Merry Christmas

Falling In Love

As as coordinator for NHFC I've fallen in love many times with kids we're advocating for. Sometimes it's their story that reaches into the depths of my heart and stirs my love for them, sometimes it's their interests, or that they've been overlooked for hosting in the past. Sometimes it's their special needs that I know make them "less attractive" to so many families, and sometimes it's merely their photograph that pulls me in! But once I've "fallen" for one I can't help but advocate for those kiddos and I rejoice when they are chosen by hosting families, knowing that I'll most likely NEVER meet those kids in person! Regardless of that fact, the ones I've fallen for will forever hold a special place in my heart.

When I traveled to Russia 15 years ago I also fell in love with many of the sweet faces I met. Truthfully, I wanted to stuff them all into my suitcase and bring them home forever! The lives they were leading weren't fair and my heart just broke for them! I carry this photo in my Bible to this very day...unable to let go of those I met there!

Aren't they precious??? All are well into adulthood by now...I often wonder of their fate.  Did they succumb to the sad statistics for orphans who age out, never to know the love of a family? Were they lured into prostitution by a greedy pimp, are they living on the streets or in jail...were their circumstances so dire they chose to commit suicide to escape the pain? What has become of these little ones?

These are the questions that keep me up at night and the reason I'm so passionate about the work of New Horizons. ONE person can revolutionize the life of an orphan!!! Knowing that they have a "family" in America who loves them and cares for them can make ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD to these kids! Even if there are circumstances (like their age) that prevent them from be adopted. Being CHOSEN matters. Experiencing a HEALTHY FAMILY matters. Being LOVED matters!

As I prepare to once again travel to Eastern Europe and step foot in orphanage after orphanage my heart will yet expand again. It will be impossible NOT to fall in love because...

"Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes." - (David Platt)

I know I will come home more in love and more passionate about advocating for them than ever before. Because once I know their names it will be impossible to ignore their need for love!

Will you partner with me and New Horizons and help cover the costs associated with this trip? Will you help me reach out to hundreds of orphans in Eastern Europe who need to know they are valued and loved?  We're 20% of the way there!

Donate here

15%

Thanks to two generous donations on day one I'm now 15% funded for my trip to L@tvia with New Horizons for Children this January!!

I'm so grateful for all who have partnered with me since our family started working with NHFC. For those who have donated clothes and other items while Dz was here, for those who have donated towards scholarships for kiddos to come to America and now for those who will help me make the trip to interview new kiddos! Without partners like you, New Horizons wouldn't exist!

If you'd like to read more about my trip you can do so here!

I've still got another $850 to raise! Can you help me? Below is a direct donation link, all donations are tax deductible!

https://connect.egiving.com/maljian-mission-trip-fundraiser/new-horizons-for-children-inc

An Amazing Opportunity

Fifteen years ago I stepped into my very first Eastern European orphanage and God began stirring my heart for orphan care. Fifteen years ago I fell in love, over and over again, with the adorable little ones who greeted me. Fifteen years ago I made a promise to the Lord that I would somehow serve these children in some capacity and for the last year and half I've been blessed to be able to do just that as a coordinator for New Horizons for Children.

For fifteen years I've been longing to get back to Eastern Europe and now I'll FINALLY get that chance as a member of New Horizons L@tvian interview trip for our Summer 2014 hosting season! When you hear "summer 2014" you think warm sunny weather, but in order for our kids to be able to travel during the summer months, we must travel during the winter months to meet and interview them and give families time to select them and prepare for hosting!  Which means I leave mid January, which is right around the corner!

I am so very excited for this amazing opportunity and for the "hands on" experiences I'll have while there! I'll get to actually visit the orphanages our families host from, to interact with the kids we'll be offering this summer and I'll come home with first hand knowledge of these kids to pass along to their host families. It's been something I've been looking forward to since I first started working with NHFC!! During the interview process we'll be asking them questions, playing games and spending time getting to know them. I imagine I'll even get a little refresher course in playing Uno by "orphanage rules" (here's a tip...that means there aren't any rules and hiding cards behind your back is a totally legit way to win...a certain blue eyed boy taught us that over the summer of 2012). I'll even get to visit the orphanage our favorite L@tvian used to live in, used to, as in he doesn't anymore and never ever will again thanks to this very program.

