Amidst the hustle and bustle of the final preparations for Christmas I am suddenly overwhelmed with emotions and can't stop the tears as I think of baby brother this Christmas . He is spending his first Christmas, alone and I have to wonder as we are all sharing the love of family and friends , what is he doing? Does he maybe get an extra hug or snuggle because it's Christmas? , or a gift of any kind? Does he feel the spirit of Christmas around him?
I am overwhelmed with many different emotions
I feel Sadness that I can't hold him this Christmas morning and wish him a merry Christmas or watch his eyes light up at the magic of this season.
I feel Heartache that part of our family is not with us this Christmas and that we have no idea what he is doing as we are thinking of him
I feel A Longing for the day we get to pick him up out of that orphanage crib and tell him just how many people already love him
I feel Grateful that this will be his first and also his last Christmas alone
I feel Blessed that prayers are continuously answered in our path to this little boy, as so many people continue to come forward to join in our journey , each one laying a stepping stone to this little boy.
It's as if around each bend of doubt, or roadblock of emotions and fears, the Lord takes every opportunity to open a door with light and direction as he sends another one of Noah's angels to us...just when we need them. Each instance reminding us that God is there and that he is aware of this little boy and what needs to be done to get to him.
The gifts of love we have received this Christmas season will be forever in our hearts. Last night we were given this wonderful gift ...... A beautiful video message of our story that we hope will not only help Noah find his gift of family but other children as well.
The XBOX goes to Cynthia Wignall!
The ipad goes to Pamela Ballard!
The Apple TV goes to Tracy Graham!
Every entry was assigned a number and those numbers were put into random.org and these three winners were the lucky numbers!!!
Congratulations and thank you all!!!
THANK YOU seems like it doesn't even begin to express how we feel for all the love, support and donations we have received! We have been blown away! On the final day of the giveaway I pretty much cried all day long as every time I opened my browser I saw a flood of love being shown to us through donations, messages of support, sharing the story and it all touched us deeply to watch so many people rallying together for the good of this one child.
"There are two ways to live your life,
one is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle."
-Albert Einstein-
Last night we had the opportunity to share our story and speak about miracles.
The ways which our family has come together is nothing short of miraculous.
Some of the miracles in our lives are easy to see, they are obvious.
Mia's story is miraculous, the twins story is miraculous. They can both easily be identified as a miracle.
But what about all the ordinary, every day miracles that are all around us? We experience them all the time if we will look for them.
A friend once said "if you don't believe in miracles, try falling in love with an orphan"
We are all a part of miracles all around us, we just may not realize it.
All of you.......
every single person who donated or shares our story
is part of a miracle.
A miracle for one little boy.
During the course of this fundraiser we have witnessed many miracles
One of my favorite songs is "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLachlan. It was playing on the blog when I first found Mia's picture that Christmas season 4 years ago and it has held special meaning ever since.
"It's just another ordinary miracle today".....
an ordinary miracle that through social media the story of a little boy living in an orphanage on the other side of the world waiting for a family, can bring friends, family, and strangers together in an act of pure love.
an ordinary miracle that a little 3 year old and 6 year old who have never met our family, would be instantly willing to give up the money in their piggy banks for a little boy "because he needs a family"
an ordinary miracle that someone we do not know would donate generously with a note that says "Because I have been given much I too must give, because of thy great bounty Lord each day I live. I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see, who has the need of help from me.....Because of Jesus Christs' sacrifice you are our family and we cant think of a better way to spend our money this christmas season than on family....thank you for reminding us what truly matters and what christmas is all about"
an ordinary miracle that people dealing with their own struggles of unemployment, sickness and stress still give generously and lovingly
an ordinary miracle that a 6 year old girl who's mom has been going through cancer treatments this year gives what she has.... when her parents asked how much of her money she wanted to donate she said "how much do i have?" ...24.14...."ok I want to give it all"
an ordinary miracle that people willingly give their profits from their jewelry or book sales
an ordinary miracle that a group of children set up their own hot chocolate stand in the cold to raise money to donate to this little boy
an ordinary miracle that early on in the giveaway a boy with autism donated his own money and wrote his own note with the donation telling us " you are making a difference, keep going"
an ordinary miracle that friends come together with generous items for the giveaway.
an ordinary miracle that at a moment when I was struggling emotionally worrying about this little boy and his current well being while he waits, and the next donation that comes in comes with a note that reads "God is holding and protecting that sweet angel until you are able to hold him in your arms"
an ordinary miracle that stirs something inside of so many people to lovingly share the story of this little boy with their own friends and family to help, and many of those people in turn do the same.
an ordinary miracle that threads continue to weave and stories connect in miraculous ways
an ordinary miracle that so many people who already supported one orphan four years ago, willingly support another now
an ordinary miracle that each and every penny donated was an answer to prayers, and each share is another voice saying "baby Noah your life matters "
These
are just a small portion of the MANY ordinary miracles we have
witnessed and EACH one has moved us and left us wanting to be better
people as we have seen the goodness around us!
