Way to Go Reece's Rainbow

Grab This Button

Wow - look at all the children helped though Reece's Rainbow this holiday season! I am drawn to this website and tend to think about what would Quinn's life be like if she was born elsewhere to another mother. I smile when I see Quinn crawl across the room surrounded by love of a family - hopefully others through Reece's Rainbow can experience the same. It is truly a blessing to have Down syndrome in your life, for it teaches you what is really important. I am so glad we sponsored Ivy through Reece's Rainbow and we pray she finds a family this year. If you didn't participate in this project this year, please do so in 2010.

-Karyn

Please Sponsor an Angel

Tonight Riley and I selected our little one from Reece's Rainbow that we are going to sponsor for the Christmas Angel Tree. I just got our donation ready to go out in the mail tomorrow. If you haven't checked out Reece's Rainbow, please go HERE or to the bauble on the left. Reece's Rainbow helps little ones with DS from other countries find their forever families and avoid placement in mental hospitals where they won't receive treatment and will likely die at a very young age.

Please, please check this out - and please consider making a donation or telling others about Reece's Rainbow.

I often think about what if Quinn was born in another country (funny thought I know since she would be born to me and I'm here, but just bear with me and my strange line of reasoning). BUT if she was born in one of these other countries, she probably wouldn't have received treatment for IS and she would have regressed and had a horrible life. She would probably be laying in her crib all day with nothing to do and nobody to love. It really saddens me that other little ones are going through this. It is really happening.

Just to tell you a little about our choice, Ivy. She is an at-risk girl. Hopefully she will find a family soon, otherwise she will be moved to a mental hospital where there is no turning back and leaving after that. Ivy was born September 16, 2005. She has sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. She is described as a favorite at her orphanage. She walks and does many things independently. She has several words and is very active. She is healthy, with no heart condition. She is facing the institution, and she needs to find a family soon. Riley was drawn to Ivy and thought she was very cute. We are praying that she finds her family - she deserves that.

Also check this story out - it also involves a little one found on Reece's Rainbow.



If this 11-year-old girl could do something, why can't you?

Thanks!

-Karyn

Have to Do Something

UPDATE - LERA FOUND A FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a lot on my plate right now. Just too much. My heart aches for this though - the little girl above is in a bad situation right now. This is Lera, a beautiful little girl with Down syndrome who is in an orphanage in Russia. Very very soon if she is not adopted, she will be sent to a mental institution. There will be no way she can leave then and the conditions are horrible. Despite all my own emotional stuff going on right now, I am always drawn to going to the Reece's Rainbow site and checking in on beautiful Lera. Now my heart aches because time is running out for her. At a different time, under a different circumstance, in a different country - this could be Quinn. This is just too important. I pray that someone will see this post or another post somewhere and will commit to adopting her. She deserves a better life than being in a mental institution. Please visit Reece's Rainbow HERE. Also please visit the Christmas Angel Tree project.

Here is the description of Lera on the website:

Lera (4)

Girl, Born August 7, 2005

Russia
SIGNIFICANT RISK, PLEASE ADOPT ME SOON!



Lera is a gorgeous little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is 4 years old. She is quite high functioning, and doing very well. She has flat feet and a systolic heart murmur, but no major heart conditions. She is able to walk and climb, she eats by herself, dances, and understands and follows directions. She has also been transferred to the regular class, so she living and learning with her typical peers.


She will be transferred soon to a place she can not be adopted out of, so please save Lera!

-Karyn

The Truly Beautiful Ones

My final posting about Jonathan Mooney’s book involves the chapter “How to Curse in Sign Language.” It tells the story of a divorced mother, Deborah, and her decision to adopt a little girl, Ashley. Mooney said the following about Ashley’s needs: “Ashley had been born to an alcoholic, anorexic mother fourteen weeks prematurely. She weighed just over one and a half pounds, and her medical birth records state that she smelled of alcohol when she was delivered. A liver biopsy was performed right after her birth, and it showed that a tumor was present. She also had a ‘brain bleed.’ Even more threatening to Ashley’s health was a rare condition she had called Juvenile Xanthogranulomas, which causes tumors to form all over the body. These tumors, according to Deborah, ‘formed on Ashley’s skin, under her skin, on her eyes and ears, on other vital organs, and on her brain’” (p. 109). In addition to the above, Ashley has a seizure disorder and is blind and deaf, among having other medical difficulties.

However, as often is the case, this is not a sad story about a child with a disability – it is a story about love, acceptance, and ability. When Deborah first set eyes on Ashley she said “I thought she was beautiful. Her left eye, because of glaucoma, was about twice the size of her right eye. And although that skewed the symmetry of her face, she had a smile that lit up the room!” (p. 110). To tell the truth, prior to reading this, I used to think that I was someone who made a difficult, yet noble choice in having Quinn (given the prenatal diagnosis), but now I know that I am not such a person. The person who is noble is Deborah and people like her. She could have chosen any child or just to not adopt at all. She already had a son from her marriage. But she fell in calling in her heart to adopt and she fell in love with Ashley and Ashley alone. Ashley was the one. She saw Ashley for Ashley and did not fall into the trap that many of us do, seeing the disability first and then Ashley. I am ashamed to say that if this experience wasn’t placed upon me through the pregnancy, I would not be where I am today. I would never have read this book. I would never have looked at individuals with Down syndrome like I do today. I just adapted to what was given to me. It is people like Deborah who with love and faith make a true choice to bring a child with special needs. They are the heros and the noble ones. They are the ones with true love and faith in their hearts. In Mooney’s chapter, Deborah had many other salient things to say – like how the rejection is ten times worse than any of Ashley’s medical issues, that with love you can see beauty and ability, that we need to get beyond a view of fixing those who are not like others, and how having a sibling with a disability can enrich a child’s life.

If you are interested in this topic, check this inspiring story out. This is a family who experienced the same calling as Deborah.



In addition, please visit Reese’s Rainbow here, where there are many beautiful children with Down syndrome who need homes. They are now in countries around the world. These particular countries do not value individuals with Down syndrome and these children will be placed in a mental institution if not adopted. Almost every day I go and see Lera’s beautiful face here. I see she is on hold now – and I hope that is because she found a forever family. She deserves this just like Ashley does. You can also follow one family’s journey in adopting here. God bless all these beautiful people - Deborah, Ashley, and all these familiies and little ones who are or have experienced adoption.

-Karyn

A Must Read

Please go here and read this post. It is so important. Thank you!

-Karyn