Tuesday, September 7, 2010

It's A Family Affair Fund Raiser!

AMAZING! We're blown away by the generous donations for this fund raiser! Many were given by families that know what's like to fund raise for an adoption. Some who are traveling right now to bring their babes home, others who are still waiting, some who are still fund raising! Others who aren't adopting but want to support us. It amazes me to watch the body of Christ work together to bring these children home. In this case to help us bring our precious daughter home. We're humbled, thankful, and blessed. Thank you.

Without further ado.....


Welcome to our latest fund raiser! We're super excited about this for so many reasons! We love adoption. ;) We also love adoption gear. We REALLY love adoption gear for the whole family. Add in some FUN orphan/widow supporting items and we REALLY get excited! Top that off with MORE gear that is currently being used to help other families bring their babes home and an opportunity to "showcase" it here on our blog which makes for all sorts of excitement going on! Plus some mama and baby items donated by precious friends round out this fund raiser to be one FANTASTIC Family Pack GIVEAWAY! We have so many AMAZING items you won't want to miss out! We'll have one GRAND PRIZE winner who will win EVERYTHING in the family pack! But we also have several extras that we'll also give away!

Now for the items included in this FAMILY PACK!



First up - super cool Pure Religion Shirts donated by The Richards Family. Currently my friend Stacy and her husband Paul are IN China picking up their adorable son Solomon! Stacy has been a prayer warrior, encourager, and amazing support through both Silas' adoption and now this adoption. It has been a complete joy and great honor to walk through this adoption with her all while she herself was in the process of adopting as well. She's a true blue friend and adoption walking partner. I adore Stacy and her sweet family, we're so blessed to call them friends. I would encourage you to check out her blog as they update it during their time in China. Stacy and Paul have donated two children's Pure Religion shirts (pictured above on the left) to our fund raiser FAMILY PACK!

The Marquez Family is super sweet! They designed some AWESOME shirts, above on the right, super cool, I bought one myself and LOVE it! Debbie and Jeff are fund raising for their own adoption but didn't hesitate to donate a T-shirt for our fund raiser. I love that about the adoption community. Always wanting to help each other out. Check out their blog, read their amazing story, and check out their sweet shirts and water bottles!

Next we have the SWEET "Changed" T-shirts (pictured above on the top left and the bottom right) donated by my sweet friend Michelle. The winner will be able to choose TWO shirts from the sizes available. I met Michelle and her husband Chad last year on a missions trip to Ethiopia. We have a kindred spirit in a love for orphans and a love for Ethiopia. Michelle mailed me these shirts to help with our adoption fund raising and we're so thankful! After returning from Ethiopia Michelle and Chad started a non-profit organization called Hope For His Children. In January 2011 Chad and Michelle are leading their first mission trip to Ethiopia! Check out the Changed Blog for more details and ways you can help with donations.

The Maser Family donated a men's Size XL "Adoption" T-shirt (shown above on the top right) for our fund raiser! Jon and Melissa also attend our church and are also in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. Pretty incredible to have three families currently in process with Ethiopian adoptions. Only God. Recently the Masers finished raising their dossier funds and are now working on their referral fee. They designed these sweet shirts to help with that fund raising! Check out their blog for more info on their shirts as well as their jewelry they are also selling.

Oh my cuteness! Seriously! When Stephanie emailed me telling me she wanted to donate something from her shop I was in love. She is one talented mama! Steph at MoonPie Designs is donating ANYTHING (the mini wallet pictured above she made!) you see on her blog! She'll make whatever you want! Really. Truly. How amazing is that?!?! She makes the CUTEST wristlets with Africa on them, mini wallets, adorable wood blocks with words on them, purses, bags, all kinds of over the top CUTE stuff!

I LOVE these shirts and this AWESOME wrist band! The Sweet Jepsen Family donated the -One T and the -One wrist bands! How awesome are they?! This sweet family was just wait listed and are currently fund raising for their referral fee. I love watching God provide! They are currently using a puzzle to fund raise for their fees as well, check it out, $10 allows you to be apart of their puzzle as well. That's nothing in helping to bring a precious child into her forever family. I love being able to be a part of so many peoples adoption process!

The Hunt Family is doing a fund raiser through Go.Seek.Love. They have donated one of their shirts for our fund raiser! How incredible is that?! I LOVE this shirt! It's amazing. Go check them out. The mens ones are super cool as well! The Hunts are donating a womens steel blue Go.Seek.Love T! It's beautiful! Go check out their blog and read about their precious family! Thank you Hunt Family!!!

