Tuesday, August 27, 2013

3:20

Never in my wildest dreams....
Not even in my greatest hopes....
Would I ever have imagined....

20 days
163 supporters
70 strangers
236 t-shirts sold
$4, 290 raised

All for a sweet baby girl, 
halfway around the world
who has NO IDEA
the amount of LOVE waiting for her!

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.  Amen." - Eph. 3:20-21

Can I get a witness??!!!

SPREAD MORE LOVE!



Sunday, August 25, 2013

Why I Love Social Media!

I have been completely blown away by the all of the support I've received from the Spread More Love Campaign!!  GOD HAS BEEN MOVING!!!!!!  There are only 2 left and 195 shirts have been sold!!  I am hoping to sell 200 shirts by Midnight, Monday when the campaign ends!

I've been a marketing this campaign like crazy on Facebook, twitter, this blog, and Instagram.  AND IT WORKS!  There are so many people who I don't even know who have purchased t-shirts!

I will let you in on a secret.  When everything started moving at lightning speed with R's adoption, the thought of fundraising again gave me a pit in my stomach.  It's hard.  So, so hard.  Because everything is out of your control and it's so completely humbling to ask people to give you money.  When I raised funds last time, I thought for sure that I had used up all of my "credit" with family and friends and I didn't want to bug anyone.  Some other adoptive mamas suggested I do a garage sale because in general, those are great fundraisers.  But that made me feel like I wanted to vomit.  I am not a "Type A" personality and to think of keeping track of all the stuff, labels, organizing, and most of all, where to store all the stuff in my less than 900 sq. ft. house made me nauseous.  I knew that wasn't for me.

So I prayed.  And God brought to mind that vision I had back in April.  I started scouring the net for info on t-shirts.  When I found Bonfire funds, I knew it was a perfect fit for me :)
Anyway, I remember on Wednesday night when I launched the fund, I was filled with trepidation that I wouldn't even sell 50 shirts, the minimum needed in order for the company to print the shirts.  The crazy thing is with this adoption, since Munni is here, I don't have the same amount of time for prayer and obsessing that I did for her :)  And God has used that to humble me and show me that it's nothing that I do that will bring Sweet Baby R home.  It will be ALL him.  And I love that!  Each of the girl's journey has been different and unique.  I love that they have their story and that behind their stories is an army of family, friends, and strangers who have loved these precious girls home :)

I found this little book that Munni made the first week of school.  When I asked her who the people were in the "Who I live With" page, she told me, "You, me, and Baby Sister!"  She can't wait to be a big sister!  Almost every day she asks me, "Mommy, baby sister coming tomorrow, India?"


If you haven't already, would you please consider buying a t-shirt to help bring Baby R home?  You can purchase one here :)
Thank you for Spreading More Love!!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

In Awe!

I am so humbled and completely in awe of the love and generosity that has been poured out over the last two weeks of the Spread More Love campaign to bring Sweet R. home!

Honestly, from the time I closed the door on Africa at the end of July, everything about Sweet Baby R's adoption has been a whirlwind.  I know that I have not even processed it completely!  August 5th is when I got the call about her.   August 7th, I launched the Spread More Love campaign and as of today, 139 shirts have sold and $2, 470 has been raised!  Praise God!!!

There are 7 days left in this campaign.  If you haven't bought a t-shirt yet, would you please considering purchasing one?  It will be the best $25 spent on your new fall wardrobe ;)  You can get one here


Also, as I've been able to show people in person the new pics I received of Sweet R, many people have asked how her nose will be able to be fixed.  I've been able to talk to several doctors and from the pictures we have, it seems like the surgery she will have is one that is most often used for cases of cancer on the nose.  I am posting this video so you can see what she will be facing when she gets home :(  It looks almost like she will have an "elephant trunk" for awhile.  The good news though, is that when it's all healed, she will have a cute little nose to match the rest of her beautiful face!  This video is not the surgery itself, but the aftercare.  It will most likely be a 3-4 surgery procedure.


If you are anything like my sister and me, just google "Nose reconstruction surgery with forehead flap MOHS procedure."  It's really quite amazing what modern medicine can do!  The tip of the nose doesn't get a ton of blood supply and that is why a basic skin graft won't work.  In addition, Little R is missing cartilage, so they will have to pull some from her ear.

I can't thank you enough for all of your love, support, and generosity!  SPREAD MORE LOVE!!!!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

When God Moves, He Moves Mountains!!

I am in awe.
I mean, total and complete awe.
This week has been the craziest, miracle filled, God moving, Hearts opened, SPREADING MORE LOVE week!!!  I haven't even begun to process it all.
The one and only picture I saw of Sweet Baby R was an infant picture.  She looked to be about 6-8 months in the picture and it was a small picture.
On Wednesday when L told me that I was "matched" with R on the website, I was sooooo stinkin' excited!  I asked her if she thought I would ever get updated pictures.  She told me she didn't know but would certainly ask.
On Wednesday night, I launched the Spread More Love fundraiser!!!  In the first 24 hours, 17 shirts were sold!!  I was completely humbled and blown away by all the love and generosity!  By Thursday night, it moved up to the high 20's.  Friday morning I received an email from my agency saying that I had to have the papers signed and fees due by August 26....The same day as the fundraiser ends.  I emailed them and told them all I was doing to try and raise funds.  They agreed to let me do a payment plan but the first chunk of $2,400 is due 8/26.  I thought, God can do this!!  Friday night I went to bed and it was at 36 shirts!  I couldn't believe it!
Super fly t-shirt!!!
Long sleeve love!

