Fundraiser!

So we have a couple of bands booked for our silent auction/ concert. I am so excited.
I am so excited for this event. My brother is working on his painting, and hopefully the other donations will start to come in. We are going to have a split the pot instead of the reverse raffle because my cousin (who is the pro at this) said it would be better. Yeah!!!
Here is a picture of E, who this is all for.

NOVEMEBR 20TH

Alright, a date has been set for our silent auction. November 20th!! I am so excited. This is one step closer to bringing home our baby. It is at Harvey's. We need bands and artwork.

On a separate note E is now responding to her name and I love her more and more everyday. I don't understand how I got the best baby in the world.

Yard Sale

We had an amazing turn out and it showed. We raised more than double of what I was expecting and are now 1/10 of the way there!! It was a long day. I didn't go to bed until 3:30 last night (really this morning) because I was baking. The worst part about it is that I put WAY TOO much butter in the cupcakes and then none of them turned out. haha So we woke up late this morning and E and I aren't morning people. She was very confused as to why I woke her up. We were there late and thank God for my family. They had everything put together. There were so many great things. My friend Jasmine came in and swiped most of the owls in the very beginning. I had my eye on a beautiful white horse in a snowy field painting and I didn't think anyone was going to buy it, wrong. A woman bought it and I was sad and shocked. Oh well, I didn't need it. My amazing husband and wonderful family helped move furniture and so much more. I can't believe everyone that came but only 7 of which were our friends. I think the overall success was due to my frugal cousin Andrea. She was giving stuff away and I think that is why people bought so much because it was so cheap. Not to mention some generous donations.

So now it is time to plan our next fundraiser. ahha. No time to delay. I want to have a silent auction and I hope my friends will pull through for this one. We have very talented and artistic friends and I hope they will be able to donate a piece of artwork. We have somethings already donated from my friend Gretchen. I need to get a hall, artwork, and music. I thought a bluegrass band would be fun. I hope to have this the first weekend in November, but this is only if we get enough artwork.

First Fundraising Event!

I am soooo excited! Tomorrow is our first fundraiser. The Yard Sale. Today I am busy baking cookies and cupcakes for the sale. Later tonight I will be sorting and pricing. I love my family so much and couldn't have done this without them. I want to thank my wonderful Aunt Tracy for holding it and my FABULOUS cousin Andrea who has done everything. They can never know how much I appreciate this. We are truly so blessed to have such an amazing family. I may be weird to think this, but I always wonder if somewhere in Ethiopia a woman is pregnant with our child. I am crying as I type this. hahahah. I pray that she takes care of herself and our little one. E is smiling at me. Man I have an amazing life.

Our Story

Ever since I was a little girl I wanted a lot of children. I grew up in a big family, my dad also grew up in a large family. My mom however only had one brother. I have four brothers and a younger sister. I love them all so much!! Every Sunday we get together for a family dinner and it is so nice to see them and catch up.

I met my husband when I was 22, we got married when I was 24, and I had my daughter when I was/ am 25. I have the most amazing husband a woman could ask for. When I saw him for the first time I knew he was what I was looking for. A year before I met him I drew a picture of my dream man and he fit the description perfectly. Because of him I am able to stay at home with our daughter, which has also been my dream since I was little . I know he loves me unconditionally. He comes from a small family with just one sister.

We have a lot of animals! I love them. I asked my parents for a dog everyday until we got sammy when I was 11. I worked at a vet clinic which was my dream job. They are a huge part in my life and I am sure I will be telling you stories about them.

Ok, so why are we adopting. Like I said, I have always wanted a lot of kids. So our daughter is currently 2 months old and she is AMAZING!!! I know all parents say this about their children, but she is perfect!

She hardly ever cries and is a very good sleeper. She doesn't get disturbed from the dogs barking and she eats like a champ. hahah. I had a very difficult birth and pregnancy for that matter. I hated being pregnant, I even mentioned that I would adopt all of my kids just so I wouldn't have to be pregnant again. I guess God agreed. haha

So she was a week late and I was induced. By the time I was 8cm dilated and contracting, her heart rate dropped. She was in distress. They had to do a c-section. Everything was going great. We had her, named her E and life was good. After they closed me up I started bleeding. (This is where the details get hazy) I believe they opened me up three different times to stop the bleeding. Finally, I had to have a hysterectomy.

I had 18 units of blood transfused in. I was unconscious for two days. During this time I had an IV infiltration. My arm turned black and blue. They were going to amputate but decided to try and save it because of my age. I have quite the battle scar now. hahah

Also during this hazy time, I thought it was a good idea to pull out my breathing tube. (I am very strong willed - which I am sure you will also see in later posts) I don't remember this happening. I don't remember a lot of stuff happening. I spent a week in the hospital. Every time I try to retell what happened my husband chimes in and tells what actually happened. Like I don't remember leaving the surgery room before having my hysterectomy, but the good news is that my beautiful baby is perfect.

We were going to start trying to have another baby in December, obviously that will not be happening. So here we are on the adoption path. We can't start the process until she is 9 months old, which is perfect because we now have time to raise funds for our adoption. (It isn't cheap) I want to share everything we go through, from the beginning. At first we chose Russia -but I was apprehensive about it. You aren't referred a child until they are 9 months and just overall nervous. So we chose Ethiopia, they will refer a newborn and you will hopefully be able to pick your baby up between 3 and 5 months of age. I have been watching Ethiopian adoption stories on youtube and it gets me sooo excited. I don't want our daughter to be an only child. I want her to have a younger brother or sister she can play and talk with. So we need to raise $25,000.00 before February (You don't have to pay that money up front, but I don't want to start the process and then have to delay things because we ran out of funds)

My fabulous cousin offered to help throw a yard sale with donated goods from my large extended family. A lot of my friends are artistic, so I am hoping they will donate art, gift certificates, etc for a silent auction. I would also like to have a concert to raise the money and maybe a walk-a-thon.