A Few Friendly Reminders

Just wanted to remind you all that the Wild Olive Tees fundraiser for our adoption journey will end tonight. The family code (WHITNEY407) will be disabled at midnight. Or there-abouts.

Cuz I don't nearly expect those sweet gals over at Wild Olive Tees to sit around till midnight waiting to "flip the switch" - they are busy gals with hordes of kids and they need their rest. Heh :)

But anyway, that's the wrap.

Thank you all, again, for sharing, for purchasing, and for praying.... 

Details of our pending trip should be coming in sometime today.

And I'm proud to say that the To Do list took a major hit this weekend. I'm exhausted but I plowed through a lot of the administrative stuff of preparing to travel!

Finally, I'm taking entries to the give-away for Your Big Story till midnight tonight. It's a great story and you really ought to be sharing it with friends. It would make a super Easter Basket stuffer gift. Really, so perfect! Come, read, share! It only takes a minute!

That's A Wrap!

As the day for our departure to China draws near, I wanted to let you know that our fundraising effort with Wild Olive Tees  will end on Monday, March 25th. That will be the last day that you can purchase a tee, using our family code (WHITNEY407) at the check-out page, as a coupon code in order to  count it toward our total percentage earned for travel expenses.

If you feel led to give one last big shout out (on F@cebook, on your blog, in your networks of friends or among family), you should feel free to do so! It's not too late. You can share the link to our blog, give out our contact info, whatever. If you have questions, please contact me by email or by private message on F@cebook. Just be sure that they note our family code (WHITNEY407)  for the check-out process if they share the info or if they purchase.

We are greatly humbled and appreciative of the many, many folks who have helped us get the word out about these tees and the purposes behind them. We have been huge supporters of the team there at Wild Olive Tees from their inception. We believe in their mission and in their methods, not just for our family but for the amazing ministries that they support and the many, many people that they have helped in the efforts to build strong families. I can promise you, once we are home and find out about friends who are fundraising with them in the future, The Gang will be sportin' the tees!

As we get ready to wrap up this part of our adoption journey, it's really important that you all know how much we appreciate YOU. Your support of this effort, your kindness in sharing the project, and your purchases have NOT gone unnoticed. There's no way that I can posssibly thank each one of you in person, as it turns out that I don't even know some of you. But you came alongside us, heard our hearts, and rolled up your sleeves to help. Thank you for that.

I pray, for each of you that shared the fundraising links, purchased a tee or gave a gift beyond that, that the Lord show Himself richly to you in ways that minister to the needs in your own life. That He uniquely come down and fill the tender places of your heart with His Spirit and flood you with His love and His mercy. For that is surely what you have shown to our family. May His generosity and compassion return your gift to you one thousand times over, as only He can do.

A Grand Celebration!

1,000 posts!

*EDITED: I've extended the deadline for accepting comments

till midnight on Wednesday, Nov. 7th. I'm down for the count

with a terrible cold and a crazy list of things to try and get done.

I need the break :) You need the extra time to enter!

It's finally here. How crazy is this? I know, I know, I can hardly believe it myself. And I'm so excited that you've come along for the fun! Happy 1,000th posts to me. And to YOU!

Yes, you.

If you've been reading here for any length of time in recent weeks, you'll know that this post marks the celebration of YOU, my faithful readers! Today is the day YOU get to enter the big celebratory give-away for one of  three great prizes in honor of my 1,000th post. Remember, this whole celebration is about YOU! This is my way to thank YOU for coming around, again and again. Really, I can't say it enough - I am so excited and thrilled to be able to give YOU something special for being part of The Gang's little corner of the blogosphere.

To refresh your memory, here's a quick run down of the goodies I get to bestow upon three of you lucky readers...

A $25 gift certificate for Mary Kay products

from my sweet friend, Joslyn.

A beautiful necklace and earring set

from The Sparrow Fund's Etsy store.

and.....

A $50 gift certificate for the amazing

and intentional tees over at Wild Olive Tees!

So here's how this works.  You have an opportunity to win any one of these three treasures and it's really simple!

