T-SHIRTS, T-sHiRtS, t-shirts

We are overjoyed to release our adoption t-shirts to the world!  As one of our main fundraising efforts we want to thank Ben Malley who played a huge role and spent many hours being our artist!  We gave him our ideas and he hit the ground running.  Thank you Ben, you have blessed us beyond words.  Our goal to sell 200 shirts seems overwhelming, but we know with your help we will be able to do this!  Each shirt cost us around $10 to make and we are asking for a $25 donation (or whatever you feel led to give--there are no restrictions on the donation!) per shirt.

American Apparel Grey Shirt!

American Apparel Blue Shirt!

To order a shirt copy and paste the below form into an email and send it to kelly.blomgren(@)gmail.com.
To pay, simply donate to our adoption by clicking on the give anonymously widget on the sidebar or send us a check (we'll email you back with our address)!  Thank you for helping bring our baby(s) home from S.Korea and for supporting orphans in need.

Name:
Address:
Paying by check: Yes or No
Grey Shirt: Tell us how many you want!
Size: Unisex small through extra large or women's small through extra large
Blue Shirt: Tell us how many you want!
Size: Unisex small through extra large or women's small through extra large

116 shirts sold as of July, 2011 -- Praise the Lord and let's keep it going!

Shirts still left to sell:

  Blue

    Women's: small or medium

    Unisex: small or medium

  Grey

    Women's: small (only one left!)

    Unisex: small (only one left!)

Christmas Happenings!

We hope each of you had a blessed Christmas with family and friends!  We were so blessed here Spokane and wanted to share about our special times with you.  And a few pictures, of course!  We are so thankful to have been invited and welcomed into our friend's parent's homes for Christmas Eve and Christmas day celebrations.  On Christmas Eve we were invited to the Hook's childhood church and then to Amy's parent's house for clam chowder, a few games and a Christmas story.  We had so much fun celebrating Jesus with the Hooks!

Norah in her adorable Christmas best.  I had to quick do her hair in the parking lot (it now fits into two pony tails in the back!)

 

 

It's hard to get a decent picture of two mom's with two little chicks under 2 years old :)

  

 Ethan, Amy & Jono winning the "blow the ping pong off the edge of the other side of the table" game

 And, the losing team :)
Dave, Tammy & David

 Jonathan & Clara, David & Norah

And, a bedtime story for the girls

On Christmas day we enjoyed celebrating with a smorgasbord of friends!  We were at the Randall's parent's house along with other friends from church and new military friends.

 Andi & Kelly

 Amy & Hollyn & Sue (our host)

 David & Erik (he goes with Andi)

 Parker (Amy's son) and Dan and Norah looking a little silly!

 We have a mistletoe in our house (of course!) and Norah LOVES to ring it's bell.  Merry Christmas with a kiss!

 

 And a cute picture of Nors as she chatted on the phone with her Nana today!  She's totally into mimicking us these days, and talking on the phone is no exception.

And finally, we are still slightly under the weather!  It's been a long two weeks here healing and feeling sick.  When Norah feels icky she just wants us to wear her around the house or hold her, so we do!  I think it's adorable.  So, this is a picture of just that... and a really messy kitchen which is just how it is when you're sick! *massive amounts of kleenex not pictured*

And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: 'Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people, Unto you is born this day a Savior which is Christ the Lord.  -Luke 2:11

Merry Christmas y'all!

My Amazing Cousin :)

My cousin, Kyleen, who was able to support me while I was in labor with Norah, had her second little babe!  Her birth story is pretty radical and I thought I would share how strong and courageous she was during her labor and delivery.  To hear more about Kyleen's story, and how and why she had Harley in the back seat of her car, click HERE!  Talk about a natural birth :)  Love it.

Under the Weather...

Sorry for the space in blogs.  We've been a little sick around the Blomgren house.  First I was sick, now Norah and David. We all seem to have different sicknesses.  No fun. We've also had a lot of fun festivities this week so we're trying to keep up.  Here's a rundown of what we've been keeping up with the last few days...

