la la la Fathers Day

My boys on Fathers Day 2009.

Silas giving his dad his fathers day gift. 

Silas explaining the meaning behind his first masterpiece. :)

I am thankful for Josh and the amazing father he is to Silas!

 I am also BLESSED with an amazing dad myself.  

Happy Fathers Day!  

Reunited and it feels so goo-ood.

We were in Houston this past weekend and were able to reunite Silas and Deacon!  I have mentioned it many times before, but these cute boys were cribmates in Ethiopia at the Gladney Care Center.  We also traveled to Ethiopia at the same time as Deacon's parents, the Faulkners.

Here we are in Ethiopia in May 2006...

and here we are 2 years later...

When Silas and Deacon saw each other in Houston they shouted each other's names, ran to each other, and hugged! 

Just kidding... that didn't happen.  We asked them to hug. :)

One of these boys was compliant with all the picture taking, while one of them was not.  Based on the below picture can you guess which one was not?  :)

Cuties.

Oh Fathers Day.

I have a GREAT gift idea for Fathers Day.  :)

Tracy at Junkposse is doing a special on her items for Fathers Day! She will create any one of her amazing pendants and put it on a nice, solid sterling silver key ring and add a name or date to the back at no additional charge!  She will also include a free pair of sterling silver earrings for the mamas! :)  Great deal! 

Here are a few pendants that I think would look great as keychains: 

HOPE for Africa pendant is here

Hands for Africa pendant is here

Heart for Africa pendant is here

I Made A Wish and You Came True pendant is here

To purchase one of her pendants as a keychain... just convo her at the top of her JunkPosse Etsy page (you will have to be logged in to convo her) and she will put up a special order on her site of the pendant keychain you want! :)  ALSO, she can create a custom key ring design.. Just convo her and let her know what you want and she will most likely make it happen... :)  She's pretty amazing.  Go HERE and see!

baby boy.

My baby boy.

He loves a good pah-pah.

And loves loves his blankey.

(dreading the day that is fast approaching when we take away the pah-pah)

Feed The Forgotten.

Too often we hear heartbreaking stories like this and do nothing. We feel helpless. . . and so we move on. Not this time. There are people DYING in Uganda right now. There are children who's bellies are hungry and aching. There are mamas who are too weak to stand and babies begging to be held. There are people trapping termites hoping for food and eating dung in helplessness. DO NOT CAVE TO DESPAIR. YOU CAN DO SOMETHING.

Join us and Children's HopeChest to Feed The Forgotten... (CLICK HERE to give now) (note: please write FEED THE FORGOTTEN in the notes section)

For $0.14, we can feed someone a meal of posho and beans. (posho is cornmeal, which is filling and beans are protein). 

Take that in for a moment. . .

$0.14 a meal

$2.86 for 20 days

$1 per FAMILY

$20 feed a family for 20 days.

How much was my Orange Tree Frozen Yogurt yesterday? How much was Josh's Starbucks? The bigger question is how much am I willing to give up so that others might eat?

Remember Jesus story of the Good Samaritan? Remember how his very neighbors walked right by him? They probably looked at him with pity. . .probably thought "oh poor guy, that breaks my heart" but the fact is THEY DID NOTHING.

What will you do? These children are starving. . .

these actual children. . .
Will you help? The money raised will feed those precious children. There are 3 - 4 villages that Hope Chest is targeting (They are hoping for more after they see how much money we can raise!) to bring food relief to asap. These people are literally starving. . and waiting for you to act. Will you help? Even with paypal fees (2-3%) even $1 will feed 6 people! You CAN make a difference.

Spread the word, blog about it, facebook it, twitter it, ask your church or school or business to give, post the blog badge anything. Truly, we are begging you. . .on behalf of these children not to forget this post and move on to the next in your google reader list. Stop, pray, act.
GIVE TO FEED THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN! (note: please write FEED THE FORGOTTEN in the notes section when you give)

To get the blog badge and spread the word, go here to Brandi's Blog.

