Subsidy Shades SPRING BREAK GIVEAWAY!

It's SPRING BREAK and we here at Joy in the Journey will take any excuse to highlight a business that is focused on benefiting families in their adoption process {especially when it means we get to do a GIVEAWAY!}

Subsidy Shades is devoted to passionately raising funds to help create forever families via adoption through stylish affordable fashion. You can contribute to the future of a child. 100% proceeds donated.

Adoption has certainly blessed our lives in more ways than we could have imagined. In March of 2012 we started the process (infant domestic adoption) and had many hiccups along the way. We were matched in January 2013 and our tiny bundle of joy arrived the next month, weighing in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces! Since then our adoption costs have been tremendous. Our sweet birthmother is a single mother to four children and had major health complications during her pregnancy. Being the adoptive parents we were responsible for all of her costs during that time. I joke and call Jacqueline our “million dollar baby” but in all seriousness, her adoption cost us nearly $60,000.

In June of 2013, Jacquie’s birth family became homeless on the hard streets of Detroit. With the help of family and friends we were able to fly them in to our home, to live with us while we raised funds to purchase them a residence. In the end, we were able to get the family a home but were unable to reach our fundraising goal. Robert and I were happy to help, however we were put in another tight financial situation as we made up the difference.

Here we are in March 2014. Jacqueline is a thriving one year old. We want to start the adoption journey again! (Are we crazy or what?!) Robert and I are so excited to expand our family through another infant domestic adoption and give Jacquie a brother or sister of the same race. In order for us to do this, we need help. Our friends and family so generously donated funds for her birth family to purchase a home that we do not feel comfortable asking for straight donations. Instead all proceeds of Subsidy Shades will go directly to a fund to help expand our growing family.

Our website is www.subshades.com. You can follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/subshades and our Instagram: subsidyshades. 

We've recently added a featured families section in which we spot light a hopeful adoptive family for two weeks to help them fund raise through our organization. Email us at info@subshades.com if you would like more information. We love our family, friends and kind strangers so much! Do good. Feel good. Look good.

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Want to win a pair to sport on your Spring Break adventures?

How about these:

Here's how:

Entry #1:

Visit Subsidy Shades and Click on the "Make a Difference" Menu to peruse the Shades, Watches, and Love Knots for sale.

Leave a Comment on this post or on the corresponding FB post (containing the picture above) telling us which item from Subsidy Shades is your favorite!

Entry #2:

Visit Joy in the Journey's brand new page that focuses on businesses just like Subsidy Shades (and other adoption fundraisers) by clicking the link here.

Join the page {all members of the page will receive this entry, no further action is needed}.

Giveaway will start at the posting of this blog, 

4:30 p.m. CST Friday, March 14th and end 48 hours later, 

at 4:30 p.m. CST Sunday, March 16th.

Good luck!

NEW YEARS GIVEAWAY: Love is Waiting

Thank you all SO MUCH for sharing your joys and struggles with us through this giveaway.  What a blessing that you are allowing our ministry to uplift you through this crazy roller coaster ride of adoption/fostering and, ultimately, parenting.  We are thankful for you!  Happy New Year!

This giveaway is closed.  Winner: Kim Nantz

2013 is drawing to a close which provides an excellent opportunity for reflection as well as contemplation.  As we each take the time to count our blessings individually, we would like to do the same as a team.

First, reflection: 2013 will always be an important year for the Joy in the Journey ministry as this was the year of it's birth.  When the team began earlier this year, we never dreamed that the Lord would grow it so quickly.  We started with the mission to encourage and connect adoptive and foster families and we believe that God has richly blessed His mission through this blog, our Facebook group, and (more recently) through other social media.  We are so thankful to be a part of this journey.  

Secondly, contemplation:  The truth is, the future of this ministry is completely in His hands.  We know that we will continue working around the clock to bring you information, encouragement, and connection through the blog, the retreat in February, and our social media sites.  But, past that, what God has planned is beyond the scope of our imagination and is His to reveal in His time.  We do know that our team of four is committed to this ministry and that it is no accident that each of us shares a passion for adoptive families.  We also know that whatever the future of this journey, we will approach it with JOY as followers of the One who provides that joy!

To show how much we appreciate all of you who are here to help us reflect on an amazing year for this new ministry, we are bringing you {another} giveaway!  This time, it's from an awesome ministry called Love is Waiting.  Here's their story:

Our adoption journey started in 2010, when we decided to adopt a baby boy from Ethiopia. We were buried in paperwork and had a few different fundraisers going, one of which was a t-shirt shop! 

