Widows & Orphans - WIPHAN

One of my bloggy friends, Andrea, is wanting to spread the word about their organization called WIPHAN. They are in need of sponsorships and we want to share with everyone we know (or that reads about us!) what you can do to help!

I know first hand what sponsorship can do for a child. We love our sponsored child in Haiti and it's such a blessing to see her and know what we are doing to help change her life and her family's life. But even greater is the blessing she is for our family. We have changed hearts and changed lives because of Smerelda and children like her. We needed Smerelda as much as she needed us. This week I'm going to be sharing nothing but sponsorship blogs and posts! So fasten your seatbelts! It's going to be a bumpy ride! But one you'll enjoy I'm sure!

From Andrea's blog:

Wiphan was started just 3 years ago…and we’ve just had our 501 non-profit status for TWO years. It went from one friend of ours—to our family—to 3 more families…and we had a board! For awhile—it was just us + 450 orphans + 150 widows. We trusted the Lord to provide the thousands of dollars of month we would need to run–and He has always provided. Last year we started our sponsorship program to invite OTHER FAMILIES to join us! I would LOVE to see all TWENTY of our children who still don’t have sponsors sponsored by Friday!

OK—so how can you help?! We need voices! We need others who have hearts for orphans to speak with us! And if you have a blog—well, you have a voice and you probably have lots of readers!!! The MORE people we refer to the Wiphan site…the MORE people will find out about Wiphan and our sponsorship program!

Zambia isn’t really open to adoptions…so for these kids–the only hope is for them to be cared for in country. We have TWO schools and 450 kids—with MANY MORE who would LOVE to be in our program. BUT before we can grow–we need to find sponsors for the children on our list. Many of our children waiting for sponsors are “older children”. Maybe you don’t qualify for adopting an older child–but you could sponsor one!Maybe your budget really is too tight–but you could blog about them and be their voice!

The Chicken Whisperer

You've heard of the movie/book The Horse Whisperer right? Or we see commercials and programs on TV about others adopting this so called title and using it for snakes or bears, etc. Well, my son [jokingly] claims to be THE Chicken Whisperer. And yes, please join me as I laugh hysterically. He cracks me up (pun intended). lol

Spring is right around the corner and our local farm and home store is having 'Chick Days'. Which basically just means, it's time to buy poultry! There are baby chicks out the wazoo! The kids used to always love to go in and look at them, and about 10 years ago I even let them buy a couple of ducks when they had those at the store. We had an extra bathroom in our home at the time that wasn't being used and the baby ducks moved in. Which of course didn't last long because let me tell you, ducks grow VERY FAST. Ducks are cute, yellow, fluffy.....and stinky. ;o) Everyday I was changing paper like potty training a puppy. Clean the paper out of the tub, wash the tub, fill the tub with water, let the ducks swim and the kids play, then dry it all out, put more paper down, feed the ducks and start the routine over. After about two weeks, the ducks were too big to be considered cute and cuddly, they began getting NOISY and it was time to take them outside. We have always lived in the country so we kept them in a kennel at night so the wild animals couldn't make a midnight snack out of them. Letting them out during the day to waddle around, eat and forage and swim in the small pond in our backyard. Snapping turtles were never something that crossed our minds. And that's all I'm gonna say about the ducks. Daffy and Daisy lived a very short but happy and spoiled life. We no longer do ducks. ;o)

Now... we do chickens. Over a year ago we began reading, our lifestyles changed and we were going to become one of those families that lived organically. Off the land the good Lord gave us. Growing everything we needed, etc. etc. Well, considering we are country people that is a lot easier to do than most who live in the city or towns. After all, we raise our own beef and butcher it every year. How hard could it be to do more? Chickens, our bigger garden, milking our dairy cow, making cheese and making an honest effort to eat healthier by mom (that would be me) taking the extra effort to cook more of our meals from scratch rather than from frozen packages or boxes.

