The Next Day

Wow, it feels GOOD to have a big thing behind us!  Corbin's surgery went well and he is such a trooper.  The nurses all laughed and joked about how smart, articulate and independent he is for such a young person.  He told the recovery nurse, "I don't want you talking to me right now."  Yepp, that's our boy!  I had brought him a sippy of coconut water and juice for him to drink in recovery and the nurse asked him, "Is that apple juice?"  He looked at her crazy and said, "NO!  It's just REGULAR juice!"  Once I got a hold of my bitty and got his clothes on him, they all cooed about how handsome he is.  Yepp.  My boy is so much like  his daddy!  He might get that sass and chatiness from his momma, though ;)

A new friend from small group came around 10am to hang out with Violet.  She is one lucky little duck, because they went to the Kansas City aquarium!  We haven't been there yet.  I was told that her very favorite parts were any parts with sharks.  My kids have a strange obsession with sharks.  haha

 On the way there he had lots of sass for momma.  He said he wanted to see the doctor, but he didn't want the doctor to fix his eye again.  Me either, bud.  To be fair, he was pretty hungry and thirsty and tired.  I was grateful that they put his cutoff time for food at 7am, though.  I woke him up early with sourdough pancakes, bacon, eggs and chocolate milk. 

 He felt a lot better once we got there and had a million toys to play with.  We had pre-registered, so all the time in the waiting room was for nothing.  We didn't get called back until 12.

 Once we went back and got his vitals (except he whined himself out of having to get his blood pressure taken) they asked him to change into his gown.  This did NOT last long...he wanted nothing to do with it.  We sat there a LONG time and he refused the goofy juice, too.

 There we are, sans jammies.  It was COLD in that room, I do not know how he was functioning like he was.  They finally came to get him about 1:30.  They took him back completely lucid, which was hard for me.  He reached for me and whined, and then when I was out of reach he covered his eyes and whimpered. 

In the waiting room I ate some lunch (I couldn't stand the idea of eating when he couldn't, so I was pretty shaky by that point.)  and was in there a little over an hour when the surgeon came down to let me know the surgery had gone great.  Then I had to wait 45 more minutes until he was out of the first recovery.

 Yeah, I look amazing...anyway.  He stayed naked that whole time, he didn't want the gown, he wouldn't let them put a blankie on him and he only wanted the stuff his mommy left with him (his favorite sheet with the alphabet on it and his sippy of juice.)  When they started wheeling him out, I could hear him telling the nurse, "I want my mommy now!"  I wanted my boy, too!

 We had to wait around for about 40 minutes because when he was in recovery he had a croupy cough so they gave him a breathing treatment.  During that time there was lots more sass and lots of cuddles and he got to have the rest of his juice, some goldfish crackers and some grapes.  He was really hungry!  When we finally got to leave, it took him all of about 7 minutes in the car to pass out again.  It's hard work to have a surgery.

 When we got home, he was still sleeping and daddy was home from work with the girls.  We took some time to clean up the house until he was ready to get up and when he came in, the girls were all over him.  He is their favorite little man!  We got him LOTS of food and he was so happy all night.  We all curled up and watched a movie together and passed out pretty quickly. 

Today has been lots of screaming and toddler-ness.  It's loads of fun, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I'm so glad to have Corbin home and healthy.  We have to keep him inside as much as possible for a few days, and give him eye drops that he hates 4x/day for 10 days, but that's okay.

And here is my handsome man.  I've been staring at this picture all day.  He's growing out his whiskers, which he has never done and he looks darn good!  To be fair, he ALWAYS looks pretty darn good, but he makes Kansas feel like home with his whiskers and sweater and this cold weather.  He's just so all-American.  Who are these beautiful people the Lord has given me?

Today is full of busy-ness, but it is only today.  I fed the sourdough starter, cooked and pureed the pumpkins, figured out dinner and meals for the boys while we're gone.  I did the rest of the laundry and fetched a dead chicken from the hen house (Corbin's hen died last night...we don't know why, there are no marks.  I'm sad about this when I stop to think about it, but we will bury her to help the kids grieve).  I still need to pack some bags for the me and the girls so we can leave first thing in the morning.

