Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Many people may ask "WHY" should I care....
That there are orphans right here in the United States. WHY should I worry about some one so far away. The conditions of which alot of these children live is one reason you should care. These pictures show so much more then I could ever say.



John 13:34
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

These are just some of the faces that are in need of love, that have hopeless futures....


These are just some of the people that have stepped forward with God's courage and love and decided to change these children's future, Gave them hope, gave them love


"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responisble to act" Proverbs 24:12


Now you may ask What ways you can help , I know some times I just feel that I am just one person, How can I make a diffrence.
But as we come together, We can each help to save these children. In the last few years over 500 children have found homes through Reece's Rainbow
And just since the Angel Tree started in November Eight Children have found there forever family. PRAISE GOD!!
Please pray for these children and the families that are there for them, that just don't know it yet. Please share there stories so they can find there familes. Please donate to help them be able to go home faster. Every little bit helps so much!!!

This year I have picked Little Dorothy to raise $1,000 or more for her with the angel tree
You can click on the link to donate at the top of the side bar to her angel tree or any of the other precious angels there. If you donate $35 or more you will recieve a beautiful ornament with the child's picture on it to remind you each year how you helped in the life of a special child

As an added Bonus we are adding a give away again! Any amount of donations and your name will be entered into the drawing. Just please leave a comment so I will know you donated :-)
This would make a great christmas gift or a nice treat for yourself!!!
A wonderful lady has donated it to help our little Dorothy, Thank you so much!!!
This is exactly what you will get, This fantastic Longaberger basket filled with candles and scents. What a lovely gift basket!

For a chance to win, please make a donation (ANY AMOUNT) to Dorothy's fund and then leave a message saying that you donated. Isaac and Savannah will draw a name and we will post it on here on December 3 at 6pm EST Plenty of time to be there for christmas.

Thanks and God Bless!!!
Amy


Thank you Ray, Laken and Ashley for your donations for Dorothy. Your names will be added to the pot :-)

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Dorothy

Christmas Ornaments for Dorothy Giveaway???

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!













Ok here is a quick and easy giveaway
for my Angel :tree Angel, Dorothy
Christmas Ornaments ~Hand Painted~ :-)
So how about an easy and fast giveaway??? Make a donation for any denomination to the Angel Tree for Dorothy, leave me a comment and you're in. Just running this through Sunday. You'll have these beauties in time to hang on your tree and trust me they are gorgeous! Just make sure you donate to her Angel Tree fund.

A winner will be drawn on Monday November 21
By Isaac and Savannah :-)





Dorothy is an orphan in Eastern Europe waiting for her family. Reese's Rainbow is having their Angel Tree Project. It's their biggest fund raiser of the year. The goal is to get at least $1000.00 into each orphans account.It is also a huge way to raise awareness to these children. Most people are completely unaware of the life these children lead. Most children with Down syndrome in EE countries, are immediately given up for adoption. They are placed in orphanages where they are not always treated with kindness. A lot are mistreated and neglected. If by the age of four they have not been adopted they begin the process of being transferred to an adult mental institution, where 85% will die the first year due to poor care. Please open your hearts to these kids.
Reeces Rainbow has this description of her
Girl, born May 2011

What a sweet little dolly! Little Dorothy has a heart condition (a full A-V defect). She'll need to see a cardiologist as soon as she is home.

She's at the perfect age to be adopted and receive early intervention services!






Just click"donate" on her donation box in my sidebar. That will take you directly to her Angel tree Account. Don't forget to leave me a comment and you will be entered in the giveaway for the ornaments. Also if you donate $35.00 or more Reece's Rainbow will send you a beautiful ornament of Dorothy to hang on your tree.

