Did you hear the news?! MFFM

MFFM!

Oh happy day!!!

My
Family
Found
Me


Yep! It's true!
I just found out the other night that precious, sweet Miss Maribel's forever family has found her!

I smiled and had tears in my eyes as I read the news.
I wanted to laugh and cry.
Jump and clap.
And even do a little happy dance.

However, I was just so overwhelmed that all I could do was sit there in awe of what this means for Maribel. And whisper a prayer to the One who has answered our prayers and always seems to leave me in awe when He shows Himself faithful.

Than my thoughts started spinning....
Who is this family?
Might they live nearby?
Have they adopted before?

How can I help?
Gotta make a quilt.
Make pillows and wall hangings to sell.
Have a giveaway.
Tell friends & family.
Get that etsy shop going.

I can't wait until Reece's Rainbow has Maribel's family listed on their "New Commitment" page. Hopefully by then the family should have a blog page so we can follow their journey of rescuing sweet Miss Maribel.

Come on friend - do a little happy dance with me. And whisper a prayer of thankfulness to the One who is forever faithful.

Ugly Words

Hey friend, thanks for stopping by. Tomorrow is Mother's Day and my goal was to get a new post up before it arrived. I had also wanted to have pictures of one or two of the items I'm going to be making to sell when I start my Etsy shop.

Life threw me a giant curve however, when on April 16th my daddy, unexpectedly, passed away in his sleep. My focus, emotions and world changed once again. 

Three weeks later we're doing ok and adjusting to life without my daddy being here. We know he's in heaven. We know we'll see him again. We know he's no longer in pain and can see. In fact, he's the first one of us to be greeted by my Kyle as he entered heaven's gates.


So, anyways, as part of the adjusting and it being the day before Mother's Day here's why I'm writing about "ugly words":

.... My Mom is an amazing woman. Her faith is strong and her resolve to adjust to life as a widow is just as strong.  Widow - that word has taken on a whole different sound to me. I hate saying it now. It's not a nice word to say when speaking of my mom. It means she's alone without my dad.

.... Miss Maribel is a little girl who is an orphan. She doesn't have a mommy to give flowers to tomorrow. Orphan - I have begun to really not like that word. It means more than not having parents. It means no cuddles or tickles or kisses. No mommy to read a bedtime story to her. It means she is alone without a mommy.


Both of these ugly words make me sad.
And yet there's not much I can do about it.... or is there?
Honestly, I'm trying to figure that out.

So, for now, I'm thinking the only things I can do
are pray and help in small ways with great love.
{so glad I picked that quote to be part of this blog}
OK - so that is like the third post in a row that I've referenced that quote. Silly me. I promise I won't do it again.
{at least not any time soon}


Mom - I love you bunches! You are not alone.... you've got me. 
 I'm praying for you every day.
Maribel - I love you sweetie! You are not alone.... Jesus is by your side.
 I'm praying that by next Mother's Day you'll have a mommy to give
 flowers to.

Who Me?

Sometimes I feel so silly (even discouraged) thinking I can make any kind of difference with this little place in blog land. Even more outlandish is the dream I have of creating an Etsy shop to help raise money for Maribel's adoption grant and to help advocate for other orphans. 

Who me?
Inspire others to advocate for orphans by writing here in blog land?
I'm really not one to join causes. No marches or sit-ins for me.
I mean, I've never even written my Congressman.

Who me?
Make money by selling items I make? On Etsy?
Just a year ago I didn't even know what an Etsy was.
Can I find any extra time in my day - any day - to make things to sell?

Honestly, it all seems a bit far fetched, silly and like......
....well,  like "just a dream".

However, this dream is just not going away. I can "see" the things I want to make and sell. I can feel the compassion for these little ones who don't have a voice. I have a desire to help families raise funds for their child's adoption.

So friend what do I do?


There are two things that inspire me to keep dreaming.

First, I think of my friend, Lindy - she chases her dreams. She is actually pretty amazing. She's one of those people who doesn't just dream a dream. She makes her dreams happen.

Lindy has a saying on her blog that I just love:
Even if you live to be 100  - life is short.
Do something lasting with yours.

So, who knows?! Maybe my "something lasting" is making this dream of mine a reality. Hey, I've got just less than 50 more years to go until I make it to 100.


There is also the quote of Mother Teresa's that I have at the bottom of my blog:
"Not all of us can do great things.
But we can do small things with great love."

And it's true. Maybe my dream is silly small, but I can do it with great love.


From now on instead of saying - "Who me?"
I'm gonna start saying -  "Yea me!" 
Because, I want to do something with my life. Something lasting that's done with great love.

Dreaming & Praying & Hoping

Hey friend! Thanks for stopping by!

So,  to be honest, I feel a little nervous about my first post here at "Miss Maribel's Place". Kind of silly since I've been writing my other blog - "Finding Hope & Joy" - for a little over a year now.

This new little place of mine in blog land all started because of a sweet little girl named Maribel. Actually, Maribel may not be her given name, but a "screen" name the adoption agency (Reece's Rainbow) uses. I think Maribel is a pretty name. In fact, it's meaning in French means beautiful.

The main focus here at Miss Maribel's Place is all about - dreaming & praying & hoping.  {at least that's how I'm starting out}

So here we go.... are ya ready?


~ Dreaming.....
.... of the day Maribel will have a forever family. I'm dreaming about this little orphan girl who lives half way around the world. I've never met her and have only seen a picture of her - but she has stolen my heart!

~ Praying.....
.... Maribel will be loved and well taken care of until her forever family rescues her. I pray she will grow up healthy and happy. That she will be all that God created her to be. That she will laugh, sing, run and play. And that she will be told that Jesus loves her. Maybe "Jesus Loves Me" will be the first song she learns to sing!
.... that the day will come when these precious little ones will be adopted by the time they turn four instead of going to an institution to live out the rest of their lives.

~ Hoping.....
.... that just as my heart has been broken over the conditions these little ones endure - your heart will be touched as well.  And that you too will choose to help these precious ones.

A lot of times, during the process of writing and editing, I get a clearer understanding of things. This first post has been no different -  I've started to realize that what I'm really, really wanting is change. Change for Maribel, change in how orphans are treated and cared for, change in the adoption process. Change so big that children will not be given up for adoption because of medical issues or social stigmas.

Big change? Yes! 

Possible? Not sure - I know it will take a lot of time, work and effort by a lot of people. 

But, I'm willing to do what I can do, even if it's only a little. And I'll do it with great love.

So friend what do you say? Will you dream and pray and hope with me?