Friday, June 4, 2010

time for a fundraising giveaway


{today is a great day. why? because it's the day the Lord has made, it's friday and because we're finally having a fundraising giveaway to benefit our ethiopian adoption!! if you'd like to help and want to potentially win a really cool prize, keep reading :) }


i think we all know by now that adoption is expensive. we are definitely finding this to be true, yet we are also finding that each step of the way, God has provided for our needs in unique ways!! i just told ryan last night that it has really been neat to see how every time i'm beginning to feel overwhelmed by the finances of all of this, we sell a t-shirt or someone wants to buy something from us on cr@igslist or donate items to our next yard sale. we have been so blessed by the people around us who have loved on us throughout this journey. if you've helped us along the way already, THANK YOU!!! because of you, 2 more checks were written this week for our adoption and our journey to ethiopia is getting closer every day!

we are moving right along and all of our dossier paperwork should be arriving in utah today. with moving along in the adoption process it means that the expenses are really beginning to add up. if i'm calculating correctly, i think we have spent roughly about $8290 so far towards the adoption, yet we still have a lot more to go! we're estimating that with our remaining agency expenses, 2 trips to ethiopia for both ryan and i, visas, etc. that we probably have about $16,000 or so to go. $16,000 sounds like a whole lot of money to me, but thankfully, i know that it is nothing to the Lord!

so, here's where the giveaway comes in...
thanks to some very generous folks from various shops on etsy, we have a few super sweet prizes to offer in exchange for a suggested donation for our adoption or promoting our cause!! {even if you don't donate to our adoption, please check out these vendors' shop because they were sweet enough to help us out!} ready to see the prizes?? here they are:

prize #1} $35 gift certificate to the moonlight doodles' shop~
*i ordered a necklace from rachel at moonlight doodles a few months ago to give to a friend at her baby shower. rachel got the necklace to me quickly and it was absolutely adorable!! i have been eying things from this shop ever since. all rachel's items are hand stamped and she has items in her shop for just about anyone...even dads! {just make sure to get your order in to her for father's day by june 10th :)} as soon as we pass court with our sweet african addition, i will surely be ordering something for myself! check out all the great stuff at her shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MoonlightDoodles or look at all the cute options under $35 below...



*i received the cuddle blanket from layla at buffaloclover a few days ago and it is soooo soft! i love the bright colors and truly think a little boy or a little girl would be happy to snuggle up to it. it would also be perfect for you fellow adopters to send over in a care package to your little one because it is small, yet still cuddly. layla also has some other great kiddo items in the buffaloclover shop, including the sophisticated mr. rogers tees and onesies. i actually bought one for little P before Christmas from buffaloclover and P got many compliments on it!! check out buffaloclover here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/buffaloclover and the cuddle blanket below...


*for thanksgiving i was on the hunt for a personalized tee for little P for all the family get-to-gethers. i happily stumbled upon littlehousetees on etsy and got the most precious shirts with P's name and a turkey on it! {if it weren't for protecting P's privacy b/c of foster care, i would certainly show you his darling little face in the adorable shirt...in fact, if you got our Christmas card, he was sportin' it in our family picture.} i digress...there are so many different design options in jennifer's shop so you're bound to find something that will work for your favorite kids. she's got everything from birthday milestone tees to big brother/sister tees to holiday tees. if you win this prize pack, you can pick any of her designs to have printed on a short-sleeved shirt of your choice. {her available sizes vary by shirt color but are 0-3 mos to youth 12} go ahead and pick you out something here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlehousetees or look at a few of the cute customizable designs below...

prize #3} wax seal pendant necklace from harmonized creations & $5 st@rbucks gift card~

*i ordered myself one of these wax seal necklaces from harmonized creations late last year after seeing something similar worn on the bachlorette a few season ago. {i know, go ahead and ridicule me. i deserve it, but hey, the necklace is darn cute!} i fell in love with the vintage feel of the necklace, yet thought it was still cute and classy. each pendant is unique and beautiful, and will be stamped with the uppercase initial of your choice. rebecca also has some colored variations of this necklace featured in her shop as well if your interested in purchasing something else from her as well. she is a fellow adoptive mom so you should definitely check out her shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/HarmonizedCreations or take a gander at some of the unique pendants below...


*also included in this prize pack is a $5 gift card to st@rbucks. no explanation needed, right? just enjoy sportin' your beautiful necklace while hanging out in st@rbucks sipping a delicious drink. mmmmmm.

prize #4} one less orphan t-shirt from our family's stash of fundraising shirts~

*i don't know about anyone else who has ordered shirts, but i love them...i may be a little partial though :) they are soft and cute, but not too cute that our house full of boys don't mind wearing them. if you win this prize pack you will get to choose 1 t-shirt from whatever sizes we have left in stock. in case you've forgotten what they look like, here they are again...



