On June 26th, 2011 this wonderfully cute bundle of joy came into our lives at 3lbs. 6oz. She came home from the NICU in August and what a journey it has been. Not only is she a wonderful, joyful and terrifically independent little girl, but she is a wonderful little sister to Patrick. We love these kids in ways that can only be explained by God and parenthood.
This year we are having a lady bug birthday party with a NO GIFTS component (Grandparents excepted). Evites will be forthcoming. The reason behind this is twofold. The first reason is that 2- year-olds don't need a ton of gifts. The gifts from parents and grandparents will be plenty and won't overwhelm the play area with more stuff. The second reason is that it allows us to ask you to help support our friends, Alison and Cheyenne Kroeker as they raise money for their second adoption. Please use the money that you were planning to spend on a gift for Eliana (whether your propensity is to purchase from the dollar bin at Target or something much more extravagant!) and let it help the Kroekers adopt their second child. Eliana was given to us by God as our beautiful second child through adoption, and we desire to see that blessing extended to our friends. Adoptions are expensive (in the range of 20K - 30K,) so we would like to do whatever we can to help our friends raise the necessary funds needed. Vivian and I are passionate about adoption and can't wait to see what little child is brought into the Kroekers' lives by God through adoption. Below is the fundraising article from the Kroekers' blog which you can find at the following link.
Kroeker's Blog
We have chosen a PUZZLE FUNDRAISER to fund a majority of the costs for
our adoption. (Domestic Newborn Adoptions range from approximately
$18,000 to $30,000) We have two methods you can use to make a donation
through sponsoring a piece of our adoption puzzle! Will you please help
spread the word?
We are asking for a donation of $10.00 per puzzle piece (puzzle pictured
above). You can, of course, sponsor as many as you would like... (if
you choose $10 = 1 piece, $20 = 2 pieces, $40 = 4 pieces, etc...). When
every piece of this puzzle is sponsored we will have raised $10,000!!
Which is what our agency fees will be (not including birth mother
costs).
We will then write your name on the back of the pieces you sponsor, and
once our puzzle is completed, we will frame the puzzle in a double-sided
frame. We will be able to see the names of all the individuals who
helped us bring our baby home! Each piece we put together will make this
process come to life as we see the puzzle grow into the beautiful
picture!
For both methods, in the comment or memo box, please put in the names for us to write on the puzzle piece(s)
To donate with a tax deductible receipt go to our Ordinary Heroes
fundraising page:http://www.grouprev.com/kroekeradoption and click on
the "Donate Now" button!! ***All donations through our fundraising page
at Ordinary Heroes are charged a 2.9% processing fee***
To donate where 100% of your donation goes to our adoption costs, go
to PayPal and send it via bank account transfer to
Cheyenneandalison@yahoo.com ***All transactions through bank accounts
are not charged a processing fee***
We are so excited to see with our God is doing and going to do throughout our adoption journey as we grow our family!
Please feel free to share this with anyone and everyone you know!!!!
Every little bit helps so much! Even if you can't sponsor a puzzle piece
or donate towards our cause we'd cherish your PRAYERS most of all!!!!!!
