A Fun Adoption Blessing

My friend, Cherie, whom I met on an Arizona adoption site, was throwing a big celebration party for her kiddos.  In leu of gifts, she asked people to bring a donation to our adoption fund.  She knew we met our goal, but wanted to give us a little extra wiggle room and/or a jumpstart on some of the medical things Ramya need once we get her home.  It was a really fun party; we had a blast!  It was an amazing party with jumpers and cotton candy and a clown, and so much more.  A HUGE thank you to Cherie, her family, to everyone who donated to our fund, we really, really appreciate your generosity and support!  Our adoption fund is now $260 larger!

Check Out How You Can Help Us G.L.O.W (Adoption Fundraiser)

G.L.O.W

Grow Love for Orphans Worldwide

Our AMAZING friend Kimberly and her family donated 200 of these bracelets to us to sell as a fundraiser to bring Ramya home from India.  Aren't they awesome!?!? 

They are made in the USA, high quality, and most importantly, they glow in the dark!

We are called to love and care for the orphans of the world; God's children. 

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

- James 1:27

Some people choose to adopt domestically, some internationally.  Some choose to donate to help support others adoption, some choose to support organizations that care for children.  It's not about how you choose to help, nor where you are called to help, but instead, it's about doing what God leads you to do... whatever and wherever that may be.  God has lead us to bring home Ramya, but we need your help!  You can G.L.O.W and help us bring Ramya simply by purchasing one of our bracelets. 

We are selling these for any donation to our adoption fund (with a minimum suggested donation of $5 each).  Shipping for two costs about $0.60.  Please consider sharing our fundraiser with your family, friends, coworkers, and Church congregation.

If we can sell each bracelet for $5, after the cost of shipping, we can earn over $800 for our adoption!!!!!!

All the bracelets are size medium, 7.5 inches.  Here is how it looks on Conner...

And on me...

And on David...

To order, please e-mail me at jamie_lugo@hotmail.com and include your name, the quantity you would like, your address, and how you would like to pay (check, paypal, cash, etc...).

THANK YOU FOR GLOWING!

Thank you to all of our friends and family who helped us with our fundraiser!!

• Carolyn (1)
• Kimberly (2)
• Frank and Nanette (4)
• Sarah (1)
• Grandma and Grandpa V (2)
• Kathy (aka mom and grams) (20)
• Leslie (2)
• Evelyn (2)
• Danette (1)
• Me and David (2)
• Jimmy (1)
• My Mom (1)
• Church Members (20)
• David (1)
• Sue (8)
• Anna (4)
• Nicole (2)
• Fundraiser Party (30)- Total unknown so far!

Total Raised: $596.40

Bracelets Sold: 104

And there's more, but I lost count with what went to Church :)

Spring Cleaning? Cleaning Out Your Closets? Send Your Old Treasures Our Way!

It's that time of year again... garage sale fundraiser time!!  This may very well be the last garage sale fundraiser we get to have before bringing Ramya home (though we will most likely have another in October if she does not get to come home before that). 

If you are cleaning out your closets, doing some spring cleaning, or have anything just lying around that you are not wanting any more, send it our way!  We love any donation, no matter how big or small.  Clothing, furniture, household items, anything; we take it all!!

We are happy to come and pick up donations, just let us know!

The big sale will be April 20th and 21st, so you have some time to start digging through your buried treasures. We will take donations any time from now until the sale.

 As always, if you are able to come help organize donations, run the sale, or play with the kids while I do any of the above, we would love to have you!

Thanks so much for loving Ramya and helping us bring her home!

Our Encouragement

We have been really encouraged by our bracelet sales so far, and I just had to share!!  David's mom teaches nursing classes at a local community college and bought 20 from us, one for each student.  We have also had many friends and loved ones purchase one from us as well.  The grand total we have sold so far is 32 out of our 200 bracelets, and we have already earned $305 with the fundraiser!  WOW!!  We also got a $10 donation and a $50 donation from students in David's mom class.  We are so touched!  Here are a few photos of some of the people that are rockin' our GLOW (Grow Love for Orphans Worldwide) bracelets...

$2,300 Final WACAP bill
- 540 My babysitting money
- 100 From the Zupko family (THANK YOU!)
- 60 From the Merkel family (THANK YOU!)
- 65 Raised from selling bracelets so far
_______

$1,535 to go on our current goal
-210 bracelet sales
_______

$1325 to go!
-58 thirty-one fundraiser
______
$1,267
-10 donation
-50 donation
-20 bracelet sale
______
$1,187 to go!

Thank you for all of your support.  We can't wait to bring our precious little girl home!! 

Need Valentine's Day Gifts? Love Avon?