Our fun friend Heidi, (who is a lurker on the blog but never comments (are there more of you?!)) from back in our college days came to visit!  This was her second time at our house and our most visited guest!  We had a great time with her on Friday, clearly.

Snuggles with my little love.

Saturday morning I picked up our bountiful basket!  Something we've only done a few times.  It's a co-op and you pay $15 for a basket of 50% fruit and 50% veggies! The fun part, besides the price, is that you don't know what you will get.  The leaders of the co-op try to keep it as local as possible and every other week there is an option to get an organic basket.

 

 Since the snow melted and it's a warm 40ish degrees here Wrigley has been giddy!  He's all ready to play and let's us know by coming to the door with his toy.  Gotta love him.

I've been feeling very very crafty lately!  It's so much fun.  I've been searching on do it yourself home crafts and have been adding new items to my list here and there.  A new fun thing I discovered was fabric paint.  I got creative and made a cat eye onesie for Norah and a fun bag for me (I used a doily as a stencil as seen on another blog).  Fun huh?!

Why are you fundraising?

Though many have not asked this question, we know many are thinking it!  I, too, often wondered why people who were adopting were asking for support---that was before I (David) knew how financially challenging it can be to adopt!  We thought hard about whether or not to do this post, but we decided it is best to be open and transparent since we are seeking support from others.

Unfortunately, it can be very costly to adopt...often preventing those who want to help give a child a loving home from being able to do so.  Overseas adoptions typically cost around $25,000---South Korea happens to be significantly more.  One of the biggest, if not biggest, concern for us when we were thinking and praying about adoption was the cost.  In the end, we decided that you cannot place a price on adoption and trusted that God would provide the resources for us to move forward and would challenge us to live more frugally.

The Body of Christ is called to care for the orphans and widows of this world, both corporately and individually, and we know that it will be the Body that will not only help us bring our baby(s) home but help raise him/her in a loving environment.  Just as many are called to support overseas ministries and help sponsor a child, it is a call to corporately provide a Christ-centered roof over an orphan's head.

While we have been saving for adoption for over 3 years, that money only paid for approximately a third of our expenses.  We are certainly not afraid to go into debt for this cause, but we are hoping not to.  We are currently pursuing no-interest loans and grants, and are doing some fundraising efforts to help offset the costs that are quickly coming upon us.  Our next major payment of around $8,000 is due in April and  we are counting on the rest of our adoption savings, fundraisers, and possibly grants to bring us all the way to our payment.  

In the end, we hope to raise at least $5,000---if we meet this goal, our out of pocket expenses will be much more manageable, especially if the adoption tax credit continues for the next few years.  Of course, we don't want to pressure any of our friends and family in our fundraising efforts, but we will be forever grateful for whatever people give.  If you do feel inclined to give, there are numerous ways to do so:

1. We have recently ordered 125 sweet t-shirts that were designed by Kelly's cousin, Ben, which will be sold for a suggested donation of $25 (coming next week!);
2. You can purchase coffee here, and we receive $5 per bag; and
3. You can donate through our Give Anonymously widget on our blog.

We hope this helped answer why we need your help to bring our baby(s) home!

Find other FAQ's here.

Remembering

One year ago this week we remember a seriously joyful day!  Praise God for bringing our military home safe and sound to their waiting families.  Thank you David for your service to our country, everyday.

     

His first glimpse of Norah, in person!

Why Adoption?

We have already been asked a handful of times, why adoption?  We are an open book and will happily answer any questions you all have!  For quite some time now, both of us have  felt our hearts be pulled to adoption.  As we grow in more awareness of God and what He desires for us as a family, and as our eyes are opened to the need for stability for so many children, we want to respond! 

When we met in Nepal in 2001, we each already had a desire to set the lonely in families through adopting a child in need of a home.  As our relationship grew, so did the call that we were someday going to bring an orphan into our family!  Our motivation for adoption also stems from our stance on the importance of life.  In response to our belief and support of mothers who do not want their unborn child or cannot support their unborn, we feel adoption is standing in the gap for that child’s right to life.  Adoption is literally life-giving for some babies--without the option of adoption, they may not live.

