There is no doubt that Christmas is coming at our house..  It feels like the North Pole outside...  Snow has fallen, the halls are decked, and the first Santa visit has happened..  Even our Elf, "Joe" has returned..  As we set our sights on the birth of Christ in just 16 days, we are thankful for the gift of precious friendships and the opportunities for these sweet memories!

Saturday morning we had breakfast with Santa..  I took the "middles and the little" for a sweet morning of activities..   Emme and Bella were quite the pair as they spread their joy around the room...  Yesterday was one of our favorite annual traditions with "Camp H" and our family group..  Gingerbread Houses with the kids.  Mr. Handsome took charge this year..  It might be our best creation yet..  Ainsley snuck away to do her own house with Luke this year..  Trying to manage her Pintrest vision with her little sisters  proved to be more than she asked for...  The Big Sis decided to let Daddy manage that one!!  :)  A very fun holiday weekend!

It’s go time!!! "Fill Their Stockings With Hope" is back for our third year!!!! We are so excited because today we launch the first of three phenomenal giveaways – all to benefit orphans in China.

I can’t wait to share this first bundle of fun…

An iPad mini (when did electronics become so dang cute?!)

And so much gift-card-goodness.

Love every inch of this giveaway. Especially a few weeks before Christmas.

A little fine print: All the items in this post will be gifted to one winner, chosen at random from all the entries received on all three blogs – funds raised here will go to Pearl River Outreach, funds raised by Lisa will go to Half the Sky and funds raised by Stefanie will go to Lifeline's Maoming Foster Home.

Please see the notes below for all the details and a button to donate directly to PRO.

So here we go…

*donated anonymously in honor of An Orphan’s Wish*

*$50 iTunes card donated by Sheri Winters and $50 iTunes card donated by Tiffany Johnson*

*Best Buy gift card donated by Joe and Jennifer from My Adoption Website*

*Amazon gift card donated by 2 China Babies*

*$50 Target card donated by Eric Zamora and $50 Target card donated anonymously*

A few details on Fill Their Stockings:

Your gift of donating a minimum of $5.00 or more will go towards supporting the Bamboo Babies in our four foster programs in the Hunan and Guangdong Provinces: Changsha #1, ZhuZhou City, Hengshan and Zhanjiang. Last year thanks to the success of FTS 2012, we were able to add additional children to our program. That is LOVE in action. Thank you! Here are some of the precious faces that will be touched by your giving this year!

This year our goal is to meet or exceed $5000 in donations. Remember, anything you donate is tax deductible. Pearl River Outreach is a non-profit 501C organization!

How it works: Pearl River Outreach will be blessed by any amount you donate. $35 sponsors one child for one month! We ask for this event that you donate a minimum of $5.00. For every $5.00 you donate, you will receive one chance to win this bundle! ($35.00 gives you 7 chances to win, etc...) It is possible to enter without donating. To do that simply leave your name, email, and mailing address in my comments section. We will assign you one number in the drawing. All donations at this blog will go directly to PRO. 100% of the funds go to our Bamboo Babies! *Please note that you must have a U.S. Shipping address to win!

This bundle will end at 11:59pm ET on December 8th. The winner will be chosen at random from all of the entries we get. We will announce it the next day.

Thank you in advance for "filling their stockings with hope!!" I have seen your giving in action. It will make a difference in the lives of these little ones.... Our hope for all of them is that one day they will be orphaned no more!

Donate To Fill Their Stockings

My life changed in so many ways when we adopted Ruby... That journey changed my heart forever.  Adoption will always be part of my story.  God blessed me/us in so many ways it's impossible to list them all.  One of the biggest blessings besides out girls, would be the friendships I would make along the journey.   One of these special friends was just here last weekend.  I can't recall the exact day we met, but I will never forget when she reached out to me about a little girl who's file they were reviewing..  When I stared at this sweet delicate child, the nickname, "Tea Cup" came to mind..  Little did I know then that I would in a small way be a part of this precious child's story one day.   God would use me later to help bring her a sister..  He would also bless me by being one of her sweet Mama's best friends..   This friendship happens to be long distance..  But, that has never gotten in our way...  One would think we live next door to each other.  I wish we did...  Traveling to China last year with this dear friend was something I will never forget..  We experienced heart break and joy together..  Trips like that bond you forever....  I am so thankful for this friend..  Thankful for her willingness to come to Minnesota!  Especially during an Arctic Blast, and so thankful for the two precious little girls that blessed our home for four days with pure joy, princess shoes, and pixie dust!

We had a busy weekend..  We saw an adorable play, the girls ice skated for the first time, we took them to the MOA to the American Girl Store and on the rides, and we squeezed in a photo shoot.  It was fun!!!

Thank you Jennifer for making us part of your Thanksgiving travel plans.   We loved having you here!

It’s that time of year again.

There is a chill in the air and Christmas thoughts are beginning to roll around in my head. And I can’t help but think about how blessed we’ve been to Fill Their Stockings for the last two years in a row. In 2011, our first year to Fill Their Stockings, over $15,000 raised for children under the care of Half the Sky, An Orphan’s Wish and Pearl River Outreach. Last year, we raised a total of over $26,000 for those same charities.

This year, we are ready to do it all over again.

And, once again, we need your help. Because there is no way we could do this without you.

Now for some details…

WHO: Lisa, Diana and Stefanie

WHAT: Will be hosting 3 Big Giveaways – the kind that make your heart go pitter patter – just in time for Christmas giving (or keeping!)

WHEN: Starting around the beginning of December

WHERE: Our blogs – Pearl River Outreach, The Long Road to China, and Ni Hao Y’all

WHY: To benefit orphans all across China

HOW: With your help!

Please consider donating something for us to give away. All donations will go directly to benefit orphans. Our hope is to positively impact the lives of these precious little ones who are still waiting in orphanages all across China. And with your help we know we can… and have a whole lot of fun in the process!

Here are some items on our wish list – things we know would generate lots of excitement (and lots of donations!) for children in China. Please know that y’all are not limited to things on this list… we’re just trying to help get this party started.

If you would like to donate an item, and we hope you will!, please complete this short form.

We will need to have the donations organized by November 22, so please complete the form before that time. We do ask that you would be willing to ship your item to the winner within one week of the giveaway’s close. In return for your generosity, your donation will be featured on all three of our blogs during the event as well as a link to your business or organization.

We’d love to hear from you! If you have any questions about a donation, feel free to contact us via email questions here – Diana, Lisa or Stefanie.

We are so excited about this, our third year to collaborate to Fill Their Stocking. Last year we raised over $26,000 collectively that went directly to care for children at Half the Sky, Pearl River Outreach and An Orphan’s Wish, all because of the generosity of this amazing community.

So, on behalf of the little ones at Pearl River Outreach, Half the Sky and An Orphan’s Wish, thank you in advance for helping us to Fill Their Stockings once again!

Sincerely,

Stefanie, Lisa and Diana

I think I will be constantly apologizing for my blogging tardiness as we close out 2013!  I am starting to accept that this is the season I am in...  It's an exciting time of busy-ness for the girls and for me.  As we count down the days in November, we have much to be thankful for.  Soon I will be announcing our Christmas Fundraiser for Pearl River Outreach.  I hope you will join us again for this important event.

Until then, a few belated photos from our fun Halloween!  Emme was thrilled to have Bella join us again this year.  Ainsley was off with her friends, but I was able to grab a few photos of our big girl too!