One post for Dylan

In going through all the kids of "region 23," I find myself sometimes at a loss as what to say. It's easy with the kids who look more appealing, who have a smile or a story or even just a name that helps them stand out. I tend to see the cute kids, the kids whose names I like, or the kids whose story touches me. Sometimes the kids in bad condition. Sometimes a kid with a bad picture who grabs me. I don't think Dylan would have grabbed me, but what if this boy never grabs anyone? What if this is the only post anyone ever writes on Dylan--what if this is the only place his picture ever is apart from Reece's Rainbow? Dylan has potential. He is more than a picture, more than a diagnosis. He will turn 4 around when my daughter does, in May. He is sociable. I bet he'd have fun at her party. He likely hasn't been to a birthday party before.... Dylan is just one more little boy who needs a family. But he was created by God and is loved by him. And if someone brings him home... well, for them he won't be just a name and a word of description on a photolisting. He'll be their son.

Quick break to see some other precious children....

Remember Owen?

Click here to see some more pictures of him, including a sweet baby picture.

Remember sweet Kacey with Apert Syndrome?

Here is a post from a mom who met her... she would do so well in a family.

I don't think I'd mentioned Tamara before... but she seems so sweet.

She had a family coming but they are not able to complete the adoption. She doesn't deserve to be sent to a mental institution. No child does... but Tamara is facing this only because she looks different. Could she be your daughter?
There is a mom who has met Tamara as well; if you contact Reece's Rainbow they could put you in touch with her.

Keegan is a sweet little boy with Down Syndrome.

He has a heart defect for which surgery is not recommended and a bit of strabismus but nothing too serious... and at the ripe old age of 1 is facing the institution because his baby house is closing.
If a family were interested, he could be adopted with Ollie, who is also under 2. Ollie has a heart defect which is more serious and will need attention when he comes home. He is not in the baby house that is closing, so he is not in immediate danger of transfer.


And Genesis is now officially adopted! She has a mommy, a daddy, three brothers, and a sister. Her new name is Sarah Joy.

In a few weeks they will all be together at home.
Yvonne (Sarah's mom) is pleading for a family for Angela, who she sponsors through Life 2 Orphans and was able to hold at the orphanage.

From her RR profile:
"Diagnosis: severe grade of the mental delay, hydrocephalus, fibrosis of hyaloid, secondary glaucoma, exfoliation/detachment of retina, congenital defect of the heart partition"
I don't know what all of that means, but it sounds like she has blindness, hydrocephalus, and a heart defect....

Ivan is also still in desperate need of a family.

Isn't she beautiful?

Vasilisa will be 3 this summer. She might or might not be allowed to even play outside in the sun. She won't have brothers or sisters to chase around. She won't have a mommy to comfort her if she falls down and gets hurt. She almost certainly won't get to go swimming or run through a sprinkler.

But if she were your daughter, she could experience all the things God meant her to, all the things a childhood summer means to you.

She seems like just a picture and a name on a list. A word of description ("sociable").

But Vasilisa is a real little girl, a human being. She gets hungry and thirsty and lonely and hurt--and hopefully she also knows what it is to be happy and to love and be loved. She looks and sounds like she knows what it is to play, to laugh, to get attention, to talk to a friend or caregiver.

This little girl could really snuggle in your arms or chase you around growling like a monster or cheer when her daddy comes home or beg to have ice cream for dinner but settle for macaroni and cheese when you said no.

Yes, there are hundreds of little girls just like her on Reece's Rainbow. And every one of them is special. Vasilisa is special too. She's made in God's image. She's his daughter.
And she deserves to be someone else's too.

God will provide a way if He tells you to get her

Svetlana is turning 3. She is "moderately excitable." There must be a family for whom this little girl is perfect.

And here's an adorable baby picture:


If you are interested in Svetlana, Reece's Rainbow has more photos available.
Many families are able to fully fund their adoption with RR's help. Grants can help with adopting special needs children too. God blesses those who step out in faith to do His will... if He says you are Svetlana's mommy, he can make a way.

I will give $10 to each family who commits to a little one from "Region 23"'s additional children... yeah, it's not a lot, but that's what I can promise.

