Category Archives: First Adoption

First Adoption, Fundraisers

Fundraisers

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The first of our fundraisers is a common adoption one, JustLove coffee. JustLove Coffee is all fair trade coffee and for each bag someone purchases from our link, we get $5 towards our adoption! Pretty awesome, right?

http://www.justlovecoffee.com/IlyaandErika

The second fundraiser that we’re doing is something unique to us and something that I am really excited about… Ukraine love t-shirts! The t-shirts come in standard men’s t-shirts sizes S-XL, women’s fitted t-shirts sizes S-XL, youth t-shirts S-XL, a few different options for toddler shirts (18mo-5T) and infant bodysuits 0-18mo. They come in a variety of colors and I can print almost any color ink on them… I have everything from cookie monster blue to stainless steel silver to wedding ivory.

I am also happy to personalize the t-shirts for you for $5… by moving the heart, adding text or even featuring a different country.  I am doing all of the printing in my own home… I screenprint around a thousand napkins a week, so screenprinting is not something new to me. The t-shirts are heat-set so they are fine in the washer and dryer.

To check out the t-shirt options, visit my etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/thepaperhat?section_id=7089346

First Adoption

Introducing…

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Ilya!!!

When we first found out that we were not going to be able to adopt Quinn, I wasn’t sure about adopting another little boy… maybe we should just adopt Erika? None of the little boys in Erika’s orphanage seemed like our little boy. Sure, some of them were very similar to Quinn– just a few months apart in age, brown hair, blue eyes and all of them were absolutely adorable. Andrea at RR told me that she was going to update the website and I checked it before I went to bed. Some new little boys, but still the same– none felt right.

Then, the next morning, when I got up, I saw Ilya! What a sweet smile. I love that he is smiling in his photo… so many of the kids are not.

Ilya is only three and a half… his birthday is in January. So a bit older than Erika. Hopefully enough older that they won’t be in the same class and they won’t have all the same friends. But close enough in age that they can be good friends.

First Adoption

Worn Out

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This has been a long week…

On Monday, we got a new foster dog. He is a handful. He barks and whines at night, whenever we crate him. He can literally bark for HOURS. He can also break out of his crate. I took him for a 1.5-2 mile bike ride one day and a 4-4.5 mile bike ride another and he still barked and whined when we got home.

On Wednesday, we found out about Quinn.

On Thursday (today), I had a sick dog who would not eat her breakfast and got sick in the house (let’s just leave it at that). Late this afternoon, we had animal control come to our house. Not because of all of the barking. Or because we have four dogs. But because one of our dogs is thin. I will give them that… she IS thin, but she is needs-to-put-on-a-few-pounds thing, NOT about-to-die-because-no-one-feeds-her thin. Yes, she looks very thin in comparison to the average dog, because the average dog is FAT. This girl runs for hours a day. I am certain that one of our neighbors called it in, without talking to us first. We must take her to the vet to have her tested for “diseases causing thinness”. Money that we will waste. I don’t think it is too likely that my dog who ran all weekend, and went on a four mile off-leash bike ride yesterday, where she ran way more than we biked, is sick. She just lovvvves running.

To be positive though, everyone has been really supportive. Several people listened to my rants about animal control. I’ve talked to lots of people about Quinn and considering a new little boy. There is a chance that we will be adopting a different little boy and when we figure that all out, I’ll let you know… I also have a cool fundraiser idea that I am working on and hopefully will be letting you know about soon…

First Adoption

Bye-bye, Quinn

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We found out today that we won’t be adopting Quinn. I am not so sad as much as disappointed and uncertain about our next step. He is going into foster care in his country, so I hope that he can find a good family there. At least being in foster care will be better than an orphanage for him.

I am glad that this happened so early in our adoption process. We can choose another child if we’d like. I am not sure what we’re going to do… none of the boys are currently “jumping out” at me, but Andrea is adding more children to the website today.

It took me by surprise, not the idea of being in the process of adopting and then finding out that we will not be bringing that child home, but that it was Quinn. I expected Erika to the the one who would get adopted elsewhere. Because she is younger and a girl. I did get a new photo of her today. She looks so much older to me!

First Adoption

Happy Birthday, Quinn!

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Today, well, technically yesterday, is Quinn’s fourth birthday… May 3rd.

Even though Quinn is not here, he is not ours yet, and we have not even met him, we decided to celebrate his birthday. You know us, any excuse to eat cake!

Can I just take this opportunity to tell my mother than I am completely in awe of her cake decorating skills? I wish I had a photo of my Tweetie bird or Pocahontas cakes to insert here, or maybe the really cool one she made for my sister’s birthday to look like swimming pool, complete with graham cracker bears in bikinis. I have decided that my children will always be getting cake balls or cupcakes for their birthdays, unless my mom happens to be in town.

We are hoping that this is the last birthday Quinn will have to spend without a family and next year, he will get some sort of yummy baked goods and presents just for him. Maybe even a party!

Today, he might not even know that it is his birthday. Let alone presents and cake. As I understand it, orphanages  have a mass birthday party to celebrate many birthdays at the same time.

Ha, can you imagine that? Most kids I know anticipate their birthdays for weeks. Countdowns. Multiple parties. A big pile of presents.

I can’t wait to celebrate Quinn and Erika’s birthdays with them… even if it’s just cupcakes and one present, I know it will be meaningful for them.

The actual today, May 4th, is the birthday of the coolest seven year old I know– Owen! That kid is seriously special, good special… Happy Birthday, Owen!

How cute is he?