Chapter 7 - National Childrens Day

It is national childrens day today and they had a cute program at the orphanage.  We thought we would be leaving to start the other adoption but that wont happen until tomorrow.  Well thats than plan today anyway, things always change around here!  Our meeting with the head administrator went fine.  It only took about 20 min.  And guess who over 5 min went to????  Roc!  She asked Roc how long she has been with us, what she studies in school, what she wants to be and what she thinks about more brothers and sisters.  Roxana did very well!!  Asked us why we wanted to adopt DS children, if we have money for Dani surgery and if we will be doing that surgery right away.  She came right out and asked if we get paid for having Luke and Josh live with us.  No beating around the bush for her!!
After the program was over at the orphanage we decided to just walk around.  The day before we walked down to the Black Sea and Roc went swimming for awhile.  Today we just started walking and after about 2 hours we thought we would try the trolly.  We got in, sat down and 5 min later a gal that works on the trolly said something to me and I just pointed to Ken!!  Let him take care of that stuff!! lol!!!  You can ride the trolly for 1 dollar a person to where ever you want.  We got off the trolly and then decided we would try the bus.  Hey why not?  We have nothing better to do than to see what it is all about living here!  We saw our flat coming up but didnt know how to tell the guy we wanted off.  We watched how people were doing it and it seems like you tell him you want to stop in 2 blocks and then lay some money down on the seat next to him.  So we drove by our flat and Ken just laid some money down and we were let off at the train station.  We just decided to walk back to the flat from there.  Stopped and picked up some water and juice and now we are home.
The program was really cute and the orphanage seems to be a really nice place for the kids.  They were all dressed up in costumes and sang and danced.  I even saw a bunch of RR kids in the play!!!  Josh and Luke sat with some caretakers and watched the kids performe.  They did really well just sitting there watching for 1/2 hour!  Then all the kids got a toy when they were done!  Very cute and fun for everyone.
We are pretty pooped out and I think it will be a very early night for us!

Chapter 6 - A Very Good Day!

Today was a good day all the way around.  We bought more minutes for the 3G modem so I can post some pictures!  Our first visit with the kids went well and as you can see by the first two photos, Roc kept her word to herself.  She played with not only our kids but ALL the kids.  I think the caretaker LOVED it!!!  Gave her a break.  It started out by two little ones coming over to are little area where we were playing with our kids.  They wanted to see us and what we all had in my big bag of GOODIES!!!  Which by the way Dani LOVES to dig through!  Then the caretaker came to get them but they really were not listening so Roc asked us if she could bring them back and play with all of them.  We told her to go for it!

So here is Josh.  Funny, loves to laugh, LOVES to climb, loves to chew!  Poor thing has had two surgeries and still needs more.  All on his cleft palate.  Heart is healthy.  He has some sort of chest deformity but not sure what they are talking about.  It is hard to get things through translation and the quick go through files that they do.  So obviously he will be checked once home with all the other kids.  His look reminds me of a little old man and I just LOVE it.  Ken and Roc think I'm crazy but I just think he is soooooo cute!!!

Diana, pronounced Deanna, is a sly, sneaky, precious, so cute and tiny!  She is tinier than I thought she would be.  She just didn't look that small on the RR site.  She is LOUD!!  She loves, loves, loves balloons and banana's!  She thinks she can do anything without any help like pour water from a big water bottle to a little water bottle.  Didn't work out so well for her.  She also loves digging in my bag of fun stuff but always ends up with a balloon, or 10.  She is very patient with Josh and Luke.  She is in the same group as Josh so they get along well.

And now for Luke.  He has changed so much just like all of you said!  He loves to wrap are arms around him.  It cannot be just one hand/arm, but BOTH.  He loves to stomp and jump up and down.  He really likes it when Roc brings him inside. The gentleman who sits and lets people in and out is very nice to us and told Roc that she is more than welcome to bring Luke in to play if she wants.  Roc brings him inside to a room where no other kids are.  In fact no kids have been in that building at all since we have been there.  We think they use it for the plays and stuff that the kids put on.  Anyway, she brings him in there to a room that has hardwood flooring.  She stomps and dances all around him and he just laughs and giggles at her!  While she is doing it he is clapping and having a ball.  Then of course when she stops its his turn!  He just stomps and smiles.

Luke also has some sort of deformed chest that they talked about?  He does have heart issues that have to be checked and one of his kidneys is in the wrong place? 

It took us a little longer with Luke but we can see it slowly happening.

We have are meeting with the head of the authorities to ask us the questions of why once again.  This is, we think, the last piece of paper before we start with Dennis.  Some confusion with Yulia and our facilitator down here but we will find out tomorrow. 

Thank you everyone for your advice, well wishes, hopes and prayers!!!  We are not even half way through all this so keep them all coming!!!  You don't know what it means to us!  It helps so much!

Chapter 5

I was up at 3:30 this morning and tried to do this post but things work a little different with this 3G thing I couldnt get to the net and I didnt want to wake ken up to ask!  So now its 7:30 and we are getting ready to go to our first visit of the day with the kids.  Thank you to EVERYONE that sent a comment!!!  It really does help in some strange way being so far away from home and then getting suggestions, advice, good wishes and and annoying comments from Jodi. Truly it made my sleep that night so much better!  Luke did much better the next day!  Roc on the other hand, not so much.  The caretaker can not bring all three kids back so Roc being Roc always wants to be the one to bring back on of them.  This day they went to their rooms and she had Luke.  About 4 steps from the top he stopped.  He knew where he was going and he didnt want to go.  Roc picked him up and brought him to his room.  He would not let go of her.  It took 5 caretakers to release his tiny little (strong) arms from Rocs neck.  Then on the way back down the steps she walked through the room where the picture of Dani was taken on the RR site.  The room was full of kids.  All of them saw her and went running to her.  One little boy was getting his hair cut and put his arm out and she grabbed it, held it and then hugged the little boy.  When she came outside the gates where Ken and I were waiting for her I saw something was wrong and asked her what was the matter?  First you have to know that the nick name Roc fits her to a tee.  She is a tom boy.  Nothing really dainty about her.  Ken says she is like a bull in a china shop.  She loves, loves, loves soccer and sports and is very good at them.  She is very competitive and Wants and Loves to win.  She has a strong will and determination so you dont see a lot of tears of sadness from her.  She just picks herself up and moves on.
I asked her what was wrong and she BROKE down.  Sobbing asking me why nobody comes for these kids.  Nothing is wrong with ANY of them.  They kept want me to touch them, hug them, pay some kind of attention to them and I almost started crying in front of them.  I had to leave.  I can't do that again.  I can't see that again.  I don't understand it.
What I told her is different than most people reading this blog believe.  At least from what I have read on your blogs.
I told her that this is what makes it so hard for people like me.  I dont believe God has Josh's or Luke's or for the matter He had your life planned.  What I believe is that God gave us free will.  My God did not pick Josh OVER Benjamin to find a family.  That was all my doing, all of our doings.  I let Benjamin down.  We all let Benjamin down.  My God did not want Benjamin sent to where he was sent.  My God wants there to be NO orphans.  But My God gave His people FREE WILL to change it.  Thats what I told her. Then I said you know what Roc, you have to think of it as it not being about you but about the kids or whoever you may come in contact with during this journey.  I found out about all this when I was 26.  You get to find out about it when you are 15.  You have 10 more years on me to make a change, some change.  Today you made a change.  You touched a little boy and hugged him.  He felt it.  He received it from you.  He will hopefully remember it.......Its all about free will.  What we chose and what we set aside so that we dont feel the pain or the saddness. 
By the time our taxi ride was over to bring us home she said thats what I have to do.  I have to do that everyday from hear on out.  Talk with the kids, hug the kids, play with the kids.  The caretakers didnt seem to mind me hugging that little boy so I'm just going to do it. 
I knew when I was awoken at 3am that the events of the day hit her hard.  She was having some kind of nightmare and screaming no, no, stop it.  I just came out and laid beside her till she calmed down, never waking. 
She is still sleeping now.  I'm proud of her.  I love her.  I hope today is easier for her and that the 10 years extra I gave her from the age I was when I started making a change will benefit her as a person.  I know it will benefit the kids she plans to touch in her life time.

Chapter 2,3 AND 4 UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!

