At last...

Chris and I have finally decided we are far enough along to share our exciting news...we are in the process of adopting again! We decided in June to pursue another adoption and we are finally at the end of getting all our paperwork ready and homestudy updated. This time, we are adopting from Ethiopia and we are requesting a girl between the ages of 2 1/2 -4 years. We have started another website to keep everyone updated on this adoption so feel free to check it out at http://www.themackinnons.blogspot.com/





As for Two Homes One Heart - we have decided to focus on 2 areas international and 2 areas local. We will want to give back in any way we can to our new daughter's orphanage in Ethiopia and we also want to add more orphanages (and still support Alyssa's!!) from the city where Alyssa was born (Yongzhou City, Hunan). We will be focusing on supporting our PEI Food Bank with a baby formula drive and collecting diapers, baby cereal and school snacks for children all across the Island. We will also be focusing on the "Heart to Heart" project - collecting teddy bears and care packages for all foster children who come into care on PEI.

FYI: For the last 2 years a few friends and I have collected diapers and baby formula for our local food bank. We collected over 100 cans of formula and MANY packages of diapers both years. I talked with the coordinator of the Food Bank and these supplies only last for 3 months! There are many families with babies and toddlers who need our help in supplying them with food and diapers. Our mission for Two Homes One Heart is to help any and all children worldwide who need food, shelter, care and love. We cannot focus on international projects and forget the many children needing our care and love right here in our own communities. So, this year we are challenging our communties across PEI to collect 400 cans of forumula to supply the food bank for the whole year! We would also like to collect this many packages of formula and boxes of cereal! Can you help us? We can do this - together!!!

What you can do to help:

*purchase baby/children items each time your grocery shop
we are looking for large cans of formula (no name brand costs about $15.00 at Superstore, Sobey's and Walmart), large packages of diapers (mostly size 3 & 5), boxes of baby cereal, and/or snacks for school lunches (juice boxes, fruit cups, fruit-to-go, cheese & crackers, pretzels, etc...)

*collect toiletry items such as toothbrushes, hairbrushes, journal, pens...

*donate teddy bears for boys and girls

*donate kit bags (boys and girls)

*join us for one of our fundraising events - chinese cooking classes, car rally, dinner/auction (I will be posting details on these events in the next week!!)

Thank you!!!

So much to do!!!!

Okay...so maybe my office isn't this bad but I'm beginning to feel a little overwhelmed..........

There is so much going on with Two Homes One Heart right now that I'm finding it hard to keep everything together! It's all good but it requires so much work. We have 2 weeks left of summer vacation so I'm trying to spend as much time with the kids as I can! I really can't believe how quickly the summer went!

We are in the process of writing a charity proposal to get our charity status so that requires a lot of decision making. We need to have a board, we need concrete mission statements, goals and programs.

We have several fundraisers in the beginning stages (chinese cooking classes, car rally, banquet dinner and auction....) and we are trying to find dates, locations and PEOPLE to help organize the events.

We are in the process of communicating with other orphanages in China to see what their needs are in relation to food, clothing, foster care, medical care, etc....

I am still waiting to hear back from Director Lei to see if I am able to go to China. I am very stressed about the financial obligation of this because Chris and I are in the process of something very special and it's going to cost us...oh, say...about 20 grand! So, now I'm not sure where that leaves me and the trip to China. Of course, I still want to go with all my heart! We are praying for God's direction in all these decisions, decisions, decisions!!!

If you are interested in joining our Two Homes One Heart team, please email me - we would love to have more help and ideas. Even if it's just to help out with one (or two!) events. We can give you a little to do or a lot - it's up to you!

A different perspective...

A different perspective on the question post I wrote about the other day....



