HELP WANTED: MAJOR MATCHING GRANT

If you are out there and have been kinda sorta thinking about making a donation.....please consider it NOW.....no matter what the size is!!! Please us the Reece's Rainbow link below or on the right side of this blog:

http://reecesrainbow.org/53421/sponsorpellegrino

WHY and WHY NOW???? Because a very generous anonymous donator has agreed to match up to $5,000 by July 4th! Our current Reece's Rainbow has $655 in it - every step it moves up to reach $5,655 we get that much closer to $10,655!!!! And it's tax deductible!!!!

We have until July 4th to double all donations up to $5,000!!!! And just in time because our LOA just came in. That means all fees must be paid within the next month so our travel arrangements can be made (and then of course with that comes the travel costs).

Please share the word and if you find it in your heart to donate, please do so on Reeces Rainbow before July 4th!!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Brittany's Matching grant FILLED and LOA from China!

A beautiful day indeed!!! We got a call tonight that our LOA (letter of acceptance) from China arrived at the agency today!!! For those of you not familiar, that means China says we are good to go - well, after more paperwork! Anything from here is pretty evenly scheduled where one thing happens after another and really in a timely fashion. They are now estimating that I will be traveling to China in September. There is only ONE travel date in September due to celebrations. That date of September 6th is one year and one week later than we traveled to get Anthony!!! If we don't make that trip, we will travel October 11th on the next trip......WOW!!! For those of you familiar with the adoption world, the LOA is BIG!!!!!! Like I said, all other paperwork moves on a pretty predictable schedule right up until you wait for a date from China for the courts.

AND MORE NEWS!!! Our Brittany's Hope matching grant has been filled! We received a very, very generous donation to close it out. Brittany's Hope would match $1000 worth of donations sent directly to them....so $1000 was turned into $2000!!!!! You know who you are and I can not even speak at this point.....your generosity is beyond fathomable!!! THANK YOU!!!!

Thanks for checking in!!!

Adoption families helping adopting families

I've been watching the Amazon advertising totals lately as they are rising at an incredible slow rate and then I got an email from a completely different company that we are also an affiliate with. I thought is was really interesting that we have earned $109.58 in advertising monies from a multi-billion dollar company. Then we have earned $50.44 from one family run company and $101.92 from another family run company! It blows my mind how incredible these small companies are! Not to knock Amazon 'cause you know they are giving us something and I do love to shop them (& I am sure they do more for other charities), however in comparing the sizes of these companies and what they have done for adopting families, I am blown away. We also earned $1802.76 from another family organization that has grown quite considerably since they started. I have to highlight all of these because I do think they are amazing!

Adoption Bug

http://www.adoptionbug.com/faithhopeloveadoption/

This mom is a graphic artist with the "adoption bug" and provides incredible products that in turn gives adoptive families a percentage of the sale. We have earned an incredible $109.58 thanks to generous people who have bought these great products on our behalf. You can read their story here:
http://www.adoptionbug.com/about.htm

Ordinary Hero

http://ordinaryherostore.org

I know you have heard about Ordinary Hero from us! We won an incredible grant of $1000 from them. Then we won $500 through a contest they ran where we earned another $302.76 in commission from the sale of their incredible merchandise. I can't say enough about them. This family also started their business because of their experience in adoption and desire to help others adopt. Part of their belief:  We believe every child needs a HERO, wants a HERO, and is looking for a HERO. We believe that HERO is YOU.

Read their story here:

http://www.ordinaryhero.org/Ordinary_Hero/About_Us.html

Olive Tree Promise

http://pellegrinofamily.olivetreepromise.com

Recently we were made the featured family of the month for Olive Tree Promise. This means that if anyone goes on their site and they don't use a families link to access the site we are automatically given credit for all of the sales. We have a balance of $50.44 from this family made company.  Olive Tree Promise is a small company that was formed when an adoptive family wanted to help out other adoptive families. The site is made up of vendors that offer a percentage of those profits back to the adopting families. Here is there main belief taken right from their site:

Deuteronomy 24:20When you harvest olives from your trees, never knock down all of them. Leave some for foreigners, orphans, and widows.


