I know times are tight right now so I have decided to sweeten the deal on my fundraiser Double Stroller Giveaway. If you donate and refer five people, who donate at least $10.00 each, I will in return give you TWO ADDITIONAL FREE referral entries in the stroller giveaway (For every five referrals). When these people donate they must leave a comment and list you as a referral in order for you to get credit. Feel free to post my giveaway on any boards or groups you feel would be interested in the possibility of winning a stroller and helping a needy family; That would be Mommy groups, Adoption groups (China,Nepal,Russia,Vietnam,etc), birthing groups, etc; Send it to your relatives and friends. Also remember if you donate and blog about it with a link back to my giveaway post you will get your original entries for your donation and 1 free entry for your blog post. Please help me build this house for a needy family; I know we can do it if we work together. Please,Please,Please pass this along. Here is the original link to post: http://wwwjourneytoourdestiny.blogspot.com/2009/03/double-stroller-giveaway.html


I test drove this stroller at babies r us the other day. It is one of the most versatile strollers I have ever seen. The twins loved it and I loved I could turn the seats around if they were bothering each other;) It has many different seating configurations and the bucket seats can both be removed entirely. Remember this stroller can also be used as a SINGLE stroller with a place for shopping bags when you remove one of the seats. It can be used with an infant seat(or two infant seats for twins) and a toddler. It can be used for two toddlers. It could be given as a baby shower gift or donated to charity. You could sell it on ebay or craigs list. It got a four out of five star rating on Amazon. Personally I feel this stroller should appeal to anyone who has a child or knows someone with a child. It is a win, win situation when you donate.

Watch this utube video to see the stroller in action:

Double Stroller Giveaway

Edited: Stroller Giveaway Ending May 31, 2009


I have decided what my next fund raising cause will be; I told you I had an idea brewing and I have come to a decision. This one feels really good. I have always wanted to do something big like this in Vietnam; Change the life of a WHOLE family. When I traveled to Vietnam in 2007, to bring home my children, I could not believe what I saw. Families (Not 1 but thousands) living in conditions I would not consider adequate for my dog to live in (The average ANNUAL household income in Vietnam is less then $300 US per year); Shacks with dirt floors, no windows or doors and a tarp or cardboard boxes for a roof. I could not leave these people behind, come home to my cushy life in the US and forget what I had seen. I vowed to myself I would try and make a difference. Together WE are going to build a house (or hopefully two) for a very poor family in Vietnam. For every $10 donated you get one entry; Each $25.00 donation will get you three entries (Entries with US addresses ONLY; Anybody can donate to cause-I just can't afford to ship it overseas). If you DONATE AND Blog (with Link back to this blog post) and post my widget about my giveaway you will get an extra entry. Leave a comment here with the link to your blog post to get your extra entry. Even if you don't need a double stroller this can turn into a SINGLE stroller, it would make a awesome baby shower gift, donate it or sell it on craigs list or ebay. It's just 10 bucks so take a chance you just might win the stroller but the true prize is what you will have done to improve another human beings life. Random number generator will be used to pick the winner. Please pass this along it is for a very worthy cause. I need at least 175 donations to make this dream a reality. You can donate by paypal OR credit card through the chip in widget. If you have a paypal account I would prefer you use this because they charge me a fee for the credit card. Credit card payments are fine if you do not have a paypal account.





The giveaway is for a brand new Contours Options Tandem stroller in Red (Retail Value $249.99).

Product Description

The Contours® Options® Tandem is the perfect stroller to give you the flexibility needed as a parent. For 1 or 2 kids, infant or toddlers, everyone has a great view in any direction with its reversible seats! It is the ultimate stroller with lots of options for your ever changing life style!

Features:

• Seats Easily Reverse to Create 6 Different Stroller Options. Children Can Both Face Parent, Face Each Other, Face Forward or Back to Back. The Options Tandem Can Also Be Used with Only the Front Seat so There's Lots of Storage in Back.

• Infant Car Seat Attachment Fits Most Car Seat Brands on the Market. Additional Car Seat Attachment is Sold Separately to Accommodate Twins!

• Both Seats Recline for Infant's Comfort

• Ultra Smooth Ride & Steering with Two 8" Front Single Swivel & 10" Rear Never Flat Wheels

• Easy Trigger Fold and Convenient Free-Stand™ Allows the Stroller to Stand on its Own! And if You Remove Both Seats, This Stroller Will Become More Compact When Storing in Small

Edited: Stroller Giveaway Ending May 31, 2009

You can also donate to this cause by ordering magazines from my fundraiser. 40% off cover list price. Just click on banner below.

