AND THE WINNER IS:

CINDY STEPHENS!!! CONGRATS! EMail me with your address. Thanks for all the donations for Ivan. I will be posting a link about his adoption soon.

IVAN HAS A FAMILY !!!!

OH MY!!! HE HAS A FAMILY!!! I am beyond excited and so grateful that Ivan has his Christmas Miracle. And everyone who gave and prayed for him has a part in that miracle. Just a short post to let you know I have delayed the drawing for the giftcard until tomorrow. I wanted to draw the winning name among friends and therefore have some witnesses. So come back tomorrow and find out who has won the giftcard. If you have donated online please check to see that a comment was left. There is one donation I do not have a name for. Thanks to all who have donated and prayed for little Ivan K.

GIFT CARD GIVE-A-WAY for Ivan K.

It's give-a-way time! A $50 gift card from OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE RESTAURANT just in time for Christmas. All you have to do to win this gift card is donate $5 to IVAN K's chip-in for one chance to win. Donate $25 and your name will be placed 6 x's in the basket. Then go back and leave a comment on this post and the amount so your name can be added. ALL proceeds go directly to Reece's Rainbow and will be placed in Ivan's account for his adoption grant. You can donate securely using paypal.

OUT OF THE WOODS

and into the garage....she went. Dad caught the adorable grey kitten for Marissa to snuggle with at night. We really hoped that she would help Marissa go to sleep easier. He put that snarling, scratching, hissing ball of fur into the crate and put a top on it. He filled the crate with an old blanket and put some water and food into the crate. Snuggled with her every day. Lots of face time and reassuring her she would be OK! Sounds kinda like our adoptions, huh! She rewarded us with loud purring and a softening of her body towards us. Decided after a week it was time to bring her home from Dad's office by the woods. We delighted in her antics the first day as we let her come out of the bathroom for hours at a time to play. Time to move to the garage we decided . Let her out there to roam all night BUT the next morning she was no where to be found. Did she sneak out somewhere or go under the car? We checked every crevice and under the hood and I slammed the doors lots of times praying she was not in the engine. Drove off to go do all day errands and came back to an empty food bowl and a full litter box. KWIM! We gave her a couple more days to come out. BUT, nothing again but the empty food bowl and full litter box. So now I am waiting here with the garage door open letting her see total freedom. Will she take it? Not gonna feed and clean up poop for a no-show! Crazy cat! She coulda had a great family.

ORPHAN SUNDAY

Today is ORPHAN SUNDAY a day set aside in some of our churches to bring about awareness of the plight of so many orphans in this world. I have 3 sweet blessings that are no longer orphans in this world, but such is not the case for a precious little boy in Eastern Europe. Look on my sidebar and you will see a sweet boy IVAN who is listed with Reece's Rainbow. I have agreed to be his Christmas Warrior which means I am praying for him to find a family and doing some fundraising for a grant to go towards his adoption expenses. IVAN is only a year old and has a condition known as Down Syndrome . He lives in a baby house in Eastern Europe where he will be cared for until his 4th birthday at which time he will be transferred to a mental institution to spend the rest of his life if not adopted. There will be no one there to kiss him goodnight; no therapy to help him be all he could be; no one to hold him when he cries. Can you imagine growing up without parents to help you? I cannot! Ivan deserves a life outside of a mental institution and I am believing for a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE for him....a family for Christmas.

Reece's Rainbow has begun their Christmas Angel Tree Fundraiser and you can click on the ornament above Ivan's picture to donate to his account. For $35 you will receive a Christmas ornament with his picture on it to hang on your tree. All proceeds go directly to Reece's Rainbow and you can make a secure payment through paypal.

Ridiculously Proud

We just came home from our day trip to Shriner's Hospital for Children yesterday where Naomi was fitted for her second prosthesis. I convinced them to mail it to us so we don't have to do the 5 hr. drive there and back. So *leggy* will be arriving in the mail. She was a bit fearful of what might be happening but I kept saying that leggy has to see the Dr. She is just fine as long as she is not the one. LOL .

Before we met Naomi I wondered what kind of feelings I would have when other people saw she had a birth defect and ultimately her prosthesis. I wondered if she would want to hide it or be self-conscious about it. Yesterday we saw lots of children with birth defects and she saw beautiful children missing a hand or an arm. She is starting to understand a bit about her birth defect and that other people have difficulties as well. She saw people walking with crutches and asked them if they were going to be OK. Such a caring nature she has. Naomi is such a great kid with a wonderful outlook on the world even though she has had a rough start. Nothing slows her down and she doesn't know the words I can't do it. She tries to do everything even though there are times she surely should not. I am the one who is more cautious about the physical aspects of her adventurous nature. And you know I find myself *ridiculously proud* for someone to see she has a prothesis and yet is not afraid to climb and jump and try the most challenging activities.

Preschool Here I come

I can't believe she is ready for preschool ! Wednesday was her first day and she LOVED IT! On the ride to school she said -I have leggy- so we talked about that for a few minutes and then she moved on to ask me if I was coming RIGHT back. I was so proud that she was able to sit at her table and let me leave without a major meltdown. She's so grown up! It certainly helped that there was playdough on the table and that she had her BACKYARDAGAN LUNCHBOX in her cubby. (can't figure out how to make the pic bigger)

Hillsong United - With All I Am (lyrics on video)

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT

This is perhaps the first time she's played in the sprinkler. She had a blast!

Last Summer

I've been coming across this picture many times this year and everytime I am just awestruck by Naomi's progress with her prosthetis. She had only been walking for a short time last summer when this picture was taken and the day we ventured out to the Aquarium she began to run. I love this picture of her spunk and determination to not let her special need keep her from doing anything.

Jesus Culture - Sing My Love

Chloe` Jeanette

Introducing beautiful Chloe`Jeanette Beaver. She arrived on Monday the 12th a beautiful bundle of joy. So sweet and pink weighing in at 7.7 our 5th grandchild. Naomi saw her at the hospital and once at home. She walks around all day saying "Chloe so beautiful" at just the right time too ....like when she's in trouble for digging into someone's stuff. She's learning to use her leggy to her advantage also. Just the other day I would not let her go outside because it was too wet and so she threw herself down and took off her leggy just for spite. Then looked at me to see what I thought about it.....just walked away....she put it back on. We made the trip to Shriner's to have leggy adjusted and on the way I told her we would see the Dr. She cried and said "NO". So then I asked if leggy could see the Dr. and she said "sure". So now she walks up to people and tells them "leggy saw Dr." When she is in trouble she tells me "leggy saw Dr." as if to say remember about my leg mom!

EASTER BLESSINGS