It's a crazy week, but we feel so blessed.  So many people have been praying for us and checking on us and loving on us and I'm amazed that we can so readily see God's presence in all of this and these people when everything should be falling apart.  By Tuesday we should have most of the big things taken care of...trip to see dad, the job situation.  Then we'll be moving onto other todays.

Love and miss you all!
~Tara

Tomorrow's Worries

Maybe today, tomorrow's worries are catching up with me.  Today, though, I have some planning to do.

Tomorrow is Corbin's 3rd eye surgery.  This one is far more involved than the other two have been.  The other surgeries were about fifteen minutes long.  The surgeon wrote down ninety for this one.  This one carries more risk, but this one is not as risky as the surgery he *really* needs and will likely have some day in the future-unless God works a miracle.  He's in that business, you know.  But from the doctors' points of view, Corbin will have to have a DCR when he is a little bigger.  It's a tricky surgery so all other surgeries have been, in effect, just stalling the inevitable.  We are grateful to be in the hands of a skilled surgeon.  We are grateful that we moved to a place that so happens to have the surgeon most experienced in this kind of pediatric surgery.  We are grateful to put this third surgery behind us tomorrow.

Allan's job is...how shall I say this?  He's on a sinking ship, and we've been figuring out ways to jump ship and come out ahead.  There's a lot of prayer going on here, and we're grateful that all doors are shutting except for one.  The one door that is opened will be hard.  It will be extremely trying, difficult, crazy...it will be incredibly rewarding and if it pans out we could finally stop bailing water.  All glory to God for any good things that happen to us!

My dad's condition has deteriorated even more.  He went back to the hospital after being home for a few months and they are now "keeping him comfortable."  I feel an urgency to see him.  I feel trapped because this weekend, Corbin will be newly post-op.  Next weekend we have a friend and her family coming to see us (PRAISE GOD!).  The following weekend we are flying up to PA to see Allan's grandma for "the last time" as she puts it.  She's also gifting us her 94 sedan that will be a much more reliable vehicle than my Jeep (PRAISE GOD!) Then starts the Thanksgiving and Christmas busy-ness and WOAH, the end of the year will be here before I can blink.

ONE.DAY.AT.A.TIME. Tara.

So...since this weekend is really the only one semi-free, and I feel like the longer I wait, the less likely it will be that he even knows that I'm there, Allan and I are discussing the possibility of just me and the girls going up for a fly-by-night visit.  I can't stomach the idea of taking Corbin so far from his doctors or exposing him to all the hospital super-bugs 2 days post-op with surgical wounds, so he and Allan will stay home.  We are thankful to be a two-parent family so that trips like this are possible.  We are thankful that we have an opportunity to go-even if it's not ideal-this weekend.  We are thankful that I might be able to give my dad's heart some peace with my visit.

Planning.  Today's task is planning.  And I don't think we can afford it-really.  But I read something the other day that just defines everything.

"Not having money should not keep you from doing the right thing.  Ever."

God will provide.  We will be more than fine.  We will continue doing the right thing and He will continue to provide for all we need.  For our DAILY.BREAD.  Because we're committing to living ONE.DAY.AT.A.TIME. For His glory.

ONE.DAY.AT.A.TIME.

I have been using this mantra with myself over and over again.  Onedayatatime.  People say that all the time, but do we ever stop to think about what it really means?  I thought it was cute, but idealistic.  Who can really live one day at a time?  We need to plan for things, we need to prepare. 

Last week I felt broken. I don't understand some things.  I don't understand why the momentum on the adoption front was so great and then it felt like it just stopped.  I don't understand why my little man has to have another surgery on  his eye.  I don't understand why some companies have to treat their employees like crap and then lie about it so they don't get into trouble.  I don't understand why we can't take the kids to do fun things or buy the things we need to buy as soon as we need them.  I don't understand why so many of my friends have moved on when I'm still right in the thick of missing them.

So in my exhaustion, I talked to God and I told Him, fine.  I will do this one day at a time.  But that phrase had a new meaning.  It means me looking around and asking God, "What do You have for me to do today."  Somedays that means picking up after little people and being sure there's a meal on the table at night.  Somedays that means doing some planning ahead-like meal planning or grocery shopping or asking for a sitter while Corbin's having his surgery.

