Forever Family Friday

I'm going back, today. I'm going back for Darren. Darren is the second child I ever blogged about in a Forever Family Friday post. You can read that post here :) I hope you will, because it has an earlier photo of Darren. I fell in love with that picture and didn't think it could get any better. Until I saw these...

Sometimes God just blows my mind. Look at this little bundle of JOY! I knew it! I knew this boy was really something special. His little clasped hands...

Another Mom is at Darren's orphanage, right now, meeting her son. I'm so excited for their family. From all her photos and visits it looks like this is a decent orphanage. You can read their family's story and see their visits with their son here on their blog! Christie (the Momma) posted on facebook this morning and said, "Darren is the last child with Down Syndrome waiting in this orphanage." What? How amazing is God? He's sent families for those babies. I can't think of a better way to declare God's glory to this staff than to completely clear the building of every child with Down Syndrome! You know what that means? It means, Darren needs a family!

If you weren't already completely won over by this sweet boy's smile, I have one more photo for you.

Look at all that cuteness! He's the last one waiting. I know that any day now his Mommy and Daddy are going to see his outstretched arms and run to get to him. Maybe you're that Mommy and Daddy. If you'd like more information on Darren, you can check out his Reece's Rainbow profile.

Will you pray for Darren and the family whose heart God is preparing to say, "Yes!" It's a huge step of faith to realize you have a child on the other side of the ocean. It requires complete and total trust in God to make this decision. Pray, pray, pray that hearts would be open to the voice of God and to following where he leads. Darren is waiting...

You can also go to Darren's profile and make a donation to his grant. It makes a difference. I hate to think Darren would be passed over because another child has a larger grant. Or that the financial mountain would be too intimidating for his family to even consider climbing. Darren is waiting...

Share Darren's picture and story with your friends and family. You can post a link back here or one to his Reece's Rainbow profile. Let's find Darren's family by shouting from the rooftops about how he needs a family. His family may not even know he exists, yet. Darren is waiting...

I'm so thankful that God is writing Darren's story. I can't wait to see how it turns out. He is faithful! Thank you for letting me share my heart and sweet little Darren with you.

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...Do Something!

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy

All the Ways You Can Help!

I've been asked by a couple of people to do a post and put everything in order, as far as our fundraising. I'm going to list everything we have going, starting with the ones ending the soonest and working my way through.

The first one is an online Thirty-One Party. We will be receiving 20% of every order placed toward our adoption. You can use this link: Rhodes Family Thirty-One Party to place your order. (Click on the highlighted words, they're the link). This Party ends at 9:00 am tomorrow morning, so get your orders in, now :) We've extended this Thirty-One Party until October 20th!

Then, we have an online Scentsy Party! We're making 20% of every order placed here, too! My friend, Heather, helped set this up for us. I've never owned any Scentsy, but I'm going to place an order. I love when I walk in a friend's house and see their warmer lit up and I'm met with a delicious new scent. You have until October 20th to order your Scentsy! (Again, the highlighted words in the first sentence are the link).

Last, but not least, we're doing an online and catalog party with Celebrating Home! We earn 50% of every sale placed on this website: Click here! There are some great candles and Christmas items. It's not too early to be thinking about Christmas buying and if it is, no worries, you have until November 30th to place an order :)

You can see we have a lot going on as far as fundraising. I like to think there's something for everyone! You're always welcome to make a donation directly to our Reece's Rainbow Grant. Donations made through our grant on the right hand side are tax deductible. You will receive an email receipt 7-10 business days after you make a donation.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. Our dossier (packet of paperwork needed in the boys country) should have been submitted, today! That means we'll have travel dates, very soon! We are going to meet our boys and are so excited!

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy

Buddy Walk 2011

We went to our first Buddy Walk, today! What a lot of fun. We live in a small town, so I was surprised that we even had a Buddy Walk here. Oh, for those who don't know, a Buddy Walk is a walk to raise awareness about Down Syndrome. I was excited to meet some local families raising children with down syndrome. I can't wait to be able to take our boys next year. We'll have a team in the walk and raise money for our local Down Syndrome Society.

