Fundraiser for Harper Skye!

Introducing the Ost family!  I am so blessed to be helping this family fund raise for their beautiful daughter, Harper Skye, who is patiently waiting for them in China.

Look at this sweet little princess with her legs crossed.  Now doesn't that just say "Mom and Dad, I am patiently waiting for you, now get that paperwork done and get over here!"

I am holding a Thirty-One Fundraiser for this family from now until January 11th.  Click on the link above and you will go directly to their fundraiser and be able to shop from our current catalog.  We have our famous thermal tote sale going on right now, if your resolution is to save money, eat healthier lunches or both this sale is just for you!  

Do you have a favorite retired print that you would love to find, check out our Outlet Sale and you might find it.  Items are marked down 50% and your purchase from the sale also helps Harper come home.  Send me an email let me know that you made a purchase to support Harper's fundraiser from the outlet sale.  

If your closet is full of gifts you can still help bring Harper home.  Check out their blog and see all they have going on and see a precious video of this darling little girl.

Blessings to you and yours in the New Year!

Yipee, Thank You Jesus!!!

I am so excited, Kalia is almost home.  Kalia's family was the first family I partnered with for a Thirty-One fundraiser way back in February.  Kalia's wait for her family is nearly over, thank you Jesus!

Read all about it here.

Ready for 2012

The only time I have wished time away was when we were waiting for our babies to come home from China.  However, we are not waiting for a baby (as much as my heart longs for another little boy) but I find myself wishing time away.  I am ready for 2012, a new year, a new beginning.  I have no idea why the calendar changing to 1-1-12 will make a difference but in my heart I feel that there is great opportunities for our family.

The last year and a half have been hard, really hard emotionally, financially and physically.  Hard on me and hard on my family.  I am ready to live a simple life; we started cutting back, coupon shopping, searching for things that we can do without.  Searching for more ways that we can live on less but have more in a non-material way.  I know this doesn't sound like the American Dream but it is my dream.  I dream of spending my days with my children and I am looking for ways to make this dream a reality.

Today I made a call to cancel a service that is a luxury that we don't need.  As they were offering me great deals to keep me as a paying customer, all the way up to free months of service I was so tempted to accept.  But then my heart and my head caught up with each other and I did the right thing, I said no thank you - we need to cancel our service.  I have a feeling that I will be challenged in this way again as our standard of living keeps changing, in the right direction!!! but I am ready for it.

While I am very excited for Christmas and spending time with friends and family, boy am I looking forward to the new year and all it has in store for us.

Give me your book recommendations...Please!

We almost have all the kids presents purchased and ready to wrap (we have impatient little peekers so that won't happen until the last minute) but we are still missing one gift for little Miss S.  At first I was going to find some baby doll clothes as she loves her babies but then the other day I realized how much she loves her books, they are the last thing she has at night and the first thing she gets out of bed to get in the morning.  I am a book lover myself so this brings me so much joy to know that we share the love of books!  I was known in my family to live in our claw foot bathtub when I was in the middle of a good book, draining the water when it was cold and starting over again.  Nothing like enjoying a good read and a long soak in the tub!

We have a pretty good sized collection of books to include Dr. Seuss, all characters from PBS kids, The Bernstein Bears and of course a good size collection of adoption themed books.  I am looking for some recommendations of books or book sets that would bring such joy to our little Miss S on Christmas morning and that we could add to as the year goes by.  She will be three very soon, so keeping that in mind I would love for you to share your recommendations.

Thirty-One Fundraiser for Olga - Updated Giveaway!

As many of you know my heart breaks daily for the orphans.  My friend Kenlyn shared about a precious little girl that is in need of her family a few weeks ago and she has been on my mind since.  She posted about Olga and her needs here, take a moment and read about her and she will move right into your heart too.

As Kenlyn's has continued to share about Olga I have been asking myself what can I do.  I believe that we can all do something for orphans, we don't have to all be willing to bring the child into our home, it could be as simple as sharing their need for a family or helping a family that has come forward to bring the child home in their fundraising efforts.  In my thoughts of what I can do my Thirty-One business came to mind, the reason that I became a Thirty-One Consultant was to help families fundraising.  At the point that I was thinking about this Olga didn't have a family that was able to bring her home but she does have a Reese's Rainbow fund so the idea of this fundraiser was born.  There is now a family petitioning to bring Olga home however, like so many the funds are not there to pay the immediate fees and they will need our help.

I will be donating all commission (25% of sales) to Olga's Reese's Rainbow adoption fund for all orders placed on my website in November and December.  If you would like to place an order you can go to Olga's Fundraiser on my website and place your order.

To thank you for helping Olga I am giving away the hostess benefits for this event.  Spend $50 $25 your name will be entered into the drawing 1 time.  However, the more you spend the more entries you get!  Spend $50 you get 3 entries, $75 gets 5 entries and spend $100 and you get 7 entries!!!  Now here is what the drawing is for:

1) $25 in FREE Thirty-One (number given away determined by amount of participation)
2) 1/2 price Thirty-One (number given away determined by amount of participation)
3) Opportunity to purchase the Extend-A-Day Tote for $10 ($49 Value)
4) FREE Organizing Utility Tote ($25 Value)
5) Opportunity to purchase a Hostess Exclusive of your choice (number given away determined by amount of participation)

All orders will be placed by Dec 12th in order to allow for Christmas delivery.  As soon as we have $600 in orders I will be placing the ordering and opening a new event and a new giveaway!  Wouldn't it be great to have your gifts give TWICE, once to your loved ones and again to Olga!!!

Please visit my website at: mythirtyone.com/MandieMetier to view the catalog and place your order, email me at acupquitefull@cableone.net if you have any questions.  We have a great array of customer specials: spend $31 get your choice of an All-In-One Organizer, Soft Wallet, Cinch Sac, Zip-Up Pencil Pouch or a Flat Iron Case for $5!

You may have wondered how this fundraiser did, I am very sad to report that there were not any participants.   Olga is still not far from my mind, I know the Lord has big plans for her and with the help of Reese's Rainbow her family will get her home.

Kindergarten and Plantar Fasciitis

M started Kindergarten today!  She had a great day and loves school.  She is in all day kindergarten in a Mandarin Immersion school.  She spends her mornings in a traditional kindergarten class and then in the afternoon she is in a mandarin class.  She has wonderful teachers and was so excited when she came home today!  We feel so blessed that we have this opportunity for our children to help them learn so much more about their native country.  Who would have thought that our school district would be able to offer such a great program with these hard financial times.

I on the other hand did not have as great of a day as I found out I have Plantar Fasciitis.  I have had pain in my foot for the past year but it was only there when I woke up.  Well a couple weeks ago it began bothering me more throughout the day and by this weekend I could barely walk.  I ended up getting into the doctor today and I am happy that I have a diagnosis but I am worried the recovery will be long term from what I am reading.  I am on anti-inflamitories and bought myself some nice heal cups.  Now I am on the lookout for some Plantar Fasciitis friendly shoes that are somewhat cute as I will be wearing them daily at work.  Very worried the cute part won't be as easy to find :(   If you have any recommendations for some great shoes I would love to hear them.  I believe my much loved Danskos aren't an option as I was wearing them when the pain began.

To everyone who made a purchase from the Thirty-One Fundraiser to help Wills family bring him home, I appreciate your support of their family.  We were able to raise over $80!!!  While to some that might not seem like a huge figure, to a fundraising family it pays a couple of fees or part of a day in country.  When we were fundraising to bring S home I broke our fundraising down into fees to be paid or days in China.  If we all band together and help pay a fee or contribute to a day in China (or whichever Country/State the family is adopting from) we really can do so much.

An update on E and S.  They are both growing so fast.  E is in the 5's class in preschool and is counting the days until he can be a "school ager".  It has been so hard on him being in a different school than M.  Although they were not in the same preschool classes they were in the same building and spent their outside play time together.  We had no idea how attached to her he really is.  S has settled right into preschool.  She is the cutest student, she is learning her alphabet and her awesome teacher Ms. Kelli is teaching her to sign the alphabet.  Any time you start saying ABC's with her she gets her little fingers going in the signs.  It is the cutest thing!  We are so amazed at how quickly she is absorbing all of this and is now speaking like a little parrot, her brother and sister love teaching her new words.

My Thirty-One team is growing.  Since the recruiting freeze has lifted I have five ladies on my team, very excited to see what's in store for my team of Virtuous Dreamers.  I am enjoying introducing our beautiful products to our area and all the new ladies I am meeting.  I thank the Lord everyday for bringing Thirty-One into my life!

Shopping with a purpose to bring Will home!

Take a look at this precious little man!  I can't wait to see him in his families arms.  They have received LOA and it is looking like a very Thankful Thanksgiving for them!

Let's help them raise the funds they need to bring him home and shop with a purpose.  Their Thirty-One Fundraiser has been extended through the weekend.  Take a look and see what you can find to help organized your family with pretty functional products!

I love being able to help families bring their children home.  I am so thankful for the opportunities Thirty-One gives me to fundraise with families.  If you are fundraising and looking for new ideas I would love to fundraise with you.  Send me an email to acupquitefull@cableone.net.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2011/08/21/proverbial-success.html

I love being a part of this, changing women's lives every day!  Conference was amazing, the first time I had been to a conference like this.  Loved standing together with my Sisters singing praise to our Father.  I thank Cindy and Scott for taking the leap of faith and following the call to bring this business to so many women.

If you would like to learn more about this wonderful company, check out my websites mythirtyone.come/MandieMetier.

Be Blessed!

I know, I know, I'm a bad blogger.  I keep promising to post some pictures of the our munchkins and then I get busy again.  Here are some cute pictures of the kids from our last couple of camping trips!

They are growing up so fast.  It's hard to believe that M will be in kindergarten in a month and half.  E is turning into such a little man, he is now in PreK and loves it.  S is the star of her class, she has made so many friends and has really come out of her shell.  She is starting to talk, we can really understand what she is saying and has turned into a ham.

The start of summer has been really good for me.  My Thirty-One business is doing fantastic.  Growing my team of Virtuous Women living the Thirty-One Dream!  So grateful to Anne for bringing this opportunity to me.  I love being able to share it with others and help them realize their own dreams.

Speaking of Thirty-One, with my birthday coming up in a couple days I decided to give some stuff away.  Having a mystery hostess shopping event, check out all the details on my newsletter!

Have a fabulous Fourth of July!  (Would have posted some cute pictures of my kiddos in their patriotic apparel but I didn't get the camera before they got ahold of snow cones.)

Sale into Summer with Thirty-One

One day sale! 
Tuesday, May 10th starting at 8:01pm EDT Five fabulous products at 31% off.  The sale runs until supply is gone, don't wait or you might miss out.  No minimum purchase to receive sale prices.

All orders must be placed on my website: mythirtyone.com/MandieMetier.  Send me an email at acupquitefull@cableone.net if you have any questions.  Have a Thirty-Onederful shopping evening!!! 

Exciting Thirty-One News

When I joined Thirty-One it was right at the beginning of their recruitment freeze.  Thirty-One made a big decision and decided to put a hold on future recruitment in February.  Due to their huge growth their home office structure was not staffed to support the consultant and customer base as efficiently as they would like.  While many companies would continue to focus on growth they decided to slow down and focus on support.  That right their made me realize that Thirty-One cares about their customers and consultants.  In April we learned that they will open up recruiting in August just as the new catalog is being launched.

I have great news for all of you that are considering a personal Thirty-One business!  Starting tomorrow May 4th Thirty-One will open up the official "Ladies in Waiting" list.  In order to start your business as soon as recruitment is open you need to be on this list.  Send me an email at acupquitefull@cableone.net if you would like more information about getting on the wait list.

Thirty-One has allowed me to continue to do all that I can for families adopting.  My Thirty-One business has allowed me to do more to help families adopting as well as for organizations that assist orphan care than ever before.  I am very passionate about adoption, orphans and vulnerable children.  I am so grateful to Thirty-One for the opportunity it has given me.  Check out my website mythirtyone/com/MandieMetier to see which organization or family I have partnered with each month.

Thirty-One Fundraiser for Philip Hayden Foundation

E spent approximately 15 months living with Philip Hayden before he came home to us.  We will be forever grateful for the care that they gave him and how much they prepared him to join his forever family.  Philip Hayden is in the process of building a vocational center for children that are not adopted.  This facility will help prepare them with life skills they will need as adults.  It is my privilege to donate all proceeds from the purchases to Philip Hayden Foundation to go toward the vocational building project.

Orphans in China do not have many opportunities once they age out of the social welfare institute.  Most lack education or any skills that help them in their adult lives.  Philip Hayden is working to prepare the children in their care that are not adopted for a more successful future.  By giving them vocational training they can teach them the much needed life skills for a brighter future.

The fundraiser for Philip Hayden vocational center will run through the month of May.  You can look at the thirty-one catalog online and you can place your order here.  My goal is to process orders twice through the month, one mid month and again at the end of the month.  Remeber 25% of all purchases goes to Philip Hayden.  Please email me if you have any questions.

While this picture doesn't have anything to do with the vocational center it shows the heart of the founders of Philip Hayden.  The kids at Philip Hayden are their kids, they love them all.  This picture was taken just months before E joined his forever family.  Thank you to Pam and Tim for all they do for China's Orphans.  If you would like to learn more about Philip Hayden Foundation please visit their website.  They take in children with Special Needs and Vulnerable Children and give them the love, care and medical attention they need to thrive.  Please consider partnering with them and sponsoring a child.

WOW, it has been a while!

The last few months have zipped by.  We have been incredible busy as a family of five.  M and E are in gymnastics and we were all in Awana's as cubbies, S as an honoray cubbie and I was a leader.  It seems that the weeks have zipped by and I haven't even downloaded the camera in months.  I plan to do that very soon as we have S's six month post placement visit coming up on Monday and I need photos for it.  It is hard to believe that in a couple weeks, May 22nd to be exact, S will have been with us for six months.  So here is an update on what I have missed blogging about!

M starts kindergarten in the fall.  She was accepted into the Mandarin Immersion program that we have been praying for.  I wasn't quite sure what were going to do for kindergarten if she didn't get in.  She is so excited and can't wait to start, she would start today if they would let her.  She was very well prepared for kindergarten and does not have a list of items that she needs to work on before the fall, thank you to her preschool and my fabulous teacher sister S!!!  She will be moving to the school age program next week at her preschool and she is so ready to be know as school age!

E will be moving to the PreK program very soon.  He is doing great with his kindergarten preparation as well, although he has one more year in preschool.  I love it when he comes up to me and recites the spelling of his name and his classmates.  He is our child with 100 questions a day, he notices things that so many of us miss each day.  I love see the world through his eyes.  He is a wonderful big brother, he does such a great job looking out for S and helping her with things.  You can really see how much he loves her on a daily basis.  He is really turning into a little man, even helped the family work cows and nana and papa's last weekend as we prepare the cows for the summer.

S has transformed so much over the last five months.  She does not resemble the scared little penguin that she was in China.  When we were in China, if we were in the hotel and I wasn't carrying her you would find her right behind me.  I had to be careful when I was moving around so as not to run her over.  Now she is constantly skipping, jumping, swinging, laughing and just being plain silly.  She is anxiously awaiting gymnastics and practices her bar routine on anything that she can hang off of.  She still has nearly a year before she can start but I think she will love every minute of it.  It is amazing how athletic she is, she has a really good aim when she is throwing things, she even has her own football.  She has claimed her place as the youngest child in our family and it is a great fit.  She is such a blessing to us and daddy and I can't believe how blessed we are to be her family.  We can't thank BAAS enough for all they did to bring us together.

I started selling Thirty-One gifts in February and it is a perfect fit for me.  I can't tell you how much I love the company, the women I am meeting involved with Thirty-One and the people who I can be a part of their lives through Thirty-One.  Thirty-One is allowing me to contribute to families adoption funds and organizations that help orphans when our financial means would not allow it.  It is so rewarding to be able to give back when so many gave to us as we worked to raise money to bring S home.  Since starting in February I have been able to partner with three families to raise $513 towards their childrens adoptions and with Henan Kids International to raise $283 towards projects they are working on in Henan China orphanages.  It is my goal to continue to have at least on fundraiser going on each month.  If you are a fundraising family and are looking for a new fundraiser I would love to partner with you on your fundraiser journey.  Send me an email and we can talk about Thirty-One fundraising.  While our family may be done growing I am passionate about adoption and would love to help you bring your child home.

I have started on the adventure of coupon shopping.  While I know that I will never be an extreme coupon shopper as I don't believe in buying things that my family won't use just because I can get it free.  I do want to work harder at be a good steward of our money and hope that I will be able to get things that are needed by organizations in China to send with families traveling for their children.  Formula and medication are always in demand so I will be picking those items up when I can.  We are also starting a garden to help reduce our produce bill.  Our seedlings are doing fantastic and we are working on getting our flower beds turned vegetable garden ready to plant as soon as the weather becomes stable. Who would have thought we would wake up to snow yesterday.  It was our plan to put down decorative rock in our flower beds and turn them into low maintenance (weed free if possible) however our finances didn't allow it last year and then our dear dog Tri pulled up the weed fabric, now plans have changed and they are turning into vegetable gardens!  I am really excited to see what we can produce to eat fresh during the summer and then can or freeze for the winter.

We have had quite a bit of illness in our family this year.  We have had several cases of "fifths disease", bronchitis, sinus infections, stomach viruses and such.  E had a febrile seizure, M became dehydrated while batteling a stomach virus coupled with her sinus infection so our local ER has seen our family a bit over the last month.  My husband also lost his dear uncle in March, while it was expected, it was still very hard.  His uncle was the man in his life as he was growing up and taught him so much.  He gave him his start in construction and prepared him to succeed in Construction Management.  My husband was able to be with him in the last days and was there with him when he went home to Jesus.  While the loss of him has been so hard I am forever grateful that my husband could be by his side with his cousins during those last days.  I wish we would have had more time together, when we moved an hour away our time together really became nonexistent.  From this we have learned that we have to make the effort to be with our family as often as possible, we won't have forever on earth to spend together.  I am very thankful that one day we will be with him again in heaven.

It's not too late....

to shop with a purpose at thirty-one and help raise funds for the projects Henan Kids International is working on.  The fundraiser ends tomorrow night, April 28th.

Spend $31 and get the all-in-one organizer for $9 (half price)!

Bringing Keliah Home!

My first thirty-one fundraiser was for this precious girl.  She and her family are so dear to my heart and I can't wait for them to be together.  Check out their fundraiser for and IPAD2, they need to raise more than $6000 to get their dossier to China to start the next stage of their wait.  This has been a rough year for many of us and a rough year for them too.  They are holding tight to the journey God has sent them on to their beautiful daughter.  Not only can you help bring this beautiful girl home but for as little as $10 you can enter to win this fabulous IPAD2, give $25 and get three entries.

Be the hands and feet of Jesus and help bring this girl home!

Fasting for Ethiopia

Please join Linny at A Place Called Simplicity and all who love the orphans of the world on Wednesday March 9th to fast for Ethiopia and other countries in similar situations.  The Orphans are counting on us to care for them. 

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: 

to loose the chains of injustice 

and untie the cords of the yoke, 

to set the oppressed free 

and break every yoke?" 

 Isaiah 58:6  NIV

 

 

Linny posted the scripture above on her blog, she always knows the perfect scripture for the situation.  Thanks Linny for rallying us all together for the orphans.

Wrapping up thirty-one for Keliah

Final days to place your thirty-one order to help Keliah's family bring her home.

You can place your order at mythirtyone.

Orders will be placed on Wednesday the 23rd and will be delivered in 2 to 3 weeks.  Take advantage of the February special, for every $31 you spend...you'll get 31% off ANY item!  You will need to enter your full price items first and then enter in your 31% off item.  Send me an email if you have any questions.

Fundraisers for Keliah

You have to check out Keliah's families blog.  It is amazing to see people come together to bring an child into their forever family.  They posted yesterday that the are now at $365 needed to send their paperwork to USCIS from $890 needed last week!  For those that are not schooled in the world of international adoption, the USCIS step is the last step needed before they can turn their completed dossier into China so they can begin the wait to get their Letter Seeking Confirmation or LOA.

There is a little over one week left to place your order for Keliah's thirty-one fundraiser.  You can check out the catalog here.  So far your orders have raised $55 for Keliah's family to help with adoption expenses.  All commission from sales are being donated to Keliah's adoption fund.   Get yourself some adorable thirty-one products and help bring Keliah home.  Be sure and place your order by February 23rd!

Keliah's family also has two other fundraisers going on right now, Matilda Jane gift card giveaway and a gorgeous ABCDinc Headband.  Together, we can help them bring Keliah home.

thirty-one Launch Party for Keliah

The reason I became a thirty-one consultant was to help families who are fundraising to bring their children home.  We were blessed with many folks that helped us bring S home and we feel that we should be doing all we can to help other families and waiting children.  To start off my thirty-one fundraising  I have asked a wonderful family if we can do a party for them.  Mandi does so much for so many in the adoption community and I am so excited that we can step up and help them bring Keliah home.

Keliah is 9 years old and is waiting for her family in China.  She has spent so many years waiting for a forever family and this family is ready to be her forever.  The only thing standing in their way is the fees that need paid.  To start the journey they need to raise the funds for the USCIS immigration approval in order to submit their paperwork to China.

I am holding my first party for this little girl and her forever family.  You can shop with a purpose at Bringing Keliah Home starting today and ending at midnight on February 23rd.  Orders will be placed on February 24th and will be shipped directly to you in approximately two weeks.  All commission from sales go Keliah's family to bring her home.

For the month of February thirty-one has a great sale going on.  For every $31 product purchase you receive one item for half price.  If you spend $62 in product you get two items at half price.  To redeem the special 31% discount, enter $31 or more in retail purchases and then enter the customer's selected sale product with the item # followed by "S." For example, enter #3000S for the Thermal Tote when the customer selects that item as her 31% off product. Personalization is not included in the discount. Shipping and tax is calculated on the discounted price for the sale item.


Hop on over to Keliah's party and help her family bring her home!

Help bring Keliah home

Help bring Keliah home.  Her family is doing a Matilda Jane Fundraiser.  Check it out and help bring this precious little girl home.

The Waiting Child

The Waiting Child by Debbie BodieI saw you meet your child today
You kissed your baby joyfully
And as you walked away with her
I played pretend you'd chosen me.

I'm happy for the baby, yet
Inside I'm aching miserably
I want to plead as you go by
"Does no one want a child of three?"

I saw you meet your child today
In love with her before you met
And as I watched you take her out
I knew it wasn't my turn yet.

I recognize you from last year!
I knew I'd see your face before!
But you came for a second babe.
Does no one want a child of four?

I saw you meet your child today
But this time there was something new
A nurse came in and took MY hand
And then she gave my hand to you.

Can this be true? I'm almost six!
And there are infants here you see?
And then you kissed me and I knew
The child you chose this time was me.

This is a repost from Kenlyn, who is on her way to her beautiful little girl Scarlett tomorrow!

Selling The Girl Next Door

While many in the nation are watching the Sup@r Bowl right now my husband was watching this documentary Selling The Girl Next Door on CNN.  At one point he told me he just wanted to stop watching it because it was making his heart hurt.  My response is, it should make your heart hurt, human/sex trafficking is horrible and has to be stopped.  It's time to start putting these documentaries all over the place.

If you have followed my blog you know that I joined a class at our church a year and a half ago, Women and Children in Crisis.  In this class we learned about human injustice in all forms and it set my heart on fire for the orphan.  I have always had a heart for the orphan but I failed to get how there is no one to protect the orphan.  If someone doesn't stand up and protect them, who makes sure that they aren't trafficked.  In my class we all found our purpose, mine for the orphan, others for street children, for human trafficking, child soldiers, genital mutilation, the list of injustices go on.

My heart is broken for the orphan and for human injustice.  Human trafficking is happening everywhere, not just overseas.  I encourage you to watch this documentary and let it break your heart.  If it is breaking our heart what is it doing to Jesus' heart.  We need to stand up for those that can not protect themselves.  Bring justice to the oppressed. 

Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!  Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.  Isaiah 1:16b-17

Thirty-One

I am excited to share that I have signed up to be a Thirty-One consultant.  I have been thinking about ways that I can help families fundraising just like others helped me.  There are many direct-sell opportunities out there but I was looking for something that the market was not saturated with and was more to my personality.  After much thought and prayer I have concluded that Thirty-One was the best fit for me and my family.  It is relatively untouched in my state, they do not require that you carry an inventory, and most importantly it is faith based.

If you are fundraising for adoption I would love to help you with your fundraising.  We had several people who donated their profits or a portion of their profits to our family during our adoption fundraising.  I will donate my commission to your adoption fundraising and can earn hostess gifts for future fundraising or for yourself.  Depending on your location we can do a Catalog Party if you are not local to me or a Thirty-One Home Party with products displayed at your home or chosen location.  Check out My Thirty-One site or send me an email and we can set something up.

The Lord drew me to Thirty-One and my family is excited about the help that we can give others through this opportunity.

This past week, like the others before it,  went by lightning fast.  We are officially a very busy family of five.  S wasn't feeling well last weekend and Monday so I stayed home with her.  We got her into the doctor and she went back on antibiotics as they think we didn't get her last round of illness killed off with the previous antibiotics.  I felt like such an over reacting mom hauling her back in, they weren't nearly as concerned with her cough as I was instead focusing on the yuck in her eyes and nose.  Happy to say that she is back to normal a week later.

Wednesday was Magnet School information night.  We are praying that M will get to start kindergarten in a Language and Culture magnet school, their language is Mandarin.  If she gets in she will be in all day kindergarten where the morning is spent doing regular kindergarten activities and the afternoon is spent in Mandarin.  She will learn to speak and write in Chinese Character, numbers 1-100 and an additional 400 words in kindergarten alone.  She is really excited about it and was ready to start that day.  While many families are still touring magnet schools trying to decide which is best for their child we have only ever wanted our kiddos to attend this school.  Praying we get good news in April!

Thursday night was gymnastics for M and E.  S really wants to start but she has another year to wait.  Every time someone would not latch the gym door completely S was right there to run out into the gym.  I would have to go after her and break her heart as I brought her back to the viewing area.  She loves doing everything that her big brother and sister do.

Saturday night was our first Chinese New Year celebration with the local Chinese Christian Church.  Good food, great entertainment and fun for the whole family.  The kids in the church put together the cutest songs and dances.  Their choir was amazing and then their was a wonderful guest singer/speaker.  Our kids had such a great time dancing to the singing, M didn't even realize people where watching her as she danced up a storm.  We ended the evening renting a movie and snuggling on the couch.  S passed out as soon as the movie started she was so worn out from the celebration.

Sunday was S's dedication at church.  In our church, once a month all the families that wish to have their children dedicated stand at the front of the church with friends, family and the church staff to dedicate the children, mostly new babies.  We had some wonderful friends join us in prayer and our pastor's wife joined us and spoke the most amazing praise.  She had not met S before that moment and praised the Lord for healing hearts.  Had she met S before I would not have been surprised because we see how much more secure she is and those that see her on occasion have made the same comment that she is blooming before our eyes.  But for her to know that hearts were being healed just amazed me.

Sunday didn't end as well for daddy and I.  We had to make the painful decision to allow our old dog Dru pass on.  She had cancer and was doing horrible, in so much pain.  As soon as we got our kiddos settled in for the night I took her into our all night vet hospital.  I met with the most amazing young vet that looked at her without charging us another office fee.  She knew how hard this decision was on us and assured us that her quality of life was not there anymore and that surgery would be incredibly hard on her if she were to make it through.  This was the second dog that we have lost in the last year.  When Aspen passed away it was so hard on M and she was so upset when daddy had to take him to the doctor and we didn't let her go.  This time we knew that we needed to go when the kids were asleep and then talk to them about it afterwards.  M was the most upset, crying for a very long time.  These two dogs were the dogs she came home to, they were her first best friends.  She knows that Dru was not feeling well but her heart just misses her so much.

This week is another busy week with another CNY celebration on Saturday.  I will post pictures of the kiddos all dressed up after our last celebration.

Have a great week!

Congee Challenge

Check out this blog this sweet little girl is doing what she can to help others.  She is currently working on a congee challenge to help a family that is adopting from China, not her family but another family, gotta love her heart as I'm sure Jesus does too.  She is working so hard to raise $200 by Jan 27th and if she raises $400 her dad is jumping in on the congee challenge.

Our baby S was receiving two things for nurishment in China consistently, formula and congee.  Once she started eating all the different foods available to her off our plates congee was dropped quickly.  Imagine eating congee day in and day out every day of the year.  Sharaya is willing to try it for three days, not many 12 year olds in the US would be willing to do this, think of the 12 year olds in China that have no other food choices.

Jump on over to Sharaya's blog and make a donation.

Good Week!

We made it through the week fairly well.  For the most part the transition to preschool went well for S, M and E jumped back into it all great too!

S woke up this morning with a little fever but otherwise seemed ok.  She accompanied me to Women and Children in Crisis where I taught about the orphan crisis.  The big kids went with daddy to McD's for a daddy breakfast and some fun time in the play area.  What they really wanted to do was hit the library at 7:30 this morning as soon as they woke up.  We finally convinced them that the library didn't open until noon and we would be there when it opened, next on their list of things to do this morning was breakfast with daddy.

Teaching on orphans went really well.  I hope that some of the students will be moved to care for the orphans in whatever way the Lord leads them.  I am excited to hear how Jesus works in the hearts of this class.

This evening S has started really not feeling well.  Her eyes and nose are running non stop and she is drooling a lot.  I hope she doesn't have strep.  She ate like a champ tonight but it was all baby food, not table food.  She just declined her bottle which she is only getting in the evening so I know she is feeling horrible.  I'm sure she was exposed to some new germs this past week at school.  As much as we are out and about she has had a limited exposure to other kids over the last month and a half.

Today also marked the two month family anniversary for S.  It is so hard to believe that she has been a part of our family for only two months.  She has blended into our family so easily that it is hard to remember that she hasn't always been with us.  We all love you so very much S.  You sister and brother love to you help you and keep you safe.  Mommy and Daddy will always be here for you.

All is well with the kiddos at preschool.  M saw her teacher and took off as soon as we were in the door.  I didn't even get to walk her to her classroom.  E was happy to be there but we had to follow our tradition of whining so mommy won't leave.  Once I stepped out of his classroom he was back to normal and it was as if we hadn't left in October.

All of the two's were in class together having snack and doing flashcards.  Normally they are divided in half with younger two's in one room and older in another but they were having dance class in S's class.  It was nice to go in and sit for a while with my niece T helping S transition into her class.  We then went outside to play for a bit and came back in for art time.  She was doing so well that I walked down the hall for 15 minutes.  She didn't even notice I was gone.  I decided I would leave her for an hour and run home do to another load of laundry.

I got back to school right after lunch as S's class was laying down for naps and E's class was heading outside to play.  Everyone was doing great and S was sitting on her cott just like the rest of the class.  Her teacher said that she hadn't cried once, she did want to be held quite a bit but Miss S loves to snuggle so that wasn't a problem.  All of my kids have had Miss S and fall in love with her.  For a while E was going to marry her!

I picked up S to come home with mommy for a nap.  Pretty certain she would have had no problem at all staying in her class for nap time but mommy needed just one more nap with her little one.  The bigs were so glad to be back at school but S doesn't know that she can stay all day!  Mommy needed just one more day.  My babies are all growing up on me.

Happy Birthday to M!

M is five!  It's hard to believe that my first baby is five and will be heading to kindergarten next August.  M believes in the birthday week I have learned so every day is her birthday starting on Thursday evening (her birthday was Friday) and heading on into Sunday at least.  We had a family dinner on Friday and will have a little get together with our extended family and a friend tomorrow.

Many changes coming to our house this next week.  Daddy starts a new job on Monday and the kiddos head back to their preschool.  M and E had been staying with my sister S for the last couple of months.  S is now working outside the home so all the kiddos will be going to M and E's old preschool.  We left the preschool because of the awesome opportunity to have them spend the days with their aunt and cousin so we are happy to return and so grateful that they have room for us.  It is a great school and M had gone to it since she started their infant care at 11 months old.  All of the kiddos have been staying home with daddy or mommy since I returned from China (isn't the picture of daddy and S so precious, he loves their snuggle time).  This is going to be a huge change for our little S as she hasn't stayed away from us since we were united.  Praying that she makes the transition well, she has come so far in nearly two months.  She has turned into such a confident little girl.

Feeling Yuck

We had a great weekend, Saturday was spent laying around the house with the kids playing and watching movies.  Very relaxing.

On Sunday we were off to church.  The two big kids went to their class and S joined mommy and daddy.  She does great in church, sits fairly quiet and plays with whatever she can find.  She has fallen asleep both times during service.  When M was little going to church didn't work out.  She screamed and fussed the entire time and still wasn't happy in the cry room.  She had a lot of seperation anxiety so we couldn't take her to nursery either.  She really didn't do well in church until E came home.  Now she loves her class and going to Awana's.

After church the kids got invited to join their cousin S at the local children's science museum.  The kids and I headed to the museum for a couple hours of play.  M and E love the museum so we decided to get a family pass this year and amazing it only cost $45 for the entire year.  S and M had a great time playing in the grocery store.  E is really into the science and robot stuff.  He hung out with S and Uncle JS doing the guy science stuff.  M also had a great time playing in the Vet Center.  It was a great afternoon and I can't wait for them to spend many more days playing there.  Unfortunately, as is the case a lot these days, I forgot my camera.

I woke up on Monday morning feeling horrible.  I had a little cold when I left for China and it hung on while I was there.  I didn't get my customary upper respiratory infection while in GZ for two weeks so I really say it was a healthy trip in spite of the cold.  When we got home I still had a bit of a cough and it went away but then my sinus congestion came back last week.  Yesterday when I woke up I had horrible pain in my back and taking a deep breath was very painful.  Daddy took the kids to gymnastics and I called work to let them know I wouldn't be in and layed back down.  By the time my family returned I was feeling worse so decided I better get myself to the doctor.  Turns out I have bronchitis and an ear infection.  Taking one more day to get some rest and then back to work for mommy.

Thankfully, my family is well and doing great.

Bible reading is great, so far I am keeping up with it.  I absolutely love You Version, it really keeps me going.

Boss Your Heart, Bible Reading Challenge

I am a follower of a beautifully written blog All Are Precious In His Sight and Lorraine has a wonderful challenge for us all this year.  It's a Bible reading challenge for 2011.  Check out Lorraine's post and take a look at all the different reading plans available on You Version.

Take this next year to spend more time getting to know God.  I've picked my reading plan, have you?

Happy New Year!

Lord, move me into powerful ministry that will impact the lives of others for Your kingdom and Your glory.  I humble myself under Your might hand. O God, Knowing that You will lift me up in due time, I reach out for Your hand today so I can walk with You into the future You have for me.

This devotion really spoke to me, it was my devotion for Thursday and I knew the Lord was speaking to me about this next year.  This past year has been filled with many trials and huge blessings.  Being Christian doesn't mean that life is going to be perfect, that everyday will be easy.  If anything it may bring more pain because you SEE the injustice of the world without rose colored glasses.  I SEE the Orphan Crisis.  I have now been to China three times to bring three beautiful treasures home and every time my heart is broken more.

What more can I do?  That is a question that I ask myself every day.  I know that the Lord has put Orphans deeply in my heart and each day this question is the first thing that comes to my mind when I wake and the last thing on my mind when I fall asleep.  It is part of my daily time with Jesus.

As humans we make resolutions to lose weight, get debt free, simplify, earn more money, work towards better health and the list goes on.  While these are are great resolutions and all things that I would like to spend time working towards, they are not my resolution.

My resolution for 2011 is to spend more time with Jesus personally and with my family.  That we will all spend time daily thinking of the Orphans and working towards Orphans No More.  What that will look like for our family I am not sure but I know if we listen we will find out.