Our little character

Our little entertainer, Little J, has had a couple good ones.  Yesterday morning as I was trying to get out the door to leave for work, Big J said wait, I have something for you, and she ran back to her bedroom and came back with about 60 cents that she took out of her money cup to give me for being the best mom ever (thanks Big J!).  Little J observed all this and not to be outdone, said, "wait, I have sumting for you" and she ran back towards the bedrooms.  While she was gone I said to Big J, I bet she is going to take your money and give it to me.  We had a little chuckle.  Lo and behold, Little J came running back and said, "dis is for you" and she handed me, yes, coins from Big J's money cup!  Oh my laughter all around!

And today while I was back in our bedroom, Little J came in and was drinking from Big J's water canteen.  And I know of course that she clearly knows it is Big J's.  I said, why are you drinking from Big J's canteen?  Well wasn't it obvious mom?  She said to me, "becuz I am tursty".  Well ok then!  22 months old, I am in big trouble!

And the newest member of the family, no, no referral yet, stayed tuned in September or October for THAT exciting news!  Big J has been bugging us since Abby died to get another cat.  I've vacillated a lot on that, thinking it would be good for our remaining cat but then thinking he couldn't adjust (he is a classic scaredy cat, the girls never get a chance to get too close to him, but he did LOVE snuggling with both Ellie and Abby when they were alive).  So, here is Samantha.......

And of course, Big J is so happy, and thankfully, Paris only gave a small hiss the first night, I think he sees how this can be good for him too!

A Vacation GIVEAWAY!!

We are Very Excited to Announce our Vacation Give Away!!!

If you don’t know us, we’re Tim and Karen and we have two fantastic little girls, Big J - almost 5 and Little J - almost 2.  Little J was born in Ethiopia and came forever home in February 2010 at 4 months old.  When we knew we were being called to adopt Little J from Ethiopia, we were already in a long line to adopt from Ch * na (since 2008).  We weren’t thinking two adoptions but God had other plans for us, you can read more about that here.  Since we didn’t know our family would grow through adoption we hadn’t financially planned for two international adoptions so we’re trying to get creative.   This give away is to help us raise money towards the remaining $15,000 we need to bring “di di” (little brother) or “mei mei” (little sister) home likely in March or April of 2012.  They say there are an estimated 143 million orphans in the world and that if just 7% of Christians in the world brought home just one orphan, every single orphan in the world would have a home!  We know adoption may not be right for every family, but every family could do something to help bring an orphan home!  We would be so appreciative that even if you do not want to enter the giveaway, would you please spread the word to your family or friends (email, facebook, blog, etc) that might enjoy a week of snow and skiing by sharing my blog address.   If you have donated and blog or post on facebook about our give away, please leave me a comment with a link to your post and you will get an additional entry!

OK, the DETAILS!!

This give away is for a 6 day, 5 night Stay at Mountain Run at Boyne in Boyne Falls, Michigan, December 25^th through December 30^th – see the picture of the confirmation (if you don’t want to check in on the 25^th, no problem, check in on the 26^th!).  Boyne Mountain is one of the premier ski resorts in Michigan, but not to worry if you are not a skier, there is lots to do!  This is a fully equipped condo with ski-in, ski-out access, an outdoor heated pool and hot tub, an exercise room and so much more.  

It has 3 bedrooms, 3 full baths, Living Room/Dining Room Combo, Fully Equipped Kitchen, and a Washer and Dryer.  The condo sleeps 10 comfortably.  Mountain Run offers daily activities should you choose (we made hand puppets and did the scavenger hunt last year!), or you can swim in the heated outdoor pool (the kids LOVE this) and watch the skiers coming down the slopes.  There is also an indoor water park on the property – great for ALL ages!  ** IMPORTANT NOTE: Minimum age for check-in: 21 (so if you are not 21, the vacation cannot be put in your name but must be in the name of someone in your group that is and who has valid ID to confirm)

You can read more about Mountain Run at Boyne here:  http://www.bluegreenrentals.com/landing/hotel-deals-in-michigan-mountain-run.aspx   

Entries into the giveaway will end at midnight October 9^th November 3, 2011 and there will be a Drawing for the Winner on October 10th, 2011 – Little J’s birthday UPDATED TO NOVEMBER 4th!!!  The drawing will be done with Random Sequence Generator at Random.org.  Please click on the Donation Button on the top right side bar of this blog to donate.  Donation uses Pay-Pal and All transactions are secure!!!  I will email you back your number(s) for the drawing.

For a Donation of:

$10 = 1 Entry

$25 = 4 Entries

$50 = 10 Entries

$75 = 17 Entries

$100 = 25 Entries

And if you feel led to give more:

For a Donation of:

$125 = 35 Entries

$150 = 50 Entries

$175 = 70 Entries

$200 = 100 Entries

Will you help us move?

2nd prize:  $100 gift card to the Apple Store
3rd prize:  Two adorable pettiskirts (adorable children not included!), donated by Dreamspun Shop.  Size 3-5 and size 6-8.  

Thank you for your support!