Friday, December 10, 2010

A Family for Dusty

I can still vividly remember the day when Jacob chose Dusty as "his boy." We sat in front of the computer and scrolled through the Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree page at least a dozen times and each time Jacob paused when he came to Dusty's picture. This process didn't surprise me in the least bit. Jacob is very particular and very thorough. Once we had reached the bottom of the page for the twelveth time he asked me to go back up the page. As soon as I reached Dusty's picture he told me to stop and then declared, "Yep! He's the one!"

It is amazing the love a child can have for another child he has never met. Jacob took his responsibility as a prayer warrior for Dusty very seriously. Not a single day went by that he did not remember Dusty in his prayers. And if, by chance, he did forget, he would immediately, without prompting, bow his head once more and plead with his Heavenly Father on Dusty's behalf.

It is no surprise that our Savior commands us to "be like unto little children." One evening as I was rushing through our bedtime routine, tired from the events of the day, so many things still left to do, I hurried Jacob into his bed, tucked him in, kissed him goodnight and turned to leave. "What about my prayer mom?" he called after me. I turned around, bowed my head, closed my eyes and began to listen and, more importantly, learn (again) from my sweet, compassionate, Christ-like little boy.

"Dear Heavenly Father, please bless Dusty that his family will find him soon so that he won't have to be alone anymore. Please send him a mommy that will give him lots of hugs and kisses and love him like my mommy loves me."

There were tears in my eyes as he concluded that prayer. I could feel the pure love of Christ eminating from my amazing 5 year-old son and, at that moment, I was completely overwhelmed by the gift that he is!

After a year of "storming heaven" on Dusty's behalf, I was able to give Jacob the best Christmas gift I think he has ever received a few days ago when I shared with him that. . . .




DUSTY HAS A FAMILY!!!



How I wish I had thought to pull out my camera when I made the announcement at morning scripture study! That video would have been priceless! The joy on all of my children's faces was evident (the happy dances and the screaming were fairly clear signs as well). And what an incredible opportunity it was to share with all of our kids the evidence that our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers and that He is mindful of each and every one of us!

This morning I shared with Jacob a special note that he had received from Dusty's Mommy:

Jacob,
Thank you, thank you, thank you... for praying for Dusty. I am filled with joy to know that you have been praying all year long for him. God answered your prayer! We have welcomed Dusty into our hearts and hope that soon we will have him in our arms! Thank you for raising money for his adoption! We are very grateful to you and your family. Merry Christmas!
Love,
Dusty's Momma

Needless to say, Jacob was thrilled! As soon as I was done reading he looked up at me with a HUGE smile on his face and said, "I knew Heavenly Father would send Dusty a good mama!" Gosh I love this kid!

We continued our celebration this evening as we gathered around our kitchen table, drank sparkling grape juice and worked together on Dusty's quilt!

Designing hearts for the quilt squares

Jacob drawing a special picture for Dusty

Want a sneak peak of the quilt?!?



We will continue our "Stitched Together by Love" fundraiser until the end of the month so there is still time to donate to Dusty's Angel Tree Grant. His combined grant fund (Angel Tree and General) is just over $800. Won't you please help us bring his grant to $1000 by December 31st?

If you'd like to learn more about the amazing family, hand-picked by God, that will be making Dusty a part of their family you can visit their blog here. You can also make a tax-deductible donation to the Family Sponsorship page at Reece's Rainbow to help them on their journey to bringing Dusty home!

PS- If you have donated to Dusty's grant fund directly through Reece's Rainbow by paypal or by check and would like to be included on the quilt or in our "Perfect Love" art giveaway, PLEASE contact me! I am only made aware of the donations made through the chipin on the sidebar or by contacting me personally (Reece's Rainbow cannot disclose donor information to outside parties) and I don't want to leave anyone out!

11 comments:

Mamapierce said...

That is WONDERFUL news!!!!! :D

growing our love... said...

Just wonderful to share with him!

Sue said...

You have amazing kids!

Anonymous said...

Valerie,
I just wanted to share what a blessing and inspiration your blog and your family have been to me. It is refreshing to see a family who follows God so purely and obediently. I see God working every time I read your blog, and that is an amazing blessing and testimony to His power. Thank you for sharing.
-Christy

Anonymous said...

I have a big smile on my face, just from reading about your sweet son's determination to storm heaven for a family for Dusty! What a blessing...

I held a spur-of-the-moment one person bake sale about a month ago - baked two days; sold out by 3:00 on the third - and sent the c. $200 proceeds to RR for the child in Ukraine in greatest need. That child was Dusty! Just a week or two later, his family committed to him. Since then, my cousin has also contributed to his account as her Christmas gift to me.

I would be honored to be included in the beautiful quilt your family is making for Dusty, and would be pleased if my cousin could also be included somehow. We have young lady (11 1/2 and 14) cousins who joined our family via adoption from Ukraine. Please email for more info - many thanks!

Susan in Ky

Anonymous said...

Oops - make that please email ME! Thanks, Susan

Valerie said...

Thank you SO much Susan!! I just told my son about the bake sale that you did for Dusty and he was grinning from ear to ear. It has been such a blessing to ALL of us to see so many people working so hard to get Dusty home to his family! It has been the greatest Christmas gift anyone could give to any of us!

We definitely want you to be included on the quilt as well as your cousin! I didn't get your email address with your comment, so if you could send me a quick email, I will make sure we get you on the quilt! desisdelights@gmail.com

Val said...

Hi Valerie, we donated towards Rusty and would love to be included. You and your family do amazing work!

Stock Family, OR

beckyww said...

Hi there - I have your blog bookmarked and visit from time to time. Don't remember how I stumbled on you. Anyway, we had three bio daughters and adopted Julia, then age 6, from St. Petersburg in 2006. I couldn't agree more on the "why not OUR kids comment." Good grief. All God's children deserve a family.

Just wanted to introduce myself - I'm Becky at http://thisreminds.me

And happy new year to you and yours!

Amy said...

Happy New Year! Once again our family is very moved by your love for Dusty! Please let Jacob know that we will SHOWER "his boy" with so many hugs and kisses each and every day and he will be lonely NO MORE! Thanks for the sneak peek at the quilt! It is beautiful! Our extended family has made several donations to the Christmas Angel Tree Fund. The ornaments are VERY nice! Please e-mail me to get their names for the quilt. This New Year's Eve thirteen of us followed Jacob's lead... we each picked a child from Reece's Rainbow. We plan on praying and supporting these children until their forever families are found! Thanks again for ALL that your family has done for Dusty!
Blessings!
Amy, John, Johnny, Carolyn, Nikita & Dusty
amymhinz@aol.com

Amy said...

Not sure if you have heard...We are going to see Dusty SOON! Can you believe it? Let Jacob know that we will give Dusty a big hug from him! I wanted to let you know we are doing one last fundraiser too... spread the word if you can!
Blessings!
Amy & Family
amymhinz@aol.com