Waiting is the hardest part ~ Reece's Rainbow

posted from Bloggeroid

Hi there! It has been a busy and hectic spring here for us. I am so happy June is here and that Summer is beginning. Our adoption process is moving along, I will post about that soon. But for now, I want to share our 2nd TShirt fundraiser. God Bless The Broken Road was played at our wedding and when I sat down to design our TShirth, that song came to mind. The lyrics are just sweet and to the point and I think appropriate for many relationships.... Especially Marriages and then I realized how sweet this thought is for adoption too. So, with out further ado... Here is our newest fundraising tshirt!! I am so excited about the final design and colors of the shirts! They are made of a super soft and cozy jersey. They tend to run on the small side, so if you are between sizes, choose to order the larger sizes. Because we choose a softer shirt style, all prices from Child small all the way up to adult XXL are $27 and that includes shipping! Adult sizes are available in red, orange, teal and grey. Kid sizes are available in neon orange, neon pink, neon green and neon blue.

If you are interested in ordering, please send me an email with your name, address, phone number, email (nancy.gehrung@gmail.com)
address and of course your order including sizes and colors. Then please submit payment to me via my PayPal.me account.
paypal.me/NancyGehrung
Thank you so much for helping us to bring Emma home!!!



Here are the shirts for the kiddos, orange, green, blue and pink!

Here are the
adult size shirts... red, orange, teal and gray! 

A Beautiful Portrait of Ava is on Display at The National Insitute of Health

This past spring, I met an Amazing Mama Bear, Patty. Patty is the executive director and founder of Rare Disease United. Their "mission is to build a strong rare disease community throughout the United States so that we may help to provide support and information to our families, raise awareness and advocate for our families." To help raise aware for rare diseases in children, Patty created the
"Beyond the Diagnosis" art exhibit.
Here is some info about this amazing exhibit dorectly from the Rare Disease United's web site:

"The Beyond the Diagnosis Art Exhibit’s focus is the rare disease patient. Artists have donated their time and talents to paint rare disease patients for this groundbreaking Exhibit. This beautiful Exhibit is traveling to medical schools, research institutes and hospitals around the globe encouraging the medical community to look “beyond the diagnosis” to the patient. With an average diagnosis time of 8 years and few treatment options, doctors and rare disease patients need to have a more engaged approach to reduce diagnosis time and improve care.

Art has been used for thousands of years to successfully convey a message, whether it be a story or a glimpse into the human spirit. At Rare Disease United Foundation, we believe art not only leaves a powerful and lasting visual imprint, but creates a unique connection for the viewer."

This week has been a very exciting week for Patty because 12 pieces from the "Beyond the Diagnosis" exhibit have gone on display at the National Institute of Health (NIH). It's also been an exciting week for us because Patty has included a beautiful portrait of Ava in the exhibit. Achondroplasia Dwarfism is considered a rare disease. The portrait of Ava was based off of a beautiful photograph of Ava that was taken by our good friend Sara Ganaway.

Here's Ava's portrait hanging in the National Insitute of Health and below it the photograph of Ava taken by our friend Sarah Ganaway. I will post close up picture of the portrait soon. 

~Nancy

So, Ava is really excited about becoming a big sister...

So Princess Firecracker is super excited about Emma. She is always asking "when are we going to get her, can I show her how to do this, can we take her here." I keep reminding her that it's going to be a while still, that we probably won't be able to go get her till after summer, but still everyday she asks, "when will we get Emma momma? Seeing her excitement makes me happy." Shannon, our llder daughter is pretty excited too. She began telling our friends about Emma before I had a chance.

So, earlier today, I posted several doodles or pictures Ava drew recently. She has always liked to draw or paint. A lot of people have been rather impressed with Ava's creations. She loves to use lots of color and she favors abstract design. A few people have suggested selling her art. So after I posted her latest creation, I got an idea. Shannon is a talented artist too, so I talked with both girls tonight. Shan wants to go into 2 and 3D animation, she loves to draw characters on the computer and she is really good at it. Both girls are going to offer up some of their art for sale to help raise funds for Emma's adoption.  The project is still in development, but I think its going to be a lot of fun for Ava and Shan. They both just lit up at the idea of being able to help bring Emma home. Please stay tuned for more details. Here are a few examples of their work.

An Update On Emma

We got some news on Emma that she may have a hearing impairment. During a recent medical evaluation she did not respond to sounds. Although this is a bit discouraging, we know things could be worse. The team caring for her is going to see if they can have Emma's ears and hearing thoroughly evaluated. In children with Achondroplasia it can be common for fluid to build up in the Eustachian tube in the inner ear and there can be issues with wax build up in the outer ear. When Ava came home from China, she had TONS of fluid and wax in both of her ears. A good cleaning and a set of ear tubes helped Ava tremendously. We are hoping that will be the same case for Emma. But until we know for sure, we are going to learn baby sign language and we're hoping her caregivers in China might be able to teach her some signs too. We figure even if her hearing is fine, learning sign language may hopefully bridge the language gap until she knows English.  Would mind keeping Emma in your thoughts and prayers as we wait to hear news about her ears?  Thank you...

Think about this...

The financial reality of adopting from China : Reece's Rainboww

One of the biggest challenges to an international adoption is the cost. The expenses for Aliza's adoption is estimated to be around $42,000.  This cost will include travel fees for Brian and I, Ava, Aliza and we are hoping to bring someone else along with us as a Nanny to help with both girls. Ava is very attached to us and we really have no idea how things will go with Aliza in those 1st few days with us.  So, we feel it will be a good idea to have an extra person with us to help. This cost is what almost kept us from proceeding with Aliza's adoption. But after praying for guidance about if we should proceed with the long and expensive process of making Aliza our daughter, we received several obvious signs that Aliza is God's plan for us.  This is the 1st time that Brian and I have ever taken such a big leap of faith.  Several friends of ours have generously volunteered to help us fund raise. THANK You Friends!

We do have several ways you can donate to our adoption fund. The 1st is through Reece's Rainbow. Click the link posted in our right side side-bar to make a TAX DEDUCTABLE Donation.


YOUCARING Fundraiser: https://www.youcaring.com/let-s-bring-emma-home-500214
This is another site where you can make a Tax Deductible Donation. Please note, we can't change the address of this donation sight. It was created before we changed Aliza's name.

Thirdly...

Adopttogether.org/Gehrung is another way you can make a Tax DEDUCTABLE Donation.


Any size contribution to our funds will help and be sincerely appreciated.  If you are unable to donate, could you please share our blog or fundraisers with your friends and family either through email, Facebook, Twitter, any other social media you use or even in person?  Here is our contact information in case you want to contact Brian or me.

Nancy, 262-844-8090, Nancy.gehrung@gmail.com

Brian, 414-719-9262, Bgehrung67@gmail.com

Lastly, please feel free to join our Facebook Page, Gehrung Family Fundraisers, there we are selling several items, our Super Hero Capes and BRAVELETS!!

 Again, Thank You!

Nancy