BARBARA (Chrissie) for the Patterson Family

barbara-2 barbarapattersonSERBIA

Chrissie is doing GREAT!  I cannot even explain what a joy she is.  I have never met a child who is as vibrant and joyful and funny as Miss Chrissie!!!  She is excited about life, and she is just so full of love that it amazes me into speechlessness!!!  They were able to get a stent into one of her vessels that is providing blood to her lungs, so her 02 sat increased a little.  She’ll have her open heart surgery in January, so until then, she’s good to go, and nothing slows her down.  Thank you so much for advocating for her.  She is such a blessing to our family.  We are ALL so head over heels in love with her!!!  She’s got her brothers wrapped around her finger so tightly that they can’t ever tell her no.  They’ll stop anything they’re doing to please Miss Chris!!!  We are just so very blessed.  Thank you!

Follow the family’s adoption journey on their blog at http://www.allarepreciousinhissight.com/

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YIN CHIAO (Lily) for the Hyman Family

yinchiao-1lilyhymanTAIWAN

Our daughter, Elizabeth, was the 4th child for Joby and I, with the oldest being 18 when she was born.  Everyone thought we were done, that we wouldn’t want anymore children, especially since Elizabeth was born with Down syndrome.   Everyone except us.  We knew we wanted another child, we just weren’t sure how that would come about.  Then we found Lily’s picture in the array of pics on Reeces Rainbow.  That’s when we knew how we would become parents again.

 

After many months, we brought Lily home the end of July.  She is doing very well!  She babbles and giggles.  She plays with her siblings and with both Joby and I, and will seek us out when upset or sad.  It only took her a week to say “daddy”!  She is such a blessing to our family and we love her completely.

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FRANCESCA for the Hansen Family

francesca

francescahansen

We traveled to China to bring Francesca (Jadyn) home in June.  She has been home about four months now and is doing very well.  She has adjusted so well to her new family, new country, new language, etc.  She loves kindergarten and is just a social butterfly with all her classmates and teachers.

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SAM for the Harding Family

forjan2007hardingfamily-2HONG KONG

We brought “Sam” home from Hong Kong on April 23rd, 2009.  He has been an absolute joy from the moment we took custody of him overseas, and keeps us hopping every day. He eats like a champ (he averages 3 bananas each morning for breakfast!), understands everything we say to him (even though he doesn’t always listen!), and grew 6 inches in his first 4 months home!  Sam’s “big” sister is only 10 weeks older than him, so it’s been fun having 4 year old “twins” in the house.  And while his sister doesn’t have Down syndrome and isn’t Chinese, you’d never know they weren’t blood relatives.  She ADORES him… and vice versa.  It’s been wonderful watching them fall in love with one another.

We are so grateful to Andrea and Reece’s Rainbow for leading us to our son.  He is the most precious gift we have ever received, and we are so blessed to be his parents!  God is SO good, and we thank Him every day for making our family complete.

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ELIJAH for the Lucas Family

elijahwinkleprofilewinkleboysRUSSIA

Elijah came home on April 9, 2009. What a miraculous day that was!  This adoption was a huge leap of faith for me. I literally did not see a photo of Elijah or even know his age until 3 days before I was to fly to Russia.  I found that not knowing was a little exciting.    How many of us know what our biological child will look like?    God decides that..and all I needed to know was that God had chosen Elijah for our family. When I was sent a photo of Elijah, it was an infant photo even though he was already 2 years, 3 months old. As I sat there looking at his photo, I was overwhelmed with emotion. This was my child and I was going to meet him in a few short days! When I met Elijah for the first time, I had tears in my eyes. Here he was finally, the little boy I had waited so long for! A beautiful little boy with big brown eyes and a smile to melt my heart!

 

Elijah has been home for three months now. He is adjusting well to our family. He is very sweet and loving. When he first came home, he was so quiet. Now he babbles all the time and can also say ‘ball’.  He attempts to say a few words and he is signing 14 words consistently so far. He also went from just standing to now taking seven steps independently. He loves to be outside and gets very excited when I bring out the bubbles or when I take him and his big brother Caleb for a wagon ride.

 

I am in awe of how God’s plan has unfolded for Elijah and our family.   Elijah went from having no family and no future to having a Mommy and three older brothers who love and adore him.   Every time I see him smile, I am reminded of what a miracle adoption is, and how God’s plan is always perfect.    I am honored that God would choose us to be Elijah’s family. We have been blessed!

