We are moving through the adoption process in China, which is very exciting!    It is expected that we will receive our Letter of Approval/Confirmation this coming week.  Afterwards, there are still several more steps to complete (more paperwork)  before the process will be completed and we are invited to travel to China to get Yi Yuan!  We are hoping by the end of March.

The local paper did a very nice article this weekend about us and we appreciate the chance to share our story.    Here is the link:  
http://www.dailyrepublic.com/news/features-local/family-finds-unique-ways-to-raise-funds-for-international-adoption/

While this is exciting, it also means we need to continue to ask for fundraising help, and quickly.   We have current fees due to our agency in the amount of $11,000 .   (Plus travel expenses)   I am so very blessed for the help and support we have already received, and know we are grateful for each and every dollar, purchase, shoe donation and even prayers.  

Please share or forward this link, so we can get Yi Yuan home.
https://www.gofundme.com/letsgethimhome
He is waiting, but he cannot wait much longer.    In his last video he asked that we "come quickly, to bring me home to Amercia".    Let's make that happen together!

 

Thank you all so very much, with love and gratitude ~ Cyndi, Sylvia, Delaney and Yi Yuan

A LOTTA Fundraising!!

We are still smack dab in the middle fundraising!    I have new opportunity partnering with One Mission, a fanastic company that offers wonderful products...just in time for your Christmas shopping!!! One Mission adheres to exceptionally high standards of production and sustainability for absolutely everything they make. This includes a commitment to Made in the USA, No Animal Testing, Recycled Corrugate & Shipping Material, and a whole list of other product standards that ensure the highest level of performance and safety for you, your family, and our planet. Please visit the site and find lovely gifts to give that do good for a lot of good people! 40% of the proceeds go directly to our adoption fund!  
https://onemission.fund/support/lets-get-yiyuan-home/


There are candles, soap, jewelry, photo canvases, and more!


If you'd like to donate directly  to our adoption fund, you can via our GoFundMe page:
https://www.gofundme.com/letsgethimhome   or contact me for other ways of helping!

 Tax deductible donations can be made to our agency, Across The World Adoptions, through PayPal in my name at  adopt@atwakids.org.


Love to you all !!

Well, hello there!   I am not sure anyone stills visits this blog, as it's been three years since my last update, and I think everyone is on some form of social media...Facebook, etc.    So, this is just a little update, and maybe some of you are still checking, or new ones of you are!
                                              




A lot of things have changed and a lot have remained the same in the Ramsell household in three years!   Delaney is now 11 years old and in 6th grade!   Where we live, 6th grade is still elementary school, which I am glad about.   Delaney is an above straight A student!   She has been on the honor roll since receiving letter grades in 4th grade.   She works very hard, and much of it is fueled by her competitive nature!


                                                    




Speaking of being competitive, my little athlete has made tremendous strides in sports!  She has been playing comp soccer for three years now and this year, switched to an elite club.  It was hard decision for her, but she's happy on the new team and her development as a player has grown leaps and bounds!   She has also been ranked as USTA tennis player!  She's 156, but she's ranked!  This summer, she either won or placed second in every tournament she was in, even winning a tournament on my birthday "for me"!!
                              


Little Missy is now a Cadette Girl Scout and last year earned her Bronze Award as a Junior.   It is the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn.  She and her troop members worked all year building a bench in honor of Shae, their former girl scout sister.  Shae was also Delaney's best friend since kindy.  In second grade, Shae was disgnosed with brain cancer.  Our sweet Warrior Angel fought a tremendous fight for over two years, but God called her home last summer.  The girls wanted to remember her by building a purple bench to put in the school hallway outside the cafeteria.  Purple was Shae's favorite color.   I am always so proud to walk by the bench at school, and we always smile and laugh thinking of our sweet Shae Shae.
                          
                                                   


We have BIG BIG news!!   Last winter, in Feb/March, we hosted a 12 year old boy from an orphanage in China.   Yiyuan is an awesome kid, and we all fell in love...so we decided to make him part of our family!    I have been doing the paperwork chase that's needed for another international adoption all year, and am just about ready to send my dossier to China!   Fundraising has also taken up a lot time!   As many know, international adoptions cost over $30,000, so I have been busy piecing together the funds to cover all the fees involved!  Used shoe drive, home and online parties, t-shirt sales, online auction, applying for grants...whew!  Tired thinking about it all!   But we are so excited get Yiyuan home to us, his forever family and give him a chance in life.  He has the sweetest heart, loves Justin Beiber, basketball, pizza and hamburger and fries.  His favorite colors are orange and lime green!   And, he loves his Mei Mei...little sister in Chinese.    My dad is so excited, and he kept asking, "We're keeping him, right?"   My mom is happy to have another grandchild!   It was tough to say goodbye for awhile!  Currently, I will be setting up a new fundraiser, that I will post here in a few days, where you can purchase some great holiday gifts!!


If you'd like to donate to our adoption fund, you can via our GoFundMe page:
https://www.gofundme.com/letsgethimhome   or contact me for other ways of helping!
Tax deductible donations can be made to our agency, Across The World Adoptions, through PayPal in my name at  adopt@atwakids.org.
                       

                   

Hidy hi Ho!!  (where did that come from?  LOL!)   My poor blog, my poor blog readers, my poor followers.....yes, it has been almost two years since I updated!!  Sadly, Facebook has gotten hold of me and cable tied my computer behind my back!  

But I decided to try to update and try to be good about it!  If you are on FB, you are updated about what's been going on in the World According to Delaney!  Here's quick rundown:

2011:  Done with Kindy!  Summer camp: Cooking Camp, VBS and Soccer Camp!   Fun trip to Universal Studios and San Diego.  Delaney got to be a flower girl in my niece's wedding! Delaney is baptized!  Huge party and wonderful mass.   First grade starts!   My grandma leaves us, that was very hard on us all.   Good soccer season, tennis!  I win an award at work for two awesome spots!

