2/20/14 FORMING FAMILIES - CARD KIT (FUNDRAISER)

Seth and Natalie are a couple that we know from church who are waiting to bring their son home from Korea.  His name is Caden and you can read about his adoption process at A Mighty Hope. Some ladies, including a friend of mine, are selling the Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit from Stampin' Up to help raise money to put toward adoption expenses and you have an opportunity to buy some! Here's a picture of all the items in the kit, but you can click the kit link above to see pictures of completed cards.

WHO: Kelli (my friend who is selling card kits) and you

WHAT: Everything you need to make 20 cards for $20, with all proceeds going toward bringing Caden home.

WHEN: You can purchase kits anytime between now and 3/3/14.  (I know the post on the adoption blog about this fundraiser has a different date, but the 3/3/14 deadline is the most current information.)

WHERE: You can purchase card kits from the comfort of your own home and whatever screen you're viewing the internet from.

WHY: Every child should be part of a family.  Sometimes we get to be the family, other times we get to support the family.  

If you love making cards or want to give a kit to someone who does, enjoy financially supporting adoptions, or were just sitting around wondering how you could spend $20, then please leave a comment and I will put you in touch with Kelli.  I don't want to post her contact info for the general public to access, but I will connect you with her quickly.  

6/20/13 FORMING FAMILIES - YARD SALE (FUNDRAISER)

Brandon and Becky are friends of ours who are waiting to bring one of their children home from Ethiopia and this weekend they're having a yard sale as an adoption fundraiser.  If you're a bargain lover, supporter of adoption, or simply someone who's looking for something to do this weekend, then please swing by their sale and see what treasures you can find.

WHO: Brandon, Becky, and you

WHAT: Fundraising yard sale

WHEN: 6/21 & 6/22, from 8:00-3:00 each day

WHERE: 2735 NW 153rd Ave, Beaverton, OR 97006 (just a smidge off the intersection of Hwy 26 and Cornell) 

WHY: We're called to look after orphans.  For some of us that means helping to cover the cost of others forming their families through adoption.  If you bring something home, then they can bring someone home.

Brandon and Becky will be doing another sale in the fall during a neighborhood yard sale event, so I'll let you know when that one rolls around.  If you have items to donate for their fall sale, then touch base with them about getting those items to their house.  If you don't know them, then let me know and I'll get you connected.

12/14/12 FORMING FAMILIES - ONLINE AUCTION (FUNDRAISER)

Ryan and Robin are a couple from our church who are adopting from the Congo.  Wednesday night they kicked off an online auction to help offset the cost of the adoption and I want to send you guys in that direction.  Some of the things they're offering are services or lessons that will only work for people in the Portland/Vancouver area and many others are items that can be shipped to other locations.

Here's a sampling of what they are auctioning - carseat, haircuts (Battle Ground, Vancouver, & Portland - though they all have the same photo), hair clips, yoga (Vancouver), Dutch Bros. gift cards, photography sessions, private equestrian lesson (Wilsonville), guitar lessons, house decor, photography and paintings, dance classes (Vancouver), jewelry, baby items, restaurant gift cards, stroller, custom hats and children's clothing, handmade cutting board, and more.

This is a great opportunity to get some Christmas shopping done, purchase some things you need for your family, or just to indulge yourself with whatever that strikes your fancy and help bring a child home to their family.

Are you ready to go check out the auction now?  The bidding stops at 8:00pm (PST) on Sunday (12/16), so don't procrastinate!!!  Click here to go straight to the album with photos of each item.  You can bid by simply leaving a comment on the item you want with the dollar amount you'll pay. 

Happy shopping!!  Happy forming of families!!

11/5/12 FORMING FAMILIES - FOSTER KIDS

I read a post a few months ago about an opportunity to make Welcome Boxes for kids entering foster care in the Portland metro area, but at that time I hadn't made a commitment to blogging about helping parent-less kids to find families and didn't pass the info along.  Today, however, there was another post and I'm spreading the word.   Foster kids are just as important to me as kids waiting to be adopted.  Both are in need of a family, one temporarily and the other permanently. 

So, here's the deal.  Many times a child is removed from their home, then ends up sitting in the DHS office for an hour or two while their caseworker finds a placement for them.  They have little or nothing of their own with them.  They've just lost everything familiar in their lives.  They know nothing about the people whose homes they're about to be taken to.  They have had their whole life disrupted.  They have nothing to do while they wait.  They just sit.

That's where Welcome Boxes come in! Each box must contain something to write on, something to write with, non-perishable snacks, toothpaste & toothbrush, flashlight with batteries, and a nightlight.  Additionally, each box will contain seven extra items that fall more on the fun side of things than the practical.

This Friday there is going to be a private box packing party and they are asking for some last minute filler items to be donated.  Does that sound like something you, your family, office, or group of friends would like to help with?   There is also a need for public locations for people to drop off donations through Thursday, businesses with easily accessible parking and regular business hours.  If either of those things interest you then please go to today's post on Frugal Living NW to find out more about what is needed and how you can help. 

If you would like to be involved in making Welcome Boxes, but won't be able to help with this week's project, then please read the post from August.  It has detailed directions on how to assemble the boxes, labels to use, and contact information for the woman in charge.  Please follow the directions exactly, as these boxes need to be a blessing to all foster kids and comply with DHS rules. 

At the time of the first Welcome Box post there were boxes being delivered in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties, and now Clark county is in the mix.   If you live outside of those counties, but are interested in coordinating something similar in your area, then please read the August post for some info or contact your local DHS office directly.

11/3/12 FORMING FAMILIES - SPECIAL NEEDS & REECE'S RAINBOW

I have friends who have adopted and I have friends whose children have Down Syndrome. 

I also have friends who have combined those two things and adopt children with Down Syndrome. 

I have other friends who have chosen to do all they can to support orphans with Down Syndrome and the families who would like to adopt them.

Enter Reece's Rainbow, an organization that helps raise funds for those who have a desire to add a child with Down Syndrome to their family through adoption.  Please keep in mind that the future of an orphan with Down Syndrome is bleak and short-lived in some countries.  For those children, adoption isn't just an opportunity to be part of a family, but also a chance to simply live. 

I want to introduce you to two friends who are currently involved with Reece's Rainbow.

RUBY - Ruby is an Angel Tree Warrior for Simon, a little boy whose third birthday is just a few months away.  Her goal is to raise $1000 toward Simon's adoption fees by the end of 2012, money that will help a family cover the cost of bringing him home.  She just started fundraising a couple days ago and has $25 in the account so far.  You can check out some of the items she's selling in her Etsy shop, True Ruby.  She's also made some cute felt ornaments, which I'm hoping will be in her Etsy shop soon. 

Maybe you'd like to make a cash donation toward her goal.  Perhaps you'd like to buy something from her shop for yourself or as a Christmas present, knowing that some of the proceeds will benefit Simon.   Maybe Simon has tugged at your heart and you'd like to have your caseworker help you bring him home ... to your house.  No matter what you're wanting to do, I'd encourage you to read more about Ruby's project on her blog, families for the fatherless.

TANA - Tana and her husband have adopted multiple times, brought home various numbers of children at a time, and have three countries (well, four, if you count America) represented in their family.  I love the story of how their family has been created!  Right now they are all anxiously waiting to bring Thalia, their newest daughter and sister, home, something they're hoping will happen in the next few months.  You can read about where they are in that process and see some cute pictures of Thalia right here. 

Thalia has a family now, but the financial cost of uniting them is high.  If you would like to make a contribution to help defray the cost of Thalia joining her family, then please click the Reece's Rainbow "Donate" button on the sidebar of Tana's blog, Harmony and Havoc.  Thalia is the name Tana and her husband have chosen for their newest daughter, but Song Guo is the name on all the paperwork.  I mention that so that you won't be confused to see "Song" or "Song Guo" on the donation links.  Song Guo is Thalia.

9/26/12 FORMING FAMILIES - WHERE MY HEART IS

As many of you know, we have wanted to foster or adopt for a long time, but, for various reasons, the timing has never been right.  It's hard for me.  Really hard.  It's discouraging to have your heart be so strongly drawn to something that you think about it every day, yet never feel the peace of knowing it's time to take the plunge. 

I've wondered why God would give me such a strong desire for years and years and years, while never having it work out.  I realize my life's not over and it could very well be that we'll foster or adopt at some point down the road.  But maybe not.  Maybe it will always be an unfulfilled desire.  I don't know.

What I do know is this.  There are countless children in need of a family, whether for a weekend, a year, a decade, or forever.

Now, let me step back for a minute.  Several months ago, Tad, one of our church's associate pastors, was teaching from I Chronicles 17 and I've been thinking about his words ever since. 

In I Chronicles 17 David expresses a desire to build a temple for the ark of the covenant.  Pretty noble desire, don't you think?  Yet God makes it very clear that David is not the person for the job. 

David could have thrown a real fit about that, pointing out that he was only trying to do the right thing.  He could have become bitter, angry that his desire to do something good was never going to be fulfilled.  He could have found a way to build the temple anyway, doing the right thing at the wrong time.  However, as I always say, the right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing. 

He didn't do any of those things, though.  Instead he expressed thanks for the ways God was blessing him, he praised and showed reverence for the things he'd seen God do, and he showed trust in God's words. 

Then, if you skip ahead to I Chronicles 22, you'll see that he got busy.  While he accepted that he was not the person to build the temple, he did not let that stop him from having the good desire of a temple being built get put into action.  David used his administrative abilities to coordinate building efforts, his financial means to provide supplies, and his words to challenge and encourage his son, the man who would build the temple. 

Here are a couple things I wrote in my notes that day.

* It's not bad when God says "no" to our good desires.  Sometimes our passions don't come to fruition.

* We may not be able to do the thing we desire, but we can still support those who can do it.

* If God says "no" to the desires of our heart, then we need to accept that.  Holding on and insisting that we get to pursue that dream is just fighting God.  Letting go, however, frees up to do whatever God has ready for us.

* What would happen if we were all willing to do what we were able to do?

Wow.

I sat through the whole teaching feeling like I had a big target on my forehead.  Know that feeling? 

That brings me to today.  I don't feel like I've heard a "no" about fostering or adopting, but I certainly haven't heard a "yes".  So, we wait.  But I don't want to turn the lack of a "yes" into walking away from the fact that there are so many children in need of a family.  Or, as a Christian, to ignore the fact that I (and you, if you're a Christian) am called to care for orphans (and I consider foster kids to be temporary orphans).

So, what do I do?  Sometimes I deliver meals to families who have just brought their adopted child home.  Sometimes I host baby showers for adoptive families.  Sometimes I participate in fundraisers for adoptive families.  Sometimes I donate clothes to foster families.

Today I'm going to start doing something else.  I'm going to help make you aware of children in need of families, families in need of financial support, organizations that support adoption, etc. through periodic blog posts.

Some people have a desire to adopt, but lack the money to complete the process.  Others have the money, but don't have the ability to add to their family in that way.  Some have the means and ability, but are naive about the need.  Others have a desire, but lack non-monetary resources, such as nearby medical care for special needs children.  Some have the money, desire, and ability, but would need respite care.  The list goes on, but you get the idea.

Today, for the first post, I'm going to show you a neat video about a friend of mine, a video that was posted yesterday morning.

***  I tried to embed the video, but it's not working.  So, for now, I'll just link you to it.  It's only a couple minutes long and I encourage you to watch it.  ***

Want to know something awesome?  Their adoption was fully funded 25 hours after this video was posted.  Fully funded!  That's what I'm talking about, folks.  Families being formed because one family wanted to  grow through adoption, one person used their skills to make a video, and several people had the means to help with the finances.  Not everyone could bring Tara's child home, but many were able to use their skills and resources to help those who were right for the job.  I love it!