UPDATE: THEY ARE HOME!!!!!!!

The Moghadams are HOME!  ALL eight of them!  It is a miracle and I am thanking God this day that they are TOGETHER and are HOME. :)

I cannot imagine how traumatizing the experience must have been.  Nor can I imagine going through the natural, normal adjustments of bringing home adopted children (YAY!) with this experience and trauma as the starting point of their new life together.  I hope the children are able to transition well in to this new family and new country and new life despite the rocky start to it all. It makes me sad for the whole family that that negative experience had to be where their family began.  BUT, I also believe strong families are made out of hard times, and I hope this will only strengthen their family. :)

Anyway, that is my little thought on the subject. :)  {HERE} is the link to the family's blog.

Again, I am SO THANKFUL they are all home safe and sound.  Thank you to everyone who has thought of them and prayed for them.

Update

HERE is an update from another blog about the family I posted about YESTERDAY.  Sounds like they are out of prison.  The bio kids are in custody of the US Embassy.  The children they are adopting are still in orphan care, but are safe.  Please continue to pray/send up positive thoughts.  Thank you all so much!  There are great miracles happening for this family, but they still are in a tight spot. :S  Thank you for helping out!!

EMERGENCY!!!!!!

There is an urgent situation in Ghana, Africa!!!!!!  I ask for everyone to join me in prayer.  If you aren't the praying type, you can join me in sending out positive thoughts into the universe.  If you know anyone in Ghana, you could maybe consider contacting them and seeing if they can help!

Here is the situation.

This mom and dad with two biological sons (ages 3 1/2 and 7) decided to adopt!  After much prayer and pondering they felt they were to adopt these four siblings in Ghana.  The parents and their two biological sons have just traveled to Ghana to bring home their four "new" children.  However, once there, someone called the police and FALSELY reported they were trafficking children!!!!!!!!  The parents were thrown in PRISON and ALL six children were sent to an orphanage!!!!!!  The US Embassy said they will not consider the case until MONDAY!  This will be THE WORST weekend of their lives...and who knows how long after the US Embassy considers their case the parents will be released and reunited with their children!!

I cannot even imagine how those parents must feel!  Taken from their children, and in a prison in a different country!  I know life in the orphanage was hard for those four children, and I cannot guess the trauma of thinking they were going "home" with their new family, only to be sent back to the orphan home.  I also cannot guess the trauma their other two children are feeling at being in a new, strange country and taken from their parents and placed in an orphanage (with over 200 children!).  The trauma and stress this family is experiencing is heartbreaking and overwhelming to even think about.

CLICK HERE to watch a video of the family.

Below is a picture of the family.

GO WITHOUT SHOES!!

It's Tom's GO WITHOUT SHOES DAY!

My FAVOURITE day of the year has arrived ;)

Many people around the world have to go without shoes. In nice places, that is no big deal. Going without shoes to play in the back yard is fun, or running around on carpet feels so good on tired toes! But in countries where insects burrow into bare feet and lay eggs, going barefoot is a sentence to pain and suffering. In countries where keeping the ground clean, going barefoot can mean stepping on sharp glass or metal. In places where there are no roads, going barefoot can mean walking unknowingly into a burned field where hot embers are still burning. Going barefoot in some places isn't always what we, sitting at home, picture when we think of going without shoes on a nice summer day!

Today is about putting yourself in someone else's proverbial shoes. Even in America, going without shoes can be "not fun" when you have to walk into a public bathroom (EWWW!) or step onto a subway, or walk through a parking garage. Going without shoes for one day gives you the experience some people face every day.

So, kick off your kickers and show a little love. :) Show the world you understand the importance of helping shod needy feet!

YUEYUE!

So, have you been DYING to know what YueYue looks like?! You HAVE?! Well, I talked to her mom yesterday on the phone and helped her figure out how to email pictures to me! Get ready to DIE over the CUTENESS of this little darling.

This is YueYue at Dragon Park.

Katie brought her there while she was visiting her over the Spring Festival.

YueYue and Katie at Dragon Park.

YueYue with her Daddy. Don't they both look so happy to be together?

YueYue at home (at her grandparent's house) last summer.

Isn't she ADORABLE?! You can really tell that she is loved and cared for. :) We have another package we are sending to Katie with clothes for Kate, and a dress and hairbows I made for YueYue (pictures forthcoming, you can count on it!). If you want to donate to help them out, let me know! They could also use a lot of prayers, as Katie is starting another job (still in the same factory, just making a different part for watches) and Katie and her husband are living away from YueYue. Also, prayers for YueYue's grandparents would be appreciated. They are getting old, and if they fall ill, Katie's future will become very unstable.

Thank you!!

AID vs. CHANGE

Spreading The Word vs. Saving The World Sixteen Small Stones is about Spreading the Word, and NOT about Saving The World. It took me a while to grasp this concept. I want to share this idea with you so you can better understand Sixteen Small Stones, and how you can be a part of what we are all about. :) When I first lived in China, I had a fantastic, uneasy experience. I was uneasy because I was in a new country. It was fantastic because I tried to embrace the new culture. Each night, the other foreign teachers I was with would head out to shop, go to bars and clubs, or meet up to watch American movies. I was kind of the odd one who did not participate in their activities. Instead, each night I would hike across the field to the "other" side of the campus. The school campus was set up so that on one side were the "foreign" things: the foreign teacher housing, the foreign teacher cafeteria, the foreign language building where we taught English, EVERYTHING "foreign" was on one side of the huge field in the middle of campus. Across the field were the Chinese things: student dorms (yes, the kids as young as three years old lived on the campus), the Chinese cafeteria, the Chinese classrooms. After the sun set and the foreigners were busy doing their American things, off I would go to the other side of the field. First, I would go see my students in their dorms. I would "talk" with them (even though I didn't know much Chinese and they didn't know any more English than what I had taught them...consisting of "Hello", "I like penguins", etc.). I was learning about their lives, but in retrospect, I see that somewhere in my mind, I was still holding to my life. (Of course, it was natural I would do this! I had never experienced this culture, so of course I would use my own culture as a gauge to their culture.) It wasn't that I was unwilling to change, it was that I didn't even realize I was staying the same! It was a shock to see that the way the children "bathed" was by pouring hot water, heated in a tea kettle, over themselves as they stood in a sink. I felt sorry for them that they slept in rooms without air conditioning as the temperatures outside soared in the summer heat. I ached when I saw their caregivers hit or kick them. I still was reacting to situations through the American filter. It wasn't until I had returned to America that I realized how much I had changed. How I had been influenced by China. How I had begun to realize that my way wasn't the only way, nor was it necessarily the RIGHT way. I now knew that bathing in a sink still got you as clean as bathing in a bathtub, and that sleeping in a room with no air conditioner was actually good for your health! Have you read the blog "kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com"? It is the blog of a young woman living in Africa. When I first learned of KATIE, I thought she was saving the world. I LOVED it! I wanted to save the world, too! I wanted to take children with old clothes and give them new clothes. I wanted to give the farmers in China houses rather than mud huts. I wanted to give them a "better life". Then, I read something about Katie. Katie was living in Africa, helping children and adults, and a family was living with her at her house. They were in old, worn out clothes...and Katie was not giving them new clothes! I brushed aside a feeling I had that this was wise, and felt so upset that she wasn't doing more for them! More to "HELP" them!! Soon, though, that nagging feeling made its way to my consciousness and I realized what I knew all along. Katie was not CHANGING the world! She was, instead, telling her story as a way to show people in America that there was suffering. That aid was needed. But not to CHANGE anyone in Africa. The people with whom she was working needed some aid in the form of clean water or education, but they didn't need to be changed!! That is when I started to realize that this is what Sixteen Small Stones was all about. We are NOT here to "change" the world! In fact, we are not here to CHANGE anything...unless it be ourselves and our hearts and our awareness. We ARE here to AID where it is needed! It has been a process coming to that point. Moving from the idea that I need to CHANGE something! I don't. What Sixteen Small Stones DOES need to do is 1) bring awareness to the suffering of people, and 2) provide aid to relieve that suffering. Suffering is a relative term. What I saw as suffering in sleeping without a/c was actually a lifestyle that did NOT need to be changed. There was nothing wrong with it. On the other hand, the kids I saw starving in the streets WERE suffering. But they didn't need change. They needed AID! Someone to HELP them. Someone to tell their story, spread awareness and do something to bring them AID! To bring aid, we DO have to bring change! But not to any situation "out there"! The only change that needs to be done is in our hearts and our ideas and our motivation. We need to CHANGE our own goals. Sixteen Small Stones is NOT trying to change the world! We are trying to AID THOSE WHO ARE SUFFERING...and that suffering is defined only by THEM, not by us.