Any of you Canadian?

I don't know if I have any Canadians who read my blog, but some of the children on RR are only available to Canadian families.

Timothy, who just turned 4, is HIV+ and needs a Canadian family to adopt him.

(Many of the children are available to citizens of other foreign countries, such as Spain or France, as well; but RR is a ministry that concentrates on the US and Canada, so they aren't really trying to find families in Europe, though some military families living overseas have connected with their children through RR. If you happen to live in some other country, feel free to inquire about whether you could be Timothy's mom or dad.)



Timothy's availability is uncertain, but if an interested family inquires RR or his agency can find out more. If international adoption is an option for Timothy, his family needs to find him!

Sweet, sweet girl

Tatiana is a sweet, gorgeous little girl who desperately needs a family. From her Reece's Rainbow profile:
"Tatiana is a sweetheart, and she wants a mama so badly. When we'd go to get our kids, she kept asking "And Tania? And Tania?" She would sob when we would leave her with the groupa. Out of all the kids there, she was the only that I saw playing pretend – eating pretend food, taking care of baby dolls. She is very emotionally fragile, and she seems to get overwhelmed. She is very small and thin. She has big blue eyes, and she desperately wants to be held and cuddled."

Tell me this girl doesn't break your heart... when we weren't sure we were equipped to be Genesis' parents and still thinking we could adopt this little girl was one of the top two children we considered (the other was Mandy). I don't know how I haven't posted about Tatiana before. She sounds very sweet and high-functioning and needs a family oh so badly. She is HIV+ and diagnosed with FAS (which has a very broad range of effects on kids who are diagnosed).

Today I saw her new profile picture.



Please, someone go rescue this sweet girl.

More about Genesis' family

Genesis' new family's FSP (family sponsorship profile) is up on Reece's Rainbow! If your heart has been touched by this little girl, please donate to them--they will need the funds. They also commented on my first post about Genesis, if you want a little more information about them.

This family is perfect for Genesis. They are already parents to a special little boy who they believe has the same eye condition that she does. They are also already parents through international adoption. Genesis' dad is a pastor so they can really use financial help to bring her home.

God is good. I am so glad this little girl I fell in love with has a family.

My husband and I were on the phone with them for half an hour this morning... I know their life story now :)

Genesis' mom's blog is here. They will be naming her Sarah Joy.

7-year-old boy in China

Zane is estimated to be 7 1/2.

From his Reece's Rainbow profile:

He is reported to have adapted will to life at the orphanage and has made many friends. He is very helpful to the teachers and care givers. He is able to take care of his daily needs, and speaks a few words. His caregivers find him to be loving, humorous, very adorable and having a kind heart. This lovable boy needs a family that is experienced with childhood delays and can be strong advocates for him.

Commitment

Because Reece's Rainbow allows families to "commit" to an orphan on their site very early in the process--before their home study is complete--families have more time to raise funds. Sometimes, though, a family cannot complete the adoption process who thought they could, and then the little girl or boy they thought they would be bringing home becomes available in.

Because M. is in an institution, we will not be able to commit to her until we finish our home study. I hope that will be soon, but our education phase is taking a long time--we have so much going on with just our two kids at home that my husband especially does not have much time for reading. But I am hoping that soon we will have our homestudy finished, and then we can get those formal commitment documents done up, and then we can tell you who M. really is.

Another family had hoped to adopt a little boy who had just turned 6. However, they were not able to complete the process.

This is Preston.














Preston is still waiting for a family, and now he has a $10,000.00+ grant. That's around a third of what his adoption will cost. He's worth every penny!

Do you think you could be the one to bring him home?

Updates

First, an update on our adoption process. We had our second home visit on Tuesday! After reviewing our entire lives, the social worker is still okay with us adopting. Next step: a lot more paperwork. Luckily, DH and I enjoy paperwork more than most. We still need to find the time to do it, though.

Remember sweet Vanessa?

She has a new picture!



Vanessa has had surgery to help her heart. The surgery was a success, but she may need another still. Good news for Vanessa, but the best news would be a family of her own--keep praying for Vanessa!