Finally INTERNET!!!!  In Odessa it seems to be extremely difficult to get internet!  We tried to get the landlord from the flat to get it for us, but can't.  We tried McD's because we heard they have it, don't.  We tried the big mall because we heard they have it, don't.  We tried to find internet cafe, nada!  We have to have internet not only to keep JODI updated but also because Ken is working from here and Roc is doing her homework from here.  So Ken went on a quest to find a 3G internet.  He found a young kid at the telephone shop by the train station who was selling them AND JACKPOT, he spoke some english!  He got home, OMG I'm calling this place home???  Ken set it up and guess what?  All in Rusian!!  We tried for maybe 15 minutes and then decided time for another walk back to the store.  This time Roc went with just to get out for some scenary.  I stayed home, there I go again, to do laundry and dishes.  When they got back, walla, internet!  Success!  Bingo! Yay!  Ken said that he cant bring Roc anywhere anymore cuz she flirts with everyone........she came home with a bracelet.  She got it from the 18yr old guy that sold us the 3G and helped us get it running.  She really wasn't flirting it's just how she is, VERY outgoing and we LOVE to give her a hard time!!!!  Thats 1/2 the fun of being her parents!!!!
Because the 3G will cost us more if we upload photos I will have to wait till we are back in Kiev to do.  I know, bummer!
Okay, we decided to take the train for more reasons than just my fear of Serge's driving.  We would save money for one night not spent at our flat and also the money we had to pay Serge to get to Odessa.  Roxana also really wanted to take the train.....Harry Potter fan.  We packed up all our luggage because we had to be out by 1.  We did not want to bring all luggage down to Odessa with us so we left some at our "teams" office till we get back for our second part of all this.  We were told to be at the SDA to pick up our referral at 4.  4:30 and still waiting for someone, anyone.  4:45, still waiting.  4:55 Ken decides to just go get the referral himself since they close at 5.  He saw the Directors right hand lady (the one he and Roc met in 2008).  She smiled at Ken and asked another facilitator in the room if she could help us.  They called us in and both the SDA and facilitator asked where Serge was?  We said, good question!  The facilitator that was helping us happened to know Serge, I think EVERYONE knows Serge!!!!  She called him while we were filling out the paperwork to get our referral.  Traffic was Horrible and that's why no one was there.  We saw that there was 1 pack/referral left after ours and we figured out it was the Goodwins.  By the time we were done the Goodwins drove up and we got to say a quick hello and good luck.  We then drove to the train station to get the Goodwins there train tickets.  No, they were not with us, they were in a taxi and we were with the "teams" driver so we met them there.  We waited for awhile and then went to TGIF to eat and wait for Nico (driver) who is GREAT!  Good guy!  And of course he and Roc talk Spanish with each other because he was a Spanish translator in Cuba for the Soviet Union years ago.  Again, he loved her!  Good thing we brought her with!!  She has been GREAT entertainment for everyone!  She is such a good girl!  I am glad she is seeing all of this for so many reasons.  I know, I'm getting to the kids but that part is chapter 4 and I'm still in chapter 3! 
We went at 9 to "get" our train tickets.  There just "happened" to be 1 sleeper car left!  What "luck"!?!  It did not cost us any more, it just was the "last" one left.  Okay, hope you get it........the team got us on the train!!!!
Ken and I both went to sleep right away but Roc ended up staing up all night just looking out the window enjoying her time.
Next morning got off the train, met our facilitator who brought us to our flat.  In 2 hours we were to meet our new children.
We first had to go get the local referral at the administration office where the questions began.  Why, Do we have room, Can we afford it, How many kids do we have now.  We got there blessing and then we waited for them to type it up.  We then had to go pick up a inspector to come with us to evaluate how we interacted with the kids.  We arrived at the orphanage at around 11:30 and went through the kids files and were asked pretty much the same set of questions.
Then it was time.  But before I start there are 2 things I want you to know.  First, Ken is the type of guy that knew nothing of DS except what a lot of people think.  Thats not good or bad its just reality.  Sad maybe, but its true.  I'm going to be very honest here and he was very nervous and leary.  I was scared too and it is so hard to explaine in words but I am the type of person that would take in every stray dog, cat, animal or ANY and EVERY man, woman or child that I could or maybe couldn't.  I worry about the logistics, ramifications of everything AFTER the fact.  Ken not at all like me!
We find out the Luke has more problems than we thought.  He was deprived of oxygen and they had to do an emergency C Section on his mother.  It's the lack of oxygen that made Ken nervous.
They brought all three in together which was a bit overwhelming because we really didn't have time one on one with them.  Dani was first in line.  They told us that she would ask all the time where her mama was.  If someone new came to the orphanage she would ask "Are you my mama"?  Heartbreaking!  She stopped in the middle of the room stopped and just looked at me.  I reached for her and told her to come here and she got the biggest smile on her face and littarly ran to me and hugged me so hard!  Priceless!!!!  She is sooooo cute and very tiny!  Josh went right to Ken and Ken was lifting him up in the air and he was laughing and thinking this is so much fun.  This is all happening while I was with Dani and they were right next to me so I could see it.  Then I put Dani down and Luke came to me, or I should say I went to Luke.  He was petrified which in return scared me.  I didnt know what to do.  I had two other kids that were all over Ken and I, and I didn't know what to do.  The caretaker had Luke in the corner by himself and so I went over to see how or if,  I could make him not so scared.  I did my best but he really did not want anything to do with any of us.  They told us we could bring the kids outside for a little bit so we did.  As we played with them one on one as much as we could we asked Roc to stay with Josh and Dani while we went to Luke.  He was so obviously scared of us it broke my heart.  He just really was freaking out.
We had to go get some paperwork done so our facilitator told us we had to go.  The caretaker needed help with bringing Luke and Josh in because she could not do it herself so Ken and Roc helped her.  They got to go all the way to their rooms.  Luke did not want Ken to leave, he did not want to go to the caretaker.  I think that was a good sign, right????  Please, please anyone reading this who has experience with DS let me know what I should know or look for! 
It was to say the least, very emotional!!  I told Ken that I didnt know if I could handle Luke, if we could handle Luke, if the kids could handle Luke.  Ken being Ken and me being me, I jumped to the conclusion that this is who Luke is.  Ken, not being a talker, was just thinking and then said to me and Roc in a kind of quesion like, he seemed to like me.  He did seem to want to be with Ken over any of us.  We talked about it all night and Ken said we have to give it more time.  Its not only the DS but also a big part is being in a orphanage his whole life and we both know what that does to a child.  He said remeber what it did to Lica?  He could have been scared, out of his norm, wondering who the heck are these funny talking people and why are they looking and talking to me!
We were not able to visit that evening because we had lots more running around to do.  We met Serge at the administration office.  He was there before us doing what he needed to do and then our facilitator went in to do what she needed to do.  That left us there to talk with Serge.  I asked him if it took him three hours to get here and he said no, actually 2 1/2!  Thats all it took for Roc to lay into him.  You drive to fast and you are going to kill yourself she said.  She told him he was crazy!  He loved it and he loves this kid.  They started talking about God and how God is watching over him when he drives.  She told him God doesnt like it when you do stupid stuff!  Thats all it took, the next hour was spent listening to Roc and Serge "discuss God"!!!  She said she wanted to have ice cream that night.  He told her God provides for what you need and not what you want.  He asked her if she worked hard today?  She said yes, we were running all day!  He said then instead of all the talking you do you should just go up the street and get some ice cream.  She said she didnt have any money and he told her again that God provides for what you need!  If you worked hard than you need ice cream.  He said she could go get free ice cream up the street because God would provide.  She argued with him about that and all he said was you talk to much and if you want I will go with you and you will ask for ice cream and you will get it for free because God will provide you with it.  She wasnt buying any of it but they walked up the street and she came back with a "free" ice cream bar!  That lead to another 1/2 hour of them talking about God and what each other believe.  She brought up Buddah for some reason or another and he said that all the little kids in China thinks he is a happy Buddah because of his belly!  These two were to much to handle and we had to get going so as we were leaving she asked if she would see him tomorrow.  He looked at her and pointed up to heaven and said God provides you with what you need not what you want!   We did end up seeing him the next day!!!                   The next morning we knew we had to see if we could, in some little way, see anything from Luke.  Both Dani and Josh came to us all happy looking for balloons and all was well.  Then they brought Luke out and he was not as scared but still scared.  He wanted to go to Ken right away so Ken took him first walking the grounds while Roc and I stayed with Dani and Josh.  Then it was my turn and I was scared.  Scared that I would see nothing, scared that I would have to say no, scared that I may have been so wrong in thinking I could do this.  I went over to him but he just wanted Ken.  He wanted to sit with Ken, touch his face, and have Ken make fun noises to him.  I started talking softly to him and make eye contact with him and it seemed to be working.  Ken slowly started walking away until it was just Luke and I.  He started to panic a little so I would just talk softly to him.  I kissed his hand and tickled his belly.  He wasnt to sure or keen on that but then I would just back off a little to give him some space and then try again.  He let me put him on the slide and when I put my hand out he would grab it.  He is so different than Josh or Dani - they both are BIG huggers and laugh a lot! 
I still was not sure.  How could I not be sure, that alone was making me crazy and hate myself.  I hated myself for not feeling a contection with Luke like I had with Josh and Dani.  The reason I told you about how Ken is because what happened next surprised me and put a sense of peace in my heart.  Ken pulled me aside from Roc and It was just us two.  He said I dont know a lot about Lukes condition or DS.  I know we are scared but I see it in Luke.  He needs us.  He needs a family.  He needs our family.  It WILL take a lot of time but I think we need to give that to Luke but only IF you are up to it.  Yes I told him, I am up to it but what if he never likes me?  Nan, he will not only like you, he will love you.  And if that is not enough, we will Love him! 
This comming from Ken meant more to me than you will ever know.  And he is right.  If nothing else WE will LOVE Luke.  Nothing in return, we will just love Luke and hope and pray that that is enough.  So for today all the paperwork went in for all three kids.  This could all change if they say no or if something drastically happens between now and next week to make us change our minds.  Please pray that we see a change everyday in Luke!

