My friends are CrAzY!!!

But one stands head and shoulders above the rest: 

Renee.
She is one CrAzY CaJuN!

Right now, my CrAzY CaJuN friend is having a crazy fun chance to win some jewelry and humiliate some gals and guys who may or may not deserve it.

Why is my CrAzY CaJuN friend doing this? Why are those gals agreeing to help her?

Grab This!

You probably could have guessed why.

Renee is CrAzY in LoVe with PaIsLeY!!

Renee has been working so hard to bring Paisley home, cooking up a storm, saving pennies (and a whole lot more) but those international adoptions don't come cheap so she and her husband and some ZaNy FrIeNdS came up with this lovely giveaway.

Wanna see what you might win for the low, low donation of a mere $5? $5 that gets Renee that much closer to Paisley, that is.

Well, here ya go:

Aren't those gorgeous?

Now that I've tempted you with goodies, go over and read about the ways your $5 (or more...much more) could go toward humiliating some deserving (or not) people. That may be better than jewelry, but maybe that's just me.

Why are you still reading?

GO!!

(Click on any of the red words--get going!)

I'm having a giveaway!!!

I'm killing two birds with one stone with this giveaway. It's sort of complicated, for a giveaway and all, so read through it and see if you can participate!!

The first bird:  One of my dear friends in the adoption world, Laura Lu, had a very quick adoption happen earlier this year. It happened fast due to the earthquake in Haiti; their son was made available much more quickly than would normally happen in a Haitian adoption and they weren't yet prepared for the costs.

Zane is actually their second adopted son. Their first son was a domestic adoption. I have rarely seen a family work so hard to raise the funds for an adoption. Among other things, Laura's husband took an evening job delivering pizzas. I'll never forget the night of her birthday when he had to work. He showed up at their door with a pizza for Laura and their girls, a quick kiss and then he was gone. I still tear up thinking about the sacrifice and devotion. I share this because they are not the type to sit back and beg for help but this time around they simply didn't have the time to get their money together.

Laura is an accomplished photographer with a rare sense of artistry. She is having a fundraiser that features several beautiful photographs, some with scriptures or a quote, for sale in either an 8 X 10 or 11 X 14 size. Please go look now! I don't want to copy them without her permission. You can read about their adoption there, too. (And please, feel free to buy one yourself without waiting to see if you've won here!)

I AM GIVING AWAY ONE OF HER PICTURES!
(plus something else, but you'll have to read to the end to find out what)The second bird:  I volunteered to be the Christmas Warrior for Sophia C, the beautiful little girl pictured below. (Newly discovered pictures of her!!) I am hoping to raise $1000 to help defray the adoption costs and get her home more quickly.

Soooooo, if you'd like to be entered in the giveaway for Laura Lu's beautiful photographs (your choice of size and image), please give a donation of $10 or more to Sophia via the ChipIn I now have at the top of my blog. If you have never used a ChipIn before I can assure you it is very easy and it will walk you through the steps. Your donation will go straight to Sophia's account with Reece's Rainbow. I don't ever see a penny of it. As I have mentioned previously, donations of $35 or more will also get you a Reece's Rainbow Christmas ornament with Sophia's picture on it.

So that's my plan. You donate to Sophia C's chipin at the top of my blog and you are thereby entered into my giveaway for one of Laura Lu's photographs PLUS a copy of Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream. (Not that the pot wasn't sweet enough with a gorgeous photograph, but I just couldn't resist giving away that book, as Laura and her family so beautifully exemplify the ideals contained in it.)

I will draw the winner on December 1, 2010.

Thank you for reading, thank you for (hopefully!) sharing, and thank you for participating if you are able. I hope you win!!

I Beg to Differ... or... Not so Much

When I begged offered to guest post on Jill's blog my first thoughts were 'I wonder if it will make her feel she has to extend that invitation to me since I posted it on facebook'. Well, it worked!

My second thought (for some this sentence in and of itself will bring much oohing and ahhing to know that I indeed am able to have more than one thought at any given moment) was 'Yay! She said I could post on her blog!' which was quickly followed by a third thought 'oh great... WHAT will I say??'

She did remind me it was Down Syndrome Awareness Month. I didn't have the heart to correct her with ... 'in the US'. Here in the UK we have Down's Syndrome Awareness WEEK in June. Yes, that is correct, we dedicate an entire WEEK to promoting and raising awareness for children with DS. Wow, an entire week. We're stingy generous like that.