Carena is still giving 20% of her purchase towards our adoption!! If you need anything from Avon, she's your gal! Here's the info...


I will donate 20% of all sales toward bringing Ramya home. Please consider placing an order- even a small one, to help support this amazing family in their journey to bringing Ramya home. Thank you!

http://cstamps.avonrepresentative.com/online_event/view.php?rep_spnsr_evnt_id=217566


Click on "online events" and shop from there to benefit Ramyas adoption.

Need Valentine's Day Gifts? Love Avon?

Carena is still giving 20% of her purchase towards our adoption!! If you need anything from Avon, she's your gal! Here's the info...




I will donate 20% of all sales toward bringing Ramya home. Please consider placing an order- even a small one, to help support this amazing family in their journey to bringing Ramya home. Thank you!



http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youravon.com%2Fcstamps&h=ZAQHL8K0fAQEIk0Jvg21si6kWRUOD1DDAJ9JNTHAyNNoQuA



Click on "online events" and shop from there to benefit Ramyas adoption.

Need Avon?

My wonderful friend, Carena, is doing a fundraiser for our adoption!!  Here's the info from her:

I'm doing an online event to benefit a great friend who is working hard to adopt a little girl from India. I will donate 20% of all sales toward bringing Ramya home. Please consider placing an order- even a small one, to help support this amazing family in their journey to bringing Ramya home. Thank you!

http://cstamps.avonrepresentative.com/

click on "online events" and shop from there to benefit Ramyas adoption.

Last Chance for the Arbonne Fundraiser :)

TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY!

I am hosting an online Arbonne Party with a Purpose! Arbonne is a 30 year old Swiss health and wellness company with fantastic vegan products free of Petroleum, Phthalates and Fragrances. Arbonne marries current technology with botanicals to produce products that deliver results. Whether you are interested in skin care or cosmetics for yourself or holiday gifts for friends and family, your purchases will make a difference! Suzi Istvan, Independent Arbonne Consultant, will be donating 25% of all retail sales from this party to help us bring Ramya home! Suzi isn't taking any commission, and is donating all her commission to fundraiser for us! How awesome!! THANK YOU SUZI!

The instructions for ordering are below. Please be sure to e-mail or message me and tell me you ordered, so that your order counts for our fundraiser.


To shop online:

1. Click Here: http://bit.ly/tS7WW8

2. On the bottom right side of the page, use Sponsor's ID number 19689391

3. Register as a "Client" (first choice) and fill out all info on this page.

4. Submit and get shopping!


5. After you've made your purchases, (email, message, FB post- Jamie insert how you want people to get in touch with you here) and let me know you did so Suzi can count your purchase towards this party.


This party will be active this Wednesday 12/7- next Wednesday 12/14. These orders will qualify for ground shipping to be received by Christmas! For gift-giving ideas or product questions, find Suzi on her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ArbonneWithSuzi.

Thank you for your support!!

Love Arbonne? Join Us for a Fundraiser Just in Time for Christmas!!

I am hosting an online Arbonne Party with a Purpose! Arbonne is a 30 year old Swiss health & wellness company with fantastic vegan products free of Petroleum, Phthalates & Fragrances. Arbonne marries current technology with botanicals to produce products that deliver results. Whether you are interested in skin care or cosmetics for yourself or holiday gifts for friends and family, your purchases will make a difference! Suzi Istvan, Independent Arbonne Consultant, will be donating 25% of all retail sales from this party to

help us bring Ramya home!  Suzi isn't taking any commission, and is donating all her commission to fundraiser for us!  How awesome!!  THANK YOU SUZI!

The instructions for ordering are below.  Please be sure to e-mail or message me and tell me you ordered, so that your order counts for our fundraiser.


To shop online:

1. Click Here: http://bit.ly/tS7WW8

2. On the bottom right side of the page, use Sponsor's ID number 19689391

3. Register as a "Client" (first choice) and fill out all info on this page.

4. Submit and get shopping!

5. After you've made your purchases, (email, message, FB post- Jamie insert how you want people to get in touch with you here) and let me know you did so Suzi can count your purchase towards this party.


This party will be active this Wednesday 12/7- next Wednesday 12/14. These orders will qualify for ground shipping to be received by Christmas! For gift-giving ideas or product questions, find Suzi on her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ArbonneWithSuzi.

Thank you for your support!!

For Those Who Asked to Donate for Our Adoption

I have to admit, this post has taken me a long time to write and I've been putting it off for a while.  Accepting money and help is something that I really, really struggle with.  I appreciate the hearts of those who have asked to give, though, and I am ready to admit it takes a village to bring a child home; not just financially, but with prayers, help, and support as well.  So, to our village, THANK YOU!

