Addie's Gifts

There is no denying that I love animals. We've naturally paired down our four legged friends from the 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 rabbits, and uncountable number of gerbils we once had to a mere 1 dog and 2 cats. Then again, we've added 3 two legged children to that mix in the process!

But our love of animals has already been passed onto our girls. They each have a slight obsession with pets and wild animals alike. A few months ago, we visited the Elmore County Humane Shelter to drop off some food after they'd shared a need for on the news. They let the girls pet a few kittens, and I avoided eye contact with any an all 4 legged creatures, lest we come home with one! But it made a tremendous impact on Addie. She knew we went to a shelter to get Finn, that he didn't have a home until we adopted him, and that there were many, many other animals needing homes. She doesn't know the rest of the story, and I don't plan on telling her that anytime soon; but we are committed to teaching about why we spay and neuter our animals, because that's the only way we can save so many of these already in the shelters!

So when we created Addie's birthday party invitation, she agreed to let me include this on the back:

I'll admit, she kinda got cold feet after I'd mailed them; but when I assured her that she could hold a kitten when we delivered the food, it was all better!

I wasn't entirely sure how Addie's friends would react to it though, if people would just not bring a gift or bring dog/cat food; and the response was utterly overwhelming:

After a Walmart run, we had (approximately) 3 ginormous, 6 huge, 6 medium, 7 small, and 8 tiny bags of cat & dog food, 8 cans, 2 bags of treats, 5 jugs of clorox, and 3 very happy little girls!

 It took quite a while to load the car, but I had the best help around!

We were so happy to have DiDi, Tyler, Ellie, Bri, Ms. Anna, Thomas, and Kennedy meet us at the shelter to deliver everything, which filled up half of the lobby area!

Of course my girls went straight for the kittens!

And Ms. Rea let Addie hold a special sweet one.

Look at that precious face!

We walked around a gave the dogs and kitties in the back a little love until my heart could take it no more. So many puppies. So many sad eyes. So many animals needing homes!

Since the little girl's birthday party theme is going to be kitties and puppies, we're planning to ask people to bring canned cat and dog food. Ms. Rea said they start to have so many entire litters of kittens and puppies show up, only days or weeks old; and they need soft food for those babies!

Happy girls!

What on the Earth We've Been Doing...

It's been a whirlwind of a three + weeks...and it's not even Christmas yet!

So what on the earth have we been doing?

We started off December at the Zoo Lights with Gramma and Papa Al. 

The next week was Addie's school's Christmas program. Oh my! I'll do another post on this one with pieces of the video we took and more pictures! Loved seeing our girl up there singing her heart out!

Then we jumped into a crazy busy last week of preschool 3's before Christmas break complete with a rockin' class Christmas party! We made gingerbread houses for centerpieces (that we later used at our very own Gingerbread House Decorating party and finally took to the nursing home), Nutter Butter Reindeer cookies, and treats for her sweet teachers! yum!

We ended the week with me taking some Christmas pictures for a friend...

...second shooting a wedding with Allison in Birmingham, and taking more pictures for our friends Chad and Mandy! I'd say that was a photography filled weekend!

And then I did one of the crazier things I've done in a while...hosted no less than 25 kiddos and their sweet mama's for a Gingerbread House Decorating Party. I'm thinking (hoping) it was as much of a success as it appeared to be! (another few posts on this one soon!). We had so much fun spending time with friends!

We had to skip our yearly tradition of the Zoo Lights with Chad, Mandy, and Cady due to rain, but that didn't stop us from heading to the inDoor mall to eat CFA, ride the train and ride the carousel! (thank you iPhone!). Addie and Cady were so sweet to take care of the little girls while riding the train! Love these 4 girls and can't wait for Cady's baby brother to join the fun!

And we all jumped crawled out of bed the next morning, thankfully including my mom, and visited the nursing home where my grandmother was almost 12 years ago. What a beautiful place with some amazing staff and just as amazing residents. We met some wonderful people, shared a few treats with everyone, and our girls were simply delightful, which if you know our girls (or any 3 year or 19 month old for that matter), can be hit or miss! And of course, we delivered the gingerbread houses, both big and small!

I'm pretty sure we bought a few gifts somewhere in there, decorated the house and our little tree that sits somewhat safely in our window seat, and managed to complete a few pinterest inspired crafts with an overly excited 3 year old!

And there you have it. My excuse(s) for blogging in such limited form. Do forgive. I'll get the Thanksgiving in Augusta pictures edited eventually...maybe before we head back for Christmas.

But throughout it all, we've worked to keep our focus on the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. Not for the presents. Not even for the giving. But for the tiny baby who was sent as our Savior, the most amazing gift of all!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:8-11

Compassion

Our precious friends the Lewis' introduced us to Compassion's Child Survival Program when their son Judah suddenly died while waiting in Ethiopia to come home...a year ago today.

They took the hurt, the bad, and the utter devastation and chose to use it for God's glory over and over and over again...

Growing up, I remember the feed the children commercials, the swollen bellies, the cries for help. But what could I do?

