From his "house" to home...

For those of you who do not know my story; here is a snapshot. February 2011 we committed to a child on Reece's Rainbow. We hit obstacle, after obstacle, after OBSTACLE. We were refused cooperation of a local homestudy agency, found another and had our homestudy approved in 23 days. Next came our USCIS immigration approval it came in 33 days from the start of filing until I had our "golden ticket" in hand. We went our dossier to Ukraine the first week in August and it arrived the day before my birthday on August 3rd. Then...it sat there, waiting for Alexander to become available for adoption. Painstakingly we decided to move our adoption plans and proceed with adopting Andriy because we had no idea when Alexander would be fully available for adoption. Our dossier was submitted August 18th, we traveled to Ukraine September 25th. We adopted Andriy Jadon on October 6th, 2011 (fastest adoption time in our teams history in working in Ukriane...just 8 days after meeting Jadon we adopted him). We were back home October 20th. If you want to read our adoption story you can find us at Welcome to Taylorville.


That is where this story starts...while we were in country still. I was contacted by Bianca. She told me Joe came to her and said, "Let's adopt!" and when they laid eyes on this boy, they KNEW he was theirs. This is Darren (soon to be Jackson) and the first picture was taken in 2010 (I believe) the last two pictures were taken September 1st, 2011. You can click on any picture to go to Bianca's blog and find out how to donate.

As far as I know, and, yes, I asked, Darren (Jackson when he comes home) is the LAST child at this orphanage with Down syndrome. He is Jadon's buddy. I wanna go to Louisiana after he is home and "reunite" the boys. This family is moving quickly to get to Jackson and bring him home. They are half-way done with their homestudy already.

They are hosting an iPad2 giveaway. Things are moving slow but I am hoping to make a difference with that. Can you share their story? Can you pray for them? Can you donate?

I cannot lie, the place there isn't as bad as some of I heard and seen; but, make no mistake it is NO substitute for a home. The nannies do the best the can. BUT I can say my 3 year old son could not drink from a cup, a sippy, nor a bottle when we got him. He is the size of a 12 month old and weighs under 20 lbs. I guarantee you, Jackson is the same in stature if not smaller. He's got joy in his heart, you can see it on his face. Mommy and Daddy are coming and he will have 3 sisters too!

Help them along, please. Do what you can. Share this, pray for them, wish them well, and donate. Even $1puts them closer than not donating at all. Never, NEVER, think that the $5 you can spare won't make a difference. It does. I can attest to that. We had a total of 17,000.00 donated to us and that alleviated a HUGE financial burden and helped us bring Jadon home. Some of that was indeed $1donations--every single dollar makes a difference.

Thank you.

Isaiah 1:17 (NIV) "learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." 

 James 1:27 (NIV) "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Clare and the Fristoe Family

This family is working so hard to raise the money to ransom Clare. PLEASE stop by and donate. Share their story.


http://bringinghomeourchinesebutterfly.blogspot.com/

Isaiah 1:17 (NIV) "learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." James 1:27 (NIV) "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Josiah (part two)

I believe there is a family coming for him!!!!!




Isaiah 1:17 (NIV) "learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." James 1:27 (NIV) "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Josiah....PRAY HIM HOME!!!!!!!

My heart just breaks for Josiah

Josiah MUST find his home. He was transferred from his baby house in October 2010 and quickly began to "lose himself" by regressing and losing weight. He is in a Level 4 institution now. Little stimulation abounds. I've been reassured by the mom there that this place is not as harsh as some. She has even shared the director is very caring towards the children.

PLEASE share his RR page. If you are NOT his parents, PRAY HIM HOME!!!!!!

http://www.reecesrainbow.org/josiah2402

This is what his RR page reads

Josiah is SO handsome! Olive skin, and dark hair with beautiful deep brown eyes.
Josiah is all boy! Very active and doing well. He was born with an additional chord to the left ventricle, and has a functional systolic murmur. But you'd never know it!

From an adoptive family who visited with him in May 2010: "This cutie pie had just woken up from his nap, so he was not feeling over smiley. He was very pleasant and followed the commands of his caretaker. He appropriately pointed to his ears, eyes, nose, bottom and hands after she asked him to show her wher each part was. He loves to throw the ball back and forth with someone. He is well developed and proportional. He is a big boy."

From an adoptive family who visited with him in April 2011: "Josiah was transfered to his current place in October, 2010. He has lost a noticeable amount of weight. He is desperate for personal attention and stimulation. The caretakers at the orphanage really do not know what to do with him. He is very outgoing and has a huge smile for anyone that is willing to give him the time of day. He gets along well with the other children in the groupa and listens well to his caretakers. He walks and runs, and plays, and feeds himself, but he seems to have slipped into survival mode here and is regessing fast. I feel VERY STRONGLY that he needs out of this place!"


$1208.00 is available towards the cost of my adoption!

My heart just breaks, Dear God in Heaven, your will be done, but, Dear Lord, I beg you, send Josiah's family soon for him.
In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.




Isaiah 1:17 (NIV) "learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." James 1:27 (NIV) "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Helping families

There are two families that are especially heavy on my heart, one family is desperately trying to meet their daughter, the other family will be going in less than a month to meet their son.


The Fristoe family is adopting 4 year old Clare, born in China and abandoned shortly after birth in the streets. The fact this child is alive is a testimony to God's provisions for his children. She was born with Down syndrome, heart defects, cleft lip/palate, and, of course, female. Being born female in China is daunting enough, to be born with Down syndrome definitely stacked the cards against this sweet child. Add cleft palate and heart defects to the list of issue Clare would deal with in her life and, well, truthfully, it appears the woman who birthed her felt she was worth little more than trash. She was left in the streets like litter, unwanted. Or, maybe, her birth mother did want her---but her only choice to "provide" for her was to leave her abandoned where she would be found in the streets. Maybe, just maybe, her birth mother prayed that someone would find her and care for her because she simply could not.

I don't know the case, the truth, and it is not for me to know or understand. What I DO KNOW is this, Clare has a family. Her mommy is Suzanne Fristoe, she has a daddy, and siblings waiting for Clare to come home. FOREVER. Never to be abandoned, always to be loved, cared for and protected. Friends, this family needs our help. They need funding to bring Clare home. They have held bake sales, garage sales, giveaways, carwashes (I believe, forgive me, my mind fails me now). They have sought grants with little luck. Their fund is still short. Very, very short and they still need about $17,000 to bring Clare home. Please click on this picture of Clare and see the Fristoe's blog---Suzanne has some great gifts to giveaway.

Ransoming a child should NEVER be this hard. We've seen the power of people coming together to raise $24K in ONE DAY....Lord willing, His will be done, we can raise this $17,000 for the Fristoe's too. Will it be in one day? Lord, that would be wonderful. I don't know how long it will take but I WANT to see GOD MOVE! Pray for this family if you cannot donate and, please, please share their story.


Now for the Burlingham family. This family's dossier will be submitted this THURSDAY, Sept. 21st, they will likely travel by the end of October to bring home Andriy. He is a gorgeous little boy and he will be 5 in November. He was born blind and tossed aside into an orphanage since birth. Amanda's own father is blind and that is what lead her family to Andriy. Amanda too has been working so hard to raise money to bring Andriy home to their family. I've written about Amanda on my personal blog, I've had the privilege of speaking with Amanda. She truly is the sweetest soul. She has a sweet, southern drawl that just makes you want to sit on a porch swing with her in the summer and drink sweet tea while watching Andriy play in the yard.

Amanda has been blessed with videos of Andriy taken by missionaries who have visited his orphanage. I know just how precious having a video of your child who is waiting for you. I too once had videos of the child we were originally committed to for our own family adoption. I want to share just one of the videos of Andriy with you now. Be prepared, this is just about the sweetest thing ever.

Now, this family is going to be traveling soon, sooner than we probably realize actually. They are about $11,000 short still. This may seem unattainable to some of you. I say, nothing is impossible for (and with) my God. He blessed us with $12,000 in a month and half and then filled our fund nearly full in just over a month of additional fundraising. IT IS POSSIBLE.

I ask you the same here, pray for the Burlingham family and share their story. You can find their blog by clicking on this picture of Andriy and you can see the gifts Amanda is giving away too.

Isaiah 1:17 (NIV) "learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."

James 1:27 (NIV) "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Meeting Clare and her Family

Please see this family's FSP and DONATE TO THEM INSTEAD by clicking on ANY PICTURE of Clare.

I have stolen this post, without Suzanne's permission, in order to share their story and their fundraiser. Suzanne has worked her TAIL OFF to raise money to bring Clare home. Friends, it breaks my heart to see her struggle so to raise the funds they need. They need to travel soon to meet Clare and they still need $17,000. Clare knows her mommy and daddy are coming, they send her care packages. Here is Clare opening some gifts and seeing her family in the pictures.

Please, I am begging you, do for them what you have done for Jadon. PRAY. SHARE. DONATE. The following is from Suzanne's blog "Our Chinese Butterfly"

Many people may be reading this for the very first time, so I would like to tell everyone the story of our Clare.

