Meet the graduates!

The top 3 photos are of Angelito on his 18th birthday, and the bottom 3 are of Jhonalyn on her 18th birthday.

Tamara is holding a raffle as well. Since she has some other things going on (namely a baby that is coming any day now), I don't have the details of what is being offered. However, whomever donates even before the raffle is announced will be included in the raffle. I believe that it will be similar to Diego's raffle (meaning 1 ticket for every $10 donation). Here are the links to the two fundraisers:

http://www.firstgiving.com/graduates

http://www.firstgiving.com/graduates2

Looking for another sponsor child?

Sharick Angelica is 5 1/2. She lives in Colombia with relatives and her 3 siblings on $84 a month!

Karol Julieth is 5 years old. She lives in Colombia with her mother and 2 siblings on $84 a month!

Monica is 6 1/2 years old. She lives with her 2 siblings and relatives in Zambia on $20 a month!

Memory is 8 years old. She lives with her mother and 4 siblings in Zambia on $12 a month!!

Two brothers- Willison (above) is 5 1/2 and his brother Kelvin (below) is 2 1/2. They live together with their parents and one other sibling in Zambia on $30 a month!

Moses is 2 1/2 years old. He lives with his parents and 3 siblings in Zambia on $15 a month!!

Nine year old Njatte lives in Zambia with his parents and 3 siblings on $35 a month!
Brayan Alberto is 5 years old. He, his mother, and 1 sibling live in Mexico on ONLY $95 a month!

I know how hard it is to search through all of the children waiting for sponsors on the CI web-site. I hope to make it a little easier. I found these children to be ones with very low incomes. Whenever I am searching, I always look at that to see how much the family is living on. If you can sponsor any of these children, they can all be found through the regular CI search (but now you have more specific information on how to find them).

Soon, I will post some more children who have special needs, so stay tuned to help them.

A Web-site for our fundraiser

I am so excited to announce that we now have a fundraiser web-site! Still under construction, so don't expect much. Here is the link. Enjoy!
http://makeachangemac.webs.com/

Project #11!!

Angelito (http://www.firstgiving.com/graduates2 )

Jhonalyn (http://www.firstgiving.com/graduates )

As we wrap up fundraising project #10 ( http://www.firstgiving.com/helpfordiego ), I am giving you the links for the project #10. We only have $40 left to go for project #10!!!

Project #11 is for two young people that Tamara sponsors. They are both very close to graduating from the Children International Sponsorship program. I have some great pictures of them, but I need to get the identifying informtaion removed before I post them. Hopefully I will have them to post tomorrow.

Oh, by the way, I DO have a web-site under construction. It will be the one-stop place to find the latest fundraisers and updates. Since I am working every day for the next few days, my time is limited... However, I will be working on the site a little here and there as well as setting up everyone's fundraisers as they come up. Please have patience with me when it comes to responses to e-mails. I am on top off everything that is going on with the fundraisers, and everything should go smoothly.

Has anyone heard from Jennifer? She has not responded to my e-mail and her fundraiser is set for # 12. If anyone can get her for me, I would appreciate it. I have not gotten the info for her fundraiser, so if Tamara's ends before I have Jennifer's info, and will have to switch Jennifer with Mack. Hopefully, Jennifer has gotten the special needs request from CI, and that would solve everything.

It's not too late to help little Diego

Little Diego is halfway to the completetion of his fundraiser: http://www.firstgiving.com/helpfordiego

There is only $125 left to be able to help him and his family. If you haven't donated yet, and can donate before the end of the month, please do so. What's the rush? If we can raise all of the money by June 30th, he will get the funds for his project around the middle of July. If we can not raise what is needed before the end of the month, the funds will not be transferred to his field office until the middle of August. As you know, mosquitos can be deadly. One of the items he requested was a mosquito net. He, also, requested a bed.

If have already donated and can give a little more, every penny counts!! Thank you for your continued dedication to changing lives!!

Check out this cutie!!! Leydi 2009

Girls don't get any cuter than this one!!! Check out the toothless grin!!! After almost a year of trying to find sponsors for Leydi and Dulce in Santo Domingo, I have decided that it just wasn't meant to be... If the girls were meant to be with someone else, they would be gone by now... And, to be honest, Leydi is Jaden's favorite, so I would hate to break her heart. I had only intended to find sponsors for these children (a total of 5 with special health needs). I am happy to report that all 5 of them now have sponsors!!! 4 of them will officially be mine, and one is with Jim (Mack's Dad). The original 5 were: Diego, Jonathan, Katherine, Dulce, and Leydi. I took Diego immediately since he was in the same area as my other sponsored child Henry, and he was the one with the greatest health needs. Jonathan followed after Diego when I discovered that both of Jonathan's parents had passed away (just as Diego's had). Katherine found a sponsor (as mentioned)... And, now I officially announce that my girls and I have grown too close to these precious girls (Leydi and Dulce) to let them go. What a sweet surprise to see that Leydi is happy about the arrangement, too :0)

Help for Diego!

