Shop for Isaac & Lily

I have some beautiful and generous friends who are throwing Lily & Isaac a party!  Oh wait, not just one party but FOUR PARTIES!!!  Commissions from ALL four parties will be donated to Lily & Isaacs' adoption fund.

PARTY ONE

The Pampered Chef

PARTY TWO

Tastefully Simple

When you check out make sure you choose "Rebecca Maas" as your host.

PARTY THREE

Thirty-One

The special for May is for every $31 in retail order, you can buy an All-in-One Organizer for just $5

PARTY FOUR
Ordinary Hero
Make sure you choose Rebecca Maas in the Affiliate Menu
OH will be giving away THREE $500 Grants to the top 3 sellers over the week time frame!
If I am the top seller THIS WEEK I will get an extra grant for $500.00!!!!
Plus the 40% revenue from my sells. 

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!!

Blessed to be Called Mother

I wanted to say "THANK YOU" for voting for Jacob to receive a handicap accessible van.  Today is the last day of voting.  If you have not voted you can go to the Mobility Awareness Site and vote before midnight.  If this is your first time voting for Jacob you can also use the dealer code 968 to get extra votes for Jacob.  You can only use the dealer code on your first vote.  If you have already voted using the dealer code you can still vote but not with extra votes.  

Tomorrow we should find out if Jacob made it into the top 10% of vote getters.  If he is in the top 10% he will move to the next round, where a committee will choose THREE people to receive handicap accessible vans.  These winners will be announced on national television!  Please be praying for this committee over the next couple of days.  I know that this has to be a very hard decision.  There are so many deserving people out there who really NEED handicap accessible transportation.

picture by Nina Mullins Photography

Today is Mother's Day.  I am so honored to be called mother by my children.  All of my children have touched my heart, each in their own way.  However, Jacob has touched my life in a way that I don't think anyone else could.  God does not make any mistakes and Jacob is no exception.  The joy in this child is indescribable unless you meet him in person.  Joy that can only come from our Heavenly Father pours from the depths of his soul.

Let me tell you why this is so amazing to me.  Jacob has quadraplegia cerebral palsy.  When he was about 6-9 months old, he was living in an orphanage, his health drastically deteriorated.  At the time they had no idea why.  When we saw his picture we just knew he would not survive if he was not adopted soon.  It was not until we got him home did we find out that Jacob was a living miracle.  Mind you Jacob was born in a third world country.  His very young mother lived in a very remote village and probably received no medical care.  Jacob's brain did not completely form.  He has a large cleft on one side of his brain.  The remainder of his brain did not completely form outward.

Jacob is unable to sit without full support.  He can hold his head up for a short time unassisted.  Jacob is also nonverbal.  He requires total care.  Jacob's neurologist said that Jacob should also be blind, deaf, on a feeding tube and have seizures.  Here is the amazing part!  Jacob is not blind.  Jacob is not deaf.  Jacob has never had a seizure.  Jacob is eating from a bottle and has just started eating baby foods.  Jacob is taking steps using a very special walker that fully supports his body. 

Now for the most amazing part but also the part that breaks my heart the most.  Remember Jacob's brain?  It is not all there.  BUT I have been talking with Jacob's therapist recently about his progress.  Jacob is almost developmentally on target cognitively for a four year old.   Did you hear that?  Jacob is cognitively a typical four year old boy.  Here is the part that breaks my heart.  Jacob is a typical cognitively developing four year old stuck in his on body.  Can you imagine being completely aware of everything going on around you but unable to move or speak?  Can you imagine knowing what you want or need but unable to tell anyone?  Seriously, I am bawling just typing that.

Here is where Jacob inspires me the most.  He is such a strong little boy.  He works so hard during therapy.  You can just see his determination.  He has learned how to communicate with eye gaze and grunts.  He very rarely gets frustrated.  Did I mention the absolute joy that just bubbles out of him?  If you have ever met Jacob in person you will never forget the smile on this kid's face.  Oh, the laughter.  He starts laughing and it is just contagious.  He loves life.  Every part of it.  I am so blessed to be called his mother.  God is so good!!

It's Party Time!!!

I have some beautiful and generous friends who are throwing Lily & Isaac a party!  Oh wait, not just one party but THREE PARTIES!!!  Commissions from ALL three parties will be donated to Lily & Isaacs' adoption fund.

Don't forget you can also use the Reece's Rainbow button on the right sidebar to make a tax deductible donation to Lily & Isaacs' adoption fund.

PARTY ONE

The Pampered Chef

PARTY TWO

Tastefully Simple

When you check out make sure you choose "Rebecca Maas" as your host.

PARTY THREE

Thirty-One

The special for May is for every $31 in retail order, you can buy an All-in-One Organizer for just $5

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!!

Mother's Day Challenge

Mother’s Day is this Sunday.  There are some extra special mothers out there that I would challenge you to remember this Mother’s Day.  These are mothers that have chosen to love those who everyone else has turned away.  A typical day may consist of being yelled at, being bitten, and kicked.  Very rarely will they hear a “Thank You” or “I Love You”.  They are on-call 24 hours a day, this is not an 8-5 job.  They are up all hours of the night holding children that are having night terrors.  Some of these mothers are parenting medically fragile children.  Every day these mothers deal with the reality of death, but also the beauty of life.  What an emotional roller coaster!  They are in the trenches, loving and healing children with the love of God. 