**ok, now for how to enter the giveaway:
give a suggested donation of $5 for every 1 entry or $20 for 5 entries. this is only a suggestion but it will definitely help us inch closer to our adoption goals. you can give by clicking on our ChipIn/PayPal widget on the left sidebar {under the picture of the t-shirts}. PayPal will notify me of your donation and i will use the email to put you in the drawing.

-for additional entries:
#1} share our giveaway via facebook, your blog, twitter, etc. if you do, send me a link via email and i'll add an extra entry for you.

#2} commit to praying for our family and for our child waiting in ethiopia. we need your prayers for our continued fundraising, for perseverance as we wait, for the actual adoption process to go smoothly, and most importantly, for the health and well-being of our child and the millions of other orphans waiting in ethiopia and elsewhere. if you will or already praying, please email me and let me know.

#3} become a follower of my blog. i always wonder if there are floaters out there reading the blog but not commenting. if you're out there, i want to get to know you so i can read up on your crazy life adventures too! if you become a follower, email me about this too.

my email address is mrsleslisweeney{at}yahoo.com. if you email me, please make sure to include your name and an email address where i can contact you back in case you win. the giveaway will end on july 4th so be sure to enter now and share the giveaway with your friends!! we will 4 draw names from all the entries and contact the winners in the order that they are drawn so they can choose which prize package they want.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR HELPING MAKE THIS ADOPTION POSSIBLE!! we look forward to the day when we can share with our child all the people that were a part of this journey to bring them home.

much bloggy love :)

10 comments:

Meliski said...

I randomly "tripped" on your blog this morning while I was wandering aimlessly in cyberspace.

You guys are adorable and I FREAKING LOVE your "One Less Orphan without a Family Tree" logo. I just ordered a tee from another adoptive family. So, it may be a month or two before I can order one of yours, but I will do it! There are lots of cheesy adoption shirts out there and yours IS NOT one of them!

I hope you don't mind that I am a totaly stranger (but fellow mom in the adoption processe) following your blog!

:)Melissa

http://thelemanskis.blogspot.com

lesli said...

Thanks, Melissa! That's what we were going for...the anti-cheesy adoption shirt :) Haha. I don't mind a total stranger reading the blog at all...in fact, I read many total strangers' blogs. I will definitely check yours out. Blessings with the adoption process!!

Brianne Kopp said...

Found your blog through "confessions of a paper freak" I'm a fellow adopting from Ethiopia mom! :)

Would love to buy an Adult XL shirt from you, but didn't see size options on etsy...

Anna K. said...

Hello Again!

What a lovely giveaway - I am following you now and off to promote on twitter!

lesli said...

Brianne- so glad you found me :) and i appreciate your t-shirt order. if you could, please use the Chip-In widget on the left side of my blog's main page to donate for the t-shirt and i will get it out to you ASAP. do you have a blog? i'd love to read about your adoption journey too!! thanks!

Anna - thanks for your support! i've got your entries logged :)

Meliski said...

I donated $10 toward your fundraiser AND linked your giveaway on my blog :) I even made your super cute logo even more super cute.

sfitz said...

I found your blog through Emmy Blakely's blog and I will SO be praying for you. I will be buying a shirt, but I'd be happy to win one as well. :-) I will also link yourgivaway on my blog, because I love all things adoption and even though we aren't adopting (as of now) we feel HONORED to pray and support those who are. Praying for you!! (and following your blog)

Sarah
www.fitzlife.com
sarahfitz777@gmail.com

John and Sarah Clore said...

Yo yo, I'm such a crazy blog stalker :) I didn't exactly read all the rules about joining in on the drawing, but we just sent a donation through your paypal. So just sign us up for how ever many times we paid for. Obviously not feeling like figuring out details right now :) Also, I'll blog about you all and link your blog to ours sometime this weekend. So excited for you all! I just love reading about everyone's adoption stories!

--This is Sarah Clore (Mitchell) by the way. You should come blog stalk us sometime (if you aren't already! :) )

Ann said...

I just stumbled upon your wonderful blog. We are prayerfully considering a waiting child in Ethiopia right now! I will absolutely pray for your family as you go through this process.

my life: said...

You KNOW I'm praying for you...I am so excited for the recent "movement" on the adoption front!!!!