It is completely possible that Dorothy's family will find her this Christmas. The Angel Tree has just begun and already SEVEN little ones have forever families!!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

A Christmas Wish

It is that time of year again, almost time for the holidays. When the holidays come my way each year I think if what a blessing my family is to me. The love we have shared through the year and all the fun times.
I think of each of my children and how lucky I am to have them. As most of you know we were blessed with four wonderful children and then the Lord opened our hearts up to adopt two darling babies with downs syndrome. They have been such a blessing to our family over these last nine years that they have been apart of our family. They have taught us so much about love and caring for others, for not taking the easy things for granted. And I am sure we will love them even more in the years to come

Then I think of all the other children with downs syndrome that have not been adopted. No Mommy, No Daddy, No Hugs, No love and some times no food or warmth. Those things that we take for granted. I so wish I could bring many more home but I know that I am not physically not able to , But God has pressed these little faces into my heart and soul so I try to spread the word so that others will know they are there and the need is so great. If others will join in helping with prayer, money or even opening your own home to bring a little one home, What ever God presses to your own heart.

This year I am again a Christmas Warrior for Reece's Rainbow to try and help this baby Dorothy have an adoption grant to help her get adopted.


And as a bonus if you could donate $35.00 to her fund you will receive a beautiful Christmas ornament with baby Dorothy on it so you can hang it on your tree each year and remember this little child that you helped.
Reece's Rainbow has helped over 500 children find there forever families.
So please send your taxed deductible gift to

Reece's Rainbow C/O Dorothy
PO Box 4024
Gaithersburg, MD 20885
*And also put Dorothy on your memo on your check

You may also donate on line (Begining NOVEMBER 1ST) using the top box on your right
which updates here total every hour or please visit this link and go to dorothy's picture to donate http://reecesrainbow.org/angeltreekids

If you would like to help other children like Dorothy please visit www.reecesrainbow.org

God Bless
Amy Cunningham

Friday, April 15, 2011

Brigita #13

Brigita #13


This little girl needs to find her forever fmaily and fast!!! She will be sent to an institution very soon, Please share this , Pray for her and help her find a forever family!!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Dear Sweet Josephine

This is sweet litle Josephine, Instead of preparing for kindergarten like she should be, she is hidden away and facing life-long suffering in adult mental institutions around the world. She is an orphan who needs a family and fast. In her country when shortly after turning five she will be sent from the "Baby House" and sent to an adult mental institution where she will not recieve an education, no toys, no treats and no love. Please join with me and help me save this little girl for a much brighter future! Please join me in praying for her, donating and sharing to others about her bright little face so she will thrive even more. She looks so ready to give her new family hugs and kisses, Please help take up this cause and lets see God at work. :-)

Your donations and advocacy efforts truly can bring every one of these children HOME into loving forever families. They should never have to step foot into a mental institution. Money is the only thing standing in the way. They deserve friends, a family, and a future. Help us raise $5000 or more for each of our 5 year olds to celebrate our (Reeces Rainbow)
5 year anniversary!

To donate and find out more about this precious child please click the title Dear Sweet Josephine above. Thanks and God Bless

A day with Becca

Aren't daughters wonderful! I have been blessed with Four!! Yesterday I got to spend the day with Becca and we had a photo shoot day, and it is even better when they are not to embarrassed to still play along and listen to mommy. Most of my kids would not climb under the ropes (cause it is closed) so mom can take some pics of you where the Easter bunny will be this weekend. lol But Becca was a good sport! lol
And Becca who couldn't wait for her belly to get big so she could see the baby more is now seeing how hard it is to get out of the floor, in another month it will be a chair! Bye bye feet!! But so worth it!!!
She is going to make a great mommy!!!

A few more pics we took that day

What a good day we had!






And Laken, Last night she spent the whole night chatting to a nervous mom while I was at the hospital. Nothing serious, But thank you for being there for me Laken, I loved having the extra hours to chat the night away...

And poor Bethany is laying on the couch with a fever, so I hope she feels better soon! Savannah is chattering away! Hmmm... Reminds me of Laken, lol
Hugs to all my kids, I love you all completly!!!!

