Christmas Saved

I don't know about you but I am quite relieved, thank you very much.  We don't get visits from Santa but unfortunately, since the boys have been little, that mean ole Grinch shows up EVERY.SINGLE.YEAR and robs us of our stockings.

Seriously?  How can you have Christmas if your stockings have been ripped right off the mantelpiece????

HOW???

NEVER FEAR. 

In our house, our expert Seekers of Lost Stockings have always saved the day, and this year was no different.

We even added a seeker to the mix to increase our chances of getting our Christmas celebration back on track..

Of course he needed to be comforted a bit before the hunt.  Lost stockings means lost candy... Oh My!!

All was well when the stockings were discovered. 

The seekers from former years considered the hunt rather lame since the stockings were recovered much more quickly than usual, but we figure the Grinch, despite the size of his heart, had our wee littlest in mind when he wrecked havoc on this year's Christmas festivities.

After Ben read the Christmas Story from Luke...

And Jesus was placed in the manger....

And after Aaron and Papa put on the Messiah for background music...

We got about the business of opening presents...

Yes - Ben did buy Elijah a My Little Pony... Brotherly Love at its silliest!!

So Christmas was saved by my hero boys and all is well.  Hopefully that nasty Grinch will stay away next year!!!

Something New

Isaiah 43: 18-21

“Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.

The wild animals honor me,

the jackals and the owls,

because I provide water in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland,

to give drink to my people, my chosen,

the people I formed for myself

that they may proclaim my praise.

If you skipped the verses above to get to the writing part - GO BACK.  Read those verses.  They are the beginning and the end of this post.  Everything I have to say is found in those verses.  Everything. 

We despaired when we came home from Aaron's country..  How could two people make a difference to one institute across the ocean?  How could we bring life and hope to the Lost Boys?  We struggled with what we had left behind.  We didn't know the language, we had no contacts apart from the adoption facilitators, and they weren't interested in long-term outreach to a mental institute. We had no place to turn for help. What could we do? We posted blogs to try to get the word out.  We prayed.  We advocated for Brady and Heath.  We yelled.  We hollered.  We sent out e-mails and inquiries to anyone we could think of to help us.

And we had to ask ourselves, honestly, who would care about a bunch of boys in a mental institute in a backwoods village in the middle of nowhere in Eastern Europe?  Seriously.   You spend 10 minute with them and you wonder, who would care.  They smell, they have deformities that turn your stomach, their behavior is shockingly scary, they make noises, they can't carry on a conversation and they are honestly not cute (except for the little ones).   Who would love a bunch of boys with shaved heads in a mental institute? 

Who?

God.

He cared.  He cares. 

Our Lost Boys are going to be found. 

I ask you right now to pray.  Pray - because God is doing a NEW THING in the lives of our Lost Boys.  A New and Wonderful thing.   He IS making a way in a wasteland - He IS creating streams in the desert. He is busting down the gates of a mental institute that has been so closed that not even the people in the village have ever entered inside.  A place that was cut off from all foreign encounters until just a few months ago when we walked through the doors.  THAT PLACE.  That wasteland is going to be a place where God's praises will be sung. 

When?

This weekend.  Christmas weekend.  How utterely and profoundly appropriate.  On Christmas weekend - when we celebrate the miracle of God coming to earth, the Lost Boy will experience a NEW THING in their lives.  Completely and totally orchestrated by God. 

Pray for them.  I am not giving any more details right now.  But please be in prayer for the Lost Boys.  I will share more soon.  I promise.  I'm holding my breath - whispering prayers - fearful as so much could go wrong, but in total awe as I watch God putting His plan into place.  It is truly awesome to behold.  Please whisper prayers with me. 

Perfect Gift Reminder... COME ON!!

    

This is just a friendly reminder to all those who are participating in THE PERFECT GIFT that CHRISTMAS IS IN TWO DAYS!!

It is the EASIEST Christmas present you could give your kids!  Your husband will smile when he gets the envelope (okay - he may roll his eyes if you are one of those who is trying with ALL your might to convince him to rescue one of those babies). 

If you don't remember what to do...

Take a simple envelope - put a bit of money inside - close it but don't seal it up. 

On the outside write:  Reece's Rainbow, PO Box 4024, Gaithersburg, MD 20885

Put a stamp on the envelope

Put it in a loved ones stocking. 