This year, we set up a Reece's Rainbow table and shared information about Reece's Rainbow and the Christmas Warrior program. Everyone was so receptive and excited to learn more about Reece's Rainbow. I was invited to share on the stage about Reece's Rainbow and our adoption. I'm not a fan of public speaking, but somehow I seem to keep finding myself with a microphone in my hand. I was brief and then headed back to our table to answer questions.

We had lots of fun items to giveaway that Reece's Rainbow sent ahead of time for this event. Brochures, mugs, pens, notebooks, totes, etc. The biggest hit of the day for our crowd was the bumper sticker. It says, "Babies with Down Syndrome choose life, too!" What a great message and one that every person who loves someone with Down Syndrome agrees with.

My Mom, Rebecca, Julianna and her cousin Maddox all helped share Reece's Rainbow with our new friends. Here are some other fun photos from our day. Enjoy!

McGruff was Julie and Maddie's favorite at the walk!

Don't you love this boy's smile and you can see some of the great stuff we had to giveaway.

I hope your day was as fun as ours. The best part of my day was meeting some beautiful children blessed with that extra special chromosome. I'm so glad God led us here to be a part of this community of people who clearly love their children beyond measure. Every family really does deserve the blessing of a child with down syndrome...

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...Do Something!

Blessings,

Mandy

Forever Family Friday

I wrote this post once already. It wasn't worth reading. I asked some friends to pray for me. I can't seem to find the "right" words. I realized after sometime in prayer myself that I can't do the job of the Holy Spirit. I can share my heart and be a willing instrument that God uses, but I can't convict hearts. No matter how many times I look at this precious boy and feel overcome with emotion. Only God can change hearts.

I know this from our own adoption journey. God spoke to me about adopting a child with special needs long before he began to deal with Marty's heart. I shared with Marty and pleaded with him to feel the same way, but not until I took my hands off of the situation and allowed God and Marty time to work it out together, did anything happen. After some serious time in prayer and a sermon or two that spoke directly to Marty, he came to me and said, "Let's do it, because we can't do anything else." Since then we have both fallen in love with two boys on the other side of the ocean. It was our But God moment.

When I first wrote this post, I wanted to persuade you to "see" things my way. I wanted you to "feel" about this child the way that I do. I have realized, now, that I need to be praying for you to have a But God moment of your own. The moment where God changes your view of things to his view. He "sees" things so much clearer than I do, anyway. So, I'm going to share a little boy with you and pray that God will speak to your heart.

This is Tony. Tony is 12 years old and, yes, this picture is recent. Tony has down syndrome and no other medical conditions, aside from those caused by years of neglect and malnutrition. Please take a few minutes and read about Tony on his Reece's Rainbow profile. Now, pray and ask God to allow you to really "see" Tony the way he sees Tony. God knit Tony together. He created him with a purpose. Is God asking you to help Tony achieve his purpose?

I can't see it or feel it for anyone else. I can only be accountable with the things God has shown me. A large part of that accountability for me involves sharing Tony with you.

"Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God's hand for that person." Proverbs 3:27

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy

I am a Promise!

I am a Promise

I am a Possibility

I am a Promise with a capital "P"

I am a great BIG bundle of Potentiality

I am learning to hear God's voice 

I am trying to make the right choice

I am a promise to be...anything God wants me to be

These precious little ones all need homes, NOW!

They make me think of this little song we learned in Sunday School growing up.

Each of us young and full of life and potential. I promise, each of these children is full of that same life and potential. It's just hidden, waiting for love to bring it into the light.

You can find each of these children on Reece's Rainbow.

Please, pray and if you never share any other post, share this one!

Their need is desperate and immediate.

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support!

Harvest Time

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:9-10

We know what the harvest is going to look like. 

We're just a little weary in the doing that is necessary to get to the harvest.

They will be worth the planting and the tending (the paperwork and fundraising).

Sometimes, I need the reminder of why we're doing all this work and I come to find their pictures.

The reward, the harvest, the treasure found...will be our sons.

Please, consider the opportunity we're giving you to do good and encourage our family.

Check out our (Mostly) Made with Love Giveaway and be a part of helping bring our treasures home.

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...

Blessings,

Mandy

(Mostly) Made with Love Giveaway!

We've decided to do another giveaway here on the blog! I love doing these giveaways, because they allow our friends and family to give and, hopefully, to receive something back! You already have our gratitude, but I love to be able to give something tangible back as a way to say, "Thank you!"

For this giveaway, I went to our friends and to some generous strangers to ask for help. Every prize has been donated and a lot of them have been hand-crafted with love. Lots of Etsy sellers were happy to get involved and offer something for our giveaway, once they learned about our boys. Our boys are hard to refuse :)

So, here's what we have to offer. We will draw one winner for each prize, so there is an even greater opportunity that if you give, you are going to receive a great prize. We know that's not why you give, but it does make the giving even more fun!

Prize #1

A $35 gift certificate to Kelly's Creative Designs!

Kelly was super generous to offer such a great prize! She's also giving our family 10% of any sales we send her way and free shipping to our friends. Simply use code: ADOPTION11 at checkout!

Here's a sample of her work:

Prize #2

A personalized birth/adoption announcement block from Elephant Tales!

These are super cute and can be created to match your color scheme. Here's my favorite:

Prize #3

In keeping with hand-crafted nursery decor V T Designs is offering any item of the winner's choice from her Etsy shop!

I love this one, but they're all super cute!

Prize #4

Hidden in My Heart is donating one of her amazing pieces of scripture art!

You should have a look around her store. The winner will receive an 8x10 print of their choosing!

I love the style of these prints!

Prize #5

Allison at Love Blooms Eternal makes these great pendants!

The winner can pick whichever pendant they would like! I'm going to have one made that says, "Mother" in the boys' native language! 

Here's a custom piece with a photo.

Prize #6

A candle of the winner's choice from Celebrating Home!

These smell great and look pretty, too! Anything you order from the link above, we'll receive 50% of the proceeds from!

Here's my favorite candle:

Baked Apple Pie!

Prize #7

2:12 Designs is run by a local Mom, who is super creative! She's donating a custom made invite/announcement to the winner, as well as 50% of any orders placed when you let her know you found 2:12 Designs here on our blog, until the giveaway ends.

Here's the adoption announcement she created recently!

(I can't wait to have her create our adoption announcements!)

Prize #8
5 brand new size medium Fuzzi Bunz Diapers from my friend, Rebecca.
If you're interested in ordering Fuzzi Bunz, you can contact Rebecca by emailing her at thinkbig@embarqmail.com!
Thanks, Rebecca :)

Prize #9
My friend, Daniell, wanted to get in on this giveaway, too!
She just started selling Thirty-One bags and she's donating a Thermal Tote and 20% of the profits from our catalog party. You can order here! No codes necessary.
I love this pattern!

Prize #10
Last, but not least my friend, Dana from Pampered and Posh is donating a super cute backpack!
There's more to come from Dana and if you're interested, you can read how we met here!
She's also decided to give our family 25% of any sales we send her way, just use the code RhodesAdoption in the notes when you check out.
I love this little monkey waving, "Hello!"

Please, show these businesses your support by taking the time to shop at their stores! They have all been more than generous and encouraging of our efforts to bring our boys home!

Okay, how to enter...

1. Make a donation of $10 or more using the chip-in! 

Every $10 gets you 3 entries into the giveaway!

2. Share on facebook, twitter, your blog, or other social media.

Earn one entry (per day) for each time that you share.

You will need to leave a comment here when you share, so I can get you entered.

3. Follow our blog. If you don't already, you can earn a free entry by following this blog.

4. Check out Meredith's Miracle and become a follower over there and you'll earn a free entry.

5. Make a purchase at any of the sites listed above and you'll earn 2 entries for every purchase!

Just come here and leave a comment saying what you purchased and from whom. I will verify your order and get you entered to win!

Nothing too difficult. Let's see, if we can raise the money we need to get our boys home.

Thank you to everyone who has given and who will give.
We appreciate you!

Please, continue to pray for us and our boys while we are apart from each other.

P.S. This is our 100th post here on the blog!
Thanks for reading!

Story Time

I have one of "those" stories to share with you. It's one that always happens to other people, but never to you. It is that incredible, covered with the fingerprints of God. Here we go...

