Spread the Cheer...........

Sunday, November 29, 2009

God is a verb, not a noun proper or improper.

R. Buckminster Fuller

The Elison Project is currently working on putting together a cookbook to help waiting children in China who have special needs. We are getting lots of yummy recipes. I can not wit to share, but the cookbook is a long term goal. One that will take a bit of time to put together, and not wanting to wait to help a child we have decided to offer you all a chance to give one waiting child in China a big ol Christmas present...A GRANT!

Our goal is $3000.

$3000 is the amount of one grant. I can not think of a better Christmas gift than to grant a special needs child and pray that the money will in some small way be helpful to a family wanting to parent and love a child.

So, here is the deal...for $5 per ticket you will get a chance to win a complete travel package to help you record your memories:







And

Acer Netbook with case










And
10mexapixel Digital Camera with case and 8GB memory card.

And
Flip video camera
And

If you would like a chance to win a beautiful hand made quilt then post about this fundraiser on your blog or Facebook and tell us about it at theelisonproject@hotmail.com and you will be entered into a drawing to win this:

This quilt was handmade by Gayly an adoptive mommy.
http://www.quilt-n-mama.blogspot.com/



*Our hope is to raise money in order to help special needs children, but if you would like a ticket without purchasing a raffle ticket please contact me at shelby@theelisonproject.org

*Contributions to this fund raiser are not tax deductible.

Looking for your Recipes!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Finally we are leaving.....

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

YES it’s finally that time and we are leaving in two days to bring Shawn home after a long 14 months wait. Wow what a ride and we are so excited over what is to come so why don’t you join us in our journey at Shawn's Travel Blog.

Hugs Angie

Whats new.....

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Life has been CRAZY busy at our house the past month and really most of the summer but even more this month as we finally after 12 months waiting received our travel approval to bring our son home!! Of course this is also the middle of Garden Harvest and time to get all the goodies canned. Now if my tomatoes would finally ripen preferably before we travel that would really be great and yea before the frost hits!

The kids kept us very busy this summer with both boys playing soccer and Steven spending a great deal refereeing for 3 different soccer leagues we where on the go a lot. We also celebrated my birthday, ok won’t go there my baby turned 17 and he finally got his drivers license. Now if he would get a car which means a job that be good lol..

Now it’s back to school but we are for sure enjoying the last sweep of nice super nice summer days and before you know it fall is here. If you go to the stores you already see Halloween and Thanksgiving products out, just nuts!!

We wrapped up the soccer season for the little ones a few weeks ago and Steven is done refereeing but still playing High school Varsity until mid October. I finally managed to get thru all the kids closets and can’t believe how much Sarah has grown again the girl has got some long legs on her and shoes well lets just say she will have to wear out them sandals not buying half a size bigger for a few more weeks.

We had a nice weekend last week at friends visiting and the kids got to go on tractor rides they just loved it!! Even Sarah was just beaming with excitement and they could not get enough and she got to take a ride with her daddy and Dave on the tractor. Carol and Dave have a really need tree house that they build for their children and now the grand kids use it and our two little ones where absolutely fascinated as it had a porch and the makings of a small house. Lots of fun.

This weekend was sooo nice and so warm it almost seemed like fall is far away yet. The kids got some pool time. I am glad we did not take it down yet as it was so nice out and they had so much fun. I spend a few hours in the garden and actually got some color ha!

At any rate there is so much going on and so much that happened I can’t possibly try to catch up on it all. I just have to make it a point to update the blog more often lol..

Blessings
Angie

YOUR Help is needed!!

Monday, August 3, 2009

To all please consider going to the following link and sign a petition to help with a serious issue parents of newly adopted children are facing from any international Hague country, one family is held up in China right now.

This family (James Scruggs and Candace Litchford) who are in China, and have already had Gotcha Day (meaning in China they are the legal parents now) are requesting help. They did not find out until after they were in China that their new daughter had already tested positive for Active TB. They are now in a very difficult situation, as they cannot bring her back to the U.S because of the new Hague regulations as of July 1 the CDC/DHS has a new regulation requiring all immigrants to pass a TB screening, and if they fail the screening, they are required to wait until full treatment is administered in the country of origin before coming to the US.