If you get a chance, go to their hime page and read it:
http://pellegrinofamily.olivetreepromise.com/otp/aboutus.aspx
It will only take you a minute.....and then if you have just one more minute click on the bottom of the page to read a little bit more from their founder, Troy - he's pretty awesome! In your day by day routine just think - For Him - (a quote by my friend Troy who taught me - "well, isn't it all about Him anyway?)!

blessing to you and yours...
For Him


PS....BY THE WAY, ORDINARY HERO IS CURRENTLY RUNNING ANOTHER CONTEST---SO IF YOU ARE EVEN THINKING ABOUT BUYING SOMETHING, NOW WOULD BE THE BEST OF BEST TIMES!!!!

http://ordinaryherostore.org

(pick our name in the drop down menu at checkout!)

Catching up and UPDATE on Gabriel

Very exciting today as we received our first update on Gabriel since we "accepted" him!!!

Before we ge to that excitement, a few things....

Thank you to one special someone for sending $485 to Reece's Rainbow for Gabriel. All of a sudden we were up to $655 on Reece's Rainbow (tax deductible donations)! WOW!!!  THANK YOU!!!

:)

Thank you also to those who have ordered t-shirts through Adoption Bug and we were chosen as the family of the month for Olive Tree promise (when ever anyone makes a purchase through the site and they do not go through a families blog, we get the referral). Both of those sites recently have added $68 to our adoption fund! Yeah!!! And Amazon is just over $100. Keep using one of the AMazon links on this page to buy through Amazon, it's that simple! And we can't forget that we also received some pretty AMAZING donations as well. THANK YOU!!!!

More thank you's...we were approved for Brittany's Hope Seedling Grant. They will match $1000 worth of donations in our name. We are up to $300......only $700 more to go! Thank you! Please let us know if you donate so we can keep track as they will give anything over $1000 to another family! Here is the link to donate under our name:
(CLOSED IT OUT>>>>As of May 29th, we raised the amount needed for this grant!!!!)

And for those of you who live nearby, Worn With Love in Finksburg MD are accepting donations on our behalf. They are collecting items to sell under our name! They have great stuff at great prices also! Here is there website to find out more about what items they are able to consign as it changes based on what they currently have:
http://www.wornwithluv.com
If you've been following us, this is the very same consignment shop that I met an incredible woman who was not only our first donation but she left a gift card for me at the shop, has shared our story with many people who have also donated, has supported us through her organization, has continued to pray for us and now has organized the consignment shop program (she even collects the merchandise to get it ready for consignment)!!!! Amazing and not enough thank you's!!

Our Golf Tournament is up and running.....it is July 15th (see the Feb 26th blog for details)! We have four sets of four signed up so far (FORE)!

So here is the moment you have been waiting for (or probably skimming through to get to)......
Here is Gabriel as of TODAY China time!!!!!

BEAUTIFUL!!!!! He is a little thing!!! He is 22 months old and about 30.5" and 18.5 pounds! He must come home soon as they say he eats 5-6 times a day but very little as he never has an appetite. They give him formula a few times a day to compensate. He loves music and is outgoing with a strong will, hurry temper and a desire to do things his own way. He loves his tricycle and paying with repairing tools. He stays up very late at night and is speaking only a few words. He needs to come home and day MOMMA!!!!!!
We are so blessed!!! This little boy will be ours soon and with your help!!!!!
Thank you for checking in! Blessings to you and yours!!!