Two Sundays ago I decided to get serious about our next giveaway here on the blog. I had been praying about how to organize what I envisioned and finally decided I had no choice, but to swallow my pride and ask for help. I got up early and while Marty and the kids were sleeping I began to browse Etsy and look for items I loved and would love to share with my friends. I found a ton of stuff by searching for things like, "adoption," "down syndrome," "Samuel," and "Joseph." I prayed while I searched and asked God to show me the "right" people to approach. I found 20 shop owners, who made items that I loved and wrote them a simple message, including a link to our blog. I asked if they'd be willing to help us out with a giveaway I wanted to host the last two weeks of September. Would you believe I had 8 positive responses in less than 24 hours? Lots of owners wanted to go way above and beyond what I had asked of them. Never heard from the other 12, which is fine, since I don't handle rejection well.

Here's where the story gets good (well better, it was already going really well).  One Mom, Dana, sent me this response, "Absolutely! Not sure how you "chose" me, but we have a six year old daughter named, Faith with down syndrome and are familiar with Reece's Rainbow. Just let me know what you need." 


Now, I know what you're thinking, "Big Deal." But, wait, I wanted to know how I'd found Dana, too. (I know, God found Dana, but how did He lead me to her?) So, I went and checked out her shop and realized I had found her, not by searching, "adoption" or "down syndrome" but by searching for "Joseph." Do you think this was a God appointment?


Dana asked me to call her and I was supposed to do that last week, but kept hesitating. I'm not a big fan of chatting with people I've never met. Today, I decided to follow-thru with my commitment to call her. I was greeted by a friendly, "This is Dana!" I introduced myself and we began to chat like old friends catching up after a long absence. She was such an encouragement to me and said a few times that she'd like me to choose an item every two weeks. Finally, I said, "Are you donating more than one item to us?" Dana responded, "Won't you be needing to do more than one giveaway to raise the money you need?" Yes, of course, but I was only asking for one item. Dana has offered to give us an item every couple of weeks from her store to giveaway here on our blog!


I cannot get over how God constantly surprises me on this journey. The generosity of strangers (and friends) is overwhelming at times and I did find myself weeping as I talked with Dana. That this precious lady would want to take the time to hand-make something every two weeks and allow us to give it away to help bring our boys home is humbling. Do you see God's hand in this story? Dana had been looking for a way to help the kids on Reece's Rainbow and our family was looking for help. God brought us together through prayer and "Joseph's" name. 


I want to encourage you to go ahead and have a peek at Dana's website, Pampered and Posh.  She makes some beautiful items, that I know you're going to love. We'll be going live with our next blog giveaway on Thursday and there will be lots of amazing items and chances to win. Let me know, what you love from Dana's store and maybe we'll use it for an upcoming giveaway!


I know this was a long post, but I hope this story encourages you like it encouraged me. It was just what I needed today. I'm so thankful God is in every little detail. I'm even more grateful that He takes the time to remind us how special we are to Him.


Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...Do Something!


Hidden in Christ,
Mandy

Bible Stories with Julie

In case you're wondering what's happening over here, we're still waiting. We really haven't been waiting too long, a little over a week. Maybe we'll hear something in the next week or two about travel dates! So, it's quiet here. We're missing our boys. Did you know you can miss someone you've never met?

Julianna and I were reading the story of Leah and Rachel this morning from her Jesus Storybook Bible. We began to talk about how the world viewed Leah as ugly and undesirable, but that God looked at Leah and saw beauty. God loved Leah so much that he blessed her and she became part of the Royal blood line that leads to the birth of Christ. Jacob didn't want Leah, because he viewed her as less than Rachel. Julie looked at me and said, "No one wanted our brothers, either." Out of the mouths of babes...

God looks at Joseph and Samuel and He sees them differently than the world or their society. We talked about how the love of Christ that lives on the inside of us allows us to see beauty where others see only weakness. Christ's love changes our sight from a worldview to a kingdom view. Joseph and Samuel are valuable members in the family of God. They are going to be cherished members of the Rhodes' family. We're thankful that the God of the universe chose us and allowed us to see real beauty.