Kony 2012: Part 2

So, have you had time to think about Kony 2012? Have you read the reports AGAINST Kony 2012? Because there are a LOT of them. Here are two, but there are MANY more. HERE HERE From what I can see, there are a few major reasons people are against Kony 2012. From what I can gather, these are the biggies: 1.) People don't think the organization behind Kony 2012 (Invisible Children) donates enough money to the children. 2.) Kony himself is no longer in Uganda. 3.) There are other problems in Uganda. 4.) Not many people in Uganda are concerned about Joseph Kony. 5.) He has not killed and/or abducted many people recently. Here is what I have to say about that! 1.) They may not donate much, but how much have YOU donated? Aside from that statement, there are actual responses to this complaint, and you can find what Invisible Children has to say about it HERE (and I ALWAYS think the horses mouth is the best place to find information). 2.) I don't really care WHERE Kony is. He is an evil man who must be stopped! Kony and the LRA has moved through Africa, causing terror and leaving destruction and death in their wake. Just because they are no longer in Uganda doesn't mean they are not SOMEWHERE! When they were not in Rwanda, they were in Congo causing death and harm. When they left Congo they went to Uganda where they killed, raped, maimed and kidnapped. Now that they are not in Uganda, why would we think they should just be ignored? Like leaving Uganda means they have decided to be "good guys". 3.) Yep. There surely are. But just because there are other problems doesn't mean we can't help with ONE problem!! If your child has a cough, a fever and a runny nose, do you not give them medication for their fever? Do you think they just have too many other problems and the fever should be ignored? Of course there are other problems in Uganda! But that doesn't mean we should not do what we CAN to help! If all we can do now is raise awareness about Kony, let's do it! 4.) How many need to be worried to take action? Also, what people are not concerned? The ones living in safe cities in gated communities? Of course they are not worried. It is the villages the LRA attacks, so those in the city would naturally not be worried, would they? If I live in down town Las Angeles, I would not be too worried about a wolf attack, but that doesn't mean I can't support a law regarding wolfs and wolf safety for those living near Yellowstone in Wyoming! 5.) This last one gets my blood boiling. Despite how angry and fired up I am about this, I am going to try to remain level headed and composed so I can keep my thoughts clear and concise. First, let me ask you a question. If your neighbor killed intentionally kidnapped, tortured and killed your child, should your neighbor be punished? What if your child was the only one he had done this to. Should he still be punished? How many children would he have to harm for you to feel he deserved punishment? What if he had killed hundreds in the past, but only killed your son this year? Should he still be punished, or would you be satisfied if someone said he only killed one child this year so he should not be punished? That is how I feel about what Joseph Kony and the LRA has done. So what if he "only" killed so many last year?! How many have they killed in the past? How many more will they kill? And even if they ever only did kill "that" many, don't you feel that one life is enough to evoke justice? There is another point I want to state. I do NOT know the best course of action to take against Kony and the LRA. I do not know that a full-blown military invasion is the best course of action AT THIS MOMENT. The LRA still has many children in their custody. Threatening Kony at this time could bring about the torture or death of those children. They could be caught in the cross-fire and many children could be massacred. Also, the LRA still has a lot of power and control. If we threaten Kony, he may respond with more violence, more abductions and more terror. I believe there IS a solution, however. Even if we have not thought of it yet. It may be the best defence against Kony is to offer protection for the children to keep them from being easy targets for abduction. Remember hearing about the night commuters? Maybe offering more safe places for them to hide at night would be one small step towards safety and peace from the LRA. Another solution MIGHT be in education. I do not KNOW this would help, but PERHAPS educating the children would improve income and more would be able to live within the safety of the cities rather than in the countryside or in the bush. Regardless of how a change should come about, I feel that a change MUST occur. It is shocking to me that this is not a unanimous feeling. I am applaud and sickened that so many believe Kony should just be ignored. That the LRA should be overlooked. Anyway, I believe that the best way to promote change is through AWARENESS! When I was 22 years old, I gave a speech where I talked about an epidemic that is killing thousands of people. It can be found among the poor or wealthy. It does not discriminate among race or religion or gender. It is fast spreading and far reaching. The worst part is most people do not know when they have it! And when some are told they have symptoms, many deny it or simply do not care. The effects are devastating and deadly. What is it? Apathy. I stand by what I said eight years ago. Being apathetic IS deadly. And I think it is what we are facing today. People are so caught up in the logistics, the donations, the statistics, that they are hardened and don't even care about the individual. That single child who is at this moment marching through the bush on their way to be trained by the LRA to be a soldier. They do not care about the young woman being raped at this moment. They do not care about the little boy who is watching his mother being hacked to pieces by a soldier of the LRA. They are only worried about how much money is not being donated, or if enough people were killed last year to care. AWARENESS. ACTION. CARING. CONCERN. COMPASSION. KNOWLEDGE. EMPATHY, NOT APATHY. This is why I want to be involved in Kony 2012. Not to march someone in to Africa and cuff Kony! But to show I care. To raise awareness. To increase knowledge. To show compassion. To take SOME action, because it is better than sitting and watching the horror. This is what Sixteen Small Stones has always been about. Making a difference, no matter how small, and raising awareness. Remember the story of where the name Sixteen Small Stones came from? Let me remind you: In a book of scripture believed in by some, a man wanted to help his family cross a great water (during the time of the Tower of Bable, when God confounded the languages, for those who believe in the Bible). The man prayed to God, who showed him how to build enclosed, water tight vessils that could be used to cross the water. The vessils were safe against the waters, but were completely dark on the inside. The man pleaded with God that he provide light in the vesils so that the man and his family would not have to cross the great water in the dark. In his great faith, the man molten out of the mountain sixteen small stones (enough for two for each of the eight vesils). He brought the sixteen small stones before God and asked that God would touch the stones as he had faith that God could make the stones glow. God touch the stones, which then shone forth in the darkness. In this story, electricity was not invented. Nor did the man try and create a way to light the ocean so it would not be dark. Rather, this man brought what he had, sixteen small stones and all of his faith, before God. Sixteen Small Stones is not all about drastic measures, or earth shattering changes taking place in a huge and explosive way. It is about doing all we can. It is about sending diapers to Africa keep little kids clean and comfortable. It is about sending a single Valentine to let an orphan know they are loved. It is about sending stickers to a little boy with burned feet and no mommy to kiss him and help him feel better. Sixteen Small Stones also exists to raise awareness. To let people know what is happening outside of their neighborhood. To stamp out ignorange and bring light in to the dark places in the world. Isn't this what Kony 2012 should be about, too? That is the way I see it. And because raising awareness and encouraging change, even in small ways, is what Sixteen Small Stones is all about, I MUST be involved in Kony 2012.

