.

Isaiah 43:5

Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.

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Saturday, December 10, 2011

Adoption Court, Then...and Now!

One year ago today, Jeff stood alone before a judge in Ukraine and pleaded for our sons lives.  

Literally.  Stood alone.  And pleaded.

The boys were clinging to life.  

He pleaded for the judge to allow them to be adopted; where they could receive the medical attention they desperately needed, where they could receive unconditional love from our family, where they could be free and no longer confined to their cribs destined for the adult mental institution, where death waited.

Praise God, the judge agreed and one year ago today Michael and Matthew became our sons!

We do not have any pictures from court that day.  Cameras were not allowed but the memory will forever be burned on our heart.

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Fast forward 363 days and two more blessing added to our family!

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Two days ago, on December 8, 2011, I stood before an American Judge asking to officially become Sarah and Sydney's mommy.   Jeff had already adopted them in Ukraine and now it was my turn here in America.

The Judge agreed and I officially and legally became Sarah and Sydney's mommy.  God is so good!

Their circumstances were vastly different in some ways and eerily similar in other ways.  The girls were in MUCH better physical condition than the boys because they were in a different orphanage than the boys, just one town over, yet, worlds apart.  They were cared for better and actually fed.  Though their orphanage lives were 'good' by orphanage standards, the outcome would have been the same.  They would have both been transferred at age 4 ( Jan, 2012 for Sydney, March, 2012 for Sarah) to the same adult mental institution that Matthew and Michael would have gone to as well, where death waited.

Praise God, that was not to be.

God won!

 

Saturday, December 3, 2011

On this day last year....Meeting Matthew and Michael for the very first time

One year ago today, 
Jeff, Rachel and Kayla got to meet Matthew and Michael for the very first time.

And Matthew and Michael got to feel what unconditional love feels like when they were placed into the arms of their daddy and sisters for the very first time.

Rachel holding Michael for the very first time

Rachel holding Matthew for the very first time



 Nothing can prepare you for the moment you meet your sons and they are placed in your arms for the first time...

To finally be able to hold them and breathe in their essence after 8 long months of praying and paper chasing, 
is almost indescribable.  

Matthew and Michael had waited MUCH longer for us to find them.  
For Michael ~ 4.3 years.  For Matthew ~ 2.1 years.

The boys were so, so TINY and frail, and lifeless.  They were bundled in 5 layers of clothes that hid their fragile 15 lb bodies. 

 Today.... 
they are tiny no more and FULL of life!






 The boys have each gained 11 lbs and grown 7 inches...
all in ONE year!  
Amazing what lots of prayer, love and good nutrition will do!
 
Thank you God!

Happy 1-Year "Meet-your-daddy-and-two-of-your-big-sisters-anniversary" Michael and Matthew!!!

We all love you so very much!!!

*You can read the posts from that actual day HERE

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Matthew is THREE today!!!!


Happy 3rd Birthday Matthew!!!



We had such a great day of celebrating with Matthew!
We had cake, ice cream, presents and LOTS of love to go around with mommy, daddy and LOTS of brothers and sisters!




Matthew enjoyed opening his presents but was not too sure about eating the cake.

He tried ONE bite...


...and he was DONE with the cake!

 

That's okay!  We ate the cake with gusto in honor of Matthew!! 





Justin could not wait to 'sneak up' on the cake and get his hands on it!



Below is the only picture of Jeff we have with Matthew from today ...see the reflection and camera flash in the window.  Jeff is usually the one taking all the pictures so we have to remember to snap a few of him as well.  Jeff loved on Matthew and wished him a happy birthday today, we just didn't think to capture it on film. We're thankful to have this picture though!


Happy, Happy Birthday Matthew!  
We love you sooooooo very much!!




Friday, October 14, 2011

Catching up post

It's been quite awhile since I have posted because we are all just getting over being sick.  Not terribly sick, just allergies/gunky noses/coughing type of sick.  Sick or not, we have been one busy family....

