It's been a while! - Reece's Rainbow Baby Shower Update

Sorry it's been a while since I've blogged! I've been very busy preparing for Christmas and also for Kaisa's arrival. Only a few weeks left!

I thought I'd give an update on my highly successful baby shower last month! I was worried that not many people would be able to make it on such short notice, but the party was hoppin'! I don't think another body would have fit in my friend Laura's house! Not comfortably at least. Three lovely ladies who are very special to me, Laura, Sara and Talia, worked together to make Kaisa's baby shower truly special. It was amazing to me how you 3, and everyone else who participated, were able to not only celebrate Kaisa's life, and make me feel oh so loved, but also bless 2 little orphans in the process! I'd call that a success, wouldn't you?! Before the shower Marnie's adoption grant on Reece's Rainbow read $306. After we sent in all your donations (along with online donations sent in) her grant read $437.50! Before the shower Samuel's adoption grant stood at $157. Afterward he now has $306.50! I find that completely amazing, and I am so thankful to all of you who were able to give. Look at how God took a small group of people and multiplied their pennies to bless these two precious ones. It never fails to amaze me how God does that! We often think we have so little to give, what is the point? But I think we are actually missing the point entirely. God actually calls believers to give generously to those in need, to defend the cause of the widow and the orphan, to embrace the little children and not hinder them... and even if we have very little in the way of money to give, God can use it! He can multiply it! Just like Jesus did with the loaves and fishes:

Matthew 14:14-21

¹⁴ When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵ Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” ¹⁷ They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

This same story is retold in John 6, and there it says the loaves and fishes were a small boys lunch, but he gladly handed it over to the disciples. One child gave sacrificially and Jesus used his gift to bless more than 5,000 people. And had 12 baskets of leftovers! I think we could all do well to remember that God takes our small gifts, and multiplies them. This also brings to mind these verses:

Mark 12:41-44

⁴¹ And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.^{[a] 43} And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. ⁴⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

The Lord knows our circumstances, He knows whether we give out of plenty or out of poverty, and he blesses our gifts, donations, and tithes accordingly.

All that to say that I am so grateful for the generosity of all of you! You showed the love and generous spirit of Christ to me and to the "least of these", my sweet prayer warrior kiddos, Marnie and Samuel. Thank you all!

Please also continue to pray for them to find a family soon! The fact that they will spend another Christmas in an orphanage is heart breaking. I pray that by next Christmas they will be home with their forever families! For those who would like to see their beautiful faces again and read their profiles, here are their links:

http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=Marnie

http://reecesrainbow.org/4586/samuel-3-2

And for fun here are a few pictures from the shower! These are all from my sister in law Talia, I didn't take any myself. If any of you have cute pictures from the shower on your camera or phone, please share!

[caption id="attachment_105" align="aligncenter" width="610"] Me after a shower game, where someone would say something about how we met, or something nice about me and then decorate me with a sticker or bow. :)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_106" align="aligncenter" width="610"] Another fun shower game where you have to draw a picture of a baby on a paper plate that is on top of your head![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_107" align="aligncenter" width="610"] My awesome sister in law and mother in law playing the paper plate game.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_108" align="aligncenter" width="610"] Debbie's (Mother in law) plate on the left. Talia's (sister in law) on right. Hehe.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_109" align="aligncenter" width="610"] Cana thoroughly enjoying her cupcake. Apparently she had 3.[/caption]

My favorite keepsake from the shower:

[caption id="attachment_110" align="aligncenter" width="610"] Filled out with help from Aunt Talia. I will keep this forever![/caption]



Several other guests filled out wishes for Kaisa, and I cried when I read them. They are all so sweet and beautiful. We will treasure them always! Thank you everyone!

