Little Ones Finding Homes

I realized today that there are only two children left on Reece's Rainbow (from Christiana's orphanage) who haven't found families. They're both newly listed, so it's very possible that they will have families soo, too.
 http://reecesrainbow.org/39937/penny-2

http://reecesrainbow.org/39926/payton

Would you like to know how this was achieved and who made it possible? I'll tell you. It was made possible through the tireless work of a large group of people who have advocated for these sweet children and spread word of their need all over the internet! Here are a few of them....

Shelley Bedford. http://www.only1mom.com/
 She's a wonderful woman who has found families for so many children. She is the one who raised the funds to get medical care for the children who desperately needed it in the orphanage and who has been coordinating donations of special formula for them.

Amanda Unroe. http://lifeofthemomofmany.blogspot.com/
 Amanda just returned from Christiana's home country where she adopted 5 little sweeties.

Susanna Musser. http://theblessingofverity.com/
 Many of you know her as "Katie's Mom". She's worked tirelessly to spread awareness about the  terrible conditions that these children suffered in.

And last, but not least... all of the amazing women in the Reece's Rainbow group on Facebook. There are way too many to list here. Wonderful, generous, loving, kind... these words don't begin to describe them.

One last thing... I was asked recently if I thought it was possible to save "all of them" (orphans).  (It was asked with sarcasm, by the way.)
My answer is... probably not.  But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.  If only one out of the 143 million orphans in the world (yes... there are really that many) finds a home, it's worth it.  It's worth all of the blogging, fundraising, travelling, and effort. 

This girl... SHE is worth it all.

She is my 1 in 143 million.  She is my daughter.  Christiana Renee Matthews.

Why adopt from overseas?

I've been asked this question alot.  I thought it would be good to talk about it. 
The answer to that question is this... because that's where she is. 

Jason and I had had conversations in the past about adoption as a possibility.  To be very honest, back then we would have probably adopted through the foster system.  It costs less and the children here in the US deserve a good family just as much as any other child does.  We also wouldn't have such a language barrier to deal with.  We probably would have adopted a healthy child as well.  Back then... we thought that having a healthy child was very important. 

But then a couple of years ago I discovered Reece's Rainbow and began to learn about the truly heartbreaking lives these poor children lead.  I learned that some of them spend their whole lives in cribs and never learn to walk, talk, feed themselves, or PLAY.  Not because they're ill or they're too disabled to learn... but because they're left ALONE all day every day.  They're only given the most basic care (one meal a day... one diaper change a day) and sometimes not even that.

 Can you imagine a 10 year old who only weighs 10 lbs?  I can.  Can you imagine a 14 year old who only weighs 14 lbs and already has osteoporosis due to malnutrition?  I can.  Her name is Hasya.  The only reason for her small size and her condition is neglect.  She's been starved, neglected and abused her whole life.  She's spend her whole life in a crib.  She's the size of the average six month old BABY.

 Do you see this sweet girl?  Do you see where she's spent her whole life?  Day after day... every day?  How can anyone see this and NOT want to help? 

I've been helping find homes for these children for a while.  I've been helping families fundraise and spread awareness... and I've been donating to those families to bring their children home because it was all I felt like I could do. 

Then God called Jason and I to adopt.  I know that putting it that way may sound silly to some of you, but that's really how it was.... how it is.  We both felt called to do this.  And we both fell in love with this little girl...

Do you see her biting her lip? Do you see her holding the bear upside down?  How nervous she must be... maybe even a bit scared.  Until we got our updated photo of her in March, this was the ONLY photo of her. 

So this is another answer to the question "why go overseas to adopt?".  That question actually has many answers, but the most important one is still "because that's where she is". 

At the end of the day... it doesn't matter to Jason and I where she lives.  Sure, we would be happier if we didn't have to travel half way across the globe to get to her, but we will.  We would be happier if her adoption costs weren't so high, but we'll pay them... no matter what they are. 

If you're still asking "why" about all the difficult things we'll have to do in order to bring her home...the final answer is "because she's worth it".  They all are... every last child in this world is worth helping, worth saving.  Every child in the world... no matter where they're from is worth helping... worth saving.  Every last one of them. 

Update... Sarah's Smile

Sarah has a forever family!  Just as time was running out for her a family has committed to adopt sweet little Sarah!  Thank you to everyone who has prayed and advocated for this sweet little girl!



Jigsaw fundraiser!

JIGSAW PUZZLE FUNDRAISER

We are building our family, one puzzle piece at a time, literally! You can help us construct a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle and bring our daughter home.

For just $5, you can have your name inscribed on the back of a piece of our adoption puzzle! Once it's completed, the puzzle will be framed between two sheets of glass, so that Christiana can see the beautiful picture on the front and the names of all the people who helped to bring her home to her forever family.

We look forward to showing you the stages of building our jigsaw puzzle and to sharing our journey of adoption. Through our blog, you can post comments and prayers, view photos and updates and make online donations.

If you look to the right side of this page, you'll see a "Chipin" button and a Reece's Rainbow FSP donation button.  You can donate to either by clicking on the "donate" or "chipin" buttons.  The Chipin link helps with our immediate adoption costs and isn't tax deductible.  The Reece's Rainbow button will help us with our later costs (like travel, visas, etc) and is tax deductible. 

Please remember to leave a comment here or email us after donating so we can put your name on your puzzle piece! 

If you'd like to mail a donation, please email Jason or Lisa at

infamy41@hot.rr.com or rhianonmat@hot.rr.com

Thank you for helping us grow our family and give a precious little girl the gift of a loving home and family!

