Anticipated News and A Give Away!!

It is with so much joy that we can finally say we are officially so much closer to meeting our son!!!  We got the news last night that our information was officially submitted to the Ministry of Education in Ivan's country!  We have been "invited" to come as early as June 20th.  That will be here before we know it and we cannot wait. 

There are definitely mixed emotions as we know that the hardest part will be leaving him there and returning home to wait for our next court date to bring him home and officially see him become a mini-Kramer!  we have hope that it will go smoothly and he will come home quickly! 

I have many ideas for fundraising floating in my head, but what you will see below has been in the works for a LONG time.

This was supposed to be our first giveaway/fundraising idea.  The time just never seemed right, but now seems so perfect!  Our children all have "lovies" and they all have Korean names...each is very special to our children.  Bunnies By the Bay is the company responsible for their cuddly soft cuteness!  They make the most adorable items for babies.  Everything from lovies to onesies....just so cute and SOFT! 

I had the idea to contact them and just see if they might donate an item for our adoption to use as a giveaway.  Less than a month later, I not only received an adorable little bear to give away but also a lovie for Ivan and a cute little pair of bear slippers!  I was shocked at their generosity.  Come to find out, they support adoption wholeheartedly (yet another reason to love their products)!  They even allowed us to pick the item that they donated.  We chose this bear because a cetain little guy's country's national animal is a bear.  That was when we found out the story behind Bao Bao Bear.  He was adopted by the bunnies!  Seriously...how sweet is that? 

Below you will find pics of this precious bear.  Also, he will be given away with the coziest little bear feet slippers.  I want him to go to a good family:)  He will make someone very happy for sure!

This is what you have to do to bring this cuddly guy home: 

1.  Give in $5 increments using the "Chip-In" on our blog or if you want to go the tax-deductible route, you can go to our family's page here.  For every $5 you give, your name will be entered into a random drawing.

2.  After you give, PLEASE let us know that you gave and how much so we can give you the right amount of chances to win.  We can't always see when people give.

3.  You will be able to give until Sat. June 11th.  That gives you about 2 weeks!  We will announce the winner the day after and will mail your new friend out on that Mon. June 13th.

Would you please consider giving or posting on your blog or FB?  We can't wait for Bao Bao Bear to find a home!!!!

Isn't he adorable?  You will just have to trust me on how soft he is!

Here are his adoption tags:)...so cute!

What a cute face!

Precious bear feet.

So stinkin' cute!

I sure hope he finds a home:):) 

Nikita

Around the time that Derek and I committed to our precious Ivan, this little boy caught our eye as well.  Little blue-eyed Nikita. He is in the same region and most likely in the same orphanage as Ivan.  His blond hair and beautiful blue eyes immediately caught our attention.  I was also taken back by the fact that he did not have a family already!  I love the expression on his sweet little face.  He looks like he is quite the thinker with just a little mischief thrown in for good measure!:) 

There are a few things that he and Ivan in common...however, Nikita is older than Ivan.  Normally, no big deal.  But in Nikita's case, it means he is close to transfer....very close!  He is 2 years older than Ivan which means that he will be 4 years old this September!  Unfortunately 4 is the typical age for transfers to adult institutions!  Can you even imagine this little guy in an institution with adults?  The last statistic I read was that approx. 80% of children die within the first year of transfer because of the conditions. 

My heart cannot even fathom what it would be like if this precious boy is transferred.  Without a clue, he would just wake up one day and be taken away from everything he has ever known at his baby house.  The thought is just too much to take really! 

The thing that makes me really sad is that I found out that not one person ever, not EVEN one, has ever inquired about adopting him!!!  WHY?!?!!!!  I just don't get it!  The other super hard thing is that he has a whopping grand total of $18 in his adoption grant...it brings me to tears!

All of these reasons lead us to become his "warrior" through Reece's Rainbow.  So while you will be hearing about how to pray for us and for Ivan, you will also hear about Nikita!  When we travel for the first time, we are going to attempt to meet him, which might not happen, but we will try.  We are hoping to get some additonal photos and info.  I am going to post his RR info below.  Keep in mind that his "laundry list" of diagnoses doesn't mean a whole lot.  Some of the terms in his country don't even really exist.  Medical info from Eastern Europe isn't exactly highly trusted as far as orphans go.

If you are visiting our blog for the 100th time or the first, this is what I would love for you to do.  Pray that Nikita's family would step forward!!!  Oh how I beg you to pray this!  I have seen it happen over and over...the people of God begin praying and families come out of nowhere!  His family is somewhere....I just know it.  It may be someone reading now.  If you feel something stirring, pray hard for wisdom, push the what-ifs and fears out of your mind, and seek the Lord's will.  Derek and I definitely had many apprehensions and many talks about what life will be like with Ivan.  We are certain that it will not be easy and that it WILL stretch us and that we will be far from our comfort zone and schedules and routines, but ultimately it came down to obedience! Period!  And the thought of Ivan without a family in exchange for us going about the ease of our daily lives....well, there was just no question.  So, I ask you to boldy pray for Nikita's mommy and daddy....I know they are out there!

Finally, I ask that you would give!  Yes I am being bold in asking, without much tact.:)  I am asking that you would give $5!!!  That's it! No more.  If you feel lead to do more then please give away!!:)  But what I am pleading with you is to give $5!!!  It isn't much for most of us.  In fact, I don't think most of us would miss it.  I think that for most of us it is the time it takes to go to RR and log into PayPal!.  And then if you don't have an account already, the temptation is there to just think it is sort of a hassle and maybe you will just promise yourself you will do it later.  I ask you to please take about 10 minutes and $5 and do this! Give by going HERE!!!!  Click on the little yellow Donate box.

I am tearing up as I write this because as I sit here, our son could be in the same room with Nikita and no one is coming for him.  By God's grace, Ivan will come home, in the hopefully near future, and Nikita will wait.  Over and over I have witnessed children's grants rise and then families step forward because they suddenly realize the money can be raised and it isn't the most important aspect of adoption.  I would love for money to not be a barrier at all for Nikita's family coming for him! 

I beg you to pray and give....go right now and do it!  I promise that as his grant soars, you will feel the most amazing joy deep within your soul...and all it takes is 5 bucks and a little time!

Pray for Nikita tonight!  It is tomorrow morning already for him...pray that someone greets his sweet sleepy face with a kiss and a hug and that somehow he feels our prayers!  Thank you in advance!:)  And please repost this to your blogs and FB...please, please!!!!

Nikita's info from RR:

Boy, Born September 2, 2007
Nikita is a beautiful little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.  He was born at 32 weeks to an alcoholic and malnourished mother   He needs a mama who will really take care of him now!  FULL MEDICAL RECORDS AVAILABLE, but his primary diagnoses are:  Epilepsy with frequent polymorphic attacks. Delayed speech and psycho-motor development. MAAS. Functional cardiopathy. Mild esotropia. Dysfunction of hepatobiliary system. Contracture of the hip joints.

Sweet Stella....

is 10 months old today!!!! We love her more and more everday. What a precious little gift of sweetness and laughter she is! We love you Stella Grace!!!

Still Here...

Hard to believe, but we still exist! Lots to report, this is just a teaser...

Emily is still growing!

Timothy is still Superman!

Stella is still just as sweet as sugar!

And there is still lots of love to go around!

Stay Tuned...We're officially back!!!