Dolls for Downs Give Away!

Our friend Angie is hosting an online give away to benefit Edik!

Here is the link to her blog:

http://followingourcallingdaily.blogspot.com/2013/05/dolls-for-downs-fundraiser-for.html

 

Have you seen Dolls for Downs yet?  It was started by a mother of a daughter who has Down syndrome.  The daughter asked her mom "why don't any dolls look like me?"  Her mom then set out on a journey to create dolls that have Down syndrome.  It has been a work in progress for some time now and the dolls are almost ready for production.  The dolls are the same size and quality of American Girl dolls.  You can order them to look like your child.  There are many hair colors and eye colors to choose from.  You can even choose to have your doll have a scar for heart surgery if you would like.  Down the road there will be more clothing options and accessories.  Please visit the website for more information and pictures: http://www.dollsfordowns.org/

  

 

Here are the prizes:

The First place prize is the winners choice of one of the Dolls for Downs dolls.  They winner will get to choose the doll they would like. (Visit www.dollsfordowns.org to see the choices)

 

 

There is also a second place!  The second place winner will receive a beautiful handmade afghan.  See the pics below!

 

Here are the rules:

For every $5 donated to the Braithwaite family's FSP here: http://reecesrainbow.org/51441/sponsorbraithwaite you will get 2 entries to win!  In order for your donation to count, please Forward the Paypal receipt to: simplyvintagefun@gmail.com This way we will know how many entries you have.

 

You can also get 1 entry by posting a link to the fundraiser on your Facebook page or blog but you must remember to come back here and leave a comment that you shared the giveaway.

 

At the end of the give away a winner will be drawn through random.org.  The winner will be notified through this blog and/or through Facebook or through email if they left an email address.

 

 

Garage Sale Success -- Thank You!!!

We received many, many, great donations!

Friends, we can't thank you enough for your help with the garage sale (donating, sorting, spreading the word, buying, babysitting our energetic three-year-old, manning the sale, cleaning up, etc.).  It was a great success. 

The tents were very helpful because we did have some light rain and one 10 minute torrential downpour.

I have to say that our little guy and his buddy had a grand time in the puddles and mud:)  We moms were happy to let them play and play and play!  Little boys are so much fun!!!

 

One of the best parts of our garage sale was getting to speak with so many kind people who were genuinely interested in our adoption.  I was able to explain about the orphan crisis and even had several people say they had thought about adopting.  I was thrilled to give them the http://www.reecesrainbow.com/ website.

 

I even met a sweet mommy and her baby boy with Down Syndrome who happen to live just down the road in another neighborhood.  Her little guy and our Edik are only a few months apart in age.  They will be in the same grade when they start school.  We exchanged phone numbers and planned some future play dates!!!

 

At the beginning of this journey, we knew that we would increase our family by one.  However, we could have never imagined the friendship, love and support that we would feel throughout this process.  Our family has increased by many more than one . . . and we haven't even (at least from a legal standpoint) added Edik to our family yet.

THANK YOU!

Adoption Benefit Garage Sale

Local Friends . . . Next week, we will be having a garage sale to benefit Edik's adoption.  There will be something for everyone.  Stop by and find a treasure!!!

Dear Edik, this will be your Zoo!

On Monday the girls were out of school for some Superintendent's something or other so we headed to the ZOO.

 

 We arrived just in time for a special surprise.

 We found out...

 The momma orangutan had given birth to her baby just two hours earlier.

 Just as we were arriving she came outside to show us her sweet new baby.

 We couldn't hardly believe our luck!



Wow!

Momma decided to lay right down and cuddled her sweet baby for a little nap. 

Because well, childbirth can be quite exhausting.

After that, everything else we saw was just a bonus:)

Zoo's are great fun.

Rhinos



Don't seem to move around much.

But, they still create child-like wonder.

And great photo opportunities:)

So do big tree trunks.



Who cares if the slide has a puddle at the end...

I love Superintendent's get out of school day!

It is a good thing mom wore her sneakers because when little boys are excited they need to run really fast back and forth to all the different animals.  We can't wait for the day when we get to take two little boys to the zoo. 

We are coming Edik!



Lighting Our Steps

When we started this journey, we understood that it would sometimes take more faith and understanding than we personally had to continue on this path.  In that way, this process definitely has been everything that we thought it would be . . . and more.  The name of our blog is based on a quote from President Boyd K. Packer.  In one of our favorite talks, he said, "It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two."

In the past few days, we found that the way was once again lighted for us . . . for just a footstep or two.

The time frame is still the same.  If all goes well, we will travel to Edik's country to meet him at the end of June or the beginning of July.  However, what has changed is that we have once again been reminded that God hears and answers prayers in very specific ways and that many times those answers come through other people.  Specifically, someone in Edik's country was able to see him and let us know that he's being cared for.

We know that nothing in this process (or in life, for that matter) is certain.  However, for this week, we are reminded again that God knows us and the details and circumstances of our lives.
 
So, we'll continue to walk a step or two into the light . . . .  

One foot in front of the other. . .

Court happened!!! We are so grateful for the way in which our Father in Heaven is watching over Edik. Thank you for your prayers on his behalf. There are still several hurdles that we still have to cross to get to our boy. It looks like we will be traveling in late June or early July:( It is hard to wait. There is a LONG holiday the first two weeks of May in Edik's country:( This slows down the process:( We are praying Edik's paperwork makes it to the capitol of his country quickly and we can bring him home earlier than expected.
Until then, we will try to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  This process is definitely working on our hearts and deepening our faith and hope in things to come.  It is also deepening our understanding of God's grace and helping our family to pray with meaning and purpose.  We know that our Heavenly Father is watching over Edik.

Hopeful

We are praying that Edik's regional court date takes place tomorrow as scheduled. Our family is so anxious to go and get our little boy! Hopefully after tomorrow we will know more. Thank you for your prayers on Edik's behalf.  We know that the Lord is going before us and preparing the way for us to bring Edik home.