We still do homegrown beef (totally yummy and nothing like store bought beef), we tried the milking thing. Yeah.... the cats enjoyed it more than we did. My husband loved the whole milk that we skimmed the cream from the top. The kids and I, not so much. I could use it to cook but drinking it was another story. The kids wanted no part of it (even though they couldn't tell when I cooked with it). Garden veggies we've always been acceptable to. My gardening skills on the other hand leave a bit to be desired. I pick a few certain veggies that are favorites and we eat what we grow but the 'extra' for canning has not happened yet. Even though I bought all the supplies and goodies to do so. Best laid plans right...... I still do most of our cooking from scratch. Even making homemade bread rather than buying it from the store. I tend to slack off though depending on the kids' school schedules. Since I have teenagers in sports and other activities we are going most of the time and the couple of hours you have to devote to making homemade bread, well let's just say it's better if it's uninterrupted and focused bread making time. ;o)

The best and most stuck to plan (besides the beef) is our love of our new chickens. We got 11 new chickens last year about this time. After lots of reading and chicken studying we were going to be chicken farmers, raising home grown fryers and selling country fresh eggs. (say it with me.... a BIG HA!) lol We are down to 6 chickens. The coyotes and coons loved our new endeavors. But those 6 remaining hens are fiesty! We've had fresh eggs since last summer and not that you can really taste a big difference (even though some say you can), it's nice to have our own supply of eggs because we actually use quite a few on a daily basis.

My 6 year old Tanner picked out one lone chicken for his own. We purchased those 11 chickens that included 10 Rhode Island Reds, and one lone little yellow Buff Orpington. Tanner named her Poachy. No, he's never had a poached egg, doesn't even know what it means, but Poachy she is and she has become the biggest hen in the house and rules the roost so to speak. The rest of the girls follow her like a bad scene from Mean Girls. It's hilarious to watch at times.

Meet Poachy

My oldest son Tyler made a sport out of chasing the girls to catch them every night to put them away in the chicken house. Some nights we would return after dark and they would already be roosting on gutters or ladder rungs or steps in the barn. The girls definitely love to roost. Tyler started calling himself the chicken whisperer as he could catch the girls a lot easier than the rest of us and began treating them like pets. (Yes, we think he's a dork at times. lol But it really is hilarious!)

♥ THE CHICKEN WHISPERER ♥

Since it's chick days at the store, yesterday we decided to add to our flock and purchased 20 more chickens. (Overshooting our needed estimate, and taking into consideration the local coyotes and coons would be having a spring fling compliments of the Lynch's again.)

Fifteen new little Rhode Island Reds to add to the coop, and five special little chicks that my son calls "the raccoon chickens". Not because he expects the coons to eat them, but because he thinks they look like raccoons with the black feathers and circles around their eyes. Did I mention he picked out the runts again? I'm thinking this is a sign. We should let Tanner pick the chickens every year.

Little Rhode Island Reds. Perfect egg layers and they double as fryers if needed. :o) But, quite frankly, I have no intention of breaking their necks or plucking feathers like my granny used to do. I'll keep Colonel Sanders in business before I go chopping up my chicks. ;o)

Our cute new little 'Raccoon' chicks.

They are currently sharing the coop with the big girls but in a more confined area of their own until they are big enough to take on the outside world. It really is a fun and easy project to do with your kids. Even if you live in town there are ways you can house and make small 'coops' for just a couple of chickens. Consider it a home school project. And if it's not something you enjoy there are always people you can give the chickens away to or sell them.

For those that have seen a World Vision catalog you can teach your children about how a chicken provides a family with eggs to eat and sell, and when you purchase a chicken like we did for our Lent study what impact it has. I could share all kinds of thoughts and analogies on my baby chicks and orphans but I bet if you thought about it real hard you could figure them out. There were literally 100's of chicks at the store. We 'adopted' 20. We didn't give a second thought to their size or color, how old or young they might be, we just wanted to take home those chicks.
The big girls started out that size a year ago and they roam the farm during the day. They wandered into the barn yesterday in the horse stalls and were scratching for things to eat in the dirt. Why you'd rather dig through dirt than eat fresh feed from a sack is beyond me. ;) lol
And of course my wandering photographer's eye had to play a bit. My husband's OLD Farmall tractor has seen better days. But it's still running and can do what we need it to.

