Want to Help?! Check Out Our Current Fundraisers!

Check out our current Fundraisers! (Follow the Hyper-Links!) 

Donate A Tax Deductible Gift Here!  

AdvoCare!  

Mary Kay Fundraiser!

T-Shirt Fundraiser! 

DVD Sale!

Children's Book Sale!  

Gift Basket Sale! 

Origami Owl Jewelry!  

Sugar Cookies! $10 suggested donation/dozen
(I can do many different shapes/colors)
e-mail: heselby@liberty.edu to place an order!

*Please consider shipping charges if you do not live locally.

Amish White Bread - Suggested donation of $6 loaf / or 2 for $10. Seriously, this bread is the best!

e-mail: heselby@liberty.edu to place an order!

*Please consider shipping charges if you do not live locally.

Gluten Free Mixes! $7/bag (Or $15 for all 3!)*
There's 3 left!
1 - Pizza Crust Mix
1 - Bread Mix
1 - Sugar Cookie Mix

*Please consider shipping charges if you do not live locally.

e-mail: heselby@liberty.edu to claim them!

Are you a busy parent? Are you like me and often forget to pack your child's lunch until that morning?! Or even for yourself at work?!

Well, what about ordering 5 bagged lunches! Use them all up for the week or save them for those busy mornings! This is a good sized lunch for most ages. You could add in some fresh fruit or veggies too.  

Would you be interested in a week of packed lunches for a $25 donation? Send me an e-mail!

The lunches would include:
*Juice Pouch or Water bottle (Your choice)
*Fruit Cup (or) Apple Sauce
*A fruit Strip (or) Fruit Rope
*A salty snack
*A sweet snack
*A snack bar
*A type of nut (almond, cashew, peanut, etc) - make me aware of ay allergies!
*2 napkins and a plastic spoon


Would anyone be interested in Care Packages for your college student for finals?! I can load a package full of goodies and ship it out to them! If you're interested, shoot me an e-mail! heselby@liberty.edu!  
 
Click here to see our Facebook Page: 
Follow Our Facebook Page for Regular Fundraiser Updates! 

***Can't give financially? We would also be happy to take donations of things we could auction off or sell in online garage sales and raffles. (i.e. nice clothing, unused items, gift cards, toys, movies, gift sets etc)***

Our Sponsorship Consultant Page

 ~ Helping Hands ~

 We have been generously sponsored by these private consultants! 

If you are in need of any products through these companies, please consider supporting these donors! (Just Follow the hyper-links!)

Jamberry Nails! - Kathy Smith

Mary Kay- Tiffany Decker

 Origami Owl - Angeline VanHalle 

USANA - Don and Rachel Acker 

Norwex - Bethany Peters  

It Works - Samantha Terry  
 

If you have any items or gift cards from your small business that you would like to donate for us to use in our fundraising efforts (or would like to host a party for us as a fundraiser), I'll be happy to share your consultant info on the blog and share it with others as a THANK-YOU for supporting us. 
I hope this will bring you some support in return!

Grants!!!

Filling out grants is like filling out forms to buy a house! But we are thrilled that we have completed and submitted FOUR grant applications! We are praying for favor and that perhaps our story will touch the hearts of the committees. Please pray with us that we would be strongly considered for financial gifts from these generous agencies. 

We continue to work on additional grants and continue to pray and trust that God will provide! We are so thankful, humbled, and blessed by the gifts and support we have received. Thank-you for all the prayers and donations. We are so very thankful! 

 "I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything. But still, I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do what I can do." - Helen Keller 

We are in pursuit of making a difference - even if just to ONE! Thank-you for sharing the journey with us and for helping us change a life!

Our Adoption Sponsorship Link

Pay it Forward

     Yesterday, a friend bumped our Adoption Family Sponsorship Page (FSP) to help us meet our matching grant and when I wrote and expressed my gratitude, she responded, "My friend did something nice for me at Christmas & I told her, when I could, I would pay it forward. It just so happens that my husband got a really nice bonus from work, so I am able to pay it forward & I chose you."

     The concept of "Pay It Forward" is that when you have been blessed by someone, you return the favor and bless someone else when you are able! We have been generously blessed throughout this adoption process and we are so thankful!!!! We still need to raise $21,000. Yes, its a lot of money....and yes, we need it quickly (Only 16 weeks until we hope to travel!) But, with our combined efforts, our fundraisers, and our promise to pay-it-forward and return the favor when this is all said and done, we believe it can happen!

    If you chose to "pay it forward" to us, you are investing in an opportunity to not only help our family in particular, but to rescue a special needs child from an orphanage. And not just our "Xavier" - this is an opportunity to create a program to help all the children in Macedonia with special needs to be adopted into a loving family! 

    Please consider "paying it forward" - even if just in a small way. Your gift will be blessed, we will be grateful, orphans will be rescued, and we promise to return the favor and pay it forward when we are able. 

 Click here to view our Our Adoption Sponsorship Page 
*All gifts donated through this link are tax deductible*

"Remember, there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. 
Every act creates a ripple with no logical end". – Scott Adams

The Greatest of These is LOVE!

Wanting More Children

A friend shared a blog post (see link below) this morning on her Facebook and its message resonated with me in a profound way. People are often confused and bewildered by us. "More?!" They ask astonished. Its hard to explain just how much we long for another child.

