Happy Birthday Sarah!

Happy 15th Birthday, Sarah!  How did my first baby get so old all of a sudden?  Guess that makes me pretty old.  But Pat and I are SO very proud of Sarah and love her very, very much. She is a pretty special young lady.

Sarah is a very hard person to buy gifts for. She is NOT your typical teen and really doesn't "want" anything that I can buy her.  (Her birthday list included being healed from Lyme disease and a family for "Jacob" - if I remember right.)

(Bunny trail here.) This is Jacob. (No, they don't make bumpo seats bigger in Asia. When Jonathan came home at the age of 12 months, he was TOO BIG for a bumpo seat. He got stuck in it. Jacob is 3. He needs out. Like yesterday.)

Ok, so I can't heal her (although I pray everyday for that) and I can't bring Jacob home (no, I really can't), but I will share her birthday wish with you. Stolen Borrowed right from her blog: 

++++++ Sarah's birthday wish ++++++

I put out a plea on facebook today.

It's my birthday today, and can I ask you a favor? This is Sutter. Like me, he is also turning 15 this year, he has cerebral palsy, and he is waiting for a family in EE.

I was at his orphanage, I was at the institution he will end up at (when he ages out next year), and no person should ever have to live in either of those places. I'm also pretty sure I met him. He needs out ASAP before he runs out of time!

Would you be willing to donate just $15 to his grant? As a present to me, and as an effort to save his life.

And if you donate today, let me know and I'll enter you in a drawing to win a free custom hat of your choice (see here). Email me at forhisgloryhandiwork(at)gmail(dot)com or comment here.

The link to donate is: SUTTER and THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

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Thank you so much for your consideration! (Sarah will leave the drawing open through Monday since I'm so late in blogging this.)

I am WAAAY behind on blogging our family events of the past few months.  ALL 10 of us have our birthdays between April and October, so lots of parties and not much time to blog about it.

Here are a few quick pics from Sarah's little party tonight. Sarah's traditional cake for her birthday is "Dirt Cake".  Except we forgot to get more Oreos when we ran to town to get the fair projects. Oops!  It still tasted great though.

30 candles
15 for Sarah
15 for Sutter

Yarn is always a safe gift for Sarah.
These colors were handpicked by her two little sisters.

Pat and Isaac were extremely privileged to go to the Packer pre-season game Friday night. Isaac's jersey (birthday gift a couple years ago) was still out so Elijah put it on himself and was dancing around.  

Yes, we were watching "Star of Christmas" in August...

Isaac's hair before the Packer game on Friday night. Summer buzz cut! 

A Black Bag

Some days I ask myself, "What the heck have we gotten ourselves into?" (By the way, I've asked myself that every time I've been "pregnant" since I was pregnant with child #3.) I know I'm not the only one. Today was one of those days. Tonight, my friend, Liz, (Shea's mama) shared a post about how she answers her "What the heck?" days.  She would do it a million times over and so would I...

Please go read her post HERE. (Caution: This is a heavy post and not for young children.)  This may help those who don't understand why we are adopting yet again. Haven't we done enough?  Isn't it someone else's job???  Nope. Not at all.

Tears, auctions and huge successes!

With tears today, I read about a precious little one now in the arms of Jesus.  She died alone. Just think about that for a moment...she died with no one to hold her or comfort her or to kiss her. Imagine one of your own children dying alone...I can't even let me mind go there.  And as Shelley said in this post, "She died alone because Christians make excuses for why they “weren’t called for that” or why only “special people” can parent “those kids”."  I'll tell you what...Pat and I are not "special people". We simply said "YES!" to the opportunity to parent "those kids". What are YOU waiting for?!? Susanna had a great post the other day about fear in adopting. It is definitely worth the read. Church, we need to pray, pray, pray!!!  (I did not post this directed at any one person or family. I just get angry when I hear about kids dying when they don't need to!)

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Well, I sat down to do this post about a very fun and wonderful opportunity to help a family adopting a precious little girl from Pleven, where children are existing in horrible conditions.

