FUNDRAISING... for Gerson and Elviz

OKAY... calm down!

This is not for the Hanks Gang... so everyone going "OH MY GOODNESS"... please calm yourselves.

Gerson and Elviz are two BEAUTIFUL bio brothers that our friends Krystal and Mike are in the process of adopting! They are, however, in the same Hogar as Sara... so they are very near and dear to our hearts for two reasons. (The second reason is that they will be Brayden and Parker's big brothers... and we just adore Brayden and Parker.)

They are in the process of trying to fund TWO adoptions at one time... and we here in the Hanks Household know how difficult that is... and are asking for your support of this wonderful and truly blessed family. (Did I mention that Brayden is about to turn 2... and Parker is about 4 months old??? So yes, they are blessed and yes, they are BRAVE.) The PC Fundraiser works the same as ours did: you can go to the PC website and find Krystal's name... and place an oder. http://www.pamperedchef.biz/cynthiafarley

OR YOU CAN CALL ME OR EMAIL ME DIRECTLY AND ORDER SOMETHING... OR BUY RAFFLE TICKETS. It is a "Split the Pot" Fundraiser... lets plan on selling a couple thousand of those tickets... because for every $4 ticket - the Maguires get $2!!!!!

Help us bring those babies home - and FAST.

HOW TO REACH ME?????

JennSchu@aol.com

859.509.2564

859.987.5558

********

NO EXCUSES NOW!!!!!!!!

Travel News - A Visit Trip is Coming...

We are so excited... we have finally worked it into our schedule to make a visit trip to see Sara! Tim and I will leave on Sunday, August 5th and return home on Thursday August 9th. We are looking forward to meeting Sara and getting to spend time with her... but I have to be honest...I am scared to death leaving my babies behind. We've never BOTH been away from them... not once... ever. YIKES. Please pray special prayers for Mommy and Daddy to not have a nervous breakdown worrying... and for Mamoo and Papoo that will have the first watch on Sunday... and finally for Katrina and Shelby who will (no doubt) spoil our children to the point that it will take me months and months to regain any control OR order... and never again will I be their favorite. Seriously - we are very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends to care for and love our children while we are gone... and to keep them happy and preoccupied so that they will not be homesick or sad.

Most of all, please pray that Sara will feel comfortable and safe with us... and will know how excited we are to have her as part of our family. Please pray that her heart will continue to open and prepare for the big changes that are in store for her...

On another note - we did NOT get the grant that we were hoping for from Shaohannah's Hope. I know there are so many families out there that are requesting help... and we plan to begin to apply for a few more this week. Please pray that we are successful in finding the remaining money that we need to complete our adoption expenses... we have yet another Yard Sale opportunity in the latter part of the month!

Finally - here are some pictures that Jane took of Sara the night that she dropped off Karly and Lucas. Isn't she adorable? So glad to see she likes to eat... since that is one of our favorite past times as well. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE say a special prayer for Jane and Karly that her case will be signed and released from the Family Court Judge SOON. She met with the FC Judge when she was in Guatemala... and the Judge was supposed to sign the case, but still has not. Thank you - I know that she will appreciate it.

MORE OF SARA... THANK YOU JANE!

Sara and Jane

I have been looking forward to this week for a couple of weeks now... just knowing that a package was going to be delivered to Sara, and even better ..that Jane would be there to talk with her, reassure her that she is loved, wanted and eagerly being anticipated in our home. So you can imagine how often I checked the computer on MONDAY to see if Jane had gotten back to her hotel to send us (Krystal, Linda, me - and I'm sure there are others...) pictures and updates on our children. Keep in mind... Jane is there to visit her TWO children. She is really taking a lot of time from her children, to see that we here in the states are getting a "fix" on ours. What an angel... and what a blessing to all of us!

After Monday's fix... I settled back to enjoy the updates on Jane, Karly and Lucas and how they were doing... as well as little Miss Bella and Amanda. Let me just say... Jane's stories have been heartwarming, sweet - and last night's especially hilarious.

HOWEVER, in addition to the Monday pictures... Jane has sent me a Tuesday update.... and now a Wednesday update! I am SOOOOO excited! It makes my heart ache to see how sweet Sara seems, and yet know that there is still a quiet sadness in her eyes. Please join us in praying that God is preparing her heart (and probably might want to strengthen her resolve a bit) for our love, this big change in her life... and the new home that is waiting for her here!

