Shop to Support

I wanna share another awesome shop with you this morning. Check out Simply Beautiful, she's selling awesome products like body butter, lip balm, cleansing oil, etc.  Think a spa online and that's what she's got.  And the best part is she's selling these products to help offset their African adoption! I bought a couple lip balms awhile back, because I'm always paranoid my lips are dry and I love it.  You'll love it too. Go check out her shop and shop to support their adoption!

African Adoption-Burkina Faso

Recently several families have been asking about African countries that are open to adoption.  The best place to start when looking at open counties is the US State Department's website.  On the website you can check the status of the county and any alerts that may be happening and how many children have been adopted from that country.

I'd like to put a little bug in your ear about a country today, Burkina Faso.  A landlocked country in West Africa.  In 1984 Burkina Faso was ranked among the poorest in the world (mind you that was a long time ago, but still ;) ) Burkina Faso is a Hague country so the requirements are a bit different than those of a non Hague but not by much. 

Available children:

Primarily children with special needs are available (HIV, developmental delays, ect) and families willing to adopt older children (over 6)

Eligibility:

Parents between the ages of 30-45 are able to adopt, must be married for at least 5 years, and usually "smaller" families are encouraged but the Social Affairs office will make considerations for larger families as well. 

Process:

Once homestudy is complete, the dossier and homestudy are translated in DC (as other adoptions) and then sent off to Burkina.  Then you are presented a child that matches your requirements, and after you accept or deny, medical appoints and embassy appointments begin.  Families can expect to be in country for roughly 14 days. 

Post Placement:

The Ministry of Social Action requires letters every 6 months for the first 2 years after placement and then annually until the child's 18th birthday. 

So there you go, maybe God will lead to you Burkina Faso ;)

New Week, New Family-The Frys

Hey y'all
I have a super great family to introduce you to today, meet The Frys!

They are in the process of bringing home TWO sweet little ones from the DRC, one little 7 year old girl and a sweet 5 year old boy.  They're hoping to bring these little sweets home this fall.  You all can spare a buck or two for this sweet family, right?! I love their video, um mom and dad met at a Harley Davidson photo shoot?! So cool!

Summer Hosting

I had every intent to blog about summer hosting, oh about 3 months ago-but here we are and summer's in full swing. But we're gonna talk about it anyway because you know what I learned? Summer hosting isn't JUST for summer! Nope, it's not! You can host children who are needing homes at any time of the year! Our agency, America World, has a hosting program for Ethiopia.  Here's a little bit about what their website says about the hosting program;

"Through Welcoming Angels, America World hopes to place older orphaned children ages 8-15 years from Ethiopia with loving Christian families for 4 weeks during the spring, summer, fall and/or winter. We are looking for adoption-minded families as well as those who are interested in advocating for orphans. Hosting is a great way to expand the community’s awareness of the needs of older orphaned children.

Adoption

At the conclusion of the hosting program period, every child must return to Ethiopia, as the Ethiopian government maintains legal guardianship of each child until the time the child is adopted. All families who wish to adopt a child from Ethiopia are required to complete an adoption dossier through an accredited agency and wait for formal approvals from the U.S and Ethiopian governments. The adoption process includes two trips to the country in order to finalize an adoption.

Children Available for Hosting

The children are selected for the hosting program by orphanage and America World staff. Unrelated children, both boys and girls ages 8 to 15 years old are able to be hosted. Sibling sets of 2 and 3 are also available for hosting on a case by case basis. All children undergo a medical exam and meet with a psychologist prior to their participation in the program. All the children in the hosting program are available for adoption, however hosting a child does not guarantee adoption. A family who hosts a child will be preliminarily screened for adoption but will need to proceed through the adoption process if adoption is the goal.

Support for Host Families

AW will provide support for all families in the Hosting program. We will have staff members on call for the entire hosting period. Your social worker will be available to answer questions and help if situations arise. Your Hosting Liaison will be available for you during the hosting period as well.

Host Parent Training

Each host family will be required to participate in Host Family training held by your AW Social worker. One training will be held for all host families in the program prior to the child’s arrival. Both parents must attend the training." -taken from the AWAA website 

Cool huh? Here's the deal-you don't have to adopt, obviously that's the goal, but maybe through you hosting a family member will connect with the child and want to adopt them. or a friend! The possibilities really are endless.  I would highly encourage you to look into hosting.  

There are a few other hosting programs that host children from other countries:
-New Horizon's For Children
-Philippines Orphans Hosting Program 


(please note, we do not endorse any of these programs, these are just simply other hosting programs that are available, please do your own research when deciding what program best fits your family)

a little anderson update

this is because of you guys... grand totals for last week's family. have you given yet this week?!

Story Company

You all know we love to give you a reason to shoe here at Give1, well-you're in luck again because I have yet another shop to introduce you to, and you're gonna love them, and want to buy it all.