Woo Hoo!  It's official folks!  We are finally able to announce that we are officially adopting our Christiana and we are so excited.  Our Family Sponsorship fund has been set up on Reece's Rainbow and we're finally free to shout our joy from the rooftops! 
Meet our future daughter... Miss Christiana....

Sarah's smile...

God’s people are commanded to care for orphans. To see an orphan afflicted, and to turn a deaf ear, is sin, even rebellion.
· Exodus 22:22, “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.”

How true this is.  I don't understand how people can turn away from these children... from this child. 
This is Sarah.  Isn't she beautiful.  She's so precious.  She's in the same orphanage with our girl.  Of all the children who have been listed for adoption so far, she's the only one who has had NO ONE inquire about adopting her.  Why, you may ask... because she's blind.  She was born with cataracts on her lenses. 
But just look at her... so lovely... so sweet.  Should the fact that she's blind make her less deserving of a loving family... less lovely or sweet? 

Isn't she beautiful... didn't I tell you?  Now let me show you a different photo... a photo of the same girl, but showing how sad.. how desperate and frightened she is.  This is a frightened child... without comfort... without a mama to tell her it will be alright... to hold and comfort her.

Please someone let this child into your heart.  She's crying out for a family and she only has until May.  Then the agency will have to return her file.  Please don't let this be the only little girl who isn't rescued from the "bad place".  What you may not realize is this... where she is, she has no future.  Because she's disabled, she'll be placed in an adult mental institution.  When disabled children are placed in those places... over 80% of them die during their first year.  How much of a chance do you think a tiny little blind girl has? 

Please, please consider opening your hearts and your home to this precious girl... to Sarah.  Don't turn your back on this little girl... don't be the reason that one more child in this world has to suffer.

A busy week so far

This week has already exhausted me... and it's only Tuesday! 

So far this week we've compiled and notarized our commitment paperwork to send to our daughter's birth country.  Yesterday I had to drive those documents to Austin to have them apostilled.  For those who don't know... apostilling is basically having an official government seal placed on notarized documents.  It's necessary for any documents that we have to send overseas.  For state and local ones... we have the apostilled at our state capital.  For others like our FBI background checks, they have to be sent to Washington DC to the Secretary of State's office to be apostilled. 

So yes... lots of printing papers, filling them out, getting them notarized and then driving for hours to get them apostilled.  ha ha. 

We've also gotten fingerprinted and sent them off along with our request for an official FBI background check. 

This morning... I took our apostilled commitment paperwork to the post office and sent it "next day" to a family who is also adopting from the same country that we are... and using the same adoption agency.  They'll be hand delivering our papers to our adoption attorney when they arrive in that country to see their own child.  I'm so very grateful to them for this.  First... because this means our paperwork won't get "lost in the mail" and second because this will save us a lot of time.  Because unless you want to pay a small fortune to FedEx... international mail is S-L-O-W. 


These are all the things I've accomplished just on Monday and Tuesday!  lol  For the rest of the week... I get to start more paperwork, start compiling our letters of employment and reference, and start the online adoption classes that are required for our adoption.  We each have to take a series of classes on topics like "attachment issues", "medical issues with internationally adopted children", and others.  Lots to learn. 

Although we're only required to take 10 hours of classes, I'm considering taking all of the classes offered.  It can't hurt and can only help, right?  More education is always a good thing and if it means I'll be better prepared to welcome her home... I'm all for it!

So that's it for the nuts and bolts post this week.  It's been busy, but so rewarding.

Momjoy

We've all had them... those days when everything is chaos. Those days when your four year old cuts his own hair, the two year old decides to paint the sofa with pudding, and the 6 year old argues like a southern lawyer who's billing by the hour.



Days like that sometimes make us want to put the kids to bed at five and then collapse into a twitching heap on the bed. And while many people would want to trade away those days... I wouldn't.



As trying as those crazy days are, they're also rewarding and precious.



Take a moment to look at the things that happen on those crazy, stressful days in a new light.



Sure it's aggravating when the four year old cuts his hair, but it's also a show of independence - a way to say "hey - I want shorter hair" or "I can do it myself". For an autistic 4 year old with developmental delays... it's a big step and an important milestone.



The two year old painting with pudding... well, I would be happier if he would paint something that could be wiped down instead of steam-cleaned, but still... My little man is creating art and expressing himself. He's exploring textures and learning to change his environment. He's joyous and happy when he's painting the furniture. I mourn for the stains and dread the tedious cleanup, but his smiling, joyous face more than repays any stress his creative tendencies cause. When he says "sorry mama" and hugs me... all is forgiven.



The six year old's sassy mouth is probably the most aggravating of all. This child does NOT like to "take no for an answer" and will try to convince you to see/do things his way. He'll keep trying for hours. The boy is tenacious. The flip-side of this is... he's clever. He's very intelligent and is becoming very eloquent and very persuasive. His vocabulary is expanding and his grasp of how to use logic and reason to persuade is amazing. He'll be a huge asset to his high school debate team someday. lol



My friends, beauty can be found everywhere and so can joy. I've been asked many times how I keep my sanity in such a small house with 3 small boys, a husband and four dogs. I've been told that I'm crazy for wanting to add another child to our family.



The thing is... I love my family. I adore my husband and I am absolutely in love with my children. They make me happy. Motherhood makes me happy... it fulfills me.



I can't wait to add to our family... to be able to share this wonderful, chaotic, loving life with a small, sweet soul from eastern Europe.