Lina's first family portraits

This will be brief- just wanted to share our first family portraits with Lina! These were taken for our church directory- we will be having more done tomorrow at an outdoor location which I'm SUPER excited about.

Also please check out our auction if you haven't done so already- we are up to 63 items! New items keep trickling in, and several items still don't have bids yet- starting bids are LOW!!  All profits are going to the Warm Shelter baby house in Pskov, Russia. 

https://www.facebook.com/WarmShelterAuction

Warm Shelter Auction is LIVE!!!

Giving y'all a heads up- the auction we've put together for the Warm Shelter baby house in Pskov is up and running!! Bidding began yesterday afternoon and they keep pouring in! :)) As of this morning we were already at $480!!  I can't wait to surprise the staff there yet AGAIN with much needed donations! :)

As I wrote previously, the Warm Shelter baby house had a generous donor in Germany who was providing much needed funds for ongoing supplies.  Unfortunately, they have lost this donor and are in danger of closing without continued supplies.  These are good people doing the best they can for these little ones, and it would be so wonderful to continue funds and supplies as we can.  You can find our first round of donations HERE.

We are up to 55 items in our auction!!  Several items still don't have any bids yet- please check them out!!

Sharing our story

I was graciously asked to share our adoption story with a DS parenting group up in York, PA and jumped at the opportunity!  While public speaking certainly is not my forte, I do enjoy sharing our story and how God pieced all this together.  I was also SUPER excited to meet Susanna Musser- mom to Verity and little Katiebird.... AND... I got to meet Katie herself!!  She was such a joy to watch as her mom held her and shared her story as well- we were the only two speakers that evening.  I requested to go first as our story was just a drop in the bucket compared to what Katie went through.  There wasn't a dry eye as Susanna shared their compelling story.

Many commented how they would have loved to have met Lina, but I wasn't feeling brave enough to bring her.  While Katie sat contently on her mama's lap the entire time, Lina would be all over the place! :)  Maybe another time we will make it up to a meeting to introduce her while I don't have to focus on speaking at the same time.

If you are unfamiliar with Katie's story, please go to Susanna's blog: http://theblessingofverity.com/  Her story will move you like no other.

In other news- now that I have my speech out of the way, I am going to start putting together our auction to raise money for the Warm Shelter baby house in Pskov.  We have an awesome assortment of items and I'm super excited!! Big thanks to all that have donated!!  I do need photos for all items ASAP so I can get them all posted and ready to go.  Also, any help with starting bids would be great too!

To give you an idea of what an online auction looks like on Facebook- go check out my friend Jennifer's auction which ends tomorrow- hurry up and bid before it closes!! She has a LOT of amazing things too and is on her way home right now from meeting her two girls for the very first time.

https://www.facebook.com/AuctionForWillisGirls

Happy Weekend, y'all!!

Update on Baby House Fundraiser

In talking with other adoptive mamas who have become real pros at the fundraisers- I'm opting to do an online auction instead of a Giveaway.  I am hoping to get 50 donations to auction off and raise money to purchase items in country for the baby house.  Our same mama adopting from Pskov who graciously brought our donations to Marina on her first trip agreed to do the same when she returns for court in a few months.  She will carry the cash with her and purchase diapers and other baby items in Pskov and meet up with Marina again to hand them over.

So far I have about 21 items- and they are FABULOUS!!  We're not even halfway to our goal yet though, so if you have anything you would be willing to donate- whether it be an outfit your child outgrew before they really got to wear it, or any household items/decorations/craft items in new or like new condition- I'd be forever grateful!!  Baked/jarred items work also- anything you'd be willing to ship!  Please send a photo along with a description if needed to me at kaylinsmommy@gmail.com.  If you have a website to include I would be happy to put that in the listing to promote your business.  Thanks so much!! Spasibo!!