Love Makes All The Difference

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while.  We are one busy family!!  It’s good, really good and I am not complaining.  But blogging and facebook have HAD to decrease in order for me to put food on the table, keep little rear-ends clean and keep fish tanks fairly safe (not necessarily in that order either).   (Click Here to see the fish tank post)   

Every once in a while, I like to post about a special family that just inspires me.   The Musser’s have just adopted a 9-YEAR-old girl, with Down syndrome, who weighed just 11 pounds  (from Eastern Europe).   That’s not a typo folks.  Eleven pounds.  Can you comprehend that for a moment?  To help you put this into perspective:  My 9-year-old daughter weighs 79 pounds.  My 1-year-old (almost 2) weighs 28 pounds.

Oh and did I mention that they have 10 other children?  The youngest of who was born with Ds. 

I wanted to share a post that Susanna (the mom) wrote back in October.  The pictures are amazing.  Please read and take a look at what love can do.  The Musser's blog is http://theblessingofverity.com/

 Enjoy!!

What difference does it make?

"I am wondering if you have pictures to share and the before and after story of a child who was adopted from an orphanage similar to Katerina’s. A child who, after receiving love, nurturing and a healthy diet, has blossomed and grown and is doing well now.”

What difference does it make?  
See for yourselves.

Hailee before, 5 years old~


Hailee after 1 year home, now 11 pounds bigger~


Toby before, 4 years old~


Toby after 1 year home, now 13 pounds and 4 inches bigger, walking, running, and using over 50 signs~


Anya before, 3 years old~


Anya after 3 months home, now can swallow, drink, chew, feed herself, play, walk, and communicate~


Liza before, 4 years and 8 months old~


Liza after 11 months home, now 10+ pounds bigger~


Lena before, 2 years old~


Lena after 6 months home~


Xander before, 4 years old~


Xander after 3 years home, now doubled in weight, walking, feeding himself solid foods, drinking out of a cup, using sign language to communicate, and saying a few basic words~


Irina before, 4 years old~


Irina after 14 months home~


Gabe before, 6 years old~


Gabe after 3 months home, now crawling and pulling to stand~


Johannah before, 3 years old, and Ellee before, 5 years old, then
Johannah and Ellee after 6 months home~


Joel before, 7 years old~


Joel after 4 months home, now 15 pounds and 6+ inches bigger~


Victoria (left) 23 months, and Francesca (right) before~


Victoria after 3 months home, now 5 pounds bigger and eating on her own~


Francesca after 3 months home, now 9 pounds bigger~


Theo before, 4 years old~



Theo after 1 year home, now 5 inches and 15 pounds bigger~



[Note:  Thank you to all the parents who shared these photos of your beautiful children!  I'm planning to make this an ongoing post with its own link on the sidebar, so if anyone else has photos you'd like me to consider adding, please email me.]

Playing in the leaves.......

I am so blessed.  Check out a few of my favorite things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!!

Blown Away!

I just checked Christina’s grant.  Tears. 

Thank you!  Thank you! Thank you!

We will be adding our $500.00 match to this!!
If you missed my last post, Click Here!

Please don’t stop donating now!! 

The higher the amount of grant money,

the higher the chances of Christina being adopted.

Do you see that

Sweet Little Orphan girl on the top, upper, right hand of my blog  (under Joshua's picture)?  She is living in the same region in Russia that my Joshua was from.  And she, like my Joshua, was given up at birth because she has Down syndrome.   It is not the best picture of sweet Christina.  Joshua can look like this when he is very tired.  Don't let a poor picture distract you from the fact that she is beautifully and wonderfully made.  She is precious in our Father's eyes. 

Abandoned and Deserted. 

I wish I could have talked to her parents before they had given her up.  I would have told them she would be such a blessing to their home.  How her sweet spirit would bring them joy.  And beg them to not give her away.  But the reality is:  she has no one in the world who will claim her as their own. 

Adoption is expensive. 

There are families who want to adopt but just don't have the funds.  Most cannot afford the high cost of adoption without support of friends and family.  Reece’s Rainbow (RR) helps raise grant money for orphans with Down syndrome and other special needs.  This money helps the adoptive family pay for the expenses that they would incur during the adoption process. 

The higher the amount of grant money, the higher the chances of Christina being adopted. 

Around Christmas time, RR starts Angel Tree.  An advocate picks a child from the waiting child lists and tries to raise $1000.00 for the child.  When someone donates over $35.00, they receive an ornament with the child’s picture on it. 

Our family decided to advocate this year and would like to help raise $1000.00 towards Christina's grant.    When I picked Christina, I picked her because she was from the same region as Joshua.  

And because……………

She started with only $10.00 in her grant fund.  How sad is that?  So would you give a little donation, to help Christina find her family?  It could be life changing for her.  So let’s go over this again, if you donate $35 or over, you will receive a Christmas ornament with Christina’s precious little picture on it. 

Another Reason to Give…….

Not only do you get an ornament, but my family would like to match your donation.  If you donate $35.00, we will put in $35.00 up to $500.00!    We would love to see Christina make the $1000.00 goal!!

Angel Tree 2011

If you click on the ornament above, it will take you to the Angel Tree page.  If you scroll down on the Angel Tree page you can see pictures of all the children who are being sponsored and the amount that has been raised so far. 

 

Here are the fine details:

• The minimum donation to receive an ornament is $35.00.   

• Right under Christina's picture is a box with showing her current grant fund status.  You can donate online by clicking the 'donate' button.  $5.00 of each donation goes to RR's Voice of Hope fund, and the remainder to the child's grant
• Checks can be mailed to  Reece's Rainbow  PO Box 4024  Gaithersburg, MD  20885
• International donors welcome, we will mail your ornament(s) anywhere in the world.
• Ornaments will be mailed about every other day, so you should expect your order within a week.

Orphan Sunday

Orphan Sunday 2011 from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Pumpkin Fun