DAVID MAXIM IS HOME!!

Sorry that I haven't updated my blog the last few days.  David and Daddy's homecoming was fast and needless to say, we are all pooped out!!!

I promise to update with pictures and all the happenings of David's trip home.  Until then, I will leave you with a few pictures.

GOTCHA TRIP - DAY 4

The call that Curtis has been waiting for finally came....GOTCHA DAY IS TOMORROW!!  Our facilitators having been working hard on our behalf and were able to get all of our paper work submitted to the embassy, which eliminates one of Curtis' appointments.  We ask for prayers as they have a long day of travel tomorrow by car and the roads are bad with ice and snow.

In a matter of just hours, David will grab Curtis' hand and walk out of the orphanage FOREVER!!!

THANK YOU JESUS FOR THIS INCREDIBLE GIFT!

GOTCHA TRIP - DAY 2 & 3

There isn't a whole lot to update.  Curtis spent the weekend visiting David for a couple of hours twice a day.  He can tell that David knows that something is changing.  He is showing more emotion, wanting to hug, kiss and be close to Curtis.  He has even seen him cry which we never saw before.  David knows that he is going with Papa to America on an airplane. 

"Gotcha Day" is planned for Wednesday.  Curtis is ready to bust him out!  The orphanage he is in is nice and the staff is really great, but it's still an orphanage.  Curtis is ready to be home and start settling into our new family.  The kids and I are all anxious to have the boys home as well.  Counting the days......

Here are a few picture that Curtis took of the town square.  It was fun for me to see the tree all decorated that we watched being assembled while we were there a few weeks ago.

At the orphanage

GOTCHA TRIP UPDATE - DAY 1

I was on my way to school with Johnathan this morning and he started to cry. I pulled over and we talked. He is missing daddy and so we went back home. I knew that if we were going to be able to talk to Curtis, it would be this morning, as it is night time in David's country. So, we came home and waited for the "online" to show up on Skype. We sat around the computer and listened to daddy tell the happenings of today.

Curtis was picked up at 6:30a by N**o, our facilitator I***a and headed off for P*****y. They got to the orphanage around 9a and picked up David Max and then got back in the car and headed for C*******v to apply for the David's passport. Curtis explained that David was needed because the had to retake his passport photos because there was something wrong with the background on the first set that was already taken. It was another 2 1/12 hours to C*******v from P*****y. Not knowing how David would do with the car ride, I had Curtis pack anti nausea meds, Dramamine, plastic zip lock bags, and wipes. Apparently, I***a had given David a tangerine to eat in the car and not long after Curtis noticed David holding his stomach. He had I***a ask him if his tummy hurt and David said no. Curtis took action anyway. Good thing, because not long after David cupped his mouth and  threw up. N**o pulled over, got out and smoked a cigarette. Curtis and I***a cleaned David up. Curtis gave him the meds and they were back on the road.

When they arrived at the office where the passport needed to be done, I***a sent N**o in to do it. She told Curtis that the lady in the office is a "woman hater" and it would be best if N**o did it. ;) After that was all taken care of, they got back on the road and headed back to P*****y.   I***a told Curtis that this region is very hard and messy towards the end of the adoption process. It was best if David went back to the orphanage and stayed. They took Curtis to the hotel there where we stayed and were informed that "there was no room at the inn". Apparently New Years is still being celebrated and the partying wouldn't end until the 13th. The hotel staff said then they will have room. After traveling 12 hours in the car and not feeling well, he just wanted to find a bed and crash. After some calls, the hotel staff said they could put him in a room that was being renovated. Curtis didn’t care, he just wanted to sleep.

He went on to share that the I***a got a call from the local social worker and she was freaking out. Crying and yelling that we hadn’t come to get David by the end of December. WHAT???? Doesn’t she know her own laws??? I***a tried to explain to the SW that we couldn’t take him until all of the proper paperwork was done and that we couldn’t get it done before the end of the year because of the 10 day wait and holidays. Why I***a needed to explain that is beyond all of us. I***a was frustrated as well. Then, I***a was also told that more paperwork needed to be done as the government changed some laws, AGAIN. How frustrating that must be to never have consistency.