I also remember rolling my eyes when I'd hear someone say: 

eat your dinner/don't be wasteful/there are children dying of starvation in such-n-such country.

And i am mortified at my callousness because there were.

And there still are many, many people without enough food or clean water...very basic needs for survival. 

pictures can be worth a thousand words, and the pultzer prize winning photograph by kevin carter does just that. although surrounded by controversy, it raised thousands for relief efforts in the mid 1990's. it is a graphic depiction of the reality we must chose to face.

but the thing is, the extensive lack of basic needs never went away. sure, it got better, but it never went away. the national news has once again chosen to cover the harsh reality of what these families are facing. the current widespread famine caused by the severe drought in Africa is tremendous.

Most of us are not in a position to hop on a plane and go assist these precious children, but we can chose to give. whether we'd like to admit it or not, we have far more than any of those families. our.basic.needs.are.met. there are reputable organizations that immediately funnel donations into these countries and directly to these families. Compassion is one of those organizations.

I watch my little girls, their chubby cheeks and rolly legs, bright eyes and energetic spirits...and i am thankful. I listen to my 3 year old who doesn't want to eat her dinner and gently remind her of the very sick weeping children she happened to see on the news who are in fact...

dying of starvation.

And I know we can choose to make a difference.

Will you...?

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded

Luke 12: 48b

Christmas Morning

Can you guess where Addie is on Christmas morning?

No, not a bus.

No, not driving an 18 wheeler...

Everyone has Christmas traditions. Ours have changed over the years; but now that we have children, we're trying to develop some of our own traditions.

Like breakfast casserole every Christmas morning. 

But we're really trying to move away from the inborn {gimme} mode any child {or adult} finds themselves in.

{Mine}

{More}

{Me}

And while we will of course continue to give {and receive} gifts, we desperately want our girls to hearts to be those of {giving} rather than so much {getting}.

Don't get me wrong. I am not getting all high-and-mighty-and-holier-than-thou.

But this blog is somewhat of a record of our girls lives, and this was a very important part of today.

We're just trying to provide {real life} examples and instill the it's better to give than to receive.

So for the past two Christmas mornings, we have tried to find individuals who are forced to work on Christmas day.

Those who serve us.

And in a {very} small way, try to serve them.

Last year, it was the gate guards at the nearby Air Force Base. Starbucks on a cold morning.

This year, our life group decided to make breakfast for a nearby fire department.

Grits, sausage balls, fruit, bagels, bacon, yummy treats.

And that's how Addie found herself here:

along with a few other members of our life group

and although we had to wake up {i know} the little girls to go, they were happy to be along for the ride

I Peter 4:10

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Please Read

I know you've heard me talk about the our friends the Lewis', but I'm not sure I've shared with you all that their family means to us. Let's just say...it's a lot.

They are such an amazing example of faith, perseverance, and hope. Their strength comes solely from our God; and no matter what they face, they consistently shout praises to our awesome God!

They are in the process of adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. They received their referral about two weeks ago, after many months of waiting. They finally had, in their hands, a picture of what I know must have been the most beautiful little boy! A mere 6 weeks old, barely over 5 pounds, hand picked for their family.

But God had other plans for little Judah, to take him home even before he could meet his forever family. I don't even attempt to understand the why here. I can't even fathom the heartache their family is experiencing right now.

But instead of being angry or depressed, instead of just giving up or giving in, their family is only more determine to ensure Judah did not die in vain. In everything this family does, they seek to glorify God's name; and this is no exception.

Instead of me trying to share with you something that I cannot adequately put into words, I'm asking that you please redirect to their blog and read these two posts:

here

and

here

And then I'm asking that you do something about it! Because we must.

dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 john 3:18

Check It Out: Pearl Ministries

Since today was his first official day on the new job, I feel like I can blog about it. No, I'm not talking about Paul! Our friend's the Lewis' have been carefully listening to God's will for their lives; and they have taken a huge step of faith: Josh has gone on staff full time with Pearl Ministries.

Did you know there are over 147 million orphans worldwide? The main aspect of Pearl Ministries is an orphanage in Uganda called Ranch on Jesus. But I'm not going to waste your time telling you about something Allison knows WAY more about that I do!

So PLEASE head over to Josh and Allison's blog and read about this amazing opportunity that YOU have to help a child literally all the way around the world!

Pearl Ministries is also selling beautiful handmade ornaments at Ornaments4Orphans that benefit these precious children of God. Please make sure to check it out!

Check It Out: Angel Tree

There seems to really be an increased focus on giving this Christmas. I think it's partially because we're so blessed to be surrounded by people who do give to others. I think it's also because giving is way down, and these organizations are desperate to fulfill their primary goal of helping others in need.

I've read a couple of articles recently on making Christmas focused primarily on giving to others and using an advent calendar to come up with ways to give Jesus gifts, because it is His birthday we're celebrating here, right? I don't necessarily agree with everything that was said in each article. We do enjoy Santa and love giving and getting gifts, but we want our children to understand more of what it means to give than to get!