The family can not send their daughter back to the state-run Chinese orphanage as she is no longer an orphan, nor can they financially stay for several months. It would be extremely cruel to Yue Ye to have to “abandon” her again even if she is at a foster family, and there is no way of knowing that she would be provided the treatment she requires. In addition, she would be exposed once again to whatever source it was that infected her with TB in the first place, and they may never get to bring her home.

The current regime for addressing a TB diagnosis in an adopted Chinese child may require the child to remain in Guangzhou so that he or she can be brought each day to the medical clinic in Guangzhou to have a physician observe the administration of the required dose of antibiotics. Treatment of TB can require six months or more of daily antibiotics. If it turns out that the daily treatment must be observed by a physician in Guangzhou, then that will greatly limit the available foster care arrangements that can be made for a child who must go through treatment to receive a US immigrant visa.

………………………. could everyone read and please consider signing the JCICS petition which is trying to deal w/ this very issue.... they need A LOT MORE SIGNATURES!!

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html

Here is a link to the families blog: http://jayscruggs.livejournal.com/

Blessings Angie

Monday, July 20, 2009

Is off to GB to meet her new team mates in IT :-)

The Elison Project is cooking!!!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

The Elison Project is excited to announce our newest project to help raise funds in order to be a blessing and positive effect in the life of children in need.

Please join us by submitting your recipes for our first cookbook!! We are looking for any and all recipes that you think might be fun and delicious for the rest of us to try. We would also like for you to include a story and or photo to accompany your recipes. for example, I will be including my world famous blueberry pancake recipe and I will share a story about the time we brought home our second daughter, Allison, home from China and we were all suffering the awful effects of jet-lag.

So what we would like for you to do is send us your recipe via email to Recipes for The Elison Project

Disclaimer:
By submitting your recipe to the upper email you confirm that we may use the submitted resume in the to be published Elison Cook Book without any obligations in any form or liabilities towards you as the submitter. That you submit the resume knowing it will be published including your name and/or story included.

When you submit your recipes please send us your name and email so that we can give you credit for your submission. Please include the following information:
Recipe Name
Servings / prep time if applicable
Ingredients
Directions
Any notes/tips
Your Name / Story of the recipes

Ok and here is a little something the kids can get involved in!

Calling all children between the ages of 2-16. We need you creativity, your ideas, your youthful brilliance to help us design the cover of our first cookbook. Please submit your drawings, photos, ideas, or paintings for our cover. If your design is selected it will be placed on the cover, we include your bio (that's info about yourself) and a picture of you in the cookbook.

You can either email the scanned drawing to Drawing for the Elison Cook Book or you can send them via snail mail to:
The Elison Project, 3707 Bricken Lane, Fredericksburg VA 22408

The deadline to submit your child's drawing to be considered for the cover page of our cook book is August 31, 2009.

The deadline for submitting your recipes is September 15, 2009.

We are very very excited about this project and we can not wait for all the great recipes and fabulous drawings to arrive!!

Shelby McKenzieExecutive Director The Elison Project

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Late last night I returned home from visiting with some very dear and near friends. Friends that have listened to me as I have listened to them, friends that have shared my journey of adoption before and again are with me now as I have followed their journey of adoption and the blessings as well as some of the ups and downs in life. We had the most perfect day for a girl’s day out by Navy Pier in Chicago.
We did a lot of walking lot of talking ate good food, did some brainstorming and team building for Elison and really it was just so nice to have a little break away from it all.

I was tremendously honored, blessed, surprised, taken off guard and speechless by the prayers answered during our gathering, I can’t even describe what went thru my mind. All I could think of was thank you Lord for answering our prayers!!

Sometimes well most of the time its not easy to simply not freak out when times are tuff and life throws rocks into your way but over and over again he has shown us that he is here and that he is watching and that he is not giving up on us and that he sends us angels to lift us up sometimes they come in forms you would have never thought.