So, Curtis is in P*****y and will be visiting David at the orphanage for just 2 hours, twice a day. Hopefully this will only have to be until Wednesday. They are all hoping the passport will be done, get David and head back to K**v to get the embassy appointments done. 
 
When I asked Curtis about David’s reaction when he first saw him again, he said that David looked at him with shock and was then shy. He warmed back up to him while they were in the car. When he took him back and said good bye, David was happy and okay.

This has to be the most confusing thing for David. My prayer is that he doesn’t think this is what a mommy and daddy does. Curtis is doing everything he can and being advised by our facilitators. This is tough. I just want them both home as quickly as possible.

Please pray for Curtis as he is so very tired and not feeling well. Pray for David and his heart and mind to know the truth. Pray for the people in charge, that they would do the right things and as quickly as possible.

GENEROSITY

Today is a busy day in our house.  Curtis is home and we are checking off the remaining "to do list" items.  He is so very much excited and it does my heart good.  When we came home three weeks ago, we decided that he would return alone.  I was relieved that I wouldn't have to make to long trip, but also sad that I would not be returning to the place that now has a piece of my heart.  I also wondered if Curtis was really going to be okay with doing this by himself.  He is a strong man and loves adventure, but still - this is a huge undertaking.  Seeing the excitement radiate from every part of his being is pure joy for me.

From the very beginning of this adoption, people of graciously showered us with not only their support spiritually and emotionally, but financially.  We have been gifted so much!  To say that we couldn't have done it without you, isn't just a fluffy statement.  IT IS THE TRUTH!  We have been humbled in so many ways.  But to be honest, the fundraising and putting our need "out there" has been the most difficult part.  We have always enjoyed being able to be the ones to meet other's needs.  Being on the receiving end has been hard.  At first I felt ashamed to ask.  During our fundraisers, I cringed a bit putting the "donation" jar out.  It didn't feel good.  But once we were able to share our story and listen to people, I started to understand why God had shortened our own hands.  They were sowing into the life of a child and giving God an opportunity to reach people.  It wasn't about Curtis and I not having the money to do this, but about giving many people the opportunity to be a part of this and be blessed because of it.

We are excited to share that through all of the ups and downs, twists and turns, we have almost been completely funded - again!  One month ago we wondered how we were going to come up with almost $5k to replenish Porter's fund.  LOOK AT WHAT HAS HAPPENED!!  It is basically done!

Curtis and I can not say thank you in enough ways to truly show everyone just how grateful we are.  I said it before and I will say it again....A HUGE WEIGHT HAS BEEN LIFTED.  How incredible is this?!!

TRUMPED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD

Today is Sunday...a restful day for me and the kids. 
 
As I sit here reflecting on the past month, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.  Gratitude for the even the confusion.  I have seen and felt what complete rest in Him looks and feels like.
 
I have to admit that I was still unsettled when we got home three weeks ago.  I kept asking God why He did it this way.  Why did He have to make this seem like such a complicated, confusing, and scary journey.  It wasn't until Christmas Eve while I was alone in the car driving, when He answered.
 
He shared this with my heart:

#1 - This isn't our journey.  It is His.
 
#2 - It isn't just about us or an orphan, but about many.  The more "ground we covered" because of all of our twists and turns, the more people affected.
 
He reminded me that He is in the business of saving lives.  When He asked us to say "yes" He was asking us to be tools.  He equipped us with everything we needed, when we needed it, and how we needed it even though it didn't always make sense to us.
 
God also affirmed that researching, planning and preparing are all good things.  BUT, we had to get to the point where we allowed Him to trump those plans.  Saying "yes" doesn't mean getting in the driver's seat.  It means getting in the car when He pulls up and being willing to go where ever He goes.