Chapter 1

Walked to our appointment and we got there at 10:30.  We saw the Goodwins said Hi and went right in to the room with the couch.  The Goodwins jokingly said don't take to long because we are right after you.  Now I know we are doing something unheard of by adopting 4 unrelated sn kids from different regions but I still thought it would go pretty fast.  Boy was I WRONG!!  12:05 I looked at Ken and said oh oh, poor Goodwins are probably panicked, there appt. was supposed to start 5 min ago!  By 12:30 my eyes were starting to fill with tears and I told Serge I'm not leaving without all four!  I will just go home now if it is not possible.  Don't know why I said that because I don't really think I could leave any of them but we/they are having problems with 2 of the kids files.  I can't go into to much detail because our blog is for any and all to read!  To keep things light I looked at Ken and said to him that this probably wouldn't be a good time for me to take a break and go outside with tears in my eyes and a cigarette in my hand because it would REALLY freak out the poor Goodwins!!  There was some paper mix up on our part and on the "teams" part and lets just say Serge was NOT happy!!  He was on the phone S C R E A M I N G!!!!  The poor guy was sweating and losing is breath!  We had 3 SDA workers in with us telling him to quiet down.  Then the 4th SDA worker who is right below the director came in and told him quite up and shut the door. She remembered Ken and Roc from when they were here in 2008 trying to adopt without a facilitator.  Yes we tried to do it REALLY independently.  Any way, she told Serege to quite up again because he was still yelling, so she could talk with us to see how we were and that she remembered us.  So we had 4 SDA workers, Serge, Ken, Roc and myself in this tiny little room.  I just kept thinking about the Goodwins and how they were probably wondering what the heck is going on.  So they figured out the 3rd childs paperwork so now they were working on the fourth.  They asked us how many kids we have, what the ages were and how many bedrooms we have.  Yulia, they pronounce it Julia, came with another paper and then we left the room but had to wait outside for the Director to type up some document?!  Serge was in and out and Yulia stayed outside the whole time with us.  We were joking with her on how in the world she could work for such a boss!!!!  She said she is used to him now.  We told her we were sorry for the lashing she took and how bad we felt for her.  She just laughed it off and said thats just how he is.  Now Serge comes outside and told us no worry you get all four its just they have never seen a case like yours before!  I know this is what God wants us to do so if we are somehow making it easier for other families who may want to adopt more than 3 at once from different regions then God can go ahead and use us. Besides, our reward is that we get to bring these four angles home with us.  Serge told us that Odessa is a very hard region to adopt from and he will drive us down there because he needs to be there also.  I asked him "Who is driving"????????  He said me.  I then said out loud OH GOD HELP ME!!!!!!  He thought that was one of the funniest things.  He asked me why?  I told him that I have heard about how he drives and I didnt want to go with him.  I could just meet him there!!  He was laughing saying no, it will only take us 3 hours to get there.  I said YES I REALIZE THAT AND THATS WHY I DIDNT WANT TO GO WITH HIM.  As he is laughing at me he said who is doing the adoption me or you.  I told him I would really like my kids to have a mother, you are going to kill me!  Yulia then got in on it as she too was laughing and asked me if I had some motion pills!!  She told me that it takes her husband and her about 4 1/2 hours to get there but Serge only 3!!!  But the road to Odessa is the nicest in all of Ukraine.  Oh, thanks Yulia but that doesnt help me!  She is very, very sweet and I love her already!  Oh, and in the middle of all this Roc was asking Serge about Ukraine soccer teams and why they are not going to the word cup.  He told her they aren't that good!!  She was asking him all sorts of questions that had nothing to do with adoption and I think he rather liked that.  Then she started talking to the ladies at the SDA in her broken Russian and their broken English.  She was a very good deterrent through it all!!!!  So the plan now is Yulia calls both Directors to let them know we have been there and we pick up the referrals for the 3 kids in Odessa tomorrow.  Then we DRIVE with Serge to Odessa (God HELP me) Thursday morning and DRIVE back with Serge (God HELP me again) on either Friday or Saturday.  Then go back to the SDA for Dennis, pick up his referral either Monday or Tuesday and head down to his region by (Thank You GOD) TRAIN.  Thats all I know for now, as you can see things could very well change!!!!  Please pray for us that we will be able to bring ALL FOUR home with us!!  It all looks good but we have a long road ahead of us!  Unless Serge is driving, then it will be a short road!!!! hehehe

KAYLEE

Kaylee, plug the volume back on the computer!!  You unplugged it before we left and never plugged it back in........you wont be able to hear the moooo when we email or IM you silly girl!!!  And the ringer is turned down so you cant hear the phone ring!!!  Miss you guys and I hope your taking care of grandpa!!  Thank you Lica and Kaylee and grandpa for taking care of things while we are gone, LOVE you very much!  And no fighting........that includes you too grandpa!!
Thanks Kit for checking in!  And thanks to everyone following along with us and all the comments, they mean A LOT!!!  
 Off to the SDA now!

We Are Here!

Well what can I say about our first flight out?  I looked and Roc and said, somethng smells hot, like its burning or something.  She said yup I can smell it too.  The we asked Ken and of course he says I dont smell anything, everything is fine.  1/2 hour later, still stitting on the plane which has not moved the "voice" came on the speaker and said they were having mechanical difficulties and they had 4 different guys come on to check the gages up front.  Something to do with the fuel sensors?  Of course by this time my "medication" did NOT seem to be working and I was in the fetal postition!!! hehehehe!  Needless to say we got a late start and were a little worried about making our conecting flight in Amsterdam.  We only had a two layover.  So when we got to Amsterdam we RAN to catch our flight and did make it.  We arrived to a rainy Keiv where we loaded most of our luggage on a cart and wheeled the rest.  Since the streets and parking lots are not the best we dropped our luggage more than once in the puddles of water!!!  By the time we were all done Roc and I were laughing so hard it just didn't matter anymore!  I will post pictures tomorrow we are all pretty tired.  Are appt. is at 11 tomorrow so please be thinking of us and say a little prayer for good things.

Ready, Set, GO!!!!!

Okay, we are ready!  Well, as ready as we will ever be.  I have my medication for trains, planes, and automobiles.  And yes, I NEED them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I have my carry on and purse ready............

And our luggage is packed somehow someway!  All but ONE is donations

All of the stress AND months of scrimping AND saving AND fund raising AND garage sales AND collecting AND buying donations AND lets not forget all the paperwork!!!!! 
All of this for FOUR GREAT REASONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From Chrissie's Family Blog

Dancing with Jesus



Chrissie has gone home to be with Jesus. Her heart has been healed and now she spins and she sways to the Cinderella song with Jesus as her dance partner.



Though Chrissie had a family for such a short time, I am so happy that she had a family that loved her while she went through this fight.  The happiness they brought one another will live  forever!  Our prayers go out to her and her family.
You can click the button on the right to read about Chrissie and her family.

We Have A Date For Dennis!!!!

MAY 25TH AT 11:00
I am so ready to start this part of the journey!  I can't wait to hold and love and kiss our sweet boy!

Dennis's Dossier Submitted

We have TWO dossier's to submit and Dennis's was the first one.  Yup, it was submitted last week!  We have to go through this process because Dennis is in a different orphanage, different region.  It was double the work, double the time in country, double the money, and best of all  it will be double the pleasure!!! Well really quadruple the pleasure!

Thank you to everyone that sent prayers out for Dennis and his situation on being transferred and God willing he will be there waiting for us when we arrive!
Hopefully our 2nd dossier will be submitted either this week or the following week. Then we get to start the journey on meeting our three other sweeties. 
We still have a very long way to go in getting our kids home, but we are getting closer every day!

Asking for your prayers

As you all know we are adopting Dennis also.  He had a reprieve until May.  When in May we have no clue, could be May 1 or May 31.  We can not seem to get an answer to this question.  We asked the same question for Josh and Luke too as they could be transferred at any time.  The director of their orphanage said that they would keep them there for us.  We just can't seem to get any information on his transfer date or if they even know we are coming for him. 
Please, when you have some time, pray for us to get their in time.  Before they transfer him.  Pray that they know we are on are way.  Our dossier is in his country and it is really just a matter of weeks before we can get to him.  I have seriously thought of going their now to see what I could do, but I don't know what exactly I could do.  If anyone has any suggestions on any of this please let me know!  And above all else please send a prayer or two!

Thanks so much!

Update

Sorry for the lack of blogging but it has been very busy around here!  We got our I171 last Thursday and we hope to have our dossiers, both of them, submitted on April 15th.  We have to have two dossiers as Dennis needs his own because he is in a different region than our other three kids.  So lets just say we have not had a lot of down time getting another whole dossier ready to go!  So worth it though!!!  We also have been changing the kids bedrooms around as we received a "surprise email" from South America!!!  God really does have a sense of humor!  I can hardly wait for the day to hold those four little ones and bring them home!  I'm sure it will be here before I know it! 
Hope everyone had a happy and blessed Easter!

His Style

Okay, so the other day I was sitting at the table waiting for James to come home from school.  He came running in to tell me that he has a friend that is a girl.  Well, some girl said that he was her "friend".  Now me being me ask him, aren't all the kids in your class your friends?  Yes mom but she is my friend!  I know James but all of the kids in your class are your friends right?  Yes mom but its like when Im in gym and do something, ALL the girls smile and laugh and ALL the boys look at me like this ( he puts a frown on his face).  Well aren't the boys in your class your friends?  Yes mom but, but, but.....its like the girls like my "style".  Oh , I didnt realize you have a "style"  what is it?  Its like when I wear my nice shirts and Roc fixes my hair (with mouse) and the way I act.  They like my "style".  Oh I get it!  Hey James, do you know you are 7?  Yes mom but I will be 8 in May!  Oh, I see.  Hey James, do you know you are only 8???  Ya mom, can you cut my hair so Roc can fix it better and can you call me Jim?  Well far be it from me to stand in my sons "style"!!!!

                                                                         Before

                                                                        After
Oh brother, I cant really tell a whole lot of difference in JIMS style but as long as his style is back and he is happy that is all that really matters!  Im sure I made all the 7yr old girls happy too!!!

