Saturday, February 28, 2009

Mission Trip - Can You Help?

It's hard to believe, but one month from today I leave for Guatemala. It's going to be one of the most exciting things I've ever done.

I'm going to try to pack as light as I can for the trip and save space in my suitcases to bring down some needed donations. Here is a list of some things that are needed. If anyone would like to contribute even just one or two of these items, it would really help. To be really frank and honest, the trip itself is not inexpensive for me and so as much as I'd like to load up on all these things, I really can't do it all myself.

Diapers
Wipes
Bibs
Powdered milk
Vitamins
OTC meds (like Tylenol, Motrin,etc).
First aid items
Huggies Good nights (Large & XL) large
Closed-toed shoes

Things like diapers and wipes are pretty bulky and/or heavy, so I probably won't be able to pack too many of those.

If anyone would rather just donate a little bit of money and save shipping items to me, I would be happy to go out and purchase the items. I will post a list on my blog of exactly what I buy with any money donated. I can take a check or if you want to donate via PayPal, I'll cover the fees and still buy the full amount in supplies.

My email is alleensantana @ yahoo .com (remove the spaces).

Thanks in advance!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Just Checking In

I know, I know, I've been terrible at keeping up with the blog!

I thought I'd just check in and say we're still here. My mom had to have a heart stent placed today, so today was a long day. She's doing fine. And to add to the stress, Gabriella's been running a fever for two days now. I took her to the doctor yesterday just to make sure it wasn't something we needed to treat since my mom will be here tomorrow (assuming they release her as planned). I didn't want to risk her picking something up from Gabriella. The doctor said it was viral and would have to run its course. So, Miss G missed school today and I'm hoping she gets better by tomorrow. She's still got a fever tonight, so we'll see.

Sadly, I've also not had the camera out at all since Valentine's Day!! I will have to fix that.

But, I'll send you to my friend's blog here for some great pics of Miss G and her friend at a playdate downtown last week. Oh, and if you look at the top of her blog, you might just recognize somebody there :-)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Happy Valentines Day to everyone!!!






Gabriella went to a birthday party today at Gymboree sporting her Lou Lou Creation.











Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - My model


And yes, this is the same grass that was green before....












Thursday, February 05, 2009

Spread Some Love for Valentine's Day

My mission trip to Guatemala is fast approaching! Because of the tight baggage restrictions, we won't be able to carry lots of extra bags of donations down for the orphanages. What is really needed is funding to help buy things needed for the children. So, would you like to help? Here is a great way! I'm copying this directly from the Global Orphan Team website:

In lieu of chocolate and candy hearts this Valentine’s day, why not donate to a worthy cause and brighten the day of a child.

By making a small donation (tax deductible) to Global Orphan Team beginning immediately through February 14, 2009, you will be sending a Valentine heart to the children of “Project Valentina.” The hearts will include your name and will have “YOU ARE LOVED!” printed on them as well.

At the end of the month, we will update you with pictures of the children who receive your hearts. We hope to do things like this often to reinforce our commitment to our children. We want to be “present” in the orphanages we have chosen to support as much as possible and we think this is a great way to do that. We want our children to feel our love for them consistently, not just when we are able to travel to Guatemala to see them.

For a $25 donation, we will send a “Valentina” heart on your behalf (hearts will be cut from 8×10 paper so you have an idea of the size), and don’t forget, you will receive an update at the end of the month full of pictures of the precious children who enjoyed your Valentines!

Would you help us spread the word? We will accept donations through our website until February 14th for this project as well.

Click on the donate page to submit your donation and help us cover the walls in BIG RED HEARTS!

Monday, February 02, 2009

Super Bowl Sunday - Yeah Steelers!!!!!!!


Gabriella was excited to wear her Steelers outfits yesterday. She got to watch the game until halftime at our neighbor's house. Boy, was she wound up and hard to get to bed though.

Pre-game fun.

Come on Bing, show your team spirit.




How thrilled does he look??????