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!