I am so excited! I just got an email that said the Cleveland Indians (our awesome baseball team) has approved our request of an in-kind donation for our fundraiser!! I have no idea what it is, but I can pick it up next Friday. Of course, I won't be home that day, but I will either have hubby pick it up, or I can pick it up the following week!
They said to allow 6-8 weeks for approval, and this came fast! I have been composing a letter of request for donation -- and I think I am almost done. This just gets me excited for what is to come!!!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Reece's Rainbow
I watched a video earlier today, about Reece's Rainbow. I have known about this awesome ministry for several years now, and I did know that this was their 5th year. What I didn't realize was that Andrea started RR in June 2006. June 2006, while I was in my last month of my pregnancy with Owen. While the high risk doctor told me he had never seen a baby with down syndrome as big as the baby was in my belly, so don't worry about it. Back in the time when I knew very little about Down syndrome. Very little. I had really no idea about so much. And I was sure going to learn. How lucky am I?
So much of what Andrea says in the video feels like something that I could say. To have this drive, this passion, for these children who have no voice is one thing. She took that and DID something. She built this ministry, and SHE is SAVING the world, one orphan at a time. And she has saved over 500 children. Children who would have been forgotten. Locked up behind closed doors. Doors she has fought to open. So many doors are still closed. So much work still has to be done. And now that we know, we can help. We CAN do SOMETHING!
I am hoping that this works -- I am going to try to attach the video here. It is worth EVERY minute to watch. Please open your heart, and take the time for these kids.
So much of what Andrea says in the video feels like something that I could say. To have this drive, this passion, for these children who have no voice is one thing. She took that and DID something. She built this ministry, and SHE is SAVING the world, one orphan at a time. And she has saved over 500 children. Children who would have been forgotten. Locked up behind closed doors. Doors she has fought to open. So many doors are still closed. So much work still has to be done. And now that we know, we can help. We CAN do SOMETHING!
I am hoping that this works -- I am going to try to attach the video here. It is worth EVERY minute to watch. Please open your heart, and take the time for these kids.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Jamison
I am proud to announce that I am Jamison's Reece's Rainbow's Christmas Warrior! After looking over all the sweet children, so many of whom my heart aches for (well, that may be all of them), I decided to go with Jamison. Jamison will turn 5 next May. It is my hope that through spreading the word about him and Reece's Rainbow, raising money for him and lots of prayer, that his forever family will find him, commit to him and be able to bring him home next summer.
Sweet Jamison! If you click on his picture it will take you to his Reece's Rainbow page. There is a link there to donate to him. Remember donations are tax deductible. Every little bit helps. Jamison is worth it! He deserves a family. He deserves LOVE. To be held. To be safe. To be able to reach his full potential.
Sweet Jamison! If you click on his picture it will take you to his Reece's Rainbow page. There is a link there to donate to him. Remember donations are tax deductible. Every little bit helps. Jamison is worth it! He deserves a family. He deserves LOVE. To be held. To be safe. To be able to reach his full potential.
Planning a Fundraiser
I have attended a couple fundraisers over the years. Not too many really. Enough to know they are lots of work. I think the first date I picked maybe a little to soon. I will have to re-think that! I also thought of another place, another idea, to do one. A wine tasting! There is one for our Church this coming Saturday. I am thinking maybe I should contact the restaurant (the owners are members of our Church) and see what the cost would be to do it there. That could be fun! So much to do, but I am excited! I am praying that Jamison's family will find him, and that they will have the money they need to get him. He is just so sweet. Well, this is short and sweet today, as I need to get moving!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Small World
Yesterday we went to a surprise birthday party for my mother-in-law. She lives up by the lake, about an hour away from us. My father-in-law and some of their friends planned the party. I took my boys up there early (my husband couldn't get off work early to make the surprise, so he met us there). We were one of the first to arrive. As some of my MIL's friends got there, I recognized some faces, but didn't know all of them by name. These ladies are pretty nice, and one of them and I were talking. She was telling me how she teaches preschool, for kids with disabilities. We were chatting about how this year has been a little more physical for her, with having 3 children who are not mobile. I mentioned that Mr. O has a friend in his class who is also not mobile, and I said that he had down syndrome. I have to believe that she must have known that. But after saying that, she started to tell me about a child that she has in class with ds. She said that this child was from a village. Overseas. Adopted. I had said something about how wonderful that was, and how I follow an international ministry for orphan children with down syndrome. She seemed to recognize what I was saying, and asked if it was a rainbow, or something like that. I said - Reece's Rainbow? She said yes. That was who helped them. So, I immediately told her how wonderful this ministry was (which she agreed) and then told her about Jamison, and how I am trying to help raise money for his adoption.
This was a really awesome and positive. A long way we have come in 5 years.