It's amazing, because I feel like I have so much more time.  Sometimes when I'm still and quiet, I can hear Him say, "Go watch a video with Corbin and Violet."  It's something I did automatically with GraceAnne because I was so sick when she was little, but I don't do it as often with these two.  So I listen and I feel so blessed to have these amazing little people in my life.  The whole day goes more smoothly and the stresses seem to lift.

Tomorrow has its own worries, and we have plenty of reason to be concerned with tomorrow, but we have so much more reason to take hope in today!  God is good and He will not fail us, even when we don't understand. 

What do I have to do for today?

Make a menu plan
Get the littles dressed
Grocery shop
Possibly go to Target for some tennis shoes
Pick GraceAnne up from school
Get dinner on the table.
Pray with my family...many times
Find something to do to make all my loved ones feel loved.
Get lots of rest so this cold will heal.

How about you?  What do you have to do for today?

That's all I got.

How do I write my heart?  It's broken right now, but I know full well it's only for a small time.  God will renew me and I'll mount up on wings like eagles again.  But for right now, I'm just sad.  Momentum was fantastic and all summer everything was going so quickly, all on its own.  Then as soon as we had something to do for ourselves, we started hitting brick walls-again.

Notice that?  No, it's not lost on me.  When we leave it all up to God, it gets accomplished.  When we start doing things on our own, we grow weary and broken-hearted. 

Don't get me wrong-there have been so many victories in this.  People have stepped up to the plate to help us and we are so incredibly grateful.  I just need to remember where my help comes from. 

And I need to rest.  All three of the kids and I are sick.  Head colds, I guess, but we're all miserable and kinda grouchy and very tired. 

The pastor at the church we've been attending preached on Sunday about some steps to following Christ.  He played a video clip about a family who got lost in a corn maze and dialed 911 to come rescue them.  In the video, people were pretty incredulous and gave people tips on how to get through the maze.

1. Listen for the cars...the end of the maze is near the parking lot, so just listen for the cars and walk that way.
2. Look up at the treeline. 
3. (Pastor's addition) Walk straight through the corn.

When you're walking through a maze and you keep hitting dead ends, it's easy to just throw your hands up, sit down, weep and get ready to call 911.  But then it's time to find your horizon.  My Horizon is Christ and too often I get my marching orders and then I'm like, "OH!  I can do *this* to get to that place!"  Maybe "this" is what I'm supposed to do and maybe it's not, but I have been guilty of looking at the treeline, finding North and looking back down to figure out how I can navigate the terrain to get to North.  Then I feel discouraged when ONE.MORE.TIME. I'm stuck. 

My marching orders right now are to take GraceAnne to school.  Then go to the recycle center.  Then to come home and nurse these sick babies.  Past that, I don't know.  And I guess that's how it should be and I guess that's going to have to be okay.  Type A personality, be damned.  Literally.

Raffle for over $500 in prizes! Ends 10/15/12

What can you WIN!?

Tier 1=Pampered Chef. We have a total of 14 prizes (14 winners!) worth over $250 total.

We need to sell a minimum total of 75 sticker sheets to draw for Tier 1. 

 

Tier 1 Items: 

Mini Scoop & Measure (5.50 value)

Twixit Clips (6.00 value)

Tie Its (7.50 value)

Soups, Stews & Chilis cookbook (8.00 value)

Cranberry Microfiber towel (8.50 value)

Large Serving Spatula (10.00 value)

Bar Board (10.00 value)

Slotted Bamboo spoon set (11.00 value)

Make it Fresh, Make it Healthy cookbook (15.00 value)

2-cup prep bowl set (16.00 value)

Batter Bowl Set includes small batter bowl and large batter bowl (28.50 value)

Ridged Baker (30.00 value)

Large Bar Pan (35.00 value)

Dressed Up Desserts Gift Bundle Bundle includes Shimmering Glass Round Platter, Beaded Cake & Pie Server and The Pampered Chef® Chocolate cookbook. (59.50 value)

Tier 2= Equal Exchange. We have 17 prizes (17 winners!) worth $235 total

We need to sell a minimum*total* (including entries from Tier 1) of 150 pencils to draw for Tier 2.

