Welcome the Hovdas! New Family of the Week!

Hey! I'm so glad you stopped by today! I'm happy to introduce you to Jon and Angela Hovda, our family of the week! Jon and Angela are adopting 2 handsome boys from China.  They should travel very soon to bring them home.  

A little more info about their boys....

Jensen, the oldest, has Cerebral Palsy.  He has been worried that he will become too old for adoption and be without a family.  Pray for his heart as he's waiting and being told soon that he does, in fact, have a family coming.  Jack, the younger of these 2, was born with Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a rare genetic condition. Some of the risks include cancer and a premature death.  These boys NEED to come HOME where their family can provide for their needs.  Their adoptions are being expedited due to Jensen's age and Jack's health needs being so severe. 

Jack and Jensen will be welcomed by their family, including 2 big brothers and a little sister! They're all excited about their new brothers coming home.

Watch their video and get your Paypals ready! You will be giving through Reece's Rainbow (via Paypal).  Remember, Reece's Rainbow is an advocacy site that allows families to raise funds for their adoption. And your gift is tax deductible.   Very quick, very simple, very awesome. 

Remember, adoption is expensive and while Jon and Angela can provide for their 2 newest sons after they come home, funding the trip to China--the airfare, hotels, etc-- is very expensive.  That's where you come in!

Can you commit to praying for this family and giving them a dollar or 2?  ($2 for 2 boys!?!) Your support means so much.  All of our small gifts add up to such a large blessing!  Read more about the Hovda family at their blog, Our Family Escapades  (where they also have a puzzle piece fundraiser happening now!) and on their Reece's Rainbow page.  DONATE HERE:) You're the best.

Thanks for your support!! 

                                                          

Lots of Links!

Hello! Since we don't have a family this week, I thought we could look at a few other places to give.

Reece's Rainbow has their Angel Tree going on right now.  The Angel Tree focuses on a number of waiting children in different countries. You can donate to their funds.  That money will go to their families when they find them!

Also, Love Without Borders has a project called Coats for Kids.  It's pretty self explanatory! These children are in China and you know it gets cooollllld there.    You can donate $10 to help provide coats for these precious kiddos.  It's one of their special projects and there are other programs to support on the site, as well.

Don't forget Operation Christmas Child! Fill a shoe box and drop it off.  Find out details at Samaritan's Purse.

Shopping Suggestions:

We are on Zoe Clothing.  Shop, type in "garrick" and support our adoption.  CUTE tee shirts, etc!

Get some very sweet girly accessories at Katie Hurst's etsy shop, Courtly Creations. She has beautiful bows, headbands and tutus!! And even cute little bow ties! We can't leave our boys out, now can we?

Buy a piece of art from Beth Cupitt at ArtisticAdoption on etsy.

Get beautiful blankets, hats and scarves from Lindsay Morris at Lindsay Lou Creations on etsy, too.

Okay, so you have now been given several Christmas gift suggestions! No need to procrastinate any longer!  Have a great weekend and check back next week for our new family!

Helping the Campbells Get to China

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed the Campbell's video yesterday.  Ready to donate?  Click the big donate button to the left to share your dollars with them. They are all appreciated. I would love for them to break $100 today!!  Okay? Give a little and share a lot! Facebook, Twitter and your blogs are our friends!

They are traveling very soon to bring their daughter home from China. Their family is more than ready to be together!

By the way....their sweet girl was on Reece's Rainbow. Check out that website for more info on adopting waiting children with special needs- it's awesome!

Thanks so much for your generosity! Feel free to grab a button for your blog, too:)

Adopting?

So, you're thinking about adopting? I'll bet you have a lot of questions.  Here are a few that I hear often...

Is it expensive? Yes ma'am!
Does it take a long time? Usually so. (Ours seems to be taking about a year, but you can't predict a timeline in adoption. Some take several years and some move faster depending on the child's needs, age, country, your adoptive readiness, etc.)
Do you know a lot about your baby's history? Some details, yes, but every situation is different.
Can anyone adopt? Check with your agency or look online at different agencies.  Here's my agency's page Holt International and here's Beth's agency's page America World and one more that I know of in my area, Bethany Christian Services.

You can also look at Reece's Rainbow for children who are waiting. They can point you in the direction of that child's agency.
Agencies are usually pretty up front about their requirements and those requirements differ based on the country you are interested in adopting from.

Questions? Leave me a comment or email me at tonyagarrick5 (at) gmail (dot) com.  Let me know if you would like to be a family of the week, too.  There are several working on their videos, so we should start seeing families again very soon!

Have you checked out our world map? I know some of our other pages have families this week, so get your dollars ready!

Soon, we will talk about adoption etiquette and using the correct language when you're asking your friends about their adoption. Let me know if you have any suggestions or examples of your own!

Enjoy your week, everyone!

Joy Was Waiting

Thank you for stopping by the Asia page! Here's a little update from the Lewis family.....
they have broken $800 already and they are thrilled!  Their goal is $3000. This amount would cover travel expenses for themselves and their new daughter, Joy!  Darren and Jenna have been saving and fundraising and are soooo close to having everything covered. Would you like to help pay for their tickets? Just click the big donate button and give your dollar. Every dollar helps. If you and I give $1 and share the page with 10 of our friends and THEY give a dollar and share with THEIR friends... well, you see where this is going:) Spread the love!!
Check back tomorrow.......I'll give you an update!

Here's a link to an agency that advocates for waiting children. Do you remember what a waiting child is? Scroll down the page to read a little more about them. Joy was a waiting child, but no more, thanks to the Lewis'!  Click on Reece's Rainbow to find out more about these precious babies that are waiting for their families.  This is just one of the fabulous agencies that are advocating for these special children. They even have a smart phone app!!