Puzzle Pieces For Our Girls

This puzzle has been hanging around for awhile. We started this fundraiser a few months after we committed to Yana. We have sold a total of 115 pieces. We planned on running it until she comes home, sadly she isn't (at least not right now.) I thought about just stopping it, but the show must go on. We need to sell 435 more pieces at $5 each. That would make us an additional $2175 for our adoption of Phoebe +1. For every $5 donated you will get your name on the back of a puzzle piece. The winner will be drawn when all puzzle pieces are sold or when Phoebe +1 comes home. Your name will be highlighted. The puzzle will be put together by our family. It will then be framed with the wood of your choice with glass on the back and front (by Bryan's Framing here in Zanesville, OH.) That way you will see what piece you played in Phoebe +1's future. God bless and thank you so much for all of your support! Let's get selling-only 435 pieces to go!! All donations are tax deductible.

The Truth

I cannot tell you how many times I have been told that we were saints. When people find out that we have adopted two boys with Down syndrome and one with Autism, we get that all the time. Then when I tell them about our Carmen that died after open heart surgery and the fact that we are in the middle of an international adoption-we get that even more. Really? I am so far from a saint that it's not funny. I am not perfect and by no means deserve that. What people don't realize is the truth.

The truth is that I need my kids as much as they need me. This world can be pretty harsh sometimes and life can be difficult. Unless everything in your life happens perfectly and with ease, life can have some harsh turns. I love all of my children with all my heart. Adopting children with special needs is not always a bed of roses, but the good far outweighs the bad. They love me no matter how I look. They don't judge me if I make a stupid mistake. Even if they can't tell me that they love me (Anthony is basically non verbal) I know it by the extreme hugs they give. Even when I don't want to be touched, Anthony and Ethan climb up beside me and touch my hair, give kisses and the most wonderful hugs. When you are at your absolute worst, they know it and know what to do. When I come home from work it's always, "Hi Mom!" Jonathan always says, "How were you today?" No matter what, they always care. No matter what, they are just happy being with you.

I have been told before that they are taking away my free time. That I don't have the opportunities to drop things and go when I want. Well, let me tell you that I don't want a life without them. I need them in my life as much as they need me. They lift me up when I am down and add so much more to my life. They have brought me to a place where I actually feel like I belong. Growing up I was never really popular, wasn't the smartest person in the class, wasn't athletic and I wasn't really pretty. I now belong to a family of friends that accepts me for who I am and not what they want me to be. My Ds family is such a reward for me. I love all of them. I thank God everyday for my children, birth and adopted. God has truly blessed my life with them. We may not be the richest people in the world or have the biggest house, but I can tell you that I would rather have my life now then not have them in it. I cannot imagine what it would be like without them.

Phoebe's First Give Away

jendmoyers@gmail.com won 1st,2nd, & 6th prize
trulymme@aol.com won 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th and 13th prize
jfaithjobes@yahoo.com won the 11th prize


This quilt was originally donated by Hope Anne Dueck. It was made by her family from all over the United States and Mexico, piece by piece. It was then quilted together in hopes to raise funds for a international adoption. We had a give away for it last year, Jill Spicer won it and graciously donated it to Yana. When our adoption fell through I asked her if she wanted it and she said to keep it and use it as we see fit.


Our second item is a wonderful book donated to me by Alan Philips. We had a "The Boy From Baby House 10" give away. He gave me two books. This book was for me to keep. It is the UK version-paperback edition-with forward from Russian Model Natalia Vodianova. IT ALSO HAS ALAN'S REAL AUTOGRAPH!! This book means a great deal to me. I adore Alan. The thing is, sometimes we have to let things go that mean a lot to us. Phoebe +1 is worth it.

Third through sixth item is a set of coasters (4 in each set) made by my friend Amanda Wood. These were also made for Yana's adoption. They are hand stamped and say something different on each tile (wish, grateful, always, and joy.) The coasters are made out of shower tile with felt pads on the bottom. They are heavy. Each one is hand stamped and fired...so they all are unique.


