After my little tropical getaway yesterday, I am back to reality today...

Sometimes reality BITES.

Today I am here... if only in my mind :)

This is Corrina. She will be 7 years old in 2 weeks. She weighs 21 lbs.

She lives in an institution in Eastern Europe. She is available for adoption and desperately needs someone to bring her home. Adoption from this country is quick...in 5-6 months she could be home, with you, gaining weight and flourishing with your love. She is literally wasting away...

New Appt.Date~ January 26th. Bah Humbug.

There was a mix up with our date. It's actually 5 days later than what we planned on.

This is the last Christmas this child will be an ORPHAN. God willing. We are coming soon little one!

A man after Gods own heart...Please pray for his family

Derek Loux

Words from a 'Warrior for the Orphan'~ Derek Loux

I was thinking, "Man, adopting this little boy has been so much work. This is exhausting, expensive, uncomfortable, and it doesn't feel very rewarding right now." What am I doing in some little Soviet car in the dark, in the middle of rural Ukraine in frozen December, as the driver dodges cats and potholes? What if Dimitri doesn't improve at all? What if we get "nothing" out of this? Ahhh, there it was; that dark, fallen, unreedemed, selfish human love, rooted in the tree of the knowledge of "good and evil". The love the Greeks called "erao" love. The love where we treat someone as precious and treasured for what we can get out of it. This is unlike "agapeo" love, the God kind of love that treats someone as treasured and precious for their good, not for my good. It's when I love a person in order to meet their needs, having no expectation of them meeting any of my needs. At a whole new level, God is working His kind of love into my weak heart, and He's using little Dimitri to do it.On the drive home that night, the Lord whispered in my ear, "This is Redemption. Derek, do you know how far I travelled to get you and bring you back? I had to be separated from my Son, in order to get you, just like you are separated from your children in order to get these boys. Do you know how expensive it was for Me to purchase you? It cost me everything. Do you know how broken, sick, damaged, twisted, dirty, smelly, and hopeless you were? And at the end of it all, you had nothing to give me or add to me. I did it for you. I emptied myself and became nothing so that you could have it all. This is redemption.My friends, adoption is redemption. It's costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him. And when He redeems us, we can't even really appreciate or comprehend it, just like Dimitri will never comprehend or fully appreciate what is about to happen to him but he will live in the fruit of it. As his Daddy, I will never expect him to understand all of this or even to thank me. I just want to watch him live in the benefits of my love and experience the joys of being an heir in my family. This is how our heavenly "Papa" feels towards us.Today, settle your busy heart down and rest in the benefits of redemption. Enjoy the fruits of His goodness, and stop trying to "pay Him back". You'll never get close you goofy little kid

We leave in 28 days!

I told my husband he never has to buy me another gift-EVER. This little boy is everything I could ever ask for. I STILL can't believe we're actually going to get him. I have dreamed about it for so long, and it's really going to happen! So yes, my husband is 'off the hook' for life. Which is good, because he was always lousy at buying gifts :)

This is for you Missy (wink,wink)

Lindsey and her niece

Please, Please,Please consider bringing one of these children into your family...

They will literally be forgotten forever and most likely DIE without you. I don't say it to guilt you, I say it because it's true. And it breaks my heart. It's NOT too late to save them, but it soon will be. Please pray about it, pass their pictures along, help find them families. They are innocent little souls.
www.reecesrainbow.com

A committment from a family could hold them in the orphanage, and prevent their transfer to the institution.

He needs someone FAST

She needs someone FAST

He needs someone FAST

He needs someone FAST

oldie but goodie

My kids and I love watching this together.It's nice to create memories with your kids out of something that you have as a memory of your own childhood. Have you watched this lately?

another picture of Aaron

Look at those dimples! What a wonderful son he would make some lucky family. He really needs someone to save him, he will spend his life in an institution if nobody comes for him. REALLY, he will. Pretty soon that smile will fade and he will lose hope that anyone will come...www.reecesrainbow.com YOU can be the difference between life in a crib for him and a life FULL of joy and family. He is ABLE, he is happy, don't let him waste away....