People are good and God answers our prayers through eachother. And we are forever grateful!
THANK YOU all for being our miracles this Christmas season.
Our giveaway ends TONIGHT at midnight! It's the final push. Every
donation helps. Every share helps. Your dollars have become sacred to
us. The first thing we feel when a donation comes in is a little guilt
because we know it caused that family to have to give something up
during tough times. We think of each person or family and know it wasn't
easy to give what they did. Then the Spirit reasurres and reminds us that this is much bigger than dollars and certainly much bigger
than us. And the guilt is replaced with gratitude....Gratitude for
friends, family and even people we have never met, who are loving baby
Noah along with us. You who are a part of this giveaway are literally
saving a life ; this one little boy will know that his life is precious
and next Christmas he won't be alone. Just a $10 donation can save a
life! (And you might win something cool in the process 😉) please share! Giveaway details are on the blog http://findingbabybrother.blogspot.com/…/a-family-for-chris…
Today is this amazing man's birthday so it seemed fitting to do a post about a little of his side of this journey.
This man of mine is as good as they come.
He handles a house full of women and does it with patience and love.
His faith is remarkable..... as he has embarked on this journey...again....and has done so with faith, and trust, not knowing for sure what is to come.
He is my hero.
He has been understanding of a mother's intuition, and even though it is not the easy road, he took my hand and we are leaping with faith together towards a new destination.
Kris was answering questions the other day with someone about our adoption .
He was asked "so you have all these daughters , how are you feeling about adding a son?"
Kris replied ,
"Yes all I have known for 13 years is pink, barbies, princesses and dress ups ha ha, so having a boy around will be a fun new thing. I have always wanted a son to have a relationship with and do father -son things together ....although having a son with special needs may be a different relationship then a typical son might be....some things might be easier and some might be harder....just different....but what I keep imagining is this.... We had a boy in our youth group a few years ago who had Down syndrome and he was literally the glue that held that group of boys together , and I get emotional as I think of his sweet relationship with his dad.... and that gives me so much hope for my relationship with this little boy."
When asked about his feelings on getting to this decision to adopt again he said,
"To be honest it was hard, it was hard to come to grips with this idea at first , I kept thinking of all the questions like "am I ready to adopt again? Am I ready to go through all that it takes again? I mean this was one of the hardest things we ever did, Am I ready to be a father to another child? "
"And then it dawns on me", he said "what child is ready to be an orphan? This little boy is certainly not ready to be an orphan. And at the end of the day, that's what matters, giving this little boy a family , when he doesn't have one."
Kris's words echoed another adoptive father who shared this ....
When my wife came to me and asked me, "Can we adopt a little girl with Down Syndrome?". I didn't say anything. I just thought.
Then she said, "... there is a little girl in another country that needs a family." I didn't say anything except.. mmmm. I began to go over and over in my mind how MY life would change. How would this affect ME. What if this happened what if that happened. How would this little girl integrate into our family? So, here is a list of questions I asked, prayed over and meditated on for several days: - This is a huge commitment - Will she talk, eat, walk - What will others think of me having a child with a disability - How will my life change with this little girl - Will my kids accept her - Will my kids rebel - Will my kids be safe while I am half way across the world - Can I afford this - and many other thoughts Then I had this thought.. What is this little girl thinking: - When is my daddy going to come kiss my neck and throw me in the air? - When is my daddy going to come help me get my eyes fixed? - When is my daddy going to help me learn how to eat, walk, talk? - When is my daddy going to take me out of this crib and put me on his shoulders? - When is my daddy going to hold me close at night before he puts me to bed? - When is my daddy going to tell me he loves me? - When is my daddy coming to get me? Why's he taking so long? I'm ready! A few months ago Kris and I read an article by Elder Gibson who shared a story about his sons and after going through a difficult journey together the boy said to his father “Dad, that was the most difficult thing I have ever
done in my life, and I will never, ever do it again.” His eyes
closed—then opened—and he said, “Unless my son wants me to.” That phrase hit me hard, I never thought we would do this special needs adoption journey again because although rewarding as well and completely worth it, it was one of the hardest things we have done,...."unless our son wants us to".......
