To Amber, From Amber.

There's another Amber. Amber is adopting another boy, who has Thalassemia, and currently lives in a Chinese orphanage. We started the process at almost exactly the same time.  We're connected that way.

This is "Wayne":

"Wayne is smart and does well in school. He is always on time, listens to his teachers, and learns a lot in his classes. He is outgoing and very polite, always helping his teachers and saying hello to strangers on his own initiative."

I have heard his laugh myself, and it is precious.

Friends,

Wayne is not well.

As I mentioned before, Thalassemia is really very manageable once these kids have access to appropriate care. If they do not, they start showing signs of organ failure. Wayne is most definitely showing those signs. If any bug or virus makes it's way into the orphanage... Wayne may not be able to fight it off anymore. There is a very serious blood shortage in China and it is quite possible that the orphanage/doctors will decide not to "waste" any more blood on him since his health is declining rapidly. 

Like us, Amber and her family are trying to get to Wayne as fast as they possibly can. It may not be fast enough. And even if they can get their paperwork expedited, that doesn't leave much time to raise the money.

Nathan and I have chosen to put our hearts out there and connect with people who live in the world that we do. A world filled with exceptional children and children with exceptional needs. Children with a list of acronyms behind their names and diagnoses you can't pronounce. Children who are medically fragile and deserve to feel loved. Children who FIGHT for a life, any life they can cling to. We've connected ourselves to other hearts in this world. Like Amber. 

The "problem" with putting your heart out there like that, is that it gets broken. A lot. We have watched so many friends borrow their children from Heaven and then have to send them back again. THIS WEEK, four.... FOUR of "our" families have lost children. Four this week. 

And my heart breaks for them. Every time. 

Friends, we can't lose Wayne. I say "we", because it would be OUR loss. The world's loss. It's would be a loss for all of us with connected hearts. It would be a loss for another Amber.

Can you pray for Wayne?

Can you donate to take some of the burden off of Amber as she races to save this sweet boy's LIFE?

Can you share him? 

We have to be his voice. We have to be his connection to hope. We have to help him fight for a life, for a family. We have to.

We're connected that way.

If you feel led,

DONATE HERE. 

100% of next week's cupcakes orders will go to bringing Wayne home. 

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

John 14:18

CUPCAKE TUESDAY!

I was going IN to work last night at 9:00pm and in my snobby, first-world little way thinking, "Good LORD, I am too old for this."

I mean like too old, with 4 1/2 children- three with exceptional needs, two of which I homeschool, and the fifth that I am busting my behind to get to. But then I parked in my beautiful city and thought, "Good LORD, I love this job and I'm grateful to have it."

I am exhausted, but last night's dance lesson will pay for Cale's passport renewal. To go to China. To bring his brother home.

Have I mentioned that yet? That me and my best little buddy are going to China to bring his brother home? Just the two of us.

So I dance. For that. And... I bake :)

I have two flavors again this week!

The first is Hummingbird.

I knew I was going to be doing Hummingbird for this week since I started Cupcake Tuesdays. 

Hummingbird was Traci's favorite. 

Three of my favorite things: Traci McAughty, Hummingbird cake, and the Wizard of Oz.

That cake stressed me out to no end, (Sara baked, I decorated.) and I wouldn't have done it for anyone else. 

Traci's birthday was 8/24 and mine is 2/12- so I figured what better day to bake Hummingbird cupcakes in her memory than 2/24?

The McAughty family have been major West-Adoption supporters, especially in the cupcake arena! 

(Love you guys!!)

If you've never had Hummingbird, it's a cinnamon-y cake with banana, pineapple, and pecans. Topped with cream cheese icing. As lovely as my dear friend!

The second flavor, by request and quite complimentary to the Hummingbird, is Butter Pecan.

 The butter pecan is topped with a caramel buttercream icing.

*Both flavors contain nuts- just incase that wasn't clear.