So I am grateful for the blessings in my life the health of my children, the roof over our head and the amazing friends my extended family that have made such an impact on our life our journey.

Blessings Angie

“We must become the change we want to see.” M. Gandhi

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Bedevoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another aboveyourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor,serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful inprayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.Romans 12:9-13 NIV

A family in need of our support in their journey of adoption

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Friends of ours are stepping way out in faith to grow their family by adopting from Africa . This is the lords call upon this mother and her husband and the daughters in the home right now. Katy and her husband Doug have previously adopted from China and feel the call to go to Africa to adopt a girl. They need our help so please go to her blog, http://outofafrica-graber.blogspot.com read her amazing story, look at the fabulous drawing they put together and help them bring their daughter home!!

Many Blessings

Having fun at the Waterpark

Monday, May 4, 2009

This past weekend we got offer from my work to go spend the weekend at a Waterpark Resort, well who will turn that down ….NOT I…… especially not since we all really really needed a break. Well I don’t know how much of a break it was for mom and dad lol.. but we did have fun and the kids just had a blast to say the least!

Sarah made hug progress from last year turning her skeptics over water and the pool into a hugs love for it all, if I would not know better I would say my little chitterbug is a fish! I spend so much time on Saturday sitting in the kids pool on that rough bottom of the pool that my bikini bottoms fabric are all torn but I could just not get the girl out of the water and away from that slide.

Steven was to be seen very little between the huge slides and the tubing floating all day long unless it was time to eat or spend some time at the arcade.

Samuel pretty much the same thing a few times we let him run off to the bigger kids slides but the rest of the time he war playing with his sister and floating with mom and dad around and around on the tubes. It was definitely fun and a lot of chlorine for one weekend!

Sam on one of the smaller slides........

Sarah unable to tear away from this slide almost the whole time we where there.....

For the Love of a Child!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

I wanted to bring everyone’s attention to a new site brought up by a wonderful friend, another amazing example that if we all stick together for what we believe in for what is in our hearts for what God strives us to do, it can be done!

Go take a look at For the Love of a Child, go grab the button and spread the word.

Love Angie

Two amazing little boys looking for their forever family!

Monday, March 2, 2009

The Elison Project is very excited to announce that we where able to place an adoption grant towards the adoption of either of the following two precious waiting children with Bethany Christian Services-International

Name: Min Junsheng Gender: Male DOB: November 20, 2002 SN: Blind Name: Miao Xiaojie Gender: Male DOB: April 28, 2005 SN: Deaf

If you are interested to learn more about either of these two beautiful waiting children please contact Jaclyn Skalnik or Sue Overweg 1-800-652-7082 or email jskalnik@bethany.org or soverweg@bethany.org

Happy New Year

Monday, January 5, 2009

We had a fairly low key New Years Week; I was off for a few days which was also nice. DH was on call so we where not able to go anywhere.
And of course with almost 2 feet of snow in the yard and the neighborhood the days that the wind was not hauling around the kids wanted to go outside and play in the snow.

Except my little Shorkie was not all so impressed with the cold lol

This of course gave me some time to unpack boxes in the basement, yes its been going on a year in the new house and still there are boxes lol.. We also spend the weekend taking down all our xmass decorations which was nice as we have a few busy weekends ahead of us and I really did not want to have it all up in February.
I got a chance to work on some activity prep for our upcoming CNY celebration this weekend and with School starting this week the kids will have their activities again.

Children’s’ Museum in Point with our friend Tanya and her little twin boys the kids enjoyed that a great deal.



I also got confirmation over the weekend that our package arrived with our dear friend Elaine in China and she ensured that it will have been delivered to the orphanage and then to Shawn in foster care. To think that by now he knows he has a family and he has our pictures is just soooo exciting and I am mentally already packed and looking at possible hotels to stay. This weekend we are also scheduled for our fingerprints in Milwaukee so another step into the right direction.

Again to everyone and all a Very Very Happy New Year!