Heading to America

In just a few hours, Brian and the troop will be flying out of Kiev!! It has been rough but everyone is hanging in there! They had their final embassy appointment today and went back to pack up! I will tell you a bit about each child but remember, I won't meet them until tomorrow! But have had fun on FaceTime!  Nash is Octavian on Reecesrainbow. He turned 2 in January! He loves to be held. He cries and cries when you put him down. He also cries when he is done eating even though he has eaten a lot! He loves the baby toys! He can crawl and is too cute! He has a large curve on the lower back. We are not sure why that is. Dima, is going to be five in October! He is very tiny! He is wearing size newborn shorts and fits in the infant car seat. His name is Whitaker on Reecesrainbow. Thank you to all the Whitaker fans that worked so hard to get his grant up there!! He cannot sit or hold up his head. They say he only eats from the bottle so we will try baby foods soon! He has been really fussy off and on and possibly has been having some withdrawals from sedatives at the orphanage. He has possible sleep apnea and some other things going on so medical appointments are going to be ASAP for him. They have shaved his head so his hair is very short! He has a large patch of really blonde looking hair in the middle of his brown hair. He does like to laugh when his daddy is being funny! Natasha was Dani on Reecesrainbow. She is tiny too. She is 19 pounds and will be 6 in December. She hasn't done her nervous flapping at her head since she left the orphanage, except in the tiny elevator and when she knocked something over in the apartment. Poor sweet girl. They said she only ate puréed foods but she has been eating table food just fine with no choking! She had no words of any kind but said "papa" today!! She doesn't walk on her own but can stand when you hold her hands. All of them little blessings, discarded by society but made in the image of God!! Please adopt if you can!! Every child is in a desperate place with no hope without adoption!! Continue to pray for more children to find families! #freedomfororphans. Check out facebook for pics under Laurie Harlin.     I stink at blogging :) thank you all!! Will update when I can!! Be blessed and give someone a hug!!

Freedom for Orphans

Today Brian and Natalie are traveling 3 hours south of Kiev to pick up Whitaker and Dani. These were their internet names so they are actually Dima and Natasha! Dima is 4 and Natasha 5. Both kids have CP. I won't have many details until later. No internet connection with Brian until they arrive back in Kiev! If you want to see pictures, you will have to check out facebook tomorrow. I will post pictures and put them on public so you can see them! Tomorrow, they will get Octavian out! His name is Nash. He is 2 like our Crosby that we adopted last year! Prayers needed to get them home! Trying to scrape together airfare for 5! Yikes! Can't get tickets yet until we know they have passports and visas. Still waiting on these documents!thanks for prayers!! They are so appreciated! Never an easy process but so worth it!! Even though we are back in Ukraine, the kids are from different regions than last year! Such a beautiful country that is still struggling with war on the eastern side and economic effects and so many families being displaced! So remember to pray for the protection of those that live here! The Reece's rainbow team has been awesome and Hand of Help in adoption! Now waiting to hear from Brian!!!

Blessings

Jesus loves the little children! We are commanded to love like Jesus and care for orphans. This is why we do what we do!! So many orphans and so many in desperate need that we need more people ready to step out in faith and follow their heart and God's call. They are true blessings and you will not regret taking that step of faith. Natalie, my daughter and Brian went to one orphanage and it was about a 3 hour drive from the city that they started at. This is an orphanage that has not had any adoptions. It is in a small area and it house kids age 4 through the 20's. All with some sort of disability. The older boys were so polite. They came and shook Brian's hand. When Natalie was there and they were visiting our new children in the meeting room, some of the older boys would peek in to see. I wonder what they are thinking? Do they understand? They don't get visitors or get to leave the institution. They are just so sweet. It breaks your heart to see that they will never have a home and a family. Natalie and Brian drove quite a bit, visiting each birth town to get birth certificates. It will take about 5 days for passports to be ready. They drove back to the city they started at that night. They were gone for about 15 hours and had to be up at 6 am the next day to do more driving to the next town where our new son was born and they had to wait about 3 to 4 hours for paperwork. They did not get a chance to get that passport started so they will have to wait until Monday. Again they were gone all day! Then today they went to the baby house to visit our little cutie! He is 2 and has Down syndrome. He loves to be held and cried when Natalie put him down. He and our son Crosby are going to have a lot of fun together! Crosby is 2 as well. Can't wait to meet my babies! Pick up day will probably be on Wednesday! Then they have to get medicals and wait for passports to be ready before going to the embassy for final paperwork. Thanks all for prayers and support! We couldn't do it alone! #freedomfororphans