Online Auction Coming!

September 10th Update:   The auction starts on Monday!  We have gathered some great things.  You can check them out here.   We'd love to have some more things before we start.    Please consider leaving a comment or messaging the auction page with your donation.

Laurence's family is going to be a part of an online, multi-family auction during the second half of September.

I'll be sure to post more here before it starts but for now, we are looking for donations.   Here are some ideas of things that sell well:

*Gift cards.  You know, that one that's in the bottom of your purse to a store you'll never go to.  Or, you can purchase on to a popular place like Target, Amazon or itunes.

*Hand-made items.   Do you craft?  Knit?  Sew?  Are you all about Pinterest? Do you have an Etsy store?  Would you be willing to donate an item or two?

*Seasonal clothing. A Christmas dress or Halloween costume that your child wore once.

*Any new items that you have received and not used.

*Seasonal items.  Christmas decorations or Halloween items.

*Anything else that is shippable.  Generally, the donor of the item pays for shipping so that the families do not have to cut into the their profits.  This also makes buyers much more willing to bid since they know exactly what they will be paying.  

If you have an item to donate, please leave a comment or contact Kathleen or I!

You can check out the facebook page where the item will be held here.  (I know it says LA kids.  It's a page I've used before.  Facebook won't let me change the name again.)  It will begin September 15th.


*Natalie

Celebrating Lance Home

Lance's mom has been working on some local fundraisers.  I decided to help her out and set up an online Celebrating Home fundraiser.   His account with get 50% of each purchase!  That's a great percentage.  Plus, on top of that, he will soon have a matching grant set up.  So, in reality, once the money is deposited in the matching grant, you will get a great product and Lance's adoption will get 100% of the money you paid!  Talk about a win/win!!  Oh, and the Celebrating Home representative is another adopting mom and she gets a small cut too.  How can you afford not to buy something?  

The sale is live and goes until September 11th.  

Go to this link and order:  http://www.celebratinghome.com/fundraiser/Lawrence/OnlineFundraiserHome.aspx

If you are on facebook, you can join the event here.

Please share this link and encourage your friends to order!!  

Keep the Change for Lance

*It's Natalie the blog hijacker again.  Hosting another fundraiser for Laurence and his family.  

One of the hardest parts about being an adoptive parent is not being with your child for the milestones---birthdays, holidays, first day of school, first loose tooth.  July 5th is Laurence's 13th birthday.  That's usually a scary birthday for orphans in his country since it means they only have one year left to find a forever family.  But Laurence can celebrate this year---his mom is on the way!!  And, with your help, his mom can celebrate that day, too.    

Keep the Change!

From June 5th to July 5th.  

It's pretty simple:

*Find a container--it doesn't have to be anything fancy--an empty cup, an empty jar, a bucket...whatever you have. (You can grab a picture of Laurence from his Reece's Rainbow page if you'd like.)

*Put the container in a visible place in your home---next to your purse, on the kitchen counter, on your dresser.  You could also consider putting it in your office or work space.  What a great conversation starter!

*At the end of the day, empty all the change from your pockets and wallet into the container. Say a prayer that Laurence will be celebrated on his birthday and know that he is loved.

*On Saturday, July 5th (Laurence's birthday), take your container to the bank and cash it in.  (Or sometime around then since it's a holiday weekend.) 

*Deposit the money into Laurence's FSP on Reece's Rainbow.

This is a very simple way for all of us to bless Laurence and his family on his birthday--even they can't celebrate together.  (Can you imagine how fun it will be for his mom to watch his grant grow on his birthday?) 

I have a jar of change that I've been saving since my adoption ended. I can't wait to cash it in and see what's in it.

If you want to participate, leave me a comment here and let me know!  I'll keep a running list of people who have agreed to pray for and bless Laurence and his famiy during the month leading up to his birthday.

So, start looking for the perfect container.