Here's the latest update on how you can donate, for those of you who have asked :)

1. You can give a tax deductible donation through Wacap in our name, which would specifically be for Ramya.  If for some reason our adoption was not approved, the money would not follow us, but would stay with Ramya for the family that was approved to adopt her.  If this happened, we would be more than ok with the money staying with Ramya, since her having a home, even if it isn't ours, is extremely important to us!  Wacap said the easiest way is to mail us a check, then I can gather all the checks, write a letter that they are for Ramya and our adoption, then mail them all in at once. 
1. Here is the response I got, with more information:  If you have several people that would like to donate money for Ramya’s adoption, it would be best if they could send the checks to you first and then you can bundle them all together and send them all to us. The checks can be made out to WACAP and should indicate on the check or in a letter from each family that this money is a donation for Ramya’s adoption. Then, when you bundle them together and send them to us, you can add a note that these checks are donations for Ramya’s adoption and that you are the family currently matched with her. Keep in mind that if for some reason your adoption of Ramya falls through, you will not receive the money since it would stay with Ramya for whichever family does adopt her. The people who make the donations should talk to their tax accountants for more information about how to apply this as a donation for their tax purposes
2. You can give a donation to Wacap that is NOT tax deductible, but that would follow our family in the event our adoption with Ramya was not approved.  You can mail the check straight to them, but you would just need to include a letter that it is for our family.  Here's the info I got about that...
1. If desired, the donator could write the check to WACAP and make it specific to your family’s adoption, regardless of which child you adopt. As long as you do complete your adoption through WACAP, this money will be applied to your fees, but the person who sent the money cannot write it off as a donation.
2. The address is: 315 S. Second St. Renton, WA 98057
3. You can donate through Paypal using the link below.  The money would NOT be tax deductible, and there are paypal fees (unless you give as 'personal' and 'gift', instead of as a donation), but it is an easy way to give!

Of course, you can also mail/give a donation directly to us.  If you have any questions, please e-mail me at jamie_lugo@hotmail.com.  For those of you who have donated items for our garage sale, donated your time to help us prepare/organize, are planning to donate, or who have prayed for us, THANK YOU for your support!  We love each one of you and are so thankful for you!

Our current goal is $10,200, due ASAP.  They have agreed to let us make a small payment, then send in more once our garage sale is complete.  Whatever else is left we will put on our credit card so that we don't delay the process.  Because we have already paid some of our fees, however, our overall goal is $30,000 and includes our trip to India to bring Ramya home.

Garage Sale Reminder... WE NEED YOU :)

Our garage sale is next weekend, December 2nd and 3rd.  We will happily take:

- Items to sell
- Bake sale items to sell (breads, jelly, cupcakes, cookies, muffins, brownies and more)
- Help to organize or run the sales (Really just on Friday, I think we have Saturday covered.  Even just helping set up would be HUGE!)
- People to come shop
- Prayers.....   we just got a bill for $10,500 in the mail, and I thought I'd have more time until that came around, so we're freaking out a tad right now

Thank you SO much for all your support!!

Ready for some Christmas shopping? Join us for a fundraiser!!!

Like personalized bags, lunch boxes, organizers, and more? 

My friend, Amanda, sells Thirty-One and is having a fundraiser sale for our adoption.  We get 10%-15% of sales towards our adoption fees!  We will also earn free items that we can raffle off for an additional fundraiser :).  There are also monthly specials that you can get as well!

The "party" opens now and closes on November 12th.  All orders must be in by the 12th.

To browse and purchase go to http://www.mythirtyone.com/amandamcmahon/ ,  then click on "my events" and then "Jamie's fundraiser for Ramya".

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Save the Date and Your Unwanted Stuff!

Live in Phoenix?

Have lots of unwanted stuff you want to get rid of?

Looking for an easy way to help us raise money for our adoption?

Well, I have the perfect event for you!

Mark your calendar for:

Saturday, December 2nd and 3rd

We will be having another fundraiser garage sale at our house.  I know it's late in the year, but better late than never!  We will probably have another in March as well.

How can you help?  Great question!

1)   We want your unwanted stuff! Clothes, electronics, exercise equipment, old movies, toys, household items, etc... We want it all!  Anything we can sell at our sale, on craigslist, or on e-bay that you don't want, send our way!  All the money will go towards our adoption.

2)  Volunteer a couple days here and there some time before the sale to help us price and organize, or to play with two cute children while I price and organize. 

3)  Help me run the sale the day of, so either December 2nd or 3rd, or both!

4)  Bring me coffee when I'm a walking zombie and come prepared with a smile and a joke to keep me motivated!

Thanks so much for all of your support!!!!