Potty time #2

Well they love the potty time movies and ask for potty movie all day long. They can both say potty clear as day. After first attempt at potty training (http://wwwjourneytoourdestiny.blogspot.com/2009/01/potty-time.html) they both refused to take their diapers off to sit on their potties; I mean screaming hysterically fits when I tried to take off the diaper. I just decide not to push it and let them go at their own pace. They would go in and sit on the potties (with their diapers on) about 5 times a day. I figured at least they were getting used to it and not scared of the potty. Well today they both wanted to take their diapers off. Khai was the first to pee in the potty. He had a great time with the toilet paper and his favorite was washing his hands. Well Meliah did the same as last time and would not stay on the potty. She kept squatting in front of the potty playing with it. When I was sitting on the floor helping Khai, I realize Meliah is peeing on my foot and the floor in front of the potty. An exact repeat of last time, minus the foot. I grab her and put her back on the potty hoping to get some in it so she can understand the concept. They both got rewarded with potty treats (M&M's) that they finished up by feeding them to Mommy. All in all a success. I am going to keep asking them but let them work at their own pace. I am really not looking forward to going out and dealing with two potty trained toddlers; I will be glad to get rid of the 450+ diapers a month.

Cutest Baby on the Block post

I have entered this picture of Meliah into the Cutest Baby on the Block contest. Follow the link and comment on how cute the picture is so she can win and be the Cutest Baby on the Block.

Baies first time in snow

Babies first time in snow

We got our first big snow storm of the winter this week. Who would of ever thought it would happen on the first day of March?

This is the first time the babies have been out in snow. They just kept saying snow over and over when it was coming down. They did not know what to make of it once we got them out in it. Meliah wanted her Daddy to carry her everywhere; Of course Princess won that one. Khai liked it a little better then Meliah. Saige was disappointed that the snow would not pack good to make a snowman.

Giveaway

A blogger I follow just opened a Etsy store with her homemade baby stuff. She is a Mother of Twins adopted from Korea. Her new store is great and has the cutest Tutu's. Go check it out and follow this link to sign up for a giveaway http://cutestbabyontheblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/welcome-to-cutest-baby-on-blog.html

I wish her the best of luck with her new store.

Spa Day 2

These pictures are not the greatest but they show you what happened at our house today;Spa Day 2. Saige did Meliah's makeup. How does it look? What you can't see is the bottle of blue glitter in her hair. Saige used Halloween paint on her own face and turned every inch of it bright red. She tried to wash it off before she showed me but couldn't get it to come off. I couldn't get a picture but you can imagine.

Spa Day

The two little girls love to play Spa day with Mommy and Khai thinks he is just one of the girls. Drives my Husband crazy but what a I supposed to do?

Pride and Joy

My 17 year old son was home at lunch today, before he heads to the local college for classes, and he out of nowhere asks how much the twins adoption cost. I gave him a ballpark figure and he wanted to know if it that was each child. I was putting away paperwork in my office the other day and was getting ready to file a cost breakdown from my agency so I got the breakdown and showed him. He was like a typical 17 year old and went no further. It was an unusual question so I probed him on why he inquired. I thought maybe someone had asked him about our adoption or he was doing a project at school. Like a 17 year old boy he nonchalantly said "You know I have been interested in adopting and I was just wondering". Now years ago he had mentioned an interest in adopting, as a single father, a little boy from Asia that he was going to train to be a Ninja. Was I supposed to take this seriously? All kidding aside, I know he had a serious interest years ago but had not mentioned it in years. I have to tell you when he said it my heart swelled with pride and joy. Nothing my kids could do in this life would bring me more happiness. I hope it is something that stays in his heart and grows and grows. I know he plans on choosing a career that he loves and fulfills him emotionally but will not have large monetary gain. He wants to live a simple life and is not into material possessions. He wants to build a cob house and power his house with solar energy. He has simple dreams but I don't know if adoption is something that will financially be within his grasp; This breaks my heart. I will do whatever is in my power to help him, or any of my other children, fulfill the dream of adopting a child in the future. We did not have much emotional support (None really) and defiantly no financial support (Not that I wanted or expected it), from our families, so I will make sure to support my children in every way possible if they so desire. I will rejoice with them just as I would for a biological child; It makes no difference in my eyes and that will always be known. I hope our adoption does make a difference in many generations to come. I hope it is a catalyst for change and opens some hearts and minds to adoption.