I've mentioned the Hidden Treasures Blog Auctions before. They are so much fun! Anna, our 9 yo daughter, made a couple of items to donate to the auction. She is VERY excited to be able to help. Here are the links to her items:

http://treasuresinhiddenplaces.blogspot.com/2012/05/annas-hotpads-1.html
http://treasuresinhiddenplaces.blogspot.com/2012/05/annas-hotpads-2.html

Don't need any hotpads?  Please click HERE to see all 74 items. It is super easy to bid and you don't need a google account to do it. Just follow the instructions on the sidebar. But you'd better hurry as the auction ends Thurs night at midnight EST. Go check it out!

http://treasuresinhiddenplaces.blogspot.com/2012/05/summer-family-journal-kit.html
http://treasuresinhiddenplaces.blogspot.com/2012/05/fun-lunch-packing-bonanza-bundle.html
http://treasuresinhiddenplaces.blogspot.com/2012/05/weighted-lap-blanket-5-pounds.html
http://treasuresinhiddenplaces.blogspot.com/2012/05/art-photo-with-custom-imprint-2.html

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HUGE PT (physical therapy) successes for both Jonathan and Elijah!!!

During PT on Monday, Jonathan took 2 steps unassisted at 3 different times!!! Woohooo!  Last night he took about 3 or 4 steps! This boy, who could not sit up just about a year ago when we met him, has come SO FAR in the past 11 months since he's been home. He continues to amaze me each and every day!  It seems like he may just be walking before his 2nd birthday in mid-July! (Video pending if he cooperates. :-))

Also on Monday, Elijah walked all the way up the stairs without holding on to anything!  Great progress for him too!  I watched his last PT session at school last week and he is doing great developing his core strength. I'm so very, very proud of him too!

Help Set the Butterfly Free!!!

Below - from the heart of my daughter, Sarah. Please read and pray about how you can help. Feel free to repost anywhere and everywhere. Thanks! I would love to see Rachel get her birthday wish!




Somewhere on the other side of the world there is a beautiful butterfly just waiting for her cocoon to break open so she can be set free.

But she got stuck in her cocoon and wasn't able to come out the same time as most of the butterflies her age. She is soo beautiful on the inside, and just needs love to help her break free to the outside.

So here's where she needs your help. She needs you to help set her free from the cocoon (orphange/possibly institution) she is stuck in.

You can help set Lilly love free by sponsoring a piece of her puzzle!

Her butterfly puzzle! That's right we are doing a puzzle fundraiser!

After the puzzle is filled up, it will be glued and given to Lilly's future adoptive parents when they bring her home. One day, Lilly will be able to look at this butterfly and see all the many people who loved her and helped her break free!

To sponsor a puzzle piece: 
Donate just $5 (times whatever amount of puzzle pieces you want to sponsor if more than one) to Lilly's grant. You can donate by:
-Using the chip-in on our sidebar (which goes directly to RR, just we can see who has donated)
-Using Lilly's account directly on RR
-Sending a check to:
Reece's Rainbow
PO Box 4024
Gaithersburg, MD 20885
(BE SURE to specify in the memo line it's for 'Lilly 3G').

After you have donated, you have to email us telling us how many pieces you sponsored, what names you would like on them (we are just doing last initial), and what method you used to pay. Our email is handiworkforelijah (at) gmail (dot) com. If you do not email us, you will not get your names on the puzzle! You can sponsor a piece for every member of your family, or you can sponsor a piece in honor or loving memory of someone!

We already have a good start on it, since we have put the names of everyone who has ordered from us while we have been raising money for Lilly. There are 500 pieces, and only 37 have names on them. That leaves 463 left.

What we have filled in so far! The upper right wing.

My 9 yo sister gave $5 of her own money to get her name on puzzle piece, and $5 is a lot of money for a 9 yo! Can't you give too? PLEASE help us set her free!

But here's the catch. Our goal is to have it filled in little less than a month from now. In other words, we want to have it all filled in by midnight on May 28th. You know why May 28th? Because that is this girl's birthday:

Rachel. My other half, and best friend. Also Lilly's warrior, and the one who first fell in love with Lilly. I quite frankly, could not  keep this blog running without her help.

She's turning 16, and I can tell you for a fact without even confirming it with her, that there is nothing she wants more for her Sweet Sixteen then for Lilly to have a family. Nothing.

And you can help get Lilly one step closer to that goal by being a piece of the puzzle. Becoming part of her butterfly! Help set her free!

Please bless Rachel, but more importantly, help Lilly find a family by getting your name on a puzzle piece!

Think 463 a lot?? I don't think so! Not for God! Let's knock out that number, shall we? Thank you!!!

LOTS of Ways YOU can help!!!

