Bowling:)

Elijah giving the thumbs up after knocking down some pins!:)

Jimmy beat us. He's a good bowler!

I just can't get enough of my Caleb's smile! He was having a lot of fun and really did well. No throwing the ball in the other lane, crossing the foul line on purpose, or trying to knock down the bumper bars. YES!!

We need your help!

It is so hard to fundraise for an adoption. There are so many families that need help with their costs. We are all pleading with you to donate anything, no matter how small. One thing I am so looking forward to once I bring Liam home is being able to donate more to the families who are adopting. I donate now, but not what I would like to be able to. I am asking that all of you spread the word on your FB page, blogs, twitter.....to help us bring our children home. There are several of us adopting from a very expensive country right now and we need your help more than anything.

Anytime I feel discouraged, I look at my tiny little boy with the big brown eyes, who is still waiting for his Mommy to come and get him out of there! And that Mommy is me! I will beg, plead and ask you over and over to help us bring Liam home. The truth is the donations are not coming in much at all :(, and we are not that far away with all of our required documents. In fact, we only need one more! Right now we are waiting on USCIS approval. We already have an officer assigned to our file. Please won't you help us?

Please help us bring Liam home!

We have several items in this giveaway. The first one is a beautiful Kay Jeweler's Tennis bracelet. Isn't it pretty?


Next: Two winners will each receive a- $50 Gas card


Next: Three winners will each receive a $25 Target card


Next: An Extra Leaf Poem, written by Charissa Browning


That's SEVEN winners with our new giveaway!
This is how it will work:

Donations:
$10- 2 chances

$25- 6 chances

$50- 14 chances

$100- 30 chances

$150- 50 chances

$200- 75 chances

You can donate to our Reece's Rainbow donation button on the top right corner of the blog (donations made through the RR button are tax deductible) OR you can donate through the Chip-in button below it.

This Giveaway begins today and goes through July 15. That's 6 weeks to raise as much as we can to bring our Liam home! Please won't you help us? Thank you and God Bless!

*Don't forget to leave me a comment on my blog or through FB, email, so I can put your chances in right away.

Quick hello:)

Fundraising for this adoption has been discouraging....but I have Faith that we will raise what we need. Please spread the word of our fundraiser won't you? Details are on my June 16th post below.

I have so much to be thankful for....and we all can't wait to add Liam to our family!

The time is now........

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act." (Proverbs 24:12)

This is why.......

"It is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish." (Matthew 18:14)


"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Luke 18:16)


"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." (John 14:18)


"Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." (Matthew 18:5)

Sometimes....

Sometimes this world can make me feel like there is no hope. Sometimes I think about this adoption and wonder if it can really happen. Am I strong enough to go through all of these emotional ups and downs as I prepare and wait and wait some more for a child that I have never met? This adoption is expensive and there have been times when I have been worried wondering how in the world am I ever going to raise the funds to bring this child home. I catch myself worrying about the process and how slow and difficult it has been in the last year for so many families adopting from this country. I've even caught myself thinking, "What am I doing? Why am I doing this again?"

I quickly get very upset with myself when I start thinking that way.

Because it's not about me.
It's not about me and how I don't want to be inconvenienced.
It's not about me and how I don't want to be broke for the next year as I try to scimp and save every last penny.
It's not about me when I make myself ask over and over again for donations.
It's not about me when I think about what I could be doing if I wasn't trying to adopt this little boy.

It's about Liam and all the other orphans who are helplessly waiting.....

They wait,
while we go to the movies,
while we eat out with friends,
while we put our children on the bus to go to school,
while we watch our favorite shows and eat popcorn with our family,
while we watch our children play at the park,
while we read our children stories,
while we tuck them in at night,
while we go to bed and look forward to the next day.

No, it's not about me.

And I quickly ask Jesus to forgive me, that for even a second, I could think that it is ever about me.

As my little boy waits, I can't sit here and feel hopeless, or worried or tired.

Liam is waiting. His whole life is all about waiting. And the sad part is that almost all of the children born just like him, and put into orphanages and institutions, will wait their entire lives and no one will come.

No, it's not about me.

And really, throughout this adoption process, I have dreamed of having Liam home and watching him play with his brothers. I imagine him sitting in the back seat with Caleb and Elijah. I long for the day that he steps off the school bus in front of our home. I want my little boy home and I LOVE this child so much already!

But the point of the post....is that the process is difficult, it's emotionally difficult. It financially difficult, and it can be overwhelming at times. But I know from experience, that adoption is so worth it....and I will be the one rewarded in the end when Liam finally comes home. I will be the one who's blessed when this little guy calls me Mama....and I can't wait!!!

During those times when I talk with Jesus about this adoption, I am reminded of all of these innocent children. I am reminded that they are depending on us. Their lives, and their futures depend on what we do now, right now.