Pulls at my heart strings; How about you?

Watch these videos and you will know why I chose to adopt from Vietnam (and still have such a passion for the children left behind); Why I choose to continue sponsoring children and families in spite of the economic downturn in the US (Annual income $250-300 dollars a year per family in Vietnam; Can you imagine?). Why my heart aches for my childrens birth families and what they must endure on a daily basis. If it pulls at your heart the way it does mine you will understand. When you go to a third world country,to bring your children home, and see such poverty you most likely will never be the same again. You could come home to your cushy lifestyle and try and forget, but I don't see how. What amazed me about Vietnam was our poorest person in the US is much better off then a middle/upper class person in Vietnam. Now if we measure wealth in kindness then the people of Vietnam would be way richer then we are. The people of Vietnam were a pure joy; I really did not expect this. I wasn't sure if there would be animosity left over from the war but this was not the case at all; almost the opposite. We only encountered one negative experience (from a very elderly lady with a machete) in five weeks. I really enjoyed the experience and the people. Such a love of babies and children that I have never seen anywhere. If the flight was not so god awful terrible, I would go back at least once a year. I will be back, just not sure when.

Potty time

Picked up the two potties I ordered today. 21 months and officially potty training twins. We had an afternoon of watching Potty Power and Potty time (Much to the dismay of the teenagers). They were very excited about the potties and can both say potty.The understand the concept because, with twins, I have not used the potty once by myself since they came home. A couple months ago Meliah started getting the toilet paper ready for me. We set the potties up in the bathroom and had a go at it. They both enjoyed sitting on the potties but nothing. I decided to read then a few books. About halfway through the second book I hear a potty say " Congratulations you went potty". I was like, no way, it must have malfunctioned. I have them stand up and Khai's potty is full of peepee. We do a potty dance,high five,scream and jump around like idiots. He got a cool sticker and then went to find his Daddy. I sat with Meliah for quite some time but she started losing interest and playing with the potty pots. In the meantime Khai went into the kitchen and dropped 18 eggs on the floor. While I was dealing with this Meliah was still in the bathroom, diaperless, playing with the potties. I decide potty time is over and go to the bathroom to put diaper on Meliah and step in a puddle in front of the potties. Turns out Meliah went potty also, just not in the right spot. I struggle with if this really potty training when she pees on the floor in front of the potties? Do I give her a sticker? HUMMM.


P.S. Sorry no pictures, I didn't feel visuals would be needed for this post;)

Owl and the Sparrow

Watch this trailer on a great new movie that takes place in modern day Saigon.

This Guatemalan princess needs your prayers

We have come a long way!!!

Well, I made it through the night. DH had to fly to Texas yesterday and will be gone until tonight. DH has traveled about 3 or 4 (A few of those trips for 3-5 nights) times since we got the twins. Those nights did not go very well. So bad in fact he had to stop taking contracts that required any travel or overnight stays. I am used to taking care of the kids by myself most days from wake up to between 9pm-1am (My Husbands schedule is not predictable). I am not thrilled to have to do it all by myself but what's a girl to do? Anyway there is something different about him not being home at all even if it is only for a few hours at night. As I have said before Khai is DH sleep buddy. He has serious sleep issues. I was pleasantly surprised last night. He let his big Sissy rock him to sleep around 11:30 PM and went to sleep in her bed with her until 5:ooAm. He didn't even cry he just wandered into my bedroom at 5:00 looking for Mommy (Didn't even ask for Daddy). We went and changed his diaper and got a full bottle. He wanted to stay downstairs and sleep in the chair and watch TV (like his Daddy does) but I told him we had to go back to bed. He went back to bed, snuggled with me and fell back to sleep until 9:30 am.

Now this is the same kid who 6 months ago would wake up 8-10 times a night screaming bloody murder and would fight you when you tried to comfort him. I literally had knots in my stomach when bedtime would come around; it was such an unpleasant experience. He would hit, scream, push away, arch his back and fight sleep to all ends. It broke my heart every time. I felt like my own child hated me. I know he didn't and it is common for adopted children to have sleep issues but it is still so hard for a Mother to not take this personally. No matter how much you read, until it is actually staring you in the face you don't know how your going to react or feel. I wanted to be able to comfort my child and it killed me that he would not accept that comfort. It turns out a lot of babies who came out of Khai's same orphanage had severe sleep issues just like him. Weird Huh?? The kicker with Khai was these issues lasted for over a year in some shape or form. It also didn't help that we were dealing with two babies and that is exhausting just by itself. Now Meliah is the exact opposite. She is velcro baby. There is no problem comforting her but she must be held at all times. She must be touching me the whole time she sleeps. If almost as if she thinks I am going to disappear if she does not keep her eye on me. Now imagine trying to get these exact opposite personalities to sleep at the same time. Somebodys not going to be happy.