On Christmas day - let your loved one pick any child off the ANGEL TREE

    

Write that child's name down on a piece of paper and put it inside the envelope.

Take some time to pray and consider that child and all the others who are helpless, voiceless and desperately in need of a family.

Seal the envelope.

Mail it.  Make sure it is mailed in time to arrive by New Year's Eve.

Please consider participating.  There are 157 Angel Tree babies with Down Syndrome who desperately need homes.  I just honestly can't imagine many of these children transferred to a facility like Aaron's. 

   

 The waiting list in the US for families to adopt a child with Down Syndrome is extremely long.  Why?  In our country, 90% of the children with Down Syndrome are aborted.  Aborted.  Thrown away.  In Eastern European and Asian countries they are abandoned.  Wrong on both sides of the ocean.  How God's heart grieves at what man does to man.  It is plain and simple why we need the Lord.  We need a Savior to redeem us from our broken and sinful ways.  We need heart changes.  We need to see with His eyes.  We need to fall to our knees in shame and horror. 

The sad fact:  Many of the families on the waiting list in the US would gladly adopt one of those abandoned Down Syndrome babies from Eastern Europe.  But the cost is too great.  Putting a bit of money in a waiting child's fund increases their chances that the money barrier will be lifted.    

Just this week a little one who was listed on Reece's Rainbow died.  He was truly one of the 'least of these.'  A precious little boy who needed surgery but was denied because he was special needs.  There are so many more like him.  Dear little Ivan.  

It is life and death for so many of these children.  Please consider giving your children, your husband or wife, your nieces or nephews, your loved ones an envelope.  Just put in a bit of money in it and spend a few minutes, just a few, on Christmas Day, considering these little ones who desperately need us to be their voice.



Nothing but the Grace of God

Okay - No real news on the vote.... It didn't happen today - It may happen tomorrow - It may be pushed until January....

So what do we do??  Do we worry - do we panic - do we pull our hair out?  Do we decide that it is too stressful a time to commit to a child??  Do we throw in the towel on the child for whom we have committed? 

We do none of the above.  We pray.  We continue to commit.  We continue to step out in faith.  We continue to yell and holler and advocate for the children in that country.  We continue to cover the families who are over there now or are getting ready to go - we continue to cover them in prayer.   We take one single day at a time.  NOTHING in this life is guaranteed.  Nothing but the Grace of God. 

Having more time to pray is an amazing thing.  My dear British friend, Lu, wrote this morning on her blog that this vote is creating a golden opportunity for the church to get on its knees and pray for Aaron's former country.   Truth from the UK!!

I tend to be fairly small minded, looking only on the here and now - focusing my prayers on the specific need at the specific time.  When things don't go exactly as I thought they should, I despair, assuming that all my efforts were in vain.  But God has shown me in the last few months, especially in the last week, that He doesn't operate in my little small-minded sphere.  I've been shown in a most delightful way that His design is far greater and much more magnificent than I could ever imagine.  I plan on sharing soon the richness of God's work planned out long before we came on the scene for our Lost Boys.  It has been a reminder to me that His love for the orphan, the helpless, the ones without a voice is a love that is much deeper and far greater than mine.  My love is fleeting and emotional - He loves them, He loves us, with an Everlasting love that changes not with the passing of time.  

So we take heart, praying with an understanding that our prayers are going to be answered in ways that go far beyond what we can ever ask or imagine.  And at the end of the day, when this time has passed, we will laugh with delight at the Marvelous works of the Lord on High!

Molly and Aaron

She saw Aaron's picture over a year and a half ago and fell in love.  A cute little dimpled blonde haired disabled boy in need of a Mama. 

It wasn't possible for her to adopt him because she was a poor single college student.  She missed the marriage, age and income requirements to bring him home.  All she could do was hope and pray that someone would snatch him up.  But no one stepped up.  Time passed.  

Aaron was transferred. 

What could she do?  How could a poor college student make a difference in one little boy's life?

She could create a blog.  She could pray.  She could yell.  She could advocate.  She could donate money and get others to donate money. 

She did all of those things. 

Because she yelled, others also began to advocate.  Prayers were lifted for this little blond haired beauty across the ocean who had been exiled to a mental institute.  More voices joined the chorus.  Aaron's picture began to appear on more blogs.  The word spread.  Prayers increased.  And God answered. 

