This Thank You Isn't Big Enough

This is the best (and cutest) thank you I can give!

Although his arms are stretched pretty far, they are just a small part of the big BIG thank you I need to give.  Since we found in April that my cancer returned, my family has been beyond blessed with support.  From meals to donations, gifts & visits, calls, cards, emails, flowers, texts, prayers, prayers & more prayers...our home has been overflowing with love.  It's simply overwhelming.  People from my past, whom I thought had forgotten all about me, have reached out.  New friends have stepped forward in unbelievable ways.  Old friends have been amazingly persistent, when I've been horrible about returning calls & emails.  I've gotten support from people I don't know, whom I've never met!  My family has been here.  Every single one of them.  That means everything.  I've laughed, cried, and prayed with them.  They are my whole world.  Even though some days are hard, you all make them easier and for that I am so grateful.  Thank you, thank you!

I know God has a plan for me, and that's what I'm holding on to.  He has an amazing, perfect story for my life.  I can't understand it, but I have to trust in His plan, His timing, His love.  It's bigger than anything else.  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  - Jeremiah 29: 11-13

Update on my health: I've completed 3 rounds of chemo.  On this coming Monday the 12th, I have a PET scan.  I find out those results on Wednesday.  This will tell us how well the chemo is working and what the next step is.  Please continue to pray for my healing and strength.

I also want to ask for prayers for 2 other people fighting cancer...

Hillary, 17 yrs old, fighting Hodgkins Lymphoma.  She starts chemo on Monday, please pray for strength for her.  Pray that she feels God's presence, and is comforted by the blanket of prayers wrapped around her as she begins her battle. 
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hillarysamo

Collin, 5 yrs old, diagnosed with Neuroblastoma.  He just went home after having a bone marrow transplant.  Please pray that his battle has been won and his cancer never returns.
www.helpcollin.com

Pray that their families, along with my own, hold strong in their faith and never forget the power of God's love.

Optimistic Mondays

I love Mondays.  Seriously.  It's a day of optimism, a fresh start to a new week...I love it!  This week started with an Atmosphere playlist.  Thanks to a good friend from Ohio, I was exposed to their music way back when I was 20 (ha!).  Anyway, they are pretty popular now, but if you haven't heard..you should check them out!
My inspiration:

"She's Enough" - Atmosphere

Well, today is already Wednesday, the halfway point.  It's time to reflect over my half week and see how far I've come, and where I'd like to be by Friday.  I have a happy little 2 yr old, so all in all, I've done my job!

When I asked Willie what he was drawing, he said, "a nipple".  Hahaha...

I'm also super excited about my new line of womens & childrens apparel...Sunny Style!  I just received the baby clothes in the mail and I'm finishing up the designs for printing.  They will be sold in my Etsy shop soon!  I'm thinking about donating a portion of the proceeds from the kids clothes to a children's charity...if anyone has any ideas, please leave a comment.  I may choose a different charity every month...?  Anyway, here's a sneak peek...

Last call for donation tees!

We are placing our final order for the year for our Help New Jersey - Hurricane Sandy Relief Donation tshirts.  So far, from sales of the shirts, we have been able to donate over $200 to the Red Cross!

If you would like to purchase a shirt, please visit our Etsy store.  Thank you!

www.sunnysidearts.etsy.com

"Help New Jersey" design on unisex 100% pre-shrunk cotton T-shirt

All profits of every shirt purchased will be donated to the Red Cross to help relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy

http://american.redcross.org

Sizes Available:
Adult S,M,L,XL,XXL

Beautiful Tuesday

What a beautiful day....sunny and 70!  It feels like the perfect time for a beautiful post!  This actually should have been written a month ago when I got my hair cut (maybe a procrastinating blogger isn't the ideal combination), but better late than never, right?!

Pantene has a program called "Beautiful Lenghts" that provides wigs made from donated hair to women undergoing cancer treatment.  It's similiar to Locks of Love, except they provide wigs to children suffering from hair loss. 

Anyway, my hair was pretty long and was starting to get to the point that washing, combing, and then "doing something" with it was a daunting task.  So, naturally I started pinning sassy short hair cuts on Pinterest.  Then, I heard a sermon at church about hoarding....how we shouldn't hoard our love, our posessions, our money, etc.  I kept thinking about how my long annoying hair could be another woman's beautiful wig of confidence.  I shouldn't hoard it! 

I made the appointment, I got the cut, and I mailed my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

Here's my new do!