 

Tier 2 Items:

(6) 20 ct boxes Organic Chai Tea. Fairly Traded (6 winners worth $5 each)

(2) 12oz canisters Organic Hot Cocoa Mix (2 winners worth $8 each)

(6) 12oz bags Organic Breakfast Blend Coffee. Fairly Traded. (6 winners worth $11 each)

Beautiful Body Care Kit includes 2 bars handmade soap scented with cucumber and coconut and a natural fiber body scrubber tied together in a palm leaf basket ($18 value)

Crowd Pleaser Gift Basket includes 1 ground coffee, 2 chocolate bars, 1 hot cocoa, 1 tea in a grass basket ($45 value)

Fair Trader Gift Basket includes 2 ground coffees, 4 chocolate bars, 1 hot cocoa, 1 tea in a grass basket ($60 value)

Tier 3=Your choice of prize worth $75. Do you need a spa day? Do you want to take your spouse to a great dinner date? Do you need a g/c to help with Christmas presents? This is 1 gift, 1 winner, your choice. $75 value.

We need to sell a minimum*total* (including entries from the first 2 Tiers) of 250 pencils to draw for Tier 3.

Tier 3 Items:A prize of winner's choice totalling $75. If your name is drawn for this prize, you can choose a gas card, restaurant gift card, gift card to Toys R Us, or whatever your heart desires, (for $75) as long as I can purchase the prize online and have it shipped directly to you.  We absolutely will put a restriction on this, as we are FAMILY with conservative values, so we will NOT purchase you a naughty magazine subscription, a case of beer or a gift certificate to the gift shop at your local nudist colony.  Moving on.

Questions?  Leave a message below

Ready?  Set...Here are the buttons to purchase your stickers/pencils and recieve your FREE bonus entries for the raffle!

5.00 sticker sheet+ 1 FREE raffle entry

20.00 pencil + 5 FREE raffle entries

 

After you click and purchase, remember to SHARE!!

Thanks so much and God Bless!

 



ONE FREE ENTRY PER PERSON! (All other entries are also free, but "bonus entries") a Rafflecopter giveaway

the not-so-fine print



To adhere to Kansas rules, the raffle is FREE, but your 5.00 donation will purchase you a *real* sheet of stickers. With the purchase of a sheet of stickers, you will recieve ONE FREE ENTRY into the raffle. Your 20.00 donation will purchase you a *real* pencil. With the purchase of a pencil, you will recieve FIVE FREE ENTRIES into the raffle. You will actually recieve those items purchased in the mail after the winners of the raffle are drawn on Monday, October 15th. If you are one of the lucky winners of the FREE raffle, then your purchase will be included in your prize package. 

So we are selling stickers and pencils and GIVING AWAY raffle tickets for what I will call a "tiered" fundraiser. A $5 sticker will earn you 1 entry into the giveaway. A $20 pencil will earn you 5 entries. I will include "checkout buttons" on the side and bottoms of the fundraising posts.

Our goal is to have at least 250 entries.

IMPORTANT: ANY AND ALL FUNDS RAISED FROM THE SALE OF STICKERS OR PENCILS WILL GO DIRECTLY TO PURCHASING PRIZES AND SHIPPING THEM. REMAINING DONATIONS WILL FUND OUR HOMESTUDY. IF ANY MONEY REMAINS AFTER, IT WILL BE SAVED FOR FUTURE ADOPTION COSTS

THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!

The Deets:
We will close this raffle on Monday, October 15th so that our homestudy packet can be turned in on the 18th (time for the money to deposit into the adoption account) when we take Corbin in for his pre-op appointment. (Both are about 40 minutes away in the same direction, so I'd love to take 1 trip instead of 2) I will draw for the winners via randomizer Monday, October 15th at 9:00PM CST. I will place orders for the prizes that same evening and winners will get their items within 2 weeks.

