Happy New Year!

Jimmy being funny:)


My boys are such a gift and so full of love! Happy New Year to all of our friends and family! I pray that this new year will bring you hope, love, good health, peace and happiness!

Lucas family Christmas 2009 at OneTrueMedia.com

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mystery solved

Missing: One bowl of semi-sweet baking chocolate


Found! Minus one square of chocolate!:)

MIRACLES

Preparing for the holiday season this year has had an almost magical feeling to it. I'm not sure if I have ever felt quite like this before. The snow is brighter, the house feels warmer, the Christmas tree is prettier.......and Elijah is HOME and getting ready to celebrate his first Christmas with our family.

I am overwhelmed by God's plan and how He has brought Elijah into our family. Elijah has been home since April and each day since then has brought an incredible amount of joy! It has been nothing short of amazing to watch my baby boy grow and learn all about his world.

This time last year, Elijah was a little orphan without a family, spending his days and nights in a Russian orphanage. He was unaware at the time but he was so loved and missed last Christmas. I had met Elijah for the first time in October of 2008 and by the time Christmas came around, my heart was aching terribly to have my youngest child home with us.

Now Elijah is home and I am flooded with emotion as I see all that God has blessed me with. Before I was even born, God knew that these two precious children, Caleb and Elijah would be my sons one day. And by the MIRACLE of God, Caleb and Elijah who were born thousands of miles away on the other side of this world, are home with us ..... according to His Plan.

So as this Christmas approaches, I am praising God for His Miracles!

"Rejoice evermore....In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God."

Thessalonians 5:16, 18 KJV

FREEZE!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Funny

Caleb is always grabbing someone's keys and trying to set their car alarm off before he gets caught. Today I caught him trying to set the alarm off on our truck with Elijah's keys! Too funny!!

Awwwww........

Tonight Caleb helped to decorate the Christmas tree. He was very serious for this one moment while putting his ornament on. So cute! Then it was back to driving his truck into the tree!

Happy Birthday Gibson

My Christmas Angel is 3 years old today.



What should be a happy day for this sweet little boy will probably go unnoticed this year. No family to sing him Happy Birthday, no family to give him a special birthday present, no birthday cake, no balloons......and no one to tell him how happy they are that he was born. Gibson deserves that and so much more! He is a precious gift from God, so why was this precious gift left behind? Because he was born with Down syndrome.



Gibson has one year left before he is transferred to an institution. And the chance of him living beyond his first year of being transferred is only 20%. There is a way to help Gibson. Donate to his grant fund. This fund will help a family with the high costs of an international adoption. Please won't you donate today, even just a little for Gibson?



We love you Gibson and we pray for you everyday! I pray that someone will make you feel happy and LOVED on your special day.



*To donate to Gibson's grant fund, click the ornament below. It will direct you to the Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree. Click to donate and designate your donation to Gibson.*













Thank you and God Bless!



"Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me-God who sent me."

Mark 9:37 MSG

Pure Joy

I love to see the PURE JOY in Caleb's face when he plays in this stuff!:)

Being Thankful

Elijah with his Thanksgiving wreath on his head:)

I am so thankful this Thanksgiving that Elijah is home with us. Last year at this time, I had just got back home from meeting my little peanut. I was missing him so much, and I remember how we prayed for him before dinner. This year, he will be sitting at the table with us, his family, eating his first Thanksgiving dinner. God is Good!!

This Thanksgiving, I am praying for my little Christmas angel, Gibson and all of the other orphans who desperately need a family now. I'm praying that this will be their last Thanksgiving spent alone and that this time next year, they will be home celebrating with their own family.

Now that's a first

I received a call this morning from Caleb's teacher. She told me that he had tossed his shoe and it had landed in the toilet!!:( I have to say, that none of my other boys have done that one! You learn to expect the unexpected with Caleb, and sometimes have a good laugh about it!:) Luckily I had time to run home and pick up Caleb's other shoes and take them to him. When he saw me, he waved, smiled and yelled "Hi Mom!" I sure love that boy!!!!:)

Shaving Cream Sunday

Playing in the shaving cream has become a favorite of Caleb and Elijah's. It's also a fun reward to help make it through the last couple hours of the weekend.:) And in case you haven't guessed, they get very excited to play in it. They both start jumping up and down when I bring it out. Another thing we have been doing that they absolutely love and also get very excited over is when we sing the "L song". It is sung by Ernie and Bert. Their favorite part is toward the end when Ernie is singing "So why not, La,la,la,la,la,la,la,la,la,laaaaaaaa with meeeeeeeee!!" This is also when I snapped these pictures!
If you aren't familiar with it, I posted it for your enjoyment!

So far this week.....

Elijah has finally decided that Tickle Me Elmo is pretty cool!

Aaron's puppy getting acquainted with Caleb


Another awesome creation by Jimmy:)

Caleb's "sticky" situation. See that little loop on top of Caleb's head? It's being held in place by Sticky Tac! You see, Caleb has this thing about putting things in his hair.

A year in the life of Jimmy at OneTrueMedia.com

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My Christmas Angel, Gibson

An updated photo of Gibson. Isn't he precious?



This is Gibson.

He is 3 years old and lives in an orphanage in Eastern Europe.

Although he is completely unaware, his days are numbered.



Why? Because he was born with Down syndrome.



Gibson has less than a year before he will be transferred from the only “home” he has ever known, to an institution. What does this mean for Gibson? It means that he will be traumatized and scared. He will miss the caregivers who have taken care of him each day since he was an infant and wonder where they have gone. It also means that he has an 80% chance of dying (yes, dying) in this institution within the first year of his transfer due to lack of adequate medical care, proper nutrition, love…….



