Friday's Fabulous Five

Last week (Thursday-Saturday) was our 4th Annual Adoption Yard/Bake Sale. Needless to say, I didn't have much left to give by Friday evening, hence the absence of last week's Fabulous Five. So, here are five things that have happened in the last TWO weeks that have given the Riebens something to smile about:

1. Like many of you who are claiming the Adoption Tax Credit (now refundable), we are STILL waiting for our refund (we filed our taxes at the beginning of February). We had hoped to use this money to fund our current adoption, but unfortunately, it looks like we are going to have to raise the bulk of the funds for this adoption the old fashioned way! For the past 6+ weeks, friends, family and even strangers have cleaned their closets and donated items to our 4th Annual Adoption Yard/Bake Sale which we held last Thursday-Saturday. Prior to the sale, we prayed that we would be able to raise enough money to get through the next steps in the adoption process. As things drew to a close on Saturday afternoon and we began adding the money we realized that we had raised the EXACT amount needed to file our I800A and complete our dossier! For those of you who are considering taking the leap of faith to adopt a child, but are worried about finances, let this be another lesson that, if the Lord calls you to it, He'll see you through it! We'd like to offer an ENORMOUS "Thank you!" to all who donated, shopped, helped and supported us in this endeavor!

2. I am happy to announce that, sweet Rieben baby #10 (previously "He-who-is-yet-to-be-named") now has a name! The name that we have chosen is one that has been pushing itself to the front of my mind for a long time, but because it has never been on my list of favorites, I have always casually pushed it aside. As I settled into bed one night last week, I found the name swimming around inside my head once again. The next morning, Richard poked his head out of the shower and asked me if I had considered this name (I had not mentioned it to him previously). The fact that the name had been on both of our minds and that we actually agreed upon it made it golden, but before we made it official I decided to see what the name meant. . . .and I laughed, realizing once again what a great sense of humor our Heavenly Father has! The name means, "Twin." No, the boys are NOT twins, but they are only a few weeks apart in age, share an extra chromosome and certainly LOOK like they could be twins and already, people are referring to them as "the twins." As a mother of multiples, this drives me CRAZY! At the same time, I recognize this name to be a beautiful reminder that these precious boys, though they did not share a womb, were meant to walk through this life together as brothers. So, now that you have all waited SO patiently while I have rambled on and on about this name, Rieben baby #10 will be known as. . . . .

Thomas Christopher (TC)

3. Just in case you didn't hear us celebrating this piece of good news around the world. . . .Alayna's second skin graft was a SUCCESS!!!! She is still taking it easy as the new skin settles into it's new home and puts down roots, but her chronic wound is officially no more and we could not be happier. We will be heading back to Philadelphia at the end of July for her first prosthetic fitting and are hopeful that she will have two feet on the ground and be running circles around us all by the end of the summer! Hallelujah!!!

4. While most of you were relaxing by the pool, playing at the park and working on your tans this week, the Rieben kids were hard at work. . . . .at school! We started school again at our house this week. Earlier in the year (as we were driving back and forth to Philadelphia every few weeks), we made the decision to follow a "year-round" school schedule. Not only does this accommodate our traveling better than a "traditional" schedule, but it has helped our children who are behind (Alayna, Lily and Alexis in particular) have more opportunity to "catch up," AND it helps us to maintain a more consistent schedule (which is vital for so many of our kids, adopted and biological). We have had an EXCELLENT first week and, although homeschooling 8 children does make me want to pull my hair out on a regular basis, it also gives me A LOT to smile about! Seeing my children get excited about learning and knowing that I helped to facilitate that love and excitement is incredibly rewarding!

A glimpse of our "school room!" (we found these desks on Craigslist and were able to purchase 10 of them for $75! What a steal! And it has made such a difference for the kids to have their own work space.)

We learned a little about archaeology in school this week. Today we set up our own archaeological dig site in our backyard.

Our site manager

Budding archaeologists

Our record keeper (Lukas would be a brilliant archaeologist. . .he is incredibly detail oriented and organized. He LOVED this activity!)

