Rescue? Really?!

Hi there friend!

When I first became aware of Reece's Rainbow and started following a few blogs written by  families sharing their adoption journey, I kept reading how these folks were trying so hard to "rescue" their child.

At first, I would think it was a bit dramatic. I mean - Rescue? Really?!

Well, I've come to realize - YES! Really!!

Maybe you don't believe me. Maybe you think I'm the one being dramatic now.

I am a silly goose sometimes {silliest goose in the pond according to hubby}, and I may be a perfectionist {reason it takes me a bazillion edits before I'm satisfied and publish a post}, and I can be quite sarcastic {in my younger adulthood I was the "Queen of Sarcasm" - again, so named by hubby}. But, dramactic? No, not so much.

Anyways, below are three links to blog posts that were written by two mom's who've adopted sweet kiddos from Ukraine in recent years.

They've given these children a family and lots of love. And with just those two basic ingredients the results in these sweet, former orphan's lives have been amazing and miraculous. {OK, a tiny bit dramatic. But, oh so true}

Please - take the time to go to each link. We're looking at maybe 5 minutes of your time.

Thank you!

Ok - take a peek at what Lindy shared about her sweet Gabe HERE. It's a post and pictures about him walking. See the difference from when he was first rescued.

Now it's Summer's turn.  See what she shared in her post  "19 Cribs" by clicking HERE.
And watch this video "Ordinary Miracle" about sweet Lyla by clicking HERE.  I can not help but smile whenever I see a picture of this precious little one.

Thank you Lindy and Summer for allowing me to share a glimpse of your stories and the amazing things God can do, and does, through adoptions.

So, now, I ask myself... .
Rescue?
Really?!

Ummm, YES - these kiddos do need to be rescued! And yes, I want to help.

How about you?
I sure hope your answer is-  YES! Count me in!

That brings me to Reece's Rainbow's 2013 Christmas Angel Tree. Last year hubby and I chose to be an Angel Tree Warrior for sweet Tobie.

This year we did not. Instead, we'll help one (or two.... or more) of the families who have committed to a child listed this year on the Angel Tree page.

There are already over ten sweet ones who's forever families have found them. That's over ten miracles in the making. And you can be blessed by helping - pray, share with others or donate to their adoption grants.

There are so many sweet ones listed on this year's Angel Tree .... so many in need of love. Way too many in need of basic necessities to.... well, just to survive.

So many miracles waiting to happen. Help make a Christmas miracle happen for one of the least of these.

To see the sweet angels on RR's 2013 Christmas Angel Tree click HERE.
 

Love ya friend!

Five Updates

Hi friend!

It sure has been a long time since I've sat and wrote anything here at Miss Maribel's Place. And I'm sorry about that.

I have some updated info on the adoption journeys of the five families that I shared about in my last post.

YAY!

Lyla's (she has the most beautiful green eyes) parents have met, loved, hugged and kissed their sweet one. Their process requires two trips to finalize the adoption. One trip down and one to go before bringing her home. I have so enjoyed following their journey via their blog. Makes me smile every time!

Ian's (the little dude) parents also have to make two trips. They have met their soon to be son and will go back very soon to bring him home to his forever family.

Vitaliy's parents are waiting for a travel date. Unfortunately, because of some trolls {stalkers that stalk RR blogs and say really horrible things} they have made their adoption blog private. So, all I know is their "status" from the RR updates, but not much else.

Evie's forever family is still in the process of raising funds and compiling their dossier. (ie - tons of paperwork) They have also decided to bring home a second child named Langley.

Kory's parents are there now!  They will meet their son this week. His name will be Kole. And they are so very excited to find him (not sure what orphanage or institution he is in), get to know him and bring him HOME!!

Wonderful news for these families don't ya think! Really, really GREAT news for these precious children in need of a forever family.

Mother's Day ~ 2012

Happy Mother's Day 2012!

For Mother's Day  2011, I had shared about two Ugly Words - widow and orphan. It was a hard time and I was just keeping it real.  This year some things are the same and a few have changed. And I'm still gonna share what's on my heart.

It's never my intention to make you feel uncomfortable. Nevertheless, some things in life are hard, sad and wrong. They are the things we'd all like to ignore. Sometimes, the ugliness of it all makes us want to turn our head and close our eyes. And friend, I'm sorry, but sometimes we need to face it and make a difference.

Not quite the Mother's Day post you expected? Sorry about that. Please keep reading and you'll see where I'm going with this.

So, let's go back to those two ugly words from 2011......

Widow ~
Last year I was still in shock after my dad died. It broke my heart to think of my mom as a "widow". This year I don't really think about my mom being a widow. She's my wonderful mom. She's kind and giving. She loves to help and encourage. Yes, she misses my dad terribly, but she's a strong woman of faith. She knows dad is healthy and happy. She knows she'll see him again one day. 