The seventh item is a $10 Itunes gift card. This was donated by my niece Beth Beattey. She was so excited about Yana. It broke her heart when she found out Yana couldn't come home...

The eigth item is a knotted blanket donated again by my niece Beth. She made it herself. She made it for chairity, but donated it to Yana to raise money. It is a larger fleece blanket. Peace signs on the front-neon green on the back.

The ninth item is a matryoshka doll donated by the wonderful Jensen family who is RIGHT NOW in country getting ready to bring thier son home!!!


Then tenth item is two packs of cloth wipes made by Malia Kalua Allen at www.bumbledoo.com


The eleventh item will be a handcrafted item from Jen. Here is a picture of her swaddling blanket she makes. She will let me know for sure what the item is. (It will probably be either a quilt top blanket or a swaddling blanket.)


The 12th item is a $25 Children's Place Gift Card donated by Brenda Hugen


The 13th item is a $25 Old Navy/Banana Republic Gift Card donated by Brenda Hugen




If I find anything else, I will be adding them. If you wish to donate something for the give away, email me or post a comment on here with your email address so I can contact you. I have it set up for two weeks. All of these things are new, never used. They were for Yana's adoption, and although Yana will always be in my heart, I have to see what is in front of me right now (Yana is in my heart so please don't think I have forgotten about her.) Right now we need $1,100 for agency fees (we already paid $1,500) we also have to redo all the documents for our dossier and to bring both girls home we need around $17,000. I am going to set up this give away to my email address to help with the $1,100 to our agency. I could do this with overtime, but truthfully I want to get them the $ asap. Our agency would like for us to bring them home before our visas expire in September. If we make over the $1,100 I will then switch the email address to Reece's Rainbow so all donations after that would be tax deductible.

What I have to Offer...

When we lost Yana I thought I was going to just fall apart. It broke my heart. On top of that, knowing that the agency partner lied to us by saying they had the dossier translated and submitted last fall was a lie, I was quite taken back. How could they do that to us and to Yana? We waited on a date for months when really we were waiting on something not going to happen. Mad, ticked, upset, sad, hurt were a few words I could use to describe how I felt. Then add the fact that we lost the money we paid the agency here-all the documents and personal info & the money we paid for them-all the time spent and gas getting all the required signatures/apostilles needed-all the money we paid for postage-we had to have bci/fbi redone-our homestudy has to be updated-etc, etc, etc. It may not seem like a lot when it comes down to the end result, but it is emotionally painful and yes it does matter when it all adds up. Then I looked at some of the things we had here from Yana's adoption, and that got me to thinking. Thinking that maybe we should do a give away for these items and try to raise money for Phoebe and her sister to come home. So, here it goes...

It's Not Acceptable....

I love this and the whole message. It is NOT ACCEPTABLE to call someone Retarded. It is hurtful and stupid. If you think it's ok, you are wrong. We are all people and deserve to be treated with respect. We are more alike then different!!!

New Pic of Phoebe

I love new pictures and I love how she is growing.

What We Have Ahead of Us....

I am at work, at lunch, and of course I can't get our adoption out of my mind. So, other then pounding out paperwork we need to raise some money. So, if I break it down,this is what we need. For an adoption in region 9 it is about 32k for one child. So if you adopted two at seperate times you are looking at 64k. Yikes! We would like to be able to adopt two litte girls with Ds. I am working hard to get the paperwork done and I am picking up extra time at work not only to pay bills, but to prove to Phoebe's government that we can afford to adopt them. With our fsp and Phoebe's grant we have over $16,400. The adoption of two is about $36,800. So, we only need a little over $20k to adopt both girls. A lot better then 64k right??? If the government allows us to adopt the other little girl her grant will help. So, who is up for some fundraising? I wouldn't ask for help for me, but I would ask for help for my kids. It would be a miracle to only have to worry about the paperwork. We will all see what happens in the next few weeks.