FIRE!

Unfortunately, this is not a post announcing that my husband has landed a dream job as a career firefighter - that post will come one day soon.  This is to advocate for the fire happening on Sarah's blog.

I have so many blessings - a home, a reliable car, a healthy family.  Tonight there were 4 pots of food on the stove and there are leftovers for tomorrow.  Lily went to bed after a nice bath and a full tummy and a lullaby.  Hannah will be in bed shortly, after we play a game together.
They get fussed at, disciplined, and sent to their rooms, but they know my love and the love of their daddy every day.  Plus the love of the grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, and God.
They learn each day that we can't always get what we want and sometimes life stinks, but we are blessed and we're all OK.
Somedays I wish for more and so do they, but in the words of Renee Tam, at the end of the day, "I still have what I have.  I still don't have what I don't have.  But I am still very thankful for all of His blessings.

Now for the downer, there 147 million orphans in the world who don't know all this.  There is one that I am trying to help come home.  I am not her mother.  The White family is waiting for her.  Sarah and Todd and her three big brothers.  Elisha has Down's Syndrome.  She lives in Eastern Europe in an orphanage.  When she was born, her birth parents were told she was "broken" and that a baby house was the best place for her.  In her orphanage, she lives in a crib.  She has no one to comfort her when she is hurt or sick.  She gets fed on a schedule and her diaper changed, but that's about it.  She doesn't get to celebrate her birthday or get gifts.  She doesn't have things to call her own.  Elisha's family is coming for her, but if they didn't, when she turns five, she would be sent to live in an adult mental institution where she would be sedated and left in a crib until the day she died, never knowing human love or God's love.  It sounds horrible - I want to turn away from this bad news and think it can't really be all that bad, but it is the reality of her life and so many other children without families.  (If you want to know more about rescuing these children, please visit www.reecesrainbow.org)

Back to having fun - a fire has started - a wildfire auction.  In this auction, you get to give away items you don't need - a giftcard to a place you rarely visit, a book in great shape that you won't read again, a nice decorative item, something you bake/sew/paint/make - and you get to get something you really want (delicious baked goods, giftcards to places you do go, shopping at an etsy shop - there's really no way to know what you might get).  In the meantime, you make a small donation that will help bring Elisha home to her forever family so that she can know love.

Sarah's blog is ON FIRE!
All the details are over on Sarah's blog

Here's how it works:

I'm going to post something up for grabs for just $1.

The first person to claim the item (under comments) wins the item, BUT they also have to offer something for the next amount ($2.)

Someone else can then comment to claim the $2 item, but THEY must then offer something up for $3.

It keeps going as long as we keep having fun!

In order to win, you have to be the first to comment, as well as have your item claimed by someone.

CONFUSED? Here's an example:

Example:    THE $1 ITEM IS A $5 STARBUCKS GIFTCARD. LET THE WILDFIRE BEGIN!
Jenni comments: "SOLD for $1 AND a Lia Sophia Necklace!"
                  THE $2 ITEM IS A LIA SOPHIA NECKLACE.
Bree is the first to comment: "SOLD for $2 plus a pack of Huggies diapers"
                  THE $3 ITEM IS A PACK OF HUGGIES DIAPERS.
Tammi comments: "SOLD for $3 and a $25 gift card to my Ooga Booga Etsy Shop"
                  THE $4 ITEM IS A $25 OOGA BOOGA ETSY GIFT CARD.

So, Jenni wins the Starbucks card, Bree wins the necklace, Tammi wins the diapers, and the next person to comment wins the Ooga Booga card. Easy enough, right?

Get ready for the fire!

No more what-ifs

For years it seems, I've been saying things would be better if only ....
If only we had more money
If only we had a cleaner house
If only ......

A few weeks ago I made the decision that I was going to be happy and quit worrying about everything else.  I also decided to open myself up to receive a "God-sized" bucket of blessings.  Whatever blessings are out there for my family, I know have the capacity to receive.  And ever since then everything else is falling into place.  And someone else worded the no more what-ifs idea better than me:

I'm not going to allow the what-ifs to rob me of the joy of what is!

Positive Outlook :)

I was watching the news this morning in the few peaceful moments I had, and there was a story on living to be 100.  I have a 96 year-old grandmother who was living very healthfully and independently until a little over a year ago.  I'm sure she could give me some pointers on how to live a long and healthy life, but the theme of the news story was that a positive outlook can be a key factor in a long and healthy life.

I am making a determined effort to have a more positive outlook and enjoy my moments with these blessings in my life. 

I also read a story this morning about mothers who realized they weren't trapped in their lives and left their children and "now their relationships have improved."  Being a mom is HARD WORK, but it's the work that I have chosen and God has given to me.  Walking away is not an option and while I try to be open-minded, I don't understand how these women left their children (who were not babies, but 3, 5, 7, 11, even teenagers) to go off and "fulfill their own dreams."  This is the dream - motherhood - some parts are scary, but it is a wonderful gift.

This life is not easy - but a positive outlook can make it better.

(And I've also got to commit to taking more pictures of these sweet girls - I think I will never forget these moments, but I'm sure they will become blurry with time.)