You know what I love? I love that there are so many more companies like this popping up, giving us the chance to shop with a purpose. Love it. They have super cute things too, here are some of my faves

The Azizi bowls.  I love the simple look of these bowls.  Made in Rwanda. They'd look great hanging on a wall, sitting on a table, holding your mail or keys in your entry way. Love the natural look they have. 

The Starfish Sponsorship Bracelet.  I know lots of you have sponsored children through Children's Hope Chest. Well, then you'll definitely need this. Story Company partnered with Children's Hope Chest to create this beautiful reminder of the life you're helping through sponsorship.  This bracelet is made form deaf artisans in Kenya and a portion of the sales goes towards Children's Hope Chest. A win win. 

Chevron Pillow Case.  I have a wall pained just like this one in my house, therefore I told my husband I needed this pillow too.  It's made by women in the Himalayan territory. I also love the animal head on the wall. Still trying to convince my hubby on that one..one day ;)

Anyway, you really need to go check out Story Company.  They have everything from home goods to jewelry to accessories to clothing. Shopping with a purpose, it makes it even more fun. 

New Week, New Family-The Updegraffs!

Hey y'all
I hope you had a super awesome Father's Day and that all the daddies and daddies to be felt loved. I'm so excited for you to meet this week's family The Updegraffs!

They're adopting a little girl from Ethiopia, and their dossier is complete! They're just waiting for that hefty dossier payment ( if you've sent off your dossier you know that one's a big chunk) Anywho-let's help take some of that burden off them and help them to get that dossier sent off to Ethiopia so they can officially be on the wait list! 

Greenlight Fundraiser Time!

Hey guys! You know how much I love to ask you for money all the time! Just kidding. I know not everyone has big bucks laying around to throw at whatever I tell you about, but just pray about it, ok? Maybe this one's for you, maybe it's not, but just pray and see. How's that?

John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” Luke 3:11

Lots of you sponsor kids at Greenlight in Ethiopia. If not, we have 18 kids without sponsors... hint hint. Anyway, even if you can't commit to the $35 a month, maybe you can help with this. Next month, my husband and one of his buddies are heading over there with Children's Hope Chest to visit our Greenlight kids. They will be purchasing and delivering a complete outfit ($40) and 50 pounds of teff and oil to each of the kids ($48). For many of the kids this is their only outfit. Wrap your head around that for a second. ONLY outfit. Everyday. If you'd like to donate to either or both of those causes you can do that by clicking here. And if you'd like to send a card with it, just shoot me an email at b.cupitt@yahoo.com and I'll give you the address to send it to. Oh, and if you want to GO you totally can. They could use a hand. Email and we'll get you more info.

I'm Giving You a Reason to Shop

You know how I am... I love to shop and if you give me a good reason I'm likely to jump on it! Maybe you're the same way. If so, here ya go...

TODAY ONLY Tea Collection is donating $5 per order to the Global Fund for Children. And I know you know all about how cute Tea is for kids, so I'm not even going to talk about it. Today I'm making my own wishlist. Did you have any idea how cute the Women's line is?! I think I'm going to get this dress in green. 

But I do love a good tunic...

What about you? Any Tea that you can't live without. Today's the day.

Life Books...more than just a "baby book"

I don't know about you all, but I've struggled with finding a way I can document our adoptions to our boys.  I've never been pregnant so I've never gotten to do the baby book where you write down when you felt the first kicks, found out the gender, ect. 

Recently I was at a graduation party where a baby book was on display (you know they had all the major books out there, baby book, year books) and I thought hmm...I need something like this for my boys, something that they (and others) can look back and see the journey that we've been on to become a family. 

Enter..

My Family, My Journey: A Baby Book for Adoptive Families

(pardon the amazon "look inside!" I really wanted a picture to show you)

Anyway it's a memory book for adoptive families. Instead of the "we found out we were pregnant" page there's a "before you were born" page.

There's a "why we choose to adopt" page and a "your adoption story" page.  There's even a referral page where you write your emotions and put the referral picture. 

The best part for me I think, is that it could work for any age at all! And how special for them to look back a read those special emotions and feelings you were feeling as you were waiting and fighting for them to come home. 

New Week, New Family-The Andersons!

Hey guys,
I'm so stinkin' excited to introduce to you this week's family, you're just going to love them and you're going to want to give them $1, or maybe $10 or more...meet...The Andersons!

Ok, aren't they just awesome?! Don't you want to help them get their "Cinderella princess" home? So you might remember the Andersons from awhile back when they were featured for their Ethiopian adoption, well they're still adopting from Ethiopia, but as you watched in the video, God told them to go get their daughter in South Africa while they're waiting, talk about steadfast obedience. Anyway, they're awaiting travel...and they are SO close to being funded...they need to get this last bit to go get her! Alright, who wants to help get this little princess home?!

Hey PS...Jessa is also our newest contributor here at Give1 Africa..everybody say "Hey Jessa!" Now go give them your dolla dolla bills!

Wear Love

I've found a new favorite shop I know you all will love too!

