Raising Funds

It's how Politicians become President and how this family will bring Pasha home. If you choose to donate, I promise there will be no drama. . no Supreme Court involvement.. .I will send you a thank you card once sweet baby boy is home. . ..

Believe me, I know. . .fundraising is NO fun at all. It is really misleading to have FUN anywhere in that word.. .but I am trying to make it fun and easy for all involved. Here is the deal. I know there are people that may not agree with fundraising for adoption. I get it. I would have never asked anyone for help paying for Eli's Birth, or any of the medical costs associated with Beckett. So why would I even ask for help with this? It is really quite simple and I will state my reasons and leave it. I will not preach.
Simply put, I firmly believe that these children should not be left to languish in an institution simply because of money. It is wrong. Not everyone wants to make the commitment to bring an orphan home. I understand that too. It is really simple to help those that DO want to see the orphan crisis end. .. and it can be as easy as spreading the word about an adoptive family, praying for them and donating.. .every single dollar helps.

Because it doesn't have to be this way...

Lucky for us we did not have to spend $25k to bring Eli home. I know if you add up our co-pays and insurance premiums. . .blah blah blah..it still cost a fair chunk, but it was not a lump sum of cash straight out of our account.
Our adoption is flying. ..we should be able to submit our paperwork next week or the week after. . .We have been working for a little over a month on this. Racing to get to Pasha. .. to make up for the past 6 months. Six month with little (if any) cuddle time. Rationed food that likely left his tummy grumbling. Six months of having his diaper changed only once or twice (if he is lucky) a day. See why we are really pressing ourselves?
Coming up with $25k in 7 months or less is daunting. As I stated, I cashed out my retirement to help cover costs. . .but it does not cover the entire cost. DOH! Keeping that in mind, Pasha may come home with larger medical needs than we are anticipating. It would be prudent to have some of that retirement fund sitting there when we arrive home to cover his medical care. Just as an example, if each of our Facebook friends donated $20 we would be half way funded. We could cover the rest. Done. Not all of our facebook friends will donate and that is totally okay. I just wanted to illustrate just how simple it could be. Every little bit does add up.

We have an ongoing fundraiser through 147millionorphans.com. There is a handy dandy button to the right.  .use that link to purchase some lovely advocacy apparel.

Lolasitas!

There is also a fundraiser through Lolasitas awesome shop on Etsy. A portion of every sale will go to our adoption fund. She has awesome blankets that would be perfect for gifting! Make sure you use our name when purchasing.

One of our AWESOME Auction Items. .. 

We will have an online auction on Facebook. Click here to access the auction.We (mostly Annie T, Annie I am SO grateful for your help!) has gotten some amazingly cute items to bid on. .. so simply put: Look at cute pictures. Give us ALL your money. Convince your friends to give us ALL their money as well. Pasha will come home and we will be so grateful. Seriously, bidding on the items will start on July 20th at 10am Pacific time. Shipping will be included unless you live out of the country and then I will negotiate with you.. .perhaps I will cover the extra shipping costs. Please do share with your friends. This auction will last one week only. . so check back often to make sure your bid is still the highest. All the donations have been generously offered by shop owners trying to make a living .. .so please note the links to every item and visit their shops! If your bid is the highest, then you will donate the amount of your bid here. Here is the BONUS. .. you have scored a cute new item AND your donation is tax deductible. . WIN-WIN! See, it is kinda fun. Right?

I will be throwing an 80s Dance Party Fundraiser (there's the FUN!) in August. I will post more when it gets closer to the time. . .I know you are on the edge of your seat.

Thank you so much for your time and for giving us your support! Pasha and I appreciate it more than we can say! If I haven't said it before, I don't expect anyone to donate, but I hope and pray that this adoption can be completed without acquiring a large debt. If you cannot or will not donate. .. I still love you and hope that you will keep us in your prayers!

Guest Post: Lauren Horton

The Hortons are working diligently to bring home 2 lovely girls from Eastern Europe. They have been working tirelessly to raise funds and jump through the many hoops for the day that they get to see and hold their baby girls, which they have heard should be in August. They are still in need of donations (5000.00 to be more exact) so please visit their FSP to donate. I offered Lauren Horton the chance to write a post on my blog. . .


Our poem for Isabelle


The night is dark.
The hours long.
Tummy rumbles….diapers soaked.
Far off moaning
She hears screams
Banging…yelling…

Daylight Breaks
The hours long
Tummy rumbles…diapers soaked.
She chews her wrists, she bangs her head
Tummy rumbles, diapers soaked.