Kony 2012 Part 1

Let me begin this post by saying I am SO SORRY I cannot get paragraph seperations to appear in this post. There is seperation between paragraphs in the editing scene, but when I click "publish", those seperations dissapear! I am so sorry. This blog post reads something like a run-on sentance. :) Also, please bear with me as I try and cover a lot of information in one post. I know it is a little confusing, especially without paragraph breaks! For years (since I was about 22 years old) I have been following the story of the unrest in Uganda. At first, I didn't really understand all that was happening. This is something I feel EVERYONE should be aware of, so let me tell you what I know so you don't have to spend years trying to figure this all out. :) (Let me make one thing perfectly clear!! I don't know everything there is to know about the LRA and what is happening day to day in Uganda and other places in Africa where the LRA moves. The tiny little bit I know comes mostly from personal accounts of people who have been in Uganda and experienced the effects of the LRA.) The story begins with understanding the warring group, the LRA. So, let's start with answering this question: WHAT IS THE LRA? The LRA (or LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY) is an army lead by a man named Joseph Kony. You can read about the LRA HERE. Basically, this army exists to fight against the central government. The LRA uses children as their soldiers. Fighting against a government is not a new concept. What makes the LRA so horrific is the means by which it fights. Absolutely horrible stories exist of how the LRA enforces it's power. I am hesitant to share these stories, and if you do not want to hear horrible, heartbreaking stories, please just skip this part of this blog post. The only reason I am sharing is so people understand that this is not just someone speaking out against government. When speaking of the LRA, we are not talking about picketing, or even full blown riots! We are speaking of absolutely inhumane, horrible acts of violence to prove power through intimidation and fear. I won't personally tell all the stories, but have related two and I have links to others. PLEASE, PLEASE do take the time to follow those links and read the stories. Do not just "skip over" them. Please read them! It is important to know these stories! Please read them. A man and his young teenage daughter were on a crowded bus in Africa. The LRA stopped the bus and came on board. There, the soldiers killed many passengers. When they came to this man, they threatened to kill his daughter unless the man sexually molested his daughter. At gunpoint, this man was forced to perform such a horrible act against his daughter as the LRA soldiers watched. The LRA came in to a village and killed many adults. Many of the children hid at the school. The LRA captured them. One boy later told that the LRA forced him to kill the members of his family by chopping them to pieces with a machete. He was then forced to carry a piece of his father's body with him as he walked the miles and miles with the other captured children to the LRA training area where they would be trained to be soldiers for the LRA. This is a news report from this month found in the Las Angeles Times. Please read it HERE. If you want to see an excellent documentary that tells stories of the LRA, watch "War Dance" (streaming on netflix!!). One family has devoted their lives to serving orphans, including those in Africa. They have many stories of how they have helped children who are victims of the LRA. HERE is one account of the actions of the LRA. Organizations exist to help free the children who have been forced to work as slaves, and others exist to help them return to society. Most have seen so much horror in their young lives that they cannot simply walk back in to normal life. One amazing young woman has started an organization, eXile International, to help former child soldiers of the LRA. HERE HERE you will find a speech the founder of eXile International presented in September of last year at the International Criminal Court Symposium. Now, let me ask you a question. The LRA is stated to have started it's hardest rampages almost ten years ago. For how many of those years have you been aware of the LRA? How long have you known about the atrocities of the LRA? How long have you known the name "Joseph Kony"? When was the first time you learned of the LRA? What if you had been made aware before that time? Would you have done anything different? If only that meant offering one more prayer on behalf of the children kidnapped by the LRA? Do you wish you had known longer just so you could say you had not been ignorant to the suffering of others? Now, let me pose another question. What if there were a movement NOW to bring awareness in America of the Lord's Resistance Army? What if there were an organization working to just educate people, to let people know that there is the LRA, and that they are hurting and killing people? Now, I will tell you: there IS such a movement! It is starting NOW! They have called it "Kony 2012". So, I am certain most of you have heard about the movement: Kony 2012. If you don't really know about Kony 2012, you can check out the video HERE. There is a LOT of debate about this movement! Want to know MY feelings about Kony 2012? Come back tomorrow!