After Mr. O was born, I was still adjusting to his down syndrome that summer. It took a little while. I was very self conscious about a lot of things. What other people would think of Owen. What would they think of me. Lots of little, unimportant to me now, things. There were only two people, outside of my parents, Don's parents, and my brothers, who I told about the diagnosis right away. I felt very strongly about people meeting Owen before telling them. I was afraid if they new before they saw him, they would get a picture in their head that Owen was a monster or something. And he was just a baby. Like any other baby.
We went up to visit my in-laws late that summer. There was some sort of party going on and we went down to it. Almost immediately I felt as if everyone knew. Of course they did, my mother-in-law told them. And why not? These were her friends to tell.
So we wheeled Owen down in his stroller, he was napping, Jason and Don were with me. And the four of us kinda hung out by ourselves. No one was coming up to us to say hi, talk or meet our new baby. Very different than when Jason was little.
Usually everyone loves to see a new baby. And Owen would have been less than 3 months old. It was very weird. I felt very out of place. This was what I had feared most - being cast outs.
Now, there were a couple of my MIL's friends who did come over. Sharon, who is like Aunt Sharon, a friend so close, she is more like family. And Donna, another really good friend, who is like family.
Even Don had to admit he felt the same way I did, that we were ignored. I guess people just don't know how to react.
The good news, things have changed. My in-laws will usually watch the boys for a couple days each summer so Don and I can go away. This is such a blessing! We may not visit or see them much, and this is a great gift from them. My boys hang out with grandma on these visits. They ride on the golf cart, visit friends, go to the "club", wherever. It is a lot of fun for them (and I hope for my mother-in-law as well). So, I think the boys know their friends better than I do! And as time has passes, Mr. O has won over them. I feel much more accepted, no longer judged by the people at the lake.
And to know someone up there - who knows a family, who went halfway around the world, to bring home an angel with down syndrome, brings joy to me. It shows just how much worth people with Down syndrome have. They are wanted. They add joy and love to our lives, to the world.
I always think it would be cool to seek out and adopt a child with Down syndrome to show the world that Down syndrome is not a bad or feel sorry for me thing. That, in fact, it is so wonderful that we would do it all again! We have been asked, outright and implied, "what if" we had another baby with Down syndrome? In the tone, one is bad enough, what would you do with two?
Adoption is a very serious and personal choice. As I have mentioned before, I am adopted. I am very pro-adoption. After much prayer and soul searching, I know that adoption is not where we are supposed to go at this time. And it is that knowing that brings me to raising money for Jamison. If I could be any bit of help, to find his forever family, to help their financial burden, to bring him home, I would be honored.
This was a really awesome and positive. A long way we have come in 5 years.
After Mr. O was born, I was still adjusting to his down syndrome that summer. It took a little while. I was very self conscious about a lot of things. What other people would think of Owen. What would they think of me. Lots of little, unimportant to me now, things. There were only two people, outside of my parents, Don's parents, and my brothers, who I told about the diagnosis right away. I felt very strongly about people meeting Owen before telling them. I was afraid if they new before they saw him, they would get a picture in their head that Owen was a monster or something. And he was just a baby. Like any other baby.
We went up to visit my in-laws late that summer. There was some sort of party going on and we went down to it. Almost immediately I felt as if everyone knew. Of course they did, my mother-in-law told them. And why not? These were her friends to tell.
So we wheeled Owen down in his stroller, he was napping, Jason and Don were with me. And the four of us kinda hung out by ourselves. No one was coming up to us to say hi, talk or meet our new baby. Very different than when Jason was little.
Usually everyone loves to see a new baby. And Owen would have been less than 3 months old. It was very weird. I felt very out of place. This was what I had feared most - being cast outs.
Now, there were a couple of my MIL's friends who did come over. Sharon, who is like Aunt Sharon, a friend so close, she is more like family. And Donna, another really good friend, who is like family.
Even Don had to admit he felt the same way I did, that we were ignored. I guess people just don't know how to react.
The good news, things have changed. My in-laws will usually watch the boys for a couple days each summer so Don and I can go away. This is such a blessing! We may not visit or see them much, and this is a great gift from them. My boys hang out with grandma on these visits. They ride on the golf cart, visit friends, go to the "club", wherever. It is a lot of fun for them (and I hope for my mother-in-law as well). So, I think the boys know their friends better than I do! And as time has passes, Mr. O has won over them. I feel much more accepted, no longer judged by the people at the lake.
And to know someone up there - who knows a family, who went halfway around the world, to bring home an angel with down syndrome, brings joy to me. It shows just how much worth people with Down syndrome have. They are wanted. They add joy and love to our lives, to the world.
