It's Christmas Time...

It's Christmas time...we love Christmas at our house. We love the celebration of Jesus' birth. We love the family time, the giving of gifts to friends and family. It's not feeling like Christmas time this year, though. We are struggling to find the Christmas Spirit. There are two little boys who are missing from our home. There are gifts ready for them under the tree. There are empty beds and empty rooms. There are closets quickly filling with little clothes. There are books waiting to be read. There are arms waiting to hold and secrets waiting to be told. Two little boys missing, it's making Christmas time a little sad in our house this year.

Then, at church this morning came the gentle reminder from Galatians 4:4-5 "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons." Our sons were born under the law, just as we were. They were born under a law that said they were useless and worthless and not worth keeping. Sound familiar? Thank God that when the time had fully come He sent his Son. At the beginning of this journey, we knew that we were being called to help make the sad things of this world come untrue for our boys, just as Christ has done and is doing for each of us. The law and the demands of the law have been met in Christ Jesus. We are free! Our freedom is what allows us to love our sons so much and so completely. Not to see flaws or imperfections, but to see the beauty that God sees.

This year God is giving our family the gifts of faith and trust. He is encouraging our hearts and renewing the belief that everything works together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. If this pain is a necessary step in the journey to our sons, we will take it, knowing that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion...

They are coming home, just not as soon as we'd like them to. But God has a plan for our lives and in the fullness of time, at exactly the moment of His choosing, our sons will come home. Not by accident or by chance or by coincidence, but by divine appointment and intervention and direction. Because He willed it to be so...they are coming HOME.

I think, I wrote this post more for my own heart than for anyone else, but I will publish it and pray that it encourages you. That no matter what the circumstances are in your life, God has a plan, an appointment with your circumstances. We don't get to set the time or move God's hand for Him, we just get to trust that Daddy's got this! The battle is already won and victory is ours, because Jesus finished it all on the cross.

Blessings,
Mandy

Forever Family Friday

The news is not good for these two little boys. I shared them last week and I'm going to share them, again, today. They need families or a family, now! The orphanage can not hold them any longer. They are being transferred to an adult mental institution. My heart is breaking. Little Oleg is 6 years old and the size of a 2 year old (sound familiar) and I don't know how long he'll survive in an institution. Here is a new picture of him from this week...

Please, understand that age is just a number. Oleg needs a Mommy and a Daddy. He has over $7,000 in grant money. That means he can come home for around $18,000 more. If you add Shane in along with his grant of $2500, you're looking at a little over $15,000 to save both boys from life in a mental institution.

Here's Shane's new picture from this week.

Please do not allow these boys to become "Lost Boys." You can read their Reece's Rainbow profiles. Shane and Oleg, they need to come home. Share their stories. Pray and cry out to God to move mountains on their behalf. What can you do to change the lives of these little boys? What will you do to change the lives of these little boys?

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

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy

White Elephant Gift #3

Sorry for the break. Busy getting some Christmas stuff together. Anyways, back to our White Elephant giveaway. Today's gift is something to read and encourage your heart, along with a little something to spend. Hopefully, it will be enough to make you smile.

Same as before...free entry for sharing and two entries for every $5 you donate. A winner will be drawn tomorrow around noon. I hope you're enjoying our little giveaways as much as I'm enjoying blessing my friends.

Every dollar is a dollar closer to our boys coming home. Keep sharing!

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...

Blessings,
Mandy

White Elephant Gift #2 Winner!

The winner of today's White Elephant Gift is Cherona F.

It's this great thermal tote from 31 in Paparazzi Dots.

I hope you enjoy it Cherona!

Thanks to everyone who donated and shared.

There is another White Elephant Gift coming soon!

Blessings,

Mandy

White Elephant Gift #2

How much fun is this? First a photo of yesterday's White Elephant Gift and the winner is Jaime K.

A mid-size Enchanted warmer from Scentsy along with a Black Raspberry Vanilla Bar and a Sweet Pea and Vanilla Bar. I told you it was going to be good! I hope you didn't miss your chance. If you did, no worries. I have more prizes!

We'll keep using the same chip-in on the right hand side of the blog. Your donations are dated, so it's easy to know who's entering the current giveaway. Today's gift is less about a number and more about keeping your food/drinks cool in style. I hope you like the Paparazzi as much as I do. To earn your chance to win is simple.  Share this post for one entry and make a $5 donation for 2 entries. Every $5 earns you 2 entries, so if you give $20 you earned 8 entries. Easy enough?

This giveaway will close tomorrow night at 8pm EST. Don't miss your chance to enter and as always, thanks for helping bring our boys home!

Blessings,
Mandy

White Elephant Gift!

I'm going to do some super fast giveaways over the next few days. The catch is you have to trust me, because we're doing this White Elephant style. Our first gift will be a delight to your "scents"es. Your guests this Holiday season will love the smells coming from your home and there's no need to worry about burning down the house. This giveaway will end in 24 hours and I will ship the item to the winner on the next day.

How do you enter? As always you can earn an entry by simply sharing on facebook. A $5 donation will get you 2 entries and let's just keep this simple and say each additional $5 will earn you 2 additional entries. There's no minimum that we need to reach. I have the item here and I want to bless one of you with it! I promise, you will love it!

I will post a picture of the prize when I announce the winner, so don't be disappointed if you don't get an entry in and miss out on this awesome prize.

Spread the word!

Blessings,
Mandy

Winners of the Christmas Cash!

All winners have been notified! I will list them here with first name, last initials only. I'm so excited for those of you who won and I hope it makes each of your Christmas' a little brighter! It's so fun to be a blessing. I wish I had gift cards to give to each of you who have prayed, shared and donated as we take this journey. All entries were assigned numbers and Random.org chose the winners.

Amazon $250 gift card goes to Kristin W. Kristin shared our giveaway nearly 20 times and her persistence paid off! Don't ever think your sharing doesn't make a difference. There are lots of people who come to this blog regularly, now, because of Kristin's faithfulness. It is a pleasure to be blessing her family with this gift for Christmas.

$100 Wal-Mart gift card goes to a youth pastor with a huge heart for orphans, Jonathan B. I've never met Jonathan, but he's been a big supporter ever since he learned of our adoption. Thanks, Jonathan!

$50 Sears gift card to Sabrina G. I don't know Sabrina and she didn't leave any message with her chip-in donation, so I'm hoping she'll give me details when she responds to my email saying she's a winner. I'd love to know how she found us. In fact, if you follow here, I'd love to know how you found our blog. Please, feel free to share in the comments.

$50 Lowe's gift card to Kathleen B. Kathleen left us a lovely note of encouragement. She is the Mom of a 22 year old young man with down syndrome. Thank you Kathleen for giving and encouraging us. I can't wait to one day be where you are in this journey. To look back and know that we've been loving our boys for longer than they were orphaned, to see the young men that God wants them to become.

$50 Toys R Us gift card to Christine S. Christine is a fellow adoptive Mom. She's in the process of adopting a little boy with down syndrome from the same country as our boys. I'm always amazed by the generosity of our Reece's Rainbow family. They give and give and give some more, even when their own needs are great.

Our family is incredibly blessed by each of you and your generosity. There will be more giveaways in the future and some fun things happening between now and Christmas, so don't feel like you missed out, just keep on coming back. We love you and pray for you daily that God would bless you and encourage you in the same way you have blessed us.

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy