Small Update

It's very late, and I'm very tired, but I wanted to post a small update! We are working TIRELESSLY to get Cliff home, which means lots of fundraising! I have a bunch of stuff going on all at once, so I wanted to post everything here, in one spot! First, the tshirt fundraiser was so fun, and the tshirts are on their way to me, and as soon as I get them, I'll have them on the way to you! Now, as for what we have going on right now!

First up, we have a Christmas clothing and Christmas hair bow sale!

You can find the sale by clicking here and please be sure to give the page a like! Just got to photos and click the album you're interested in, bow or clothes! :)

Up next, we have a couple giveaways! 

We need 11 more entries for the PS3, and 14 more for the shoes! These baby moccasins are a size 2, and they retail for $60+ and a sweet friend offered them to me to use in a giveaway. Entries are $5, and are capped at 15 paid entries, so your odds are good! :)

Next, we have an Usborne book fundraiser! My friend Amanda set it up for us, so please come join our event here on Facebook and consider ordering some Christmas gifts! :)

Last but not least, we're holding a coin drive for Cliff during the month of November, and the person who donates the most change will win a $100 Visa checkcard!!

If you would like to enter the giveaways or if you're collecting coins for Cliff and want to donate the amount raised online, please go to this link: http://reecesrainbow.org/81896/sponsormorse-2 to make your donations, and if you're entering in a giveaway, please forward your payment receipt to: priscilla.morse@gmail.com

Thank you so much for following along on this journey, and for helping us get Cliff home! <3 

Apparent Project Bracelet Fundraiser

I'm so excited about this fundraiser, because not only does it benefit Cliff, it also benefits families in Haiti who are struggling to stay together. It just feels so fitting to acknowledge the other end of the adoption spectrum, Moms and Dads who desperately want to parent their children even when circumstances are less than ideal. Here is some information about The Apparent Project:

Click photo to view larger

We have 150 bracelets, 10 of which are for sale in our auction that you can find HERE (it ends November 7th and benefits FOUR little boys who have Momma's coming to rescue them, make sure you browse around!) so I have 140 left for sale!

Bracelets are $10 which includes the cost of shipping. For each bracelet sold, Cliff will get $4, an amazing family in Haiti who handmade the bracelet will get $4, and $2 will go towards shipping. There is a donate button in the top left corner of the blog, right underneath a photo of some bracelets. :)

These bracelets are so beautiful, so unique, and have such an amazing store behind them. They would make great Christmas gifts! Please consider purchasing one to help Cliff come home to his family, while also helping another family stay together. <3

Paying the Ransom

Today, I opened my email to this question regarding Cliff, and adoption.

"Why should other people pay for you to add a child to your family? That is your personal decision, so it’s your personal bill. I wouldn’t get pregnant then ask people to pay my hospital bill. If you can’t afford to adopt, how are you going to afford another mouth to feed?"

Sigh.

Emails like that are hard, especially when you’re breaking your back to earn your adoption fund. Don’t get me wrong, fundraisers are awesome, and they’re so helpful, and when friends step up to donate items to an auction, or a matching grant…the burden lifted off my shoulders is a great one. But, at the end of the day, I still work for the majority of money that goes into our adoption account. I make items, and I sell them, and I choose to put that money into an adoption fund to rescue an orphan, to give hope to the hopeless. When did it become ok to judge that? If you NEED to be judgmental, why direct it at a helpless orphan, or families breaking their backs to give them homes? I guess I can’t understand being that angry inside.

I’m not expecting people to pay to add a child to my family. If people feel led to help, their help is appreciated immensely, but do I expect my friends and family and strangers to just write me checks? No. But, I have to ask…when did it become ok to ask your friends to buy Girl Scout cookies, and Boy Scout popcorn, and candy for sports equipment for school and discount cards for the football team, and no one bats an eye…but ask people to throw $5 into the pot for neglected children who are waiting for homes, and you’re a terrible person?