So much to share...I know many of you are probably wondering how you can help. You can't (won't :-)) adopt, but you still feel like you want to help in some way.  Right now, a few blogging friends have some pretty awesome giveaways you can participate in. Please read on... (not all are for orphans/adoptions)

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The most urgent (because it ends tomorrow - Sat at 11am CST) is the Mulligan Stew giveaway. Julia has pulled together an amazing giveaway that helps SO many different families and orphans. Please go check it out HERE.  Two very special girls - Laurel and Harmony - are VERY, VERY close to "aging out" and becoming "unadoptable" due to their age. They are both turning 16 this year. Please pray their forever family finds them soon!


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The giveaway nearest and dearest to my heart is THIS ONE. This giveaway is for LYLA.  Now, let me tell you, Lyla's story is like none other. You may remember my dear sweet friend, Summer, whom I met in region when we were adopting Elijah and they were bringing home their sweet Belle. Well, I could try to explain it here, but the whole story is better told HERE and HERE. I know it is a long read, but please read it (and get a tissue :-)).  The bottom line is that the Spitz family needs financial help to rescue their princess. Please pray about how you can help them (and possibly win some pretty awesome prizes too)!


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This online auction is to benefit families with children suffering from mitochondrial diseases. I have been following Noah's fight for his life for several years now. Some of you may have noticed the "Praying for Noah" button on my sidebar. His mom shares about his life and prayer requests HERE. I cannot begin to imagine how much this family has gone through, but I know they love their little boy very, very much.

Here is a little bit about Noah, his family and the foundation that was established in his honor.

From Kate Estes:

Noah is our five year old son and he has been battling a mitochondrial disease his entire life. In spite of fighting as hard as anyone ever could, Noah is reaching the end of his days here on earth.

Mitochondrial diseases have very little awareness and therefore there is little funding or support for families whose children are fighting this monster.

 In spite of his suffering, Noah wants to help other children who are sick with mitochondrial diseases.  In his honor, we've established Noah's Hands of Hope, Inc.   Please visit us at www.noahshandsofhope.org to see what we do to help catastrophically ill children and their families.

Noah's Hands of Hope is a non-profit corporation.  We're working toward 501c3 status, and while we don't have it yet, we're hoping to be approved by late summer.

We have a 7 member board of directors that oversees all of the activity of Noah's Hands of Hope.

The online auction ends on April 1st, so please head on over and bid on a few items. (There are some really cute name badge holders, some great homeschooling items, and TONS of other stuff too!)

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Ok, it is way past my 10pm computer curfew (for Lent), but I really needed to get this post done. I have lots more opportunities to share of how you can help, especially those "in country". I also still plan to go back and update you on "life" around here, but it may very well be after Easter. My crew doesn't leave  me much blogging time during the day...but you know what, I wouldn't have it any other way! :-) Plus, we are gearing up for some very special visitors the weekend after Easter. Can't wait to share about that too!

Lilly's Birthday Bash

I know it's been a long time since I've posted! I have lots of updates to share, but just two things tonight.

1. A few people have asked me how court turned out for the Evensen family I posted about a couple weeks ago when they needed urgent prayer. Thank you all for praying because they passed court and hope to have "Gotcha Day" tomorrow! Praise God! But their journey home is far from over. Their sweet little Micah has literally spent his life in a crib. The trip to get his passport photo taken did NOT go well for this precious little one. If you want to read about it, click HERE. (Rachelle had to close out the boys' bank accounts at the same bank Elijah's account was held. I also walked past this bank dozens of times (4x/day for 3 weeks). It was fun to see the same street vendors in the exact same places over a year later! :-)) Anyway, please continue to pray for their journey home, especially for Micah's journey. Thanks!

2. Lilly's Birthday Bash!!!!

Click on the photo to read more about Lilly's Birthday Bash

Please head over to Sarah and Rachel's blog to read about Lilly's Birthday Bash! Sarah and Rachel work very hard to make items to sell to raise money for Lilly's grant fund. The hearts these two have for orphans is absolutely amazing to me. I wish I could take credit for Sarah's passion, but it is truly God-given. I know Sarah and Rachel would like nothing better than for Lilly's family to find her and SOON! To help the girls celebrate Lilly's birthday, you can do several things: Adopt, Donate, Buy, Share, Grab, Follow, and PRAY! Click HERE for more details. :-) If you do any of the above, please email them and let them know so you can be entered in their give-away.  Be quick though as it ends tomorrow (Monday)! Thanks for your help!

Handmade Potholders by Anna For Sale

My daughter, Anna, made potholders to sell for money for a girl named Ellie. Ellie is an orphan with Down syndrome in Russia and recently turned seven years old  Of course, she desperately needs a family! Anna has really developed a heart to help the orphans and this is one way she feels she can help raise her grant fund. Anna did a guest post on Sarah's blog about Ellie. You can read it HERE.

The potholders are made from 100% cotton loops, so they do not transfer heat or melt like the nylon loops (from W*l-Mart) would. Anna gifted me with one of these potholders and I love it! I use it all the time. It is just the right size to grab a cookie sheet out of the oven or to used a trivet under a hot pan. They measure just under 6" square each. They are very thick. She is asking for a $3 donation to Ellie's grant fund for each potholder. They are $3.00 each. (Although I do know the paypal fees would be less for RR if the donation was over $5.) Shipping is free.

Please email me at contentmentathome @ gmail.com (remove spaces) with your preferred choice from below and your address. Click HERE to donate to her account and we'll get your potholder out to your right away. Anna designed the potholders herself and took the photos too. :-)

Note: More coming soon!! :)

Potholder #9

Potholder #8

Potholder #7 - SOLD!

Potholder #6 - SOLD!

Potholder #5 - SOLD!

Potholder #4 - SOLD!

Potholder #3 - SOLD!

Potholder #2 - SOLD!

Potholder #1 - SOLD!

Please help Anna earn money for Ellie's grant! Thanks for your help!

The Last Day...

Today is the last day to enter the iPad2 giveaway to help bring Teagan and Kelten home! Click HERE to donate and read the details. Just $10 gets you an entry. Every single dollar helps the incredible Burman family bring home their boys.  Teagan and Kelten are in an orphanage in EE. But many of the children in this orphanage are VERY tiny and VERY malnourished. As you see below, Kelten is TWELVE YEARS OLD and is an infant walker!!! Teagan may very well be in the same shape as Carrington was when she came home.  (As you may remember, the Burmans adopted Carrington from Elijah's orphanage earlier this year. She was literally hours from dying when they got home.)

One of the precious little ones has just come home from this orphanage. Little Katie weighed less than 11 pounds and is 29" inches long. Now given that my children were about 7 1/2 pounds and 20" long when they were born, you will realize that Katie is long and very thin (by baby standards). What you wouldn't know by looking at those stats is that she is NINE YEARS OLD. Yes, she is the same age as my 4th grader, Anna. I was looking at the photos on her blog and just started weeping. I was holding Elijah at the same time and just keep thinking that could have been him...

Folks, Carrington, Katie, Kelten and Teagan are not the only ones in this state of just existing (they are not even in the same country)...locked away from society. Why??? Just because they have Down syndrome. That's it. This is why these children, Teagan and Kelten need to get home ASAP. This is why it is SO important to support adoptive families with your prayers AND your financial gifts. Please don't let money stand in the way of Teagan and Kelten coming home to their mommy and daddy and a whole lot of siblings that are going to love them to pieces. :-)

Oh, that reminds me of another thing I wanted to say about large families adopting (again). But I guess I'll save that for another day. It's one of those posts I've had swirling in my head since we got home with Jonathan. Sometime soon I hope I can get that post out of my head and onto the screen.

Please pray for the Burmans to pass through USCIS and to have all of the funds they need to travel to get their boys.

Teagan Chance         Kelten Drake

 

4 years old                12 years old

You have got to see this!

Ds blog:  A family adopting a precious girl w/ Ds, Carlene, is having a fundraiser right now. PLEASE go check it out!  http://operationorphannomore.blogspot.com/2011/10/when-god-wraps-his-arms-around-you.html You have got to see these photos!!! I sat last night looking at all of them, bawling my eyes out.  So many beautiful touching photos with babies, soldiers, families, children and about Luke 2. Wow!

Visit the photographer's website HERE and she will donate 40% of the sales to help bring Carlene home! But only through Wednesday, Oct. 19th. Just put "For Carlene" in the comments section. I can't wait to have some these hanging in our home. Thanks for helping!

Exciting Blog Auction and DS Walk Photos

Ds Fact: To continue about Celiac disease from my post yesterday two days ago - oops! More from this site: http://www.ds-health.com/celiac.htm

What Celiac disease is in case you are not familiar with it: The small bowel has many roles, one of which is to absorb nutrients from our food. Celiac disease (CD) arises when the lining of the small bowel becomes damaged from exposure to gluten, the protein found in wheat, barley and rye. (Oats may be involved because oats are often contaminted with gluten from other grains during the milling process.) The small bowel becomes unable to absorb water and nutrients, causing a number of different symptoms.