As usual, cupcakes are $10 for a box of 4 and can be delivered!
Last week's Mint Chocolate Chip sold out in 8 minutes, so don't waste any time deciding ha!

THANK YOU!!

The haircut fundraiser!

Big, giant thank you to the ladies at Family Hair Design for the haircut fundraiser yesterday!
The whole shebang was their idea and we were grateful from the get-go.

Also quite grateful for friends who help you bake cupcakes and cookies and brownies and run errands, all just to save you some time and sanity.

And thank you to everyone who came for a trim or a cut or a cupcake or for us!

^ Photo credit: Anna Gray <3 i="">

We had a steady stream of supporters and cupcake affectionados for two solid hours.

Nathan said to me, "We could end up making a few hundred dollars from this!". We hoped.

Jaymie, one of the stylists, wanted a thousand.

Our grand total?

$1,016!!

I never dreamed! We are giddy.

What a huge dent!!

Golly Molly- THANK YOU!

Erica, Jaymie, Julie, Tommie, Ginger, Tammy, and Rita... THANK YOU for doing this for us!

Amazing.

MARCH 22- THE DETAILS!

It's finally time to get to work on our biggest fundraiser to date!
Who am I kidding, we have been working on this for months.

Apparently, I made it sound like it was top-secret. It isn't! I just didn't want to overwhelm you with all the info for all the things. So we've been taking it one step at a time- and here we are! This isn't the official invitation just yet, so to speak. Just the info so that your brains can be churning and you can start prepping too!

We really, really think this can be a GREAT family-friendly event and lots of fun for everyone!

First, mark your calendars for SATURDAY, MARCH 22ND.
For real. Right now. Do it.

The evening will consist of
1) A pasta bar
2) Silent Auction
3) Live music, and
4) A WOMAN-LESS Beauty Pageant.

Mhmm.

Loads and loads of fun, all in one place and time AND Bonus! It will all help bring Nicholas home!!

PASTA BAR 
What it is:
We hope to have several variations of pastas and sauces, and let guests choose their own combination. Something for everyone!

What we need:
We already have several friends willing to make/bring different pastas and sauces. We need more. Boxed, jarred, homemade... We are not picky ;) Anything will do.

We also need bread/rolls, salad and toppings/dressings, desserts, and drinks. No one needs to try to do it all, but if several people contribute, it will add up quickly! We think we can get some of it donated, but haven't gotten confirmation yet.
Also, do you know someone who can donate plates, napkins, utensils, etc??



SILENT AUCTION
What it is:
So, so excited about this because we already have some great items that have been donated to the auction. We have handmade boutique items, artwork, crystal, gift baskets, custom signs, photography sessions...

What we need:
MORE! Any item or service you have to offer. Duplicates are totally fine. Themed gift baskets, gift cards, photography sessions, special interest items... whatcha got?! Anything you are willing to donate, we are grateful to have. If you have a talent or a small business (or large business, for that matter) this is an AWESOME way to get your name out there and be seen while contributing to a great cause at the same time.

***If you are on Facebook and haven't already, go to The Pujols Family Foundation page HERE. Find the picture with the baseball and "like" MY COMMENT (Tennessee Tech University)! IF YOU LIKE THE PHOTO ITSELF, IT DOESN'T COUNT! You have to like my comment. We are trying to win the baseball, signed by Albert Pujols, to put into our adoption auction! We have been in the lead the whole time and now we are losing. Go go go! We only have a couple more hours! ***



LIVE MUSIC
We are thrilled to have friends and family using their talents to bless our evening! Please come and enjoy!
Our sweet friend, Justin Goff, will be up first.
My amazing cousins, Andy and Rachel Leftwich, will be second.
And my friend, Trevor Finlay, will round out the talent for the evening!
So excited and thankful for each of them!! You don't want to miss this!