This morning, Saturday, I woke up and took the dogs outside.  Munni came outside with my phone in her hand and said someone called.  I looked at my phone and it was a missed call from L.  Huh?  I got a little nervous because I never hear from her on Saturdays unless it's some kind of emergency (like making sure Munni's passport was issued in time!!) so I immediately called her back.  She said, "How would you like 2 more pictures of your cutie pie?"  WHAT??!!!!!!  Oh my goodness, I can't tell you how excited I was!!!  It was very, very difficult to get updated pictures of Munni.  I was expecting that I wouldn't even see an updated pic of Sweet R.  L told me that she is crying in the pics but still so beautiful and that it looked like they were trying to convince her to smile by giving her a candy bar lol! Anyway, to me, she looks like she is very well taken care of!  I love her chubby cheeks!  And those socks.  Who wears socks in India?  I think it's so sweet that you can tell they wanted her to look her best for these pictures.  She could have been wearing rags and I would still love her but I appreciate the heart and feelings behind getting her all dressed up! One thing I couldn't believe is how LONG her hair is!!  Munni's was always the shortest cut possible shy of being a burr cut.


She could be on Dancing with the Stars in this dress!
 I knew she was a little fighter when L told me about the ants eating her nose off at only several weeks old.  To think of what she must have suffered all alone completely breaks my heart.  But then today when I received more of her medical report, it stated that she only weighed 3 1/2  lbs upon discovery/admittance.  How in the world did she survive?  I really believe that God has his hand on this sweet little girl.  I can't wait until I can show you her beautiful face and you too, will see that she is far from being a piece of garbage.  She is a sweet, precious, beautiful, child of God who has a future ahead of her!  A family to now call her own.  A home that is already so full of love for her.  An "extended" family of friends and strangers who are following her story, cheering her on, and giving their prayers and support.  A big sister who asks me everyday, "Mommy, tomorrow baby sister coming?" because she is so excited for her to be here.  I showed Munni the updated pictures and told her that it was her baby sister R and Munni started singing her name with her beautiful Indian R trilling away!  It was the most beautiful singing!
Yes, this week was an amazing week.  God completely blew my socks off and it looks like they landed on Sweet R's feet :)
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all you have done for her, for Munni, for us :)
I hope that her story will encourage you to SPREAD MORE LOVE!!!!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Miracle Monday = REFERRALLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday was a miraculous day :)

It started off great with my very good friend Mer getting long awaited amazing news about her adoption.  I was SO happy for her!!!

The day just kept getting better.  I talked to my caseworker L in the morning and discussed my file.  We talked about my next steps and funding for the adoption.  I excitedly told her about my second fundraising idea.  She thought it was great :0

Munni, Rollie, Simon and I all headed out to the reservoir for an awesome walk.  It was so beautiful.

On the way home, L called me again.  She is very, very busy so I wondered what this call could have been about.  She started the conversation off in a strange way...She told me she wanted to run something by me and to not feel pressure to yes but...

She had a little girl for me.

WHAT????????  Oh my goodness, my heart started beating a millions times a minute!!!

I'm going to stop for minute to say to tell you that I thought long and hard and prayed about what I'm going to say next.  I wasn't sure if I should keep it completely private.  After prayer and talking with a friend, I decided to be open and share in hopes that awareness would be raised.

So, back to the conversation with L.  She told me that this little girl is completely healthy with no conditions.  Cognitively, she is on track.  She told me that she is beautiful and that her eyes are captivating.  She will be two next month.  But, as an infant, she was "thrown away" and found in a garbage dump.  The ants had eaten away most of her nose.

I started to cry.  I couldn't imagine what this precious, sweet, little baby must have endured in the few short weeks of her life.

When L told me this, we were 20 minutes from my house.  She told me she was emailing me the info on her and her photo.  L told me to pray about it and let her know.  She ended the conversation by telling me that when she saw this little girl's face, she immediately thought of Munni and me.

I sped drove home carefully and ran to my computer.

L was right.  She is beautiful!!!

The plastic surgeon in her country said that is can be corrected with modern plastic surgery; however, because she is so young, they won't even begin the process until she is around 7 years old.

I prayed and prayed.  One thing that kept coming to mind was how much I felt the Lord had been leading me back to Ind*a so that Munni could have a little sister- someone with whom she could have an intense bond.  Both Munni and baby R. have experienced extreme trauma to their faces.  To be able to understand in a way no one else could, I think is a gift.  I was bit in the face by a dog when I was 22.  It took a year before they would do plastic surgery.  That was a very, very difficult year for me.  My self-esteem struggled and my love for dogs was greatly impacted (hard to believe, I know :)  Anyway, this kept coming back every time I prayed.  About 4 hours later, I emailed L and told her I didn't need 24 hours, I already knew she was mine and if she truly is available, I'm all in.

