Busy last half of the year

Sometimes life gets in the way of good intentions.  When I started this blog it was to record the life and adventures of my family however life started to happen and the blog suffered. During the last 6 months of 2011 major life events happened.  My oldest started to school, I started to school and my mother in law passed after just 5 weeks of the news of cancer. 
A friend has invited/challenged her friends to do the 365 photo challenge for 2012. The gauntlet has been thrown and starting January 1, 2012 it is my plan to take and record everyday of our life.  Wish us luck!

Ways that this house passes the time during the HOT summer days of Alabama.

Bubbles Homemade I might add

Slime

Fireflies

On Safari

Check out the boots :)

Releasing Butterflies

Playing Hide n Seek

It took me forever to find Gavin.  He is great at hiding which is something new for him so we are EXCITED!!

My Life with Boys.....

Playing in the Rain

Bucket List...play in the rain with your kids.
I never rememember playing in the rain. A statement that I never wanted my kids to make.  So this week during a warm summer shower out we went. 

Catch me if you can!!!!

No mail

Chilling out while it rained HARD!!

 Looking forward to many more afternoons playing in the rain.

Know for the biggest give momma a heart attack moment of the week.....

Gavin has learned how to climb up on his top bunk!  Without the ladder I might add.

My life with my boys.......

Now you know my ABC's...

A fellow friend posted this and I thought it was to cute to pass up. It's not too invasive but gives a few interesting tid bits. She invited others to play along so here are my ABC's.

A, AGE, Well that would be the GREAT age of 38


B, Bed Size, Full size, yes we like to be close!

C,Chore you hate, cleaning the bathroom after 2 boys and one big kid

D, Dog, None at the moment.

E, Essential start to your day,  Mt. Dew!!!!!!!! Must have.

F, favorite color,Depends on the day, today is RED

G, Gold or Silver, considering after having Gavin they both break me out, I say neither.

H, Height, 5' 6" on a good day.

I, Instrument you play , none :( I did not get the musical talent in my family.

J, Job Title, Stay at home mom which translate to... gopher, boo boo kisser, maid, cook, zoo keeper, referee and the list could go on and on...

K, Kids, 4 very handsome boys... I very blessed to have two wonderful stepson's Tim Jr (June Bug) is 17 and Taylor (tator) is 15 counting down the days till he turns 16, Then we have Our little woodsman, Camden ( KK) is 5 and our little miracle Gavin (tadpole) is 4.

L. Live, In the great state of Alabama in a little sleepy town called Jasper that the New York Times said is the cheapset place to hire a hitman.

M, Mothers name, Joyce

N, Nicknames, None that has stuck. 


O, Overnight Hospital Stays. Tonsils removed when I was 12. It was also the first time I met a nun.

P, Pet peeve, People still thinking that you are the person you were 25 years ago. God changes hearts and you should get to know the person for who they are TODAY.   Oh and people who think my son is different and not treating him like they would any other 4 year old.  That drives me NUTS!!

Q, Quote from a movie, "looks like two pigs fighting under a blanket", Steel Magnolias.  Love that movie!!!!

R, Right or left handed, I like to switch it up to confuse people.

S, Siblings, I was my mother's only child however I have 3 first cousins I proudly call my brothers and sister.  Gary went to sit at the feet of our Heavenly Father last year, Nikki is the best sister you could ask for and Jonathan is going to take care of all of us once he becomes a ROCK STAR!

T, Time you wake up,  The alarm clock goes off at 5:00 so Hubs and I can spend a few minutes together before Gavin soon comes out to greet us for the day at 5:30.

U, Umbrella?? Stays in the car if I'm lucky. I have a little boy who LOVES to play with it. 
 
V, Vegetables you dislike, I would have to say beets. Gross!!

W, What makes you run late? well for some reason the font will not get off BOLD, so what makes me run late having to take time trying to fix things when my computer goes CRAZY 

X, X- rays you've had. Back, seems I have some issues that my Doc called "getting older" or AKA degenerative disc disease.

Y, Yummy foods you make,  Southern Chicken and Dumplings like your Grandma made.

Z, Zoo, My sunroom at the moment.   My kids are playing with the 500 little plastic animals they have.  I must say its a nice Zoo with fences, trains and every animal that Noah had on board.

Who's next???

Oh and if the changing font, spacing and size drives you crazy you should have been sitting at this computer. I give up!!

This week I have found myself having a hard time fundraising for Ian. Not the act itself but in finding those who are willing to help save a boys life.

But I know that adoption is a beautiful, glorious and battle worthy cause and this is why Satan tries so hard to prevent it.

This is why I will not give up.  Satan will not win.

James 1:27 states, "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for the orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you".

By caring for these children we put Gods word into practice.
When we give with no thought of receiving, we show what it means to truly serve others.

God called me to raise awareness for the orphans and to help those families or heard God's call.  The call to fight the battle and go save a child(ren) out of an orphanage. I have GREAT respect for the families who have been doing it for months(years).  This is hard!  Satan makes it hard!

So I started to wonder. How much control does Satan have on those who say they are Christians when it comes to giving? 

Lets just say that this has been an eye opening experience.

So, what does God tell us about giving to others?

Proverbs 11:24-25
There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.

What?  We become richer by being generous?  The world ( Satan) says to hold on to as much as possible, but God blesses those who give freely of their possessions, time, and energy.  When we give, God supplies us with more so that we can give more. In addition, giving helps us gain a better perspective on our possessions.  We realize they were never really ours to begin with, but they were given to us by God to be used to help others. 

By giving we get to feel Joy, that warm feeling in our heart and soul, God's approval.

It's time to tell Satan to back off! It's not our money but HIS money.
It's time you felt that warm feeling in your heart and soul!

The link below will take you to Ian's Reece's Rainbow account. I ask that you pray about your donation once you get there.  Ask God to take charge of your GIVING.

http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorstewart

Ian and his Mommy

IAN for the Stewart family–Suwanee, GA

IAN for the Stewart family–Suwanee, GA

I would like for you to met Ian

Ian is a sweet little boy that my friends Gretchen and Craig are adopting from Russia.

They have already been to his country once to meet him and are close to getting ready to go back again to bring him home. 

Ian's region is expensive.  VERY EXPENSIVE.  The Stewarts have to raise a lot of money to bring this cute fellow home. Once home they can comfortably care for Ian but like most we don't have 48k just hanging around.

 To SAVE Ian it is costing 47,566.00.

Gretchen has an unbelievable break down of where every penny has went to or will go toward at her website

http://www.hopeforian.org/

Gretchen wants the fundraising to be over. 

She wants to be able to concentrate on other things.  So when a friend presented her with a puzzle that reminded her of Ian and Ari playing stick ball, Gretchen felt it was God telling her it was the last piece to "solve" the problem of raising the thousand of dollars in such a short time.

So she ask for help from 10 friends

Ten friends that would help carry the torch to Raise the Ransom ( thanks for the catch phrase Adeye).  All we have to do is raise 100.00 by asking 10 people to donate 10.00 (to get their name on a piece of puzzle that is in the packet) and then pass the packet on to another person.  That person has to raise 100.00 (asking 10 people to donate 10.00) and then pass the packet on.  My packet needs to get to 10 people in order for 1,000.00 to be raised for Ian and for 100 puzzle pieces to be filled.  With 10 packets out there - 10,000 dollars would be raised if everyone did their part.  (Leaving them 2,000.00 short)

Did you get all that??????

I had to read it a bunch of times before I could get it myself.

It requires a lot of faith.  Everyone has to participate in order for it to work.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

All of that to get this little guy across the ocean.

Gretchen ask me why I was MOVED to help and I told her all I had to do was look at Gavin. See Ian has Down Syndrome and WE believe he deserves a chance at LIFE.

Gavin wants his new buddy HOME so they can HANG together.

Tim and I already raised our 100.00 (okay we donated it) and we have already filled out our puzzle pieces, but I don't want to pass the packet on. For one thing I'm a control freak but God placed Gretchen and Ian on my HEART and I just can't let the packet go.  I just need 90 people to each donate 10.00.

Seriously.

It isn't that much.

You donate.  I don't have to pass on the packet.  Gretchen gets her money NOW instead of later and everyone is happy.

Will you help us?

