A Brother, A Birthday, and A BIG GIVEAWAY

I have two really exciting announcements!!!

1- Trey Chalew, my little brother, is finally home!!  My dad traveled to Ethiopia to bring him home a few weeks ago.  It’s been very fun having him home.  He is cute, funny, and a little bit rambunctious ;)  It sure took FOREVER, but it was SOOO worth the wait.

2- I’m turning 12 YEARS OLD today and am having a BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!  In 12 days I will draw the name of one LUCKY winner who will receive 12 NECKLACES of their choice!!!!!  That’s just CrAzY!

To enter my drawing, all you have to do is post a link to LittleGoody2-Shoes either on your Facebook page or your blog. Then leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite birthday dessert is.

I am still working to raise funds to buy shoes for the kids at the Kombolcha Care Point in Ethiopia.  $18.00 will buy a good pair of sturdy shoes for the children there.

As always, 100% of your bottle cap necklace purchase is donated to a special shoe fund at Children's HopeChest.

Peace… Love… Do Good,
Sami






Note: Bottle cap necklaces are not water-proof and are not for small children. You may experience overwhelming joy while wearing your bottle cap necklace. Normal side effects include: compliments from strangers and looks of admiration. If these symptoms occur, continue to wear your necklace and share my blog. When given as a gift, people may have a heightened sense of how cool you really are. Children should not be fed broccoli more than once a month, but should always receive dessert before and after every meal.  If you feel sad because you want to place an order but don't have a PayPal account, just send me an e-mail using the "Contact Me" button in the column on the left.

Mrs. Wagler’s Mighty Lions

I have lived in St. Louis most of my life, but I was born in Clear Lake, Iowa.   I always look forward to our family trips there.  I have lots of family there, including my four little cousins: Paul Christian, Isaac, Luke, and Aaron. 

I have a few special designs just for their hometown team, the Clear Lake Lions.  My cousin Isaac’s kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Wagler, bought some of my necklaces and wears them to class.  She said that her students liked the necklaces so much that she wanted to give them each a Clear Lake Lions necklace as a gift.  Today she sent me this picture and a message saying that the kids were proud to wear their necklaces knowing it would help buy shoes for kids in Ethiopia. 

THANKS TO MRS. WAGLER AND HER MIGHTY LIONS!!!!!

YOU GUYS ARE GR-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-EAT!!!!!

If you have a special team or club you would like to order necklaces for, just
e-mail me at davidsonfamilystl@sbcglobal.net.  As always, 100% of your purchase is donated to help buy shoes for orphans in Ethiopia.

Peace…Love…Do Good,
Sami



(Used with permission from Dave Theiss.  Thanks Mr. Theiss!!!)

Oh Happy Day!!!!

Click on picture for BIGGER smiles :)

OH HAPPY DAY!!!! 

Earlier this week, Karen Wistrom sent me these pictures along with the good news that all 99 kids at Kind Hearts received their new shoes!  Woo!! Hoo!!  She wrote a very sweet blog post about how important this is to these kids.  You can read about it here.  Again, thank you soooo much to EVERYBODY who purchased a necklace and shared my blog!

Today, I got yet another amazing surprise!!!

  My Mimi's cousin Steve, and his wife Lola, sent an extremely gracious donation to Little Goody 2-Shoes. 

Thank you Steve and Lola! 

YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!!

I am delighted to say that together we have raised enough money to buy awesome new shoes for 93 of the kids at the Kombolcha care point in Ethiopia!  There are still 94 kids at this care point that I would love to  bless with new shoes.  $18 will buy a good sturdy pair of shoes.  As always, 100% of your bottle cap necklace purchase is donated to a special shoe fund at Children's HopeChest.

Peace...Love...Do Good!!!

Sami

311 Pairs of Shoes

BTW:  It's always nice to share!!!  Share my blog with your friends and family, on your blog, and on Facebook to help me spread the word!!!

Kids for Kombolcha

I am excited to share that enough money was raised to buy new shoes for all 55 kids at Kechene!!! Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen!!!

I also want to tell you about a new care point named Kombolcha that is in need of shoes. Karen Wistrom and Candy T. visited Kombolcha last year during a mission trip with Children's HopeChest. Candy is now the coordinator for this care point and helps to find sponsor families for the children there. Here is what they told me about Kombolcha:

Kombolcha is approximately a 6-8 hour drive from Addis Ababa. It is a rambling town where the pastor of Grace Baptist Church started caring for orphans and extremely destitute children. They have a small building surrounded by a tin fence and they serve about 400 children in total. About 125 of these children are orphans. Most of these children have been taken in by relatives who are very poor already and an extra mouth to feed is a huge burden. The care point tries to provide the children with 1 meal a day. For many this is their only meal for the day. While we were in Kombolcha we saw several kids pick grass and chew on it – because they were hungry. Shoes are also very important. Many of the children wear shoes several sizes too small so their toes are curled under. Proper shoes will help their feet return to their natural state.

