Quilts for Uganda

We were able to ship off our second batch of quilts to Uganda. Our first shipment was 33 quilts and blankets and this one was 25. My goal when I set out was 50 quilts total. So, I've exceeded my goal with a total 58 quilts!

Here's a photo before we vacuum sealed them:

And one after:

29 1/2 pounds of love to children who desperately need it.

It's been a long journey (I decided to do this in January 2010), but such a beautiful experience. For this shipment we were able to send them to a close friend who is living in Uganda right now caring for children. So, she will be able to hand deliver these quilts to those in need.

Thank you so much to those of you who have made this possible.

The Eckert Tree...

...is growing more branches, this time of African descent!



Collecting More Blankets *EDITED*

Due to our shortened deadline last month, I know some of you were not able to send me your blankets in time. I've already recieved a few, but I know there are still some of you out there that wanted to bless some children with blankets.

We have a friend traveling to Uganda between Christmas and New Years and will be loving on some orphans while she's there. We want to send some blankets with her. Mail them to me as soon as you can and she will be able to pass them out to comfort lots of Ugandan babies at the end of this month.

I need the blankets by December 13th!

Thanks so much!

And, They're Off!

Last Saturday we packed up 33 blankets and sent them off! It felt so good to pray over them and smile at the thought of some of God's precious little children being wrapped up in them in just a few short days.

Our good friend, Pete Davis, is a fantastic photographer and offered to take some photos of the quilts once they were ready to go. Here are about half of what we sent:

The orphanage also wanted me to share the word that they are trying to raise some money for some bunk beds. They are $75 each. They also need pots and pans. If you would like to contribute to either of these needs, please contact me.


Thank you to everyone who played a role in all of this! Stay tuned for our next project. There are plenty more needs to be met.

Quilts Update

When I first decided to do this whole quilts for orphans bit I originally thought I'd choose an orphanage and then once we collected as many quilts to give each child one, we would ship them over.

Well, we've since had a better opportunity come along... having a couple who is adopting a daughter from Uganda bringing them over with them and giving them to the children themselves. Their originally scheduled time to travel was in December, but now, it's in 3 WEEKS! That means they want us to mail them the quilts by this weekend!

Praise the LORD that an orphan will be with her forever family sooner, but yikes on our deadline being so soon!

So, if you have a blanket, quilt or are finishing one up, please send it to me immediately so it can be added to the shipment.

*If you cannot get it to me by then, have no fear. We have another friend who is traveling to Uganda between Christmas and New Years who will be able to bring a few with her, but not a lot.

Thanks so much for your support!

Quilts for Uganda - DEADLINE

Last night our family was able to witness the engagement of a very dear couple to us. This couple has shared their lives with so many and we were all so touched to be a part of their special occasion.

While at the party, I found out that the woman of the house loved to sew so a couple of us were talking to her about our sewing/craft club we are starting. We told her our first month we are going to be working on quilts for Uganda. Well, come to find out her brother is adopting a little girl from Uganda and is leaving between Thanksgiving and Christmas to go get her. Coincidence, I think not!

After she called her brother today she informed me today that he can take up to 70pounds of our blankets to Uganda to personally hand them out to the children. This orphanage that his daughter is currently living in has about 40-50 children and NONE of them have their own bedding. Most of them share a sheet with another child and a good percentage of them sleep on the concrete floor.

My heart breaks for these children. I long for the day that they find forever homes. The Lord loves each and every one of these children just as much as he loves you and me.

She will be visiting her brother for Thanksgiving and will take him all of the blankets we have made up until that point. My goal is to get 70 pounds worth of blankets however many that will be. We praise you Lord for making there be a safe and secure way for these blankets to get to these children!

Please help make a difference for one of these children that so desperately needs the most basis human needs.

Let the countdown begin!

Becca's Quilt

Here's another quilt that's finished for Uganda!

I am so thrilled to add this to the collection. Look how gorgeous it is.

Thank you to all of you for your incredible support of this project. I am so encouraged by all of you to stick with it because I know I have the support of so many. It would have been so easy to quit and to write this off, but with your help, we'll be sending these off in no time!

Becca is my cousin's wife and is the mother of 4 little boys! What an inspiration she is to be willing to take the time to do this. Thanks so much Becca!

Be sure to check out her blog. It's a must read.

Another Quilt!

I have a friend, Lora, that I met through Etsy, and we've been communicating since April of 2007! She has become such a dear friend through the years. We connected through our love of crafts and she has become quite an amazing quilter! She has joined me in my journey to send quilts to Uganda and I just got my second quilt from her yesterday!

I was so thrilled. It is absolutely beautiful. I cannot wait to send it.

Pictures from her blog:


As the boys and I were opening up the quilt we realized that her mom had made Annabelle a lovie! How thoughtful. I've never even met either of them.