Luckily, the people who feel that way are few and far between, at least the people who will voice it publicly and go out of their way to hurt someone who is already hurting. The majority of people are amazing, and helpful, and caring, and even if they have NOTHING to give to help, they pray. They ask you “how are you doing?” they volunteer to sit with you at fundraisers and help you run booths and they just in general offer themselves to you to share the burden with you. These things mean more to me, a fundraising mama, than a check could, so please, don’t assume I’m some terrible person with entitlement issues, that I expect the world to step up and do my job for me, I don’t. I expect my friends to be my friends, and friends help each other. I would do the same for them, we have each other’s backs. Yes, I sell tons of crafts, yes it might be obnoxious to see them all the time, yes you might be really sick of me…but if your son or daughter were on the other side of the world, and they were starving, and they were dying, and they were waiting for you to put together enough money to save them…would you let anything stop you? That’s where I am now, I have a boy who needs his Mama to come bring him home. No amount of shaming is going to stop me from doing that. If you want to help a miracle happen, if you want to be God’s hands and feet, if you want to honor God’s commandment to care for orphans, then I hope you’ll go on this journey with us, but if not…please don’t go out of your way to make it harder than it needs to be.

Fundraising for an international adoption of a child with special needs is a lot different than fundraising for a typical child that is born to you. People who have children with special needs born to them fundraise ALL the time, to cover medical expenses, etc. Adopting parents generally don’t do that, because we had to prove up front that we are financially stable enough to cover any and all issues that might come our way with our new children. The fact that we don’t have $25,000 or more just sitting in a bank account isn’t what makes or breaks our ability to parent! If everyone needed that kind of disposable cash available in order to get pregnant, the human race might die off. J Adoption, especially that of a child with special needs, is basically life abandonment, you’re saying ok…I’m willing to sign my life over for the betterment of another’s. It’s not a life sentence, but it’s a life commitment, and not everyone is willing to, or able to sign up for that. It’s a really, really big deal…so when someone is willing to say YES! I’ll do it! I WANT to do this! It will BLESS my life, and their life, and hopefully the lives of the people around us…we should support that! We should get behind those people and lift them up, help them if we can, because not only does it help that one specific family, it will show other families around them, that might be on the fence about taking the same leap of faith, that it’s going to be ok…they CAN do this, people DO care, and it IS possible!

So, to the person who sent me that email and we both know I left out other, ugly statements you made…I hope one day you’ll open your eyes, and use your words for good, not to inflict pain. 

Urgent Need: The Boyer Family

I'm not great with words, so I'm going to copy and paste my friend Renee's words, 

Ok- please repost/share/tweet/blog this!!!!!

We have a $1500 matching grant for Cindy Boyer!!!! We need to meet this asap, because she is currently IN FLIGHT to get over there, and this is a HUGE STRESSOR for her right now. She doesn't need any more stress, considering where she's going and what's she's facing, alone, since her hubby isn't traveling with her at this point.

Her FSP reads $16,042.84 to begin this matching grant. It needs to read $17,542.84 to get the matching grant!!!!

When her FSP reads $16,542.84, I will draw the names of 3 winners. One will receive 3 bars of Ukrainian chocolate, imported. One will receive a collection of a dozen "behind the scenes, feet on the ground photographs" taken by Cindy herself, during this adoption, and not shared publicly with anyone else. For those that are closely following this historical change of government and attempts as a restart at the USSR, these may one day be worth quite a bit to a collector. The other winner will receive a Ukrainian souvenir, something to remind you of your efforts today.

The same thing will be done when we reach the $1K mark at $17,042.84, with three winners receiving the same prizes, although the photographs will be different.

When we fully meet the grant, and her FSP reaches $17,542.84, we will draw the name of ONE WINNER who will receive an Ipad Mini, donated by an Anonymous Supporter!!!!!!!!!!

So please, pass the word!!!!! Let's get this on blogs, and get this met, asap. I would LOVE for her to land and get wifi and see that she is $3K closer to her goal

And even more than that, I want so very badly to see "Charlie and Lola" be out of the dangerous situation that they are in, and thriving in a family, just like our kids have since being adopted. Let's do this, y'all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm pretty excited about this! This family has been through a lot, and they get knocked down, and they get up again (Tubthumpin' anyone? ok back to the task at hand...) they are remarkable people with hearts for orphans and they need our community to rally and get this done. We all know it can happen, we've all seen it happen, so...drop your $5, $10, $20 in the pot, and it will be matched! Here is a link to their FSP, I would love to see a miracle this weekend, wouldn't you?

CLICK HERE to make your donation!!! Be a part of saving a life! It will do your heart good, I promise. :) 

Why I Go Back

So it has come to my realization that people think I'm insane. The way I know this is because several people have said "you're going to adopt ANOTHER kid with special needs? YOU'RE INSANE!"

Well, I guess on the one hand, I'm completely nuts, but on the other hand...I'm so incredibly blessed to travel this journey again.

I know, I know...

It's SO much work! 

It's so DIFFICULT! 

It's SO EXPENSIVE!

I won't even get into the detailed way my faith impacts my decision to adopt (you see, there was this cross...) that's a post for another day. Let's just keep this nice and super simple. Two years ago a little girl became my daughter. She was almost 4 years old, she couldn't sit, stand, walk, run, talk, eat, communicate, etc. 

She had dead eyes.

She banged her head into the wall until it bled.

She bit me, pulled my hair, banged her head into mine...she had no idea how to react to having a mother. 

What in the world is a MOTHER? 

Who is this lady who never leaves? She changes my diapers, she brings me food, she doesn't hit me, she doesn't yell in my face, she rocks me back and forth, I don't know what this is...but I think I like it...

But NOW? Now she is full of LIFE! She is a sweet, sassy individual who expresses her feelings, sometimes negative, sometimes positive. Tonight, we snuggled, I brushed her long blonde hair. We had pizza for dinner. 

I just handed her a slice, she can feed herself now.

She wanted a popsicle for dessert.

"What color would you like, Kay?"

"Red."

She knows her colors, she can say her colors, she has a favorite color.

It's purple.

So, why would I be crazy enough to do it all again? The fundraising, the worrying, the working REALLY hard to get them  home, just to work even harder once they're here? To sign up to spend a nice chunk of my life sleeping in a chair in a hospital room at Vanderbilt. To spending part of my day scheduling appointments, teaching basic life skills, and loving with a patience I never knew I was capable of possessing? 

Because one day that tiny, broken, orphan will blossom into a loved child who walks up to me and asks for a red popsicle, just like any other kid in the world. That's what all of this is about, buying back a life, transforming someone unwanted into just your average kid who wants to sit on moms lap and eat dessert while watching cartoons before daddy tucks them in at night.

Sometimes being crazy has a really simple explanation. ;) 

The Ribbon Box Project

I’ve never been much of a writer, but I thought the events of the last day deserved to be acknowledged, because they have snowballed into something pretty big that will likely be the cornerstone of our fundraising efforts for Cliff, and beyond that, our desire to help other adopting families get funded, too.

I know that money is tight for everyone right now, it’s really not logical to assume that there is going to be some benevolent guardian angel with wads of cash descending from the heavens to fund adoptions. Wouldn’t that be nice? The reality of adoption is that it’s expensive, but anything worth having, is worth working for, so therefore, we work. We work really, really hard to get the funds together to cross oceans and meet orphans. We work really hard to get to a child who was deemed unworthy and unwanted and call them a loved, cherished daughter, or son. They are worth the effort. They deserve parents who will fight, and claw their way to them if that’s how it needs to be. So, we work.

One of the ways we work, is via crafts. I never really thought I would become a crafty person, that just wasn’t my personality, but it’s amazing what you’ll learn to do, and enjoy doing, when you need to put together thousands of dollars as fast as you can….therefore I make hair bows, jewelry, keychains, ornaments, wreaths, and pretty much anything someone is willing to donate money to our adoption for, I’ll be happy to make it. I feel blessed to have the ability to make things, I know there are plenty of people who are much better at it than I am, but I do my best, and like with everything else, I do it for His glory.

So, fast forward a little bit. I meet some amazing local people who love Cliff and want to see him home, and out of that I’m forming some awesome friendships. One of those lovely ladies writes to me and says I don’t have any money to donate to Cliff, but I have this box of ribbon, I know you make hair bows, I want you to have it so you can sell the bows to get him home.