The surf is up and the tide is going out.

I WILL make a difference for THIS one!

My Starfish.

http://www.nobabynoblog.blogspot.com/

Hop on over to this blog to read about this sweet boy who has ALREADY been transferred to an institution. He desperately needs your help. PLEASE go take a look, he is a VERY able little boy with tremendous potential. He can STILL be adopted...could you be the family for Aaron??

36 days until we leave for our boy!

Doncho gets his family today~YEAH!!!

a prayer-a-thon...sort of

Please join my in praying every day until Christmas for little Edie. It's less than 2 weeks. Prayer can move mountains, and this little girl needs a miracle! Lets see what we can do....

Edie needs you to pray for her, will you?

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice." Proverbs 31:8-9

Edie, this child weighs heavily on my heart. She has Goldenhar like Hunter, but her hydrocephaly is so bad. She desperately needs surgery.

She will be sent to the institution on her 4th birthday. That's in 6 months. She will die there. Someone please help her.

How can I feel so lonesome for someone I have never even met?

January 21st.

I was SO hoping for a sooner date. I know it's only 6 weeks away, but to me it seems so far away, I suppose because I was preparing myself for maybe leaving soon, like next week. But, all is good. Hoping time will fly :)

Feeling better :)

I stopped feeling sorry for myself and annoying all of my family and decided to have some fun with the monsters, I mean the kids. If you haven't visited this blog before http://apeachykitchen.blogspot.com/ you should do so. We love to see what she has for us to cook and we especially like her fun music. So tonight we got silly and made sugar cookies with funny decorations that totally didn't go with cookies, but it was fun. And of course, the music gets you in a good mood :)

This day has draaaagged on. I have a headache from tension and not sleeping well last night. I was so preoccupied about what today would bring. And so far it has brought disappointment. What is the hold-up?? I have no idea. Does Yulia have our dates? Are they for next week, next month?? I don't know. Some days it seems like we are NEVER going to meet this child, yet I know in the overall big picture we have waited SO far less than alot of adoptive parents. It's just frustrating. There is an incredible lot to coordinate once we get the travel date. I don't think it's going to be today, since it's like, what, midnight in Eastern Europe?? I don't like 'downer' blogs, so sorry I just posted one :)

Meredith has an email into Yulia to see what the hold up is...

Still Waiting.....

This sweet boy really needs a family, he will be sent to an institution soon. www.reecesrainbow.com

tomorrow's the day!!

It's been a looong weekend. Just waiting for tomorrow and finding out just when we can get our boy:) So excited and scared at the same time.

Monday is the day we find out. That's what Yulia said, anyway :)

Dang...

it wasn't today. Lets hope for tomorrow :) I am off to watch Gilligans Island with the monsters!

Vlad needs a mama. I wish it could be me :)

This is Tonya, and she REALLY needs a family. Isn't she beautiful, look at those eyes!

7 followers

Oh the pressure! Seriously.
My morning so far has consisted of chasing a naked 2 yr old around, trying to get the lipstick off the bathroom wall (and the 2 yr old) and saving my credit cards from being cut up, by said 2 yr old. (I think his Dad put him up to that one!)

Still no travel dates, but I'm optimistic it will be today :)

I can't tell you how many times I have checked my email in the last 2 days. It's becoming an obsession. A sick, unhealthy obsession :) Oh well, one of these 'clicks' and my life will change. I will be on my way to my sweet little boy. Ahh... and life will be good. :)

prayer warrior

We got our pictures yesterday of Sasha and Andriy. The kids were So excited! We hung them up in our dining room so we can see them everyday at supper and pray for them. Summer was so excited she ran over to tell our neighbors about Sasha and Andriy...now they think we are adopting two children!! It's kind of funny.

Still no news on travel.