Thank you and an update...

Thank you to those that have been donating to our RR donation account!  I haven't had a chance to come here and say an official "Thank you!" but we HAVE been noticing our donations increasing....little by little and we are so appreciative of any support we are given!  Thank you! 

It looks like there will be two different, local fundraising opportunities for us coming up in April that we are so thankful for...one will be a jewelry party with most of the proceeds benefiting the most needy in Haiti (with a small bit going to our adoption as well) and we are also doing a fundraiser with Brixx Pizza.  Some very wonderful people have been putting a lot of thoughtfulness into these things and we are so thankful!  We are looking forward to being able to do both of these fundraisers....more on those two fundraisers as the dates get closer!

Adoption update:  Well...we're still waiting.  I wish I had more to report but I honestly don't.  We are still waiting for the "officials" to sign off on our paperwork and assign us a court date.  Once we get a court date and we pass court, we've been told that we will be going to pick Joseph up a month after we pass our court hearing.  So...all we know is that we are at least a month off from bringing him home...most likely longer than that.  I guess if we got signed off on this week, and a court date very shortly after that, maybe we could be looking at as early as 6 weeks or so?

 I'll keep you all posted when I hear about a court date and/or when we pass court!

Thanks again for following this journey with our family!

World Down Syndrome Day

Today is World Down Syndrome Day...

"World Down Syndrome Day is on 3/21 to symbolize a third copy of the 21st chromosome in people with Down syndrome. Celebrate the value, acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome on March 21!"
                       - from the National Down Syndrome Society

Down Syndrome is something that is new to our family.  We are going to have a lot to learn in order to be the best we can be for Joseph when he comes home, but we feel incredibly honored that God has called us to this adoption and is blessing us with such a beautiful soul to add to our family. 

Here are a few videos to watch in honor of World Down Syndrome Day today.  This first one is beautiful...I love how she comments about how "she'd rather be slow to learn than to be slow to love..."  Shouldn't we all think that way?

This second video was made by the sister of two adopted children with Down Syndrome.

 

Children with Down Syndrome are a blessing.

Please visit www.reecesrainbow.com and look at all the children listed with Down Syndrome who are available for adoption and waiting for their families to say "Yes!" and come and get them.  It is doable.  You CAN tackle all of the obstacles involved with international adoption...we have!  We are not wealthy, we are not particularly equipped to handle Down Syndrome...we just said "Yes, Lord!" and took the first step.  A step that we have never once regretted. It has been a long year working towards bringing Joseph home and it has been worth it.  We've never been more thankful for a decision we've made than this one.  

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

Please pray, advocate, donate to the adoption of children with Down Syndrome and also pray for our Joseph until we can bring him home!

Happy World Down Syndrome Day!

Joseph's Birthday and a video

Its been a hard couple of weeks.  We've been busy adjusting to life with our new little one but I've also been watching the calendar.  You see, each day kept getting closer and closer to an important yet heartbreaking day for us.  Joseph's birthday was coming up.  He would be turning 3 years old.  Birthdays are supposed to be special days spent with your family who loves you and who are oh so thankful that you were born.

 But our little birthday boy would be sitting in his orphanage and we would be here.  As each day got closer to his birthday, I got more upset.  I just couldn't stand the idea of him sitting in his crib all day long and no one acknowledging the blessing of his birth and how much he is loved.  I just felt so helpless.  I needed to DO SOMETHING.  Acknowledging here at home that WE loved him and that WE were thinking about him on his birthday and counting down the days till he would finally be home with us.

We had a little cake with the kids in celebration of Joseph's birthday.  As a family, we always go around and say what we like most about the birthday girl/boy.  It gives us a chance to say out loud what we love about them.  It gives us the chance to stop and make sure that that family member knows how important they are to all of us.  So I asked the kids what they think they'll like most about Joseph.  They each had something to say about their brother, Joseph.  I can't wait for next year.  Having met our little man, I know that we are all going to have lots of things to share that we love about him next year around the table on his birthday...

For now, we pray and we wait for the day we can bring him home.  His birthday gave us the incentive to finally get a video put together of our pictures from our first trip.  We spent time on his birthday putting it together as a way to spend time focusing on him on that day.

We are so incredibly thankful for our future son and for the opportunity to serve our Lord in this way.

And we are gratefull for all those that have prayed and donated to help get us to this point.  We are so blessed and thankful!

Make sure you put the video up on full screen...otherwise you won't be able to see the captions/words in the video at the bottom of the slides.