Sparkling Christmas tree with photos

This Christmas tree is absolutely beautiful! It is sparkly and silver and holds 7 dual sided photos. The winner may choose to send me images of pictures they would like inserted in the frames, or just receive it as is and insert your own photos. I have re-sizing software that I can use to shrink photos that would normally not fit in the 2.25 inch frames. I have on that I am filling with pictures of the Reece's Rainbow babies that I am praying for. I can't wait to pull it out next year and see how many of them have found families.

Value: $20 w/o pictures
Starting bid: $15

hand sewn mother goose nursery rhyme book

My grandmother made this beautiful nursery rhyme book. It is perfect for babies and toddlers-colorful and soft.

Starting bid: $5

Handwoven purple scarf

The picture of this scarf does not do it justice. It is handwoven chenille and rayon, soft, and warm, with multiple shades of purple. I would love to keep this one for myself. This scarf retails at $40

Starting bid: $10

Introducing...Katelyn

About this time last year, we were blessed to find our son, Quinton. Fast forward one year and he is home safe and sound with a mommy and daddy who love him like crazy. While we could not be happier with our new addition, when we left Ukraine, we left a piece of our hearts. My heart aches daily for the orphans we had to leave behind. I made a promise to myself that I would continue to raise awareness for these orphans and to help find families for them. So here goes...

Katelyn is a 5 year old sweetie with down syndrome. She did not celebrate her birthday this year with presents, cake, and ice cream. When she turned 5 she got a one way ticket to an adult mental institution where she will remain until she dies. I know that this could not be God's plan for this little girl, though. If we find her a family, we can change her fate. People tell Brian and I that we are angels for rescuing Quinton, but the truth is that he has given us far more than we could ever give him. He has given me an unspeakable joy and has filled a void in my life that I was not sure would ever go away. I just know that tiny miss Katelyn could do the same for another family.

Are you Katelyn's family? Would you be willing to fund raise and advocate for her? This year, we are Katelyn's Christmas warriors for the Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree. Our goal is to raise $1000 for her to help offset the cost of her future forever family. All donations made are tax deductible. The money is held in an account until a family who steps forward to commit to her are ready to travel to go get her. In order to reach our goal, I will be hosting a few fundraisers in the coming weeks. If you would like to donate her account, for every $35 you donate, you will receive a beautiful ornament with Katelyn's picture on it and a custom photo necklace or keychain made by me. Just email me at millerdec804 at yahoo dot com letting me know you donated. Send me a digital image of the picture you would like in your gift and whether you would like a necklace or keychain. Please also send me your mailing address so that I can send it to you. Donations can be made by using the box in the top right hand side of the blog labeled Katelyn's Adoption Grant.  Look for future posts with fundraising details to come soon. Thank you for your help and support, from the bottom of my heart.


These are some samples of the photo jewelry that I am giving as thank you gifts for donating to Katelyn's grant. These make great stocking stuffers and gifts for family members for Christmas. Yours can be made with any picture you would like. These pictures were taken on my iphone. They are much more colorful and clear than they appear in the pictures. Recommended donation is $8 for keychains and $12 for necklaces.

This is Cora Lynne. She is facing imminent institutionalization if she does not get adopted soon. I would love to see a smile on her sweet face.

This is baby Keegan. He is the only Reece's Rainbow baby left at the orphanage that Quinton live at. In 2011, 7 children with Down Syndrome were rescued from this orphanage. I would love to see Keegan out of there and with a family too!

This is tiny sweet Katelyn. She has already been transferred to an institution. This is the little girl who will benefit from your tax deductible donations. Please consider donating so that a family will step forward for her! Or even better, perhaps you would like to adopt her. Bring her home so that I can love on her too!

And last but not least, this is my sweet baby Quinton. From Ukraine to Concord, NC in 2011. 

I pray everyday for Katelyn's picture to show up on the my family found me page...will you join me in prayer, please?

News From the Cardiologist

When we first committed to adopt Quinton, we knew that he had a heart condition called an open oval window. After having him checked by his pediatrician, he was referred to the pediatric cardiologist. Both the pediatrician and the cardiologist said that Quinton's heart murmur was very faint and thought to be very "innocent" and something he would likely outgrow. Quinton had an EKG done and even after the results of that came back, the cardiologist still believed that his heart was healthy. There were no signs of hypertension or arrhythmia. He sent us into the next room to have an ultrasound done to confirm that the murmur was indeed innocent. Quinton was a champ through the entire 20 minute ultrasound (his daddy might just tell you otherwise though-Quinton may have peed on his leg LOL). We went back to the office so that the dr. could review the ultrasound pics. When he came back in, he had a diagram in his hand and I knew that the murmur was not so innocent. Surprisingly, Quinton does have what is called an atrial septal defect (ASD). The hole in his heart is about 4mm and will most likely require surgery. The ultrasounds showed that one side of Quinton's heart is enlarged. There is too much blood flow due to the hole, so one side is having to work much harder than the other. The good news is that the defect is in a good place and the surgeon will likely be able to repair it through a procedure called a heart catheterization. Instead of having to cut his chest open as they would in open heart surgery, they will go up through an artery in his leg and follow it up to his heart and repair the hole that way. This is a one day surgery and if all goes well, will only require a one night stay in the hospital. We will go back to the cardiologist in January of 2013. At this time the hole is not affecting his oxygen or energy, so the doctor would like to give the hole every chance to close on its own. So, for now we are in the clear and will revisit surgery when Quinton is closer to 3 years old. This is definitely not the news we were hoping for, but we are very thankful that open heart surgery is not in the future for our little guy.

