Summer FUNNN!!!!

AHH! Two weeks of total summer fun has been going on in preschool. We have loved reading books about watermelon, summer days, fireworks and more! To kick off our summer fun we started with watermelon crafts and snack! Most of the kiddos loved the watermelon and asked for more. Craft time is a favorite of so many of the preschoolers and they are such little artist! We made watermelon handprints, pineapples, decorated and ate popsicles, suns , painted fireworks and made some cute flip flops using their footprints! The kids love looking at their artwork hanging on the preschool door and their boards! On top of having the most exciting start to summer we began swimming!!!! I love swim days and so do the kids many days they ask if we are going swimming again. I just can feel that this is going to be a great swim season. We have a few kids that a little nervous about the pool, but I'm thinking they will be fans by the end of the summer. Its been amazing and wonderful to share this experience with my sister, and cousin. Elise and Lexi have been here for 2 weeks already, and in that short time, they the kids have stolen their hearts. I am loving every minute of having them here and we will do a separate blog on our travel adventures from their time here. Its truly special to have another family member that is going to understand this part of my life and see, smell and experience China and New Hope life. Hope you enjoy all the pictures of these crazy and wonderful kiddos!

“Be a pineapple… stand tall, wear a crown and be sweet”

~Stephanie

Week 1- Transportation

Wow! A week has flown by already. Last weekend when I first arrived I spent time getting settled and over jet lag (which thankfully wasn’t bad at all thanks to my serenity soft gels). On Monday morning preschool was able to resume after a 2 week break. The kids and I had loads of fun this week. We had a team arrive from VA on Monday evening so they were busy around the house playing with kids and doing some outside work projects that needed to be done. They also did some music classes with the kiddos which is a whole different post because it was loads of fun!

This week's theme was Transportation! We were singing Wheels of the Bus, which was a hit, as well as read lots of books about cars, trucks, trains and tractors! The younger class really enjoyed the book “that’s not my truck” with all the touch and feel.

We made wheels on the bus, airplanes, hot air balloons, and did some fun drawings using cars with markers attached to the back. It has felt great to be able to jump right back into the swing of things here and see the kiddos that I knew from last spring and see how much they have grown up! But it has also been wonderful to meet so many new sweet faces and love on them in and out of preschool.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the first week

AvaJo

Using cars to draw

Using their new mats to trace 

painting clouds 

3-2-1 Blast off! 

Making hot air balloons

Yay! I did it

~Stephanie

A quick update

I am so sorry it has been a while since I have updated about our upcoming trip. Life has been crazy since I returned home from visiting AnnieRae and family. It was an amazing trip and I loved every moment of spending time with all three of the kiddos and their incredible parents. We were able to create some fun memories, and I'm looking forward to future visits.  

This coming weekend Elise is graduating so we have had a busy month preparing for her special day.  On top of that it has been then last month of school so I have been staying busy subbing at the local  preschool.  

I want to thank everyone for all of the supply donations that have arrived! These have been such a blessing and I am starting to pack items in the bags to head over in just a couple of weeks. Crazy to think that this time last year I was just arriving home from two months at NH. And now I am packing my bags for the big three month summer adventure. We have preschool supplies, birthday party decorations, goodies for the staff, leggings, pajamas and more! 

If you would please keep us in your prayers as we finish the preparations for heading over. I will be heading over two weeks prior to E &L so my start is coming up fast. I am looking forward to seeing my NH family but also processing the "see you laters" to my family here at home. Those littlest brothers of mine sure do kill me with all the extra snuggles and love (which I wouldn't trade for a second) and I know I will miss them like crazy. But I am very thankful for FaceTime and being able to chat with them while I am away. 

There is a very good chance my next blog update won't come until I have arrived but if you are on FB please feel free to join our group page Where he leads me I will go..... for some quicker updates then on here.