The boys have decided that they do not want to send the quilts... they want to fly there and give the children the quilts in person. They want to raise the money and fly out there and they want to go next week! Anyone have a good idea of how we could raise around $5,000 in a week? I love their enthusiasm. And, I've also got to move things along in the sewing department if they find a way to raise the money :)

On the baby front: I forgot to mention yesterday that my midwives gave me about an hour massage yesterday. I can't believe how good I feel. I haven't felt this good in months! I had an incredible nights sleep last night and I even had enough energy to go on a very long walk this morning with the boys and have lots of fun adventures. What a great way to head into labor...

Per Midwives' Orders

I had an appointment with my midwife today and her orders were: to create!

She wanted me to just focus on doing some fun things that I love to do, enjoy my family, and get my mind off of all the tasks that I could be doing and off of the calendar especially.

It wasn't too hard of an assignment for me, so I took her up on it. Part of nap time I decorated a shirt that I had bought a long time ago before we even knew if it was a boy or a girl. They were cheap and I thought I could spruce them up.

Here's my first attempt:

It matches her crown:

My goal for the remainder of this pregnancy is to cherish each moment and to not wish this time away, to fill it with joy and not just accomplishing tasks!

I can honestly say, that we have had such a fantastic day today. We haven't been waiting on Annabelle to arrive, but simply living and enjoying life! The Lord has shown me through several things just today that he is working everything out in his timing... and I'm beginning to believe him.

And when Andy and the boys head out for a hike tonight I'm going to work on my next quilt for Uganda!

And for my crafting friends...I found this adorable book that I'm lusting after:

With two ideas in there I cannot wait to try:

Love In Action

I remember as a little girl dreaming such big dreams and having my mom encouraging me to go for them. Granted, I didn't accomplish all of them, but just knowing I had someone supporting me was sometimes all I needed to give it my best shot.

That's what moms are suppose to do when you're little, and I firmly believe that shouldn't stop when you 'grow up'. Having a fan club in life is so crucial to our souls. Whether it's parents, siblings, friends or a spouse, we need to be encouraging each other to reach for our dreams.

Recently, my mother-in-law and her friends got together to sew some blankets for my little initiative to send 50 quilts to Uganda.

There is nothing more motivating than the support of someone (in this case a mother-in-law) to keep you going as you venture out in the world and do all sorts of crazy and challenging things.

Thank you, Robbie, and friends, for not only giving me the verbal encouragement to help me reach a goal (that would be unobtainable on my own) but for actually helping me reach it!

So far we have 9 quilts completed and waiting to be sent... along with about a dozen or so being worked on by people all across the country! So far I've gotten 2 blankets in the mail from women I don't even know... How fun!

Keep sewing, we'll get to 50 together before we know it!!!

147 Million Orphans

Last October when our family traveled to Tennessee to attend an adoption conference we were heavily impacted specifically by the orphans of Uganda.

There was a booth there called 147 Million Orphans. I found myself in a conversation with a woman who was waiting for the green light to head over to Uganda to pick up her newest additions, a little boy and a little girl.

Before this conversation we were not even aware that Uganda was a country that was open for international adoptions.

God made it very clear to us the needs of this country and put in our hearts a desire to make a different for the children of Uganda. We are still praying through what that is going to look like for our family. And what makes it so easy to remember to pray for these children is a necklace I wear almost on a daily basis. I got the necklace at the conference from the 147 Million Orphans table.

Here is a little about them:

We are proud to partner with Katie Davis and the wonderful women of the Karamojong tribe to offer you these beautiful necklaces created by hand and from re-cycled magazines … Our goal is to help these women maintain sustainable income for their families … We will be purchasing these necklaces from them and also sending 50%+ of the proceeds back to a feeding program run by Amazima Ministries. It is a beautiful full circle story of the body of Christ.

So, if you have a heart for orphans or just simply want to get an awesome necklace, please purchase some of these necklaces. They are awesome gifts! I am asked almost every time I'm out about mine. It's an incredible way to spread the awareness of the needs of these orphans.

If you're interested in helping out in another tangible way, please consider sewing or donating funds to help build our supply of blankets to send over to an orphanage in Uganda.

I cannot wait to share with you some recent quilts that have been finished. God is moving and I am so excited to be a part of what he's doing! Will you join me?

Recent Blankets for Uganda

Blankets, quilts whatever you want to call them, they are adding up for Uganda. I couldn't be more tickled. I have received some from others already and know of several more in the making.

God is doing something really neat through this.

We have no idea as of right now if our home will ever be graced with an Ugandan child, but we are certain that he is growing our love for them.

I want to encourage those of you who are sewing for these babies to keep it up! Together we are making a difference.

Here are the recent quilts/blankets made:

This one was is from a woman I do not even know. She is a friend of a friend. Check out her etsy shop here.


Below are my February and March blankets.


If you know of friends that sew, please pass along this cause. Together we can send 50 quilts to these precious children who are desperately in need.

*If this is the first time you're hearing about this on our blog please visit this post to learn about what I'm up to.