Here's What You Can Do to Enter:

1. You can earn one entry by leaving a comment here telling me how you came to be a reader here or by sharing your favorite things about "The Gang's All Here!" that keeps you coming back. (That helps ME by giving me good ideas for topics on which to write. Gotta keep it interesting for you all, since you've been so loyal to keep coming back!)
2. You can earn another entry by sharing about our Wild Olive Tees fundraising OR Holiday Open House event with your friends on Facebook. Come back here and share the Facebook link in a comment. Sharing about both is greatly appreciated, but it still only counts for one entry. Thanks!
3. You can earn another possible entry by sharing about our Wild Olive Tees fundraising OR our Holiday Open House event with your friends on your own blog. Again, sharing about both is super sweet of you to do, but it still only counts for one entry. Please come back here and share the link to the specific blog post (as opposed to your general blog url) in a comment.
4. You can earn yet another entry by sharing about The Gang, my recipes, our adoption journey, our parenting conversations, or even a particular post that you loved on your blog (these can be additional and unrelated to our fundraising efforts). Please come back here and share the link to the specific post in a comment.
5. I'm sorry to be the heavy, but comments on the Facebook link (via Networked Blogs) will not count. The only comments that will count will be the ones entered as comments below, here at this post. My Facebook readers will have to "click through" and comment with either a google or blogger account, etc.

So that gives you a potential of FOUR ENTRIES to this give-away. That's four chances to win any one of these three awesome gifts. I'm certain you will love any one of them.

Here's What I Will Do With The Entries:

1. No comments will be accepted after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, November 7th. *EDITED: I've extended the deadline for accepting comments till midnight on Wednesday, Nov. 7th. I caught a bad head cold and have a MONSTER list of things to try and get done before Friday a.m. I've not figured out how to close comments yet, but I will watch the time stamps on my emails....
2. The winners will be announced Thursday, November 8th - as long as the pending Nor'Easter doesn't interrupt power again. (Yes, sigh. It's true. Another storm is headed our way Wednesday.)
3. In the interest of fairness, I will use random.org to pull each winner's comment by number.
4. The first winner drawn will be given the Mary Kay certificate. The second winner will receive The  Sparrow Fund's necklace and earring set. The third winner drawn will receive the Wild Olive tees gift certificate.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via email before you enter. (My contact info is in the sidebar to the left.)

So go. Share. Comment.

Have a ball.

And Thank YOU, again.

For coming back and reading
for the last 1,000 posts.

Here's to 1,000 more!!!!!

Sneak Peek #3

If this is the first of the "Sneak Peeks" that you are checking out,
do yourself a favor and head back to Monday's post.
Then read through Tuesday's to catch yourself up fully.
I'll wait. . . . . .

waiting....

waiting....

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

When I started brainstorming about the possible treats to share with you all, my mind immediately went to this next treasure. It's no secret around here that I am a huge, crazy fan of the beautiful, artsy tees by Wild Olive Tees. Even more, I'm completely in love with the purpose and the creativity represented by this company's mission. And seriously? The three women behind Wild Olive tees are all amazing women. In the months that we've been fundraising through their Adoption Fundraising program, I've really gotten so blessed by their hearts for moms, for those precious little ones waiting for their moms, and for their business to be a blessing and a tool in the hands of God. It's been a true pleasure to witness. An honor to partner with their minstry.

I had no idea how, but I just knew that this celebration of my wonderful readers HAD to include a treat from Wild Olive Tees. I was so convinced that I was praying about using some of the funds from our little Adoption Jar to invest in a tee or two. But I didn't feel settled about that. Instead, I kept praying and I put the word out that I had some big dreams and plans a'brewin' for my 1,000th post celebration. Boy, oh, boy, did God come through and bless me with this one!!!!!

I am OVER the MOON with excitement to tell you that a very generous, anonymous benefactor has donated a $50 gift certificate to Wild Olive Tees! Yes, you read that right.

A $50 shopping spree

at Wild Olive Tees

for one lucky reader

in celebration of my 1,000th post!!!!!

It's so much more than I could have ever expected when I was dreaming about blessing you all with a gift for hanging out here for all these 1,000 posts. The winner of this final amazing treasure will get to comb through pages of beautiful, wear-able artwork and choose some pretties. You can use them as early Christmas shopping, share them with a friend,  or just a Really REALLY cool treat to yourself - whatever trips your trigger. I'm just so thrilled to be able to offer this final treasure to one of you.

Because, when you get right down to it, the real treasures here at The Gang's All Here! are you, my readers. You are what makes this little corner of the blogosphere so incredibly special to me. And I canNOT wait to see what three names are going to get drawn by that interwebby randomizer thingy-ma-bob when this give-away finally happens. It's going to be a blast and I'm so grateful that you all hang out here to make it all happen.

Further details on just how to participate in this splendiferous give-away are just around the corner. Keep checking in and I'm pretty sure you'll be glad that you did. This is gonna be super-dee-duper!

