More about Tatiana

Tatiana is now facing transfer. She seems like a sweet girl who is doing very well... and she desperately wants a family and needs one.
I am not sure what kind of a facility she will be transferred to: an orphanage for schoolage children where she will receive an education, or a mental institution (or maybe, if she is very lucky, something in between).

Tatiana needs a family soon.

Tatiana also has older siblings who are available for adoption. I do not know much about them--they are not listed on RR and do not have special needs. Tatiana could still be adopted by herself, or with her siblings. I do not know how much additional cost there would be to adopt her siblings. I do have some photos of 3 of them which I'm going to share. I'm going to use RR-style pseudonyms because I don't want to post too much personal info about these kids. If you want more information, though, contact me in the comments and I will get it to you. To my knowledge none of her older siblings are diagnosed with any special needs. In this country FAS is always a strong possibility, though, and the fact that Tatiana has been diagnosed with this makes it seem more likely it would be a situation one or more of her siblings face as well. Their pictures are probably not high enough quality to assess them for signs of it.

The eldest sibling, "Ava," was born in 1993. She is now over 18 and no picture of her is available. In Tatiana and Ava's country, children who turn 16 are only available for adoption if they are part of a sibling group. It may be that at 18 Ava is no longer available at all. In general orphans who age out of the system in this country have nowhere to go. They are given a paltry amount of supplies and money and sent out. This likely happened when Ava was 16 after she had finished her school year. There are some ministries that help orphans who age out, but there's no way of knowing if Ava connected with one of these groups. Even if she is no longer available for adoption, there may be a way for her to emigrate if she wishes if she has siblings in the US. At 18 or 19 she still needs permanency and parents--we all do--and she will always be Tatiana's sister.

"Charles" was born in 1994. He is now 17 or 18. If he will not be available for adoption once he turns 18, his time is very short. It seems likely he is also no longer able to live in an orphanage. This picture was taken when he was 15.


Tatiana's sister "Valencia" was born in 1998, so she will turn 14 sometime this year. Her picture was taken when she was 8:



"Connor" was born in 2003, so he is most likely 8. He was 6 when this picture was taken:


I don't know if any of Tatiana's siblings are together, what age they came into care, or how well they remember each other. I don't know whether all of them are in the same region (if not, there is a significant increase in cost and difficulty). I don't know anything about Ava's status. For me--Tatiana was a child we seriously considered, and knowing she had siblings might have thrown us for a loop. She was on the older side of what we were considering, and adopting a child born before we were married--which would include all of her older siblings--was a line that my husband really doesn't want to cross. But maybe adopting a sibling group of 3, 4, or 5 sounds good to you... maybe you saw one of those older kids' pictures and knew that was your son or daughter... maybe you have compassion for the situation Ava and Charles are now in... maybe you've adopted older children before. Maybe this confirms Tatiana is your daughter rather than scaring you off. Maybe there is someone out there for whom this situation--with all its unknowns and challenges--is exactly the right situation for your family. Or maybe God is telling you that just Tatiana is your daughter, and he has other plans for her siblings. Please don't let money stand in the way--God loves orphans and will be thrilled to bless your socks off if you decide to adopt any or all of these siblings. He cares deeply about Ava, Charles, Valencia, Connor, and Tatiana--because they are his children too. If God is calling you to this, though, please start quickly, because they need a family soon.

Three-year-old girl

Stacia, 3, is described as calm.


She has HIV, and is on medications for that, but has no other health concerns.

HIV is a very manageable need--quarterly doctor's visits, daily medications, but children with HIV will have a normal childhood and have a normal life expectancy. HIV is not a death sentence.

She was born in April 2008, one month before my daughter. I bet she is a lot of fun.

Is Stacia your daughter?

little blind girl with multiple issues

Arianna is a 1 1/2 year old baby girl (presumably her picture is out of date). She has some sort of "cleft/facial issue" according to her profile. She deserves a family that will see what a beautiful daughter of God she is.

The need is desperate for these cute chubby babies

Isn't Gerri a sweet little girl?



She just turned one and is waiting for her family to find her.

Gerri is a sweet, chubby little girl that anyone could fall in love with. You may wonder why it is so urgent that she find a family.

The pictures in the rest of this post are harder to see than the picture of a cute chubby baby. But they are also real and precious children.

Well, in the same region Gerri lives in, there are little boys who look like this.



