Heart is filled with JOY

I did not mean my post to sound, so sad. Truely I am fine, after I hit publish the first time I was so excited to see $100 donated all within 1-2hrs time but now my heart is filled with JOY as I saw Andrea Roberts who posted on her facebook page without me asking shared Cora Lynne needed $112 (which I was not really paying attention to) to get her over the hump to the $500 mark, well that surely got response as you can see she is now at $583! So that $112 ended up being $195 over the hump! PRAISE GOD!!! I know I just had to let it all out of frustrations, then Gods timing was perfect! Now just $356.50 to go to reach the goal!

Lost

Today I am blogging my heart out yet again. The sad truth is this is Cora Lynnes last year on the angel tree. Why is it sad? Because if she has no family by next christmas, she would have gone 2 years without a family & will not be included on the Angel Tree as she will be 6 years old in May. 6 years of her life, lost from a life a family can bring. I know every little bit helps, but still its hard knowing these girls could have already been transfered or are about to be transfered to institutions. She justs sits there lost, wondering when her day might come? It hurts my heart that she has already waited a year & still no family. I know lots of people are fundraising right now & I am not complaining as God has done mighty things already for both girls but still. I am completely lost for words to describe my feelings. Lost, just like these girls. I wonder where the light at the end of the tunnel is? I can't really do a Giveaway again as I want to give my small amount of readers a rest & their is just SO MANY going on right now it would be too hard to do one. I am very thankful my friend Christina Scott managed to get us some dates to wrap gifts at Barnes and Noble, which has already brought $42.50 for Cora Lynne so far & I am sure as Christmas gets closer it will get busier but still I wonder what else more I can do but try? I made $18 in half of my babysitting profits for her too. She is still $356.50 away from her goal, & I am happy for the other kids that have surpassed their goal but I wonder when it will be Cora Lynnes turn? why does it have to be so hard? I trust in Gods timing, but I wonder why I can't do more? I don't want this precious girl to be lost. Lost, in a world that does not treasure her with her extra gift. when will she be the lost get found in this world? Lost in a orphanage in another country. Lost from a loving family. who will love her? Lost from not knowing Jesus Loves her for who she is. who will rescue her?

Her eyes look so haunting to me, lost from happiness. I don't know if she was just not in a good mood while her picture was taken or what but don't let the picture of her scare you. She is just a lost treasure waiting to be found for who she truely is!
Right as I hit publish, I look at the donation box to the right to see $100 has been added in the past hour or so! Thank you whoever you are! Gods timing for sure!

Thankful heart

This Thanksgiving, I wanted to say how thankful I am for YOU! YOU & THE GIRLS ARE WHAT KEEPS ME BLOGGING! I could never have all the words to describe how thankful I am for YOU. When I want to give up, all I have to do is read my comments from my reader friends to remind me this FIGHT WILL BE WORTH IT! As celebrate with my family, I want to say how much all my followers & readers mean to me! Even if you never leave a comment but come here to read my posts even if they are short or not as interesting as others, or if I don't do as good as a job putting things into words. So THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ME IN MY EFFORTS FOR THE GIRLS! THANK YOU FOR LOVING THESE GIRLS ENOUGH TO HELP ME IN FUNDRAISING FOR THEM! MOST OF ALL THANK YOU FOR BEING MY FRIEND!!
Please keep these girls in your prayers & if you happen to want to donate an extra $5to Cora Lynne in honor of Thanksgiving I surely Thank you!
Remember the fundraising tab & the Thankful Hands fundraiser going on!

New fundraising tab!

To keep up with all the fundraising for the girls I have added the new fundraising tab. Right now with the angel tree campaign going my main focus is Cora Lynne, but keep an eye out for an auction for both the girls coming Jan/Feb 2012! Please spread the word & share our facebook page, the girls Reece's Rainbow profiles, blog about them, share this blog, share the new fundraising page,etc as you never know who might be their forever family!

Cora Lynne's christmas video

A Reece's Rainbow warrior offered to do a video so I took her up on that offer! Since the video, 7 kids have found their family & 12 have surpassed their angel tree goal! Due to fb regulations, please pass on the link to my blogpost with the video so that more will know about her or you might be able to post the youtube link on fb who knows but I would not risk it. Thanks!