I always think it would be cool to seek out and adopt a child with Down syndrome to show the world that Down syndrome is not a bad or feel sorry for me thing. That, in fact, it is so wonderful that we would do it all again! We have been asked, outright and implied, "what if" we had another baby with Down syndrome? In the tone, one is bad enough, what would you do with two?
Adoption is a very serious and personal choice. As I have mentioned before, I am adopted. I am very pro-adoption. After much prayer and soul searching, I know that adoption is not where we are supposed to go at this time. And it is that knowing that brings me to raising money for Jamison. If I could be any bit of help, to find his forever family, to help their financial burden, to bring him home, I would be honored.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Picking a child to sponsor
This has been such a hard decision for me. I have been going back and forth, do I pick someone who reminds me of Mr. O? What about a little girl, like sweet Teri Lynn? Do I choose a child that is older or younger?
Well, I am about to put my request in, and I will find out soon, I guess, who I will get. I have decided to pick a child who will be turning 5 next year. Someone, whom I hope we can save before he will get transferred to an institution. There are so many. It gets very overwhelming.
I have also been trying to get some information put together, something to pass around. To whom? I don't know yet. I have some ideas.
Well, that is all for now. Short, yep. I wanted to be upstairs reading a while ago, and I have so much to do still. First off, sign up for RR Christmas Warrior!
Well, I am about to put my request in, and I will find out soon, I guess, who I will get. I have decided to pick a child who will be turning 5 next year. Someone, whom I hope we can save before he will get transferred to an institution. There are so many. It gets very overwhelming.
I have also been trying to get some information put together, something to pass around. To whom? I don't know yet. I have some ideas.
Well, that is all for now. Short, yep. I wanted to be upstairs reading a while ago, and I have so much to do still. First off, sign up for RR Christmas Warrior!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
All aboard
Hi! I am new to the blogging world. I have already typed out a nice little intro, and there was an error. No big deal, but a little frustrating. Mostly at trying to remember what I was saying.
So, I wanted to give a little background as to why I am here, trying to figure out how to do this (I am much better at paper writing). A long time ago, my parents adopted me. I grew up always knowing I was adopted. I had several friends that were also adopted. I always felt very special, and very wanted. I was spoiled! My parents waited a while before I came along :) I have two brothers, one who is also adopted, and one who is a biological son of my parents.
I have two children, both boys. My second child was born with an extra chromosome. That little extra has sure added a lot of extra in our lives! Maybe over time, I will journal about the road in detail from there to here. I have always wanted to anyway (before my mind has completely forgotten the details).
The shorter version of the story - a few years ago, I came across the Reece's Rainbow website. While I would spend hours crying over all the beautiful faces on my computer screen, praying that they would all find homes, I was wondering what my place would be in their lives. After much prayer and soul searching, I knew that it was not my time and place to adopt, and I wanted to do more than just pray. I have been thinking about the Christmas Warriors, and I have decided that I would sign up! Now, that has not happened, yet (I think that might start next week?), and I am getting excited. I have spent some time looking through the pictures, and I am going to have to pray to find the one for me.
Welcome aboard my trip to help one or more or ALL of the children on Reece's Rainbow who are looking to find their forever family. I will talk more about all these topics -- especially Reece's Rainbow (RR) in the days or so to come (for all of you who may not have heard of this life changing organization!).
Well, I best be going to bed now. That morning alarm comes too early with school in session these days!
So, I wanted to give a little background as to why I am here, trying to figure out how to do this (I am much better at paper writing). A long time ago, my parents adopted me. I grew up always knowing I was adopted. I had several friends that were also adopted. I always felt very special, and very wanted. I was spoiled! My parents waited a while before I came along :) I have two brothers, one who is also adopted, and one who is a biological son of my parents.
I have two children, both boys. My second child was born with an extra chromosome. That little extra has sure added a lot of extra in our lives! Maybe over time, I will journal about the road in detail from there to here. I have always wanted to anyway (before my mind has completely forgotten the details).
The shorter version of the story - a few years ago, I came across the Reece's Rainbow website. While I would spend hours crying over all the beautiful faces on my computer screen, praying that they would all find homes, I was wondering what my place would be in their lives. After much prayer and soul searching, I knew that it was not my time and place to adopt, and I wanted to do more than just pray. I have been thinking about the Christmas Warriors, and I have decided that I would sign up! Now, that has not happened, yet (I think that might start next week?), and I am getting excited. I have spent some time looking through the pictures, and I am going to have to pray to find the one for me.
Welcome aboard my trip to help one or more or ALL of the children on Reece's Rainbow who are looking to find their forever family. I will talk more about all these topics -- especially Reece's Rainbow (RR) in the days or so to come (for all of you who may not have heard of this life changing organization!).
Well, I best be going to bed now. That morning alarm comes too early with school in session these days!
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