EXTREME MAKEOVER - PLAYGROUND EDITION

IS THIS THE SITE FOR THE EXTREME MAKEOVER? LET'S HOPE SO!

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Plans have finally been set in motion for the new playground at Alyssa's orphanage! I spoke with Amy from Love Without Boundaries and she was able to give us a great company they use for playgrounds. They have beautiful playsets - the children are going to be so thrilled!! It is going to cost between $2000-$4000 to buy the playset and install it. We have lots of things planned to raise the money and as always, we will accept donations towards this project. Our family is going to go through some of the pictures and send some to Director Lei to see what she thinks is best for the orphanage. We'll post it when we agree on one! How exciting!!!!

When we get back from Dominican, I will be wiring money to our contact for new ride on toys, ball, dolls and crib mattresses. Any money left over will be used for baby formula.

On our agenda...

We visited Crystal Palace (Moncton, NB) over the March Break - the kids had a great time!

The boys on the rollercoaster
Ready for combat laser tag

Alyssa riding the train

Chris and I are heading to the Dominican Republic this Sunday. WOW! It happened very quickly...our friends, Peggy and Matt got a last minute deal and twisted our arms until we agreed to go with them. It took a lot of twisting as you can imagine! Thankfully, my dad is coming over from Nova Scotia to stay with Caleb, Dylan and Alyssa. My mom and grandmom will join him on Easter weekend so the kids are going to be spoiled!

I apologize to those who emailed me about Love Without Boundaries - Canada. We are still going to go ahead with this but there have been some changes with personnel in the US organiztation so we've had a tiny setback. When I get back from my trip I will touch base with everyone and set up some kind of meeting - via email, conference call, skype, etc...

Chris and I and the kids may be heading to China sooner than we planned due to the Olympics. We've heard orphanages are not allowing visits next Spring so we may go in the Fall instead. If we can get our funds together this would actually work better because we are hoping to plan it with the building of the playground at Alyssa's orphanage. My friend, Mari Lynn, suggested we plan a Kids Carnival to raise money for the playground and I think it's an awesome idea! We planned one LONG ago when we were in college and it was a great success. What better way to raise awareness for a fun playground than through a Kids Carnival. We are hoping to have this in June sometime. When I get back from the trip I will be starting to organize the calendars. I'm trying to think of a cool name for them so please leave suggestions in the comments for me!

Chris and I are taking a suitcase full of school supplies, toys, books, etc... to the Dominican with us and we will be visiting a local orphanage and school while we are there. I will try and post pictures after we visit. I'm hoping there may be someone I can touch base with and find ways we can help them back here in Canada.

Getting ready for some sunshine,

Tammy

Fundraising Ideas

WOW! I can't believe it's been so long since I posted.

Our family has been talking about different fundraising ideas for Alyssa's orphanage and getting the playground built. We've decided to do a calendar featuring children who've found their forever families. We are probably going to do 2 types - one for PEI families who've adopted and one for children specifically adopted from Alyssa's orphanage. Each month on the calendar will feature one child with 1-4 photos which could include gotcha day, siblings or any other favorite picture. Each month will also have special tidbits about a family's specific adoption story, a favorite song or poem, etc...

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We think these will be great gifts for family members, friends and future adoptive parents. They will also make great treasures for the children featured in them. Once they are complete, people can order as many as they like and we'll ship them out. Stay tuned for more details...in the meantime, if you would like to have your child included, please email me at tammymackinnon@pei.sympatico.ca. We would LOVE to include them!!!

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Another fundraising idea is specifically for our children (and yours, too if they want to be involved!). We are going to do a walk-a-thon or movie-a-thon or some kind of "a-thon" and the kids are going around the community getting pledges. This is a great idea for other families across Canada or the US (or wherever you're reading from) to get involved and help support Alyssa's orphanage. We have had several people email us asking how they could help and hosting fundraisers on behalf of "Two Homes, One Heart" is the best way to help the children at Alyssa's orphanage. As always...we are open to your suggestions for fun, family fundraising ideas!!!

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I will be getting some answers very soon about how to purchase and build the playground for Alyssa's orphanage.

A Plea for TOYS!

Last year a family went to visit Alyssa's orphange and sent us some pictures. Their daughter is also adopted from here. She said we could share the photos on our blog. Thanks, Gail!

This is the "playroom" at the orphanage. I think it needs a few items...The orphanage Director has requested we raise money for big balls and dolls for the children. I had sent some photos of different toys to see what the orphanage would like best and the following pictures are what they chose (along with the request for balls and dolls!)

So, our goal is to raise money for several exasaucers and ride on cars, along with about 15 big balls and 15 dolls!

This is the bottle making room.

This is directly behind the orphanage - their backyard. Now, I've asked the orphanage Director if they would like a playground and she said they would be so excited to get help for this. Below is the picture of a playground she liked...

Wouldn't this be amazing in that empty, concrete space!!!!! Our family is currently brainstorming and talking with some organizations to see how we can raise the funds for a playground and have it installed in China. This would be such an exciting addition for the children and for the nannies!!!

If anyone reading this blog wants to help with this we would LOVE to collect donations and send it along to this orphanage. What a fun way to help the children. We are still collecting donations for crib mattresses and baby formula as well.

our family will be having some sort of fundraiser soon - we'll keep everyone posted!

With sillyness and fun,

Tammy

Squeaky Shoes & More...

This is for everyone who lives in PEI or who will be traveling to PEI...an awesome store called Snugglebugs is selling Chinese squeaky shoes! They have all kinds of styles (really cute!) and even better, the owner, Peggy Rust, is donating $1 for every pair sold. The money is being donated to Love Without Boundaries. So, come on in and grab a pair or two. They make excellent gifts for little ones. Some other highlights at Snugglebugs...

*beautiful hand knit hats for babies and toddlers...they have ladybug ones that are so cute for our chinese children since ladybugs are good luck in China. They have lots of other styles, too.

*baby barrettes...these barrettes are for very thin hair and are guaranteed to stay in! They are adorable and everyone loves to put bows in their daughter's hair!

*BEAUTIFUL crib sets (for both boys and girls)

*baby bath and wash products for babies and children.

This weekend there is a HUGE 50% off sale on their clothing (pre-snuggled clothes) for both boys and girls, sizes 0-3 months - size 12! Snugglebugs also has tons of baby items like car seats, boosters, BUMBO seats, strollers, playpens, cribs, jolly jumpers, exasaucers, bouncy seats, crib mobiles, monitors - you name it, they have it! Come check them out! They are located at 85 Belevedere Ave - right across from Superstore in Charlottetown.

The owner, Peggy, has been very generous in donating to Alyssa's orphanage, Love Without Boundaries and providing anything we need for our little chinese darling!

Spread the word...the more squeaky shoes sold, the more babies can be helped!

Tammy