2-28-07

Clare was found abandoned, as an infant and was placed in an orphanage. Shortly after placement she was transferred to Little Flower for hospice care. (Little Flower is a healing home that takes in fragile infants. You can learn more about them by visiting: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Little-Flower-Projects/230680524654). Clare was sent there to be loved by these wonderful people until she died. But instead of dieing Clare started to improve. Fast forward: She is now 4 years old and has been lucky enough to be able to stay at the baby healing home. She is doing so much more than anyone expected her to do. She has many health problems and has fought for her little life several times. She does not see doctors in China because she is on what is called "palliative" care. She is strictly nursed by the staff of Little Flower. Clare has several congenital heart defects (that we know of): venticular septal defect (intract flow), pulmonary hypertension (mild to moderate), tricuspid valve cusp cleft (partial ECD), tricuspid valve backflow (moderate), and a patent foramen ovale. She also has a cleft lip and cleft palate. Receives all her nutrition through a g-tube. Her diet consist of only pediasure. Clare is also blessed with Down syndrome. She is not considered a "candidate for surgery" in her country. We know here in America she will receive the medical care and the therapies she needs to greatly improve her life!

8-14-11

We have requested that our paperwork be expedited so we can get Clare home as soon as possible and start caring for her medical needs. We are still awaiting word from immigrations as to if they will honor our request. We do know that China is willing to expedite the process on their end. So, we don't want funding to be the reason we are unable to rescue our daughter.




We are approximately $17,000.00 short of being fully funded. We are continuing to hold garage and bake sales to help raise money. We truly believe God is calling us to His angel. He has already blessed us on our journey. When we were in our greatest need, He has provided us with the funds we needed to get to the next step. We don't want to just sit and do nothing, so we have to decided to step out of our comfort zone and ask for help.




This fundraiser will run from Sunday, August 14 to Saturday, October 8th at midnight. Winners will be chosen by: random.org and announced on Tuesday, October 11th, 2011.
With every donation: $10 gets you 1 chance and 1 freebie option.
$25 gets you 3 chances and 2 freebie options.
$50 get you 8 chances and 3 freebie options.


Freebie--is a way for you to earn extra chances. Once you make a monetary donation, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, I am begging here, share this blogpost and that will earn you another chance. If you donate enough for 3 freebies your can also Facebook, tweet or post on your blog about this fundraiser for your other freebies. I hope that makes sense. After you blog or post come back here and let me know you have shared and I will add your extra chances to the fundraiser. If you donate money multiple times over the fundraiser you will earn freebies for that also. YOU must leave your NAME, do not post anonymously because I won't be able to find you, if you are selected.


You can donate to our FSP by using the button on the top right hand of the page or by mailing a check to the address listed above ( be sure and write "CLARE FOR THE FRISTOE FAMILY" on it). BUT, if you donated using the CHIP-IN button, you will earn an extra chance, for being kind enough to help us with our out of pocket expenses.



That was a post from Suzanne on August 14, 2011---please stop by there blog, donate and bless their family. So, we are well, I have no worries. I would love to see the church MOVE in His favor and alleviate the burden for the Fristoe family too. It can be done, His will be done.

Isaiah 1:17 (NIV) "learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."

James 1:27 (NIV) "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Why now?

This blog will be a forum to help share the news of families adopting children born with special needs from countries outside of the United States. It is my hope to raise awareness of the plight of orphans, help campaign for child matching ministries and other platforms bringing these children to their forever families.

I am just one gal, with heart for God and a love for children with special needs *especially Down syndrome*

I have three boys (soon to be four boys) and two of them have Down syndrome. Join me in this journey, it's sure to be full of love, praise, and heartache too. The truths will be told., statistics shared and prayers lifted.


----------------here is a post from my family blog written sometime this past year-------------

Many of my friends think I am a strong woman, capable of anything I put my mind too. I am not that woman...

My heart breaks for those children who are not loved because society thinks they aren't worthy of love. If I could do just one thing in my lifetime, it would be to rescue every child from an orphanage and find them LOVING homes. But, no matter how much I put my mind to it, I cannot accomplish this. I am not that woman.

I would love to eradicate ignorance for children born with disabilities, but no matter how much I put my mind to it, I cannot accomplish this. I am not that woman.

I want to help parents understand a child with a disability is not a horrible secret to be ashamed of. But, no matter how much I put my mind to it, I cannot accomplish this. I am not that woman.

I want to take cancer away forever. But, no matter how much I put my mind to it, I cannot accomplish this. I am not that woman.

I want families to never have to bury their child, ever. This is not something any parent should ever have to do in their lifetime. But, no matter how much I put my mind to it, I cannot accomplish this. I am not that woman.

All I can do, is pray. Pray for those babies left behind to be closed away from the world. Pray for acceptance of everyone in the world, for us to all be on a level playing field in one another's eyes. Pray for those families struggling with accepting their perfectly "imperfect" child and for them to accept that so-called imperfection as PERFECTION at it's finest. Pray for strength and healing on Earth for those precious souls battling cancer. And pray for the families whose angels here on Earth are called home too soon for us left here.

Prayer is all I can put my mind to doing. Prayer is what I am strong enough for, because, I am that woman

Isaiah 1:17 (NIV) "learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."


James 1:27 (NIV)
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."