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS:
While I hopefully have your attention, our family is going to be fundraising for another sweet orphan who is listed on Reece's Rainbow  (the same organization that helped us find Quinton). Her name is Katelyn. She is 5 years old and has down syndrome. Unfortunately, she has already been transferred to an adult mental institution. Her time is running out. At these institutions, an unthinkable amount of people die within a year because they are left in their cribs, oftentimes with no one to feed them or change their diapers. They lay all day-head banging and repeatedly hitting themselves. Katelyn lays there alone without a mommy and daddy and it breaks my heart. She is so tiny and so sweet. I just know that if we raise enough money, an adoptive family will step forward to be hers. The Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree lasts from November 1st to December 31st. During this time we will be working diligently to raise Katelyn's grant by $1000. This is where you come in. Maybe you are not in a position to adopt, but you can still help. I would like to host a satellite bake sale during the month of November. Would you be willing to host a bake sale in your area and donate the proceeds to Katelyn's grant? It is super easy. Just talk to your network of friends and host a bake sale at your work, church, girl/boy scout troop etc. and deposit what you make into Katelyn's fund. As a small incentive,  I will offer 10 free entries to my advent giveaway coming in December (also benefiting Katelyn). I will also send you a batch of homemade goodies and if you donate at least $35 you will receive a beautiful ornament with Katelyn's picture on it. I know that I have some very dedicated readers who have just as much of a love for Quinton as we do, so would you please consider helping me raise money for Katelyn so that she can find a family and bless the socks off of another family as Quinton has blessed us? If so, please  email me at millerdec804 at yahoo dot com or comment below. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Playing before seeing the doctor. 

I will leave you with a few pictures of Quinton at the cardiologist. You can see what he thought about being hooked up to all of those wires ;)

This Time Last Year...

To my sweet baby Quinton,

This time last year, my little one, you were only a dream.

You were just a picture that I couldn't take my eyes off of.

Those big blue eyes captivated me and drew me in.

Once I saw your sweet face and those sad eyes just begging for a mommy, it was over. 

I knew you were meant to be mine.

I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would travel across the world for my first child, but you, my sweet boy, were worth it all.

Your smile takes my breath away.

Watching you sleep is precious beyond words.

You are so special to me.

I love you so much and thank God everyday for choosing your daddy and me to be your parents.

You are a bigger blessing that I could ever have dreamed of.

You have overcome obstacles that little boys your age should never have to endure,

but your will to survive was so strong and your life has been redeemed.

Quinton, your daddy and I love you so much.

And we will be forever grateful to God for His perfect match made in heaven.

Mommy and Daddy love you bunches little one!

We're Still Here :)

We have been home for almost 2 months! Quinton is doing fantastic! He changes so much everyday. It is really unbelievable to watch. He is just bursting with personality.

Lots has been going on here. Quinton had his initial evaluations completed by early intervention in order to assess his abilities and determine what kinds of therapies he will qualify for. In most areas he fell somewhere in the 8 month old range and he qualified for speech, occupational, and physical therapy. We are so excited to get these therapies started and watch him grow even more. We took Quinton to the dr. yesterday and he weighed 20 lbs. 13 ounces. That means he has gained about a pound since coming home. 

He is learning how to work cause and effect toys instead of just banging them together to make noise. He is up on all 4's a lot now-just about to crawl. He is standing on his own (bearing his own weight, just needing to hold a finger for balance) and he is transitioning from a sitting position to laying on his tummy. Before he just laid flung himself backwards and smacked his head and then rolled over to his tummy. He laughs and smiles all the time and is really seeking out attention. 

Work is back in full swing. It is so hard being away from him all day. I told myself that I would stay after work everyday to prepare for the next day so that I would not have to bring work home with me, but I just can't. I am just itching to get my hands on him and hug him and kiss his sweet face. We have been very fortunate as far as childcare is concerned. We were going to put Quinton in daycare, but it was going to cost at least $600/month. Brian was going to have to work so much off duty to pay for it, he was hardly ever going to get to spend any time with Quinton. So, his supervisors graciously allowed him to come off of the dual sport bikes (first shift) and go back to second shift. This was a huge sacrifice for Brian too because he loves riding motorcycles all day, but he did it for his baby :) So, now Brian keeps Quinton until 2:00 everyday and then my mom comes home from work and keeps him until I get off work and go pick him up at her house. We love having him with family all day.

Brian is embracing fatherhood. I knew he would be great, but there really are no words to explain how incredible he is with Quinton. He shared this story on his facebook the other day:

I was at home depot with Quinton and this lady stops me and tells me what a blessing it is to have a child with ds. She has a 21 yr old with ds in college. Right as she said it I felt QB's shirt getting wet. He peed in my arms. lol And you know what? It made me smile. I love being a daddy. What a great day.

How sweet is that? I love him!

So, things have been busy but fantastic. Here are some pictures from our favorite photographer Alisa from Pumpkins and Pearls Photography :) Check out her website if you live in the Charlotte area and are looking for some awesome family pictures. She also designed us some beautiful custom thank you cards that we should be getting today! I can't wait to send them out!

Quinton is loving life and we are loving him. Thank you for helping us bring him home :)