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.