And, here I am a month later (procrastinator, remember?!) about to mail in my 12 inch ponytail!

As a woman who has suffered from cancer, I hope my donation is able to ease someone else's pain and make them feel normal & beautiful during a time that can seem so ugly and lonely.

Adoption: Waiting and wearing adoption tees

It's been one month since we were activated with our adoption agency.  I've got to agree with Tom Petty, the waiting IS the hardest part.  The first week I was so excited, I think I jumped every time my phone rang...hoping it would be the adoption agency.  The second week I started to forget about the phone.  The third week was back to life as usual.  And now, it's been four weeks and I feel a lot more at peace!  I know we will be matched with our birth mom when the timing is right, so we will just keep living our life.  That's fairly easy for me to say since the weather has been beautiful and Willie (who is a feisty 18 mo old now) only wants to play outside in his pool or sandbox or mud.  So, we've got plenty to keep us occupied!

We finally got real pictures of our fundraiser shirts.  I'm not gonna lie...the fundraising is not going so well.  We might ask for donations of "things" for a fundraiser garage sale later in the summer...as I know plenty of people don't have extra money, but maybe you have extra things! :) 

I'm also continuing the search for grants.  As I've said before, this is completely frustrating!!  I finally found a few credible organizations and began the grant application process, only to find out they only provide grants to families working with non-profit adoption agencies...which ours is not.  Blah.  Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming....

Anyway, here's the shirts again!  If you would like to purchase one as a donation towards our adoption, just click on the shirt you like and it will take you to Etsy where you can buy one.  They are adult uni-sex tees and are $30.  Thank you to those of you who have already purchased a tee or made a donation.  You are the best!!

 

Adoption: Budget

Brad and I have learned a lot about adoption during the past few months.  We've read, researched, and talked to adoption professionals.  It's been a great experience so far...adoption is something I've always felt in my heart, so I love learning more about it and especially reading adoptive family testimonials.  Someone once asked if I get tired of people questioning me, talking about it, explaining the process, etc.  The answer is absolutely not!  I sincerely enjoy educating others with what we've learned and sharing our experience with you.  

One of the big questions is, what will your adoption cost?  I'm not afraid to give this answer, as I feel it is part of the education process.  Domestic infant adoption (through an adoption agency) typically costs between $15,000 - $40,000.  Of course, they can be less and they can be more....our number falls somewhere in the middle.  These numbers are based on the information I was given by the agencies I contacted when doing my own research.  

Why is it so expensive?

I will break it down even further and list our projected budget:

Application Fee:                     195.00 - PAID

Home Study in WI:             2,169.44 - PAID

Home study review fee:          200.00 - PAID

Video profile development:  1,300.00 - PAID

Activation fee:                     2,000.00

Agency fees (listed below) 18,000.00

• advertising to locate the potential birth parent

• counseling and relinquishment proceedings

• living expenses needed by the birth mother during her pregnancy

• medical expenses needed by the birth mother and/or child

• foster care, if needed

• legal and termination fees to finalize the matter in a court of law

• agency travel expenses if needed

• agency fees

Total:                                 23,864.44


--This total does not include post placement reports or travel expenses for when our baby is born.  We are required to travel to the baby's state within 24 hours of the phone call telling us the birth mother is in labor/ or the baby has been born.  We then have to stay in that state for 7-10 business days as the paperwork between the baby's birth state and our state of Wisconsin is finalized.  I'm not looking forward to caring for a newborn and a toddler in a hotel room!  So, hopefully the baby is born in a state where we have family or friends...beware we may come knocking on your door with 2 screaming kids! :)


To help fund these expenses, we are doing a fundraiser.  We will be selling our own screen printed tees, along with jewelry and other homemade items.  You can find them here.  We greatly appreciate your support in our journey to build our family!

Gifts that Give

Today is Black Friday.  It's the greatest shopping day of the year...or something like that?  But, you will not find this mama waking up before the sun, or staying up past midnight to shop.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, I've done it before, but it just ain't my cup 'o tea.  Standing in line in my pajamas with eyes that are burning from lack of sleep only to save $10 on a dvd player that I don't really need just doesn't do it for me.  (Run-on sentence anyone?!)  I'd rather stay in bed with my $10 watching a movie that's skipping b/c my dvd player is clunking sounds a lot better to me!  (Wow, I sound like a party-pooper!  Motherhood has made me realize how precious sleep is!)  However, some people are shopping pros, and really do save a ton of $.  In fact, my sister-in-law goes every year, gets all of her holiday shopping done, and saves a bundle.  It sounds awesome in theory, but like I said, it just ain't my cup 'o tea!