I Won't Stop

I was not ready to see this today. I know it exists. As the founder of Sixteen Small Stones, I am always, always, always thinking about it. But sometimes, not enough. Sometimes, it is like thinking to breathe. Somewhere in my mind, a synapsis is telling me to breathe, so I guess at some level I am, indeed, "thinking" about breathing all the time...but how much? When a famouse opera singer is on stage, they are very aware of their breathing. When a yoga master is meditating, she is very aware of her breathing. But the average person, sitting on their couch watching tv? Not so much. That is how I am with orphans. I am sitting on the couch watching tv and even though the thought of caring for orphans is going on in my mind, I am not always aware of it. Is that okay? Is it okay to NOT think about orphans? Today, I saw this post. And now I know it is NOT. It is NOT okay with me to stop thinking about orphans. When I stop thinking, I stop acting. I stop being their voice. I stop fighting for them. Is it okay to spend a few minutes NOT doing those things? What if I take 5 mins to put the orphans out of my mind. Would five minutes really make a difference? I read this post, and I decided that those five minutes DO matter. To me, five minutes is nothing. I may sit on the couch and read facebook for 5 mins. I may stand in the kitchen for 5 mins and think about what I want to fix for lunch. I may stare out the window for five mins and daydream. Five minutes in my life is a small amount of time. In the life of an orphan, five minutes could feel like an eternity. If you don't have time to read the entire post, scroll through and look at the pictures. (They are not photoshoped. They are not fabricated. And they are not the exception to how "most" orphans live.) As you look at each picture, imagine how five minutes would feel to an orphan. Look in to the eyes of one of the children and think what he is feeling for 5 mins. How long would five minutes feel to that child? So, I will not stop thinking of the orphans. I will not stop fighting. I will not stop advocating. I will not stop speaking for them. Not until they are all brought home. Will you? Read here.

Who Will Be Sleeping on The Pillowcases I Donate??

Want to see who will be laying their sweet heads on the pillowcases you donate? Here are some cute videos of the kids at the home in India where we are donating the pillowcases...AND some of the Valentines for Operation: LOVE will be going to these sweethearts, too! THIS video is from India's National Day. THIS one is of the kids outside. Aren't they darling? :)

Pillow Talk

I know you are all going CRAZY wanting to hear how our OPERATION: LOVE events went (right? Right?). Well, you are going to have to wait just a tincy bit longer, because I have something important to say! So, do you have more pillowcases than you even know what to do with? Are they folded, rolled and shoved in to the linen closet, collecting dust? For your wedding, did Aunt Sunny Sky give you hippy pillowcases you will never use?

Did your mom give you SpongBob pillowcases for your 30th birthday? (Awwww, sad.)