Noah wasn't ready to be an orphan ..... when will my daddy pick me up out of this crib? when will I feel the security that only a daddy's arms can provide? when will he come for me? Baby Noah, your daddy is coming.
Kris got an early birthday gift last night as dear cousins came to visit and brought him to tears with their donation and sweet words of support and love, added to those of so many others the last few weeks. THANK YOU all for helping Noah find his daddy! Its the best birthday gift ever!
*****REMEMBER only 2 more days of our giveaway******
We don’t accomplish anything in the world alone and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that create something."
It is amazing to watch how the common threads of our lives weave together to create miraculous events in ways we could never have imagined.
My friend Beth, has been one of those many threads. She is one of those people who I connected with through Mia's adoption that has been in our life ever since, unfortunately we have yet to actually meet in person but I consider her a dear friend and she has more then once in the past 5 years been there for me and my family with words of encouragement, love and often even sweet packages for my girls.
Beth has a biological daughter with down syndrome and after we adopted Mia, she traveled across the world to adopt another little girl with down syndrome; Livvy Mae (another connection for us because our Livvy is Livvy Mae) .
When she heard we were traveling this road again, she wanted to help.
And her story is the raw emotional truth behind the urgency we feel to get to our little prince...
it is why I don't sleep at night,
it's why I am emotional every time a donation comes in
it's why it matters when people share our story
it's why I pester the social worker and other officials about paperwork to keep things moving,
it's why my heart races with each passing day that goes by,
because each passing day Noah waits.....
this is why I feel an even stronger urgency to get to baby Noah then I probably realized with Mia,
When I look at my twins and think of their lives the last 3 1/2 years it's hard to comprehend that Mia spent longer then that all alone , and suffering in ways we may never know. I always wished we could have known her as a baby , or even had a baby picture of her for that matter.
Because he is still so young, Noah will get to be loved in ways Mia never did, maybe we can get to him before he has suffered too much,
Each day I wake up and the first thing on my to do list is "adoption stuff" ....any paperwork or errands that are adoption related, its like when I am working on those things I feel this connection to this little boy,
I feel him calling to me, and its like I can't get these things done fast enough for him.
So much of this process is out of my hands, so when there are things I can do to keep it progressing, I do it with great urgency and great purpose.
This past week was a good one for progressing in our dossier (the huge packet of paperwork that gets sent to his country that will officially commit us to him) , we finally got our first homestudy visit set up, Kris passport came so we could finish a bunch of the papers on our end, and we had our physician appts which is a big part of the papers. And every time something gets checked of the dossier list, I get emotional and I feel like saying "hang on baby boy, we are coming and we are one step closer to you"
Beth's sweet girl , Livvy Mae, suffered, as each of these children left at birth do, but Livvy seems to be deeply affected even today and still struggles with finding peace.
Beth said this to me "so many of the struggles we have with Livvy are due to her time spent in an orphanage. If we had been able to get to her sooner she may have not had to suffer like she is today. As hard as it is to open up about Livvy's struggles, I want everyone to know how urgent it is that these babies come home! As painful as it will be to share our beautifully broken girl , it will save lives. Our journey will help bring Noah home and that was all part of Gods perfect plan."
"Even though it was out of my control, I will always feel tremendous
guilt for not getting to Livvy sooner. With each passing day in that
orphanage she slipped farther and farther away. I will always wonder,
what if I just fought a little bit harder? I'm sure it would have made a
huge difference in her quality of life today. I never want Kecia to
have those what ifs. Noah needs to come home and my Livvy Girl is going
be his guide."
You need to read the rest of her story here to understand what these little ones endure.
Ever since Mia's adoption, this story of the starfish has held new meaning ....
An old man was walking down the beach just before dawn.
In the distance he saw a young man picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea.
As the old man approached the young man, he asked;
"Why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time?"
The young man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun.
"But there must be thousands of beaches and millions of starfish, exclaimed the old man.
"How can your efforts make any difference?"
The young man looked down at the small starfish in his hand
and as he threw it to safety in the sea, he said;
"It makes a difference to this one!"
