Check out the pretty necklace she is wearing! I am now officially all out of stock on the necklaces! I will began making some more beads shortly. For those of you who have requested necklaces to sell for the fundraisers, please send updates when you have them, so that we can all cheer you on!!! I should have some more necklaces by Friday, on a first come, first served basis. If you missed my last post, here is what I said:
***SPECIAL NOTE: For a limited time, I will send any of you 10 necklaces for FREE!!! I will pay for the cost of supplies & postage!! The only restriction I will place on it is that the funds raised go toward the current fundraisers (right now there are 3~ Maria's, Gema's, and Jonathan's). I know if we can get these fundraisers completed, we will get to everyone else's sooner & help even more kids!!!***
Aren't they the sweetest group of kids!? Here is how my group of 12 lays out in the picture, starting with the boy on the left hand side in front with pink shoes:
Another great fundraising day! I am just happy that we sold anything, and Jaden and Morgan were thrilled every time some one bought a necklace!
Another fundraising day! I am worn out!! All week I have been working on preparing for this garage sale/ fundraiser. I placed an ad in two local papers, sent notifications to my homeschool co-op group, made a few Craigslist postings, and placed signs out with balloons.
This morning, the girls and I had "Friday School". We got up bright and early and headed out to school where I teach the 2 and 3 year old class. I spent 4 hours with the 8 little munchkins, teaching them about Kangaroos and reading several books including "Katy No-Pocket" and "Good Night Moon". Then, at noon, we rushed home, ate lunch really quickly, got in the car, placed signs out on the street, drove back to the house, unloaded everything out of the garage into the yard and driveway... We were all set up by 1PM, and we already had 5 customers!! Whew! It was exhausting, but good to see profit finally! We were only open for 4 hours today, but tomorrow will be 9 hours of hopefully non-stop action!
This is how I changed up the fundraiser portion. I had already placed a sign out last time showing who the fundraiser was for, but this time I:
1- Put the sign with pictures on the PAYING table where I was sitting.
2. Put the lollipops and necklaces on the same PAYING table
3. Changed the price of the necklaces from $5 to $2 (and decided I would front the cost of the supplies, so that my girls would see the fruit of their labors)
All of that made a big difference, not to mention the advertising brought a lot of people out to begin with. There were two sweet young girls that I remember in particular. They liked the necklaces, and thought what Jaden and Morgan were doing was "so cool" (their words). They bought a necklace each, but then, came back to buy 2 more necklaces because they said it was "too cool" what the girls were doing, and they wanted to be a part of it! So, $8 from them!
Then, I had my friend buy 3 lollipops for her girls, and two other people bought 2 lollipops a piece... for a total of $3.50
The fundraiser raked in $11.50. I know it's not much, but I am not disappointed. Tomorrow will be a longer day, and I am hoping the very sweet "necklace girls" will tell their friends about the "too cool" fundraiser and come back tomorrow.
I haven't actually put the funds in the bank yet because I need change for tomorrow, but so far, this is what I have put into the fundraisers out of the $11.50 earned today:
$3 to Robyn's Fundraiser
$3 to Su's Fundraiser
More to come ladies! I am dividing the funds into the 3 current fundraisers, so stay tuned for more funds on Monday~ And, I will let everyone know the outcome of it tomorrow!
This movie is a documentary that is full of children's stories of war and living. If you have sponsor kids in Uganda, this may be a movie for you to see. It explains some of what the children have gone through and what is happening and has happened in Northern Uganda. Watcher beware that this children have been through HORRIFIC things! I found it interesting that these kids have been through so much, and are so brave to keep going!!! They have been through way more than most of us adults have, and I don't know how I would handle the situation if I were in their shoes. If you use Netflix, the movie is in their library and can be watched on demand. This is what is said about the movie on Netflix:
A Message from Mack:
Message from Mack: 
Greetings Dear Sponsor:
I got ahold of some discount coupons, and bought some more spacers and pendants. These necklaces only cost a little over $1 to make (as opposed to $2.50!!), making for a larger profit margin!!! I am selling them again this week on Friday and Saturday, and have put tons of advertising out. I know more people will come, so I hope some of them will buy some of the fundraiser items. I will keep everyone posted as to the outcome of the sale... 
Dear Sponsor,
For those who have been waiting to see what would be sent with Steve to give to Paola on his visit next week... This is what I have put into a flat rate box that is being shipped to him tomorrow:*1 Biligual English/Spanish Children's Laptop
*1 Bag of Lollipops, per Barbara's request- to be handed out at Halloween
*1 Bag of Jax
*1 Chalkboard with chalk & eraser
*1 Water-color Paint Set
*2 Velvet Disney Princess Pictures with Markers for Paola & Tomasa
*1 Tinkerbell Mini-lunch Pail
*4 Old Navy Shirts to be shared between Paola & Tomasa
*1 Cuddly White Lamb (yeah, I know, it will be brown in less than a day)
*1 Magnetic Play Circus Scene
Sorry, Barbara, I did not get a chance to throw in a costume for the baby (Long, depressing story that I don't want to get in to)
So, there ya go. It is headed to Steve. I am sure we will have some great pics & videos to add to this blog shortly!!! Thank you, Steve!!!