This morning I was reading some articles written by adoptive parents on the adoption experience and QUESTIONS they get from children and adults. There was a story written almost like my encounter in my last post, only the adoptive mother in the article was upset by the child's questions. She thought the child was being nosy and inconsiderate in her questions. I guess for me, I realize a lot of the questions from children come from their own insecurities. They worry about whether their parents will give them up. For several months after we adopted Alyssa, our Dylan (then 6) would ask us "Are you going to let me be adopted by a Chinese family?" It is too difficult for a child to comprehend the "WHY" of adoption and so children want to make sure the reasons our children are adopted don't apply to their lives. Does that make sense?
-

I just really want to be as open and honest about adoption as I can- I want adoption to be seen by our community as a wonderful experience, not a "tragic event" in Alyssa's life. I want Alyssa to be confident in her place in our family and in our community. The more people I can talk to about adoption and set the record straight - the better!!! And trust me, I've had some doozies of questions! The worst one (and I've been asked by many people) - "which ones are your real children? Are they all adopted?" Okay folks, do they look fake!!!! Of course, they are all my real children! Even in these situations, I use the opportunity to talk about how each child (any child!) is equally as loved, special and important in our family.

It doesn't get any more real than this!!!

Questions, Questions, Questions!

I had some very sweet, interesting questions asked today about Alyssa's adoption. I always welcome questions from people - I use every opportunity to share about adoption and to tell people about the needs of orphans. Most times, people are very sincere in their questioning and have a true desire to know about adoption. There are other times when people are being insensitive and provide me with very inaccuarate information they've heard or "learned" about adoption and orphans. Still, I don't mind this, I can use these opportunities to share the truth about why families adopt and the plight of children around the world. If I didn't want questions about our adoption, we would not have chosen to adopt a child of different nationality!

BUT, today, I had the most sincere questions asked of me. Alyssa and I were at the park playing and there was a group of kids there - probably between the ages of 6-10 (their parents weren't there). This is kind of how the question - answer period went between the kids and I...

First little girl asked me, "Why is she brown and you're white?"

Me: "She is from China and I'm from Canada"

All the other children come over at this point and start asking me questions at once...

Kids: "WOW, does she know all the chinese restaurants in town?!"

Me (laughing): Well, we do eat at a lot of chinese restaurants - her daddy and I love chinese food but Alyssa likes chicken nuggest and fries"

All the kids yell, "Me too!"

Kids: "Why is she with you?"

Me: "We adopted her. She didn't have a mommy and daddy to take care of her and we really wanted to be her mommy and daddy so we decided to adopt her as our child"

Kids: "How could she be born without a mommy and daddy?"

Me (thinking...oh great...the birds and the bees!!!): "Well, she was born from a lady in China but that lady wasn 't able to take care of Alyssa."

Kids: "But why not?"

Me: "Sometimes grown-ups aren't able to take care of their children - maybe the lady was too young, or maybe she didn't have money to feed her baby - there can be lots of reasons why someone can't keep their babies. She loved her baby and wanted someone to take care of her so she said she could be adopted"

Kids: "where did she live if she didn't have a mommy in china?"

Me: "She lived in an orphanage. It's a big house where lots of children live and nannies take care of them. "

Kids: "Like on Big Brother? There's a nanny on that show!" (I'm not sure if this is true because I don't watch Big Brother but how funny that she said that!)

Kids: "So now you're her mommy?"

Me: "Yup. She is my daughter and I'm her mother"

The kids all look at Alyssa, smile and go play as if nothing was talked about.

Two Weeks in Africa, or China or wherever...

Remember the children...remember the love of Jesus...

Johannesburg to Capetown

the plane had barely touched down

she was taking photos for the friends back home

this was always where she felt her heart belonged

and she was finally here

the sky was bright and clear
two weeks....and we all can feel the calling

two weeks...to make the world a little smaller

and so a girl got on a plane

for two weeks in Africa

Johannesburg to Houston

she came home on a mountain

but school was starting, things kept moving on

before you knew it, seven years had gone

-

she found a picture of her standing, smiling

arms around the starving kids

she swore to not forget...

she swore to not forget

and if we follow our dear sun

to where the stars are not familiar…
faces turn to numbers

numbers fall like manna from the sky

why, oh why? oh Father, why?

one village in Malawi now has water running pure and clean

one church alive in Kenya’s full of truth and love and medicine

We put the walls up, but Jesus keeps them standing

He doesn’t need us, but He lets us put our hands in

so we can see His love is bigger than you and me

Written and performed by Caedmon's Call (Two Weeks in Africa)

A delicious meal!

