Very special auction ends tonight!

[The following message is from Amy Rainey.  See you over at Princess Penny's auction before midnight tonight!]

Greetings!

Can you believe that another week-long auction is almost over? Only hours remain in our Princess Penny auction.

Have you been outbid? It is time to check things out. There are still some item with no bids, or with extremely low bids. Many items are still way below their retail value.

It is not too early to start thinking about Christmas gifts! Make your money work hard. Find a lovely gift, and help a precious girl come home. She matters!

Thank you in advance, my friends!

 Be Blessed,

 Amy Rainey

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My words now!  I can't believe how quickly time is flying by.  I did not realize the auction for Penny would only be one week long--and so I have not told you about it! 

This auction is one blogger's way of *doing* something to help special needs orphans get into their forever families.  She organizes the auctions, and then wonderful, generous people give things to help raise money for the adopting family, and then other wonderful, generous people place bids on those things.  I too have participated in several of these auctions, both in donating and in bidding.  There are some really nice things at very low prices still available!  I did early Christmas/birthday shopping the last time there was one, and got things like a custom-made baby quilt for my baby niece Sweetness, a handmade little girl apron for her big sister Spice, two handmade doll afghans (just right for the girls' American girl dolls, which can go in their Christmas stockings), and some homemade, pure vanilla extract in adorable little bottles for MIL and me!  So please go look at the things offered--maybe you will give yourself  the gift of getting some gift buying done while you are blessing Penny's family!

This auction is very special to me for another reason too--we have something very special up for auction in it.  : )   As you know from all the photos I have posted over the years (like here and here and here) my mother is amazingly talented, and the vintage-style smocked dresses she has made for the girls are beautiful.  Each girl has so enjoyed having special things made just for her by Grandma, and I have enjoyed seeing my girls in such cute things.  But now we are outgrowing most of the hand-smocked things, and I am starting to pack them away "for posterity."  Hopefully they will do well in storage under our house, and hopefully my girls will someday grow up and have daughters of their own, and will be glad to have those loving memories and beautiful things for their own girls.  But I have no guarantee of any of that.  I have been taught over and over through so many things in life that we can't hold too tightly to things.  There is a good chance that my best efforts at storing them will not lead to the end I hope for--we could have a house fire, or flooding, or I don't know what could happen, and so I can do my best to preserve them, but I can't count on having these beautiful, meaningful things forever. 

In other words, I can attempt to store up my treasures here on earth, or I could try to store up more treasures in heaven.  

So about a year ago I asked my mother if she would mind if we donated one of the dresses she made for my girls to help bring home an orphan girl into her family, and she graciously said yes.  So just last week as I was going through our "heirloom" bin to pack away things recently outgrown, I chose one dress that I thought others might like and would bid on.  It was made for Sunny, and worn by all three girls, but only to church, and so it is in excellent condition still.  It makes my heart sing to give something I love to God's "Kingdom work."  Not only will the money raised help bring a little girl to her new family, but whoever wins it is going to be so excited to give it to her daughter or granddaughter.  So I *could* have kept the dress, and hoped it would safely store for the next 20-30 years until there is a granddaughter old enough to wear it.  But now, in giving the dress to bless others for God's good purpose, it will be worn and loved by who knows how many more little girls! 

If you want to see which dress, and my sweet Happy modeling it, I encourage you to stop by the auction.  Who knows--maybe you will see something else you want to bid on too!  : )

Just be quick, because the auction ends tonight!

p.s.  If you see me bidding on something, please feel free to outbid me. In fact, please outbid me.  It would make me so happy. : )