 I designed a couple of t-shirts to sell to help with our expenses, but I didn't just want them to be "throw away" shirts. I didn't want people feeling obligated to buy them and then stuff them in the back of a drawer. I wanted people to buy the shirts because they LOVED them. I made sure the printing was perfect. I splurged on expensive t-shirt blanks. I thought long and hard about the designs… and it worked! people LOVED the shirts! They loved them so much that we even after our adoption was fully paid for, and our son had been home for TWO YEARS… people were still asking about the shirts! How amazing is that?! 

I decided that I had to reopen the store, but this time give funds to OTHER families who need help with adoption expenses. Now we feature a new family each week! We share their story on the blog and 20% of the sales from that week will go towards their adoption! 

I have loved partnering with families in this way and I hope that this little shop grows and grows!  And, we are currently taking new families!  If you'd like to be one of our sponsored families, contact me {Heather} at mrs.heatherhale@gmail.com.

Wouldn't you LOVE to score a Love is Waiting shirt for free??  Here's how you can be entered to win one:

{One entry for each separate comment for a total of up to four entries}

1. Comment on this blog post with one thing that has brought you Joy in 2013.

2. Comment on this blog post with one thing that you are looking forward to in 2014.

3. Comment on the corresponding FB post with one thing that has brought you Joy in 2013.

4. Comment on the corresponding FB post with one thing that you are looking forward to in 2014.

Entries will be accepted for 48 hours only, midnight 12/30/13 to midnight 1/1/14.

Winner will be announced the morning of 1/1/14.

Exciting Announcment and GIVEAWAY!

We are SO excited to announce that we have added a new Joy in the Journey team member!

Sarah Habuda is the newest member to our team.  Sarah is amazing and brings a super fun dynamic to our group.  Our ministry is growing so quickly and it became very clear to us that we needed to add a fourth member.  When we began to pray and think about who that fourth member could be and what we needed from them....Sarah was the first name to come to mind.  I know that you all will grow to love her as much as we do.  Please make her feel welcomed to the ministry!

MEET SARAH

My name is Sarah and I am so blessed to become the newest member of the Joy in the Journey team. I am a Jesus follower who is passionate about loving God and loving people. I have a huge heart for adoption, orphan care, and supporting and connecting with adoptive families.

My husband Matt and I have been married for 10.5 years. He makes me laugh, gets my weirdness, encourages my heart, helps me pursue my passions, and is an amazing father to our children.

We talked about adoption before we were ever married…in fact it was part of our conversations before we even started dating! We always knew adoption would be part of our family, and we are so humbled and thankful for the story God has authored for our family.

I have two of the cutest, sweetest, silliest, and most energetic toddlers in the world! Our sons were adopted from Taiwan, are 14 months apart, and are biological siblings. Levi is 2.5 and came home when he was 6 months old. Ethan is 15 months and just came home at the end of September when he was 13 months old.

We are in the middle of the transition period and life at our house is crazy, messy, and exhausting (anyone want to share some toddler sleeping tips?), but yet also full of sweet cuddles, laughter, and joy. We are so blessed and thankful. After teaching elementary school for 9 years, I am grateful to now be a stay-at-home momma to my boys! I am so thankful to my adoptive mommy friends who are helping me navigate motherhood and who encourage and support me, who pray for me, and who laugh and rejoice with me.

It is my prayer that the Joy in the Journey ministry…the blog, the retreat, the community….will help adoptive, foster, and interested mommas to connect with others who also passionately love the Lord and who are walking similar paths. Our desire is that this will be a safe place where we can be real, cultivate relationships, grow and learn, and where we can support, uplift, and encourage one another. It is my prayer that together we will pursue true Joy.

I truly hope that “Joy in the Journey” will not just be a name or catch phrase, but rather reflective of how we… mommas whose lives have been blessed by adoption and foster care…live each step of this life long adoption journey. Let’s walk it together!

In honor of our newest team member we are doing an amazing GIVEAWAY. Look below to find out more details!

She has done it again....Kate Clayton with The Adopt Shoppe has graciously offered to giveaway an amazing globe necklace in honor of Sarah.  Check this out...

Winner gets to choose one of these three necklaces!!  FYI...these went live on her ETSY site last night and she sold out in like 1 minute.  It is a HOT item!! Here is how to enter: Go to our FB page and "Like" the page (1 entry) "Share" this blog on your FB page (1 entry) Follow us on Twitter (1 entry) #joyjourney1 Follow us on Pinterest (1 entry) http://www.pinterest.com/joyjourney1/ VERY IMPORTANT:  For ALL enteries please comment on our FB status where this blog is posted that you did the above things (that includes following Twitter and Pinterest).  If you don't comment you will not be entered! Winner will be announced Friday, December 20 at 2:00pm.