See, since March, I had been presented with 3 different children....all who turned out to be assigned to families already.  Because of that, from Monday night until Tuesday morning, I was stressing!  Obviously I would be overjoyed for her if she already had a family, but deep in my heart, I was praying that Munni and I would be her family :)

Tuesday morning L emailed me and told me that indeed she was available!!  She had talked to M in India, who in turn, spoke with the orphanage.  They are very happy for baby R!!  M told L it was a go!


This morning when I was taking the doggies out, L called to tell me that I am officially matched with R on the website!!  This isn't an official referral but what it does is makes sure that no one else can adopt her.

WOWZA!!!!!!

So, here's the fun part :)  In order to get the money together for her official referral, I am launching an amazing fundraiser !!  God gave me this vision way back in early May.  Funny thing is, I thought he was leading me towards starting a non-profit.  I think all that time, he was preparing me for this moment!  I needed the door to be completely closed on Africa before I could 100% move forward with Ind*a.

I sent this company my sketches from May and they made these awesome t-shirts!!
https://www.bonfirefunds.com/spread-more-love/?r=8877


This is from a Mother Theresa quote where she said, "Spread More Love, Everywhere you go!"
Here's how this works:
- The fundraiser will last for 20 days.  
- I have to sell a minimum of 50 items (shirts, long sleeve, hoodies, etc). 
- If at the end of the 50 days I haven't sold 50, then no credit cards are charged, no money exchanged.
- YOU can help by "joining the cause!"  If you join the cause, they will give you a specific URL.  If you get 10 people to buy a shirt through your URL, then YOU GET A FREE SHIRT!!!  It's a WIN-WIN!!!!!

I am praying that this will be the biggest domino effect fundraiser EVER and that it is completely blown out of the water!!!

I am humbly asking for your prayers and support....Will you spread more love?
Mil gracias!!!!



Saturday, August 3, 2013

Faith

Starting down this path again, back to India to bring Munni's little sister home, has admittedly filled me with some trepidation.  It's very easy to start playing the "what if" and "how in the world" games.  How in the world is this going to work?  How in the world am I going to get the money?  What if something happens and I get "stuck" in the process?  How will I explain that to Munni?  What if she ends up having needs that are beyond what I think I can handle? How in the world will I keep my sanity? :) and I could go on and on stressing about things that haven't even happened.  To squash this negativity, I dug up the prayer journal I started when I was adopting Munni.  When I pray,  I have to write out my prayers or the next thing I know I'm daydreaming about a vacation or these really cool vegan "leather" pants I saw on a website.  I bought this journal to specifically write down the answered prayers I received so that one day, Munni could look back and see how God made that path to bring us together.  When I flipped open to the date of my birthday, I saw this sweet answer to prayer.  I love the way God talks to us through his word.  He answered me with such a powerful verse; not just a verse about casting your cares upon him, but a verse of might, power, and victory!


I knew he was reminding me of this for my second adoption.  I don't know where the money is going to come from.  I don't know how long it will take to bring her home.  I don't know what kind of needs she will have.  What I do know is that God has called me on this path, which means he will be with me every step of the way.  For those of you who followed Munni's journey, you yourselves saw how he came through time and time again, moving in people's hearts, and opening doors!  I'm excited to see what he does with this journey!

I prayed about what to do in order to fundraise.  Two ideas clearly came to mind.  One of them I will be able to announce next week when I get the final say so :)

The first one involves photography.  I LOVE photography.  It's been a hobby of mine since senior year in high school.  You may have noticed I'm a bit obsessed with taking Munni's picture :)  Anyway, I would love my talent to be used as a reciprocal blessing:  I bless you with precious family photos and you bless me with money :)  What I am offering is:

Family Portraits for $225 which includes:
- up to 45 minute session in outdoor location of your choice (greater Cincinnati area) or I can recommend locations.  Max of 8 people.
- 15 edited hi-res images on CD
-  Print release letter with access to professional print lab (PLEASE do not print at Walgreens, Kroger, Sam's or any other lab!  Their color calibrations are WAY off!)  The lab I use is one of the 4 professional labs in the country but also has a consumer side.  This is great because it's the SAME lab as the professionals at a fraction of the cost!!!

Senior Portraits for $325
- up to 2 hour photo session at outdoor location of choice or I will recommend one
- up to three outfit changes
- 25 edited hi-res images on CD
- Print release letter with access to professional lab.

This is a perfect time to get those pictures!!!  Everyone has a nice summer glow and the lighting is amazing :)  If you would like to book a session, please contact me at kgwilliams3@yahoo.com
Not only will you be getting memories to last a lifetime, but you will be helping a little girl find her forever family!  That's a win-win if I've ever heard it!
 Here are some pics from my latest shoot with Munni.  I think this gives you an idea of my style and that amazing summer light I was talking about!






Thank you!!!  I look forward to spending time with your families!