{CLOSED}An American Girl Giveaway!

Thank you all so much, this giveaway is over!


We have about $20,000 to raise, and about 4 months to do it! I know that sounds scary, but I know that it will all come together.

So, to kick this off, we have a wonderful giveaway to start!

My girls received their first American Girl dolls for Christmas and they are in LOVE with them. For those who are not familiar, they are heirloom quality dolls that can even be sent to an American Girl "hospital" for repairs. These dolls last decades, and are truly beautifully made. They have historical dolls with a wonderful world of stories, just like you dolls that you can match to your daughter, and baby dolls who are absolutely adorable. 

So, without further ado, the giveaway information!!

SHARE this giveaway, you receive one entry. (ONE entry total for the entire giveaway)

DONATE HERE:

$5 donation - 1 entry

$10              - 2 entries

$20              - 4 entries

$50              - 11 entries

$100            - 25 entries

You MUST comment here that you have shared the giveaway or donated and how much plus your email address or you will not receive your entries!  If you want your comment to remain private, just say so, my comments are moderated. 

Our goal for this giveaway is $1,500. When our grant reads $1,878 the winner will be drawn using random.org and will have their choice of any doll currently available on the American Girl website.

This includes bitty babies, bitty twins, or the 18" dolls. Up to $150 value.

Examples: 

bitty baby

bitty twins

18" 2015 Girl of the Year of the year and book

Historical dolls 

Plus many more customization options or dolls to choose from!

Good luck, and thank you for helping us make baby Truman an American BOY! :)

BIG NEWS!

Look closely!

Yes, we are adopting again!

God willing, baby "Truman" will be ours!

http://reecesrainbow.org/87971/sponsormcintee-2

Check it out! :)

We are so very excited, and things are moving quite quickly. If things line up well and we don't encounter any delays, we could travel as early as June. JUNE!!! We need to raise the fees and have lots of fun fundraisers already planned.

We appreciate your prayers and love, and please share our Reece's Rainbow link far and wide!

Thank you!

Calling All Phoenicians!!

I am setting up a local fundraiser to benefit Reece's Rainbow and I need YOUR help!

Do you have clothes coming out of your ears? I know as a large family, we sure do! Purge your closets and donate the clothes and shoes to us and Reece's Rainbow gets a chunk of the proceeds!

I will pick up anything you've got within the Phoenix Metro area!!!

I have a little under a month to gather a huge amount of clothes, so please consider starting your Spring Cleaning today!!

Thank you! :)

My Birthday

I have had infamously bad birthdays in the past, but within the recent years, they've started to get better. I am not the type of person that freaks out about getting older, because for me, it seems, my life gets better and better as I get older.

I am 34 today. I have changed so very much in the last 10 years.

10 years ago I was pregnant with Amelia on my birthday. She was my second pregnancy; the one after a horrible and traumatic miscarriage. I was living in California, unsure of what the future would hold. Kyle and I were so young and in love. We're still in love, but I guess we're not really all that young anymore.

In 10 years I've converted to Catholicism, had Amelia, had Lily, married civilly, had Tessa, had Charlotte, Kyle converted, we got married in the Church, had Samuel, and then traveled 6,000 miles to adopt Maks.

10 years ago I was impulsive and silly and didn't know what I was doing. Now I'm a wife and mother of 6. I love my faith and my Church. I am a work in progress and I'm glad I have found a husband who will deal with my flaws, and who works so very hard for us and takes care of us. I've learned so, so much.

My heart swells with love today. My heart also aches for the children in orphanages. I pray constantly for these sweeties.

So, you thought I would get through a whole post without mentioning orphans? Haha... sorry. My life has been changed since finding out about them. My life has changed sharply since seeing their lonely faces myself. I don't see the world or my life like I used to. I don't understand the lifestyle of America anymore.

Children have changed my life. My children, the children I used to nanny for, the children of Ukraine, the orphans of the world. Children are the greatest thing in this world.

My birthday wish is that this sweet baby's grant reach $1,000.

Will you consider throwing in $5 today? For Truman? For me?

http://reecesrainbow.org/81881/truman-2

Homeschool

Lily has been struggling since having to leave Kolbe school. Her new school was overwhelming her. She was becoming completely opposite of her nature. It was sad to see. She was like a deer in the headlights. Her class was large and full of rowdy and rough children. She has never been able to deal with that type of thing well.

Last week I had expressed my concern to the principal and asked that they consider putting an aide in that class. I told them that if they couldn't provide an aide, I would be pulling Lily out of the school.

They brushed me off, said that Lily was doing fine and they didn't feel the class needed an aide.

So, Friday was her last day.

As soon as we told Lily she was going to do homeschool for the rest of this year, she was back to her cheery and lovely self. Our first day of homeschool was yesterday, and she was beaming. She loves her worksheets, and I'm enjoying having her here with me.

An education isn't worth it if a child's spirit is completely squashed. I am most concerned with my child's soul, not some silly common core standards. She is bright and capable, and just needs a loving environment to grow.

This is only temporary, as we are going to try yet another school next year. If that doesn't go well, we will homeschool all the children.

Please pray for us in this new endeavor!