Saturday, October 31, 2009

Introduction and 2009 Christmas Angel Tree

Hi! I am a very ordinary woman with a God-given passion for the children of the world who do not have a family of their very own. I love Jesus and I take His Word very seriously--He loves orphans dearly and expects his followers to do the same. I am hoping in this blog to promote awareness of the 130-143 million orphans (estimates vary) across our globe, to high-light some of my favorite adoption ministries and to kindle a flame in many hearts to provide a home for at least one of these little ones. I also plan to share some of the joys and struggles of raising our own 6 chosen children--3 adopted from foster care, 1 adopted privately, and two with Down syndrome adopted internationally from Ukraine in 2008 (Caleb) and 2009 (Steven) with the help of a wonderful organization called Reece's Rainbow. (Those 2 adoption journeys will remain on a private blog for now.) Since 4 of our children are somewhere in the throes of puberty, I definitely want to protect their privacy to some extent. There will likely be some posts related to various special needs such as Down syndrome, autism, ADHD, attachment disorder, and fetal alcohol exposure. I guess we'll all find out where this blog will go as it goes along.



Right now, I'd really like to encourage any and all readers to check out the Reece's Rainbow 2009 Christmas Angel Tree (www.reecesrainbow.com/angeltree2009.html) which just opened a few hours ago for the season. In only 3 years, more than 225 children with Down syndrome and other special needs have found their "forever families" at the end of Reece's Rainbow! The Angel Tree is their most important fundraiser each year, and this year they have 166 orphans with Down syndrome around the world who are in need of grant donation (and adoption!) From November 1 through December 31 we have the opportunity to help these little ones by raising money in their adoption grant funds so a *forever family* can afford to rescue them from life in a mental institution. According to Andrea Roberts, beloved leader of Reece's Rainbow, "there are families lined up and waiting to save these children but they need financial help to do it! With an average cost of $25,000 to adopt internationally, every penny helps. Even the smallest donations really add up, and can truly change the course of a child's life!" With your donation of $35 (or more), you will receive a beautiful porcelain Christmas ornament with your sponsored child's photo on the back.

Personally, I know that without the $10,000 grant we received through Reece's Rainbow, we would not have been able to complete Steven's adoption.