Bracelet & Christmas Ornament fundraiser

I am SO EXCITED about the ApParent Project fundraiser I just launched on Wednesday night! I love this fundraiser because not only will it help me bring Qing Qing home from China, but it also helps Haitian families stay together (and you know I love Haitian families)!

{Soapbox warning!} Way too frequently in Haiti, families turn to orphanages to raise their kids because they don't have the means to provide for themselves & their families, often due to unemployment and/or lack of skills and education. This is a huge problem in Haiti and has resulted in far too many children growing up in institutions, separated from their parents who love them & who wish they could raise their children themselves. Not only that, but only a very small percentage of kids in Haitian orphanages (even those who are "true" orphans with no living parents) will ever be adopted. In recent years, as this problem has become more visible and better understood, more and more organizations in Haiti are turning their attention to this root of the "orphan crisis" in Haiti -- moms and dads who love their kids but need someone to come alongside them to help them get on their feet, through health care, education, skills training, and jobs.

ApParent Project is one of these organizations. From the AP website: "Our focus is on our mission… to “make the needs of Haiti known,” to offer opportunities for the Haitians be able to provide for themselves and their families, empowering them to rise up out of poverty… to be able to keep their families together… to avoid relinquishing their children to orphanages." One of the ways AP does this is by employing artisans to make beautiful handmade products -- not only jewelry and ornaments, but also coffee mugs, purses, wall art, dolls, and more. By providing jobs for these men and women, AP is helping to keep kids out of orphanages & with their families...thereby helping to ensure a stronger and better future for not just these families, but also for the generations to come.

So. All that to say, I am so excited to get to do this fundraiser & to be a small part of what AP is doing for families in Haiti while also working to bring Qing Qing home to our family! Here is a short video that shows more about how ApParent Project works:

This fundraiser is mainly happening on Facebook (so if you want to check it out there, search for "Becoming Forever Cloutier Adoption Fundraising"), but I wanted to post about it here, too, in case anyone who isnt on Facebook is interested in purchasing. I'll try to keep it updated here (when items sell), but there may be a bit of a delay (so just be aware when you request an item, there's a chance it may have already sold on Facebook). Here is how this will work:

To claim your item, comment on this post (or email/text me) with the item(s) you would like & how you plan to pay.

Payment options are:
1. Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/BethCloutier
2. Check (let me know if you need my address)
3. Cash (local buyers only)

Each item is $10; if you need me to ship your purchase to you, please add $5 (total, not per item).

Let me know if you have any questions! Happy shopping!

SOLD OUT

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Hi friends! I know it's been forever & a day since I've updated this blog, but...I do still exist, as a matter of fact. And, I have some exciting news (which I will attempt to share in more detail at some later point in time when I'm not coming off a night shift, which is currently the case). The quick version is, I'm in the early stages of finally making Christina officially part of my forever family through adoption (yay!!), and I just launched a T-shirt fundraiser to help with the financial side of this endeavor. Tiffany McLeod came up with an awesome design that I'm SO excited to share, and I can't wait to have it on my very own T-shirt! Here it is:

The design will be available on a navy shirt and a purple shirt, and there are several styles available to choose from. Here are the links: navy and purple. The shirts will be available to purchase for the next three weeks, and then they will be shipped out approximately two weeks after the fundraiser closes. I've said this many times before and I'll say it many times again, but I am SO GRATEFUL for the huge amount of support Christina & I have from family, friends, coworkers, and even people I haven't seen in quite awhile. So whether or not you buy a shirt (though I hope you do 😊), please know how much your prayers & encouragement mean to me and Christina! Love y'all lots!

UPDATE: Here I Am Orphan Ministries has graciously offered to accept fee-free, tax-deductible donations on our behalf! So, if a T-shirt isn't really your thing but you still would like to financially support us, you can do that here. Under "One Time Donation," choose "Adoption Assistance." Before you submit your payment, there will be a comment box where you can put in my name and "Christina's adoption" to designate it for us.

Also, for those of you who want to hear the very very beginning of our story, here's a post I wrote back in 2010...

And then, to fast forward to Easter 2016...

Things have changed a bit in the last six years. 😊 And I am oh so grateful!

instagram-style life update

Oh hey there, Poor Little Neglected Ol' Blog O'Mine. It's been...awhile.

Life. 'Tis a busy thing.