I was floored.

Here is why.

It is very, very easy to see someone in need and tell yourself “I don’t have any money to help them” or “I don’t have time to help them”, and you would most likely be right, you don’t have the money to give away, you’re busy, you don’t have the time to dedicate to help someone…but…and this might sound harsh…that is a cop out. I think we all know that it is, too. Everyone can do something. Every single one of us can do SOMETHING to help SOMEONE every day, without fail, it’s possible.

Wouldn’t the world be an awesome place if we did?

This amazing woman couldn’t write a check to an adoption fund, she didn’t have time to dedicate to getting the word out about adoption, or volunteering at a yard sale, or whatever…but did that stop her from thinking about what she COULD do? No! She wanted to help, and she figured out a way to make it happen. I’m amazed by that.

So, from that donation, a group of friends and advocates and I decided to do something crazy, we want to document every dollar that comes in from the ribbon donated, and from all the craft supplies donated in honor of this first selfless donation. I’m going to keep track of it on the blog, and I can’t wait to go back to this wonderful woman when Cliff is home, and hand her a thank you card with the total amount of money brought in by the project that her donation started…The Ribbon Box Project.

I’m a firm believer in working hard, and I’m a firm believer in paying it forward, and this project is going to combine the two and hopefully bless not just my family, but several others as well. I’m going to turn this donation, and subsequent donations of craft supplies or donations to buy supplies into opportunities to work, craft, and create items to auction off  or sell to fund adoptions. Every single adopting family who wants one of these items to sell at a fundraiser, or put into their auction will receive one, the shipping of the item will be on me.

So, lets work together to show everyone that even the tiniest of gestures can have an amazing ripple effect. There is never an act of kindness that is too small.

DONATED!!!!

DONATED!!!

Who’s ready to work?

T-Shirt Time!!!

I'm amazed by how much people love this shirt design!! (I'm a big fan, too!) Fund the Nations is an awesome organization that helps fund adoptions, mission trips, and more through tshirts! If you would like to purchase one, or several, you can click the "buy now" on the left side of the blog. In the comments/notes section, please state which size you would like (S-XL)and leave your name and mailing address. Thanks so much!!

The Big Reveal...

My sweet friend Colleen created this for "little man"! If you would like to know who he is, and see a brand new pic of him, feel free to purchase a box, and be part of the big reveal! 2 down, 28 to go...you can donate through the youcaring link on the right...let the adoption games begin!!!

<3

Auction

Since I've completely blown up Facebook with posts and links to this adoption auction I'm hosting, I figured I would post a little bit about it here. A little background infomation: adoption is costly. Rarely do people have the ability to fund an adoption from their bank account alone, and I've noticed (more so with special needs adoption) that it takes a lot to get potential adoptive parents to answer the call and say yes, and that's mostly because of the cost, and knowing the potential cost of medical care for a child with special needs once they're home. Many foreign countries require a pretty steep "deposit" to officially match you with a child, then there is the homestudy fee, USCIS fee, cost of ordering marriage/birth certificates, notary, certification of the notary, apostilles, etc...in short, it adds up fast, and most families need about $5,000 in order to get the ball rolling, not everyone has that, so that's where things like this auction come in. Every little bit helps relieve the financial mess that is adoption. Please browse the auction, if you see something you love, don't hesitate to bid, and please share the page with your friends and family!!! I can't wait to reveal which child is finally getting a family! 

Here's the link!

www.facebook.com/youwerepicked

Tips for Affording Adoption

So adoption is crazy expensive, and most adoptive parents have to do some sort of fundraising to put their kiddos ransom together...if you happen to have $25,000-$50,000 laying around your house, then kudos to you, this post will be for the rest of the riffraff like me. ;)

Fundraising sucks...lets just go ahead and get that out of the way. It sucks to feel like a beggar even though you're working harder than you EVER have in your LIFE to raise money. It sucks to feel like a sweatshop employee if you happen to know how to do a craft. In conclusion it sucks to fundraise...but I think we've already established that. So, what to do about it? The good news that saving money works EXACTLY the same way that raising money works, but without the side eye looks from strangers. :) If you're not spending money, you have extra money to put into your own adoption funds, judgement free! So, without further ado, here is a list-o-crazy ways to stretch your pennies and build up that adoption fund!

