Aiden: Help Bring Him Home

As you know, I am very passionate about adoption. And, unfortunately, part of adoption is finances.

I mentioned a gal named Tracie on my blog a few weeks ago and several of you asked me later who that was. So I thought I would take a moment to tell you a bit about Mrs. Tracie and what she and her family are up to.

Tracie is a consultant with Christian Adoption Consultants. I have followed her adoption blog for over a year now (give or take) and I find that their approach to helping people find matches in the adoption world is refreshing. Many of you might be wondering what exactly she does? Well, I'll tell you (in the Brea way I can). She is in contact with tons of adoption agencies and when they have a "situation" (AKA baby that they don't have current families wanting to adopt) they let Tracie and her company know. She then works with her clients to help find families for these babies. The thing that is nice about Tracie is that she is up front and honest about what she does. Yes, there is a fee, but it is minimal. If and when we choose a consultant, it will be Tracie.

Anyway, she and her hubby have four wonderful kids. Three bio and one adopted daughter (does this sound familiar?) They have recently answered God's call on their life to accept their newest child for their family: Aiden. Aiden is a cutey patootie that has Downs Syndrome and they, like us, are trying to raise funds to bring this little guy home. Someone has graciously offered to match any donations made into their adoption fund between now and Christmas up to $5K. So, if someone donates $5K, their other person will match that, giving them $10K in their fund. How AMAZING is that? If that doesn't give you a reason to give, I don't know what will. So, even $5 means a lot, because it magically turns into $10. Please consider sponsoring sweet Aiden as one of your Christmas gifts. Does your grandma really need another ugly sweater? NO. But Aiden needs to come home to his family. And trust me, parenting four kids, $10K is a BIG DEAL!

Check out the post HERE and take a look at their wonderful family and then write a check. It will make you get all warm and fuzzy, I promise!

Cutting Back

J and I have been having some pretty DEEP conversations on cutting back. Another post for another day. Tonight I got to thinking about if the economy is forcing readers of this blog to cut back this Christmas? Or are you just wanting to get back to the spirit of Christmas and that's why you're cutting back? OR are you not cutting back simply because it's Christmas and you want it to be as fun as possible? AND on that note, do you have a certain number of gifts you give your children? A certain tradition? I want to hear all about it, so give me some scoop in the comment section!

Pretty funny

I realize that no one else will think these are very funny, but I completely cracked up when I saw them simply because I was HORRIBLE at math and science in high school and college. I don't think I was ever this bad though...

THANK YOU

for the love you showed to Angie and her family (and me!) the last three days.

for the food your brought to the funeral home. It was so needed, so appreciated and so eaten.

for the prayers you have prayed for this family. I feel confident to say that they have felt them.

for being willing and able to help in any way, whether it was watching kids, cooking meals, or forwarding an email.

THANK YOU

A little more REAL

I'm sure many of you that have followed this blog for a while thought "oh boy" when you read the title. What is she going to rant about now?

My weight.

As many of you know, I started on estrogen about 3 months ago to help with migraines and some other issues I was having. Well, in my opinion, the old estrogen hasn't helped and I am anxious to go back in a few weeks and find out if my doctor feels the same. On top of that, when I went in to start on the estrogen, they weighed me and I was 144. Honestly, I was pretty happy, because I had been hovering around the 150 mark for a while but with all the migraines, I had dropped some weight. Now don't get me wrong, I am not happy at 150. I feel heavy at 150.

Well, three months and a week later, I have gained 13 pounds. Yep, 13 pounds. It ain't cool.

Now, before any of you leave a comment saying "I wish I only weighed 157 pounds" well, that's great. But, it's not great for me. I hate looking at myself naked and my clothes are TIGHT (and not in a good way). So, I'm being real and saying that I am super bummed. I'm putting it out there because I'm being REAL and I'm going to try to loose it, even though I feel the good old Estrogen has a lot to do with it.

Honestly, I've never really struggled with my weight and it sucks. I'm sorry to those of you that do.

That's my real moment for today.

Arrangements for Pat Hill, Angie's Mom

Here are the arrangements for Angie's mom. She will be at Cole and Garrett in Goodlettsville. Visitation is Tuesday, December 2 from 2-4pm and 6-8pm. The service is Wednesday, December 3 at 1pm. Mrs. Pat wanted to be cremated so their will not be a viewing, just visitation for the family.

What is needed? Food at the funeral home. I (and my mom) are coordinating food for the funeral home. If you can bring something for the family to eat, please leave me a comment below. Right now I am not going to try to assign different food to different people, so just check others comments.

I am going to take care of all the drinks and I am also planning to get one of the big sandwich rings at Sam's Club. I know JuJu is doing a chicken casserole and a vegetable. Please keep in mind we will need food both Tuesday afternoon/night and Wednesday for after the service.

Also, the family is requesting that you make a donation to the Fybromyalgia Foundation vs. sending flowers since she is being cremated. Mrs. Pat struggled with this for years and funds are desperately needed for research to treat this disease.

THANKS for your outpouring of love to Angie and her family.

EDITED TO ADD MRS. PAT'S OBIT:
HILL, Patricia GriffinAge 67 of Madison, TN, passed away November 30, 2008. She is survived by her husband of 46 years, Warren Hill; daughters, Lisa (Marty) McPherson, Angie (Robert) Vaughan & Margaret Dennis; grandchildren, Katy, Duncan, Sarah, John, Alexandra & Abby; sister, Jackie Smith. Visitation will be Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m. & 6 to 8 p.m.. Services will be 1 p.m. Wednesday at Cole & Garrett Funeral Home, with Bro. Joe Vickers officiating. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the National Fibromyalgia Association, 2121 South Towne Centre Place, Suite 300, Anaheim, CA 92806. COLE & GARRETT FUNERAL HOME, Goodlettsville, TN (615) 859-5231.

Bringing Home The Children Auction

Our next FUNdraiser is December 11, 2008. I am going to post the details below (THANKS Ray for typing this up!). Basically, to give you a quick overview...we are having a LIVE auction. We are busy collecting donations of anything and everything that will be sold at auction that night. We only have three fundraisers left (this being one of them) and are hopeful that we can raise the remainder of our money at these events. Did I mention how THANKFUL we are to all of you that has supported us in this journey!

Here's the scoop:
It is coming around the corner and fast! It will be December 11th before you know it! That is the day for the:

Bringing Home the Children Benefit Auction!

The sale is going to be at The Church at Indian Lake in Hendersonville TN. If you work at a company or know of a place that would be interested in making a donation (gift cards, certificates for service, gift baskets, etc) please let Katie Carman (sharpkiddo@gmail.com) or Brea Freeman (cheapbrea@gmail.com) know. They are doing a great job gathering up donations, even though our economy is somewhat interesting.

If you have some nice items you would like to give personally, you can let them know and we will arrange to come get them as well!

Thanks for all your help! This past holiday and the one coming up are great reminders of the fact there are millions of children who will not know the joy of the season till someone opens their home to them! Continue to pray for us and other families who are taking this leap of faith! You guys are great!

AND COME TO THE SALE ON THE 11TH AND GET SOME GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS FROM LOCAL PROVIDERS!

P.S. As a little spoiler, here's a few things we have collected so far: HARD TO FIND Bakugan gift basket (the HOT toy this year), Broyhill Computer Armoire, Custom Framed Artwork from Eddie Holland, Maggie Moo's Mom Original, gift certificate for J.D. Harris photography, and so much more!!