Scrapbook Giveaway for Tonya

For those of you who have known me (here or IRL for at least 6 months), you are familiar with precious Tonya.  She is a beautiful little girl living in an orphanage in Eastern Europe waiting for her forever family to come get her.  I started praying for her in the Fall of 2008.  Rebecca wanted to sponsor a child for her 13th birthday in lieu of getting gifts.  We looked over the pictures and chose Tonya.  She was getting older (3+) and there wasn't a family interested in her (that we knew of). 

Rebecca donated her money and we began to pray for her daily and to support her fund all in hopes of helping her to find a family.  As we did this over many months, we fell in love with this beautiful child.  While I had hoped that she might join our family, this was not to be.  Another precious family has committed to bring her home.  I'm blessed that Nicole (Tonya's mom) and I have gotten to know each other via email.  I'm thrilled to be able to be a small part of her life - and do hope that we'll be able to meet in real life one day! 

The Niemiec family has been working to raise funds to bring Tonya home.  This is a tough and daunting job as the cost of an adoption often costs $24,000 or more.  Will you join me in helping to bring Tonya home?  I know she will thrive and grow as a part of the Niemiec family.  They hope to be travelling soon to get sweet Tonya. 

Here are the rules for the giveaway.  If you would like to donate money to their fund, you can do so in one of two ways - chip-in or check sent in the mail.   

1.  You will be entered into the drawing 1 time for each $5 donation you make.  The minimum donation using chip-in is $10.  If you want to make a donation smaller than $10, please mail a check to the following address:

Reece’s Rainbow

PO Box 4024

Gaithersburg, MD 20885

The reason for this is that the paypal fees for donations under $10 is 30 percent!  We want as much money as possible going to help Tonya and not paid as fees!  If you do mail a check, would you let me know so that I can enter your name in the drawing?  Also please note that it is for Tonya for the Niemiec family

2.  If you share this giveaway on your blog or facebook page, you will get an entry for that too.  Just post a comment here letting me know what you have done that so I can enter your name.

3.  The giveaway will be open until June 30 at midnight! 

Any donation you make is tax deductible!

Now for the giveaway.  I'm going to be giving away TWO handmade scrapbook albums.  All donations will be entered into the drawing for both albums.

FIRST ALBUM - This is a three ring binder with 5 chipboard pages measuring 5.5 x 8.5.  The paper is a great outdoorsy collection with navy, greens and reds.  It is designed as a "counting" book.  You can count anything - birthdays, favorite somethings, Top 10 things you love about someone, the ideas are endless.  If you have others ideas and would like me to post them - please share. 

Here is the cover.  I would be happy to personalize it with whatever words you would like.



The first page in the album.  All of the pages have room for a photo and space for journaling (writing something down).



Following are pictures of the rest of the pages in the album.  If anyone has questions, please post them.  I haven't done anything like this before and could be easily overlooking a lot of details!



These would make great gifts!  I love giving small albums to people (filled with pictures) as a gift from my heart.









SECOND ALBUM - This is an accordian-style album with a front and back cover and six inside pages.  The paper is a cheerful collection of prints in red, garden green and buttercup yellow.

Here is the cover.

This is a view from the top.



Inside pages.





This is the back cover and the two pages on the back side of the album.  Not a great photo, but hopefully you can see a little bit. 



jkljkl

Camping

My internet is limited and low this week.  Will post a few things, but it will be sporadic.  Just a few late photos on a camping outing Memorial Day week-end.  The kids have been eager to go camping and the long week-end provided a great  opportunity for a spotaneous camping trip  - in the back yard.  The kids had a few friends join them in the fun too.  They set up tents.

Eliana didnt go camping this time.  Hopefully next time.  She did like playing in the tent though. 



She did enjoy riding down the hill on our street while the campsite was being made ready. 

She had very little fear of the hill (uh-oh!).  And can you see the grimy face?  Here is a better look.  I'm not sure what she was saying to me as I snapped this photo. 



They told stories and laughed.  It was a fun night! 

Every good camping trip needs a cook-out around the fire.



It was a blast for everyone.  I'm not sure how much sleep they ended up getting though.  Here was the scene in the garage the following afternoon.



My kids have a great Daddy who is willing to do fun things with them!  Thank you Roger!

Next post will hopefully have pictures and details on the giveaway! 

Love
Leslie

Photo Shoot!

Our local Down syndrome group (Triangle Down Syndrome Network) is making a calendar.  I know that they did this last year and have no idea how long it has been going on.  When the asked for volunteers, I did.  I thought it would be fun - and I was right!