Steve will be leaving for Mexico in a week and a half. He has agreed to meet with my dear Brayan and our group child Paola. Last time, when he went to Guatemala, it didn't cross my mind to ask him to bring a letter or small momento to Yessica. This time, I was more prepared. Last night, I gathered up my items for Brayan and packed them into a flat rate priority box to ship to Steve. He will get the package this week, and take it with him to Mexico to hand deliver to Brayan. This is what I put into the box for 6 year old Brayan, his 3 year old brother Brandon and their mother:
* 1 bilingual English/Spanish children's laptop
* 1 necklace for his mother
* 1 box of markers
* 2 boxes of crayons
* 2 watercolor paint sets
* 2 bilingual English/Spanish board books
* 2 Magnetic play sets
* 1 Hot Wheels Coloring Book
* 1 small LEGO kit
* 1 sticker book of over 400 Disney Pixar Cars stickers
* 2 lollipops
* 1 outdoor net ball set
Now, speaking of Brayan, I will share with you his latest letter:
Dear Heather,
My family is doing fine, and I like to play soccer. My favorite soccer team is called "Aguillas del America". I'm back in school now and in 2nd grade. I love to read, draw, sing and watch cartoons and movies on TV. I like to watch movies with Japonese characters on them and movies about talents. It made me very glad that you like the pictures of my family. We send you lots of love.
Brayan
***Small side note: Paola's package is being sent to Steve seperately. Once I have that package together, I will post the same about her package contents.
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I don't know how this happens, but I always get the sweetest kids on the earth!!! It is almost the one year anniversary of when I first became Diego's sponsor. You may remember him from the slideshow on 10/15/08 Blog Action Day "Don't Look Away". The slideshow can be found here: http://www2.children.org/en/us/News/MediaArchive/2008/Pages/slideshow-BlogActionDay10-15-08.aspx?sid=4C093D6-F23F-41FC-A151-5DD9C05596491
According to his photo albim, he has been in the Children International program since he was 4 1/2 years old. I am not sure the history of how or why he lost his sponsor or sponsors. Considering his hard life circumstances, I hate to think of him not having support. His aunt is the one that keep him moving forward in life, and now, thankfully, I can do the same for him. It has been exciting to see the transformation. You can click on the tag "Diego" to read some of the other posts about him. In his earlier letters, his depression and doom shown through. Now, I can't wait to share his latest letter with you!:
Dear Mrs. Heather,
How are you? I hope you are well. Thanks for the letters that you send me. You don't know how happy I get reading them! I thank God that you have a job, and I hope that you get the other one where you can rest more. That will be very good for you. Thanks for being so good and special with me and that you care for me a lot despite having what I have. These past few days, I have been studying and playing soccer. I say good bye with affection.
Diego
Isn't he a sweet heart!? His fundraiser is still on Aura's House, and you can still enter the drawing for a Zune or cash prize. For every $10 you donate, you will receive one entry into the drawing. Once his fundraiser is completed, I will do the raffle and contact the winner! Thank you, everyone who has donated!!! He is receiving his bed now, so I should have pictures soon. If you would like to enter the raffle and donate to the wonderful child's cause, here is the link:
http://aurashouse.com/2009/06/emergency-project-for-diego-of-columbia/
Well, the girls and I got outside bright and early this morning. We started the garage sale/fundraiser at 8AM and went until 5PM. As you can see, I dedicated a WHOLE shelving space to the fundraiser. I had the lollipops and necklaces there, but I, also, added some new things that I thought would be big sellers: Dolls, sticker books, and work books!! Imagine my surprise when, after spending 10 hours total on the sale, none of the fundraising items sold!!! AND, the total made on the garage sale part was $10!!! I sold a $50 car seat for $3, a chair for $1, another $50 car seat for $5, and 4 frames for $1!!! Very disappointing!!! And, don't you think those dolls are cute? Only $7 for a brand new in the box doll that talks, comes with a carrier and a bottle! I had the sticker books and workbooks on the shelf for 25 cents! 
I entered Jaden & Morgan in Gap's Casting Call. Now, they need your votes! You can vote once a day for each girl. You can vote every day until the contest ends. Spread the word, and get them a professional photo shoot, $500 Gap gift card, and Disney items. All you have to do is click to vote and spread the word to as many as possible! Thanks!!! 
Well, now that the girls have put together about 30 necklaces, we will be going out in the cold to sell them tomorrow. I hope we can sell them all. I am going to start making some more beads tonight, so that we will be able to replenish the stock if they go well. The money will go to the 3 current fundraisers. 
Dear Sponsor Barbara