Sneak Peek #2

If you are jumping in the middle of this series of peeks,

head back to yesterday's post to catch yourself up. I'll wait. . . . . .

There. Ya done? Good, then let's get on with it.

As I was saying yesterday, I am so excited about the milestone of 1,000 posts here at The Gang's All Here! I am still so surprised when I pick up a new reader, or when someone drops me a line and says, "Hey, I read your post today...." It's quite humbling to think that many of you who are virtual strangers would come by, take time out of your busy day, and bother to keep up with the happenings in my head as they happen to pour out on to the pages here. I don't take it for granted. I think you ought to be celebrated for your loyalty and for your support. Whether you are a new reader or you've been around since the first posting, I am so glad to have you in my little corner of the blogosphere.

That is one of the many reasons I am super excited to share this second give-away treat. I really think it's going to make you smile.

Many of you are, by now, somewhat familiar with The Sparrow Fund. This great non-profit was begun by my friend, Kelly and her husband Mark, as a means of supporting adoptive families waiting for children by offering grants for medical reviews. The files that come to families through special needs adoptions and international adoptions often require a good bit of interpretation and even extrapolation. Doctors with experience in International Adoption Medicine are very well-versed in understanding and communicating all of the potential issues and considerations. But access to those doctors is not free. Kelly and Mark saw that need and stepped in with The Sparrow Fund to meet it. We are privileged to have been a recipient of such a grant.

The Sparrow Fund didn't stop with offering grants. They have since expanded into family support before and after adoption through educational seminars, like the one in May about adopted children and school-related issues. Last month, they hosted Correcting While Connecting - a one-day seminar about discipline, correction, and training our children.

The Sparrow Fund has recently expanded yet again to meet the needs of the marriages within the adoption community. We all know marriage is hard work. Those of us know that marriage and parenting is really hard work. Well, the truth of the matter is, sometimes adding the layer of parenting adopted children adds a little extra "hard" to the "hard work." So The Sparrow Fund is hosting their first marriage retreat in February. Apparently the need is there: the event sold out within the first 24 hours of registration going live. In fact, I stayed up till midnight to make sure The Boss and I will be going. Who knows, it might be the last get-away the two of us get for a long while.... We're hoping to travel to our Mei Mei soon after this event.

But that's not all. The Sparrow Fund also supports fundraising families through a unique partnership with some adoptive moms in Kenya. These moms create beautiful hand-crafted jewelry, bags, stuffed animals and more. And each time one of these creations are sold, the money benefits both the adoptive family who sold it AND the Kenyan moms who created it. It's a meaningful and powerful way to impact multiple families in one transaction. I have several pieces of their jewelry and I love it.

And you guessed it.... YOU have the awesome opportunity to win some for yourself!

Isn't that so pretty?

In honor of my 1,000th post, The Sparrow Fund has graciously donated this lovely necklace and coordinating earrings. The necklace is just a tad longer than 12" and is crafted in beautiful fall colors of a brick-ish red/maroon, creamy off-white and metallic beading. I love this set and I'm so excited to share it with one of you!

Come back tomorrow for the finale of my Sneak Peek series....

You won't be sorry!

It's a promise.