You may remember me posting about a few needs here and here. Since then, Paul and I have come up with a few ideas that our family would like to do. He plans to take Addie to deliver coffee to the gate guards at the air force base where he works on Christmas morning. We're hoping to deliver coffee and bagels to our neighborhood fire station and church office. Again, I don't tell you these things to say look what we're doing. I tell you these things because we want others to get involved! We want others to be blessed by serving. And we want those ever growing needs of precious families around us to be met!

I remember when I was growing up that my mom used to have us pick two angels off the Angel Tree at church. We'd shop for an outfit and a toy for the child and return it to the church for delivery. I'm not sure I completely understood what Angel Tree was, but I do now. And it did teach me a lot about giving to others!

Here's a quick excerpt from their site:

Every child has a story. For 1.5 million American children, that story is filled with the abandonment, loneliness, and shame that comes from having a mom or dad in prison. At Angel Tree, we find ways to reach out to these children, by sharing Christ's love with them at Christmas and by developing year-round relationships. In the end, it's so much more than giving Christmas gifts-it's about restoring families.

As I was listening to the real radio today (because my free Sirius radio has run out), I heard a plea for help from the Angel Tree organization. There are many churches who adopt and commit to sponsoring children, but there are apparently still 50,000 children nationwide who live in rural areas where churches are not sponsoring! That's 50,000 children who might not have a Christmas...at all.

I know. You can say, well it's their parent's fault for landing themself in jail. But...is that the child's fault? Or even the spouses? I seriously doubt it. And is that really the attitude we should have as Christians?

So, I'm asking you to consider visiting their site.

Its way easy to sponsor a child. You can choose the state and the age. You decide how many you'd like to sponsor for a Christmas gift, age appropriate Bible, and a message from their parent who is incarcerated. It was perfect for us because I can't shop right now! I'm so much better, but I still don't have the energy! It's a gift that each of these children more than deserve!

Please consider sharing some ideas your family is doing or has done for others by leaving comments! You can even share them anonymously! I have a feeling another friend might even let me share her post I think she's writing on sponsoring Compassion International Children! It's a wonderful way to share ideas with others, big and small, that cost a little something to nothing at all!

So what are you giving to Jesus for His birthday?

Check It Out: Child's Play Charity

My husband's a bit of a dork. He's the first to admit it. I love him though.

He played video games long after college. Now he works with computers. I'm thankful he's a computer dork. He can make my Macb00k act like a PC with W1ndows (only when site don't have Mac compatible downloads. otherwise, why would I want that? I know!). He has all of our laptops synced to a desktop that doesn't have a monitor but connects to the wireless router, modem, and printer. And they're all locked, password protected, and encrypted.

You get my point.

He isn't quite as into video games as he used to be. We have one system hooked up now instead of three...or four. I'm not sure the last time he actually played it though. But he still enjoys looking at the new games and deciding if he might want to get one, beat it, and sell it back.

So it wasn't a surprise when he found this: Child's Play Charity, a community of gamers making a difference. They work with hospitals around the world to set up Amazon wish lists so others can help! The hospitals ask for games, game systems, toys, books, and videos to both give to patients and keep at the hospitals for patients to use. Items range from $3 crayons to $300 xbox systems! So far this year, they've had over $450 thousand in gifts and contributions, in the first week! Um...oh, and last year they raised 1.4 million. Wow!

We also follow Kate McCrae's blog. She's a five year old who's finishing her 4th of 6 rounds of chemo for a brain tumor. Her family has created Kates Crazy Cool Christmas, in which they are donating Christmas gifts and Bibles to children and families in Phoenix Children's hospital. You can find out more information about it here.

After having been in the hospital for four long days, I cannot imagine being in the hospital either with a child or as a child for weeks and months on end. It's exhausting. There's no privacy; and whether you feel like it or not, there's nothing to do! So many of these children are confined to their rooms because there immune systems are non-existent. I just cannot imagine.

Again, I'm not sharing these to force something on you. In fact, I'm not even asking you to give. I'm just asking you to check them out; and if it touches you, go for it!

What are some things your family is doing for others this Thanksgiving and Christmas?

Preemies

I've somehow found several blogs recently with families who have preemies or micropreemies. Well, actually a few found me! But it's a huge reality with twins, triplets, and higher order multiples!

We pray that our girls (if that's what they remain :) will stay put full term for twins (37 weeks) so that we can avoid the NICU altogether. But the reality is that around 60% of twins are born prematurely. That can mean just days in the NICU or months.

For most families, this turns their world upside down (it sure would mine!). A sweet family in North Carolina has had two babies in the NICU and lost both of them. In memory of their girls, they have started an annual preemie onesie drive. You can read more about their family here and the drive here. There are many online places where you can order preemie clothing and have it sent directly to this family. Their goal last year was to collect 200 pieces...and they collected well over 2,000, resulting in deliveries to over 6 hospitals with NICUs in North Carolina and 3 other deliveries at a later date to the hospital where their girls were! Amazing!

So...if this is something that touches your heart, we'd love for you to join us in sending even just one preemie outfit to this family! Not only will you be blessed, but they will be blessed as well as the family who receives your outfit/s!

The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40