Cliff jumping & matching grants!

The Menges are FULLY FUNDED!
First of all, I have talked about how hard it is to jump the cliff of fundraising. It takes a huge leap of faith & TRUSTING GOD to do any HUGE FUNDRAISING trust me I know. Though I am not an adoptive mom/family I know how hard it is to fundraise! I was feeling the same way the first time when I did my Shoot for the Stars Giveaway for Celine but then I saw how mighty our God is! I was overwhelmed after that so I took a break then in January I had been feeling like Heath needed some help & no one had mentioned him for quite some time even though originally I was planning it for Celine again I emailed my lovely friend Julia who has met him & advocated for him. She said she had been talking about him that day & my message made her teary. God provided an over abundance for Heath mainly in our Lost Get Found Giveaway as well as some for Celine & Masha. To be honest I was nervous, I did not want to be cliff diving again but God kept whispering telling me I should & boy am I glad I did cause Heath has a HUGE GRANT NOW over $9,000! During that Giveaway his grant started at $640 then was over $2,000 by the time it was over. EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH GOD!!! (sorry I have been at VBS all week so please don't mind me using this reminder over & over lol)


The Menges family, are merely weeks away from meeting their son & are still short on funds! Good news is they have not one but 2 matching grants going on! Truth is Jennifer was scared to even post about the Matching Grants but she decided to cliff jump & so far God is providing! But they still need some help! Their son is in a "bad place" & needs out of there! Once they receive both matching grants they will be FULLY FUNDED! They have a Giveaway going on so please check it out! To add to the fun, anyone who purchases my memories digital scrapbook program & uses my discount code on the box to the right I will gladly donate the $20 everytime its used to the Menges family & just think that will be doubled to $40! 


AM I worth the cliff jump? I think so!! Help me get out of this place I am in & come home where I belong!

No matter what Trust God!!

So this past week has been crazy busy with volunteering at VBS & I just have not had time to think about what I should blog about. I feel bad I have missed 3 weeks of Teamwork Tuesday but I hopefully will be back on track next Tuesday! This whole week we have been learning different phrases & to trust God in everything. Monday night I was completely exhausted & crying cause honestly my auction for Celine was going slow. Don't get me wrong I love supporting families adopting but it seems harder to fundraise for the orphans I love without over exhausting the same people or auctions seemingly are going better for the families which I understand why. I have my moments of not trusting God & then trusting him yet again but then things happen & I learn to trust. As I was bawling my eyes out frustrated that mainly Celines auction was not going as well as I thought & frustrated about my "kids" not finding families & about Celines region the voices in my head kept repeating what I had been hearing at VBS Trust God.
Day 1 was No Matter who you are... Trust God!
Day 2 was No Matter how you feel... Trust God!
Day 3 was No Matter what people do... Trust God!
Day 4 (today's 6/28) is No Matter what happens... Trust God!
The who you are, what people do (think), & what happens is especially hard for me to Trust God about so I think VBS has definitely helped this year! Why I wanted to post this is in the good times & bad times please remember to trust God! But you know what the prayers & trusting God works, it may not be my timing but it is his! The auction has picked up speed & is doing well! Even if I only raised $5 I know it helped Celine! I am also excited cause I think I will be able to do our neighborhood garage sale to fundraise! I was so upset I could not do one sooner on my own but you know what? I think it will work out better this way so I can get everything ready & go through more stuff we need to get rid of! The week/weekend before is JBF Sacramento & as long as my nephew cooks in his mommies tummy til around his due date of October 11th then I plan on doing BOTH. Yes I know I AM CRAZY TO DO BOTH BACK TO BACK fundraising but HECK I SAID I WOULD DO ANYTHING TO HELP CELINE & EITHER FIND HER FAMILY BY CHRISTMAS AND/OR GET HER FULLY FUNDED SO ITS ON! I will be possibly doing a local family like last years but since I only get a day instead of 2 weekends I don't have as much flexibilty on where funds should go but you know what I will decide it closer to time on how to split funds. I am hopefully going to do lemonade & drinks to fundraise for Brandi since I have not gotten to do much for her. JBF will likely be just Celine or just Cora Lynne I really don't know how to divide my fundraising evenly but you know what I try. Anyway things are going good! I applogize for not checking in more often for those readers I know are there  reading & truly enjoy reading my blog. I'm glad to know I can Trust God no matter what!