AND THE MAIN EVENT... THE WOMAN-LESS BEAUTY PAGEANT!
Men and boys! This is your chance to show off your hidden (or not) sassy side! Borrow a dress, slap on a wig and give it all you've got... for Nicholas! I am already hearing rumors of sequins and feather boas! We are excited for lots of creative, fun participants! There is no room for embarrassment or the suddenly shy. There will be judges and (small- ha!) prizes!! Ladies, start working on the menfolk now! The countdown is on :)




We are really, really hopeful that this is a well-attended event with lots and lots of fun to be had! We have some amazing people stepping up to be a part of this and would love for you to be as well. Even if you don't have the resources to donate anything, please plan to come out and have some fun! And invite everyone you know. Seriously. It might get cozy, but cozy is GOOD.

Contact us by text, phone, email, or FB if you have questions or items you can donate to help bring Nicholas home. THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERYONE ONE OF YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND PRAYER!

CUPCAKE TUESDAY!

To say the Banana Pudding Cupcakes were a hit would be quite an understatement.

Almost every person that bought some (and there were a lot of you!) got back in touch to say how much you loved them. Sweet. 

I didn't really know how to follow them up without feeling like I had taken a step backwards, ha!

So instead of stressing over the next best flavor, I just let my biggest critics pick... my kids. 

With little green girl scouts and their little tasty boxes roaming all over town, they were feeling quite inspired by a particular favorite cookie.

This week's cupcake is MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP!

These are made with a chocolate cake, filled with chocolate ganache', and topped with mint chocolate buttercream icing. I might have eaten all the cores I took out last night with a dallop of ganache' and a scraping of icing. Ohmyword.

As a reminder, they are $10 for a box of four cupcakes.

I chose not to do a ton of pre-orders this time because again, our Tuesday is pretty packed. (Like most days.). They will be first come, first served and available until sold out.

Deliveries will need to be after lunch because we are going to attempt to "walk in" to do our fingerprints for USCIS! It's a week ahead of our scheduled appointment time, but pray they will let us go ahead and do them today. It won't necessarily speed up the process, but it will help if they are already on our officer's desk by the time she receives our file. The GOOD news is, we have already been assigned an officer AND she has already approved us for a medical expedite! They are trying and having this step done will definitely keep things moving.

Other news:

This week again, Nathan has apple pie, raspberry, and peach-mango. He says it's his best yet.

REMINDER:
This Saturday is the hair cut fundraiser at Family Hair Design! Come in between 2-4pm and proceeds will benefit our adoption!

: If you haven't paid for your items from the Adoption Sale album, you can do that HERE. I have another set of packages ready to go out tomorrow and more items posting later today.


Thanks, ya'll :)

Our little doll turned three!

Cannot believe our little Ukrainian peach is THREE!!
I love that she still sits like this when a camera is near...

Look closely at her right hand, she is saying "three" :)

And yes, she's about to bust out of that sweater. It's roughly a 9-12 month size, ha. 

These January-February months make me miss Ukraine so much. I miss the cold (ironic since I'm so over it here.) I miss grocery shopping (Um... ditto on the cold). I miss cooking strange food and walking everywhere. I miss the juice, the chocolate, the friends, the crazy driving. I miss the thrill of the unknown and the simplicity of expected. 

But lawsy mercy, am I happy to be in my home with all my children (well, almost) and have this little doll here with us!

My Annie Sunshine. 

And shameless plug for my friend Kim, who made her dress with exactly one direction from me: I need a dress. She will also have some items in our silent auction on March 22. Check out her ETSY shop and get acquainted HERE. 

Since we can't be in Ukraine right now, we brought a teeny tiny bit of Ukraine to her. Matryoshkas everywhere.

(Missing the pitchers of Ukrainian-like juices that were added to the table)

Um... excuse me: Where did the baby go?

^Nathan's attempt at a snackable stacking doll. Isn't he precious for trying? ^

Unfinished Nutter Butters... 

Annie-Girl, I hope you felt loved and cherished and so very much celebrated yesterday- and everyday. You are the brightest ray of sunshine and we are so, so grateful we get the joy of YOU. Love you to Ukraine and back, sweet pea. 

Father-Daughter dance. Presh.

I don't really know how to write this one without being super sappy, and I wasn't even there.  My only part in it was curling hair and sharing my mascara.

So, I'm just going to post the sweetest pictures ever. If you ever want to know the details, ask Layla... she will tell you ALL about it. (It sounds a bit like a fairytale with the climax of the story involving the Cupid Shuffle.)

I'm so grateful my three girls have a daddy who shows them how they deserve to be treated by a man. They see it every day in the way he treats their momma, and them as well. But a special occasion never hurt every once in a while to make a girl feel extra special. Love him. Love them.

CUPCAKE TUESDAY- ON THURSDAY!

Oh man, oh man, oh man.

We did it! We met our goal! We, being us... and you!
We did it!
We can send the $5,500 agency fee as soon as the transfers clear! So exciting and humbling and overwhelming and confirming and worth it.

Made for a pretty fantastic birthday :)
I woke up to precious videos from my favorite kiddos (along with monetary contributions to their brother's adoption from each of them... bless their amazing hearts!) and a sweet surprise from hubs (even though he had strict instructions to do NOTHING.) I was having a hard time letting go of my broken phone cover because it had four sweet faces on it... he replaced it with a new (harder to break) one showing FIVE sweet faces!! I LOVE IT.


And thank you for all the well-wishes for Anna Gray. Her surgery went well yesterday and she has recovered nicely, for the most part. Definitely doesn't feel great, but I think in a day or so, she will probably be back to her normal bouncing, singing self. And I was NOT kidding when I said she really wanted a waffle.

She ate one and carried one around with here, hugging and kissing it on occasion. Hunger can do that to you.

For the second part of the day, I disappeared into Cupcake Land. It is a happy land.
Last week, it was a stressful land. But I decided- I don't to be stressed! I just don't. It's fun for NO ONE and as it turns out, doesn't make anything run any more smoothly.  Stress is not the association I want my kids to make with adoption OR how I want them to remember me when they grow up, in general. So that's that. It was one week and we are done with that mess.

"If you ever want find a silver lining, there's a gotta be a cloudy day..." 
Kacey Musgraves saves the day again.

I was going to take a quick pic of my baking assistants yesterday, but they insisted on video.

Water, oil, and... jazz hands. Ha! They are fun people. And not heavily influenced by me at all.



This week's cupcakes are Banana Pudding!

They have a Nilla Wafer crust on bottom, fresh bananas, yellow cake filled with banana cream. Topped with vanilla buttercream icing and rolled in crumbed Nilla Wafers.

They're my favorite and since it was my birthday, I got to pick!
My pre-orders added up to nearly 100 cupcakes. WHAT.

Last week, that would have stressed me the heck out. But we're not doing that anymore. Due largely in part to some cupcake fairies that will be doing a lot of delivering on our behalf. So, so helpful. SO appreciated. It literally changes my whole week. Thank you, cupcake fairies!!

I only had a few extra boxes to sell and they sold out this morning!!  So glad this is working out!!
HAVE A SWEET WEEK!!
Cue drums: ba dum ching.

What a week!

I originally used an ellipsis (What a week...), but changed it to an exclamation point. It's a new dawn, it's a new day!

There was a lot of good last week. A lot. There was a lot of hard too, but a lot of good. By Wednesday, I was sitting in the kitchen floor with a Woodchuck in one hand and a tub of bleu cheese crumbles in the other. For real. There was a lot of hard. But also, a lot of good! Yay!

A big fat 'THANK YOU' to our village!! We are so incredibly... gah.... SO grateful. So many people have commented that they don't have much to financially contribute. You can look at our YouCaring page and see that every dollar adds up AND that sharing, makes a HUGE difference. HUGE. We are being loved on by so many family and friends, but also a LOT of people who don't know us, but know our story because you shared. Thank you.

