Saturday, May 28, 2011

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!


Oh, I am so excited! Remember Bogdan/Joshua that I blogged aboutHERE? I check his profile frequently and I just looked at it......... it now has almost $700.00 in it!! I am so excited! That makes me think that maybe, somewhere, he has a family out there. Maybe they are working to bring him home but, have not officially committed to him yet. I hope, I hope, I hope!!!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Waiting Wednesday (a day early!)

My daughters are having surgery tomorrow (Lily is having an adenoidectomy, Maddie is having the same plus a tonsilectomy). Needless to say, I don't think I'll be able to post for a while! I didn't want to miss Waiting Wednesday so, I thought I'd post a little early.
Once again, I had a hard time picking who to post about. So, I picked two little girls.
Hey, it's my blog, I can do what I want. :P
I picked these two cuties because they are in the same orphanage and can be adopted together! I bet they would make terrific sisters!
This is Shawna.

This is what her profile on Reeces Rainbow says:


URGENT NEED – FACING IMMINENT TRANSFER!


Girl, Born March 2, 2004
Shawna has grown so much since her last photo! She is walking now, very social and affectionate. She has already turned 6 and is facing imminent institutionalization. She is healthy, but is considered severely delayed. PLEASE give Shawna a chance to be everything she can be, in a loving family who supports her and encourages her to grow and learn.

Shawna and Lindsay could be adopted together.


From one of our adoptive families who visited with her in December 2010: She was absolutely cute and got up to pose for the camera, she would make faces, smile and then laugh after the flash went off. She was very adorable but like many of the others was wearing a sheet as a diaper. She will be a blessing to any family. She was full of life, laughter and happiness not to mention beautiful!!

MORE PHOTOS AVAILABLE
I AM ELIGIBLE FOR AN OLDER CHILD GRANT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And this is Lindsay.
Here is what her profile says:

URGENT NEED – FACING IMMINENT TRANSFER!

Girl, Born May 30, 2004

I can not even express to you how blessed this child is to still be her baby house. She needs to be adopted IMMEDIATELY. She can be adopted with Sophia and/or Shawna, who all desperately need families.

Lindsay is a beautiful girl who has endured much in her ilfe in this orphanage. She was born with a secondary heart condition, although it may have rectified itself. She is considered severely delayed, and is working on her walking, even though sbhe is already 6 years old. This orphanage has a history of medicating the children, so she has spent much of her life in a crib, repressed….

Lindsay desperately needs a family who has experience adopting older children with special needs, and who has the time to give her to help her recover from this neglect and blossom into the child she is meant to be.

More photos available. She is facing the institution very soon, and is blessed to still be at the baby house. Someone please save her.

From an adoptive family who visited with her in January 2011: " She was sitting at a little table with Sophia. I think they were having their snack. She had this rattle which makes the most amazingly loud sound, I know because my boys got to play with one just like it. She didn't make noise with it but instead was checking it out so carefully. She would put the end of the handle in between her teeth and watch the little bells roll back and forth. She is such a beauty! I didn't recognize her at first because the other picture looks nothing like her. She has beautiful blonde wavy hair and blue eyes. Her and Sophia were buds and I think would make great sisters! Surely her Momma and Daddy are out there. "

I AM ELIGIBLE FOR AN OLDER CHILD GRANT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sheet as a diaper? Confined to a crib? Six years old and just learning to walk? Unfortunately, Shawna and Lindsay are not an exception to the "norm". This is pretty typical for the living conditions in these baby houses. I have even heard of them reusing disposible diapers. They rinse them out and hang them on a line outside to dry. But, at least they have diapers. And diapers is really only the very tippy top of the iceburg. It is SO important to find these babies families! Especially the older ones. Children are typically transferred to adult mental institutions at the age of 4 where conditions are, if you can believe it, even worse.
You can view Shawna and Lindsay's profiles, and hundreds more, on
Reece's Rainbow
Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a real blessing.
The sons a man has when he is young
are like arrows in a soldier's hand.
Happy is the man who has many such arrows.
He will never be defeated
when he meets his enemies in the place of judgment.
~Psalm 127 3-5

GOSH!!

