Hello everyone!

Finally got a chance to sit down and do an update. I got a super busy schedule now. I decided to go back to school after 4 yrs. If working full time and being a Mommy full time was not enough…I have added a little bit more.

I am attending school Tuesdays and Thursdays. My classes start late enough so I can get home after work, make and have dinner with my family, do homework with my munchkin and prep them all for bed.

I also started group counseling on Wednesday. I never knew just how affected I was. I never had an answer to all the internal conflicts I was having. Never knew just why stuff was happening to me. I thought I was weird. Readings that I was provided with are helping me understand that I am a victim weather I want to admit it or not. I never wanted to be perceived as WEAK. I always wanted to be the strongest in the crowd. Deep down inside, now I understand, I was screaming at the top of my lungs.

First session was great, very helpful in understanding me. I am looking forward to the rest.  

Orientation for Bright Future 4 Kids is today. We are going to get a tour of the center and obtain information as to how we can provide our help with the organization, but most importantly, how we can prevent Child Abuse and raise awareness.

I am planning my first neighborhood meeting for beginning of February. Our first topic: Sexual Abuse. There is so much information out there, that we are only missing the messengers.

Since the publication of our group on the last edition of “Talk Crochet”, we have gotten an immense number of followers and volunteers. I would like to take the time to thank you all for being interested in joining our cause. Child Abuse is just like cancer. It is spreading rapidly and we have got to stop it. The cure: AWARENESS! The cost: PRICELESS!

I will keep you all posted!

Children need models more than they need critics.” -JOSEPH JOUBERT, Pensées

 
It has been a very busy week. And it will get much busier. I start school at the end of this month. Two times a week: math! Let’s hope I am not biting too much!

At the end of this month, Cecilia, Elizabeth and I are going to attend an orientation meeting with Brightfuture4kids. Brightfuture4kids is the Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center. They are a non-profit serving at risk children and families in crisis to prevent and break the generational cycle of child abuse. We hope to obtain great information to share with our community and most importantly, that we can volunteer our time to help the families and the children. We are looking forward to this and hope that our bears can play a role in the healing process of the victims being helped through Brighfuture4kids.

I have been doing research for local resource centers and have found great areas where we can participate. I hope to have an update of a new center when I post again.

Our first package from Doris arrived and has been prepped for their new homes. Labels with our “Embracing Hope” name have been ironed on and the poems have been sewn to the arms. She is currently working on the second package, which so far contains over 15 bears. With far more experience, she flies through the crocheting! I hope my numbers will begin to increase too.

We really want to make the awareness bracelets for the kids. Because we do not fundraise or accept cash donations, we only have out of our pocket money. So we are trying to open up some funds for these.

We are slowly getting there. 

 
Happ New Year everyone! I hope your holiday left great memories to cherish. 
Back to work today. Got a chance to finish 2 bears during my break. It was a lot harder than I thought. My kids would NOT leave me alone. Hardly having any breaks from work, they really enjoyed this one. 
I got our first package from Doris, our volunteer in Germany. With the holidays being over, I hope we finally get some responses from the family resource centers I contacted and that these lovely bears finally get a permanent home. 
I got a bag of yarn this morning from the Lerma Family. A special thanks to them and hope we can show them the bears soon.
This month I will be attending orientation to volunteer at Bright Future 4 Kids, a child abuse prevention center based here in Santa Ana. I cannot wait to start!
 
Taking small steps at a time. We hope to make this journey memorable. Welcome to our blog! We will give updates of our project, news links, informational links and show off our accomplishments as we go. Wish us luck!