This afternoon, three realy cute little girls and their moms (and one Dad!) met with a photographer at th Rose Garden in Raleigh.  We didn't actually start in the Rose Garden as there was a wedding there - at the exact same time!  It was fine though as there were beautiful areas all around the garden. 

The photographer was wonderful.  She brought some adorable things for the girls to wear.  (We were told to have them in solid clothes and to bring cute shoes.)  As I watched another mom pulling out lots of cute, frilly dress-up, I realized that we were really missing out in this area!  I guess I am so used to being a boy mom and working so hard at having fun dress-ups for them, that I haven't really done much for Eliana.  Now, she does have some great hand-me-downs!  She is so tiny though that a lot of it is too big. 

Anyway, check out this adorable skirt!!!  It was made by two local moms (and we all wanted to know where we could buy one!).  Isn't it cute?  They also made the overall dresses on the other two girls.   ETA:  Here is the address for buying the tutus:  http://twobeestutus.blogspot.com/



They also made this cute hat.  She pinned a big flower on and I was surprised that Eliana kept it on!  (I haven't mentioned, but it was really hot this afternoon!)  The idea was to get the three little girs in various places just looking cute together.  That was tricky!  None of the girls knew each other and the setting was new too.   The idea here was to get the 3 girls running down the sidewalk ... together.



Hmm ... come on Eliana.  I didn't capture her face, but still loved the photo. 



Three little cuties - trying to get them to do the same thing.  Did I mention it was tricky?  LOL


As we try to get them to get a little closer, one decides she will scoot in the other direction. 



We've been at it awhile now and the girls are getting tired, but still don't fuss and are willing to cooperate ... kind of.



I just love this sweet face.



We found a pond which the girls loved!  I know that the water must have felt good on such a warm day.



Believe or not, I didn't take that many photos.  Just wanted some of the experience.  The photographers is going to send ALL of the photos to us so that we can use whatever ones we like!  I'm looking forward to seeing what she took! 



It was a fun afternoon.  I'm thankful for this opportunity. 

More coming soon on the give-away/fundraiser for Tonya.  I had help (thank you Kristen!!!) getting the chip-in on my blog (on the right sidebar) and now just need to take some photos of the albums I'll be giving away.  I hope to do that in the next day or two with all of the details.  Know that you are included in the drawing even if you donate prior to me posting the details.  Thanks!

Blessings
Leslie

Diabetes Clinic

I'm thankful we didn't have much planned this week.  Our week has needed a lot of empty spaces - time to spend being with and helping friends and also at the doctor's office. 

Joshua had diabetes clinic on Tuesday.  We are getting close to the one year mark.  Not a date to celebrate, but it is one that is marked in my mind and heart nonetheless.  More on that later.

As we were waiting at the clinic, our favorite doctor stopped by the door.  She is the doctor that worked with us when Joshua was hospitalized last year at diagnosis.  She is wonderful!!!  We have yet to see her at any of our clinic visits so it was really nice to see her.  I hopped up and gave her a hug.  I then asked if she was here to see us and was excited to hear her say yes!  Our visit was scheduled with one of the attending doctors and evidently she signed up for us when she saw us on the list!  I was thrilled. 

It was especially nice since this ended up being a long visit.  (We were there for about 2.5 hours.)  She talked with us about how things were going and was as always - very encouraging!  Did I mention that she is wonderful?

Joshua's A1c was disappointing to me.  It was an 8.7.  No improvement since the last time.  This number measures his blood sugars over the last 3 months.  He has been on the pump now for 2 months.  She told me that she was pleased with his numbers - though he does still have bad numbers at times.  This disease can be so hard to "control" (and I do use that word very loosely). 

The attending doctor also came in.  We talked about ways to try to improve his numbers.  One way is to get a good reading on his numbers at all points of the day/night so that a good basal rate can be set.  This is the dose of insulin that his body receives throughout the day.  It can be adjusted so that he gets more or less depending on how his body handles things.  The first rates to check would be the ones during his sleep.  This would mean eating dinner, no snack at bedtime (or a no carb snack) and then measuring his blood glucose every 2 hours through the night.  (We could do this in stages and not all the same night.  It would need to be done more than one night too.)  I've told them that he spikes in the middle of the night - always has.  Well, except for 1 or 2 times when he was low.  It's those times that keep us checking in the middle of the night as he tends to drop as he heads toward morning.  In order to set up a good rate, we need a better picture of what is happening at each hour.   I'm typing all of this out and wondering now if anyone really wants ALL this detail!  LOL  I'll stop.

