Thankful #1
.One of the things I am most thankful for this year is the direction God led me in. I am thankful that I answered the calling He has for me right now. I am thankful he has given me the resources to help the children that spend every day of their lives alone in an orphanage. No, I'm not fishing for credit or compliments, just truthfully saying "Thank you" to God for giving me this desire to do the little bit I can to help someone in need. I am so grateful that he has opened a door for me to be the voice for some of the voiceless. I just play a small role in helping innocent children that don't have anywhere, anything or anyone to call their own. They don't know love, they've never celebrated their birthday's and they haven't ever had a safe place to call home. Some of the things we take for granted almost everyday. That is why this Thanksgiving I am simply saying that I am thankful God has opened my eyes to this situation and given me the resources to do what I can to help. It may not be very much, but it's a start and when you live a life full of nothings, everything counts. Big or small. So number one thankful this year would be the passion God has placed in my heart and the resources to help, even if it's just a little bit. :)
Thankful #2
I am extremely grateful for all the wonderful adopting parents! Whether I know them or not, every one of them are incredibly special to me! They've chosen to give second chances to lives that were abandon and given them a family. A home, a place to sleep and people to call family! There's almost nothing greater than this. I am personally so thankful for every adopting parent(s). <3
Thankful #3
Zeke. Yes, the precious orphan I have been shouting, tweeting and posting about for the last month! He has brought me so much joy and happiness. I am grateful for his photos and that sweet smile that reminds me every time I'm feeling low that what I am doing matters. He keeps the fire in advocating going and can spark flames in me when I need it. His Angel Tree ornament hangs right where I can see it on the tree while I blog. He has added something special to my life that I need right now. He's given me a hope and fuel to continue advocating for orphans, adoptions, etc.
Thankful #4
My family and best friend! Oh my goodness, I would be lost without them both. My parents have been so supportive and encouraging in my advocating journey since day one! Along with my sisters, best friend and mom's parents! They all have donated their money, efforts and time to me when it comes to helping these children. They've never failed me or discouraged me and that is something so rare and precious. Because in the world we live in most people ignore what I do, think it's pointless and I'm sure that don't say it, but they think I'm crazy. To have a support team around me is the biggest blessing! I will forever be grateful for them.
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So there's a few of my top things that I am incredibly grateful for this Thanksgiving! Comment and tell me some of yours! I'd love to know! :)
If you are (or know someone that is) a Christmas Warrior this Angel Tree don't forget to check out my Angel Tree Tee fundraiser that ends in TWO DAYS!! I need one more order before they can be printed! Please share! :) CLICK HERE TO GO TO TEESPRING AND SEE THE SHIRT!
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
TALIA HAS A FAMILY!!!
The title of this post is TRUE!!! "My" dear sweet Talia has found her forever family!! As a matter of fact it was published a little over a week ago, but I haven't had the chance to to post it until now.
This is surely a big blessing from the Lord! I knew that He would provide for this sweet sweet little darling. <3
This is surely a big blessing from the Lord! I knew that He would provide for this sweet sweet little darling. <3
Someone saw what an angel she truly is. Someone is finally going to give her everything she needs to bloom into an even more beautiful little girl that she is. Someone is going to give her all the things she's never known she deserves! <3
For the very first time in her life she will truly feel love from the arms of a family!
No more waiting or wondering sweet little girl! They are coming for you! They love you!
They're coming to your rescue! It won't be much longer now! :)
Hold on tight, I'm praying for you all the way. I won't stop praying for you! You're going to make it home! <3
As of right now, I don't know who is adopting her or anything like that. Hopefully it will be soon though and I will try my hardest to keep everyone up to date on all things Talia! :) <3
Thank you for every single prayer, donation and share! Continue to pray for her and please pray for the family. International adoption is certainly a long, challenging process, they just want their daughter already! So be sure to keep them in prayer! :)
Hold on baby girl, you're getting out of there soon! I'm praying you home!