One Month Away GIVEAWAY!!

Giveaway Ended. Congratulations, Catrina Steinmann!!

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EXACTLY one month from today, at 6:00 p.m., registration for the first ever Joy in the Journey Adoptive Mama's Retreat will go LIVE. The Joy in the Journey team has been hard at work, planning to make the retreat one that will bless the hearts of the ladies who attend.

To celebrate how close we are to the registration date, we are hosting a giveaway. One lucky winner will win a beautiful photo book from Pics with a Purpose for You. Giveaway details are as follows:

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My husband, Jason, and I are in the final stages of our first adoption. We are overjoyed to be bringing our son home from Taiwan in two weeks! (I leave this Saturday!!!) We love kids and hope to have a full house one day through both local and international adoptions. We are extremely thankful that all the expenses for this first adoption are covered, but as I said, we don’t want to stop here!

After reading the blog post about The 1500 Tree Project Giveaway, I was inspired. I've never been super excited about the thought of fundraising, and realized I may have been subconsciously telling the Lord “No” in this area. While reading The 1500 Tree Project Giveaway blog I realized this, and quickly decided that saying “No” to the Lord was not a good plan. I prayed, “Lord, if you have something fun and creative that you would like me to do to help fund our next adoption, I’m willing.” Within 5 seconds my mind was full of what I would call a download from Heaven!

Creating Photo Books is something I've done for our family and loved since my husband and I got married five years ago, so it wasn't rocket science when this idea came to me. Nonetheless, I never thought of it on my own! It took a prayer and a willing heart. Now it seems so obvious! Over the years I have heard a plethora of mothers say something to the effect of, "Yeah, I stopped completing photo albums when my oldest was 6 months." I'm here to help, and not just those mothers, but anyone who loves pictures and family memories at their finger tips!

Photo Books are my primary focus, and they come in four different sizes: 5x7, 8x8, 8x11, and 12x12. If you have digital pictures we can discuss various ways to get them to me, and if you have hard copies of pictures that are not yet digital, I provide scanning services as well! I have been interested and active in photography for over 15 years, so if you want to set up a photo session to take pictures for you photo book, I do that too! I really just love it all!

Today’s giveaway is for a 5x7 photo book, or the equivalent value to go towards a larger book or a photo session. It’s up to you! Check out my page at www.facebook.com/picswithapurposeforyou or email me at picswithapurposeforyou@gmail.com for more details.

I’d love to help you get your family pictures and memories up to date to enjoy for years to come, while you help us make ours possible!!

About Our Family

Jason and Laurel Wike celebrated their fifth anniversary in August of this year. When they married, Laurel was blessed to become the step-Mom to a beautiful young girl who is now 9-years-old, and very eager for her little brother to come home from Taiwan in two weeks! Jason is the Corporate Chef for the Red Onion Restaurants, and Laurel is a stay-at-home-Mom-to-be and domestic entrepreneur, running an in-home daycare and transcribing in her spare time. The whole Wike family has not had the opportunity to be together yet, so here is a picture of Jason & Laurel with their son from their last trip to Taiwan in May.

To enter the giveaway, simply complete the rafflecopter form below.  The giveaway begins at midnight Central Standard Time on 9/11/13 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on 9/11/13.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tag your Friends GIVEAWAY

If you've visited the Shopping with a Purpose tab at all, you've probably noticed those delicious-looking Jollypops by the Shubert family {of Crafting a Family}.  

These lollypops are homemade using one of America's favorite hard candies :) by the Shuberts, who are waiting for a referral of their second child.

Jollypops are PERFECT for parties, giveaways, or gifts and every cent you spend on them helps bring the next Shubert baby home.  And, in addition, the Shuberts also have beautiful scarves and necklaces for sale.

Ready to order?!  Click here to head over to their facebook page and place an order for your next event today!

You can also read about the Shuberts' adoption journey on their blog at http://hearttoheartshuberts.blogspot.com/.

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Now for the GIVEAWAY!!

Heather has graciously agreed to give away one dozen Jollypops to one lucky winner.

To enter:

• Click HERE to go to the Joy in the Journey Facebook page.
• Make sure that you have "liked" the page.
• Click "share" to share the FB page on your own FB wall.
• Tag as many friends as you can think of that would benefit from the Joy in the Journey ministry.
• Leave a comment on the Facebook post that says "COMMENT HERE FOR GIVEAWAY" telling us how many friends you tagged.
• You will receive one entry for every tagged friend...no limit!

Giveaway ends at 8:00 p.m. Central on Monday, August 26th, 2013.

