Christmas Warrior

This is Darren.  He lives in Eastern Europe...in an orphanage waiting for his forever family to find him.  Starting Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, we will try to raise at least $1000 for his adoption grant. This money will help his forever family fund his adoption.  There are no shortage of families wanting to adopt, just the funds to do it.  International adoption is not cheap because of things like airfare, food/housing/transportation while in country, document prep, legal fees, passports, medical exams, police clearances, etc....I could go on and on.  Every penny we raise for Darren will be that much less that his forever family will have to raise. 

Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 15, for every $35 you donate, you will receive a picture ornament for your Christmas tree.  Please consider helping us to help Darren.






I'm a Christmas Warrior for DARREN

Now we wait....and some new pics!

Now we wait for our invitation to go to the SDA to formally accept our boys referral from EE.  The referral is basically the country our boys are in giving us permission to adopt them.  We will, of course, accept this referral!


We are praying for information on our travel date to come within the week.  The actual travel date could be as soon as in a couple of weeks to....well, who knows when.  We are praying for the quickest date!


These boys need us and we need them!  They need a family who will love them unconditionally.  They need to know the love of our Father.  Very soon, Matthew and Michael, very soon mommy and daddy will hold you and kiss you.  We're coming....

...for you, Matthew!

 

...and for you, Michael!

SUBMITTED

At 4:20 pm, I opened my email and discovered that we were submitted to the SDA, the EE adoption authorities.  That means all of our documents have been translated and sent to the powers-that-be in the country our boys are in and we will now wait about another week for an invitation to come visit the SDA and accept the boys formal referral from their country.


We could be TRAVELING to their country in as little as TWO WEEKS but most likely it will be three to four.  Either way, it is not very long.  Jeff will be holding and loving on our boys in less than a month.  They are sooooooooo worth the wait!


LOT's of praising GOD going on in our house today.  Thank you, Father, for this submission. Thank you for carrying us through this journey.

Anne Marie has gone to live with Jesus

It is with a very heavy heart that I must share with you the sad news that another of our precious babies from the orphanage has gone to live with Jesus.  We are loosing children so fast.  If only they had families and the proper medical care and good nutrition....  How VERY real this is.  PLEASE, consider bringing home one of these orphans!  If you are not called to adopt, PLEASE consider donating to an adoption fund so a waiting family can go get them sooner. 


Please visit Reece's Rainbow, a Christian Orphan Ministry, and see where God leads you.

  

http://www.reecesrainbow.org/eelittles.html 

Dance with Jesus, sweet Anne Marie, Dance with Jesus!

Blessings ~ In the form of a Triple Stroller and the $$ to pay for it!

Yes, I do believe blessings can come in the form of a Triple Baby Stroller and the money to pay for it!  I have been searching for a triple stroller ever since we knew we were going to be bringing home Michael and Matthew.  I've looked in Ebay and our local Craigslist for months.  I did find several I liked on Ebay so I knew what I was hoping for. I REALLY wanted to find one locally so I could see it and look it over before buying, so I never bought one from Ebay. 


Yesterday, I got the idea to place a 'Wanted to Buy' ad on Craigslist.  Less than ten minutes later I get this in my inbox:

It is the EXACT type of triple stroller I had been looking at on Ebay!  The family who has it lives a few hours away but their sister lives only 20 minutes from me and they will bring it next weekend or the next when they go visit their sister.  What a blessing!!!


THEN...

 I go to my mailbox today and there is a card from a dear friend I have known since childhood.  She sent me a check and a sweet note saying "Please use this money to buy a triple stroller."  I was floored and speechless! WOW!  I am humbled to be given such a blessing!  


Thank You, Father, for this blessing!  I will treasure it!  

And, thank you Dawna for such a thoughtful note and gift!

10-10-10

Today is 10-10-10! Pretty neat numbers. Our daughter, Rachel, is also 10! Very cool! We spent the day at home, working around our place fixing fences and heat lamps. Nothing too exciting. All is well.


I'm praying our boys in EE are well, and warm, and fed. I'm praying they somehow know we are coming and can feel the unconditional love of their family who are desperately trying to get to them. I'm praying that 10-10-10 was a nice day for them as well.

More alike than different

October is National Down syndrome Awareness month.  People living with Down syndrome are more alike than different than those not living with Ds.


People with Down syndrome have the EXACT SAME 46 chromosomes as those who do not have Ds!  They just have one extra, an extra 21st chromosome.


People with Ds can learn all the same things in school and life as people who do not have DS, just in their own time...like everyone else!


People with Ds can and do: graduate, drive, go to college, live alone, hold down a job, marry, have children, retire, and live to a ripe old age just like people who do not have Ds.