Entries will be drawn randomly. Each winner wins ONE prize. For example, if entry #351 is drawn for prize 2, Tier 1, the person associated with that entry will win the Pampered Chef Twixit Clip set. 1 person can win more than once, but each entry will be discarded as it is drawn. For example, if you earned 4 entries and your name is drawn for 1 prize, that number will be discarded, but your 3 remaining entries are still in the pool for further drawings.

Remember also: This won't work if you don't SHARE! If you purchase a pencil and recieve 5 entries, but only 10 entries total enter, we can't give away the prizes because our family has to actually pay for these prizes out of the proceeds from your purchases.

The Officially Official "Sale" and FREE Raffle

It turns out that it is illegal to "sell" raffle tickets in the state of Kansas.  To adhere to Kansas rules, the raffle is now FREE, but your 5.00 donation will purchase you a *real* sheet of stickers.  With the purchase of a sheet of stickers, you will recieve ONE FREE ENTRY into the raffle.  Your 20.00 donation will purchase you a *real* pencil.  With the purchase of a pencil, you will recieve FIVE FREE ENTRIES into the raffle.  You will actually recieve those items purchased in the mail after the winners of the raffle are drawn on Monday, October 15th.  If you are one of the lucky winners of the FREE raffle, then your purchase will be included in your prize package. 

You really don't want to miss this raffle, we have over $500 worth of prizes.  See the details below:
If you don't know, our family is in the process of adoption called the "home study"  It is what it sounds like, they study our home and us to make sure we're fit to give more kids to.  We have to pay for the homestudy and aren't eligible for grants until it is complete and we are then "home study ready."  We need the help of our friends and family (and now anyone who wants to win an amazing prize!) to raise the rest of the money we need to be able to turn our booklet in.

So we are selling stickers and pencils and GIVING AWAY raffle tickets for what I will call a "tiered" fundraiser.  A $5 sticker will earn you 1 entry into the giveaway. A $20 pencil will earn you 5 entries.  I will include "checkout buttons" on the side and bottoms of the fundraising posts.

Our goal is to have at least 250 entries.

IMPORTANT: ANY AND ALL FUNDS RAISED FROM THE SALE OF STICKERS OR PENCILS WILL GO DIRECTLY TO PURCHASING PRIZES AND SHIPPING THEM.  REMAINING DONATIONS WILL FUND OUR HOMESTUDY.  IF ANY MONEY REMAINS AFTER, IT WILL BE SAVED FOR FUTURE ADOPTION COSTS

THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!

The Deets:
We will close this raffle on Monday, October 15th so that our homestudy packet can be turned in on the 18th (time for the money to deposit into the adoption account) when we take Corbin in for his pre-op appointment. (Both are about 40 minutes away in the same direction, so I'd love to take 1 trip instead of 2) I will draw for the winners via randomizer Monday, October 15th at 9:00PM CST. I will place orders for the prizes that same evening and winners will get their items within 2 weeks. 

Entries will be drawn randomly.  Each winner wins ONE prize.  For example, if entry #351 is drawn for prize 2, Tier 1, the person associated with that entry will win the Pampered Chef Twixit Clip set.  1 person can win more than once, but each entry will be discarded as it is drawn.  For example, if you earned 4 entries and your name is drawn for 1 prize, that number will be discarded, but your 3 remaining entries are still in the pool for further drawings. 

Remember: Christmas is coming up!  Items you win could go as Christmas presents. 

Remember also: This won't work if you don't SHARE!  If you purchase a pencil and recieve 5 entries, but only 10 entries total enter, we can't give away the prizes because our family has to actually pay for these prizes out of the proceeds from your purchases. 

Now for the fun part...what can you WIN!?

Tier 1=Pampered Chef. We have a total of 14 prizes (14 winners!) worth over $250 total.

We need to sell a minimum total of 75 sticker sheets to draw for Tier 1. 