The Lake.

We spent Memorial Weekend with my parents at the lake... Clearlake to be exact. We were only 90 minutes from Minneapolis which is where the Mall of America is.  So, one day my mom, Silas, and I drove up to the Mall of America.  This was Silas' first time to ride rides... he was pretty cute on them.  It was a little precursor for our DisneyWorld trip at the end of June! 

Grandma and Silas (Silas thought this ride was boo-ring.. He was saying all done half way through) 

Wee!

Raise your hand if you love sitting in the front seat on kiddie roller coasters!

Back at the lake... 

We rode the mo-peds,  

and the boys golfed.

Silas was a busy boy.  He was also all thrown off of his sleeping and nap schedule.  One afternoon he was so clearly exhausted, but would not fall asleep.  So, I put him in his high chair in front of a movie.  Before the previews were over, this is what happened. 

I left him like that for a bit because I wanted him to stay sleeping.  I checked on him a bit later and this is how I found him.

poor baby.

I moved him to the bed at that point. :)

The latest Olive news.... 1 month of waiting down!

Sponsor Needed!

Sponsor needed for a sweetie sweet sweeterson little girl.  The RLC Ethiopia Sponsor community is currently made up of 124 families sponsoring 146 children at 3 different orphanages.  

To read more about sponsorship with the RLC community through Children's Hope Chest, please click here. 

If you are interested in sponsoring her or any other child, email me: amy@redletterscampaign.com

Book and Balls.

3 year old twins, Essie and Chloe chillin' with their favorite book... 

while also having fun with tennis balls.  :) 

Essie and Chloe are from Ethiopia... they have only been home for a few months!  You can follow their mama's blog here! 

How cute are they? 

Door Dilemma.

I am facing a door dilemma. When we were looking into buying our house I really loved the front door... I still do love it. (see first picture below) But, now that we are actually living in the house I am freaked out by it. It is a clear view right into the dining room/living room, and if you look to the side and angle your look in such a way, you can see directly into the Master bedroom. At night I can't sleep with our bedroom door open for fear some creepster is watching us sleep through the front door.

So, we have the options of getting a different front door or of just keeping our current door. I have been driving around neighborhoods checking out front doors a lot lately. These wood window panel doors seem to be all over the place... But, I have seen only one curtain option I like. It looked like 2 mini silk panel curtains that fit the window... hung on some sort of rod with clips. That would look cute right?

(current door- door #1)

OR....

this is the other door I like. That middle piece is a window though. So, there we are with a window again.

(Door #2)

Does anyone have a window-ed front door? Do you have anything covering it?

Sponsor Needed!

The RLC online community is still making matches for children at Ethiopia Children's Home in Addis Ababa.  We are close to having this 3rd orphanage fully sponsored.  The last post I did regarding sponsors needed worked really fast and really well, so I am going to do it again! :)

Again, Sponsorship through Children's HopeChest is holistic and long-term. The Children's HopeChest sponsorship model addresses the following five areas:

• Spiritual Development
  
• Physical Development
  
• Educational Development
  
• Medical/Dental Needs
  
• Emotional Needs

To read more about sponsorship through Children's HopeChest please click here.  Something that is so great about sponsorship is the relationship you get to form with these children through letter writing, as well as the annual opportunity to visit the child every year.  I think the letter writing exchanges are especially amazing for the older children.... like this beautiful girl.  

If you are interested in sponsoring her or any other child, email me!  

amy@redletterscampaign.com

SILAS DAY 09 Recap

SILAS DAY 2009. 

Well, we started the day by trying to take a family picture by using the self timer... Josh does this face in many pictures.  He doesn't like his smile.  This look he has here in this picture can be traced all the way back to when he was a youngster.  There are a countless number of pictures out there with him having this look. 

My 2 boys.  See, Josh has a cute smile. 