It was so great to have him just lay down and willingly snuggle with his Mama this time. I have waited so long for this.We have come a long way!!!

P.S. DH ended up being gone 4 days.

So true,So true

So true,So true!!! Take it from the Mother of a 17 and 3/4 year old.(Well I don't miss the mess because I still have it times two little tornadoes;)



“If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly…” ~Thomas S. Monson, “Finding Joy in the Journey,” Ensign, Nov. 2008

We pray for the children

We pray for the children
who sneak popsicles before supper,
who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
who never "counted potatoes,"
who are born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for the children
who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.

And we pray for those
who never get dessert,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who can't find bread to steal,
who don't have rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.

We Pray for the Children
who spend their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
who never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
who squirm in church and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and
whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything
Who have never seen a dentist,
Who aren't spoiled by anybody,
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
Who live and move, but have no being.
We pray for the children
Who want to be carried, and for those who must,
Who we never give up on and for those who don't get a second chance.

We pray for those children that we smother with kisses,
and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

adapted from a prayer by Ina Hughes

Something to think about

On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God: "Why did you permit this? Why don't you do something about this?For a while God said nothing, then he replied: "I certainly did something....I made you."

Birth parents

Well I have spent the last 5 days writing letters to my childrens birth parents and making these really neat photo memory books. This was a lot harder then it sounds.

How do you thank someone for giving you the most precious gift on earth? How are you compassionate of their loss and still joyful of your gain? How do you express in words the level of gratitude you feel every time you look into those dark eyes and know their birth parents selflessly gave them life just to have to give them away?

It is so surreal. One of the main reasons I went with International adoption is because I thought the children were orphan and I wouldn't have to deal with birth parents. Now here I am 14 months later initiating contact. I would of never thought this is something I would want to do. My views have definitely changed. I guess the real aspect of meeting them in person and seeing the third world country they live in made my heart grow with compassion. I can not imagine having to give these two beautiful children up. We live in such a different world. In the US children are given up for adoption for many different reasons. In Vietnam it is mainly due to extreme poverty children are voluntarily relinquished for adoption. Keeping their child could turn into a death sentence for that child. How must that feel? Not really much of a choice.

Khai's birth mother gave us a letter at the G&R that we just recently had translated. Even though my views had changed my Husband did not want to initiate contact until he read this letter. How can we not after this letter? I cry every time I read it. She was so sweet and said all the right things. She thanks us for adopting him and says she was happy when she learned of our interest in adopting Khai (So strange because she seemed so cold to us in Vietnam on the day of the adoption). She tells us she is truly at peace giving Khai to us because she knows we will provide him a good home. The last paragraph of the letter is to Khai and she conveys her love and sorrow in giving him up. She says she will always remember him, his smile and his eyes. That he will always be in her heart. I can feel her pain.

We will also be sending monetary gifts to each set of birth parents equivalent to about a years wage in a rural area. We hope this will improve their life in some way and ease the hardships we know life has dealt them. At the end of the day it is so little to us but hopefully means much to them.

Edited: I think I found a way for you to view the memory books. They are almost finished. Take a look and let me know what you think.

http://photos.walmart.com/memorybook/ordertype=PMB/orderId=41251408/orderstatus=SHR/ownerid=10556457/upc=Photo+Hardcover++Memorybook+-+20cm+x+20cm/u_=1112397152357616_xfc3f3b825bc98d9_xfc1011_xfc11069200_xfc1000009_xfcWMPRD03_xfc1_xfcOjQMn_6UKwjr5jFUU0XWeg--/t_=10556457


http://photos.walmart.com/memorybook/ordertype=HMB/orderId=41252384/orderstatus=SHR/ownerid=10556457/upc=Hardcover+Memory+Book/u_=1112397161025209_xfc3f3b82500da90_xfc1011_xfc11069200_xfc1000009_xfcWMPRD03_xfc1_xfcLQJsc.PPxIcongXBag.KiQ--/t_=10556457

Look how much our family has changed

Our Holiday Card 2008
Our Holiday Card 2006