A Birthday Wish

They say money can't buy happiness which is true, but sometimes it can bring it to a child with no one to love them. 

The past 4-5 years I have realized even more how less is more. I appreciate thoughtfulness that goes into purchasing that Christmas gift or that Birthday present. I'm not saying I'm against giving or receiving gifts, this is just my point of view I wish to share. 
I have learned sometimes the best gift in life is not wrapped with a fancy bow but is instead the people who surround you with love. Those who overwhelmed you on your 21st Birthday eating Ice Cream & other yummy food showing you love like no other.

It's sitting on a stairway bawling your eyes out reading birthday cards with donation after donation in them knowing God provided big time & realizing how awesome your friends are. Lastly it's following God & saying yes even if it's scary, even if it's tough, even if you think it's Impossible, & even if everyone you know thinks you have gone nuts. I'm learning that love takes sacrifices & it means so much to me. So I'm going out on a limb to ask one question, What would you do to save an orphan?

You might be like I do at times thinking why bother?

Why should I care?

How can I make a difference? All it took was a share of a local fundraiser & then watching videos/seeing pictures that had my stomach in knots to break my heart to shreds.
It was this precious girl whose adoption fundraiser opened my heart.

And from there, it just could not stop me from doing whatever it took to help. I'm going to turn 23 in just 6 days & every year I have made a Birthday wish. Since I found my heart for orphans I have tried to do something special/make a special wish on my Birthday cause to me my Birthday is not about me but what I can do for the least of these. I say this all the time it's not about me but God above is why I do this. For my 19th it was all about one special boy who at the time was still waiting for his family to cross that ocean for him & who shared my Birthday.
You can read about that here, http://lifesbeautifulbutterflies.blogspot.com/2011/02/party-in-honor-of-quinton.html

During my 20th, I was in the middle of running a Giveaway to help a few orphans but still wanted to make a Birthday wish. http://lifesbeautifulbutterflies.blogspot.com/2012/01/birthday-wish.html

And of course my 21st was the one to remember,
http://lifesbeautifulbutterflies.blogspot.com/2013/01/birthday-wish.html
http://lifesbeautifulbutterflies.blogspot.com/2013/02/21-for-21-birthday-to-remember.html
http://lifesbeautifulbutterflies.blogspot.com/2013/02/feb-4th-2013-night-i-will-always-cherish.html

My 22nd was a little bit different in regards to helping orphans I was visiting my friends in CA & really could not do as much as I would have liked. 
So what is my wish for my 23rd Birthday? Part of that already has come true with this girl finding her forever family.

Next to that my wish is for others to see what they can do to help orphans. It could be donating to  helping adoptive families bring home their kids like these two I'm helping to fundraise for. You can go make a donation to either family here http://reecesrainbow.org/82200/sponsorbuckley & here http://reecesrainbow.org/82013/sponsorwetherington-3

It could be a simple share on Facebook of a child like Clover http://reecesrainbow.org/84595/clover that needs a family,

It can be a donation of an item or making something like this one that will be featured in the auction I'm doing,

Truly the possibilities are endless of ways you can help support orphans & adoptive families! All I want for my Birthday is to see others be known & be loved. So what are you going to do to help the least of these?

Sasha found her family!

A sweet little face I signed up to be her warrior,

And the day, a week after I heard someone was going to add this sweet girl to their family I finally saw yet another of my angel tree kids appear on My Family Found me Page.

It has been hard seeing now only 3 of my angel tree kids find families since I started advocating back in 2010 but I'm so thrilled for sweet Sasha & I am continuing to pray her home.

Thank you all for helping Sweet Sasha & Praying for her! Please keep praying her home!

New Hope, New Year-Recap of Angel Tree 2014

Every year Angel Tree comes around, I panic. I almost did not sign up to be a warrior last year & I doubted yet again this year.

But then I saw her, & knew I had to take that giant leap once again.

We had a plan for a fundraiser this time. Plans failed & I was seriously trying not to have a major panic attack. I felt like why did I sign up yet again? I have prayed for her since I signed up & yet her goal was still so very far away.

Then I came to a realization I needed to take a deep breath, do what I could do to share her face & fundraise, & leave it all up to God. Regardless of if she made her angel tree goal of $1,000 or not her story needed to be shared.

So I did just that sharing for two whole months, I put a few items in a online auction which ended up raising alot more than I thought for stuff sitting around in my house, & I did a mini craft fair.

Was it easy & were their times I just wanted to give up? Of course their always is but this little girl kept pushing me to fight.

All along the way since mid angel tree, I have been at peace knowing I have tried my hardest & given everything I could possibly give for her. If I had all the funds in the world to donate I would but since I did not I did what I could do putting my trust that God would provide the funds. 

Up til the last day when she was still about halfway there I thought their is no possible way for her to make it. No surprise big matching grant for the kids on Angel Tree to help her reach her goal. I was disappointed but I was going to be okay with her not reaching her goal. Happily an unexpected donation came in that I "won" & a few others soon followed getting her to about $300 left to raise in mere hours to go. Our New Years Eve Party was happening online but I had left my computer to eat dinner & then visit with family. I was still unsure if she would reach her goal & I kept comparing to years past of my other kids reaching their goals sooner. When I got back on later, a awesome surprise greeted me with several Facebook tags notifying me of what was going on.

She had REACHED HER GOAL WITH STILL HOURS TO SPARE!! I truly felt like I could cry (I would have if I had been in my room), between how she made it thanks to some sweet ladies sharing/donating to her grant & that it had happened once again when I least expected it to. It made me a very happy girl to start the New Year off with her reaching her goal! I want to thank all my friends & family for your support & to all who donated to Sasha during Angel Tree.

BUT IT'S A NEW YEAR & that means New Hope for this girl to find a family in 2015! So please stay with me on this crazy journey & continue to pray for Sasha to find a family. #newyearnewhope Help me find a family for Sasha! http://reecesrainbow.org/78127/sasha