Rebecca

My beautiful Rebecca.  I wanted a "Rebecca" long before I had children.  My Mom had even given me a little figure of a pregnant mama that was called "Rebecca's mother" before I had her. 

I loved having a son.  Adding a daughter to our family was equally as joyous.  She was beautiful from the start.  (Yes, I'm biased.  I'm allowed as I'm her mom.)  I've loved watching her grow and become someone that was not only lovely on the outside but on the inside as well.

I love that she has a huge heart.  She cares for others and wants to make a difference.  She doesn't just "want to" though - she does it!  I love that at age 11 she started a ministry making bracelets to raise money for babies with heart defects. 

I love watching her with children.  She is great with children and really enjoys being with them.  They love her too!  She volunteers at church in the Sunday School program and often tells me stories about the children in her class.  She has a heart for orphans and is praying for them too.

Rebecca is creative in so many ways.  One of our family's favorites is in the kitchen.  She loves to bake and we are often blessed by her efforts. 

I love seeing her include her siblings in the process.  Did I mention she has a sweet heart?

Rebecca enjoys traditions and knowing that "this is what we do" for certain events or holidays.  She is helpful in carrying them out when I can't.  That has been a huge blessing over the last several years too when I was not able to do all that I would have liked.  Even today she started a countdown chain for her siblings with a fun thing to do each day. 

Sports have always been a part of her life.  I love that she is athletic and competitive, yet keeps things in the proper perspective.  She is able to win and lose graciously.  That is not a lesson easily learned sometimes.

Rebecca is curious, quiet and confident.  I love that she is able to be "different" from others by being true to herself.  I'm thankful she does not feel like she has to do what others are doing in order to fit in.  That too can be a hard lesson to learn.

There are so many things I could write.  Rebecca loves to read, laugh and spend time with family and friends.  She can be silly and goofy and yet also mature and responsible. 

Thank you God for blessing me with this beautiful daughter.  She brings joy, happiness and laughter to our family.  We are better people for having her in our lives.  I pray that you would continue to teach her, guide her and show her your path.  I pray that she would follow you with all of her heart and bring glory to your name.

I love you  Rebecca!
Mommy

Four years ago ... on two different continents

Something I've been pondering lately as I advocate for Anya.  I imagine what it might have been like four years ago.  Two women about to give birth.  Each was blessed with a daughter.  I imagine that both were surprised - along with a host of other emotions - to learn that their precious little girl also had Down syndrome. 

So many things similar and yet so many things different too.  One was born in a country in which there is support for bringing up a child with special needs.  Early intervention and therapies offered a lot of encouragement.   

I can only imagine what life must have been like for this mom - facing an uncertain future with a child in a culture that just didn't accept children with Down syndrome.  Quite often these moms are just encouraged to give up their babies at birth.  (Not sure that for many there even is another option.)  The babies are taken to an orphange to live.

In different circumstances, that could have been me.  I was frightened and overwhelmed.  I was also blessed with incredible friends and family.  A wonderful OB.  A new pediatrician.  And most of all a faithful Father.  All who encouraged me that I could do this.  I had no idea then of the amazing blessing having this little girl would bring.  I feel certain that the other mom didn't know this either.  How could she when almost all the people with Ds in her country live behind the walls of an orphange or a mental institution.

In different circumstances, this could have been Eliana.  I thank God for giving me Eliana.  I'm thankful she has Down syndrome.  He has taught me so much through her.  I wouldn't be the same person without her in my life.  Because of her, I found Reece's Rainbow.  I learned about the fate of children like her in other countries.  It broke my heart and I began to pray.  My heart became burdened for these children.  At times, this burden has been quite heavy.  I sometimes wonder if there is more I should be doing that I'm not.  I look at my beautiful little girl who brings joy to our world and think that there are so many more like her, locked away and waiting. 