We believe strongly that God’s heart is for adoption.  After all, we are adopted into His family.  We have loved the sermon by John Piper entitled Adoption: the Heart of the Gospel.  Piper talks about how our adoption into God’s family relates to the adoption of a child.  If you have a few minutes, check out the script or listen to it online--it’s great!

God asks us to seek justice and love mercy, to care for the orphans and widows.  Our call--the Blomgren’s--is to fulfill that call through adoption.  There are many ways for people to carry out justice and love for these orphans and widows of the world: serve in your community, support local and global ministries/organizations, volunteer at your church or a women’s clinic, go on or financially support mission trips and other humanitarian work. 

We are really excited for this adventure.  It took a lot of prayer and we know that the road to adoption and the road after we receive our child will not always be easy.  But we are thrilled for this journey that God has led us on and eagerly await the next few steps.

God places lonely people in families. He leads prisoners out of prison into productive lives, but rebellious people must live in an unproductive land. - Psalm 68:6

Where's the Diversity?

Norah and I stopped by Wal-mart really quick today (no I do not shop there but honestly, Target is 30 minutes away!).  We took a quick stroll down the doll aisle so I could hear Norah say, "didi," her word for baby, over and over again!  There were two full aisles of dolls and Barbies and ALL BUT ONE were WHITE!  I mean c'mon this is the US of A...we have so many different races and cultures to represent and so many heritages to give credit to.  Why do these companies not see this?  I guess we'll stick with the one "didi" we have at home and maybe embark on some more diverse options in the future!

Norah is smart & happy!

We love this video! It was taken over a month ago so things have developed a little since :)

Radical

I (David) just finished reading Radical, by David Platt, so I thought I'd write a little book review!  It was an extremely challenging (and convicting) book that I think all American Christians should read.  While the author really didn't present much that I hadn't heard before, he did it in a way to make me think and want to change my ways.  The book focuses on a call to look at what it should look like to be a follower of Jesus in a world that doesn't know Him.  An excerpt from the book on a sadly accurate portrayal of the American Christian:

When we gather at the [church], we learn to be good.  Being good is defined by what we avoid in  the  world.  We are holy because of what we don't participate in (and at this point we may be the only organization in the world defining success by what we don't do).  We live decent lives in decent homes with decent jobs and decent families as decent citizens.  We are decent church members with little more impact on the world than we had before we were saved.  Though thousands may join us, ultimately we have turned a deaf ear to billions who haven't even heard his name. 

The end of the book calls for a one-year challenge that I have decided to embark on.  It's a five-part challenge: 1) pray for the entire world; 2) read through entire Word; 3) sacrifice your money for a specific purpose; 4) spend time in another context; and 5) commit your life to a multiplying community.  Read the book and join!  If you want to borrow the book, let me know and I'll mail you mine.  Happy reading!

Swagger Wagon

Remember this post? I LOVE these people and seriously I want me a swagger wagon!

And the winner is...

Melissa!  Thanks everyone for entering - It's been fun to see your stories on how you love Norwex and how it has improved your quality of life.  Thanks for entering!
 

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 3 Powered by RANDOM.ORG 

National Adoption Day

Many wonderful things are happening this month to bring awareness to the need of adoptive and foster care families!  Tomorrow is National Adoption Day and I wanted to highlight a few things about adoption that sometimes are overlooked.


Since 2000, the goal of National Adoption Day has been that every community in the U.S. will have an annual, institutionalized, self-driven celebration of National Adoption Day on or near the Saturday before Thanksgiving, which can include finalizing adoptions of children from foster care and celebrating all adoptions. In total, more than 25,000 children have been adopted from foster care on National Adoption Day. -nationaladoptionday.org

• There are an estimated 463,000 children in foster care in the United States
• Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but… 
• Each year 14, 505, 000 children grow up as orphans and age out of the system by age sixteen
• Each day 38,493 orphans age out
• Every 2.2 seconds another orphan ages out with no family to belong to and no place to call home

There is a great need for families to adopt both here in the US and internationally.  Be a part of something amazing and adopt or foster children.  Two quotes that have really challenged me lately...


