Home and SO Busy

Well, Matthew, Johnathan, and Charity have been home for a full month.  Things have been SO BUSY.  Matthew and Charity were use to being given something to sleep, so sleep is not common here right now.  They all have medical stuff going on that requires appointments.  Thankfully, Brent had two weeks off when they got home!  That was especially good since Matthew had to be admitted to the hospital on Thanksgiving evening and spend a few nights. 

They are all making HUGE progress.  Matthew has been gaining about a pound a week!  Charity was so constipated that she literally lost 4 INCHES around her stomach when her bowels were dealt with and we are still trying to finish cleaning her out.  Johnathan had some type of head injury (it looks like someone hit him in the back of the head and broke his skull) between our first trip and 2nd, so we are still trying to get all the different visits for that and his hydro taken care of. . . you know the kind where one visit leads to the next. . .

Christmas is so exciting!  So many great things to see, hear, smell, and taste!  If the doctor's appointments ease up then I will try to get a real update on each individual kid done.  They are AMAZING kids who have been through so much and are changing SO fast.  We are so blessed to be their family!!  

COURT DATE

Sorry to be so late posting here, but WE HAVE A COURT DATE!  Praising God big time here!

Court will take place on October 22nd.  We do not have to be there for that, as in our children's country we are represented in court by our attorney.  We should travel a few weeks later.  Lord willing our kids will be home by Thanksgiving!

Please continue to pray for them as they wait and that everything goes well as we plan the trip and with court and the paperwork after court!

MATCHING GRANT!

We have had a very generous matching grant offered to us.  When our FSP reads $20,411 then another $500 will be donated to our account!  This is a HUGE BLESSING! 

Here is a link to our FSP! 

Also HERE IS A LINK TO OUR GIVEAWAY with the lots of things we will be drawing for to thank people for helping by donating and sharing.

Right now I keep remembering that last bit of time with them and praying that they know I'm still on my way back to them.  They had gotten so comfortable with being loved.  I HATE THAT I HAD TO LEAVE AND IT FEELS LIKE THE BIGGEST FAILURE AS A MOTHER! 

 

 

They definitely weren't the kids that I had expected to meet or the kids that I first met at the beginning of the week even!  The were LOVING having the LOVE of a MOTHER! 

 

They are waiting!

 

WE ARE SO CLOSE!

 

Trip to Meet the Three Part 2: Meeting Charity

I've decided to not go through day by day as I just don't think I can relive each moment.  I'm aching to hold them so very badly.  This is pure torture having to hold them and then leave them there.  It honestly feels like the biggest parenting FAIL in the world. 

I'm going to go child by child and then maybe a post or two that tell other things about them all three.  It may be scatter brained, because when I start to think about it all I feel scatter brained.  I just want them safe and home and in my arms. 

As soon as I went into the visitation play area, there was CHARITY!  She was sitting in the bottom of the play structure on the mat.  She was not at all what I had expected at throughout the week she just continued to change. 

I was told that she was the size of an 8 month old and that she was unresponsive and didn't like to be bothered.  It said she could be aggressive and was very autistic.  Her report had made me SO MAD because it said that stimulation wouldn't help because of her Autism and as the mother of several children on all aspects of the very broad Autism spectrum, I knew that was NOT true. 

 

I arrived to find a little girl who now had a Baba and had grown considerably.  She was interactive and warmed up to me very well.  She can be quite snuggly once she realizes that she is loved!!  She loved being loved and she was thriving by the end of that week!!!  She loves music and is very smart.  Once home, she will be a whole other child in a very short period of time.  She is SO close to walking and really just needs to gain strength and have a lot of opportunity.  Her Autism is going to be so minor once she is exposed to the world!! 

She has some medical concerns that we didn't initially know about and we'll address as soon as she is home.  She has a cyst in her brain that is hopefully no big deal, but we just can't know until we get it checked out.  She also has a "mega colon", which we will need to figure out once she is home as well. 

She is very quirky.  She only eats "white" foods.  She has had the staff there trying to trick her by holding the bowl above her head.  I can't help that I love the quirkiness of Autism.  We'll conquer the food part and get her eating a fully nutritious diet once she is home though. 

