Thankful Thursday- Our New Daughter

I am very Thankful and Blessed to be adding a new daughter to my crew! I wanted to fill everybody in since I am getting a lot of questions. KC and I started our adoption process after moving to Oregon and quickly completed our home study. If you have never been through a domestic adoption, DHS style you get access to websites that list children who are available for adoption. We looked through pages and pages of children. I would often check morning and night to see if any new children where listed. The night our home study was finalized and in our possession we submitted on 4 children we felt would be a good fit for our family. After those initial 4 little ones we continued to look at children online, but never felt the pull like the first 4. We were shocked when 2 weeks later we were told by our adoption worker that 2 of the children's workers had contacted them for more info (if you have done a home study, what more could they want, lol). We obliged and sent the info they requested. Then a day or so later we were contacted again and they said we had been chosen as 1 of 3 families for a little girl. We were given the number to the foster mother and told to call her for information on the baby. We could then decide if we would like to move forward. I can not tell you how nervous I was to make that phone call. After the first 5min though it felt like we were old friends, we talked for an hour. Wow craziness. We ended the phone call with a good feeling. Another week went by and nothing, the waiting is so hard. I just wanted to know when they would decide, then the phone call came they would be deciding baby girls new family Monday January 28th.

In the mean time I had to wait a week for that date, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. During that week we were contacted by another worker on a little boy, the worker wanted even more information from us. I had laid it all out there what more could they want, lol! So I dug deep and sent even more info. I even had some days of massive cleaning which my mom teased that it sounded like I was nesting.HAHA

January 28th I woke up feeling pretty good mentally, physically I had a cold, ugh. I got up, started breakfast as Kendall had the day off of school we had errands to get done. I got on the treadmill did my miles, and said a prayer. I prayed that we would be chosen as little girls family. I prayed for her heart to start being prepared for this big transition in her life. I also made it known that if we were not chosen, it would hurt, but I know God knows a whole lot more then me and can see further down the road. I got off the treadmill and went on with my day. Got Kope to school, and Kendall and I ventured to the Girl Scout store (a new adventure we are starting). I picked Kope up from school and a friend called. We just were chatting away about our adoption journeys as her family is also adopting through DHS. When all of a sudden the phone started beeping with another call, quickly I kicked over and heard the words, "She is yours, baby girl is your new daughter". Of course I started crying happy tears and got full body chills. It was wonderful. I hung up and called all 3 of my husbands phones to find out he was in a meeting, and I told him to step out. He did and I got to tell him the good news. I also told Kendall and Kopelan who jumped up and down beyond excited!!

So I am sure after all that you would like some details on our baby girl. I can not share any pictures as she is still under DHS custody as of now and her picture has to be kept private. Details though, we have chosen to change her name and it will be Karis McKenna Lee, her foster parents know and will be transitioning her with her name before we even meet. Karis will be 1 yrs old next week and we will hopefully get to bring her home on her Birthday or day after. We will get to meet her next Tuesday and are not so patiently waiting, lol. We are taking these next few days to prepare. We have to do all the prep in a week that most people get 9mo to do.

Today I returned home to find the car seat on the front stoop. YAY!! The crib has been ordered (thank you Grandpa and Grandma Lee) and we are so excited for its arrival as it will make Karis's room look real, real as in she is really coming home. I found a rocking chair on Craigslist.com and will be picking that up on Friday. We will probably be spending a lot of time there since we will want to comfort and snuggle her any chance we get.

I hope this helps a little with curiosity about our daughter and how she came to be ours!

Wordless Wednesday

http://thebuhmanbunch.blogspot.com/

Donation Day and Happy Tears!!

Today is Donation Day folks so just sacrifice one trip to Starbucks and it helps bring a child closer to finding a family or in Copeland's case now home!!

So as you know I added the cutest little guy to our pack of boys, lol! Caius is a cutie and we will work hard to grow his funds until his family steps out in faith to commit to bringing him home. I will be praying for this everyday I am on that treadmill doing my 2 miles. If you would like to donate also to Caius account click on the link: http://reecesrainbow.org/52627/caius

I also got to donate this week to Copeland's account including his back funds I was saving until his family was announced. Guess what? His family was announced yesterday, and can you believe that Copeland's forever family will be seriously just down the road. Like 5 to 10 minutes down the road. I cried, Happy tears! I have preyed for this little guy since he was listed. I prayed that he would find his forever family and sometimes even prayed asking if my family was his family. I have to say that I was so excited when Copeland was chosen to be someone's son, but I was slightly sad it was not me. Can I just say that the fact that his new forever family lives right down the road could only be a God thing. I think it is the next best thing then having him for a son, having him for a neighbor!!! I will continue my prayers and donations for Copeland until he is safe in his mama and daddy's arms.

