The BIG HOORAH!!! GIVEAWAY

Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined the blessings that would POUR out of this fundraiser.  And while it has been an incredible boost to our adoption fund (over 200 necklaces ordered!), that is only part of it.  We have met so many encouraging, God-lovin', disciples!  Shared verses of hope have held us during the days when emotions were running high.  Stories of triumph in HIM have put us back in our place when we blew things way out of proportion.  AWARENESS has been brought to the forefront to so many who many have never known the love and beauty of special needs adoption.  

AND WE GIVE ALL THE GLORY TO GOD!!!

NONE of this is because of us.  We have simply handed our lives over to Him completely (on most days:) and cannot wait to see what He has in store.  And as one of my precious sisters in Christ always says.....

We serve a "Mountain-Moving, Awe-Inspiring, Gasp-Giving God!!!"

While even though I know that NONE of this would be possible without Our Father, He has used each and every one of you to be a part of His story.....and our daughter's story!  And I must thank you.  

From now until 9pm (EST) tonight, we will be having

  THE BIG HOORAH! GIVEAWAY!!!

as a small way to tell each of you "thank you!". 

But to us, this giveaway is so much more than giving you a necklace.

In honor of all 6 of our blessings, we will be giving away SIX necklaces!!  And you can win more than once!  But here's the catch.  I can't make you do anything more than win a necklace for yourself and wear it every single day.:)  BUT I encourage you to do something way beyond that.  

Our vision for this giveaway is just that....to give.  To bless someone else.  Each and every single one of us knows of a precious lady who has a story.  A story of hope.  A story of triumph.  Or a story of despair.   I encourage each of you to pray and search your hearts for that one person you know God would want you to bless today.  And if your name is drawn tonight, I encourage you to accept your free necklace for her.  Now, again, I cannot make you do this.  I know you want one for yourself.:)  But think about the love of Christ you could be sharing with a precious sister in Christ?!

The giveaway details are, for the most part, the same.  Buy one or share this in order to win.

But this time the deal is a little sweeter.  

*If you have purchased a necklace at all throughout the entire fundraiser, you will automatically get 2 entries per necklace ordered!  That includes any orders placed today until 9pm (EST)!  Deadline to order is this Saturday, August 25th.

*SHARE our fundraiser and/or giveaway and receive 5 entries.  Yep, if you spread the word about The BIG HOORAH! GIVEAWAY!!!, you will receive 5 additional entries!!!  My only request is that you somehow mention we aren't doing this just to make money but that it is to bring HOME one of the most STUNNING treasures I have ever laid eyes on!!!  I cannot wait to show her beautiful face to all of you.

And that's it.  The "winners" will receive one necklace of their choice.  

Please, email me (nogreatergiftmom@yahoo.com) or send me a message of Facebook with any questions. I pray each of you have an INCREDIBLE day filled with Our Father's love and mercy!

In Him,

E

Fundraiser Update

Just say it.  I know, I am a total slacker.  Well, let me rephrase that.  I am a blog slacker.  THINGS HAVE BEEN SO CRAZY HERE!!!!!  Since posting about the fundraiser launch.....are you ready?.....

WE HAVE SOLD OVER 180 NECKLACES IN 3 WEEKS!!!!

So, call me a slacker if you want.  My fingers are numb.:)

Just a sample of one of the Mother's Nest necklaces I have made.  Each custom necklace is $15 each.

We have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams!!  Not only are orders still pouring in (crazy!), but we have met some amazing people and heard the most incredible stories along the way.  

This is the Robin's Nest necklace in honor of my only son.  $12 each

The Precious Pearl necklace in honor of my girls.  I made it as a symbol of  Our Heavenly Father's love for them
and how He sees each of them as perfect and beautiful.  I pray it also serves as a reminder to each of them of purity and modesty we are all called to.  $12 each

And what would be a fundraiser without a Down Syndrome Awareness necklace?!?!   One of my oldest daughters made this in honor of her younger siblings.  $15 each

Another Mother's Nest

If our adoption timeline holds true, we will be wrapping up the fundraiser this weekend.  We pray we travel the first part of September, and I must have time to prepare our home for our newest treasure.  I cannot survive this staying up until the wee hours too much longer.:)

And another.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to each of you who have prayed for us, ordered necklaces, shared baby items and held my hand during those days when I thought I might just lose it!!

