Getting ready to leave for China...

Hi all! We are final phases of getting ready to head off. The last two weeks since we found out we were going have just flown by! We are excited beyond words, but absolutely exhausted at the same time! It will be nice to rest a bit before we meet the kids. I filmed a little video today that I am posting for everyone to see. Every time we go, we always take as many donations as we can carry. I have had several VERY generous donors of late and we have more clothing and toys than we can carry in 10 trips! Hope you enjoy the clip of my little Dani and I sorting and packing. She is such a girly girl and had so much fun trying on all the clothes, and of course testing out all the toys!!! The camp will be next Wednesday and Thursday, the 22nd and 23rd. I will be working remotely from China and will post the kids as soon as I have them. We will have 30 children this time... The age range is from 3-14. I am told that 19 of these children are girls, and 12 of the 30 are healthy!!!! We are so excited and hope you are as well! We are going to try to take a lot more video on this trip. Our goal is LOTS of short clips so it wont be too cumbersome to share files with families. Please everyone pray for us that all will go well and this camp will be a success like the original Camp Ox. We had hoped to stop in Tianjin on the way home to see our babies (we are flying through Beijing) but unfortunately, we will already be gone so long, and it will not be possible on this trip. They are always with us in spirit and our constant thoughts!!! Thus, this will be my final post until we are in China. I wish all of you a great week and can't wait to talk to all of you about our kids when we get home! Love, Diana

Garage sale fundraiser!!!

Hi all! Hope you all had a great weekend! I know my family did as we were camped out with the Schwartz family this weekend for the MAA yard sale. Both days could not have been more beautiful and the kids had a ball! My daughter Dani, had fun shopping for all her toys that I had just cleaned out, and I think my son, Charlie, and Tessa Schwartz have developed quite the love affair! (Nate and I were talking arranged marriage!!! lol) Most importantly, I am proud to report that we raised almost $800 for Camp Ox 2!!!!

First of all, I want to give a heartfelt thanks to Donna and Nate Schwartz and their wonderful family for making this possible. I cannot even tell you how tirelessly they worked to put this all together. Thanks to our wonderful families' generosity, there was a ton of stuff, and going through it all was no small feat! They were so wonderful in not only spending the entire weekend "working" the sale. but also organizing, pricing, picking stuff up, searching out donors, making signs, etc etc etc. Late yesterday afternoon, in addition to feeding MY kids, Donna was taking calls from other families, advocating for other SN children in China. I think they make coffee tired with all the wonderful things they do to help children and families. I thank them so much for everything and am so lucky to call them my friends! God bless you guys!!!

To all our wonderful families, Marie, Kathryn, Nikki and everyone else who donated (forgive me for not knowing all the names!!!), THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO HELP US OUT! We appreciate you more than you know!!!

Finally, because we have so much leftover stuff, the Schwartzs have graciously offered to host another sale next month!!! (Yes, they are unbelievable, aren't they???) That means for all of you that wanted to donate but didn't have time to go through everything, please consider doing so for next month's sale. We can provide write offs for taxes and I am happy to pick up if I can. Also, personally speaking, I head out with my 3 year old almost every weekend to garage sales. A lot of the sales we have gone to, we have told them we would be happy to pick up their leftovers if they would like to donate them for our sale. If you are a "garage sale junkie" like me, and would like to offer this option to local sellers, please let them know I can arrange for pickup.

Again, thank you so much for all your help! Between this sale, the sale of the Ox camp videos, and the direct mail campaign, we have made over $3000!!!! We are trying hard to keep going! Please keep us in your thoughts if you know of a good fundraising opportunity! We are determined to do what needs to be done to get back to China!

Thank you and God bless!Diana

Update on Ox Children

Dear Friends- It has been quite a while since I have made a post. It seems there are so many things happening, our heads are spinning! I just want to give an update on our children. As of today, May 5th, 20 of our Ox children are matched or on hold! We are so excited!!! BUT- it is not enough! In going over there, we made promises to these children that we would do whatever we could to help them find a family. We HAVE NOT DONE ENOUGH! We literally lie awake at night and wonder what we can do to help get these kids a home... We did establish an agency grant program, but we are realizing that the possibility of a grant is not enough to make people look. THUS, we have decided, that MAA will offer an addition $2000 grant for all remaining waiting children. This is in addition to our automatic $1000 grant/fee reduction for all waiting children. Additional grants may also be available for our 12 and 13 year old boys...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ADVOCATE AND SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN WHO ARE STILL AVAILABLE!
Here is a little blurb from me about our still waiting angels...