Stir Fried Romaine, Corn & Pine Nuts, Steamed Buns, Shrimp Dumplings, Honey Garlic Ribs, Spicy Chicken Stirfry, Pork & Rice Balls, Chinese Tea

Wendy and her children, Yvonne and Tiger, invited us all over the other day for a traditional Chinese meal. WoW! We had such a great time visiting with each other and tasting some really delicious food. Wendy and her children moved to PEI last January from Beijing. She and her husband also have a deep passion for the orphans in China and are so supportive of our family and Two Homes One Heart. Our China Adopt group here in PEI is starting a playgroup for families who have adopted children from China and Wendy will be teaching them mandarin. We are all excited about this!

Wendy is also going to be hosting Chinese Cooking Classes this Fall with 100% of the proceeds going to Two Homes One Heart - helping the children in Alyssa's orphanage. I will let you know the date, location and time. Her cooking is fabulous so you won't want to miss out on this!!!!

Steamed or "stuffed" buns

Shrimp Dumplings

Pork & Rice Balls

Wendy - our fabulour chef!

Lemonade anyone??

Like, really...who can resist this?!!

We finally received our lemonade stand from Sunkist (www.sunkist.com/takeastand) - they are giving out free lemonade stands to the first 10,000 children who pledge to give all their profit to charity. Caleb and Dylan pledged to give all the money to Two Homes One Heart...how sweet of them :-)

Alyssa and I set up tonight for the first test try and we did great! We went to a baseball game for 1/2 hour and then to Caleb and Dylan's soccer game for 1/2 hour. We made $51.61 which we were thrilled with. I had made 4 dozen cookies and we sold out! We are going to buy one of those coolers that keep things frozen for 3 days and then we can sell freezies and popscicles, too. It's really quite a lot of fun! We are going to try to do a couple a week (sports games are a really great place to set up!) and then set up a few times at local businesses.

Alyssa serving her customers!

Our friend, Jacob, enjoying cookies and lemonade! Thanks, Jacob!

EXCITING NEWS!

We had a great meeting on Monday for Two Homes One Heart. We were able to share ideas, shed a few tears, and come up with a plan to help even more children through Two Homes One Heart.

The exciting news is...a local law firm has agreed to do all the work in getting our charity status PRO BONO! This takes a lot of time, a lot of headaches and a lot of money. We are so thankful to the local firm who agreed to do this and work on behalf of all the children we will be able to help. Having charity status gives Two Homes One Heart credibility and will allow more individuals and businesses to support us financially as we can give income tax receipts! THANK YOU!!!!! God is so good!

Two awesome fundraisers we are working on are:

Car Rally - to be held early Fall (probably in September) so stay tuned for the date. We will have teams compete on a fun, challenging race across the Island!!!

Charity Auction & Dinner with a beautiful choir cantata for entertainment - the dinner will be catered and will be an experience of fine dining with a beautiful atmosphere. We will be having a PEI choir perform amazing music to entertain while you eat. There will also be an Auction of items from China and Ethiopia - scarves, purses, jewlery and other items handmade in both countries. We will also be framing artwork from children living in the orphanages in both China and Ethiopia. It will be a very special night honoring the children needing families and care. We hope to raise a lot of money at this event! It is going to be a really beautiful night. We will keep you posted on location, date and price of tickets!!!

Who will hear their cries?

This video is a reminder of why we do what we do. My favorite line of the whole video is "Each one has a name" - these children are real. My daughter, who I adore and love with my whole being, was one of these children. Please pray about how you can get involved and hear the cries of these children. Together, we can be their voices!

Two Homes One Heart Get Together

There will be a get together at my house on Monday, July 30th to talk about plans, ideas, fundraisers, direction and all that fun stuff for Two Homes One Heart. There are many things happening and we would love to include more people in the planning of projects and events. If you would like to come, please join us! The more people we have the more fresh and creative ideas and the more fun we can have together. Munchies will be provided. If you are not sure where we live, please email me at tammymackinnon@pei.sympatico.ca and I'll give you directions!!
Hope to see you there!
Tammy

In Memory of Julia

My sister and her boyfriend, Jody suffered an indescribable tragedy last Wednesday. My sister's stepdaughter - Jody's daughter, Julia died suddenly. She was only 9 years old. Below are some pictures of Julia showing how fun, happy and loveable she was. She was loved by everyone who knew her and will be missed so much.