In July we crossed the ocean to get that little dimpled boy.  Molly cheered us on the entire way.

This last Sunday she took the train down to see Aaron with her own eyes. 

Rob, Ben, Elijah and I had the pleasure of spending time with the college student who yelled. 

Aaron had the joy of making a new friend. 

And Molly...

Well, Molly finally got to meet and hold the little boy with the dimples that captured her heart.

Love Wars

I admit - I tell my boys I love them all the time.  I'm a sap that way.  They have heard those words from Day One.  At first meeting, for all three of my precious sons, they were covered with love words from me.  Ben and Elijah as babies in my arms and Aaron as a six year old at a mental institute. 

Some days love is a choice - other days an overwhelming feeling that bursts forth from the depth of my being.  I love my boys. 

Ben and Elijah, since little guys learning to talk, have learned to said "I love you" back to me.  When they do, we have a war.  I love you, I love you more - Love Wars.  Who loves the most.  I always win of course.  The love of a mother to her child is much greater than the love of a child to their mother.  At least that is the argument I use when they try to out-trump my love.  They can't defeat me in the love war.  It is a fun game and has deep meaning.  Love.  Unconditional.  No matter what.

Aaron has heard me whisper words of love in his ear from the first day we showed up at his drab, dreary institute.  Foreign words.  Meaningless words.  But the sameness of them, usually accompanied by kisses and caresses, hugs and other whispers soon began to penetrate his hurting and distrustful heart. 

In the beginning I never got a response back from him.  He would move away, out of reach of my whispers and kisses.  I didn't give up.  Not my son.  As time passed, he stopped pulling away, instead freezing in place, scared to move - unsure - nervous.  More time and he would lean in, invite the words, smile for the kisses - but with great caution.  Eventually, goofiness followed, desiring deeply to be touched and loved but scared. So he would giggle and pretend to fight, push me off - but not really.  Sometimes - on rare occasions, he would sit on my lap, rock in the chair.  No fighting, no goofiness, just the pleasure of sitting.  At other times he would come to me, on his own, head down, wanting to hear, to feel this thing called Love.

Finally, Aaron let me hold him.  In my arms.  Head on my shoulder.  Whispers and kisses in his ear with his body tight against mine.  Sweet joy.  For both Mama and son. 

But never the words back from him.  Only Mama said the love words.  Until one night, just a few days ago, tucking him into bed, kissing his little blond hair and saying, for the thousandth time, "I love you."

Then, I hear it.  In the tiniest voice possible, he whispers - "I love you." 

Almost too quiet to catch but caught indeed.  My Mama heart melted right there.  "I love you."  No longer meaningless.  No longer foreign.  Love.  Now, freely spoken, freely received - "I love you" - "I love you more" - and the war has begun. 

My love crossed the ocean for you - little boy - top that! Love Wars.

Molly's Here

Yep - She's here.... We waited SOO LONNGGG...

Molly who????

Ah Man.... I was supposed to be ON that train!!!

Today - We put her to work.... Baking! 

FUN TIMES WITH MOLLY!!

P.S. - The lastest news is that the vote on Bill 4313 is scheduled for December 22.  That is this Wednesday.  Actually while we are sleeping Tuesday night. 

Pray.  Hard. Please.  Whisper prayers while you work, drive, cook, clean, care for your children.  Pray. 

THE WINNER

With Molly sitting here making sure that we were fair, honest and trustworthy in our drawing...

We generated the winner of the iPad on random.org and the winner of the iPad is.....

NANCI BLACKERT

Congratulations!! 

Personally - I wish I could have awarded an iPad to EVERYONE who donated.  Thank you so much!!

$5232.00 was raised for Gavin!

My own private goal for Gavin's accounts was 5,000.00!  How's that for God providing over and above what we can ask or imagine....

Gavin's chipin

Gavin's iPad giveaway ends at 12:00 midnight tonight.  Any donations after that will be gratefully received but will not count in the giveaway.  We will be drawing early tomorrow morning.  Any of the chip-ins are available to use to make a donation!  If the donation comes in before 12:00 it will count so please feel free to use any of the chip-ins that are open!!