I have shared how scared I was during our meeting where we had to quickly pick a child out.  "How could I be certain that we were doing the 'right' thing?"  When I think back to that moment, I begin to see that it didn't matter how we got there, we were EXACTLY where we were supposed to be.  The end result was the right result, because God had already planned it.  I didn't need to be afraid.

This is what trust looks, feels, and tastes like.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."          Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

I get it!

TIME TO BRING DAVID MAXIM HOME!

When Curtis and I left to come back home in December, we knew that the return trip to bring David Maxim home would be delayed due to the holidays.  The reality of just how long it would be before he was actually home didn't really set in.  We said goodbye on December 14th.  We just received the "green light" to travel again a couple of days ago.  This time Curtis will be going by himself while I stay home and care for the kids as we prepare for David's arrival.

Curtis is headed back next week.  If everything goes smoothly, they should be home in about 2 1/2 weeks from now!  Wow, this is really happening.....

Many of you have contacted and shared how you have been praying and sowing into this adoption.  It has been amazing to see how complete strangers have gathered around us.  THANK YOU.

We were contacted by a wonderful family that has offered a matching grant to help close the gap in our fundraising.  They are wanting to donate $500!!  We have UNTIL JANUARY 8TH to meet it.  For for EVERY $1 DONATED HERE it will automatically be DOUBLED.  Once our grant reaches $17,204.91 we will have reached the grant.

Why are we still fundraising.....didn't we meet our goal before we traveled?  Yes we did.  You can read about what happened here.

We are only $1,868 away from meeting our expenses.  Once the matching grant has been matched and donated, we will be under the $1K mark before leaving next week.  This would be huge.

Please pray, share, blog, tweet........

I wanted to capture our journey and be able to share our story, from the beginning.  Once we get David home, I will do another video of his "gotcha" journey.

Thank you to all of you who have stood by us from the very start.  Your love and support helped propel us onward.

THANK YOU!

 

UPDATE:  MATCHING GRANT HAS BEEN MET!!

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS INDEED!

So much has happened since my last post.  I will do my best to try and make sense of everything that has gone on during the last couple of weeks.

We finally got word on Wednesday, December 12th that we would be having court that Friday at 10 a.m.  We woke up that morning excited and yet very calm.  Our adoption journey had taken so many twists and turns....here we were - the day we had been anticipating for months, yet looked nothing like we had originally visioned.  BUT, we had such peace.  God knew all along who would be our son, even if we didn't.  Because of our obedience and trust, we were being given the best Christmas present of all.

leaving for court

Court was very relaxed.  It was held in the judge's office and he was a very kind man.  We were each asked some questions, mainly wanting to know why we wanted to adopt.  The regional social worker, orphanage lawyer, prosecutor, judge's assistant, and judge's secretary were also present.  The SW spoke and said that based on her findings, she highly recommended us to be the parents of "Marcus".  Then the orphanage lawyer spoke and shared that we were highly praised by the orphanage staff and not only did "Marcus" love us, all of the children and staff loved us.  I had a hard time fighting back the tears.  Curtis and I had gone into this journey knowing that it wasn't just about saving a child, but changing the lives of many.  We brought Jesus to that orphanage and showed them what His love looks and feels like.  It didn't take effort, we just did what we always do and let Jesus work through us.  We treated each of those children as if they were our own and each staff member as if they were a part of our family.  Even though we didn't speak the same language, our hearts spoke to each other.  We laughed and cried together, often speaking just one word and pantomiming. :)  So many hugs and kisses were exchanged.  Our lives are for every changed.

So, getting back to court... :)  We were dismissed to wait out in the waiting room while the judge made his decision.  We waited about 10 minutes and were called back in.  Curtis and I held hands while the judge read his decision.  In a matter of a moment, we were given the gift of new child to call our own.  We are the proud parents of David Maxim Eriksen!!!!

left to right - judge's secretary, regional social worker, orphanage lawyer, Curtis, judge, Sara, and judge's assistant

We left the courthouse and were surprised to find David waiting in the car.  Irina (our facilitator) had taken David to get his passport pictures done while we were in court.  We didn't know she was doing this and were very excited to see him!!  I jumped in the car, grabbed his little face and said, "I am your mama and you are my son.  I love you!"