And whilst people who aren't adopting children from Eastern Europe and say they are my friends and would love to meet us in person flock to London for fashion and art and driving on the proper side of the road, apparently they aren't coming here to celebrate DS Week. And likely not to speak proper English either (I've said too many times that there is English and there is American. They are not the same language)






I've been told it is because in the UK we're just nicer and people with special needs are naturally integrated into society more. If you don't believe me, watch this short video by the King of Lovely (a country in a flat in London) [yes, I've posted this before... but it's a catchy tune!]






So, finally onto my 4th thought. A list. If someone gives you the opportunity to write on their blog, make a list. Use lots of  points, subpoints and use humorous anecdotes to make your point.

So, I'm writing a list for you. Just barely on the fringe of the topic of Down Syndrome...not that many points... nor a single subpoint and unless you are in my family, probably not that humorous. Ah yes, my brilliant husband has just piped in that the family really aren't laughing a whole lot either.


Ways Children with Down Syndrome are the Same as Typical Children

1. Refusing to tidy up. Yes, they are no more likely to tidy a room than a child without DS.

Yeah, probably not my child

This is more like it...

2. Emotions. Yes, they have them. Not just one... not all joy all day every day. I have the bruises to prove it... (of course I'm joking. Little Poppet would never after watching Pingu hitting his sister with a spoon then grab one of her spoons and hit me)







3. Potty Training. I'll get back to you on this one when I can be bothered to attempt it. So far, I consider it quite the achievement to have potty trained my husband. He's a typical man. (Again, he's piped in with the notion that he came trained)

Being British we don't just have a porcelain throne

 (if you already read my blog you may remember this 'quote' from this post in April of 2009)

Have I mentioned that we are 'on the cusp' of potty training? Realistically I could have started this ages ago. Little Poppet has made me aware in one way or another that she was ready for a 'change' for a very long time. But being the brilliant Mum that I am, I procrastinate waited to be sure I she was ready.

Or perhaps this quote also from 2009

We did purchase a little potty chair for her. I showed it to her and  told her that she would get to go potty on it. Yeah, she got it. She  immediately grabbed it and started filling it with her toys. Boy will  she be offended when I tell her what to really put in it.

So, it is fair to say that it is a reflection of my parenting more than anything...

4. Eating. I can't really blame anyone for turning their nose up at my cooking and it comes as no surprise that there isn't a difference here either.

Even I recommend a hazmat suit when handling my cooking

5. Children with DS are always well behaved when out. No different to typical kids here. They save all their poor behaviour for Mum. Not even for Dad, just Mum. Grandparents think you are lying when you describe any of their antics. It confirms to them that  you were the worst child on earth and the fact your offspring are so well mannered proves to them it wasn't their fault.

6. TV or telly as we like to say here. From what I can tell, there is no difference here either. ALL kids like to watch the telly with their noses touching the screen apparently. Which is why we don't allow the telly on very much.
(I'll spare you the video here, just a matter of principle)

7. Energy. There is a thought that kids with DS don't have as much energy as typical children. Yes, tell me that when I'm chasing my daughter around the house and catching her mid air when she leaps off the sofa. She is in super hero training. Problem is she doesn't have the cape yet so until such a time, I have to keep my eyes peeled and arms ready. I generally don't carry anything breakable anywhere in the house just in case I need to drop it to catch Little Flying Poppet. (to order your own super hero cape, click that link up there)
 

 

8. Shoes. Girls women I love shoes. My daughter is no different. I think she has more shoes than I do right now. And not that I'm complaining much but mine don't sparkle or light up when I take a step.
 
9.  Toys. My daughter loves new toys. All kids love new toys. They all break the most expensive ones within days of getting them and they all lose pieces of jigsaw puzzles. And they all get bored with the new ones far too soon for our wallet, anyway.

10. Daddy. Little girls, whether typical or not ALL have the ability to get Daddy wrapped around their little finger. I think they learn this watching their Mummy. What can I say? The Mr. is wrapped around BOTH of his girl's little fingers! :D We'd not have it any other way!

So there you have it. Ten very scientific and highly qualified facts about how typical children and children with DS are the same. And to my mind, the ways they aren't the same are what make children with DS all the better! :DAnd now, I end with a message about being nice from the King of Lovely, Danny Wallace.
Thank you, Lu of Poppies Blooming, for your lovely guest post.  You are welcome to make a list for my blog anytime!