Too Much to Say

I have too much going on in my head.... I'm a jumble of thoughts and emotions.... Some things I have shared and some I have not.  I plan to share.  I find myself holding my breath though because what I have to say has literally blown me away.    It seems too good to be true.  So I am holding back.  Scared.  Oh me of little tiny faith.  Seriously.  Bear with me, dear friends.  I do have news.  News that makes me come undone when I allow myself to consider it too deeply.  God has gone far beyond what I ever hoped and imagined.  I can't share it though.  Not right now.  For a multitude of reasons.  Faith is one of them.

Please - if you haven't dropped five dollars or more into Gavin's account - please do it today.  The iPad ends tonight.  Tomorrow morning - bright and early - someone is going to get an e-mail asking for their address.  PAY ATTENTION to your e-mail because I want to mail the iPad out TOMORROW!   Gavin's family needs every single dollar that is dropped into his account!!

PLEASE - PLEASE - PLEASE - PRAY FOR THE VOTE COMING UP THIS WEEK! 

It is a Very BIG deal.  Pray NOW!  Pray HARD!

Pray that either the vote fails or that the wording on the bill is changed to allow adoptions to continue.  There are those who would choose to shut down adoptions in Aaron's former country completely.  Seriously.  Evil does abound in this world.   There are those who would choose for these children to stay hidden, out of reach.  Please.  There are lives hanging in the balance.   Please pray.  

On Friday, a Reece's Rainbow family met their two little boys for the first time.  Look at these sweet, needy little boys.  Please.  Look in their eyes.  This is WHY you are praying.

 

These little guys weigh 16 lbs and 13 lbs.  They are both three years old but are extremely tiny and malnourished.  They have spent their lives in one room in an orphanage.  In cribs.  Drugged.  They have never left that room.   Like Gavin, they are not babies.   They are absolutely in horrible condition.  That is the honest truth.  Their bodies are rotting.  They have never been touched, held, rocked or soothed.  One of these days I am going to write a post about WHY these boys are in such a state.  I can't right now.  Another one of those stomach wrenching blog posts that takes time to consider and work through.  Emotionally and prayerfully. 

Dear friends, these little boys need to get out.  If the vote passes without wording changes - this family has to leave these boys behind.  Neither boy would survive if they were transferred.  They just would not survive.   The transition from one hell-hole to another is just an unbearable thought.  I can't express how desperately needy they are.  By the grace of God these boys have hope.  Last spring another little girl was rescued from this same room.  Her mom came out yelling and this family heard her cry.  Three children rescued.  Another family is packing bags to get another little one out of that room.  Praise God.  God's people are answering His call.  They are sending a powerful message to the caretakers there.  These children are wanted.  They are precious, beautiful treasures. 

There are so many more.  This is NOT a unique case.  So many of the little ones being adopted are not healthy and happy children in the orphanages.  So many of them are barely hanging on.  Children who are laying in cribs, lost, drugged to keep them quiet, and completely helpless.   Their cries are feeble but God has heard their whimpers as they lay day after day.  He has heard.  He is calling His church to cross the ocean and rescue these desperate and dying babies.  Please stand with these families, this family as they give up so much to gain such blessings.  Pray for them - for the vote - for the children.  The door has been opened.  We just can't stand by and let it close.

Molly

MOLLY IS COMING TO TOWN!!

Molly! 

Aaron's Molly.  The crazy college student from New York who decided a year ago that Aaron just could not spend the rest of his life in a mental institute.  So she started yelling - LOUD!  All she wanted for Christmas last year was for Aaron to have a home.  She yelled so loud that somehow, down here in Virginia, we heard her.  Okay - we didn't hear her but we found her blog.  Her passion for one little boy overwhelmed us.  The rest is history!

Tomorrow she is coming on the train.  We get to spend several days enjoying Molly.  I'm so excited!! 

Molly's advocating for Aaron is a perfect example of how one person CAN make a difference.  Without her yelling, Aaron would not be in our home.  I firmly believe that.  God used her to speak to us and for that I will be forever grateful for dear, sweet Molly.

I am going to burst out crying when she comes off that train.  I know Rob will be right behind me in the tear department.   We're going to be a weepy mess with Aaron going absolutely nuts because he will get to see his first train up close.  THAT will be the highlight of his day.  Unfortunately Molly doesn't stand a chance against the mighty workings of a train!! Oh well, we will take lots of pictures and pretend he cared that his HERO just walked off the train! 

YEAH!!  MOLLY IS COMING TO TOWN!

