Tupperware Fundraising Party!

I am having a Tupperware party to raise funds for our adoption.  Yes, I said a Tupperware party!  I am sure most of you remember those green Tupperware bowls that were so popular in the 70's and 80's. I think everyone had one. Well, today's Tupperware selection is modern and they have some really cool stuff to keep your kitchen (and life) organized!  Plus, Tupperware will donate 40% of the sales from this party to our adoption fund.  You're getting great kitchen stuff and helping us achieve our dream. Win, win!

To order from our special fundraising catalog, click here.  On the Tupperware page, click on the link "Shop this Fundraiser". The LAST DAY TO ORDER is November 15, 2012, so get your orders in now.  Orders from the online party will be shipped directly to you. 

My sister is also hosting a good ol' fashion Tupperware party in her home on November 10th in honor of us.  If you are interested in attending Jill's party, email me.  Have I mentioned lately that my sister is absolutely THE BEST!!!  All orders from the online party and Jill's party will be delivered in time for Christmas.

A special BIG THANK YOU to Gale, our Tupperware consultant for offering to do this party for us.  We appreciate your support and generosity.

Thank you for ordering and helping us get one step closer to creating our family through adoption. For anyone that orders, we'll add your name to the back of a puzzle piece as well.

If you have any questions regarding this party, please feel free to email me.  Anyone can order, so please share the blog link or the party link - http://order.tupperware.com/pls/htprod_www/!twx$eparty_ctl.p_guest_welcome?pv_eparty=c504180edd82098808449719a039b5f3

UPDATE: The Tupperware party has closed. $314 was added to our adoption fund! Thank you so much for your purchase.

Cute Kitty Thursday!

Here's my sleepy kitty, Edie.  She's been known to snore a little. I giggle every time she starts snoring; it's too cute.

Send me your cute kitty pictures and I'll feature your adorable cat on "Cute Kitty Thursday!". Email me at twocatsandacradle@gmail.com.

Don't forget to Order coffee from Just Love Coffee Roasters and help us with our adoption fundraiser. Just Love donates $5 to our adoption for every bag of coffee sold through our store. Click here to order. Thanks!

Cute Kitty Thursday!

Here's Edie and Twiggy looking cute sitting in a chair. The real story is that Edie decided to lay on Twiggy's pillow and Twiggy is not at all happy about that.  She kept jumping up on the arm of the chair and meowing trying to tell me to get Edie out of her spot.  Edie has her own chair with a pillow; she's making my Twig Twig mad.

Edie's face is like, What? I can lay here too.

If you want your cute kitty featured on "Cute Kitty Thursday!", email me pictures at twocatsandacradle@gmail.com.

Order coffee from Just Love Coffee Roasters and help us with our adoption fundraiser. Just Love donates $5 to our adoption for every bag of coffee sold through our store.  Click here to order. Thanks!

Just Love Coffee Roasters

After our home study was approved, we immediately started looking for creative ways to raise funds for our adoption. We came across Just Love Coffee Roasters.  They are a great organization helping families afford adoption one coffee bag at a time.  For every purchase made through our store, we get $5 towards our adoption fund. How easy is that?

Just Love recently sent me an email letting me know that they are partnering with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society during the month of October. They are offering a special savings on bags of coffee and will donate not only to our adoption fund but to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as well. You get a 22% savings off a bag of coffee, $5 to our adoption fund and $2 to LLS. Awesome, right?

Cancer sucks. I have family and friends fighting cancer everyday.  It heavily weighs on my mind. A dear friend of mine felt sick for a little longer than she should have last winter and was diagnosed with leukemia. She was immediately whisked into treatment to battle for her life.  Throughout her grueling treatments, she has kept positive and brave. She truly is an amazing person. So maybe a couple bucks will help researchers find better treatments or even a cure.