Enjoy!

Unplug everything except the refrigerator
Turn off ALL lights except when you need them
Use a clothes line, not the dryer
Do not eat out
Don not step foot into your favorite store (I'm looking at you, Target)
Do not use quick stop stores
Enjoy free activities like walking trails
Cancel the gym membership
Cancel cable
Cut off house phone and only use cell
Sell extra items around the house
Learn to use (and enjoy) what you already have
Go to the library, not the bookstore
Enjoy time at home with friends and family instead of going out
Take shorter showers
Use displacement setting in your toilet tank to use less water
Turn water off when brushing teeth
Hand wash dishes instead of using the dishwasher
Save metal: drink cans, veggie cans, scrap pieces that you would trash, take them to the scrap metal yard
Make your own household cleaners with white vinegar
Use rags instead of papertowels
Use cloth napkins instead of paper
Make your own laundry soap
Make gifts instead of buying them
Make your own greeting cards
Take a drink with you so you don't need to stop and buy one
Repair clothes instead of buying new
Shop thrift stores for childrens clothes
Learn to say NO..to yourself, and your kids
Go makeup free
Squeeze toothepaste to the last drop
Forget buying shave cream, use your hair conditioner
Color your own hair
Cut your husbands hair
Learn how to can food: if you don't have a garden, you would be surprised how many people are willing to GIVE you their gardens surplus
Buy whole milk and add a little water to stretch it
Cook from scratch
Cut meat down to just a few days a week
On meat days make casseroles so a pound will stretch
Join sites like swagbucks
Search youtube to learn how to make razor blades last FOREVER
Pay everything on time to avoid late fees
Turn your air up a few degrees
Turn your heat down a few degrees
Shop loss leaders
Make a written budget and STICK TO IT
Consolidate trips to save gas
Smash TP rolls so they roll slower (kids will use less)


Who has other ideas?! We would love to hear them!

Two Years Later

Ok, so I'm a blogging failure, that's not really debatable. I promise that I think about blogging, and I plan to do it, life just totally gets in the way. I'm going to do my best to catch everyone (is there anyone left?!) up on what life has been like with Kenzi.

On October 18, 2012...almost two years ago (!!!) we officially became the parents of our sweet Kenzi girl. On November 20th 2012 I traveled alone to Russia to pick her up and bring her home forever! Here are some pics from Kenzi's Gotcha Day, our time hanging out in Moscow, and finally heading home to the US, where Miss McKenzie became an official US citizen when the wheels hit the runway at JFK airport in New York City on November 27, 2012!

After what seemed like FOREVER, we finally landed in Nashville, TN where daddy and some family friends were waiting to welcome our girl home!

Then it was time to head home for a good nights sleep, because the next day, Kenzi was going to meet her brothers and grandparents for the first time!

Next we celebrated Thanksgiving (better late than never!) and Christmas!

On February 1st 2013, McKenzie underwent open  heart surgery and completely rocked it! She was out of the hospital in just 12 days!

To try to make a long story short, Kenzi blossomed into a vibrant, funny, smart, amazing child in 2013. In March she celebrated her birthday for the first time ever at a Cinderella themed party. In April she went to her first Easter Egg Hunt, on Father's Day she took her first steps unassisted. She spent the summer swimming in her grandparents pool, and celebrated Halloween for the first time ever that fall...then once again she was spoiled rotten at Christmas time! Here are some photos from her first full year as a cherished daughter and sister. <3

And in 2014, McKenzie continued to grow and bloom into an amazing little girl! The highlights (so far) have been:

-Her first road trip (we went to New Orleans)

-Her first pony ride

-Turning 5!!

-Trip to the zoo

-Church Dedication

-Her first time going to VBS

-Attending Day Camp at church for the first time

-Starting Kindergarten!

Here are some pics of Kenzi's highlights!

Now you're all caught up!Sorry for the length of this post, but hopefully going forward I can keep this semi updated! No promises, but I'll at least post on holidays and things. 

Thanks for reading!