A gift for my Niece

My niece, Stephanie got married last year and moved to Bahrain with her husband.  She has been living there for about 6 months. 

She has a "LOVE" for peeps and looks forward to their appearance every holiday.  For years it has been my greatest desire to "bless" her with her favorite Easter item.  So, this year to continue my "thoughtfulness" and to show her I missed her and how much I love her, I created this for her and sent it with my sister, all the way to Bahrain.

I am happy to report that she called me Thursday afternoon to tell me that it arrived safely.  Actually one peep slide off of its toothpick and was easily replaced.  She also told me that she really liked it.  I am hoping she sends a picture of where she displays my work of art.

I love you Stephanie and I really enjoyed making this for you and I hope you get a little joy out of you peeps this year.

Suzanne

Don't forget to check out our final fundraiser at http://bringinghomeourchinesebutterfly.blogspot.com/2012/03/fundraiser-extended-new-prizes-added.html.

FUNDRAISER EXTENDED, NEW PRIZES ADDED

Due to circumstances beyond any one's control, I am needing to extend the ending of this fundraiser. 

The new ending will be April 6th at midnight.  The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Tuesday, April 10th.

We were full funded, but with the hold up in immigration, we will now probably not travel until very late May or early June.  Mid May starts China's Tourist season, with that comes increased ticket prices, hotel prices and food prices.  We now find ourselves short $4500.00.  We have $1000.00 in savings, we had put aside for her health care once she got home, but we are now going to use it towards our tickets.  That still leaves us short $3500.00. 

With every $5.00 donation you will get 1 chance.

You can also earn a chance by sharing on your facebook, blog, or twitter.  Please be sure and leave a comment when you share, because there is no other way for me to keep track of this information. 

If you use the "Chip in" button above, it will go through RR and will also be tax deductible.

This is what is up for grabs:

I Pad II

$50 I Tunes Card

$50.00 I Tune gift card

 

 

2 AMC Silver Movie passes and 2 Large drinks.

Stationary set

Coke picnic blanket(waterproof)

5X7 picture frame

Jeremy Camp CD

Thank you for help us bring home our Butterfly!!

Suzanne

Busy Day

Today was a very busy day at our house.  I got all the teenagers up early and we started our day.  First I looked at my email to see if anything had come from the National Visa Center and it had not.  I waited for Daniel and Abby to get ready.  We were blessed and Dewey got the day off, so Aaron and Hannah stayed home with daddy.   It worked out great, as we don't often get time alone with the younger ones.

Our first stop of the day was the eye doctor to pick up my contacts.  While there I asked if I could buy one of their starter kits for contacts to take on the plane.  It comes with a 3 oz bottle of cleaner, perfect for carry ons.  They asked how long I would be gone and I told them 2 weeks and they gave me TWO complete starter kits to get me through the whole trip.  While I was there I realized I forgot to grab the shot list I needed for Abby, so she would be ready to go to China with me.   Abby is going with me, so Dewey can stay home and take care of the other children.  Hannah's health is touchy at times and my parents are in their 70's, so I can't expect them to take care of her, 4 y/o, 13 y/o and a 15 y/o.  Way too much to ask!!!!!


Stopped by the house and picked up the shot list and also found my prescription for my orthotics.  Next we headed to the Highway patrol office.  I can't believe I have a child old enough to drive!!!!!  So off we went.  But then we decided we wanted to eat first, so we stopped for a bite and back on the road.  We finally made it to the office, but it wasn't easy.  We went a slightly different way and totally got confused and spent about 10 minutes just driving around.

Getting ready to go inside and he asks me, will they let you take the test if you feel like you are going to throw up??  I said, "are you that nervous?"  He says, "a little, but I ate too much."

Mom making him pose for my blog.  He wasn't very happy about it, but did it anyway.  He is a good sport.



Did he pass?????????

LOOK OUT MISSOURI, there is a new driving out there.  Well, he has a permit anyway.

