AMAZING CARNIVAL DAY!!!!

We cannot express how thrilled we are at the success of our first annual Kids Carnival! WOW! So many people came and all the kids had a great time. We ended up selling out of everything we had in the Food booth and were scrambling for more prizes (this was a good problem to have) so next year we will be better prepared! The chinese community came out in full support and their chinese food booth was a BIG HIT! They sold out of everything they had and people were raving about how delicious it was! Thank you Wendy, Pei, Joe and ALL your friends!!!

I know you are all wanting to know our total raised.....$3800.50!!!! Our goal is to raise $4000 for a playground for the orphanage and we are just about there! Caleb and Dylan each have one more fundraiser planned for their school and I'm sure we will have the total amount raised when they are done!

Even more amazing than the money raised was the support we had from our friends, family and the community! We were so touched by the number of people who came and "shared their love". We also had a short stint on the ATV news last night which is very exciting and will help get the word out about Two Homes One Heart!

THANK YOU to all the businesses, individuals and community who donated their time and efforts, sponsored booths, donated items and made such beautiful blankets and knit items. A huge THANK YOU to the fantastic students at East Wiltshire school who came and gave so much energy and smiles to our event! We would not have had such a great event without you!!! Mari Lynn and I will be coming to your school this week to throw a little "thank-you" party for you!

Of course, a very speical THANK YOU to Mari Lynn for all her efforts and planning for this event. You are a fantastic friend with a heart full of love! (Special thanks to your husband and kids too, for all their hard work!)

Here are some photos to enjoy from the day...God is so awesome!

Getting ready for the crowds...

The most popular game at the Carnival - the Spinning Wheel - we ran out of prizes several times but the kids kept coming back for more!

The puppet show! Great entertainment by P.I.G.S. (puppets in God's service)

Another favorite - the fishing pond.

I loved this! Children learning how to make their own chinese dumplings - can you say delicious!!

The magic show - the kids (and adults) were in awe!

Trying to knock the cans over - the kids loved this one, too!

The winners of the boy's bike, the motorized car and 2 mini gumball machines! Congratulations!

They Did It! $161.87

Our kids and their 2 friends, Canaan & Hunter, were determined to sponsor a booth at our Carnival. We asked businesses & families around town to donate a minimum of $100 to be a sponsor so our kids got busy and did their bottle drive. The 6 kids spent an hour going door to door and the final amount for their efforts was $161.87! FANTASTIC JOB everyone! Thank you so much to Jade, Caleb, Dylan, Alyssa, Canaan and Hunter for your hard work and supporting all the children at Alyssa's orphanage! You are amazing kids!

Tammy

Kids helping kids!

We did another little bottle drive tonight. Our great friends, Mari Lynn and Chris and their boys, Canaan (8) and Hunter (6) helped our kids. It was a lot of fun...the kids were running from house to house and we filled our van! We will take the bottles back tomorrow and see how much we raised. The kids are trying to raise $100 so they can sponsor a booth at our Carnival this Sunday. I'm pretty sure they raised at least that much tonight! We also received $33.50 in cash donations during our bottle drive! Our community is so kind! Thank you Cornwall! Thank you to Mari Lynn, Chris, Canaan and Hunter for their kind spirits and their giving natures! The kids at Alyssa's orphanage will be so happy to have their new playground!

Reminder....

KIDS CARNIVAL
This Sunday, May 27
2:00-5:00 pm
Confederation Landing Park (Ch'town waterfront)

Enjoy:
Bouncy Tents
Clowns
Puppet shows
Magic shows
Kids karaoke
Face Painting & Tattooing
Ring Toss
Dart Throw
Fishing Pond
Hockey Shoot Out
Ping Pong Toss
Spinning Wheel
Sucker Tree
Human Bingo
Cake Walks
Squirtgun/Can knockout
Lots of food treats (ice cream treats, freezies, popcorn, cotton candy, pop, water, lemonade, candied apples)
Specialty cookies - decorated so sweet!
Silent Auction with lots of family items
Handmade blankets from all over US and Canada will be on sale! These are absolutely adorable! Every little boy and girl will want one!

An extra special feature at our Carnival will be a booth set up by a local Chinese family. They will be making authentic chinese food and have generously offered to donate 100% of the proceeds to Alyssa's orphanage. I can't wait to taste their yummy treats!!

TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO COME AND ENJOY THE DAY!!!

Cutie-Pie!

I went in to Alyssa's room the other day and this is what I found! Too cute. She loves this baby doll so much. It was sent to us from one of the families we traveled with to China. They thought it looked like Alyssa in her referral picture. She has always taken extra special care of this "baby" and gives this baby her favorite blankets, favorite spot in the crib and the chinese dress.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!We can never seem to get a great family photo where everyone is looking their "best". Between the two of these photos we can see the best of everyone, I guess! If only I was a bit better at photoshop, I could make one great famiy photo!