Winner will be posted on the Joy in the Journey Facebook page.  

P.S.  Don't forget that we LOVE to feature adoption fundraisers!  If you're interested in free advertising, click here or here for information on how to get your Shopping with a Purpose event featured!

Find Joy in the Journey Ebook Winner!

Congratulations,

Megan Myers Garcia

You won the latest giveaway!!  Please E-mail us at joyinthejourneyadoption@yahoo.com to let us know where we can send your prizes!!

Didn't win but want to purchase the Find Joy in the Journey E-book for yourself?  No problem!  Just click on the words below the book image to order. Happy reading!

Click here to visit Worthy of the Prize.

P.S. Click HERE for information and to enter our next giveaway!

Shopping with a Purpose {and another GIVEAWAY!}

Giveaway has ended.  Congratulations, Catrina!!

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I really love shopping.  However, shopping with multiple children provides quite a challenge!  In fact, over the last 8.5 years (since baby #1 was born into our family), my shopping habits have changed drastically.  Where I once frequented the mall and stores like my beloved Target, I now do much of my shopping from the comforts of my living room via the Internet.  There are both good and bad aspects about this, I think, but my favorite thing about shopping online is that the Internet provides this really amazing forum for easily making purchases that directly affect specific causes.  This was definitely advantageous as we raised funds for our adoption.  So, when we sat up this blog and the three of us were discussing different ways to encourage adoptive families, it just seemed natural that we would provide advertising space for families raising money for their adoptions.  Thus, the "Shopping with a Purpose" tab was born.

Options:

Basically, we will allow adoptive families to send us the necessary information (as outlined on the SwaP page) and we'll advertise there for as long as the fundraiser is taking place.  

A second option in addition to the advertising space is that a family can provide an item from their fundraiser for a giveaway and we will feature them on a feature blog post (like the one below).  This option will also mean free advertising through our Facebook page and Instagram account. 

Thirdly, if you are planning to attend the Joy in the Journey retreat in February, we are going to have some FREE booth space for people raising money for adoptions/orphan care.  See the Retreat Vendor tab for information on this option!

The 1500 Tree Project {and GIVEAWAY}:

Nate, Angie, and {future big brother} Levi Elder are currently in the process of completing their paperwork and waiting on a referral from Taiwan.  To raise money for their adoption, Angie has put together "The 1500 Tree Project", selling these adorable little hand-crafted trees on canvas.

The idea behind The 1500 Tree Project is to create and sell 1500 of these sweet little trees and fully fund their second adoption.  In Angie's words, The 1500 Tree Project is...

"1500 trees made. 1500 trees sold. One fully funded adoption.  But really, it’s so much more than that.  It’s cutting leaves out of colorful paper while my son toddles around the living room, babbling away. It’s thinking about designs as my husband plucks away at his upright bass guitar, practicing a bluegrass tune. It’s piecing together a tree when we chat about our days, with the low hum of the baby monitor buzzing in the background with our toddler’s sleeping breaths.  It means my son will gain a sibling who shares his birth country and our family.  It means one less orphan in the world.  The 1500 Tree Project is love and hope, poured into a little 6×6 canvas. Joy really is the heartbeat of our shop and the spirit I pour into every piece I produce."

Information for The 1500 Tree Project {including a link to order and a discount code for our readers} is currently listed in our Shopping with a Purpose page. 

In addition, Angie is hosting a GIVEAWAY right here, starting right now!  The winner of this giveaway will will receive one tree of their choice from Angie's store and will be announced at the close of the giveaway at midnight (central) on Monday, July 29th.

You may have up to two entries on this giveaway by answering the two questions on the Rafflecopter form below.  You will also get an additional FIVE entries if you purchase a tree during this giveaway and let us know about it on the Rafflecopter form!  Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Little Icing on the Cake...

So, here's some FUN news...Erin Franklin over at Worthy of the Prize is adding a little something to our giveaway!!

WOTP has been doing their Chosen Child program for quite a while and is currently working to expand that aspect of their ministry.  The next thing product they are adding to the program is this PRECIOUS little Chosen Child Hair Clip.

These are made by the talented moms over at sew.hip.mama.

And, {here's the icing on the cake part} she's letting us give one away!

We are adding this to our current giveaway, so hop on over here and scroll to the bottom to enter!  If you have already entered to win the "Find Joy in the Journey" e-book and Chosen Child Fit Band, you are automatically entered to win this as all three great prizes are going to one winner.  If not, be sure you get your entries in our rafflecopter entry form so that you don't miss your chance...giveaway ends Thursday at midnight!  Good luck! 