Next we went to get my orthotics and no one thought to take pictures.  But while I was waiting on the nice man to make them, I decided to call Dewey and have him check my email.  While I was trying to patiently wait, he kept entering the email or password in incorrectly.  Do you think he was doing it on purpose????????  Anyway, after he started to read off the titles of my emails and the all important one for the National Visa Center was read out loud, I didn't care anymore.  I said open it up and he started to read the first line and it had the all important "the NVC is sending......"  I told him to stop and hit forward.  He said, "Don't you want to know what it says??"  I said, "NO, it is what I am waiting on.  Send it to Karla, NOW, Please!!!"  I told him thank you and I had to go.  Next I called Karla and she answered the phone with "Suzanne, I am forwarding it to China right now."  So on Tuesday, their time, it will be hand delivered and we will be waiting on our Article 5, which takes exactly 2 weeks.  We should be on our way to get Clare in 8 WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Can you believe it 8 WEEKS!!!!!!! 

We had time to blow, so we went to Wal mart where I bought some Peeps.  I am going to make a Peeps Wreath for Easter and send it with my sister to Bahrain to give my niece.  It is really a joke.  Stephanie HATES Peeps!!!  Every time I find something new that is Peeps I get it for her.  Last year I got her the pill Peeps, the ones where you put them in water and they expand.  She seemed to have a really good time playing with them.

We then headed to Abby's doctors appointment.  Let me tell you this is the longest I have ever sat and waited at this doctors office.  I guess that is what happens when you have a healthy child, very unusual for me. 

I have to say, she is just a little too excited/happy to be at the doctors.



Her new passion, I guess another set of movies I will have to go and watch with her.



Our final stop was at the Department of Motor Vehicles.  Daniel was not at all excited with his first visit there.  He stood in line for about 55 minutes waiting to get his picture taken.  He even had to let 3 people go in front of him, because I was in the license plates line and was not about to give up my spot to sign a piece of paper for him.  All in all he was a good sport about it and he is already to start learning to drive.

But that will have to wait, because he is off for a weekend camp out with his Boy Scout Troop.

To recap this long post:  We should be leaving to pick up Clare in 8 WEEKS!!!!!!

It is so important now that we raise the remaining money needed to go.  We need another $3130.00 to be fully funded.  If you pray, PLEASE, I am begging you, PLEASE say a prayer for us that we will meet our need with this fundraiser.  If you twitter, facebook

Our fundraiser ends at mid night tomorrow, Saturday, March 23rd.  For every $5.00 you donate and for each share on facebook, twitter, or your blog you will be given a chance for an I Pad II. 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HELP US ANYWAY YOU CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

I should be holding my new little girl in 8 WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited!!!!!!!!! 

Suzanne







It's DOWN SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On May 26, 2009 God blessed us with a beautiful little lady, that scared us, but in turned loved us so much that she open ed up a whole new world to us.  Yesterday, that sweet angel had surgery.  Thanks to all the prayers she did amazingly well, remained out of the PICU, and is getting to go home today.  We had been told to prepare for a stay like the one in January, but instead she did wonderful and will soon be headed home to bless us on National Down Syndrome Awareness day. 

Here are some pictures of her during this hospital stay.  Sorry they are blurry, my phone usually takes better pictures. :(

Loving on her pink monkey.

Putting on gloves.

Pastor Pete helping Hannah put gloves on her Monkey.

Once we put on the gown, she realized what was going to happen and kept trying to run off.

Resting right after surgery.

Hannah was sent home tonight at 4:25 pm.  We are so happy to be home!!!

We found out today that our Visa application is now in the computer.  Hopefully it will be cabled to China in the next 2 days!!!



Please help us get to our fully funded goal of $3500.00.  If we manage to make it to our goal by Saturday night, I have more items to add to our fundraiser.  As it is:  For every $5.00 donation you get one chance and if you share on facebook, your blog or twitter you get a chance for each one (just be sure to leave a note in the comment section, so I know to give you a chance).  Please pray!!!!  We are getting so close and this is my last chance to earn the funds I need to go and get our butterfly.



Thank you for praying, sharing, and donating.

Happy Down Syndrome Awareness Day!!