I'm not utterly convinced that I want to keep up restart this whole blogging deal, but for the moment, while I'm procrastinating doing other, more productive things, how about a bit of an update from where we last left off? Fortunately, despite the amount of time that has lapsed since I last posted, a good chunk of that time was insanely busy beyond words and is therefore too much of a blur to remember many details, so for once I can probably summarize the last ten-ish months without rambling on forever.

October

finished 4th semester clinicals

Started a second job, because, I mean, one job + nursing
school just isn't enough

December

Survived the semester and watched my brother graduate
from nursing school {on a freezing cold day on which we
also got locked out of Hannah's car and therefore took
this oh-so-flattering selfie as we waited in Paul's car
for AAA to show up).

Roadtripped to Tennessee and got to spend a few days
with Hannah's wonderful family.

While in Nashville, I also got to see this dear friend for
the first time in years!

Then we trekked across the state to hang out with our
family in a lovely cabin in the Smokies...AND...these
two fabulous people got engaged (in the same spot
where my parents got engaged, which also happens
to be one of my favorite places in the world).
CONGRATULATIONS, PAUL AND HANNAH!!!

On Christmas Eve, Cheyenne and I traveled to Haiti,
where we were greeted by my favorite little girl.

Christina was able to spend several weeks with me at
the maternity center, which was wonderful.

January

And then...back to Texas...
for a super cold and crazy-busy semester...

...that consisted of a lot of coffee and a lot of studying
in between class, clinicals, and jobs.

Every once in a wonderful while I had time for
a post-close Fuego run. I mean, who doesn't
love eating tacos at midnight? :)

February

One of the highlights of my spring was getting to go
to Dallas with these lovely ladies for Taylor's baptism!

March/April

My handsome nephew was born at the end of March!
CONGRATULATIONS, KEVIN AND DANIELLE!!!

Paul and I got to travel to Florida for several days
to meet Emery when he was two weeks old.

May

At the beginning of May, I interviewed for (and got!) my
#1 {local} choice of jobs :)
And then...the moment we were afraid would never come...
THE LAST DAY OF NURSING SCHOOL!!

Oh hey, we're both nurses!

Aaaand I had time to breathe again (well, a little...boards
were still to come)!

Made a quick trip to Boston to visit a friend.

 June

Spent the weekend before taking boards holed up in a hotel
room in Dallas. I did surface for church on Sunday and for
a quick but wonderful visit with Taylor & Shelby!

Grateful, grateful, grateful for all of the prayers and words
of encouragement from so many friends before NCLEX.
I am so blessed to have so many amazing and
thoughtful people in my life.

And then...then I got caught in a sudden
downpour as I went to take the biggest,
scariest exam of my life. Consequently,
I took boards dripping wet and looking
like a drowned rat. C'est la vie.

Nonetheless...48 hours later, I got this great news!
Major relief would be an understatement.
And surreal. So surreal.

Meanwhile, as soon as I took
my exam, I headed out of the country
and back to this beautiful little girl!

Christina and I stayed at the maternity center again
(thanks, Beth Johnson, for your hospitality)!
There were several births while I was there, and the
Heartline midwives were so kind as to let me catch one
of the babies (who was born in the caul)! So fun.

We got to go the beach one day...

...which Christina and I both loved :)

 July

Obligatory photos of our 4th of July outfits :)

And then...back to the States to start my new job.
(Oh. Finished up at job #2 at the beginning of June, so I was
down to just 1 job for a whole month before starting at the
hospital!)

RN badge > Grad nurse badge
:)

One day I'll quit. Really. #eightPOINTfiveyearsandcounting

August

Lina came for her annual Texas vacation!
Thanks, Taylor, for picking her up at the airport for me!

Birthday girls! (Technically, Lina's birthday is in July,
but it's tradition to have a Texas birthday party for her.
Last year it was in June, this year it was in August.
Close enough.)

party people :)

And then...it was time to send Lina back to Florida :(
But first, we went to see a performance of Les Mis in Dallas!

So there ya have it -- most major life events since October as recalled by Instagram ;) These past several months years have been super crazy, and there have been many times when I've felt overwhelmed and/or out of control (though let's be honest -- when have I ever really been in control?). Dramatic though this will sound, there were definitely times when I didn't know how I was going to make it from one day to the next (let alone from one semester of nursing school to the next). So many doubts, so many fears, so much to do, so little time. But. God has been so faithful...not to provide necessarily what I want...but to always provide what I need. He's pretty wise like that ;) Mmm...so let this be a reminder to me when I again (probably two seconds from now) am unsure...overwhelmed...in need.

Lamentations 3:21-24

 But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”