Joshua also had some other testing done.  Screens for thyroid, celiac and cholesterol.  Due to the diabetes, he is at greater risk for problems in these areas and so will have testing done yearly to try to detect any problems.  Celiac is something I wonder about off and on.  Eliana is also at greater risk for this due to having Down syndrome.  I've also heard that this can be an issue for kids with ADHD.  So, three of my kids with a greater "risk" of having issues.  It has made me wonder if I  should go ahead and make dietary changes.  Honestly, the thought is a little overwhelming to me. 

Food is on my list of things "to do" this summer.  I want to work on experimenting with greater foods for both Eliana and Daniel.  Both have made great progress, but still have a ways to go.  I'd love a better list of snack options - real food and not convenience items for all of us.  I'm hoping we'll be able to make more trips to the Farmer's Market - I love fresh produce!  Food, for better or worse, is more than just fixing something to eat for many of my children.  We all have a lot to learn and I want to do my part in helping my children to be healthy and to be able to make healthy choices - not just now, but hopefully for life. 

Anyway, our visit went well.  We'll hopefully hear back in a week or so the results of the testing.  I'm thankful for the surprise of seeing this doctor.  :-) 

I'm still working on the give-away.  Haven't figured out how to post the chip-in - but have some people trying to help me.  If anyone knows how to do this, please let me know.

Blessings

Leslie

Fatherless

This was the word I saw when I opened the church bulletin this week-end.  It startled me and I started to weep.  I had not expected a sermon on this topic even though I had been talking to God about that very thing this week.  (He continues to meet me in places that surprise me and I'm not sure why I'm surprised.  Well, yes I do.  He has been silent for awhile on some things and just lately, he seems to be so very vocal - and I'm loving it!) 

The sermon was on part of the story of Ruth.  He also used the verse James 1:27.

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.  James 1:27

The book of  James.  This is the book that God had me pour over when I was pregnant with Eliana.  A book I studied not really sure what God was preparing me for.  I didn't know I was heading into what would be the most difficult times of my life (to date).  I'm encouraged at the ways He has used this book to remind me, prod me and comfort me. 

OK, back to the sermon.  The pastor described this as the heart of the gospel.  This is pure  religion - caring for orphans and widows.  He went on to say that if you aren't caring for them, your faith is not real.  A bold statement to be true.  There are so many ways we can care for these who are so close to God's heart.   The pastor also stated that genuine religion will lead  you to love and sacrifice for those in need. 

Adoption is such a beautiful picture of what God has done for us.  Where would we be without Jesus?  We would be lost and alone in our sins with no hope, no comfort and no healing.  Yet, while we were still sinners, God sent His son to die for us and He adopted us into His family!  Thank you God for doing this for me!

He shared a powerful story of a couple who was planning to adopt a child.  When it became known late in the pregnancy that the child had significant birth defects and might not live long after birth, they were given a choice.  As this couple prayed and sought God's will, there was a dream.  In the dream, there was a massive football stadium filled with people.  Loud and cheering people.  One by one, babies were brought into the stadium - beautiful babies.  "Who wants this one?"  People would volunteer to come forward and take the child.  This continued until a child was brought in that was not beautiful, but was ugly, deformed and scarred.  "Who wants this one?"  The crowd was silent and still.  No one wanted this child.  Finally standing up on the front row, Jesus walked forward and said "I want this one."   Then she looked again at the child and got a closer look.  She was surprised to see that the child no one seemed to want, was her.  He stood up for her.  He stood up for me.  He stood up for you too!

He loves us just as we are - not because of who we are or what we have done.  He loves us because of who He is -  He is love.

An orphan ministry is being started at this church.  That was another sweet thing to my heart and I've signed up to be involved.  I know God has a plan for planting this passion in my heart and I want to be available to where He will have me help.

For those of you who have known me or read my blog for at least 6 months, you will remember Tonya.  Beautiful Tonya. 



She is an orphan with Down syndrome in Eastern Europe.  I have loved and prayed for this sweet girl for 1.75 years.  Yes, I remember when I started praying for her.  God placed her on my heart.  She has a precious family that is working hard so that they can hopefully go get her soon!  They need help in meeting the financial challenges associated with international adoption.  I'm planning on posting a give-away/drawing for two beautiful handmade scrapbooks.  I'll post hopefully in the next day or two.  I'm trying to figure out how to get a chip-in on my blog and as soon as that is ironed out, I'll post the details.  Please be on the look-out and I hope you'll share it with your friends.  This is one of many ways that we can show our love of God, by supporting this family in their adoption.