Suzanne

A productive weekend

I had a very good weekend.  I spent Saturday at my monthly scrap booking party, I finished cleaning the paint off the floor and spent the evening with my wonderful grandchildren.  I am currently working on a scrapbook for our sweet Clare.  I am using the photos given to me by some wonderful missionaries.  I am also using the stories that Little Flower posts on it's blog to tell her about her life before joining our family.  

Here are some of the pages I finished:

I800 provisional approval!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am hoping to have all the pictures I currently have done by the time I get to go to China.

Please continue to pray and spread the word about our fundraiser.  It ends on Saturday at midnight.  We have currently raised $95 of the $3500 we need to be fully funded.  We are so close, please help us get to our butterfly. 

 

For every $5.00 donation, you get a chance at an Ipad II.  You can also get a chance for sharing our fundraiser on twitter, facebook, or your blog.

Please help us bring sweet Clare home.

Thank you,

Suzanne



Waiting and our new Fundraiser

We have had several people ask us if we were still adopting Clare and the answer is YES!!!! 

We are just at a point where we have to wait.  Once again, our paper work is in the immigration office and once again, it is being held up.  I spoke with an Officer there and they think we should have our approval in a couple of weeks.  It has been a complete mess.  We sent our I800 overnight on February 15th to the lock box in Texas, after it was checked by our agency.  The whole process was suppose to take 2-3 weeks.  On Wednesday, March 7th I decided to call and see if they had even received our paper work, because I had never received our confirmation letter.  I was totally unprepared for what I was told.  I was told that yes, my paper work was there but, it had been rejected once in February and again on March 1.  The Officer was very kind and said she would figure out what was going on and give me a call back.  About 5 minutes later she called and told me that apparently I had 2 extra numbers on our application, so the computer rejected it.  I had the correct numbers on there, but they are no longer needed and the space to put them there is still present.  So, she told me exactly how to fill out these two pages and that I would have to start over again, when my paper work was returned.  She also told me to make sure I waited until the paper work was returned, because if I sent in new papers they would be rejected if the old were still in the office.  She also informed me, that our paper work was still sitting on our Officer's desk (where it has been sitting since it' s last rejection of March 1.) and she would try and mail it out the next day.  I hung up the phone and cried.

Now, it is March 12th and I go to the mailbox to find a letter from the USCIS saying they received my paperwork at the LOCK BOX on March 1.  On March 15th I have still not received my paper work back.  So, I wrote a very nice, non confrontational email to them asking where my paper work is, why I haven't received it yet (it is now 14 days since the last rejection), and can I just recollect all the information again and overnight it the next day.  The very nice Officer called me about 90 seconds after I sent the email and told me she was looking into it, right now while I was on the phone.  Come to find out, an actually human looked over my papers, typed the information in herself and it was actually accepted on March 2nd.  Then she said she looked at the Officer's case load we are assigned to and she should get to it in the next 2 weeks.

So, we now have to sit and wait some more.  I have cried so much over all of this it is driving me nuts.  I have decided to leave it all in God's hands and focus on something else.  I have chosen to focus on the last bit of money we need to bring our sweet Clare home.  We were full funded, but with the hold up in immigration, we will now probably not travel until very late March or early June.  Mid March  starts China's Tourist season and with the cost of gas rising the ticket prices really go up.  We now find ourselves short $4500.00.  We have $1000.00 in savings, we had put aside for her health care once she got home, but we are now going to use it towards our tickets.  That still leaves us short $3500.00. 

This fundraiser will run from Friday, March 17th to Saturday, March 24th at midnight.  Winners will be chosen by: random.org and announced on Tuesday, March 24th.

With every $5.00 donation you will get 1 chance.

You can also earn a chance by sharing on your facebook, blog, or twitter.  Please be sure and leave a comment when you share, because there is no other way for me to keep track of this information.  I am working on the honor system.

Ipad II

Let's recap what your donations will do.

THEY WILL HELP US BRING HOME OUR BEAUTIFUL CHINESE BUTTERFLY!!!!

Please share, share, and share some more!!!  We need all the help we can get.  Prayer is also welcomed!!

Suzanne