Precious Cora Lynne

All I have is 2 pictures into the brief window of your life.

What I see is a lost & lonely 6 yr old stuck in a crib all day long

  No one cares for you or loves you. Your eyes are what captured my heart just like Quinton & frankly they haunt me daily. Its not a bad thing it just plain ole makes me want to cry cause I have a strong feeling your not in the best place or your ignored. 


 My precious Cora Lynne, I want you to know you are not forgotten. I say I love you every night to your ornament photo I have by my bed. I wish you & Celine could both be mine but since you can't I fight like crazy for you to find a family. I pray every night for you to find your forever family. Fundraising has been rough but I won't stop no matter how much the devil tries to get me down I will advocate & fundraise til you come home! To Cora Lynnes family, I have a special place in my heart for her & will do almost anything to help her come home. I hope I can remain a part of her life. Love you little girl like crazy & wish for the best for you, Leah

A year ago

Yesterday, a year ago Quinton who I advocated, prayed, & fundraised for met his parents for the 1st time. To see the strides he has made since coming home makes this advocates heart burst with Joy! The sad news is I don't know what would have happened to him had they not rescued him cause his orphanage is closing down & kids as young as 1 are being transferred to institutions which makes me want to cry.
If it had not been for the Miller family & all who helped bring him home this guy would not be enjoying life with his wonderful family! He is even standing up & walking now!
              When I fell in love with this photo little did I know this boy would find a love of a family so quickly

This was about 2 months ago but still Is he not cute or what?

Quinton has made so much strides but thing is their is a boy still in his orphanage whose family needs help to bring him home & I am sure he will strive just like my buddy!

Meet Keegan, precious boy is barely 1 years old. Luckily he has a family coming for him but they need our help to get him! To donate via Reeces Rainbow go here

Go check out their auction!

My darling Celine

Am I pretty?

                                     Do I wonder when my family will come?

                                                   
                                    I long to blow you kisses & Play peek-a-boo

                                            Can't you see how smart I am?

                     Smiling cause, this is my chance for hope & Love

                                       
                                                 Yes even I have my moods!

Bubbles make me happier!

                                      

I get older to but still I am still worth it!

Can you help me find my family at the end of the Rainbow?

Please go to Celine's profile on Reece's Rainbow to learn more about her!

To my darling Celine, my heart yearns for you to have someone to love & treasure you for who you are. You have waited 6 long years & I have known about you for 2 years. Beautiful describes you so well. I keep working so hard for you & yet no family has come yet. Several have said they wished you could be theirs but sadly you can't be. When the day comes that I hear those words..My Family Found me I will be crying tears of joy. For now the fight continues on to find you a family, Celines Shooting Stars is hoping by Christmas or that you will be fully funded. I sure hope either or both of those can come true! Everytime I think of you & blow kisses towards your ornament I have with your picture on it saying I love you I can't stop thinking will I ever get the chance to meet the girl behind the picture? Then when I look at the portrait hanging in my room of the teddy bears all dressed up sitting down for tea, I see you everytime in that bear with the pink dress. 

I see you playing in the play house with C everytime we go to Sams Club & it makes me sad every single time. I don't know why I keep picturing you with her, maybe you will live nearby to her, maybe I just think you resemble her somewhat, or who knows but sometimes I just want to cry. I so long for you to have a family & wish it could be myself if I was older & married sigh. I know that day will come, just wish it could be my family in some way.

Even if your family is not in CA or closeby I sure hope to be a part of your life & be Auntie Leah to you. Love you sweet girl so much more than you ever will know! XOXOX

Princess Celine

Where is her momma?

