This is Alexys at 10 months old, the same age that Addyson is right now. I really wish that I had a camera so I could get some pictures of Addyson so you could see how much they look alike!! Phone pictures just aren't the same quality. When I look at baby pictures of Alexys & watch videos of her, I have to keep reminding myself that it's Alexys and not Addyson. 

Now my "baby" girl is almost 3!! Her favorite things are horses, playing at the park, chewing/eating gum, watching movies,singing, & dancing. Her lamb still goes everywhere with her. Her vocabulary has sky rocketed. She talks with complete sentences and thoughts most of the time now. She's full of "WHY?" She wants to do EVERYTHING by herself now like putting on her clothes,her shoes, getting on the toilet,opening and closing doors,etc. She thinks it's hilarious to waddle out of the bathroom with her pants and underwear at her ankles and yell "hey mom, look at my pants!" She likes to imitate Addyson all the time...if Addyson is doing blanket time, Alexys wants to do blanket time. If Addyson is crawling around, so is Alexys.(I thought it'd be the other way around! haha)  I LOVE when Addyson wakes up and Alexys gets SO exited and yells in her face "GOOD MORNING BEAUTIFUL!!"  I love when Alexys pretends to be the adult and acts all sweet to me saying "Oh honey, it's okay. Go to sleep honey", as she strokes my arm and gives me kisses. Alexys loves watching "Signing Time" and has been learning SO many signs so quickly. She loves to teach them to Addyson. I think it's hilarious when she yells "Mom, I have to poop!" out in public and wonder at what age she'll realize that's not appropriate to do anymore. Alexys has become shy and reserved when in a new situation but it usually doesn't take long until she warms up and gets really goofy. At her first gymnastics class, she didn't want to do the warm ups but by the 2nd activity, she was quickly volunteering and helping the teacher with showing the class how to do everything. Tonight when we were doing her gymnastic stretches, pretending to make a pizza, I asked what she wanted on it.  Her first topping was "sugar!" Her next ones were "pepper & salt!"  At dinner tonight, I caught her "drinking" out of the grated parmesan cheese container. 

Then there's my baby girl, Addyson!! I can't believe she 10 months old already!! She acts so much older than that! She is a busy, busy girl!! She's been walking for over a month now. She took her first steps days before she turned 9 months and took off from there! She's got the cutest waddle you've ever seen! :) I never thought it'd be so hard to keep up with a 10 month old. She is always trying to keep up with Alexys and gets frustrated when she can't. She now climbs up and over and around everything. Even a buckle can't keep her strapped down in the high chair or stroller. If I want any chance to keep her busy & distracted , food is my best bet. When we're in the store, french fries seem to do the trick (healthy, I know). She does NOT stay seated in grocery carts so I usually end up having to hold her while pushing a cart with Alexys in the front, trying to shop at the same time. This girl LOVES to eat!! Unfortunately, she thinks she's too old now for the boring foods like cheerios or chex. Her looks could kill when food comes out and she's not getting any. She will lunge very quickly to grab food out of anyone's hands if she gets the chance. She loves to swing at the park. She has the biggest smile and is so full of JOY.  Addyson is a pacifier girl, and I swear, I will never let another child of mine have a pacifier. She used to have one with a lamb attached and somehow it got lost this week. We now have one without the lamb, but I can easily spend an hour a day looking for the darn thing. Anytime she drops it, it bounces. I've had to go back through parking lots and stores to find it. I'm always moving the crib now b/c it fell behind it. Today she managed to stick her hand in the toilet while Alexys was peeing, and dropped it in the toilet. She LOVES water whether it be water in the dog bowl or taking a bath. She will try to sneak into the bathroom any chance she gets and tries climbing into the bathtub. She has started imitating lately and it's SO cute. I especially love her Indian noise...where she opens her mouth and hits her hand on it over and over while making the Indian noise (I think that's what people call it, does anyone know what I'm talking about?!) She started doing it on her own but now she'll do it anytime someone does it to her. She started signing her first sign the other day, "milk". She gives high fives. She is GREAT for everyone, except for me. She cries when I'm around or if I walk into the same room as her & then leave or walk by her and don't pick her up. (Not all the time, but much more often than I'd like!) Lately, her hair has been looking auburn & I'm so excited!! 

The older the girls get, the funner they are to watch together! The sound of them laughing hysterically together is music to my ears. Alexys is starting to look out for Addyson more, always coming in to wake me up if Addyson is crying and picking things up for her when she drops them. I love listening to them "talk" at night when we put them to bed, sometimes waking up to find them sleeping together in the crib. 

My girls are awesome. LOVE them & can't wait to see them get closer and be best friends as they grow up :) 
<3 <3 <3 <3<3 <3 <3 <3<3 <3 <3 <3<3 <3 <3 <3<3 <3 <3 <3

Help an Introvert Out... :)

It's times like now that I wish I was more of an extrovert. That I was a doer. That I was more sociable and didn't care what other people thought about me. 