$18 will buy these kids a good pair of sturdy shoes.  There are 187 children that need new shoes. This is a big goal and I would love to have your help!!! You can help me in three ways:

1. 100% of the money from my bottle cap necklaces will be donated to Children’s HopeChest to help buy shoes for these children. They are very cute and make excellent gifts. They are fun for birthdays, party favors, and thank yous. They would also be the perfect thing for all of your sweetie pies this Valentine’s Day!

2. Help me spread the word!!! Share a link to Little Goody 2-Shoes on your blog or your Facebook page.

3. Give!!! I would love to share stories about what other kids have done to help buy a pair of shoes for the orphans at Kombolcha. You can send a check for $18 (or whatever you can) to Children’s HopeChest to a special account set up to buy shoes.

Children's HopeChest
P.O. Box 63842
Colorado Springs, CO, 80962-3842
Include account number ET2116-SHOES

If you do, I want to blog about you!!!  Please send me an e-mail (davidsonfamilystl@sbcglobal.net) letting me know your name, where you are from, what you did to raise the money, and a picture if you want. I will include updates on my blog with your story. This would be a great project for moms and dad, grandmas and grandpas, and aunts and uncles to do with their kids!

Here are some ideas of how you can earn $18 and make a difference:

Shovel a few driveways

Walk your neighbor’s dog

Help out around the house

Have a little bake sale

Do some babysitting

Mow a yard

Sell your crafty creations

Have a lemonade or hot cocoa stand

Have a garage sale

Share your allowance

Recycle cans and bottles

To learn more about Kombolcha, you can visit Candy's blog HERE or e-mail her at mblueberry.madamblueberry@gmail.com.

Peace…Love…Do Good,
Sami
(218 Pairs of Shoes - so far)



Christmas Shoes

Thank you to everyone who shared my GIVE AWAY on their blog!

Thank you to everyone who posted a link to my GIVE AWAY on Facebook!

Thank you to everyone who purchased a bottle cap necklace!

Thank you to everyone who made my Christmas wish come true!

I received orders for 314 necklaces and 1 very generous donation (thanks Aunt Tamara)!!!

Together we were able to raise $1870 and...

All 42 new children at Kind Hearts will have new shoes!!!

All 21 new children at Trees of Glory will have new shoes!!!

AND

40 of the children at Kechene will have new shoes!!!

That's 103 new pairs of shoes!!!!

34 really cool people left me extremely sweet comments and were entered into my GIVE AWAY.  Everyone's name went into a bag for the drawing and the lucky winner is...

LORI LAUGHNER!!!

Congratulations Mrs. Laughner !! 
You have won 10 necklaces of your choice!

I will keep making necklaces to buy shoes for the rest of the kids at Kechene.  Many of the kids there are hoping to have someone who will sponsor them and provide them with the things they need.  When Greta, the coordinator for Kechene, wrote to me about the kids there, this is what she said:

...They are desperate for food, shoes, new uniforms, and teacher's salaries. The children are well behaved and well mannered. They range from age 5-12 and are single orphaned children and most of them are destitute. They are malnourished, yet the most joyful children you have ever seen.  Some of their shoes had their toes pointing right through the front of them.  The sweaters of all the uniforms were frayed and the wrong sizes. When watching some of the children interact with the teachers, you could tell they loved them and the teachers back to the children. It was an amazing place to be.  I saw hope in the teachers' eyes and the director's words. They said, "You are an answer to our prayers."




To learn more about sponsoring a child at Kechene, you can contact my friend Greta Byers at greta-givemeyoureyes.blogspot.com.

Here are a few pictures that Karen Wistrom took during the November mission trip of kids wearing their new shoes:

Peace... Love... Do Good,

Sami

203 pairs of shoes

SOMETHING FUN:  The winner of my GIVE AWAY, Mrs. Laughner, wanted to share 5 of her necklaces.  She had the fun idea of doing another drawing.  The next name I drew was Jennifer Bridges!!!  When I told Mrs. Bridges the good news, she told me which 5 necklaces she wanted and then bought 5 more necklaces and asked me to draw another name for a 3rd winner!!!  I drew the name Tracy Wages!  Congratulations Mrs. Wages!!!  You have also won 5 necklaces of your choice!