“God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity when we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.” - A.W. Tozer


"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do." -Helen Keller

Sources: www.hfgf.org; ;www.unaids.org/epi/2005; www.unicef.org; www.nationaladoptionday.org

Please Pray

A family at our church is literally praying for their daughter's life.  Please read this blurb from their blog describing briefly what transpired:

Ella was delivered by emergency c-section on Wednesday, Nov. 10. Christa had been having discomfort that was unusual for her and not like her other pregnancies. She went to see the doctor on Wednesday morning and was convinced to have an ultra-sound to try to determine what the problem might be. While doing the ultra-sound they discovered an extremely enlarged heart and determined that they should get the baby out right away. The medical term for what is going on is Fetal Cardiomyopathy. Her left ventricle had ballooned and her heart was filling her whole chest. 

*You can click on the title of this post to get to Ella's blog.

Coconuts In My Pits (Deodorant Challenge Update)

It's been over a month since I posted the deodorant challenge and almost forgot that I needed to tell you about my body odor or lack thereof this last month!  It has been a pleasant and wonderful smelling experience and I really like the new deodorant!

After the initial post about making the deodorant, I had to rework mine a little.  It was melting too easily so I added more corn starch and baking powder.  I wish I measured how much but I just added more until the texture was firm but still pliable.  I also decided to transfer the deodorant from the old degree stick to a small glass container.

I only had two willing bodies who tried the challenge!  Kim (my sister) and David (the hubs).  They both liked the deodorant have great reviews of the product they made.  

Kim says:

I have really enjoyed making and wearing my own homemade deodorant.  It works just as good, if not better, than deodorant you buy in the store.  I haven't noticed any smelliness from my pits at all, just fresh coconuts!  I started out just rubbing it on with my fingers but have moved on to filling an old deodorant container with my homemade deodorant and applying it like any other deodorant.  It seems to be working nicely and is not as messy.  I really enjoy the fact that I know what is in my deodorant and that is not harmful for me.  I would encourage you to try it out!  It's fun and easy to do. Thanks Kel for challenging me to try it.

David says:

I really had low expectations for the homemade deodarant and thought I would use it for about a week and go back to my Old Spice.  However, I haven't had any foul body odor yet!   Granted, I don't sweat that much.  Overall, I have been impressed and have seen how easy it is to make.  I plan on continuing with the deodorant for the foreseeable future.  

If anyone else decides to try it, let me know what you think.  My next experiment might be homemade toothpaste! 

Norwex (A Giveaway!)

I've been meaning to tell you all about Norwex, an amazing company and product.  I am a proud Norwex consultant and haven't even told my blog friends!  I started selling Norwex about 6 months ago and have now been using the products in my home for nearly 3 years.  I am a very frugal person and like to save money so that is what originally got me interested in it and now I'm totally sold!

If you haven't heard of Norwex let me give you a brief description so you are up to date on why I love it so much!

The main product and how Norwex was born is through their amazing silver embedded microfiber cloth.  The microfiber is a very high quality, the threads they use are the size of a human hair split between 100 & 200 times. Because it’s such a fine thread it is able to absorb more dust and bacteria and dirt etc.!  The silver embedded in the cloth actually suffocates bacteria therefore killing it up to 99.99% within 24 hours!!  This has been tested against SARS, Salmonella, E. Coli, Streptococcus (faecalis and pyogenes) and a few others that I've never heard of!  

When cleaning with Norwex microfiber cloths you only want to use water.  Using any sort of soap or chemical actually puts a barrier between the bacteria and the silver therefore not allowing it to kill the bacteria as easily.  Using only water to clean has many benefits.  Cleaning with Norwex is the easiest thing you can do for yourself and it will save you literally hundreds of dollars. 

