Jinxie_G

Skip a Starbucks Day is Here!

Jinxie G



Good morning everyone! Today is a great day! I hope you skipped your Starbucks today because we’re doing a wonderful event for the Redwines and their soon-to-be-adopted daughter to help bring her home from China.


Let’s bring the baby home, folks!!!


First, I’ll have CJ tell you her story:


~~~~

We had three biological boys in four years and then I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I had a hysterectomy and while I mourned the fact that I couldn’t have any more biological children, I was certain our family wasn’t finished. My husband wasn’t so sure. 🙂 I’d talked about adopting and I always saw us with a little girl from China. He came up with a ton of reasons why now wasn’t the right time to adopt. Then, on Mother’s Day of 2005, he leaned over to me in church and said, “We have a daughter in China. We need to start the adoption proceedings to bring her home.” I adjusted to this unexpected news (we hadn’t discussed adoption for months) in about 15 seconds. 🙂


The next day, we began researching adoption and we picked out her name: Johanna Faith. Johanna means God’s Gracious Gift and Faith is what it is taking to bring her home. We signed up with Chinese Children Adoption International agency based out of Colorado. We completed our stateside paperwork and homestudy within a few months, sent off our dossier to China with the understanding that it would be a 6-8 month wait, and eagerly planned to bring our daughter home. Soon, though, we began to hear rumors that the wait time was extending. Then we heard that the government had cracked down on orphanages who were receiving money from the state but who weren’t keeping all of their beds full and the wait slowed to a crawl. Our dreams of having her home for Christmas were dashed. And then our dreams for having her home in time for summer were dashed as well. Before we knew it, another Christmas had passed and we were still waiting. Meanwhile, the Olympics were coming to Beijing, and the word was most adoption processes would stop altogether because China didn’t want unfavorable international attention on their orphanages.


As the wait stretched from 8 months to three years, I struggled with depression. I could hardly bear Christmas, because she wasn’t yet there. I shut the door of her bedroom and left it closed because I couldn’t bear to walk past it in the hall. It hurt to think about having a child out there whom I couldn’t protect. Couldn’t love. Couldn’t save. Three years became four with no real change. Our homestudy expired. Our immigration petition expired. Three times. Our fingerprints expired. Four times. And China raised the orphanage and court fees by thousands while we waited. Suddenly, the cushion of money we’d fundraised at the start of this process was almost gone and China was picking up speed in their child match program.


In September, it will be five years since we officially started our adoption process to bring Johanna home. We expect to receive her picture, information, and permission to travel sometime by the middle of September.


I opened her bedroom door for the first time in 3 1/2 years.


And we need to raise 8k to cover travel and the cash required to pay the orphanage for Johanna’s freedom.
~~~~

You can read more of their story on CJ’s blog and check out some of the other cool giveaways going on. There’s a huge list and tons of awesome prizes to be had! Choose and pick which ones you want to enter.

Alright, folks, are you ready to help get this child home? Thought so! This is why I love you.

And on to the Jinxie giveaways:


The Zombie Giveaway:

1) A copy of Carrie Ryan’s The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I can’t even begin to tell you how awesome this book is. Oh wait, yes I can, go read my review here.




2) A copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.






The Vampire Giveaway:


1) A copy of Heather Brewer’s Eighth Grade Bites. Are we sick of vampires yet? I didn’t think so, and this one is good.



2) A copy of JR Ward’s Dark Lover, one of my favorite paranormal romance series that is HOT HOT HOT!










The Werewolf Giveaway:

1) A copy of Annette Curtis Klause’s Blood and Chocolate, one of my favorite YA werewolf books. Don’t watch the movie, though. I’m serious. Stay away from it. The book rocks!



2) A copy of Patricia Briggs’ Moon Called. This is the first book of the Mercy Thompson series, which is probably my favorite series right now.




The Witch Giveaway:


A signed audio book copy of Yasmine Galenorn’s Demon Mistress.




The Grand Faery Giveaway:

A copy of Julie Kagawa’s The Iron King …

AND THIS —–>

This is my Fairy Summer Procession print, framed and waiting to hang on your wall. Measurements are 12.5 inches by 22.5 inches.


How to enter MY contests:

Donate what you would spend at Starbucks today, Tuesday, or Wednesday (or all three days) by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post or in the sidebar, and help bring an orphan home to her new family.


You must comment on this blog so I know you’ve entered and please specify which (or all) of my giveaways you are entering. Donate and comment by Wednesday evening, preferably before I go to bed around 10pm (PST) so I can get your names to CJ.


There is no limit to how many of these giveaways you can enter.


If you live outside the US, don’t worry, I’ve got ya covered! I will ship internationally. ALL of MY prizes will be shipped on September 4th.

Click the button below and it will take you to the donation area, then come back here and leave your comment.

Check back on Saturday to see if or what you’ve won!

THANK YOU!

30 thoughts on “Skip a Starbucks Day is Here!”

  3. The contest is now closed. Thank you all for your donations to CJ and her family and for entering. I will be choosing winners soon and will post them. I'm hoping by Saturday.You guys all ROCK!

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