Sicky poo had to check to make sure we were getting his new raccoon chicks settled in to suit him. And then he decided to start a snowball fight with dad and take a ride on the four-wheeler before mom made him go back inside yesterday. Leave it to mom to be the bad guy. Cause dad's are just for havin' fun right? ;o)
You can see after over 12 inches of snow in the last few weeks, it's finally starting to melt. But it's making some HUGE mud puddles. See those t-bones growin' in the background?! ;o) Yum Yum! We love livin' on the farm. ♥

All those interested or in need of a chicken whisperer just drop me a line! I think he's writing a book soon.

It's a Blog Parade!

This amazing young girl named Abigail has an awesome blog and a heart for the Lord. She started a blog parade just so people could get to know one another better (and of course find even more blogs to add to our reading addictions! LOL) So, today this is me...

1. What's your favorite time of the day, and why?

• I love mid-morning. Take note, that is NOT morning as most people see it. I'm not a morning person at all, but give me time to wake up, around 9 when everyone is gone to school, when there is peace in the house, the sun shines, the day begins and I have time to do my devotions and reading with a good cup of coffee. There is promise in the rest of the day, nothing has 'gone wrong' yet and I feel I can accomplish anything and conquer the world!

2. If health wasn't an issue, what food could you live off of?

• Total toss up between Pizza and Mexican Chicken Fajita Taco Salad! That creamy cheese sauce is to die for! But I'm torn between the two because pepperoni pizza should be considered its own food group.

3. If you could have one wish granted (besides wishing for more wishes), what would it be?

• I used to think this was for anyone I knew or came into contact with to be saved. That's still an awesome wish, but something I realize you can't 'wish' for. That is a relationship that people need to seek, desire with all their heart and work at everyday. So my one wish now would be for there to be no more orphans in the world. The plight of the orphan breaks my heart. The fact that others don't feel that same desire to completely obliterate the loneliness and poverty of so many makes me angry. We are all adopted sons and daughters of the Lord and every child deserves a family with a father and a mother.....that leads them to the one true Father. I'd love to have a whole house full of children and love to support and advocate for those that do and the waiting children that still look for families to come.

4. What's one thing that you get teased about a lot?

• Thankfully I'm old enough I don't really get teased anymore (except by my husband). My hubby teases me about having early onset alzheimer's. I can walk out of a room on a mission to do something and completely forget what it was and have to back track to figure it out. Sometimes more than once.... :s

5. If you could choose one movie, book, or TV show to spend your life in, which would you pick? What type of character would you be?

• Little House on the Prairie. As a child I wanted to be Laura Ingalls. As an adult, watching the show I long to live like Caroline. What a great example of a wife and mother. :)

6. If you could have one talent that you don't already have, what would it be?

• Playing the piano.

7. If money were no object, where would you go on vacation?

• VACATION - Hawaii...been there done that before, would LOVE to go again. However, my mind focuses more now on mission trips rather than self-indulgent vacations. (not that there's anything wrong with a good vacation!), but I long to go to Africa on missions.

8. If you were an awesome singer, which genre would you sing?

• Country with a cross over into Christian.

9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, what would it be?

• AMAZON.com baby! There's nothing I can't find or buy for anything I need or want! And it's all delivered right to my front door and usually cheaper than driving to the store and paying their retail! If you haven't tried it, you must!

10. If you could live in any point in time, when would it be?

• Umm... I mentioned Little House on the Prairie right? ;o) But I also know God has placed me right where He desired me to be and I love my life just as it is today.

11. If every outfit in your wardrobe had to be one color, what would it be?

• I'm sure most people will say the same but this is one time I don't care if I'm unique or not. I'm going with black. Black goes with everything. Black can be dressed up, dressed down, it's slimming (best quality!), it's just great.