Thursday, May 15, 2014
5 Ways to Make a Connection with an Orphan
I've been thinking of ways to reach out to people that have an interest in becoming a warrior for an orphan with Down syndrome and other special needs. As I was telling my best friend earlier, I tend to assume everyone already knows all the tips and tricks when it comes to advocating, mostly because the people I talk to on a daily bases advocate for orphans. But I forget that so many people are uneducated and don't even know where to begin when it comes down to advocating/being a prayer warrior for a child. And maybe there are some advocates out there that would really like to get a closer connection with their orphan. So I thought that this might be a nice post to share some of the ways I've made connections with my orphan(s) in the past. :)
1. Write Letters to them.
This one with either sound completely crazy to you or something you've done or heard about a hundred time before, but it's SO true! Especially if you have a blog for the child you advocate for. You'll find out quickly that you run out of things to post about on that one child you get little to no new information about. And that's not a bad thing, in fact it's completely normal. Trust me, I'm friends with lots of advocates and we've all discussed having this issue before, you're not alone!
Writing letters will give your readers an insight on how you love and care for the child you're advocating for. But the main reason I recommend doing this is because you will truly build a strong bond with this child when writing out your love and feelings for them! They can't hear or read it in the moment, but when their forever family finds them you will have those letters to send them one day. It shows just how loved and thought about they were when they thought no one was there for them.
2. Print their Picture(s)!
My best friend, Alyssa and I have always printed out our child's photograph(s) and put them all over the house! Why not? Every single time you see their photo you automatically think of them and where they're at right now in life, which leads me to pray for them a lot more often than I would without the photographs. This is a HUGE way for me to make a connection with a child! I love seeing their photos everywhere. And as Alyssa said, it makes everything seem so real. They aren't just a virtual photo anymore, they're actually something you can hold and hang in different places!
When I advocated for Mick (who is officially home) I hung his photo in a shadow box frame above my bed. I woke up to his precious face every day. This is a wonderful thing to do! You just HAVE to! :)
3. Give a Nickname
I naturally give the kids I advocate for nicknames. I don't usually even have to think about giving the child a nickname in most cases, I just start calling them something and it sticks. To me it makes them feel more personable. Since you can't get to know them physically, all you have is that one photo and maybe even JUST a description of them to go on, take advantage and count it as a blessing to have whatever you have about them! Study it in detail and then something will pop up that you will just know is "the" name. ;) This really helps build that connection you're looking for!
4. Create a Theme
Just like a mama makes a theme for her child's nursery or room, you should create a theme for your orphan advocating process! Especially if you have a blog! Make a fun theme that you think fits the child you're advocating for! Whether it be Hello Kitty, Winnie the Pooh, jungle theme, ocean theme or whatever just give it a try! It also makes everything feel a little more personable I feel. :)
5. Make a Keepsake Box
Our human nature usually tends to lean more to the doubtful side of things, but I encourage you to step outside of that comfort zone! Don't think that the child you are advocating for *may* never find their family. Don't doubt! Doubt will be your enemy in advocating, always think positive and pray hard! Trust that the Lord will provide that precious little one with their perfect forever family! Don't doubt. Instead go buy a special box and little by little fill it with little special things that you feel fits the child. Their mama and daddy may not have found them yet, but this is your time to prove one day to the orphan that YOU CARED and that YOU LOVED them before they were "found".
You can don't have to buy everything, in fact you can make it all! It's your keepsake box to make!
Get a little stuffed animal (make it go along with the theme you have for their advocating process like suggested in step 4) fill it with books that remind you of the child. Write letters and stick them in the box too. I even get the kids birthday cards and put them in the keepsake box. They're going to get ALL of these things one day because when their family finds them you will send this keepsake box to the family.
This is is a lovely and valuable way to make that connection stronger. <3 :)
And there you have it! My 5 ways of building a special connection with a child (orphan) you advocate and pray for. This isn't by any means the way you *have* to do it, but simply the ways I recommend trying. If you don't have "that" connection it's harder to do anything for that child. Trust me, I know. I'm hoping that these suggestions and ideas will help you like they've helped me. :)
Thank you for reading feel free to follow or subscribe so you can keep up to date with my journey in advocating for "my" three cuties, Joe, Talia and Fern. <3
1. Write Letters to them.
This one with either sound completely crazy to you or something you've done or heard about a hundred time before, but it's SO true! Especially if you have a blog for the child you advocate for. You'll find out quickly that you run out of things to post about on that one child you get little to no new information about. And that's not a bad thing, in fact it's completely normal. Trust me, I'm friends with lots of advocates and we've all discussed having this issue before, you're not alone!
Writing letters will give your readers an insight on how you love and care for the child you're advocating for. But the main reason I recommend doing this is because you will truly build a strong bond with this child when writing out your love and feelings for them! They can't hear or read it in the moment, but when their forever family finds them you will have those letters to send them one day. It shows just how loved and thought about they were when they thought no one was there for them.
2. Print their Picture(s)!
My best friend, Alyssa and I have always printed out our child's photograph(s) and put them all over the house! Why not? Every single time you see their photo you automatically think of them and where they're at right now in life, which leads me to pray for them a lot more often than I would without the photographs. This is a HUGE way for me to make a connection with a child! I love seeing their photos everywhere. And as Alyssa said, it makes everything seem so real. They aren't just a virtual photo anymore, they're actually something you can hold and hang in different places!
This photo above is Alyssa's kiddos. She has them hanging above her desk <3
When I advocated for Mick (who is officially home) I hung his photo in a shadow box frame above my bed. I woke up to his precious face every day. This is a wonderful thing to do! You just HAVE to! :)
3. Give a Nickname
I naturally give the kids I advocate for nicknames. I don't usually even have to think about giving the child a nickname in most cases, I just start calling them something and it sticks. To me it makes them feel more personable. Since you can't get to know them physically, all you have is that one photo and maybe even JUST a description of them to go on, take advantage and count it as a blessing to have whatever you have about them! Study it in detail and then something will pop up that you will just know is "the" name. ;) This really helps build that connection you're looking for!
4. Create a Theme
Just like a mama makes a theme for her child's nursery or room, you should create a theme for your orphan advocating process! Especially if you have a blog! Make a fun theme that you think fits the child you're advocating for! Whether it be Hello Kitty, Winnie the Pooh, jungle theme, ocean theme or whatever just give it a try! It also makes everything feel a little more personable I feel. :)
5. Make a Keepsake Box
Our human nature usually tends to lean more to the doubtful side of things, but I encourage you to step outside of that comfort zone! Don't think that the child you are advocating for *may* never find their family. Don't doubt! Doubt will be your enemy in advocating, always think positive and pray hard! Trust that the Lord will provide that precious little one with their perfect forever family! Don't doubt. Instead go buy a special box and little by little fill it with little special things that you feel fits the child. Their mama and daddy may not have found them yet, but this is your time to prove one day to the orphan that YOU CARED and that YOU LOVED them before they were "found".
You can don't have to buy everything, in fact you can make it all! It's your keepsake box to make!
This is is a lovely and valuable way to make that connection stronger. <3 :)
And there you have it! My 5 ways of building a special connection with a child (orphan) you advocate and pray for. This isn't by any means the way you *have* to do it, but simply the ways I recommend trying. If you don't have "that" connection it's harder to do anything for that child. Trust me, I know. I'm hoping that these suggestions and ideas will help you like they've helped me. :)
Thank you for reading feel free to follow or subscribe so you can keep up to date with my journey in advocating for "my" three cuties, Joe, Talia and Fern. <3
Saturday, May 10, 2014
#WheresMyMom?
Tomorrow is the day you hug your mama, tell her how much you love her and appreciate all the many things she's done for you. It's another day where you take some time to really think about how big you're blessed. And you do know, you are *really* blessed if you have a mom. No matter how many times she gets on your nerves, makes you angry, tells you things you don't want to hear or think you already know, she is a huge blessing that I personally take for granted too often.
Today I had to opportunity to give my mom some special treatment for her special day (which isn't until tomorrow, but one of my brother's turn 9 that day as well and she'd much rather celebrate him)
It wasn't the grandest thing you'd ever seen, but she was so grateful and excited. It made me so happy to see her so happy about something so small.
I forget how much God has blessed me with. I have the world's best mom. She would do or give anything for one of her kids. She's always looking for ways to make us happy and to give us all she can, I am so much more blessed than I deserve. She is so wonderful and I can't imagine my life without her. She's my best friend, there isn't a thing that she doesn't know about me. I tell her everything.
On this day when I count my blessings a little more than usual my heart breaks for the 147 million children in this world today without a mom to call their own.
No mom to kiss your booboos when you've fallen, no mom to tell you how much you are loved, to hug and comfort you. No getting rocked to sleep while she sings a sweet song in your little toddler ears. No laughter together, no shoulder to cry on when life hits you hard. None of anything. Nothing.
365 days alone inside the orphanage walls just waiting and wondering, "Where is she..where's the sweet lady they call "mom"?...you know, that one that comes in and takes you outside of this everyday of striving to survive and clinging to what little life I have. The one that rescues me."
These precious children don't know what love is. Some of them as old as 16 and have never felt one ounce of it. Not a mother's love. Which is something entirely unique and overwhelming. Someone that is always there for you no matter what.
This Mother's Day I want to encourage you to consider making a donation of amount to any of the waiting children listed on Reece's Rainbow. Or ANY adoption connection you have. Chose at least one to pray for today and share on your social media and hey, why not church? It is on Mother's Day! ;)
Spread that child's name and photo EVERYWHERE. Help them find a mom this Mother's Day. Tell your mom what you're doing, I bet she'll think it's fabulous!
Here are the three I will be shouting for all day! :)
My gorgeous sweet Talia: Click here to donate, share and read more about her.:)
Today I had to opportunity to give my mom some special treatment for her special day (which isn't until tomorrow, but one of my brother's turn 9 that day as well and she'd much rather celebrate him)
It wasn't the grandest thing you'd ever seen, but she was so grateful and excited. It made me so happy to see her so happy about something so small.
I forget how much God has blessed me with. I have the world's best mom. She would do or give anything for one of her kids. She's always looking for ways to make us happy and to give us all she can, I am so much more blessed than I deserve. She is so wonderful and I can't imagine my life without her. She's my best friend, there isn't a thing that she doesn't know about me. I tell her everything.
On this day when I count my blessings a little more than usual my heart breaks for the 147 million children in this world today without a mom to call their own.
No mom to kiss your booboos when you've fallen, no mom to tell you how much you are loved, to hug and comfort you. No getting rocked to sleep while she sings a sweet song in your little toddler ears. No laughter together, no shoulder to cry on when life hits you hard. None of anything. Nothing.
365 days alone inside the orphanage walls just waiting and wondering, "Where is she..where's the sweet lady they call "mom"?...you know, that one that comes in and takes you outside of this everyday of striving to survive and clinging to what little life I have. The one that rescues me."
These precious children don't know what love is. Some of them as old as 16 and have never felt one ounce of it. Not a mother's love. Which is something entirely unique and overwhelming. Someone that is always there for you no matter what.
This Mother's Day I want to encourage you to consider making a donation of amount to any of the waiting children listed on Reece's Rainbow. Or ANY adoption connection you have. Chose at least one to pray for today and share on your social media and hey, why not church? It is on Mother's Day! ;)
Spread that child's name and photo EVERYWHERE. Help them find a mom this Mother's Day. Tell your mom what you're doing, I bet she'll think it's fabulous!
