RING IT AND BRING IT!!!

   Happy Down Syndrome Awareness Month !!!

I can't believe it's already been a whole year since I blogged every day for Down Syndrome Awareness Month! I have been waiting all year for this day- because I had SUCH a blast blogging daily to raise the banner high for my Lilybird and all others who are rockin' that extra chromosome. I LOVE reading all my fellow Ds blogging mama's daily posts as well- something about it just gets my heart racing, because we're all in this together! 

If you're a mom of a child with Down syndrome and you haven't heard, there is a sweet challenge going on over at Unringing the Bell. This is the 5th annual 31 for 21 challenge- and I am proud to say that last year I met the challenge to blog every day in the month of October to raise awareness for Down syndrome. Are you up for the challenge too? If so, head on over to Unringing the Bell, grab the above button, and link up! It's going to be a fantastic month in blogland!

And speaking of challenges- have I got one for you!!

This little guy has been my buddy since last January. I was his New Year's Warrior, his Valentine's Warrior, his Easter Warrior, his 5-5-5 Warrior and any other warrior you can think of. The point is- he has been waiting on Reece's Rainbow for a family to claim him for waaaaay too long. And I'm fixin' to change that! My wonderful and inspiring blogging buddy, Julia, is partnering up with me to find Artem a family. And we are just crazy enough to think that we can get Artem's grant fund all the way up to

 TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS by the end of this month. 

Why $10,000? Because when I interviewed Andrea Roberts, founder and executive director of Reece's Rainbow last month, she said something that stuck with me. 

"Ten thousand dollars seems to be the tipping point for these older kids."

So being the crazy go-for-broke kinda gal that I am, I decided- I'm not going to wait for the Angel Tree project on Reece's Rainbow to begin...I'm going to implore Lily's readers EVERY DAY for the month of October to pray for and give to Artem.

We can do this, friends. With God's help, a lot of prayer, and by spreading the word, we can raise Artem's grant to the tipping point in 31 days. I truly believe that with all my heart.

SO here's the deal. I'm challenging Lily's readers to donate $5 to Artem's grant fund. That's it. 

FIVE BUCKS. 

Back in February Artem had a decent sized little chunk of a grant. We added him in during our Pure Love Giveaway, and thanks to the generosity of so many like-minded people, his grant fund rose to over four thousand dollars. Last month a little boy on RR went home to be with his birth family...Andrea allotted that little boy's grant fund to Artem, and now he has $7,423.

We have 31 days to raise that grant fund to $10,000.

Do you believe we can do it? I DO.

FIVE DOLLARS is all I'm asking. 

I asked my wonderful friend, Michelle Z, at Reece's Rainbow to hook me up with a paypal gadget for Artem for my sidebar, so that you can donate right here, and watch his totals rise each day. 

Lily has 634 followers. Multiply that times 5 and Artem will have well over $10,000.

My sweet friend Julia has quite a large following on her blog as well. Multiply those followers by five bucks each and Artem is well on his way to $13,000.

And honestly? That size of a grant will guarantee him a family.

I've said it before, but it's not a lack of families that stops these kids from being adopted, 

it's a lack of finances.  

FIVE DOLLARS.

What is five bucks? It's a Starbucks latte. A burger and fries. A magazine. A tip at a restaurant. 

A little boy's life.

Because five dollars multiplied by several hundred readers will literally save Artem's life.

I can't think of a better way to raise awareness for Down syndrome, then by ringing the bell loud and strong for one little boy, waiting thousands of miles away in an orphanage

for his mommy and daddy to claim him.  

SPREAD THE WORD- ARTEM NEEDS A FAMILY!!!

You just may get sick of hearing me shout those words here every day during the month of October.

But I have a feeling you won't. Because I know Lily's readers, and I know your heart for orphans.

And in case you thought I forgot- I am going to be including over a hundred photos of Lily loveliness in each blog post this month. Oh, and just because Lily's Grammi loves them so much, a video each day as well. Y'all just might pass out from Lily overload. (Did you like my y'all? That was for you Texan readers, hey there Elissa and Anna!!)

Here's just a taste of sweet things to come... 

Oh, and Lily has something to say on this first day of Down Syndrome Awareness Month as well...