Precious Meeting

Okay so I am finally getting around to post about Meeting Mackenzie for the 1st time! Julia Nalle's post inspired me to get around to posting this one so here it goes. So most of you know I helped fundraise for Mackenzie known as "Lydiah" on Reece's Rainbow back in June by doing a Yard Sale for her family, the Mickschls as well as the Millers. I first found out about their family when I followed their journey as they adopted her brother, John David known as "Liam" on Reece's Rainbow. A few months or weeks after they got home with him, I get an email from Hansina asking for fundraising advice since she had seen my posts on my blog & saying they were thinking about commiting to her. I was so excited when she told me they had commited & I was so anxious to finally meet a RR family! (I think I might have met Sofia before) So as you recall I got to meet Hansina, John David, & Morgan back in May at the Chickfila fundraiser for Mackenzie. We spent much time as she shared about their 1st adoption, their adoption of JD, about how they saw Mackenzie while they were in JDs orphanage,etc. I felt so connected after we met that I knew I had to help in some way. So, I had a Yard Sale & it was a success! I was so thankful that God helped me to be able to help in a small way. Well I would have been at the airport when she came home in July but I was out of town so I waited. The day I awaited was finally here, it was a little crazy as I was leading the table for Reece's Rainbow at our Step up for Down Syndrome walk but I still was so excited to finally get to meet the 1st of the kids I had helped. I managed not to get emotional but I have no clue if I can keep myself from crying when I get to meet Quinton. The moment came, Hansina pushing the stroller by the table then I saw her. It gave me shivers as I thought is this real? Am I finally meeting this little girl I helped in a small way? I did not want to rush this as she had not been out much since getting home so she can adjust so I stood back a slight bit from the stroller. While my Mom, Hansina, & Christina kept snapping pictures I just reflected at this marvelous girl. She kept staring at me in awe like she knew who I was even before we had met.



Do you see the connection in our eyes? Mackenzie is probably thinking who is this person staring at me? Not, in a rude way but a loving in awe stare of is this really real?


Holding her was even more sureal, I felt I was on top of the world knowing how long I waited & that had she not been adopted she surely could have ended up in a institution. How in the world could her country not appreciate her for who she is?

Meeting Mackenzie makes this fight worth it. Cora Lynne & Celine both deserve what Mackenzie has, a family in a country that do not frown upon people with special needs & treat them with respect.



As in Julia's words, I will keep hollering just like I did for Quinton & meeting these kids you rethink that what you do DOES MAKES A DIFFERENCE BIG OR SMALL!! I will keep the fight for these girls until they have families then I will choose another child & another til THEIR IS NO MORE ORPHANS IN THIS WORLD!!! So whether you are a orphan warrior, prayer warrior, christmas warrior, or in the middle of adopting DON'T GIVE UP!!! Be encouraged, even when fundraising is slow, even if the paperwork is a hassle, even when you want to just give it up, cause God will help you through!

Thankful for Sarah

Today I am thankful for my sister Sarah.
Since her 24th birthday is this Thursday heres 24 Reasons I am thankful for her/what I like about her:
1.That she was born. Over 20 years ago people with Down Syndrome & other special needs were institutionalized right here in the USA & not accepted into society. Thankfully that has improved here but sadly other countries still feel the same way. I also am glad she was born because now sadly nearly 90% of babies with the prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome are aborted.
2.I love her dancing! That girl sure loves to Dance, if you met her or saw the videos you would know she was born to dance!
3.Her passion of disney, she loves playing disney trivia & knows everything their is to know about disney movies! I Love how she loves to sing along & knows all the words to most disney songs. If you play her at Disney Trivia know you will be beat!
4.Loves hats! Man I think she has a hat to wear for every single day of the year!
5.That she looks forward to her Birthday every year! don't we all do? She still says oh my birthday is 6 months away (etc) & tells lots of people that.
6.Her funny Jokes & things she says in her notes to communicate with us.
7.I love how she likes to sing loudly when we are away & come home to her singing.
8.That she is herself & does not care what others think
9.She has accomplished so much in her life, & very proud of her! Through dancing, "acting"/participating in plays, & much more! I will never forget her dancing to I can only Imagine at church. She also did it at the Step up for Down Syndrome walk.
10.Thankful that she lead me to be a part of such great organizations, Camp Barnabas & Reeces Rainbow.
11.That nothing stops her from living her dreams.
12.The dances she & stephanie (my younger sister) come up with are amazing!
13.She was blessed to be born without any health issues that usually come with Down Syndrome such as heart deffects.
14.She adores kids/babies as much as I do! She makes them laugh or giggle unlike anyone else. Her smile keeps babies happy.
15.Her fashion, can be pretty interesting somedays (in a good way!) when she is coming up with her own outfit.
16.Very independent! She has come so far in the past 6 years we have lived here.
17.She shines for Jesus every sunday morning dancing & everytime she dances!
18.Our sisterhood, even though we mostly got along when we were younger & had a closer relationship I am thankful to have an extra special sister. I love you Sarah, & so glad God made us sisters!
19.That she knows how much God loves her & has accepted him as her Lord & savior!
20.No matter, she continues to watch all her and/or stephanies play dvds over & over.
21.Even if she is an adult, she always says she is still has a kid like heart (or something to that likes, I can't remember all what she has said)
22.She loves watching ice skating & reccently enjoyed watching Disney on Ice show which is her annual birthday gift from grandma. This time, all my siblings & Mom had a conflict so it was her idea that she invited me. She thinks I should go back with her & I agree as its been awhile since my sister & I did something together she enjoys.
23.Absoulutely likes to play scrabble! Thats about the only game besides disney trivia that you can get her to play.
24.She matters & makes a difference!!! What else is their to say about that? God gave her an extra chromosome & built her the way he created her to be! We may have our struggles but I would not change her for anything in the world! Is it hard? yes at times but we all are people & all make challenges so she really is about normal as we are.
Happy Birthday Princess Sarah!! Know I love you very much & I am so glad we are sisters! Keep dancing like no ones watching! Love, Leah