Julia (with the dark hair)

Julia (with the dark hair) and her sister, Elizabeth

Julia LOVED to dance and sing. Here she is dancing with some of her cousins to her favorite song!!!

Not too much to tell...

I am still waiting to hear about my visit to Alyssa's orphanage. I haven't heard anything yet from the Director - I'm hoping to hear something by Monday or Tuesday. The playground equipment is being ordered and prepared and will be installed at the orphange in about 1 month. I wish I could be there to see it go in and see the nannies and the children using it. Hopefully our contact in China can take lots of pictures for us!!

We are hosting a few BBQs in the next month and I will post the dates soon. Our kids will be setting up their lemonade stand at some of the sports fields around Cornwall and Ch'town. There is soccer and baseball most nights of the week so we are going to set up and see how we do.

We are having a Two Homes One Heart planning session on Monday, July 30 at my house and after that meeting we should have more details on our fundraisers. One thing we are working on is creating a website that will be easier to promote our projects (Alyssa's orphanage, Ethiopian orphanage, Heart to Heart project and the baby formula project) and to give better descriptions of each project. We are also going to be doing a monthly newsletter - probably through email unless people request snail mail - it will keep everyone up to date on fundraising events, meetings and work being done in the orphanages.

I am still working on somehow being able to issue tax receipts. To get more support from businesses and individuals we really need to be able to do this. Unfortunately, it takes about 18 months -2 years to become a registered charity in Canada and it takes a lot of legal stuff that I don't know much about. We are looking at some possibilities in the meantime!

Coming up in the very near future: BBQs, Lemonade Stands, Chinese Cooking classes with Wendy Dei.

Nickelback - If Everyone Cared (video)

Click on this link to watch.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-QfLJbEN3k

When I started seriously thinking about Two Homes One Heart and our family decided to commit to supporting Alyssa's orphanage I had many responses from people. Most were very encouraging but some people told me I was thinking too big and had too much passion- it would need to be reigned in. I found this discouraging but perhaps they were thinking I was getting in over my head. This video is proof that "ordinary" people can make big differences. God uses people to change the world - people like me and people like you.

So much is happening with Two Homes One Heart. It's hard to believe how quickly we are moving along with projects and with fundraising activities. We are forming a committee to help with the planning of projects, distributing funds and planning the fundraising events. We have a small group of 5 people right now but each one brings special gifts and talents and ALL of them have a heart for Jesus and love for the children!! We are always open to more people joining us - you can always email me if you want to be part of our group. Besides being part of a great mission, there is LOTS of fun in getting together, sharing ideas and building friendships with each other!

Two Homes One Heart is expanding its projects and we now have 4 different outreach projects on the go:

1. Supporting Fenghuangyuan Orphanage – this is where Alyssa lived for 15 months and we want to continue providing financial resources to the orphanage for baby formula, clothes, cribs, toys, surgeries as there are many children with medical needs and most importantly – foster care for all the children. We are in the process of getting started with this. Our last project was the playground and it is ordered and will be installed in the next month!

2. We are adding another orphanage to Two Homes One Heart. We will provide support to this orphanage the same as we do with Alyssa’s orphanage. Right now, we are praying about an orphanage in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and one in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. There will be more to come later on why we are praying about these 2 specific orphanages.

3. A new project called “Heart to Heart” is being done under Two Homes One Heart. This is a project initiated by a foster child we know who is 12. She has been wanting to help other foster children for quite awhile and she approached her social worker and I about an idea she had. She is going to collect backpacks, teddy bears, soft blankets, toothbrushes, hair brushes, books, journal and pens. She will put all these together in the kitbags and will give one to each foster child coming into care. She is also writing a personal note with each one telling the child they are not alone and someone cares for them. Her goal right now is to raise enough money or have people/businesses donate enough supplies for 150 backpack treasures. She eventually would like to do this for other provinces in Canada as well.