Dear Celines future Momma,

Everyday for the past 2 years I have prayed & loved on Celine from afar. She would be mine in a instant except, I am too young to adopt & not married. She deserves to be loved more than I can give from here. I have tried my best to be faithful in fundraising for her adoption. I want you to know how much she means to me & I hope someday to meet the person behind the picture. I love her very much & will always hold a place in my heart for her,

Leah

Celines Auction & a Happy Fathers Day!

First of all a Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads, Dads-to-be, & hopeful dads! I am so blessed to have such a great dad, instead of writing a new post for him I am going to repost the one I did for his Birthday cause some posts are just worth resharing!
I know this is not about Reeces Rainbow but tomorrow is my dads birthday & I can't think of anything better to write about why I am thankful for my dad & how proud I am of him. First & foremost my dad works so hard to provide for our family which has allowed mom to stay home with us. Its incredible to me how hard he works & still he gives us his time. I love my dad very much & he is another reason why I care so much for others as both my parents do. Since I am sparing how old he is I will just give 5 reasons why I love my dad. #1-He truely TRIES HIS BEST, I know it may not be easy & now during this time of adjustment with the sale of his air conditioning buissness but I love how he is simply trying. #2-Lovingly has supported me through my crazy fundraising sometimes dealing with messy hallways of stuff from/for the pregnancy center or JBF. For that I am thankful cause he truely knows how much Alternatives Pregnancy Center & Reeces Rainbow mean to me. He cared so much that during my 1st Giveaway this past fall, Shoot for the Stars Giveaway he provided a miracle that brought me to tears. Then to top that off he sent this email out to his friends & our family. Counting my Blessings September 29,2011 To a whole bunch of my dearest friends... I really hope you'll take the time to read this. I want to honor one of my kids for a few minutes... But first, this question... if I ask you what the majority of 19 year old girls in the USA are doing for fun these days, what things come to your mind? (be careful) I received this email from my daughter, Leah, (19 yrs old). I thought about the answer to the above question, and then (after wiping the majority of the tears away) I found myself so amazed and thankful of what my girl is up to. She is ministering to kids halfway around the world to give them a shot at life. I praise God for Leah and the heart that she has. Most of her waking hours, (while she's not doing Facebook posts), is spent collecting items to sell or donate, and collecting coins... all so she can raise money for various charities. Her latest efforts are for an organization called Reeces Rainbow I'm just a dumb ole country boy, and the typical clueless male, so I might not get this exactly right…. but I'm pretty sure they raise money to help Parents in the U.S. to adopt children with Down Syndrome in countries around the world. At least, that’s close. THIS ISN'T A PLEA FOR MONEY. That's not what this is about. I'm asking you to read her email, click on the links to see what she's doing & the children she's trying to help save, and bless her by giving her an encouraging word. And pray for her. All of that... even if you don't donate Please see her email below.... (with a few comments from me) And, thanks for taking the time… Alan My message I sent to him: Hey Dad, First of all I love & appreciate how hard you work everyday so mom can stay home with us. Heres the information on the Banquet: Friday October 7th at 6pm October 7, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Ballroom in Sacramento. (This is the banquet for the Alternatives Pregnancy Center, a place that she volunteers at least one day a week, that helps unwed pregnant girls choose to give life to unborn babies) Also mom wanted me to share my Giveaway on my blog with you: Leah's Blog This is one of the ways I have been fundraising for this little girl through Reeces Rainbow -Celine. Also you can see why I have been working so hard is because some of these kids get very malnourished like this 12 yr old boy: Tony Its pretty heart breaking, I want you to know that I have gotten nice comments, & you & mom have been a huge part of that teaching me its better to give than to recieve as well as Mamaw. Just know that although you struggle with money in your business that we have it much better than these kids who are still not included in society & are literally wasting away. Their country was our country nearly 20+ years ago still putting them away in orphanages & mental institutions. I am so glad Sarah was born into our family, & I know even if she was born in those years when our country was that way that you & mom would still gladly keep her no matter what. I am so happy I have helped get kids to their loving families like these 2: Quinton (we share the same birthday - thats why I picked to be his Christmas warrior last year now look how far he has come!) Lydiah -both of these families I did the yard sale back in June for, now both kids are thriving in their new families! (Leah raised money to help these parents adopt these kids) I cannot imagine the world, in which sarah would be in had she been born back then or in another country. Thanks for all you do to support my efforts with the Pregnancy Center & Reeces Rainbow! (like stuff everywhere before JBF sale) JBF is a HUGE help in my way to fundraise for both these charities, so putting up with that "stuff" is much appreciated. (Leah is referring to the fact that 6 months out of the year, there is stuff all over our living room, as it’s being prepared for the sale) I Love you very much!!! Leah (Wow, what a kid!. Praise God! Go to Leah’s blog if you want to donate, and here is her email if you want to send a note I am not sharing this email with pride or anything I just want to share how proud I am of my dad & when he did this it truely touched me. #3-He becomes my buddy every year we go to the pregnancy centers Banquet together its our annual father-daughter time & this past year I was crying cause I just did not think we could go & my daddy said he would make it happen. (photo pictured below after our lovely evening) He truly cares about this organization as much as mom & I do so much so he supports them each month cause he believes in life like we do. I love spending time with him at the banquet & very proudly like introducing my daddy. #4 He also has spent time lugging around recycles to help me turn in which has gone to benefit many causes including going to Camp Barnabas. His love of diet mountain dew has helped add to the recycles lol. He is so paitent & kind to allow me in my craziness of wanting to recycle for cash & even trying to do so on the way home from trips. So thankful he lets me do this chore, help the earth, & in return keep the funds. #5 Most importantly I am proud of my daddy his love for God & letting him lead his life. He follows God wherever he may lead him to go or do. Happy Birthday to my dad!! Love you lots dad & truely thankful for all you do!

