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

Final trip

Well tomorrow my daughter Natalie and Brian will fly across the ocean to get our new kiddos out of the orphanage. Praying that it doesn't take 2 weeks! Lots of driving around to different towns to get birth certificates and paperwork! One of the kiddos does some self injury type behaviors so praying that will improve quickly. Poor sweetie! Can't wait to meet my babies! We are thankful for all the blessings! Hope to share some more soon!!

Court

Court was successful!! Now 10 plus days before we can bust them out!! The First court the judge had not done many and maybe zero international adoptions. A bit scary to me but went fairly well. The photo books that you take along are so helpful. We have pictures of all the kids and of our house and things like that. After people see the pictures, Brian says they are so much more helpful. The director was very nice and helpful. Brian offered to but diapers but she said they were good with their supply but asked for a tv. This orphanage has kids age 4 through 22+ , all considered disabled and unless adopted, never get out. They live in an institution until they die.. There is very little for them to do. They used to have a tv but it broke. So Brian gave them money to help buy a new one. The young men that lived there were so excited! They were all so polite also and shook Brian's hand and greeted him. A tv provides much needed stimulation. This orphanage does not usually get adoptions. Hopefully now there will be some more adoptions from this place. The director gave our facilitator some pictures and files of some kids to list with Reece's rainbow. We pray more children will get a chance to live life! The kids are tiny. Our little guy who is 4 1/2 years is smaller than Crosby our 2 year old. His waist is 15". Can't wait to get him home! Praying all the kids have healthy hearts and that none of them need surgery! We will schedule appointments as soon as they arrive.

The next court in another area was a bit stressful. This judge does a lot of adoptions because it is in a more populated area. But she is known to give families a hard time. Brian said it wasn't too bad but she did try to make things a bit difficult. This court was successful too! So good to be done with this part. The judges have the power to not approve and make families do a lot of unnecessary things and make the poor kids sit and wait! So thankful this was not the case. Brian will come home and then head over again for all the paperwork and medical exams, passports and visas. The biggest financial challenge will be getting airfare back at the last minute for a decent price! It is so hard when you have no clue how long it will take to get everything done. We will also bring some special formula back for one little guy waiting to be adopted that really needs extra food and nutrition. He is blessed to have intervention. Most do not get it! But still he needs a family desperately! He is listed as Ben on Reecesrainbow if you want to check him out and donate to his grant. Thank you so much!

Rejoice in The Lord always

Having a hard time today with this. Trying my best to Rejoice when there is so much sadness. Sadness for orphans that never get an earthly home and love of a family. Little children that are so capable despite disabilities. Yet they are transferred at the age of 4 and then left in a crib to slowly waste away. My heart breaks. I don't understand. I know life is not fair. I know there is pain and suffering yet I also know more can be done! Please take time to pray today for these children that few see and know about. They are real. They need homes. Adoption is their only way out of a failed system that does not value their life. To God, they are more valuable then we can imagine. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are commanded to care for orphans. It is not a suggestion! We are working on bringing home a few of these children and we are so excited and thankful, although it is heartbreaking when you see of kids that are left behind. Rejoice in The Lord always and again I say rejoice.

Court Dates!

Yes it is true! We finally have court dates! Please keep praying that the judge says yes to adoption! It is never a done deal until after court! Brian will return home after court because there is a 10 day wait until you can get the children out of the orphanage. But court will be at least 1 step closer. In the meantime, we need to put some cribs together and rearrange some bedrooms to make room for these precious children! Sergei still suffers from night terrors. They are much better than when he first got home and would love prayers that he could sleep better at night. When he first got home he only slept an hour or two at a time. Most nights I can get about 4 to 6 hours now. It would be great if this was extended. Not only did he suffer from severe neglect and starvation but also physical abuse. He has burn scars on his head and legs. He cannot speak so we will never know what he endured. Yet this boy radiates joy! Please pray for more families to adopt! It is so worth it. These children are beautiful. They are seen as worthless in their society. Sergei was thrown out with the trash and then treated like garbage yet he is the most precious, beautiful child and now is so loved! Thank you all!