God's Timing...

God's timing is always perfect timing IF we are in communion with Him.  Ha!! That IF gets me all the time.  I really like to get my way and voice my opinion.  It has been such a struggle for me for the last 10 20 30 well, the last 34 years (yes, from birth).  I guess it has only been the last 10 years that I have really cared and wanted to work on myself.  I am a loooooong way from complete self control but darn it (!!) I am working on it!!!! 

http://crazymomof4.blogspot.com

That being said, God's timing with our adoption is not my timing and it hurts, frustrates, confuses and humbles me.  We did our puzzle piece fundraiser (and still have many pieces available) and were praying for the full $7500 in order to complete our homestudy and get the BIG BALL ROLLING.  We are beyond thankful for every person who gave from their heart.  We raised about $1200 with selling puzzle pieces, $400 from 2 yard sales and $200 from miscellaneous donations.  THANK YOU!!!

That leaves us way short of completing our homestudy ($1600), necessary  post placement fess ($1400), adoption agency consultation fee ($1000) and the INS (forms to get permission from our own gov't to adopt a child from a foreign country) fee ($800). So, we are at a standstill for now.  We are going to continue to raise funds, save what we can and pray the rest in.

  

       

There are so many families out there that are adoption through Reece's Rainbow like we are.  This family is one of them.  They are working and praying Autumn home.  She is such a doll!! They have raised a bunch of money but have a looooong way to go (sounds so familiar!!)  Please go over to their blog and show them some love and support through giving!! 

http://asad123.wordpress.com

~ One Less Orphan ~

We Have Some WINNERS!!!

The kids were so excited to draw the names for our giveaway!  Thank you so much for your support.  There still are many puzzle pieces available and we will continue to sell them until everyone has been purchased.  Please link our adoption blog to your blog, email your family and friends and shout it from the mountain with us!!  We will be doing another giveaway around Christmas.  

http://sibylschristmas.wordpress.com/

So, without further ado, here are the winners of the giveaway:

iPad- Diana Lisle

Massage- Amber Sullivan

Wine Making Experience- Lori McColgen

Pillow Case Dress- Karen Clark

Waterproof Camera- Sarah Edwards

Chocolate Divine Cake- Theresa Zimmerman

$10 Target Gift  Card- Jamie Cromwell

$10 Walmart Gift Card- Becky Christopherson

http://inthelandoffire.blogspot.com

I am working on uploading the video of Zak and Brenna pulling names for the drawing.  It doesn't seem to want to work for me tonight.  

~ One Less Orphan ~

A few days ago I read a blog post from a Momma who was in Bulgaria to meet Katerina (her name will change to Katie once she is adopted), her daughter who has lived in an orphanage for her whole life, nine years. I was overjoyed to know that this little girl would have a family to love her. My joy quickly turned to anger and grief as I saw pictures of this little girl.

Yes, this is Katerina and YES, she is NINE years old! She was born in Bulgaria with an extra chromosome. She was denied the love of her birth mother. She was sent to an orphanage, taken to the back room and basically left for dead. She was given basic care and nothing more.

Her family is doing all they can to expedite her adoption so she can get to the United States and receive the medical attention she desperately needs. Please PRAY and PRAY and PRAY for this little girl and her family!! We all know the power of prayer!

As small and frail and malnourished as this little one is... she has found laughter and smiles to share with her Momma. The power of a loving human touch! It astounds me!

In the words of her new Momma, upon meeting little Katie...

 "Whatever was left of my heart has been smashed up into little tiny bits and is crying out in pain."

Please take a minute and stop over at their blog and pray for them.

　

~ One Less Orphan ~

Little Teeny Steps

What a patience testing, faith building, prayer inducing journey this is!  Sometimes I wish it was all easy, done with, over and that our little boy was here with us already.  Being in the line of work that I am in as a doula I know how important and necessary those 40 weeks of pregnancy are and how critical it is for a baby to not be rushed out of the womb.  So why is it so hard to transfer that same belief to our adoption journey? 

Probably because I know that Dmitry has never known a Momma's love or a Daddy's tickle.  He has never known the fierce protection of an older brother or the sweet kisses of a sister.  He doesn't know that he has had 2 birthdays already because no one has ever celebrated him, never celebrated his life.  He just exists from day to day, much of the time being left in a crib, alone, dirty and hungry.  Some of the children are drugged for "best sleep".  That means they are given sleeping pills so they can stay in their crib 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and not make any noise.  Is our little boy given sleeping pills?  Or is he in a "good" baby home and is allowed to sit on the dirty floor with a toy? Here are the words of one Momma who adopted her daughters from an orphanage in Eastern Europe. 

Simply heart breaking!! 

This is why I want Dmitry to be home NOW!! So, as we wait and go through each step needed, we pray all day and before bed (and in the middle of the night when I wake with him on my heart). We pray for his protection. We pray that his belly is miraculously filled with food, his heart with laughter and love and his bones with strength.  We pray for the hands that take care of his daily needs.  We pray for healing over his little body.  We pray for our bond with him to be STRONG when we can finally hold him in our arms. We pray for mental stimulation as he sits in his crib.  And his big brother and his big sister, with tears in their eyes, pray prayers of thanksgiving, joy and praise for a life soon to be saved.  They love this little boy and have given most of their own money for his adoption. It is one thing for my heart strings to be connected to a little boy in an orphanage in Eastern Europe but to see the smiles on their faces when we talk about Dmitry, pray for Dmitry and collect funds for Dmitry... It makes this Mommy's heart soar!

Sweet boy of mine, sitting on the other side of the world, you are loved beyond measure, treasured more than any earthly jewel and missed more than words can describe.  We are working so hard to bring you HOME, a  place you don't even know exists.  We look forward to the day we will take you from that orphanage and never look back.  

The day that there is 

One Less Orphan!

A Person's A Person Now Matter How Small

http://www.parentpreviews.com/movie-reviews/horton-hears-a-who/

Horton the Elephant, who, in the afternoon of May 15 while splashing in a pool located in the Jungle of Nool, hears a small speck of dust, on a small flower, talking to him. It turns out the speck of dust is actually a tiny planet, home to a city called Whoville, inhabited by microscopic-sized inhabitants known as "Whos" with the Mayor as their leader.

The Mayor asks Horton (who, though he cannot see them, is able to hear them quite well, because of his large ears) to protect them from harm, which Horton happily agrees to do, proclaiming throughout the book that "even though you can’t see or hear them at all, a person’s a person, no matter how small." In doing so he is ridiculed and forced into a cage by the other animals in the jungle for believing in something that they are unable to see or hear.

Horton tells the Whos that, lest they end up being boiled in "Beezelnut Oil", they need to make themselves heard to the other animals. The Whos finally accomplish this by ensuring that all members of their society play their part. In the end it is a "very small shirker named JoJo" whose final addition to the volume creates enough lift for the jungle to hear the sound, thus reinforcing the moral of the story: "a person’s a person, no matter how small."

www.wikipedia.com

Countless children, born with an extra chromosome, sit in orphanages in Eastern Europe.  They are hidden from society and forgotten about.  Then, at the age of 4 or 5 they are sent to a MENTAL INSTITUTION until they DIE!! What??!!  Die!! All because they have an extra chromosome.  These children have a greater capacity to love and laugh and share joy than most children I have ever met! Yet, they are a shame to the country they were born in.  These little ones are children, not monsters or freaks of nature.  People have asked us if we are sure about adopting a child with Down Syndrome, are we sure it won't be too much, are we sure our biological children will be ok with it, are we sure we want to make such a commitment to a child with so many needs...?  So, in answer to all those people with all those questions...



http://www.michaeldimarco.com/posts/the-year-of-yes

Yes, we are sure!!  We talk about, pray for, dream about, plan for and are raising funds to bring Dimitry home.  He is OURS.  Zak and Brenna are beyond excited to share the love of Jesus with him.  Dmitry matters to Jesus.  Jesus says, in Matthew 19:14
"Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children."


We are adopting Dmitry because a "person's a person, no matter how small" and he is our little person!

~ One Less Orphan! ~

We are expecting...

...a TODDLER!!!  Yup!!  And we are more than excited about his "birth" into our family! 

See that sweet little face? That is Dmitry, he just turned 2 in April. He is currently living in a baby house in Eastern Europe, but he will not stay there for long. Because he was born with Down Syndrome, he will never be accepted by society in his home country. At 4 years old, he will be transferred to an institution where he will almost certainly die by the age of 6. Brian and I are on a mission to save his life. He is so precious and is already our son in our hearts, but we want him to be ours forever. We want him to come and live with us and to know what it feels like to have a family that will love him unconditionally. In order to make this happen, we have to raise $25,000. Seems like quite a feat, right? We thought so too, but the Bible tells us that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains and nothing will be impossible for us. God has laid it on our hearts to save one of his orphans and we are relying on faith to bring him home. 

One less orphan!!

Adoption Yard Sale

yardsaleyearround.com

On July 9th we are having an Adoption Yard Sale.  All proceeds will go towards our adoption fund.  But, this yard sale is very different than any you have ever seen.  Everything is free, like God's gift of salvation.  FREE!! Donations are welcome but not required.  While we do have a "need" for adoption funds, we are well aware of the fact that there are many families in our town that really need things and have no way of getting them.  So, we want to get the word out to them that they can come and get what they need and not have to pay for it.

Please pass the word around .

~One less orphan~

So excited!!

www.flickr.com

We are so excited about the many people that have taken a step of faith with us and purchased puzzle pieces!!  THANK YOU!!! Your love, prayers and support have added $500.00 to our funding.  