Here are the three I will be shouting for all day! :)
My gorgeous sweet Talia: Click here to donate, share and read more about her.:)
My little soft Fern: Click here to donate, share and read more about her.
My oh so loveable Joe: Click here to donate, share and read more about him.
You might have noticed the hashtag theme going on here, I'm hoping that everyone that reads this will go share a photo on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #WheresMyMom in the description box. Let's see how many people we can get to spread this hashtag everywhere!
This is an easy free way to help someone today! You could be response able for one orphan (or more, you never know..) finding their mama! YES. I'm talking to you!
Please don't ignore this, do it! Help someone, like I said before, get your mom involved! She'll love this!
And maybe, just maybe, you might be one of these beautiful babies mama? Aye? ;)
Thank you for taking the time to read this post, sorry it's a little bit of a rambling mess. Please comment and tell me which child you chose to share on our #WheresMyMom day! I'd love to know!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Keep Calm and Love an Orphan | For All Three
So I know there are a million and one tshirt fundraisers going on right now, so this one might already seem boring and same old same old, right? And yeah, you might have ten shirts for adoptions, orphan advocating and such, but you can never have too many clothes right? ;)
Point is, I don't have a lot of money to spend on fundraisers and prizes right now, but I want to raise at least a little bit for one (or possibly all three) of "my" chickadees.
This shirt on the left is $17. In order to get the company to print them out I have to sell at least 10 of them. I haven't decided which one of the kids will get the money raised yet. If I sell ten I will have $45 to donate to one of them, which isn't a whole lot but it's better than nothing.
Every single penny of the money raised will go into a child's adoption grant. :)
I wanted to keep it as affordable as possible for everyone so that it would be appealing, because I know how tight money is for so many families.
I understand if you can't purchase one, but if you can. Please do! It's perfect for every orphan advocate! I made the colors neutrals so it can be for both genders. :)
Click here to read more and purchase to shirt if you'd like!
Thank you for reading and please let me know if you have any questions! I'm happy to answer them!
Point is, I don't have a lot of money to spend on fundraisers and prizes right now, but I want to raise at least a little bit for one (or possibly all three) of "my" chickadees.
This shirt on the left is $17. In order to get the company to print them out I have to sell at least 10 of them. I haven't decided which one of the kids will get the money raised yet. If I sell ten I will have $45 to donate to one of them, which isn't a whole lot but it's better than nothing.
Every single penny of the money raised will go into a child's adoption grant. :)
I wanted to keep it as affordable as possible for everyone so that it would be appealing, because I know how tight money is for so many families.
I understand if you can't purchase one, but if you can. Please do! It's perfect for every orphan advocate! I made the colors neutrals so it can be for both genders. :)
Click here to read more and purchase to shirt if you'd like!
Thank you for reading and please let me know if you have any questions! I'm happy to answer them!
Gettin' Crafty...(Maybe)
It's funny how your whole life you're the same person, but not really. I mean, I'm not exactly the same spunky eleven year old I once was. And I'm not certainly not the same girl I was when I was thirteen. Granted that I was never a wild child and did outrageous things, I'm still not the "same girl" I was. But everyone goes through this. When I was little my grandma tried over and over again to get me into sewing, but that was something I knew I never wanted to do. It wasn't the "cool" thing when you're like ten. It just wasn't. I thought sewing was for old people. It wasn't near as much fun as jumping into her swimming pool, riding a scooter or walking around the neighborhood. Why would anyone even need to know how to sew? There were plenty of everything we needed in our local Wal-mart.
However. I have changed my mind over the last couple of years.
Now as an eighteen year old young woman, I find myself understanding why people do the things they do. I think a lot about how I want my children to be raised and the kind of wife I want to be for my future unknown husband. I'm learning more about what's really important in life and that I need to make good use of my time.