Monday, April 11, 2011

More stumbling blocks of Satan


Things went pretty good after we got the kids both home and both of them having therapy at the house. Bethany had awful kidney stones so that was a constant worry. One very sad moment though, before we got to have Savannah as our own, Grannie passed away. I can remember granny would come up to me all the time and say we are still getting our little girl right? I had pictures of Savannah everywhere, She was getting ready to come for a visit and grannie went to heaven before she got to meet her. Oh how she would have loved her, She was so thrilled with Isaac. He was the spoiltest boy around with two grandma's mommy , daddy and so many sisters and a brother to boot all in one house.
Things went well as they grew. Isaac seemed to be in the lead with all the learning, but Savannah caught on quickly and she went from not even being able to sit up at eleven months when we got her to walking all in about four months! They both chattered away and got along so well. Then Isaac seemed to start lagging behind. Getting more upset with tantrums, even throwing tv sets, moving furniture around. A little whirl wind , He wouldn't hardly sleep and when we did it was mommmy holding him in a recliner. We soon found out that he had autism and adhd. We got help and things soon started to get a little bit more quiet at our house.
One thing all the kids loved was going to church. Isaac and Savannah loved to sing! Mommy and Daddy were in the choir and Isaac would love to join in. By the time he was four he didn't have much of a vocab, but he made his own words up. He was so sweet.
Well it was getting time for them to come out of the nursery and go into the older childrens room, into awanas. They had just started preschool and loved that. The first time I let them stay, I was soo nervous, I so didn't want to leave them. We had found out that Isaac had a gap in his vertibrae so I was afraid of gym time, so I explained this to the teachers and they assured be, he would be fine.
Well, Don't know how much I listened to that service. Instead I was listening to hear my lil ones. But all seemed to be well. After service, My oldest daughter Laken and I headed down to get Isaac and Savannah. When we got there they were sitting on a table coloring. I was so surprised they were being so good, so still. lol
As soon as I walked into the room. A lady I went to school with, knew for years was upset. I asked if they had caused a problem, She said, no but all the would do was sit there and color. She said it over and over again. I thought wow that was great, But she started saying they didn't learn anything and she didn't think they should come back to awanas! I was stunned, asked again and she said the same thing. I looked and Laken and we both gathered Isaac and Savannah up while the other teachers looked on and we walked out.....I was numb, mad..dumb founded. I am not one to have a bad temper. I wish at that moment I did. I just held it in. Then as I drove down the road I cried. I got home and told my husband who hadn't been feeling well what had happened. He thought maybe I had misunderstood. I knew I hadn't. A few days later Laken was scheduled to have surgery on her shoulder. The pastor came by while we were in the waiting room to pray with Laken and offer encouragement. I kept thinking, Do I say something bring it up? After a few minutes of us just sitting there, I took the plunge and explained what had happened. I could tell he was speechless. He said he would look into it and see if we could all work it out. Maybe all get together and dicuss it. I thought that sounded like a great idea.
The Pastor left right after, still looking uncomfortable. Laken went on in to surgery not long after. The surgery was not the best sucess. She still has trouble with that shoulder. I kept waiting to hear from the Pastor. Thinking he would call before church sunday. But I never did hear from him. I had even more hurt feelings. Thinking well, who else doesn't want to be around my sweet little children