Participants:
Natalie 

Update on Lance

I am ALMOST done with my homestudy.  Just when I think I am done, there is just one more thing that I need to do.  My homestudy agency sent me to classes, then when I gave the certificates to my adoption agency, I was told that the hours don't count because they are not Hague approved.  There is so much to learn in this process!  So, I am going to try to get these classes done ASAP. 

Lance singing

Check out this video of Lance singing at camp.

Avon Sale

It's Natalie again.  Since I helped Kathleen set up her blog, I figure I can hijack it any time I want.  (Sounds fair to me!)  

I've been looking for ways to help adopting families since I completed my own adoption.  I love knitting and will keep doing so but it doesn't make a ton of money in the spring and summer.  So, I've decided to sell Avon online.  I have no interest in selling in person or going door-to-door.  I just want to organize online parties for adopting families.

My first family is Laurence's family.  The commission from any purchases made from my site during the month of April will go to his family.  You don't need a special code or anything.  Just make a purchase!

Laurence's family currently has a matching grant through a local church.  That means, my commission donation will be doubled!!  40 to 80% of the price of your purchase will end up going to help this family!!  And, you still get a great product.

Summer is coming.  We all need to stock up on sunblock and bug spray!

Please pass this link on to your friends and family.  Who doesn't want to help someone while buying things they already need?

www.youravon.com/adoption

~Natalie

Lance wanted to send us this pic

We sent Lance a photo book of our family.  Shortly after, Lance wanted pictures sent to us so we can see him "right away".  This is one of the pictures that he took.   I am told that he asks every day when his mom is coming to pick him up.  So sweet!

Lance at Bring Me Hope Camp

Check out this slideshow from Bring Me Hope Camp.  This is run by volunteers who help children from orphanages and poor areas experience fun, love and healing at summer camp in China.  Lance is in several of these pictures in this slideshow.  He had so much fun!

Family Warrior

This is Natalie.  I've hijacked the blog for a quick post.

I have officially decided to be the Family Warrior for Lance/Laurence through Reece's Rainbow.  That means that I've agreed to walk along side this great family and help them fund raise, pray for them, and encourage them.  Since I walked down this road a year ago, I have some idea what it's like.  My daughter has a different disability and is from a different country but I understand some of the stresses, fears, joys, and excitements that come with international adoption.

I wrote a blog post about Laurence's amazing family on my blog.  Stop by and check it out.  There are some practical ways listed that you can help this family in their beginning steps.

The most practical way you can help is prayer!  So many details have to fall into place behind the scenes for an international adoption to come together.  Pray for Laurence, his mom, everyone who handles his file, those in government positions, EVERYONE!

Thank you for helping support this family!  I can't wait to see what the future holds for them!

*Natalie

Lance's new brothers

The best picture!

Lance, always smiling!

Update

Many people have been asking where I am at in the process.  My homestudy is in progress, and because I already have a homestudy done through this agency for foster care, it is helping it to go a little faster.  I am also working on collecting everything I need for the dossier.  God has been really faithful in providing what I need financially right at the time that I need it.  One family who adopted from China gave $1,000 towards Lance's adoption, and it has been wonderful hearing about their adoption journey!  Then a friend of mine asked me to borrow a pen and returned the pen to me with a $1,000 check attached to it, even though she doesn't make very much in her job at a homeless shelter.  A couple days later I came home and there was a surprise $500 check in the mail.  So, although the cost of adoption has looked like a huge barrier to me, especially when I first started this process, God is providing the "manna" right when I need it. I was reminded of the story of Moses in the desert when I started this process, and sure enough God is providing what I need each day, whether it is the time to get this paperwork done, finances, or just encouragement in the process from people who know and love Lance.  I always love learning more about Lance and getting new pictures!  

