I have been asking some of my favorite bloggers about adding twitter to my blog and they all unanimously said – do it!!  The reason we blog is to connect with other bloggers, but tweeting was foreign to me.  I want to thank all of you who started following me on twitter a year ago, when I had no idea how to tweet!  I’m finally on board, and had a few lessons from my son @michaelgibby1 on twitter 101.  I also love this post from friend, Michael Hyatt here on how to Twitter like a professional tweep!  Thank you, Megan Miller on your twitter tips, too.

First of all, sign up for twitter.. click on the adorable little blue bird on top of my blog.  He won’t hurt you, I promise!  Just add your name and come up with a crazy password and you’re in! You’ll quickly learn the tricks- #crazywords and you will start joining other crazy bloggers craziness!  Twitter really is fun and easy.

If you want to follow me on Twitter when I’m in Uganda you can read tweets from @MyCrazyAdoption and @michaelgibby1 – just type in our “names” and you will be an official mission trip stalker!

Once you are tweeting, check out how to make your blog posts permalinks tiny to add on your tweets.  Check out http://tinyurl.com/ and also, Tweet Deck.

This is YOUR personal shout out for your adoption and missions fundraisers!!  My Crazy Adoption brings the craziness straight to you- sending readers to check out your links!

If you have a special project, fundraiser, or blog post you want to share with my crazy readers, please leave a comment with all your information and permalink (example: http://agoodkindofcrazy.blogspot.com/2011/03/american-girl-doll-giveaway.html) to take readers directly to your site.  Leave your own “write up!”

YOU INSPIRE ME!!

1.  Simply Love in Action-  A Silent Auction and Fundraiser to benefit the Cabeen Family’s Adoption in Africa:

• Sunday, May 22nd
• 3:00pm – 5:00pm  Coffee House on Main Please join us for an afternoon of art, apparel and awareness.  Silent auction items to include beautiful artwork, hand crafted items, giftbaskets, season theater tickets and more!  T-shirts, bags, and scarves will also be available for sale.  All donations to benefit the Cabeen Family adoption. www.bringinghomeourfamily.blogspot.com

2.  I’m selling some SWEET t-shirts to help fund our adoption. Check them out on our blog! To the praise of His glorious grace” Rachel Vander Wall.  Purchase tees here.

3.  Adoptive mom Julie Gumm has just published her book “Adopt Without Debt: Creative Ways to Cover the Cost of Adoption.” Woven through the telling of their debt-free adoption journey, Julie shares how to find extra money in your household budget, apply for grants, and fundraise in order to build your family without saddling it with debt. With over $65,000 worth of creative fundraising ideas from more than 25 adoptive families. Visit www.adoptwithoutdebt.com for more information and to order.

4.  After years of trying to continue to grow our family we have decided to adopt domestically. To help raise funds we have had wristbands made up. The Lord laid Matthew 25:40 on our hearts:

I would love you to be a guest blogger on My Crazy Adoption Blog during my 12 day mission trip to Uganda! Please email me and submit your post for approval.  Please limit your posts to subjects for moms, adoption, missions, and orphan care.  This is such an exciting blitz for bloggers who love to write and make connections with other crazy readers! I simply love guest bloggers!!

I need topics:

• Send me your post ready-to-go (that means y’all do the writing, editing, and spell checking)
• Stick to the top 4 subjects- moms, adoption, missions, orphan care
• Attach photos of your family or subject clipart
• Mommy DIY craft
• Add your blog link to share
• posts to encourage, support, and make us laugh
• yummy recipe

Due date for your blog posts- May 22nd.  Email at karigib@gmail.com

(don’t forget to include attachment with photo)

Thank you so much for helping me blog when I’m in Uganda!

This is YOUR personal shout out for your adoption and missions fundraisers!!  My Crazy Adoption brings the craziness straight to you- sending readers to check out your links!

If you have a special project, fundraiser, or blog post you want to share with my crazy readers, please leave a comment with all your information and permalink (example: http://agoodkindofcrazy.blogspot.com/2011/03/american-girl-doll-giveaway.html) to take readers directly to your site.

YOU INSPIRE ME!!

{You Inspire Me}

1. Nikki Cochrane I am trying to fundraise for Andrielis’ Education. This is perfect for World Health Day tmrw as she is trying to become a nurse, and part of the program involves her volunteering in a clinic and learning about different diseases! http://andrielis.blogspot.com/
2. Jenn Anderson I am raising funds for girls aged out of the orphanages in Latvia ages 17-20. These girls are put into the street with few to no belongings, no life skills, and no family or support system. Many girls end up going into prostitution by force. http://roadtolatvia.blogspot.com/2011/04/hope-for-girls-giveaway.html
3. Check out my NEW Lime Green tote, celebrating Dawn Bigler Patterson’s love of lime!!! You can purchase the new tote on the link below and make a difference in the life of an orphan [and my son's missions trip!] Lime Crazy Heart Ragged Edge Tote | My Crazy Adoption Official Store
4. We have a wonderful special that we are hosting at our Solomon Beads store… http://solomonbeads.com … You will receive a FREE pair of earrings for all orders totaling $40 or more.  So, stop on by and find something special for your mother, sister, daughter, or friend and take advantage of our fabulous offer.  Give a gift with a beautiful story of God’s perfect provision…give a gift with a purpose…give a gift that you have perfectly chosen.  Don’t see exactly what you are looking for?? We LOVE to make custom pieces so don’t hesitate to ask!
5. Young Couple Creatively Fundraise to Bring Home Their Son from Ethiopia
   LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL (April 8, 2011)-Gerrid and Jessica Smith of Lakewood Ranch, Florida have just launched a website http://BabyEsFamilyTree.com in an effort to help raise funds to bring home their adopted son Elijah from Ethiopia. The website has a picture of a large tree that is comprised of 1,000 small squares. For just $10, an individual can upload their picture to become part of Elijah’s, otherwise known as “Baby E’s”, family tree!The Smith’s are asking individuals and businesses to purchase space on their website to raise the remaining $10,000.00 needed to complete their adoption.
   “I love the African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” And while this is true we believe it also takes a village to bring a child home…especially when it comes to adoption!”- Jessica Smith

6. My husband and I are moving to Kitale, Kenya by the end of the end of the summer with our 3 children ages 6,4 and 5 months.  We are joining a ministry called Mattaw Childrens Village that rescues, restores and redeems orphaned and abandoned children. www.mattawchildren.com
   My husband and I have been traveling to Kenya since 2002 when we were dating. To make a long story short, here we are today, pursuing a life in full time missions in Kenya.  I am spearheading the buidling of Mattaw’s addition of “Sprouts” baby home for preemies to age 2. We are hitting the pavement for fundraising for this baby home as well as our personal support for our family.

If you have a special project, fundraiser, or blog post you want to share with my crazy readers, please leave a comment with all your information and permalink (ex: http://agoodkindofcrazy.blogspot.com/2011/03/american-girl-doll-giveaway.html) to take readers directly to your site.  It’s your personal shout out!

You can also email me during the week and personally request to share your projects on Crazy Links I Love weekly post.  Please limit to adoption, missions, or orphan care fundraisers.  I want to help you get the word out there in blog land!

You Inspire Me

1.  Me, and my brothers, and sisters are raising money for a little girl in India who is going to have a surgery so that she can see. She had a cyst in her eye resently taken out, and she will be able to see when her surgery is done. I was wondering if I could put a post on your blog. I’m ten years old, and I am adopted from China. Love, Lily (Here’s the link to our blog)
http://davidandsarahb.blogspot.com/2011/03/geniveves-second-and-final-surgery.htmlI’d love to have a couple links on your blog

2.  The Ducommun Family are adoption baby #2 from Ethiopia and working hard on missions in Mexico.  Check out her amazing fundraising projects here – my etsy shop and fundraiser (rag dolls, onesies, tshirts) www.lkdKids.etsy.com
Ducommun blog: www.ducommunfamily.blogspot.com

3.  We sponsor a child through Children’s HopeChest at Grace Baptist Church’s orphanage/drop in center in Kombolcha, Ethiopia. Several children are not currently sponsored. In order to provide meals for these children I came up with this adorable refrigerator magnet! $7 from each sale will provide approximately 6 meals for children who are not sponsored! would love it if you could feature my new project. They can be purchased in my Etsy Shop. If you decided to profile this, I can send you a few pictures if you’d like. Thank you so much. Debi

My blog is:
http://jenkinsethiopiaadoption.blogspot.com/

My Etsy Shop is:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EthiopiaAdoption

4.  Junk Posse Simply Love- click here! Each pendant is made by hand with Great Detail.  This necklace can be reversed & worn two ways. The front has “Simply Love” that is raised up and paired with a Beautiful white pearl wrapped in sterling & a Sterling key.  The back has a raised Heart with the “Love” hand stamped on it several times. Each pendant measure just under 1″ inch & comes with a nice “20″ inch Sterling rolo chain.

Note: Tracy is donating $30.00 of each necklace sale to the Gibson Family in the process of adoption.

Please read about them here:
Adoption changed our lives, our hearts and our family woven together with love.  We are praying that God brings us another child or two through the miracle of adoption.  We are waiting, hoping, and longing to expand our family … His timing is perfect.  We are overjoyed to have two stunning necklaces helping support our adoption journey.  Thank you for opening up your hearts to Simply Love.

 

My bloggy friends… I want to know what YOU are reading this month?  You are smart and crazy and interesting, so I want to know what you recommend!  Please share book title and author in the comments.

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!
Dr. Seuss

I can read in red. I can read in blue.
I can read in pickle color too.
I can read in bed, and in purple. and in brown.
I can read in a circle and upside down!
I can read with my left eye. I can read with my right.
I can read Mississippi with my eyes shut tight!