David waiting in the car after court

After taking David back to the orphanage, we went to lunch with our facilitator's Luda and Irina.  We talked about what the next stage was going to look like and the time frame for completing it.  There is a 10 day waiting period from the day of court to the day we are able to pick up the court decree and start the paper chase in being able to bring David home.  The day we could start gathering the necessary paperwork would be Christmas day.  We would need to apply for his passport in the city he was born in, which happens to be a few hours away from the orphanage.  Once the passport is applied for, it will take a minimum of 4 business days to get.  That would put us at December 31st before we could even be able to schedule our visit to the US Embassy in the capital city.  In David's country, New Years kicks off their Christmas celebration and goes through January 7th (their official Christmas Day).  Needless to say, everything closes down and we wouldn't be able to finish up the necessary paperwork and appointments until the second week in January.  Our facilitators advised us that it would be best to go back home and wait. 

We were beyond excited to know that we would be able to be home for Christmas, but sad that we would have to leave David behind.  We spoke to the nannies at his orphanage and explained what was happening and made sure David knew why we had to leave.  It was bittersweet.

We drove back to the capital city that afternoon.  We spent the next day getting some papers notarized and enjoying the sites of the big city one last time.

the snow makes everything look so pretty

We boarded the plane that Sunday morning and didn't tell the kids we were coming home.  We wanted to surprise them.  We had all prepared for us to be gone during Christmas, but the kids prayed every night that God would bring us home before then.  We traveled for 27 hours and didn't sleep much the whole time.  Excitement was keeping us going.  When we walked in the house, Curtis tried to capture the kid's response on video.  It was dark and the video didn't turn out well, but Lauren was in shock and said she was going to faint, Katie cried and shouted, "you're home", and Johnathan.....well, Johnathan came out of the bathroom brushing his teeth and just looked at us and went back into the bathroom.  :)  Johnathan later told us that he had prayed every night that we would be home before Christmas.  His prayers were answered.

  

We are now home and trying to adjust our bodies back to the time zone.  Jet lag has been rough, but I think I am finally coming around.

 

We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas.  We have been blessed with a new son and a new appreciation of life.

 

 



When we lost Porter we also lost his grant.  We are trying to recoup those costs as we counted on that grant when we set up our adoption budget.  We have been given a generous $1,000 matching grant that goes through 12-31-12.  We need another $815 to meet it.

Have a VERY Merry Christmas!

The Eriksen's

.....the rest of the story...

Once we arrived in Marcus' city we were taken to the orphanage to meet him.  The director was ill, so we met with the assistant director and orphanage doctor.  During our visit, one of the nannies brought Marcus.  As soon as I saw him, my eyes welled with tears.  He was so afraid.  He didn't want to make eye contact with us, but his curiosity kept getting the best of him.  I would catch him glancing up at us and quickly smile then look away again.  We only had him in visiting with us for a few minutes.  Because he was so scared, we had him go back to his groupa.  After our visit, we were taken to the local hotel to drop off our things.  Our facilitator asked if we needed more time or if we wanted to go ahead and give the okay to proceed with the adoption.  Both Curtis and I knew that he was the one.  The rest of the day was spent running around the town trying to get some paperwork notarized.  It was a Friday, and apparently people don't like to work on Friday's around here.  Our wonderful facilitator was getting frustrated and I just sat in the back seat of the van praying.  On our seventh stop, our facilitator came out to say that she found a notary that would be willing to help us with our documents.  Around 4p we were finally done running around and were taken back to the hotel.  We were pooped out, both emotionally and physically.

Saturday we woke up and got ready to head to the orphanage for our first 'real' visit with M.  We just showed up at the orphanage, walked right in and right to his groupa.  No questions asked.  We spent a couple of hours trying to introduce ourselves and help M to feel comfortable.  It was a quiet visit (he didn't talk), but a productive one.  We left that afternoon and M was starting to open up.  When we went back for our late afternoon/evening visit, M was much more excited to see us.  The kids were eating dinner and the nannies invited us in to hang out with the groupa.  They even invited us in to the children's sleeping room.  M showed us where he slept.  We were so grateful to have the opportunity to see where he sleeps.