We are determined to continue to walk this road faithfully. Our boys are the reward at the end of the journey. We cannot wait to have them with us to share our JOY with them. While we're waiting God is continuing to grow us and to stretch us, to reveal new truths to us. We're thankful for this time of preparation. We're going to get the fundraising going again, by the end of this week. I know, it seems like all we do is ask you to give. I don't know how else to get to our boys and so, I pray that God will bless our efforts and that He will bless each one who gives to bring Joseph and Samuel home.

Blessings,
Mandy

Brotherly Love!

The kids and I are enjoying a week at our timeshare property this week. We arrived, yesterday and spent the morning/afternoon at the pool and park. I lost count of how many times one or the other stopped what they were doing and turned to me and said, "I can't wait for Joseph and Samuel to do this!" or, "I think, Samuel will really like those swings," or, "Joseph's going to need his own ID because he's six years old." They think it's a BIG deal to get their own ID when they turn 6 and are excited that Joseph won't have to wait.

I know it's a little thing, but it makes my heart and Marty's happy to know that they are eagerly anticipating the arrival of their brothers. They already "see" them as brothers and are looking forward to sharing all the fun we have together with them. I don't have any adoption news, except that Julianna and Eli are ready for this adoption to be complete and their brothers to be home. Mom and Dad could not agree more.

Blessings,
Mandy

Forever Family Friday

My heart is heavy this week, with the approaching of the anniversary of 9/11. The reminder is constant that the world is so much bigger than just our own little lives. We get so wrapped up in our own day to day issues and struggles that we often forget that there is a whole world of people dealing with things we cannot even begin to imagine. Their heartbreak, loss and pain are more than we want to consider on most days. Let's remember together the sense of unity we felt after September 11th happened. The drive to accomplish more for fellow humanity. The need to be closer to our family, friends, and to our Savior. The feeling that said, "We can do more!"

Keith needs us to do more! He needs us to be inspired to make a change. Keith is so tiny. His bruised arms make me wonder what his day to day reality is like. I bet it's a lot harsher than anything most of us have ever experienced. The thing Keith needs more than anything else is a family. A Mom and a Dad to scoop him up and carry him out of the orphanage. Parents who will love him back to health and strength. Then, they will reap the reward of seeing Keith's JOY restored. Precious baby Keith...

Will you pray? Will you share Keith's photo and story and help find his Forever Family? Some of you wonder why I do this. I'm going to be really honest in this next couple of paragraphs and share the weakness of my faith.

Sometimes I look at a child like Keith and I think even God can't find a family for one so mistreated and forgotten. Then, I pray and tell God that I believe, but I need him to help my unbelief. My unbelief, that even as I write these posts, says it doesn't matter. What you're doing is of no value to the Kingdom. I hear the enemy whisper to just give up, because no one else cares. But God...God steps in and does the miraculous. He helps my unbelief in a way that I cannot even fathom. What does He do?

He sends a family for Sasha...

No child has ever caused me to doubt, like Sasha. I'm going to be honest. My heart cried out. I prayed and pleaded with God and I doubted. I forgot to look at Sasha the way God does and for awhile, I thought, no one will be able to help Sasha. But God...God helped my unbelief. He helped Sasha. It is, afterall, what He does. Sasha's family doesn't have a blog, so I will share their Family Sponsorship Page and ask you to give. I know, I ask that a lot, but can you imagine the faith it took to take the first step toward being Sasha's family. All of the unknowns, piled on top of this picture. Let's pray for them and help them bring Sasha home.

It does matter. They matter. They're lives have value and purpose and my prayer is that God will continue to help my unbelief by sending families for the least of these.

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...Do Something!

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

We've entered the next waiting phase of our adoption. We've done all we can do (besides pray) and now, we wait. What are we waiting for? Travel Dates!

Meanwhile, I'm back to where I was at the beginning of this process. I am cleaning like a crazy woman to help pass the days. Not a bad thing...a lot like nesting when you're at the end of a pregnancy. Only I'll get to do it a second time after we visit the boys.