They are not just moms, but during a 24 hour period they may also become advocates, nurses, teachers, pharmacists, therapists, dietitian and more.  They wear many hats!  I am talking about mothers who have adopted or are fostering children that are hard to place.  These moms are humble and they never ask for recognition, in fact, it probably makes them uncomfortable.

If you know one of these moms consider making Mother’s Day a little extra special for them this year.  I bet they would be overjoyed just to get a note of encouragement.  Maybe a gift card to pamper herself?  Maybe a gift basket of items just for her?  Chocolate?  I have a feeling you can take it from there and come up with some great ideas.

Help Jacob Get New Wheels

I entered Jacob into a contest last month to win a handicap accessible van.  You can read my post about the contest HERE.

The contest is in honor of National Mobility Month.  The first round of the contest ends on May 13th.  We need to be in the top 10% of vote getters in order to move to the second round of the competition.  We are so very close to being in the top 10%.  This would be a HUGE blessing for Jacob and our family. 

All you have to do is go to this SITE and vote for Jacob.  You can vote once every 24 hours through this Sunday May 13th.  If you use dealer code "968" on your first vote Jacob will receive 5 VOTES instead of just one.  This only works ONE time.

For people with mobility issues a huge obstacle in gaining independence is transportation.  Take our sweet Jacob for example.  Jacob received a fancy new wheelchair last year.  It supports him in all the right places and is super durable.  It is also able to hold his communication system.  However, Jacob is only able to use this wheelchair when he is at home.  There is not a lot of storage space in the back of our van and his wheelchair is super heavy.  For that reason Jacob is currently using his old stroller type chair when we are away from the house.  This poor chair has about had it!  Jacob has broken it 3 or 4 times.  We have had to place brackets on the back to keep it from breaking further.  This chair is not very supportive and frankly too small.  What a blessing it would be if Jacob could use his super duper big boy wheelchair ALL the time!

Love this little guy!

picture by Nina Mullins Photography

I think I have heard a thousand times, "I just haven't found my niche" when talking about serving others.  Really?  You don't have to look very far to find it.  God created each person with a purpose and plan in mind.  He gifted each of us for that purpose too.  I think sometimes we make things more difficult than they need to be.

What are you good at? 

What do you really love to do?  

What are you good at and really love but are not currently doing?

I spent years jumping from job to job.  I spent my college years jumping from major to major.  Finally, I thought back to my childhood to that time when someone asked, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"  It was simple.  I wanted to be a mommy.  I loved children.  At a very early age everyone around me could tell I had a gift with children.  I received the greatest joy by loving on children. 

It has been almost seven years now since I stopped pursuing what was just a job and started pursuing what God created me to be.  Honestly, I am in my "sweet spot"!  Now, let me be honest and say my days are not always perfect.  Yes, I get frustrated.  Yes, some days I wish I were alone sitting on a beach.  However, I LOVE my "job"!  I LOVE being a mother!  I LOVE caring for children with disabilities!  God has equipped me and continues to equip me for the task.  If you know me in real life it is obvious. 

Have you found your "sweet spot" in life?



"When you pack for a trip, you pick clothes well-suited to your journey. The same holds true for our spiritual gifts — God has "packed us" with everything we need to be shaped for our purpose." Jon Weece

Adoption Update

Here is the low down on the adoption news . . .

Home Study Complete

I800a Mailed

Dossier Done well done except for I800a approval

Authentication Process Started

Now comes the ranting . . . .

We filed our I800a on April 10th and had receipt notice issued April 12th.  I thought WOW that was fast!  We were supposed to receive notice of fingerprinting in 10-14 day following receipt notice.  Well it has been 17 days and we have not even been assigned a fingerprinting appointment yet.  Oh, wait it gets better.  The reason we have not received an appointment is because the Louisville USCIS is SOOOOOO BUSY they do not have any appointments available for at least the next three weeks.  They won't even send out an appointment letter unless they have an appointment available within a three week period of time.  HELLO!!!  You have got to be kidding me.  I have been to that office four times and I have NEVER been there when there was more than one other person waiting to get fingerprinted. 

So normally this would not be a big deal we would just sit and wait.  HOWEVER, we need to move and we can't move until we get fingerprinted and dossier out of here.  If we move BEFORE our dossier leaves than we would have to redo documents, pay more fees, etc. 

So there you have it we are stuck.  Thankfully our USCIS officer says our case is ready for approval as soon as our fingerprints are done.  You know the most stupid thing about this whole process.  We were just fingerprinted two months ago for our home study.  We have actually been fingerprinted 5 TIMES in the last four years.  They DO NOT keep fingerprint records on file. That is absurd!!

So here are our prayer needs:

1.  Fingerprinting Appointment and FAST

2.  We have to make a big payment when our dossier goes out.

3.  We can get our dossier out of here by the end of May.