First Mother's Day approaching

I can't even explain the feelings I have inside as my first Mother's Day as a mother approaches. Sure, we had Happy Mother's Day's from the Dogs and cats, but that will never compare to this first. My first is to pray for the birth mother of this child that I hold in my arms everyday. To pray that she somehow, someway knows that her son is safe and happy (and truly an amazing kid). I walked the streets of China and I saw the faces of women who possibly left a son in the streets like mine. Everywhere I looked I wondered if she was his. I wondered if she too was forced by an elder to leave this child or if she was told the child didn't make it through the birth - only to wonder, but never question, if he or she was taken away. And the women we met in the market in China - she was on the verge of crying when we shared with her that we were here to adopt - did she leave one behind - or the lady on the elevator - or the lady at the hospital - or that on - or that one....I pray for all of those Mothers in China.
So my Mother's Day is just a few days away - I look at my son everyday and smile in the beauty that we have been blessed with. I am so honored to be the "Momma" of this incredible kid - the one that God hand picked for us as we struggled through photo listing and photo listing. As I checked out Facebook tonight I found this awesome letter written to an adoptive mom and although it hits on adoption at birth, the rest just simply hits that spot - ya know those heart strings....take it all in if you may.....and until next time, Happy Mother's Day to all those moms out there that do all they can do to earn the honor of being called MOM...

Dear Moms of Adopted Children

BY KATHY LYNN HARRIS 

Posted on http://www.kathylynnharris.com/dear-moms-of-adopted-children/

Posted on May 7, 2013 

First, a quick note: I wrote this piece after reading an essay written by Lea Grover in theHuffiington Post, titled “Dear Less-Than-Perfect Mom.” The post by Lea was wonderful, and it made me think about us moms who found our sweet babies through adoption, and how we face unique challenges. I hope you enjoy it, whether you are the parent of an adopted child or not. Happy early Mother’s Day, everyone.

——————————————————————————————————————

Dear Mom of an Adopted Child,

I met you in adoption education class. I met you at the agency. I met you at my son’s school. I met you online. I met you on purpose. I met you by accident.

It doesn’t matter. The thing is, I knew you right away. I recognize the fierce determination. The grit. The fight. Because everything about what you have was a decision, and nothing about what you have was easy. You are the kind of woman who Makes.Things.Happen. After all, you made this happen, this family you have.

Maybe you prayed for it. Maybe you had to convince a partner it was the right thing. Maybe you did it alone. Maybe people told you to just be happy with what you had before. Maybe someone told you it simply wasn’t in God’s plans for you to have a child, this child whose hair you now brush lightly from his face. Maybe someone warned you about what happened to their cousin’s neighbor’s friend. Maybe you ignored them.

Maybe you planned for it for years. Maybe an opportunity dropped into your lap. Maybe you depleted your life-savings for it. Maybe it was not your first choice. But maybe it was.

Regardless, I know you. And I see how you hold on so tight. Sometimes too tight. Because that’s what we do, isn’t it?

I know about all those books you read back then. The ones everyone reads about sleep patterns and cloth versus disposable, yes, but the extra ones, too. About dealing with attachment disorders, breast milk banks, babies born addicted to alcohol, cocaine, meth. About cognitive delays, language deficiencies. About counseling support services, tax and insurance issues, open adoption pros and cons, legal rights.

I know about the fingerprinting, the background checks, the credit reports, the interviews, the references. I know about the classes, so many classes. I know the frustration of the never-ending paperwork. The hours of going over finances, of having garage sales and bake sales and whatever-it-takes sales to raise money to afford it all.

I know how you never lost sight of what you wanted.

I know about the match call, the soaring of everything inside you to cloud-height, even higher. And then the tucking of that away because, well, these things fall through, you know.

Maybe you told your mother, a few close friends. Maybe you shouted it to the world. Maybe you allowed yourself to decorate a baby’s room, buy a car seat. Maybe you bought a soft blanket, just that one blanket, and held it to your cheek every night.

I know about your home visits. I know about your knuckles, cracked and bleeding, from cleaning every square inch of your home the night before. I know about you burning the coffee cake and trying to fix your mascara before the social worker rang the doorbell.

