Rummage & Bake Sale Benefit

During the last post I talked about my friend Melissa, the owner of Dealicious Cakes. I also mentioned my friend Deena, who helped create the flyers and gift certificates for the October Fundraiser. It turns out that a month or so ago, they started organizing a secret benefit for Dustin and me! After they had some details nailed into place, they contacted one of my best friends, Katie, to help finish organizing and to pull it off.

I didn't know anything about it for a few weeks. One day, Katie took me to lunch before a secret errand. This secret errand ended up being Deena's house, so they could tell me all about it! There will be a bake sale and a lemonade booth for some yummy treats while you shop the rummage sale! Rumor has it there will also be some games for the kids! My sister will have a Jamberry table set up. You'll also be able to check out Sue's Pot Holders! I may also have a Thirty One table set up. :)

Flyer!

If you're coming out to see us, you can see the yard from Eisenhauer as soon as you pass Dell Oak Dr. If you can't, just look for these!

Deena created and print out all of these wonderful items. I can't wait to use our thermometer tracker!!

If you have any items sitting out around that you've thought about getting rid of or donating to Goodwill, please e-mail us! I can pick up or meet you! This is a great time to go through your closets. ;) We will happily take these items off your hands! All of the proceeds are be donated to our adoption fund. We have a goal of $2,000 for the day. Help us meet (or exceed!) this goal!! :D

Dealicious Cakes Benefit Fundraiser.

 Two-three years ago, my sweet friend Melissa started her own cake business. Dealicious Cakes. (It's cute because her maiden name is Deal.) She's fantastic and the cakes are definitely delicious. For almost three years, she's been making all sorts of cakes for me. Here are just a few of them!

Click the photos to view a larger version. 

Baby Showers

(Christi's Under the Ocean/Pirate Theme and Katie's Little Red Wagon Theme)

Birthdays

(Margie's "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY" Texas Hold 'Em Cake and Dustin's Golf Course cupcakes)

Graduations

(Melanie's UTSA graduation cake and cupcakes)

The next few aren't ones she did for me but that I LOVE anyway!

Melissa can do it all. She's also done wedding cakes, holiday cakes, sports cakes, and just because cakes. I'm sure I'm missing something.

Last week, Melissa came to me with an idea. She offered to sell gift certificates during the month of October to support our Looking For Our Missing Piece fund. So, after some strategy planning and the help of Deena's (you'll hear more about her shortly!) awesome skills, this is what we came up with. 

During the month of October, purchase a $25 gift certificate for only $20. Half of the sales go to our adoption fund! You can use your certificate anytime before March 31st. You can also use multiple gift certificates. (Need a larger, layered, really detailed wedding/birthday cake? Purchase 5 gift certificates for $100 and have $125 towards a cake, cupcakes, or cookies with Dealicious Cakes! Purchase 4 gift certificates for $80 and have $100!)

If you have questions, please feel free to email me at looking4ourmissingpiece@gmail.com. You can also find Melissa on her facebook page, Dealicious Cakes, or at 210-607-9081.

Sue's Pot Holders

My grandmother LOVES to crochet. One of her favorite things are pot holders. As soon as she found out about our adoption plans, she began crocheting pot holder sets for sale. So, as promised, here are photos of the sets that are already complete. If you'd like to purchase some of her pot holders, they are 2 (one set) for $7, or 4 (two sets) for $12. (If you live outside of SA, I'll have to charge shipping. Just let me know where I'm shipping them to and I'll get you a number. :D)

Click on the images to see a larger version.

Set & Closer View

 Set & Closer View

 Set & Closer View

Set & Closer View

Set & Closer View

Set & Closer View

ALL of the money from the pot holders will be going into our adoption fund. If you'd like to purchase a set, please email me at looking4ourmissingpiece@gmail.com

Adoption Auction.

I love cute little boutiques. You can always find awesome stuff AND you're helping out a family. Usually, the owners of these boutiques are moms who got their start trying to make extra cash so they can stay home with their kids or put them into dance, football, soccer, gymnastics, tennis, ice skating.... you get the idea. 

One of my favorites is Kim's Peanut Gallery. She makes some  cute things! If I need a baby shower, birthday or Christmas gift for a little one, chances are are I can find something from her. Aside from that, she's a great lady and a wonderful (online!) friend.  I messaged her not too long ago to ask her if she'd be willing to donate something for a silent auction or an online boutique auction, benefiting our adoption fund. She's so sweet, she offered to host it on her page! 

Right now we have the dates: November 3rd-10th. More details will be posted as we get closer. Five great boutiques have already committed to joining and we hope to get more soon!

