Things that Make You go hmMMMm...

I am bad at this blogging thing.... I always think of things but forget them when it is time to blog.... as for today...

I am tired.
I don't want to go to work tomorrow.
I don't feel the best.
I want to crawl back into bed.
I don't have anything to eat that I want.

Hold on.... what am I thinking!

I am grateful I woke up today, with a roof over my head.
I have a job, that I enjoy, not everyone has a job.
I could be so much sicker.
What if I didn't even have a bed?
Many will not eat anything today.

Saving Orphans

May 2009

Dear Friends and Family:

As you know, I work with children with varying levels of disabilities. About a year ago, one of the young girls that I work with became very ill, and we were told to start planning for a funeral. Even though, not her direct family, this child had made a huge impact on me, and I had no idea how to grieve the notion that she may not make it through the week. I started researching grieving the loss of a child. What I found was a family, who was experiencing the unknown. This family, adopted two children from Eastern Europe, but not just any children. Two children, with Downs Syndrome, with significant medical issues. Upon returning to the United States, they were told their daughter’s heart condition was “inoperable,” and that her future may not be too long.

Children in Eastern Europe who have disabilities are often given to the orphanages upon birth. Families are told that this is the best for them, and that they have no place in society. Many of these children have Downs Syndrome, and heart conditions that need medical care. At the age of four, if not already adopted, they are transferred to institutions where medical care is scarce, adequate nutrition is uncommon and leaving their beds is rare. Basically, they are left to die without knowing the love of a family, and 85% die within the first year of being in the institution.

The young girl that I work with, made a miraculous recovery, and is thriving today. The adoptive family’s daughter came through heart surgery and is progressing daily. Between the child at work, and the adoptive family’s story of their daughter, I can not look at the children at work, and forget the children left in orphanages and institutions. I had planned to do a garage sale this summer to get rid of some junk and to invite anyone else that wanted to sell their “treasures” too, and I still plan to do that, but instead of making myself some money, I want to save a child from imminent death.

Specifically, this garage sale will help the Fox family. The Fox Family committed to adopting a child with Downs Syndrome and were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel to bring him home when the country closed its doors to international adoption. Heartbroken, and saddened, the Fox family was lost. Some time passed, and another child grabbed their attention, and they decided to change their grief into motivation and stated the process of adopting him. Unexpectedly, the first child’s country changed their minds and has allowed them to continue with his adoption. They had planned to adopt one child, but now, knowing the fate if they were to leave either in their country, they have committed to bringing both home, whatever the financial cost. As you can imagine, the cost will be huge. But the sacrifice to save two childrens’ lives, will be priceless. (www.ridinthewavewithulord.blogspot.com.)

To make the sale even more of a success, I am asking for your help! Would you consider going through your closet and donating items to sell? Would you volunteer your time to help advertise or on the day of the sale? Would you ask your church, school or friends to consider how they could help too? If you can not help at the sale directly, or even if you can, would you consider skipping a night out to dinner or a new DVD or outfit, and donating financially, $25, $50, or even $100 to help this family?

Whatever you can do to help would help this family and would save these boys. Each are living on borrowed time before they are transferred to an institution, where their future is unknown. If you would like to help in ANY way, please contact me at the information below. Please also feel free to share this, and invite others to participate as well!

For more information on adoption of children with disabilities, waiting around the world, please visit:
www.reecesrainbow.org, an organization dedicated to saving children’s lives.

Love Always,
Ali Rae McManamon
AliMcManamon@yahoo.com

Rockford News Vs. Chicago News

When I moved to Rockford in 2005 one of the first things I noticed was that the news out here is way different than in Chicago. Here's my favorite news anchors from Chicago. I feel like I've grown up with them. Although my sister and I used to all the Chicago New, "The Dead and Missing," because that's pretty much what they talked about every night.

Warner Saunders

Allison Rosati

Nesita KwanArt Norman

So tonight on the WREX, or people in Chicago would say "channel 5 news" they had so little to report that they showed the new computer program the news station had gotten for tracking the weather. Sometimes they review the weather three to four times in one half and hour! Most times, half the program is local high school sports. It's just odd how it is presented and funny to think how my family would not consider this "news."

On a side note, I love it when my dad calls me and says turn to channel 7. I try to explain to him that my channel 7 is not the same as his and he just insists I do it. So I frantically try to remember what channel 7 is in Chicago area and turn to it. It's like the time he asked me if he sent me an e-mail would it go to my work or would it go to my house. =/

Here's an example of Rockford News.

And if you aren't sure that the Rockford News is odd enough... here's a local business ad.

Statistics

I heard one time there there are lies, lies and statistics. And although I don't think all statistics are true, there are some that would be off by 10,000 and would still make me sick.

Region	Number of Total Orphans	Potential Number of children with Down Syndrome	Number who could be saved by only 1% of the Christian population in the US
Eastern Europe	1.5 million	2046	205
Asia	3,572,000	4873	487
Russia	700,000	955	96

Sitting Here...

I am at Panera
Typing on my laptop
My cell phone is next to me
I have my iPod on to Jars of Clay
I just ate a wonderful lunch

And children in Eastern Europe are dying...
...parent-less
...starving
...alone
...cold
...sick
...needing love

Check this out. Pray for them. Let your heart be open.
http://www.reecesrainbow.org

How can I work on a thesis if I know that God has called me to look after the orphans (James 1:27?) God, I am here, use me. Even use this thesis that I have been putting off. [PS. Please help me finish it too. =)]

This family is on my mind. I will be trying to raise some prayer, money and awareness for them.
http://ridinthewavewithulord.blogspot.com/

No child should ever be alone or parent-less if our world proclaims we are Christians.

James 1:27 (New International Version)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Children

It's amazing that we have all these days off of work and school for adults that have changed the world, but the only holiday we celebrate (and should be celebrated daily) is Jesus' birth.

Maybe we need to learn something from Jesus, and be inspired by Him and other children who will and have changed the world.

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Matthew 18:2-6

Mid-Westerner??

create your own personalized map of the USA
or write about it on the open travel guide


These are all the places in the United States that I have visited. Can we said, mid-west girl?