Since CD is more common among people w/ Ds, our boys need to be tested for it. Here is a bit on how it can be easily done.

Recent research has found that 97 to 98% of all cases of CD are found in people with certain genetic markers. These genetic markers are called HLA ("human leukocyte antigen") markers. There are two markers that are associated with CD: HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8. In cases where CD is suspected and there is an IgA deficiency, these markers can be looked for instead to determine if a small bowel biopsy is warranted. Children with DS and CD also have the same markers. Interestingly, the genes for the HLA markers are on the chromosome 6, so the connection to chromosome 21 still needs to be discovered.

I think that is fascinating! And the GREAT news...Elijah does NOT have either of these markers! YAY!!! A big thank you to his parents for that one. :-) However, that still doesn't mean he may not have a form of wheat intolerance. We'll continue to investigate that...

And a very interesting tidbit I just read on that site for adoptive parents: It's important to note that infection from Giardia, a microscopic parasite found worldwide, can mimic CD. Diagnosis of this infection is done by special tests on the stools.  Elijah was negative for Giardia, but it is good to know.

Ds Blog: http://treasuresinhiddenplaces.blogspot.com/  Go check out the all of the exciting items being auctioned off to raise money to help bring Teagan home! LOTS and LOTS of wonderful things. Please go check it out. Thanks!

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Down Syndrome Awareness Walk - Saturday, October 1st, 2011

I am SO VERY GRATEFUL for everyone who came to support us and the boys for the DS Walk. It really means so much to me. The Walk was a huge success! Over 1200 people attended and over $62,000 was raised! Amazing!!!

A fun little tidbit for those of you that were at the walk - The Walk Ambassador, Tim Ditter, is Pat's 2nd cousin. Fun, huh? :-) I enjoyed talking with his parents for awhile at the walk. They are so very nice.

We had plans to be there right away at 10:30 when it started, but alas, it didn't work out. By the time we registered, got t-shirts on, etc, it was time for lunch.

This was our last chilly day, so the kids are bundled up a bit. It has been BEAUTIFUL since then! Highs have been in the 70s and 80s. (Ok, I know it IS going to get chilly and downright COLD very soon. We are enjoying it while it lasts.)

Sarah and "Big" Rachel with Micah and Lucas -
Lucas was adopted from the very same orphanage that Sarah visited last summer on her mission trip! She was thrilled to meet him! I was happy to meet him too and visit with his mama for a short bit. :-)

After lunch, we were sitting listening to the pre-walk rally, and Sarah came to get Elijah to go and meet Rachel Coleman from Signing Time! There was no line to see her, so we chatted for awhile. :-)

Can you see how Elijah is trying to move away from her? He has watched her millions hundreds of times on DVD...seeing her in person was...well...just really weird for him! :-) Heck, it was a little weird for me too! But, she is very gracious and seems very down-to-earth. I really enjoyed hearing her story at the pre-walk rally the night before. I don't think there was a dry eye in the place. For those of you that don't know, her oldest daughter was born deaf. Her second daughter was born with spina bifida and later diagnosed with CP.

I asked her about this video. Her daughter, Leah, is AMAZING! 

Rachel even signed "Hopkins" cards for Rachel and Rachel. :-)

I totally stole this from Sarah's blog!

Our team! (How much you wanna bet mom will steal this part for her post?? I know she will!)
Back row - Left to right - "Big" Rachel G holding Jonathan, Mrs. Rheann E, me, Mom, Dad hiding behind the balloons holding Elijah, Mr. G, Josh G, Kaitlyn K, Mrs. G, Grandma Eileen B, Anita F, Auntie Debbie (aka Auntie Crackers), and "Big" Rebekah G.
Front row - Left to Right - Alexa E, Andrew E, Erik E, Anna, Isaac, "Little" Rachel in stroller, and Rebekah.

Finally - the walk!
Who needs the stroller when you have Daddy's shoulders???

Big Rachel and Sarah decided they wanted to carry Jonathan.  He is one heavy boy! Their arms must have been tired after the one-mile walk.

Part of our team

Here I am pushing the "Spectacle Stroller". I'll post more about that in a different post.

Rachel Coleman performing some of her Signing Time songs after the walk.