Diego with his aunt in their kitchen area

I am just guessing that this is some of the drinks his aunt sells with the lunches

Diego with his aunt and grandfather outside their "borrowed" home.

Diego's aunt preparing the lunches she will sell to construction workers.

After all of that work, and standing over an open fire, she still has a smile on her face!

An older photo from a few months ago with Diego, his aunt, and his grandfather.

Hey, everyone!

Diego and his aunt are going to get the help that they need. Thanks to Kristen and all of the other Aura's House partners, Deigo will get a chance, and hopefully show a real smile from the inside out. The link to his fundraiser is here: http://aurashouse.com/2009/06/emergency-project-for-diego-of-columbia/

I know Diego needs the nutritional supplements, tuition, uniforms, and textbooks ASAP, so I have started a raffle. He will be delivered the help he needs as the funds are raised little by little. As soon as the first $150 is raised, he will be delivered the Pediasure immediately, and so on (in order of priority).

To help him get the help he needs quickly, here is my offer:

For every $10 donated, you will receive 1 raffle ticket. At the end of the fundraiser, I will get a spread sheet of the donors. I will use this spread sheet to print off the raffle tickets. My daughter Jaden will draw a number out of the hat to determine the winner. The winner will receive a brand new black 4GB Microsoft Zune Video and Music MP3 player found here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WG1QRS/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

Thanks everyone for helping out this family!

This is going to change Diego's life forever!

Heather

Jonathan and his "abuelita"

I got some cool pictures of Jonathan with the woman he refers to as "abuela". With the pictures was an extensive report. I am not ready to reveal the details of the report because they pertain to his fundraiser that is coming up. We will be setting his abuela up with an IGP. As it stands now, she does not work because of health issues. Their only income comes from her daughter who gives them money for groceries!!! $50 is what was recorded as his income when I started sponsoring him in October of last year. The latest report that came with these pictures has the income at $80, but even $80 isn't sufficient to live on!
I can't wait for his project to start. I know that the business will help them get the things they need.

Little Diego's Fundraiser

Only $125 left to complete Project #10!!! Some great pictures are coming that I will post here as soon as I get them. Heather G is having trouble with her scanner, so I am trying to get them from CI. Check back for updated photos, and don't forget to visit his fundraiser:

http://www.firstgiving.com/helpfordiego

My Girls

Jaden

Morgan

This is the follow up to the "my boys" post. These are my biological girls. I have to give them their own post after mentioning how I always wanted a boy.

Jaden's birthday is coming up in a month and a half. She will be 5. Time sure has flown by!

She has a lot of my features (she took after my side of the family more than she took after my husband's side). She loves to draw, ride her bike, swim, and play with her dolls. She is in kindergarten (home school). She is learning to write, read, add, subtract, speak Spanish, and learning about the world around her. Her favorite shows are Caillou, Curious George, Arthur, and Super Why.

Morgan was born on my birthday. She is now 2 1/2. She looks just like her daddy (except she has hair... LOL!). She loves to color, swim, dance, play with her dolls, write her letters, and paint. She is in Pre-Kindergarten (home school). She is learning to write, recognize letters and numbers, speak Spanish, and recognize shapes. Her favorite shows are the Wiggles, Dora the Explorer, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Caillou.

The are both very loving, and I am blessed to be able to spend so much time with them. I wouldn't trade them for anything!

Fundraiser Update

I promised an update... Sorry it will be short, but it will be an update... I will be working every day for the next few days, so squeezing in a post is difficult. I do have a couple of things I want to say, though...

We have now completed 10 fundraisers!!! Fundraiser #9 completed today, and the emergency fundraiser, also, funded!!! Wondering how $300 was raised for the emergency project in less than 24 hours time? Dana set up a raffle amoungst her friends. She raffled off a $60 item & raised $300!!! Instead of just donating the $60, she thought she could raise more by buying a $60 item and raffling it off. Her investment quintupled (is that a word? LOL!)... Whatever, it was matched 5 times over!!!

I thought her idea of a raffle would be a great idea for others that may want to do the same. Especially as we get to these larger projects, we will need to think outside the box and become creative to get them funded. So, keep that in mind. Anyone else with ideas, send them my way, and I will post them for all to see.

Fundraiser #10 is our last small fundraiser, so now is the time for ideas!

Here is fundraiser #10 for "little diego": http://www.firstgiving.com/helpfordiego

Diego is Heather G's sponsor child. Make sure to check out his page. Thank you for your continued support!