Last day of school

Today was Caleb and Elijah's last day of school before summer vacation. They both made so much progress this year. I am so proud of them! Caleb is reading now and Elijah knows almost all of his letters and he can write the letter E by himself.:) They both love to go to school. Today I registered Caleb for Hornet Camp. It's a program that is offered by our Community Education. He will go for 6 weeks this summer, M-Th., 8-2pm. They go swimming each morning, go on field trips, make crafts, participate in lifeskill activities and more. He went last year and loved it! Jimmy's program goes year round, so he has a break now and will start up again after the 4th. Whooo, Hoooo! It's SUMMER!:)

Wordless Wednesday:)

LIAM for the Lucas family–Saline, MI

IVAN for the Lucas family–Saline, MI
Saline, MI


Amy is a single Mom to four sons. Amy’s oldest son Jimmy (24) was born with Down syndrome and Amy’s life was changed forever. After Jimmy’s birth, Amy was inspired to become a special education teacher. She is currently a middle school special education teacher, a job that is so rewarding for her. Amy’s next son Ben is 19 and he and Jimmy are very close. When Jimmy turned 18, Amy had the desire to adopt. She had always wanted to have more children and decided now was the time. In 2005, she adopted Caleb 8(then 2 years old) from Russia. Caleb also has Down syndrome and he is the firecracker of the family. He has added so much love and fun to the family, that Amy just had to bring another little one with Ds home. In 2009, Amy adopted Elijah 4 (then 2) from Russia. Raising children with Ds is the best part of Amy’s life. They bring more joy into her life than she could ever have imagined! Even though Amy thought her family was complete, her heart ached for the orphans left behind. And then God spoke to Amy by placing another little boy on her heart, and Amy is more than excited to begin the process again to bring another son home. Although the financial piece of adoption is great, Amy has faith that God will provide.

4/21/11—HOMESTUDY COMPLETE!
6/13/11- Dossier complete, waiting for USCIS fingerprints

DSST Picnic

Today we had our annual Down Syndrome Support Team picnic. It was a hit with the kids as always, even though it was a little on the chilly side. They loved the play structure, clown, bubbles, food, and magic show. Here are some pictures from today.:)

Another item added to our giveaway

This beautiful poem was donated to our giveaway by my friend Charissa Browning. She wrote it herself. (If you click on it, it will enlarge and you can read her beautiful words)




A copy of 'An Extra Leaf' in lustre finish in photo quality paper. Winner will have choice of

4X6

5X7

8X10

Loving my Sensory Seeking kid!

Sensory Processing Disorder is difficulty in the way the brain takes in, organizes and uses sensory information, causing a person to have problems interacting effectively in the everyday environment.

Individuals may be oversensitive to some sensations, wildly overreacting to touch or movement or loss of balance; undersensitive to some sensations, needing crashing or banging or sharp sounds and flavors to register anything; or a combination of both. Sensory integration problems can affect the five traditional senses -- particularly touch and hearing, but also taste, sight and smell -- as well as two additional senses: the vestibular sense, which tells us where our body is in space, and the proprioceptive sense, which tells us what position our body is in. Children with Dysfunction of Sensory Integration may appear hyperactive, oppositional, obsessive-compulsive, or attachment disordered, when in fact they are just reacting to and compensating for their unreliable and unpredictable view of the world.

1. Sensory Seeking Behaviors:


__ seeks out jumping, bumping, and crashing activities

__ stomps feet when walking

__ kicks his/her feet on floor or chair while sitting at desk/table

__ bites or sucks on fingers and/or frequently cracks his/her knuckles

__ loves to be tightly wrapped in many or weighted blankets, especially at bedtime

__ prefers clothes (and belts, hoods, shoelaces) to be as tight as possible

__ loves/seeks out "squishing" activities

__ enjoys bear hugs

__ excessive banging on/with toys and objects

__ loves "roughhousing" and tackling/wrestling games

__ frequently falls on floor intentionally

__ would jump on a trampoline for hours on end

__ grinds his/her teeth throughout the day

__ loves pushing/pulling/dragging objects

__ loves jumping off furniture or from high places

__ frequently hits, bumps or pushes other children

__ chews on pens, straws, shirt sleeves etc.


The sensory craver frequently gets into trouble for his insistent, persistent, tactile explorations. His constant wallowing in messy materials ruins his clothes, trashes the classroom, and repels the people around him. Of course, his motivation is not to infuriate them, but to get the sensory imput his nervous system needs. And of course, most people do not understand his behavior. And because the child is unable to explain his cravings, everyone around him gets upset and think he is being bad.
Caleb is the kid that doesn't cry when water gets in his eyes in the bath tub. In fact , he LOVES it when you pour water over his head. He enjoys throwing objects up into the ceiling fan, and uses my picture frames as targets. He loves to watch them fall and anything else that's on a shelf. He purposely will put his battery operated moving toys on the edge of the table so they will fall off the edge. It's no surprise that his favorite shows are America's Funniest Videos and WIPEOUT!

Sensory integration therapy, performed by occupational therapists, can in some cases eliminate sensory integration problems, and in other cases teach individuals how to cope with those problems in a less disruptive way.

Yep, that's my Caleb.....and I love him! I have been reading the Out of Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A. I've also picked out some really neat activities from her book The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun, to better help Caleb get the sensory input that he needs. In addition, he receives Occupational Therapy at school and she does purposeful activities with him, designed to engage Caleb's senses.

Yes, life is never dull around this house!

The Truck Show

It was 88 degrees today and where did we go? We went with some friends to a Truck show! But it was worth it because the boys had fun. It wasn't long before Jimmy was up on stage providing some entertainment. In the video, the guy refers to Jimmy as Richard. That's because Jimmy told him his name was Richard. Don't ask! It has baffled us for years.:):)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com