The World's Most AWESOME Discount Card!!!

Oh my goodness! We have just started THE MOST AWESOME FUNDRAISER EVER!!!!! I am SO stoked pumped jazzed (I can't think of a word that does not make me sound like a total dork!) umm, EXCITED (there it is) about this!

Ok, so, you've seen those discount cards before, right? Usually, they have like three neat little rows of five little squares to fit fifteen little businesses on their precious little personalized cards. I am NOT making fun of these cards, BTW...I LOVE them. BUT, I love this even more.

Introducing: **insert drumroll here** The VIP discount card

This discount card is like the big brother to the cutie little discount cards that have been tucked in our wallet and envelope system (thank you very much, Dave Ramsey!).

Here's how it works:

1. Click on this link and select your location to see the discounts in your area (this card works in approximately 30 states!).
2. Decide that you LOVE it as much as we do and E-mail us at jnchase311@yahoo.com or leave a comment below to let us know that you want to order one.
3. In your E-mail or comment, let us know if you want us to drop your card in the mail or meet up with you and if you'll be paying by cash, check, or Paypal on our blog.
4. TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!

That's it! We have an order in and should receive those cards in the next week or so; please allow approximately 10 days for delivery. :) Also, the cards are good for an entire year!

How much?
Here is the great part!! These cards will cost you $20 and $10 goes directly into our adoption fund!

What's our goal?
If we sell 360 of these bad boys, we will have our next big financial hurdle taken care of...the dossier fee. I truly believe that with your help (and LOTS of prayer), this is definitely a possibility!! :)

Oh, yeah, and for you "ap" people, download the free ap and you can see and map all the businesses that way! Yea, technology!!

That's it...nothing more, nothing less!! Please let us know where to meet you with yours and please let all your friends and family know!! :)

Trev and Jen

October-What a Whirlwind!

We have been SO CRAZY BUSY in October that I have been very absent from my blogland.  I guess it's probably a good thing to be too busy to blog, but I want to remember all the fun stuff we've been doing, so here goes:

We started the month with our town's Homecoming:

We went "booing," one of our favorite family traditions:

Check out those spooks!

Can't resist the crazy eyes!

Melia's been doing a lot of writing and reading this month (so proud of her accomplishments this year!!):

 Translation: Mrs. Schmidt, I'm going to the K-1 South.  I love you.  Love, Melia Chase

We went to Columbia, Missouri to visit my brother and his wife.  The boys plus Amy and Lindsey went to the football game while mom and I took the girls shopping.  We all got in the spirit, even though events weren't conducive to a whole group picture:

We went to the Pumpkin Patch with our Home Group:

Melia and I went with my parents to see America's Got Talent Top Ten in Kansas City:

 It was really exciting and fun, mixed with a healthy dose of disappointment.  Melia's very favorite from the show (and the whole reason we went) was Jackie Evancho, and she wasn't even there!  But it was still good mommy-daughter time and we made some pretty great memories!

I've done some projects:

 

An IPhone Holder for my Mom's birthday

A onesie, burp rags, and a diaper holder for my sister's new foster baby

Oh, yeah...my sister got a new foster baby:

I know this is a horrible picture, but I can't post her precious little face (you know, confidentiality!); trust me she is A.DOR.A.BLE!

Whew!  I hope we have enough October energy left to enjoy Halloween!

Love,

Jen

P.S. No news on the adoption front.  Still waiting on the home study.  I'll keep you posted!

Dear Tooth Fairy

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I wanted to tell you the story of losing my first two teeth.  I really didn't want to let them go.  I mean, they have been good to me for five years now. 

Now, I'll admit, when they entered my life mouth, I was a little cranky.  It hurt a little and I was a little fussy (my parents were not used to that), but soon I discovered that having them meant some great things for my little 8-month-old self.  First of all, I could start eating some real food...not that pureed junk, but real little pieces of food.  Those two teeth allowed me to really enjoy my first Thanksgiving!  I also found that they were a great weapon, although, I quickly learned that was NOT the reason God gave them to me!!