A Letter from Jonathan

I recently found out that the lady that Jonathan calls his grandmother is a surrogate grandmother and not related in any way. Jonathan's father was abandoned as a child, and this kind lady took him in and raised him as her own. After Jonathan's mother and father passed away, this same lady stepped up to raise Jonathan. She is an ANGEL. She does so much for him. Every letter I receive from Jonathan describes the many adventures he has with his "abuelita". This is the letter I got today:

Hi! I want to tell you that I complete my homework in school, and I am also studying hard to succeed. During recess, my classmates and I like to play soccer. My favorite subject is math. We went on a trip to a very pretty waterfall. We got in it and had a lot of fun in the water. We also saw many birds in the country with beautiful feathers with all of the colors of the rainbow. It is so pretty to hear the song of the feathers when they fly freely.
I say goodbye with lots of affection,
Jonathan

*****Special Announcement*****

I have been hearing from sponsors who have received their special needs project breakdown and pictures (ones that I have not yet received from CI in an e-mail). It looks like (at least for the time being) the sponsors themselves will get the info in the mail before CI gets around to sending the info to me... With this being said, there are several projects coming up. Jennifer, I know yours is one of the projects that will be set up at the end of this month or beginning of next month.

PLEASE, send me the info when you get it in the mail. I need the breakdown, total, write up & scanned pics of all of the projects. Because there are so many people waiting in line for a fundraiser, I don't want it to slow down due to me not having the info from you.

Because of the big differences in amounts and what the family chooses to do, I can't set up a fundraiser for a blanket $500. I will have to wait until we have the official special needs request back from CI (the only exception to this would be in an emergency situation like a natural disaster where the family has lost everything, the child is sick and needs chemo or other treatments that are not provided as part of the sponsorship program, etc~ emergencies are determined on a case by case basis and should be rare).

If your fundraiser is within days of starting, and we have not yet heard from CI, this is what will happen:
1. If you are, for example, project #11, and you do not have the info back from CI, we would do the project that is in the project #12 spot. Your project would then have changed to #12.
2. Your project would keep getting pushed back one spot at a time until the request comes back from CI (Hopefully, it would only be pushed back once, since most of the projects are set up in the positions they need to be in to allow time for CI).

If your project is pushed back, don't get angry. We are all here for the same purpose~ to help these kids. The faster we get the projects up, the faster the children & their families get help! I don't want a lag in the projects because that just makes it longer for everyone to get their children taken care of. PLEASE be happy and supportive of everyone in the group. We are making a BIG difference TOGETHER!! Remember: We may be able to move a rock on our own, but we can move boulders together!

My Boys

Mwanza

Henry

Diego

Jonathan

Isn't sponsorship one of the greatest emotional experiences of your life?! I have 2 biological children, and with both pregnancies, I anxiously awaited my baby boys to arrive... Both times I had a girl! In fact, when I was pregnant with my second child, I was so intent on having a boy (since I already had a girl). I had 3 sonograms to determine the sex of the baby. The first two sonograms revealed NOTHING... except a completely healthy fetus. However, I was still determined to know what I would be having next that I returned a week later for a 3rd sonogram. It was on that visit that the technician told me I was having a girl. The doctor came in to talk to me about what I should continue to do to keep the baby healthy and growing. As the doctor left the room, I slipped into the dressing room area to gather my things. I sat down on the bench, and proceded to cry. I couldn't leave the room and let the people in the office see me with tears and disappointment, so I stayed in the room for another 15 minutes. I got out a good cry, wiped my tears, and left the office.

A few months later, while recovering in the hospital from a c-section, I told my husband, "Whatever I say, do NOT let me have another baby. This recovery thing sucks!" I padded slowly through the hallways of the hospital maternity ward, holding my tummy in an attempt to make it hurt less. I was walking with my best friend of almost 20 years who never had children. I told her that I wanted a boy, but I was NEVER going to go through this again. She said that she couldn't even imagine what the pain must be like, but she could see it in my face.

Now, I have the most precious little girls. My oldest will be 5 years old on August 5th, and my youngest was born on my birthday 2 1/2 years ago. They have both been more than I ever expected in a child, and YES, it was all worth it to have them here. I wouldn't want either of them to be boys now, and thinking back it sounds crazy that I took it so hard. I love having my two little girls. Since I never had a sister, it is interesting to see the relationship between the two of them.

After the youngest, Morgan, was born, I did go through a period of time when I wanted to try "one more time" for a boy. Then, I found that the bond that had grown between Henry and me was almost as strong as the bond with my own children. So, I added more children to our family through sponsorship. I don't feel that strong need to have a biological boy any more... In fact, I have a hunch that the need that was in me to have a boy was put there in my heart for me to do something else with. It was not for me to try to conceive a boy but for me to conceive of helping many boys all over the world to have a better life.

Compared to my biological children who cost thousands of dollars a year, I can help each one of my boys for only $264 a year!!!