RING IT AND BRING IT!!!

overload

It just took me fifteen minutes to upload two pictures, and I don't know whether to attribute it to an overload of Lily cuteness or our extremely slow internet connection at the beach- both are obviously at work here. Clearly I'll have to wait til we get home tomorrow night to upload the 100 plus photos of our glorious week on the Oregon coast, but believe me when I say: they will be worth the wait! Some of my favoritest photos ever...






Off topic- did you notice my nifty blogroll on the sidebar? I finally figured out how to put that there! Check it out for some fun reads!
Stay tuned for more pics!!

wedding bells are ringing!

Hey Lily fans...we are at the beach, taking a kajillion sweet photos, but I just wanted to ask you a little favor real quick...

Lily's older brother (well, one of seven of them) got engaged last week. The proposal story is soooo sweet! I asked Monique if she could start a blog so our family across the country could get to know her...four hours later it was up and running! I am SO blessed to have a new daughter-in-love being added to our family- December 11th is the date, and there will be a whirlwind of activity until then!

You know how they say a guy marries his mom? This is pretty much the case here. Josiah found a girl who expresses my wild and spunky side TOO A TEE. Be prepared to have fun reading her blog!

Will you please go drop by  Waiting for the Wedding Bells and leave a nice comment congratulating the happy couple??

And could you also pray for (my oldest son)Jason and Naomi's baby ? Little K has been in and out of the hospital for a week now with respiratory problems and possible pneumonia. I can't link to her blog about him, as it is private due to the fact that he is in the foster care system. If you'd like to leave a comment here to encourage Naomi, I will make sure she comes and reads it!

Beach pics coming soon!

wholeness

Dearest Lily,

Saturday evening
We're home now...three days out of town at a Bible conference has me roughly 8 loads of laundry behind. Tonight I will attempt to catch up, and tomorrow in between morning and evening church services I'll pack us all up again for a week at the coast.



Daddy is putting some tile in the beach house we stay at~ the owners are friends of ours who have graciously been letting us stay there for almost 15 years. Anne, whom you are named for, has a special knack for making people feel they are doing her a favor by visiting her guest home. We've spent so many vacations there it actually feels like our second home, and your brothers and sisters for years thought the name of the house was Depoe Bay, instead of the town it's nestled in.

You were lying contentedly in my arms when I began this letter to you, warm and sleep-heavy with a thumb in your mouth and your other hand slipped under the neckline of my shirt...your favorite way to fall asleep. I carefully transferred you to the couch, where you're now snoozing happily, tiny sucking noises competing with the clicking of the keys as I type...



Sunday evening
I started the above letter to you last night, but life and kids and packing took over and now I’m typing from Daddy’s laptop in the van as we drive to the coast. You’re sound asleep in your carseat , hopefully for the duration of the hour drive. I just hugged your brother Josiah goodbye, and then your sister Mackenzie, who moved out a week ago. This is our first trip to the coast without them, and I’m really sad about that. Both of them have to work, and they each took time off last week for different reasons, or they would have taken off at least a day or two to go with us. Jason and Naomi are at the hospital with their foster baby, who was admitted today for possible pneumonia and breathing problems. This is the second time this week he’s been admitted, and if Daddy didn’t have work at the coast, I would have just canceled this trip altogether. We left town twenty minutes ago, and at least five times I’ve debated asking Daddy to just turn us around and go back home.



I’m such a big baby at times, Lily. I know our job as parents is to raise our children to leave us some day, but honestly? I don't like it. It hurts and I don’t care if I sound like a wimp- I just want all of my babies under one roof.

When I get really really down about it, your daddy encourages me by telling me that in Heaven we’ll all be living together in one big mansion:) He talked about that in his sermon the other night- about how Jesus said, “In my Father’s house there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.” He said that in those days, when Jesus spoke those words, it was customary for a groom to bring his new bride home to live in his parent’s home after their wedding. The family would often build another room or rooms for the newlyweds, where they would have privacy and yet still be a part of the family. So when Jesus was speaking about the mansions of Heaven, the context of his words was that we, as the church, are the bride of Christ. And when He talked about going to Heaven to prepare a place for us and said, “In my Father’s house there are many mansions”, people in that culture would have known exactly what he meant.

So as crazy as it may sound, Lily- I look forward to that day when we are all together in Heaven, “under one roof”…all of my babies, and I don’t have to say goodbye to any of them ever again.