12. If you were one of the seven dwarves, which one would you be?
(Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, Happy, or Dopey)

• Happy! I'm a born again believer in Jesus Christ and He has made my life so blessed and so happy! Most days you won't find me without a smile on my face.

13. What's the last album you listened to?

• Mercy Me.

14. What's something we'd be surprised to know about you?

• I have three children, however it was never a part of my plan. The first two are teenagers (17 and 14), the third is only 6. I miscarried a child less than a year before he was born and was devastated...first with the thought of being pregnant, and then at the loss of the child. So much so to the point that when we conceived our now six year old son I DID NOT want to be pregnant. It was a surprise. It took me MANY months to come to the conclusion I was going to have to be his mother whether I wanted to or not. And now, he's one of our greatest blessings (one of three!) and I want to continue filling my house and my heart with children from Africa and China. I want to adopt. I want to always have the laughter of children filling my home. I want to make one (or two or three...) less orphans in the world. I want to be one of those families that others look at in disbelief and wonder why on earth you would have 10 or more children! I want to be the crazy old woman who lived in a shoe that had so many children she didn't know what to do! I want to be the one people talk about and point fingers at and think she's nuts because she has all these children of different colors and races. I want others to learn by that example and learn they can love someone besides their own biological child with just as much passion and unconditional love.

This is the Chuck and Jane Koth family who had three biological children and then adopted 10 more children! What an awesome testimony to God's word! They started The Children's Legacy organization which is actually based in Kansas City, MO. Just a couple hours from me!

Hump Day & Sunshine

Why do we call it hump day? Because we're at the top of the hill and ready to coast down the other side? Yeah maybe, but rather than coast down the other side, sometimes you just need to revel in the moment and enjoy the day!

This is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

We can say this everyday and it brings a bit more sunshine into our lives. Spring is upon us and it's just been one of those days when I have nothing but gladness in my heart. I've spent the morning in court which usually stresses me to the point of diarrhea (like you wanted to know that.... but if we're honest most of us know what I'm talking about!), and then got a call from school that my youngest son has a fever and needed to come home. He now sits in the other room playing video games. Oh what a cursed disease. LOL

I was getting ready for court last night and digging through old pictures on flash cards and found some interesting stuff. Things that made me laugh and smile, things that make you roll your eyes and say "only you".

So, I thought I'd spread a little sunshine today and share those pics with you. Besides it gives you a better idea of who we are and what makes us tick. ;o)

My 6 year old son 'practicing' his guitar. Which of course just ends up being strumming noises but he can rock your world with rock bad on the Wii and singing Eye of the Tiger will have you laughing till you cry. I was peaking in on their 'jam session'. ;o)
My husband family is VERY musically gifted. All of the men in their family play instruments of some sort and have won numerous contests, been a part of bluegrass bands, etc. My father-in-law was the state champion fiddle player in Tennessee (hey all you TN gals!) many years ago, he plays the fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar.... it's amazing. And of course HIS brothers all play some type of instrument and their children do. My husband and his two brothers are the same. Our closets are filled with bass fiddles, fiddles, banjos, and acoustic guitars. My oldest son takes guitar lessons and his teacher claims he's a natural. It's in their blood.

The 6 yr old wants lessons, but not quite ready to stay focused enough. My husband taught my daughter how to play the bass fiddle one afternoon in a matter of minutes. Doesn't that just blow your mind. It's like they have these freaky genius music genes that I can only dream of acquiring.

After my hubby spent over thirty minutes trying to teach me a song only to become majorly frustrated and had us both aggravated at one another, I walked out. My daughter says let me try and within 5 minutes is playing it like an old pro. They all can play by ear too. Which just ads to the level of disgust on my part. But oh how I love to listen to them. :o)
This is my daughter's 17th birthday 'celebration' of sorts. We set the camera up in the pantry cabinet and set the timer. She is such a busy girl being a senior in high school and always on the go. We only had time for pizza at home and cake. But she didn't mind a bit.

