Much Going On

To catch you up, we did get my FBI letter and a few other documents all made official and sent off. Because they dragged in late, our dossier is still in the registration process. But, any day now...

I recently had to have wrist surgery (ganglion cyst), so I've not really been up to blogging. I also think our yard sale season is going to have to close for the year. I thought we would make it to a grand total of 25 (for the entire adoption process), but it looks like we have stalled at 23. I'm sure there will be more next year. (Yay?) Now I have to find a place to store everything until next year. We really want our garage back!

School is going well...okay, most days are good days. I recently instituted my own Sonic Rewards Fridays. Eli was being so slow about getting ready in the morning, and Colton was having trouble getting finished in a reasonable amount of time. It was like pulling teeth--first one in the morning, and the other at the end of our day. So, I set up 2 small white boards on the fridge, listed the days down the left, and made two columns labeled "Start" and "Finish". Here's the deal. If they are ready for school before the alarm on my phone, they get a star. If they finish everything before we quit for lunch, they get another star. Ten possible stars in a week. If they earn 6, 7, or 8 stars, I take them to Sonic on Friday during Happy Hour for a slush. If they earn 9 or 10 stars, they can upgrade to an ice cream cone or cream slush (while those are half price). So far, we are doing WAY better.

HOLIDAY FUNDRAISER
In a push to raise money before we get a referral, I'm reinstituting the "Party Contest" fundraiser. If anyone is interested in participating, it's really very simple. You host a party: watch a movie, play games, do something specific...or not. Each guest brings $10. You can either ask guests to bring a snack or pay for the snacks out of the money collected. The money can then be sent to us. There are details on our website from the last time we did this. Prizes were involved for the most sent in as well as for everyone sending in $150 or more. Please check it out. (Link to our website here.) I've not yet updated the pdfs, but the info on the page should be up to date.

VACATION FUNDRAISER
Here's a new one. We are using our vacation club membership as a fundraiser. You can link to a page on our website for some current specials. The details are there, but basically you get a great deal on your accommodations. For the price we charge you, we pay for the condo and the fee for booking a trip for a non-member. Anything left over goes toward our adoption.