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Starfish Foster Home

Starfish Foster Home Newsletter The Starfish Cleft House February 2009 There are times when something happens and it pushes you to a place you were not exactly planning to go. I had thought about starting a cleft house a few months ago and I had been writing trying to fund raise. Basically, I was trying to plan something. Often times life has a way of interfering when you are trying to plan and this is exactly what happened here. Last Sunday, I got a call from the director of the orphanage and she asked me if there was anyway that I could take on any more babies. They were being inundated with abandoned babies and had no more place to put them. We were doing really well at the foster home and were pretty comfortable, just cruising along. I thought it was time to expand and so I decided to start a cleft home much sooner than what I had planned. Nine little cleft babies were delivered from the orphanage this morning. They are all so cute. The youngest Tina is 10 days and the oldest Antonia is 11 months old. We are now a franchise, we started a second apartment on the first floor of our building. I am going to need some additional donations to keep these babies and if there is any way that you would like to make a tax free donation I would welcome it, no matter how small. I figured that if we got 80 people to donate US$25 a month each then we can take care of the children that we have. Should we get more commitments I will increase the amount until we have 20 babies. I believe that the combined force of a group of people has an incredible effect for good and in this case I hope that there will be many people who would be moved by the plight of these babies. Maybe by looking at each one of them, it will make the orphans in China more real. As I write this they have eaten themselves until they are full and have fallen asleep. Today was a truly exceptional day for Starfish. I wish you could have shared in this day here with us. The feeling was just tremendous. Starfish Children's Services has 501 (c) 3 status (20-4682916) and you can set up a recurring monthly donation or a one time donation at the following site: www.thestarfishfosterhome.org and look under the YOU CAN HELP tab Please make sure you designate where the money is to go. The "original" Starfish, or the Cleft Home. Thanks so much for your support. I am sure there are many people who would agree that I am certifiably crazy. I would answer that I became crazy when nothing else seemed to work. You cannot accuse me of having a boring life. I am sure one day this is all going to turn into an interesting book. You can say that you lived with me through it. Life, Love and Laughter, Amanda, with 30 little mouths to feed. Starfish Foster Home Xian China At Starfish, we have taken care of 67children to date, arranged almost 50 surgeries and had a whopping 18 international adoptions, so our little alumni live all over the globe: the US (latest adoptions to Kentucky and New Jersey), Netherlands, Norway and Spain. Two children are matched at the moment waiting for their families. We currently have 30 babies under the age of 3 1/2 at the foster home. www.thestarfishfosterhome.org http://chinesestarfish.blogspot.com chinese.starfishthrower@gmail.com Cell: 86.1348.812.4847

New Item for Order.

There is a new dress over at Miao's Cottage that I'm taking orders on if you are interested.

A 2008 HOLIDAY WISH of HOPE, HAPPINESS, and LOVE

Another great fundraiser for Starfish babies! Read the following and click on the bracelet to be taken to the Starfish site that will tell you how to donate. Please don't just gloss over this ... I know that times are tight, but even if you can't give enough for the bracelet what small thing can you give up during the holiday season to make a difference in the life of a child?

"It won't matter what car I drove, What kind of house I lived in, How much was in my bank account, Nor what my clothes looked like, But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child."

A 2008 HOLIDAY WISH of HOPE, HAPPINESS, and LOVE

"With the sale of our STARFISH BABIES’ BRACELETS that were featured during National Adoption month, we got a lot of requests for a less expensive bracelet offering. We turned to our friends at the boutique artisan firm, Ettika, and they came up with a HOPE EXPRESSIONS bracelet as an affordable holiday gift option that you can give to a loved one while supporting our babies.

For a minimum donation of $65 and while our supply lasts (we only have 100), we will immediately send you this beautiful bracelet. The charm is made out of white metal dipped in 18K gold and attached to a red leather band. Again, red signifies the Chinese proverb that says, “An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance.” The red band on the bracelet is designed to show support of Starfish as we help those children yet to be united with their forever families."

Even if you can't afford the $65 please consider any amount to help these precious children.
"The operation of Starfish Foster Home depends on people just like you. In fact, about 50% of last year’s operating costs were funded by private donations. This past year, one boy from Tennessee, Alex Boger, for his eighth birthday asked that instead of presents for his party that the money be given to Starfish! We were overwhelmed by his kindness. There is literally no gift too small when it comes to saving lives."

If you would like to help spread the word on this fundraiser feel free to copy this post in fact I beg you to copy this post and spread the word!

Please visit and bid if you can!

Amanda from Starfish Foster Home has sent some special auction items from China that Daleea has put on 'One Child At A Time'. What great gifts for Christmas and what a wonderful way to help a special child in need.

Also, check out these beautiful bracelets.

Click the picture to be taken to the site.

Quote off of Starfish website: "Most of you also know that November is National Adoption month. Over here in the U.S., we have launched a fundraiser with the help of the boutique artisan company, Ettika -- they make super cool jewelry that has been featured in In Style, People, and Star Magazine and they outfit several celebrities. Together we have designed a special STARFISH BABIES' BRACELET to raise funds for the home. EVERY penny except the base cost of goods goes to the babies. The bracelet was featured in StyleBakery.com on October 30th."

Please continue to pray for Amanda and the children at Starfish.

An amazing testimony!

I just ran across these two videos and was very moved by this lady. Both parts are about 15 min. in total, but well worth the 15 minutes. Eliana sat on my lap and watched both of them and was very interested in what Gianna had to say. I am so sad about how many lives that I know of personally that have been murdered all in the name of "a woman's choice". I can only dream about what their little lives would have been like and how happy a couple would have been to adopt those children. Life is so precious and needs to be protected.

I am so grateful to all those birth mothers out there who have chosen life for the precious life they carried and even more grateful to those who have giving the most precious gift of life to someone else. Thank you for choosing LIFE!

On the road to recovery!

After being in and out of the doctor's office since returning home we got into an ENT today. Eliana was doing so much better with her ears last week and then the weekend came and that was a whole different story. Sunday was a lot worse than Saturday. Well, Karen at K1 deserves a huge standing ovation and the Mama Helper award (I made that up)! She spent so much time over the weekend looking for where she saw something about Otitis Media, and then sent me articles about Otitis Media and cleft palates and such. She armed me for Monday morning and we got into the on-call doctor. I won't go into it all, but Mama called Eliana's doctor very mad, telling him that she was very very unhappy and that my daughter doesn't have "swimmer's ear" as the doctor said. Finally, after being on the phone with everyone I could think of trying to help Eliana, I got a call from our doctor who said I was right...this has gone on long enough. He got us into the ENT. Poor baby got her ears suctioned out and he found a perferated eardrum on the left, and fluid behind the right. So now we are on the road to recovery. Praise the Lord that I had the Mama drive to rattle every office I could until we got into someone who could help. The ENT suggested we get tubes in right away so we are trying to get Eliana's appointment with Children's moved up so we can do her palate surgery and tubes at the same time.

She is already acting so much happier and is smiling a whole lot more. She is actually having a grand ol' time with her Daddy instead of falling asleep. He is beside himself as she didn't get a good nap today (due to the appointment) and is now over-tired. We're both just thankful that we were able to get her right ear cleaned out and treated before that eardrum ruptured as well. Once the pain and illness is gone, we should then be able to really get a sense of our daughter's true personalilty and traits.

This picture was taken on Saturday...her 2nd birthday. I just uploaded these pictures and realize she is pulling at her left ear the one with the perforation in it. If I had of only taken her to the ER like I originally thought. Her ear perforated sometime between this photo and Monday. Oh, my poor baby girl.

Click here for more pictures.