Clothes are getting ready to go....

Thanks to some sales on eBay (with some more coming soon), I was able to raise about $75 toward shipping some packages to the kids in Tam Ky. I got some of the smaller boxes together and it'll take way too many of them to send them that way (though it is quick and a good deal: $37 for the flat-rate box). I just can't get enough of the shirts in there. I did pack one full of 16 pairs of pants, so that'll head out to them early next week and should be there within two weeks. Fingers crossed. I'm also going to send some handmade Xmas candies to the volunteers there.

Then I was thinking maybe you guys could mail off some Merry Christmas or Happy New Year cards to them, as well. You could include cards for the volunteers, Mrs Hanh, Yen and/or the children at the orphanages. Just do NOT send cash. It'll get pilfered long before it gets there.

So send some cards to:
GVN Volunteers
158 Hung Vuong
Tam Ky, Quang Nam
VIETNAM

and give them all a reason to smile. I'll get a box or two of pants, socks and candies off soon and the holidays will be a bit nicer for those who are away from their families.

Finally ready...

I've wanted to make a calendar with our pictures for a while. I actually have used a couple of different companies to make them, but when I got the final product in hand, I wasn't so pleased. I finally found one, though, that offered exactly what I want. A desktop calendar with our photos, captions and dates marked for Vietnamese holidays. Woohoo! I'm stoked. Here's a composite of all the pages:



And of course you can get one yourself! I'm charging $8.99 and the couple extra bucks will go toward the shipping of all those clothes to the Tam Ky Baby Orphanage. I'm also selling some of the not-as-useable-for-Vietnam stuff on ebay to pay for postage, as well. All these shirts and pants have been sitting here for far too long.

[I've tried a dozen times to get this button to work, but nothing seems to help. Ugh. So, if you want the calendar, hit me up on paypal. Donate [at] teresaandkids.com is the address. So much for simple and easy.]
THANK YOU!

helping the children

For those of you in Ha Noi:
Inc. Vietnam will be arranging the fund-raising run / walk around Westlake, in Hanoi on Sunday, 14 October 2007. We shall be greatly thankful for your (financial) contribution to this cause. We would be delighted if you and / or your friends / colleagues could also join us for the run/walk. *The event will start at 6:30 am at the Hanoi Lake View building, 28 Thanh Nien Road, Hanoi.* Should you need more information or would like to register for the event, please contact our local coordinator, Mr. Au Minh Tuan at tuanamATadb.org>

For everyone:
I have three more boxes of clothes that were donated for the kids in Tam Ky, but they cost more than $100 to ship. I'd like to send one more box of warm clothes, since it's starting to get cool there, and hoping I can get some help from y'all. If you can spare $10 or so to help with the mailing costs, I'd be ever so grateful. The paypal address is donateATteresaandkids.com. If you would like to include a card or anything small (and very light), let me know and I'll give you a mailing address.

Separation Anxiety

It doesn't to be as much of an issue as I thought it might be, for the kids as well as me. For the first time in seven months, we all spent the night away from each other. Stuart went with his friend Zach up to Washington to celebrate his birthday. Audrey headed up to Vancouver to spend the time with her cousins (and my sister). I spent the weekend hanging out with my good friends Jaymee and Goolie. I made it a point to not call the kids to see how they were; I know that they can call me if there is a problem. No one called and we all had fun in our own ways, though we missed each other as well. We've become a different kind of family now. The kids are more independent, yet we have a deeper connection with each other than before.

Stuart was excited to show me his photos of the San Juan Islands and was amused that he has been through Seattle three times in one week. We hadn't been for the two previous years, but now he's a frequent visitor. Too funny.

Audrey tried to share her love of crochet with her cousin, V., but she didn't attach to it in the way that Audrey has. So they found other things to do. She had a great time, she says, but was eager to be back with us.

I got to see a band play, ran into old friends, bummed around S.E. Portland (including the book store--ah, home!), then Saturday night had a bunch of friends over. I was pleasantly surprised to see what of my favoritest musician, Rick Bain, play in someone's backyard and later met up with friends I hadn't seen in nearly a year.

Then when it was time for the kids to come home, I was pleased to have them back. They are my comfort zone and with them I'm happy. I'm still fighting the sadness and find myself just sitting, staring into space and dreaming of Viet Nam. Then I yank myself back and remember how much I need to get done.

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I'm going to do the Blogathon this year. It is on Saturday and it entails me posting every 30 minutes for 24 hours. Some of these posts are bound to get pretty silly, I'm sure, but it will be a good reason to work up some bits of writing and pictures to post. Your part is to sponsor my blog. I'll be blogging to raise funds for Children of Vietnam (COV), a non-profit that goes to central Viet Nam twice a year to bring necessities to the kids. I'll be trying to raise some funds for them, so donate if you can.

I've been working on some local awareness raising and donation gathering and happy to say I'll be getting some clothing donated from a local company. Woohoo! I was hoping to be able to travel with COV when they go in September, but I don't see it being a realistic possibility, so I'll have to mail off the donations that I receive instead. Whatever. The kids will get it and that's what is important to me. I'll be looking for some quality blankets for them next, and then trying to find a shipper for them that won't charge me the price of an airline ticket to get them there.

always more to come...