We were SO blessed to have Show Hope donate to our fund raiser! They have graciously provided a SUPER COOL Show Hope Hat (top left side above) and Show Hope bag! (bottom right hand corner above) This is an incredible ministry dedicated to caring for orphans and supporting adopting families. Check out the Show Hope Store for other REALLY cute stuff and support an amazing ministry.

The Jewett Family has generously donated TWO shirts! One of their HOPE shirts (not pictured but shown on their blog) as well as their latest design "Love is not a color" shirt! (pictured above on the bottom left) You can choose your size based on what Kim has in stock. The Jewetts are SUPER close to receiving their referral, I can't wait to rejoice with this sweet family. Kim is the one who first gave me the idea for this fund raiser and I'm blessed to call her friend, Floridian neighbor, and fellow fund raising family. Check out their blog and be blessed.

This precious couple have started the adoption process and are working on fund raising like crazy! Check out Jon and Lindsay's blog and read about their journey, they have graciously donated a SUPER cute Only Love T-shirt to this family pack! (winners choice of size) I recently won a REALLY cute Birthday Banner in their online auction to raise funds to bring their babe home. Keep checking their blog for other opportunities to help support their adoption.



LaLaLa LOVE this! Kryste Buoniconti is such an encouragement to me, she and her Army family are in the midst of a huge transition and they are waiting for that big move to be complete in order to continue on their adoption journey. In all of that she donated the AMAZING 31 bag above on the left! How cute is that?! It's the Organizing Utility Tote in Boho Patchwork Paisley. I told Kryste I wanted it for me! Love it. Kryste is a sweet supporter of our adoption and even in the midst of all her craziness she's given again. This is a GREAT bag and I'm so grateful for the Buoniconti family! THANK YOU!!


How do I begin to talk about my friend Angela. We met online. Yep its true. We met when we were both pregnant with our now 8.5 year old girls. My pregnancy with Olivia was one of the darkest times in my life and Angela listened, prayed me through, and even got the phone call when Olivia was born 6.5 weeks early. We didn't meet in person until we came home with Silas and had a long layover in Chicago. Angela drove to meet us and proudly holds the title of the first person stateside to meet our son. She was a huge support through his adoption and has been the same through this adoption as well. She and her family have been supporting us as we fund raise and she's donating a Cozy Car seat Cover! Angela is another super talented seamstress and makes beautiful hand made things. Her car seat covers are adorable and keep your precious babe warm in the cold winter months! (as long as you live somewhere other then Florida) You can check them out here at Cornpatch Creations. She is donating a cover made to order with whichever fabric you'd like. Even if you don't have a baby these make a GREAT gift!

What can I say Gwen and Suzanne at 147 Million Orphans are a huge encouragement! Orphan and adoption advocates that stand on the side lines cheering you on, encouraging, and supportive. These women have been such a blessing to us. Gwen wrote on my facebook one day and asked how 147 could help with our fund raising. Three days later I had a box of goodies on my door step and yes there is a lot! Those items make it into this HUGE family pack and yes this sweet orphan loving ministry deserves a picture all its own. Rounding out our FAMILY PACK of goodies is mens shirts, womens shirts, youth shirts, and even a kid shirt! There's still others that are extras that will also be given away!


Oh where do I begin about these four sweet families! Not only are they sweet families there is some SERIOUS talent going on! Check out this AMAZING Ethiopian flag blanket! I sure hope Jamey is making blankets when we're ready to go get our girl because we'll need one for sure. Jamey is an incredibly honest blogger and I LOVE that. She doesn't hold back or worry about what people think. She's the real deal. Read her blog. She's funny candid and fantastic.

Then there's Sallee at It's Poppy Dip! I can't even tell you how amazing this woman is! She is a talented and SUPER speedy seamstress. She makes the CUTEST stuff and all of the profits go to their adoption! She's got some BIG news over on her blog, you won't want to miss it! Go check it out! Sallee is donating a Poppy Dip of the winners choice! That's right! You get to pick the design, the fabric, the size, everything! How cool is that?! We LOVE our Poppy Dips!

Look at the BEAUTIFUL bracelet above on the bottom left! Seriously amazing! Precious Alison over at Lovin'Much donated this treasure! This is an original Laura James (Alison's sweet sister in law) creation made specifically to fund raise for Alison and Jody's adoption. They donated one for our adoption fund raiser too! How sweet is that?! Check out their blog, Laura's amazing designs and leave them a comment. :)

The Walser Crew has donated a couple of their kids shirts! Aren't they adorable?! (bottom right in the picture above) Rachel is my buddy, my pal, our pastors wife, and precious friend who recently received the referral for their sweet Abby. They travel in November for their first court date. It's been amazing to walk this adoption journey with the Walser family and we are SO excited to help welcome Abby home. Check out their blog, they are still fund raising for the last part of their travel costs yet they still donated shirts to our fund raiser. We're so thankful.

The Picker Family is no stranger to adoption or fund raising! They recently returned from Ethiopia with their precious new daughter Evelyn. Check out their blog and watch the sweet "gotcha day" video they have posted. The Pickers are adoption and orphan advocates, a precious family who love well. They have a family mission statement on their blog and I LOVE that! Check out their blog, watch their sweet videos of picking up their precious kids. The Pickers have donated a size large 143 Million Orphans Worldwide shirt pictured above on the bottom left. THANK YOU for supporting us Picker Family!

Simply Love T-Shirts! My sweet friend Kari over at My Crazy Adoption has been a HUGE source of support for me. Kari allowed us to sell Simply Love T's before she was really doing that. She encouraged us to adopt again and prayed for us before anyone knew we were thinking about it. Kari has bailed me out of a couple of T-shirt miscalculations and down right held my hand in the land of T-shirt sales. I am forever grateful for my buddy Kari. Included in this gift pack are at least TWO Simply Love T's. Depending on availability it will be mens, womens, or childrens.

Of course there will be The Road Less Travelled Items included in this fund raiser as well. You'll find a mens and womens T as well as TWO Ugandan beaded necklaces and whatever else we decide to throw in! :)


Here's how it works!

In order to be entered in the IT's A FAMILY AFFAIR fund raiser you'll need tickets. These tickets are in the form of a puzzle piece that will help put our puzzle together and raise our referral fee necessary to say YES when we see our precious daughters face. Each piece is $10. For this giveaway ONLY we're doing 3 pieces for $25. (you can click on the puzzle piece on the left side of our blog to purchase your piece/pieces) Your name/family name/whatever you want will be permanently written on the back of your piece/pieces and we'll add them to our puzzle which will eventually be framed to hang in our home as a permanent reminder of the people who helped bring our little girl into her forever family.

Each piece purchased will also give you that many entries into the giveaway.

THAT'S NOT ALL!

Once you have purchased your piece/pieces you can earn bonus entries into the giveaway!

Here's how.

After you've purchased your puzzle pieces you can.

Post about this fund raiser on Facebook for 1 more entry.

Post about this fund raiser on your blog for 1 more entry.

Twitter about this fund raiser for 1 more entry.

Email 5 friends about this fund raiser for 2 more entries.

You can do any or all of these once per day for the duration of the giveaway.


THANK YOU all for your support!! I'll post an updated puzzle picture in a couple days!

10 comments:

emily said...

Feeling good about this one!!!! Love you friend.

Anonymous said...

Ok, I posted on my blog and bought 3 puzzle pieces (so far!)

ashley =)

Cindy said...

I hope this is a great fundraiser for you! Good Luck!

Alison said...

Yay!! Looks like it is going to be a great fundraiser!! So excited to contribute to it! Ya'll are precious! Okay, just blogged about it, and I am on my way to purchase my 3 puzzle pieces!!

Unknown said...

I'm pumped to be apart of this!! Be in touch soon---it's a joyful feeling to see how serious God is about orphans and giving them forever homes! Can't wait to see where He takes this!

The O'Neal Family said...

I just saw this from Allison's page and wanted to let you know that I would be happy to donate a T-shirt from our fundraiser and a canvas painting that I started doing recently. I don't know if it's too late but let me know and I'll email you pics so you can see what it looks like. This is such a great idea and I hope it really helps you all out!

~Joely

The O'Neal Family said...

hey Erica, can you email your email address to me? mine is joelymelissa@yahoo.com and I'll send you pictures. Thanks so much for the compliments

natalie said...

What a fun way to do this! Thinking of you today! Big hugs my friend.

Unknown said...

Just bought my puzzle piece and advertised for you on Facebook! I am also going to advertise for you on the www.wearegraftedin.com forum--don't know if that gets me another chance or not. :) But, I'm glad to do it for you. :)
Kelly

Gretchen Magruder said...

Already blogged about it....just because we love you and the places God is taking your family :)