If you want to hear this sermon for yourself, you can find it here.   It is entitled "I am Adopted" and the date is 6/4/2010

http://www.summitrdu.com/sermons

Please join me in praying for orphans.  Lets all ask God where and how He wants us to serve orphans and widow.  We know this is pleasing to Him.

Blessings

Leslie

Homeschool Conference - Part 3 - Workshops

This is my last post about the conference.  I thought I'd share a little bit about some of the workshops I attended.  I went to more workshops this year than I've ever been too before - and consequently, less time in the book fair (which may not have been all bad from a financial point of view).  For my first decade of homeschooling, I didn't go to any workshops, though I did often buy CDs so that I could listen to them later.  I appreciated the encouragement I received this year.  I'm thankful for the things I learned and wish I could have attended more of them.  My oldest two also attended a number of them and found them to be interesting and sometimes fun.

I went to two workshops presented by Vicki Bentley.  One was a "Jumpstart to Joyful Mothering".  She asked what we first thought of when we say the title "Joyful Mother" - was it silly that it reminded me of my blog (title)?  One of the key points was that we should ask God where we lack joy and to let Him show us.  The other key points were as follows:

*She also stressed that we need to have realistic expectations of our children.  That we need to include them, laugh with them, listen to them and realize that they will mess up and not to take it personally. 

*We need to have realistic expectations of ourselves too.  Taking care of ourselves, know our vulnerable spots and recogize that we have our own gifts, limitations and family situations. 

*We should recognize spiritual warfare for what it is.  The enemy is seeking to target our mind and rob us of our joy.  Our joy is in us because we belong to Jesus and we need to learn to take every thought captive.

*Recognize the source of our joy.  We are commanded to be joyful.  It is a fruit not a feeling!

I also attended one of her Organizing workshops.  She gave us questions to ask of ourselves such as what is working, what isn't working, why do you want to organize and what is causing problems.  (With more questions and examples under each item.)  She gave many other tips - many of which I've heard and I'm sure you have too - BUT, sometimes it is helpful to hear it again.  I think that decluttering and getting organized is a journey (that seems overwhelming at times).  Trying to tackle it one step at a time is a good thing!  She also gave many, many ideas for setting up learning centers in your home.  I like this idea and would like to try to add one or two to my home.  I have the things she mentioned, it would just be a matter of setting things up differently.  Finding the time and drive to to this is one of my biggest struggles.  Anyone want to come over and help???  Please?

I attended another workshop on "The 7 Deadly Termites" in a homeschool group by Kevin Swanson.  These were good tips and were ones that could also be applied to the family as well.  The first was not having a vision.  This theme came up several times and actually really encouraged me!  God has been good to show me some things that I think will be a blessing to our group and ultimately make it stronger.  Along with several other gals, we presented some changes to our group (prior to the conference) and I'm excited to see what God will do with this!

Some of the others things that a healthy group needs include positive encouragement, sacrifice, someone willing to make hard decisions, someone willing to deal with conflict, flexibility and delegation.  I'm very thankful to be a part of a homeschool group that is very sweet!  It's been a blessing and I hope God will direct and guide us so that we can grow stronger and reflect His love to others.

One of the sessions that was the most challenging for me was one entitled "Unprepared for College" by Amy Barr.  She talked about what college would be like and how it is different from homeschool.  She talked about the expectations of professors and things that students could do that would help them to be more successful.  I'm trying to implement some changes now based on some of the things she shared.

*Syllabus - Using this as a written contract with due dates for papers and tests.  We are starting that this summer.

*Letting your student fail - As homeschoolers we offer flexibility and the ability to work until the concepts are mastered.  She shared that it is good for them to learn how to fail, and how to recover from it before they head off to college. 

*Research writing - One of her tips was to have your students go to a local university library and use the reference materials there for writing a paper.  I'm hoping to take a small group of students to one of the close universities and ask the librarian to help them learn how to use the library.  I think this will be a great thing to know before you go to college!

*Praise students for being determined instead of being smart.  If they think they are smart and come to a challenge, they may become more easily discouraged and think that they can't do it.  If they are determined, they don't expect things to come easily and instead know that they need more practice and hard work.

