The Little Red Riding Hood House & A Birthday

Oh my, has it been busy around here.  Hold on, because this is shaping up to be a long post!

Remember the snow cone fundraiser we helped out with a while back for RODS Racing?  We met a lot of genuine, kind people that day.  Our friends the Tueller's were there, and they had some friends that came to support the cause as well.  Well, one particular friend, Christy, has had a heart for adoption ever since watching her friends the Cox's bring home their little Mia from Ukraine about a year ago.  Christy had an idea back then for a way to help them with the enormous costs of international adoption, and decided that she was going to put that idea into action for us!  With the help of Aubrey, this sneaky lady worked tirelessly behind the scenes, with us completely unaware, until she was finished with her great idea.

I'd love to introduce you to Boise's Rainbow, a local website dedicated to helping families adopt kids with special needs!

Christy's vision was to create a place where both adoptive families, potential adoptive families, and volunteers/idea makers could meet to help families get funded and bring home their children.  Like Christy told me the other night, she just wants people to rally and realize that it doesn't take a lot to help each other out.

Their project right now is to give away this adorable playhouse Christy (and many other volunteers & donors-you just have to read the story behind it and all the miraculous ways it got completed) designed as a Little Red Riding Hood House.  We went to Christy's house the other night and got to see it for ourselves.  Check it out:

There's Christy and the entrance side of the playhouse!  Look at the cute flower box!!  A home builder donated and put on the shaker shingle roof and cute wood trim on the outside!  Notice the birdcage, and there's even a doorbell that says, "sorry, I'm not home, I'm out visiting my grandmother!"

Opposite side.  Nice big windows!

Look at this adorable curtain fabric Christy had from IKEA.  Little hedgehogs  and nature scenery.

Another view of the front.

The inside.  Hardwood floor and baseboards.  Play food & other toys all come with it!  It's even tall enough for adults to stand inside.

Looking the other direction, a whiteboard and play phone, rocking chair and other fun accessories!  Do you recognize the cute boy calling his mom on the phone? (Hi Nash!)

Look at all the fun accessories in the house!  The Chandelier even lights up!

Want to win this house?  There are a few ways to do it.  You can enter here by clicking on the photo of Arnold on my side bar to make your tax-deductible donation to our FSP account.  Then leave me a comment on this post so I can fill out a ticket for you!  Or, you can go to Boise's Rainbow and click on the "donate" button in the sidebar to make a tax-deductible donation to our Family Sponsorship Page. For every $5.00 donation you make, you will get a ticket in the drawing!  Just leave a comment on her blog telling her how many tickets you purchased, and she will get you entered!  I also have tickets at my house for those close to us that would like to enter to win.  You can also mail your donation if you'd prefer, and we will enter you that way.  Just send me or Christy an email for the address!  We will make it as easy as possible to get you entered!

If you're in Utah and want to enter, we will be happy to drive the house down the next time we come to Layton.  That would probably be in September, but we could make other arrangements or meet halfway or something!  We could make it work.

This giveaway has the potential to get us fully funded!  Please spread the word, because who wouldn't want to win such a fun playhouse for their kids or grandkids???!!!  Thank you so much for your help!

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As if this wasn't enough, Christy also threw us a birthday party for Arnold, as his birthday was this week!  We sang happy birthday, the kids blew out his #4 candle, we ate birthday cake, and she had a present for each of the kids to open for Arnold.  I was completely blown away!  Who knew there were so many people willing to do so much for complete strangers?  This adoption journey has brought the most amazing people into our lives.  Brian and I were talking about it on the way home from Christy's, how incredibly blessed we have been because we have taken this leap of faith for this child.  It is obvious that Heavenly Father had plans for this boy all along.  He is truly weaving a story that only He could tell, we are just lucky enough to be called his parents.

The Murray's, Tueller's, and Beal's & only a few of the kids that we had running all over the place!

This is going to be amazing!

Thank you, Christy, Aubrey, and all of those we haven't met yet or don't even know about that made the Little Red Riding Hood house possible.  We know you will be blessed for what you are doing.  You have blessed us beyond measure already!