Catch Up!

Well, I am clearly not a very good blogger. I could just say I don't have the time, which is very often true. But I also usually just don't have anything to say. 


BUT, 1 exciting thing I've been wanting to share is that KENDRA has a new, updated picture! She is beautiful and she needs a mama and daddy!! There is still no information on her except that she has Down syndrome and was born in February 2011. Interested families are able to inquire and get more info though. Look at her eyes and her face, crying out for someone to see her and love on her!!
 

NICO also still needs a mama and daddy to scoop him up and bring him home.Look at those beautiful eyes and gorgeous red hair! He is so lovable and sweet, why is he still waiting?! 


And there's ROBERT...also still waiting! How can someone resist Robert's joy & charm?! 


I know there are families that would scoop these children up in a heartbeat but are unable to one reason or another.  I also know there are families out there that ARE able. Maybe they haven't laid eyes on their child yet. Maybe they are trying to fight it and tell God why they can't be that family. I don't know these children personally, but I do know how much JOY they would bring to a family and how DESERVING they are to be given that chance. PLEASE, help give them that chance. If that means sharing their picture, SHARE. If it means donating, DONATE. If it means being their family, GO. 


We cannot adopt right now, we are still waiting for our mountains to be moved. But I have seen the Reece's Rainbow group and the support they have given to adopting families. It is one big family. The amount of support they give is unbelievable. I have seen mountains moved and miracles done through being a part of this group. If you have ANY questions about any of the kids, any specific countries or regions, or about how the whole process works, or anything at all, PLEASE ask and I can get you in touch with people who have answers or will get them! 


On another note, I have been sewing products to help Robert's grant.I have been able to sell some burp cloths but still have many left! (ALL proceeds go to Robert's grant! Some extra from the airplane burp cloths go to Robert as well, as that fabric was donated to me by Sheri, who loves Robert as much, if not more, than I do! :) ) 

Currently I have 4 monkey/white burp cloths left, 3 trains (2 green, 1 yellow), 9 airplanes (3 red,3 green,3 yellow), and 5 of the girly ones (all a different variation of the turtles, pink with green polka dots, and white with green polka dots)


I do have an etsy page(click here), but my inventory has changed slightly, so PLEASE message me before making any purchases to make sure the burp cloths you want are still available. I can then make you a custom listing. If you buy 2 burp cloths, they are $3 each. 3-5 burp cloths are $2.75 each and 6 or more are $2.50 each! This is a great way to buy something you already need (for yourself or it'd make a great gift!) and to help Robert! It's a win-win!! 


I almost forgot! I also have 2 very cute tote bags for sale, donated by my beautiful friend Elyse who also wants to help Robert! They are $15 each (plus shipping if needed) and the entire amount goes to Robert's grant!! You can see pictures of the inside of the bags in a few posts back. 

 




I am leaving Sunday for a week so if you know you want some, order today or tomorrow so I can get them sent out before I leave!


If you read this all, THANKS :) Remember how GOOD God is and count your blessings. Life is short and I hope I can honor HIM in all that I do. 

Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome

This is copied from Brady Murray's blog...please read & vote vote vote!!

Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome

My family and I have loved being able to work on behalf of the children on Reece's Rainbow since  

finding this great organization.  It's for this reason that I had a hard time sleeping because of the excitement 

after hearing about this announcement!

Two months ago, Ironman announced a contest called Kona Inspired.  How it works is they have given

the general public an opportunity to submit a 90 second video based around the theme, "Anything is Possible".  

Winners receive a spot to race in the Ironman World Championship in October, but most importantly, they will 

race as a media athlete and have the opportunity to share their story on NBC's nationally televised broadcast of 

the championship this year!  THIS COULD BE OUR OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THESE PRECIOUS CHILDREN'S STORY 

WITH THE WORLD!!!

After reading Ironman's press release we immediately went to work.  This is an opportunity to help these children

in a way that I never imagined possible!  The video came together with the help of many wonderful people and we

submitted it.  105 videos were submitted.  After over a month long preliminary public voting, we just received

word that we are one of the top 15 videos and will compete in the final round of voting 

June 4 - June 18!!!

Please take a moment to WATCH, VOTE, and SHARE our video as much as possible throughout the day from your 

home computer, work computer, laptop, phone, etc!  We need to be in the top 2 videos at the end of the day on 

June 18.  

KONA INSPIRED VIDEO LINK

Thank you for your time and willingness to make the dream of these orphans of finding their forever family 

a reality!

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! 

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 :) 

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!!**

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. 

Click here to see Vincent's profile and to make a donation

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. 

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.