Smith Building Services

NBC's iVillage is holding a PR media event right here in Portland to celebrate our community and promote iVillage's Momtourage event as seen on the Today show: http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/l....-prmomtourage

and

http://parenting.ivillage.com/pare/mom/momtourage/0,,,00.html

at the heart of this event is a special Gresham, Oregon family. They are self employed owner of Smith Building Services, James and Ali Smith, parents of two biological sons Nathan-12 and Brenden-8 and one special needs daughter, Leecy-4 adopted through Oregon's foster care system.  The Smith's happily report they are expecting three more kids in the next month!  James and Ali wanted to expand their family by adding one more child through special needs adoption, they submitted their homestudy and began what is usually a long wait and screening process when they decided to try with the help of fertility aids to become pregnant and see which situation works out for them.  It was successful but sadly Ali suffered another miscarriage due to the fluctuating hormones from Hashimoto’s Thyroid Disease.  Their hopes were renewed when they got a call from Arizona's foster care system that two sister's waited in foster care for a forever family to call their own! They happily agreed that 6 yr old, Sadie and 3 yr old, Jamey would be a perfect addition to the Smith family!  Later that very day Ali was informed that she was also expecting again and started to receive medical treatment to help improve the chances that the baby would keep growing strong and healthy!  This medium sized family was about to double their kids in a matter of months!
iVillage provided a place for fertility support, large family tips, pregnancy information, a safe place to discuss children with extra needs and a Momtourage forum for inspiration!  "I freaked out a little bit about being able to care for additional extra needs children while also caring for a newborn and three other kids too, people have half a dozen kids all the time but I never dreamed I could be one of them someday. I know James worried about his clients, some potentially risky growth ideas he had for the business, the maintenance crew in this economy, and meeting the financial needs of so many needy children all at once.  I desperately needed reassurance I could do this and enjoy it! My "momtourage" gave me inspiration, advice and courage. Now I can't wait to get all my little kids here safe, happy and healthy!  The girls should be flying home to us any week and I'm now 8 1/2 months pregnant with a very healthy, but very breech baby girl!  I'm truly feeling ready for this new chapter of our lives!", says Ali to Mary Ellen Mooney, Director of Communications, NBC Universal Digital Media & iVillage, when Mary Ellen contacted her on behalf of iVillage to offer an honorable event for the community and the Mom's and families within it.  James just smiles about his new family and repeats, "That's... a... lot... of... girls!"

The free luncheon networking event will be held mid-August in a fine

event center.  If you are interested in attending or providing product samples for approx. (150 people), donation to the special needs adoption foundation, entertainment item to a group of attending children (approx. 20), coupons, or raffle item please REPLY to this email with the name of the attending representatives.
All press need not RSVP, but if we know you are coming we'll be able to make sure you've got a seating for lunch too!  Invitations will be sent by E-Vite from iVillage (so check your filters) on or about July 30th. We hope you'll take us up on our offer for a delicious social lunch celebrating you, the community in which families like the Smith's grow and thrive!

Sincerely,

Jen,
Events Coordinator

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___________How you can help:__________

Smith Building Services is a financial supporter and volunteer for special needs foster and adoptive kids in Oregon.  When you hire SBS, a guaranteed portion of our profits WILL benefit vulnerable children and their caregiver families.

How you can help: financial support (Paypal available on Services page or email for an invoice) for extra needs classes and therapies, back to school clothes, shoes and supplies, holiday/birthday gifts, mentoring, state sponsered respite care, patience when kids come in to your businesses.  Extra Needs kids can appear "normal" but often act hyper, impulsive, loud, disruptive, and out of control due to sensory stimulations and neurological disorders.  Ignoring it and allowing the parent/caregiver to handle it without judgement intervention or critisim is a blessing!

If you'd like to help contact:

Family@SmithBuildingServices.com

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James is a happy biological, adoptive and foster father of six! 

For nearly five years he's supported special needs adoptive kids financially and volunteering through Oregon adoption events and as a respite provider to as many as eight children at a time.  Him, his children and Smith Building Services have been featured in the Oregonian's Business section.  "It's a fun life!", he reports.  "I'm used to managing a lot at a time and multi-tasking.  I love an excuse to pull out power tools and use my maintenance skills to put my house back together from kiddo-distruction," he jokes.  "It's not a life-style for everyone and I don't blame anyone whose exhausted by their one healthy child, but for me I get to witness ordinary miracles everyday through the very kids who've been damaged the most.  I feel blessed and honored to be trusted with such souls!  For me that's a life purpose worth living and the kid in me has lots of company!"

 The special needs adoption option:

If interested in becoming a foster parent or adopting a baby, child, teen or sibling group from the foster care system contact:

Oregon Department of Human Services:

foster.care@state.or.us

Foster Care phone: 503-945-5651

Next Special Needs Adoption Support Group:

http://specialneedsadoption.proboards105.com/index.cgi

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 National Night Out

Crime Prevention

http://or.local.yahoo.biz/SBS

http://nathangameking.proboards82.com/index.cgi

Next NNO Event:  Tuesday, August 5, 6-8 pm, Gresham High School, 1200 N. Main

For more information about the event email

ali@SmithBuildingSmithServices.com

or

Sherry.connolly@ci.gresham.or.us

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 Technical Advisory:  Technical Advisor services available for; surrogacy, surrogates, IVF, invitro infertilization, egg donation, adoption, special needs kids, foster care, foster care adoption, foster kids, foster parents, maintenance, repairs, repair men, handy man services, handyman business, medically fragile infants, home birth, natural birth, East African food, Ethiopian cuisine.

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FREE SMOKE DETECTORS FROM SBS 

Fire prevention is IMPORTANT!  If you can't afford or don't have a working smoke detector, please contact SBS to be issued smoke detectors at no charge.  503-753-2237, Support@SmithBuildingServices.com