A new name

I noticed Peter more than a year ago. He has the same name as my son and my husband, and even looks kind of like my boy Peter. He's a beautiful little boy, isn't he? His last picture was awful--too bright and you could barely see his face--but even so I decided he looked like my Peter, and I liked him.

If you are on the Reece's Rainbow facebook page, or keep a close eye on the listings, you may have noticed something. Slowly but surely, additional children are getting their own pages. They are being given new names and a chance to be seen by a family as individuals. There's no new information but it makes it easier to share them, and that much easier to consider committing to them.

Peter will have his own page, too, and a better chance at a family! I am hoping that he will be able to get more exposure then instead of being buried in the middle of the additional children.

I had the privilege of naming three of these precious boys who have new pages:
Obadiah:

He shares a name with my 7-week-old son :)

Nehemiah:

Phineas:

I asked for Phinehas, but he is adorable... I think all three suit their names.

And this precious girl is now Wren:

I am especially hoping a family will step forward for her now.

Boys who look like my son, revisited

Over 6 months ago, near the beginning of this journey, I posted about 3 boys who look like my son.

Today, as I looked through the pages of children who are special to me, I had trouble finding the picture of Peter M. in the additional children of Region 23. Why? Because he has a new picture and looks so much bigger. Peter M. will turn 4 about the time I am having my third child (June)... just look how much bigger he's gotten!



He doesn't look as much like my Peter anymore, but he is adorable... surely someone out there wants to be his mommy? I don't know when children in his region or orphanage are transferred, but some children are transferred as early as 3 or 4. Peter deserves a family who will love him, not an institution.

The two other little boys I posted about have not yet found families either. Kyle is now 5 and faces transfer soon. He badly needs a family to step up for him and save him from the institution. He's had a new photo for a while now:



Kyle doesn't look as much like my Peter anymore either, in part because Peter's hair doesn't usually get that long, but he is still precious too, and also deserves better than life tied to a bed in a mental institution.

At the same time I found Peter M's new picture, I discovered Andrew has a new picture, though he hasn't changed as much as the other two:



The information for Region 2, where Kyle and Andrew live, has been clarified, and there is a possibility Kyle and Andrew could be adopted together! Or, look at all the other sweet kids in region 2. Robyn, Celine, Elijah, and Jack live there as well... and if you fall in love with Megan, 6, who has just been transferred to a bad institution and has a grant over $20,000, and think she is your daughter and Andrew is your son, or if Evan, turning 11 this month, catches your eye and you think he is meant to be Kyle's big brother... trust me, I won't complain. They all need families just as badly.

I love these kids

I just love Jesse. I love that smile. Love those chubby cheeks. I love his name (which isn't his real name, of course--nor are Lindsey and Rebekah and Peter's names their "real" names.

We use that expression a lot, don't we? "I just love that."

I bet you could find a lot of people who just love this little boy.

But do I really love him? Do I love him enough to spend months having my parenting abilities evaluated, to fill out stacks of paperwork, to spend huge amounts of money, to cross the ocean and spend weeks in a foreign country? Well, maybe. But there's another little girl I'm going to do that for. I don't think I'm going to be the one to love Jesse that much.

I don't love him enough to call him my son. I don't love him enough to bring him home.
If you clicked on the link, it's pretty obvious I don't even love him enough to put a couple dollars in his grant fund. I don't "just love him" that much.

It doesn't look like anyone loves Jesse enough to adopt him. And that is the kind of love he needs.

Advocating for kids with special needs

Sometimes, when you look through a huge list of children, it's hard to personally remember each one. You see one or two who stick out to you, and the rest fade into the background of "other kids." It doesn't mean they aren't important, or that you won't be happy when someone chooses them, but you can't advocate for every one of them. That's why Reece's Rainbow has prayer warriors, orphan warriors, and others who advocate for a specific child. Kids are showing up daily on the "My Family Found Me" page. I was thrilled when Harry and Ras and Oleg were found; I was excited when Patrick was found. I was happy for Landon, Ella, and Shane too... but I didn't really remember them. And it's worth noting that Oleg was not a child I had really taken to the first time around, but one a friend had noticed... and because he was her favorite, he became one that I watched too.

So when you see one of these children that particularly touches you, show people their picture. Post them on facebook. Don't just say "They're on RR, people will see them there." Kids get lost in the crowd on huge photolistings, but if you present them one at a time, people notice them. That's why I try to do just one (or sometimes a few) at a time--on FaceBook (I'm Jessica Jane Cooper), on Twitter (I'm GlorifyHisSon), and other places I go (sometimes I'm Young Christian Woman... don't know how much longer I can use that one though ;). I try to pick different kids, but when someone says to me, "Look at this guy. He's special." I notice him. I remember him. Even if I never pass on that picture, I rejoice a little more when I see they have a family coming for them. And maybe if you pass on that picture of Vanessa, or Sammy, or Peter, even if they don't find their family, someone will go to Reece's Rainbow and fall in love with a different child. (And, yeah, I linked to a whole bunch of profiles... each link is for a different kid... you don't have to click on them.)

Yesterday someone posted on the (private) RR message boards about two little boys. One was Max:



Max will turn 2 in November. Look at the personality in this little guy! He totally needs a home. I can't believe he didn't stand out to me. But he didn't. I've probably looked at his picture before--briefly--but I didn't remember Max. But if you're reading this, you'll remember Max. And if you post Max on facebook, your facebook friends are going to remember Max. Especially if he's the only little kid from Russia you ever post to facebook. Especially if Max's mommy or daddy happens to read it. So if you browse the photo listings and see someone who stands out to you, go ahead and pass the picture on. Not everyone who goes to the HIV 0-5 waiting kids page on RR is going to fall in love with Max. He's not going to stick out to each person that goes there the same way. But Max is special! They are all special.

I also pray for every child when someone asks. So today I ask you to say a prayer for Max. Pray that he will find his family.

Three blond boys

Today I want to introduce three special little boys with Down Syndrome. They are special because they happen to look somewhat like my boy. I by no means am looking for a "perfect child" with blond hair and blue eyes--that just happens to be what my own sweet boy looks like--we considered adopting from Ethiopia and the little girl we want to commit to has darker hair. These three are certainly cuties though; maybe you will fall in love with your son :)

In addition to the many children who have full profiles on Reece's Rainbow, in some regions of Russia there are "additional children." These children have a little bit of information and a picture but no medical information. If someone falls in love with one of these kids, they can commit to adopt the child, but these additional children don't have their own page because full medical information is not available. Peter is one of the additional children in Region 23. You can find him about halfway down (but feel free to look through all those other sweet faces too). He not only looks like my boy but has the same name too. Peter could be adopted by parents 48 or under. He is in the same region as Sammy, but they cannot be adopted together. Can you picture Peter trying to climb your bookcases?


Andrew is almost 4 and has Down Syndrome. He lives in Russia and could be adopted by a single mom or an "older" couple (I don't know the exact age limits). Isn't he adorable? Can you see him driving a truck around your living room?







Kyle will turn 5 in November. He is in the same region of Russia as Andrew, but that region does not allow the adoption of multiple unrelated children. He reminds me of a boy, and something about his face also reminds me of my cousins--but my kids reminded me of them when they were first born too. He looks like a sweet kid--I bet he'd love learning to play catch with his daddy.