Ivan is 7. His picture may be out of date... or perhaps worse, it may not be. He is painfully skinny. He looks to be "stimming"--behaviors children who are severely neglected develop to amuse themselves. He seems to be patting or rubbing his head. At 7 he now probably does not understand how to give or receive touch and affection. He may have behavioral problems Gerri's family will not have to deal with if they go for her soon. He is listed as happy and cheerful. If that is still true it is a miracle.

And there is a little girl who looks like this.



"Alexander"--I'll call her Lexa-- is a girl, aged 9. I have no way of knowing if her picture is up to date. I have no way to know if she is even still alive. She looks almost skeletal. She would need lots and lots of help to learn how to interact with people, to overcome the emotional wounds of living for almost a decade without a family, to learn that she is a human being deserving of love. She desperately needs someone to care enough to commit to a lifetime of helping her to see that she will always be loved. Lexa's family will need to be willing to go through the hardship of rescuing her not because of anything she can give them, but because she is a priceless human being, created in the image of God, who deserves love, a family, and life.

Ivan and Lexa are not even listed separately on Reece's Rainbow. They are "additional children" in a region known anonymously as Region 8. Gerri is also still listed as an additional child under a different name--probably this is an error, not an identical twin. There is still hope for Ivan and Lexa, however, as they are available for international adoption. If you are interested in becoming their mommy, you could commit to them (I am not sure whether a homestudy would be required before commitment to these children--it is not for Gerri).

I don't know if Gerri is in danger of ending up in the same mental institution as Ivan or Lexa. I don't know what her conditions are like now. But I do know that no child should go through what Lexa has gone through. I know Gerri needs a family now, to help her grow and develop into a person who knows her value. And Lexa and Ivan need families now too, to help restore to them their birthright--to be a son and a daughter, to be loved, to be valued.

Wednesday's child

Had to post sweet Wednesday on a Wednesday :)



Wednesday has Down Syndrome--and doesn't she look sweet?

I don't know how out of date her picture may be, but her profile says Wednesday is 9.

Imagine spending 9 years without a family.

She needs a family now. She still deserves one.
Many families who have adopted from Eastern Europe say that if you adopt a child from an institution, she or he will be a "toddler" regardless of age. Often they are much smaller than would be expected, especially if they have Down Syndrome, which can result in them being smaller even leaving aside the possibilities of neglect and malnutrition (or just inadequate nutrition). Wednesday needs and deserves a chance to blossom in a family.

Two-year-old boys

Robert was born in the same month as my son.

My son runs around, plays with everything, knows probably a hundred words, climbs and crawls and hides and throws tantrums and sleeps in a big boy bed and sits on a potty and torments his sister and tries to drink from mud puddles and is fascinated by any motor vehicle and delights in books. Because that's what 2-year-old boys are supposed to do.

But Robert was born with Down Syndrome.

So there's some of those things he probably can't do. And that's okay.

He could still play and have fun and learn words and get around and follow after his big siblings and read with his mommy and play cars with his daddy except...

Robert was born with Down Syndrome in Eastern Europe.

So his parents did not bring him home. They left him at the hospital. And he is growing up in an orphanage where he doesn't have a mommy or daddy or brothers or sisters. He looks pretty happy. He is in a good place, where probably he has toys and books and kindness and can sometimes play outside. But he doesn't have a family. And even if he's in a good place now, the next place won't be as good. And no one in his country wants a little boy with Down Syndrome.

But maybe you do.

Robert is said to be in an excellent orphanage. His region will probably require 3 trips. Many families have had great experiences with his orphanage and are willing to share about it if you are interested in adopting Robert.


(Older picture of Robert)

He needs you

Constantine is 2, only a few months older than my beautiful, active 2-year-old son.

However, he is paralyzed on one side of his body.

He needs a mommy and daddy of his own. In his country, he will never be given a chance to grow and develop as God intended little boys to do (disability or not). If he needs a wheelchair, he will probably have to share it and it won't be fitted to his little body. If he needs physical therapy to give him the greatest degree of motion possible, it's unlikely he will receive it. He probably will never be given an education if he stays where he is, even though there's no evidence he has cognitive problems. He may not be mentally disabled or mentally ill, but if he is sent to a mental institution, he likely will become so. (And such institution is no place for children who do have cognitive problems or children with psychological issues, either). Please help Constantine come home. Please consider being his mommy.