Adding A Piece to Our Puzzle

Brace yourself. Unless you've researched adoption before, the number I'm about to share might make you fall over. Even though we knew the ball park estimate, the actual number still shocked us a little bit.

The adoption fees, agency fees, medical expenses, and legal fees will be around $34,000. In order to help us lighten the load of this amount, we're planning on doing several fundraisers. One of our planned fundraisers is a puzzle fundraiser. People who would like to participate in this fundraiser will "sponsor" a puzzle piece. The cost of a puzzle piece is $10. Once you purchase your piece, we will write your name on the back of the piece. As pieces are sponsored, it will be put together. Once the puzzle is complete, it will be put into a double sided frame and hung in the baby's nursery.

Originally I was going to post a photo of the puzzle we'd be putting together. I think it's much more fun if everyone has to wait until it's put together. ;)

How to Sponsor a Piece:

-Click on the Donate button in the sidebar and pay securely through PayPal. You do not have to have a PayPal account to do so. :)
- Write a check or donate cash and hand deliver to myself or Dustin
- Mail a check to us. (You can email us at looking4ourmissingpiece@gmail.com for our address)

(Since our letters have gone out and the blog has "gone public", we've have several people let us know that PayPal wasn't working the way it should be. If you have a PayPal account, you can send any donation to maddielynn321@gmail.com. I'm sorry for the issue. We're working to resolve it!)

We're so incredibly thankful for everyone's sweet words and loving support. You all are absolutely wonderful!

"September-ish"

There has been a slight change in plans!

Dustin and I had a conversation about some of our fundraising options and our thoughts on them this weekend. When our support letter came up, Dustin mentioned that he'd like to send them out "September-ish."

WOOOHOOOO! I'm so ready to come out publicly with our choice to adopt. Hearing this was music to my ears. I guess I need to get on collecting those addresses!

Sweet Angels. (Not Adoption Related)

At some point after our third loss, I found myself in a very bad place. I was extremely depressed and it wasn't getting better. I didn't want to find a therapist or psychiatrist to talk to  because I felt like by doing so, I'd be admitting that something was wrong with me. Looking  back at this I can tell you two things.

 1) There was ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with me. The things I was feeling are completely normal of a grieving mother. Having three losses back to back only intensified my emotions. 

2) My  thoughts on finding someone to talk to was completely ridiculous. Someone unrelated and unattached to us was exactly what I needed. Needing the outlet didn't mean there was anything wrong with me. It simply meant that I was sinking in my feelings of helplessness and failure and desperately needed someone to reach in, pull me out, and help me sort through everything. 

When things continued to get worse insteaf of better, I gave in. I decided that I needed to look for SOMETHING that could help. I began the search. I found a local MISS (Mothers in Support and Sympathy) chapter. The website explained that it was run by two women who had both had losses. They met twice a month, one meeting being for women in a pregnancy after a loss and the other being a general meeting for people who have suffered a loss and their adult family members. I decided to attend the upcoming general meeting. 

I cried the whole way there. I walked into the meeting planning to just listen. I listened to stories from the women who lead the group. I listened to two or three families who had been to meetings before. There were also two families who first comers. Listening to these people share their feelings was an amazing weight off my shoulders. Even though we all had such different stories, the emotions and the thoughts were all the same. I thought, if I'm crazy, they all too!

This group of people have become essential in my life. They saved me, without even realizing it. We began a monthly ladies dinner nights. We have celebrated new pregnancies, tiny little take-home babies, new jobs, and new homes. They grieved with me when we had our last loss. No matter where life takes us in our journey to start a family, these ladies will be forever important to me. 

Two weekends ago, our MISS chapter had our second Painting With A Twist fundraiser. We were painting two angels: a mother and child. Once I added red hair to both angels, I knew I wouldn't be giving my woman wings. This last pregnancy, the only names Dustin and I could agree on were girl names. This has NEVER happened. So, my child angel became a girl. I  can't very well not honor my other little angels though. So, I added my Sparkles in the top right corner. (Our first three were affectionately nicknamed the Sanford Sparkles when I added them to my family tattoo on my side. I haven't yet added my 4th but it will be a pink one!)

I am so happy with how my beautiful painting turned out. I can't wait to hang it in the new house in honor, not only of my sweet angels, but also the amazing MISS people I've been blessed with. I wouldn't be the person I am today without their help during those crucial months.

**If you know someone who needs people talk to after a death of a child (of ANY age) please don't hesitate to send them to the MISS website. If they don't have a local chapter nearby, they can be set up with a mentor to talk to.

www.missfoundation.org