We look like a crazy redneck bunch don't we? The psycho 6 yr old trying to look intimidating, my hubby, my 14 year old son sporting his balloon hat from another party, me hiding because I'm in my pj's and my daughter with her usual 'don't take my picture wild face' on. She HATES having her picture taken. I can't imagine how quiet our house will be after she's gone to college. I don't even want to think about it! We need to finish her senior pictures before she goes to college! lol You know what they always say, "The cobbler's kids have no shoes!"

She's kinda cute when she's not making faces at the camera! lol :)

I reminded my husband last night.... we have plenty of room for more! ;o) *hint*hint*!!! If we have room in our hearts, there is always room in the house. That's just a minor detail.

I'm not giving up on this thing called adoption!

I live vicariously through friends' blogs and their homecomings that make my heart want to explode with joy!

They bring tears to my eyes.

Happy tears.

And I advocate and support orphans through our organization Joint Heirs Adoption Ministry, and I look forward to returning to Haiti where I can visit with my sponsored child again! There are many ways to care for widows and orphans. Until I can open my home to them, I open my heart in many other ways.

I hope God has richly blessed you today. :o)

Catching Up! This week's RAK!

Wow, it's already Monday and so much to catch up on! I'm still nursing that cold and it stinks! :( Day-Quil and Ny-Quil keep me going. My girlfriend is recovering from her surgery way better than expected and I'm so happy she is doing awesome!

Okay, we'll see if I can do all this without losing you!

Keeping up with the RAK giveaway, Andrea's gift is on it's way to Georgia! Maybe she'll come home from that awesome adoption seminar and find a surprise waiting for her. :o) I hope you enjoy it Andrea!

The second giveaway was THIS (minus my son with the bed head! lol), and the lucky winner of that giveaway is Beth!!! =) Check out her blog. They adopted a special needs daughter from China. Miss Lucey! Yes, another Lucey for those of you that follow Kristi's blog! :) I'm surrounded by stories of beautiful little Lucey/Lucy's! lol

So, this weeks RAK is for all you scrapbook junkies!!! I used to be a Creative Memories Consultant and I have more scrapbook supplies than you can shake a stick at!!! Lots of folks are doing digital these days but I know there are still those who enjoy the touchy feely books where you can get your hands on some paper, metal and ribbons as well as other textures. :o)

You get a complete package of Wilderness stickers. It includes everything

from coolers and sleeping bags to bears and canoes! I bet I used three or four packages of these stickers on each one of my kids' books. We were always camping or fishing, roasting marshmallows or hiking and these stickers cover it all!

Next is a sheet of Me & My Big Ideas Easter stickers! These were always my favorite and I used these little stick people on lots of pages! I had a fetish for M&MBI peeps! Plus, Easter is right around the corner! Also is a sheet from Phrase Cafe called Sisterly Love. These are the clear stickers so when you put them down all you see is the actual words.

And a complete sheet from Nostalgiques of alphabet stickers. These look (and feel!) just like the keys on an old manual typewriter. I've used them for mini books, recipe cards or greeting cards for friends. I just love the antique feel!

Remember all you have to do is leave a comment and the winner is chosen at random on Sunday! Just because! I'm not posting the McKlinky box this week because no one was using it, but feel free to pass it forward and start a Lent RAK of your own!

Onward!....

Some new and exciting things if you are into books. I got really excited when I opened my e-mail to find out I had been selected to receive a free book! I hadn't even signed up for it! Those are the awesome kinds of freebies everyone loves! The book I'm getting is Chosen, by Ginger Garrett, through the David C. Cook Fiction blog.

I'm anxious to receive my book and share my thoughts about it with you! This isn't normally the type of book I'd read but it's got a biblical story foundation so I'm excited to see if this is something I can get hooked on!

THEN.... I get an e-mail telling me I can get even MORE free books! We're total bookworms at my house and I was so excited! I am a member of Book Sneeze and have started getting my free books from them to review. Then I joined WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group

and discovered that I have been approved as a blog book reviewer! MORE FREE BOOKS!