And another.

 If you'd like to order a necklace, please send me an email at nogreatergiftmom@yahoo.com.

And stay tuned.....

THE BIG HOORAH GIVEAWAY WILL BE ANNOUNCED THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING!!!

In Him,

E

Three Years Ago Today

Three years ago today my phone rang.  My heart skipped a beat as I read the number.  And then, my heart started racing as the sweet voice on the other end said, "He will be born in about a hour."  We knew it could be any day, but he was not scheduled to enter the world until later that week.  

Our lives are forever changed.

I will never be able to put into words how God has used this precious boy to change us.  Tears stream down my face just typing those words.  He is simply amazing in every single way.  

With tear stained cheeks,  I hugged my mom and daughters goodbye.  Never in my wildest dreams could I have known what gift my God had waiting for me.  He kept that secret to Himself.:)

Who knew that a little boy, who so much of the world sees as "imperfect", would, in fact, shine perfection to all he meets!  

I wish you could meet him.  I wish you could hear his laugh.  I so wish you could feel his chubby little arms wrapped around your neck.  But what I wish even more is that you could witness him kiss me so sweetly and hear his precious voice say, "I love you, momma."

Perfection.  Created in our Heavenly Father's imagine.  A perfection that most of the world never gets to see.  The voice most of the world chooses not to hear.

My son.  The one that God uses daily to make me better.  The one that I pray will open hearts and change the world for other individuals with special needs.

On this day we celebrate LIFE!  A life that could not have been.  A life that many choose to take.  

The life of my son.

So on this day we celebrate the life of the most incredible little boy I have ever met. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY PERFECT SON!!!

I LOVE that tiny curved pinky!!

In Him,

E

*Photos courtesy of a very proud big sister!

AGAIN!

I know, I know.  I suppose I didn't write the most detailed post to announce our fundraiser.  I will say, though, that even without all the juicy details that some people think are important (wink, wink), we received close to 70 ORDERS FOR NECKLACES this weekend!!!  Holy Moly!!  That is a lot of workin' I'm going to have to get done.  PRAISE THE LORD!!  And every single one of those necklaces are getting us one step closer to bringing home our next treasure.  

A little story about my day.  I was floating.  I mean, my world was great- homestudy done, fundraiser launch huge success, oldest daughter in Africa doing His work, donations pouring in for a new mom who just happens to be homeless (no more!  Home found!), perfect children (yeah right), I was dressed and had even brushed my hair and enough food for everyone's tummy.  Then....BAM!!!  Just like that.  I received a call from our attorney that informed us the translator fees were going to be $1700.  Okay, I knew we would need to hire a translator but $1700!!!  I later realized there was a second estimate of only $1200.  That makes it so much better (snide grin).  This translator fee is in addition to attorney fees x2-  in our state and in another state.  Just wait.....we also will have to pay for a social worker to take history of bio family.  UGH! The attorney in the other state is getting estimates.  "Getting estimates" never makes me feel at ease.  I am afraid to hear those estimates since I truly did not think the translator fee would be so much.  

After the phone call, I was down.  I mean WAY down as in "why are we even doing this?!" and "how can we even do this?!" down.  I am just being honest.  And then it happened.  I was SMACKED upside the head by GOD!!  Well, maybe it was Charlie throwing his beanbag across the room, but for the story I'll say it was God.:)

And I realized one very important thing.  What do I have to complain about?  Really?  Look back at the list of things above that I was so ecstatic about only moments earlier.  None of that had changed.  And you know something that I realized that I didn't even list above?  I had not even thought about how incredibly, immeasurably blessed we are about to become AGAIN!  AGAIN, for the 6th time, we are adding to our family.  AGAIN, God has chosen us.  And yes, it is hard.  And it costs money.  And there is lots of paperwork.  And for some reason I have to pay the county so they can pretend like they check my septic tank and "approve" it AGAIN which they never really do just so our homestudy can be approved.  And I am neurotic for several weeks while I work into the wee morning hours creating necklaces.  All for one thing.  

TO BRING HOME OUR STUNNING, PERFECT IN EVERY SINGLE WAY.......