A Child's Heart

When I found out that Gavin had a family - I wasn't told who it was.  But I figured it out.  I'm not very smart, but I do read a lot of blogs and one blog in particular had caught my eye.  I liked reading this blog because the writer was a child.  An eleven year old girl. 

I follow several blogs written by young girls with big hearts.  I love these kids because their hearts have already been broken by the things of this world.  They love God and this shines through in their blogs as they write with passion, joy and a faith that moves mountains.

This little girl, Genesis, could not contain her joy on her blog.  She was so excited to let the world know that they were adopting.  But she wasn't allowed to say much so she kept talking about a 'secret.'  When her secret coincided with the announcement that Gavin had a family - I knew.  I knew they had chosen Gavin.  I quickly sent a note to the family and was delighted to find out that my hunch was true. Genesis is going to be the big sister of a very special little guy. 

In the last week some new pictures of Gavin have arrived....

 

Do you see this picture?  Doesn't he look like a cute little toddler in the crib?  Maybe weighs 20-30 lbs.  A baby?  Isn't that what it looks like?  The truth - He's not a baby. 

Gavin is almost SIX YEARS OLD. 

He faces transfer at any time.  This little boy would be swallowed up in an institute like Aaron's.  He would not survive.  Look at that picture.  A baby in his PJ's -  Adopting Gavin is an act of mercy and love.  A rescue. 

  I am so grateful that a family has decided to go get him.  To pick him up out out of that crib among so many other cribs and carry him into their family.  I am so grateful that Gavin is going to have a big sister who is so beyond excited to have him for a brother that she can't contain her pleasure.  He gets two brothers too. 

How precious for one little boy.  If you want to read Genesis's blog - go HERE.

For all of you who have donated to this family -  THANK YOU. 

If you haven't - please donate to help this family bring this child home. 

The iPad give-away ends on Sunday. 

Don't you look forward to the day when I get to post a picture of 4 children posing together for a camera??

Pop

Just for your information - I am now MA and Rob is now POP.

Just for your information!

Just in case you wondered what the littlest is now calling us.

We are both feeling a little old and a little countrified with our new names...

Maybe Aaron has been reading too many Berenstain Bears books.... Maybe...

They Love Orphans

   

A year ago they discovered Reece's Rainbow.  Unlike many of us who hem and haw and wonder and struggle and wrestle and fight over whether we should or should not or when or how or why etc. etc. etc. - Not them.  They love orphans.  They were ready then, to go get one of the 'least of these.'  They already had hearts for the orphans and once they found RR, they knew that this is what God desired for their family.  Bags packed. 

But the door was shut.  They didn't meet the financial requirements set forth for a family of five.  So they waited, prayed, wondered, considered.  Please Dear Lord.  Open the door.  A new job emerged.  In a church.  Near family.  Full-time ministry.  But not enough was offered.  The salary quoted wouldn't allow them to adopt.  They prayed.  They asked.  The church prayed.  They agreed.  The salary was raised to where they could adopt.  God had opened the door.  Just barely, but Praise God, the door was open!

Now for the thrill.  To chose a child.  A child in need.  Which child did this gracious, loving family chose?  Which child? 

My Gavin.  They are getting Gavin.  They heard the cries of the orphan and they responded.  It took a year.  A year of prayer, faith, trust and hope.  Now Gavin gets a family.  God's timing.  Perfect.

Dear friends, they are not rich financially - not in any stretch of the imagination.  They just barely make the minimal amount to get one precious child.  But they serve a living and loving God who will supply all their needs.  I know He will.  Through us.  We get to be His hands and feet. 

The opportunity to bless this family is here.  Right now.  The Give-away for Gavin's iPad is still open.  There is still opportunity for anyone/everyone to donate for a chance to win that iPad. 

• One family, choosing to do so without fanfare or praise, stepped out in faith and love for the orphan and DONATED the iPad for Gavin.  That is amazing Love! 
• The HOUSE family has stepped up in faith and love to BRING HIM HOME. 
• Together, giving freely, we can help ease their financial burden and honor the gift given for this one little boy.
• And prayerfully, with great hope and expectation, one little orphan, cherished and loved, will be HOME next Christmas. 

Please make a donation 

Every single 5.00 bill helps.  You have until December 19th.

On the 20th we will announce the winner of the iPad giveaway - Just in time for Christmas!!

If you want to follow along on their journey - Their blog is HERE