Dear Layton, And Livvy,

Hey sweet ones. :)

I don't have much to say, but I do have some wonderful things to share!  First off, I woke up to an email (again. ;) ) with a "new" picture of Livvy in it.  Needless to say there was an instant smile on my face, from the moment I woke up this morning. :)  Wanna see the cuteness?  What a silly question huh?

Oh Livvy-Lu, you are almost too cute for me to handle!  I'm honestly shocked that you are still waiting for your mama to see you.   I bet once she sees this sweet picture she'll snatch you right up! :)

The other happy news?  Layton's grant fund is no longer at $0.00!!!  In honor of my birthday tomorrow, a sweet mama donated to your fund!  You now have $16.20 going towards your adoption, now we just need your mama to see you too! :)

Livvy, and Layton...You two make my heart happy, you bring instant smiles to my life, and some giggles too.  I am so, so, blessed to have the privileged of being your advocate, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

Guardian Angels & Keepsake Boxes

Today is exciting for more reasons than one!  This morning, while at the doctors office, I received an email telling me I was officially Layton's Guardian Angel!  I really, really, wanted to jump up and down, and maybe squeal a little, but I figured the entire waiting room full of moms, and small children wouldn't appreciate that.  So I sat, and smiled at my phone, I probably looked quite silly, but it was for good reason! ;)

Today was not only wonderful because I'm Layton's official GA, but also because I was able to buy Livvy, and Layton their keepsake boxes! :)  "What is a keepsake box?" is probably the question you're currently asking yourself, so let me tell you!    My best friend (who advocates over here at Unlocking Lyubov) came up with the idea of a keepsake box, a few months ago while advocating for a precious boy (who is now HOME FOREVER) that she loves dearly.  She was thinking about how mama's usually save little things from their kiddos childhood, and tuck them away in a keepsake box.  Well the little one she was advocating for didn't have a mama at the time, so Kaitlyn created a keepsake box for him.  She bought little things that made her think of this sweet boy, and tucked them away for him to have once he went home with his family.

I love, love, love, creating keepsake boxes for the kiddos that I advocate for, and I'm so thankful that Kaitlyn thought of this idea!  It makes it easier to create a bond between you and the special little ones that you shout for. :)   So what do we put in these boxes?  Well like I said above, anything that makes you think of the child.  Sometimes you see a doll, or a lovie (stuffed animal) and your immediate thought is the little one you advocate for.  You start to think about how they've never had a lovie, or a doll, a hot wheels car, or the experience of bubbles, and you tuck those things away a long with a little piece of hope that one day they'll make it out, and into the arms of a family.

Today while at Target I passed a kiosk with different styles of children's sunglasses, I browsed the different options and one pair caught my eye!  I immediately thought of Livvy, these sunglasses were in the shapes of flowers, they were pink, and oh so cute!  I could literally see Livvy wearing them, and flashing her adorable grin at her mama on 'Gotchya Day' enjoying every moment of being free.  I just *had* to buy them for her, so I did.  Livvy is now the "owner" of an adorable pair of pink flower sunglasses. :)

Layton and Olivia's keepsake boxes are just clear bins (the size of a shoe box.) with plain white lids.  I wanted to do something to give them "personality", I thought about drawing/painting on the lids, I thought about doing letter cut-outs of their names, I also thought about putting their pictures on the tops of the bins, but nothing was "jumping" at me.  A little while ago, while putting the bins away I got the idea to write little notes to them on the lids, and date each note, this way their new mama's and papa's could see every moment that I thought about their baby!  So the notes start today, 4/17/14, the memories, moments of these little ones will be remembered from today on forward. :)

Can't you just picture Livvy, rocking those sunglasses?  I know I can! :)

I love these two so much.  Livvy, and Layton's mama?  Your babies need you, please rescue them soon.

"Mama Connection"

You have probably heard some of us young ladies refer to moments, or connections as "Mama moments" or "Mama connections".  You are probably wondering what we are talking about!  Well when *choosing* a child to advocate for we usually rely on the "Mama Connection"  it's a feeling that we get when we see the child, and we instantly wish we could swoop over to their country and rescue them, as a mama would.

We all have *those* kids that we feel that connection with, we love all the kiddos on Reece's Rainbow, but there are those special few that just capture your heart.  I had a mama moment with Layton, and Livvy, I just knew that I needed to advocate for them.  Their pictures hang above my desk, and I get this overwhelming joy when I look at their sweet faces!

Mama moments can also come with moments of concern.  When we wonder how our kiddos are doing, if they are being fed enough, if someone showed them an ounce of love today, or if they are healthy, sometimes I get worried when thinking about things like that, because there is no way for me to know how they are doing.  I worry like a mother would, I pray like a mother would, and I love them from a far as best I can.

We become so excited when we get updates on our kiddos, and we have mama moments when we squeal out of excitement!  We love hearing about our kiddos, and we love seeing that they are doing "okay".  Updates don't come often, so when they do it's most certainly a blessing. :)

We're not insane, we just have an extreme love for these babies that we've never met, but hope to one day meet.  I love having a "mama connection" with Livvy and Layton, it makes advocating feel more personal, and they change my heart every day. :)

Dear Layton & Livvy,

Dear Layton, & Livvy,

Hey there sweet peas.  :)  I got your pictures printed last night and they are happily hanging above my desk.  Your little faces, with so much personality make me so, so, happy.

I love you two so much, and I'm excited for your future.  I know God has marvelous plans for both of you, I'm just glad God is asking me to be a part of your futures, it's most certainly a blessing! :)  I have a jar sitting on my desk labeled "Layton & Olivia's Future"  I'm saving all my extra money in this jar to put into your grant funds, and help you get home. :)

I really, really wish that I could accurately put into words the happiness that fills my heart when I see you two, but when I try it always ends up sounding like an understatement.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

Meet Layton & Olivia

I am extremely excited to begin advocating for some special kiddos.  This will be my first time advocating for children in Asia, and I'm anxious to see where this adventure takes me.

I must say it's only been a little while since "finding" my two sweet peas, and I am already so, so, in love with them!  Layton, and Livvy (Olivia) are honestly too precious for words, wouldn't you agree? :)  I hope to advocate for them until they are safe, and sound in their families arms!  But first, I need to find their families.

Livvy just turned 7 in March, and Layton just turned 4 in March.  Livvy has Down syndrome, and Layton has Post-op Spina bifida, and cryptochidism.  Not to mention that they both have the cutest, sweetest, most darling faces, but I'm sure you already noticed that! :)

I hope that you will stick around, and join me on this beautiful journey, as I find the perfect families for these two!

With Love,
Alyssa