40 Days of Prayer for Reece's Rainbow: Day 1, Drake

During Lent, I have decided to pray for one child with Down syndrome a day that they find a forever family to adopt them Reece's Rainbow. These children need our help!

The mission of Reece’s Rainbow is to rescue orphans with Down syndrome through the gift of adoption, to raise awareness for all of the children who are waiting in 25 countries around the world, and to raise funds as adoption grants that help adoptive families afford the high cost of adopting these beautiful children.

Every family deserves the blessing of a child with Down syndrome!! 

Day 1: Drake

Drake is such a handsome little guy!! He was born in June 2010, he has a heart defect, anemia, kidney problem, astigmatism. He already has $1080 to go towards his adoption!! If you compelled to help out Drake financially, you can donate directly towards Drake's adoption funding by going to his Paypal page here. 

Please pray to Saint William of Rochester, who's sole purpose  to intercede with each and every one of these beautiful children that need their forever families!! 

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Dear Heavenly Father,

We thank You that children are a gift from You and that their angels are always in Your presence in heaven. (Matthew 18:10)

Today we pray for Drake who is in need of a new family better able to care for, nurture and love them. We also thank you, Father, that you have given loving hearts to a forever family that they feel called by their love for this precious child to begin the adoption process. You know the difficulties that Drake has gone through and the prayer and effort they have put into their decision to adopt.

We pray that the adoption process will run smoothly and that the doors will open so this child may become a permanent part of a new family. We pray for wisdom and discernment for all doctors, lawyers, social workers, judges and court staff that they will work in the best interest of this child. We also pray for Your provision of the resources of money and expert advice needed for the prospective parents.

We pray that your will be done in this precious child’s life and that this child will be surrounded by love and nurtured in the knowledge of You so they may grow into the strong, secure, beautiful person you desire.

We are asking for Saint William of Rochester's intercession and help Drake to find his permanent family.

Guide us as we pray and make us instruments of healing and help in this situation. And guard our own hearts with the knowledge that You are here and that You care. In the name of Jesus who blessed little children by taking them into his arms, Amen.

*prayer adapted from the original prayer by Karen Barber 2012

Pancakes for dinner tonigth! It's Shrove Tuesday!

Not only is today Fat Tuesday, the beginning or Mardi Gras, it's also known as Shrove Tuesday! It's the beginning of Lent. "Shrove" is the past tense of the word "shrive," which means to hear a confession, assign penance, and absolve from sin. Shrove Tuesday is a reminder that we are entering a season of penance."

Here in the United States we obviously know today as Fat Tuesday. This day isn't regularly known in the United States as Shrove Tuesday as much as it is in other parts of the world, when I read about it, I thought it would be a nice way to start Lent and start another tradition in our family.

Years ago, Catholics were not allowed to eat meat (or meat products at all) and rich foods during Lent rather than no meat on Fridays like we do now. Making pancakes was a way for families to use up all the fat, eggs, milk, and sugar in the house before fasting. It signifies the beginning of the 40 days of fasting that Christ went through leading up to his death.

And I must add, who doesn't like breakfast for dinner?! It's one of my favorite meals, LOL!!

• Shrove Tuesday and Shrovetide
• Shrove Tuesday - Definition of Shrove Tuesday
• Pancake Tuesday
• Catholic Roots of Mardi Gras
• Shrovetide 

Blizzard Nemo 2013

Here in Connecticut, we got SLAMMED by Blizzard Nemo Friday and Saturday!! Never in my wildest dreams did I EVER imagine that we would get as much snow as we did! This storm actually beat the snow fall record from the Blizzard of 1978!

If there's been one thing that has been a result of this storm is how much it brought neighbors together all over the state. There are several people in our neighborhood that we've never even met. This weekend, I had the chance to actually get to meet some of them. Many of our neighbors all came together and helping each other to dig out. It was truly heartwarming (at least for me) to see so many people come together, not only in our neighborhood but neighborhoods all across Connecticut!

• Neighbors come together to clear streets across Connecticut

You shall love your neighbor as yourself

Free Nail Polish at Walmart & Walgreens!

If you were lucky enough to get the $1/1 Wet n Wild or Fergie Product (exp. 2/23/13) from yesterday's Red Plum coupon insert (02/10/13), you can score FREE Wet n Wild nail polish at Walmart and Walgreens! It's regularly priced $.93 at Walmart so you can score it for free plus make $.07 since Walmart gives overage on coupons that are for more than the price of the item!! 

Just double check your coupon, there are two different versions of this coupon available. One says $1/1 any Wet n Wild purchase, the other one says $1/1 Wet n Wild purchase of $1.99 or more. So like I mentioned in a previous post, always check your coupons for size restrictions!! 

Here's the deal at Walmart:
Buy 1 Wet n Wild Nail Polish $.93
Use $1/1 any Wet n Wild or Fergie product (RP 2/10/13, exp. 2/23/13)
Final price FREE + $.07 MM!!!!!!


Here's the deal at Walgreens:
Buy 1 Wet n Wild Nail Polish $.99
Use $1/1 any Wet n Wild or Fergie product (RP 2/10/13, exp. 2/23/13)
Final price FREE 

DIY: Washable Swiffer Dusters

Last week I went to do a little dusting around the house only to realize that the duster that I had was old and yucky. I went onto Pinterest and found a DIY washable Swiffer Dusters Pattern! I had several scrap pieces of felt in my craft closet so I put them to good use! 

No more yellow armpit stains!

So I read on a few different blogs some different combinations/ ingredients to get rid of yellow armpit stains and neck lines. So I  decided to give it a try on an old dress I was given.

I decided on trying 2 parts hydrogen peroxide and 1 part dawn dish soap and to my surprise it worked!! With a little elbow grease I was able to scrub out the stains with an old toothbrush then I washed the dress in the washing machine (on gentle cycle since it's a dress), in addition to regular laundry detergent, I added a little more of the peroxide/ dawn mix to the washing machine as well. 

I'm totally excited how it came out! I tried it on a few other stains on other things and it worked on them as well! Next, I'm going to try it on the stains on my husband's white button up shirts in the neckline area where they've turned yellow as well! I'll post with an update soon!! 

Iron Man stops by for tea

Leah, Aiden, and I took a trip down to New Haven today to spend the afternoon at Ikea. Unfortunately a few weeks back, Joey busted and broke apart the kids table that we had in their playroom along with one of the chairs (he's so rough sometimes, LOL!). I've been checking around at various thrift shops and consignment stores trying to find a new one but no luck. I even stopped by Home Depot to price wood to have one made but realized it's cheaper just to go out and buy one. 

All together I spent $20 more than I wanted to since I got 3 chairs (Leah insisted we needed them since she wanted the pink one...) but it's money well spent and I know the kids will get TONS of use out of their new table and chairs.