Daddy PRAYS
Mama WEEPS
Our valentine girl…you are OUR heart
It’s been too long!



Isabelle was born on Valentines day
She is ten years old and was transferred from her Orphanage to an Adult Institution when she was four. Our valentine girl…you are OUR heart. It’s been too long!













Letter to Milena

Our Sweet Daughter,
Your eyes call to us…we have your picture at our kitchen table….your brothers and sisters talk to you all the time. We hold hands and pray for you at dinner. We our so sad and sorry that you are not well. Our hearts break that there is no one to hold you and snuggle up with you and sing sweet songs to you and give your yummy toes a little tickle, no one to make sure that you are getting all the care you need so you can get BETTER!
Milena, you have not been forgotten, you are loved. Milena, you are perfect just the way God made you. We are coming sweet girl!


Love,
Your waiting family


Milena has Down syndrome, she is three years old and weighs only 11 pounds. Her condition is tenuous at best. She desperately needs to come home and receive proper medical care and nutrition.

The Hortons would love any assistance you can provide through prayer, donations and by spreading their cause. Thank you!

Parallels

In the fall of 2004 I agreed to a spur of the  moment trip up Mt Kenya. I was committed to seizing the moment; in every moment possible. Ill prepared but committed, I headed up the mountain. It was to take us 3 days to hike up and two days back. . .I think. My memory on this is incredibly foggy.
On the 3rd day of this hike, we woke up at 2am to hit the trail by 3. Evidently the sunrise from the mountain was breathtaking and not to be missed. I had not slept well, unbeknownst to me at the time, this was due to the altitude. All I knew was that it was difficult to breathe, very painful. Despite this, I was revved up and looking forward to getting to the top. My hiking mates were a tad concerned about my apparent inability to breathe but I assured them that it would surely wear off as I warmed up.

We hiked straight up the side of the mountain in the pre- dawn darkness and I was wheezing in no time at all. I took a few breaks but kept walking through the wheezing, nausea and dizziness.....two hours later, I was at 4500 meters...and I could not breathe. I began to hyperventilate and dry heave at the same time. My friend K sat down with me....well, I collapsed and he sat and tried to calm my breathing down.The porter and guide urged me to turn back but I refused. My legs were not tired, surely I could make it, but no more than five minutes later...hypervenitlating, I passed out. When I came to, my friend K was not pleased and was very concerned. He picked me up and started to carry me down the mountain. I was more than embarrassed and did not want him to miss the sunrise on the mountain so I convinced him that I was fine, that he should definitely continue up the mountain. The porter would take me down the rest of the way. .K assured me that I would not die on the mountain and Martin the Porter would guide me back down the mountain. As soon as K left, I again passed out. I have no idea how many times this happened and for how long.

This is my friend Alex on the first day of the hike. Martin the Porter is leaning against the car. 

Martin the Porter was a tiny little man and I am sure I outweighed him. By alot. I could not maintain consciousness. When I came to, he was shaking me and telling me to stand up...but I could not;  so he literally dragged me down the mountain on my butt. I was in and out of consciousness for the next hour or so down the mountain. Everytime he tried to make me stand up, I would pass out. At some point I cuddled up against a rock. When I began to feel warm, I knew that the end was near and I  tried to say my prayers, but was getting them all confused in my head.....I was so terrified. Martin kept shaking me and I yelled at him..."leave me be....I am gonna die here...." I dont think he understood enough english...but I was pretty abusive to him, poor guy. I begged him to radio for help casue I was dying. There was no radio. No help. I was toast. If I could not stand up. . .how was I to get to a lower elevation?  We had an hour to go...and I still could not stand or keep awake. He threw my arm around his shoulder and began to drag me down the mountain. I was still in and out.....at one point, I woke up to see us both on our feet skidding down this gravel landslide.....I cannot remember how we stopped, but remember thinking that if the altitude sickness did not kill me, I was surely going to fall to my death.

I cannot remember how  Igot down the mountain, I think he carried me...He did get me down the mountain and into my sleeping bag. He then proceeded wake me up every 10 minutes (his revenge?) to make sure I was alive. But I was  alive. ..barely. I had a 7.5 hour hike to a lower elevation in the morning. I could not see well, my vision was blurry, I was still vomitting. Breathing and consciousness was not guarranteed. It was a rough trip to say the least. (For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altitude_sickness)

I learned quite a bit from this little Carpe Diem nightmare, most importantly. . .NEVER UNDERESTIMATE  A PORTER. 