Baby Shower! Anyone and Everyone can Participate! - Reece's Rainbow Cuties

This Sunday is Kaisa's baby shower. But it won't be your typical shower. I wanted to do something different, something special... and at the same time, I felt guilty about having a baby shower at all seeing as how this is my 4th child, and we really don't need anything for her! But my lovely friends Laura and Sara conspired to throw me a shower anyway. At first they suggested making it a Pamper Party for me since Kaisa didn't need anything. That was a very thoughtful suggestion, but I didn't really feel right about that either. Then I had a thought. What if we could celebrate Kaisa, AND do something good for someone in need? And I knew just the 2 little people I wanted to help out. You see, in September, Cana and I became prayer warriors through Reece's Rainbow for 2 orphans halfway across the world who have Down Syndrome. Caden and Ovalyn. We committed to pray for them every night, and every night we did pray. We put up a picture of their sweet faces on our wall map, and they would come up in conversation from time to time. Cana was particularly fond of little Ovalyn and asked more than once if we could bring her home. She's such a sweet girl.

So, my thought was that in lieu of gifts, a donation be made to Caden or Ovalyn's adoption grants on Reece's Rainbow. Yesterday however, I checked on both Caden and Ovalyn's links and neither were working. I didn't know what to think, so I hurriedly sent off a few messages to the wonderful folks at Reece's Rainbow and very quickly got a response that unfortunately the region that they are living in has recently closed to American adoptions, and therefore they no longer have open files, and there is no way to donate to their adoption grants. My heart sank. Not only because of my upcoming baby shower plans, but mostly because of those two sweet little faces that Cana and I have grown so attached to, and all of the other orphans living in their region. No longer accepting American adoption will drastically reduce the chance that they will be adopted. Which just makes my heart hurt for them. I can only console myself that our Father in Heaven knows them and loves them, much more than I do. I continue to pray that they find a forever family, even though, now I will likely never know their outcome. Here are their little faces. Please pray for them?





And so, even though I can obviously continue to pray for them, I was set up with new prayer warrior kids whose profiles are active and I can check in on them and donate to their adoption grants. Though I am sad that I cannot bless Caden and Ovalyn in a tangible way now, I am glad to be set up with two new precious little ones through the Prayer Warrior program on Reece's Rainbow, and I hope and pray that this baby shower can in some small way, bless them and spread awareness to the plight of the orphan. Now, I am happy to introduce you to Marnie, and Samuel!





Aren't they precious? Little Marnie was born the same month and year as Cana. Please visit their profiles here to learn more about them:

http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=Marnie

http://reecesrainbow.org/4586/samuel-3-2

These little children, who are so treasured in the eyes of God, are orphans because they were born with an extra chromosome. They deserve a loving family, just as much as my own children do, and it pains me to think of them spending most of their time in an orphanage crib, getting the bare minimum for survival, simply because they have a tiny extra chromosome. A little something special.

Friends and family, near and far, please consider these sweet faces. If you are so inclined, would you consider praying for them? Sending a tax deductible donation to their adoption grants on Reece's Rainbow? Spread the word about them, advocate for them? Know anyone interested in adoption? Perhaps you have a little extra room in your home and heart? Every prayer and penny counts. Anyone can easily participate in my baby shower by doing one of these things for little Marnie and Samuel. Donations can be made online, or sent in via check. Pray for them, or share their links on your Facebook or blog anytime! It would mean so much to me if my friends and family would take a moment and bless one or both of these little treasures. Kaisa and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts! :)

And just a last word on the baby shower. My local family and friends who were to be invited were supposed to be receiving invitations in the mail, but because of some planning mix-ups they were not sent. I am trying to fill in as many as possible through Facebook messages and texts. I fear very few will be able to attend the actual shower in person because of the short notice, but the great thing about this baby shower is that you can participate from near or far! :)





Edited to add:

Marnie also has an Angel Tree Warrior! That means if anyone wants to make a donation of $35 or more to Marnie, you can follow this link and get an Angel Tree ornament.
http://static.reecesrainbow.org/angeltree2012/

Just click the link and scroll down the the section that says "$100-$499 Raised" (so far her Angel Tree warrior has raised $306 for Marnie!), Find little Marnie's face and hover over the donate button just below her name. A box will pop up that says, "Buy Ornament $35" or "Just Donate".