There are so many things you can learn about.
But…you’ll miss the best things
If you keep your eyes shut.
The more that you read, the more things you will know
The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

If you read with your eyes shut you’re likely to find
That the place where you’re going is far, far behind
SO…that’s why I tell you to keep your eyes wide.
Keep them wide open…at least on one side.

If you have a special project, fundraiser, or blog post you want to share with my crazy readers, please leave a comment with all your information and permalink (ex: http://agoodkindofcrazy.blogspot.com/2011/03/american-girl-doll-giveaway.html) to take readers directly to your site.  It’s your personal shout out!

You can also email me during the week and personally request to share your projects on Crazy Links I Love weekly post.  Please limit to adoption, missions, or orphan care fundraisers.  I want to help you get the word out there in blog land!

Crazy Links:

1.  As much as we want our little one home, we also wanted to help other couples become parents through adoption. In order to do this, we have co-founded Leaves of Love and we would LOVE for you to check it out. It is a great way for adopting parents to raise money for their adoption and I think it would be an awesome topic for one of your posts since you have so many fundraising mamas who read your blog. Since finances seems to be what scares people the most, we created Leaves of Love to make fundraising fun, stylish, and successful! Would love to chat all about it…really hoping you might be willing to write a post about it to spread the news about it! Angela’s blog here.

This is the link: http://leavesoflove.blogspot.com/

New Products!!  TOTES!!

I’m so excited about the new Simply Love tote bags for adoption and missions fundraising!  The totes are selling like hot cakes and I don’t want you to miss out on the craze!  For the next two weeks, we have a special price offer for Simply Love tote bags.  You can purchase the Simply Love Kit and have exclusive rights to any of the wholesale products. You can custom pick the tote of your choice, any ink color, and your favorite design.  You can print your design pick on ANY of the totes- mix & match colors!!  Go a little crazy!  Email me if you have any questions.

It’s easy to start your own tote fundraiser:

Step 1- purchase the Simply Love Kit online here.

Step 2- you pick the tote, 1 ink color, and your favorite Simply Love design.   You can print any of the 10 designs on any of the 3 tote bags featured in the Kit.

Step 3- start your fundraising project!

DESIGN 1 – SIMPLY LOVE SWIRLS

Qty 12+ = $13.70 each.  More colors available.

DESIGN 2 – SIMPLY LOVE ORIGINAL

(shoulder totes w/ 2 buckle)

Qty 12+ = $12.70 each

DESIGN 3 – FUNKY SIMPLY LOVE

Messenger bags (green & camouflage featured)

Qty 12+ = $11.95 each.  More colors available

I returned home last week from my Visiting Orphans mission trip to Ethiopia and I want to celebrate with you.  This week, My Crazy Adoption Blog will feature a special daily post sharing my top 5 blessings from the trip.  To kickoff missions week, I’m throwing a funky Giveaway featuring the incredible leather items of Carol McCoy, owner and designer of Real Leather Stuff.  Carol is currently leading a Visiting Orphans trip to Uganda (this week!) and helping orphans learn leather working as a trade.  Carol created a stunning Man Up 4 Orphans passport cover… Is that cool or what!

I will randomly pick a winner on Friday, March 11th….  1 blessed winner from the comments.  You can enter 1x a day!

What do you win?

You win a $100 gift certificate to purchase any of the items featured in the Real Leather James line (includes jewelry & passport covers)

How do you win?

You pick 2:

1.  add the Visiting Orphans button to your blogs- you can copy code on VO Blog.

2.  share about Real Leather Stuff on Facebook.

3.  Leave a comment and let me know what Real Leather Stuff you simply love- don’t forget to add your email address.

I told you they were stunning!!

If you have a special project, fundraiser, or blog post you want to share with my crazy readers today, please leave a comment with all your information and permalink (ex: http://agoodkindofcrazy.blogspot.com/2011/03/american-girl-doll-giveaway.html) to take readers directly to your site.

Crazy Links:

1. American Girl Doll Giveaway- The adoption giveaway will be open from February 28 until March 6. The will be announced via Facebook and here on our blog by our daughter, Zoe at 6pm(PST) on the 6th.  Enter Here.
2. You can purchase Simply Love Congo tees to support this incredible Cardin Family adoption! website and blog:
   www.AdoptingNoelle.org, http://thecardinscongoadoption.blogspot.com/

Congratulations to the 2 special Valentine’s Day winners selected randomly from the comments-  please email me and I will give you the contact information to receive your stunning Simply Love necklace directly from Junk Posse.

1st Winner- Amy L. Quick

· 3 days ago

2nd Winner- Wendy Sterk

8 hours ago

Oh, pick me, pick me!! I love them both but my fav is the 2nd one. We have just completed our adoption and brought home a sweet little boy from Kazakhstan last week!!! I love the key and all that it can symbolize. Simply love reminds me that LOVE covers it all! I can not change the world, but for this little orphan, his world has changed. We just simply love him and have adopted him as our own just as Christ has adopted us!