Thursday, May 31, 2012

Beautiful Tote Bags For Sale!

My wonderful, amazing friend, Elyse, was very generous and gave me 2 tote bags that she has made so I can sell them for Robert! They are $15 each (plus shipping if needed) The full $15 will be given to Robert's adoption grant. 


They are beautiful bags & would be a perfect gift or even for yourself! It'd be the perfect gift too b/c if you need to buy a gift anyways , the money from this one will help an orphan versus buying a gift in the store. So it's a double win :)

The bags are all ready to go so I can have them shipped out within a day of ordering! You can pay by paypal on my ChipIn.  Please let me know if you have any questions and are interested! 





Monday, May 28, 2012

Girl burp cloths for sale..

Currently for sale I have 5 girl burp cloths. There is small puckering on a couple of them but otherwise they are super cute & ready to clean up all that drool & throw up! :) 
They all measure approx 17" X 8". 
The bottoms are folded up in the picture to show the back side. 
Price is $13 (plus shipping if needed)..can be paid by paypal on my ChipIn. All the proceeds will go to Robert's adoption grant. 
Let me know if you have any questions!


I will continually be making various burp cloths but would love to make a custom order for you as well! Let me know :) 


I am also working on more aprons so stay tuned :) 

Sunday, May 20, 2012

For sale! Proceeds to benefit Robert!

For my birthday, back in April, my parents signed me up for a sewing class. I had wanted to learn before but never got around to it. Now, 6 weeks later, I am SO GLAD that I took this class! I love sewing and finding cute projects. And now, I have a better way to help raise money for Reece's Rainbow! I am making items to sell, all proceeds being donated to Robert's adoption grant! Click here to learn more about Robert


Currently for sale, I have 2 little girl aprons! They fit ages 4-7 (but even my 2 1/2 year old wears hers and looks super cute in it even though it's a little big :) ) 


I am selling the aprons for $15 a piece. $5 covers materials so I can continue to make more & the other $10 is going to Robert's adoption grant.  To pay for them (& future items) you can pay using paypal with the ChipIn on the right side of my blog. It goes to my paypal and I will donate the money into Robert's account. If you want a receipt to show it donated, I can send you one but figured this was the easiest way since some of the money comes to me for materials and the other portion goes to Robert. 


These are the two aprons for sale... 



About a month ago, I found some really cute flannel fabric for girl burp cloths. I made them hoping I could give them to my sister-in-law. A couple weeks later, she found out she was having a boy. Exciting, but a bummer I had nothing else to do with these burp cloths! I put them into a box and they were sitting in my closet. (being a beginner sewer, I was very reluctant to do much with them because of the imperfections). 


A few days ago, a lady on the Reece's Rainbow forum on facebook asked if anyone was selling any burp cloths b/c she needed some for her daughter she was adopting! I can't even tell you how excited I was to see that!! I sent her a picture of the ones I had and she wanted them, even with the imperfections :)   (All the sewers from my class kept telling me that every project needs an imperfection b/c it keeps you humble, apparently the Amish purposely make imperfections ) 


 Right now, I am keeping the burp cloths pretty simple to make sure they turn out well.  I am going to continue making those to sell as well. I make them with flannel & a layer of quilt batting in the middle. 


I will post things for sale as they become available but feel free to make custom orders as well! If I only have girl burp cloths, feel free to request boy or gender neutral ones! Or if you have specific colors or patterns you want, I would be happy to help you out with that also. I still need to go to the store and price some things out to get a better idea of pricing for burp cloths. I want to keep it all reasonable but still have it worth making/selling to benefit Robert so I am going to do my best to keep the costs down. (Hobby Lobby is going to help out a lot for that!)


Right now, I'm focusing on burp cloths and little aprons but will hopefully be adding more soon, as I get better and become faster :) 


If I end up getting a lot made, I might create an etsy account but for now I am just going to post them on facebook and my blog & go from there... 




If anyone has any questions or suggestions, please let me know! I would love to answer any questions and get any helpful input. 


**If you want to purchase something, please email me at suzischepers@yahoo.com , call me, or send me a message on facebook. Please talk to me to make sure an item is available before paying on the ChipIn.  Thanks!!**



Friday, May 11, 2012

Worth So Much More..

Meet sweet Vincent. I can't help but smile when I look at his picture. He was born in June of 2009 and has dry eczema; developmental malformation of cervical vertebra; developmental delays. Vincent has many allergies, including food allergies, environmental, and some medicine. His allergies cause him to have severe eczema over a large part of his body. What is worse, is that the caretakers believe him to be contagious and try to avoid making any contact with him. Vincent is THREE years old and only rolls over & lifts his head. Someone who has met Vincent believes he is so delayed because of lack of stimulation. 
God LOVES this child. God MADE this child. This child DESERVES the love & affection of a family. Not to be left alone, not to be forsaken. 
Can you imagine if you were deemed unworthy for something you can't help? For something like allergies? It seems so silly, yet it is a reality for Vincent that he should not have to face. 