My First Uganda Quilt

In dozens of ways the Lord has placed Africa on our hearts. One of those ways was through the Nelsons. It was after we decided to support Special Hope Network did we find out that one of the countries they will be traveling to is Uganda. There along with several other countries they will be helping out orphans with intellectual disabilities.

Holly, the wife, is an avid sewer and is leaving behind her most valued possessions (her sewing things) with me. I thought using one of her fabrics was so fitting to use as my first quilt.

So without further ado... my first quilt for the precious babies of the Sanyu Babies Home:



In Quilting for Peace, a woman's words brought balance into my perfectionistic world and made me really focus on my objective:

"Think about what the goal is," Susan says about making binkies. "If the goal is to comfort a child, take all the other stuff out of it. Take out the 'I want it to line up, I want it to match this picture.' Bring it down to the simplest goal you have: What would comfort a child?"

It feels great to finally have one done. 1 down, 49 to go! With my goal of making one quilt a month I'm on a good start with finishing 9 days early. Woohoo.

I am thrilled that this project has inspired so many of you to join in. I've already lost count as to how many have contacted me saying that they want to make a quilt. I can't wait to see how all of our talents come together to bring such joy to these children. Keep up the sewing friends. We'll be there before you know it!

Quilts for Uganda Details

You have have been awesome. I am so encouraged by all of you volunteering your time and talents to this cause.

I have decided on the babies home we will be sending our quilts and blankets to and they max out at 50 children and are usually right at that number. Their children range anywhere from 1 day old to 3 years old.

So, the size of the quilts they need vary. They said they will take any and all blankets we are willing to send.

There has also been the recommendation by several to do some no-sew fleece blankets. I think that is a great idea for those of you who don't sew. We can send some of those over as well.

The link to the orphanage if you are interested is: Sanyu Babies Home.

Is there anything else I haven't covered?

Thanks so much my friends. I am eager to see the Lord work through us all while we labor for the least of these.

Quilts for Uganda

As some of you might have known, we were in the beginning stages of adopting when we found out we were pregnant. We had been given this passion several months ago, but did not have many specifics. While attending an Adoption Conference in October the Lord spoke very clearly to our hearts about the need for families to advocate for and adopt the children of Uganda.

So, why Uganda? Why not another country or why not even right here in America? The answer is simply... I don't know... All I know is that we prayed that the Lord would give us specifics about what orphans we were to focus our energy on and the Lord answered our prayers. He placed Uganda so deeply on our hearts, we cannot help but feel responsible for caring for these children in as many ways as we possibly can.

The facts about Uganda and their orphans are staggering.

Uganda is one of the worlds least developed countries. It is resource poor with an estimated 90% of it population living in rural area’s. It has a current population of 24.7 million (census 2002) and an orphan population of over 2 million set to rise to 3.5 million by 2010 (UNICEF, 2002). This creates an environment in Uganda where 10% of their population are Orphans, and the percentage will only rise.

Orphans Know More.

Uganda has the highest proportion of AIDS orphans in the world. (UAC2001).

Knowing the circumstances surrounding traveling to a country like this pregnant or with a newborn are either quite difficult or impossible. We are once again convinced that the Lord's will is best and even though he placed this passion in our hearts when we were pregnant (but just not aware of this new miracle) he is in control and we simply need to follow his lead, whether it is down the road to adoption one day or another plan to care for orphans.

With that in mind, one of the ways we have chosen to contribute to the orphans of Uganda now is to combine two of my passions and fill a need where there is one. And the best part is, I'm asking you to come along side of me!

I will be sewing and gathering quilts for an orphanage in Uganda and once we have enough quilts for an entire orphanage, we will be shipping them directly to the children. I have spoken with several orphanages and they run anywhere from 30-50 children.

Why quilts? In Quilting for Peace: Making the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time, it explains: The world can be an especially frightening place for its youngest inhabitants. But simple things can have an almost magical effect on anxious children, and quilts seem to hold extra-special comforting powers. Linda Arye, founder of Quilts for Kids, explains it this way: "Somehow, when you get under the covers, the whole world goes away, and it's just you in safe haven. And I guess that's what the quilts do. They provide a safe haven for these kids."

I am aware that a quilt isn't going to change their lives, but many have said that donated quilts are often the only long lasting possession that orphans have to call all their own. So if I had to give them one item of comfort, I can't think of anything better than a quilt.

My goal is at least a quilt a month, so if you do the math, it would take me years to finish alone. So, in faith, I am starting my first quilt this week and asking my fellow sewers to join me. Even if you only make one, or just sent me a quilt top or donate some fabric or send a few dollars to help out with the supplies and shipping, it will help.

The future of our family is completely uncertain, but what I do know is we serve a God who has a heart for the orphans and widows and cares about their lives...and we should too. So, until we get a better glimpse of God's heart for our family, I will sew my love into some quilts for these children that have become so dear to my heart.

This is where the rubber meets the road and I'm beyond excited to see where God is going to take this. Will you consider joining me?