And I've even uncovered that I have a desire in my heart to become a little bit more..crafty.
Silly little me, people don't sew because there isn't enough of clothes, and whatnot to go around, but because it gives them joy. It gives someone the feeling of accomplishment and being proud of their own creation.
I remember a lot of how you sew, mostly because for the last two or three years I have been doing a little bit of sewing. My grandma gave my sisters and I sewing kits one Christmas then later on taught us a few easy sewing projects.
I love the feeling you get when you actually *make* a present for someone. And I absolutely love the feeling of getting a gift that someone made just for me. It makes it so much more special! With a little advice and help along the way, I have decided that I will attempt to make one of my child's keepsake...on my own. I've yet to master the skills of using a sewing machine so I will be doing this by hand (which by the way, my grandma said was the best thing to do with this little project)
I'm going to be making a little security blanket for one of "my" three chickadees!
Now...take a look at the fabric and try to think of who this would be for! :)
If you guessed Talia, you're right! This cute fabric reminds me of her spunky cute facial expressions. I've also been told that it *might* be possible to send her a care package also, so I didn't want to wait! :) I plan on making something for each sweet child of "mine" eventually, but Talia just happens to be the first to get something made for her. Please be praying she finds her forever family soon! I worry so much about each child I advocate for, but Talia makes me worry a little bit more. She's so medically fragile and tiny, it breaks my heart. I would adopt her as my daughter in a heartbeat if it were possible. But to any family interested in adopting her, I will gladly become your family warrior! I have every intention to help bring her home! <3
However. I have changed my mind over the last couple of years.
Now as an eighteen year old young woman, I find myself understanding why people do the things they do. I think a lot about how I want my children to be raised and the kind of wife I want to be for my future unknown husband. I'm learning more about what's really important in life and that I need to make good use of my time.
And I've even uncovered that I have a desire in my heart to become a little bit more..crafty.
Silly little me, people don't sew because there isn't enough of clothes, and whatnot to go around, but because it gives them joy. It gives someone the feeling of accomplishment and being proud of their own creation.
I remember a lot of how you sew, mostly because for the last two or three years I have been doing a little bit of sewing. My grandma gave my sisters and I sewing kits one Christmas then later on taught us a few easy sewing projects.
I love the feeling you get when you actually *make* a present for someone. And I absolutely love the feeling of getting a gift that someone made just for me. It makes it so much more special! With a little advice and help along the way, I have decided that I will attempt to make one of my child's keepsake...on my own. I've yet to master the skills of using a sewing machine so I will be doing this by hand (which by the way, my grandma said was the best thing to do with this little project)
I'm going to be making a little security blanket for one of "my" three chickadees!
Now...take a look at the fabric and try to think of who this would be for! :)
 |
| Pretty ribbon, |
 |
| I tried so hard to make it all match up. |
After seeing the fabric has a pretty butterfly pattern you must have guessed it isn't for little Joey. Correct. It isn't for him, or at least not this one. ;)
That narrows it down to Fern and Talia.
If you guessed Talia, you're right! This cute fabric reminds me of her spunky cute facial expressions. I've also been told that it *might* be possible to send her a care package also, so I didn't want to wait! :) I plan on making something for each sweet child of "mine" eventually, but Talia just happens to be the first to get something made for her. Please be praying she finds her forever family soon! I worry so much about each child I advocate for, but Talia makes me worry a little bit more. She's so medically fragile and tiny, it breaks my heart. I would adopt her as my daughter in a heartbeat if it were possible. But to any family interested in adopting her, I will gladly become your family warrior! I have every intention to help bring her home! <3
I'm pretty sad and pathetic when it comes to sewing (or anything crafty related...) so bare with me as I attempt to sew a very special security blanket.
I will most defiantly be posting updates! So be sure to follow or subscribe so you can see it. :)
Thank you for reading and I hope that you will stick around and learn more about "my" three cuties. :)
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