People with Ds can also have Autism, Leukemia, Alzheimers or anything else that people who do not have Ds can have. So, if you see someone with Down syndrome who has severe symptoms, they may have another medical diagnosis in addition to Down syndrome.


People with Ds are not always happy.  Nobody is!


People with Ds are regular people living with a medical diagnosis that has symptoms that may need to be cared for and worked through.


People with Ds hurt when they are made fun of.  Don't do it!


People with Ds can develop strong, life-long relationships.  I've been friends with Andrea for over 40 years.  She has Ds, I do not.


People with Ds can love our Heavenly Father and give their heart to Him!


People with Ds can do anything God leads them to do...just like those people who do not have Ds.


People with Ds can and do grow up and don't always believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny!


People with Ds may face mental or physical challenges in their lives, just like those who do not have Ds.


I could go on and on with example after example of how people living with Down syndrome are more alike than different than those who do not have Ds.  Basically, we are all human beings, made perfectly by our Father God.  We should all honor and accept that we are unique individuals with our own set of challenges and abilities.

People Magazine's 'Readers' Choice Here'...VOTE for Andrea of Reece's Rainbow

People Magazine is holding a "Readers' Choice Hero" contest. Please vote for Andrea R. founder of Reece's Rainbow International Down syndrome Adoption Ministry.  Andrea advocates for orphans around the world who have Down syndrome and other special needs.

You can vote until Oct. 8th as often as you like, there is no limit and it only takes a minute.  One minute of your time can give life to an orphan...now GO VOTE, please!

https://styleentertainment.timeinc.net/people/readerhero/

Feel free to visit Reece's Rainbow's website after you vote.  You never know where God will lead you...

http://www.reecesrainbow.org/eelittles.html

Dossier with apostilles

This is what a complete dossier with apostilles looks like.  It took just over 4 months to obtain all these documents.  The first set of 10 documents with apostilles has already been sent to EE.

The dossier consists of 41 different documents and each document is notarized and then apostilled by the Secretary of State of Texas.  Here is the SOS building in Austin, our State Capital, where we drove 7 hours and waited a mere 20 minutes while our dossier was apostilled.

We toured the State Capital after we got our dossier apostilled.

 

 After we toured the State Capital, we grabbed a bite to eat and drove the 7 hours back home.  We had a great time on the road trip.  Everyone traveled well and slept VERY well that night!

AF

Our Dossier is outta here!

 Yesterday at 12:40pm, I took our beloved dossier over to the Fed Ex place and handed it over to a complete stranger.  It was not easy, my voice cracked and I almost cried but I handed over the dossier because I trust that it is in God's hands now.  I snapped a picture of the Fed Ex lady taking our dossier and that was it.  We were done and off to the 
county fair.  Simple as that. 

 

 



















Now we wait for the 41 documents and the 41 apostilles to be translated and be submitted to the EE adoption authorities.  We'll then receive a travel date and go for our first trip.  It is during this first trip that we go accept a formal invitation from EE to adopt the boys.  We'll get to visit the boys and then have court for the formal adoption.  There will be a 10-day wait before everything is final, we will come home during this, and then we can bring the boys home!  This process sounds pretty quick, but it generally takes between 5-6 weeks once you travel.


We are praying we get the boys home by Thanksgiving and the adoption finalized here in the USA by Dec. 31.

October is Down syndrome awareness month

Today marks the first day of a 30 day challenge to blog about Down syndrome every day to bring awareness to this medical condition.  The Challenge is called "31 for 21".  The '21' stands for Trisomy 21 because Down syndrome is a condition where the person who has it has three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two copies.

The name Down syndrome comes from the man who first described it, Dr. John Langdon Down.  There is no 'S' after Down in Down syndrome because Dr. Down does not own the syndrome, it is just named after his last name of Down.


There are three types of Down syndrome: Trisomy 21, Translocation Ds and Mosaic Ds.  

Trisomy 21 means the person diagnosed has three separate copies of chromosome 21 in every cell of their body.  

Translocation Ds means the person diagnosed has three copies of  chromosome 21 but the third copy of the 21st chromosome is attached to another chromosome instead of being separate.

Mosaic Down syndrome means there are three copies of the 21st chromosome is only some cell lines throughout the body and not in others.  Some people with Mosaic Ds have the third copy only in the blood line and not in the skin, marrow, brain, etc.,  while other people may have the extra copy in the brain and bone lines and not in the blood, muscle, etc. 

Down syndrome is nothing to be afraid of.  It is simply a medical diagnosis with symptoms that may need attention like any other medical diagnosis.  People who have been diagnosed with Down syndrome do not 'suffer' from it, they are just regular people living with a medical diagnosis and thriving through life with it.