Pinning It for Wild Olive Tees

Those crazy amazing gals are at it again, over at Wild Olive Tees.  First they announced the release of several GORGEOUS new tee designs. My word, where DO they come up with this stuff... The beauty of the designs alone give awesome glory and honor to The Father.

But then, their hearts! Their sweet, giving, over-the-top generous hearts are SUCH a tribute and honor to God, don't ya think? I mean, did you SEE this brand new give-away they just posted?

It's up and running through Sunday, Sept. 30th and you can win some beautiful new tees. And don't forget, we are still partnering with them to raise funds for our adoption expenses. So while you are entering to win free tees, you can pick up a couple tees to help us wrap up our fundraising. (Details are on the left sidebar, if you are interested.) That'd be nifty.  Go. Enter. Good luck to you :)

I'm Under The Big Oak Tree!

Just wanted to mention to you all that my guest post at Under The Big Oak Tree is going live today.  I'd sure appreciate it if you'd stop over there and leave a comment. Surf around her site a bit. Check out some of her awesome recipes and menu ideas. And leave a comment. Take some time to look over the cool organizational tips and the weight loss challenge she has going on. And leave a comment.

Yes, please. Leave a comment. Encourage others to think about adoption. Cheer Alison on for being a voice for little ones who wait for mommas like me. Tell the other readers how much you love your Wild Olive tee. Tell them which one you've already ordered. Leave a comment. You get the idea!

And by way of updating you about our Wild Olive tees fundraising project, I wanted to say thanks to those who have ordered already. We are a little less than half-way to the crazy goal we set for ourselves. But we know that God loves to blast crazy goals out of the water. And the gals over at Wild Olive have graciously extended our sale to allow us to "go for it!" So we are!!!!!

If you are interested in purchasing your own Wild Olive tee, click on the pretty little button to the side of this post, the one that says "Help Bring Our Child Home." And when you get to the Adoption Fundraising Tees pages, put our family code (WHITNEY407) in the coupon code button at check out.

But first, go read my guest post at Under the Big Oak Tree. And leave a comment. Pretty please?!

A Teensy Favor, If You Please?

We are coming close to the one-month countdown on our Wild Olive Tees fundraiser to help us raise our remaining adoption travel expenses. I've been greatly restraining myself from a twice-weekly check in with the gals over there at the Wild Olive headquarters. I've been hustling to share the information in the creative and appropriate ways. I created a snazzy flyer to hand out. I've included links to it in my on-line yard sale. I'm pushing The Boss to hustle and share away, too. And as we get down to the line on this effort, I'm wondering if you'd consider helping us out with a teensy favor?

Would you consider sharing about our fundraiser on your blog? Or on your F@cebook feed? Or tweet out about what we are doing? Give them the link to our blog and tell them about the snazzy button on the sidebar that will bring them right.to.the.sale.sight? Tell them our family code is WHITNEY407? That the tees are really beautiful and created by some really beautiful women who are trying to change the world, one tee at a time?

Look at the beautiful F@cebook pic that they created for Fundraising Families, after I mentioned that a cover pic for the new Timeline format would be awesome and another great way to get the word out. I love it and can't believe they used my suggestion. They really rock that way, ya know?

How gorgeous is that picture? I asked. And because they believe in what they are doing and in what we are doing, they found a way to do it. I love that!

It's so humbling to me that folks in this adoption community all work so hard, in such a united manner, to help build families. To help build our family. I don't take that lightly. NOR do I take it for granted. It's not how I pictured this adoption progressing, but I'm learning that God knows better than me about these things. (Heh, I knew that. But I'm learning it anew. And in new ways. Know what I mean?!) Cuz truly, nothing about these last three months have been how I pictured them. I'm being as real as I can about this season. And I'm bein' really real when I tell you it's been hard. H.A.R.D. But God is proving Himself over and over and the kindness and generosity of the Body around us has been His proving tool. Beautifully.

So, I'm asking. It's a teensy favor, really. Just a link to a friend. A post. A tweet. A status update. And remember, it IS my blogoversary.  I'm just sayin'......

Gettin' Our Verse ON!

I am OVER DA MOON to announce that The Gang has been selected as a Wild Olive Tees Fundraising family!  It's no secret that I have LOOOOONG been a fan of this amazing, creative team of ladies that make the world more fashionable and more beautiful with artistic, meaningful tees. At last count, I currently own 5 or 6 of my own pretties and have given several as gifts to friends and family. I just can't get enough!