Next PLEASE CHECK OUT THE AUCTION ON FACEBOOK I HAVE GOING FOR CELINE!
Celines Auction

My life matters! Can you help my teams wish for me to find a family or be fully funded come true? If you think you might be my forever family please contact Andrea at Reece's Rainbow! Or if you can't adopt me please pray for my family and/or share my picture with someone! 


My advocate Leah, keeps praying & hoping for a family for me & will do almost anything to help bring me home!

6 yrs of life changing!

June 9th 2006, a day like any other normal day but little did Andrea Roberts know this organization she would start would become big so fast! She is just a normal person who had a dream to save kids lives from the horrible lives kids with special needs lives overseas. For you see she realized the potential these kids have! 6 years of life changing+700+ kids in forever families=priceless lives saved! If she had let fear stand in the way would I have these moments with 

Sophia Sanchez-rescued from U in 2010

Or holding precious Mackenzie Mickschl home from U in 2011

Or welcoming home Olivia Herrington May 2012 & getting to hold Misha Chellson

For you see had it not been for Andrea to take that leap of faith into the unknown I would not have had these precious moments. Had it not been for Reeces Rainbow & her I would not have raised with GODS HELP & ALL MY DEARLY LOVED FRIENDS & FAMILY...

$5,232.48+ for 5 orphans in 2 years!!!

Helped 4 kids come home from 2010-2012!

Brought along some New friends to join me on this crazy advocating world 2 in the past year & half!

Met 6 local Reece's Rainbow families who I can not imgaine not meeting them & becoming fast friends with!

Meeting thousands of new viritual friends some which I have met & some I hope to still meet!

So on this day, I would like to say A HUGE THANK YOU TO ANDREA ROBERTS!!! If it had not been for you my eyes & heart would not be opened to these precious kids & the dark world in which they live in! 

6 years of life changing not just for them but me too! These kids are why I never rest for Celine, Cora Lynne, Brandi, Alden, & Heath! Just look at this precious girl, Tsvetti. She died never knowing the love of a family. She is not the only one who has passed & sadly I am sure more will follow.

THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO TO CHANGE ORPHANS LIKE HER FATE!! PRAY, ADVOCATE OR ADOPT!! Its that SIMPLE!