4. For 2 years, my friend, Peggy and I have initiated a Baby formula drive for the local PEI Food Bank. We would like to continue on with this and provide baby formula, diapers and baby food to the food bank. The Food Bank has told us we are the only ones who give baby supplies to the Food Bank so this is another local area we can really help with.

As you can see there is LOTS happening - our family is really excited about the different projects and coming up with ideas to help out.

The kids have a whole list of ways they are helping this summer/fall and would be thrilled to see you at any or all of the events:

*Lemonade Stand - Caleb has named this project "Lemonade of Hope" - we are in the process of booking locations for their lemonade stand. They will be selling lemonade, pop, water, homemade chocolate chip cookies and caramel popcorn. The kids will be hosting at least one lemonade sale a week for the next few months. I will post their locations when we have them finalized.

*The kids and I will be going to the Farmer's Market to sell the rest of the homemade blankets we have. We are always looking for more handmade blankets and will collect these anywhere on the Island.

*Family Yard Sale - the kids have been busy picking out toys, clothes and sports items that they will sell. Our whole family and a few friends will be having a big yard sale - date to be announced.

I love that the kids want to be involved and they come up with fun ideas to help out. Being able to support the children living at Alyssa's orphanage is a great way for us to keep in contact with Alyssa's nannies, the orphanage and her birth land. The kids and I pray every night for the nannies and for all the children. I love that the kids are able to think about others and realize there are ways we can reach out and make a small difference in someone's life.

There are 6 other fundraising projects our group is in the process of organizing. Can I just say they are going to be a BLAST!!!!! They are really fantastic and everyone will find one or more they can enjoy and participate in. I'll save them for my next post since this one is already pretty long!!!!

Happy Canada Day!

I still haven't heard back from the Director of the orphanage yet. I'm starting to get a little worried but this is all in God's hands now so really, what should I be worried about?!

I am working on a couple of other fundraisers which are going to be a lot of fun! It's hard to raise money in a small city because there are SO MANY worthy causes and SO MANY groups/people trying to raise money. I like to think of different things to do to raise money so people can feel like they are helping but are also getting something in return. My friend, Mari Lynn, is very good at coming up with ideas! We have 3 in the making right now but until we get a few more details, I don't want to say a whole lot about them. Hopefully in the next week or so we can start advertising with dates and events. We are trying to maintain a steady flow of financial help to the orphanage as they have ongoing necessities like food, formula, seasonal clothing, etc... I am also talking with the Director and my contact about a foster family program with the orphanage. If we can find loving foster families for the children it will give them such a sense of belonging, love and nuture. Keep this in mind because when it starts we will be looking for families to sponsor a child for about $35 a month.

Also...as Two Homes One Heart keeps moving forward, I find it is a lot of work on my own. I would love to form a group of people who meet on a regular basis and who can help with fundraising. Chris and I have been praying and talking about adding another orphanage and supporting the children who live there so Two Homes One Heart would need on-going support with fundraising initiatives and finding coporate sponsors. You can email me privately if you would like to help out in any way - even if it's just planning one fundraising event or if you have contacts I might be able to tap into. (tammymackinnon@pei.sympatico.ca)

Have a great day!!!!! Please continue to pray for the children who don't have families and who need to know the love of Jesus!

Tammy

Matthew 25:40

We visited with a terrific Chinese family last night. Wendy, Yvonne (I hope I spelled that right!) and Tiger. They brought over some delicious spring rolls and dumplings. I asked Wendy if she would teach me how to make some traditional chinese food so I think the next time we get together we are going to try! Wendy tried to teach Alyssa a few Chinese words but Alyssa was quite shy and wouldn't really talk to her. After a few visits, I know Alyssa will warm up to them. The boys are looking forward to learning some mandarin as well! What a sweet, kind family they are!

There is no news on my trip to the orphanage or the playground. My contact in China is on vacation so I'm waiting until she returns to hear back from Director Lei and to order the playground equipment.

We have 2 fundraisers in the making right now and they are really fantastic! They are going to be so fun so stay tuned for more information on those!

This Bible verse has been on my heart for a long time and each day it motivates me more and more - even when I am so tired, emotionally and physically!

