And the winners are.....

Erika Q.

Joanne W.

Julie Z.

Melissa M.

Thank you to everyone for helping Josephine's family!!  I used random.org to pick the numbers. I'll be in touch with each of you to get you your gift cards. I hope you enjoy them!  (And another thank you to Gilbert for generously donating them!)

Josephine giveaway, and other little updates

Thank you so much to those of you who have contributed and/or spread the word about Josephine!  I was so thrilled when she had a family step forward to adopt her so quickly! They still has a long way to go to raise the money needed for her adoption so I want to have one final push for the giveaway I'm having.  Tomorrow is the last day but there's still time for a chance to win one of 4 gift cards worth $50 each (2 for Starbucks and 2 for Subway).  NO minimum donation is asked, even if all you can afford is $1 that is perfectly OK!  Just seeing her grant grow is such a huge encouragement to the Cutler family.  I'll draw names tomorrow and then announce the winners of the gift cards :-) Then I'll contact you for your addresses so I can get them in the mail ASAP!

On another note, Darya went to be evaluated by a physical therapist yesterday.  She said that Darya's doing great, but wants her to wear inserts in her shoes for a while to strengthen her feet and ankles.  I also had my transition meeting with our local school district a week or so ago.  Darya will be 3 in June, then her services will transfer from the Early Steps program to the local schools.  Even though we home school the boys, we think it would be beneficial for Darya to attend school part time so she can continue to receive speech therapy. We'll see how that goes! I'm a bit nervous about sending my baby girl to school, but I know she'll be fine!

Also, I love being the New Family Liaison for Reece's Rainbow!  I get to "meet" so many wonderful families from around the country (and even world!).  The best part is when we get to move a waiting child to the "My Family Found Me" page :-)

Look out for my post tomorrow for the winners!

Splash Park

This morning after doing some home school work, we hit the local splash park with some friends from church.  Summer is just around the corner and we are enjoying the weather and spending as much time outside as we can before the humidity and bugs hit full force here in Florida. The kids all had a wonderful time!  This was Darya's first time there and she absolutely loved it.   Rather than posting the photos individually, I made a slideshow. Enjoy!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Luv

I just had to share this sweet picture my 6 year old, Nate, drew for me the other day.  It is of him and me blowing kisses to each other. Every day he tells me I'm lovely, beautiful, the best mom in the world.  I love being so loved by such a sweet boy!  I am savoring this time of being the woman in his life, but I know it will before I know it that he'll be a man and his affections will be for another woman.  *sigh*

Josephine has a family!!!

Introducing the Cutler family in Texas!! http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorcutler

They still have a lot of fundraising to do and time is of the essence, so PLEASE consider helping this wonderful family who has stepped forward bring their daughter home!!  Please chip-in at the right (it will still go directly to Josephine's grant) or you can donate directly to their family sponsorship page through the link above.

Your chances of winning one of four gift cards is still VERY good!!!  I will draw names at the end of the month.  Please spread the word and help the Cutlers bring Josephine home!!

$309.50!

I just checked Josephine's grant and it's gone up!  I am adding a thermometer widget on my sidebar so we can see her grant grow.  I'd love for it to get up to at least $500. Wouldn't that be great!?  That amount could cover her plane ticket home for a family :-)  Please, let me know if you donated and spread the word so I can enter you into the drawing for a Starbucks or Subway gift card giveaway!! You can leave a message or email me at mefick *at* gmail *dot* com.  Thank you so much for everyone who has donated so far!!

6 Months Home

It was six months ago that I boarded the plane with Darya, saying goodbye to her previous life in Eastern Europe and hello to her new life with a family in America!  It's been a beautiful experience, certainly with its ups and downs, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

GOODBYE ORPHANAGE!

HELLO FAMILY!

Coffee and Lunch Anyone?

Someone has generously donated some great gift cards for me to giveaway to my faithful blog readers!  But there's a catch.  I really, really, REALLY want to see Josephine's adoption grant grow. She is already 5 years old and hasn't had the "luxury" of being listed on Reece's Rainbow very long.  Her time is running out and she'll be transferred very soon.  You all know what that means.  She'll be 6 in December. Wouldn't it be absolutely wonderful if she could spend her next birthday and Christmas with a family and NOT in the walls of a mental institution?  As of right now, she has $100.50 in her grant. That's a great start, but sadly not enough! Let's see that grow!


I have 2 STARBUCKS and 2 SUBWAY gift cards to giveaway that have $50 on EACH of them!  4 Gift Cards to give away to 4 readers.    


Now the RULES:
1. Please make a donation to Josephine's adoption grant (remember, it's tax-deductible!).  You can donate through the Chip-in I set up on the top right which goes directly to her grant through Reece's Rainbow.  No minimum amount (and certainly no maximum!).  Or you can go HERE. Maybe you could skip one trip to Starbucks and donate the money to her grant instead, and who knows, maybe you'll win a gift card to with enough money to get 10 lattes!  You must leave me a comment on my blog so I know you donated.  Also, if you want to donate the "old fashioned" way, you can send a check to: Reece's Rainbow, P.O. Box 4024, Gaithersburg, MD, 20885. Be sure to put "Josephine" in the memo. 


Then, in order to get another entry you can do any of the following:

2. Share this blog on FaceBook, then leave me a comment to tell me.
3. Blog about Josephine and encourage your readers to make a donation. Leave me a comment with the link. 
4. Tweet about this blog entry to raise more awareness for Josephine and leave me a comment with the info.
5. "Follow" my blog and then leave me a comment to let me know.
6. Share this with any of your friends who might be interested in the gift cards and get them to visit my blog! 


I will keep this open until the end of the month, then I'll have a drawing. Remember, I have FOUR gift cards to give away, so you've got a good chance!  
Also, I have partnered up with Leigh over at www.adasperdown.blogspot.com to raise funds for Josephine. She is having a give away for a custom made toddler bedding with cow print set. Check it out!!


And let's end this post with some cute inspiration to get the ball rolling!