The great thing about all this is in the end it saves you lots of money (no more paper towels, no more windex, bleach, or other floor cleaners etc.), is so simple and still kills bacteria while keeping the home environment safe for you!  I use these cloths for everything in my house including my whole bathroom, the kitchen, the windows & mirrors, my face (to remove make up and wash my face) and on Norah!  The company has many great products but that is the basic antibac cloth.  There are different weaves of the basic cloth that you can use for mirrors/windows and face and body.

A few of the main products:

Enviro Cloth (basic cloth) comes in four colors for $14.50 each

Basic Antibac Package (one enviro cloth & one window cloth) $28.99

Antibac Body Pack (three 12X12 cloths, comes in two color scheme choices) $16.99

Baby Body Pack (three 8X8 cloths in pastel only) $14.99 *This is what we use on our face and YES it does remove makeup!

It’s great to feel like we are taking better care of Norah by not having chemicals in our home or on our floors or anywhere near our little babe. 

Here is my old bathroom, yes I know SICK.  But, just keeping it real.  I cleaned one side (right) with the Norwex antibac cloth with only water!  I was able to remove all the buildup and kept my tub much cleaner after this :) *Click on the image to enlarge*

This is an example of a friends hallway carpet.  She had a Norwex party and we took a cloth with only water and rubbed for about two minutes to get this result!  I just wanted to demonstrate how easy dirt can be absorbed into the cloths.

Click here for a review on Norwex from my new favorite website, Passionate Homemakeing!

Leave a comment (and send your friends here to leave one too) telling me why you love Norwex, a success story or one cleaning item you will discard if you win a Norwex cloth!  I will draw a winner on Sunday November 21st!  Make sure in your comment you tell me your name so I can contact you if you win!

If you have questions about Norwex or simply want to place an order, email me at kelly.blomgren@gmail.com  I know when I first learned about Norwex I was very skeptical, so please ask any questions!

We Love Fall!

 We love the fall for so many reasons.  These pictures tell a few...

Family Time at the Orchard!

 Norah's first pumpkin patch!

We still have a few mini mountains in our back drop here in Spokane :)

She Walks!

Elderberry Syrup

Since it's sore throat and cold season we thought we'd stock up on some remedies before they hit.  Not really stock up but just having some homeopathic options on hand is something we like to do.

I've actually been wanted to try elderberry syrup for about a year and then came across a video on how to make it yourself.  It's much more cost effective to make the syrup yourself rather than buying it in the store.  Also, if you buy it in the store you will go through it very quickly.  The syrup can be used as a preventative as well as medicinal for when you have a sore throat.  You take 1 tablespoon daily to boost immune system and up to 1 tablespoon per hour during sickness.  Kids will even like it since it's a sweet syrup made with honey.  Check out the video and see how easy it is!  My elder berries are ordered and getting here later this week.

“Elderberry is anti-viral, contains high levels of flavonoids and antioxidants, has cell-protecting components, soothes sore throats, and supports the immune system and respiratory system.” -passionatehomemaking.com

Looking back...

Oh what a sweet sweet year it has been with our Little Love.  We thank God daily for her and how much fun she is and how darn cute she is too!  We are so lucky, we get to look at her every day and see her curiosity of life grow!!

I'm so glad I stuck with the boppy pictures this year.  I started to lag and some of the monthly pictures are a little late but it's still fun to look back at her growth physically compared to the same item. It's amazing the rate these little ones grow... 4lbs to 17lbs... most kiddos are a little chunkier than Norah even!

A Typical Night

 It brings me SO MUCH joy that Norah loves popcorn!  We love to chomp on it together :)

And, this picture very clearly depicts how my daughter lives life.  So vibrant and so happy.  LOVE her happy laughter!!

I Made This

And I'm proud!
*Spiced Pumpkin Cake*

Friendship and Motherhood

I'm so thankful my mom was able to visit us a few weeks ago!  She was originally going to come to WA shortly after our stuff was unloaded but... life happens and plans had to change.  We had a great time having her visit as our first official guest!  David and I were both excited to show her around town a bit and also do some exploring with her, but again... life happens and the weather put a a little damper on our plans so we snuggled up inside with Norah and relaxed a lot!  It actually works best to just lay low sometimes because of the baby girl.
We did some decorating of our house, David and I went on a date (!!!!!!!!!!!!!), cooked a little, showed her around the AF base, hit up a bookstore, coffee shop, Costco, World Market and did a little walking when we had a nice few hours outside.  Needless to say, we had a blast having her and miss her company!
It's such a blessing for both David and myself to have awesome mothers who we now count as friends.  I look forward to the day when Norah feels this way toward me, that will be such a joy.  But first I have to be her parent!!

