Orphan Sunday is nearly here!

Orphan Sunday is coming on Sunday, November 8, 2015. This is probably the best explanation I've seen yet as to why Orphan Sunday exists and why it is important.  The video is just a little over a minute long.  Give a listen!

Good News for Patrick!

Pat  saw the dentist shortly after he came home. He was given a prescription for some antibacterial mouth wash,  and we were told to talk to the pediatrician about a possible blood disorder if the bleeding from his gums didn't settle down by the time he finished the prescription.

Thus started many, many, many tests and visits to the pediatrician and to Children's Hospital.  Today we got the results at last!

While he does have a mild clotting disorder it is not expected to need any treatment nor cause him any issues in his future aside from being a nuisance.  There were many scary things it COULD have been, and we are grateful for such good news!

Pearl/Bead Necklace up for Auction -- Susy Fundraising

This is a 39" long necklace (that is 78 inches around!!!) that you can double or even triple for an elegant look. It is made of irregular fresh water pearls, silvery shimmery beads and black beads. It was purchased in China this past spring. It is truly lovely and the photo doesn't do it justice.

The fine print: Auction starts NOW and bidding will go through Monday, November 9 at 8pm EST.

Starting bid is $20 and bids increase in $1 increments. . If it needs to be shipped, I will cover the cost of the postage to get it to you in the USA only.

Winner to pay via Paypal using Susy's Reece's Rainbow account within 72 hours or it will default to back up bidder. http://reecesrainbow.org/83748/susy

Please send a copy of the receipt that Paypal sends you along with your mailing address to Grant4Susy@gmail.com     Bid on necklace in the album HERE

Celebrating Reformation Day

Our family has been celebrating October 31 for eight years now. No, not Halloween – Reformation Day! Did you realize that October 31 is the day that Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany and totally changed history?
 

Being a huge history buff, our oldest daughter took it upon herself to study the life of Luther. She has such a passion for his story that each year she and her husband organize a festival to retell this period of history.

Even though she gave birth a mere week and a half before this event, many friends and family members volunteered to set up, man the booths and do the lifting for her.  Many were happy that the event was still able to take place!

There were educational booths and games.

 Perhaps the favorite activity this year was putting together a Katharina paper doll, adding in a few Swedish fish candy and putting it all in the plastic barrels to illustrate how she escaped from the convent!

 There were photo ops:

And the “University” where all ages could enter projects relevant to the time period and compete for “Tetzel's Pretzels. 

Our kids all entered projects.

And Isaac had the winning entry in his age division with his drawing of Luther!

Isaac receiving his award from "Luther."

For the past few years The Dominion Players has presented original works of drama, and this year we were treated to a 90 minute production.

We always have a great time at the Reformation Day Festival!

And extra special this year was having ALL ELEVEN of the grandchildren attend!

Many thanks to these folks for their efforts through the years to put on this event for us all!  Well done!

Chinese Silk Shoes up for auction -- Susy Fundraising

Part of what I'll be doing throughout the Angel Tree emphasis is raising grant funds to be available towards Susy's adoption. One way I hope to add to her fund is through surprise auctions. 

Here is our first one! Up for auction is a pair of Chinese slippers with shoe (rubber type) bottoms. I wear a size 7 and they are snug (not uncomfortably so) when I try them on.

 The fine print: Auction starts NOW and I will take bids until 8:00 pm EST Wednesday, November 4. Starting bid is $10 and bids increase in $1 increments. I will personally cover the postage to get your winning bid to you. (USA only)  Bidding to take place on her advocacy page in THIS ALBUM

Winner to pay via Paypal using Susy's Reece's Rainbow account.  To do so you'll enter the amount in her donate box on the border to the right on this page.

Winner must pay within 72 hours of the auction end (by Saturday night) or it will default to back up bidder. Please send a copy of the receipt that Paypal sends you along with your address to Grant4Susy@gmail.com

Thanks for looking and remembering Susy!

Please Pray for Susy!

 November has been designated as National Adoption Awareness Month. According to Adoption.com

this is how it came about. “Started in 1976 by Massachusetts Michael Dukakis as a week to recognize adoption, popularity for the idea grew until 1984 when President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Adoption Week. President Bill Clinton then expanded the week into a month and declared November 1995 as the first National Adoption Month. “

Today is also the first day of Reece's Rainbow's “Angel Tree.” I have the privilege of being the warrior for “Susy,” What does this mean? First of all it is my job to keep her sweet face and story out here so she isn't forgotten. It is also a goal to raise funds towards a grant to be available to help with her adoption costs. And last, but not least I am advocating and PRAYING for her. That is our emphasis today. Will you join me? Will you pray for Susy? Will you pray that her parents see her and begin the process to bring her home?

Realizing how easy it is to forget good intentions, I've printed this photo and put it where I will see it to remember to pray for Susy. In fact I have printed several. If you will commit to pray for Susy this month I'll be happy to mail you one to use a reminder.  If you send me your address at

grant4susy@gmail.com

I'll mail it right out to you. Thank you for your heart for the orphan and for standing with me to ensure that Susy is not forgotten.

UPDATE:  My advocacy for Susy has paid off, and she has a family working hard to quickly process their paperwork!  WE ended up getting our Preapproval from China in December of 2015.  We are thrilled that we get to be her parents!

The Palest Ink

Chinese history is one of my favorite topics.  Since four of my children were born in China, I love reading books that help me to understand how their ancient country has evolved and the culture surrounding it.  Sometimes a work of fiction does a excellent job of making the historical era come to life.

As a huge fan of Kay Bratt's series "The Scavenger's Daughters," I was immediately drawn to this prequel.  It picks up with Benfu as a young man pursuing his studies and attempting to master the violin; and goes on to reveal the background of Baba Benfu and how he became who he is.  I've grown to love this man throughout the series and enjoyed his story immensely. I also fell in love with his best friend, Pony Boy who is introduced in this book.

While a fictional work, I enjoyed exploring the historically accurate events surrounding the Chinese Cultural Revolution and what life may have been like living under the Red Guard.  The difference in the classes of people came to life as I read of Benfu's scholarly family and Pony Boy's working class family.

Bratt weaves her tale magnificently, and I always admire an author who has a multitude of characters that she stays true to throughout a series.  It seems as though some authors forget from one book to another just what they said about the character in a previous book.  Not so with Kay Bratt.

If you have not read the previous books in the series, no worries.  Each one is worthy to stand alone.  I may have lost a little sleep in my anxiousness to finish this story. It was a page turner from beginning to end.

** I received a complementary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.