Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Merry Christmas - A day later

I hope that you all had a very wonderful and Merry Christmas surrounded by family, friends and loved ones. I especially know that we did and my toddler had so much fun. It was the greatest joy to see the look in his eyes when he saw Santa had come to his house (granted he has no idea or concept of Santa yet)! As a mother, this was in fact my best Christmas yet. Watching my son was the greatest joy and him knowing he was surrounded by love and his family was even greater. I spent my day thanking God for the family that I have and for the joys and the love of motherhood. I had been waiting for days and couldn't sleep at all Christmas Eve night because I was so excited to get up with my son the next morning (you would have thought I was the 2 year old in the house). And Christmas morning was so cute. He honestly didn't even know anything was any different in the house. He just ran straight for "da-da" and Dot (she is his Dachshund). I absolutely love the innocence of children.

I also know the importance of Christmas is not gifts and that it is about the birth of Christ. What a wonderful story that is and what a wonderful day we had to celebrate his birth with our loved ones and family and friends. We have been so blessed and we all hope you and your's have been as well.

One of the biggest blessings I have had this year is getting involved with Reece's Rainbow. It has been something that has touched me so deeply in my heart. And honestly I am still not sure why I have felt the *need* to help these babies find their forever homes by helping to raise awareness for them and advocate for sweet Benji. I truly believe I have become different through this for the good. I feel good about this and I continue to feel the need to help. Every night we go to bed with pray for Benji, Oscar (the boy my sister advocates for) and all the other AT babies that they will soon find their forever homes and that each night their mommy and daddy can tuck them in and tell them how much they love them. We pray by next Christmas these little ones will be with their families and that their families will find them so they too can celebrate Christmas and the birth of Christ. Please continue to pray for all the AT babies in hopes that we can all pull together and help to find their families. Awareness is such a big part. Please help us spread the word by sharing.

Also, don't forget about the Kindle Fire giveaway. The rules are listed below or on my sister's blog here. Just donate to Benji or Oscar and be sure to comment and let us know you did or share. And thank you so much, we are forever greatful that you have helped in any way!

May God bless you and your's in this holiday season! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The Wonderful World of Technology...

So sometimes technology can be so overwhelming when it is all around us.. computers, phones, cars, work, home (the list goes on and on and on). But this week and today technology has been amazing!! The word is getting spread about Reese's Rainbow and about all the orphans who are need of adoption.

My sister beat me to the punch and figured out how to work Twitter before me (I am not Twitter savy, I am getting tips/tricks from one of the younger guys at work) and got Rodney Atkins to "retweet" her tweet about RR and the orphans with down syndrome. How exciting! So I decided to jump aboard and get going with this Twitter thing. I mean, how hard can it be? So I turned into my crazy Twitter sister and bombarded a town of artists, authors, etc to help us spread the word and Joe Nichols (what a wonderful man you are!) retweeted for me!! How very exciting!! So if you are reading this, please be sure to spread the word too in any way possible that you can. All the little ones on RR needed help and need a voice for them.

Another awesome thing going on this week is Sevenly has made shirts for Reese's Rainbow as the cause of the week! Be sure to click on the name above and go to their site and check the shirts out! For every shirt that is sold this week they give $7 to RR. I bought two :) help those babies out (not only buying a shirt, but wearing them and supporting them too)!

And remember my sister and I are advocating for Benji and Oscar, but that doesn't mean that there aren't so many more that need donations. Check out Reese's Rainbow at reesesrainbow.org and look around and donate or share any little one want. Spreading the word just makes these little ones, one step closer to finding their forever families. Maybe you would like to donate to Nicole. She turns 2 some time this month and right now she is on the bottom of the AT list. What a great present it would be if she reached her $1,000 goal by December 31st!



Also, don't forget about the Kindle Fire giveaway! Rules are below or on my sister's blog here and leave us a comment letting us know if you donated to Benji or Oscar and/or shared so you can be sure you are entered in the drawing! Happy sharing!!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Kindle Giveaway

Good morning! Great news!! Oscar,the sweet little boy my sister is advocating for, is only $8 away from the $400 mark! We are so excited!!

So my sister's Kindle Fire giveaway was last Tuesday. BUT... The winner was so sweet and donated it back so she could help Oscar reach his goal!! How awesome is she!! I love how selfless people can be!!

As you know I am advocating for sweet Benji. So my sister was nice enough to involve us in this giveaway and help Benji out as well. Thank you so much!!

So here are the rules:
$5 to Oscar or Benji = two entries.
$10 or more to Oscar or Benji = five entries
(Or split your donation between the two boys!)
Share on Facebook, blog, twitter...= three entries.

To donate for Oscar all you have to do is going to my sister's blog here and click on donate. Once you have done so, comment on her blog (or email) and let her know that you donated. Can't get much easier than that! And also, if you donate to Oscar between now and December 31st my sister will be sending you a little gift for donating, in honor of Oscar's 3rd birthday. Happy sharing!! Help these babies get closer to finding their families!!


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Meet Benji!

So I am trying something new and exciting! I am an advocate for a very sweet baby boy that I found through Reese's Rainbow.

Meet Benji!!



Benji has down syndrome. In other countries these children are looked at as outcasts and are not functional individuals in their societies. They are left in institutions without the medical attention and assistance they need. We recognize these children as having special needs, but in other countries these children are not normal and some cases parents are left to believe their children do not need the care and love as a "normal" child would. I'm sorry but as a mother, I cannot wrap my head around this thought. My son is a part of me. He is a part of my body, my life, my love... No matter what the circumstance is. I am not being judgemental and I do not want to offend anyone, I do not know anyones stories, but I do want to get the word out to help these children find a home that can give them the love and attention they need. I want to spread the word to help save these children and to help find their parents.

I am a mother to one very special 2 year. He is the pride and joy in my life and keeps my life a constant adventure. I didn't know what life was until I had him in my life. I don't know what I would do without him either. Please help me in donating, sharing and/or praying for sweet Benji in the hopes that he will find his forever family soon and that we can aid in helping raise money for his adoption.

As a mother, my heart breaks for these little ones who are all alone and do not have a mommy or daddy to hug them or kiss them throughout the day, read to them, color with them, make messes with them, tuck them in at night and tell them "sweet dreams" and "I love you's." Every child deserves this and I pray Benji and all the other children on Reese's Rainbow find their families soon.

There are so many in the world who need our help and our prayers. I understand adoption is not for everyone or maybe the timing isn't your's yet, but that doesn't mean that you can't donate, share and pray for Benji. I continue to pray for Benji throughout the day and with my son for him every night that he will find his fmaily soon! Please help me to spread the word in the hopes that his family finds him soon!
If you would like to donate please click the donate button on the right of my page. If you can't maybe you know someone that can. Please help us spread the word! I picked up advocating for Benji a little late, but want to really dig in and get as much done as I possibly can! His goal is $1,000 in Angel Tree donations by the first of the year. 18 days and counting!! Help us spread the word!!