This one's my favorite, probably because Africa's in there 

But they have other styles too 

And they even have baby love shirts 

So here's the Wear Love background, actually just check out their motto, you'll love it...

We love this kind of stuff, don't we?

Wear Love works with Restore International.  

" Restore International has worked with Uganda's judiciary in more than two hundred cases to free children from wrongful imprisonment without trial.  In 2007, The Restore Academy was started, a school in the war-torn region of Gulu, with a current enrollment of 220 students.  In India, Restore has intervened to relieve minor girls from a life of forced prostitution, leading to the identification and arrest of over fifty perpetrators." 

-taken from their site

"Bob Goff is the founder and CEO of Restore International, a nonprofit organization fighting injustices committed against children.  Restore's mission is to make a difference on behalf of those who do not otherwise have a voice"

-also taken from their site because why try to rewrite something they've already written so well? 

Ok, so go check them out, You'll love them. 

Summer time blues beaters

Summer is here! We'll maybe it's here for you or it's almost here. Either way, you're probably looking for some fun ways to beat the summer blues with your kids, and we're here to offer you some great ideas on some fun and inexpensive ways to keep your kiddos entertained for these next three months.

Summer starts off as fun, leisurely days when you just enjoy one another's company and then...something changes and you feel like that Staples back to school commerical...have you seen it? It seriously cracks me up every year...

Anyway, here's to hoping you don't feel that way this summer, here's some things you can look into and see if they're offered in you're area..

1. Vacation Bible School (VBS) yes, you may remember VBS as that boring, week long thing your mom sent you to during the summer where you made birdhouses or something, but VBS has changed you guys! It's awesome! Here's what I tell my friends when I'm trying to get them to bring their kids "It's basically free babysitting for 5 nights and your kids have a blast, get a snack, play awesome games and learn about Jesus." Who wouldn't want free child care for three hours for 5 nights?! Last year my husband did the music, and he basically got rock-star status with those kid's he was affectionately named "Fly Guy" and literally had kids lining up..it was crazy...

It looks weird right? But kids love stuff like that! That's him up there facing off aganist Fly Girl. I'm sure they both love that I posted this online...he doesn't usually have blue hair..or long hair haha. It's a wig. Ok anyway.. 

Kids love it, find a church near you and see when their VBS is, I guarantee you there is one close to you, send your kids, they'll love it.

2. See if your local movie theatre has free or discounted movies! Usually during the summer some theatres play kids movies for like $1, who can beat that?!

3. Do you have a little one who loves to get dirty? Take advantage of that! Get out some shaving cream, do shaving cream spelling on the table! Draw shapes get some academics in there and they won't even know it :) Plus, it makes your house smell nice (or like a guy if you get that kind of shaving cream) 

4.  "Paint" the house with them. Don't freak but you can mix chalk with water and it makes "paint" let them paint the house and then it'll wash right off.

5.  Have a lemonade stand! I'm a sucker for those and I stop whenever I see them but what about have a stand and have your kids work towards a cool goal, like maybe raising enough money to sponsor a child for a year, or sending the money to one of your favorite charities? I always ask kids what they're raising their money for and I've been known to drop a little more in their little jar for awesome causes.

What are you going to do with your little ones this summer? Any firsts happening? First trip to the beach? First trip to the lake? Tell us! Or, if you're still waiting, what do you want to do with your little ones when they get home?

The Pillow Project

If you haven't heard of the LoveMore Foundation, I really encourage you to go and check them out! The were "birthed out of a passion for impoverished children" That's just right up our alley right? Basically they traveled over to the DRC, saw the immense need there and decided to do something about it.  There mission is to "serve  the women and children of impoverished nations with basic needs, education and sustainability. (focusing on the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond)."

They have an awesome project happening right now called The Pillow Project.  I've been hearing about it here and there, and decided to go and check it out.  Here's what their website says about it:

"Tucked away in the Democratic Republic of Congo is Kimbondo Orphanage and Hospital. We’ve asked Kimbondo’s 500 children what they wish for and they’ve requested pillows. Africa Adoption Services is partnering with the Love More Foundation to grant their request! If you would like to be a part of this mission you can donate below through PayPal with a note including “pillow project.” Checks can be made payable to Love More Foundation, PO Box 235, Westfield, IN 46074. Each pillow and case will be $7.00 USD, any donation is accepted!"

Pillows...the kids want pillows! Did you ever ask for a pillow as a kid? Probably not because you had them right? I have to say growing up I always wanted feather pillows and would ask for those because my grandma had them and I thought that they would make me feel dainty (don't judge haha) anyway I grew up and bought my own feather pillows. 

Rabbit trail..

$7.00 for a pillow and case, totally doable! So if you feel led please go check them out! They also are working on education sponsorship, so we'll have to keep up with them to know when that starts too! 

New Week, New Family-The Brewers!

Hey all-
Super pumped to introduce you to this week's family, The Brewers! 

They are adopting not one, but TWO little boys from the DRC! So, can we help them out and spare a buck or two to get these boys home with their family?