Well! Do I have GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!

Sixteen Small Stones is collecting pillowcases! Yes! I am serious!

No more wondering what to do with those useless pillowcases. We are here to save your day!

(Aren't you so thankful?! You always KNEW there was a reason you were following this blog! HA!)

We are collecting pillowcases to send to some special kids in India, and we NEED those pillowcases you will never use! Don't let them sit idle any longer. :)

You can mail or drop them off at my house any new or lightly used pillowcases! My address is:

445 East Center Street

Shelley, ID

83274.

PLEEEEEEASE help us! There is no reason for these sweet kids to go without such a simple thing. :)

Thank you!

OPERATION: LOVE

At the table on Saturday.

Setting up Saturday. Kind of blurry, but oh well. :)

Setting up Saturday.

Preparing the Valentines Friday night.

How did it go? How did it go? HOW DID IT GO?!

I know that is why you are all here. :) I am pleased to say it went really well. I learned a lot, as I usually do when I do a fundraiser/donations collection project. Most of what I learn is about myself. About my weakness. About my own, well, wickedness, really. I am sure I will post stories over the next couple of days, so stay tuned! In the meantime, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Thank you all who came and supported OPERATION: LOVE! Remember, this was just the beginning of OPERATION: LOVE and we still DESPERATELY need monetary donations to pay to mail the Valentines!!!!!! You can donate using paypal or by mailing a check to the address on the left sidebar. We still need more Valentines, too! So feel free to mail homemade or store bought Valentines. There are a lot of kids who need YOU! Thank you, again, for being involved with OPERATION: LOVE. Bryttan's Valentine party went extremely well! But I will let her tell you all about it. ;)

Heavy Heart

In the midst of the excitement for tomorrow, and the joy and gratitude that we have been so blessed with being able to host Operation: LOVE, my heart is heavy tonight. I don't want to be a downer, but I do have some sad news. :( Tomorrow, Katie has to leave YueYue and move back to ShenZhen. Things just didn't work out and she is unable to live in JingMen. They simply don't have the money for her to not work. My thoughts are full of her, and my heart is full of prayer to God on her behalf. I pray she will feel comforted and somehow find the strength to face tomorrow. To face leaving her precious daughter. So, as I gather Valentines and cut out paper hearts, I feel a shadow of sorrow hanging around my heart. Won't you join me in prayer for Katie, YueYue and SuSu (Katie's husband)?

Tomororow is the big day!!

Tomorrow is the big day!!

If you are in Idaho, come see our table set up at Broulims in Shelley to promote

OPERATION: LOVE!

If you are in Utah, plan to attend the party of the century at Bryttan's house in Sugarhouse, where you will learn all about Sixteen Small Stones, and will make Valentines for OPERATION: LOVE! Go to her blog HERE for more info!

There is going to be a lot of love tomorrow!! Will you join us?!

The rumor is true

It's true, ya'll.
My sweet husband and I are having a Valentine Party at our house, Friday night at 6. No Beer bongs, or strip poker, sorry. Just yummy food, games, and Valentine making!!
Are we a little crazy? Little is an understatement.
Are we thinking to ourselves, how on earth do you entertain this many people and in such small quarters? Yes we are.
Have we thought about the fact that maybe only two random strangers will show up and will will be sitting on the couch listening to one another munch potato chips all night? You betchya!
Have we considered the fact that quite possibly no one will show up, and we will have to eat all of the food on our own. And become fat. And sick. And get carpal tunnel from making so many Valentines on our own? I think it's safe to say that we have.
So this is why we need all of everyone to come and make valentines and just have a good time!
If all turns out we will have a very full house. We have no idea what we're doing. Did we really invite a whole bunch of people + their friends to our house? Yes we did. And it's all for Operation: LOVE.
So if you're in Salt Lake on Friday the 10th. PLEASE come over to our house and donate/make some Valentines for Operation: LOVE.
We would love to see you here!