DAUGHTER!!!

.....to be continued:)

In Him,

E

PS- The beads come in most every color, for those of you who asked.  Email me nogreatergiftmom@yahoo.com.

Adoption Fundraiser.....and GIVEAWAY!!!!

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God. ~Psalm 84:3

We are so excited to announce our newest efforts in getting our next child(ren) home. Our minds are busy and fingers are even busier creating Mother's Nest Necklaces. Each Mother's Nest Necklace is custom made especially for each precious mother (or yourself!) in your life.

The Nitty Gritty- $15 per custom necklace includes shipping. You pick how many eggs and the colors and we get busy creating.

Launch Special- $22 for 2 custom necklaces only until 9pm tonight (Thursday, July 26th)!!

Giveaway Details- One free necklace!! In honor of Celia's life and her 1 year Healthy Heart Day anniversary, we will draw one winner on Friday, July 27th at 8pm. There are 2 ways to win-

1. For every necklace purchased before the giveaway deadline, you will be entered 2 times.

2. For every time you "share" our fundraiser (via Facebook, blog, email, etc), you will get 1 entry. You MUST let me know where you shared the fundraiser.

Feel free to either leave a comment here or email me at nogreatergiftmom@yahoo.com.

We CANNOT WAIT to share where God is leading us this time!!

In Him,

E

Soon, very soon

I pray that soon, very soon, I will be able to give you a hint of what's to come.  We are so excited!!!

Stay tuned.

In Him,

E

The Boy

This is long.....as in 5 minutes long.....but it's the boy in a nutshell.  A total NUTHEAD!!

He is acting terribly silly throughout the whole thing because he could see himself on the computer,

My favorite part of the entire video is "I.  HAVE.  DOWN.  SYNDROME.....SYNDROME!!!!!"  Then he started singing, "They are weak but He is STRONG!!" while showing his muscles.

I apologize for the half dressed children.  They were headed to take a bath when the dance party broke out.

Please, pray for me!:)

In Him,

E

A PLEA From a Mommy's Heart!

When God spoke to our hearts and turned our lives upsidedown 3 years ago, we never imagined He would lead us to this place.  A place of abundant grace and love and abandon.  If you had asked me 15 years ago if I would be the mother of 5 or open to adopting little ones with special needs, I may have just laughed in your face.  

I used to pray a prayer with hopes that His answer would fit neatly into my life.  I enjoyed the comfort of what I had going on.  God has changed me.  Changed us.  I now beg Him to make me uncomfortable.  I beg Him to open my eyes and heart to what I don't think I can do.  Hard stuff.
Good stuff.  

And so last night in the dark stillness as I walked from room to room checking on each of my treasures, emotions came from deep inside.  I feel so unworthy.  How is it that we are so blessed?!  We have done NOTHING to deserve this....being chosen both by birth and by adoption to parent each of our children.  It's quite the opposite really.  I am a sinner.  The ugly bubbles up and spews out sometimes.  I am lazy.  I dodge the opportunity to share His name.  I close my eyes when I should be His hands and feet. 

Yet even in the midst of the ugly, God is asking us to move again.  Our journey is taking another turn and our homestudy is being updated.  WOOHOO!!  At some point in each of our lives, we are put in a place where total surrender is all there is.  We can chose to take control, but what is the alternative?  He is asking for our "YES!"!  He is asking us to allow Him to take the reins and show us how MIGHTY He truly is.  To perform miracles.  We said "YES!" very recently and the door was slammed in our faces.  Was that still God?  I believe with every part of me that it was.  Absolutely!!  Had we not surrendered, we would not be standing where we are today.   I am pretty good at making and following through with my own plans, but He is so much more than that.  

I am so eager to share what God is working on but I must keep a few things private for a bit longer.  I will say that God is incredible and so is this story.  It's a story of fear and love and loss and perseverance and obedience and faith and anger and honor.  It's a story of families woven together because of one particular thing.  It is a story of unexpectedness and obedience.  I stand amazed when I take a step back.  I see His fingerprints all over this story.  Our faith is being stretched, and I can't help but wonder if God is getting a good laugh!

