Still Under Construction

Just a quick note to let you know that we are still under construction here. We hope to have added more "things" by the beginning of next week. Thanks for your patience!

The Beginning

It was a quiet afternoon, which in this household is really quite something. With six children on the loose quiet afternoons don't typically happen. However, with Phillip volunteering to take the boys for haircuts, the girls napping, and Justus (the baby) snoozing in his bouncy - I did what any modern Mom does ~ get on the internet and veg out.
Some may say it was an accident. Others will protest that it was a fluke. I, know otherwise. I know that I "accidentally" hit a link that would change our lives forever ... and that was all in His plan.
I landed smack dab in the middle of a page full of beautiful faces. How I got there, I know not. I just know that when my husband and boys walked in - they saw me weeping in front of my computer screen. Soon they were weeping too. It was Reeces Rainbow's website. I was astounded that these children (most with Down syndrome, but all with special needs) were often given up at birth. If that wasn't bad enough, they were destined to a life in an orphanage, with no mama's arms of comfort or Daddy's tickling fests. No ... these children had the promise of being ripped from the environment of an orphanage - only to be transferred to a mental institution by the ages of four or five. Once there, eighty percent of those children die within the first year of being in what many of the locals call - insane asylums. Sickening. I looked down at my son, Justus - who was snuggled up in his warm blankets, making his chubby cheeks glow with a pink hue - and my stomach sank to my toes. You see, Justus also has Down syndrome. Here, in the states, he is promised a future full of thriving. In other countries, however; he would be an outcast - not worth any investment.
So ... what would you do if faced with all of this? Seem to big a problem to even begin to help fix? Yes, I admit - it does feel daunting. However, my husband and I both went to bed that night very much burdened and prayerful. Could God be pricking our hearts to adopt ... internationally? Wow ... really?
Well, if that was the case, then He needed to make a few things clear. Over the next several weeks we were in contact with the director of Reeces Rainbow and a social worker, just to see if this was even worth looking into. We prayed ... and prayed. God answered ... in mighty ways. We started selling things like crazy to come up with the cost for our homestudy. A few weeks later, we felt comfortable enough to make the big leap of faith ... to commit to Ivanna and Matthew. This is the blog dedicated to bringing them home. We have to work quickly due to their ages. They are very close to being transferred to the institution. We do not want that to happen. You can help us by praying. Please pass the word - feel free to put a link to this blog on your facebook, etc. Get the word out. We thank you in advance!
Thank you Jesus for directing our steps and guiding us to Matthew and Ivanna. Thank you for allowing us to be apart of what James 1:27 illustrates as pure religion.