As you can imagine, a trip of this nature comes at a cost...as a non-profit organization New Horizons for Children asks all team members to raise a minimum of $1,000 each to help cover airfare and other travel expenses! This is where I need your help, would you consider making a donation to help cover my expenses? All donations are tax deductible and can be made safely and securely here. No contribution is too small!!! Without trips of this nature, NHFC would not be able to continue it's program, these interview trips are a vital part of our ministry! Would you partner with me as I begin this amazing adventure back to Eastern Europe where it all began? I'd be ever so grateful for your support as I set out to continue serving these kids the Lord has placed on my heart!

Thank you for your continued support! Without partners like you, New Horizons for Children wouldn't be able to continue it's hosting program!

Tooth Fairy Loot

Brennan was SOOOO excited for the Tooth Fairy to pay him a visit last night! My mom bought him the adorable little frog tooth holder seen below. He hung it from his bedpost with his tiny tooth in it's pouch!

This morning he was ecstatic to find a fancy new Star Wars light saber tooth brush which actually lights up, a dollar bill and a pack of gum along with a teeny, tiny note that the Tooth Fairy left just for him. She also left some of her fairy dust behind in his room!

His joy is evident in the picture below! I'd call the Tooth Fairy's first visit to our house a smashing success!

Next time I think we'll throw some "tooth fairy money" into the mix as well!

First Date

Brennan has his first date tonight....

With the Tooth Fairy that is.... :)

At 5 1/2 years old, he's more than ready, he's been begging for this date for months now! Me however? Not so much! How can he possibly be old enough to have reached this milestone already?

I was feeling rather sad about the idea of him growing up and getting big boy teeth. So of course I had to have one last photoshoot this weekend to capture him while he still had all his baby teeth...that will never happen again...sigh!

Stop growing big boy, we want to keep you little for awhile longer...

Support a Family of Hereos

This week I watched as people around the country came together to raise enough money for ONE MORE orphan to come to America this Christmas. In less than 10 hours $2,800 had been raised and this boy who would have been "left behind" had a winter host family. Many people I know gave generously even though they were fundraising for their own hosting/adoption costs. One of them was a dear friend who is truly a blessing to all those around her! While her husband is overseas on deployment she is not only holding down the fort at home and raising their three kids but she's invited two adorable little Latvian orphans to spend Christmas with them as well. ALL while her hubby is off serving our country! This family is very near and dear to my heart and with Veterans Day just a few days away I thought we could all come together to BLESS THEM and THANK THEM for the many sacrifices their family has made for our freedoms! Hosting has a financial commitment and these two little ones will be the 7th and 8th children they have hosted over the years. Would you consider making a donation on their behalf to help offset the costs of hosting? They are in the throes of fundraising and still more than $1700 away from their goal. This is a great chance to "support our troops" in a very real, practical, and meaningful way.

They have not asked me to post this, in fact they do not even know I am asking as I have blocked them from seeing this post :) I would LOVE to see people I know from far and wide all come together to bless this special family who has sacrificed repeatedly over the years for the rest of us!

To donate use this link, click on the button that says "donate to a specific child" and put B0329 "in the note to sellers" line (see below). If you somehow miss the place to designate, please let me know and I will notify our accountant as to where your contribution should go. 

 

I'd LOVE it if you'd consider sharing this with your own friends and family and ask them to join us in blessing this family as well!! $5, $10 and $20 donations will add up quickly if we all give a little in support of this honored military family!

P.S. If you know which family I am referring to, please don't ruin the surprise!

A Family for ChuChu

Sometimes a child on our New Horizons for Children photolisting just jumps out at me! I first told you about ChuChu here!

From the moment I first saw a photo of this little guy I was captivated by his sweet face!! This adorable little boy was born without arms and I worried we'd have a hard time finding a family to step up and host him. Turns out I shouldn't have worried at all, not only did we find him a host family it was one of our very own coordinators who stepped up to host him. And not only that they are adopting him!!

Watching their hosting experience via Facebook it was evident he was meant to be with their family! Check out this video slideshow, I'm guessing you'll fall in love too!!

His family is now fundraising to bring him back as a PERMANENT member of their family! If you'd like to help them do that you can check out their fundraising site here! 

We Are Thankful

It's that time of year again...our Thankful Tree is now gracing the walls of our new house!!

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this family tradition. The kids look forward to choosing something to write on their leaves each night and I love saving them to reflect back on each year.

This is our fourth year doing it and it's become a treasured family tradition for sure!