I am following Rebecca's lead here with the smoochie face pictures.  

Silas' gift for SILAS DAY was a little basketball hoop.  This will be fun to play outside and inside.  But, speaking of outside... can someone please tell me why the outdoor plastic play/climb centers are approximately $300? And yes, I have been checking Craigslist for one.. 

SILAS DAY 09 consisted of family time, his gift, cookies, nap time, (oh wait, he decided he didn't nap on SILAS DAY) and Grey's 2nd birthday party.  Silas had a blast at his friend's Pump It Up party.  We told him the party was for his SILAS DAY... he didn't know the difference. :) (just kidding Melissa)

Oh how we love our sweet boy!

Africa T's.

A few cute adoption fundraiser t shirts that have called out my name lately, and are maybe calling out yours. :)  I have a growing number of Africa fundraiser type t shirts, but I think they are great and they are helping others!

Roger and Abby are selling these great t shirts.... Actually the proceeds of this t shirt are going towards formula for babies at the orphanage connected with their adoption agency.  You can buy it right here.  It comes in red, gray, and green. CUTE!

(7990 is how many miles away Addis Ababa is from their town in MO) 

The Mullins are selling this great t shirt...  profits from this shirt are going towards their travel expenses.  They leave in a few weeks to get their sweet Hannah.  The shirt is distressed silver with a red heart on Ethiopia (or they can put the heart over any country) The shirts come in black, charcoal, navy and can be purchased right here. 

Bethany, Jeff, and Leul are selling several different kinds of t shirts.  The profits from their shirts are going towards their adoption expenses of their newest babe.  You can see all their shirts right here.  

This one is for kids!  Pretty cute.

SILAS DAY 2009!

2 years ago today we were in Ethiopia meeting Silas Tesfamariam for the first time ever.  Below is my blog post from 2 years ago.  I sure am crazy in love with this sweet little son of mine!!!!

We are here...oh yes we are. The flights really were not so bad. Thankfully we slept from DC all the way to Rome. The process of getting our Visa once in the Addis Ababa airport was slightly unorganized, but we made it through. Belay was at the airport to meet us. We loaded up all of our luggage into a van and our driver, Tefasse, drove us to our hotel.  We were able to sleep last night and met our little Tesfamariam this morning.

The Faulkners were in the process of meeting their little guy, Deacon. Deacon was happy and smiley and doing great with them. We watched for awhile and then they brought us Tesfamariam. He was doing fine right up until the worker placed him in my arms. He started screaming and crying some large crocodile tears. He was still cute as pie even through his panic. He really screamed for awhile...I probably looked like I was in a bit of panic myself. :)

Thankfully the worker went and got a bottle and I fed it to him. He calmed right down. After the bottle he was fine too. He has actually been a peach thus far. We went to lunch with The Faulkners and Ryan and Abby.

After lunch we came back to the hotel room to adjust. It is so bizarre to all of the sudden be his mom and dad. We were eager to change him (he was once again dressed in ALL pink...right down to his pacifier, which we are keeping because he loves) We gave him a bath, changed his diaper and just did a lot of staring at him. He is itty bitty! I do not know if he is really 11 pounds....he is swimning in the onesies I have for him.  

There is so much more to write about... the people, the city, the driving, the poverty, and the neat people we met on the airplane...I will have to touch on this later.

Oh baby boy Silas... What a JOY you are!  You are a true gift and I am so thankful to be your mama.  

mascara face.

Silas found my mascara.  

And he has apparently watched me apply it a few times since he knows where it goes on the face. 

Josh is the one who found Silas putting on my mascara.  :) He was pretty excited about it....

P.S. Cute Josh has been growing out his HAIR!  He has shaved his head ever since I met him, over 8 years ago.  Now he has a hair stylist named Carmen and he applies product to his hair every morning.  He is a new (even hotter) man!

