Update about Katie

Okay, so I got off the phone with Katie a while ago and I wanted to let you all know what is going on. Katie quit! She quit her "job". At first I was upset!! Not AT her, but just about the situation. Then, I felt proud of her. Proud that she did what was right for her and her family. So, she is moving to live with her husband's family and her little girl. Her husband has to stay in southern China to continue working at the factory. :( That is sad. But at least she will be with YueYue again, and she won't have to work anymore. She won't be living on the street, as I had feared. She will be at her in-law's home. They are poor farmers, so I know it won't be the "lap of luxury", but that is fine. I am just so thankful she will be with her little girl and in a home. :) Katie is worried about how they will make it financially. She doesn't know if they will have enough money. She doesn't know what will happen in the future. If you could continue to pray for her, it would be really appreciated. I don't know what the coming weeks and months will look like for her. Also, if anyone wants a good place to donate a little money, sending ANY to Katie would go a LONG way. Thank you all for everything! Have a fantastic day!

Merry Christmas to All!

Hello Friends and Followers! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!! I had some friends who did AMAZING service over the holiday...from serving the homeless, to going to Africa, to moving in with family to help with a sick loved one, to buying a special gift for a friend. What did YOU do this season to look outside yourself? Did you bring a dessert to a church Christmas party? Did you give a special gift to someone you love? Did you do a service project for someone in need? Post a comment here and let us know. We LOOOVE to hear what everyone is doing to serve others! Me? I loved on my little boy and gave him a happy Christmas. :) I am so excited about everything happening with Sixteen Small Stones! For right now, I am calling out for PRAYERS and/or POSITIVE THOUGHTS! The first thing is for something AMAZING. It is something that would help NOT ONLY SIXTEEN SMALL STONES, but would help HUNDREDS of organizations that help people! Could you imagine?! An amazing way for ONE person to touch THOUSANDS (not exaggerating here) of lives. (Doesn't it give you a "warm fuzzy" inside?! It does me!) So, please, please, PLEASE pray and/or send up positive thoughts that this will all work out. I know you all want to know WHAT it is, but I can't tell you right now :(. But not to worry! It isn't some big SECRET...just something private that you will get to hear about soon enough. :) Okay, the next thing...remember Katie? And her sweet husband and daughter? I received an email from her today, and she sounded pretty upset. It was a really short email so there wasn't much info, but from what I gather, Katie has lost her job at the factory. Now, even though she only made pennies a day, it was at least keeping her from having to live on the street. Now I don't know what will happen. In China, you can't just go in to some place and apply for a job. Even in the wonderful country of America it is hard to find work. In China? Almost impossible. (Which is why she was working in a "sweat shop" in the first place.) Anyway, Katie asked in her email that I call her tomorrow, so I will do that and update you all. In the meantime, prayers and positive thoughts would be really appreciated. Thank you all for following Sixteen Small Stones! We hope you had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! And have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D :D

National Adoption Month...YIPPEE!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS! I almost forgot!! November is NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH! I LOOOOVE IT! Has your life been touched by adoption? Tell me your story! I LOOOOVE adoption stories! :)

Thankful!

So, I have seen people on facebook doing a fun thing for November: Telling one thing a day for which they are thankful! I think it is a great idea. I like hearing what others are thankful for because it reminds me to be thankful for it, too. I want to participate, so that I can pay attention each day to something for which I am thankful. SO...I am starting four days late, so I will tell four things today for which I am thankful. 1. Taiger 2. My sewing machine 3. My family 4. My bed What are you thankful for today?

SPONSOR CLOTHES FOR YUE YUE!!

I went to Target, and I went crazy. REALLY crazy. :) FINALLY, an excuse to buy all those darling GIRL CLOTHES! Pink, lace, bows, glitter...Heaven. Puffy, frilly, HEAVEN. So, what was my excuse? Katie's darling little girl, YueYue. As I said before, YueYue is in need of some warm clothes. (I remember how cold it is in JingMen! Maybe that is why I feel such a need to send her some warm clothes!) Needless to say, I don't have any hand-me-down girl's clothes, and I think this sweet little princess deserves some lace and frill in her wardrobe, rather than Taiger's old BOY clothes. So, I bit the bullet, took my savings money and went to Target. And can I just say, spending money for others (ESPECIALLY when that person is a sweet little girl who desperately NEEDS some warm clothes) is so much more satisfying and FUN than spending money on yourself?! Now, since I am poor, I am doing a fun little fundraiser. You can look at all these CUUUUTE clothes I bought, and you can SPONSOR and outfit for YueYue! And the best part? YOU get to pick the price! Want to sponsor the cute little D*ORA outfit (did you see the sewn-on tutu?! Come on! How CUTE is that?!)? You can sponsor it for WHATEVER amount of money you have! Have $5.00 to donate? Sponsor WHATEVER outfit you want for those five bucks! YOU choose the item, YOU choose the price! Fun, huh?! I thought so, too! :) So, here are the pictures. Use the Paypal "DONATE" button on the sidebar and in the "comment" section of your payment, tell me what outfit you want to sponsor! Thank you so much, and happy "shopping"! :D

Darling pink and grey DISNEY PRINCESS outfit, with glitter stripped grey pants. (You can sponsor homemade hairbow separately.)