We have a couple of fundraisers happening and a giveaway in the works! It's going to be a good one. If you're not familiar with Etsy you should check it out. A lot of our prizes are being donated by some of the generous shop owners over there.

One shop owner, Kelly, has offered not only to donate to the giveaway, but to give our family 10% of any sales we generate from the blog or facebook. Kelly is so kind. I contacted her asking for help with the giveaway and she wanted to do more than that. If you go to her store and use the code, Adoption11, at checkout, not only will we receive 10% of your item cost, but she'll ship your item for free! Her jewelry is amazing and you can check it out at her store here: Kelly's Creative Design!

Here's one of my favorites from Kelly's Shop.

Blessed it's how I feel most days by each of you, who has chosen to be a part of our journey to our boys. So, while we're waiting, I wanted to say, "Thank you!"

We're also doing a Celebrating Home Fundraiser. We earn 50% of the proceeds from all sales made through this link! They have some great candles and gifts. I love all the yummy smelling candles. Fall is almost here and I love to burn apple candles or warm cinnamon pumpkin. You can invite your friends to shop, too, just check out our Facebook Event.

Maybe while we wait to go and meet our boys we can knock out the last of this fundraising! I'm really excited about each of fundraisers! Keep praying that we'll have those travel dates soon! I can't wait to meet Joseph and Samuel. Won't it be fun to have new pictures and videos of our precious boys!

Blessings,
Mandy

Yard Sale Success!

Update: Our grand total for the yard sale after two weekends is $903.16!! Very excited about the huge success of this event! Thankful for God's favor!

We had our yard sale hosted by our church this weekend! It was held indoors, so that was a HUGE blessing. We were able to set everything up on Friday and go home to a good night's sleep before opening the doors at 8 a.m. Saturday morning. We had a steady stream of people for most of the four hours we were there. We had a couple of shoppers after church, today. Our total for the two days:

$713!!!

Isn't that fantastic! After seeing what a success this weekend has been, our church family has decided to do it, again, this Saturday! The most amazing part is that when we told them that we had to be out of town on Saturday for Eli's first soccer game of the season...they didn't even hesitate to say they'd do it without us! For anyone who's ever fund raised, you will understand the miracle that just took place. We're going to be somewhere else, while money is being raised for us. I know, I cannot believe it! 

I was so blown away by the generosity of our church when they contacted us and asked to host this event. Then to have my amazing new friend, Tonya, offer to do it again. Well, God is just too good to us! It's easy for this path to feel lonely and this weekend it didn't. So, thank you.  

Thank you to each person who prayed, donated, priced, sorted, baked, purchased items and just loved on us with your encouraging words. You made the battle easier this weekend and the load lighter. We're thanking God for you. There is so much JOY in this journey. Today, I am celebrating not just a successful yard sale, but family and friends, who give more than I could ever dream of asking.

Thank you.

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy

Forever Family Friday

I'm so late. I know. I've been busy getting things ready for our yard sale, tomorrow! I'll post an update about that tomorrow evening. For now, I get to write my favorite and most important post of the week. The one I know you come here for.

You all know, by now, that with few exceptions my heart is drawn to little boys. I love little boys. I love being a Mom to my son Eli and he's not really a little boy anymore. I love that we're bringing two new little boys home to love. My heart breaks to know that boys are usually the last chosen, less desired. I say it all the time boys are fun and another one has stolen my heart.

Sweet little Steven...sigh...he needs a Mom.

Steven is four years old. Steven has been waiting for a family to come for him, to choose him for four years, now. That's a long time to wait. He must really be a special boy, because you can still see the light in his eyes. Please, let's don't wait for it to fade away or even disappear completely. Search your heart and ask God if you're Steven's family. Ask God how he wants you to help Steven. Steven needs a family, he needs his grant to grow, he needs a prayer warrior and an advocate, who will not stop searching for his family until they come.

What does God want you to do for Steven?

He's precious. All God's children are precious. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong. I'm glad we serve a great Big God, who is mighty to save. Praying that He is working behind the scenes on Steven's behalf. Working out the details, removing the obstacles, untying the "nots" for Steven's forever family.

Looking forward to the day when I can update and tell you that Steven has a family!

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...Do Something!

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy