Open Your Heart

2 Cute Ukranians

2012-01-17T17:11:00.000-08:00

One of Milana's favorite things to do is going to see the Carolina Hurricanes. This girl LOVES her hockey. Milana was fortunate enough to meet one of the Carolina Hurricanes - Alexei Ponikarovsky. This was super cool because Alexei just happens to be from Ukraine. He was born in Kiev.

Here they are together. Aren't they adorable???

My Head Is Just Swimming

2012-01-09T11:42:00.001-08:00

I feel like my head is just swimming with thoughts and questions and I have been trying to figure out just the right words to use. I can't. I wish I could, but I'm more of a random thoughts kind of girl I guess.

I just can't understand why there are SO many children in the world without a Mama & Papa to call their own - without someone to love them. I can't understand why you wouldn't want your child if they weren't perfect in the eyes of others. I can't understand why more people don't feel led to adopt.

I know adoption isn't for the faint of heart. I know it isn't for everyone. I just...I don't get why so many people out there don't see the urgency of finding homes for these children that many of us are yelling and screamming for.

I have had so many people say to me - "Oh please don't tell me you want to adopt again!" or "Why would you want to adopt again?" "Don't you have enough kids?" It makes me feel so sad. Not sad for me because if I were to adopt again I'm not going to worry about the people who seem to feel that they get a say in what I do or don't do - when clearly they do not. It does make me sad for all the fatherless out there.

If you are a parent think about your own child(ren). Can you imagine giving them up because they aren't perfect? Or because they don't live up to societies idea of perfect? Can you imagine them growing up in an orphanage or an institution where they have no one to love them and keep them safe from harm?

I wish I could make people see why adopting is so amazing. Easy it is not, but amazing....totally! I would give just about anything to be able to do it again. I'm just waiting for the right time (and if you know me you know I hate waiting and I have zero patience), but here I sit. Waiting and trying to figure out why so many children are taken forgranted.

2 More

2012-01-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

As I was sitting here these 2 boys popped into my head. These guys also tug at my heart. If truth be told ALL orphans tug at my heart. It hurts so much to think of where some of these children are living around the world. For them to have no Mommy & Daddy to go to when they are scared. To have no Mommy & Daddy to go to for love and reassurance. It just hurts me so much because...well it just sucks!

I know that no one ever said life was fair and it isn't, but WHY are there so many orphans in the world? Why are so many so unwilling to bring an orphan into their home?

It isn't easy, but it is SO worth it. Adopting Milana has changed me so much in so many ways. I don't care anymore about trips to Disney World - don't get me wrong I'd love to go, but I'd rather bring an orphan or two into my home and give them the love they so deserve. I guess I am just not right. I don't know. I never really have been so no big deal.

Did I mention there are SO MANY orphans around the world - like 147 million give or take. It just breaks my heart. I wish more people would step up and bring them home.

The two orphans I was talking about before I got all ADD there are Alexander & Kory.

Meet Alexander :)
http://reecesrainbow.org/1184/alexander-20

Meet Kory
http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=kory

These two adorable guys can be adopted together!!!! Just look at their beautiful faces!!! I just know they would love to be apart of a family.

Still Waiting

2012-01-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I did not get my Christmas Wish this year. What I wanted more than anything was these 2 little boys. Oh how Spencer and Brent just weigh on my heart. I would love so much for them to be my little boys. I know they would be so loved and adored in our home.

You see like Milana - these guys would have 3 amazing big sisters to love on them like crazy!

I am so sad that these guys are still waiting. I really thought their Mommy and Daddy would have found them by now. It is so sad that these precious boys are sitting in mental institutions. Where or where is their Mama? Where is their Papa?

I would be so happy if these precious boys would find a home soon! How long should they have to wait to find their Mommy & Daddy? They have already been with out them for far too long.

Please share their sweet faces on your blogs, facebook pages, and on twitter. Let's get their faces out there and help them find homes! All children should get to be apart of a loving family.

If you feel you would like to donate to their adoption grant funds please go to:

http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=spencer

http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=brent

There are so many other children that need families to. Please visit www.reecesrainbow.org
Thank you so much for your help!

All I Want For Christmas...

2011-12-11T12:14:00.000-08:00

There are so many kids out there who don't have a Mommy or a Daddy. Many of these kids are sitting in orphanages around the world. Why are they there? Some because their parents found out they had Down Syndrome and gave them up just because they are different. It is so sad!

Most of these children are transferred from their Baby House at age 4 or 5 to an adult Mental Institution. Two of these children who have already been transferred are Spencer and Brent. Please consider making a donation to their adoption funds and help their forever families find them.

You can donate to Spencer by clicking here:
http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=spencer
If you make a donation of $35 or more you will get a beautiful ornament with his picture on it!

If you would like to donate to Brent's adoption fund click on the link below:
http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=brent
Remember that a donation of at least $35 will get you an ornament with his picture on it.

I would love for you to consider donating to Spencer or Brent or any other child listed on Reece's Rainbow. www.reecesrainbow.org

Without the generous donations of many we would never have been able to bring Milana home to our family. She is truly a blessing to us all. Please help those who have been left behind. They deserve a home too.

And if you are wondering what I want for Christmas - I would LOVE Spencer and Brent. So if you would like to give me those sweet boys I would truly appreciate it. If not...a donation to their grant fund and helping spread the word so that they can find their Mommy & Daddy would be awesome!

Guess Who Went To The Movies For The Very First Time???

2011-12-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

You guessed it!!! Milana went to the movies today for the very first time.

We all went to see The Muppet Movie - which was really cute!

Milana LOVED it! We were pleasantly surprised at how well behaved she was. The only time she needed to be taked out of the theater was for a potty break :)

On the way home from the movies she kept signing tv in hopes of getting some more tv time once we got home. We read for awhile and then Daddy put on the Canes game and our little Caniac went nuts!!! What can I say...the girls loves her hockey!

Manomana!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWWbSfn7Ad4&noredirect=1

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T15:37:00.000-08:00

I have so much to be thankful for this year (and every year). Here are some of the reasons I am thankful....

I am also thankful for Karissa. I'd love to have a picture of her here, but those are hard to come by. For some reason she doesn't like to get her picture taken anymore. I don't know where she gets that from.

Hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Milana

2011-09-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

We started looking at cakes for Milana's birthday several weeks ago. As we were flipping through the cake book we came across a cake that looked similiar to the one below. When Milana saw it she went nuts. You see this girl is a HUGE hockey fan! She LOVES her Carolina Hurricanes. We couldn't tell at first whether or not she wanted the Hurricanes cake or a Tinker Bell cake so we put the pictures side by side and Milana made her choice. Carolina Hurricanes for this birthday girl!

Milana loved when we sang Happy Birthday to her. She has a couple of books with birthday cakes and parties in them and we spent pretty much EVERY day this summer singing "Happy Birthday." By the end of the summer I was hiding the books so I wouldn't have to sing Happy Birthday anymore. I'm not kidding when I say we sang it at least 100 times a day every day the entire summer.

Mmmmmmmm........this cake is soooooooooooooo YUMMY!!!! I get to eat the ENTIRE piece!!! YUM!!!!!!!!!

Look at all this yummy frosting. Want a lick?

Yes Mom! I did swallow all the cake in my mouth. So can I have more cake now???

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Gotcha Day - Then & Now

2011-09-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

Milana September 8, 2010
This was the very last time Milana was in her orphanage. Just minutes after this picture was taken we said our final teary goodbyes to the caretakers and then we were on our way.

Milana Sept. 8, 2010 at our apartment in Lugansk.

Milana Sept. 8, 2010 - Exploring our apartment and probably wondering where in the world am I and when is this lady going to bring me back home :(

Milana September 8, 2011

My how she has grown :)

Doesn't she look so big....and HAPPY!!!!

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary Milana :)

Where Does The Time Go?

2011-09-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

It just occurred to me that one year ago today our 10 day waiting period had ended and the race to get Milana out of her orphanage once and for all began. Violetta, Sasha, & I began our running around to get the paperwork we needed such as her Certificate of Adoption and her new Birth Certificate.

Unfortunately since it took all day to get just those 2 items I wasn't able to get Milana out of the orphanage that same day.

So...do you know what that means?? It means tomorrow is our 1 year Gotcha Day Anniversary!!! Yay!!

Here is a cute Milana picture from our vacation in July :)

Milana's First Day of School

2011-09-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

Milana was so excited this morning when she woke up and I told her she was going to school. The first thing she signed was bus. This girl loves to ride the bus.

Bye Montana! I'm going to miss you today!

I'll miss you too Bailey. Thanks for keeping me company while I wait (and wait) for the bus to come.

Milana got tired of waiting inside for the bus so we moved things outside where she continued to wait.

Oh goodie...my sisters are keeping me company while I wait for the bus.

The bus finally came and Milana got to sit next to her best friend Nadia. When Milana got on the bus and saw Nadia she was so excited! I'm sure she was even more psyched once they got to school and were in the same class. (Those poor teachers - talk about trouble)!

My parents got Milana off the bus today and said she was so happy! When I got home she was screaming with delight and gave me a great big hug! I guess she had a good 1st day of school.

Aren't these girls just the cutest? Peyton and Riley were thrilled to see Milana when they got home and find out how her day was.

Milana loves her big sisters....

and of course they love her too!

Busy Weekends

2011-08-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weekends have been extremely busy. This weekend I helped out at an adoption conference. I brought the girls to help out. They were great helpers. Milana was too. She was super cute and everyone who saw her loved her. Hopefully seeing her will help some people see that adopting a child with Down Syndrome is such a blessing!

Last weekend I went to San Antonio for the NDSC. It was so awesome! I just can't even describe how amazing it was.

While there I got to attend some workshops and hang out at the Reece's Rainbow table. I got to meet a bunch of Reece's Rainbow families which is always fun.

I got to meet this gorgeous RR cutie. We became instant best buds. Seriously, this girl is a LOVE bug!!! Her Mom is awesome too by the way! I just loved getting to meet the entire Burman crew! Talk about amazing people!!!

These were my roomies for the weekend. Rachel and I had a blast getting lost together. Evie is just adorable...don't you think?

Michelle and Jessica goofing around at the RR table :)

Andrea & Shelley. Shelley's crew was there too. Her kids are so stinkin' cute and funny too.

Jen & Michelle working hard!

The convention was such a great time. Next year it is in Washington DC. Right now my plan is to bring the girls. They would have really enjoyed the convention - all of them.

I have more pictures to post. I tried and tried to get more on here, but blogger was super slow so I finally gave up.

And The Winner Is....

2011-08-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

Okay...I'm going to make you wait for just another minute to find out who the winner is. First I want to thank each and everyone who donated to and/or spread the word about our Ipad2 giveaway. We appreciate all of your support. You are all amazing. Thank you so much!

I guess you want to know who the winner is now. I'm sorry that all of you couldn't win. I truly am. So your winner of the Ipad2+wifi is............................................................................................................................are you ready???.............................okay I'm tired so your winner is:

Andrew Brockhuas!!!!

Congratulations Andrew!!!

Ipad 2 Giveaway - Only 3 days left!!!

2011-08-01T05:47:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post a quick reminder that there are only 3 days left in our Ipad 2 + wifi giveaway. I am so grateful to those of you who have donated and continued to spread the word. We couldn't have gotten this far without you. PLEASE continue to spread the word. I'd love for us to meet our goal. Remember...ONLY 3 days left!!!

Donations can be made by clicking on the chipin on the left. Donations are NOT tax deductible.

$10 = 1 entry
$20 = 4 entries
$50 = 10 entries
$100 = 25 entries

You can also get an entry by posting about our giveaway on your blog, facebook, and/or twitter. Please just leave me a comment telling me where you posted and how to find it.

Thank you so much for ALL of your help and support! Good luck to everyone!

More Beach Pics...

2011-07-31T04:47:00.000-07:00

Sea Turtle Nest

These girls LOVE the ocean!

Cape Hatteras Light House

Peyton, Milana, and Riley clowning around.

British Cemetery

Okracoke Lighthouse

Peyton, Riley, and Milana with their Daddy :)

Me & my girls

My beach girls

I'm ready to go back to the beach now!

Beach Pics

2011-07-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

I keep meaning to post about our trip to the beach and then I get busy or sidetracked and forget. Anyway...here are a few for now. Will get to more later...maybe.

This is the ferry we took from Swan Quarter to Okracoke.

My beach baby.

8 days left in Ipad2 giveaway

2011-07-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder that our Ipad2 giveaway ends in just 8 days. More information on the giveaway can be found by clicking on the link. http://jennandchrisandkpr.blogspot.com/2011/07/urgent-need-for-help.html.

Thank you to everyone who has donated and/or posted about our giveaway on facebook, twitter, your blog, etc. We appreciate all of your support!!! I know we can reach our goal with your help!

Baseball Hall of Fame

2011-07-25T06:34:00.000-07:00

While camping in NY we took a trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

This was my first trip to the Hall of Fame in a long time and it was Riley, Peyton, and Miana's first trip ever. I think they had a realy good time. Well...Peyton & Riley did anyway. Milana was just sort of along for the ride. Fortunately she likes her stroller :)

Riley

Peyton

Here are the girls sitting outside the Hall of Fame.

Don't the girls look cozy inside Hank Aaron's locker?

Gotta love "New York, New York!" (Great, now that song is stuck in my head).

Yes, Milana IS sleeping in these pictures. We were just wandering around checking things out and the next thing I know Milana is out cold.

Isn't she cute?

I love my Yankees :)

Peyton & Riley were such good sports about getting there picture taken every couple minutes :)

This was before Milana fell asleep. She must have tired herself out in this little room made especially for kids.

I have many, many more pictures of the Hall of Fame, but figured most people would be more interested in the ones with the girls in them. They were all good sports about our trip through the Hall of Fame. I think we were in there for at least 3 hours.

The only thing that would have made this trip better is if Chris was able to join us. Maybe next time!

Please Help the Parker Family

2011-07-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

This is the Parker Family - one of many Reece's Rainbow Families. I was fortunate enough to meet Kate and Charlie when I was in Kiev. I was finishing up the last few things that needed to be done with our adoption of Milana. Kate & Charlie were just arriving to adopt 2 beautiful little girls with Down Syndrome.

This there son Joshua. He was born on March 2, 2006. He was diagnosed with a form of spina bifida which is called lipomyelomeningocele. Joshua also has a partial duplication of chromosome 2. He has Chiari Malformation Type 1. He has connective tissue disorder, brain stem dysfunction, psuedotumor cerebri, apraxia of speech, a latex allergy, gastroparesis, neurogenic bowl and bladder, a g-tube, a port, and a lumboperitoneal shunt.

Please visit Josh's Caring Bridge page for more information. It can be found by going to www.caringbridge.org/visit/theyoungestof7.

Joshua's health has been deteriorating for some time now. Kate & Charlie have been trying to keep his pain free as much as possible. There is nothing more the doctors can do to help Joshua. He is dying. His parents, his brothers, and sisters are preparing to say goodbye to their son, to their brother. It is such a sad time in their lives. Can you imagine having to say goodbye to your 5 year old? It isn't fair!

Joshua's Daddy works very hard. He works long hours to provide for his family. He used all of the time off he could take in order to adopt his 2 little girls from Ukraine. Now the Parker family needs your help. They need help financially so that Charlie can take time off of work to spend time with his son.

Some amazing friends of the Parker's have created a blog to help make it easy for people to donate to them. You can visit that blog at www.helpparkerfamily.blogspot.com. Please consider donating to them and helping them out. Please share there story so that others will help.

Kate & Charlie are good people. They have such a strong faith in God. They don't understand why their son is dying, but they stand strong in their faith. Knowing your child is dying still hurts. They need as much support as they can get. They need financial support, emotional support, they need our prayers. Please help them in some way.

Our Busy Summer Part 1

2011-07-23T19:30:00.001-07:00

This summer has been very busy for us. As soon as school was out we headed to my parents house in NY where we got to spend lots of time with family. After leaving my parents house we headed to the Reece's Rainbow Family Reunion - a camping trip at Jellystone near Cooperstown, NY. We had a wonderful time meeting other adoptive families. We also got to visit the folks at Pathfinder Village.

I love this - Milana & Milana!

Molly, Nicholas (what a sweetie), me & Milana

Not sure what happened to this picture of Milana and Nicholas.

Milana and Julia

Bella and Milana

Milana made lots of friends at Pathfinder. She was a big hit. Everyone wanted to hold her and give her a big hug :)

Here are the girls in our cabin at Jellystone.

I love this picture of Milana trying to kiss Bella!

My beautiful big girls!

Reece was such a love bug with Milana. He was constantly trying to hug her. Too cute!

The girls all made lots of friends and of course so did I. When it was time for our trip to end it was bittersweet. It was nice to be finally going home after 3 weeks away, but we all knew we'd miss our new friends and the fun times we had together.

Happy Birthday To A Sweet Boy & Change in Giveaway

2011-07-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

Sometimes blogger drives me nuts. My pictures never seem to come up in the order I upload them. They may load backwards or in some random order. Anyway...I wanted to do the Happy Birthday stuff first, but blogger has other plans. So I will start with the giveaway changes.

Okay...the rules are all the same for the giveaway and it is still for an Ipad2 + wifi. The only thing we changed is the end date. The new end date is August 4th. The reason for the change is that the child's file that we are hoping to adopt will be going back to his country in a month. We would like to have the initial funds we need prior to that so that we can make an official commitment to him. If we are able to do this before the file goes back it will be easier to be sure that he is still available. Once the file goes back this becomes more difficult to do.

So with that said...please continue to keep donating to our giveaway. Remember it is NOT tax deductible.

$10 - 1 entry
$20 - 4 entries
$50 - 10 entries
$100 - $25 entries

You can also be entered to win by posting on twitter, facebook, your blog, etc. Please just let me know by leaving a comment telling me where you posted it.

I also want to thank those of you who have donated so far. Your support means so much! Also a big thank you to those who continue to post about the giveaway on your blogs and facebook. Your support means a great deal to us as well. Thank you so much!!!

Now to the Happy Birthday...today is Landon's Birthday. Happy 5th Birthday Landon!!! This sweet boy should be celebrating today with cake and icecream and a family! My hope for you sweet Landon is that by next year you will be celebrating with your family!!!

I hope that someone wished you a Happy Birthday today sweet boy!!!

I wish I could come give you a great big hug!!! Happy Birthday!

Urgent Need for Help!

2011-07-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

I just found out a little while ago that I need to move a bit faster to raise the money we need for the precious angel we wish to adopt. You see apparently in the next month his file will be going back to his country. Although I don't fully understand what that means I do understand the need to work harder to get the initial funds.

So if you are willing to spread the word about our Ipad2 give away PLEASE do - put it on facebook, twitter, your blog, etc. Remember just spreading the word will get you an entry. If you are able to donate - PLEASE do. Just think you will be helping us get closer to making our "official" commitment to a child with DS and you will be entered to win an Ipad2 + wifi. Totally cool right??

Remember donations are NOT tax deductible.

$10 = 1 entry
$20 = 4 entries
$50 = 10 entries
$100 = 25 entries

Donations can be made through the chipin on the left. Thank you so much for your help! I can't wait to be able to make the official commitment and tell everyone who we are adopting!!!

IPAD2 Give away

2011-07-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well...we are back at it again. We are working on raising money for another adoption of a child with Down Syndome. This time we are doing things a little differently. First, we are looking at a different country in Eastern Europe. So the way adoptions are done are quite different.

In order to move forward we need to have a portion of our program fee as well as a portion of our adoption agency fee. Once we have this money we are able to send it in and documents go to the child's country to "hold" him for us. Where as when we adopted Milana there was a chance when we got there she would not be.

Ok...so on with the giveaway. We are doing an IPAD2 + WiFi Giveway. Our goal is to raise at least $5,000. This will help with the initial costs of our adoption. If we reach the $500 mark the winner will receive the IPAD2 + WiFi. Should we not earn enough money to cover the cost of the IPAD and the shipping and handling we will split the proceeds 50/50 with the winnner.

Donations are NOT tax deductible. Money donated will be going directly into our paypal account.

Here is the breakdown for donations:

$10 = 1 entry

$20 = 4 entries

$50 = 10 entries

$100 = 25 entries

You can also be entered by posting on your blog, facebook, and/or twitter accounts. To receive an entry by doing this just leave a comment on my blog and state your name and where you posted the information.

Donations can be made through the chip in on the left of my blog. It says IPAD Give away. Good luck and Thank you :)

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

This year Father's Day was bittersweet. Milana, Riley, Peyton, and I got to spend it with my Dad and both of my grandfathers. However, we were without their amazing Dad.

Here Milana is pretending to talk on the phone with her Daddy. She had just finished talking to him and had to give up the phone so that her sisters could talk. Needless to say Milana was less than thrilled to give up the phone.

Here Milana was actually talking to her Daddy and just babbling away.

Can you tell I'm going to have real phone issues with this one when she gets older. She'll be wanting a cell phone by Kindergarten :)

Not sure how my Mom snuck into some of these Father's Day pics, but since Milana was making a really cute face I had to allow this one.

Riley, Milana, and Peyton are really enjoying spending time with their grandparents, but I can't say enough how much they miss their Daddy. Especially on Father's Day!

Peyton, Riley, and Milana with their grandpa (my Dad).

Peyton, Pop, Milana, and Riley

The girls with Pop again.

Milana and Grandpa playing with the telescope.

Dziadz and Milana

Peyton, Dziadz, Milana, and Riley

The girls and Dziadz again :)

What a great day we had today with my Dad and Grandfather's. It was a fabulous day. I just wish Chris was here with us.

Happy Father's Day!

Dear Daddy

2011-06-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

These three beautiful girls have taken over my blog in order to give a shout out to their Daddy. As you can see they think he is pretty special. So special in fact he gets 2 thumbs up from all three of them.

Riley Erin

Dear Daddy,
I love you because when I am sad you help me feel better. You are nice to me and Peyton and Milana and Karissa. You help us and teach us things like how to play wiffle ball. You always get us boxes so we can make things like our horse and the fart fort. You let me snuggle with you and let me hug you. I love you!
Love,
Riley
PS – You know you want to get us a little brother!

Peyton Elizabeth

Dear Daddy,
I love you. You are nice to us and you help us when we play wiffle ball and Wii Animal Crossing City Folk. You help us work on projects like the Fart Fort and you put up our moon in our bedroom. You play games with us like Blokus. You help us feel better when we are sick. You take us on lots of fun trips like when we went to the Notre Dame Spring Game and you are taking us to Okracoke. You also took to us to your work picnic and it was fun. I love you so much!
Love,
Peyton
PS – I want a little brother!

Milana Alexandra

Dear Daddy,
I love you because you went all the way to Ukraine to get me. You only saw a picture of me and that was it. You didn’t care that I have Down Syndrome. It never bothered you a bit. You and Mommy got on a plane and flew lots of miles and had to be away from my sisters just to get me. You ate lots of foods that were different and had to get used to a new culture. I am so glad that you came to get me Daddy. I am so happy that you are MY Daddy. I love you so much! Thank you for teaching me and playing with me and loving me. I love to play puzzles with you and look at books with you and play McDonalds with you. I am so happy you take me to do fun things like going to see the Carolina Hurricanes. They are my most favorite hockey team. I love watching the Irish with you because I really like that Leprechaun guy and I love the Yankees too. Mostly Daddy I love you! Life is so good.
Love,
Milana

We know it isn't quite Father's Day yet, but we just wanted to make sure our Daddy knows just how much we love him. And we miss him too. Wish you were here Daddy! We can't wait to come home to be with you. Milana asks to go home every day!

We have the best Daddy in the whole world!

It's Been Awhile

2011-06-17T18:09:00.000-07:00

School is out and we are still busy, busy, busy. We made the 10 hour ride from NC to NY on Tuesday so we can spend time with my grandparents, parents, brother, and sister.

We decided to take a little break from visiting yesterday so that we could head to the park. When we got there Milana's face lit up! I guess she likes the park.

All three girls had a blast!

If I could only get all three girls to look at the camera at the same time....

Milana wanted to jump into the pond with the ducks. We had to hold her back :)

My girls heading into the maze.

Slides are so much fun!

Fortunately Milana didn't eat any sand while playing in the giant sandbox. Yay!!!

There was so much to do Milana didn't spend more than a few seconds anywhere she went. She couldn't decide if she wanted to continue to rock in the jeep or jump out while it was still moving.

My big girls having fun!

Milana vs The Pool

2011-05-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

I really love this time of year. School is almost out, the weather is great, and the pool is open. We were lucky to have a really nice weekend. The girls and I headed out to the pool on Saturday. It was Milana's first time in a pool.

We eased her into the pool by having her sit on the very top step. She was loving life. I literally blinked and the next thing I know she is face down in the pool and sinking fast! Fortunately I have very quick, cat like reflexes and was able to grab her by the back of her suit and pull her out of the water quickly. She cried for a few seconds and soon forgot all about it.

From that moment on she had a BLAST!!! She was standing on the edge of the pool and jumping in - well ok she doesn't exactly know how to jump, but she'd stand there, we'd count to three and then she'd "jump" into the water. Oh she had so much fun! Too much actually.

We did run into a slight problem. Milana doesn't have any idea what swimming is, what a pool is, or have any fear what so ever. This child kept trying to wriggle out of my arms in an attempt to "swim" on her own. She wanted to be with the big girls. She loves her big sisters so much and wanted to chase after them everywhere they went. Fortunately, they really love her too and they kept coming back to hang out with her and make sure she was doing alright.

We were able to get to the pool again on Sunday. This time Daddy came along. Daddy was trying to catch some rays which was a total distraction to Milana. She wouldn't stay with me in the water. This little stinker kept wandering off to her Dad and tapping him. He kept asking me if I wanted anything. Yeah, for Milana to stay IN the water. Did she think I was in that chilly water for my health?

Milana just walked back and fourth the entire time. Finally I got tired of hanging out in the water on my own and got out and she just sat there staring at her Daddy. (Who did not catch on by the way that she wanted him IN the water with her).

I have to say Milana was quite brave. I dunked her under a couple times and when she came out of the water her face looked like....well the picture above. She loved it!

I am guessing Milana is going to have the time of her life this summer. (I know I am). We've got so many fun things planned - the beach, more trips to the pool, camping, get togethers with friends, etc.

Does life get any better than this?

Wow! 8 Months Already!!

2011-05-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

My head is just swirling right now with so many thoughts. I should start by acknowledging that today Milana has been home for 8 months. It seems so hard to believe at times that she has only been with us for 8 months. It has gotten to the point where she has just blended in so well that it seems like she has always been here.

It saddens me to think that if she wasn't with us she would be just a few short months away from being transferred to an adult mental institution where she would be strapped to a bed for the better part of 24 hours. She would have been very lucky to have survived the first year.

Chris and I watch her learn and grow each and ever day. She is so smart and has so much to offer. It hurts my heart more than you can imagine for people to think that children like Milana do not have a place in their society. We have probably learned more from Milana these last 8 months than she has learned from us.

There are so many other children out there in need of loving homes. Children in need of a Mommy and Daddy. Children who have so much to offer given the opportunity.

I am currently a 5/5/5 Warrior for one of those children in need of a family. My job is to try to raise money for Landon's adoption fund so that when his family finds him it will help them with the cost in some way. You see - most times the only thing stopping someone from adopting is the cost.

Landon is going to be 5 in July. Soon after that he should be getting ready to go to Kindergarten. It should be an exciting time in his life. Instead he may be transferred to an institution - yes, an adult mental institution where he will be lucky to survive the first year. He needs a home so badly so that he can have the life that he deserves - the life all children deserve regardless of ability.

Landon is such a little love bug. Here he is in one of the newer pictures that Reece's Rainbow received. Landon is a happy child who is always smiling. He would learn and blossom so much in a loving family.

I just think of how much Milana has learned in the 8 months she has been home and I just know Landon would be able to learn too given the chance. Just think of the love he could bring to a family!

Isn't he just gorgeous? Look at that blond hair and those blue eyes! What a gorgeous little boy. Could you be his forever family?

Please consider helping Landon or any of the other orphans who need a home. All donations made through Reece's Rainbow are tax deductible. Think about what roll you could play in the life of an orphan. Maybe it is through bringing a child into your home. Maybe it is through spreading awareness. Please consider helping in some way. There are millions of orphans out there suffering in horrible conditions who do not have anyone to love them. They are starving, unloved, uncared for. What if that was your child? What if that is your child?

Donations can be made through Reece's Rainbow www.reecesrainbow.org. Again these donations are tax deductible. They can be made online or by mailing a check to Reece's Rainbow P.O Box 4024 Gaithersburg, MD 20885. Please indicate in the memo line of your check who the donation is to go to. I would love for it to be Landon, but would be happy for any child to receive support for their adoption fund. These children all need homes so desparately.

Field Trip, Crazy Hair, Mother's Day, etc...

2011-05-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

I was somehow able to get two of my three dogs to sit still so I thought I'd stick their pic in here. Milana loves her doggies so much. Which of course is nice considering the first few days she couldn't even look at them without screaming!

Here is Milana on Mother's Day. My four girls did a little baking and made some funfetti cookies. YUM!!! What a nice treat.

Isn't my smallest chef adorable?

Peyton is always laughing - well most of the time anyway. She spends most of her time at the dinner table laughing. And I'm not talking laughing just a little bit. I am talking about cracking up laughing hysterically! Not sure how to get her to laugh less at dinner and more....anywhere else. We're working on it :)

Love the hat Riley. She was so excited to make cookies. She'll be even more excited when her, Petyon, and Karissa FINALLY make the rootbeer they have been dying to make since Karissa came home last week.

This picture is....well I'd say priceless. When the girls were making cookies for some reason Karissa started to pour the butter out of the tub and it all landed in the sink. So we made sure we got a picture of this little...incident.

A friend of mine gave me a bunch of things for Milana and this little outfit was in it. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! She looks so darn cute!

She was smiling until I actually snapped the picture. I really need one of those fancy cameras that you can just snap away and it gets EVERYTHING!!!

We went to our school carnival at the end of April and the girls got their hair done. Doesn't it look awesome?? I just love their colored hair. So much fun.

These two are such hams! Actually all four of my girls are. I don't know where they get it from. Must be their Dad!

At the end of April Milana's class went on a little field trip to the Science Museum. Milana made sure she brought her sisters with her.

All three girls had a blast.

They all got to touch a snake and a baby alligator and loved it (of course).

The first time I had Milana stand by these tall blades of grass it took forever to get her to look at me and to stand still. Afterward EVERY time she saw them she ran to them and posed. She is such a nut!

Milana, watch out for that dinosaur! (I think she'd give that dino a run for it's money. Her teeth are WAY sharper)!

Life is good at our house. Busy all the time, but never a dull moment. Gotta love the joy children bring you :)

There's A New Sheriff In Town...

2011-05-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

I have to start by saying Milana cracks me up. It's probably one of those things where you had to be there, but I find her (at times) quite humerous.

One of our dogs barks at everything - us coming in the door, someone knocking on the door, the wind blowing, etc. We tried a bark collar, but the other dogs chewed it off of her or she clawed it off herself. Our next idea was this spray bottle. When Bailey barks we squirt her with the spray bottle.

Well... look who got her hands on the water bottle. That's right....bossy McGee here all of a sudden turns up with the water bottle. Not only does she turn up with it, but she decides to go into attack mode.

I'm not quite sure what poor Montana here did to deserve Milana's wrath, but there she is laying (sort of) on her pillow minding her own business when Sheriff here comes up and starts sticking the water bottle in her face.

Here she had chased Bailey (who is the barker) into her corner and onto her pillow with the water bottle. I should point out that Milana can not actually squirt the water out of the bottle because she isn't strong enough to do so. Watching her try is hysterical.

She is trying so desparately to squirt Bailey with the water. Not sure why as she is clearly on her pillow and at the moment not making a sound. I think Milana got a little power hungry here.

I guess she finally got tired of trying to spray the dogs and gave up. Afterwards when I finally took the water bottle away she walked around hugging the dogs. They quickly forgot she was trying to attack them with water and happily licked her.

All in a days work for Sheriff Milana.

Easter Pics - Better Late Than Never

2011-04-30T06:15:00.000-07:00

Hanging out in the yard on Easter after one of the MANY Easter Egg hunts we had.

Milana really got into the Easter Egg Hunt.

Thanks for the egg :)

This is fun!

Milana thinks her sisters are very silly!

Milana and her Daddy :)

Daddy and his girls.

Me and my girls.

Look at these pretty girls.

Milana got a baby doll from the Easter Bunny.

We really had a nice Easter this year. Milana LOVED that she got a piece of candy first thing in the morning before breakfast. She was quite surprised by that little treat. Of course Riley and Peyton thought that was great too!

Exercise Anyone?

2011-04-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

In my attempt to get fit I have gained a fabulous workout buddy. Ok...maybe fabulous is not quite the right word. How about cute? Yes, I have gained a seriously cute workout partner.

Milana LOVES to join in my workouts - which by the way is not always the most convenient or helpful, but she really enjoys it.

Just look at her go!

She is such a riot!

This is fun and easy Mom! What are you always complaining about???

You just have to chilax and do your best and forget the rest just like that guy on the video says!

Look I can touch my toes.

Could this be any more fun?

As you an see Milana really loves a good workout. For me it gets a little trickier when this small fry is glued to my leg or hops on my back in the middle of a workout, but...there is never a dull moment at my house!

Fun with Friends

2011-04-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

It seems like it has been forever since I got on here and posted about anything. Life has been good, but busy. We had our Spring Break last week which was nice in many ways. One of which was we got to spend some time with good friends. We headed over to Lydia's house one day where all the kids got to play and the grown ups got to chat. I'm not sure who had more fun.

Mira & Milana FINALLY got to meet! I think they enjoyed each other.

We had a nice picnic lunch outside. The kids enjoyed the picnic until the bumble bees showed up. For some (and I won't name names, but will just say some of each of our kiddos) this was quite upsetting. The bees really ruined their outside fun ;)

As for Mira and Milana they didn't seem to mind or notice the bees. They were quite focussed on their lunch. Unfortunately we couldn't stay out too long. Milana's skin is so fair that she burns rather quickly.

Not sure what Milana is looking at here, but she looks like she was caught doing something. Perhaps it was right after she made that huge mess with all the toys!

Look at pretty Miss Mira and that BEAUTIFUL smile! I can never seem to catch Milana smiling like this. What a cutie pie you are Mira!

Hmmm...what is that look all about Mira? Could it be that Milana made yet another mess of your toys? What a messy house guest that Milana is :)

Gee - what is with all the pictures already. Can we get back to playing now or what?

Look at all the big kids. Aren't they cute too? Seriously...look at all those blondes. They could be related they are all so darn blonde (and cute).

These guys are all such great buddies. We are lucky to have such a great group of friends. The big kids all played so nicely together. What a treat for the Moms!

A hug goodbye before it is time to go. Even the little kids have become fast friends.

Can't wait til next time.

Fundraising Fun & Finding Families

2011-04-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

This little guy is one of my favorite kiddos on Reece's Rainbow. (Yes, I have LOTS of favorites)! His name is Theo and he needs our help. Theo is 2 years old and needs a family. Right now he is living in an orphanage in Eastern Europe. Look at how beautiful this little guy is! Maybe you aren't able to adopt or do not want to adopt. You can still help! Consider making a donation to Theo's adoption fund. This will help not only Theo, but his future family as well. You can make a donation by clicking on the Easter Basket on my blog. This will bring you directly to Theo on the Reece's Rainbow website. You then click on Theo and make your donation. It is really easy AND it is tax deductible! Here is another one of my FAVORITE kiddos. This is Landon - he is going to be 5 in July. Landon also needs our help. He needs his family to find him. Landon also needs people to donate to his adoption fund. In order to donate to Landon's adoption fund you can click on the picture of Landon at the top of my blog. This is also tax deductible. It will also feel good to help a child in need :) This little angel is sweet Caroline. She has actually gotten so much bigger since this picture was taken. Caroline HAS a Mommy & Daddy. (She has 2 big brothers too). They are working very hard to get to her. As they do that they are also trying to raise the funds to bring her home. Please consider helping them get her home. You can make donations through the chip in on my blog. This goes directly to Reece's Rainbow (to the adoption fund for Caroline) and is - you guessed it - tax deductible. I am also doing a give away for Caroline. I have two $25 gift cards for Dunkin Donuts and two $25 gift cards for Starbucks. Please consider donating or posting this information on your blog or facebook page in order to get entered into the drawing for the gift cards.

These children and families REALLY need our help. The cost of adoption is so high. Most times the ONLY thing standing in the way of a child finding a family is the cost. Please consider helping them.

Got Twitter?

2011-04-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Some pretty amazing things have been happening over the last few days. Patricia Heaton - star of The Middle is advocating for Reece's Rainbow. She is donating $1 for every follower up to 10,000 who follow Reece's Rainbow on Twitter. Check out this article. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/04/03/patricia-heaton-middle-charity-raise-awareness-adoption-children-special-needs/# If you are on Twitter PLEASE follow Reece's Rainbow. If you aren't on Twitter PLEASE sign up and follow Reece's Rainbow. This really is an amazing thing. Now that Patricia Heaton has started advocating for Reece's Rainbow other celebs are as well. People such as Alyssa Milana, Gary Sinise, Mariel Hemingway, and Marlee Matlin to name a few. Our RR children need this exposure. They need your help. All you need to do is follow Reece's Rainbow on Twitter and you are helping children. In most cases the only thing that is keeping a family from adopting is the cost. Please help!

Happy Birthday Times Two

2011-03-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

Today my sweet girls turn 9 years old! It is so hard for me to believe that they are nine already. Where did the time go? They have grown so much. Can you tell they love each other? Here they are at 4. This was taken at their preschool graduation. Happy Birthday Riley :) Happy Birthday Peyton :) I just love my girls so much! Riley's kindergarten picture. I just love this picture! Peyton's kindergarten picture. I love this picture! Wow! They really have grown over the years!

Nine years ago my girls were born and immediately taken to the NICU.

Peyton was there for 4 long weeks.

Riley was there for 3 long weeks.

To look at them now you'd never know they spent a minute in the NICU!

Happy Birthday to my sweet girls! I love you so much!!!

My Heart Feels Heavy These Days

2011-03-28T06:22:00.000-07:00

My heart hurst alot these days. It all started over a year ago right after the Earthquakes in Haiti. That is when I thought about adoption for the first time. That is when I found Reece's Rainbow. Within just a few months we made a commitment to bring home a little girl with Down Syndrome. She has been home with us for 6 months now. Some days I look at her and I cry. I cry for her mother who let her go. I cry for her and for other children like her that their Mama's and Papa's gave them up because they just don't know any better. I cry for the doctors who tell these parents that their children will never learn to read or write. That they will never have a job. My heart just hurts. Yesterday I found out that these three beautiful boys all lost their families. They had someone coming to get them. I cried for them and I cried for the families who had to let them go. What a difficult decision to have to make. I am sure they are hurting and I hurt for them. There are days that I cry for those that have gone on to heaven because they never knew the love of a Mommy or a Daddy. These angels all died so young. They died in an orphanage. Some had families working hard to bring them home. Others did not. These five angels died this year. It's only March and we have lost 5 angels already. Can you see yet WHY I cry over this?

Then there is this family who is fighting for their son as we speak. They went before a judge and were told NO. They were told they could not have the boy they came to adopt because he has Down Syndrome. These people believe that he is better off in an institution than in a family. This makes me cry. I don't understand how any child would be better off in an institution than in a family.

This little boy's Mommy and Daddy love him so much. They traveled across the world for him. They are fighing to bring him home even after the judge said NO. They are appealing. There are two more families in the same region that are to go before the same judge and prosecuter. The thought that this judge will say no breaks my heart. I can only imagine how scared they all are.

Then there is this precious angel fighting for her life. Her family went to her country to adopt her and had to take her straight to the hospital from the airport. Why??

Because this is what she looked like when they peeled away her clothes to get her changed for bed. She had been bundled up in so many layers and underneath all those layers is what this amazing little girl looked like.

People wonder why I cry for these children. They wonder why I care so much. The question is WHY don't you. My heart aches for these children and it will continue to ache for these children. I won't stop advocating for them because they need a voice.

World Down Syndrome Day

2011-03-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

Because of you, I love a little more. Because of you, I take time to give an extra hug goodbye. Because of you, I live today, before I worry about tomorrow. Because of you, I will fight harder and longer for what I know is right. Because of you, today, I am me.

Fun Times

2011-03-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

Look at me on the slide! This is so much fun :) I have learned lots of new play skills. It's so much fun to mix a leaf of lettuce in a frying pan. You should try it some time.

Big kids LOVE to play too. Doesn't matter if it is with big kid toys or little kid toys!

This girl LOVES the phone! I wonder how much longer until she asks for her own cell phone. Yikes!!!

It is amazing to watch this little one learn and grow. She does something new just about every day. Half the time we didn't realize she could do the things she does. (Hope that made sense).

What a joy my girls are! They are so much fun! Love, love, love my girls :)

More Tea Party Pictures

2011-03-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

The big kids enjoying a tea party with their little sister. I wonder WHO is having more fun.

She is so cute!

Sharing. How sweet!

Three pretty girls - clean too :)

Tea Party Anyone?

2011-03-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

I was quite surprised the other day to walk into Milana's bedroom and find this... Her sisters got the little chairs set up for the baby dolls and put them up to the table and then Milana just took over. She loves playing with the little McDonald's playset and she enjoyed serving her baby dolls food even more. (Which is very surprising given her food issues - yes initially she did try to eat the plastic food).

I can't even begin to tell you how much fun Milana had doing this. She was very upset when I tried to tell her it was bedtime. We actually found an icecream sundae in her bed the following morning :) I guess she felt that her doll might need a midnight snack!

This really goes to show how far this little girl has come since she came home 6 months ago. When we first brought her home Milana had little interest in toys and dolls. The only thing she enjoyed doing was talking on her toy cell phone. (She always saw her caretakers walking around talking on the phone so this was all she knew about pretend play).

I have to say that Milana is quite lucky to have such amazing big sisters who play with her all the time! I'm sure they are a big part of why she has developed such amazing play skills.

And of course we are lucky to have her in our family! She is an amazing little girl. Isn't she just adorable?

6 Months - A Reflection

2011-03-15T18:26:00.001-07:00

When we first decided to adopt Milana many people thought we'd never go through with it. They thought it was a whim, a fleeting idea that would never come to be. Many questioned why we would want to do such a thing. They questioned who would care for a child with DS once we were gone. How could we do this to our bio children.

Then there were those who were more than supportive. They came to all our fundraisers, donated their time, money, and hard work to help us. Those people we will never be able to thank enough.

I can't say it has always been easy. The paperwork was difficult at times. We had to redo form after form time and time again, but we hung in there. When we finally got to Milana's country and then finally to Milana's orphanage it was so surreal.

This adorable little girl was going to be ours. Oh when she walked in the room with her arms extended towards us. She just won our hearts. We would soon learn that she would extend her arms and want to go to EVERYONE! We still adored her, but after weeks and weeks of this it became difficult.

I remember visit after visit every time she saw ANYONE she would want to go with them. I had been told how kids "shop" around for parents. She didn't know she was doing this, but she was and I can't blame her. This was her life. This was how she survived. She is cute afterall and the girl knows how to work it.

Once Chris left Ukraine to head home it got so much harder dealing with this cute girl ditching me left and right for anyone and everyone, but I hung in there as best as I could. When it was FINALLY Gotcha Day I was thrilled beyond belief. I had no idea things would continue to change. The child I took out of the orphanage was NOT the child I knew IN the orphanage.

You see, I had this amazing little girl who had lived in an orphanage her whole life. She had never been in a car or outside of the orphanage grounds. Here I was taking her away from everything she knew.

The next week was more difficult than I could have ever imagined. I wasn't ready for the food issues. By food issues I don't mean that Milana was a picky eater or had difficulty eating. She wanted to eat every time she saw food and she didn't want to stop. She shoveled food in her mouth as fast as she could to the point where she could no longer fit food in her mouth. When it was time to stop eating she would scream - not because she was hungry, but because she could still see the food. I was so afraid that someone would come and take her away.

By this time I was so ready to be home. I missed my girls and I missed Chris. I was starting to doubt myself more than I probably ever had in my life. I was so sure I could do this from the get go and now I was doubting whether or not I could handle this. Were all those negative Nancy's right?

When I got home things continued to get difficult. Now not only had I taken Milana out of the orphanage and away from her friends and caretakers - I took her out of her country. I took her to a place she would never have known existed. I brought her into a home with sisters and dogs and a Mommy and a Daddy. She didn't know anything about any of those things.

I tried to listen to those who said not to go anywhere for some time. I believe some people recommended to just have your adopted child with family for the first 4-6 months. Others recommended longer. Maybe I should have listened. I don't know.

The more we were around people the harder it was for me to bond with Milana. I mean here is this super cute 3 year old who lights up a room - who wouldn't want to snuggle her and hug her? The more she cozied up to strangers the more I wanted to pull away.

I cried and continued to doubt myself regularly. People who have never been in my shoes would try to offer advice and I would want to scream at the top of my lungs. Deep down I knew people meant well, but how could they KNOW what I am going through or what I should be feeling.

Eventually I got some advice - Fake it until you make it. This was the best piece of advice I ever got and I got it from other Moms who had been there. Thank God for these other Moms. They were life savers!

I would hold Milana like a baby and rock her and sing to her. I would look into her eyes and talk to her. I did this whether I wanted to or not. I did this whether she wanted to or not. Most days neither of us wanted to snuggle. Then one day things started to change. Milana didn't push me away and I didn't want to put her down. Now keep in mind she did want to be close with everyone - even me just not at bedtime or for long periods of time.

Slowly Milana stopped wanting to go to everyone all the time. Eventually she would start to look back for me even when she would go to someoene else. She would look to make sure I was still there and then she'd want to come right back to ME!!!

I can honestly say now that I LOVE this little girl! I love her so much and with ALL my heart. Things were so hard and I did doubt myself and why we ever decided to adopt. Things are so much better now. They aren't always easy. Milana still has food issues and they aren't fun. But I can honestly say I would do it all over again.

I learned that nothing worthwhile is EVER easy. If someone tells you otherwise they are wrong! I've learned so much about myself and what I am capable of and it is so much more than I ever thought I could ever be capable of.

I've learned that not only would I do this again - I WANT to do this again. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I would do it KNOWING how difficult it could be. I would do it KNOWING how difficult things were. I would do it KNOWING that it would be MORE than WORTH it!

Life isn't about fancy cars or big houses or trendy clothes. It's about so much more! Milana is that so much more! Peyton is that so much more! Riley is that so much more! Karissa is that so much more! Those millions of orphans in the world - THEY are that so much more that life is all about.

Do You Know What Today Is???

2011-03-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

Milana has been home for 6 months! Can you believe it? I asked Riley and Peyton if they could believe it and they said "That's it? It feels like she has been here much longer than that!" I guess that is because it really feels like Milana has always been with us. Fortunately we got past the tough stuff (and believe me things were tough)! Now things are going great! I just love her little pig tails. I had to take a picture because I know when she gets home from school the pigtails will no longer be in her hair. Actually I'd be surprised if they lasted the bus ride to school.

Isn't she just the cutest little 3 1/2 year old?? I sure thinks so. (It looks like she is up to something).

I remember when she first came home 6 months ago this little cutie pie did not care about playing with dolls. Now she just LOVES her babies!

Now I'm sure you are wondering who these adorable boys are? I wanted their picture to be at the top, but when my pictures upload they just upload in any order they choose.

These boys are Sam and Stan and they are 10 years old today. Aren't they just the most handsome set of twins you've seen? These guys need a family. I'm hoping that on their birthday they might find their family. Please consider bringing these guys home. You can find more information about them at www.reecesrainbow.org.

Happy 10th Birthday Sam & Stan!! And Happy 6 months home Milana!!!!

Milana Loves Me & Other Random Thoughts

2011-03-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

First I want to wish this sweet little guy a very Happy Birthday! This is Mason and he is just the sweetest little boy. He is all boy and at the same time could sit quietly just taking things in. He spent his birthday in an orphanage. Oh how I wish his family would find him soon! Did I mention what a sweetheart Mason is? Mason turned 4 years old today. Sounds like it should be a happy day, but turning 4 when living in an orphanage means it is time to go to the institution. Mason may not have long before he is transferred. PLEASE someone bring him home!Speaking of birthdays...today would have been my husband's father's birthday if he were still alive. He would have been 68 years old. We did celebrate Grandpa Stan's birthday with the girls by having a shamrock cookie cake which the girls enjoyed very much. They even sang a quick Happy Birthday before scarfing down their cookie cake!

I did find out what it was all over Milana's clothes on Friday. The kids were making a pinata out of paper mache for their International Festival on Friday. The teachers told all the children when their parents ask them what is all over them to tell them paper mache.

Although Milana is one of the noisiest kids I've ever met in my life she is pretty much non-verbal so she couldn't tell us what was on her :) Oh well. It was fun trying to guess!

Now for the most exciting thing of the day! We have been working on sign language with Milana and over the last month she has been putting two and three signs together (hooray). Most times when she does this she'll tell me I want food. (This drives me bonkers)!

Anyway, Chris had been signing I love Mommy with her for a while. Shortly after I came in the room he left. She and I "chatted" and I signed I love you to her. A little while later I was talking to her and she heard me say I. She then signed I (and said it - she can say hi, I, bye). So I waited and again she signed and said I and then signed love you! She did it on her own like four or five times without me doing it first! Isn't that just the cutest, sweetest, and most amazing thing??? I certainly think so!

Do You Like Starbucks Or Dunkin Donuts? Then this is the right place for you :)

2011-03-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

I am doing a give away to help bring Caroline home to her Mommy, Daddy, and brothers. For every $5 donation through the chip in on my blog your name will be entered for a chance to win one of four prizes. There are 2 Dunkin Donuts gift cards each worth $25. There are also 2 Starbucks gift cards also worth $25 each.

Please consider helping the Goodman's bring Caroline home. They are a wonderful family and are so excited about bringing their sweet girl home! Your donations will go directly to Reece's Rainbow and are 100% tax deductible!

Thank you so much for helping them!

Any Guesses???

2011-03-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

Milana comes home from school messy every day. Not a big deal. She's 3. Kids are supposed to get dirty. I totally get that. Yesterday she came home with the shirt she went to school in so messy it was in a bag and they had to change her. The pants she had on were still on her, but covered in....something.

So I was thinking we could play a game. Any takers? It's called guess what is all over Milana's clothes. Keep in mind I have no clue what she was covered in. I don't know what it was or how it got all over her as it did. It looks like she was literally rolling around in something. Cute outfit huh? (Minus the mess of course).

No clue how she got that white stuff all over the back of her pants. She had to have sat in it, rolled in it, maybe even dumped it over the top of her head. (Yes, it was also in her hair).

As Milana's sleeves were white it is hard to see just how filthy her sleeves were, but I promise you they were filthy, had a reddish tint, and also VERY crusty!This is her shirt up close. Any ideas yet? All I can say is I am not spending money on nice clothes for this kiddo to go to school in. I'll have to save those for when she is outside rolling around in the mud :)

So....guess away on what it is AND what how it got there.

The Post You Have All Been Waiting For...

2011-03-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

The title of this post is obviously inaccurate. The only person who has been waiting for this post is Kristin. Sorry it took so long Kristin! I forgot to bring my camera to the game and then couldn't figure out how to get the pictures I took with my phone onto my computer. (Sad, but true).

Wednesday night we took Milana to her very first Carolina Hurricanes game. We were worried that it might be too loud for her and were quite surprised that none of the noise bothered her. Milana had a fabulous time at the game. She loved the noise - the music, the people. She was high fiving people whenever the Canes scored. She yelled in excitement, threw her arms up in the air, screamed, shouted, etc. She loved when they sang "Let's Go Canes!"

I wish I had a video of her and how much fun she had! We got there early and they showed her on the jumbo tron which she thought was so cool.

Unfortunately the Canes lost in overtime that night, but we all had fun regardless. Can't wait to take Miss Milana to her next game!!!

I heard a rumor she wanted season tickets for next year! I'm pretty sure Chris would love that too :)

I'm thinking her next game she needs to have her BFF with her! Those two mini caniacs would have a blast together!

One Year Ago...

2011-03-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

One year ago we made a commitment to adopt a little girl. We didn't know much about this little girl other than she had Down Syndrome. Many people questioned WHY we would want to bring home a child with Down Syndrome. I don't know that there was really a reason. I don't know that we ever saw her as a little girl with DS. We saw her as a little girl who needed a family. Turns out we needed her more than she needed us.

We spent the next few months on a major paper chase - collecting all sorts of documents so that we could send them to her country. I can't begin to explain what a life changing journey this has been. It has opened our eyes to things we (sadly) did not know much about. Now that our eyes are opened....it's difficult to go back to life as we knew it.

If you think you could bring home a child that has no Mommy or Daddy - if you have room in your home and most importantly in your heart - I say go for it. The newest cars and clothes aren't what count. Saving the life of a child matters so much more.

I am so glad that a year ago we commited to bring home Milana. She is sweet, adorable, fussy, frustrating, loving, and just so amazing. She has brought so much love to our home and changed all of our lives for the better.

Connecting the Rainbow - Mission Trip

2011-03-04T10:36:00.001-08:00

This year the Connecting the Rainbow Team will be spending World Down Syndrome Day in Sofia, Bulgaria where they have some pretty amazing things going on. There will be a team of Reece's Rainbow folks as well as various therapists on hand to speak at this conference.

These folks will be speaking to parents and orphanage directors. They are working to empower those parents who CHOOSE to keep their child(ren). That is a pretty amazing thing for these parents. They are opening doors to others to do the same, but they need our help.

In order to make this spectacular event happen Connecting the Rainbow needs donations. These donations help pay for therapists to come and speak at this event, for educational tools, therapuetic toys, translation of documents etc. For more information on this event or to donate go to http://www.connectingtherainbow.net/.

Help Spread The Word

2011-03-04T06:03:00.000-08:00

It always amazes me to see good people doing good things. There are so many people in this world who make millions and millions of dollars and they just want more, more, more. Then there are those that don't care about fancy cars, having the newest clothes, or even about having all sorts of pretty jewels and rings.

One such person I know is Sarah. She is a part of the RR group and has done quite a bit to help others bring home their little one. Sarah even gave up her engagement ring to help bring someone else's little guy home. She raffled it off in order to help another family raise the funds they needed for their adoption. What a selfless act of giving to another!

Now it is Sarah's turn and she needs our help. Right now Sarah is trying to raise the initial funds to try to commit to a child. My friend Mel is doing some fundraisers/give aways to help Sarah with those funds. I'd love for you to hop over to Mel's blog http://www.thejoyofwhatis.blogspot.com/ and check out what she is doing to help Sarah. She is giving away two custom made scrapbooks. You don't have to do any of the work - just supply the pictures! What an amazing deal!

If you aren't able to make a donation maybe you could help spread the word. Crosspost on your blog, your facebook page, twitter, etc. Let's get the word out about the people in this world who are doing good things. Lets help them out. See if we do more good in this world :)

Do You See What I See?

2011-03-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

This is Leigha. She is a beautiful baby girl. Isn't she just adorable? I just want to pick her up and squeeze her. I want to hug her and hold her tight. This sweet peanut has Down Syndrome. She lives in an orphanage in Eastern Europe and she needs the love of a Mama & Papa. I bet she could learn so much with a good family to love her and care for her and teach her. Look at that face!!! This is Mason. Let me tell you how much I love this guy. Look at that smile! He is an amazing little boy - one minute all boy and raring to go and the next a little snuggle bug! Oh how I want him to find his family soon. He is so darling and smart and sweet! What a bright little boy. I wish I knew why he is still waiting for him Mama & Papa!

This is Jeremy. He is another sweetheart. Jeremy is full of energy and likes to help out. While at the orphanage he would help me push Milana in the stroller as we walked the grounds. He could barely reach the handles, but he just wanted to jump right in and help out. This little guy has been waiting a long time too. How long should he have to wait?

This is Eileen and boy is she cute! What else can I say? I just want to pick her up and give her a great big hug! She is probably wondering where her forever family is. I wish I could tell her they were on their way to her!

Look at little Miss Aurora. Isn't she just the cutest thing? This little peanut has Down Syndrome. I think everyone should have a little one with DS. What joy she would bring to a family. Think of all she could learn in the right environment!

Think about all the things ALL of these children could learn in the right environment. These children all have so much potential. They are waiting to shine and shine they will in a loving home with a Mommy and Daddy and maybe some siblings too.

Can you see how amazing these kiddos are? If you want to find out more information about these children or you would like to make a tax deductible donation towards their adoption (or any other child's adoption) please go to www.reecesrainbow.org.

Sweet Nikita

2011-02-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

I'm really struggling with this. Yet another little RR angel has died. It is so unfair. It just breaks my heart that little Nikita is gone.

When I came across Reece's Rainbow a little over a year ago this face was one of the many I just fell in love with. Nikita just made my heart melt. I mean look at him. How could he not melt your heart? Now Nikita is gone. His Mommy and Daddy were working so hard to get him home. Yes, Nikita had a family. One who loved him very much. Now they are grieving for the son they will never get to hold. My heart goes out to them.

Nikita is now in heaven with all the other sweet RR angels that have lost their lives. He will not have to suffer anymore. I just wish his Mommy and Daddy had the chance to hold him - to hug him and kiss him and tell the they love him. I wish that these precious children ALL had homes...that they ALL had a Mama & a Papa to love them.

I wish I understood why these sweet angels lives were so short. We have lost too many angels in such a short time. We have lost too many period. We need to get these children home. We need to get them home now.

Got Mud?

2011-02-26T07:43:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my last post it was a beautiful day yesterday. It did rain quite a bit which left a little puddle in our yard and some mud. Milana didn't notice the mud until she lost her balance walking to the driveway and landed in the mud. Soon after she noticed the mud puddle where she kept sticking her finger in it and digging around in the mud. Oooohhh this is fun!!!!

I have said time and time again Milana will eat anything. This now includes mud - YUM!!!

Besides licking the mud off her hands Milana thought it would be fun to run her muddy fingers through her hair. Apparently someone told her its good for those gorgeous locks. Milana also enjoyed showing off those muddy hands. I think she must have licked the mud off the clean hand because at one point they were both covered in mud!

All I can say was at least she had fun playing in the mud. I'm a little surprised she didn't dive head first into the puddle. Maybe she is saving that for another day.

A Beautiful Day

2011-02-25T18:14:00.000-08:00

Today was such a gorgeous day. Nice and warm when I woke up this morning. It did rain, but we really needed it. By the time I got home from work it was just gorgeous - warm and sunny, windy too. It was about 71 degrees. Not bad for February!

Anybody want a flower? Riley gave it to me. Thanks Riley! Here Peyton, you smell it! After Milana got off the school bus we enjoyed some playtime outside. She loves rolling around in the grass :)

I can't believe how much her hair has grown. Milana looks so much older in this picture with the wind blowing her hair.

It looks like she is up to something. Hmmm....what could it be?? More on that later....

Isn't she so stinkin' cute??? It is so hard to remember what life was like without our newest addition. She brings so much joy and happiness to everyone she encounters.

The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants

2011-02-16T17:52:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a little sad and frustrated these days. I'm sure you can guess that money is partly to blame and this is true. I just want so badly to be able to bring home another precious angel. To some it may sound crazy - after all Milana has only been home for five months.

I'm not going to lie and say its always easy because its not. There are times where life is crazy and stressful and frustrating, but that is just life. It can be that way whether you have two kids, ten kids or no kids. Things are also amazing and fun and we are learning so much. Milana amazes us each and every day. She has taught us so much - the whole adoption process has taught us so much. (By us I mean not only Chris and I, but Riley, Peyton, and Karissa as well).

These days I have my eye on a precious little boy. He is so cute. I just love him. My girls LOVE him. I think Chris does too, but.....oh it all goes back to money. We all have bills and debt - well many of us do. The way I look at it is we still have more than this precious little one has.

My heart wants what my heart wants. I want a little boy. Milana would love a brother to play with. Karissa has been wanting a brother for years. Riley wants a brother. Peyton wants a brother.

There are so many orphans out there that need a Mommy & a Daddy. Here I am wanting to bring another angel home - why can't it be that easy???

I Hate Money

2011-02-13T18:14:00.001-08:00

Hate is such a strong word, but when it comes to money I have to say that I honestly hate it. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. Money just makes me sick. It is the one thing that stands in the way of so many families stepping forward and adopting. That just breaks my heart.

Then when families do step up it seems they almost all end up having some sort of financial issue come up - their car breaks down, their house gets flooded, the washing machine breaks, etc. Every time I start to even think about adopting again something goes wrong. Ugh!

I want so badly for families adopting to not have to worry about the money. To be able to focus on just getting their paperwork done for their dossiers and getting to their child(ren). There are so many people in this world who make stupid amounts of money and they just spend it on things that don't really matter - new cars, million dollar clothes, houses with more rooms than they will ever need in a lifetime. If I had a house with twenty bedrooms I'd HAVE to fill it with twenty kids from Reece's Rainbow :)

I'm just so frustrated with money. If I had it right now I'd use it to help families bring their children home. I'd use it to go on mission trips to help children in orphanages, and help families understand that it is a great thing to keep their children with Down Syndrome. I'd want to help them see how amazing these children are. I'd help them know the love their child with down syndrome would bring them. And of course I'd adopt again. My four girls need some brothers :)

Helping A Friend

2011-02-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

Isn't this little girl a cutie? This precious angel is listed as Heather on Reece's Rainbow. One day soon her Mommy and Daddy will name her Caroline. They are currently working on finishing up their dossier so that they can send it to Caroline's country as quickly as possible. I want to help them in some way and am hoping to come up with some clever fundraisers to help them do so. Currently my girls have set up some change jars so that whenever they find loose change (and they are always on the look out for loose change) they can save it to help bring Caroline home.

I have set up a donation box on my blog. It is linked to their Reece's Rainbow family support page. Any donations made to help bring Caroline home are tax deductible. If you feel you are able to make a donation to help them please do so. If you feel like sharing their story on your blog or facebook page please do that as well.

If you would like to follow their journey you can get to their blog by clicking this link http://oursweetcaroline2011.blogspot.com/. Let's all work together to help them bring their little girl home! If we all work together we can get so many of these amazing children home!
Thank you :)

In Loving Memory...

2011-01-28T13:02:00.000-08:00

This morning I found out some terrible, terrible news. This beautiful little girl - Sandra - has died. The thought of this little girl not ever having the love of a Mommy & Daddy or a sister or brother just hurts me more than I can even begin to explain. While in Eastern Europe we were very fortunate to see Sandra. How I wish I had the chance to go and give her a hug and tell her how much she was loved. I bet she didn't know that there were many people out there who had never met her, but loved her so much. I loved her! How I wish we could have brought her home with us. I'm so sorry sweet girl.

People have said to me that you just can't save them all. I'm sure you have heard this time and time again as well. I'm not sure I believe that. We certainly can't if we don't try. We can't save them if we just sit in our homes and ignore the fact that there are many children living all over the world that need love, need homes, and need medical care.

These children need you. They need me. They need all of us. What are you going to do to make sure this doesn't happen again? I know that once my eyes were opened to these children a year ago my life just hasn't been the same. My children's lives haven't been the same. The change is for the better.

This poem was written by my friend Summer's daughter. She wrote it after she found out about Sandra. It is a beautiful poem.

In the night sky a lost star was born
Unfortunately in an era when love was worn
She waited her turn to finally shine
But was only shown one bright line
HE gave her the choice to choose her light
And she accepted at last one fine night
The cold world lost another soul
And sweet Sandra had to pay the toll
HE told her she had one task to take on
To shine her brightest when the world turned dawn
The lost star was no more lost, but now found
In a paradise of love, with love's only sound

We will never forget you Sandra. You are a precious little angel who will be missed by many! Rest in peace sweet girl!

Anybody Up For A Swim??

2011-01-25T15:40:00.001-08:00

I really need to start carrying my camera around with me at ALL times. I really do! I say this often, but I never have it with me. Even if I did I am bound to miss those really hysterical moments anyway.

Today was one of those days that I so wished I had my camera on me. You see this cute girl pictured below. Well... she was up to no good this evening and I totally missed catching it. Usually while I make dinner Milana sits on a stool near the big freezer and waits. Sometimes patiently, but most times not. As I got dinner ready tonight I noticed her standing against a wall. I wasn't sure why she was standing there or what was going through her head. I wish I knew what she was thinking, but I don't. The next thing I hear is a splash. I turn and look and there is Milana still standing against the wall, but with her foot in the dogs water dish.

My first thought is to run and grab the camera to catch this moment so I have it to look back on forever. I can clean up the ocean that is now on my floor later. Chris is standing there trying so hard not to look at her as he is cracking up laughing. Finally I give in and go pull her out of the dog dish. She is soaked from her foot up to her thigh.

I have no clue what would posess her to do that. She sees the dogs drink out of that dish. She helps us pour water into that dish for the dogs. I guess I should have seen it coming. Come to think of it not 10 minutes before that she stuck her foot in one of the food dishes. Oh well. It sure was funny.

On another note Milana is (obviously) starting to feel better. She still has a horrible cough complete with lots of phlegm and a very runny nose. Fortunately her fever has been gone for 2 days now. Although that had been the case prior to Sunday night when her fever spiked back up to 103 degrees.

Now Riley and Peyton are sick. They both have fevers and a terrible cough. On top of that these really cute girls have headaches and stomachaches. Oh and let's not forget the sore throats. They are both just wiped out - completely exhausted.

This year we have all been off to a rough start. It seems we've all been fighting illness since Christmas. Hopefully once we all get rid of this junk we can keep sickness at bay for a little while. I don't think Peyton and Riley have missed this much school in....well ever.

I can't wait for everyone to feel better. Hopefully it is sooner rather than later. In the meantime at least we have Milana to entertain us by going for a swim in the dog dish :) Never a dull moment at this house...NEVER!!!

The House of Sick

2011-01-19T14:21:00.001-08:00

I feel like my house is infested with illness lately. Over the Christmas Break I came down with a terrible stomach bug and was sick for days. Then Chris got it (after insisting he wouldn't get it). We thought we were in the clear when a few more days went by and the girls hadn't gotten it yet. Of course we were wrong. Riley ended up with it too.

Yesterday both Riley and Peyton stayed home sick. They both had a headache and a stomachache. Poor things. I was so excited this morning when both girls were feeling better.

Then I went in to get Milana dressed and ready for school. When I picked her up she felt really warm. She had a temperature of about 101. Poor thing. This is the first time she has been sick since she came home four months ago. (Can you believe its been 4 months already)?? Since I had to bring the girls to school this morning she had to make the trip in with me. We stayed for a while so I could do a few things before bringing her back home. Today was the worst day for me to stay home. We were fortunate enough to have my mother in law be able to come stay with her from mid morning on.

Little Miss Milana slept on and off ALL day. So she must really not be feeling well as she generally doesn't like to miss a trick.

Not sure why this picture decided to turn sideways, but this was her attempt at being silly even though she isn't feeling well. Every now and then she will pretend her finger hurts, touch it, and then start whining and give me a hug. She is SUCH a faker and does this quite a bit. Not sure why. It is really funny though. I should probably discourage it, but it does crack me up. So I just keep hugging her and telling her "You poor baby. Give Mommy a hug!" She cracks up at that!

I hope she starts to feel better soon. Poor thing is really burning up. I can't stand it when any of my girls are sick :(

Hopefully she'll be feeling better soon and everyone stays healthy for a while. Poor baby!!! I just want to snuggle her non-stop!

About This Time Last Year...

2011-01-17T06:21:00.000-08:00

It was about this time last year when I came across a website www.reecesrainbow.org. Just days after that first big earthquake devestated Haiti Chris & I were talking about all those people who lost their lives. We talked about all the children who lost their families. We so wanted to help those children.

I remember him saying how he would bring 2 0r 3 home if he could. My first thought was how wonderful it would be to bring these children into our home. Then I realized that I could NEVER leave the girls for an extended period of time. I had never been away from them for longer than a one night sleepover. The thought scared me, but at the same time I felt the need to look into adoption for the first time in my life.

When we got home that night I googled adoption and found Reece's Rainbow. From that night on Riley, Peyton, and I looked at that website EVERY night before bed. We got to know and love all the beautiful faces on there. (Milana was not on there at this time).

The girls and I would talk about which children we wanted to bring home - ALL of them of course :) As children got commitments from families we did happy dances for each one of them. At this time we weren't looking to adopt - at least not officially. The green light to choose a child didn't come just yet. That didn't stop us from looking and getting to know all th0se cute little faces.

Great News!!!

2011-01-13T16:50:00.000-08:00

I meant to post yesterday, but got really busy with life and just didn't get a chance. The boy that I posted about the other day - Davids - HAS a family!!! This is amazing news. I think it was within 48 hours of getting the word out about Davids situation that he had a family. There were a couple of families that were interested in adopting this amazing young man.

There have also been several donations made to help this family which will be a HUGE help to them. It is difficult to raise funds for an adoption and they have to move quickly on his behalf.

If you want to read more detailed information about Davids and everything that is going on please visit this blog http://iwillbeacarrier.blogspot.com/. I believe it also tells you how to make a donation if you feel that is something you would like to do to help out Davids and his new family.

I am just truly excited for this family and for Davids. I can't wait to find out who they are! What a happy day for everyone involved :)

Urgent Need!!!

2011-01-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

While on facebook this morning I came across a link to another blog. As I read the story I cried for this boy. He is such a beautiful boy with hopes and dreams for a brighter future. He had a family - or so he thought. Unfortunately, his family backed out of the adoption. Now he has only days to find a family or he will be turned away from his orphanage and left to survive the streets.

http://iwillbeacarrier.blogspot.com/2011/01/davids-story-urgent-need.html

This truly breaks my heart. I can't bear the thought of a child not only not having a family, but not having any shelter or food. It breaks my heart that there are so many orphans in the world. So many children suffering.

Please help spread the word about Davids. You may know someone who knows someone who just could be his Forever Family.

Nacho Libre or The Incredible Hulk?

2011-01-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

In the last couple of weeks Milana has begun doing some interesting things. In an effort to keep her from doing one of those things we decided to see if we can change her wardrobe a bit. So...in an effort to keep Milana from unzipping her pj's every morning, opening up her diaper, and exploring its contents we've changed her pj's a bit. First I put her onesie on backwards. Then I cut the feet off her jammies and put those on her backwards as well. She is pretty bright and generally doesn't miss a trick so she was a little stumped as to what I was doing.

I am really just hoping that she can't figure out how to unzip her jammies if they are on backwards. And...if she does I'm really hoping it is too much work for her to unsnap her backwards onesie. Bottom line is that I REALLY, REALLY hope that this works!!!

Drastic times call for drastic measures. It gets pretty exhausting having to jump out of bed the second you hear Milana stirring just to be sure she isn't getting into things. Then there are the times where she is too quiet that the silence is what wakes you. You think you're safe, but in reality you still didn't get to her fast enough. I'm not sure about you, but there are some surprises I just don't need to wake up to! Did I mention that I am really hoping this works? Aside from the obvious I did also cut the feet off a really cute pair of pj's :)

So...does she look like Nacho Libre with those jammies or The Incredible Hulk?

New Year's Fun

2011-01-01T10:38:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely day yesterday with the exception of Riley getting sick and Milana...well I'm not even going to go there. It isn't a story for anyone with a weak stomach. Regardless we had a great day yesterday. It was not only New Year's Eve, but for us it was game day. Any guesses what team we were rooting for? Peyton had come across a stuffed bear while decorating the house for the game and took off his hat and glasses so of course everyone had to try them on. Here is Riley styling in her fancy hat and glasses.

Now for Peyton's turn. They really thought it was such fun and it put a smile on Riley's face which was nice since she wasn't feeling super great.

Milana really enjoyed her little dress up session. She especially enjoys game day as we tend to have tons of snacks and if you know Milana you know how much she loves to eat :)

In case you are wondering Notre Dame did beat Miami - YAY!!! Hopefully this year will be a good one for the Irish and most importantly a good year for all of us and all of you! Happy New Year!!! Hope it is a healthy and happy one for all.

Oh and this is for you Kristin - I hope Penn State beats Florida! Happy New Year my friend!!!

Oh What Fun...

2010-12-30T06:24:00.000-08:00

Milana has been enjoying Christmas and her time off from school with her family a great deal. She enjoys looking at the pictures of all of the "babies" on Reece's Rainbow. She gets so excited to see them. It is so hard to believe that she was one of those faces on there not too long ago. Now she has a home with a Mama and a Papa and 3 sisters! And let's not forget her 3 dogs who she loves and adores as well. This girl is surely loving life :)

Her sisters all enjoy having her home with us as well. Riley & Peyton love giving her baths and helping get her dressed. I think they like playing with her toys as much as she does! We got a lot of snow for....well for North Carolina on Christmas Night. Milana and all three of her sisters enjoyed sledding down the hill in the front yard.

Weeeeeeee!!!! This is lots of fun!!! Can we do it again?? Please!!!

I'd say this little girl who was once one of those left behind is enjoying NOT being left behind any longer. In fact she makes sure she is never left out. She loves life! This amazing little girl has grown so much in the short time she has been home. And we are all loving that she is now a part of our family.

Milana's First Christmas

2010-12-28T06:30:00.000-08:00

We had a really wonderful Christmas this year - minus the fact that I got sick Christmas night and am just starting to feel better. (And now Chris is sick).

Other than the illness that is spreading through our house like wildfire we had a great day. On Christmas Eve we went to our friends house for their annual Christmas Eve Party. Milana enjoyed the party very much. She made sure we stayed in the room with the food :)

She had a blast munching away and of course got upset with me if I tried to eat. Even with a big cookie in her mouth she decided the carrot I was eating would be tastier. Fortunately she likes fruits and veggies as well as the sweet stuff!

We also went to church Christmas Eve and it was jam packed. The evening finished up with some Chinese food at home. I had hoped we would go out and have someone sing to us like on A Christmas Story - no duck thank you very much, but we stayed home and ate. Then we watched some Christmas shows - Santa Claus is Coming To Town and sent the small kiddos off to bed. Milana first followed by Riley and Peyton. Karissa stayed up a bit longer with Chris and I to watch Christmas Vacation. Oh that Cousin Eddie just crack me up :) When Christmas morning arrived Milana was a little unsure of all that was going on. Peyton & Riley were of course THRILLED that Santa had come to visit them during the night. They woke everyone up and as you can see from the pictures Milana really got in to opening presents. She eventually started opening anything in sight - regardless of whether or not the gift was for her. So some things we weren't sure who they were from or if they were for Peyton or Riley. Regardless we were all so thankful for all the wonderful gifts we received this year. (Including our newest addition to the family - Queen Fussy Butt aka Milana).

Milana also seemed to think that as she opened gifts she was supposed to try them on. I hadn't realized she was such a fashion diva. You gotta love the RUN DMC shirt she is rockin'. Wait til you see the sweet Puma sweat suit she got. This girl is going to be stylin' for sure! I love this picture below where she is holding the picture of Theo who we are Chrismas Warriors for. Our goal (which by the way we are falling incredibly short of) is to raise money for him during the holiday season in hopes that he will find a family and they will have some of the burden of the huge cost removed. We do hope that Theo finds a family and is able to celebrate Christmas with them next year.

What a beautiful picture of my 3 youngest little ones. (My oldest is a bit camera shy and my gift to her today is to not post her picture - it won't last I've got some good ones of her in the snow sledding in our front yard).

These 3 angels each picked out a kiddo (Milana with my help) to send some money to Andrea at Reece's Rainbow as a gift to a child in need of a home.

It's not too late for you to donate to Theo to help him find a forever family or to donate to any of the kids in need of a family. Feel free to browse the website www.reecesrainbow.org and donate to any child or children you feel led to helping out. Or of course donate to Theo and help us raise money for him as well. You can mail your check to Andrea Roberts c/o Reece's Rainbow P.O. Box 4024 Gaithersburg, MD 20885.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and that none of you get this nasty bug that I had.

First Snow - A Week Late

2010-12-11T09:05:00.001-08:00

We got our first snow of the year last Saturday. Riley & Peyton were so thrilled and couldn't wait to get outside to play in it. Milana really seemed to enjoy her first snow in the USA! As for me...we've had the first snow, it was pretty, and I hope it is our last! I prefer the warmer weather.

The Day After Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T19:16:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving at our house means that it is time to decorate for Christmas. This year was extra special because of our new addition. If you are new to this blog then you may be asking yourself - new addition? What are you talking about? If you aren't new to this blog then of course you know that our new addition is Milana. We made this day a fun and lazy sort of day. We stayed in our pj's all day and just had a blast decorating. Milana got into the festivities as well and hammed it up a bit (as usual).

I'm not sure what she had planned out here. She just decided at one point to climb up onto the stool and kept trying to open the bin. Apparently we weren't moving fast enough for this little busy body!

This was her only attempt at hanging an ornament on the tree. Unfortunately it was unsuccessful. It dropped right to the floor. Of course it didn't phase her. She did have fun sitting on the floor and hanging the ornaments on her wrist.

I am so happy that Milana is here with us. She brings so much joy to our family. The thought of her or any child spending time in an orphanage without a family is just so heartbreaking. Just today Andrea Roberts - executive director of Reece's Rainbow www.reecesrainbow.org added at least 100 new children with Down Syndrome to the website. All of them in the same region.

I have to believe if there are that many children in one region there must be many, many more that we are unaware of in other regions. These children All need loving families. They need to get out of the places they are currently in. They need a family so they can blossom.

Look at our super cutie who we just brought home a couple short months ago. She has already had her first Thanksgiving, decorated her first Christmas Tree, and started school. All things she has NEVER done and would NEVER get to do. School would be most unheard of for a child with special needs!

I would like to ask any of you out there to consider making a donation to an orphan this holiday season to help bring them home. I would love for it to be my little Theo who I am trying to raise money towards his adoption fund so that he may find a family soon. If it is not Theo please consider donating to an Angel on the Angel Tree http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=angel+tree&x=13&y=18. The cost of bringing home a child is very expensive. There are so many families out there that want to adopt, but are unable to because of the cost. All donations made to Reece's Rainbow are tax deductible.

You will also be able to say you helped bring a child home. I can tell you from experience how greatful their future families will be for your support. I will never be able to thank all the people who helped us bring Milana home enough. Without the support we got from friends and family and anonymous donors we would not have Milana here with us today. So thank you to all who helped us! And thank you to all those who have helped other families and children!

The First Day Story...

2010-11-22T18:40:00.001-08:00

Milana must have known something was up last night as it took her forever to fall asleep. At 9:30 last night she was still fussing in bed. Then this morning we got a 5:45 a.m. wake up call. (Which we ignored until she started to scream). When I went into her room there she was sitting up with her finger stuck to her head. She had been twirling her hair and her finger was literally stuck to her head. What a sight!

For most of the morning my poor sweetie was tired and cranky. As I was trying to get everyone out the door she cried and cried. We did manage to get some cute pics of her w/her backpack on.

Peyton and Riley went with me this morning to bring Milana to school. When it was time for the three of us to leave Milana gave us all kisses and hugs and waived goodbye to us. Fortunately she did not shed a tear!

All day long I waited on pins and needles to find out about her day. When I got to school to pick her up she was outside playing. As soon as she saw me her face lit up and she came waddling over to me with her arms extended and gave me a great big hug.

After I got my hug she headed back towards the playground. She went straight towards the sand box. Oh how I hate the sandbox! When we were in Ukraine she would sit in the sandbox and every now and again she'd eat a handful of sand. YUCK!!!!

I managed to keep her out of the sandbox and told her we had to go. I don't think she was happy about that. The poor thing was torn. She wanted me and she wanted to play on the playground as well. Eventually she decided to come with me. So we headed inside her classroom, packed up, and headed out.

On the way out of the building this adorable little kindergarten kid told me my baby was really cute. I told him that she went to school there too and he couldn't believe it. He asked me if he could touch her. When I told him yes he put his hand on her arm ever so lightly. It was so cute!

The note from Milana's teacher said that she had a good day - that she was calm. Wait til she gets comfortable. This kid is good at pretending she is quiet and calm. She is LOUD and BUSY!!! Apparently she didn't nap, but stayed on her cot. She also didn't eat all of her lunch which is very surprising. She must have been in shock or something.

Chris and I are just so excited she is in school where she can be with other children and learn. This is so good for her! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings :)

First Day of School Pics....

2010-11-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

More First Day of Pre-School Pics

2010-11-22T17:54:00.000-08:00

Can You Believe It?

2010-11-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow this adorable little girl is starting preschool. She will be going to school 5 days a week for a full day of school! Sounds like a lot, but this little girl has so much to learn and is eager to do so. She is such a little sponge. She has learned so much in the two months she has been home with us. Milana seems to understand most of what we tell her which is amazing. She has at least 7 signs that she uses regularly. It is just amazing to watch her grow and learn. I can't wait to see how much more she learns once she is in school. Not to mention how excited she will be getting to play with kids her age!

I almost forgot last Friday she said her first word - doggie. Fitting as we have 3 dogs. One of whom (Montana) is her best buddy.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow - although I must admit I am nervous and excited all at the same time.

What A Day

2010-11-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

Today was quite the day. Milana, Riley, Peyton, and I spent some time laying on the livingroom floor coloring. After about 20 minutes of coloring I think I might have taken my eyes off of Milana for like 5 seconds and the next thing I know Riley is telling me that Milana bit off a chunk of crayon. Poor Riley was so upset. I told her not to worry and went in after that large chunk of crayon.

Big mistake on my part. I almost lost my finger in the process. Milana bit my finger so hard I truly thought she was going to break my finger. I gave up on the chunk of crayon and decided to work on getting my finger back in one piece. Which I did, but I got more than the teeth marks to show for it. She broke the skin and drew blood -- OUCH!!! The little stinker. I guess that crayon was too tastey to let go of :) Later on in the day I put Milana down for her nap. Shortly after she started fussing. Now usually I just leave her be, but for whatever reason I thought I'd go take a peek at her and see what she was up to. (If only I had a camera with me).

When I walked in her room I noticed she was sitting up in bed so I told her to lay down and get to sleep. Milana just sat there. As I got closer I had to do a double take. This little stinker was sitting on her bed with her pants unsnapped, her onsie unsnapped and her diaper ripped open. So there she is all exposed if you will just sitting there hanging out.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! I was thankful that she chose to do this then rather than this morning when her diaper was a bit more messy if you will.

She did eventually take her nap. First I decided to put her in her pj's so she wouldn't be tempted to unsnap anything else. (Or take her diaper off again). I guess I should have went w/the pull up for naptime instead. That would have been more difficult for her to get off.

I'm hoping this was a one time only kind of thing. Otherwise I'll have to find a way to keep her from stripping down!

A Weekend of Firsts

2010-11-15T08:03:00.001-08:00

This weekend Riley, Peyton, Milana, and I headed to NY to visit my parents and grandparents. It was a nice trip - but VERY short.

On Friday my Mom, the girls, and I took my Nana to the hairdresser. So while we were there Miss Milana got a hair cut too. (This was her first haircut in the USA)!!! She was so good and just sat on my Mom's lap. Every now and then she would turn her head to look at Lisa to see what it was she was doing. My Nana was SO THRILLED that Milana got her hair cut. It was so sweet of Lisa (Nana's hairdresser) to fit us in. Especially since we were late getting Nana there. Oops!

Milana also got to meet all four of my grandparents for the first time. She is such a snuggle bug and she enjoyed getting to hug everyone. They of course all adored her. I mean, how could they not?

Milana also got to meet her grandpa (my Dad) and my brother and sister for the first time. She had a blast with everyone - especialy the guys whom she seemed to prefer on this trip.

It seemed like in no time at all it was already time to head home. My Mom, Dad, and sister will be back for Thanksgiving so I'm sure all four girls will enjoy having the extra company. We are hoping my brother will decide at the last minute to join them. That would be a nice surprise for us all.

Oh! I almost forgot. Milana had another first on our short trip to NY. She got to have Scubbers for the first time - YUM!!!! She ate her buffalo tenders right up. They were so good :) I wish I could eat it again right now!

Good News

2010-11-12T13:53:00.001-08:00

My first bit of good news is that when I looked at my blog the other day I saw that someone (or more than someone) donated money towards Theo's adoption fund. I can not thank you enough!!! This is so exciting! I hope that this will get the ball rolling and people will feel led to continue to donate. What a great cause!!! I appreciate your support, Theo appreciates your support and his future family appreciates your support!

As for my other bit of good news...we had Milana's eligiblity meeting on Wednesday and...she is going to be going to preschool. Yay Milana! This will be so good for her in so many ways. I can't wait for little Miss Milana to get to be around and play with other children. She is going to have so much fun!!! I'm sure she will be exhausted too after being in school all day :)

A Hole In My Heart

2010-11-08T08:59:00.000-08:00

I am feeling more and more lately like a piece of me is missing. I have been trying to figure out for such a long time why some days I just feel so blah and want to cry. And then it hit me all at once. I am missing those children that we left behind.

I can't help but think of them each day. Many of the other children we spent time with while at the orphanage have families coming for them. I can't tell you how thrilled I am about that! Whether they have families or not these children will always be a part of me. They will always have a very special place in my heart.

Maybe that is one of many reasons I feel so sad. I feel like I left my family behind. I want so badly to go back and see them. If I could take them all home I would, but we can't afford that. I just miss these beautiful children so much that my heart hurts.

I wish we could find homes for all the children who are in need of loving families. Wouldn't it be such a good feeling to know that all children have the kind of home they deserve?

Without All of You

2010-11-04T17:05:00.000-07:00

We were so fortunate throughout our adoption journey to have the support of family and friends. Everyone was so amazing in helping us bring our little girl home. Without this support it would not have been possible to bring Milana home to us.

There are so many children out there who don't have a Mommy or Daddy or a brother or a sister. These children are looked at as having no place in their society. They are placed in orphanages in most cases from birth because their society believes they are not able to learn to read or write or one day have jobs. They are not cared for the way a child should be cared for.

With everyone's prayers, love, and support we were able to raise the money needed to bring Milana home to us. There are so many children who still need homes! There are so many families who want to bring these children home, but the biggest thing that stops them is money. That hurts my heart so much knowing that children are dying and we can help them.

This sweet little angel is Theo. He lives in an orphanage in Eastern Europe and needs a family. Maybe it is you. Maybe it isn't. But you could help him find a family by donating to his adoption fund. If you donate $35 by Dec. 15 you will get an ornament with his picture on it. You will also have helped him by making it easier for a family to come forward and adopt him.

You don't have to donate $35. You can donate any amount that you are able - less, more. It is up to you. Please consider donating to Theo's adoption fund. All you have to do is click on the chip in on my blog. Your donation is completely tax deductible.

Slacker Mom Of The Year

2010-11-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

This year we didn't exactly celebrate Halloween. Our original plan was for me to take the girls to participate in a Halloween Parade as we do every year. They were going to be Hobo twins. (Yes, you read that correctly - Hobo Twins).

Then just a few days before Halloween they changed their minds. No one knew what to be. The day before Halloween still nothing. So...we changed plans. We decided to have a fun Halloween at home and bake. We made a fabulous apple crisp. Riley & Peyton did a great job baking. It was so yummy! Seriously - they did an amazing job. These girls can bake :) I never planned on dressing Milana up. It was one thing for me to just check off my to do list and not worry about as she has no clue what Halloween is and has never celebrated it. She did get to have a piece of Halloween candy. It was her first piece of American candy - a Reese's Peanutbutter Cup :)
We did look through some old dressups of Peyton's and Riley's and put her in this little ballet outfit. It was a bit big, but she still looks cute none the less.

Don't you just love the purse? She kept putting her cell phone in it and then putting the purse up on her shoulder. What a riot!

She really loves this mask. Peyton kept calling her the red storm trooper. Both Riley and Peyton had a blast playing dress up with their little sister!

If only Karissa had been home to join in the fun. Maybe we can get some dress up picks of all four girls when Karissa comes home for Thanksgiving! Fun!

Are You Even A Little Curious???

2010-10-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

I recently added a picture of a beautfiul little boy to my blog. I'm sure some of you are probably wondering - who is this gorgeous little man? Well...his name is Theo and he is in desparate need of a family.

Theo lives in Eastern Europe. He has Down Syndrome and is in need of a Mommy & Daddy. (Maybe even a sister & brother or two). Could you be Theo's forever family?? Just look at that beautiful face. That blond hair - those blue eyes. Doesn't he deserve a loving home?

Please considering joining my family and I in helping Theo this holiday season. Our goal is to raise money towards his adoption fund so that when he does find his forever family (or they find him) they won't be afraid of the cost of bringing this little guy home.

There are so many waiting children out there that are in need of a family and the biggest thing that keeps them from getting a family is money! This breaks my heart!

So I am asking, begging, etc that you consider making a donation to Theo's adoption fund. It doesn't have to be much - $5 - $10. Whatever you feel you are able to donate (it can obviously be more too).

All money donated through the chip in on my blog goes directly to Reece's Rainbow and is tax deductible. If you feel more comfortable mailing a check please make your check out to Reece's Rainbow and mail it to Reece's Rainbow P.O. Box 4024 Gaithersburg, MD 20885 and put Theo's name in the memo line. Remember all donations are tax deductible! You could help save a child by contributing to their adoption fund!

Girl's Best Friend

2010-10-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

It is so funny to see Milana interact with our 3 dogs. We were worried when we first brought her home that Bailey would bark at her and scare her(because of the barking). Fortunately Bailey didn't bark at her at all. None of our 3 dogs barked at Milana. They eagerly sniffed and licked her as soon as we brought her home.

What we didn't expect was Milana's reaction to the dogs. The minute she laid eyes on them she screamed like crazy. If they looked at her or came near her she would scream! We realized within just a few hours of having her home that she wasn't really afraid of them, but she continued to scream for the next 24 hours or so whenever they came near her.

Now she can't get enough of them. She loves to pet them and kiss them. When they lick her face she laughs so hard. On a few occasions we have seen her stick out her tongue to lick them too :)

As you can see Milana and the dogs have become best buddies. Most days those poor dogs can't escape her. Even if they are trying to sleep she will go over to them and start yelling at them to get them to wake up. She sticks her face right under theirs so that they will pay attention to her (and lick her). If it doesn't work with one dog she moves on to the next.

Milana really likes to boss the dogs around. She will yell and point at the pillow for them to go lay down. Then she follows them over, plops herself down and sticks her face in theirs or starts petting them. You gotta love the friendship between a girl and her dogs :)

Random Pictures

2010-10-22T14:25:00.001-07:00

Don't you just love this face? This is Milana's idea of smiling for the camera :) Here is Milana eating her very first Dunkin Donut. We figured it was safe to put the whole thing in front of her as there was no way she was getting that whole thing in her mouth. She tried, but to her dismay it did not work!

She looks so serious. Doesn't she?

My littlest storm trooper. Too bad the whole costume won't fit.

Buddy Walk

2010-10-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the TDSN Buddy Walk. We were fortunate enough to have two very special guests at this amazing event - Andrea Roberts and her son Reece :) It was so amazing to get to meet the woman who started it all as well as the inspiration behind it all. Thank you so much to both of you for coming.

Here we have Milana and Reece just hanging out and enjoying a quiet moment. Didn't our table look great?? We would not have been able to pull it off without Kristin who organized the table and took care of all the details. Thanks Kristin!

We got a great group shot of Andrea with 3 families who recently brought home their children. From left to right we have Andrea, Nadia, Kristin, Jenn, Milana, Nikki, and Ezekiel.

My twins Riley and Peyton are standing behind Nadia, Milana, and Reece. They all had a blast. Fortunately for Kristin and I Nadia and Milana were content to just chill in the strollers for most of the BW. And of course thanks to Grandma Paul (Kristin's Mom) for keeping Milana occupied when I was helping with the table.

This is my favorite picture. Milana and Andrea. Without Andrea we would have never found Milana and she would still be in an orphanage. Without Andrea so many children would still be in orphanages or institutions and would not have the quality of life or the loving families that they have today. Thank you Andrea for all you do! You are an amazing woman!

Trying To Catch Up

2010-10-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to post for days, but unfortunately blogger doesn't want to cooperate with me when it comes to uploading pictures. So...I'm a bit behind the times.

Anyway...Milana did have her tubes put in on Thursday. Here she is clowning around for the camera before the surgery. She makes this face quite often when she notices you trying to take her picture. (She is a piece of work). They told me when she came out of surgery that she could be cranky and irritable. Fortunately for us both she was her usual self. Here she is playing with her oxygen mask. She enjoyed holding it over her face and then taking it off only long enough to offer you some of her oxygen.

Aaahhh...here she is making that face again. You'd think she was in pain or something, but she was just being silly :)

This girl is addicted to the oxygen. She looks so serious doesn't she? You'd think she was an expert at this. Besides offereing me oxygen she also offered some to Pooh Bear. As you can tell by the smile on his face Pooh was most appreciative. The only time Milana got upset after her surgery was when she signed that she wanted to eat and I had to tell her no because they had her on a liquid diet before transitioning back to food. We have a follow up appointment next week at the ENT and are hoping that her hearing is now back to where it should be. Keep your fingers crossed and/or say a prayer that she can hear!

Is This Thing On???

2010-10-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

We have recently discovered through an appt with the audiologist and an appt with the ENT that Milana has mild to moderate hearing loss. With that said we know that she CAN hear us when we talk to her. It is just that the quality of what she is hearing isn't what it could or should be. So the next step in helping her to hear better is for her to get tubes put in both ears. The ENT feels very strongly that this should resolve the problem. We are really hoping that it does as she can not be evaluated for special ed. preschool services until she passes her hearing test. This is very important because she really needs to be in school learning and socializing with her peers.

I know the pictures have nothing to do with the post. I just thought that they were cute. I just love the funny faces she makes. They crack me up. Hope you like them too.

Everybody Loves An IRISH Girl

2010-10-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok so Milana is Ukranian. Fine. I'll give you that. However, that does not mean she can't be an Irish Girl :) She just loves that little Notre Dame leprechaun! Can you blame her? As you can see she also loves making silly faces. And no Kristin, it isn't because of the Notre Dame shirt. (I think she is actually wondering what it is I did to her hair).

Seriously, doesn't this little "irish" girl look fabulous in her ND shirt?? I know I am biased, but I certainly think so :)

Milana is quite the little cheerleader - cheering for Notre Dame of course. It seems football is one of her favorite things to watch. Football, Hockey, Golf, and Wizards of Waverly Place are the only things that seem to hold her attention. At least she isn't addicted to tv like some other family members are :)

GO IRISH!!!!

BFF's :)

2010-10-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that Milana already has a bff. I can't wait til they have sleepovers and play dress up and all of that fun girlie stuff :)

For now they are just getting to know each other, playing, just chillin'

Aren't they so cute?? Wait til they start wearing their matching outfits. Talk about fun girlie stuff!

Can't you just tell how much they adore each other already. I mean really. A little pinch on the cheek...

A huge hug to tell you how much I love you my friend. Hope you don't mind if I jump on top of you while I'm at it :)

Aren't they just precious? I can only imagine all the trouble these two will get into together. Fun times ahead for all :)

Doing A Happy Dance :)

2010-10-01T16:44:00.001-07:00

When I woke up last Saturday morning I had dreamt of children finding homes. One of those children was this sweet little boy Gage. Isn't he just handsome?? I found out today that Gage HAS A FAMILY!!! This is such fabulous news! This sweetheart of a boy is in the same orphanage that Milana was in. We were lucky enough to see him just about every day. He is so smart! His smile lights up a room! I can't wait to find out who his Mommy & Daddy are. They are so lucky to be bringing this amazing little boy home. Congratulations to Gage and his family!

Dreaming of Homes for Children

2010-09-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning remembering a dream I had about a certain little girl in Milana's orphanage. Once I thought of her I started thinking about some of the other children who need homes as well. Like little Gage. Here he is with the curly hair in the blue shirt. This little boy is so full of life and truly needs a Mommy & Daddy...they ALL do. He is such a ray of sunshine and if I could have taken him home with us I would have. He is so bright and gets around so well. He can wheel himself around in his wheel chair. He is able to go up the stairs to the slide without assistance. He really gets around well! If you are interested in Gage please visit the Reece's Rainbow website and look for him in Other Angels (Boys). Here is little Mason (who is also sitting next to Gage in the above picture). He is all boy. His smile is so amazing. Both Gage and Mason were so interested in our cameras. They saw us taking pictures and they wanted to see how our cameras worked. Both boys were so excited to see the pictures on the digital camera after we took them. Oh they are such beautiful boys who really need loving homes. Mason can also be found on the Other Angels page. I believe he is listed right below Mason. This boy (Mason) can run all over the place and will really keep you busy.

And now for the little girl in my dreams...this is Sandra. I only saw Sandra once at the orphanage and unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture. When I saw her she was being pushed in a stroller by one of the caretakers. I never saw her out playing with the other kids in the groupa. Sandra is in desparate need of Physical Therapy. You can see how much she needs this therapy just by looking at her little legs. Please someone consider bringing Sandra home. She would make such a great little girl for someone.

In my dream she was just loving life - smiling and happy and had a Mommy and Daddy. Could it be you? Or someone you know?? Please visit the Reece's Rainbow website at www.reecesrainbow.org to find more information regarding Sandra, Gage, or Mason. They are beautiful children in need of a loving home.

The Long Awaited Home Pictures...

2010-09-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

As always my pictures have uploaded in a different order than I had wanted. One day I will figure this out :) For now we'll just go with it.

Finally a picture of all four of my girls together!! Aren't they all adorable?? Look at that cute college girl holding Milana and those cutie pie twins!!! I missed my girls so much while I was in Ukraine and was so happy to have them all together for a short time. Can't wait til Karissa is home from college for a visit again so my girls can all be home with me. Here is Milana with her bff Nadia. I guess Nadia was excited to meet her!