Pictures

Enjoying Camp

A Picture of Lance in his Younger Days

About Us

We are so excited to have Lance join our family.  I have had a heart for orphans starting at a very young age.  I currently enjoy working in the field of special education, and have a great schedule for raising a family.  I went back to school to get my Masters in Social work to hopefully start a ministry for orphans/foster kids someday.  Although I have these big dreams, for right now, I am using what God has given me in the present moment.  I didn’t really plan to adopt overseas, mostly because of the huge expense.  In fact, I got my foster care license so that I can adopt a child from foster care in this country.  I guess God has other plans at this time, and I am trusting Him to provide.  Lance will join two brothers.  My biological son is 8 years old and he is half-Chinese, so they already look like brothers.  Lance’s other soon-to-be brother joined us in June of 2013 through a program called Safe Families and will be with us long-term.  We are all looking forward to meeting Lance and have enjoyed the pictures and stories from so many people who have already met him and love him.  I am amazed at how popular Lance is!

Lance - Harmony House

Here is the write-up that Harmony House has on Lance:

Date of Birth: July 2001

Came to HH:  November 7, 2012

Special Needs: Cerebral palsy. Surgery in 2006 & currently hospitalized for more surgery

Lance came from a different situation than most children who come to Harmony House in that he apparently lived with his parents until he was around two years old. He was found wandering outside the gate of a post office one evening in Bayannaoer, Inner Mongolia, and he was taken to an orphanage there until he came to Harmony House last November.  He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) when he went to the orphanage at age two.

The disease affects the right side of his body, and early in 2013 he was fitted with braces to help him walk.   Nevertheless, he takes care of himself very well. He was in a special school before coming to us, and they apparently taught him well.

Specialists have him in their care now.  He is having a series of five surgeries interspersed with special physical therapy.  At the end of the anticipated five months’ of treatment, they believe Lance will walk without braces.   Meanwhile, we are trying to raise the funds to keep him in treatment.  If you wish to help, please go back to our home page and click on Current Needs at the bottom of the page.   

Lance’s biggest dream is to have his very own Forever Family.  He is a sweet young man who is outgoing and friendly with a smile for everyone.  Not having been in regular school before he came to us, he is a little behind but can read, write and do simple math—and he is learning, although Lily says he is a little lazy with his studies.  He enjoys cartoons and listening to music, and he is quite a singer. One of China’s prominent entertainers—after  hearing Lance sing—has sponsored voice lessons for him in Beijing .

Harmony's House featured Lance in their Christmas Newsletter.

Meet Lance - Reece's Rainbow

I first found Lance on Reece's Rainbow.  His alias on there is Laurence.  (Lance is also an alias.)

Here's what his Reece's Rainbow profile has to say about him:  

Boy, born July 2001
Cerebral palsy, limb deformity

From his camp counselor- Laurence is the most loving, gracious, generous boy. The amazing thing about Laurence is that, for everything that has gone wrong in his life, you would never know it at all. Laurence is truly a happy boy and his happiness came from loving and caring for those around him as well as some of the simplest things in life (balloons, bubbles, singing… etc.). All said and done, he just wanted to love and be loved. His generosity and graciousness was so great as well to the point where sometimes it was even hard to believe. There was never a time where he didn’t thank me for every single little thing I did for him. In fact, my all –time favorite moment with Laurence was when he broke out in song while we were eating. I asked the translators what he was singing about and Laurence said it was a song just for me in thanks for all the times I carried him up the stairs. Needless to say, I couldn’t help but shed a tear at that moment. Another example of his generosity came when we gave him his first ever ice cream cone and all he wanted to do was share it with me out of thanks. The same thing happened with his first burger, popcorn, French fries… etc. Laurence’s favorite thing in all the world to do is sing. He is a great singer too! All Laurence wants more than anything in the world is a mom and a dad and multiple times he would mention it. In fact, my heart crumbled when I called him a week after he left, which also happened to be right before another surgery on his legs, and he asked me whether I had found parents for him yet or not. I know Laurence would bring nothing but a joy to any family who would take him in.

Check back often as I work to bring Lance home.