Beautiful Blankets for Charity

So many generous people are using their talents to help raise money for Two Homes One Heart. We have received quite a few blankets and more are still coming! We've also received some handknit hats, mitts and a sweater. THANK YOU to everyone who so willingly contributed! Everything is beautiful. Here are a few examples of the blankets that will be on sale at the KIDS CARNIVAL - Sunday, May 27 at Confederation Landing (2-5 pm)

This cute blanket is flannel on both sides. Cute little frogs on one side and red on the other. Very cozy!

Here is a sweet baby pink blanket. It is soft flannel on both sides with a beautiful flower print on one side and white on the other.

This one is hard to see but it is an awesome, colorful quilt with cute edging all the way around. Fish and stars on one side and purple on the other.

This is a cute one for a little boy. It is flannel on both sides with funny dragons on one side and blue checked flannel on the other side.

There are other blankets that are knit, fleece, fleece/flannel combos, quilted, etc.. Each one is special because it was made by someone who donated their time and talent to help the children at Alyssa's orphanage!

Some of the blankets have matching doll blankets with them or for the boys, there are matching pillows.

For your interest...Love Without Boundaries is having their 4th Annual "Born In My Heart" Auction on ebay right now and there are some amazing items. Click on this link to check out the items and bid on your favorites! All proceeds will go to heart surgeries for chinese orphans!http://stores.ebay.com/Love-Without-Boundaries-Store

Enjoy!!

Tammy

Being a HERO

Caleb asked me if he was a hero because he was raising money for the children in Alyssa's orphanage. All kids (especially boys) want to be heros and I think any child who gives up something for another person is a hero. Yes, he is definitely a hero.

We were talking about ways the boys could get their friends and peers involved in raising money for Alyssa's orphanage and they came up with a great idea. Alyssa, Caleb, Dylan and I went to each of their schools today and presented their idea to the principals. The boys talked about wanting to help the children in the orphanage and asked if their school would host a "Red Day" or "ladybug Day" where all the children would wear either something with a ladybug or something red because that represents good luck in China. Each child would donate $1 to wear red on a particular day. All the money raised will go to Alyssa's orphanage for the children there. I was SO PROUD of them as they gave their little "presentation" and showed the love they have for their sister and other children who need families. We'll let you know what day it's going to happen and how much is raised! I love to see the kids open their hearts to others!!

My very own heroes!!!

Happy being "Mom" (Mother's Day)

Daddy and Alyssa

What can I do?

I ask myself this everyday...."What can I do"...no matter how much we do it never seems enough when there are so many children needing love. I'm trying to remember that this is in God's hands and He is way bigger than I am. Today has been a tough day full of emotion for all the children who need someone to care for them...



We can do no great things, only small things with great love.

--Mother Theresa



Tammy

NEW DATE for KIDS CARNIVAL!!!!!

We had to change the date for our KIDS CARNIVAL and it's coming up very quickly! It's now going to be on Sunday, May 27th at Confederation Landing here in Charlottetown. It will run from 2:00-5:00 pm. It is going to be a BLAST! Here is what's in store...

*Magic shows
*Puppet shows
*Clowns & balloon animals
*Human bingo (great kids' prizes)
*Bouncy Castles
*Face Painting and Tattooing
*Lots of carnival games (fishing pond, pop ring toss, spinning wheel, hockey shoot out, dart game, ping pong toss, a cake walk and more!)
*Cotton Candy, candied applies, caramel popcorn, snacks
*Cookie booth - beautifully decorated cookies by Gail Hodder - you will love these - beautfiul & yummy!
*Silent Auction - featuring items for the family or for children - birthday party packages, swimming passes, kids' books, restaurant coupons, specialty cake certificates and much more!
*Our beautiful hand made blankets from all over the U.S. and Canada will be for sale


Bracelets are $10 and give unlimited access to all our games! You can also just purchase tickets - $5/20 tickets. Pick up your bracelets at Snugglebugs (85 Belvedere Ave) or at the Carnival. Lots of prizes to be won! Please plan to come and enjoy a great afternoon with the family! TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!!!!!!


Also...

The "SPONSOR A CHILD" Concert is this Saturday at 7:00 at the APM Center, Cornwall. NINTH HOUR will be playing so come out and enjoy a great night of music and a night of helping the children of Mikinduri!

The Orphanage received the donation!

I received an email from Susan, our contact in China. The Director of Alyssa's orphanage bought some items with our last donation. She also sent some photos of the items (below). We did receive one other photo that I haven't posted as it was a picture of some children playing with the new toys. (I'm waiting to hear if I'm allowed to post it) It really makes this more real to our family and we see where Alyssa lived and "played" as well as the reality that other children are still living and playing there!

Baby formula and spoons for the little ones

These are the crib mattresses purchased. Different than what I thought a crib mattress was but maybe these are to lay over the mattress to avoid soiling it when peed on?

A very fancy new ride on car. A few toy guns on the seat.

These are some of the smaller toys bought. There are stuffed animals, blow up doll, a toy telephone and 2 bouncy balls. The two large blow up things are chairs for the little ones to sit in. The picture I have of the playroom shows a little baby sitting in one of them. Too cute!