CHURCHES NEED TO STEP UP TO THE CALL! JAMES 1:27 COMMANDS US TO CARE FOR THE WIDOWS & THE ORPHANS! EVEN IF YOUR CHURCH CAN'T HELP FINANCIALLY THEN SUPPORT A FAMILY IN PRAYER OR SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY LETTING FAMILIES HAVE FUNDRAISERS BY USING YOUR BUILDING OR BY SPREADING THE WORD. WE ALL CAN DO SOMETHING TO HELP!!!

I am so pleased to be a part of Reece's Rainbow & will be til their are No more orphans in this world! HAPPY 6 YEARS & MANY MORE TO COME!!!

Good friends, Leaps of faith, & a whole lots of Love!

Wow I have lots to write about today & I sure hope the other people don't mind sharing a post. Where do I began of the last few days after I wrote my Encouraged post? Lately I had been feeling discouraged like when I posted this but God knew I needed yet another reminder NOT TO GIVE UP when I saw this surprising post by my Lovely friend Julia Nalle. For those who don't know, Julia adopted her son Aaron through Reeces Rainbow & after following her blog & posts about the Lost Boys in the Institution her son lived in I knew I had found a friend. I Love the way her & her awesome husband write on her blog. Julia I love you my dear & like I have said your post was perfect timing! I hope to meet you someday! Thanks for being one of my inspirations & for being such an encouragement to me! Anyway to continue on with the encouragement thats been bestowed upon me can you go leave some kind words on her blog today? UPDATE THE DEWBURY FAMILY IS FULLY FUNDED!!!

Next another awesome advocate Brady, has been doing races for many orphans on Reeces Rainbow raising money for them! Brady has been so inspiring to advocate & run for these kids. Heres his blogpost I would like to share with you:

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!

Note from me -PLEASE GO VOTE TO HELP BRING MORE AWARENESS & FUNDS TO REECES RAINBOW!!!! It takes alot of courage to do what Brady does so I encourage you to help my friend!

Have I mentioned how much I love this wonderful Reeces Rainbow family cause I certainly do! Its so nice to have friends who know how hard it is to get discouraged about fundraising & taking those leaps of faith. I took both the leaps when I did both my Giveaways & several other fundraising attempts. Its with faith I am taking a leap to do a online auction for Celine even though her region is still being so iffy. Team Celines Shooting Stars goal is for Celine to either have a family by Christmas or be fully funded! If you would like to donate a prize for my facebook auction for her please leave a comment with your email address. Comments will not be published. I never could take these leaps of faith if it was not for the help of my amazing support of family & friends! So thank you to all my friends who support me in this crazy world of advocating for Reeces Rainbow! Also any scrapbook friends out their that would like to try my memories digital scrapbooking program? I can't say enough good things about it! I am trying to help Xenia & the Morse family by doing this since I am a young adult who does not have a official job besides occassionally babysitting so Please check out the fundraiser I am doing for them. If you don't need this program or can't get it please share about this fundraiser! I have had no interest in this yet & would love to continue to support families by this way of fundraising!

Thanks for listening to my crazy post today!

Teamwork Tuesday-Benji

Todays Teamwork Tuesday child is Benji,

Heres some more about him:

Boy, Born September 2005
ABITaiPan–Premature, Speech Delay

Health Condition: Benji was born prematurely at 30 weeks gestation. His birth mother is an AIDS carrier and a drug abuser. Tests have shown that Benji  does not have HIV/AIDS, even though his birth mother does. He suffered from Staphylococcus aureus infection and Retinal Detachment. He received laser treatment and a follow-up examination showed normal results. Benji  was diagnosed with speech developmental delay when he moved to the third foster family.   As of August 2007, he began receiving speech therapy and cognitive therapy weekly. After two years, his developmental assessment revealed that he could attend kindergarten and did not need extra training since.
Benji currently has a grant of $27. Can you skip starbucks for him today & donate to his grant? I truly think all this boy needs is LOVE & FAMILY!