Be a LIFE SAVER with us?

I just need 90 people to donate 10.00 each.

Or 45 people to donate 20.00 each.

Or 23 people to donate 40.00 each.

Doesn't that sound a whole lot easier???

Please.

Will you be the Hands and Feet of Christ today?

You donate Here  let me know you donated and I write your name on a puzzle piece. 

That best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love.

- William Wordsworth

Will you help my friend Gretchen bring her little guy home?

I have been ask to give a short "story" of why I have commited to raising funds for Ian.  It's simple my son Gavin.

Gavin "reading" in the winter sunshine

Enjoying a trip to the Zoo

Helping Daddy and Camden build the Davis Fort

I believe that Ian and ALL the orphans deserve to experience LIFE.

“If you have much, give your wealth; if you have little, give your heart.” Anonymous

Last night as I was rocking Gavin to sleep my mind drifted to many conversations that God and I have been having lately.  As he traced my hand with his little fingers I kept thinking of Kirill Davis and how he soon would be tracing his Mommy's fingers. God has not only worked a miracle in getting him into his forever home but has changed so many hearts. Mine for one. 

 So is that what God needs me to do, change peoples hearts?  If so, how? Awareness?  Do people even know so many children are out there needing loving forever homes? Do people still believe that Down Syndrome is a bad thing? How do I make people aware?

Taken from Reece's Rainbow:

In Central and Eastern European countries alone (this would include Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Romania, etc, but NOT Russia), there are more than 1.5 MILLION CHILDREN who have been abandoned by their families for one reason or another and are living in "public care" (that's the nice way to put it).  If statistically, 1 out of every 733 live births results in a child with Down syndrome, that means at any given time there are 2,046 children with Down syndrome who need families.  THAT'S JUST IN EUROPE!!  Some do not survive because of serious medical complications…some do not survive because of lack of medical attention, lack of food, lack of LOVE. 

In Russia, there are over 700,000 children waiting for families, meaning at least 955 children with Down syndrome wait, languishing.  In ASIA (China, Hong Kong, Korea, India), there are 3,572,000 orphans, with nearly 5000 children with Down syndrome who are unwanted.  Many of those children are killed at birth.    The "lucky" ones end up in orphanages and foster care situations.

Did you do the math?  I did, approximately 8000 children with Down Syndrome are needing homes.  My heart is heavy just knowing that children just like Gavin are abandoned just because they are not what the parents expected.  My heart wonders what should we expect?  What I do know is that Psalm 127:3 states "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him".

It is a reward and a BLESSING.  My prayer today is that hearts will begin to change.  That everyone will see that any child is a blessing, a "reward". 

Take a read and see if your heart feels the same after. 

https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oureyesopened.blogspot.com%2F&h=a2711

bring-hope-home.blogspot.com

bringingcarsonhome.blogspot.com

http://karensprings.blogspot.com/2011/06/can-you-be-1-of-500.html?spref=fb

https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.operationmaxrescue.com%2F&h=a2711

God Calling

I often have said that God has a bigger plan for everyone if we would just listen.  I firmly believe that God has been changing my direction since the birth of Gavin.  I also believe that HE places people in our lives so that we can SEE the direction he wants you to take. 

Several months ago I was reading the local news and read the story of a family who went to Russia to adopt a precious angel with Down Syndrome, only to be told NO.  Why you ask, because he had Down Syndrome.  This cut me to the core.  I became consumed with the story.  So I became friends with the mother on Face Book, started reading her blog daily and spent a lot of time on my knees praying for a miracle.  A date to go before the Russian Supreme Court was set. 

During this time I discovered a lot about the orphans around the world and was saddened at the site.  Who could still believe the best place for these children was an orphanage and then an institution.  I was also introduced to several loving families who were in the process of adopting.

Back to Kirill and that Court date.  I give all the Praise to God that Tesney and Greg Davis are now the proud parents to Gregory Kirill Davis.  Prayer works and God hears and answers.  Check out Tesney blog to read how God was in that court room that day.

As I said before God has placed on my heart the Orphans of the world.  Awaiting to see where HE takes me.

God is Changing My Direction

Once again I find that God is changing my direction or maybe I'm finally listening to him.