Memorial Box Monday--O Canada! part 3

Well...so I didn't exactly get back on the MBM track in a timely fashion. When we left off (four weeks ago) I had mentioned the home God found for us and the garage sale He used to get us moved. I didn't, however, mention friends.

Yes, God moved our hearts to go to Calgary but He also moved the hearts of our friends to help us. One of John's dear friends loaded his own family of 4 into their SUV and pulled one of the Uhauls for us. We took a week to get there, as I mentioned, they stayed a day with us and helped us unpack, then took off for home. What troopers!! What generous hearts!! They paid for their own way and helped at every turn. What a blessing!!

God also moved the hearts of other friends to bless us financially. We entered Canada on a visitor's visa. This meant we could live like Canadians for the most part, but were not able to hold a paying job. John's plan from the beginning was to commute to Fort Worth about twice/month for court dates and hopefully to meet with clients. Nonetheless, a significant portion of his income was going to stop when we hit Canada. Thankfully, we had friends who listened to God and helped us.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention another person God used to help us as we moved. When we arrived in Canada we had to meet to close on our house. Now, I am not going to be able to give a great description of what went wrong, but it may have been something like our loan not fully funding. At any rate, we needed a significant amount of money to close on the house and it wasn't showing up.

As this was unfolding, we had been speaking with one of the men at this meeting and telling him all about God's amazing plan to move us to Calgary. He, in turn, was telling us all about God's amazing plan to have him build a Christian retreat for weary pastors. When we were told about the mortgage company's amazing plan to stop the closing and try again another day, we quickly found out that God had yet another amazing plan up His sleeve. The man (and forgive me; I cannot for the life of me imagine what his job was) said he would vouch for us and the money.

He didn't actually have to come up with the money himself, but was saying that if it didn't fund by next Monday (I think this was a Friday) then he would be responsible for it! If he hadn't done that it would've meant a weekend in hotels with a bunch of kids who were a bit saddle-sore. Instead, God used this situation to strengthen our faith as well as the man who vouched for us. The money did come through, the man was relieved of his kind responsibility and we were able to spend the weekend in our new home!

One other person who must be mentioned: my mom! Anna was only 9 months old at the time we moved and Mom kept her while we drove to Canada then flew up with Anna the day we moved in. She also stayed a week and helped me unpack! As with our friends who helped us move, she did it all on her own dime.

I am not one who loves asking for nor accepting help (except from family, bless their hearts!). Nonetheless, God humbles us, makes us needy, vulnerable and wrests the controls right out of our hands so that we must accept help from others and from Him (and really, I have to believe He sends all the help our way by inclining the hearts of those around us to help).

Next time...hmmm...who we helped and who helped us while in Calgary. As is usual with God, He sent us thinking we were going to help and instead we were the ones helped, ministered to, taught and loved. You have to love a God like that!

I feel like I had a visit from the Queen!

And in a way, I did! I have been blessed by a couple of comments from Sarah, a 20 year old young lady with her own blog! Click on the link and see why I think it's such a wonderful thing to have someone with such a popular blog visit my little ol' blog.

Thanks for dropping by and commenting, Sarah!! I hope you had a Merry Christmas!!!

New friends!

Once upon a time, I thought you should never meet people you only knew online. Some people, though, are too fantastic to miss, and Charissa and her family are some of those wonderful people. They planned a vacation to the DFW area and were kind enough to drive down to see us, too.

Charissa and her husband had four gorgeous children and decided child #5 was going to have Down Syndrome and would be adopted. They eventually decided on a tiny, frail, beautiful little girl whose future was more bleak than most people would want to read. With days to spare before she would be sentenced to an abbreviated life in a mental institution, the Urbans swooped in and brought her into life in their glorious and fun family. They are working so hard to overcome the fairly severe delays that life in an orphanage brought to little Miss Ava, and Ava is doing her part by blossoming in their loving care. It has been a privilege to watch, and even more of a privilege to meet them and their equally kind children.

If this picture looks chaotic it's only because there are TWELVE kids crammed on the couch. Actually, other than Ella biting their little girl Hope without about 10 seconds of their arrival, it wasn't as chaotic as 12 kids might suggest. It was a fun day before Easter and we all hope to see them again soon.