Lots of love, 

Stephanie

Prayers answered

I have dreamt and prayed about this day for twenty-one months. The day I would see sweet Annie girl with her forever family. For those that have not been following me for a while now let me recap you. In June 2015 just a couple of weeks prior to me traveling to New Hope to spend two months on what I thought would be working in the preschool class, taking the kids swimming and other task. I got an email....an email that said "we have a little girl that needs to go to surgery in HK. Would you be open to traveling with her during this time. We don't know for sure how long you would be there and you would leave less than 48 hours after arriving in country. "God blinded my eyes from seeing the part that said "heart surgery", see just 4.5 months prior a very sweet little boy that I loved dearly passed away from complications during his heart surgery just after being home for 2 months. Had I seen the whole thing that said heart surgery I think I would have hesitated on saying yes. I have always gone over with the open heart and mind that I would serve where New Hope needed me the most. After praying and running it all by my parents and wrote back and said of course and can I know which child and how old she is so I can gather some fun things for us for our time in the hospital. Then the email came back saying it would be Annie a 21 month old little girl who was extremely nervous around any strangers especially non Chinese. The first thing I did was went to the New Hope website and found her picture. I stared at that picture for so long and I prayed everyday that she would open to me coming in and just having a day to spend with her before wisking her off on a plane for the hospital. Still having no idea how much she would change my life and heart. I had seen other volunteers take kids for surgery to HK and chatted with a few about what the hospital is like and what to prepare for. I remember boarding the plane that July with so many emotions of saying goodbye to family for two months, heading out on a journey that was going to be all new and different then what I was imagining for that past year of planning for my trip. When I arrived the kiddos were getting ready for bed but I went into her nursery and spotted her immediately there she was...I tried to say hi and walk near her and started crying. I had all the feelings of oh no, this is going to be the longest flight and hospital stay ever...what if she hates me and we don't bond. The next morning I came down and found her outside by the playground and when I went near her the tears started coming back. They said she was scared and with the help of my translate app I was able to tell them I was taking her to HK the next day. At that moment her nanny placed her in my arms against sweet Annie's wishes and told me to go walk. So that is what we did...she cried and I just whispered in her ears that it was okay. As we got walking she settled down and almost went to sleep. We looked at flowers and I just held and talked to her. I was thanking God that we are starting to move in the right direction. After nap I brought the ergo into the nursery and we tried it out she wasn't a big fan but thankfully I had a back up plan! A sweet friend donated an amazing ring sling to my trip and the next morning she fell in love with it. That night I packed our suitcase and diaper bag and prepared for our early morning journey. There were only a few tiny tears on our way to the airport and after we got checked in and a good handle on how we were going to roll we got a chocolate muffin and let me tell you I think that is where our true bond started. She loved it!! Fast forward some time (you can go back and read my old blog post for more details)...we had lots of test, pre ops and then we're ready for surgery. By this point we had known each other for about 2 weeks now and the nurses and doctors all couldn't believe we had known each other for such a short time. We had a bond that I will never forget one that will always hold a special place. Surgery day was so hard to wave goodbye as she headed back and to sit and wait for 8 long hours for any word on updates. She started off with a bit of a rocky recovery but we pushed through it and I soaked up every minute of sitting and praying and loving on her. My biggest prayer was that her forever family would see her!! I had several different people write me during our time do you know if she has a file do you know this...I sent them all through the right lines of communication that we are allowed to share and just prayed. I knew God had the perfect family out there for her. Well guess what one of those families they had a fire and burn in their heart like no other. They were told it is impossible but that didn't stop them. Annie had stirred up something strong in their hearts. They began praying that she would be their daughter. This family adopted a little boy that I had in preschool back in 2013 and that is how we were connected on FB and she followed my trip. This all was happening in July/August 2015....for over a year they did everything they could to locate and get her file processed. We were all praying when I left in September 2015 I prayed so hard that she would have a family soon because it broke my heart to leave her. I arrived back at NH in March 2016 and even though I was happy to see her again and know I was going to have 2 months and this time of preschool life with her my heart was also sad...sad that there had not been a ton of progress in journey of becoming adoptable. And it wasn't because of the family, it was due to paperwork and all that craziness that is the not so fun side of adoption. This family from a year prior they were still praying and doing everything they could to make her their daughter. I loved my time and it was so sad again to leave her at the end of my trip. I prayed fiercely that the next time I saw her she would be with her forever family. I also prayed that if the family that had been fighting for her wasn't the family that I would have connect with whoever it was meant to be. October 2016 arrived and that amazing family guess what they received her file after all those "no's" and "it is going to be impossible" or "some serious miracles are going to need to happen". They immediately said yes and from there out their journey was rocket speed. They traveled in December 2016 and guess what that scared little girl of strangers and Americans especially had changed so much just in our time at the hospital but then that spring she would say hi to people and let them come near her. She got to meet her forever parents and she was open to them. They arrived home before Christmas where she got to meet her two big brothers and they became a family of 5. I guess I should back up just a little bit...right after they got her file and it was a go back in October I got a message that I will never forget. It asked me to be AnnieRae's Godmother. Just writing it brings back the tears in the emotions. God is amazing..all I had asked for was contact with her forever family so I could hopefully one day visit but at least follow them on FB and watch her grow up. God granted me with something so much more a place in her life forever. A place that I will cherish all the years to come. As I right this I am sitting on the plane headed to see her and meet her family. All the emotions and feelings are racing through my heart. How will she react, I can't wait to give her Momma a hug after all these years, I can't wait to see her brothers. To see her new life that in pictures she is just thriving in. I pray this is just the start to many meet ups in the future. I pray one day that my family will get to meet AnnieRae and her family. I pray Her story touches others. And I can't wait to share with her nannies when I head back this summer.