 

Tier 1 Items: 

Mini Scoop & Measure (5.50 value)

Twixit Clips (6.00 value)

Tie Its (7.50 value)

Soups, Stews & Chilis cookbook (8.00 value)

Cranberry Microfiber towel (8.50 value)

Large Serving Spatula (10.00 value)

Bar Board (10.00 value)

Slotted Bamboo spoon set (11.00 value)

Make it Fresh, Make it Healthy cookbook (15.00 value)

2-cup prep bowl set (16.00 value)

Batter Bowl Set includes small batter bowl and large batter bowl (28.50 value)

Ridged Baker (30.00 value)

Large Bar Pan (35.00 value)

Dressed Up Desserts Gift Bundle Bundle includes Shimmering Glass Round Platter, Beaded Cake & Pie Server and The Pampered Chef® Chocolate cookbook. (59.50 value)

Tier 2= Equal Exchange. We have 17 prizes (17 winners!) worth $235 total

We need to sell a minimum*total* (including entries from Tier 1) of 150 pencils to draw for Tier 2.

 

Tier 2 Items:

(6) 20 ct boxes Organic Chai Tea. Fairly Traded (6 winners worth $5 each)

(2) 12oz canisters Organic Hot Cocoa Mix (2 winners worth $8 each)

(6) 12oz bags Organic Breakfast Blend Coffee. Fairly Traded. (6 winners worth $11 each)

Beautiful Body Care Kit includes 2 bars handmade soap scented with cucumber and coconut and a natural fiber body scrubber tied together in a palm leaf basket ($18 value)

Crowd Pleaser Gift Basket includes 1 ground coffee, 2 chocolate bars, 1 hot cocoa, 1 tea in a grass basket ($45 value)

Fair Trader Gift Basket includes 2 ground coffees, 4 chocolate bars, 1 hot cocoa, 1 tea in a grass basket ($60 value)

Tier 3=Your choice of prize worth $75. Do you need a spa day? Do you want to take your spouse to a great dinner date? Do you need a g/c to help with Christmas presents? This is 1 gift, 1 winner, your choice. $75 value.

We need to sell a minimum*total* (including entries from the first 2 Tiers) of 250 pencils to draw for Tier 3.

Tier 3 Items:A prize of winner's choice totalling $75. If your name is drawn for this prize, you can choose a gas card, restaurant gift card, gift card to Toys R Us, or whatever your heart desires, (for $75) as long as I can purchase the prize online and have it shipped directly to you.  We absolutely will put a restriction on this, as we are FAMILY with conservative values, so we will NOT purchase you a naughty magazine subscription, a case of beer or a gift certificate to the gift shop at your local nudist colony.  Moving on.

Questions?  Leave a message below

Ready?  Set...Here are the buttons to purchase your stickers/pencils and recieve your FREE bonus entries for the raffle!

5.00 sticker sheet+ 1 FREE raffle entry

20.00 pencil + 5 FREE raffle entries

 

After you click and purchase, remember to SHARE!!

Thanks so much and God Bless!

ONE FREE ENTRY PER PERSON! (All other entries are also free, but "bonus entries") a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kicking it in the Crotch

What the?

When GraceAnne was little and we still lived in Washington state and I had mono SO BAD, she and I used to watch A LOT of Food Network.  One of our favorites (or maybe it was just on at the time we laid on the couch every day) was Emeril.

 Remember Emeril Legasse?  "BAM!"  "Kick it up a notch!"  "Another notch when we come back!"
Well, sweet GraceAnne really loved Emeril, and when we would cook dinner she would say "BAM, Mommy!  BAM!" 

One day she thought she'd try out his other signature phrase and very enthusiastically said, "KICK IT IN THE CROTCH!"  It has stuck.  So now, for the 2nd attempt at hitting our goal for the home study funds, we will be "kicking it it the crotch." 

If you don't know, our family is in the process of adoption called the "home study"  It is what it sounds like, they study our home and us to make sure we're fit to give more kids to.  We have to pay for the homestudy and aren't eligible for grants until it is complete and we are then "home study ready."  We need the help of our friends and family (and now anyone who wants to win an amazing prize!) to raise the rest of the money we need to be able to turn our booklet in.

So we are selling raffle tickets for what I will call a "tiered" fundraiser.  A $5 donation gets 1 entry into the giveaway. A $20 donation will get 5 entries.  I will include "checkout buttons" on the side and bottoms of the fundraising posts.

Our goal is to have at least 250 entries.

