Remember Them?

Do you remember these two precious sweeties?

This is "Nice Girl"...

And this is "Lisa."

They were in Vera's group at the orphanage and sat at Vera's lunch table.

Lisa is the one who would grab on to Jon and not let go.

Aren't they precious?! Don't you LOVE their smiles?!

There is a growing group of families here in the states who stay in touch.

We are now one of those families.

We all adopted from Vera's baby home in Nikolaev.

#19

A couple of the moms had a great idea to send Christmas to #19 this year.

When I found out about it, I was sleepless for a few nights.

Oh, the excitement!

These little faces, and plenty of others, kept me awake.

We get to send them presents for Christmas!

Do you remember when I told you about peeking into the lockers of the 14 children in Vera's group? Vera had a few things from the few visitors she had had. "Allie" had a few things and so did Nice Girl. Do you remember what the other children had?

Nothing.

Shoes and a hat.

Shoes and a hat that do not really belong to them.

Shoes that likely don't fit...Vera's shoes were 4 sizes too small.

Shoes and a hat that will stay at the orphanage if/when they move on.

Really, the children have nothing.

We can change that this Christmas.

We can give each child something to call their own.

Something to keep in their locker.

Something.

So, would you like to help us?

There are several ways you can help.

In a nutshell, we will be sending shoeboxes filled with goodies for 115 children.

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Here are some ways you can help:

You can fill a shoebox. We ask you to keep the contents between $5 and $20.

You can donate items and some 19 families will fill shoeboxes for you.

You can purchase something from Becky's Etsy shop. For the month of October she is donating all of her proceeds to Operation: Christmas in Nikolaev. Becky's family adopted a girl with CP from Vera's orphanage last year. She has been a great source of encouragement to me and a huge help with all of my endless questions about Vera and her CP.

SPREAD THE WORD! Grab the button, blog it, share this link on Facebook.

You can make a monetary donation here that will be used to purchase toys, clothing, gift wrap, and also to help pay for shipping.

Shipping charges will be substantial.

All donations over $25 are tax deductible.

Most importantly, please PRAY! Pray for these precious ones left behind.

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Pray and ask the Lord how He would have you help.

So...are you in?

You can send items/and or filled boxes to

Huddle House

1802 Main Street East

Hartselle, AL 35640

no later than October 31

You can make a monetary donation here or send a check to

Circle of Hope

P O Box 4921

Huntsville, AL 35815

Be sure to include your name/address if you would like to use your donation for tax purposes.

Let me just share one more precious one with you.

This is Ryland.

He lives at the Nikolaev baby house. For now, anyway.

He's 5, so I don't know how long he will be there.

Ryland has CP like our Vera. We saw him on many occasions and got to interact with him.

Oh.

He is a love!

I will be sharing more about Ryland in the near future.

He still needs a family.

If you could meet him, you would wonder why no one has come for him.

We were baffled by it.

Ryland has no family.

Ryland has nothing.

Same with Lisa and Nice Girl.

And 112 others at the orphanage in Nikolaev.

Wouldn't you like to send them something for Christmas?

Can you even imagine the excitement of a child who has never received a Christmas present opening a little box of goodies OF THEIR VERY OWN on Christmas morning?

It WILL make a difference!

All of the information you need can be found here.

Instructions for shoe boxes:

Decorate a women’s shoe box with the following suggested items, label “boy” or “girl” on outside of box and rubberband box closed. Please do not use a large "boot" box.

Socks – white (girls box), black (boys box)

Underwear (girls or boys or all white for either)

Children's sunglasses, hats appropriate for warm weather or cold weather (boys or girls)

Small toys – ideas include: barbies, Lego's, puzzles, crayons, action figures, dolls with clothing, hot wheels cars, stuffed animals, balls, slinkys, etc.

Children’s gloves

Hair bows/barrettes (girls boxes)

New clothing (inexpensive) all sizes up to age 5

*Please do not include nail polish or candy*

We thank you for helping make this a very special Christmas for so many little children!

"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”