UPDATES:
As of today, we have raise $5,017!! That means less than $500 before we can pay our next agency fee and submit the chunk of paperwork that goes with it. I can't believe it (yes, I can). What a difference a week makes, huh?  I still have the goal set at $3,200 by my 32nd birthday (this Wednesday!).


Ya'll seriously love cupcakes. I baked about 500 cupcakes last week. Some day, we are going to have this boy home and I'm going to tell him a bedtime story about how I delivered cupcakes for five hours in the freezing rain  just for him.

Several of you have offered to help with the deliveries. I'm not great at accepting help, but I will need it tomorrow. I have to get to work back-to-back dance gigs and won't be able to deliver. If you bake it, they will come?

I've sold a LOT in the online sale. And 95% of the packages have been shipped (Nathan West gets stuff DONE.). There are still some great items left and some more to list. However, all the the kid-related items (toys, clothes, gear, etc) that are left, will go to consignment this Thursday, Feb 13th. So if you want them, please let me know! I'd much rather sell to friends :)

We had a great time at the Noonday party on Friday!  (Thank you, sweet Erin!!)  Thank you again to those who were able to come and to those who ordered online! You can still place on online order for a few more days. Go to THIS link to place your order. Don't forget to check out the sale page! The scarves were a big favorite at the party and I love the bags, myself. Just enter my name as for the trunk show, and we will get 35% of sales!!

MORE NEWS:

We have also been offered another awesome way for you to be a part of this boy's story!

On Saturday, FEBRUARY 22, four stylists at Family Hair Design in White House will be doing hair cuts to benefit our family. Erica, Jaymie, Julie, and Tommie will offer hair cuts for a minimum $10 donation from 2:00-4:00 pm and the funds go toward our adoption. {But I'm pretty positive if your schedule needs you to come in a little before or a little after, they'd be okay if you mention us.}  A couple of others will be donating their tips from the day.   Isn't that the nicest?!  Please plan on stopping by!! A little trim never hurt anybody. And there just might be a table of sweet treats available to you as well. (Meaning, there definitely WILL be a table of sweet treats available.)

MUCH MUCH love to you, our village- we can almost check off this next step!
Cupcake Tuesday tomorrow (let me know if you can help deliver!)!!

xo

Cupcake Tuesday!

Sorry for the late post! It's because I am just now finished.
I am just now finished because I made FOUR TIMES the number of cupcakes I made last week. FOUR.
My kitchen is chaaaooos.

And most of them are already sold.
Last week's sold out in about an hour and half.

Ya'll.
For real.
Much love for your love of cupcakes.

Although I'm pretty sure the 118th Airlift wing is a little bummed, because I have had zero to send to them.  I sent some cookies today, hopefully that makes up for it!

So as you may have heard, I am featuring TWO flavors this week!

The cream cheese streak continues (If it ain't broke?)... By request: RED VELVET

















Also, by request: CARROT CAKE... with a twist.

I normally use my grandmother's carrot cake recipe (Hi, Nana!), but with the surge of orders I undershot my grocery list. So, I had to get more creative.  I THINK it worked out well, but I'd love some feedback.

So, I have cupcakes for everyone who "pre-ordered" and am about to start deliveries. 

Here's what I have left FOR SALE:

Three (3) boxes of Red Velvet

Six (6) boxes of Carrot Cake

As always, $10/box (4 cupcakes) and first come, first served. I *could* sell them by the dozen ($25/dz) if you catch me quickly. They will be available for 24 hours or until sold out. 

THANK YOU ALL SO STINKING MUCH!!

Thalassemia and the Brick Wall.

Last week was insane. We had an important chunk of paperwork that needed to get off to immigration and I was a nervous wreck trying to get it right. With the President in town, Nathan was just a wee bit busy himself, to say the least.

