The Hurst Family!

Now that my first Family Warrior family is home with their sweet girl, I decided to prayerfully consider new families waiting for a warrior. 

After reading a few family's profiles, the Hurst Family simply stuck out to me and I knew that I needed to step up to stand with them during their adoption process. 

They're bringing home "Quinnlee"!

Look at this beautiful girl. 

MANY people have advocated for this sweet girl, including her mama and papa. 

They fervently prayed for Quinnlee before they made the decision to pursue her adoption. 

The Hurst family has loved this sweet girl for years and are currently fundraising to bring her home. 

The Hurst's oldest daughter has been praying for a baby sister and is excited to finally have a little sister of her very own. Quinnlee is already SO loved. 

Katie's heart has been drawn to the country where Quinnlee lives since she was a young girl.

I believe that the Lord put that desire within Katie for a purpose. . .I love that she's ALWAYS held fast to her love for a country and people other than her own. 

I've been praying for the Hurst family for about a week now, I was going to make a post as soon as I got the confirmation email that I was their family warrior. But I decided to wait, today I realized why I waited. 

I had prayed for the Hurst family this morning and asked the Lord to bless them and to give me the wisdom and insight I needed to be a blessing to their family. 

Today I was in a car traveling into the mountains of West Virginia, 

suddenly there was a dark rain cloud overhead. 

The sky opened up and the rain poured down on the road in front of us. 

But moments later, the sun peeked out behind that dark cloud. 

I immediately thought of the verse that has been a huge source of strength and encouragement for this family during their adoption process thus far. 

“And The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” 

(John 1:5)

Though there was darkness for a mere moment, light won. 

I couldn't help but think of the Hurst family, they are currently on a journey that can be very difficult at times. I'm sure there have been sleepless nights and mountains of paperwork. 

But. . . 

It says in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." 

The Hurst family are in the midst of a journey that they were called to. 

They weren't only called to be "a light" to Quinnlee and their kiddos here in the states, 

they were called to be the "light of the world". 

Katie shouts for many waiting kiddos other than her own and that alone speaks volumes in my heart and mind. So now while she shouts and raises funds for her own adoption of  this sweet girl. 

I know that I'm called to shout with her and help her on her journey. 

I'm SO excited to get know this family and help them bring their girl home. 

For the next two weeks, they are working on getting a matching grant of $5,000! 

Katie is currently making bracelets to help get her girl home.

Donate here!

Upon your donation she can make you a custom bracelet with text of your choice! 

Katie is also selling Usborne books to help fund their adoption of Quinnlee. 

Order books here! 

You can read more about the Hurst's journey here . . . 

http://www.webearthelight.com/

My Week in a Relatively Large Adoptive Family.

So this post happened because of a joke my sister-in-law made about me writing a blog post about my stay out of state with her and her fam. I laughed pretty hard when she brought it up, but the more and more I thought about it the more it made sense. A lot of people think bigger families are weird and unnatural, I used to be one of those people. (I'm not saying bigger families are for every person. . . ) Before going to visit I had already changed my opinion on bigger families, my trip confirmed my change of heart. 

Big families rule, seriously. 

So some of you that know me personally, know that my SIL and her husband brought home two children from Eastern Europe last year. They also have two other children (and one on the way). I got to hang out with their crew for just over a week. There's a bit of chaos but it's pretty controlled, it was weird coming back home to my quiet life. . . I may be crazy but I've missed the chaos. I actually have dragged my feet writing this post because of how hard it was for me to transition back to my quiet life after my trip. 

One major thing that I really took away from being part of the crew is the importance of not stressing over the little things. The simple life is awesome. Maranda and Ed don't double as short-order cooks for their kiddos and I LOVED feeding their kids lunch for that reason .(Everyone got the same thing and there was minimal whining!) The kids know they have schedules and in between homeschool lessons they have access to the backyard where they're able to run, play, exercise, and explore. My nieces and nephews get to be kids! There are tablets, computers, and TVs in the house. . . but they don't spend their days in front of screens. These kids know how to play and have great imaginations, they bring me so much joy. 

S (who once spent all of his days in an Eastern European orphanage) would tell me of his adventures as a pirate and all about the fish he saw during his time at sea. J is the sweetest "puppy" you'll ever meet, complete with doggy sounds. R and D have become a pretty dynamic duo (R lived in the same Eastern European orphanage as S), you can often find these two dancing or collecting branches, leaves, and toys in the yard and making "sculptures" and "machines". 

Many mornings I woke up to a softly spoken , "I love you Aunt Family" from R or was the recipient of a random hug or kiss on the cheek. Not because I asked for those things but I think when you have lived life without a family and true acts of love. . . even the little things are a big deal. If I have to sum up R in one sentence. . . it would go something like this, "R loves harder than most people I've met and adores making people happy." Maranda and I would sit on the couch some afternoons and we'd watch tiny R pull her almost 11 year old Brother J around in the wagon. . . her little tiny cheeks turning pink as she strained and J clapping in the wagon behind her. I can already see Jesus working R's life and I can't wait to see her grow in him. 