IMPORTANT: ANY AND ALL FUNDS RAISED FROM THIS RAFFLE WITH GO DIRECTLY TO PURCHASING PRIZES AND SHIPPING THEM.  REMAINING DONATIONS WILL FUND OUR HOMESTUDY.  IF ANY MONEY REMAINS AFTER, IT WILL BE SAVED FOR FUTURE ADOPTION COSTS

THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!

The Deets:
We will close this raffle on Monday, October 15th so that our homestudy packet can be turned in on the 18th (time for the money to deposit into the adoption account) when we take Corbin in for his pre-op appointment. (Both are about 40 minutes away in the same direction, so I'd love to take 1 trip instead of 2) I will draw for the winners via randomizer Monday, October 15th at 9:00PM CST. I will place orders for the prizes that same evening and winners will get their items within 2 weeks. 

Entries will be drawn randomly.  Each winner wins ONE prize.  For example, if entry #351 is drawn for prize 2, Tier 1, the person associated with that entry will win the Pampered Chef Twixit Clip set.  1 person can win more than once, but each entry will be discarded as it is drawn.  For example, if you purchase 4 entries and your name is drawn for 1 prize, that number will be discarded, but your 3 remaining entries are still in the pool for further drawings. 

Remember: Christmas is coming up!  Items you win could go as Christmas presents. 

Remember also: This won't work if you don't SHARE!  If you purchase 5 entries, but only 10 entries total enter, we can't give away the prizes because our family has to actually pay for these prizes out of the donations. 

Now for the fun part...what can you WIN!?

Tier 1=Pampered Chef. We have a total of 14 prizes (14 winners!) worth over $250 total.

We need to have a minimum total of 75 entries to draw for Tier 1. 

 

Tier 1 Items: 

Mini Scoop & Measure (5.50 value)

Twixit Clips (6.00 value)

Tie Its (7.50 value)

Soups, Stews & Chilis cookbook (8.00 value)

Cranberry Microfiber towel (8.50 value)

Large Serving Spatula (10.00 value)

Bar Board (10.00 value)

Slotted Bamboo spoon set (11.00 value)

Make it Fresh, Make it Healthy cookbook (15.00 value)

2-cup prep bowl set (16.00 value)

Batter Bowl Set includes small batter bowl and large batter bowl (28.50 value)

Ridged Baker (30.00 value)

Large Bar Pan (35.00 value)

Dressed Up Desserts Gift Bundle Bundle includes Shimmering Glass Round Platter, Beaded Cake & Pie Server and The Pampered Chef® Chocolate cookbook. (59.50 value)

Tier 2= Equal Exchange. We have 17 prizes (17 winners!) worth $235 total

We need to have a minimum*total* (including entries from Tier 1) of 150 entries to draw for Tier 2.

 

Tier 2 Items:

(6) 20 ct boxes Organic Chai Tea. Fairly Traded (6 winners worth $5 each)

(2) 12oz canisters Organic Hot Cocoa Mix (2 winners worth $8 each)

(6) 12oz bags Organic Breakfast Blend Coffee. Fairly Traded. (6 winners worth $11 each)

Beautiful Body Care Kit includes 2 bars handmade soap scented with cucumber and coconut and a natural fiber body scrubber tied together in a palm leaf basket ($18 value)

Crowd Pleaser Gift Basket includes 1 ground coffee, 2 chocolate bars, 1 hot cocoa, 1 tea in a grass basket ($45 value)

Fair Trader Gift Basket includes 2 ground coffees, 4 chocolate bars, 1 hot cocoa, 1 tea in a grass basket ($60 value)

Tier 3=Your choice of prize worth $75. Do you need a spa day? Do you want to take your spouse to a great dinner date? Do you need a g/c to help with Christmas presents? This is 1 gift, 1 winner, your choice. $75 value.

We need to have a minimum*total* (including entries from the first 2 Tiers) of 250 entries to draw for Tier 3.

Tier 3 Items:A prize of winner's choice totalling $75. If your name is drawn for this prize, you can choose a gas card, restaurant gift card, gift card to Toys R Us, or whatever your heart desires, (for $75) as long as I can purchase the prize online and have it shipped directly to you.  We absolutely will put a restriction on this, as we are FAMILY with conservative values, so we will NOT purchase you a naughty magazine subscription, a case of beer or a gift certificate to the gift shop at your local nudist colony.  Moving on.