Wayne- 12 years old- Awesome singer! Kind and handsome! Very sweet- Bilateral Cataracts

Gary- Just turned 13 on Saturday!!!! Let's give him a present!- Loves to swim and make new friends. Gary is the type of kid you can always count on~- Left eye cornea blockage

Kenny- 10 years- Loves sports- A true angel- This is the boy that asked me to adopt him... Oh how I wish I could! He is SO SWEET AND KIND!- Cerebral Palsy

Jimmy- 9 years- Smart, active, loves outdoors and Operas.. 5 kids said HE was their best friend- meningocele- post surgery

Toby- Just turned 11- LOVE HIM! Incredible friend- loves to share- very witty and friendly. ADORABLE BOY!- Cerebral Palsy

Michael (aka Tim) -10 years- A true class clown! Loves to goof around and laugh- Lights up a room with his laughter and bubbly personality- Cerebral Palsy

Brad- 8 years- Serious and intense- Loves sports and helping others- spinal meningocele

Trent- 8 years- Beautiful, sweet child!!! Quiet and timid, but lots of friends! We ALL fell in love with Trent!- Repaired Hydrocephalus

Josh- 11 years- A true performer! Very talented and outgoing. Incredible singer. He and Dottie are the regular emcees at performances- Cerebral Palsy

George- 11 years- Shy and sweet. Very artistic. Loves meat and trying new foods! (A boy after my own heart!)- Meningocele- post surgery

Chet- 11 years- Loves to draw and read comics. A true animal lover- Gentle and kind, smart, mature and creative- Deaf/non-speaking

Marty (HOLD)- 12 years- Shy, sweet and gentle. True intellectual- loves chess!- Repaired imperforate anus

Alan- 13 years- Kind, honest, loves to sing and perform. Very polite and gentle- Sequelae (Cerebral Palsy I believe?)

Eddie- 13- TURNS 14 IN NOVEMBER- PLEASE LOOK AT EDDIE- Intelligent, kind-hearted, has a "grateful heart"...- Deaf/non-speaking

Patsy- Turned 12 last week- Artistic, happy, kind, beautiful- LOVE THIS KID!- Cerebral Palsy

Tammy- 9 years- Extroverted, helpful, kind and honest. Loves to dance and sing- Sequelae from brain injury

Emmy- 12 years- Quiet, sweet and shy, but loves people- Smile that lights a room- Spinal meningocele- post surgery

Carrie- Turned 11 YESTERDAY!- VERY SPECIAL CHILD!!!!- Smart, incredible artist, beautiful. Kind and very special.- CCAA and the Civil Affairs Director has personally requested we find an incredible home for Carrie. Please look at her- See for yourself how special she is! Cerebral Palsy

Lynn- 7 years- Had surgery during Ox camp so we did not get to meet her. We hear that she is doing great though and that she is WALKING! We have requested new medical and photos- She loves dolls and games- Meningocele- post surgery

Kristy (HOLD)- Kind, active, lots of friends. Loves basketball and team sports. An adorable tomboy!!!!- Neural cystostomy- post surgery

Derrick- 5 years- Sweet, tiny, adorable! Active and polite- The photos of this little guy do not do him justice! HE IS ADORABLE!- cl/cp repaired

Hank- 11 years- SO SWEET! Loves hugs and affection! He was always hugging and loving on our group. Has lots of friends and is very well liked by all. Again, the photos do not do justice to this child. He is a total love bug!- Delayed mental abilities.

Please take a look! We are Madison are committed to finding homes for our children. If you are interested in a child but something is holding you back, please call us to discuss. We make no promises, but will help with anything in our power.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!

Also, we are still selling our DVDs and books from Camp Ox for a reduced price of $30 to fundraise for our next trip this summer. Please consider purchasing a DVD. It will make an incredible gift. The fee is fully tax deductible and will help kids such as these in Tianjin find a family! Please help our cause! Donations can be made through paypal at http://www.paypal.com/ . Just enter the email address donate.maa@comcast.net to make your donation. THANK YOU!

God bless! Diana

Hi and beautiful Haitian girl

Hi all- I am posting this message for my friends at Kentucky Adoption Services. They are in need of a family asap for a beautiful little girl in Haiti.

Please contact Emily at the address below if you are interested. THANK YOU!

As for China, it is official.... WE ARE GOING BACK THIS SUMMER!!!! YAHOO! Please stayed tuned for updates as we get them!

As for Ox, people are still asking about our kids every day! We will not rest until they all have families!!!!

Blessings,

Diana

*************************

Kentucky Adoption Services is seeking a family for Bernadine (born on 10/9/07) in Haiti. Her mother relinquished her rights as she is raising five other children and does not have the resources to parent Bernadine. We are needing to match Bernadine with her forever family ASAP. If you are interested in receiving additional information, please contact our office at 270-684-2598. We have additional photos and medical labs available.
Thank you,

Emily-- Emily Shellhorn, MSWDirector of Missouri OfficeKentucky Adoption Services, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/

Camp Ox Update- One month later!

Hi all! Hope everyone is doing great! We are incredibly busy here but are enjoying every moment as our kids are finding homes and we are basking in the glory of doing God's work!!!

I know things have been quiet. A few wonderful families have been on me to keep the blog and excitement going. To those wonderful individuals, I say a big THANK YOU! I am so overwhelmed but do understand the need to remain proactive in our search for families for these children.