God does not make mistakes. I am confident that God has a plan for Vincent and that he belongs to a family somewhere. Can you imagine the heart break of that family when they find their son & realize how unloved he is and how badly and quickly they need to get to him? 

Please, share Vincent's photo and information. Pray about making a donation. When his family finds him, it will cost $25,000+. The more money there is in his grant, the faster & easier they can get to him. Donations are tax-deductible. 


This is Sheridan. He has Down syndrome but is healthy, he doesn't have any heart conditions or other medical complications.  Sheridan is very active, he can walk/climb/run. He is turning 7 in June but he has already been transferred to an institution. There is little to no hope for children living in institutions. I have seen and I have read about institutions, it is heartbreaking. It is no place for anyone, especially an innocent, beautiful child. 
Fortunately, Sheridan has more hope than most institutionalized children. There is HOPE in the fact that there IS a family desiring to adopt Sheridan. They are already adopting a child nearby and want to add another, Sheridan. Because they are already in the adoption process, they only need to raise another $7,000 to bring Sheridan home,instead of the $25,000+they or another family would need if they were to start from scratch again. But with how expensive international adoption is, coming up with another $7,000 is hard. The money is needed to  cover the orphanage fee, medical exams, his visa, and plane tickets.  

This family needs Sheridan's adoption grant to go up so that they can commit to Sheridan and know that the expenses will get covered. Please allow God to use YOU to help bring Sheridan HOME. Please help them, before their upcoming trip so that this may still be made possible!! 
Tax-deductible donations can be made to Sheridan's page on Reece's Rainbow here.

Of course, I can't leave out "my" 3 that I am a prayer warrior for. 


There is almost no information on Kendra.She has Down syndrome & was born in February 2011. That is all I know. She doesn't even have a donation button. She IS available for adoption though, so pray that sweet baby Kendra will have a family step up soon, so that she'll never know anything other than the love of a family. 








Then there's Nico. He is from the same orphanage as Kendra but otherwise, I also have very little information on him. He was born in May 2010 and has Down syndrome. He also does not have a donation button. A family would need to be interested and be home study ready to get more info. I also pray that Nico would be adopted quickly enough that he would never know anything other than the love of a family. His red hair & bright blue eyes just melt my heart. There are more pictures of Nico available. 




Then, there's Robert. Still praying like crazy for this guy. He was born in December 2009. He has Down syndrome. A family has met Robert and he is doing great, almost walking! He DOES have a donation button to help build his adoption grant, so please consider making a donation. Click here to see Robert's profile and/or to make a donation. 










I DO realize that a lot of people don't have the same heart as I do for orphans. But I also realize that a lot of people don't do anything, because they don't know. Regardless, as Christians, it is our responsibility to take care of the orphans. If you honestly can't donate, that's fine. Praying for these children and sharing their sweet faces is another way to help. Praying surrenders it all to God and allows Him to do HIS will. And if we didn't share their pictures, how would their family find them? 


Each one of these children is such a precious gift. They are worth so much more than what society has labeled them as. Please, help give these children hope. Give them a future. Give them LIFE. 

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Robert



A few weeks ago, I dreamed I was at an orphanage. I remember looking through some windows and seeing so many abandoned children but yet I was only allowed to spend some time with just one child. The child's name was Robert. I woke up the next morning and right away went to Reece's Rainbow and searched to see if there was a Robert. And there he was. I fell in love. My heart broke for Robert and ever since, he has been so heavy on my heart. Up until this point, I had made myself stop looking at Reece's Rainbow so often. But once again, I can't stop looking at his picture, looking to see if he's found a family, looking to see if his grant has grown. 


A couple days ago, I joined the Reece's Rainbow group on facebook. Not long after, someone posted a picture. As soon as I saw it, my heart stopped. Before getting a good look, I knew it was Robert. It was the most beautiful picture. He was smiling, joyful. He looked amazing. And yet, instantly, I was sobbing. I couldn't help it. I couldn't stop.  


Robert is in a good orphanage. He is doing well, he is almost walking!! He looks so joyful. 


I keep begging God to show me why He has put Robert on my heart. Jayson & I are not in a position to adopt, probably for at least a couple years yet. Some big mountains would have to be moved. And with how well Robert appears to be doing, I just can't figure out WHY I can't stop thinking about him and brainstorming how I can help him. 


It is so hard to know how many children are waiting for families.  We are willing. Yet, we can't go.  


I have to keep reminding myself that we ARE seeing progress in our situation. In the last month, Jayson received health benefits for ALL of us through his job for the first time since we've been married. NO MORE MEDICAID!!   My student loan is almost completely paid off and then the only debt we will have will be our mortgage and a little student debt from Jayson. But no more credit cards & my student loan that wasn't going anywhere for so long...it'll all be gone!! And how GREAT that feels! 


So no matter how many times I feel like we're going no where, or even worse, going backwards, I just keep seeing the miracles that God has done already and know that EVERYTHING is in His timing. God can, and He will, move mountains. We just need to wait on Him. 