Almost all children with disabilities are placed into orphanages shortly after birth in Eastern Europe. It is extremely rare that a family will keep their disabled child. Sad but true, I am unable to comprehend that, but that is because here in the U.S., our children with disabilities are provided an education, and life saving medical care, and opportunities to reach their full potential in life. Not so, where Gibson lives.



During this holiday season, I am asking you to pray for Gibson (pray that he will be adopted within the next year), pray for his health, and pray that whoever cares for him right now will take the time to hold him, kiss him, and make him smile.



I am also asking that if you are able, to please donate (no matter how small the amount) to Gibson’s grant fund. This is a grant fund that will provide much needed help to a family that may adopt Gibson. International adoption is very expensive, but so well worth it. I can testify to that. My two precious little boys that I have adopted from Russia (whom also have Down syndrome) are truly a BLESSING to me! I can’t imagine my life without them. I treasure every little hug, kiss, smile, giggle……that they give me each day.



Please won’t you consider donating to help Gibson come home?



Just click on the ornament below to go to the Angel Tree. The Angel Tree is Reece's Rainbow annual Christmas fundraiser to raise grant money for children with Down syndrome all over the world that are waiting to be adopted.



To make your donation for Gibson, please include his name.



If you make a donation of $35 or more, you will receive a beautiful ornament with Gibson's picture on it to hang on your Christmas tree.



****And your donation is tax deductible****











Thank you and God Bless you this holiday season!

Amy Lucas

Happy Birthday Jimmy!

Jimmy showing us his Michael Jackson moves!





It's hard to believe that 23 years have passed since Jimmy was born. And WOW, what a ride it's been! Jimmy has been an inspiration to me his entire life.

As I watched him try to do the simplest things like learn how to jump, I was reminded that there are so many things that come naturally for others but Jimmy has to really try hard to succeed at! And he tries hard! I still remember that day he learned how to jump. After jumping on a mini trampoline several hundred times and lifting him up in the air, it was Elmo that finally got Jimmy excited enough to jump! Jimmy was three years old and watching Sesame Street. He was standing behind his little table which he had pushed over to the TV. He had each hand on the table as he watched Sesame Street. Then Elmo came on and Jimmy got so excited that he jumped up and down! Then I jumped up and down, screaming, "You did it!" He jumped a few more times again, while I had tears in my eyes and excitement in my heart! I was so proud of him!

Jimmy I love you for all that you are! You are my Hero and my Inspiration!
Happy Birthday Buddy!!:)

Gibson

This is Gibson.

He is 3 years old and lives in an orphanage in Eastern Europe.

Although he is completely unaware, his days are numbered.



Why? Because he was born with Down syndrome.



Gibson has less than a year before he will be transferred from the only “home” he has ever known, to an institution. What does this mean for Gibson? It means that he will be traumatized and scared. He will miss the caregivers who have taken care of him each day since he was an infant and wonder where they have gone. It also means that he has an 80% chance of dying (yes, dying) in this institution within the first year of his transfer due to lack of adequate medical care, proper nutrition, love…….



Almost all children with disabilities are placed into orphanages shortly after birth in Eastern Europe. It is extremely rare that a family will keep their disabled child. Sad but true, I am unable to comprehend that, but that is because here in the U.S., our children with disabilities are provided an education, and life saving medical care, and opportunities to reach their full potential in life. Not so, where Gibson lives.



During this holiday season, I am asking you to pray for Gibson (pray that he will be adopted within the next year), pray for his health, and pray that whoever cares for him right now will take the time to hold him, kiss him, and make him smile.



I am also asking that if you are able, to please donate (no matter how small the amount) to Gibson’s grant fund. This is a grant fund that will provide much needed help to a family that may adopt Gibson. International adoption is very expensive, but so well worth it. I can testify to that. My two precious little boys that I have adopted from Russia (whom also have Down syndrome) are truly a BLESSING to me! I can’t imagine my life without them. I treasure every little hug, kiss, smile, giggle……that they give me each day.



Please won’t you consider donating to help Gibson come home?



Just click on the ornament below to go to the Angel Tree. The Angel Tree is Reece's Rainbow annual Christmas fundraiser to raise grant money for children with Down syndrome all over the world that are waiting to be adopted.



To make your donation for Gibson, please include his name.



If you make a donation of $35 or more, you will receive a beautiful ornament with Gibson's picture on it to hang on your Christmas tree.



****And your donation is tax deductible****











Thank you and God Bless you this holiday season!

Amy Lucas

Happy Halloween

Who knew.......

you could have this much fun with a little bit of shaving cream and a table? Honestly, I didn't think Elijah would even get near the stuff since he is so hesitant to try anything new. But he loved it! It was so cute to watch him play in it. Of course, if Caleb does it, then it's cool right? Caleb soon began washing himself with it, LOL! Oh well, it made for a little fun on a Sunday afternoon.

Caleb's 6th year

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday Caleb

Caleb is 7 years old! I love you sweet boy! Happy Birthday!


Caleb, Elijah and Nicole waiting for cake.

Happy 7th Birthday "Fudgie"!!

I wonder what this is.....

Nicole giving Caleb a hug.


Nicole looking sweet!

My Aunt Wendy surprised us when she came with her son Dakota. They live in NY.:)

Funny thing is, we couldn't find Jimmy. But this guy showed up.:)