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LARISA for the Powell Family

larisapowellfamilyUKRAINE

Reese was born in Ukraine with Down syndrome, a cleft lip and a cleft palate in December 2007.  We were hesitant to begin the adoption process until we saw her picture.  It became very clear, very fast that she was our little starfish and was meant to be in our family.  She landed on American soil on March 31, 2009 and we are head over heels in love with her.  She has bonded very well with her Mommy, Daddy, her big brother and her big sister.  Her sister also has Down syndrome and the girls seem to already have a very special relationship.  Reese’s cleft lip was repaired in May 2009 and her cleft palate was repaired in July 2009.  She recovered remarkably well from both surgeries. Reese is thriving in our family.  We call her our little “love sponge” because she soaks up every ounce of love she can get.  We are very blessed to have this precious child in our family and thankful that God has allowed us the gift of parenting her.  Reese’s adoption is a testimony of God’s provision and grace.  We hope she knows someday just how much she is loved, not only by us, but also by her Savior who ransomed His life for her.

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SAM, DANTE, and ROMAN for the Loux Family

samfromkons-2dantefromkons-5

Ethan (Roman) & Silas (Dante) 2013

Ethan (Roman) & Silas (Dante) 2013

UKRAINE
On January 24th we finally arrived home with our three angels!  The flight from Ukraine was quite eventful.  Ethan (previously known as Dima) broke out in chicken pox a few days before we flew home so he was incredibly uncomfortable.  He also had pneumonia. We were quite shocked but thankful that he was cleared by the doctor to fly home. All our family was waiting at the airport for us with screams of joy, hugs, tears and lots of kisses.

The past two months have been truly amazing.  The boys are doing new thingsevery day and astounding their therapists.   Sasha (previously Sam), our 6 year old, had a hard time when he first arrived.    He would scratch us, bite us, pull our hair and scream at night.    Now Sasha is a completely different child.   He is at peace and doesn’t act out in a negative way at all. He loves all the love he is receiving and we love giving it to him.

Ethan (previously Dima), is 5 and has the body of a 1 year old. He is a completely different child as well.   We were told he would not be able to function mentally and physically beyond where he was at the time we met.   He was 11 pounds when he left the orphanage and is now 23 pounds.   He laughs and interacts with all of us with so much life! He was unable to even stand at the orphanage.   Now he is able to stand (leaning on something) for 20 minutes at a time.

Our 2 year old, Silas (previously Roman), is a joy bug. He keeps us laughing all the time. He was weak and had a terrible rash and nose infection when we brought him home.  Now he’s much healthier and stronger. He will have surgery in June to close the hole in his heart and we are thrilled with the good reports from his doctor!

We just returned from a weekend vacation celebrating the boys arrival.  We all spent 2 days the “Great Wolf Lodge,” here in Kansas City, where we all splashed at the indoor water park and celebrated our expanded family! The boys absolutely loved it and their sisters had so much fun swimming with them. The Lord has been so good and faithful to us, providing all we have needed along the way.  Thanks for your prayers and support! It is so good to be home!

Follow the family’s adoption journey on their blog at thelouxfamily1.blogspot.com

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OLENA for the Puderbaugh Family — NM

olenajune2008-3matteaandmommyUKRAINE

With nineteen children between us, we had thought our family was complete, but Heavenly Father knew differently. Last summer I was drawn to all of the beautiful children on the Reece’s Rainbow website and inquired about a few of the older boys. For one reason or another, none of them worked out. Finally one day in August, Andrea emailed me, “How about Olena?” This was a very tiny six-year-old girl in Ukraine with an unrepaired heart condition as well as Down Syndrome and no one knew, with her serious medical condition, just what her prognosis would be. After I consulted with a pediatric cardiologist, I hesitantly presented her profile to my husband. Both of us knew with a certainty that this little girl needed a family and that family was us.

 

We fast-tracked our paperwork, and with a very pro-active social worker and USCIS officer, a few months later our dossier was submitted. We traveled for the first time before Christmas to meet the little girl we would name Mattea and my heart broke to see her even smaller than my 2-year-old son, and only 23 pounds.. Since my husband was over the age limit, I was adopting her as a “married individual” and we worried that this would complicate the case, but our wonderful facilitators got us through court without a hitch. I traveled back in January to bring our new little daughter home. When we first met her she was not walking independently and needed to be fed chopped food from a spoon. She had no idea how to put food in her own mouth. She had spent six years of her life in a playpen. After only three months at home, she is blossoming like a little flower. She is now walking on her own and is able to finger-feed with soft foods. She is social and seeks out affection. She now weighs 31 pounds, and today she had her very first haircut. Her health is much better and we are hoping to be able to have her heart fixed. We are so blessed to have her in our family. We believe the words of Jeremiah— “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

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