More good news--
Older children on Reece's Rainbow can now have money in their grant funds!

Dakota is 8 and needs a family very badly. I blogged about him before.


Dakota and other children can now receive grant funds, so if you felt led to give to him before but did not because the money would not go to him directly, now you can give. Please keep praying for Dakota!

Feel free to look back at all the kids I've posted before. They are growing and changing... and they still don't have families. Josie, Heaven, Valentin, and Teri Lyn have families; the rest are still waiting. Maybe you glanced over my quick post on Maeve. Maybe you weren't following yet when I blogged about Sammy. But save the four who were found, every child I have asked you to consider is still waiting. None of them is the child I'm hoping to adopt. The Church--and anyone else who recognizes the value of a little person others call imperfect--needs to step up and make sure these children have families.

Two children who can be adopted together

Adopting two children on the same trip is an option for some families. These two kids can be adopted at the same time with no additional fees or travel time at all--you would just need one more ticket back home. Presumably they're at the same orphanage.

Kole is 2 or 3 years old and has delays, but sounds like a lot of fun. He loves places to crawl through and watching cars... sounds a little like my boy :)



Ria has arthrogryposis, which is a connective tissue disorder resulting in tight joints. It can vary greatly in severity and which joints are affected, but surgery and physical therapy can improve the prognosis. Ria is receiving care for her condition in the orphanage she lives in. She is six.



Isn't Ria gorgeous? You can learn more about Ria and Kole from their Reece's Rainbow profiles, and interested families can see new photos and videos of these two taken this month.

Babies

Who doesn't love babies? Probably not anyone reading my blog.


This is Arden. He's only 6 months old, and there's a chance he could be home by his first birthday if his family acts quickly. My daughter said this post should be about him :) ("the bandaid one"). She says to say that we love him very much. She suggests that we should adopt him too. But that's not going to happen at least until we're done with our first adoption, and he's so little I hope he gets picked out quicker than that. She says we need a baby because her brother is a big boy now. There are a few other really little babies on Reece's Rainbow. There are little ones under one with Down Syndrome, HIV, and other special needs. Adopting children and toddlers is great, but there is a need for families willing to adopt little babies with special needs too, both in the US and abroad. Arden deserves a family to love him and advocate for him. He is a precious little boy.

Grant money

Adoption isn't cheap. It generally costs between $25,000 and $38,000 to adopt internationally. That includes the cost of travelling overseas, preparing documents, court fees and mandated donations, and fees charged by agencies or the country. These costs are on top of the costs any family might have when adding a child--clothes, food, a bed, a car seat, a larger vehicle, and any sort of changes that might be needed to accomodate a child with special needs.

It isn't any cheaper to adopt a child with special needs. In fact, the changes a family may need to make to their home and lifestyle probably mean it is much more expensive. Part of how Reece's Rainbow helps families who want to adopt a child with special needs is by raising grants for these children. After a family commits to a child, they can continue to raise money with Reece's Rainbow, and donations through Reece's Rainbow are tax deductible. Many families are able to get their adoptions fully funded, though they are still responsible for initial home-study costs and a few other things. Children with large grants get families. Children who are fully funded get adopted. The child with a $20,000 dollar grant find a family, every time. Many people cannot adopt because of the incredible cost of international adoption. They have the love, the space, the income--just not the huge sum of money to go get their son or daughter. Does that describe your family?

This is Juris. His grant is at almost $12,000. I'm not sure what country he is in (and couldn't tell if I was), but that may be over halfway to the full cost that would be needed for his adoption.

Ten thousand dollars is still a lot of money. But it's also a lot less than twenty thousand. Obviously someone cares enough about Juris to do some fundraising for him--or a lot of people cared about Juris enough to donate. Either way, if he's your son, there are people who love him and would love to help you bring him home. If people donated over eleven thousand to Juris, not knowing if he would ever have a family, just to help give him a chance, then he can be fully funded if you need it--even more people will want to donate knowing that it will bring Juris home!

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.