I keep going over and over how I can possibly raise $100 for Enoch. It seems like $100 will be so easy to raise and yet it seems so difficult, I don't even know where or how to start. (I can't even imagine the stress of raising $1,000...maybe that's why $100 seems so much easier even without knowing how it'll be done!)

My goal is to raise the $100 by October 31. My thoughts are for the proceeds from my etsy shop to go to Enoch until he reaches $100. Being that October 31 is not far away, that is my short term goal. Once he meets his goal, I move onto my long term goal, which is to help Nico & Zannen's family. I will *hopefully* be doing a craft fair on November 10, which will *hopefully* help me sell things better than I am able to online and bring in more money for these 2 awesome families that are just starting the adoption process and needing support. 

This is my etsy shop here. Check it out and start Christmas shopping! ;)  Keep checking back for more items! 

Being in Michigan, I have really been wanting to take advantage of the 10cent deposit on cans. It *sounds* so easy to walk up to doors & ask people for their pop cans. I mean, pop cans are easier for people to give up than actual cash, right?? And $100 could easily be reached if people were willing to donate their cans. Being an introvert though, I'm afraid I won't know what to say and that people won't care and won't want to give up their pop cans and I'll look stupid. Which brings me to the question, is a 24 year old woman *allowed* to walk up to peoples doors asking for pop cans? Or is that really tacky and socially unacceptable? I don't remember the last time I've seen someone collecting pop cans door to door. I just remember doing it as a KID. Even an extrovert told me that she would only want to do it if she took a kid with her b/c it's a kid thing to do. :(  

So I need some HONEST feedback. Would you, as a grown adult, go door to door collecting pop cans? Would you find it odd to find an adult at your door, asking for pop cans? Would you be willing or think others would be willing to donate their pop cans, given enough information about what they're for? 

On the evenings I'm alone with the girls, I'm half tempted to put the girls in the stroller and start going door to door. If only I really had the courage! I mean, I'd have 2 cute girls with me that would help win people over, right?! :) 

I hope there's at least 1 person still reading this that doesn't think I've completely lost it! 

If there's anyone that wants to help a girl out, I will not be opposed! ;) Feel free to make a small donation to Enoch's grant, to buy from my etsy shop, or donate your pop cans to me! If you have any other ideas on how I can raise money for RR, I'd love to hear those as well! 

You can see Enoch's listing on Reece's Rainbow here!

And now, I'll just leave you with the picture of this beautiful boy, Enoch himself! :)

Exciting News & Then Some... :)

NICO has a family coming for him!! He showed up on MFFM this week. I may or may not have inside information on who his family is ;). Hopefully SOON they will be on New Commitments and they can share who they are! Nico is in a very expensive region b/c they require more trips, so prayers and donations for his family would be awesome!! I will let people know of fundraisers for his family as they come up! :)



Enoch is a new face on Reece's Rainbow, whom I had the honor of 'naming'! We are planning on naming our first born son "Enoch" but it's not heard often (or well liked!) so I was really excited for this opportunity to use it :)  Enoch is such a beautiful boy but sadly, he is 6 years old and spends his days in a crib chewing on his hands to self-sooth :(  You can see a spark in his eyes though. I am praying it won't be long for him to be noticed and on MFFM. How awesome would that be?! I have signed up to be his Zero the Zero Hero. The goal is for me to get his grant up to $100 by October 31. If you feel led, I would not be opposed to any donations! ;) Otherwise, more importantly, please pray for Enoch and share his picture. SIX years is way too long to spend in a crib all alone. 



Sign-ups for the Christmas Angel Tree Warrior Program just started this past week. The Christmas Angel Tree is Reece's Rainbow's biggest fundraiser every year that runs from November 1-December 31. Each child gets a Christmas Warrior that advocates for them and does everything they can to raise $1,000 for that child. Information on it can be found by clicking here!

As of now, we are not planning on signing up for a child b/c it's too big of a commitment for our family right now :(  But regardless, I still plan on doing what I can to raise money for several different RR kids & families (mainly Nico's family & Enoch & Kendra!)  I do much better with things like fundraising without having an expectation or time constraints...(we'll see how well that goes for me when the day comes that we can adopt! ;) ) 

Anyways, once again, if you feel led & have the time and heart for this, I encourage you to look into it and choose a child to be a Christmas Warrior for. (If you need any suggestions, sweet Kendra still needs a Christmas Warrior! I'll do what I can to help! ;) ) 

When the Angel Tree starts, I will be sure to share the fundraisers everyone is doing for their kiddos & hopefully you can find one you like and can support. I can't wait to see what everyone is doing!!

