My New Look

If you know me personally you know that I don't splurge on myself very often.  My hair had been driving me crazy for months so for my birthday I got a nice haircut and new glasses(insurance actually paid for the glasses).

Today I had to get passport size photos taken for our dossier so I thought I would share a picture of my new look.  

HIV+ Adoption Stories

 Read more about the Boulton Family by checking out their blog.


The Twietmeyer Family (founders of Project Hopeful)

I will try to post more stories and links tonight.  So check back with me.

We have always been open about our family and life with multiple children with disabilities.  We are not afraid to share the struggles and JOYS of parenting.  For example, today Gabriel(4 yrs old) ate a puzzle, had just about everything in his mouth, screamed every time I spoke to him, and needed to be hugged about 100 times.  Grace answered, "No, I will not" to just about every thing I asked her to do today.  Sera cried off and on for no reason that I could find and Faith lied to me numerous times.  BUT there were also wonderful moments of dancing and singing and laughing.

We are not about to change that philosophy now.  I know we have not said much about our soon to be daughter but that is changing right now.   We wanted to get our paperwork in order first.  I am happy to report that our dossier is complete and will be sent to the adoption agency TOMORROW!!! 

Another reason we have chosen this week to talk  more about our daughter is because Wednesday is World AIDS Day.   Our soon to be daughter is HIV+ and we don't want her to be ashamed of her medical condition.  She is a beautiful and smart little girl who just happens to have a medical condition which requires treatment.  All of our children are beautifully created by our Heavenly Father. 

There are many misconceptions regarding the diagnosis of HIV.  This week we are going to focus on education about HIV.   Check out the video below and then jump over to the Project Hopeful website.

A Medical Update

It has been a little while since I updated on some of our medical stuff.  It has been a long road but we finally have Sera scheduled for surgery.  We have been working on getting surgery scheduled for 9 months.  Because of her numerous medical issues and lots of unknown medical information we had to jump through lots of hoops to get her passed for surgery. For those of you who do not know us personally, Sera was born with 7 fingers on each hand and 6 toes on each foot along with several other congenital birth defects.  She does amazingly well!  She will be having surgery on March 24th to have the extra digits removed.  It will be a long process and may require more than one surgery.  

WOOOHOOO!  Jacob has his new wheelchair.  This chair will allow him to use his Dynavox speaking device, if Dynavox ever sends us the attachment arm.  Another long story, we have been working on for far too long.   It is also more sturdy so hopefully he will not break it when he goes into extension.  He broke his other wheelchair multiple times.  If you know us in the "real world" you are probably wondering why you have not seen his new chair.  Well,  there are multiple reasons.  #1 it will not fit into our van.  #2  it is super heavy and I cannot lift it.  I can barely drag it up the front stairs of the house(when Jacob is NOT in it).  So here is a picture of him in his wonderful new chair that you may never see in person.

Another Shopping with a Purpose Opportunity

Show the love of Christ to a child in need this Christmas!

What are you doing this year for Christmas?

Decorating the house?  Making Christmas cookies?  Celebrating with family and loved ones?  Exchanging gifts?

What if this year you gave gifts that not only celebrated your loved ones but brought the love of Christ to a child in need?  An orphan in Africa, India, Ukraine, or Honduras?

This year Lifesong for Orphans has gifts that will do just that.  Give the new Lifesong cookbook...

  

 

or give a child in Africa food, a child in Honduras job skills training, a child in India a home... in honor of those you love... and really, what could be better at Christmas than to know your gift was given to a child who needed it more.

Check it out here.

May God bless your holiday season!  


10-11 Gifts of Purpose from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

I am Thankful for . . .

When thinking about the Thanksgiving Holiday I automatically think of my children.  God has blessed me with a wonderful family and I am THANKFUL.  So I sat down today and watched some old and new videos of the kids.  Thought you might enjoy a good laugh too.  Some of the videos are from last year so you will see less children(Grace & Sera) and less furniture(Jacob's bed is in livingroom & kitchen table is bigger) in them.  ENJOY!!!

Do not be alarmed I promise that is a temporary tattoo on his head

My AWESOME Friends

I am grinning from ear to ear this week!! I am so proud of two very special friends. We are joined together by two passions - serving others and caring for orphans.

My friend Carolyn Twietmeyer and her family are featured in the December 6th issue of People Magazine. They have 13 children and are huge advocates for orphans. Their hearts are especially pulled towards HIV+ orphans. I won't give away the article but let me give you one of my favorite quotes. Carolyn says, "We're not wealthy, but we feel rich." AMEN sister!!!! Carolyn is the founder of Project Hopeful, a nonprofit organizations that advocates for HIV+ orphans.

You MUST get a copy of People Magazine and read the article about their family. Then please take time to go to the Project Hopeful website and read more about this wonderful organization.

Holding my People Magazine and wearing my Project Hopeful t-shirt

________________________________________________________________

I love my friend, Maggie. She is in my small group Bible Study. Maggie has the gift of creativity and serving others. She has combined those two gifts into a wonderful business. She has started a business which she calls Sweet M's. Maggie gives 100% of her profits to a family in the process of adopting. She was recently asked to showcase her items at a local store called The Charmed Life. Then, this week she was featured on our local newspaper, The Jessamine Journal. Please stop by her website Sweet M's and check out her store.