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for

one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

MATTHEW 25:40

Our "dream" list

We are just about done with our list of "dream" items for the orphanage. I'm going to send the list to Director Lei and let her have the final say before I order it all. We have tried to include pieces that she really wanted for the children and what would fit in our price range. I think we are getting lots of great items for $4000. This includes the shipping of the items to the orphanage and the installation of all the items.

*Playground Set with slides, climbers, etc...
*1 Bouncy Horse
*4 sets of table & chairs - each set includes one long child's table and 10 children's chairs. (for use inside for crafts, school and meal time)
*2 School Desks & 2 Chairs (for use inside)
*1 Swingset (it has 3 swings, rings and a swinging seat)
*2 Teeter Totters
*2 Rocking Horses - these can be used inside our outside
*1 Little Tykes Ride -In Police Car (can be used inside or outside)
*1 Playhouse (can be used inside or outside)
*1 Tunnel (can be used inside or outside)
*2 Bench seating for the nannies
*50 square meters of Safety mats (will be used under the swings and slide playground for safety as it will be built on concrete)

With the above items we can give the orphanage 2 play areas - inside and outside and also give them some much needed work space for meals, school and other table activities.

Can't wait to see the little ones playing!!!

Tammy

Prayers for China

I've started the process of going back to China to visit Alyssa's orphanage. I have requested permission to visit her orphanage and they told me it is very rare to grant permission although I do know of one other family who has visited. Please pray for God's hand in their decision making! I was told it would be a week or so before I heard back from the Director.

We are also finalizing all the items we want to purchase for the playground. The pieces themselves are not too bad...we can get a lot for $4000. The problem is, the space is all concrete so we have to purchase saftey mats to cover the area and it is very expensive. We are trying to cut back on a few items so we can add the mats. Donations continue to come in the mail so this helps cover the costs. We have decided (at Director Lei's request) to also buy craft tables and chairs for inside the orphanage and the children will use these for school, meal time and other table activities. We've also included a few items that can be used inside for their playroom and/or outside.

Our kids are gearing up for the end of the school year and we have all decided to spend our summer touring the Island with our lemonade stand. We will be visiting many areas across PEI and the 3 kids and some of their friends will be selling homemade lemonade, homemade cookies, caramel popcorn (a FAVORITE at the Kids Carnival) and other little things. They will also sell tatoos and we will have our blankets for sale as well. We are always accepting more handmade blankets to sell and I've started a box of blankets and hats that I will take to the orphanage in September.

We'll keep you posted on what areas we are visiting with our lemonade stand so you can come out and visit us!

Tammy

Questions for the day...

I am getting very anxious to go to China. All I can think about is touching the children's faces and having the chance to hug them, play with them, smile with them, rock them, watch them enjoy the playground...

Is it enough to share our love this way? It's impossible for us to adopt every child so how can we make sure children are given the chance to know the love of a family and to know the love of Jesus? When I travel to China I will not be able to openly talk about Jesus and how much he loves us, the nannies, the children, etc... Will they be able to see Jesus through our actions, through our committment to love these children?

I've been thinking a lot about what the children need the most. We will continue to provide for their basic needs with food, clean & safe environment, clothing, medical help, toys, books and all those things that can help them grow strong. But each child really needs the love of a mother, a father; to know they are THE most special child in the eyes of someone. How can I do this for them?

I will never stop advocating for the children but at the same time I find it extremely difficult on an emotional level. Honestly, there is not a day that goes by that I don't cry over these children and pray for their safety, their lives and the hope that they will find a family.

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.

— Edmund Burke

A new day for Fenghuangyuan!

These pictures are taken from other orphanages where Love Without Boundaries (www.lovewithoutboundaries.com) has put in playgrounds. The one we put in at the Fenghuangyuan orphanage will be quite similar. It looks so fun!

We are getting the plans for the new playground at the Fenghuangyuan orphanage going much sooner than we'd planned! We have contacted a Chinese company (thanks to Love Without Boundaries!) who has some beautiful playground equipment they will install for us. We are going through some of the pieces and we will let Director Lei have the final say on what she would like for the orphanage.

I am hoping to travel to China in the near future. I cannot wait to visit China again and I hope we can spend a few day visiting the orphanage and loving the children there!

Tammy