Double Happiness

We are celebrating a double happiness around here!!
After an 83 day wait we finally received our LOA from China!
What made that great news even better is that we got it on Elijah's birthday!!
Yay!  Thank you Lord!

Online Scentsy Party

My friend, Annette has a big heart for adoption.  Her family just adopted a sweet little boy from China this past summer.   Because adoption is near and dear to her heart, she wanted to help us in raising funds for our adoption. 

She is a Scentsy Representative and  is hosting an Online Scentsy Party called "Melody's Adoption Fundraiser".

She is generously donating 20% of her sales towards our adoption!

Scentsy is so neat. It's like a candle WITHOUT the fire.  

Here's a little description of these amazing products:

 Scentsy has wonderful warmers that use a low-watt bulb

to slowly melt specially formulated wax.

With no flame, smoke, or soot, 

the Scentsy wickless candle system 

is a safe way to enjoy more than 80 Scentsy fragrances.

If you are interested in purchasing any Scensty product, please click: https://annettecox.scentsy.us/Home . Once you are on her website, on the left hand side there will be a place that says "My Open Parties". Look for "Melody's Adoption Fundraiser" & then click on "buy from party" or you can contact her at ourfivetreasures@yahoo.com and she can place your order.  

Thank you Annette for helping us to bring Melody home!! Thanks also in advance to everyone who purchases any Scentsy product and for helping to spread the word about our fundraiser!

I Miss Melody

So thankful for Elijah and Angelina. They have been such faithful prayer warriors through these many months on our journey to their sister.  Daily, they pray for Melody.  They pray for protection, a good breakfast, a quick homecoming, and missionaries to tell her about Jesus.

This evening after bath time, Angelina climbed up on my lap and started to cry.
I wasn't quite sure what was wrong so after she calmed down I bit, I asked her why was she crying?
Her answer was so precious:  I MISS MELODY!!!

Christmas Frenzy's Items

Fun, Fresh, New Music To Inspire Children Of All Ages! A Must Get! $5

Beautiful Hand-Made Christmas Noodle Angels! $5 each.

"Favorite Things" Quilt. 100% Hand Quilted. Very Dear & Very Beautiful. $800.

"Hawaii Happiness" Quilt. Title Speaks For Itself. $500

Christmas Frenzy is for EVERYONE!!!

Stacy at My Cup Overfloweth is hosting a wonderful fundraising opportunity for families that are in the process of adopting. It's a great place to help families raise the funds that they need to bring their little treasures home and purchase some fun Christmas gifts at the same time!

Thank you

Thank you Everyone!
We would like to say thank you to all of you wonderful friends, vendors, bake sale donors and shoppers who helped make this boutique a success.

Thank you for giving your time, energy, resources and goodies.

We are humbled and grateful beyond words to each of you.

Each of you were a blessing. It was an honor to have you in our home.

Thank you all for being a part of Melody’s life story!

Thankful for beds

So excited....today we got a bed for our little Melody.

Actually we got beds for both Angelina and Melody.

We have been praying for beds for a long time and we are so thankful for God's provision. When Amador went to pick up the beds, the lady who was selling them, threw in the mattresses for free!!!!  

We felt so blessed because Angelina doesn't have a mattress.  She has been using a pullout sofa mattress. And we didn't have a mattress yet for Melody!  Oh and did I mention these are STORAGE beds!!  We were blessed above and beyond!! Thank you Lord!!

Tomorrow is Orphan Sunday

Holiday Boutique & Bake Sale

For all you Southern California residents,

you're invited to join us for a 

fun-filled Holiday Boutique and Bake Sale

A great opportunity to get ALL of your 

early Christmas shopping done in one place!

Mark your calendars for

Saturday, November 12th - 10am - 2pm

Vendors that will be joining us:

Feliz Flans * Scentsy * Mary Kay * Solomon Beads

Cookie Lee * More Than Words Photography

Homemade Wooden Candleholders & Birdhouses

Hairbows by MrsBusyLizzy * Holiday Ornaments by Julia

Gloria DeLaCruz Creations * Baby Cocoons, Hats & Gloves

The Still Picture Company * Thirty-one

Thanksgiving & Christmas Perler Bead Ornaments

SCD Posters & Prints * Baked Goods and More!