The last workshop I attended was on Traditions by Jennifer Schmidt.  I went to see if I could get some new ideas.  I like having traditions in our family and know that my children appreciate these!  She discussed why  traditions are important as well as sharing ideas.  She keeps a blog if you'd like to visit and see some of her ideas for yourself.

www.beautyandbedlam.com

It was a good conference.  I left feeling encouraged and refreshed and excited about a new year.  Rebecca mentioned that she wished we were starting the new school year now!  She is excited too!  Gotta love that and hopefully we can hold on to that feeling for a few more months as we take some time off and prepare for the new year.

I hope some of this was helpful or encouraging to you too!

Blessings

Leslie

Adding a chip-in to this blog site

Does anyone know how to do that on these blogs now?  I'm trying to use chipin.com to set up a widget but can't figure out how to get it on my blog.  I tried pasting several into the "widget" feature, but they aren't taking.  Can anyone help?  I'm hoping to set up a fundraiser for a Tonya and will post more as soon as I can figure this out!

I appreciate any help!

Blessings

Leslie

Homeschool Conference - Part 2 - Curriculum

As I look to next year, I realized that thankfully I didn't need much curriculum for most of my children.  Christopher obviously needed new things since he is my oldest and I haven't taught his grade yet.  Curriculum at the high school level is not cheap either!

I had thought some about what I would be purchasing, but had not done a lot of research on some areas.  As I entered the vendor hall, I wanted to make good use of my time and money.  One of the weak areas in our homeschool has been writing.  I have not had much confidence in my own writing growing up (not sure why) and have not done a great job in teaching it.  I tried using another program in 2006 and then when Eliana was born, it went out the window.  I haven't been able to get back to it either.  I thought perhaps a change was in order.  I went to a vendor workshop on Institute for Excellence in Writing.  I decided to give this one a try.  It looks like it is organized in a nice fashion and I like that there are dvds helping to teach the concepts.  I'm  planning on teaching it to several of my children and a friend's children at the same time and am excited about that!  As I've done more writing the last couple of years, I've grown in both the comfort with writing and also the enjoyment of it too.  I hope that my children can learn this at an earlier age than I did.  As a unit study mom, I love anything that brings us together to learn. 

Learning together.  Isn't that one of the perks of homeschooling?  Doing things together as a family - creating memories together and having common threads of learning.  I found a new (to me) curriculum this year that will incorporate our family - and I'm very excited about it!!!  It's called the Picture Smart Bible. 

Please click on the link to visit the site to get more details and a visual of how the program works.  In a nutshell, you will be reading through the Bible and drawing pictures to go with pieces of the story.  You will end up with a 1 page picture from each book of the Bible that tells you the story of that book.  Each child starts with an outline so that you will have room to fit it all on the page.  It was so neat to be able to see the pieces of the story just by looking at a page - and it also made it really easy to share it with others.  I think this will be a great way to get the flow of the story of the Bible and a visual help in remembering more of it too.  Did I mention that I'm excited about this?

I wasn't planning on purchasing a Bible curriculum and wasn't even sure why I wandered over to their table - other than the gentle leading of God.  (He is good!)  As my friend and I listened to the author of this program describe how it worked, I became very excited!  I shared it with Rebecca who was also very excited and asked if I was planning to buy this for our family.  This was too good not to share.  We told as many of our friends as we could about it.  Many of them are excited about using it with their families too!  This was a really neat find.  I'll be sure to share more about it as we start using it this fall.

Those are my only two really new choices this year.  We are using new levels of curriculum we have used in the past - MathUSee, Notgrass, Apologia, Handwriting without Tears, and of course Five in a Row (my favorite!!!).  I'll share more about what each child will be studying as we get closer to starting our new school year (in  August).  We are still trying to finish up a few subjects and are already enjoying some of our summer break.  I need a break.  We've been going without one since Christmas and I really need some down time - to organize, plan and prepare.  For that reason, I haven't planned a summer camp this year.  For the first time in probably 12 years.  I'm feeling a little guilt over it too.  Especially when one of my boys asked me tonight if we would be doing camp again this summer.  *sigh*  I may have to muster up some energy and do something!  We'll see.  Hope you are enjoying your week.

Blessings

Leslie

Homeschool Conference - Part 1 - Connections

This past week-end I attended NCHE, our state's homeschool conference.  I love going to this conference.  This was my 13th year going.  I worked as a vendor for Five in a Row for 9 of those years.  I miss doing that.  I loved explaining FIAR to people - the beauty and simplicity of this way of learning.  I loved seeing people "get it" and know that this was a special way to teach which would draw hearts together.  I was blessed to find FIAR at the beginning of our homeschool journey and still love sharing it with others.  I even ran into a gal from our new church (that recognized me and stopped to speak) who is new to homeschooling.  I shared a bit about FIAR and am hoping we will be able to get together soon to talk more.  I want to encourage her in her journey.  I know we all need that.