On the adoption front we are just waiting for our I171 to show up in the mail.  We are still planning to bring all four of the kids home, God willing!

Update on some kids

Some of you have been asking about the two sisters from Hatti that I posted about.  They are fine, thank God, and still in Hatti waiting for their forever family!    

A Love Beyond Borders
2022 Hudson Street Suite 100-B
Denver, CO 80207
Phone: 303-333-1572
Email: haiti@bbinternationaladoption 
 Another family, that just got word of a travel date to go meet their cute little girl, posted on a little Bulgarian orphan.

I wrote her a while ago to find out on the little girl and the little ones you can see in the background of the video.  I asked about adopting them and what I could do to help and this is what she sent me.
I have it on the side of my blog also if you would like to donate!

Hi Nance,

I am sorry it has taken this long for me to reply to your email about little Boshidara. Thank you for your concern. To my knowledge, she is still alive. I told them to contact me if/when she passes. As for the child in the background, I don't have any information. It IS possible to adopt from Bulgaria. How wonderful that you have blessed 6 children's lives by adopting them into your family. 

You will be glad to know that Boshidara's suffering is not in vain. Because of what I saw, I decided to take even greater action. In a few days, One Heart Bulgaria is flying 3 neurosurgeons to Boston so that they can attend the World Conference of Neurology where for 4 days they will receive extensive training in the area of hydrocephalus and neuro tube defects, which is what Boshidara suffers with. It is our hope that with this special training, Bulgaria's babies and children will no longer have to suffer with the less-than-satisfactory medical efforts of Bulgaria's doctors. We hope this training will infiltrate the hospitals and have a dramatic effect. We will follow up on it.

In the meantime, there are ways to help Boshidara and her orphan comrades to be more comfortable. The orphanage is in need of disposable diapers. Through our donors, we are able to provide the orphanage with $150 worth of diapers/month but they said it isn't enough. If you are interested in raising funds or donating towards diapers, that would be wonderful.

In the meantime, thank you for your support and for your concern.

Best regards,

Deborah Dushku Gardner

One Heart Bulgaria, Co-founder/President

http://www.oneheart-bg.org/     

 

Dennis has a family!!!

Has anyone seen it yet?  Dennis has a forever family!  He is going to a family in Minnesota with lots of brothers and sisters and a mom that has loved him for a year now!  They were so happy a few months ago to see a family commit to him and so very sad when they found out that it did not work out.  When Dennis's  mom asked about him a year ago, her husband wasnt sure about adopting a child with DS.  Her and her husband chose a little girl with sn but not DS.  The mom always checked on him to see if his forever family found him.  Once they saw that a forever family had chose him, they went ahead and commited to a little boy with DS.  Dennis opened their hearts to the possibility of loving a child with DS.  Yes, her husband was now ready and at peace to bring a little one home with DS.  After all, Dennis had a family so she felt okay with the ideal of rescuing another angel she had falling in love with.  Then the family chose just one more special boy with DS and all was well.  Then this family found out that Dennis was once again available and weeks away from being transferred to an institution.  They asked about him but were told that they didnt think it was possible to adopt four sn kids at one time : (
Until today..............WE are bringing Dennis HOME!!!!!  (I know Kit, aren't you glad you live right down the road???  I am!!)  We found some things out today and we are asking for your prayers that this all works out!  We are going to Eastern Europe to bring all four home!  We are so excited and thrilled and we cant wait to hold them!  It will be a lot of running and a lot more extra money for us so if you have a few extra dollars laying around and you wouldn't mind helping us out, please, please, donate.  Even if it is a dollar!  Because every dollar adds up and we need to travel  soon before Dennis is transferred!  I will be doing a auction in  1 1/2 weeks so stay tuned!  And if anyone has anything they would like to donate for the auction, let me know.

Bitter Sweet

As you know I have been advocating for Dennis.  He was one of my favorites from day 1!!! 
We decided on Dania and soon after Dennis had a family!  One of my other favorites was ready to be transferred to an institution where he could no longer be adopted, and since Dennis had a family now we chose Josh.  Then a few weeks ago I saw another little boy ready to be transferred and he was from the same baby house as Dania and Josh.  We decided that we would also bring him home, Luke.  It will be so great for all three who have probably grown up together to stay together.  He is a cutie that's for sure.  2 days later, only 2 days, Dennis lost his family.  I was heart broken to say the least.  I contacted Andrea from RR and asked her if anyone had asked about Dennis.  She told me that one family is CONSIDERING him.  I asked her if the other family says no to him, how far he was from our baby house and if we could take him.  She told me it was not to far but a totally different region and it would cost around 10k more and longer in country.  I told her I didnt care but I was not going to let him be transferred, it was Dennis for goodness sake.  She then told me that she knows of no judge that would let us adopt 4 special needs kids. 
There was no way we could ever "swap" Luke out for Dennis.  We had already promised Luke a family.  So I thought this was Gods way of giving me an answer, and maybe it is.  He knows my heart and knows I could never do that to Luke.  But I have grown to love Dennis.  He was actually the one boy that made me consider adopting a child with Ds.
So now I have been bugging poor Andrea, pleading with her to let us try.  She has talked to the facilitator and he does not think it will fly.  We have been approved for 4 children with sn with everyone except the country where Dennis is from.  We have not been turned down but it has never been done in this country.  There are now 2 families considering Dennis so I am praying like you would not believe for him!!!!  And if one of these families does not take him, I will.  Some how, some way, by the grace of God - WE WILL!!!!
Please, please pray for Dennis that he finds a family - any family!!!!  I love him so much.