URGENT: Formula needed for Malnourished Babies

URGENT NEED: Forumla Needed for Malnourished Babies in Ethiopia

Famine and poverty are increasing the rates of malnourished infant babies in Ethiopia. Children's HopeChest has worked with the America World Adoption Agency (AWAA) on projects in Ethiopia and Russia over the past five years. This request came to us from their transition home where they are receiving severely malnourished babies into their care. 

This month, in honor of mother's day,  Children's HopeChest wants to raise $12,500 to provide specialized baby formula to this transition home for these malnourished babies. (Please put "Ethiopia Formula" in the note section of the donate page.]

Please click here to view before and after photos of one of the children from this home.  

Here's what we can do to help. Children's HopeChest will raise $12,500 to purchase what is known in the U.S. as "Nutramigen" formula. This type of formula is necessary because traditional formula cannot be digested by malnourished infants.

You can participate by making a gift of any size. A gift of $30 will buy and ship one can of formula to the chidlren in need. Right now if you give $30 it will be doubled to $60! The first $500 we raise will be matched dollar-for-dollar. If we hit our goal, we can send 400 cans of formula to starving infants in Ethiopia.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE....  

 Please write "Ethiopia Formula" in the note section on the donate page. 

Blog Union(s)

You really really missed out if you weren't at Blog Union 08 last summer in Cali.  Drew and Carey organized a crew of people who took tons of video and photos throughout the entire weekend....  Here is the amazing Blog Union 08 video that they put together.  Thanks so much Drew and Carey!  Watch it.

Blog Union 09 is in Chicago!  Check it... its going to be another amazing weekend and you should probably be there!

Sponsor Needed!

So far our RLC online community has fully sponsored every single child at Kebebtsehay Children's Home and Moses' Orphanage!  Not to be too "Baptist-ey" and be all about the numbers (I joke...kind of) but thats 106 kids!  We have also matched an additional 30 kids from Ethiopia Children's Home!  Again, here I go with the "Baptist-ey" stats...  A total of 136 kids have a sponsor family loving them, praying for them, and getting to know them through exchanging letters!  This is HUGE!  This is AMAZING!  Even more amazing will be the opportunity we all will have annually to visit our sponsor children and sponsored orphanage!

Sponsorship through Children's HopeChest is holistic and long-term.  The Children's HopeChest sponsorship model addresses the following five areas:

• Spiritual Development
  
• Physical Development
  
• Educational Development
  
• Medical/Dental Needs
  
• Emotional Needs.  
  

There are still children from Ethiopia Children's Home needing sponsored!  For example, this sweet thing: 

If you are interested in more information about sponsoring this cutie-pa-tootie, email me: 

amy@redletterscampaign.com

Waitlist at last!

Whats that? You need a gift idea for your mama (or yourself) for Mothers Day?

Junkposse Necklaces!

Click here to see a bunch of cute necklaces...

Here are a few of my faves:

This one....

of course this one.....

or this one (my newest one, a gift from my mama.. only  mine has a girl charm and a boy charm as well as "Silas" and "Olive" engraved on the back)

This is especially fun to wear now that as of April 28th, 2009  at 5:30pm we officially went on the WAITLIST!  

oh Baby Olive... it won't be (as) long now!

And if you haven't already.. you should go watch the cutest referral video series ever over here.  Congrats Courtney and Jason! 

Twist Twist.

Last night during snuggle-fest, before Silas went to bed, I started twisting his curls.  

He is cute.  

(ignore the Ho Ho Ho Christmas PJ's being worn in April)

I can't wait to do a little girl's hair!

Speaking of little Olive, we should be on the wait list this week! 

To Eva From Silas

After watching this sweet message from his girl Eva, Silas wanted to post a sweet reply. He gets a little distracted mid way through, but I think he gets his message across.

Are Danae and I so obnoxious? If I weren't me, I might think it was obnoxious..... so I understand if you are over it. :)