Our local Buddy Walk was last Saturday.  The day was cool and overcast but then cleared up to make for perfect walking weather!

Buddy Walk 2011



 We had a GREAT turnout!


Rachel and Faith handing out Reece's Rainbow fliers!


We hosted the Reece's Rainbow table again this year.


Holly walking in the Buddy Walk with Sarah and Sydney!




Jason walking with Justin in the Buddy Walk!


Sarah meeting big brother Wesley for the very first time!!!

  
Sydney meeting Wesley for the very first time!!!


Volleyball!

Rachel's volleyball season is going really, really well!!!


Bleachers are not stroller friendly so we usually sit on the sidelines to watch the games.


Best view in the house!



Household fun!

The newly emptied-out bottom two shelves of our bookcase has become quite the hot-spot for playing these days.

 



Holly taking a walk with Sydney.  Perfectly in step!!


Holly showing Sarah some weeds wild flowers!


Jason entertaining the little ones



YUMMY!



Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Three types of Down syndrome

Did you know that people who have Down syndrome have the same exact healthy chromosomes as everyone else!?!  Why yes, yes, they do!  They simply have one extra #21, so three copies of 21 instead of two.  People without Ds have 23 pairs of chromosomes while people with Ds have 23 pairs, plus one extra  #21.   

There are three types of Down syndrome:

1. Full or Complete Trisomy 21
2. Mosaic Down syndrome
3. Translocation Down syndrome

90% of  people with Ds have the extra #21 in every cell in their body...called Full or Complete Trisomy 21.  About 5% of people with Ds have the extra #21 only in certain cells...called Mosaic Ds.  About 5% of people with Ds have part of the extra #21 connected to another chromosome...called Translocation Ds.


So there you have it in a nut shell.  The three different types of Down syndrome.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

"31 for 21"....I'm up for a challenge

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month and every year for the past 5 years, there has been a "31 for 21 Challenge" that was started by an amazing momma, Tricia, who also has a daughter with Ds.  The point of the challenge is to blog every-single-day for 31 straight days to raise awareness about Down syndrome.


I'm up for a challenge.


So, I'll try.  To blog every day.  With 10 kids, 5 of whom are 5 and under, still in diapers, all 5 littles have Ds....ummmmm, we'll see if I can blog every-single-day.  I'll try.

Happy Down syndrome month!!! 

Friday, September 16, 2011

Kids in the fireplace! Good thing it's summer!!

NOPE!  Believe it or not, I do not know everything when it comes to raising kids.   Yes, I have 10 kids and 25 years of parenting experience but Sarah and Sydney pulled a new one on me today.

They got into the fireplace!








So I did what any good mom would do.....I grabbed the camera! LOL!

 I stepped out of the living room for literally less than one minute and came back to discover my daughters having a blast in the fireplace.

It's summer and our fireplace has long been unused.  Don't worry, I would NEVER step out of the living room for any amount of time if there had been a fire going!!

I guess it's time to get out the 'ol fireplace safety glass thingy before winter sets in.  Or maybe, we'll just forgo all fires year!   Yes, we'll do just that.

So let this be an early warning and good lesson to all you with mobile toddlers out there.....get those fireplaces secured NOW before winter sets in and you start that first fire!

Photo Friday

Sometimes words just get in the way.

Enjoy the pics!

Sydney not quite sure if she likes her first bath at home or not

Okay, maybe this is not so bad!

Okay, so maybe this is FUN!
Big sis Holly giving tips to Rachel's volleyball team

Rachel ~ AWESOME volleyball player!

Over the net!

Our Four Reece's Rainbow miracles!!

Eating yummy Manicotti and green beans

All FULL!

Sarah and Michael playing on the newly emptied out bottom shelf of our bookcase

Sydney!

SISTERS!!!
Silly siblings!

The youngest 5 of our kids!  


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