A portion of ALL sales will go towards Melody's adoption fund.

For directions & other information, please email

Alexis - alexis.alvarez@verizon.net

Raffle Winners

Thank you to everyone who participated in our raffle for Melody! You guys are awesome!
Thank you also to those who ordered flans!  You guys are FLAN-TASTIC!!

Here are the raffle winners:

Item #1 Starry Origami Quilt

Winner:  Annette Cox

Item #2 Joy Of Loving Teapot

Winner: Annette Cox

Item #3 $25 Gift Card to JoAnn's Fabrics

Winner: Natalie Zapata

Item #4 The Ministry Of Motherhood Book (not brand new-but really good condition)

Winner: Christine Snyder

Item #11 Regal Cinema Movie Tix (2)

Winner: Annette Cox

Item #12 Starbucks Ground Coffee (20oz. bag)

Winner: Natalie Zapata

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE AND THANK YOU!!!!!

God is in our boat!

Yesterday was a day full of ups and downs and thankfully more ups!!
As we wait for our LOA we have had much time to think and for me that thinking has turned into worrying. I have been paralyzed by fear as of late.  Fear about the future, fear of the unknown, fear for finances, fear for just about everything.  My husband has been encouraging me since day 1 that Jesus is in this boat with us. Jesus can calm the raging storm.  He always tells me to keep my eyes on Jesus and not these waves.  Yesterday I was overwhelmed with worries of what life will look like after Melody is home.  As we were going about our day, I shared with Amador what I was feeling so we prayed a bit.  When we went to go pick up the kids from school, I saw a friend from church.  I was so excited and curious to see her there because her kids don't go to our school.  She too has a heart for adoption so we were catching up on all our adoption news. She ended up introducing me to mom from my kids school who I had been wanting to meet for weeks!!  This mom has a huge heart for adoption and is an incredible resource.  Within just the few minutes that we met she was able to offer help for things that I was literally freaking out about an hour before meeting her.  It was a sweet meeting that I know God orchestrated in His perfect timing.  I was so encouraged by that God appointment!  God is in this boat with us.  He will get us to the other side.   We ended this day with dinner at our friends' home.  They have adopted from China.  They prayed for our family and encouraged us and it was good!  Thank you God! 

"God Is Able" by Hillsong

Feeling strengthened by Hillsong's "God Is Able":

God is able
He will never fail
He is almighty God
Greater than all we seek
Greater than all we ask
He has done great things

[Chorus]
Lifted up
He defeated the grave
Raised to life
Our God is able
In His name
We overcome
For the Lord
Our God is able

[Verse 2]
God is with us
God is on our side
He will make a way
Far above all we know
Far above all we hope
He has done great things


[Bridge]
God is with us
He will go before
He will never leave us
He will never leave us
God is for us
He has open arms
He will never fail us
He will never fail us

Words and Music by Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan

(c) 2010 Hillsong

New Raffle Items Added

 Thanks to a gracious donation from a good friend, we now have beautiful Avon jewelry to add to our raffle.

 Item #13 Livvy 3 Necklace Gift Set

Item #14 Milla Gift Set

 

Fundraising Time

God is doing miraculous things as we walk through this adoption. I marvel at the timeline of this past month alone: getting our I797 approval from USCIS then getting our docs off to China and then receiving our speedy log in date all in a 9-day span! That has God’s fingerprints all over it.  When it comes to the expenses for this adoption we know God will do amazing things as well.  He already has.  The fees are definitely out of our league.  But we trust in God who is in a league all of His own.  The Bible story that comes to mind is Jesus and the loaves and fishes.  He took that boy’s lunch and fed 5,000 people.   I believe He can take our loaves and fishes and bring Melody home.  

Here is what we have to offer:

October Fundraisers

Fundraiser #1 Raffle of the “Starry Origami” Quilt and other great prizes!

There are 12 items included so far and more will be added soon!

Here are some of the fantastic items you can enter to win:

*“Starry Origami” Quilt *

*2 Regal Cinema Movie Tix * A $25 Gift Card from JoAnn’s* 

*TinkerBell Porcelain Doll * Joy Of Loving Teapot*

* Picture Frames * Starbucks House Blend Ground Coffee (20 oz size bag)* 

*God’s Got A Plan For Me CD * Worship Bible (IN SPANISH)*

And more….