I will of course be posting pictures and sharing once I am home about my trip 🙂

~S

SUPPLIES!!!!

Update and Supply wishlist :

As our trip is nearing closer and closer... we are in the process of collecting supplies to fill our suitcases with lots of goodies for the kiddos, preschool class, and the full time staff. I have been gathering the current request and needs. I have two different wishlist started and items from both list will be mailed directly to me so you don't even have to mess with that. I have also been gathering fun items from targets fun area and local store around that are cheaper then online. Leggings were a big request so I have teamed up with a friend of mine that started her own small busniess making these amazing grow with me leggings along with other fun items. She has graciously set up a link with discounted priced leggings and bubble shorts. She knows what sizes and how many I have requested of each and has it set so that you can pick what size you would like to purchace and then she is going to mail them all to me by mid May so the deadline is fast apporaching. I would like to have all donation items by May 31st! I know there will probably be a few items coming in a bit later and we have E's bag heading out after mine so we will get everything that is donated over! I also have an Amazon wishlist set up for other supply needs and pajama's were another big requst. I have already selected the sizes on the wishlist based on what they need. If you have any questions about either wishlist please comment below or email me stephanie.elizabeth09@yahoo.com and I would be happy to answer any questions.

Here are the two wishlist links (Please note the Amazon list might change as I get other request and we start packing the bags and see what space we have):

Amazon wishlist- https://www.amazon.com/gp/baby-reg/stephanie-elizabeth-newhope-preschool-august-2017-orlando?lid=1B8EPUMGEWABC

Beautiful Babies Boutique wishlist- https://beautiful-babies-boutique.myshopify.com/collections/baby-clothing/products/new-hope-stephanies-wish-list?variant=31923795521

For those wondering about or personal progress and funding report:

Elise's in state flights have been booked and her visa has been issued! This is a huge prayer answered and a big step to having her ready for travel.

Stephanie's- If all stays excatly within budget then I have what we need. So praying my visa run and any extra bag fees or pop up expenses along the way.

Any extra money that we recieve will go towards items on the wishlist or doing some fun summer activies with the kiddos. ( like doughnut day, bounce house, and stuff like that)

Thank you all for your love, prayers and support in our journey,

~S

An Amazing February Update!!

I wanted to share an amazing update with ya'll.   I am trying to be as transparent, as I can be with our funding, and how each dollar will be used.  We wrapped up an amazing month of fundraising in January and I want to thank Cheri Evans, Stacy Lovelace, Jennifer Frey, Angela Cavallo, Megan Bodwell for all donating their commissions back during our parties. I also want to thank each of you that ordered from our fundraiser parties. 

For the month of February we are doing something a little different. We kicked off the month with my birthday wish of 26 donations of $26 for my 26th birthday and ya'll blew me away! Thank you so much to each of you that joined in. 

We have two fun custom pieces this month for sale both of these have the verse Jeremiah 29:13 which is a verse that has really been speaking to both me and Elise.  Check out these amazing shirts!!  Thank you Arthur Gonclaves for sharing your creative talents to bring this idea to life.   We will be collecting pre orders  until Feb 20th. You can fill out this form to place a order, and read all the details about them. Our goal is to sell at least 100 shirts, so please spread the word.  We are inquiring about children's sizes...if you are interested please comment below as it will help us figure out the details. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc9jvsfH7HYnWG3cb0_J-3Dr0ELgpoPq5VMDd3NcvCAF9FK3w/viewform?c=0&w=1

Alicia Palmer is a Plunder independent stylist and she helped us create these fun Atlas necklaces! We are collecting orders for these during the whole month of February. You can place your order by sending payment and your mailing address to PayPal.me/aliciastreasurechest if you are local to Stephanie for pick up you can wave the shipping fee. 

Here is our updated breakdown of cost:

Elise:

Plane ticket - $1500 booked!
Plane ticket to MD-$300

Visa- $150

Passport- Covered ( Applied for!) 