Our Little Secret No More!

Church Search Complete!

Thank you all for your prayers, especially since this post last month.  We were able to visit 8 different churches here in Spokane.  We got a great feel for what was available for our spiritual growth and family here in WA.  We were struggling so much because all the churches we visited had great qualities and there weren't strong things we disagreed with as far as theology and style.  After a few visits to two churches we've settled on the one :)  Here's a link to our new church, hopefully friends and community will follow closely to fill the gap of not being near those we love in the midwest and CO.  Thanks again for your prayers.

In the last week Norah has started to...

*Sign "more" and "water" very clearly and just started signing "baby" too!

*Knows the sign "cracker" and "cereal"

*Says "hi!" with a very sweet girly voice. I'll try to get a video of this because it just melts my heart. She says it to everyone now, including when we leave because she doesn't understand "bye" quite yet.

*When we put Norah down for bed she really likes it when we hum softly to her and if we forget she starts to hum to us as a reminder, once we start she stops. It's so cute that she knows how to cue us!

*Got another tooth and two more are about to come through her sweet little gums!!

*She didn't take a step but almost did so I thought that warranted it's own little bullet :)

*Walked alongside David while holding his hand, precious!

*She's probably saying hiiiiiiii!*

Deodorant Challenge!

I've recently learned more about the negative effects commercial deodorants can have on our body (thanks to my friend Erika). A quote from this blog says, Commercial deodorants contain aluminum salts which helps suppress perspiration. The toxicity in aluminum has been linked to cancer and Alzheimer's. It is especially important for women to take thought being that breast tissue extends up into the armpits.

I read a lot of the comments from other readers on the blog above about how over the counter natural deodorants (such as Tom's or Burt's Bee's) would stop working for them after a few months. Instead they tried the following recipe and loved it! I decided I would see if I liked the recipe, if it worked for me and how easy it was to make (I already had everything in my cupboard) and use.

Recipe:

1/4 cup baking powder

1/4 arrow root powder or corn starch

6-8 tablespoons of coconut oil (you can use refined or unrefined (smells better) coconut oil)

*optional* add a few drops of your favorite smelling essential oil such as peppermint or lavender (I didn't do this since the coconut already smelled so great)

Directions: combine the baking powder and corn starch (which is what I used) in a bowl. Slowly add coconut oil and mash together (you can also use a hand mixer) until it's the consistency you like.

I put the deodorant into an old deodorant container but that didn't last more than two days. It's been in the 80's here and coconut oil melts at 76 degrees. *It's optional to add beeswax if you would like it to be more firm and not melt at such a low temperature for the summers.* So, I moved the concoction into a little glass jar and it works great to just use my fingers to apply. If I have access on my hands I can simply rub it into my skin since it's moisturizing. The only thing I've found I dislike about this recipe is not having that antiperspirant in the deodorant, the pits are not always as dry and I'd like.

So, will YOU join me in this 30 day adventure? It's been great so far, you can ask David... he's smelled my arm pits everyday for a week and the results are yummy smelling pits! Haha! David has joined in and my sister Kim made her own this weekend too!

Why is coconut oil slowly becoming one of my favorite staples around the house?

*No other oil has the anti-viral/bacterial/fungal parasite qualities that coconut oil has

*Healthy option for baking or cooking

*A great moisturizer (and it smells great too)

*A make-up remover

*A leave in or rinse our hair conditioner

*An after shave for men

**Any other ideas?**

Teeth are poppin' in!

Here's a quick pic of Norah one month ago with her one fang tooth :)

**This week she got her two front teeth but no pictures yet of that!