YOU who have already given, have helped make a difference for one child
YOU who have shared this story, and giveaway with friends and family, and through blogs and other social media, have helped make a difference for one child.
YOU who have prayed in our behalf, have helped make a difference for one child.
YOU who have taught your children what it means to give and witnessed the little ones giving, have helped make a difference for one child.
YOU who have stretched yourselves to donate money of your own, have helped make a difference for one child.
YOU who are part of this journey with us, are making a difference for one child
YOU all are helping us literally save a life!
YOU are making a difference for this one!
I think part of our decision to do this adoption path again, is subliminally attributed to the things we saw and felt at Mia's orphanage, things that will forever leave a mark on our hearts; as we walked out of those orphanage walls with Mia, and yet looked back at all those other little faces that we could not help. Other children just like Mia, who deserved a home, and a family, and love.
It has always weighed heavily on our hearts that we couldn't do more, that we couldn't save them all.
Mia's orphanage was very private and we weren't allowed a lot of interaction with other children but the little interaction we had will forever be on our hearts as we can still vividly picture the little faces in wooden playpens where they spent most of their days with outstretched arms reaching for us and saying "mama? papa?" with lost eyes searching for hope and love.
The images of a little girl who saw us outside at the orphanage and tried to pry free from the
caregivers hand to run to us and when she was not allowed to, she
started crying "mama, papa" as she was taken out past us.
I remember feeling so helpless
watching these little ones walk by or walking into Mia's room each day and seeing them all sitting there waiting for their turn to be loved, and knowing that they may never find
what Mia had found. They may never know the love of a family or life outside this big white building.
And today sadly, Mia's orphanage no longer exists due to civil unrest in that region the past few years, so we can only assume the worst for those children that were left behind. And its almost more than I can bear.
So when we think of the enormous plight of these orphans and how we can not save them all, of course it is overwhelming. But just like the little boy picking up starfish on the beach, we CAN make a difference to one.
Our family is being given the opportunity again to make a difference to one,
once again I won't be able to save them all, but I can make a difference to one,
We have been led to one little boy........ to make a difference for him.
"It matters to this one, I can't save them all I know. It matters to this one, he deserves a chance to grow. It matters to this one and it matters to me..."
We THANK YOU for what you have helped us with so far and pray that
you will continue to spread the word about the giveaway that will change
a life......the giveaway that will bring an orphan home!
We only have 5 more days for our giveaway so please help us keep it going.
HERE ARE THE DETAILS FOR "A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY"
You can participate in our giveaway in the following ways:
- every $10 donation is one entry into the giveaway (i.e. $100 donation is 10 entries into the giveaway)
-
every social media share is one entry into the giveaway (please comment
with your name to notify me of your social media share)
Donations can be made to our adoption fund through our youcaring page, our Reeces Rainbow account or given to us in person (contact me if you need
info on how to donate in person )
If
you make your donation through the youcaring page it is not tax
deductible but the Reeces Rainbow link offers a tax deductible donation
if you are looking for that option.
We will be giving away these three awesome gifts!
XBOX one Lego movie edition, ipad mini2, apple tv
The giveaway will run through Dec. 16 at midnight.
That remind me why we are starting this adoption journey again.....
everyone deserves someone to laugh with and love.
When we brought Mia home at the age of 4 she literally didn't know how to laugh.
Laughter was an instinct we had taken for granted with our babies,
Babies just know how to laugh right?
Wrong....
Mia didn't have that instinct, her desire to laugh had been squashed and she didn't know how to laugh because no one triggered that inside her....until she was 4!
She was not able to let herself laugh out loud.
We used to say she sounded like a car engine that couldn't turn over. It was like she started to work her way into a laugh and she couldn't let it go into a full blown laugh. She had been holding back for so long she didn't know any different .
My heart has been aching tremendously to wrap Noah up and hold him close. And each time I see our story shared, or I see a donation come in, or kind words of encouragement shared in support of this journey, I feel a little closer to him and pray that he will feel the love that is coming for his way.
I am looking forward to showing baby Noah just how good laughter feels !
REMEMBER A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY DETAILS HERE
From a family that previously adopted a 12 month old and a 10 month old from Noah's country....
"When we met our 10 month old boy we learned that he had NEVER been held. Never in 10 months ! He had temperature of 104 the day we met him and the doctor told us it was ok because he had down syndrome, they refused to give him meds or treat him because he had down syndrome. His feet were green with fungus growing on them. The orphanage drugged him to keep him sedated so they didn't have to deal with him. His diaper was changed once a day while he laid in his crib and his two bottles he got per day were propped up on his chest with a towel underneath because the nipple was as large as a pencil eraser and most of it went on the towel, what he could choke down, was what he got.