Orphan~
Last year it made me so very sad to think of Maribel being in an orphanage and facing transfer to an institution. This year sweet Miss Maribel is home with her biological mom. So for her, the ugly word "orphan" no longer applies. I imagine her getting kisses, cuddles and hugs. I like to think she has sweet dreams each night after hearing a bed time story. I pray she is happy, healthy and adjusting quickly to her new home.

Thankfully this year the word widow doesn't have such a sting to it.

But orphan?  It will always be an ugly word.

*     1 ugly word
* 147 million orphans in the world
* ???? tears of loneliness
* ????? deaths from neglect

Hard numbers to consider? Yea, I know.
And we have a choice:  close our eyes?  or make a difference?
I vote for make a difference.

How?
Well, there are quite a number of ways.
But, today, I'm gonna suggest that we each help by donating to an orphan's adoption grant.

Because tomorrow is Mother's Day and every child deserves to have a mommy.

Would you do me a favor? Please consider giving something to one of the families at Reece's Rainbow. 

I've linked up to a few of my favorite adoption blogs. All you need to do is click on the child's name and it will bring you to that little one's forever family. Each blog has a donation button of some sort to make it easy to donate. Some families are having virtual fundraisers and giveaways. Oh these parents are so creative in the ways they come up with to raise the funds to bring their sweet son or daughter home.


Evie ~  Ashley & Seth had committed to bring home Maribel and make her part of their sweet family. They than decided to adopt a second little girl named Evie. Even though Maribel has been taken back by her biological mommy they still plan on bringing home Evie and one other sweet one.

Vitaliy ~ I fell in love with this little guy during Reece's Rainbow's annual Christmas tree fundraiser. Isn't he just the sweetest little man you've ever seen? Aaron & Jenny are very busy filling out their paperwork, praying and raising the money to bring this little guy home ASAP.

Lyla ~ What a story this little one has. She's had some heart problems which could have prevented her from being adopted. There was a wonderful  family that was going to adopt her, but then found out they couldn't. God quickly found another family,  Dave & Summer, who have committed to bring her home and be her forever family. What a precious family and an amazing story they've shared on their blog of finding this sweet little one.

Ian ~ This little dude lives in the Bad Place. Really. It's BAD. Please read Jennifer & Jon's story. I can't begin to explain the conditions their son is in. They are courageous in their fight for change and to bring him home.

Kory ~  After bringing home two little guys in 2011, Lindy & Guy are going back to bring this sweetheart home, too. They are just $3000 short and are planning a fundraiser via their blog in the near future.


Evie, Vitaliy, Lyla, Ian and Kory. This Mother's Day they are called orphans. By next year, on Mother's Day, they will give their mommy flowers. They will get hugs and kisses. And that's just the way it should be.


 "External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world." James 1:27 (Amplified)

Hey! Did You See The Rainbow?

I love rainbows! And a double rainbow just makes my heart dance.

I guess I get this from my mom. In fact, since we live only a few miles from each other, more than once we've called each other to say, "Quick! Go look outside and see the beautiful rainbow! It's over to the east."

When it's raining and the sun starts to peek out (which happens pretty often here in the Sunshine State) I start scanning the sky for a rainbow.

Rainbows amaze me as they hang shimmering in the sky. So pretty!
It takes a little bit of dark clouds, a bunch of raindrops, some sunshine....
and wha-lah!  ....
all those colors lined up to form a bow in the sky!

It also amazes me how many people just don't see it.
They never look up.
They don't venture outside.
They keep driving. {Well, ok, when driving it's good to keep eyes on the road.}

Maybe they just don't care.


Well, today, I was looking at a different rainbow and it's gotten me thinking........

You see friend, I was watching a video at Reece's Rainbow.

I love looking at the beautiful "rainbow" of children featured there. Wanna know what gets my heart dancing? Seeing that another sweet one's "forever family" has found them. Love the "My Family Found Me" page.

So, how about you think of this post as me calling you and saying, "Quick! Go look on Reece's Rainbow and see the beautiful ministry video they have there. It's on the right side of the homepage."

Please, look up .... look up www.reecesrainbow.org
Please do venture outside .... outside of your comfort zone.
Please don't keep "driving" ..... put it in "park" and check it out.

You do care, don't you? Yea, I know you do.

So could you pray for these little ones? Share on Facebook? Send a donation to Reece's Rainbow or a family's adoption fund? Or maybe even consider rescuing one of these precious little ones and give them a family.

My heart would just about be doing cartwheels if I saw you on the MFFM page!!

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.