Ever since we began this journey to our girl, I've been anxiously waiting for the opportunity to partner up with this amazing company. I love their heart for orphans. I love their heart for adoptive families. And I love how they network with so many other wonderful organizations to support and care for the precious little ones who are in need all over the world. I hope that you will head over to their site and peek around their site for yourselves to read all about their mission and their passion. It will be time well spent. But do that after you stick around to read the rest of this post... Cuz it's about you.  Yeah. YOU.

Well, really, it's about how YOU can help us
in this grand adventure as a Fundraising Family.

First, you can head HERE (and only here on this page of the site, for it to count toward our efforts) and pick some tees out for you and your family. For your kids and your sisters. For your sisters' kids. Or maybe for your neighbors. Ooooh, and don't forget those end-of-the-year teacher gifts. Get creative, get crazy and have some fun spreadin' The Word. We'd be so incredibly grateful.

Just remember: When you purchase a tee, you MUST use our family code IN THE COUPON CODE option under the shopping cart. (That can be found in the pink tab to the right of the screen). You can also be sure the code is noted by entering it into the comment section (it's not necessary, but it's for added security when they are calculating orders). This code will not provide you with a discount. Rather, it will track sales that can be credited to the Whitney Family Fundraising efforts.

Are you ready?

The Family Code is WHITNEY407.

Got it? Goooood.

This button will take you directly to the page for the fundraising tees.

Second. you can feel free to help us spread the word about The Gang's efforts by sending this link to folks whom you think might love adoption.

Or whom might love really artsy, hip, and creative tees with GOD's Word on them.

Or whom might love The Gang.
(And really, who doesn't love The Gang? They are mighty cute, if you ask me.)
(And yes, I know I'm biased. But really. We have some seriously cute kiddoes.)

You can share the updates and links I'll be posting with folks in your neck o' the Facebook woods. You can contact me for other creative ways to help us get the word out, if you are interested. The sky is the limit. The world is your oyster. But only till June 29th. Then? Well, then the fundraiser is slated to be over.

Finally, you can pray. Pray, pray, pray. We are (as I mentioned in my post last week summarizing where we are in our journey to Brynna) more earnestly seeking the Lord for the specific file of the child HE has been preparing for our family. We are praying for financial provision (through this and the other jobs I have taken on during this journey). And we are praying for full-time, career-position employment for The Boss.

Our faith has been stretched in ways we did not envision in this season of our life. We are trying to stand strong; although it is indeed very stressful to switch from full-time corporate life to part-time, seasonal retail work. We know it's temporary, so we are making every effort to stay united and connected to each other and to The Father. It isn't easy and in fact, these last two weeks have been really, really hard. But we know He is in control. Of The Boss's job. Of this adoption. Of our future. And we are trusting Him for it. For all of it.

Thank you so much, in advance, for the prayer and the support.

We are truly blessed by all the love that we have felt in this season.

Now? Go. Get Your Verse On!

Huge

I LOVE a good give-away.

But more importantly, I love a good give-away

that is meant to support a good cause.

Really, I'm not a big fan of the word "cause"

as I've used it here but it's early

and I'm having a tough time finding another word

that works.

Just a little hang-up of mine....

So. One of my all-time favorite sites

is hosting a HUGE give-away contest.

HUGE. Like, 15 winners huge.

That, I think we can all agree, is awesomely huge.

Heh. There's my "finding another word" thing

cropping up again. Meh. I need more coffee.

Here's the skinny on how to get yourself entered 

to be one of those 15 winners. Once you read all the details,

I think we can all agree that the "cause" is also awesomely huge.

I think we can all agree

God's name is going to be glorified

and His hands will have lots and lots of extra opportunities

to work His Good in lots of little hearts.

Quite literally.

And that? Is HUGE.

I REALLY Wanna Win This One!!!

It's no secret to any of you regular readers just how crazy, flipped-out I am over the lovely Miss Stefanie. 

And I think it's safe to say I've made myself perfectly clear just how amazing I think those Wild Olive Tees are.  (Gosh, did you hear how "Mom-ish" I sounded there?! I feel like I was channeling Harriet from Family Matters there for a  bit!)

And not to be forgotten in the amazing awesomeness of the lovely Miss Stefanie's tri-fecta is No Hands But Ours. Really, if you aren't following their blog, you must. You really must. 

But I digress...

So when I tell you that there's a big deal give-away going on over at Wild Olive Tees, and that the grand-prize is a visit with the lovely Miss Stefanie (and her co-hort in WOT's amazingness, Miss Amie), well, then you pretty much can guess just HOW! STINKIN'! EXCITED! I am by it all.

Right? You could guess that, right?