My Friend Maggie

Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

Today was the final day for shoebox collection for Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child. If you did not get an opportunity to make a shoebox that's OK because you can still make a financial donation to help with costs associated with sending the boxes. Here is a link to make a donation to Samaritan's Purse.

Ordinary Hero Shirts

Ordinary Hero has partnered with several adoptive families during the month of November to help raise funds for adoption expenses. We are one of the lucky families!!! Here is how it works . . .

1. Go to the Ordinary Hero Website

2. Find a shirt on the right sidebar that you want to purchase. There are shirts for ALL ages!! Check out the kids shirts that say "I'm Gonna Change The World" Love them!!!

3. Click on the "Add to Cart" button

4. In the "special instructions" section type in "Maas Family"

5. You have just given our family $10.00 towards our adoption fund

6. Now look around the Ordinary Hero site. This is a wonderful organization doing God's work here in the US and around the world.

REMINDER: This deal is ONLY for the month of NOVEMBER. With EVERY shirt purchased $10.00 goes to our adoption fund. So lets say you are a family of five. You buy a shirt for each person in your family. That is $50.00 for our adoption fund!!!

Thank you!!!!!

Maas Family 2010 Christmas Card

Coming to your mailbox soon . . .

Picture Tree Christmas

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

MEMORIAL BOX MONDAY

This is my first Memorial Box Monday. I have been following Linny over at A Place Called Simplicity for a few years. So I decided it was about time I jump in. Although I don't have a Memorial Box yet. I think the first thing I will place in it is a picture of our home and my little pillow that says"where there is room in the heart there is always room in the home".

Here is my story . . .

Six years ago God began impressing upon us the frugality of trying to live the “American Dream”. We had built a large home(approx. 3200 sq ft) and filled it with nice furniture. We were a two income family with two children and a dog. We began to think about our future and what that would look like. Honestly, we did not like what we saw. I never wanted to work full time but I would need to work to pay for our comfortable lifestyle. So we began to make drastic changes in our lifestyles. We sold our large home and bought a smaller one that we could afford on one income. Then we began our journey to adoption. The sell of our large home was exactly the amount needed to pay for our first adoption. GOD IS SO GOOD!! Each of our adopted children have amazing stories of God's provisions and miracles. We adopted Faith in December 2007. Jacob and Gabriel came home in July 2008. Grace and Sera came home is January 2010.

Our Current Home

It is funny how things come full circle. AGAIN, we are looking at our lives but this time we LOVE what we see in our future. We see a home filled with beautiful laughter and lots of love. Problem is we are out of space, which in my opinion is a great problem. I recently annouced that we are adopting again. So our home will soon be filled with even more laughter. I have a pillow that a friend gave me that says, "where there is room in the heart there is always room in the home". I am afraid there is more room in my heart than there is in my home. I have been grieving all day because there is another little girl who needs a home. We are equipped to care for her as we have another daughter with a similar genetic disorder.

I know. I know. I can't "save/rescue" every child and I don't plan to. I don't plan on "saving" anyone. That is the job of my Father in Heaven. My job is to be obedient in loving and serving others.

I don't want crown molding or cathedral ceilings. I don't need ceramic tile or high end appliances. I JUST WANT MORE BEDROOMS!!! A therapy room would be nice since we have therapist in our home 4 days a week. I want to be able to eat dinner at a table where everyone can sit together. I want a big enough yard for 8 or more kids to play in so they can run and play and heal. So I am falling on my face before my Heavenly Father begging and pleading for his favor. Please direct us to a home, a home that would be a place where we can serve you more. A home that would not make us boast but that would give you glory. PRAYING FOR A MIRACLE!!

Exciting News & Shopping with a Purpose

EXCITING NEWS

We are in the process of adopting a precious girl from Ethiopia. More details will come later. We hope to have her home next spring. We are super excited for her to join our family.

SHOPPING WITH A PURPOSE

The holidays are quickly approaching so I wanted to let you know of some opportunities to purchase some fabulous Christmas gifts with a purpose.

Just Love Coffee has a wonderful selection of Fair Trade coffees, as well as coffee related accessories & clothing. Just Love Coffee with donate $5.00 from each purchase to our adoption fund.

Ordinary Hero is having a special promotion during the month of November. Ordinary Hero has a fabulous selection of orphan related shirts & gear for the whole family. They will be adding new merchandise to their website throughout the month of November. For every purchase made that has "Darren & Rebecca Maas" written in the memo line Ordinary Hero will donate $10.00 to our adoption fund. A tax deductible donation may also be made towards our adoption by following the directions on their website. PLUS the top 3 selling families will receive a matching donation for their adoption.

I will also be adding a list of links to the right sidebar of organizations who sell items with a purpose. Please check them out. HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

New Family Photo

Picture taken by Robert Dickes @ www.inspiringadoption.wordpress.com