I don't speak of it much, but I often grieve the loss of my uterus. I had to have an emergency hysterectomy when I was just 23 years old due to severe prolapse. In fact, my prolapse was responsible for my boy's premature births. After Benji was born (at just 26 weeks), there was no hope for my "baby maker." It would never carry a baby safely again. On Benji's due date - November 27, 2010. I had the heart wrenching procedure. I knew even then that I was not "done" having babies.

For those that know me well, know that "children are my lot in life." I was a bit confused as to why God had allowed me to lose our ability to have more children when we had such a desire to have a large family. Of course, we had always considered adoption.....BUT, would we have pursued our "Xavier" IF we could have more of our own?! Would we have the opportunity to help open a country up for international adoptions? Would we be seeking out an individual with special needs to come into our family?

We have come to believe that my hysterectomy (as heart breaking as it is for me) is a sign that we are meant to adopt. Our heart's desire to add to our family....I believe God placed that love and desire in our hearts. He has CALLED us to add to our family. And because of a rare, unfortunate medical complication, we have been asked to carry a baby in our hearts instead of my womb.

Check out the blog article here:
"Wanting More Children When Your Hands Are Full"

Author's Quote: "She still gets that ache when a friend announces her pregnancy. She still pauses in the baby section to gaze at the little nightgowns. She glances at the family portrait hanging on the wall and imagines another face in it"

T-Shirt Fundraiser!

*NEW FUNDRAISER* - Check it out everyone!!!!! I am so psyched about this! A dear friend who is a graphic designer created this shirt for us! We are so appreciative. Its just perfect. Please check it out! Share. And consider purchasing! Its a super cool color and design and its meaning is so awesome! Our goal is to sell 45 shirts! Available in both Adult and Child sizes!
 
Be a part of this story with us! This shirt not only communicates ministering in general, it also supports the *NEW* International Adoption Program we are piloting! Along with our amazing agency, we are helping to create a new program in Macedonia which will open the door for special needs children to be adopted into the USA! This is an incredible opportunity. Please come alongside us and support us and this opportunity! To not only open the doors for our "Xavier" but for many other children in the future!

Click here to order a shirt!  

$500 Matching Grant Opportunity!

  

We've met our goal for this matching grant! THANK-YOU so much!!!!!!!

Click Here to Go to our RR Adoption Fund!  

Why Are We Adopting?

We have always talked about the option of adoption, even before we were married. We see it as a ministry and feel as through God has called believers to care for orphans. People tell us we are crazy. But we feel very strongly that this is a calling and that we are following God's plan for our family. "If I acted crazy, I did it for God; if I acted overly serious, I did it for you. Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do." - 2 Cor 5:13. In addition to having a heart for adoption, we also feel called to add to our family. We dreamed of having a large family and were very saddened when we realized Hannah would no longer be able to have children. (Hannah had to have an emergency hysterectomy at the age of 23). We love kids and feel as though our family is not yet complete. Adoption is the perfect option for us! We have the space, the time, the desire, and most importantly, the love to give. We have open hearts and arms and look forward to adding an addition to our family.       We have a passion to help those who are in need, and what could be a greater need than to love those who are alone? Those who have no family to love and care for them? Adoption has always been a consideration for us. We wanted to make a difference in the biggest way possible and we felt a distinct call to make a difference by adopting.       Beginning in May 2012, Hannah and I started this adoption journey. However, our story is more than just one of adoption. We wanted to pursue a very special kind of adoption. We have developed a tender-heart towards those with special needs due to our own experiences with our son Benji’s extreme prematurity (born at just 26 weeks) and Down Syndrome. We witnessed first hand, the daily struggles Benji endured and then watched as he thrived because of the love and support of his family. A family who loves him unconditionally. We want to bring that same unconditional love to another child with special needs, specifically Down Syndrome. We feel as though we are well equipped to care for another special child who may have some of the same struggles as our son.       During our time of waiting for a special match, an agency contacted us about a possible opportunity in Macedonia. However, there was a road block as Macedonia does not have an established program for international adoption – period. What could we do? Did this mean that the doors were closed? To make a long story short, the doors have been opened! We are now the pilot family for a new adoption program for special needs children from Macedonia. We are hoping to be the first family in the United States to adopt a child from Macedonia through the Hague adoption system. The program is not yet open to other families, but we are hopeful that we can help create a successful program that would assist in finding families for hundreds of precious children with special needs. In the past 13 months, we have connected with an outstanding agency to start a new adoption program (essentially opening a country for international adoptions), converted our home study from domestic to international, and compiled our dossier. It is currently being translated into Macedonian.  Its been a long year as we've waited anxiously for things to come together. Thus far, the doors have opened and we are pursing this opportunity with excitement and A LOT of FAITH!       Sometimes people ask us, "Why? Don't you already have your hands full? Do you really think you can handle it?" Our answer? "You think our hands are full? You should see our hearts!" We believe we can not only "handle" it, but that we would thrive! We feel as though adding a child with special needs would be like adding the missing puzzle piece.       We will admit that before Benji was born, we probably never would have considered adopting a child with special needs. But our world changed the moment we received the amnio results. Down Syndrome has changed our life...and for the better. We have chosen to embrace our new path and would like to invite another little blessing to share in our special-needs journey. We adore our children more than anything and Benji certainly is no exception. We love him unconditionally and sincerely hope to add another special blessing into our lives!       For us, our calling is to raise our children to LOVE God and others and help those who cannot help themselves. To us, that means a child with special needs. We have been called specifically to adopt. God has given us the capacity to love another child and until he/she comes home, there will be a void in our hearts.