Fun Things Ahead

I am so excited for the new things that will be happening in the next few weeks and month. We are experiencing so many changes, not only in our home, but in a lot of areas. Some exciting things I get to talk about and share, and others that are being kept secret. :)

First, there is a special fundraiser happening right now for some friends of ours at church:
For those of you that we went to HS with us, this is Lance Diede's parents.

"Don and Beth Anderson are holding a fundraiser to help bring Jonathan Edward home from China. This is an ongoing fundraiser. Do not need to be present to purchase your tee!!

As many of you know, this is our third adoption from China, and we are trying to raise funds to bring him home. Jonathan is an adorable 3 1/2 year old boy with a very complex heart condition, who is needing surgery. We are offering a T-shirt that promotes the message of adoption and has a beautiful graphic design of China on the front. The shirts are available as men's or women's in sizes Small through X-large. 2x and 3x are also available for $2.00 extra.

Cost of the tees are $20.00 each for local, and $25.00 out of state for tee and shipping. See tee shirt photos in my photo album, or I can tag you!

These are pre-orders....if interested, check photos in my photo gallery to decide on colors, etc. email me for my address, along with your name, address, phone number, men's or women's, size and color of tee. You can choose your color and color of print.
Needless to say, we are grateful for your support!"

I would suggest if there is any way you can or would be interesting in supporting Don and Beth, please contact me via FB, on here, email, or phone(for those of you that are close to me).


The next thing. I will be having a guest blogger. To my surprise I really thought it would be Ron. He has talked so many times about getting on here and writing. I am not sure what he would write about, but he enjoys reading our blog and our journeys we have been on. The good and the rough things. It brings me joy when he compliments my writing and says he is proud of me. I love him with all I am and it would be really neat to have him write someday.
However..... My guest blogger will be Kaelyn. She recently wrote a personal narrative for school. She loves to write but is like her daddy. There are limited ideas, no rough drafts just finals. Meaning they are such perfectionists. They cannot jot down ideas and just write. So we were so proud of her when she got her paper done in a timely manner, with all the steps, and with such personal feeling. I can't wait for her to get on here and share her story with all of you along with a few more thoughts. SO be watching for that.

Finally........
I have the honor of getting to hand out a free book on my blog to a lucky winner. I know that I don't have many, that I am aware of, that follow who are going through what I am with autism. But Kim Stagliano has a book that is releasing soon, All I Can Handle, I'm No Mother Theresa. Check out the excerpt. I did and I think this is going to be a funny and great book. So if you know anyone with a child on the spectrum feel free to pass along my blog address and have them check in soon. I will be running a contest and the winner will receive the book. I will pay the S&H. Please know that even if you do not know someone that you can still win the book and donate it. I think it is SO important to bring awareness to autism and spectrum disorders. I know how much it has effected our family, our friends, and our extended family. And not always in good ways. I know that it is crucial to lean on Christ as soul provider, comforter, and strength. We also need to remember to laugh as these moments need to have laughter or survival will not take place. For those of you on Face book know, that my life is full of messes, many that I grab quick snapshots of and post on there. I have to because it gives me a moment to calm down before dealing with TJ, and then I can laugh later about it. So this book will be a great addition to my growing library of many kinds of books, not all are autism related. ;)

As for surprises...... We are not even sure what those will entail. We just know that Ron and I are excited to be living to the fullest for ourselves and for our kids. I am a stick in the mud when it comes to trying new things, going new places and doing anything different. So we promised that 2011 will be full of new things. We can't wait, whatever those will be. Some are secret because it makes it more fun, others are in the works, or up in the air so we are still unsure on the details.
Keep checking back for these fun and exciting posts.

Until next time with my little guest blogger...............................