If you would like to follow their journey and continue to donate so they can get Copeland home as soon as possible this is the link to their blog: http://thebuhmanbunch.blogspot.com/ . I will get to introduce myself to the Buhman family next weekend at our Oregon/Washington Reece's Rainbow meetup!!

Also to add just another tidbit of exciting news!! Last night I also learned that I am going to be an Aunt again! So excited for my brother and sister in-law. A baby to spoil and perfect timing since we just moved back to town! I had a great Friday for sure.

Adding Another Sweet Face!

So both of the two boys I have been advocating and raising funds for have both found families. I was waiting for their families to announce their adoptions on Reecesrainbow.org so that their families fsp accounts would be up and ready to accept donations. I waited not so patiently, lol to find out who these sweet boys families would be. I finally was contacted my "Garrison"'s mama!! So excited she has a blog and we can all follow her journey to her son! If you would like to follow the Trotter Family to Sweet "Garrison" here is their blog trottersfunnyfarm.blogspot.com They look like a great family and I have talked to Mindy via facebook and she is soooooo excited to get her son home in her arms. She also shared with me that they will be fully funding their adoption and to start fundraising for another child. Please continue to pray for the Trotter family in support. So, crazy, on the same day I talked to Mindy, I was looking through the children that were newly list and another sweet little boy face caught my eye. His serious little look made me want to pick him up, snuggle him and make him smile. So all my blog followers and fellow donation givers, I would like to introduce you to Caius!

http://reecesrainbow.org/52627/caius

I have already added Garrison's back funds (Thank you Trotter Family) to sweet Caius account!! We will grow his funds and pray that his forever family steps out in faith and commits to him!!

Copeland's Mama I hope you read this and feel free to contact me as I am waiting (not so patiently) to find out who you are and help you and pray for you on this journey!!

Thankful Thursday!

This Thursday I am thankful for many things! I have much to be thankful for these days. My new excitement and thankfulness though is that both of my heart boys have committed families coming to get them. Garrison and Copeland will soon know the love of a family and life outside the orphanage walls. We will continue prayer for their health and safety as the boys families work hard at all the paperwork and funds it takes to bring them home. We will continue to donate so we can be a small part in their homecoming. I encourage all who have been donating along with me to continue doing so. We can help get these boys home and to their families sooner if we keep their funds growing!! So be thankful today and everyday for people who step out in faith to make children apart of their families!

Wordless Wednesday

The Lord Answers Prayers!!!

Copeland is on the "My Family Found Me" Page!!! He has a family coming to get him. I can not wait for this family to announce themselves so we can help continue raising money to get him home ASAP!!! Yea Copeland!! You are wanted and loved buddy!!

The Face that Started it All for Me.

I wanted to share where my journey began. It was a sweet face that started my obsessive followings with ReecesRainbow.com . I could not believe that these children lived this way. Now granted I was not unaware of orphans in other countries, but I had no idea how bad the orphan crisis and conditions really were. After looking at all of the children's faces there was one sweet face that just stood out and made me fall in love. Made me want to cross the oceans immediately to go get her.

Sweet Meredith. She now has a committed Family working hard to get her home, but when I first saw her I wanted to be that family. I did all my research before presenting my case to my unsuspecting husband on a date night. He listened and took all the information in. He is told me he was proud of all my research and then let me down softly that he did not feel we were in the position to adopt at this time, let alone adopt internationally. I of course was heart broken, but continued to pray that Meredith would find a family and I would prefer it to be mine. Well God knows what should be and about 6 months after I had presented Meredith to my husband (I tried again a few months later) Meredith's sweet face was on the My Family Found Me Page!! I could not believe it, I was so excited and sort of sad all at the same time. I wanted her to be my family. If you read way back in my blog you will see her sweet face on posts. I quickly got over my own selfish hurt and started celebrating the fact that her family had stepped out in faith and she was wanted and loved by a family that was at a place to go get her. Her family is still waiting for her to come home and have had some setbacks with adoption changes I think in her country, but they are still pursuing her and she will one day join a family.