 33 puzzle pieces have been purchased and we have received several commitments from family and friends to sell 10 pieces.  If you would like to make a commitment and help us sell 10 pieces just comment to this post and I will get in contact with you. 

We have our prayers and hearts set on a little one in Russia and would love to have them home for Christmas.  All y'all are helping make that dream a reality.  Our goal is to have all 500 puzzle pieces sold by mid August so we can submit our initial paperwork to Russia.  Can you share our Adoption Journey blog with your family and friends?

THANK YOU for loving an orphan with us!!

ONE LESS ORPHAN!!

The short version of our story...

Several people have asked "why adoption?". Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE children and would have a house full if I could. All through high school everyone joked that I would have atleast five children, probably more. The irony to this is that the Biggest Joker of All (and my bff) now has 5 kids, with 2 sets of twins! I loved hearing all the jokes, praying and dreaming that they would one day go from jokes to reality.

Fast forward 15 years from high school graduation to today. Brian and I have been married for almost 13 years (!!!) and have birthed 4 babies. 2 of our babies are growing older too fast. Zak is going on 11 and Brenna just turned 8. Two of our babies never took a breath, never cried and never knew us on this side of heaven. Noah was stillborn at 25 weeks in January of 2007 and Jack was stillborn at 17 weeks in March of 2009. Not a day goes by that we don't have some conversation, thought or tears about our 2 little boys. Zak and Brenna constantly ask how old they would be or what they might look like. They have even asked if I think Noah and Jack would have liked hanging out with them and playing with them (way to make their momma cry). There is no doubt in my mind that Z and B would have been heros in their little brothers eyes. I never thought we would experience a loss, let alone two losses. It was devistating, confusing and rocked our world.

Adoption has always burned deep within my soul. I have watched several families adopt domestically and internationally and Brian and I thought "one day we will do that...one day". About a month ago, I somehow came across a website with some special orphans in Eastern Europe. To this day I don't remember how I found the site, devine intervention is my only explanation. I did some checking around and texted Brian with some information and he said to email for more information. It was the first time that the fire burning deep within me consumed me and I KNEW it was time to move forward. So, here we are, at the very beginning of this journey. Some days it seems like a walk through the park and other days it's like finding our way through a blizzard in the South Pole!

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support. We feel that this adoption is not only adding a child to our little family but to our whole big family, all of you included.

~One less orphan!~

Walking by faith

This adoption journey is such a huge step of faith for our family.  It is a HUGE financial commitment that looks like Mt Everest to us right now.  But, God has called us to adopt so we are taking each step in faith and waiting on Him to open the doors.  Phew!!  What a scary crazy awesome adventure we have just begun!! 

We have gathered the prizes for the Puzzle Fundraiser/ Giveaway and are ready to share the excitement!  So, here they are!

Brand new iPad

Massage Envy 1 Hour Massage

Dinner for 2, Evening Wine Making Experience and a Lifelong Membership to "Make Wine With Us"

located in Northern NJ

Handmade Pillow Case Dress with matching hair bow (pattern will vary)

Polaroid Waterproof Camera (color may vary)

My Momma's Homemade Chocolate Divine Cake (pick up only)

Complimentary Birth Doula Services (Northern NJ)

A few more awesome prizes will be announced soon so keep checking back and be sure to get your pieces and share with your family, friends, co-workers, etc.

One Less Orphan!!! 

Puzzle Piece Fundraiser / Big giveaway

We are trying to raise money to reach our goal of $7,500 to be able to submit our dossier and are excited to announce we are doing a Puzzle Piece Fundraiser/Big Giveaway. 

Here's how it works:  

We have bought a jig saw puzzle that we will be putting together as people buy puzzle pieces.  Once completed it will go in our child's room. 

You can buy a piece of our puzzle for $15.00 

and can buy as many pieces as you would like.  

Just click on the "Donate" icon in the right side of this blog to pay via debit/credit or paypal. 

There are 500 pieces to this puzzle so if we can get 500 people to buy just one piece we will be at our $7,500 goal. 

For each piece you buy, your name will be put into a drawing to win prizes. 

I will be posting pictures of these prizes soon and will have multiple winners so the chances of winning will be good for all!

...The best part for US will be that we get to put your name on the back of each piece you buy so when it is all said and done we can see everyone that helped bring our little boy or girl home and one day he or she will get to see all of your names as well....I love that more than anything!!!

FREE entry:  if you Facebook about this giveaway or post it to your blog. Just make sure you comment below and let me know. 

Here is the puzzle we chose.

One less orphan!

And so it starts...

After much time, prayer, reading and talking we have decided to start our adoption journey! Yay!  We are at the very beginning of the process of paperwork, waiting, paperwork, waiting, more paperwork and more waiting.  But, we know that it will be more than worth it and so look forward to the day we can bring our child home, right where he/she belongs.  And so begins our season of fundraising and much more prayer!

Keep checking back as we journal each step we take closer to our child.  Thank you for your love, support and prayers during this life changing journey.

One less orphan!