Some highlights from our tree in 2012 were:

• Jesus!
• Everything in the whole wide world and Jesus!
• Dzintars, because I love him!
• Thankful that I don't live in an orphanage.
• Thankful that I have a mommy and a daddy and they take care of me.

Oh and we can't leave out:

• pizza and macaroni and cheese (one guess who wrote that one). 

Our Thankful Tree 2013

We have pictures of the kids in front of this tree each year and I LOVE watching them grow! To see our trees through the years you can go here. 

What are you thankful for???

If you'd like to make your own Thankful Tree learn how here!

Happy 4th Birthday Kiki Grace

Last month our little princess turned 4! I can hardly believe it! I keep begging her to stay little and she keeps asking me when she'll be as big as Brennan or when she'll be a teenager! UGH, it's driving me crazy! Don't be in such a hurry to grow up little one, mommy loves you just the way you are right now, once you hit your teen years all bets are off, just kidding...kind of!

Kaelyn is equal parts girly and tomboy, sweet and sassy, serious and goofy, stubborn and easy going and such a blessing to our family!! She loves princesses and fairies but is also perfectly content playing garbage trucks with her brother. She LOVES to sing and can remember pretty much anything if it's set to a tune. She's also quite a talented little actress, often acting out scenes from her favorite shows.

We're so blessed to call her ours! Here are some pictures of our favorite little girl in all her four year old glory! 

 Our birthday tradition, a decorated door the birthday streamers to run through when you wake up!

With her wrapped presents!

 

Her birthday loot!

She'd had her eye on this movie and Brenny was so sweet to buy it for her! It was her favorite gift!

Birthday donut for our princess!

Wearing her new "Sofia the First" shirt and hugging her new Sofia doll.

Pics from her Party :) It was "Sofia the First" of course.

Grandpa and Grandma.

Gramma and Grampa.

Auntie Nay Nay

The Royal Guests

Two cute cousins!

More cute cousins. 

Enjoying her birthday loot :) 

 

Orange Room

Kaelyn started a new school year at her pre-school this morning. I wish I could say it was her last, girl is ready, but her fall birthday will force her to do one more year next year or sign up for the new "transitional kindergarten" classes that started a few years back.

We had a fun photoshoot this morning to document her big day! Please take special note of the bows in her hair,  it's been months since this girlie has allowed mommy to put ANYTHING in her hair, but today she indulged me for the 10 minutes it took to take her picture! I'll take what I can get:) Hooray!

It's also worth noting that this is currently her FAVORITE dress and she'd wear it every single day if I let her! It was an easy choice for her first day outfit.

Love her 'tude!

I just love this little girl! Why does she have to grow up?

She wants to be a REAL princess when she grows up, or a real fairy, depending on the day of the week.

People are always commenting on her hair. This week I actually got asked if we dyed it to get the hombre look.

The kids are fortunate enough to have grandma on the same campus as their school. She takes them to lunch once a week and this morning she came to celebrate the new school year with Kaelyn.

Only the girlie cousins are left at pre-school this year. Here's to a year of "Girls Only" lunch dates with Grandma.

Now that mommy is working, daddy gets to take the kiddos to school three days a week!

Kaelyn is in the "orange" room this year. Sure wish her and Maddie girl could be in the same class, but thankful that this year they'll have lots of outside time together!!

We LOVE Ms. Annie, Brennan had her for the last two years and now it's Kiki's turn!

Kindergarten Kid

Brennan started Kindergarten today! He was BEYOND excited and has been talking about it for days! Yesterday he told EVERYONE we came across that he was starting kindergarten today. And by everyone I mean EVERYONE, including the people checking us out during our massive errand outing! He was stoked!!

He woke up early, and expertly followed the checklist I'd made him to help him get ready for school! Then we had our first day of school photo shoot!

I love this chalkboard idea from Pinterest and hope to use it year after year!  I just couldn't pick one favorite, so enjoy a multitude of cute shots of my boy!

 

Angry Birds Star Wars was the backpack of choice this year, apparently he's not the only fan in his class, another little boy has the same one! 

When I was growing up my mom always took us to get donuts on the first day of school and we've continued the tradition with our kiddos. With our new schedule we weren't sure we could fit everything in AND make it to school on time, so this year we brought the donuts to us! 

Celebrating a great first day with some froyo!

He LOVED his first day of school and declared Mrs. H the best teacher EVER!! Guess she's setting the bar high for all his future teachers!! He's already begging to go back!!