Sending Smiles Update...

Kirsti and I just wanted to take a moment and shout out a giant "THANK YOU" to all of you that have done so much to help out with the recent Sending Smiles to Kara Kearsley and to the Liberia Orphan Education Project. You guys ROCK!!!

I met with Kara a few weeks ago and I must say, she is just a very beautiful and sweet girl. She looked fabulous for being through such a rough journey. In fact she was toting around her youngest and gearing up take another to pre-school. Can you say SUPER MOM?!? She said she still has rough days but that she is getting better and stronger all of the time....which is what we all want to hear. We are cheering you on Kara and we wish you a full and complete recovery! With all of your donations we were able to get Kara and her family a $50.00 gift certificate to a local nursery. We hope they will be able to find the perfect tree to plant in their yard that will bring them a lot of happiness in the months and years to come.

If you would like to follow up on Kara's journey and recovery, you can visit her blog, Life Redefined HERE

Now onto Liberia!! I was so excited and anxious to send all of your beautiful tote bags and items to LOEP founder, Beth Iden, that I forgot to take pictures. Grrrrr!!! Thankfully Sending Smiles member Elizabeth Ouellette saved my bacon and took pictures of her church group's contributions to LOEP! We want to thank everyone for all of the time and hard work that was put into this smile. The new Hope school in Liberia is gearing up for a teacher's training session in January. I just know all of your donated items will be very much appreciated and used for many years to come.

As a whole, we were able to gather 20 tote bags, school supplies and several sign language cards as well as other sign language materials.

Sending Smiles also sent several Super Star wrist bands for the LOEP staff and teachers in Liberia. They sacrifice so much and work countless hours to ensure that the children in Liberia gain an education and have a brighter future. They really are true super stars. We hope that they know and will always remember that we are here supporting all that they do. That we applaud them for stepping up and being heroes to those around them.... and are rooting for their success!!!

To follow up on the updates of the Hope school and the other fabulous things LOEP is doing, you can read their blog HERE

Once again...THANK YOU to all of you that have helped. Kirsti and I could not help and serve without your help. We are so grateful for each and every one of you!!

We are currently gearing up for the next Sending Smile as October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. That smile will be announced soon so be sure to check back.

Until then, we hope all of you have a very wonderful weekend!!!

(**The picture of the wristbands courtesy of Oriental Trading.)

A Special Tree for Kara

There is a beautiful mom named Kara who found out almost exactly a month ago that she had a tumor on her spine. Her life was instantly "redefined" as she followed her doctor's orders to leave her three young children to have surgery four hours away from her home, in the best hospital around. During surgery, they successfully removed the tumor, but it left her with no feeling from her rib-cage, down. Her upper body has limited strength, and she is in the hospital recovering now with 3-4 hours of physical therapy daily to re-learn basic skills and working on controlling the muscles in her body.

I admire her happy attitude; although she is in a lot of pain from recovering from spinal surgery and trauma, and is scared that she hasn't gained feeling in her lower body yet, she is so optimistic and full of joy. She has had lots of visitors, another sign that she is a wonderful person and so many people love her!

Even from the very beginning, her attitude was so positive. She writes on her blog almost daily about her Life Redefined. She talks about her moments of fear, pain, anxiety and anguish, followed by moments of calmness, comfort, laughter and peace. She talks about her to-do lists of things she would be doing if this wasn't happening right now: planting trees and shrubs in her yard, spring cleaning, taking her children to the zoo, spending time with their German exchange student, and working out the details on placing one the following year, spending time with her husband and getting jobs done like working in the garden. Oh how I wish we could give her these things.

There is a group of her friends from her church and community who are working on her yard and I wish we could all transport our bodies there to help with some of those items on her to-do list. But here's one thing we can do: Let's help plant a tree in her yard. A tree that symbolizes love, faith, life and strength. A tree that she will see as she comes home for the first time from being away from her home and it makes her heart happy. A tree that she will see daily, as she resumes her motherly tasks, that will remind her to be strong and have faith. We can give her that.

Any of you that are able and willing, please donate to Sending Smiles by clicking on the paypal button top left. All donations will be going to Kara's special tree. I would also love to have little notes on lawn stakes with words of love and encouragement from her friends, family, and even anonymous people that she doesn't know. Please email us {smilesforstrangers@gmail.com} with your messages and I know she will find great strength in this.

An excerpt from her blog: http://kearsleycourage.blogspot.com/
"I am doing well.  I am okay with this.  I am at peace.  I am a happy person who has SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR and I am not upset that this has happened to me.  Just because I can't walk doesn't change me. I am okay.  It is going to be a major adjustment and we have a lot of work to do!  It's going to be HARD.  I will continue to need the amazing support and encouragement that has been coming since tumor diagnosis day."