Dennis and Alec

Dennis and Alec both have a $5000.00 GRANT!!!!  If someone out there could find it in their heart to save both of these two angels the expense for the facilitator would be paid!!  Please, please consider saving them!
Get the word out about them!  Tell your friends, church, school, anyone that will listen!!  Ask for their prayers and donations to help some family bring them HOME!  If we all pull together in prayer and action it can be done!

One of my 5 faces - Please Help

Thursday, January 14
ORPHAN CRISIS! Dennis... Please Share!

All, regrettably, the family who was hoping to adopt Dennis and Anna will not be able to complete the adoption.


The most difficult part is that Dennis is literally WEEKS from transfer to the institution, one he can not be adopted out of. We are desperately seeking a paper-ready, USCIS ready family who would be willing to specifically request him so he can be saved. Other photos available, we have had several families adopt from this orphanage previously as well.

Dennis (9)
BOY, Born March 18, 2006

I LOST MY FAMILY!

Dennis has lost his family at the 11th hour, and is in crisis need of a paper-ready, USCIS approved family to save him from an institution he can't be adopted out of.

Dennis is a darling little boy with blonde hair and big blue eyes. He is not very active, and he struggles with pulmonary artery stenosis and rickets. He needs to get HOME, so he can have adequate medical care, sunshine, nutrition....so he really has a chance to achieve his true potential. He is an orphanage favorite, but he won't survive a transfer to the institution. Please consider rescuing this munchkin!!
Regrettably, this orphanage is one of the poorer ones, with very little outside aid and very little hope. All of the children are tiny and undernourished. These children are immediately transferred at 4, and have little chance of survival where they are sent. All of our waiting children need families, but these have a critical need. Please consider one of these children soon!!

Contact Andrea for more information
I have $3231 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption!

Further donations are helpful, but the crisis now is to find another family.

Dennis is in the same orphanage as ALEC, who is also still waiting and faces the same fate in June. If there is ANYONE out there who is ready for Eastern Europe, please contact me ASAP at bamaroberts@... Parents must be no more than 45 years in age difference from Dennis.


You can see all of the waiting children in orphanage 9 at www.reecesrainbow.org/eelittles.html and www.reecesrainbow.org/atriskwaiting.html


Thank you for your prayers tonight, for this little boy who has no idea what March 18 holds for him...for this family who must so very sad to not be able to save him...and for a new family to be ready in the wings and waiting to save Dennis.


Andrea Roberts, Executive Director
Reece's Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption Ministry
www.reecesrainbow.org

A 15 yr Old Girl

While we were on Christmas break one of the things we did was call Kaylee's friends from her orphanage.  There are 15 girls living there as of today.  If any of the girls have a foster mom or an aunt or some kind of extended family they can go visit them on their break.  The good news is 13 girls were gone and we couldn’t talk with them.  The bad news is 2 of the girls had no place to go and were the only 2 girls left in the house.  One of the girls Kaylee did not know and the other was one of the girls I met and Kaylee’s friend.  So we ended up talking with her for close to an hour.  One of the things she asked me was if I could please find her a family.  It’s so sad to here someone ask this!  We have thought about going to get her knowing she would be easy, but expensive to adopt but........OUR girl is still their and I know don't think she would understand us taking her friend instead of her.  We just can’t do something like that to our Colombian daughter.  So Im going to do what she asked me to do.  Im going to try to find her a family.  She is 15 and will turn 16 in early July so it does not leave a lot of time but I'm going to try anyway!!!  Here are some pictures of her and a couple of her with our two girls, the one living with us and the one still living in Colombian.

 

 

 

These were taken when we brought Kaylee to say good bye last November.  If any one is interested or knows someone that may be interested PLEASE let me know.  These girls are all such good girls!

I saw this video on another blog.  Its Michael Franti singing his song Have a Little Faith.  I love Michael Franti and all his songs!  The kids and I dance around to his song "I love you"!  To Fun!  But this video fits in so well with my journey on finding a family for a 15yr old sweetheart!