That chunk of paperwork was the first BIG step in getting approved to bring "Nicholas" home AND attempt to get him home sooner, rather than later. As I mentioned before, we are requesting a medical expedite. Meaning, we are asking that the approval/adoption process be sped up due to the fact that he has Thalassemia.

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. This disorder results in an excessive destruction of red blood cells, which leads to severe anemia.  HERE is a helpful blog written by my new friend and fellow Thal mom, Nicole.

Symptoms can include:

• Bone deformities in the face
• Fatigue
• Growth failure (hence his teeny tiny size at six years old)
• Shortness of breath
• Yellow skin (jaundice)

He has at least four of those symptoms. He needs monthly blood transfusions, and according to his medical records so far, he has only received a few in his entire life. He also needs daily folate supplements and is receiving NONE. There is a very serious blood shortage in China and regular treatment is just not an option for an orphan. Untreated, Thalassemia major leads to heart failure and liver problems, and makes a person more likely to develop infections or even die. Sadly, several children from these orphanages have already passed away. 

ONCE HE IS HOME, his Thalassemia will be very manageable and he will be able to live life like a typical little boy 25 days out of the month (the last few before a transfusion, he will likely feel a little more tired and weak. After tranfusion- back to a strong, bouncing boy!). That's the life we can give him, just by being his family. 

Fingers crossed that the urgency of his need is recognized and our paperwork is moved quickly. 

We are working feverishly on our dossier so that hopefully, the second we get approval from immigration we are ready to go. 

The ONLY reason that a quick approval would be a "bad" thing is that big, thick brick wall called MONEY. 

Ugh. We absolutely CANNOT move forward right now because of this agency bill. We owe $5,500, due immediately. And when we are ready to submit the dossier (hopefully in the next 30-40 days), we will owe almost another $4,000. It is making me sick to think about our paperwork being ready, and him having to wait longer, just because of money. 

We are busting our rear ends, and it is coming. Little by little, and believe me when I say that every.single.dollar. counts. You guys ARE buying cupcakes, and Nathan's jars, and buying from my impromptu online yard sale. Thank you so so much for that. We just have to work harder. And file our taxes ASAP, as that chunk will make a major dent.

Once we get our dossier sent off, we will have more time. Right now we don't. We have about 30 days to come up with nearly $9,000. It's doable. I haven't figure out how yet, but my God is greater!

We are checking schedules and venues to see if moving up our "big" event is an option. We are doubling up on the cupcakes and mason jars effective immediately. Layla is working on a precious option, available soon. I know there have been TONS of inquiries on the photo sessions. I was hoping to wait until Spring when it was warmer, prettier, and a little less chaotic. However, if anyone is interested in scheduling a session now (particularly if you have a newborn/baby or are wanting an indoor session regardless) please contact me. Due to the overwhelming response, I need to spread them out anyway. I've already had at least one photographer generously offer to handle some of the sessions with me. This fundraiser is one of our biggest helps, but if I'm being honest, it is also the most stressful! Spreading them out and having someone partner with me takes a little weight off (trust me, I will be useless to you if I'm a frazzled mess!). Let me know if you are are interested/available to move your session up, please.

And don't forget about our NOONDAY party THIS Friday. I didn't send actual invitations, but it is open to anyone. If you don't know about Noonday, CHECK THEM OUT. I love love love that it helps women earn a sustainable income so they can support their families and stay together! In the case of true orphans, Noonday helps by donating a percentage of sales to adopting families. Our family will receive 25% of sales from this event! You can join us Feb 7th from 6:00-8:00 at my house to see it in person (invite whomever you like). You can also order online using the link (choose Erin Dorn as your Ambassador and my name for the trunk show). 

ETA: We have also started the grant applications (they're a pain, but even if just one comes...)

And more than anything, just pray. Pray, wish, share our fundraisers or our YouCaring page (click HERE. I set the goal at $3,200, hoping to reach that by my 32nd birthday on Feb 12.... maybe?), toss a penny, do a naked dance, cross your fingers ... anything would be so very much appreciated.