Just Love Coffee Roasters offers a wide variety of hand roasted coffees, some that are fair trade and/or organic.  They are even featuring a Pinky Beans roast in which all proceeds from this coffee will go to help find a cure for cancer and offer support for those currently battling the disease. If you are interested in placing an order through our store, please click here. Please note that in order to take full advantage of this special discount, you MUST type in the coupon code “LLS2012” when you are asked to provide your payment information. This offer will be valid through October 31, 2012.

The holidays are right around the corner.  I think coffee makes an excellent gift to that special party host, co-worker or any coffee lover in your life.

If you don't want to purchase coffee, but would like to make a donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, click here.

Thank you!

Happy First Birthday Landon!

I am taking a break from Cute Kitty Thursday today to give you Cute Baby Thursday!  Today is my nephew, Landon's first birthday!  He is so stinking cute!!

Landon has learned all sorts of new things in his first year.  He can say "momma", "dadda", "bye, bye", 'uh oh", "thank you" and "I love you". We are going to work on him saying "auntie and "uncle" when we're there visiting. He's standing all by himself and walking around holding onto the furniture.  The babysitter says, he's the most advance in the group. Of course he is!  His momma says, he's a menace; getting into everything and trying to scale the playpen to get out.  Momma is just kidding.  Landon is just keeping her on her toes!

Landon has eleven teeth and loves to share his snacks with his dog, Tori. Landon eats one and gives one to the dog.  He's such a good sharer and Tori is loving this. They are best buds!

These awesome first birthday pictures were taken by Shotz Portrait Studio in Suffolk, VA.  They did a great job capturing Landon's first birthday!

Happy First Birthday Landon! Auntie Jenn and Uncle Marlon love you!

♥ Our puzzle piece fundraiser is still going! Click on the fundraiser tab to get your puzzle piece! Or if you simply want to make a donation, click on the Donate button to the left. Thank you!

Patience is a Virtue

The uncertainty of waiting to adopt is what gets to me.  I am a planner at heart and the not knowing when something is going to happen is frustrating.  I know we all get surprised by life, but usually someone expecting has nine months to prepare.

We got a call from our social worker about two weeks ago asking if they could show our profile to an expectant mother.  We have asked our social worker not to tell us when our profile is shown, it is too nerve wracking for us, but this expectant mother's situation didn't exactly match our profile, so she wanted to check with us first.  Marlon and I quickly decided yes, we wanted our profile shown.

As you know, we've been working on a new adoption book and it's almost finished.  We printed the pages of the new book and sent them to the social worker so they could show the new version to the expectant mother.  And then we waited.  It is kind of like holding your breath.  Will they pick us?  Oh my gosh! We could have a baby soon.  Should plan to do this, what if we did that?  It's enough to make anyone crazy.  This is why we don't want to know when our profile is shown.

We told our parents and siblings and a couple of close friends that our profile was being shown.  It's hard to keep it to yourself.  We decided maybe we should get serious about doing a registry and pick out some necessities in case we needed to go and buy something quick.  We spent an afternoon in Babies 'R Us.  The whole picking out baby stuff made me feel a little lightheaded.  You've wanted something for so long and now it might come true. It's very overwhelming.

I kept telling myself not to get my hopes up. They are showing five couples to this expectant mother.  There is only a 1 in 5 chance we'll get picked. When it's meant to be, it will happen for us.  I had my juju read at Renaissance Faire, all signed pointed to a baby within the next six months which puzzled the fortune teller.  She kept saying it will happen fast.  I then told her we were adopting.  She said, OH! that explains everything.  Really though, I only had my juju read for entertainment purposes.  I don't plan my life around a fortune teller.  It was a encouraging reading though.

When we didn't hear back right away, we knew we didn't get picked.  Someone did though and I am so happy for them.  If anything, this has given us the push to get ready.  We need to think about taking off of work, child care and things we'll need. I found this article, Planning for the Call, on the Adoptive Families website incredibly helpful.  It's time to nest!

photo credit: S. Trykowski

♥ Our puzzle piece fundraiser is still going! Click on the fundraiser tab to get your puzzle piece! Or if you simply want to make a donation, click on the Donate button to the left. Thank you!