New Giveaway!!!

We are offering a chance to win this fabulous All Life Is Precious - International Down Syndrome Coalition for Life Handstamped Necklace. We are blessed to receive this necklace for our  fundraiser on behalf of Ollie Faith Designs.

This is the official necklace of the IDSC for Life - http://www.idscforlife.org/

18" sterling silver chain
Sterling silver washer & small charm stamped t21 Blue & Yellow swarovski crystals for Down Syndrome.

For every $5 donation on our Chip In, your name will be entered once. For every $10, your name will be entered three times. Your donation will give you a chance at this beautiful necklace and help bring Shannon home! Drawing will take place on August 15!

3 Boys, 3 Girls...Please Do Not Let Them Be Forgotten

Today, I find it pressing to advocate for the forgotten ones. The ones who just might not stand a chance. And I beg you, please consider one of these. You may be their only hope.

Sasha

 

Dmitry 

Josiah

I would take them all if there was a way...look at Sasha, he is so fragile, how can you say 'no'?

The sadness in Dmitry's eyes breaks my heart. This little guy needs a chance...

Josiah, remind me so much of my own son, he holds such a special place in my heart. 

Millie

Heidi

Dasha

Millie, had we not been matched, I would snatch her up. Another one...so close...

Look at the sparkle in Heidi's eyes...beautiful girl...waiting girl.

Dasha deserves to smile. This precious one deserves more...

It's hard to choose. To focus on 6, when really there are hundreds...all waiting...all deserving.

http://reecesrainbow.org/ 

Let your heart lead you...and you will find a way...

When "Close" Just Isn't Good Enough...

Choosing one, may leave another for despair, or worse, death. 

What if you are her only hope? What if your path takes you so close to him, but yet ultimately veers you to another? How do you choose? For us, we were limited to a country that fit our needs. We were open to any child, preferably a girl, birth to age 8, with Down Syndrome. We searched…looking for that special something. The one whose connection you feel to your core.

In the end, our daughter found us…

But what about the others? The ones who came so close? Their faces haunt me at night...calling, pleading. My heart is burdened for them. I know there must be a purpose they were set in my path. Perhaps to be their voice.  

And for them, I dedicate this post…

Isabelle 

Delia

Amelia

And though she is not in our country, the one whose face I will 

never forget…

Kate

I have a special place in my heart for these older girls, these forgotten ones. Perhaps they have been “almost” chosen one too many times. It's not good enough...please, let today be their turn... 

Our Blessing

“There’s a piece of you that’s here with me, it’s everywhere I go, it’s everywhere I see.”

Oceans may separate us, but let me tell you, our daughter is never far from our hearts. She is a daily conversation. We pray for her, we discuss what she might enjoy when she comes home, we prepare for her in little ways that may not even be noticeable to the outside. And we love her. Already.

Let me speak honestly…from my heart. We are overjoyed…ecstatic. Our hearts are filled with joy and anticipation. This is not a burden. This is not a duty. This is a calling. This is a desire.

We are blessed to call her daughter.

And it is heartbreaking…devastating that our daughter sits in a mental institution thousands of miles away. Turned aside…deprived. Waiting. She knows nothing more. Alone. She has no idea that outside the institution walls, lives another life.

May grace and mercy set you free, little one…

We are coming…soon…

Five Dollar Dots Fundraiser

Still time to donate to our Fundraiser! A dot will be removed for each $5 or $10 donation. When all the dots are gone, a NEW picture of Shannon and the name we have chosen for her will be revealed.


Five Dollar Dots

Two Paths...

Do you remember Shannon? 

This was her original photo posted on Reece’s Rainbow. It was actually the very first picture we ever saw of her a year ago...we loved her. We were registered with the National Down Syndrome Association Network and we decided that if we did not get a match within the month, we were going to pursue an international adoption.

We were matched a week later, here in the US.

Shannon was matched to another family, here in the US.

2 paths…almost collided, yet destined to follow another direction...or so it seemed...

A year later, we return to Reece’s Rainbow, this time with the intent to find our child. We are ready. We choose a child in the country that we have decided on. We eagerly await…

We find out that she already has a family…working on committing to her…waiting.

We decide to move forward with our homestudy and pray that a child becomes available. It’s a leap of faith, one that we are willing to take…

The next day, we learn about Shannon. The family that originally committed to her, is unable to bring her home. She has lost her chance to escape…

We are given a picture and immediately know “this is our daughter”.

It won’t be till later that we discover this is the same Shannon we looked at so long ago.

Once again, our paths cross…

This time, these intertwining two roads will lead her home…

Please Pray for Teri Lynn

This precious little girl has been on my mind all day. Teri Lynn. Isn’t she beautiful? This picture was taken when Teri Lynn was still in the orphanage. Unfortunately, Teri Lynn has been transferred.