So, as I sit at home on this Friday of Fridays, I've been thinking about what gifts to buy my loved ones.  And, ever since we re-focused our business, Sunnyside Arts, to be more charitable, I can't stop thinking about charitable gifts....or Gifts that Give.  For example (I've gotta promote the biz...) if you buy a tshirt from Sunnyside Arts, you will also be making a donation to a charity.  (More shirts will be added this week)  There must be other businesses out there that are doing the same thing, so I started looking (and I'll keep looking) but, here's what I've found so far.  Consider these charitable gifts this year...

Tide "Loads of Hope" T-shirt - $20
"$4 from the sale of each tee goes toward helping families affected by disaster" 

Obey is an awesome company that supports various causes.  "We launched OBEY AWARENESS to educate the posse and generate funding for causes that we are involved in. OBEY AWARENESS is unique in that it will constantly evolve to support emerging, important issues. All profits generated from the sale of the Obey product completely support these causes."  Their current causes include Breast Cancer, Japan Relief, & Feeding America.  Below are 2 of my fave items, although I would wear all of their apparel!  I LOVE it!  They also sell Obey clothing in Zumiez stores.

FEED is another great cause.  "FEED Projects' mission is to create good products that help FEED the world. We do this through the sale of FEED bags, bears, t-shirts, and other accessories by building a set donation into the cost of each product. Thus the impact of each product, signified by a stenciled number, is understandable, tangible, and meaningful."  Here are a couple cute things you can find in their online shop:

 


At Whatever It Takes, you can find bags, artwork, wristbands from celebrities such as Dave Grohl, Franz Ferdinand, Heidi Klum, & Stella McCartney to name a few.  Whatever It Takes is a "unique artwork campaign.  We are proud to introduce you to the Whatever It Takes collection, featuring ‘symbols of hope for the 21st Century’ drawn by leaders in the worlds of fashion, film, television, music and sport.
The signed artwork donated by each Leader is his or her original work, and has been donated for the exclusive use of the Whatever It Takes campaign which has so far raised over $4,000,000 for charitable projects worldwide.  Whatever It Takes supports 21st Century Leaders Foundation in its work for key global development causes including poverty alleviation, environmental conservation and the protection of children."  Visit their on-line store and start shopping!  These are going on my wishlist: 

Then, there's the ever popular, One campaign.  "ONE is a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, by raising public awareness and pressuring political leaders to support smart and effective policies and programs that are saving lives, helping to put kids in school and improving futures."  They also have some cool items for sale here:

And, another one you are probably familiar with is Red.  Their mission is "designed to help eliminate AIDS".  A couple of my fave products are this GAP tee and Converse shoes:

Of course, if you are looking for a unique gift, and want to help out the little guy, buy from local artists.  One of my more recent favorites is Things With Wings.  They are "a family of artists who live in Iowa City, Iowa. We love to laugh, create, and have good times together.  Our work is full of hope, humor and whimsy and celebrates faith and family.  Our goal is to give glory to God by using positive and encouraging messages that not only speak truth into our own lives but others' as well."  I met them at an art fair in Cedar Falls, IA this summer and fell in love with their work.  Here are a few examples:  

One of the best places, as I'm sure you know, to buy handmade items is Etsy.  They even posted shops that are having Black Friday Sales this year.  Also, if you want to buy from an artist AND donate to a charity (the best of both worlds, right?!), just go to Etsy and type in "charity", "donate", or the name of the specific organization in the search box and see what comes up!  

By doing that, I found:

 Leather Cuff Bracelet.  "10% of the proceeds from the sale of this cuff go towards SURFER'S HEALING which is an organization that introduces children with autism and their families to surfing"

GIVE Donation Necklace "10% of the proceeds from this necklace will be donated to Make a Wish Foundation."

At SannyuGoods shop you can "Buy jewelry and accessories and empower women of Uganda. Proceeds go directly to the women's groups of Uganda, and profit goes to Nalusse Primary School's 2011 lunch program."  Here are some items for sale:

 

Ok, that's enough for now.  So, I didn't spend the day shopping in stores, but I guess I did my fair share of internet shopping (or browsing) today.  Hope this helps with your holiday shopping (if you aren't broke after Black Friday!!)  If you know of any other Gifts that Give, please share them below...and I will do the same!