Check out these bunched, puffy sleeves! PERFECT for a REAL PRINCESS!

HOMEMADE PINK TULLE HAIRBOWS WITH CURLY GREEN RIBBON.

Here are all three "PRINCESS" outfits lined up. On the right, you see this sweet D*ORA the Explorer outfit. Notice the frilly cuteness on top! The matching stretch pants have a pattern of grey and dark pink ballet slippers and pretty little curley-ques. Thepink tulle tutu is attached to the pants.

The hairbow sitting on the shoulder can be sponsored separately! It is made of puffy tulle and curled pink GLITTER ribbon.

Here are TWO pair of SNUGLY, CARTER'S brand "feetey" pajamas. These are so soft and cozy, and sure to keep YueYue warm at night.

This Sleeping Beauty shirt is for a real princess for SURE! Every princess needs a special fairy, and this one comes with a "real" diamond holding her hat on! What more could a girl ever want? This darling top matches the glitter grey pants that come with the Disney Princess top, OR the tutu attached pink pants that come with the D*ORA top.

Here we have THREE snugly sweatshirts! HANES brand ensures comfort and durability. Each shirt has a GLITTERY image on front, either a butterfly, flower or heart. PERFECT for a little girl on a cold wintry day. Each shirt matches BOTH pair of sweatpants, one pair plain baby pink, the other grey with pink and purple flowers, hearts and butterflies.

Update on Katie

I talked to Katie yesterday. She was full of kindness and being polite, and finally I just told her, "Katie, I don't know about Chinese etiquette, or how to be polite and gracious according to Chinese customs.. I want you just to tell me straight what you need." So, she set aside her "politeness" and admitted what she needed: warm clothes for her little girl. So, yesterday afternoon I went to Target and blew through all of my savings buying little YueYue some warm clothes. :) And I couldn't think of a better way to spend my money. (I had talked to Taiger before hand and explained Katie needed some warm clothes for YueYue. I asked him how he would feel if we used our money for some warm clothes for YueYue rather than saving it for fun things for us. He remembers Katie and her house and insisted we use our savings to help Katie and YueYue. I LOVE Taiger's heart!) I KNOW for a FACT that Katie and her husband need some warm clothes, too, but she was more concerned for YueYue. HOWEVER, if anyone has some warm women's or men's clothing, I would love to send some to Katie and her husband, too. So, if you feel like you want to help Katie and her family, there are four ways: First: PRAY!! Katie could use all the prayers she can get! She does not know anything about God or Jesus, so she cannot pray for herself. Any prayers sent up for her would be greatly appreciated. Second: You can donate MONEY. I will be donating money monthly to them. Third: You can donate MONEY to cover the cost of SHIPPING clothes to them. Fourth: You can donate CLOTHES for their family. THANK YOU, ALL! And let me know if you are interested in helping in ANY way. :) Thank you.

Please.

This is for EVERYONE out there who loves a child. To all the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends. To the teachers and the social workers. To the loving neighbors, the doctors and nurses. And this is to all the MOTHERS out there. Imagine the child you love. The child of your heart. Imagine the child that is your world. That makes you laugh when she laughs. And when she cries, you think your heart will break in two. Imagine those hugs. Imagine how some days you wish you could take a break, but other days, you wish she would never grow up. Imagine holding her hand. Imagine when she looks in your eyes. Imagine when she falls asleep in your arms, or cries for you at night, or hugs you first thing in the morning. Imagine that you missed all those days. All that all those cuddly hugs will never be yours. Imagine that you are only able to see that little child once (ONCE!) each year. For only a few days each year you get to hold her soft hand. For only a few days each year you get to stroke that hair. Imagine knowing each day that she misses you, and that someone else is caring for her. You know how you treasure each of those little kisses on the cheek because you know they will be gone all too soon? Imagine if you only got to experience that a few times because the next time you see her, she will be all grown up and won't want to give you those wet kisses on the cheek any more. Imagine someone else seeing her off on her first day of school. Imagine someone else holding her when she is feeling sick. Imagine someone else teaching her the words to her favourite song, or showing her the way the sun shines through the clouds at sunset. Imagine missing all of that! Now, imagine this is the story, the REAL LIFE story, of someone you know, and love, and who has served you tirelessly, and has given you so much and helped you so much and loved you so much, and made you smile when you were feeling your most sad, and was your best friend when you were most alone. Would you FIGHT for this mother to be back with her child? Katie is the friend that gave me everything when I needed her. Now, it is MY turn to help HER. For five. long. years. she has been away from her daughter. I can't do this on my own. Please help me reunite Katie and YueYue. YueYue needs her mommy in her life, and Katie needs her daughter in her arms. Will you help me? Please.