China expenses meals, transportation, ect.-$100
Total - $2,050
Raised- $2,055

Remaining- DONE!!! 

Stephanie:

Plane ticket- $1247 ( booked) 

Plane ticket for visa run-$500

Visa run expenses (hotel, food, ect)- $500
Insurance- $500

China expenses ( food, transportaion, phone, suppliesect)-$1000 ( $300 per month of my stay)
Total-$3,747
Raised-$2134

Remaining-$1613

Plus, depending on which flights we are able to book we may have extra baggage fees for bringing  supplies. This will be between $50-100 depening on airline per bag. I will update that once we are able to purchase our tickets.

*Stephanie's flights allow her 2 checked bags for free!!!!

Early spring I plan on getting the final wish list of items needed for the preschool. As in past trips, I am planning to take my personal items in my carry on and load up my suitcases with much needed items for New Hope.  I've been actively working with Rebecca and those at New Hope for the most up to date needs.  

If you are on FB be sure to join our group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/148696522285171/

~Stephanie & Elise

* These totals are as of February 11,  2017
**35 of 100 shirts have been preordered**

**To see the amounts raised in the closed parties please go to the fundraisers tab on the home page of the blog**

the journey of preparing

One of the most challenging first steps in preparing for my  China trips is the fundraising journey. I wish somedays that I didn't need to ask a single person for support,  I just had everything that was needed, and I could be on my way.   However, that is not the case.  One of the many things that God shown me,  is that by allowing people to help, it is  allowing them to play a role in His plan as well. With all that being said I mentioned in my previous post that this trip brings additional fininacal needs than my past trips have. Over the last couple of months, before sharing about my trip, I have been working watchcare at a local church, and several other jobs, all with the monies earned ear marked for my plane ticket.  . Along, with this I reached out to some of the ladies that have helped me in the past,and they so graciously offered to help me again. Be sure to join our mega vendor event fundraiser by following the link below!  The consutlants of these various companies have pledged that they will give 100% of their commisisons earned to our fund. This fundriaser is not just for me, it is also for my sister Elise, who is working hard to come over, and serve at New Hope for a few weeks.  To add to the excited, my cousin Lexi will be joining us as well.  I am so thrilled to have both of these girls share in this special part of my life, as well as meet the amzing people and kids at New Hope.

I am being transparent in this post when I say we need help! Our current cost break down is as follows....

Elise:

Plane ticket - $1500
Plane ticket to MD-$300

Visa- $150

Passport- Covered 

China expenses meals, transportation, ect.-$100
Total - $2,050
Raised- $1355

Remaining- $695

Stephanie:

Plane ticket- $1247 ( booked) 

Plane ticket for visa run-$500

Visa run expenses (hotel, food, ect)- $500
Insurance- $500

China expenses ( food, transportaion, phone, suppliesect)-$1000 ( $300 per month of my stay)
Total-$3,747
Raised-$1400

Remaining-$2,347

Plus, depending on which flights we are able to book we may have extra baggage fees for bringing  supplies. This will be between $50-100 depening on airline per bag. I will update that once we are able to purchase our tickets.

*Stephanie's flights allow her 2 checked bags for free!!!! 

Here are the list of current fundraisers going on for our trip during the month of January.


Younique ends 1/31- https://www.youniqueproducts.com/AngelaCavallo/party/5728551/view?success=1


Tastefully Simple ends 1/31- https://www.tastefullysimple.com/party/10832323/dc80c63349b74f5b8c781b29e7c05471

Noonday ends 1/31-  www.JenniferFrey.NoondayCollection.com, and then enter "Stephanie Irizarry" as the trunk show hostess. It is active now, and we can close Jan 31.

Jamberry ongoing- www.cutenails4acause.jamberrynails.net


During the month of Feburary, we have a few new and exciting ideas, one of them being tshirts!!  Once the design is finalized I will share it with ya'll.   In all honestly my prayer is to have all of Elise's trip covered,and majority of mine, by the first of March. Early spring I plan on getting the final wish list of items needed for the preschool. As in past trips, I am planning to take my personal items in my carry on and load up my suitcases with much needed items for New Hope.  I've been actively working with Rebecca and those at New Hope for the most up to date needs.  

God has showed me over and over, on these trips, that I just need to trust him.  He will provide every penny needed. So that is what I am doing... trying not to stress and just put it in his hands and let him have control over it all.


~Stephanie & Elise

* These totals are as of January 22, 2017

**To see the amounts raised in the closed parties please go to the fundraisers tab on the home page of the blog**