Quilt tickets can be purchased for $10 each. 
Tickets can be purchased for $5 each for all other items.

Please email me at alexis.alvarez@verizon.net to let me know:

1. Which raffle items you would like to enter?

2. The number of entries that you would like for each item.

You can purchase tickets by mailing a check to:

Amador Alvarez

c/o Cottonwood Church

4505 Katella Ave

Los Alamitos, CA 90720

Feel free to email me with any questions that you may have.

Also, please let others know about this raffle!

Pass the link on to all your Facebook friends and Blog followers.   

All  the proceeds go towards bringing Melody home!

Thank you for all your support!!

 Raffle ends October 31^st

 Post Script ~Please Note:

Under the "Acceptable Use Policy" you may not use PayPal / ChipIn 

to send or receive payments for activities that involve an entry fee and a prize, 

such as raffles, drawings and lotteries.

This is the reason for mailing in checks instead of using our Chip In button.

Let the Raffling begin....  

Item #1 Starry Origami Quilt

Item #2 Joy Of Loving Teapot

Item #3 $25 Gift Card to JoAnn's Fabrics

Item #4 The Ministry Of Motherhood Book (not brand new-but really good condition)

Item #5  Picture Frames (3 frames)

 Item #6 Little Girls Shoes (size 11)

Item #7 TinkerBell Porcelain Doll

Item #8 "God's Got A Plan For Me" CD

Item #9 Shirt and Tie (Size M 15-151/2 34/35)

Item #10 Worship Bible in SPANISH (Biblia De Adoracion)

Item #11 Regal Cinema Movie Tix (2)

 

Item #12 Starbucks Ground Coffee (20oz. bag)

 Item #13 Livvy 3 Necklace Gift Set

Item #14 Milla Gift Set

 

Fundraiser #2: Michelle’s Music for Melody!

 My wonderful friend Michelle Endicott has generously donated 100 copies of her 1^st CD to us so we can sell them to help raise money for our adoption fees.  THANK YOU MICHELLE!  Michelle is a very gifted singer/songwriter.  She began writing songs for her children when they were very young and has been doing it ever since.  Her songs are lively, bubbly and catchy!  It makes for great listening in the car!  Remember the holidays are coming and it's a perfect gift for moms with young kids, homeschooling families, Sunday school teachers or just anyone who has a child like heart for Jesus! 

The suggested donation amount for each “God’s Got A Plan For Me” CD is $5!

You can send the check to 

Amador Alvarez

c/o Cottonwood Church

4505 Katella Ave

Los Alamitos, CA 90720

****Like I mentioned before, this is her first CD.  Her 2 other CDs will be released soon. Yay!  Until then hop on over to iTunes and download them. HERE The CDs are called “Books Of The Bible Songs” and “Memory Verse Songs,  Vol. 1 Do Not Be Afraid”.  THEY ARE FANTASTIC!!!!

Fundraiser #3:  Homemade Flans for all you local folks!!
(Please order at least one week advance.

Log In Date

We got our Log-In-Date today!

We were able to make it in before the big deadline.

God is AMAZING!

Thank you to everyone for praying. WOW.

We are DTC!

Great news came today:  Our documents are on their way to China!  We are so excited!  A dear friend of mine said it best: YAHOO!!!!!!!  Please continue to pray with us for a super quick LID (log in date) that makes it by the Oct.1st deadline!  With God all things are possible!  

Praise Report

We are praising God!  We got our I-797 approval!!

We got our approval in the mail yesterday!!!  Now we are on the lookout for the passport.   

Thank you everyone for praying! 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!!

We need to send a shout out to the amazing family who donated the necessary funds to get our paperwork moving that much closer to China! THANK YOU! XIE XIE!  GRACIAS!  Love you guys! (you know who you are!!)  

Oct. 1st is approaching!

On  Oct. 1^st some of China’s adoption requirements will change.

We are doing our best to get our paperwork logged in to China before that date!

Please help us pray that we make it.

Some specific prayers requests would be:

For my (Alexis’) passport to come in the mail SOON!!

Our I797 (immigration) approval. 

*I spoke with USCIS and our case hasn’t been issued an officer yet.

 Please pray for our case to be assigned an officer and that the officer would approve it speedily.  

Thank you for praying with us.