The nannies have all been very welcoming.  We have been allowed to be a part of many things while here.  M is treat fairly well.  I asked if any of the other children in his groupa are available to be adopted and we were told no.  They actually all have families and are only there for a certain amount of time due to various reasons.  Good to know these sweeties have families, sad that they are temporarily separated from them.

Court is scheduled for this Friday at 10a our time.  Please pray that nothing comes up that would prevent it from happening (example-judge has other more important cases, or a key person is ill).

Once I have access to my computer, I will be able to elaborate more on our time here as well as share photos.  Working from my tablet is not working so well.  :)

Thank you for sticking with us......sorry my posts have taken so long to get up.

-Sara and Curtis

FOREVER CHANGED

I am finally able to get on my blog and give you all an update.

We arrived safely in "Porter's" country Tuesday afternoon after a 21 hour travel day.  We had a driver that met us at the airport and took us to our apartment in the city.  It was a clean, warm place to crash.  Wednesday morning we had our appointment with the Department of Adoptions.

Our meeting didn't go quite as planned.  The leader of our facilitation team was with us during our appointment.  We were shown "Porter's" file and were told that he was actually living in a special needs care home and that he was paralyzed on the right side.  Curtis and I sat there with our eyes wide.  We didn't say a word, just listened.  "Porter's" prognosis was not fully given until then.  We were informed that it was best that we forgot about him and pick another child.  Curtis and I sat in disbelief that once again this adoption was taking another turn.  We understood that we were being informed what to do as we were not approved in our home study to care for a child with "Porter's" level of care.

We were given a handful of files and were told that we needed to pick out three children that we would be interested in.  My heart raced as this was not what we had prepared for.  I was overwhelmed with the thought of choosing a child so quickly.  We spend more time researching a car to buy or even a peice of furniture than we were being given to pick out a child to graft into our family.

Curtis held my hand and gave me the look of reassurance that this was going to be okay.  We chose three files and after the Department of Adoptions called to verify that they were still available for adoption, we were told that we now needed to narrow it down to just two boys.

We did just that and the DAP quickly started calling to get a hold of the orphange directors to see how the boys interacted with the other kids and any other important information we would need about their overall health and mental status.

While we watied to hear back, we walked accross the street to have lunch.  During that time they were able to hear back from one of the orphanages that the boy we were interested in was very kind, gentle, healthy, and on track developmentally.

We were excited and told our facilitator that we would like to go and visit him.  That next afternoon we picked up the paperwork that would allow us to visit the orphanage.  The next morning we were picked up at 6:15ish and driven to this boy's town.  More information coming...

We have one more prayer request: When we lost Porter, we lost his grant money as well. It had almost 5k in it. We counted on using / needed to use that money for our expenses while in country. We are now short on finances as our new boy did / does not have a starting grant.  The fundraising numbers have been updated (less the grant) and we are now $4,617.84 short of funds.  I have struggled with sharing this information. Asking for help again has not been top on my priority list. But this is the reality of it. My blog has been giving me fits, so I have been delayed in posting while out of the country.  Our grant account with Reece's Rainbow is still active, so if you could share our situation, that would be great. 

We feel your prayers. Thank you! ♥ Sara and Curtis

Update Coming.......

A long overdue update is on its way.  The blog is giving me fits and using my tablet is not helping the matter.  I will be getting help with my post letting you all know what is happening here with us.  Once again we encountered more unexpected information that has pointed us in a new direction.  As you have probably noticed, Porter's information is missing and a new boy, Marcus has been added. My next post (with some help) will explain what has happened.  In the meantime, we would appreciate your continued prayers.

AND WE'RE OFF!