5. This week the kids and I started a project to benefit other adoptive families. It combines my love of creating beautiful things with my love for adoption AND my kids are an integral part of it! We're not quite ready to share all of the details yet, but we are SO excited for this opportunity to bless other families on their adoption journeys! As a sneak preview, these fun fabrics will be a part of our creations. . . .

Pieced Together By Love

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When we began this journey we prayed that we would be able to complete these adoptions without incurring any additional debt. Through the hand of the Lord, a lot of hard work and the support of our wonderful friends, family and even strangers, we have watched, in humility, as the needed funds have always been there when we needed them, without incurring any additional debt!

As we near the end of our journey we find that we are once again, just short of the mark. We will be bringing our lovely ladies home in just six, short weeks!

We are calling our final fundraiser "Pieced Together By Love." Here is how it works:

We have purchased a 500 piece puzzle featuring one of my favorite pictures of the Savior by artist Del Parson:

For every $5 donation, the name of the donor will be featured on the back of a puzzle piece. Each donor will only have their name listed once, but every additional $5 donation by the same donor can be made in someone elses name (for example, if you have a family of five, you can make a $25 donation and each family member's name will be listed on a puzzle piece).

Each $5 donation will also enter you into a gift card giveaway. We will be giving away five $25 gift cards (iTunes, Visa, Target, Amazon and Toys R Us) at the end of our fundraiser. So, if you donate $5 your name will be entered into the giveaway once, if you donate $25, your name will be entered five times, etc.

If you aren't able to offer your financial support we understand. There are still several ways that you can get your name on a puzzle piece and entered into our gift card giveaway. Help us get the word out! Post our fundraiser information on your blog, your Facebook page, Twitter, etc. and earn an entry in our giveaway and a piece on our puzzle (make sure you leave a comment to let me know that you have done so).

Once our puzzle is complete we will seal it and hang it on our wall as a reminder of the outpouring of love, support and encouragement that we have received as we have worked to bring our girls home. We are truly humbled each and every day by the number of people who have supported us throughout this process and we know that, for many of you, seeing our girls come home is just as much a victory for you as it is for us. We are SO grateful to each and every one of you! Without your love, support, encouragement and prayers this would not be possible.

So, for a quick recap:

For a $5 donation you will receive your name on our puzzle and an entry into our gift card giveaway.

Each additional $5 donation will be another entry into the gift card giveaway and, if you so desire, the name of a friend/family member on our puzzle.

Also, for every mention of our fundraiser on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. your name will be entered into the gift card giveaway and, if it has not been already, added to the puzzle.

There are several ways to donate:

You may donate directly to us by clicking on the "Pieced Together By Love" chip-in on the sidebar. This is linked directly to our paypal account and will come to us immediately upon donation.

You may also donate directly to our Reece's Rainbow grant fund by clicking on the green button on the sidebar (under "Make a Tax-Deductible donation). Follow the link and the instructions provided. Donations can be made via paypal or mail (be sure to let me know if you have chosen to donate this way as sometimes it takes a week or two for the donation information to be reported to me). These donations are tax-deductible.

If you would like to donate by check, please contact me at desisdelights@gmail.com for our mailing address.

We will provide photo updates of our puzzle as it is pieced together so that everyone will have the opportunity to see how amazing it is when so many people link together in love and support of one another!

Silent Auction 1

As the time nears for us to submit our dossier and travel to Bulgaria to meet our children, we are working hard to raise the remaining funds necessary to complete our adoption. In an effort to raise these funds, we will be holding a silent auction on our adoption blog.

The auction will begin a week from today on Sunday, November 1st and will run through Sunday, November 15th. We have been working hard to gather and create a wide variety of items to auction and we are grateful to many of our family and friends for donating items as well.

As a sneak preview, the following photo's represent a taste of the items that will be available for bidding:

Children's Aprons and Baking Sets

Ragged Baby Quilts

Knit Hats

Boutique Hair Accessories

Custom Barn Stars

Felt Design T-shirts

And MUCH more! There is still one week left before the auction begins. If you are interested in donating an item to be auctioned, please contact me as soon as possible (you can contact me at desisdelights@gmail.com). If you run an Etsy shop or a business and would like to donate an item from your shop/business, I will include a link to your site in the auction listing in order to help promote your business.

Bidding will begin one week from today, so stay tuned!