Porter

BOY, Born August 10, 2005

PORTER HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED 

Don’t mind this pink shirt, Porter is a BOY.    He is HIV+, stage 3.   He is mildly cognitively delayed as well.

From his medical records:   HIV stage 3, without immunosuppression, delay of psychomotor and speech development, bacillosis

For more info and parent support on adopting and raising a child with HIV, please visit http://www.projecthopeful.org/

$2050.60 is available towards the cost of my adoption!

Donations are tax deductible.

Meet Porter. Dark beautiful hair, bright trusting eyes. This boy is officially lost. I bet he wants to give up, perhaps curl up next to a rock, say his prayers and give up. I do not blame him. He is 6 years old and was recently transferred to a mental institution. There are NO toys at this institution. No books. No playing. No laughter. Literally, people in this insititution sit all day, staring at the walls, often rocking to soothe themselves. They do not rock as part of their condition, but from a lack of stimulation. This is a place that no one should be sent, let alone a little boy with so much promise, so much to live for. 

Please read more about the Lost Boys here. Knowledge is power. Change is possible. These children deserve homes and should not be lost. Porter is suffering a fate through NO choice of his own. He has not decided to move to this facility. He has not chosen to have HIV. He did not choose abandonment. .. please help him live a brighter, happier life! 

Squirmy awkward feelings. . .

I am well aware of the humbling nature of parenting. Those lovely moments when your child(ren) make you want to run to the nearest corner and hide your face. .. admit defeat and curl in the fetal position. Yes, I am well aware of that aspect of parenting. I experienced it last night, twice. .. .while attempting to join my voice with others in my community for the Fortnight for Freedom. Instead of praying or getting sleepy and cuddly (it was nearing his bedtime and throwing off our nightly routine) he was trying to blow out the candles from his seat. Twirling. . .clapping after every reading.. . you know the drill. Yes, the church has a cry room, but the snot and bodily fluids are nearly visible on the pews, the floors and the walls. It is grim. Grrrrrr-im.

I was admitting defeat and leaving mid-service. . .making the walk of shame down the aisle when I spotted my sister and her family. 

Well, I couldn't just leave, so we scooted in next to them for another awkward experience. Eli was so excited as he LOVES his cousins. As evidenced by him putting his hands on his cousin's legs and leaning forward so close it looked like he  was going to kiss him on the mouth. Something our family doesn't do. . ..instead of kissing, Eli sniffed him. Not loudly enough for people around to know what was happening, nope, quietly enough that the whole scene was simply strange and uncomfortable. Mostly for me, I think. And maybe for Eli's cousin.

This morning Eli woke up laughing. I love when he does that. .. .sweet giggles. "I sniffed Chris, Mama. He was trying to pray and I sniffed him." Giggles. I giggled at his delight but I blushed again as well. Sigh. .. the joys of parenting. 

I must be a little crazy because I cannot wait to see the million and one ways that Pasha will make me blush and cringe. I hope he will find joy as easily as Eli does. I have so many hopes! Eager does not begin to describe how I feel about holding him, claiming him and loving him forever.

Our process is chugging full steam ahead and if it continues, we should be submitted to Pasha's country in about 2 weeks and travel will follow 8 weeks later. . .this means travel in the fall. SO fast. I have buried myself in the paper chase and mulled over fundraising ideas.. .but continued donating to other families instead. I am FAR more comfortable helping other families. Asking for assistance is totally cringe worthy. Thus starts the humbling nature of parenting. .. all without the reward of cuddles, giggles and slobbery kisses. It is nerve-wracking, totally doable but nerve-wracking nonetheless. God willing, the cuddles, giggles and kisses will soon follow!

As I stated many moons ago, I cashed out my retirement to fund this adoption. After the government took it's fair share, the amount deposited will not fully cover the adoption expenses. Fundraising will have to be done. Sigh. How to go about it? I am uncomfortable with this. There are so many kids in need of homes, so many children with far more need, children that have been waiting far too long. . .Pasha is not one of these children, does this mean that he doesn't deserve a family. .. does it mean that I should not fundraise? Obviously he deserves a family, though I am not sure he deserves a life of being sniffed by his big brother, but who am I to decide that? I want him home before he is old enough to understand that he is in an orphanage. Desperately. So I will do what I can to make this happen. I hope that this can be forgiven.