It's here, it's here!!!  We have finally come to the end of the beginning!  All of our hard work has paid off and now we begin our journey to meet our new son.  Curtis and I thank all of you for your support and prayers.  We can't wait to share with "Porter" just how many people have loved and prayed him home. 

We will do our best to update our blog while we are away.  As long as I have internet service, I will let everyone know how we are doing.  I will not be able to post a lot of detailed information to protect our adoption process.  But, I will post what I can. :)

That's all for now.  Next time you hear from me, we will be halfway around the world!

Blessings!

Curtis and Sara

THREE MORE DAYS AND COUNTING!

4 1/2 months ago our paperwork was sent to Reece's Rainbow committing to "Porter".  In just three days, we will be boarding the plane to go get him.  WOW!

As Curtis and I prepare for our trip, we are overwhelmed by the wonder that awaits us.  We have been busy gathering items to take with us to give to the children in the orphanage as well as the caretakers that give of themselves everyday to watch over these precious children.  A very talented and gracious lady has donated over 70 handmade hats to give to the children in "Porter's" orphanage.  We can't wait to hand them out!

We have been told to pack lightly.  How does one do that when they are preparing to travel to a foreign country for 5 weeks in a remote area that does not have access to a lot of stores?????  HA!  We aren't taking many clothes, but what we are taking will get to be shared with many special children.  As I stop and think about how God has orchestrated this whole process, I wasn't surprised that He has us traveling during Christmas.  There couldn't be a better time of year to go and share the love of Jesus, but during His birthday!

So, yes...Curtis and I are going to be stuffing our bags full of treasures.  We have found that an extra bag will be needed to get these goodies over there.  We are flying United Airlines.  If I read their baggage policy right, we will have to pay $100 for an extra checked bag.  So many of you have been more than generous and helped Curtis and I gather the finances needed to get to "Porter".  We are asking again if people could come together to help raise the extra baggage fee.  We have nothing to give away this time....just simply asking for help.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!!

MATCHING GRANT WINNERS!

OUR MATCHING GRANT WAS MET!

I used www.random.org to pick the winners for the following prizes.

Origami Owl Necklace and Pendant
WINNER IS:  LORI ANTHONY

This is a large size locket, silver in color (stainless steel so that they don't ever tarnish), with the crystal cross. Whoever wins, will also get three other charms of their choice (go to www.cutehoot.origamiowl.com/ to pick). Retails for $46.00

 

 

Hand Painted Infant's T-Shirt
WINNER IS:  ANNIE TRENDA

This is a light blue, 100% cotton shirt size 3-6 months. It has been hand painted (no stencils). The colors are more vivid in person. Retails for $45.00.

 

Thank you for helping get us to our goal!

LAST DAY TO MEET OUR MATCHING GRANT

LAST DAY to meet our matching grant goal and we ONLY need $135.70!
(Our Reece's Rainbow Grant needs to be at $12,055.70)

We leave in 11 days to travel to Porter!!

Once the matching grant is meet, we will only need $830.76 before we are fully funded!

Go to our Reece's Rainbow grant fund here.
All donations are tax deductible.

$1,000 MATCHING GRANT

We have a donor that wants to donate $1,000 as a matching grant. We had ONE WEEK to get it matched!

In addition, we have been given two cool prizes to give as an incentive.

Origami Owl Necklace and Pendant

This is a large size locket, silver in color (stainless steel so that they don't ever tarnish), with the crystal cross. Whoever wins, will also get three other charms of their choice (go to www.cutehoot.origamiowl.com/ to pick). Retails for $46.00

Hand Painted Infant's T-Shirt

This is a light blue, 100% cotton shirt size 3-6 months. It has been hand painted (no stencils). The colors are more vivid in person. Retails for $45.00.

Thank you for helping get us to our goal!

MATCHING GRANT ENDS TOMORROW

We have until tomorrow to meet our matching grant goal and we ONLY need $205.55!
(Our Reece's Rainbow Grant needs to be at $12,055.70)

We leave in 12 days to travel to Porter!!