 This is Teri Lynn now.

This little one deserves the chance to be called “daughter”. To be loved. To be chosen.

Could this be your child?

Do What You Can...

We are desperate to bring home Shannon. In her country, children are transferred to mental institutions quite early and Shannon has already been transferred. She has been waiting too long. Shannon had a committed family and unfortunately, they were unable to bring her home. Just as we began our search, Shannon became available. God has put this child before us that we would ACT. He has moved. It is our turn now. Once our eyes have been opened…how can we turn away?

If we can…we should. The idea of international adoption has been in our hearts for years. There was always one reason or another that we couldn’t…or better yet…didn’t. The reality was that once we read up on the country and the qualifications we would need to adopt, we found that we could. If God opens a door, how can we close it?

A while back I read the book “She Did What She Could” by Elisa Morgan. I can honestly say that since then, I have tried to do what I can. It isn’t enough to want to do something. It isn’t enough to think about doing something. What matters is whether you actually do it. And if it is within your means to do it…you should. It is what Jesus calls us to do.

I was talking with a friend last night and she mentioned her desire to adopt, but financially wondered whether their family(on a teacher’s salary) could provide a good enough life for the child.

This was met with a resounding “Yes” from me. Truly, what is the alternative? That a child grow up in the four walls of an orphanage or institution with nothing? Without knowing the love of a family? The gift of faith? The hope of a future?

We have a tendency to put things off...when you pass the homeless man on a street,  you don't stop because you'll do it "next time". You don't sponsor a hungry child or donate to an orphan because "someone else will". You don't help someone in need because you're "too busy". I urge you not to live like that. It won't make you happy and it isn't what we are called to do.

  

If you can…you should…

FUNDRAISER!!!

This is our DOTS fundraiser! For every $5 and $10 dot purchased, a a dot will be removed, revealing a brand NEW picture of our daughter and the name we have chosen for her!

https://www.aifundraising.com/app/donate.php?code=PSA1553

Shannon has already been transferred to a mental institution. PLEASE help us work diligently to bring her home…

For our Daughter

It doesn’t matter how long the journey is…

Or how many roadblocks we stumble upon…

It doesn’t matter how far we need to travel…

Or how hard we need to fight…

The Lord is our shield…

And faith is our sword…

Love carries us…

Hope strengthens us…

And each day, brings us one more step closer to you…

For Our Daughter...

In the sea of faces
How can I choose just one?
Hopeful eyes and eager hearts
Beautiful child
Who has been broken down
Yet, smiles through the pain
I wait for our souls to connect
I look for the face that is as familiar to me
as my own
I wonder
Where you are
and who is holding you tonight
Are you warm?
And safe?
Can you feel me out here?
Praying for you
Calling you home

Waiting child
You feel as though we will never come
And the hours turn to days
As we desperately search for you
We dream of who you are
And what you will become
We wonder how the pieces will all
Fit together
Joining us
From two seperate worlds
In this new place
We call FAMILY
Your heart already
So deeply intertwined
With ours
Leading us to you
By fate
Destiny

Our child
Keep hope
And faith
Alive
By grace
We will find you
Bring you home
With love
We will keep you here
Give you roots
And when the day comes
Stand back
To watch you soar

"Come home, sweet child" I whisper tonight
A star shines bright
With the promise of tomorrow
A new day
A new chance

Fundraising Announcement!!!

Big news! We will be launching our very first fundraiser NEXT WEEK to bring our daughter home! We will be hosting a DOTS fundraiser. For every $5 or $10 donation, a DOT will be removed. This will bring us one step closer to revealing 

our new daughters picture…and…her new name!!!

Our goal is to earn $1000. We can do it!!!

“In you the orphan finds mercy” Hosea 14:3

Please help us…there there will be one less orphan…

Orphan Beads

The orphan bead.
The discarded bead.
The bead tossed aside with no clue what to do with it...
After awhile the bowl is full of orphans ..what started out as just one or a couple
grows and grows...

My heart and mind can't help but to see the face of a baby, toddler, child, teenager in every orphan bead in the bowl.
I think about the 147 million orphans just waiting...

wanting to be noticed
wanting to be needed
wanting to belong
wanting to be beautifully strung together in a family.

Our children are eager to raise money to bring their sister home. They want to be part of this. They have such compassionate, tender hearts. They did some brainstorming and have decided to make “orphan bead” bracelets and necklaces. Will you consider supporting them?

The only criteria they requested is that they use only the “discarded” beads. The orphan beads. The ones that may not look perfect. The ones that might not fit in with the others. Using these “passed over” beads, they are stringing together brilliant, colorful designs. It just goes to show…just because it’s not what you were expecting, doesn’t mean it’s not everything you’ve been waiting for…