I then turned my love for her into a love for them all. I wanted them all to have families. I wanted them all to have someone to love them and fight for them. My family may not still be at a place where we are ready for an international adoption, or I am not sure if God has that in our plans at all, but I will continue working on advocating for these little ones with no voice. I will be their voice and let the world know that they are out there, that they need families and are worthy to be loved as much as the next person. So please take the time to go check out Reecesrainbow.com , look into the eyes of these sweet children waiting for their family, and please know they are real. They are not just a picture on a website. These children need as many people fighting and rallying around them as possible so that we can get them home in their families arms forever.

Donation Day!

I Love Donation Day!! I get to watch my Little Guys accounts grow and I also get the satisfaction of knowing that I ran or walked 2 miles a day for 6 days this week!! If you have followed along with my blog you will know that Garrison ( http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=Garrison )has now been found by his forever family so as of right now he does not have a donation button. I am keeping track though,and as soon as his Family announces who they are I will donate all his back money to help bring this cutie home. We will continue to pray and rally for Copeland ( http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=Copeland) . I can not wait for his family to step forward also. Again if you feel led to donate along side me I encourage you to do so (use above links to find there donate button), also if you fell led to walk or run with me (not literally, but in commitment) I also encourage you to do so. Keep in your head we are running for these little boys who do not have the freedom to do so.

Wordless Wednesday

Princess For A Day 2013!!

I am going to be collecting anything that would make a girl feel like a Princess. I am hoping to get some help from family and friends. Do you have any old prom dress or fancy dresses laying around, dress up your daughter has grown out of? I need it all wands, crowns, shoes and Bling, Bling, Bling!! We want these girls to sparkle and shine on their special day. I will be collecting for the next couple of weeks before for making a road trip down to donate all we can gather. If you want to mail stuff contact me and I will get you my address. Let's give these young ladies a day to remember!! Read on for more details and here is a picture of my princess who loves to be pampered and pretty, what girl doesn't!!

Children throughout the country are waiting for loving homes and it is the goal of A Family For Every Child to find forever families for each one of these special children.

This year will be A Family For Every Child's 6th Annual Princess for a Day Event. Our annual gift to Foster Girls throughout Oregon. These well deserving girls ages 2-18 receive a special day full of the royal treatment; getting their hair and makeup done, picking out their ball gown, and finally having a tea party with prince charming.

In 2012 we served over 325 Princesses, because of the generosity of our community and families all over the country. We hope to serve more and more princesses each year and reach out to other communities to help them create their own Princess for a Day Event.

Did you find a Christmas Dress in the Closet that was too small this year?

We will take all your old dress off your hands for our Princess for a Day event. We will take dress donation of all sizes.

Donation Timeline

We have created a timeline for each month, up until the event, for all the donations. This is so we can collect specific items for different months and anyone who would like to donate will have ideas of what we are in need of. However, we will still be accepting any donations during each month.

December:
This month is all about the DRESSES!

If there are any dresses sitting in your closet and collecting dust, donate them to us! We will gladly accept princess dresses of all sizes!
Clean out your closet and donate those Holiday Dresses that are to small!


January:
This month will focus on WANDS and TIARAS!

It will be the start of a new year, and the event will be just right around the corner! We will be in need of all the finishing touches to all the dresses we will collect the month before.

February:
One more month to go!

This month will be all about the BLING!

Anything pink and sparkly that the Princesses can wear will be greatly appreciated! Necklaces, bracelets, rings...you name it!

This is a special occasion where girls (both in foster care and general admission) can come and get "Pampered" and enjoy a Tea Party.

The Princess gets a gown to take home, a crown and slippers too. She has her hair and nails done, a photo shoot, and a tea party. The parent, guardian, or foster parent who brings the Princess will also have lunch as her royal guest!
Foster children are admitted free. General admission for other princesses is $50.00. Advanced registration is required for all girls.

This is a girls only affair. All girls are welcome to be accompanied by their King or Queen.


Hope this will motivate you to clean out those old closets and dress up boxes!!!
Below is a link so you can watch a little clip from last years event!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX8XcvSWb1A

Thankful Thursday!!

Praise God Garrison has a Family!! I am so excited to write this blog, it is one I have dreamed about. One I have prayed I would get to write sooner then later. Garrison one of my sweet heart babies has a family committed to bring him home. He is going to get to experience life in a family, a life of hope,love and numerous opportunities! I committed to helping raise funds for this little guy and will continue to do so until he is home in his families arms. I can not wait to find out who this family is and see those first meeting pics, and then those welcome home pics! Oh sweet baby boy soon your mama will come and get you. Oh Happy Day!

http://reecesrainbow.org/48208/garrison

Wordless Wednesday!

Surprise in the Mail! http://reecesrainbow.org/30410/kendra-14g