Then there's Mr. S. Before I went to visit I had kind of prepared myself for S to take awhile to warm up to me. I planned on a handshake and maybe a short hug. The first morning when I walked into the living room, S greeted me like we'd always known each other. S is a tiny warrior, he has an upper body that is about 95 times stronger than mine and he is one tough cookie. S is VERY brilliant and catches on very quickly! One of my favorite moments with him happened when we were on the trampoline. . . I was teaching his sisters how to do back bends and back walkovers (when you kick your legs and use your upper body to flip backwards out of a backbend) and he goes, "I try Aunt Family!". Within five minutes this boy was flipping his whole body weight over using ONLY his upper body. I can't wait to see what Jesus has in store for S, I believe that his story will touch thousands. 

God places the lonely in families. . . (Psalm 68:6)

Most of you know that I advocate for waiting children on Reece's Rainbow. These two are a big part of the reason why I've chosen to advocate for these precious kiddos. These kids aren't just faces on a screen in a country across the ocean. . . YOU can make a difference in the life of an orphan today. 

(email me to learn more.) 

I love a good before and after. . . (S&R haven't even been home a year yet!) Once orphans, now beloved members of a family. 

This is what redemption looks like. 

Here are some children from S&R's country that are waiting for their story to begin. 

http://reecesrainbow.org/52873/cara

http://reecesrainbow.org/64331/lynda

http://reecesrainbow.org/24193/gina

He loves Lanie and He loves me.

If you've read my blog at all the past couple months, you know that I've been raising money for a little girl living in Eastern Europe named "Lanie". . . during Reece's Rainbow's Angel Tree.
So many people showed love for this little munchkin, her 1k goal was met before the end of December.
I was amazed by the love that people showed for Lanie through monetary donations, prayers, and word of mouth. So if you're one of the people that helped Lanie this Christmas season, thank you. If you 're interested in donating and would like some bracelets, donate to the link that is the photo's caption and email me your receipt at loveforlanie (at) gmail.com

http://reecesrainbow.org/36282/lanie-l

During the first week or so of fundraising for Lanie I would say things like, "Good thing I'm not funding a whole adoption soon" . . . "Glad I don't have to do this for a living."  "This is hard!"
I had a quite a few bouts with frustration.
Then people happened, so many people united with me to help Lanie.
Jesus made it clear how big He is, how much He loves the orphan and little ol' me.
I knew it didn't end with Angel Tree.

So in the midst of advocating, something happened.
I started to feel a slight tug in the deepest part of my heart. . . to go to Eastern Europe.
After much prayer, I've decided that I will be going on an adventure to Eastern Europe early this summer.
To serve, to learn, and to become the best possible advocate I can be for these precious ones.
So after Angel Tree. . . my adventure begins.
In coming weeks/months I'll be posting more details about my trip. . . (cost, fundraisers, trip location, and what I'll be doing.)
But in the meantime, please keep me in your prayers.

Merry Christmas friends, I love every last one of you.

Angel Tree!

**So I know Christmas is a few months away, but I'd like to tell you about something that I'm going to be doing in these upcoming months. So all of you can get excited with me! **

I remember when I was little, the way my heart would skip a beat when I saw wrapped boxes under a tree.
I remember singing "Away in a Manager" with my children's choir at church.
I remember eating Christmas cookies until I was nearly bursting.
But thing I remember most of all have nothing to do with presents or traditions. . . family.
Jesus surrounded me with family, I was loved.


This year through Reece's Rainbow, I get to help a very precious little girl get closer to finding her family.
Every year Reece's Rainbow does a HUGE fundraiser called Angel Tree.

Meet Lanie. This is the little lady I've committed to raise funds and awareness for. Isn't she beautiful?! Look at that little button nose and her tiny glasses. I just want to squeeze her!

Lanie is seven years old and she's living in an orphanage in Eastern Europe. 

She's waiting, waiting to be a daughter. I can't imagine the joy she'll feel when she finally gets a long-awaited hug from her papa and kiss from her mama when she's scared. This precious girl needs the love that only comes from being in a family. 

I've got some really neat fundraising ideas in the works for Lanie during this holiday season. (Including the auction of some one of a kind art pieces!) But I'm open to any ideas you may have.

 Lanie is loved by many people here in the states and I want to urge all you to continue posting her photos and telling people about her.

LANIE IS LOVED. 

I can't wait for the day that I see pictures of her with her future family, safely in her mama's lap. 

***Angel Tree officially starts November 1st. . . If you'd like to have your own Angel Tree child this holiday season or would like to help me in any way email me at emmyxjoy@gmail.com and I can point you in the right direction***