Will you please join me in praying for a precious little girl who is turning 4 today?  Her name is "Anya" and she lives in Eastern Europe in an orphanage.  She has never known the love of a mother and father.  It is her birthday.  I imagine though that this day is no different than any other for her.  No cake.  No candles.  No presents.  No family.

Just this week, we were able to see new pictures of Anya and an updated description of her too.  I was excited to hear that she smiles and laughs and wants to be loved.  She sounds like a precious little girl.  I was also saddened to read about how she was treated. 



Here is the newest description of her.

From an adoptive family who visited with her in August 2010:  "Anya can smile, sit up, crawl, pull herself up to a stand using the edge of the playpen. She can hear and see well enough to have heard me call her name and to immediately sit up and crawl over to the playpen gate and stand up. She cried when I could not pick her up. Another time, she sat up and climbed into my lap and clapped my hands together over and over.   I do not think she is autistic and she does have facial expressions. She is definitely more involved than your average kid with Ds but she is a doll who is craving attention. Also, she is not aggressive… she did not bite me or pull my hair, or do anything like that.  Andrea, Anya does have a look to her that seems slightly different that just straight-up ds and she does seem to be too laid back to the point of maybe some sensory issues. But she surprised me with her will to crawl to me and her desire to come to me, to the gate, to find me.  I have to be honest and tell you that Anya is not in a good room.  Anya is ignored by the caretakers and by the other children. I really believe she will change with love and EI, but she will always be a bit higher needs I think.  She will be four this coming week, and I worry that they will transfer her to babyhouse 1, or worse to the institution. Anya will not make it in an institution.
Now that she is 4, Anya is eligible to be transferred to an institution.  As you read, this is really not a good option for her.  That last line just hurts my heart.  Please join me in praying for her family to step up now before she is transferred.  This precious little girl needs love and attention.  She needs a family so she can grow and thrive.

Please pray.  If you would like to donate, there is a chip-in on my blog or you can mail a check.  Lets not let money be the obstacle that keeps her from finding a family.  Time is crucial.

Thank you!
Leslie

Auto Draft

Home and sickness

Hmmm ... I haven't figured out how to draft a post and then have it published at a later date.  I thought I had the post below set to post while I was gone this week-end, but it obviously didn't.  Anyone have any ideas what I might have done wrong?

Rebecca and I had a fabulous week-end in the mountains with my sister, niece and mom.  I'll post more details and pictures later.  While we were gone - everyone else got sick.  :-(  The 4 youngest on Friday.  Roger and Christopher today.  I am still hoping and praying that Rebecca and I can stay well!

Blessings
Leslie

Operation Christmas Child

We had the wonderful opportunity to serve Operation Christmas Child this year.  We tried last year, but due to having one of the later slots in the season we weren't able to go as they had finished all of the work!  This year, we chose an earlier time slot!

We met a group of our FIAR homeschool friends.

We arrived at the warehouse and went through training to learn of the various jobs. 

I was incredibly moved to see that one of the locations for which the boxes were being packed was the Ukraine.  I have been praying for children there for years now and love knowing that some of them will be blessed by these boxes. 

After our training, we were than taking to a line to wait for our instructions.  We were split up into several groups.  I went with Rebecca and Daniel into the shoebox hospital. 

For the boxes that have been damaged, they are repacked into new boxes.  We found that there was one particular box that didn't hold up well and we repacked many of these.  The three of us worked hard with a goal of emptying a large "box" of them.  As more and more kept being added to the pile - growing from one to two - we changed our goal. 

We then just worked to fill up new "boxes" with repaired shoeboxes.

While we were at the hospital, the rest of the group had various other jobs from breaking down boxes,

to doing inventory.

 As a special treat while I was there, I ran into a long time FIAR friend - Bonita!  What fun to have a few minutes to talk and see each other.  I'm thankful for the encouragement she is to me.  What a sweet blessing to see her!  Hugs to you friend!

After finishing their jobs, our friends moved to "the line".  Here each box is inspected, filler added if needed, labelled, taped and packed.  On the day we were there, some of the boxes were being sent to a "special access" country.  We don't know which country, but items that might have been offensive to one there were removed. 

We ended up staying an extra hour to work.  When we finished, we took a look at the overall operation.

We then headed out to dinner and then home.  It was a wonderful day.  One I look forward to repeating again next year!  I highly recommend this opportunity for service if you are at all interested. 

Some of what I loved about the day was the Christian music playing in the background and the prayers said for the workers and for those who would be receiving the boxes.  The really neat part though was hearing the stories of the impact these boxes have on the lives of others.  We heard one story of an ENTIRE family coming to know the love of Jesus due to ONE shoebox!  Isn't that amazing ... and humbling?!  We prayed over the boxes as we worked.  To think that we were serving as missionaries in that spot was a blessing.  I loved the stories too of how the contents of a box specifically blessed a child.  Often there are "unusual" things or even large quantities of a specific thing.  To hear of how God hand-picked these items for the child that would receive them is incredible.

This is a great ministry and I'm thankful we had the opportunity to serve with them.

Blessings
Leslie

Rebecca's Birthday Party

We celebrated Rebecca's birthday with some friends the week after her birthday.  She wanted to tie-dye t-shirts, play games and share a meal.  Easy enough.  She even wanted to make her own birthday cake!  Isn't it cute?  It's her own design.  (Those are Skittles on top.)

 We bought some tie-dye kits.  These kits used the dye in squeeze bottles.  This was different than how I had done tie-dye in the past.  It was much easier and neater too!  They looked at some pictures of patterns.  Selected the one that they liked and then added color to their shirt.   

Fun group of young ladies!



For our dinner, Rebecca chose tacos.  Easy and yummy!

Anyone for a game of Spoons?

Happy Birthday Rebecca!  Your party was a lot of fun - just like you!

More in another post on our birthday girl.  We are headed out for a girl's week-end away though, so it will have to wait!

Blessings

Leslie

Book Club - Uprising

Last month we met to discuss the book Uprising.  I would recommend this book as a interesting piece of historical fiction.  It is set in the US in the early 1900s and the story centers around a factory with poor working conditions.

The story introduces you to 3 very different young women - an immigrant from Russia who desires to fight for social change, an immigrant from Italy who wants to earn money to bring her family to the US and a rich American who is part of "society".  The girls stories are told separately in different chapters.  At first their lives are distinct, but soon they become connected to each other.

The book includes a real event - a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.  It is tragic and heartwrenching to read about.  (I would definitely preread this book if you are considering if for a child younger than twelve.)  I found myself drawn to the characters and interested in their lives.  I was touched by their hopes and dreams and frustrated when they made poor choices.  I was saddened by the treatment of the girls and the devastation of the fire.  Overall, it was a book that gave me much to think about.

We had a great discussion and it led us to consider what factory conditions are like today in our country.  We also pondered what conditions are like in other countries.  We did a quick scan of labels and found almost all of our clothing is made in countries other than the US.  We wondered if we were supporting poor working conditions by the things we bought.  We also talked about how we can make a difference.

This is always a worthy question.  How can *I* make a difference?  Yes, the problems of the world are overwhelming at times.  But each of us can make a difference for someone - even if it is just one other person.  We are each burdened by different things based on our experiences and the passions God has given us.  We encouraged each other to look each day for a way that you can make a difference. 

I loved that from the discussion of a book, we considered our faith and how it should move us to act.  It propelled us to look beyond our lives and how our actions impact others. 

I know that action is good, but also don't ever want to discount the value of prayer.  It is one of the greatest tools that we have.  I don't really understand the power of prayer, but know that it does have the power to change lives.  I believe it changes the lives of those prayed for - and also those who are praying. 

Father, there are so many hurting.  So many in need.  It is hard to know where to start.  Give us eyes to see people as you do.  Give us the desire to reach out, to help and sacrifice so that others can be blessed.  Give us your heart to love those around us.  Help us to be your hands and feet God.  Thank you for using us to make a difference. 

Blessings
Leslie

Testing a new blog site

While this site has been down, I've been testing another one.  Not sure if I'll make the move or remain here.  I have 4 years of history here and don't want to lose that.  I do like some of the features though of the new blog.

Here it is if you want to take a peek.  I'd LOVE to have some company over there.  :-) 

http://joyfulmotherofsixchildren.blogspot.com/

Blessings

Leslie

Animal Grossology

Playing catch-up with a post on a field trip last month.  We were scheduled for an outdoor event, but with cold, wet weather, we opted instead to go to the NC Science Museum.  They had a special exhibit called Animal Grossology.  If you are in the area, I do recommend this exhibit.  It will be there until April 24, 2011.  It was entertaining, hands-on and very informative!  Oh, and did I mention FUN!  We were joined by some of our friends and spent a fun morning learning about ... gross things.

Everything was interactive with lots of games to play.  This is a giant dung ball.  There were 4 beetles that each raced to push their dung ball to the top of the hill. 

 

Learning about predators and prey with a cute frog game.  Eliana really just liked the balls.  The goal was to shoot the ball into one of the holes in the river so that it was safe from snakes and birds.

Another game.

Did I mention that most of these exhibits had to do with gross topics?  Maybe its obvious by the title of the exhibit.  This one talked specifically about leeches, mosquitos and some other gross bug.

This game was set up like a game show in which you learned about 3 different creatures and then voted on which was the slimiest.

 Ugh!  I'll never look at having a fly in the house the same way again.  Amazing and disgusting how many things they carry on their feet.

This game was all about blood.  They learned about different colors of blood and which catagory of animal had which color of blood.  It really was interesting.

Yeah, I know.  Gross.  LOL

There was more, but I didn't get a lot of photos.  There was a submarine you could go in and look around the room with periscopes.  There was a twisty slide to come out of it.  One of the exhibits was to test your sense of smell.  It was really yuck!  There was also a game show at the end of the exhibit so that you could see how much you had learned.

This was a fun morning and something I hope we'll be able to do again.  We were fortunate in that the day we went there were hardly any other people there.  It made it much easier to keep up with Eliana that way!

Blessings

Leslie

Happy Thanksgiving & Happy Birthday Rebecca

The host site is down at HSB where I typically blog, so I'm taking this time to try out a new host.  So far it has taken me a LONG time to load the pictures individually.  Not sure if there is a trick that I'm missing on this!  (Please share if there is!)

This year Thanksgiving fell on the same day as Rebecca's birthday.  I remember a friend telling me when she was born that she really loved having her birthday close to Thanksgiving as an adult - because it meant she spent it with family.  I hope Rebecca will enjoy that too.  I will admit that it was a little challenging trying to celebrate both on the same day. 

We drove up the mountains to spend the holidays with my parents.  My sister and her family met us there.  Rebecca again baked pies.  Eliana found them while she was getting them ready this year and decided to try them out - before they were cooked!

We enjoyed playing games.

And of course cooking.

The girls had fun making and decorating cookies.  The boys liked eating them!

The boys received "money machines" as a late birthday gift.  It's a box with a tab sticking out of the top.  When you pull it, money comes out and out and out.  They both loved this!

I love spending time with my family!  I'm very blessed!

Rebecca and Keri making placecards for our table.

Keri and Laura made these great cupcakes!  Aren't they amazing looking?!

We celebrated Rebecca's birthday with gifts.

And a "birthday pie" (yes it is one that she made). 

Happy 15th Birthday precious girl!

Cousins having fun!

Some photos of my kids

Eliana found the chocolate in the pantry.

My sister and I with our hubbies.

Another tradition - a group shot of our children on this wall.

I love the tradition of being with my family at Thanksgiving.  I love that our children have things that they know "we do" each year.  This is such a fun holiday.  We relax, eat food, play games, read books and watch football (or the cooking channel).  Its sweet being with people you love and I'm grateful for my wonderful family!

Love
Leslie