She is also one VERY smart cookie!!  She loved to play with my iphone and listen to songs on it.  She is so STUBBORN (I appreciate and relate to this quality as well lol).  She very quickly learned how to get from the "songs" to other apps.  On my way home from one of the visits I got a call from a friend from church.  She had gotten calls from my phone!  My tiny princess had made international calls while scrolling!!  I caught her at once point and tried to get it turned off, but evidently not fast enough.  lol    The next visit she wanted to do the same and was not happy when I wouldn't let her get to other apps.  I called "Daddy" even though it was in the middle of his night.  He was very pleased to get to say "Hi" to her, but she was only pleased for a moment and then she wanted control of the iphone again.  We ended up having to lock it into ipod mode for her.  She was NOT pleased. . .

When I say she is smart I'm not kidding!

Please pray for her.  Pray for her health while she waits.  Pray for her and how hard the trip home will be for her.  Travel will be very out of routine for her, but once home she is going to THRIVE!!! 

If you'd like to help her and our other two children get home, there are links on the right side that take you to fundraisers.  We will also have a GIVEAWAY starting on here soon that while run while our daughter Aleshia is in the hospital for her open heart surgery, so stay tuned for that as well. 

So much to UPDATE and so little TIME

So much has been going on here.  I have been on trip #1.  Those of you who follow the Facebook page know that, because it is SO much easier to post a quick update on there than it is to write a blog post.  I am going to try to do an update on that soon.  It is also just past the one year anniversary of the 5 kids coming home.  I need to do a full update on that too!! 

So much to do and so little time.  Aleshia is due to have her open heart surgery on August 15th.  She will have neurological testing on August 14th to see how much brain damage really occurred during the one that she had done before we adopted her and brought her to the US.  She was going to have it done sooner, but there were insurance issues to clear up and things that had to occur.  So things are SO busy.

Today I want to give you a little update on the 5 that already came home.  Here is Keith's one year home side by side comparison! 

THIS HE'S GROWN MUCH!!!????!!!!

He went from wearing size 3 to 6 months clothes to 36 inches tall and wearing 3T size clothes!
He went from less than 12lbs to weighing 32lbs!
He went from not being able to hold his head up to cruising the furniture!
HE IS AMAZING!!!! 

We have lots of fundraising going on to get to our other three kids.  I will post more about that later and you hurry and get to the post just below this before Saturday, August 3rd is over then you can still order those amazing shirts!  I will be closing that up and turning in those orders after that date. 

You can also shop on my Usborne page to support our adoption by clicking HERE. 

You can shop for great dvds and help your family learn more at the Bible while supporting our adoption HERE. 

We also have a fundraiser running on Indiegogo right now where you can help us raise the funds needed for the pickup trip for the kids.  Click HERE to go there.  You can read more about each of the three kids there.  I will update on my trip to meet them here very soon!  I just have to catch my breath and have a moment to spare.  I just finished up an auction of Facebook and have a ton of stuff to mail out.  Not to mention that little boy you see above is ALWAYS ON THE MOVE!!  Believe me though, I'm not complaining.  I'd give anything if Matthew, Johnathan, and Charity were here and into everything instead of stuck in cribs across the ocean!  Please please pray for them while they wait.  Please especially pray for Matthew.  Leaving him was the hardest thing I've ever had to do and he is in need of coming home SO very badly.

Wonderful Shirt Fundraiser!

We've been so blessed that Shari Lafayette from Personalized Prints  has donated some AMAZING shirts for us to sell. 

 

To order yours simply PayPal your payment to unroerescare@yahoo.com and in the note section give me your size or sizes that you are ordering as well as your name and address.  Shirts are $15 each and include shipping.  The shirts will all come to me at once and I will ship them to you.   

 

Sizes Available are: 

Youth XSmall

Youth Small

Youth Medium

Youth Large

Youth XLarge

Adult Small

Adult Medium

Adult Large

Adult XLarge

Adult 2XLarge

Adult 3XLarge

Adult 4Xlarge

Adult 5XLarge

Adult 6XLarge

                                  

VERBAL REFERRAL!!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!

Ok, the VERBAL REFERRAL was given yesterday.  The meeting ran until after business hours there so we didn't get word until today.  We had expected that meeting last week, but it was postponed until yesterday.  I must say that sleep didn't happen so much last night.  The seven hour time difference meant that I stayed up much of the night (more than normal if you know me!) looking "just in case" word came. 