My welcoming party last week at the airport was Chris, Riley, and Peyton. It was so good to see them! Milana was so excited to see the girls. She just adores them.

Here we are on the final leg of our journey home. This was our 3rd flight. I can't tell you how excited I was to board this plane knowing Milana and I were just about 30-40 minutes away from home :)This fabulous threesome was my help from Kiev to Raleigh. Steven, Elijah, & Jenny were also heading home. What luck to have them with me. They are great friends and are now Uncle Steven and Aunt Jenny. The girls now have tons of cousins too! I can't wait for Jenny to come home with her 3 precious children so I can greet them at the airport!! Thanks guys! It was a pleasure traveling with you!

I'll work on updating more. It has been crazy trying to jump back in where I left off with a new addition. Right now we are working on getting pre-school services for Milana. Hopefully it won't be too long. I need to get back to work in the next few weeks and testing and placement can take up to 90 days. Yikes!!!

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I Love You Tomorrow....

2010-09-14T00:15:00.000-07:00

...you're only a day away!!!!

I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am for tomorrow to come. At about 5:00 am tomorrow morning (10:00 pm tonight for you at home) Milana and I will be boarding our first of 3 planes to begin our journey home. First we head to Frankfurt, Germany - also known as "the hotdog place." Then we have a layover and hop on yet another flight to Washington, D.C. before FINALLY getting on our last and final flight home :) I'm hoping she'll be this happy the entire time we are traveling. (One can hope....right?) Then once we are home we will get to these 3 girls. I can't wait to see them!!! It has been far too long since I have seen my girls at home. Karissa won't be there to welcome us off the plane, but she will get in about 4-5 hours later that night. I am so excited to see my oldest baby :)

I am also looking forward to getting home to this guy. He has been so amazing through all of this and I can not thank him enough for all of his love and support. I can't wait to see you!! I miss you so much!!! You are such an amazing husband and father and I love you :)

Now these two little ladies will be at the airport to greet us and I can not wait to HUG them both and give them lots of kisses!! They are going to be the best big sisters ever - of course their big sister is also one of the three best big sisters ever!!! I miss my girls (all 3) so much!! I know they are all so excited to finally get to meet Milana. I am so proud of these three girls. I truly am. Milana is going to just love you all so much!!! And she loves HUGS!!! I love you girls!! Mommy will see you soon!!!

Today we have a few more things left to do. We have our final trip to the U.S. Embassy to finish up paperwork and get Milana's visa so she can come home. We also hope to meet up with some more Reece's Rainbow families. We got to meet up with The Parkers last night at Fridays. Today we are hoping to catch up with Sid & Wendy, Jenny & Steven, and also the Westbrooks. Hope we get to see everyone before heading out tomorrow.

I am so excited we are going home tomorrow. I can't wait to be with my family who I have missed these last 5 weeks. It really has been such a long, long time. I love you guys!!! See you soon!!!

Leaving Lugansk

2010-09-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

Tonight was our last night here in Lugansk. Milana and I had a lovely day. This afternoon we did some shopping and went to lunch with Cass. Then tonight we went out to dinner with Kim and Phil, Cass, and one of the french couples we met. Roger and Oishin were out with Henry :)

We had a great time at dinner. Milana was very well behaved. We didn't have to get her out of the stroller and walk her around once. (This was a bonus)!

I am so excited that we are winding down and starting our journey back home. In some ways it is bittersweet. I am beyond thrilled to be heading home to my girls and Chris and even the dogs. Just getting back to my normal life will be such a relief.

But I will miss the amazing friends we have met along the way. I can not stress enough how nice it has been to have so many amazing people on this journey with us. I will miss them all a great deal and hope we all stay in touch. We have even joked about meeting back here in a few years for a reunion.

Which that is funny in and of itself because anyone here who can speak English would stop us on the street and ask us WHY we are here?? I guess this isn't exactly a tourist destination.

I do have pics from tonight, but everything is all packed up. We have to head out at 5:30 am to catch our flight back to Kiev. We hav our appt tomorrow at the US Embassy! Hooray!!! We are getting closer and closer to home.

So for my friends I am leaving behind....good luck! I will miss you! I will be following your journeys - email me!!! Cass & Rog we'll see you in 2 years :)

Love you guys!!!

Is It Naptime Yet??

2010-09-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

I tried to get little Miss Milana to take her nap today and after listening to her cry for awhile assumed that was not going to happen. So instead we played. Later when she was having her snack she was literally putting cheerios in her mouth and nodding off. She would then snap awake and continue to eat the cheerios. The next thing I know she is face down on the blanket with her leg in the cheerios. It didn't last long. The moment I tried to move the bowl she popped back up and finished up the cheerios. Oh well. I tried! Here she is tasting the tiny mirror she enjoys looking at herself in. How she can actually see herself in it I do not know, but she likes it so we'll just go with it for now.

Aaaahhhh!!! You have to find humor in this. Milana and I were happily playing until she went over to the plug and tried to stick her finger in the socket. I told her no and she had a complete meltdown...one of many :) She would then stop crying and look at me and throw her arms around my neck and begin all over again. Let the good times roll....

This was actually a minute or so BEFORE the meltdown. She was laughing like crazy. And let me tell you this girl laughs like you would not believe. If you hear her laugh you have to join in. It is that contagious :)

Don't you just LOVE the hair??? This little bow came with the little pony I bought for her at the market. She will pull it out of her hair and then try to get it back in. This of course does not work and she gets upet. Please refer to the picture of her in tears to see what happens when she can NOT get the bow back in her hair. I have more if you need additional references :)

Tonight we went out for dinner with The Clarke's and The Dean's. She did great - especially since you wait FOREVER to order, to get your food, to get the bill, etc. It was so nice to have some adult conversation - and the extra hands to help out with Milana. It was also nice to be able to go to the bathroom by myself :)

It is almost time for Milana and I to be heading out of here. We are off to Kiev early Monday morning to finish up there and head home. I have really enjoyed my time with my new friends here and will miss our time together, but I am thrilled beyond belief to head home to my girls (and Chris too)! We are getting closer to the end of this journey!!!

Gotcha - Milana Alexandra

2010-09-08T13:45:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days have been very busy. Yesterday was the end of our 10 day waiting period. I was picked up and taken to the court house for 10am. I did not need to go in so I waited outside with another couple that I have gotten to know throughout this process. They adopted a little boy in Milana's orphanage and were also waiting for the decision of the court.

After about an hour we got the paper we needed and we headed off to the city Milana was born. We needed to go there to get the new birth certificate and the certificate of adoption. At first when we got there they told us to come back tomorrow. Violetta was great and eventually the woman told us to come back in 3 hours. It was too far to drive back and fourth so we (Sasha, Violetta, and I) hung out in a Cafe to kill time.

When we went back to pick up our forms they weren't ready. Then they only gave us one form and said we did not need the other. Which I did need and without it I would not be allowed to leave the country. Eventually we got both forms!! This was a huge success.

Unforunately it took all day to get those forms and I was not able to get Milana yesterday. BUT...today Violetta called and she was able to get some of the paperwork done without me. Then came to get me and we headed to the orphanage to bust Milana out - after signing many forms of course.

Here she is in the changing area of her groupa. Her last time to stand in that room. (Poor thing they had to wake her from her nap). Sorry sweetie!!! Leaving the orphanage was more tearful for me than for Milana it seemed. I passed out some gifts to some of the caretakers that were there and thanked them through tears for taking care of my little girl. I am so grateful to them for taking such good care of her and for treating her so well!!! The caretakers looked a little sad as well. I really think they will miss her :)

Before getting to come back to the apartment we had to go get Milana's passport photos. This was not an easy task, but we did it. We attempted some other paperwork, but ran out of time. Violetta had to get to court for another family and so we will continue to work on getting what we need tomorrow.

Milana enjoyed checking out the apartment. She LOVED seeing her reflection in the mirror, on the washing machine, the stove, etc. (This girl loves herself)!!

We ventured out and did some shopping and while I cooked Milana ate cheerios. Actually she did share them. She enjoyed feeding them to me as much as she enjoyed eating them.

I am so excited to finally have Milana with me. We are getting closer and closer to heading home. I can't wait to get back to my girls at home. I know they are so excited to meet Milana and Milana will be thrilled to meet her big sisters!!!

I can't believe Gotcha Day has finally arrived!!!

Pictures - Sat & Sun

2010-09-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

Milana & Missing My Girls

2010-09-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

I was extremely fortunate today to get two visits with Milana. Usually we are brought in the morning for about 1 1/2-2 hours. However, I was in the right place at the right time and got to go this afternoon as well. (This was all thanks to Kim and Phil who had me over for lunch today - thanks guys)!!!

Unfortunately Milana was sleeping this afternoon when I got there and they woke her up. I felt a little guilty about that and even tried to tell them to let her sleep, but they woke her anyway. So I got her dressed and out we went. Look at this face! I guess waking her up was totally worth it!!! Milana really enjoyed my shades today. She looks quite stylish doesn't she??

It is so hard to get a good picture of this busy little thing, but I think I did fairly well today. I need to invest in one of those cameras that just clicks away and gets all those really good action shots. Usually I get a few dozen of her looking down or in any direction other than the camera.

I have to admit that as much as I am enjoying every second here with Milana my heart is breaking from missing my girls at home. These last couple days have been especially hard as I have not been able to chat with them. It doesn't sound like much but even just a few minutes to find out how their day went means so much. I can't wait to talk with them tomorrow. I love you girls and I miss you so much!!! I can't wait to come home so we can all be together :)

Not Quite Herself Today

2010-09-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

Milana was not quite herself today. She is usually VERY loud and VERY busy. Today she was much calmer and extremely snuggly. She looked like she was tired. I thought perhaps she wasn't feeling well, but she did pep up a little here and there. I don't know. Maybe she is just missing her Daddy and is ready to go home (like her Mommy). She did seem to have fun for a time playing with this ball. We would roll it back and fourth. When it didn't get to me she would get up and go get it instead of looking at it and shouting and then looking at me like "Would you get that ball already."

This girl loves her sok (juice). We had to get her this sippy cup because she wore more of the juice than she actually drank. Although when it was empty she was determined to find more in there. No sweetie. It really is empty.

It is so difficult to get good pictures of this one. Everytime she would smile I'd be too late by the time I got the camera out of my pocket and snapped a picture. It was more difficult trying to bend down and push Milana in this truck and run and take a picture at the same time. So this was really the best I could do.

After our visit today I went to see Karate Kid with the Clarke's. It was all in Russian (no subtitles either). Fortunately having seen the original movie it was pretty easy to figure out what was going on. It was a cute movie.

Later The Clarke's and I met up with the Dean's and we all had dinner. It was nice, but as always the service was slow. We sat there for a good two hours or so which is the norm around here. There was a bit of confusion with our orders. First the entire menu is in Russian so we needed some help figuring out what was what. The waitress placed too many meals in our order. So when the food came out - very slowly and one meal at a time - Roger after finishing his first meal (which was not what he ordered) ended up with another meal. We sent it back and then the waitress came and was very upset with us about this. YIKES!!! We finished up and got the bill and quickly booked it out of there. Maybe we should avoid that place for awhile!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

2010-09-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

Bad hair day? These two are up to no good!

Hmmm....what can I do with this???

Hey - she's trying to take the bubble wand and it's not her turn yet!

Please, can I have the bubble wand back?? I'll stop licking the bubbles. I promise ;)

Something Is Missing

2010-08-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder if this thing has a mind of its own. The pictures never seem to upload in the right order no matter what. Once I think I have it all figured out it mixes the pictures all up. Oh well. Anyway...

Chris had his Embassy Appt yesterday (Monday) afternoon and all went well with that. All he had to do was sign some forms there and he was done. Now he is on a plane heading home to our girls - well two of them anyway. Karissa is off at college :)

Here we are with Milana on Saturday. This was Chris's last visit with Milana until I come home with her. She is missing him already and so am I. It just isn't the same without him. I'm really wishing we brought the girls on this trip, but I guess they would have left with him too so it'd just be me and Milana. This was a picture of Peyton, Riley, Chris, and I the day we left - 3 weeks ago today! It seems like it was so much longer. (Can you tell I am missing my girls)!! I can't wait to go home and hug them tight! I might not let go!!!

This little girl is so ready to get home to her sisters, her Dad, grandparents, great grandparents, her aunts, uncles, friends, etc. I can't wait!!

Here are my 3rd graders. Wow! Time sure does fly by. I can't believe how big they have gotten in the three weeks since I have been gone! I love you girls!!! (For the record this picture was the right way when I uploaded it. I would attempt to fix it, but it takes far too long for pictures to upload here and so really it just isn't worth it). Just stand on your head when you are ready to look at it :)

Here is Daddy and his little - well not so little girls. I bet they can't wait to pick him up from the airport later today.

I would have happily added a picture of Karissa, but I asked her to send me some weeks ago and still haven't gotten any. I attempted to swipe some from her pictures on facebook, but...well it just didn't work out so well. I am missing her too! I can't wait for her to come home and visit us once we are all home!

Hoping to find out what the plan is for when the 10 days are up. I'm getting anxious and would like to know when we are doing the paperwork, busting Milana out of the orphanage, etc.

A Long Day

2010-08-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

Today was a long day. I got up bright and early and got ready to go to the orphanage and then got a text saying I wasn't going for another hour. No big deal. Although I could have slept in. Oh well. Maybe another day.

When I got to the orphanage Milana came running to me and as always was excited to see me. (Although really she is excited to see everyone). She seemed to notice right away that Chris wasn't there. When I picked her up she kept looking behind me to see if she could find him. We had a nice time playing. I love this little truck. It is so funny to me that at (almost) 3 Milana is small enough to fit into it. All the kids seem to love it. I have seen them pushing each other in it.

Here is my girl trying to climb up the slide. Wrong way silly!! You go down the slide...not up!!!

After our visit at the orphanage I came back to the apartment and waited around in hopes that someone would come replace my lightbulb. No one did. I gave up waiting after 2 hours and headed out with Cass. We wandered about and did some shopping. I bought Milana a few things that should fit her. Everything I brought is much too big for this tiny little girl.

For dinner I joined the Clarke's at their place and enjoyed some good company and conversation. Oh and of course good tea :)