Speaking of fundraisers, I have been building my Etsy inventory! Feel free to check it out! Every month I will donate all proceeds from sales to a RR child or family. I can let you know specifically at time of purchase who the money will go to, but unless there's an urgent need or matching grant opportunity for a certain child/family, it will probably be going to Nico's family. I guess first I need to see how much I'm able to sell & then I'll go from there...don't want to get ahead of myself!
Here are some pictures of some things I've been making... :)











I have the bags & aprons done & posted on my etsy (click here) but I have sold some of the crayon rolls & still need to make more to post on etsy. One of my ideas is to make a crayon roll for each activity bag and include a pad of paper, small books, etc. They would make perfect activity bags for at church, the doctor's office, in the car, anywhere your child needs to stay quiet & busy! :)  If you have any thoughts on it or are interested, please let me know! I will be buying fabric this week to make some boy ones...I have plenty of girl fabric but am lacking in the boy department! 

I would love to sell products, but I can only do that if there's interest! So seriously, please give me feedback on what products you or others would be interested in!! Feel free to share my page to anyone that may be interested! It's not too early for Christmas shopping!! ;) 

Well, that's probably plenty for one night (& knowing my blogging habits, the next 2 months!)  If you read this, thank-you. If you prayed or shared or donated, thank you! 

Necessity vs. Expectation

If you are anything like me, it is so easy to justify spending money on certain "needs" without thinking twice about it. You buy your coffee or soft drink. You pick up some fast food for lunch. You splurge on a new outfit. You spend money on hobbies. You want to upgrade to the latest and greatest gadgets. And the list goes on....

Don't get me wrong, none of these things are bad. It is okay to have hobbies and enjoy simple pleasures. But how often are we indulging in these things? Have we set an expectation for how we want to live and what we expect that we don't even realize the difference between a need and a want anymore? Or do we realize it and just do anything about it? 

For example, I LOVE drinking coke..but does that mean that I need 1 (or 4) every single day? Does that mean I have to stop by a McDonald's every time I pass by b/c I tell myself I'm SO tired and really need & deserve a coke? (even though I already know that it never does wake me up, I'll do anything to justify it) Honestly, even if it's only $1 every day for my coke, it adds up and its NOT even healthy! I know both of these things and yet I can't seem to kick this horrible addiction to coca~cola! 

It's easy for me to look at our budget and decide that we don't have any extra for the month to spend. Until.......I find a sewing project I want to do, I see a new shirt and realize "oh, i actually could use another shirt...", I am too lazy to make lunch so I go pick up fast food, etc.  Even after spending the money we "didn't have", bills still get paid and we're fine. 

ON THE OTHER HAND, I see families who are adopting and are desperate to raise the funds they need to complete the adoption. I see waiting children whose grant could use some help.. I hear of poor schools and kids that could use some school supplies as the new school year is about to start. I hear of a local families in need for various reasons. And sometimes, I REALLY REALLY want to help these people out. Everything in me wishes I could GIVE SOMETHING. But yet, I realize we don't have the money to give and so I'll pray and hopefully be able to help out soon. 

But wait a second, do I really not have $5 to give to an adoption fundraiser or a waiting child? Do I really not have $20 to fill a backpack for a low-income student? But what about the money I spend on coke everyday that wasn't in my budget but that I still always make room for? What about the new shirt that I thought I needed, but that I hang next to the 100 other shirts that I already have? 

My point is, it's SO EASY to say that we don't have the money to spend when it comes to things of importance and that could change a life. But we don't often think twice about spending money on our every day luxuries that we've become accustomed to. 

There WILL be times that there is simply not money to give and God isn't calling you to give to a certain situation. But I don't want to find myself saying "no" to every worthwhile situation b/c I'm simply indulging my flesh and don't have anything left over. 

These are just examples from my own life. It will look differently to each person, but I bet most people knowingly or unknowingly have their own luxuries and expectations.

Matthew 6:21 says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be." 

So I'm asking, where is your treasure? What would your check book say about where your heart is? 

I really don't want coke or clothes to take priority in my life, what a sad and meaningless life that would be. Instead, I want to show these children that THEY are of more importance, that I LOVE them, that they are WORTHY of life and of a FAMILY who LOVES them and CHERISHES them. I can't say I'll never drink a coke again but I want to change my mind from "How can I indulge my flesh?" to "How can I show love to the least of these? How can I serve the hurting and the helpless? How can I be the light of Christ to those around me? How can I better use the resources that GOD has given to me?" 

I want to challenge you to evaluate your heart. Evaluate where your money goes. How well do you manage what God has given to you? Do you hold onto it tightly & selfishly or do you sow it for the Kingdom of God, serving and loving others? I challenge you to find a new way to stretch and grow your faith, to allow GOD to manage your money and not your flesh. 

Galations 6:7-8

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." 

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!