Book Party to Benefit an Adoption.

I love books.

And I love our friend Kelly and her family, which includes two little girls with Down syndrome adopted from Eastern Europe and will soon include two more.

International adoption is expensive.

Our friend Melissa is also fantastic, and she is donating 25% of all book sales from this book party to Kelly's adoption fund.  Plus, September is double rewards and one random winner will get all the host rewards including free books!

Winner, winner.

You can get some holiday shopping done early and you can help literally save two little lives.

Click.  Shop.  Help.

No need for books?  You can give here.

I can't wait for the next series like this.

Odds and Ends.

This post is just some odds and ends, wrapping up a few thoughts from the previous week or two and sharing some great information.

Down syndrome and Puerto Rico.  

I'm not sure if Puerto Ricans are exceptionally friendly to all children, to kids with Down syndrome, to little blonde girls running around yelling "Hola!" or if we just got lucky, but we witnessed Ellie getting some great treatment on vacation.

We got to pre-board in San Juan without question in order to get her carseat set up.  She scored a free kayak ride.  She scored free mango.  Every person she approached treated her with kindness, and she approached a LOT of people.

Also, while we fed pigeons in a park, I noticed a boy noticing Ellie.  He was an American, maybe between 8 and 10.  I noticed him walk up to his parents and whisper something.  He wasn't rude at all, and he didn't know I was watching him.

A few moments later, his parents came over to say hi, with his sister - who has Down syndrome.  They were sweet as can be and his sister was stunning.  I was impressed by the fact that he took the time to notice and that he was subtle.  Matt and I walked away from the encounter with big smiles on our faces.

A great cause.

Check out this Facebook event.  Infinity scarves, $20 plus PayPal fee, and the proceeds to a family stuck in the adoption process - their daughter is legal theirs, but they can't leave the DRC with her.  Heartbreaking.

Sample scarves.

My friend Stacey has set up the fundraiser, and she makes fantastic stuff.  Remember this dress?

Seeking organization tips.

Help.  I have this grand plan of being more organized in the fall.  I'll take any fantastic organizational tips you've got!  So far, I'm trying to put Ellie's clothes together by outfit, cook some meals ahead to freeze, and get rid of all the extra junk in our house.

So the bottom line?  I love Puerto Rico.  Buy a scarf.  And hey, if you buy a scarf, you are helping get pre-organized, because you can use it as a Christmas gift!

Also, Ellie has grown up a LOT in the past year.

{Giveaway} Ellie and Claire.

As many of you know, I've been involved in various aspects of supporting pregnant moms with a new Down syndrome diagnosis.

When I read a post from a mom who was expecting a daughter with Down syndrome named "Ellie Claire," I decided that she had to be a good person, simply based on her baby naming skills.  (I was right, not that I recommend that method of picking friends in general.  I'm just saying it worked.  And that Lauren has good taste.)

The other Ellie Claire and her daddy.

Lauren and her husband Aaron are hoping to adopt their second child as soon as a child is available to them.  Their daughter Ellie is a total doll, and I am certain they'll make great parents to #2, just as soon as they meet him or her!  They had recently been matched with a child who they took home, but the birth mother ultimately decided to parent the baby. You can read more about their adoption dreams here.  And here.  And help fund them here.

Lauren has started a little Etsy shop to help finance the adoption.  And she is oh-so-kindly giving away one of her cute "bow tie" style hair clips to one reader!

To enter, all you have to do is comment on this post with one thing making you smile today.
Comment on the blog post, not on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram.

Entries will remain open until March 11 at 11:59 pm Eastern.  Shipping to the U.S. only, my mom, my dad, my brother, Matt, and Ellie can't win.  (Sorry, no immediate family.)

Want an extra entry?  Share this post on Facebook or Twitter or some other social media I'm not cool enough for, and let me know you did in a SECOND comment.

Why should you spread the word?  Because Lauren, Aaron, and Ellie are open to adding to their family, including babies or toddlers with special needs and of any race.  Because they have a whole lot of love to give.  Because they are so ready that they recently took a baby into their home, and after that baby returned to the birth mother, they are still ready to adopt.  And because you never know who knows someone who knows someone who heard that there's this baby…. So share away!

Good luck!  And looking forward to Miss Ellie Claire (the other one) rockin' a cute "I'm a big sister!" shirt soon!

P.S. Check out my latest project with DonorsChoose!

{31 for 21} Day Three.

She's home.  September 26, this one got to join her family on U.S. soil.

Meet Louisa (and you all know her big sister, Charlotte.)

Big hugs with both girls.  (Louisa is in the sling.)

All That's Left. {3-21 Blog Hop}

We interrupt your regularly scheduled vacation photo post to bring you a little update.

On the twenty-first of each month this summer, my friend Meriah has hosted a Blog Hop.  This month, my entry is a bit different.

One truth: Kids with Down syndrome in Eastern Europe aren't treated very well.  Many families give their children up, and if not adopted by age four, many of those children will be transferred to institutions.  My friends Kyle and Kelly are with their baby girl, Louisa right now.  Louisa lives in an orphanage in Eastern Europe.

They've spend huge amounts of their own money to pay for adoption expenses for Louisa and their five year old daughter, Charlotte, who came home from Russia when she was four.

Oh, and both girls have Down syndrome.  And Kyle and Kelly decided to start their family by adopting these girls with special needs.

One photo: This is why they are willing to give anything for their girls:

That face.  Isn't she a doll?  In her country, she'd eventually be sent to an institution.  I think she deserves better.

Kyle and Kelly have about $3800 left to raise.

That's two people giving $500.

Ten people giving $100.

Twenty people giving $50.

Thirty people giving $20.

And twenty people giving $10.

Or....

It's 380 people giving $10.

Or....

It's 190 people giving $20.

It doesn't sound like much, right?

One tip: You can help them get there.  Why does it matter?  Because Kelly is my friend.  And she is Ellie's caregiver while I'm at work.  Because her girls will be Ellie's lifelong friends.  (Charlotte's backpack is currently at our house.  Ellie points to it and excitedly says, "Chawlie!")  Let's help them get fully funded before they return to the States.  They have to make a second trip to pick up their daughter because of mandatory waiting periods.  Last minute flights to Eastern Europe aren't cheap.

You can give here.  Or here.


PS. Stay tuned for a GIVEAWAY on Sunday morning!

Call to Action.

Having a child with Down syndrome wasn't something I went into willingly.  Now don't get me wrong, I love Ellie more than words can express, but I didn't get a positive pregnancy test and think, "I really hope this baby has an extra chromosome!"

I grew into being a "Down syndrome mommy."

Not everyone enters the Down syndrome parenting world this way.  Some are more surprised than we are, when their child is born with an extra chromosome and they find out that day.  Some kids aren't diagnosed for months.

And then, there are the rare people who begin their parenting journey by adopting a child with special needs from half a world away.  Then they are willing to sacrifice something precious to do it again.

Would you give up your engagement ring to get to your child?

I assume so.

Our friend and the woman who watches Ellie while we work posted this on her Facebook page today.

Please help her family out here. (Scroll down to Louisa, or check the link in my sidebar.) Or give here.  Kelly is willing to sacrifice one of her most prized belongings to get her girl home.

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Other posts on this topic from other bloggers:

Fundraiser.

Appeal.

Appeal.

Appeal.