RESOURCE REVIEW and GIVEAWAY: Find Joy in the Journey

"It's hard to close the gap between what you thought would be and what God has actually put in front of you.  We grieved the life we had anticipated.  But when the two are finally reconciled, we see Him.  And when we see Him, joy abounds." ~Ginny, Chapter 4, Find Joy in the Journey

Erin Vick Franklin, founder/director of Worthy of the Prize Ministries was inspired to compile the stories for Find Joy in the Journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives after enduring her own crisis and finding the Joy that comes only through Christ.  The crisis, which became the inspiration for the book, led her to the twelve women whose stories are featured in the newly released E-book.

Find Joy in the Journey peeks into the lives of the 12 women whose stories it tells with the purpose of inspiring and encouraging women as they endure varied crises.  Several of the stories throughout the book highlighted women who have struggled through the journey of adoption.  Though the stories are varied in the types of struggles, a common theme is woven throughout...no matter what the circumstances, when we look up and surrender control, the Lord provides true, unprecedented JOY.

I would highly recommend this easy-read for anyone, whether in a state of crisis or not, as it is an uplifting book pointing to the One who brings true joy.

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Now, for the GIVEAWAY!  One exciting part of this book is the impact it has had on this adoptive mama ministry.  When we were planning the retreat, the name of the book just kept coming back to us and we prayed about it and all felt a peace about using "Joy in the Journey" for the retreat/blog title.  When we contacted Erin about using the name, she was so gracious and even allowed us to promote the book on the blog.  Her designer, Mary Jo Smith of 517 Creations worked with us to create the graphics you see on the site.  Erin also allowed us to GIVE AWAY one copy of the book!!

Worthy of the Prize ministries also has a whole segment of their ministry devoted to Orphan Care.  One of the things they do to support orphan ministry is their Chosen Child Program, where adopting families can sign up to raise funds through them selling these great Fit Bands!

...and she's letting us give one of these away too!!

To enter the giveaway, fill out the form below.  You must answer the first question to be entered, then the other things are optional, giving you more opportunities to win.  The form will be open until next Thursday, July 25th at midnight.  Winner will be announced the following morning.  Good luck! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follower Appreciation Giveaway WINNER

Thank you all so much for joining us in our first ever giveaway on our little baby blog!  We had 220 entries...not too shabby!

So, to pick the winner, we randomly selected a number from 1-64 for the Instagram entry (number of followers), from 1-139 for our Facebook entry (number of followers), and from 1-16 for our blog entry (number of people who commented).  Then, once those numbers had names based on their random selection, we placed the words Facebook, Instagram, and Blog on three separate pieces of paper and had an unbiased party (Jen's husband) draw.  He drew BLOG, which means that the winner of this beautiful necklace...

is 

SARAH HABUDA

Congratulations, Sarah!  We will get in contact with you about where to send the necklace. :)

This was so much fun, I think we'll give something away next week too!!  Watch for it here!! 

Follower Appreciation Giveaway

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!  THANK YOU FOR ENTERING!

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Wow!  When we launched this blog NINE days ago, we had no idea all the love you would show us.  The response to our little endeavor here has been overwhelming and encouraging {to put it lightly}.

SO, we wanted to show you just how much we appreciate you coming alongside of us and sharing this vision by hosting a giveaway!

When we asked our friend and fellow adoptive mama, Kate Clayton, over at The Adopt Shoppe to donate a necklace for us to give, she quickly agreed and we were ecstatic.  If you don't know Kate's work, you are missing out!  She has used her creativity and savvy business skills to create an amazing business.  Kate's pieces are rare and handmade and almost impossible to get.  She runs these awesome quicksales on her ETSY shop {next one is up tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. central} and sells out within MINUTES!  To say her pieces are hot items is the understatement of the century!  OK, I'll stop gushing.  But, seriously, see why we're so excited?!

Here it is...a "No More Orphans" necklace...up for grabs!!

Wondering how to win?  You have three {crazy easy} chances:

1. Leave a comment on this post with your name and why you are following the Joy in the Journey blog.

2. Follow us on Facebook (link in sidebar)

3. Follow us on Instagram (link in sidebar)

That's it!  We will randomly pick one winner by selecting one person from each of the three entry methods and then drawing one of the three finalists to win the giveaway.  This is going to be a QUICK giveaway, so don't delay your entries! ;)  We will close entries at 9:00 p.m. Central time TOMORROW, July 12th {just in time for you to head over to Kate's ETSY sale and buy quick!;) } and announce the winner via blog, FB, and IG shortly thereafter.

Oh, one more thing...we aren't giving an "entry" for sharing this per se, but we sure would appreciate if you'd share about this giveaway!! :)

Thanks, friends!  Good luck!