So, my (almost) 3 year old is at that age where she says the FUNNIEST things. Lately, when she gets upset with me, she says "GOSH, Mama!" If you've seen the movie Napoleon Dynamite, you can guess who I think of when she says that. I usually have to muffle my giggles.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Want to win a Kindle? A pearl ring? What about a $100 Visa gift card?

I have been following this family for awhile. They have already brought home a little boy from EE, John David ("Liam" on Reece's Rainbow). They are nearing the end of their journey to bring home "Lydiah" (love it!!) They are doing one final fundraiser to try to gather the remaining funds needed to rescue Lydiah from her orphanage. A $5 donation or a link to their blog from your FB account or blog will get you entered to win one of 3 great prizes. More importantly, though, it'll help raise funds and awareness.Click here to go to their blog.

Isn't she adorable?!



Grab This!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Thankful Thursday




For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.


~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Waiting Wednesday

I am going to start posting about a different "waiting" child from Reeces Rainbow every Wednesday. I spent a long time going through the waiting children trying to decide who to post about. There are just so many. It's so easy to be overwelmed and think that 'little old you' can't make a difference but, I always think of this quote.

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”

-Hellen Keller


After much debate, I decided to go with Anthony. Anthony is one of the little ones I have been thinking about for a long time.. one of my "favorites", if you will. He was born in 2005 so he is just a little bit younger than my oldest daughter. Anthony has Cerebral Palsy and also tested positive for TB. Here is what his profile on RR says.


Anthony (25)
BOY, born August 16, 2005

Anthony has blonde hair and brown eyes. He struggles with the effects of CP, and has also tested positive for TB.

From his medical records: Spastic tetraparesis, motor disorders, convergent squint, hip dysplasia, anemia

His muscles are very tight, and he will need significant amounts of therapy. He is not able to sit by himself, and is dependent on his care givers for just about everything. He has a secondary myocardiopathy as well. Quite a laundry list for such a darling boy ;(( Anthony will be sent to a mental institution, and will remain bedridden the rest of his short life. He is blessed to still be living at the baby house, but he will be transferred in the Spring. Please give Anthony a chance to know a loving, supportive family! Don’t let him end up another statistic

SIGNIFICANT RISK, PLEASE ADOPT ME SOON!!


Anthony has a HUGE amount of money in his adoption fund. $20,012.19. That is almost fully funded!
Are you Anthony's Mommy or Daddy?

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Just pics

My girls at the Capitol. Maddie is 7 and Lily is 2.

Enjoying an ice cream cone, Summer 2010

Maddie and my wonderful hubby, Matt, at a Madison Mallards baseball game.

My silly hubby, in heaven, with a huge ice cream cone. :D The boy loves his ice cream.
My girlies, at the capitol again. Probably enjoying the Farmer's Market on a Saturday Morning.
Lily holding a duckling at the Dane County Fair.
My first fishy of the season, 2010
Me and my love.
Me and my first baby!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Mother of the year!

Yes. That's my new title.


I had to take Lily into the pediatrician yesterday. She has recurrent ear infections (she's due to have her ear tubes replaced and adenoids removed in a couple of weeks). Anyway, after our wonderful ped did her exam and was about to leave the room, she asked Lily:


"Is there anything else I can do for you today, Ms. Lillian?"


To which, Lily replied:


"Ummmm, cheetos?"

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Sad.




Last week, I contacted Reece's Rainbow's new family liaison person to see if they had new/additional info or photos/video of Bogdan. I heard back from her today. She said they didn't have any other information about him. More importantly, though, she said I was the first person to ever inquire about sweet Bogdan. That broke my heart. I literally sat, comfy on my living room couch in the middle of suburbia, wearing nice clothing, a fridge full of food at my fingertips, surrounded by more material "things" than we know what to do with, and cried.