Which leads me to something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. When you were first born, your daddy preached a sermon about the analogy called Welcome to Holland.  He talked about how God sometimes brings us to places we never thought we’d go…and He brings beauty and grace in the midst of it all. There wasn’t a dry eye in our church that day, sweet Lily- your first church service, and the first sermon Daddy preached since your birth. He talked about what a blessing you are, and how although we never would have chosen this new journey for ourselves, God was going to do a wonderful thing through your life. He said that even though we were only a week into that journey, already our family had grown closer and stronger through what some would perceive as a test of our faith.

He spoke words that I still remember, ones that I think about often.

“In Heaven, Lily will be whole.”




I remember his voice breaking as he said it, and he looked down at his notes and swallowed several times, just as he always does when he doesn’t want to talk through tears. I’ve never seen him cry about your diagnosis since that day. I’ve said it before, but your daddy is the eternal optimist. Life’s too short to spend worrying about things you can’t change, he says, and if there’s a silver lining to be found, you can bet your daddy will find it.

So I wonder Lily- who will you be in Heaven?  Because I truly believe with all my heart that you are my perfect Lily. I love you so much it hurts, and I’ve told you many times in my letters to you- the only reason I would wish that extra chromosome away is so that you wouldn’t struggle in life.  It’s not for me that I would change you if I could, but for you.

And I don’t want anyone reading these letters to ever think you are anything less than a perfect gift: a blessing and not a burden. 

But the truth is, you will struggle somewhat in life, to do what others your age are doing. You will have to work extra hard at doing things your peers take for granted. You might not talk as well as children or adults your age, and you might not be able to “keep up” in many areas of life. And as much as I do believe that we need to expect, not accept, I am also not going to pretend that there aren’t additional challenges that accompany a diagnosis of Down syndrome.





And yet…if I were to honestly think about the adults and children with Down syndrome that I’ve met in life, I have to wonder if maybe they aren’t closer to Heaven and its grace and perfection than “typical” adults and children I know. I don’t buy into the theory that our kids with Ds are angels- really, Lily, that whole idea sort of makes me cringe. And on top of that, your recent temper tantrums in regards to eating vegetables just blew that theory right out of the water!





But what I mean is that I see a simplicity, a child-like faith, if you will, in those who share your designer genes...and I have to wonder if it was these whom Jesus was speaking about when He said “suffer the little children to come unto me, for such is the kingdom of Heaven”.  There’s a certain child-like transparency and genuineness attached to that 21^st chromosome…I have yet to meet someone with Down syndrome who falsely assumed things about people, or pretended to be someone they weren’t to impress or gain favor with others.  The children and adults with Down syndrome whom I’ve met love unconditionally, and express that love without hesitancy or expectation- they love simply and with purity of heart.

And isn’t that what we expect out of Heaven? A place where we can just be who God made us to be, untainted by jealousy or greed or hidden motives or sin? A place where we know as we are known, where people aren’t judged by their level of intellect or appearance or achievements…a place where we have fellowship with God Himself, who is love?

 

And so maybe in Heaven, dearest Lily, you will have the capacity to think and imagine and learn in a greater dimension than you’ll ever know in this life. Maybe when we get there I’ll find that although I wouldn’t change my perfect Lily for all the world, you will- like all of us who trust in Him- truly be made whole in a way that is greater than anything I’ve ever dreamed.  

But for now I’m content to embrace the little piece of Heaven that is again snuggled in my arms and breathing contentedly against my neck, her sweet sleepy sighs in rhythm with my own.

Loving my perfect Lily,

Mama oxox

ONE MORE COMMENT TO GO!

We have 99 comments on the Free Lily post- only more- saying you blogged about, donated to or Facebooked the iPad2 giveaway and Lily will be FREE!!!

WHO WILL LEAVE THE 100TH COMMENT????

getting real about Down syndrome

This is going to be super quick. Because I don't want you to miss the giveaway post below.

If you're missing Lily, you can read my latest post HERE.

But please don't miss our iPad2 Giveaway for the Quinn Family!

Happy Wednesday!