So, when I discovered something that had been such a big part of me was going to go away, it was a mix of emotions.  I was sad that I was going to lose something, excited that I was going to get new teeth, and, quite frankly, scared that it would hurt when they came out.  OK, that last one is an understatement...I was REALLYscared!!  Looking back, maybe, just maybe, I was scared for no reason.  I mean, my daddy did have to hold me down while my mommy tied some floss around my tooth.  And, they did try to calmly talk to me about pulling it for about two weeks.  And, I did scream really loud when Mommy tried to pull it the night before.  And, I did cry about it...a lot!  Hmm...maybe I overreacted.  Oops!

But, guess what?!  It didn't even hurt.  I was still a little freaked out about the blood...ewww! I do not think I'm going to be a dentist!  But, over all, it wasn't near as bad as I expected.  AND, two days later, we did the same thing for my second tooth.  It was much better once I knew what to expect!

Melia after losing her first tooth, October 3rd, 2010.

Melia after losing her second tooth, October 5th, 2010.

The moral of the story, Ms. Fairy, is that I am growing up.  And sometimes that means I have to overcome my fears.  And sometimes that means I have to trust.  I know that God put my Mommy and Daddy in my life to love me and protect me and take care of me.  I also know He wants what is best for me.  Did you know He even told me about how He will take care of me in His Book?  Yep...several times.  There are even some songs in there that talk about it.  One of them is:

Psalm 5:11-

But let all who take refuge in you be glad;

let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Cool, huh?  Until next time,

Melia :)

P.S.  Thanks for the 2 quarters!

God is So Good!

Yes, He is!

Jen

New Fundraiser-Team Bling Shoes

As you know if you have been following our blog, Trevor and I are in the paperwork stages of what will likely be a quite lengthy and expensive adoption.  However, we fully believe that we are fullfilling the next step for our family and we know that God is in contol of both the timing and finances of our adoption.  We want to be faithful in both of these areas and are seeking Him daily (well, constantly, really) to keep us in check. 

Since the financial aspect is truly unfathomable to us, we are doing a few things to work towards offsetting some of our costs.  Thankfully, we have had some AMAZING people step in to do some fundraising on our behalf...I cannot offer enough "THANK YOUs" to express how much we appreciate this!  (To learn more about these opportunities, click here and here.)

This post, though, is about something that I am making to sell to raise money for our process.  I read about these shoes on one of my favorite crafty blogs and fell. in. love. with them!!!  They were just decorative and feminine and beautiful.  Then, I got to thinking, how fun would they be to make and sell?  I made my first pair for my niece for her 4th birthday and immediately got my first order of two pairs from my niece's cousins. :)  This was the confirmation that I needed that they really were as cute as I thought they were.

So, without further ado, introducing...team bling shoes:

I had decided I was going to call the "business" 3,000 Pairs since that is how many I would have to sell to fund our entire adoption. (This is very tongue-in-cheek, friends...I know I will not be selling 3,000 actual pairs!)  However, I am numbering each pair so you will know how close your pair put us toward our financial goal. :)

The first pair I made...these were for my niece, Karissa.

We are big Missouri Tiger fans around here, so I made these for my sister's foster daughter.

I've had a couple of orders, but this last weekend was the biggest so far!

                 

Before      

                           

After

So, here's how this works.  You E-mail me at jnchase311@yahoo.com.  Let me know your name, shoe size, team name, colors, and mascot.  Each pair costs $30 (plus shipping) which includes shoes, bling, glitter logo, and ribbon laces.  You can either pay using the paypal donate button on my blog page or send me a check (I will wait for check clearance before I make the shoes).  Please allow 2 weeks for me to make them.

Oh, yeah...and my lovely assistant and I will make a custom gift bag for each pair, so these make ideal gifts! (Christmas, anyone?!)   



Please feel free to post, forward, link, etc. to anyone you think might be interested!

Thank you for helping us with our adoption expenses! :)

GOAL!

Yep, it's true...my little girly-girl scored her first goal at her soccer game today!  Go, Melia!!

She called her Uncle Travis first to let him know that Daddy owed her a dollar and here was her description: "Hey, guess what?!  I was the kick-off and I put the ball so it would go through the green team's wall and I kicked it really hard and it just rolled and rolled all by itself until it went in the goal!  Can you believe it?!"

Cute!  It's been a long morning of soccer and everyone is now napping to get ready for an evening of "booing"!  I love Fall! :)