For those not familiar with the adoption process or how it works in our specific country, that means that our children's country has received our dossier and reviewed it in the formal meeting. They have determined that it is completed and acceptable. They have determined that we can travel to meet the children! Now we need the main person who was in that meeting to "sign" the paper which could come at any time. That is called a "written referral". Once that happens then our attorney will give us an official travel date to leave!!! Praising God for one more step in that direction!!

Now, I need to get the drawing done for the giveaway.  There are lots of entries and I don't want to mess it up.  I will get the winners names up very soon.  It may be late tomorrow night before they get up though.  If I did them right now in my sleep deprived state I fear I would do something wrong.  Check back late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.  I often do things after the kids are in bed! 

Thank all of you for your prayers!!  Please continue to pray that the signature comes soon.  There is a letter stating that Matthew's medical situation is very urgent and we are praying that the signature is expedited as a result! 

If you'd like to help us continue to work toward being funded you can go to the ipad fundraiser our friend is hosting on her blog HERE

Keep praying for Matthew, Johnathan, and Charity! 

Get Ready!

Ok, there will be a Giveaway with some pretty cool prizes starting here VERY soon!!  I have to finish a quilt for the Hidden Treasures Auction that will be helping us HERE.  After I get it finished, then I will get the Giveaway up and running.  I wanted to give you another little update as promised, but wow paperwork, fundraising, and 18 kids sure did keep me busy.  So here is an update that you can "see" with your own eyes.

If you remember, Nicholas came to us very "monkey" like.  He was in a horrible institution.  He was sweet, but had not had any socialization.

Tuesday, I took Nicholas to Kroger with me all on his own.  He had never gone on a real grocery shopping trip with me and I figured I'd get a few necessities and get him a candy bar for a treat and then exit.  He'd already been to the doctor's office  and done very well, but had to be redirected from his "edge of the seat" "jump and run" stance a lot.

WELL, Nicholas did wonderful in Kroger.  We filled the WHOLE CART!!  I reached him things and he put them in.  You would have never known that he was so food obsessed and had lived in such deprivation!!!!!  I was and AM so proud!  He didn't even obsess or notice the candy bar I was getting him at checkout and then got it after being buckled into the van.  He still had most of it left when we got home (about 5 minute drive but still a BIG deal!).  That means he didn't STUFF it!

So here is Nicholas's picture from the day after we picked him up.  He seriously rocked so much on day 1 that we couldn't get one that wasn't blurry.

Now here is Nicholas's most recent snap shot.  This is not from the shopping trip.  He was doing so well that I wasn't taking chances with throwing him off!  lol

ISN'T HE HANDSOME?????  

Ok, stay tuned for big things!!

Little Girls Outting

Well yesterday was Monday, which was Brent's day off.  Aleshia had an appointment to follow up with our primary medical provider.  I took Julianne, Anita, Ahnja, and Destiny along and got their flu shots.  I was ready for A LOT of whining, but it just didn't happen.  I had Destiny go first, because I knew she wouldn't whine.  Everyone else just followed her lead I guess.  The girls looked so cute!  I put them all in matching outfits and they were so THRILLED about all having the "same" outfits.  I figure I better enjoy it now, because any day some of them will start to not like it and then it will be over! 

The girls were so funny in the doctor's office.  Ahnja and Destiny are a hoot together always.  Anita and Julianne are like two peas in a pod as well.  Aleshia still isn't to the point that she can interact and join in the same way they can, but I love how they try to include her and show her things.

After the appointment I drove through McDonalds (we hardly ever do that!) and got them pies and ice creams.  We took extra to share with grandparents and headed to their house.  Mommom and Daddy Bill (what we've always called my grandparents since I was little) couldn't believe how neatly the girls ate and how sweet and loving they are.  They were so well behaved that even Daddy Bill was talking about it!  His vision is very bad now, so he thought Ahnja was me at one point.  I told him that I'll take that as a compliment, because she is WAY cuter than I ever was. 

After we left there, we went to Walmart to pick up a few things.  We went to the Christmas aisle first.  I love hearing my little Bulgarian Americans exclaim over the exciting things that we've put up here and they saw there for Christmas.  We picked out some new singing Christmas characters.  Ahnja and Destiny were quietly singing Jingle Bells through the store.  Ahnja's English is coming along so well!  They both got quieter (and Destiny quit on me), when I got out the camera to record it, but at least I got a little.  I heard people talking about the "cute little girls" and "look how well behaved all those kids are".  I love that they saw those things instead of noticing that 4 of the 5 kids with me had Down Syndrome.  No one even mentioned or seemed to notice their "extra".  I love that little extra chromosome, but I want people to see them for all their wonderfulness and then notice that "extra" blessing.  :)  There was an older couple in front of me at checkouts.  They turned and said that they'd never seen such well behaved children.  I wondered later what they would have thought if they'd known that 2 of those girls had spent time in institutions????  I wondered how many of the people smiling at Ahnja and Destiny singing got a blessing from hearing their joy of getting ready for Christmas?  I wonder if any of them ever think about the children still stuck behind the walls of institutions and orphanages and the joy that they and the world are missing out on? 

I know one thing, I AM VERY BLESSED!

 

If you want to visit our current Christmas Sale on Facebook, then go check it out. 

Lots of neat ways to start off your Christmas. 

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/events/187448391380177/

Just click that link and it will take you there!

The money from that will help with the cost of the adoption of the next 3 Unroes!

Some pictures of Nicholas and a small update

Nicholas is doing great.  He is a child that I thought would take quite a while to adjust and be able to go to church and out to eat.  He handles everything very well already though.  He can sit through a preaching service.  He waits patiently when we go out to eat.  He is using the potty when sent.

Most of all, he loves being loved!  He loves hugs, kisses, sitting on your lap, and being picked up.  He is 10 years old, but about the size of Cody who is 5 years old.  He very much understands what we are saying already and smiles when I say 'I love you'.  Such a cutie!

Here are some pictures.

We are so blessed!  I'll try to do better at updating, but things are busy with the new adoption paperwork.  On top of that, I'm trying to find a new pediatric cardiologist that I will like.  Aleshia is fine now, but the one Aleshia went to will be one we never go to again and the one Julianne has seen for quite some time is using the same new medicine for sedation.  That means that none of my children will be seeing him for ECHOs that they want sedations for either.  Julianne was due to have one in December, so I need a new cardiologist quickly.  

I'll give more updates on the kids we are going back for soon.  Our commitment paperwork should arrive my snail mail in their country tomorrow!

Aleshia is sick and we miss her with pictures

Aleshia had an Echo this morning.  She was sedated for it and did not wake up well from the sedation.  The doctor got a good piece of my mind and will again.  We won't be going back to him either, because I think he gave her too much medication.  She is spending a night in the PICU for observation, but is back awake after a very long 8 1/2 hours at least of sleeping.  I was with her during the day and Brent is with her now, so that I could come home with the other kids.

She was doing much better when I left though.  Praise God for this smile!

We all miss her terribly.  Life just isn't the same without her here.  Julianne was asleep when Aleshia left this morning for the Echo and is missing her worst of all I think.  

I had to use the flash on the camera to get this picture of her.  She went in, flipped out her light, and was sitting like this when I went in to check on here. 

 Yes, she was sitting and holding Aleshia's picture from Aleshia's old picture album.  She got it out all on her own.  This is so SWEET and so SAD too.  Julianne has slept in her own bed every since Aleshia came home.  They giggle and laugh after the lights are out and Julianne even turns them back on sometimes.  (wink)

She misses her very much as do we.  I bet I have a little girl back in my bed tonight.  Praying Aleshia continues to do well and is back home tomorrow morning before Julianne even wakes up.  

Aleshia has a family now and WE don't know what to do without her!

Ahnja Pick up and One Month Update ( a little late lol)

Ahnja was next on the pickup schedule.  I was worried.  I knew what she had been told about US being the ones to leave her.  I also knew that she was older and in a group home where she likely had some attachments.

When we arrived and went up to the "flat" that they lived in there, the other children had gone away the day before on a vacation and she had been left behind with one staff.  She was happy to see herself on the camera, but very unsure of me.  I have no idea what could have been told to her after Brent left or right before I arrived.  She was happy to call me "Mama" after just a few minutes.  There were lots of hugs and she gave me pictures that she had prepared for me.  Then she was NOT happy to be told she needed to leave with me.  The psychologist was assuring me that she'd be fine.  Ahnja cried and I felt so badly for her.  I also knew that she would be fine later and I knew that what she didn't know is that there was no real future for her there.  Down Syndrome is still a very big deal there.  She was scared of going somewhere new, but her future there would have been much scarier.


I do not have videos of picking Ahnja up.  The couple that went with me had their hands full with the 3 children in the van.  I could have asked the driver with me to video, but I did not think that would be fair to her.  She was much older and more aware.  I wouldn't want someone to video me transitioning into a brand new life with some crazy lady who spoke a language I didn't understand.  We got her into the van with promises of going to get ice cream first thing and still not terribly happy.  Thankfully, that changed.  The pictures I'm going to post of her with the ice cream show how quickly that occurred!  Her personality came out quickly and she was back to her amazing self in no time at all.  She has attached wonderfully.

This was right after we got back to the hotel and she realize she had a "bebe' "!

See how happy she was by her first outting!

She is doing great here at home!  The first several visitors that came over made her get very quiet.  Then when they got ready to leave, she said "Chow" and tried to push them out the door.  After the were out the door and getting in their cars, she would go out and be very friendly.  We realized that she was afraid they too would "take" her.  We encouraged visitors to come more, so that she could see that she didn't have to leave with anyone.  She is very friendly when people come now!  

She has quite a few words that she says.  She repeats everyone's names and sometimes uses them on her own.  She says "No", "Stop it" (mainly to Cody or Anita!  lol), "I love you", "Goodnight", "Tickle", "Yes", "doll baby", and several other words.  She knows body parts and can repeat them.  

She understands almost everything that is said to her.  She claims to NOT understand the word "clean".  roflol  When you use that word and point to toys (like you do every day), she has no clue what that means.  Thankfully, Destiny is glad to take her hand and model how she needs to help with that task!  

She has a huge personality!  She is very loving.  Lots of kisses, hugs, and playfulness from her now!!  She is very bossy.  I've had to remind her a hundred or so times that she is not in charge of Anita.  (She was left in charge of other children at the group home, so this is only typical for her to need to learn this.)  She can be somewhat sassy and have an attitude, but she gets over it quickly with a timeout.  

Ahnja and Destiny have become so close and the best of friends!

 Destiny is actually bigger than Ahnja by several inches and a clothing size,

but Ahnja sits up tall to make sure she looks taller.  lol

Here is a little "Ahnja footage"!

One Month Update for Anita and her Pick up Pictures and video

Ok, this is late of course, but you're still getting it.  lol

Anita was the first child that we picked up on July 17th.  As we pulled up to the gate I could see children outside playing.  There was this gorgeous little boy that was showing his strength for getting out and I immediately noticed that he was a little boy that a friend is adopting.  I was not expecting to see Anita right off and I was wanting to be sure I could tell his Mama about him, so my attention was on him.  THEN THERE SHE WAS!!!
Right outside!  She knew she was suppose to be "going" somewhere and she was ready.  She was NOT happy when we had to go back into the building.  Then I got to see her mad side as the caregivers made her go back inside while we all did paperwork.  She screamed the entire time that we did paperwork just about.

The videos are loud, but here is one where she is at her calmest besides when we were finally "out" of that gate that held here inside the orphanage.  Once in the van she calmed down nicely, because she was "going" like she was suppose to.

Here is Anita now!

(If you are wondering, Dayton is telling Julianne that they don't want to see 

whatever is on tv that she keeps turning back on.  lol)

Anita and Julianne are hysterical together!

They have a blast!

She was said to be nonverbal. 

She is already saying words and even a phrase or two.

She only says them when you don't try to get her to.

(Go figure with that "extra" stubbornness)

She's said "I love you" a few times.

Goodnight has happened twice.

Today she said "Go, Go, Go" 

with the hand motion she did in the video above.

She is quite the mimic and that is what I say 

when I shew her out of the kitchen when I'm getting things out of the oven 

or when I need a moment along to actually go pee 

or change clothes.  lol

She is VERY animated.  

She will mimic any motion.

Sometimes you can tell by her movements and the way she holds her mouth

that she is mimicking the way the caretakers in the orphanage

talked and motioned when they taught her to do something

like put on her shirt

or eat her food

or anything.

She keeps us laughing!

Some One Month Stories

Ok, I'm a couple days late, but things are busy.  I hate to miss any moment with them to sit and blog, so I do it at night.  That means that I'm exhausted and sometimes decide bed is more appealing.  Then other times I want to blog, but words to describe the wonderfulness of this life and these 18 kids is hard to even put into words.  Other times, honestly I'm so ticked that kids are waiting and people who claim Christ aren't lining up to get them out of those orphanages and institutions that I can't write anything that would sound nice and decide maybe to keep my fingers off the keyboard.  Now there are my excuses, but that isn't what this post is for, so let's learn a little about the kids!

Aleshia and Keith were our first "Gotcha Day"!  I haven't shared as much as I had hoped to so I thought I'd catch you up on that a bit.  We picked up Aleshia first on July 16th.  There was a newspaper reporter and camera man there who wanted to know and understand better the "why" of us coming for her.  How do you explain to people that their society is throwing away the most wonderful members of it???  How do you nicely say "I came because you didn't want her and I couldn't stand to live without her"?  It was difficult to think of how to answer their questions, because all I could think about is that she was THERE and so was I! The people there were so nice and genuinely happy to see her be loved.  That institution truly cared about her and did the best they could.  You could hear children in the place and there were kids outside playing.  It wasn't a family, but she received the best they had the ability to give her and for that I am very thankful.

Here is a video of the moment that I first got her into my arms:

 (Can you hear my friend Jackie exclaiming how beautiful she is? <3 )

Then we had to hop right back into the van and hurry off to go get Keith!  You'll see in the next picture that she even got her clothes changed while we drove!

Keith's place was very different.  It was full of kids and 4 times as many lived there as did where Aleshia had come from.  They paraded a few children in front of us who looked healthy, but I knew it was NOT how the kids there looked in general.  I know of many children who have families coming for them there and they do not look healthy.  My sweet boy was so thin and had spent his 5 years there in a crib receiving barely enough care to stay alive.  Floors after floor of children and yet it was QUIET.  

Here is a video of our first moments together:

(Could you see Jackie's husband Doug holding Aleshia?  Yes, he was already wrapped tightly around her tiny crooked pinky finger! lol)

After that we had to jump into the van and head for the capital city to get their passport pictures done!  

Aleshia seemed to enjoy riding in the van, but we had to keep working to keep her upright.  She is 6 years old, but still not sitting up independently.  (We are waiting now for results of some tests on her hips because there seems to be an issue with them.)  She is very opinionated too and let us know that from the beginning. Jackie and I even managed to change her diaper while riding in a van!  Yes it was quite the experience as it wasn't just pee!  lol 

(There is tiny Keith in his pajamas back at the hotel)

Poor Keith, on the other hand, was not use to the sun.  He cried every time the sunshine touched any part of his body.  He was not use to being held and he had to be held in the van.  He was squirmy and Jackie and I did a lot of passing him back and forth.  Thankfully he got use to being held and was spoiled within just a day or so!  <3

Now, here are some of the "now" pictures!

Aleshia has the seat now that is pictured above. 

She can sit up and be in the middle of things much better that way.

She is still very interested in Keith.

She has the most gorgeous smile.

The seat has also helped her gain some back strength, 

since it doesn't support her back like a wheelchair does

This has allowed her to be able to sit up well on a couch

or on the bed if her back is against the wall.

That is improvement and we hope to see her get much stronger!

Now for Keith's mega transformation:

The picture on the left on the top is a picture I shared with you before.

Brent was visiting him and those are size 18 months pajamasa that were HUGE on him 

and not even wearable.

Brent donated that pair (along with many others he took).

On the right of that picture is Keith now with a size 18 months of the same brand and style of pajamas.

I bought those at the same time to have here, but they are a different pattern.

He is wearing them and they fit now!

He wore a size 18 months outfit to his kidney specialist appointment this week.

He wore a size 6 to 9 months (some smaller), when I picked him up.

The picture on the left of this is Keith without clothes when Brent visited him.

He looked the same when I picked him up,

 but I don't have any good pictures of him that way as things were very hectic.

The picture on the right is of Keith tonight!

Yes, that is what love can do!

Above and below pictures were both taken tonight as well.

He has gotten so strong that he can sit up with little support.

He can also support his weight while just holding my hands and stand up now, 

but I don't have a picture because I'm the one holding on!  lol

And that is what Keith thinks of his new life!

All the kids are doing wonderful!

I'll try to get another one month update up soon for Anita, Ahnja, and Nicholas!

Thanks for following along with our journey and the part you all played!

If you'd like to watch the miracles God can do when you step out in faith, then contact Shelley at 

shele337@gmail.com 

or go to 

Reece's Rainbow by clicking Here.

Many children are waiting

 and you can change their lives 

and be more blessed than you can ever imagine!

Please don't leave them all alone!

Go check out these kids in particular:

LANCE

THEODORE

CARSON

PRESLEY

THAD