As of today, I am happy to announce that Shayne, Dusty, Randy, Tiffany, Hope, Vince, Kellie, Martina and Cole have all been matched with their forever families. Caleb, Tristan, and Gretchen are also on hold as we await their medicals and review of their files. So, one month later, there are most likely 12 children (most older!!!) who hopefully will be matched and home within the next 6 months. It is all so exciting. I think I have been too busy to sit and take it all in until just now. I have shivers, as we have literally have fallen in love with all of them and am so happy for them and their families!

There are also many children who families have asked about. To those families, whatever you need to help you arrive at your decision, let us know! To those who have been following along, I beg you to please advocate for these children. Many are older and only have limited time. Other have needs that would be so much better addressed in the states. All of them just want to have a family of their own. It is so hard to describe, but I literally hear their voices in my dreams... "Please, Nanny, find me a family. Give me your word. Give me a guarantee," (Toby) to "I just want someone to love me" (Tiffany and Vince), to "Can they [my children] be my brother and sister?" (Kenny) These are words that I will never forget as long as I live, and our agency is committed to working as hard as we can to help bring these children into loving homes.

Please spread the word about our angels. We NEED to find them families.

So, here is my challenge to all of you. (Thank you Maggie!!!)
Please tell 5 friends about these angels. Please ask them to do the same. The more people that know about these children, the better...

Please post to 2 groups about these children. Please share the link to our yahoo group and to the photos.

Please pray that each and every child will find the loving home they deserve....

On another note, CCAA is very happy with the success of the camp thus far. While in China, we met with them several times and discussed holding these camps annually. Last week, our China In-Country coordinator received a request from CCAA that we come back this summer. (GULP!) We are currently digesting this as we do not want to take the focus off of the Ox kids and I don't want Sara bald from stress if we leave again so soon. CCAA said that these children will be younger and possibly more minor SNs which may mean more kids will come home quicker. YAY! However, we would also need to fundraise like crazy (about $10,000- last time we used funds from the Charitable contribution fund).

So, here is the deal, I have been looking into several fundraising options. A client who has a business doing fundraising has also graciously offered to help. I will be rolling out some fundraisers in the next 2 weeks. (Things you buy where MAA gets a portion of the proceeds). Another client is going to do a Creative memories photo book of Camp Ox that will be for sale. She will also complete life books for any family that wants them. We also will be doing a slide show/movie of Camp Ox which will be for sale. The MAA movie of all our China families are also for sale, along with Camp Ox Tshirts we had made for the kids in China. So lots coming. If we can raise the money, we will most likely do this. I will keep you posted in the weeks to come, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you have any other ideas to fundraise. I am totally open to things where families could share a portion of the proceeds with MAA such as Mary Kay, Candlelight, Jewelry companies, etc. This way there will be more options for familiies wishing to help. Please send me your ideas as I will be rolling this out soon.

We are thrilled from the support of our families, friends and CCAA and are so excited for these children and the children we can help in the future. However, again, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE advocate for the Camp Ox kids. Every child deserves a home. If you are interested in a child, but do not think you can complete an adoption due to needing a waiver or finanical help, CONTACT US ANYWAY. We will do all we can to help.

Thanks everyone so much for everything! I also promise I will be better with the posting! ;)

Diana

Somebody STOP me!!!

OK- CCAA has sent a lot of the medicals... AWE-SOME~!!!! This means we are closer to getting a lot of these kids home.

However, like an addict, I started fishing on the shared list again.... There are 12 HEALTHY OLDER CHILDREN ON THE LIST!!!!!!!!!!! Here are 3 I fell in love with.

The two girls are born in October 1997 and March 1998.

This adorable healthy boy was born May 2000.

Age is the only documented special need....

Please let me know if you are interested in these children. I can share info with families who have submitted an info sheet. I would need an official MAA application and fee to "lock" either of these files. Families would then have 3 months to submit a dossier through MAA.

Families wanting us to search for them may submit a family info sheet and MAA application.

But there are 9 other healthy children too!!!! If you are interested in an older child, please contact me with any questions. Diana.MAA@comcast.net

I am so excited about these kids!!! Thanks!

Love and blessings,

Diana

Photos from Ox

Hi all! All of the photos from our trip are up on shutterfly. You can access them at
http://oxcamp.shutterfly.com/ The password is maaoxcamp

I am still sorting through video.

I am anxious to pour out all my thoughts to you but find myself too preoccupied at this point with finding families. Every one of these children's faces is forever imprinted on my mind.... my prayers are that they will all be adopted in the US and be able to come visit us some day with their new families!!!

Please email Sara or me if you are interested in any of these children.
Diana.MAA@comcast.net
Sara.MAA@comcast.net

Thank you so much!!!

Love and blessings,
Diana


P.S. Photos attached are Brad and Carrie; Toby; and Ali and I with Kenny, Gretchen and Toby. Toby was the one that asked me to "promise" and "guarantee" that I would find him a family. Kenny was the one that asked me to adopt him to my family. No one has yet asked about any of these children (expect Gretchen who has several families waiting to review her medicals). All of these children are waiting and praying for families!!!!!!!!! Please take a look at these angels. They are SO VERY SPECIAL!!!!!