Remembering

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalms 56:8

saturday morning suds

Winner and Reader Shout-Out

Before I announce the winners of Jack and Lily's Final Giveaway Wednesday, I wanted to ask all Lily's readers to please be safe this weekend. I have it from a very knowledgeable source that there is definite cause for concern in the next few days, as our nation remembers the events of September 11th, ten years ago. Anyone listening to the news can tell you the same thing, but because I am related to someone who gets his information from "the inside"...I'm just asking you to take things seriously.

If you're a praying person, now would be a great time to pray for our nation. And if you're not....wake up. That's all I'll say on the subject for now. I find myself on my knees more than ever, and my heart's cry is not just God bless America, but God save America. End of sermon.

So with that heartfelt plea out of the way, I will post a video of the cutest little girl on the planet. Well, in my opinion anyway:) And then I'll post the winners, selected by random.org...



The winner of the Red Candy Apple bar is...



Stefany said...
its a toss up... I love love love fall because of the pretty leaves, apples,and pumpkins. I also love it because it cools down enough to bake pie after pie with all those fresh apples :) However, I also like summer because I take a break from my job at a preschool for children with special needs and I get to go back to being a nanny for the 2 most fabulous girls I have been with for 10 yrs. It's hard for me to pick between the two.
The pics of Lily are darling, i love that you share her not so happy times along with that beautiful smile of hers.

And the winner of the Love Story bar is...

Elissa said...
I love the fall too! Football, great holidays, lots of good eating and candy :-) My house feels much cozier in the fall even though we don't do a ton of decorations. I've been eyeing some of those cute Scentsy warmers though ;-)

Not sure which smell I would like more. Probably both! I'm with Anna...right now, especially today it is just smokey here in ATX :-( It was a beautiful day, but they recommended people with respiratory issues stay indoors. So...me and the girls are trapped :-(

Ladies, email me your addresses and your bars will be on their way!

And thank you to everyone for all the awesome comments about your favorite seasons- I loved reading all of your descriptions!





So now for our Reader Shout-Out.

Last month I made a new friend through blogging named Kamryn. We actually met on Babycenter.com on a discussion board. Kamryn came here to take a peek at Lily, and she read the analogy about Holland that I love so much. She then wrote to me to ask me if I had anything from Holland...and a short while later I received this precious gift in the mail...



Kamryn and her husband are stationed in Germany...she also sent me a boxful of chocolate and candies from Holland. Can I just say I would love to move to Holland purely for the chocolate?!?!?

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Kamryn- and a huge thank you to your husband for his service to our country- and for your sacrifice as a military spouse as well. In light of the beginning of this post, your commitment to our nation is truly honorable. May we never forget all the great sacrifices that have been made for our freedom.

***********************************

Admittedly, some of these next comments are from my email inbox as well as the comment section. I just had to share what readers all over the WORLD are saying about Lily's Scentsy Shop :)



*post popsicle melt-down ;) see previous post for details!

*************************

Hi Patti!!

I just received the foam you sent me!!

Thank you again!!! It smells sooooo good.

I'm hooked, that's for sure. Ha ha


I hope you are doing well, I think of you and your family often and I'm sending you lots of hugs from Québec!!

XOXOX

Line-Marie

 

 ************************

Patti ~ I received my Scentsy order today and I love all of it!!!  The room sprays are great and white tea & cactus and luna smell wonderful.  My kids get home in a little bit and I know they will ask me what smells so good ~ especially Miss Isabel.  She will be all about the fragrance foams which is why I had to hide them!  The cucumber foam is my favorite so far.

Thanks!

Nicki






**************************** 

Cathy said...

I do LOVE your music, but I understand why you put it optional

those capcha, or whoever you spell it are annoying--

I am here to affirm anyones' doubts that you DO INDEED read all your posts!

ALSO, if anyone else, besides Patti reads this post, I HIGHLY recommend buying some SCENTSY from Patti's store---the product IS WONDERFUL & the prices are extremely fair. just sayin'

Glad you included pictures because I would have been disappointed
Enjoy camping & loving your babies (doesn't matter how old they are)

xoxo
cathy





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Jennifer said...
Lily, you are a beautiful little girl! I thank your mother for posting this and allowing a complete stranger to feel love like no other! You are a blessed little one, as is your family! I truly hope I can teach my four little girls the love that you experience every day from your family! It's hard to believe that this day and age, we see people turning away from the gifts God gives us and it could get so much worse. I pray that His hand be in everything in our lives and that we don't lose touch with His miracles! Thank you so much for touching my heart today! I hope this message reaches many MANY more!