One of the things that I love about the conference is the chance to make connections.  Some were meetings that I anticipated and looked forward to.  Others were unexpected, though also planned.  I love seeing God's hand at work in both types of meetings.

It is always fun seeing friends from our local FIAR group.  There was a good contingent from our group there and these are gals that I love hanging out with!  I stayed with one of my dear friends Rebecca and a couple of our children (1 of hers and 2 of mine).  I also was blessed to meet up with other FIAR frineds from around the state and a few from neighboring states.  One is my dear friend Hollie.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="641" caption="Rebecca, Leslie, Hollie"][/caption]

Hollie and I have been friends since 2003 when we were both pregnant with similar due dates.  God began then to knit our hearts together - neither of us knowing that for each of us the future held challenges that would draw us closer to Him and also to each other. 

We also met up with some other FIAR gals - unfortunately, this picture does not include everyone.  We met up at Mellow Mushroom for dinner.  It was a long wait- but a great time to chat.  We ended up eating in the hotel lobby (take out) and enjoying a long time of conversation.  What a fun night!  I can't wait to do this again next year!  (Next year we'll just plan to order take-out and go straight to the hotel.  Hopefully this will help those with more limited time.)

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="641" caption="Lynn, Hollie, Rebecca, Adele, Leslie, Angela, Bo, Jackie"][/caption]

One of the meetings that I didn't anticipate was meeting another mom of a child with Type 1 (Diabetes).  We talked for awhile after meeting in the elevator.  (I noticed her JDRF bag.)  I told her I had thought about trying to start a support group for families.  (Thanks to a suggestion from another sweet friend - Tonya's mom Nicole.)  She loved the idea and was eager for the support we could offer to each other.  And guess what?  She lives in the same city as me!  Pretty cool, huh?  This is an idea that has been rattling around for more than 6 months now.  It looks like maybe it's time to get it going.

As if this weren't enough, I had another sweet connection.  On the last day of the conference, Rebecca and I were making a last purchase.  She found something she wanted and bought it and we looked over at the adjacent booth.  We saw a large jar with a picture on it.  We both recognized the preciou smiling face - Aaron - a child from Reece's Rainbow.  Without a word, Rebecca immediately started walking over to the jar and put money in.  I followed her example.  I then spoke to one of the gals in the booth.  I shared that we knew Aaron from Reece's Rainbow.  She was so excited to meet someone that "knew" of Aaron.  We hugged and she shared some of what God had done in their lives just this week!  You'll want to visit Julia's blog to read it for yourself.  He is good!  It was sweet to talk with Julia.  She gave me a picture of Aaron and I have it on my desk where I'll see it many times a day.  Would you join me in praying for this precious boy?  He has already been transferred the the mental institution.  Please join me in praying for Aaron and for his family that they would be able to bring him home soon! 



Thank you God for each one of these friends that you allowed me to connect with at the conference.  There were many things that blessed me there and spending time with so many precious people was one of the highlights.

Blessings

Leslie

Kohl's Kids Who Care

A few months ago, one of my sweet friends (Melissa) told me about a contest for which she wanted to nominate Rebecca!  What a sweet thing!  As she got into the process, it became clear that the nomination needed to come from someone closer to Rebecca and so I completed the paperwork for her for the Kohl's Kids Who Care contest.

I shared about her work raising money for children with heart defects at Duke University.  She was touched by all that Eliana had gone through and wanted to do something to help others that needed it.  She began making bracelets and selling them.  To date, she has raised over $8000.  We are hoping to set up a store for her to be able to sell online, but it hasn't happened yet.  (One of the many things on my undone to do list.) 

Well, this week she received a large envelope from Kohs ... and she WON!  She won for the local store division and is now entered into the regional division.  Way to go Rebecca!  She was given a Kohl's gift card which she is pretty excited about!

I know that she didn't start this for the recognition.  Rebecca has an amazing heart for children.  I see this over and over again in the ways she interacts with children, in volunteering to help with the children at church, in her desire to help orphans, in her help with our family all in addition to helping children with heart defects.



I'm proud of you Rebecca!

Love

Mommy

PS  If you are interested in seeing some of her bracelets, I know I've posted about them on my blog in the past.  Hopefully the search function can help you find them.  Her ministry is called Wholehearted.