And I know about the followup visits, when you hadn’t slept in three weeks because the baby had colic. I know how you wanted so badly to show that you had it all together, even though you were back to working more-than-full-time, maybe without maternity leave, without the family and casseroles and welcome-home balloons and plants.

And I’ve seen you in foreign countries, strange lands, staying in dirty hotels, taking weeks away from work, struggling to understand what’s being promised and what’s not. Struggling to offer your love to a little one who is unsettled and afraid. Waiting, wishing, greeting, loving, flying, nesting, coming home.

I’ve seen you down the street at the hospital when a baby was born, trying to figure out where you belong in the scene that’s emerging. I’ve seen your face as you hear a nurse whisper to the birthmother that she doesn’t have to go through with this. I’ve seen you trying so hard to give this birthmother all of your respect and patience and compassion in those moments—while you bite your lip and close your eyes, not knowing if she will change her mind, if this has all been a dream coming to an abrupt end in a sterile environment. Not knowing if this is your time. Not knowing so much.

I’ve seen you look down into a newborn infant’s eyes, wondering if he’s really yours, wondering if you can quiet your mind and good sense long enough to give yourself over completely.

And then, to have the child in your arms, at home, that first night. His little fingers curled around yours. His warm heart beating against yours.

I know that bliss. The perfect, guarded, hopeful bliss.

I also know about you on adoption day. The nerves that morning, the judge, the formality, the relief, the joy. The letting out of a breath maybe you didn’t even know you were holding for months. Months.

I’ve seen you meet your child’s birthparents and grandparents weeks or years down the road. I’ve seen you share your child with strangers who have his nose, his smile … people who love him because he’s one of them. I’ve seen you hold him in the evenings after those visits, when he’s shaken and confused and really just wants a stuffed animal and to rest his head on your shoulder.

I’ve seen you worry when your child brings home a family tree project from school. Or a request to bring in photos of him and his dad, so that the class can compare traits that are passed down, like blue eyes or square chins. I know you worry, because you can protect your child from a lot of things — but you can’t protect him from being different in a world so intent on celebrating sameness.

I’ve seen you at the doctor’s office, filling out medical histories, leaving blanks, question marks, hoping the little blanks don’t turn into big problems later on.

I’ve seen you answer all of the tough questions, the questions that have to do with why, and love, and how much, and where, and who, and how come, mama? How come?

I’ve seen you wonder how you’ll react the first time you hear the dreaded, “You’re not my real mom.” And I’ve seen you smile softly in the face of that question, remaining calm and loving, until you lock yourself in the bathroom and muffle your soft cries with the sound of the shower.

I’ve seen you cringe just a little when someone says your child is lucky to have you. Because you know with all your being it is the other way around.

But most of all, I want you to know that I’ve seen you look into your child’s eyes. And while you will never see a reflection of your own eyes there, you see something that’s just as powerful: A reflection of your complete and unstoppable love for this person who grew in the midst of your tears and laughter, and who, if torn from you, would be like losing yourself.

Matching Grant Opportunity

We just received our paperwork for the approved Brittany's Hope Seedling Grant! We have been approved for $2,000 IF we raise $1,000 of it. In other words, we raise $1,000 and they will match that $1,000! Great deal. So you can literally double your contribution by sending it straight to Brittany's Hope on our behalf. If we raise OVER $1,000 they will NOT match that but keep it for other families. We are asking that anyone who wishes to donate to Brittany's Hope on our behalf that they let us know the amount so we can inform everyone how close we are to the $1,000. You can email us at kimmpell@gmail.com or our personal emails as well.

Here is the link to our family page at Brittany's Hope:
*******UPDATE: IT IS FILLED!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!

Thank you so much for checking in and for sharing our story. We are eager to get an update on our angel Gabriel, so keep checking back!