Questions?  Leave a message below

Ready?  Set...Here are the buttons to donate for your entries!

5.00 donation=1 entry into raffle

20.00 donation=5 entries into raffle

 

After you click and donate, remember to SHARE!!

Thanks so much and God Bless!

Did She go to Vegas?

Hey there folks!  So we didn't meet our deadline, the money is still sitting in the PayPal account waiting for when we can gather it all.  We will probably have to re-submit some forms since they were time sensitive but we are still doing this thing.

Here's the latest breakdown of funds:

Total fees for home study: 1231.80

PayPal balance: (Donations by people like you!) 469.19  (OMG!  I am so completely blown away and in awe!)
Change jar raid: 200.24
Cash Donations: 40.00
Checks by mail: 85.00
____________________________________
794.43

Fees-Balance=437.37

That's not much!  Not when a few weeks ago we were looking at 1231.80 and wondering how in the world!  That's only 88 more people giving $5 each.  Rest assured, we are looking around the house for things to sell, but we've already gotten rid of most of our "stuff."  I have been eye-balling Allan's parts truck for the scrap metal, though.  We'll see how that goes. 

I haven't been around much the last couple of days because we always get paid the first part of the month.  By the end of the month, we are down to pantry shopping (which is why I have a pantry, of course!!) so the first few days of the month are always spent busily driving too many miles to get food that is actually good for us.  Monday we spent most of the day at the park, meeting someone who will be an amazing resource for us.  She has a degree in family therapy and worked closely with adopted children with attachment disorders.  WOAH!

Yesterday the littles and I went down to Overland Park, a bigger town with a Whole Foods and a Costco.  When I have to drive that far, I like to make sure the trip is worth it, so we also met up with a woman selling raw cream and milk.  I have been wanting to add butter back into my diet, but I wanted to add *real* butter, so I met up with her.  Turns out she grew up in foster care, never could be adopted because no one could find her birth mother.  She lived in over 15 different homes and you would never even believe the amazing woman she is.  SO kind and loving and beautiful.  I am so grateful to have met her.  She's 48 and last Thanksgiving her birth mother (in England) found HER, so next week she is meeting her for the very first time.  WOAH!

Last night was our first official foster parenting class, and that was good.  I think I heal more from these trainings we go to for our future adoptive children than anything else ever has.  I am so glad God is walking this path with me before I walk it with a little person!

Today I'm nursing the ickies.  I had 2 cups of my honey/lemon/ginger tea this morning and I'm rocking a super smoothie.  I'm going to try to eat only raw today (except for dinner, I am SO looking forward to baked fish and sweet potato fries!) to see if I can't get this nasty feeling out before tomorrow. 

And that's about it for me.  Tonight is our small group, and GraceAnne has a 4-day weekend.  We're going camping this weekend and the kids are super stoked.  It will be really good to get out of the house and just BE with each other.  It's supposed to be pretty cold this weekend, though, so I need to make sure I really bundle these little Texans.  (Me too.  BRRRRRRR!)

I'm changing out the ticker on the side because the ChipIn button irritates me.  I can't change it to reflect what we've already raised, so buh-bye.  Of course, here is the donate button:

 

 

And please pray that these funds come.  The more time that goes by, the more things expire and then we'll have to come up with fees again (for our background checks, etc) and bother our friends for more reference forms and well, paperwork already abounds, so avoiding extra is always a good thing!  We even got an inch of papers from our foster parent class last night that we get to fill out, too.  (Don't tell anyone, but I do kinda enjoy filling out forms.  Allan marvels at how quickly/efficiently I can do it and have my handwriting still be legible.  What a skill, right?  God knows what He's doing when He passes out the talents ;P )

 

We do so appreciate all that you're doing for us and the love, support and prayers you've given.  It should go without saying that we truly, deeply appreciate the donations, but it shouldn't, in good form, go without saying, so THANK YOU for your help and your generosity.  God will bless you abundantly for helping us and for helping the children He will bring to this household. 

 

All our love!

-Tara