In the meantime, I continue to pray that God would reveal Himself to me and show me how I can help Robert.  Since I have recently started to sew, I am thinking of making some things that I can sell or use as a fundraiser to bring in money for Robert. (I still need a little bit more practice though :) ) And hopefully, somewhere along the way, a family will commit to Robert! 


I would love prayers for God to reveal Himself to me regarding Robert and for God to use me in some way. Prayers for Robert's well-being and for a family to come to him quickly. Prayers for God to move mountains in our family so that one day sooner than later, WE can be that family going to rescue our child. 



Sunday, May 6, 2012

Growing Up


 I cannot believe how fast my girls are growing up!! Addy is almost 6 months already!! I'm fairly certain (but also a little hesitant to say) that Addy may have her 2 bottom teeth coming in. She started rolling from her belly to her back about a month ago, but only did it a handful of times. Now she usually only rolls from her back to her belly & then screams until someone flips her or until she falls asleep. She really doesn't roll that much though. What she does do though is scoot on her belly!!  She can get from point A to point B very quickly. And she's ALWAYS trying to crawl!! She lifts up on all fours and just rocks and laughs and then she'll fall and scoot on her belly to get whatever toy she's after. (The vents on the floor often appeal more to her than her actual toys). Addy loooves to eat!! Alexys never got half as excited about food as Addy does. When she sees you coming with her bowl of rice cereal, her smile lights up the entire house and you can hardly even feed it to her b/c she's so excited!! I'll be starting her on fruits & veggies soon and I dare say she'll eat a lot more than just sweet potato & bananas! (That's all Alexys would eat, and it wasn't often!) We have been signing with Addy. It's fun to watch Alexys get excited over teaching her and for Addy to get excited over watching us sign to her, even if she doesn't know what in the world we are doing!
Unfortunately, Addy is still up 2-3 times a night. Even so, I sadly lost my sleeping buddy b/c she got too big and mobile to sleep with me or in her bassinet. Alexys thinks it's pretty cool to have Addy in her room now and they are actually doing really well together. The trickiest part is when we put them to bed. Poor Alexys has listened to Addy scream for an hour before falling asleep. I never thought I'd feel sorry for Alexys b/c of something Addy did. It's usually the other way around :) But otherwise, Alexys has started sleeping through her waking up in the night. I'm hoping that this will also help Addy sleep better through the night.
I love love love Addy's joyful spirit. She is laid back & happy but still lets you know when she needs some lovin! 

It is so crazy to see the little lady Alexys is becoming & how quickly she is learning. She loves to help me do the dishes, sweep the floor, bake cookies,cook dinner, you name it. She loves to be involved and helping out.  I-spy books are her favorite, as well as "There's a Wocket in my Pocket" by Dr. Seuss. She recently was introduced to Dora the Explorer & she fell in love. Jayson & I weren't too excited at first, but it's actually MUCH more tolerable than most the kid shows out there! And since we don't have tv stations anyways, it's much easier to keep it limited :) Alexys has been doing really well with potty training. At home she does great. We need to work with her more on when we go out though. (Actually, Jayson & I need to work more on ourselves and giving her a chance when we go out, and not just putting on a diaper b/c we're afraid of her peeing her pants in public or not wanting to take the time to find a bathroom!)  Alexys loves taking bubble baths, blowing bubbles, playing at the playground, playing with play-doh, singing & dancing. 
Her increasing vocabulary amazes me everyday! Her latest word is "puke"..every time Addy spits up Alexys says "Mom, she puked" And then she'll run and grab a towel to help clean it up :) Or when she says "Mom, I have an owie", I ask her "what happened?" She says, "It's a bruise!". haha I'm sure I've said "bruise" before but I didn't realize she knew what it was. Usually when I don't know what she's talking about, it's not because she's not clear, but b/c I'm not sure how she could possibly know the word that it sounds like she's using..but it usually it what it sounds like!
Alexys is at the age and has the personality (very strong willed!) that she needs a lot of attention & direction. But she does very well with learning whatever we're working on. Instead of taking toys from Addy now, she BRINGS her toys & picks them up for her when she drops them. It's good to keep me disciplined as well, trying to keep Alexys disciplined! 


I absolutely looove my girls. They bring me so much joy. As Addy gets older & can interact a little bit more, it is so fun to watch them play together and laugh at each other. Alexys gives Addy the biggest hugs and just holds onto her. Addy gives Alexys her biggest smiles and loudest laughs.
I am so blessed to be a mother to these girls and to be at home with them every day. I am so blessed to have a husband that is out working hard, so that I am able to stay home with our girls. Every day I strive more to be the woman, wife, & mother that God has called me to be. It's not always easy or glamorous. But when I think about who I want my girls to be and how much all of my decisions and actions impact them, I can't help but keep pressing on and relying on God to help me kill my flesh. Every day. Every hour.Every moment. Their lives are worth it <3