Our 12 month old girl was in an orphanage where they did not drug the kids but instead if it was nap time and you made any noise at all you were slapped so you would learn not to make noise . That was life for these children. Living in fear from such a young age. "
The last few days I have been so touched and so emotional every time I see a donation come in, or a sweet message shared, as many people join together to try and help us bring this little boy home and so Yesterday as I read this account of what these babies went through before their families found them, I was already feeling so much emotion for this little boy and my heart just broke and I cried.
It hit a very close nerve thinking of Noah, the same age range as these little ones, and wondering if he too is living in such horrible conditions, waiting for us to get to him.
I also thought of Mia and how we have always known that she most likely went through things she never should have had to go through in those first few years, but when you read an actual account of what it might have been like, your heart can barely handle it. And my emotions have been raw thinking of it all.
From some of the things she dealt with when we brought her home, and also still deals with some even still, I can only assume she suffered some of these types of things as a baby and toddler. For the first few years home, Mia slept curled up in a ball with her sheets and pillow over her head at night, a very scared position that broke my heart to see. I am sure I probably don't want to know what she actually lived through those first few years. And i realize what a strong, brave little girl she must have been to live like that for so long.
So why adopt a special needs child from another country?
Because no child deserves to live like this,
Because this child,
deserves a family too.
Because this child needs to be cuddled, and held and not just placed in that crib in the background lined up with all the others to just exist.
He deserves to be loved and safe.
Hopefully we can get to him before he has suffered too much.
Mia never got the blessing of being loved as a baby, which makes me even more eager to move this process along as fast as possible to give Noah that chance that his sister never got.
I pray with all my heart he is safe until we do.
*THANK YOU THANK YOU to all those who have donated to Noah and who have shared his story so far!*
*A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY DETAILS can be found HERE
DETAILS OF "A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY" ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST
In December 2010, I came across a blog that was hosting a "Family for Christmas Giveaway" for two little orphan girls. One of those little girls was Mia, before I even knew that this little girl was meant to be in our family, there were people praying for her and raising money for her, so when her family did find her, they would have some financial help in getting her out of the orphanage as quickly as possible.
That Christmas of 2010, we hadn't committed to this little girl yet but I spent that holiday season thinking about the picture that I had seen on the blog during that giveaway, the picture of a little girl that had brought me to tears, and sent me down a path I had never planned on.
I pictured her as I sat and watched my other girls open their presents that Christmas morning,
I watched my girls dance in their new dance room that year and all I could think about was how there was another little girl across the world that was supposed to be there dancing too. That Christmas season my heart was realizing that Mia was supposed to be part of our family. And the more I realized that was true, the deeper my heart ached to get her home.
Here we are 4 years later and its Christmas time again, and again my heart has realized that there is another child across the world who should be here with us.
A little boy who needs the greatest gift of Christmas we could give; a little boy who needs a family.
Mia's miracle that began that Christmas season 4 years ago, is continuing now as we are preparing to give a little boy the gift of love and family this coming year.
That Christmas of 2011, was one to remember as we witnessed a child experience Christmas like she never had before, and it was not because she received dolls and toys for the first time , but because she finally had the love of a family to call her own.
Today is December 1, its a global day dedicated to giving called #givingtuesday, so what better day to kick off "A Family for Christmas giveaway" to help bring a little boy out of an orphanage and into a family.
HERE ARE THE DETAILS FOR "A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY"
You can participate in our giveaway in the following ways:
- every $10 donation is one entry into the giveaway (i.e. $100 donation is 10 entries into the giveaway)
- every social media share is one entry into the giveaway (please comment with your name to notify me of your social media share)
Donations can be made to our adoption fund through our youcaring page, our Reeces Rainbow account or given to us in person (contact me if you need
info on how to donate in person )
If you make your donation through the youcaring page it is not tax deductible but the Reeces Rainbow link offers a tax deductible donation if you are looking for that option.
We will be giving away these three awesome gifts!
An XBOX ONE Lego movie edition
An ipad mini2 16 GB
an apple TV
The giveaway will run through Dec. 16 at midnight.
Those who have already donated will also be added to this giveaway.
Please help us give the gift of a family to a deserving little boy this year.