All I Want for Christmas is…60 Pairs of Shoes

As I mentioned in my last blog post, there are 42 new kids at Kind Hearts that are hoping to be matched with sponsor families in the United States. There are also 18 new children that have just joined the group at Trees of Glory. I thought how great it would be if we could raise the funds to buy a new pair of shoes for each of these kids this Christmas season.

$18 will buy a good pair of custom made shoes for these children. For most, it will be the first pair of new shoes they have ever had. For some, it may be the only pair of shoes they have ever had. I figure it will cost $1080.00. I have $215 ready to be sent to a special shoe fund at Children’s HopeChest for these kids. That means I need to sell 173 more necklaces!!  I have a bunch of new designs that Becky Burk (Adopt Africa Designs) made especially for us!! I think they are adorable. You can see more detailed images to the left under "Designs".

I need your help to spread the word, which is why I am having a GIVE AWAY!!!! On December 18, I will have a drawing and one person will win ANY 10 NECKLACES of their choice!! To have your name entered into the drawing, all you have to do is share my blog. You can post a link either on your blog or facebook page and then leave me a comment in the comments section of this post.

This is great news for you because bottle cap necklaces make super cute gifts!! They would be perfect for your friends, your kids, your grandkids, your parents and grandparents, your brothers and sisters, your nieces and nephews, your coaches, your teachers, your mailman, your babysitter, your youth pastor, your dog walker, Barack Obama, your orthodontist, your school mascot, your favorite barrista, your bus driver…you get the idea – pretty much everybody! I will include a little note with each necklace letting the person who receives it know that a donation was made to help buy shoes for orphans in Ethiopia. Who wouldn’t love that?!?

Because I want you to receive your necklaces in time for Christmas, I will finish all orders everyday and my mom will go to the post office everyday…because moms love to do that :0) My dad will provide all of the supplies so that 100% of your purchase will be donated!!

So…if you please, order some necklaces, share it on your blog, post a link on Facebook, and leave me a comment. Come back often for updates and to find out if you are the winner!!

Read more about the kids at Kind Hearts and Trees of Glory and find out how to sponsor a child at Karen Wistrom’s blog, Family from Afar.

Peace…Love...Do Good!!
Merry Christmas,
Sami
Over 100 pairs of shoes so far!!

Note: Bottle cap necklaces are not water-proof and are not for small children. You may experience overwhelming joy while wearing your bottle cap necklace. Normal side effects include: compliments from strangers and looks of admiration. If these symptoms occur, continue to wear your necklace and share my blog. When given as a gift, people may have a heightened sense of how cool you really are. Children should not be fed broccoli more than once a month, but should always receive dessert before and after every meal.  If you feel sad because you want to place an order but don't have a PayPal account, just send me an e-mail using the "Contact Me" button in the column on the left.

UPDATE:  I've been crazy busy over the past  6 days.  A whole bunch of really cool people have been ordering necklaces and sharing my blog!!  We have met our goal and will be able to provide shoes for all 60 new kids at Trees of Glory and Kind Hearts!!!  I am still getting orders and will be using the extra money to buy shoes for Kechene Orphanage, another Children's HopeChest care point where over 55 kids are enrolled!!

Here's an amazing video where you can see a little bit of Kechene Orphanage:  http://vimeo.com/3565906

Ethiopia

We had an awesome time in Ethiopia. It was great to meet my new brother. We are waiting on one more piece of paperwork so we can officially call him ours. The day we met him (Metcha Day) he came out with a big smile and many hugs and kisses for us. He wanted constant attention…and balloons :). He is adorable from his little feet to his face with those big brown eyes.

We also spent a day with the children at Kind Hearts. This is one of the care points that receives the funds raised when you buy one of my necklaces. On the ride to Kind Hearts we picked up some fruit and powdered milk to go with the treats and little gifts that were to be given to the kids there. As they opened the door of the school the kids came running out and showered us with hugs and kisses. We brought many beach balls to play with while we were there. We played the Ethiopian version of Duck, Duck, Goose. One of the best things about going there was getting to meet our sponsor child, Biruk. He was shy, but still played catch with us. It was great to spend some time with him.

We were surprised to find out that 42 more children had arrived at Kind Hearts and needed sponsor families. If you want to know more about how you can help out these amazing children, visit Karen Wistrom’s blog,
Family from Afar. I also hope to raise enough money for 42 new pairs of shoes!! $18 buys a good custom-made pair of shoes for one of these children. Order a bottle cap necklace and 100% of your purchase will be donated to Children’s HopeChest for the shoe fund.

Be sure to visit soon for new designs! Bottle cap necklaces would make great Christmas gifts!

Peace…Love…Do Good,
Sami