Bryttan & Mike

Awake

"It is 12:46 at night...er, in the wee hours of the morning. What are you doing up?!" That is what someone might be asking me, if someone were awake to ask. :) I can't sleep. I am nervous. There is a lot that needs to be done, and I am not doing it. Starting with Katie. I lose more sleep over that girl! :) Really, though. I am worried about her and her situation. Did you hear? You didn't? She has to move back to ShenZhen and go back to work in the factory. Yes, leave her daughter. Again. For 365 days. 365 times YueYue will wake up in the morning and not hug her mommy. 365 times Katie will wake up and not snuggle a sleepy little daughter. 365 nights YueYue will go to sleep without her mommy's voice singing her a lullaby. 365 more nights Katie will wake in the night an not be able to check on her precious child. And after those 365 days apart? What will happen then? If they are lucky, Katie will have saved enough money to make the long journey from southern China to central China to spend perhaps 30 days with her only child. 30 days. That's all. And then gone again. Seperated for 365 more days. So, why am I worrying about it? Well, because I could do something about it. I used to work in JingMen, where YueYue is living and where Katie used to live and where she dreams of living again, with her child. My boss in JingMen loved me and has always made it clear that if I ever want a job at his school, it is there for me. I could move to JingMen and live in a house that would be paid for, with electricity that would be paid for, with internet that would be paid for, with fresh water delevered to my door and paid for, AND be making an income. All for doing what I love (teaching) in a place that I love. What does that have to do with Katie? With a free house and electricity and a salary to live off of, I could have Katie and YueYue come live with us. They could be together! Katie could nanny for me while I am at work, and could help around the house, and she and YueYue could live with me in exchange for her hard work caring for Mr. T. Taig and YueYue are about the same age, so could go to school together and Taiger would LOVE having a little "sister" to play with. JingMen is where I plan to open the Sixteen Small Stones' Foster Home, so if I were there I could get started on that and move forward with my dreams. Logically, everything says to GO! To save Katie and YueYue, and to fulfill my mission of serving the orphans in JingMen. But... Just but. And "what if". And "what about". Am I just being myself and jumping in with both feet without knowing if the timing is right? Shouldn't I finish school, since I have invested so much time and money to that, and I am so close to graduating? Shouldn't I do as I wanted and wait until Taiger is 8-10 years old to take him back to China and risk his health? I never, ever, EVER in a million YEARS would have imagined that I, Breclyn-Go-For-It, would be considering WAITING! (Do I even know how to do that?!) When a major opportunity (excuse??) to go to China comes along, I always take it! At the risk of my life, I go! So, what is holding me back now? Katie NEEDS me NOW! She will never get back these years she has missed with YueYue. Can I carry that burden the rest of my life? Knowing I could have gone, and didn't? This is one of the many things keeping me up tonight. OH! One of the homes we are sending Valentines to is in need of pillowcases! They can be new OR LIGHTLY USED! So, go dig through your linnen closet and see if you have that Ninja Turtle pillowcase your now 25 year old son had when he was 4 and donate it to some kids who need it! :) You can send them to Sixteen Small Stones at the address listed on this page and we will ship them off to the home in India. :) Thanks, everyone! Don't forget, this Friday and Saturday we will be at Broulims in Shelley so you can come write a Valentine (or make a donation.) to send to a child in Africa, China, India or Belize!! FUN! If you live in Utah, Bryttan is hosting her Make A Valentine Party! It will be a TON of fun and you can make a Valentine there to send to one of the kids! Don't miss that if you are in Utah!!!!!

OPERATION: LOVE 2012 LOGO!

I know your FAVOURITE part of our projects is seeing the picture that is to be the logo for the project, right? (...RIGHT?!) I thought so. Well, this year is our FIRST YEAR to be including KINGS CHILDREN'S HOME in BELIZE in OPERATION: LOVE!!!!! How exciting is that?! They are an AMAZING home and they take in orphans AS WELL AS ANYONE who is in need. Talk about ultimate service!!!!!! We are SO EXCITED to be able to support their home in this way, and to send lots of love to the darling kids who are staying at the home! Since starting work with a new home is a HUGE deal, we decided to use a picture from King's Children's Home as our logo for this year's OPERATION: LOVE! Bryttan Everett (took pity on us all and) made the logo this year (and you can tell she is MUCH more artistic than I am! Remember the sad logo for OPERATION: LOVE 2010? Sad, sad day.). So, without further ado, here is the official unveiling of the logo for OPERATION: LOVE 2012! THANK YOU, BRYTTAN and King's Children's Home!