I think it was the first time my eyes saw the predjuices of other people. And it hurt. I loved these kids with all my heart. How could they..... and I did the worst thing possible. It harmed my whole family... I let Satan win. We stopped going to church.... It brewed and burned in me and I thought, well we won't go where we are not wanted. And I can tell looking back now how much that decision changed each one of my family members lives. I am sure Satan was happy. He had won. I was just to blind to see it. Slowly we all drifted away from God and his ways. Slowly let things in around us that we wouldn't have before. Family bible time had disappeared ..Family time game night. More fussing, less hugging. We were living, but not for the Lord like we should. Not singing his praises like before. Not talking about the Bible like we used to. Things kept getting worse over time, Finally Eric and I had decided to call it quits. We were both so unhappy. Just hadn't seen what was missing was what we needed most. After a couple of weeks of being even more miserable Eric came back home.
We would ocassionally visit a church here and there, but not steady. Nothing that we carried out through our week. Laken and Becca had both already grown and long moved out. Then one day Savannah was singing a song she had learned at school, and she knew every word. I said Savannah lets sing Jesus Loves Me. And she had no idea what I was talking about.... I was stunned. I had always taught my other children everything I ever knew about God but I hadn't Isaac and Savannah. I was to busy making sure they learned everything else that was deemed important that I over looked the most important! God!!! Even though they are saved , just think how many people they can reach in there lives if they learn to pass on the message too. My eyes were opened! I started reading my bible, reading study books, praying for my kids, my husband, My family. And weep, I would weep when I prayed , I felt so ashamed of what I had done, What I had let happen all becuase of one woman's words, Words that she probably never gave a second thought too. A few years later during our visiting times, we went back to that old church. The people all seemed nice, The Preacher lit up when he saw us there, Came and talked to each of us. He and his wife even came to our house a few days later and he apologized for all that had happened and how it was handled. We told him not to worry about it. We had forgiven him, and we had. And We prayed for forgiveness for ourselves. I should never have let a person keep me from God's house. He is who we are there to serve. Not each other. I pray every day for my kids and Eric. that God will make us for lost time, that they will each become even closer that they were before! And I do have to say. God is good. My parents have been going to church now. Never have, and they take Laken with them. She is growing closer and it is such a good feeling to know my parents are saved! We can now all talk about God together. Becca is getting more curious and hopefully she will find her way back to church too. I know they each know God, Pray to him....Ijust pray they will learn from there mothers mistakes and not forget to worship Him as He should be!
So this was a big stumbling block in my life. I am sharing it so hopefully it won't be in any one else's life who may read this. And I do have to say, God has made me even more humble and I look to Him more than I ever have. Thank You Jesus!!!

Stumbling blocks by Satan


When you first think about adoption it comes across your mind, will you love them like you do your other children. I can remember when we first went to meet Isaac for the first time after we left I told Eric, my husband that I wasn't sure if we were doing the right thing. While we was there. Isaac was so attached to his foster mother. I kind of felt like I was taking her baby. Isaac didn't seem to notice me, But he did take up with Eric. Which surprised me because he isn't the baby person Like I am. When I said that to Eric with all the doubts rushing through my head. Eric's reply was, "No, That's my boy!" I remember looking at him and thinking who is this person. Sure he had agreed to adopt becuase I wanted another baby so badly. Looking back, I know who was talking, the Holy Ghost was putting a stop to what Satan was putting in my head, Fear... Afraid I wouldn't know what to do, Wouldn't be good enough,,,Maybe not even love him... The next day we went back to bring him home. I had spent a long night praying and as soon as we got there he reached right for me.


And there was that bond that very second and I knew God would make everything alright!


When we got home, we showed him to Grannie and Grandma who lived with us at the time and they were so excited,

which is an understatment and to make it even more special it was grandma's birthday! All the kids were all so excited!!!

Then a couple weeks after we got Isaac home I recieved a call about a little girl who was 4 months old with downs syndrome who's birth mom was looking for a home for and they were refering her to us, if we still wanted. I was soooo excited!! But... I had to talk Eric into it. And I don't think I ever shut up...Talk about NAG NAG NAG...But we got her, Savannah Rayne joined our family when she was 11 months old

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Spring! Love it!!!

I got an email from Reeces Rainbow this week informing me that lil Isabelle will not be sponsored by them any longer because she was found not to have special needs. We will continue to pray for her and hope she finds a forever family soon!
We were assigned a new little girl for the Easter fund raiser, Her name is Carol Ann.
You can learn more about her here

Please help us raise funds for this sweet girl so she can have a much better chance at finding a home.






Also this week, Our oldest started taking Floral arrangment classes in college. Here is her first assignment and doens't it look beautiful in our breakfast nook!
We are so proud of you Laken. She is so artistic in so many ways! Talant she must have gotten from my sister Angie. I just had to go outside and take some more pics, they look soo much better! Love these flowers Laken, Thanks so much!!!





We also got a chance to play outside some this week, so I just had to get the camera out!
Finally a picture of Raven,
Next will be Becca and her ever growing tummy. She is 7 months pregnant with lil Olivia that we call can't wait to meet!! Hopefully since it is getting pretty I can get them all together at one time! I always make this my wish for Mothers day, Hopefully I can get them all together before then, lol