I'm so excited to get these programs started! If I can just keep up my reading and reviewing! What better way to get free books! You can click on any of the links to find out more information and apply to be a reviewer too! I hope you get free books! DID I MENTION THEY'RE FREE?!!! lol :o)

And, last but not least.... if you're keeping up with me thank you so much! I'm catching up on my Lent study posts.

• Day 8 - Seeing my blind spots. It's about recognizing my blind spots and being honest about what Jesus is really saying and asking of us. The blind spots that opened my eyes were all about Haiti. Funny how one mission trip can have such an impact. Actually seeing children living in such poor conditions, literally starving, sleeping in the dirt, fumbling through trash. It broke my heart in ways I can't describe. Unless you've experienced it and understand it yourselves. The other thing that opened my eyes came after returning from my trip and discovering a world of adoption blogs. Seeing these families bringing home children to their forever families. Oh how I long to be one of those families. :) Someday....

• Day 9 - (this can be done any day this week, so I'm going to try to do it on a day when my children can participate and it's not below freezing outside!) But it's called NO DRIPPING! You are to walk a mile with an empty bucket, fill it with water and then walk home again. Millions of people, children, have the responsibility of walking to get water for their families everyday. And 99% of that water is not clean or suitable for drinking. We've already covered death and disease from unclean water... So, I'm 'mapping' off a mile in our little town with my car so I know exactly how far the kids will have to walk with me, and we're going right down the main street in town with empty buckets and then walking back. I'm anxious to see how many people stop to ask what we're doing or ask if we need help so I can share what we're doing. I'll keep you posted on that later this week!

Please note, according the to EPA, the average American uses 170 gallons of water a day.

• Day 10 - Ask your pastor how often he preaches on poverty and justice in a year. With a gracious spirit - but to make a point - ask to see your pastor's bible and tell him your checking for holes! Then explain the study you're doing. I totally got sidetracked with this yesterday because we had a guest speaker with a presentation on the holy land, so I'll be pickin' on my pastor on Wednesday night! The study guide from the book tells of there being almost 2000 verses in Scripture that deal with poverty and justice. Imagine 'cutting' each one of these verses out of your Bible with a pair of scissors.... verses that we pay no attention to. Now do you see the hole in our gospel?! ;o)

• Day 11 - Call your nearest gospel rescue mission and ask for a tour. Then find out what you can do to help the mission in your community. This is a bit difficult for me as the nearest gospel rescue mission is over two hours away. :( I have helped with the local women's shelter before and donated services to them as well. They (luckily) don't run a full house sometimes so I'll be praying for the rescue missions instead. :o)

• Day 12 - That's today! Same Kind of Different As Me! - Totally ironic?! It says to find a book (suggests this one Same Kind of Different As Me) and read it after you finish the Hole in our Gospel study. I already have this book! I look forward to reading it even more now! It was my first freebie from the Book Sneeze Review Group! LOL cool huh? So I'll keep you posted on that one too! I have the follow up book to that as well which is What Difference Do It Make?

So I think that about covers everything! I'm enjoying my Lent Study. I wish I weren't so sick with a head cold because it's keeping me up at night, but it's also giving me time to read! I'm still keeping up with my One Year Chronological Bible as well.

I gotta tell ya, so far it's been an amazing year. Staying in the word and completing these studies and finding a new church family has been such a blessing! It can change and transform your life in ways you never imagined when you take time for God everyday!

We had a new experience Sunday night. They have a 30 minute prayer time before the service on Sunday. Anyone is welcome in, but you aren't required to participate. My husband and I are always excited to get our feet wet with anything! A private room without interruption had our group opening up prayer requests together. We just each took turns and went around our circle praying as one. It was incredible. And I gotta tell ya, God's children..... the orphan, was one of my spoken prayers. If you don't feel led to adopt, at least pray for these children! I'm hoping I can do both someday! Until I am, I continue to pray.

I hope you have a blessed week! Now, leave me some comments so I can send you some FREE scrapbooking goodies! :)