OPERATION: LOVE

HAPPY FEBRUARY! Love is in the air, isn't it?! Here at Sixteen Small Stones we are feeling lots of love from all of our wonderful friends and supporters, and are sendinging our love right back to you. Thank you for all of your support! We are also feeling the love for some special little kids around the world! As you all know, this month is our annual OPERATION: LOVE project (I can hear the cyber-crowd go wild!)! This year, we have even more kids than ever in our OPERATION: LOVE program, and we are excited to be able to reach out and touch so many little lives. Will you join us? OPERATION: LOVE is when we collect "Valentines" (any note of love, really) and send them to the kids in our OPERATION: LOVE program. Anyone and everyone can participate! People who are interested can buy Valentines OR homemake Valentines! You can donate one Valentine or one hundred! It is totally up to you! If you are not really the Valentining sort, but want to be involved, you can donate money to put toward the cost of sending the Valentines!! YOU WANT TO MAKE VALENTINES? Sure! The kids LOVE the homemade quality of Valentines made by YOU (and/or your kids!). Remember some of the kids are little, so make sure there is nothing they could choke on (bells that can pull off, etc.). Some of the children have visual impairments, so adding embelishments like soft feathers or fuzzy stickers are a wonderful way to help them enjoy their Valentines! YOU WANT TO BUY VALENTINES? Great! The kids LOVE the cute, cartoon-ey pictures found on store-bought Valentines! Many come with candies or stickers, and that is great! The kids love any little extra "treat"! WHAT DO I DO NEXT? The premise of OPERATION: LOVE is to send love to kids who otherwise not feel there is anyone who really cares about them. Recieving a special "Valentine" is a physical reminder that they are important and valuable and loveable. It is something they can carry with them and keep forever. Although the cute pictures are fun, the real meaningful part of the Valentine comes in the message printed on it. Writing words of love and encouragement on your Valentine tells the children they are LOVED! Keep in mind that the children do not celebrate Valentine's Day in their country, so wishing them a, "Happy Valentines Day" will not hold the same meaning to them as it would to children in America. It is important to tell them in other ways that they are loved and you are wishing them happiness. **NOTE: Signing your name (or having your child sign his name) makes the Valentine very personal and give them children the feeling that someone specific cares about them.** Here are some examples of what you might write on your Valentine: Hello! You are such a wonderful person and I love you! You are special! I love you! I am sending lots of love and good wishes your way! I LOVE YOU! Hello! My name is _________ and I love you! I hope you have a good day! Never forget how special and important you are! I LOVE YOU! WHO WILL RECEIVE MY VALENTINES? You can specify if you want your Valentines to go to a specific country, but it is best if you send them and Sixteen Small Stones can make sure enough go to each home. Your Valentines will be sent to: Racham Ministries--Uganda, Africa. Serving His Children--Uganda, Africa--A home that takes in severely malnourished children and rehabilitates them. The Kings Children's Home--Belmopan, Belize--A home that takes in needy children, adults and orphans. We are contacting some homes in China and India to see if they are wanting to be involved in OPERATION: LOVE this year! We will let you know what they say! :) We hope they will want to be involved!!!!!!! I HAVE MY VALENTINES READY! WHAT DO I DO WITH THEM? You can either mail them to Sixteen Small Stones, or drop them off in person. The address to mail them or deliver them is the same! Sixteen Small Stones C/O Breclyn S. Everett 445 East Center Shelley, Idaho 83274 U.S.A NOT DONE YET!!!!!! PLEASE leave us a comment and let us know if you are wanting to send Valentines! We are excited to hear who is involved! Also, you can take pictures of you making/buying/writing your Valentines and send them to us! We will post them in our later post about OPERATION: LOVE! :) THANK YOU to EVERYONE! Let us know if you have any questions!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! This is a FANTASTIC new year, and here is why. I called Katie to wish her a happy Chinese New Year. I have never the entire time I have known her heard her voice so happy, so full of hope. Of course, she will always have to "work" like everyone, but she is no longer a prisoner. She has her life back. She has her daughter back. She and her family had gone out to eat for the holiday, and were outside walking around town. It was snowing and they were feeling the excitement and and magic that comes when a small child sees the first snowfall of the year. I admit, I don't like it when it snows. It is cold, and slushy and I hate it. I don't want to take Taiger outside to play in the snow. My feet get cold and wet, and my hands get cold. I am willing to miss those moments in a magical snowfall because I am a mother who has had the luxury of being with my child every second of his life. I have seen his eyes light up with magic. I have held him in my arms and absorbed his joy and excitement. I have laughed with him over the simple things in life. And now Katie gets to experience that with her daughter, for the first time in her daughter's life. This New Year is wonderful for Katie and her family because of the hope you have all given her. Through your support, your love, your prayers. The warm clothes sent for YueYue made it possible for her to stand out in the snow with her parents, surrounded by their love and their presence, and watch as the icy glitter drifted down. Thank you all for giving this family hope, joy and, most importantly, each other.