Yet, in the midst of this awesome story and the excitement we have, lies the reality that in just a few weeks we will be growing.  And I am uncomfortable.  This is the part that forces me to lay it all out there and PLEA from the depths of my momma's heart.  We didn't have this on the radar so soon.  Rooms will be shifted, furniture added and equipment ordered.  Fees (that part makes me crazy!) must be paid.  I pray that God will use HIS body, HIS people, HIS disciples to write the next pages in His book, our book.  So, here it is.  

We have brainstormed and have some fun ideas for fundraising, but we may just not have time.  I love creating items and getting my hands dirty to raise the ransom for our adoptions, but the clock is ticking. I just don't know if there are enough hours before change comes.  If you feel God leading you to financially stand alongside us in this journey, I am adding a "Donation" button to the top of my blog.  (UGH!!  I hate this part!!)

Please, pray for our family and for this adoption.  Pray that hearts will be opened and that we walk this journey honoring noone but our Heavenly Father.  Pray that funds are available in time.  I can't wait to see what God does!!!

And know that we love each of you who are walking this crazy life with us!  I stand in awe of our Creator and the blessings he continues to pour into our home!
In Him,
E

Gluten and Dairy Free

I receive many questions and comments about gluten free/dairy free eating.  The most common response when someone learns that Charlie and Celia are GF/CF is "I could never do that". Followed by "What do they eat?!".   Followed by "What about pasta and bread?".  In this post you will find what has worked for our family.  Once you get the hang of what to be on the lookout for, it is actually quite easy.

First, the "I could never do that" comment.  One of my favorite resources that was shared with me when we embarked on this journey is Gluten Free Goddess.  Karina (aka Gluten Free Goddess) shares a wealth of information from "How to do Gluten Free" to delicious recipes.  Karina addresses many of the questions first timers like me had.  What do I look for?  Are there keywords that should be red flags?  Her site was so helpful to me and really gave me a sense of "I can do this!".

I do want to add that Charlie and Celia aren't GF/CF because it's the last fad.  We had to change diets drastically just a fews weeks after Charlie turned one.  Approaching his first birthday we noticed he started exhibiting many sensory behaviors- humming while staring at a moving object (his hands, bead necklace, etc) and just "zoning" out to the point that he sometimes wouldn't even respond to his name.  I researched quite a bit about sensory behaviors and disorders and found that one very easy thing to  change and something that I could control without medication was diet.  I feed my children several times a day anyway, so why not just change what I feed them?!  And really, it was that easy.  I didn't find it to be as grueling as some people talk about and dread.  It became a matter of trying to gain my silly, alert son back.  So, yes, if I can do it so can you.

DELICIOUS Granola Balls- completely GF/CF.  Find the recipe here.  They are so easy- I now
make them by the bucketfuls! The kids devour them, and I am happy because I know they are eating
something healthy.  I do use Agave instead of honey, leave out chocolate chips and add raisins.

Next, the "What do they eat?" question I hear all the time.  We went cold turkey and cut out all gluten and dairy.  He no longer drinks cow's milk but instead drinks rice milk.  After about 1 1/2 weeks Charlie's behaviors had almost vanished.  I would say we do occasionally see some sensory things going on, but he is 95% better.  A true miracle!!

Foods that are naturally gluten/dairy free- beans, rice, fruits, veggies, nuts (and the butters made with them- double check labels, though!), eggs, meats (again, nothing processed unless your scour the labels!).  Basically, whole foods.  Natural foods.  And I do believe we could live off of that list of foods alone, but we enjoy other things so I have become accostume to buying other staples.

I do try to make most of our foods from scratch and Bob's Red Mill Rice Flour has become a necessity for cooking.  I have not met a recipe yet that flopped because I substituted rice flour for regular wheat flour.  Bob (we are on a first name basis now:) also carries some other wonderful flours and meals and oats.  And oats are tricky.  Oats themselves are naturally gluten free but MOST of them are processed in plants that also process other unsafe grains and then contaminate the precious oats.  Bob carries some safe, delicious oats that my kiddos eat and eat and eat.  

  And the last question "What about bread?".  I bake their bread...usually.  For mommas who don't want to or can't find the time to bake, Udi's makes a bread that is quite delicious.  We have tried several different brands and Udi's is by far the best premade bread.  I can find it at our local Kroger and Publix but Amazon also sells it by the case.  

If I am not in the mood to bake or haven't planned ahead, I reach for Pamela's.  Pamela's is much like Bisquik.  She carries several different varieties including Baking and Pancake Mix, Bread Mix,

Cornbread Mix, Chocolate Brownie Mix, etc, etc.  I often use Pamela's Baking Mix to make the top crust of our chicken pot pie.  Quick and easy.  I can also use it to make flat biscuits if I need to make a sandwich for Charlie and am out of Udi's or fresh bread.  

As far as pasta goes, we just don't eat it.  It's not that there aren't substitutes (there are many rice noodles on the market) but since going GF we have just lost the love we once had with pasta.  We have since fallen deeply in love with mexican food because it is pretty safe for the little ones and so quick and easy.

So, there you have it- why we do what we do and how much it has helped Charlie.  Why does Celia eat this way, too?  Celia did show some signs of a pretty severe dairy allergy so we just never added dairy nor gluten to her diet.  It can't hurt!  And we, as a family, try very hard to follow the diet as closely as possible so I don't have to make multiple meals.  It just makes life much easier if we do it that way.

In Him,

E

Happy Birthday to Me!!

My birthday was a little over a week ago and my family made me feel so special!!

The first surprise of the day was when 4 of my kiddos (our oldest was at work:( ) walked in with hand/foot prints they had designed.  

Just look how proud this little guy is!!

And since it was MY birthday and I LOVE dessert (as in I would eat it alone for every meal, every day:), we started dinner at our local frozen yogurt location.

No yogurt for him (remember, he's dairy free), but he loved his sorbet!

I had to share this photo because I wanted you to notice 2 things about the card I am holding.  On the left, you will see Celia's footprint.  Notice the space between her big toe and second toe?  And on the right, you will see Charlie's handprint.  Notice his pinky?  How curved it is?  What a PERFECT card!!  I love how God blessed my two treasures with these unique features.  It still amazes me how that extra chromosome can effect so many parts of them.

And no, our second stop was not dinner....real dinner.  We went straight from our yogurt stop to the pool.  On the way, we did grab sandwiches from a deli to eat at our leisure during the evening.  

I cannot think of a more perfect way to celebrate my birthday.  I was surrounded by my blessings and had dessert first!!  Thank you, Jesus!:)

In Him,

E

Nice

Hubby thought he'd be funny and make this photo the background on my desktop last night. 

Great surprise this morning!  Why does my son look terrified?!?!:)

In Him,

E

Photos, photos, photos

How's that for a title?!:)  We have been busy lovin' and just spending some much needed time together the past few weeks.  I promise I will write a more in depth sometime soon.....just waiting for God to give me the words.  

Love my guys!  

These two.  They are buddies and love, love, LOVE each other!!

I have written many times about my girl's funny, free spirit.  Why am I not surprised that she loved this when she was 2 and still gets such a kick out of it?!  She cracks me up and makes my days HAPPY!!:)

Cousin love at my Grandpa's property in SC.  These hugs took place under the 100+ year old oaks.  This property holds so many memories- Such a place of peace.

Mimi and her "antlers".  She has several that represent different holidays.  Charlie apparently loves them!:)

My Grandpa with his TWELVE GREAT GRANDCHILDREN!!  He is such an incredible man of faith.

My middle (far left) with 2 cousins celebrating on "The Hill".

Mimi (my mom) with Charlie in the wading pool.

This is how my girls celebrate July 4th!

My guys during a late night swim- just had to share.

Her first catch at the Annual Fish Fry.

......and her first catch.

We had a blast despite the heat.

When you are a baby and it is a sweltering 105 degrees outside on the day your family decides to have a fish fry, just get naked and sleep in the shade under a cool washcloth.

Oldest and youngest.  WOW- she is beautiful!!  I am in awe of how God is using her for HIS GLORY!  Watch out Africa- my red head's a comin'!:)

Nothing is better than sitting in a metal tub of water, eating popsicles and playing with pinwheels.

"Ehem....excuse me....":)

Oh, this girl has my heart!!!

HAPPY FOURTH!

My girl and her cousin chatting on the swing.  We are so blessed to have family who not only lives close enough to get together regularly but LOVES to get together regularly.

In Him,
E