(I must be excited. I hardly ever use pink.
But it works here, doesn't it?)

So. The give-away.  They are celebrating the re-vamp of the Wild Olives Tees website. And they absolutely have a ton to celebrate. It's a beautiful new site. Classy. A pleasing bit of eye-candy for the loyal WOT shopper. Like me. Very celebration-worthy. (Speaking of which, I'm in process for a bit of re-vamp here, myself.  Can't wait to see what my new blog will look like. Keep checking in. It shouldn't be long now...)

Here's the scoop:  Get yourself over HERE

to check out the details of the give-away.

But, please. Don't enter. Because you love me and want the very best for me. And I promise you: the very best for me would be that grand prize. Really. It would. Cross my heart.

And just in case you might ever doubt the pure delight that IS a Wild Olive Tee, I submit the following evidence:

Delightful, no?

(Said in the most humble manner possible!

The delightfulness for me resides in the fact that

my lovely daughter actually deigned to sit

and POSE with her Momma

without an ounce of tween angst!)

Wordless Wednesday

Getting our verse on . . .

at the last track meet of the season

For more Wordless Wednesday fun,

head over to 5 Minutes for Mom.

One More Time . . .

this is your final weekly reminder . . .

The giveaway is still going on over at Wild Olive Tees. They have re-designed and re-released their Hope for Haiti shirt and 100% of the proceeds are going directly to Haiti relief efforts, via Eyes Wide Open International (click here).

So, head over to this post and get all the skinny on how to get one of these great tees for yourself. And while you are at it, join the contest fun and spread the word. The more shirts they SELL, the more money goes to the relief efforts!

The Contest is Almost Over!

this is your 2nd weekly reminder . . .

Yes, I know it's pretty much been the same two posts
for quite a few days now.
We're home from services for our dear friend and trying to reclaim our routine and our territory around here. Be patient, I promise something new. Soon. In the meantime, go buy a tee. Go enter the contest. And give your kids a hug.

There's a fabulous new contest going on over at Wild Olive Tees. They have re-designed and re-released their Hope for Haiti shirt and 100% of the proceeds are going directly to Haiti relief efforts, via Eyes Wide Open International (click here).

So, head over to this post and get all the skinny on how to get one of these great tees for yourself. And while you are at it, join the contest fun and spread the word. The more shirts they SELL, the more money goes to the relief efforts!

Don't Forget

this is your weekly reminder. . .

There's a fabulous new contest going on over at Wild Olive Tees. They have re-designed and re-released their Hope for Haiti shirt and 100% of the proceeds are going directly to Haiti relief efforts, via Eyes Wide Open International (click here). I'm LOVIN' the re-design of this shirt and am fixin' to place my order right now.

Frankly, between you and me, I am glad they redesigned.
Gray was never my best color. :)
But I was willing to take one for the team
In fact, I was on the site to buy it
when I stumbled upon this blog post about the change.

So, head over to this post and get all the skinny on how to get one of these great tees for yourself. And while you are at it, join the contest fun and spread the word. The more shirts they SELL, the more money goes to the relief efforts!

Wild Olives Big Give Away!

There's a fabulous new contest going on over at Wild Olive Tees. They have re-designed and re-released their Hope for Haiti shirt and 100% of the proceeds are going directly to Haiti relief efforts, via Eyes Wide Open International (click here). I'm LOVIN' the re-design of this shirt and am fixin' to place my order right now.

Frankly, between you and me, I am glad they redesigned.
Gray was never my best color. :)
But I was willing to take one for the team
In fact, I was on the site to buy it
when I stumbled upon this blog post about the change.

So, head over to this post and get all the skinny on how to get one of these great tees for yourself. And while you are at it, join the contest fun and spread the word. The more shirts they SELL, the more money goes to the relief efforts!

Get Your Verse On

There's a fabulous new website (okay, not super new, but super fabulous just the same) that I'm really excited about.

You may remember I've mentioned a time or two that I have a blogging/adoptive mommy hero. This morning, she stopped by my pool post and COMMENTED. How cool is that?! But anyway, she and several friends created a on-line clothing company to "get your Verse on" and to help fund their various ventures to provide aid and resources to orphans around the world.

You really need to get over there and check out the amazing t-shirts on this site. So cute. So stylish. So eternally minded. And their value far exceeds the mere dressing of one's body in cute Words of Truth. These t-shirts are changing children's lives. Go there NOW.

But don't enter their new contest. I wanna win. I really wanna win.
Maybe Stefanie will sign one of my winning t-shirts. Wouldn't that be the coolest?!