20 more days ~ a giveaway!

There are 20 more days in December. 20 more days in 2009. There are also 20 more days left for the Reece's Rainbow angel tree.

When I committed to being Maxim's Christmas warrior my goal was to raise $1000 for him before the end of the year. Time is a wastin' so I thought this would be a great time to do a giveaway.

Ta-Da!

I'm giving away a copy of The Christmas Sweater! If you haven't heard, it's a sweet Christmas read. Leave me a nice comment here for a chance to win. If you make a suggested gift of $10 to Maxim's chip-in you'll enjoy a warm fuzzy feeling, too. Double your chances if you share the love by posting this giveaway on your blog.

Giving things away makes me feel like Santa! Ho-Ho-Ho! 

When it gets cold...

Oh! It has been so very cold here this week. This kind of weather makes me want to...well...make something! Sometimes I get the urge to bake bread or make a huge pot of soup. Sometimes I like to sew.

This week I broke out the old knitting needles. Actually, I bought some shiny new double pointed needles with a Hobby Lobby gift card that I won.

See if you can figure out what I'm making. Any guesses? Brownie points if you get it right!

Last Christmas, nope the year before last Christmas, (wow, does time fly?) I found some pretty nubby, fuzzy, purple yarn. I bought it and used it to make a scarf for my mom-in-law. I didn't know that her sister-in-law made her a hat out of the very same, exact yarn! We got a good laugh out of that on Christmas morning.

What kind of things do you do when the weather turns cold?

My Christmas wish...

I've been meaning to write about Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree. (If you know me at all you know that this Down Syndrome adoption ministry is close to my heart.) I just haven't been able to keep up with all the fantastic happenings! It is really a great problem to have, isn't it? I'm going to try to catch up now.

Since the first of November, 29 children have new commitments. Wow! In these tough times there are people who are willing to take a great financial leap of faith.

There have been some dramatic commitment stories to tell of kids who were days away from transfer from baby homes to mental institutions. There are a couple of kids who have grant funds that are exploding! They will have committed families before this week is over, I'll bet.

I can't fail to mention the Darya Project. What an incredible story of faith and love. An 11 year old girl was motivated by her love for God to raise $20,000 in just over a week so that her family could rescue a sweet girl with DS. It touches me that there are people out there who love these kids as much, or more, than me. Sometimes it feels like nobody even cares.

Here is some more good news...one of the children on the angel tree has been rescued by his birth family! They have or will soon be taking him home from the orphanage. This is unheard of. But it is what we are aiming for. It wasn't that long ago that babies with DS were routinely institutionalized in the U.S.A. Perhaps the time is coming where children with disabilities are not hidden away in shame but cared for by their loving parents and supported in their own communities...all over the world.

So how is my commitment to raise $1000 for Maxim going? Not bad, considering I'm not doing a giveaway or anything. I've raised $150 at about the halfway point, with the promise of a few more gifts on the way. I have asked many of my friends to be a "drop in the bucket" by contributing $10 if they can. Of course, those that give $35 or more before December 15 will get a beautiful Reece's Rainbow Christmas tree ornament.

An older photo of Maxim. I don't care what anyone says, I think he is a DOLL!

I'm thinking of some other things that I can do to build up Maxim's grant fund. This is a boy who has ALREADY been transferred to a mental institution. He NEEDS a family to commit to him as soon as possible. There is a family out there for him. Somewhere. Where are they? 

Wait. What if it is us? How do I know? Leslie is one woman who "gets" me. She recently wrote that what she wants for Christmas is for her Reece's Rainbow prayer child to have a home. I would be so pleased if Maxim would have a family. (Sure, I'd like it to be ours in case you are wondering.) That would make for a pretty wonderful Christmas! 

Since my oldest son was gone hunting and my 14 year old was at a wresting tournament in another state Saturday morning, we decided to go out to eat! It's always nice when we can get by without paying for those two additional "adults." Plus, my husband found a coupon for a popular buffet place. I'm getting that hubby trained right, I tell ya. 

I guess we haven't been out to eat for a long time because Ralph didn't really know how to act. *sigh* I hate hate hate spending money on restaurants, but my little handsome boy needs to learn some restaurant manners. I guess it is just easier to ignore poor manners at home.

What a turkey.

The real problem is that he likes to drink. like. a. fish. He only wanted to drink milk, tea, water...whatever drink he could see on the table he wanted. And he wanted it immediately. How can a little guy drink so much? That can't be healthy, especially for his wee little heart. I need to remember to ask the cardiologist about this when we see him next month.

Today I asked hubs to clean off the top of the fridge. Just a little honey-do thing, right? Oh what treasure was found! First of all lots of change for the adoption jar. All kinds of suckers for the kids. Lots of hotel room keys. Hubs makes me cut them up in case any of our information is on the magnetic strip. 

Then he handed me another room key...wait a minute, no! A gift card! I've been looking for that gift card ever since last Christmas!! There was a 888 number on the back to check the balance, so I called. Yep, $50. 

So I got to go out to eat tonight. Eating out two days in a row! I feel like royalty. 

braggin'

Ralph likes to imitate...well, everyone doing everything! He slips into my chair as fast as lightening and starts clicking on my computer mouse! He sneaks into the laundry room to start a load. So when Leroy was drawing yesterday, Ralph wanted to color, too.

He chose a pencil to begin with. I was pretty impressed with his ability to hold it. I took about 25 photos trying to get a good view of his pencil grip.

What intense concentration! You know, children with Down Syndrome often have difficulty with hand strength and holding a pencil can be challenging. I used hand over hand technique to help him draw and name different shapes.

Now, moving on to the purple crayon.

More imitation! Ralph put on Leroy's socks and shoes. The he grabbed his play purse and started throwing me kisses. (That means good-bye!)

I need to brag about Chipper for a minute. He had his first wrestling meet of the season today. He brought home this massive 4th place medal.

I've never seen anything like it! It's heavy. You could hurt someone with it. Wow.

So proud!

Do you ever make to-do lists? Of course, everyone does, right?

I've been very focused (OCD?) lately and it has manifested, in part, in me making lists. The problem is that there are a few items that have become semi-permanent fixtures on each successive list!

I'm pretty proud that I knocked a couple of those pesky little things off today. (Amy, your blanket is finally on it's way.) OK, one is only half-done. I don't know what took me so long. 

I actually enjoy going through EVERY closet and EVERY piece of clothing. I could do it all day, if I didn't have to stop and make lunch, nurse Ruby, etc. I'm gathering every piece of baby clothing that I can bear to give away and boxing it all up for the Treehouse. They are a wonderful, life affirming organization that supports moms and babies in need.

The following items are needed to stock the Treehouse.
Diapers (size 1)
Baby shampoo and bath lotion
Baby bath towels
Bottles (5 oz. and 9 oz.)
Gowns with drawstrings
Baby wipes
Pacifiers
Baby blankets
Bibs
Onesies or t-shirts
Socks
Sleepers
Safety plugs
Gender outfits
Cans of formula

If you live in the Wichita, KS area, won't you consider donating some items to the Treehouse?

There are a couple of really hard things left on the list. Uggh. I think I'll just sit back and enjoy my little victory tonight. I'll think about those other things tomorrow!

Ralphie photo fest!

Ralph is trying to find Wesley's belly button! 

They are really good friends! 

Ralph is ready to sing in Church with the rest of the pre-k kids.

We were early for music class Monday so we played in the hall. I don't know how he knows what to do with mittens because I've never made him wear any.

Honk! Honk!

The pre-k program is located at...the high school? Whatever. Ralph loved looking at and playing with the lockers.