******************************
  
Kaiti said...
As a soon-to-be momma of a baby girl with Down syndrome and a heart defect I know what the "searcher" is going through but I pushed through the hard time and realized that this baby girl is already amazing and she will be even more amazing when she is born! Thanks for the post, it's exactly what I've been trying to get friends and family to realize.





 **********************

And this beautiful email came to my inbox late last night...

 
Patti,
 Our dossier was sent Tuesday morning and is currently in Warsaw, Poland; it will be in the hands of Y**** in U. by the end of their day! It is 9AM there :)

Can you believe we will have that precious boy in our arms in about a month? And home where he belongs within 2?
And it looks like our adoption will be in October, if all stays on track, which just happens to be DS Awareness month! How about that?
I'm so excited and nervous. I can't believe I will be touching him, hugging him so soon...

Hugs
Julie





And that, dear friends is why I blog.  If you have no idea who Julie is, she is the soon-to-be Mama of a little boy who is dearly loved in our household...named Peter. And I can hardly see the keys to type right now, because back in February we were praying for the biggest miracle we had ever prayed for. And I'm watching it all unfold before my eyes right now, and it is is a beautiful thing.




*photo courtesy of Abbi Rice !

HAPPY HAPPY FRIDAY.

Jack and Lily's Giveaway Wednesday/Thursday

Welcome to Jack and Lily's Giveaway Wednesday.

Warning: graphic photos ahead.

I told Lily that since the summer is officially over in the Rice household and homeschooling has begun, this will be our last Jack and Lily Giveaway Wednesday. At first she was stunned...

After the shock wore off, dismay began to settle in...

She was distraught for several long minutes, even pulling out the-extreme-pouty-face in protest...

I tried consoling her, telling her we would be sure to start up their Giveaway Wednesdays next summer. But she just couldn't be encouraged. Even a popsicle couldn't cheer her up...

She took a few tentative licks to try to ease the pain of disappointment...

...and it appeared this diversion might just do the trick....

But her temporary joy gave way to the previous grief and anguish..

And then it got really ugly...

Until Jackson caught wind of the wailing and gnashing of teeth and rode in to save the day..

He told her that since it's their last Giveaway Wednesday until next summer, they could make it last for two days and give away two prizes...

SO welcome to Jack and Lily's Giveaway Wednesday/Thursday!!

TWO lucky commenters will each win one Scentsy bar from Lily's Scentsy Shop!

Love Story fragrance bar is from the Scentsy Romance line....Innocent pink jasmine and sensual amber embraced by luscious dark chocolate.     Here's my personal description: Heaven in a bar.

This scent is one of my personal favorites....

Red Candy Apple is bursting with tart Macintosh apples, red raspberry jam, sweet red berries and strawberry milk, with notes of brown sugar, taffy and cotton candy.

 My mouth is watering just reading the description. This scent is no longer available- and I am so glad I stocked up on it!

If you're not familiar with Scentsy products, allow me to introduce you.
If you're a fragrance fanatic like me, you love a home or office or business that smells good.

Authentic Scentsy warmers use a low-watt bulb to slowly melt specially formulated wax.
With no flame, smoke, or soot, the Scentsy wickless candle system is a safe way to enjoy Scentsy fragrances.

In a nutshell: you just plop two or three cubes from a Scentsy bar (which is made up of 8 cubes) into your Scentsy warmer, plug it in and VOILA! Fragrance Heaven. That lasts for hoooooours.

So just leave a comment here to be entered to win either Red Candy Apple or Love Story. Please tell me what your favorite season is and why...

I'll tell you mine..

I love Fall. Everything about it. The turning of the leaves, the crisp cool nights, warm comfy sweaters, hot chocolate at football games, warm cozy fires in our wood-burning stove, pumpkin bread and molasses cookies, hot savory soups and baked acorn squash drizzled with butter and brown sugar. Red apples and mini gourds and Indian corn centerpieces, boots and scarves and berets, hazelnut lattes and chai tea and almond rocha mochas- I LOVE FALL.

SO what do you love? Tell me in the comment section, and on Friday Jack and Lily will draw two winners. And if you have the time and feel like browsing, check out the gorgeous new Premium Warmers from Scentsy. Here's one of my fav's..

Happy Fall!!