2012:  Basketball starts!  Delaney turns 7 and looses her first tooth on the same day!   Fun trip to Tahoe for snowboarding, skiing, sledding and more!   Daisy Girl Scouts starts and Delaney sells almost 200 boxes!    Summer Camp:  VBS and Basketball camp where Delaney gets named Camper of the Week!  Tennis!   My department gets eliminated, and we are all laid-off.   Second grade starts!   Another great soccer season and the Daisies bridge to Brownies.   Delaney gets a super report card, reading at 5th grade level in English, 3rd in Spanish!   2nd Annual Pajama Potluck for Christmas!  Oh, I got re-hired with a promotion!

2013:  So far so good, sort of.  It is busy at work with the transition and one person down, my person!  I am doing both jobs right now and new processes are in place.  I am excited for the new position, but trying to get through the changes right now!
We are preparing for Delaney's 8th birthday by planning a science party!   On top of that, mom had surgery and is recovering well.   And we are gearing up for cookie season....contact me if you want your Girl Scout order in!!

Okay, that was a quickie update!!   Say hi if you have stopped by!
HUGS!   cyn and delaney

Once Again, Time Slips in Blogland....

Oh, I see many visitors from around the world......remember to say Hi!! (hint hint!)
Well, I knew when I started this blog I would get behind on posting, and now thanks to FB.....well, I know many of you are there, as well.

Since the new year we've been fairly busy with school activities, and fundraisers, we had Carnaval! That was so much fun..(I'll add pics shortly)..and....we had the BIG 6TH Birthday Rock Star Party Bash at the gymnastics center in Feb!!! Luckily the theme changed from SpongeBob to Rock Star, thanks to a visit to Party City! Super fun party and Mommy took some time off to volunteer at school on her acutal b-day as well take her to paint her own pottery. (Thanks to a gift card I won at the last school fundraiser...see a theme here??? ugh.) I also dusted off the sewing machine and MADE LM a dress for her birthday! It's on the far left had side of the sofa in her "loot" photo! Not too bad for all these years of not sewing, I might say!

We have been sick most of March but are all on the mend now! My mom had to be taken to the ER, but all is well! Most of LM's class was out all month! I am sure one of those kindergartner's is responisble for my ails!! he he! Oh, perhaps mine!!!

We had fun at the Russian Festival in Feb, also. We enjoy going every year and this year went with our friends Karina and Alice. Karina is from Kaz, but they enjoyed the dancing and food, too! Who wouldn't?? Yummy!!!

Keeping this short and with pics......

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like....

Christmas in full swing at the Ramsell household! We spent the enitre weekend decorating inside and out! Can someone please expalin why something ALWAYS doesn't work right....a few lights, an extension cord, last year we had a problem with the tree stand...EVERY year there seems to be some small issue! Guess it's just part of of the holidays now! But geez, I'd like for just one year, to put everything up without a problem...is that too much to ask Santa? LOL!!


AND, we picked up the tree Saturday, so here is this year's On Top of the Car Tree Photo........plus a goofy one....You can see how much she's grown if you look at the tree photo at the top of the page, that was just two years ago! Plus, she climbed on top of the car all by herself! (ugh!)



Last week, Delaney's Spanish Immersion Class sang at our town's tree lighting. They sang a few Christmas songs in Spanish and while some of the kids got a little stage fright and cried, Little Missy got up there and sang every word to every song smiling the entire time! I was a proud SIP Mama!!! And as proud Mama was in the front taking pictures, Delaney was enjoying that a large crowd had formed behind me to watch the kids sing! "Everyone in Vacaville was watching ME sing, Mom!"
Well, yes, it did seem like everyone was there...he he!

Long Time No Post!!!

Okay ~ I am SOOO sorry my fellow bloggers and followers!! I admit, Facebook has recieved my attention these last several months!! FB is quicker and I can update it from my Android phone! (new this summer!!) (that's another post! LOL!)

This is my attempt to once again stay updated on the blog! So, for a quick review...
BUSY SUMMER! Delaney finished up spring soccer, had a big dance recital, cooking class, science camp, tennis lessons, vacation bible school...AND her very first trip to Disneyland! We spent a week down in LA, three days at the Happiest Place on Earth, where nothing went fast enough or high for my daredeveil of a five year old!

She disovered pin-trading and started out day one with one pin and ended day three with eight (???) We spent one day at California Adventure with my wonderful girlfriend from college, Lisa, and her family, husband Wayne, and son, Cory.


Cory is a month older than Delaney and they love each other so much! We also had dinner one night with them at the Rain Forest Cafe, it's too bad we live so far from them. It was a really great trip! Zippity Do Da! We spent a day at the beach jumping in the waves and collecting shells! Still not sure what LM loved more, Disneyland or staying at the hotel (it has a pool y'know!)

Well, the REAL news, as Little Missy will tell you, "I started school!" Kindergarten began on August 18th...on which said day, she was up and dressed and had tied her shoes on her own for the very first time at....6:30 AM!!! Her kindergarten starts at 11:30 AM!!! HA!

Most said, "Oh, that will last about a week."...well, as of Nov 19th...we are still getting up early and getting dressed and ready, occasionaly making lunch.......I am never going to get to sleep in EVER again! She finishes her homework in a day, (she has a week), and LOVES being a Spanish Immersion Program! So much so, that she feels the need to correct my Spanish, (never mind I've been speaking it all my life!)


As we start off the holiday season, here's wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and hoping we can all be reminded of all the blessing in our lives, I know I am blessed with a lovely little Spanish speaking kindergartner! Hasta luego!