Once the matching grant is meet, we will only need $1,036.31 before we are fully funded!

Go to our Reece's Rainbow grant fund here.
All donations are tax deductible.

$1,000 MATCHING GRANT

We have a donor that wants to donate $1,000 as a matching grant. We have ONE WEEK to have it matched!

In addition, we have been given two cool prizes to give as an incentive.

Origami Owl Necklace and Pendant

This is a large size locket, silver in color (stainless steel so that they don't ever tarnish), with the crystal cross. Whoever wins, will also get three other charms of their choice (go to www.cutehoot.origamiowl.com/ to pick). Retails for $46.00

Hand Painted Infant's T-Shirt

This is a light blue, 100% cotton shirt size 3-6 months. It has been hand painted (no stencils). The colors are more vivid in person. Retails for $45.00.

Thank you for helping get us to our goal!

2 DAYS LEFT TO MEET OUR MATCHING GRANT

ONLY 2 DAYS left to meet our matching grant goal and we still need $665!
(Our Reece's Rainbow Grant needs to be at $12,055.70)

We leave in 13 days to travel to Porter!!

$1,000 MATCHING GRANT

We have a donor that wants to donate $1,000 as a matching grant. We have ONE WEEK to have it matched!

We need $3,485.76 more before we travel.  If we can meet the matching grant donation goal, we would reduce our remaining expenses in half!

In addition, we have been given two cool prizes to give as an incentive.

Origami Owl Necklace and Pendant

This is a large size locket, silver in color (stainless steel so that they don't ever tarnish), with the crystal cross. Whoever wins, will also get three other charms of their choice (go to www.cutehoot.origamiowl.com/ to pick). Retails for $46.00

Hand Painted Infant's T-Shirt

This is a light blue, 100% cotton shirt size 3-6 months. It has been hand painted (no stencils). The colors are more vivid in person. Retails for $45.00.

 

Thank you for helping get us to our goal!

3 DAYS LEFT TO REACH OUR MATCHING GRANT GOAL!!

We just received the exciting news that we leave in 2 weeks to travel to Porter!!

We have JUST 3 DAYS to meet our matching grant goal!

$1,000 MATCHING GRANT

We have a donor that wants to donate $1,000 as a matching grant. We have ONE WEEK it have it matched!

We need to raise $4,1736 before we travel (which should be by the end of the month). If we can meet the matching grant donation goal, we would reduce our remaining expenses in half!

In addition, we have been given two cool prizes to give as an incentive.

Origami Owl Necklace and Pendant

This is a large size locket, silver in color (stainless steel so that they don't ever tarnish), with the crystal cross. Whoever wins, will also get three other charms of their choice (go to www.cutehoot.origamiowl.com/ to pick). Retails for $46.00

Hand Painted Infant's T-Shirt

This is a light blue, 100% cotton shirt size 3-6 months. It has been hand painted (no stencils). The colors are more vivid in person. Retails for $45.00.

Our grant account needs to reach $12,055.70 to get the matching $1,000.

Thank you for helping get us to our goal!

$1,000 Matching Grant!!!

$1,000 MATCHING GRANT

 

We have a donor that wants to donate $1,000 as a matching grant.  We have ONE WEEK it have it matched!

 

We need to raise $4,1736 before we travel (which should be by the end of the month).  If we can meet the matching grant donation goal, we would reduce our remaining expenses in half!

 

In addition, we have been given two cool prizes to give as an incentive.

 

Origami Owl Necklace and Pendant

 

This is a large size locket, silver in color (stainless steel so that they don't ever tarnish), with the crystal cross. Whoever wins, will also get three other charms of their choice (go to www.cutehoot.origamiowl.com/ to pick).  Retails for $46.00

 

Hand Painted Infant's T-Shirt

 

This is a light blue, 100% cotton shirt size 3-6 months. It has been hand painted (no stencils). The colors are more vivid in person.  Retails for $45.00.

 

Our grant account needs to reach $12,055.70 to get the matching $1,000.

Thank you for helping get us to our goal!