Wildwood items.  What I would really love though is variety. So is there something that you make (crafts, foods, anything really) that you would like to donate to my sale?  Anything handmade would be great, but even something that isn't a craft (books, dvds, cds, etc.) that would just make a great Christmas gift for someone else to buy (so preferrably an unused item).  I will photo list(so you would have to send me a picture) each item and then the buyer of that item will contact me and we can arrange either Paypal payment or check or whatever.  If you donated an item I would just need you to ship the item to the person who buys it (you would have to be willing to pay for the shipping--so I suggest light items).  Anyone interrested????  This would really help us out! 

Here is the link to our craft fundraiser page:  Livi's Gift Shoppe

my new motto :)

Blocks for Livi

So I know it is early (seeing as how I just introduced our blog a few days ago); but you can never have enough time to fund raise.  Josh and I realized going into this how much it would cost our family to bring Olivia home, and we are fully prepared to work our hineys off to do it.  BUT just in case you want to help.... ;)

This will be our first fundraiser, and I am fully prepared to make these for as long as this adoption takes, so all you have to do is come find this post if you would like to donate for them.

  These are Olliblocks (No, I did not create them; the printouts are from Ollibird [which I found on Pinterest]. You can go there and print them yourself if you would like.) But if you are like me and you have other things to do besides take on a new craft where you spend hours gluing, cutting, spraying...etc, then you can just get mine! :)

(The Chevrons are not from Ollibird; I added them--just love that pattern with these cute faces.)

 

So here's the deal:  for a $10 "chip-in" (found up in the upper right-hand corner)  you will receive a gift of one set of 3 blocks (you can get just boys, just girls, or a mix of both...also there is a funny animal set but I don't have a pic yet.)  Now if you would like more than one set the you can donate...

$18 for 2 sets

$24 for 3 sets

$32 for 4 sets 

$40 for 5 sets

These would make great gifts for all the little ones in your family for Christmas, birthdays, baby showers or just because! 

(But please remember these are for personal use and should not be resold --thanks!)

 

If you do not have a Paypal account and can not use the "chip- in", please contact me at: waysthatyouchangeme@gmail.com for a alternate form of donating to Olivia's adoption.

 

Our Journey

So here we go....honestly I have retyped this so many times I can't even count.  I have no idea how to begin this post; so I guess I will dive right in.

For the past few months we have been learning what it is like to "be still" and listen.  "Wait patiently for Him."   And although patience is not one of my strong points, I have learned that it is in these quiet times when you actually have an open heart to all the "ways that He changes us". 

For a few months now, our family has been learning about what it is like to be a child with "special needs" in another country (not that their plight is often much better her in our own country, no thanks to abortion).  And when I say "special needs" this can vary greatly from Cerebral Palsy or Hydrocephalus to Down Syndrome or Blindness.  In many countries if a child is born with needs they are immediately abandoned...left at the hospital and sent to an orphanage.  I am not going to speculate why this is done, because each child has been left for a different reason (some people are afraid to parent a child with needs, some are too poor, some are just following society...etc.)  These children become an orphan even though their parents are very much alive.  And if no one comes for them, they are later sent to a mental institution to live out the remainder of their life.  I don't know about you, but I really had no idea children were treated this way just because they were viewed as "imperfect".  But a really great organization called Reece's Rainbow enlightened me.  They advocate and fund raise for children who can't do so for themselves.  They have helped over 700 children find homes; homes where they are loved in spite of their needs. Now when you think in terms of 147,000,000 orphans, maybe that doesn't seem like a whole lot; but I am pretty sure it made a difference to each and every one of these kids. And it is this organization that God used to show us the way He wanted us to go next....

So our family has decided to make a difference in the life of one of these children.  And although we would love to show everyone HER picture and give you all the details, we have been asked to keep her information private for now.  We can tell you the little girl we hope to adopt is about 20 months old, she has Down Syndrome, and we are planning on naming her Olivia. This is a very long, exhausting process filled with paperwork, appointments, and of course, $$$.  We are very excited to be about a quarter of the way through the process and we would like you to join us for the rest of our journey.  We hope you will root for us along the way and pray for us.