A little boy who needs a family

Shaun has Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome. This has been thought of as a fatal disease in the past, but as medical science advances, research shows that more children with this genetic difference are surviving longer. Shaun needs and deserves a family so that he can live up to his potential! The fact that he has lived as long as he has in an orphanage setting is very promising for him.

Adoption can save lives

You shouldn't adopt just to save a child. You shouldn't adopt unless you want to add a child to your family, to have a new son or daughter for the rest of your life. But there are children who do not get the medical care they need in their countries.



This is Vanessa. Her Reece's Rainbow file simply says that she has a heart condition and needs a family quickly. I don't know what kind of medical care she will get in her country (though many children with Down Syndrome do have heart defects repaired in their home countries). But having a loving family and excellent medical care is huge for these kids.

Other kids may have brain damage because they do not get needed surgeries for Apert Syndrome or hydrocephalus. Many times, a child may have a food allergy and not get the special diet they need (and if you know me, you probably know my little guy has a milk allergy... and I can tell you that getting a special diet has made a huge difference to his health!) There is so much that a family can do to care and advocate for a special child, but an orphanage cannot. Every one of these kids will be better off with a family of their own... and for some of them it may save their lives.

Would you be willing to bring Vanessa home, be her mommy, and make sure she gets the care she needs? Do you want those two big blue eyes, that wispy blonde hair, and a big smile in your house? Vanessa is two and she needs a mommy and daddy. She's not my daughter. Maybe she's yours.

Reece's Rainbow is helping kids find their families....

This sweet little guy is Dmitriy. There is a family working to bring him home--but they can't officially commit to him yet (no, it's not us :)

Dmitriy is a very special little boy and I am sure he will bring his family so much joy... please join me in praying for Dmitriy's family to complete their homestudy quickly so that they can officially commit, and praying that he would be able to go home quickly! I have done some research on adopting children who are blind and it's not unmanageable; children who are blind need more help to engage the world, and they need toys and an environment that stimulates their other senses, but they are capable of growing up to lead independent lives.

I know that so far all of the kids that I've posted have been boys, and we are adopting a little girl. I guess that's just one of the funny things about how God works... but tomorrow I will feature a sweet little girl who is also not my daughter.

Reece's Rainbow does have other children with visual impairments who need homes, like Jeanne... and some others who are being adopted, like sweet Andriy!

One of my favorite little guys on RR

This is Sammy:


I think he's one of the most precious kids on Reece's Rainbow! He's just 4 months younger than my daughter, almost 3. He has Apert Syndrome, which means he will likely need surgeries on his face as he gets older, and will need surgeries on his hands if he hasn't had them yet, and possibly his feet. This adorable little redhead needs a mommy to hold him through all of that, and a daddy to play with him while he gets better, and siblings to draw him pictures to hang in his hospital room while he recovers. Imagine having to go through all that alone....

I really hope someone else looks at Sammy and wants to be his mom!

All the kids I am not adopting

Over the next couple weeks, since I can't say much about the girl I hope is my daughter, I want to introduce some little boys and girls (mostly boys, actually) that I'm not adopting.

I don't know why, but it seems to be the boys who tug on my heart more.

I can't adopt all the kids who need a home. I can't even adopt all the kids who seem special to me, and I can't adopt all the kids who really need a family badly. But maybe I can help them find their own mommies and daddies. Three kids I've posted links to (Anthony, Eddie, and Elaina) have found families, though not due to my posts.

Today I want to introduce you to Josiah.



Josiah is 7 years old. He has been transferred to a mental institution because he has Down Syndrome. Seven seems old for someone considering adoption, but Josiah has so much of his life ahead of him--if he is adopted. If he is not adopted, he will be in the institution for all his life, barring major changes in the way his country of origin views people with special needs. And Josiah isn't doing well in the institution: losing weight. Regressing. If he had a mommy and daddy in the US, he could be learning in school, learning about being in a family, and preparing for a life filled with possibility. But first someone will have to step out in faith and say "That little boy is my son."

Many of the kids featured on Reece's Rainbow are in poor situations, but it sounds like Josiah really needs a family fast. I am praying his Mommy and Daddy come for him!