I am working on a couple of ideas: a rummage sale (though I have heard that these can be nightmares and headaches,) a giveaway and an auction. For those that live nearby, I am also trying to throw an 80s Dance Party Benefit.. . .still waiting on a response from the venue. In the meantime, should I take up a post on the side of the road? 

If anyone has any items that they would like to see on a giveaway or any items they would like to donate (or if you would simply like to donate to our fund) that would be GREATLY appreciated. Perhaps with enough peer pressure, dear hubby will agree to participate in my original fundraising idea: "I want to do a dance for you." For this fundraiser, people would donate a set amount and email me one song request. I would then video my husband busting a move to that song. . . .and I would send it to the donor. Awesome right?? Well he agreed until he actually thought about it. . .. then he came up with several (lame) excuses as to why it was not a good idea. Sigh. 

I will keep you all posted on hubby's willingness to be a dancer for hire.. . .

Until then I will be hiding my face in the corner; hoping and praying that God works this out for us!

If you are interested in helping some other families:
http://jenniferloveslobsters.blogspot.com

http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=horton

http://journeytoreunitetwoangels.blogspot.com/

 www.savingourstarfish.blogspot.com

http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsor-a-family-2

Mega Millions

As I sit here and dream about what I would have done had I won MegaMillions I am overwhelmed with how much easier my life would be. Surely I could adopt Mark and any other child that caught my heart as money would be no object. I could help so many other children secure families with that money. I would live in a house with storage, not a 1920's house built before closets were "discovered."

I could help my kids at Nyumbani. The children that first stole my heart. Taught me unconditional, fearless love and unending faith. The children that taught me more than I could ever verbalize. . .thankfully I think they all know the depths of my love for them.

I could do SO much good with that money. Not just could, I WOULD.  I really thought that God SHOULD let me win!! I would be an awesome rich person.

But then I think back to the years I spent traveling to and from Kenya. Kenya became my sanctuary. The one place that never failed to center me. The truth of the matter is this: Kenya was my sanctuary due to the simplicity of my life there. There is SO much freedom in simplicity. It is really indescribable.

Life was not easy in Kenya. There was so much heartbreak. So much poverty. Poverty. The likes I had never seen before. So much unrest. So much hard work.  But there was also joy. Loads of joy. Boundless faith. Love.When I first arrived in Kenya the slow pace of life threatened to drive me mad! I could not downshift from the break neck pace of life I had in Oregon. Once I got over that,  my days seemed to last forever, filled to the brim with unforgettable moments. I never lost time in Kenya. I can easily lose hours here. 

I cannot claim to own too many belongings. I do not live an extravagant life. I do not wish to. However, what I do own still seems to easily distract me from what is most important. Life is SO short and yet I waste quite a bit of it in front of the TV. Watching other people live and experience life. What a waste!

I rarely missed TV in Kenya. Hot showers- those I often missed but it never ruined my day. Having to wash my laundry by hand and hang it to dry. . ..not fun. But it was worthwhile work. The lack of fast food was sometimes difficult since I really do not like cooking, but even that was do-able and there was joy when I was actually able to cook on the makeshift stove I had.

The beauty and wonder of my surroundings were never lost on me. It was all I had sometimes to occupy my mind. Well, that and my little Lazarus. (I will definitely need to blog about him and my attempts to adopt him sometime.)

Is he not the cutest little bundle of trouble?? Oh how I love him!

I always marveled at past Lottery winners complaining about how the winnings ruined their lives. I often mocked them and thought how I would never have the problems they experienced. I had discipline and morals. . ..right? I had focus and I didn't need or want to accumulate too much stuff, I just wanted life to be easier.

Back to Kenya. Life was not easy, but I can honestly say, those years were the HAPPIEST of my life. I would not change anything. It does not mean that I am not happy now. I have my family and I could not be more fulfilled. But Kenya, my Kenya. You have given and taken so much from me . . . and it was all worth it. The absence of a TV, a Car, hot showers, McDonald's, more than 2 pairs of shoes, the absence of pride, of comfort. . . .it gave me more than any mega millions win could have.

So, what a long and meandering way to make my point. It is trite and glib to simply say that "money doesn't buy happiness." Well in really considering what life would be like had I had the "good fortune" of winning Megamillions, I wonder what would have been lost. How distracted I may have become from what is really important in life. How many experienced tainted by luxury and how many friendships soured by suspicion and greed? Perhaps the money and responsibility of it would be become burdensome. Perhaps my marriage would have suffered. WHO KNOWS. It is a gift that I won clarity and simplicity instead of money.