say hello to September’s sponsors

We are so excited to have just wrapped up our homestudy! It was stretched out and stressful with many bumps along the way, but it is finished! Hooray!

It is time to raise some funds for some fees that will be due very soon. I am excited to offer to you a great necklace at a great price. And in turn, you will be helping to bring our precious Emma Claire HOME!

Thanks to Funky Fish Designs, I am selling these adorable hand-stamped necklaces with either the outline of Africa or China on them.

Aren’t they fabulous?

For only $17 (which includes shipping), you can own one of these cute necklaces and be a special part of our adoption journey.

Just go to our family blog. Check out the right sidebar for the “Necklaces for a Cause” button. Simply “chip in” $17 and your precious necklace will be on its way shortly. (Please be sure to indicate if you want the Africa or China outline)

We will be taking orders through the end of September.

If you feel led to make an additional donation for our adoption, you can click the Reece’s Rainbow button with our precious Emma Claire’s picture on the sidebar. These donations are tax-deductible and will be made available once we receive travel approval.

Thank you so much!

– Rebecca

AdvoCare is a premier health and wellness company offering world-class energy, weight-loss, nutrition, and sports performance products along with a rewarding business opportunity.

I was introduced to AdvoCare by a nurse who was giving me B12 shots for energy. I had been receiving shots because of a deep tired and exhausted feeling that I couldn’t seem to shake. She gave me a Spark sample and told me to add it to my water and drink it. She said it would give me mental focus and energy without a crash. SO I tried it, and could not believe the difference. The pep in my step returned and I actually dance around the kitchen, much to the eye roll of my kids, but hey! I am feelin’ good.

My hubby and I decided to try more of the AdvoCare products, we did the 24 day challenge. During that first challenge my husband lost 15lbs and I lost 10. We feel younger and are healthier than we have been in years. We continue to meet new weight loss and fitness goals and are excited to be a part of the AdvoCare family.

We would like to donate 10% of our internet sales from September 20th to 23rd to New Day Foster Home.

– Martha

Four years ago I was touched by adoption. My cousin and his wife were in the process of adopting a little girl from China with special needs (club feet and hands), and his wife was blogging about the process. I followed the blog with some interest, but the moment she (Annie) posted the video from “Gotcha Day” I was blown away. We’re talking choking sobs and tears streaming down my face – I’m pretty sure many of you readers can relate!

Over the years, I have followed the progress of my cousin and his family and their new addition via Cornbread and Chopsticks. A couple of months ago, I saw that they were adopting again – YES! Another little girl with special needs, this time an eight year old with CP (cerebral palsy). But they were needing more financial help this time around. I thought about it for weeks – what could I do? How can I contribute? One day I came across a site GoFundMe.com that helps individuals fundraise for all sorts of reasons, and I thought why not use this site as a tool to fundraise for my cousin’s family? I contacted Annie and asked what she still needed for the adoption fund – $18,000 is what she said. Hmmm…. say again?! I had no idea adoptions were so expensive! I decided that my motto would be “Go big or go home” and I set my donation goal at $10,000. Six weeks later, I have raised over $2100 to help bring Annie and Chris’ daughter Xiaomeng home, but I am not done yet.

I conceived of ‘Until Every Child Comes Home’ over the course of a weekend, when I decided I wanted to design and sell a tote bag to support my cousin’s adoption fund in addition to the GoFundMe page I set up. My goal with this bag is to not only give financial support to my cousin’s adoption fund (all profits go to their fund), but to spread the word about adoption – China specifically – through this bag. My hope is that this bag becomes a conversation piece for the user. A way to engage the world around them about the importance and joy of adoption. In the future, I hope to continue to offer financial assistance to other families in financial need for their adoptions.

Please join me in spreading the word about adoption, and helping a wonderful family bring their little girl home.

Until every child comes home. Adopt.

– Stephanie

Are you captivated by photographs that tell a story? Do you dream of capturing the beauty of your everyday life? If so, this online course was written for you. In this course, you will find original content that I have developed over the last three years. I would love to help you go from knowing how to just take a picture to beautifully capturing the moments of your life.

You will have access to the course for 3 weeks. You can go through the material at your own pace during that time frame. The course includes numerous photo examples for each section The examples are from everyday life. Each section includes a Q and A area for you to ask more questions about that particular topic and receive and answer from me. You will be invited to join a SnapShop group where you can share and discuss your images with others taking the course.

This is not a class for professional photographers or those wanting tips on creating a photography business. We will touch on post processing, but will not go in-depth. I will answer questions only regarding course curriculum in the context of the class (like a forum, not email), any personal discussion on advanced topics is not included.

The next course will be October 14th – November 4th, 2012.

– Ashley

For more information on being a sponsor, visit here. Ads are currently booked, but there will be some openings very soon. And, as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Comments are turned off – so I hope you’ll go and share some love with these sponsors!