And to Jane... I cannot tell you what an incredible blessing you have been to me. Thank you for taking the time away from your own special children to make sure that my Sara was getting some special attention. I have worried SO MUCH about her... and you will never know how much this has meant to me. My friend Phyllis Rankin gave me this quote in church recently... and it made me think of you when I was reading it Sunday:

"When we do the best we can, we never really know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another." Helen Keller

Thank you Jane, for being "the best" and for bringing such a miracle in our lives this week - and during this journey! May God Bless You and your beautiful family!

Update from Guatemala...

There are few things that make your day like a new photo of your child. But even better than the infamous "tan couch photos"... are photos of your child opening a care package that was hand delivered to her. Thank you, Jane for taking the time to not only carry our package to our Sara... but to take the time to spend talking with her this morning and letting her know how excited we are...how happy we are... and how much we are looking forward to bringing her HOME very soon!

UPDATE FROM JANE: Sara is doing GREAT! She was soooo happy when I told her that I was a friend of her ma ma and pa pa. I gave her the package and she was VERY EAGER to share the lollipops with her friends. She was sort of emotional as I talked to her about her ma ma and pa pa - she seemed to be fighting back what appeared to be very happy tears. She is a sweetheart!

I hope you all enjoy the photos as much as we have! Another update...our second yard sale brought us another $850. So that is $1,700 total from YARD SALES! Isn't that amazing? Also, our case has been submitted to PGN - although we expect it will kicked out (at least once...) as most cases do. :) But it's a start! We're getting closer...

Angels Among Us

"Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of

heaven Blossomed the forget-me-nots of the angels."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1849 ...

In the adoption community - there are many angels. There are the ones that support you and encourage you along the way. There are those that join in the journey of adoption themselves - and begin to understand the unfathomable experience that is adoption. There are also those going through the experience along with you. While we all know from past experience that it will get better...those angels will experience with you the incredible portion of the journey I like to call "THE WAIT".

This past Sunday, I received a blessing from one of my "angels" currently in THE WAIT with us - Krystal.

When Tim and I began our journey to parenthood in 2002, my use of the computer was basically for making documents and using email. I did very little on the computer aside from those two things. Now, however there are Yahoo groups, chat rooms, blogs galore... and many other avenues in which to saturate yourself in the world of adoption. I'm still a true novice. As you can see from our blog - I have YET to figure out how to post any links, or add a place to make "donations" towards Sara's adoption fund. So when it comes to finding new things... I often rely on my computer savvy friends to point me in the right direction. ;)

This past Sunday, Krystal began filling me in on a new "angel" in her email world... that would soon become a new "angel" in mine. This angel has not only met our Sara but she has spent time with her on more than one occasion. Even more exciting for us... her daughter (who came home in February this year) lived in the same hogar that Sara is in now, and they were friends. Even better still...she began to forward pictures to us, some all the way back to June of last year... but as recently as April of this year. If you can see the date... it was the day AFTER my birthday! And finally to top it all off - she will be traveling to Guatemala in 10 days... and is going to take a package to Sara for our family! What a blessing... what a special gift.

These are the angels that we don't expect to find along the way... but they have been through the journey themselves, and know that value and importance of letting our children know that they are already loved, already wanted... and very much longed for!

The pictures speak for themselves. Sara looks like such a happy girl, who loves the camera. She'll fit in nicely with our crew - that's for sure!

Thank you to my special angels, Krystal and Jane. You've given me such a lift in spirits this week - and such a wonderful gift! God Bless You both!

Sig's Monday Giveaway!!!!!!!!!

What a blast! You all have to go visit my friend Sig's blog... she is having a contest this week - and all you need to do to "play" is visit her blog, and make a comment, make a guess! It's easy and FUN!!! (And a great way to win some cool stuff!) Just email her at the following email - and she will invite you to her blog. Then all you have to do is follow her instructions... and you are in the drawing! FUN FUN FUN! Please be sure to let me know if you win!!! Her email is: SA3@aol.com

Good luck!

Six Flags over St. Louis

Okay... I never thought that driving six hours (alone) with three children aged 5 and under to an amusement park sounded very fun - or relaxing... but honestly, we really had a great time.

Call me crazy...(I mean seriously... I did get in the car and drive through 3 states with the kids alone...) but my babies honestly had a blast! The "Kiddie" area was wonderful at Six Flags... and despite the bursts of rain storms that left the air more humid than before each shower...it was really FUN.

We met Daddy, Frances, Kelsey, Amy and Alex. The kids had a great time...I think they rode each ride about 10 to 15 times. They went through the lines and got on the rides all by themselves. They were very grown up! (THAT was a little bittersweet, I have to say.) I haven't gotten my film developed yet... but I do have a few of the park photos that we scanned...

Are they cute, or what???

Thank you, POP AND NINI for a really great trip! We only wish Daddy (Tim) could have been with us, too!