An update on Victoria

Oh that sweet doll... Here is an update from Carrington's Courage Blog:

Latest on Victoria

I had a chance to speak with Catherine this evening and she sure sounded exhausted. She was overjoyed at the meals, snacks, items, and volunteers that have come forward to help her and her family. Little Victoria is sitting with Tiffany tonight getting lots of lovins as Mommy went home to try and get some rest.
As of yesterday the doctors still were not addressing Catherine's concerns about refeeding so we was most adamant about certain things getting done. Her and I shared a lot of information, not that I am a doctor but having just gone through this with a most wonderful medical staff, and we talked about how our little ones coming home from these places are not like their peers here in the U.S.A. and need special consideration. Today the doctors agreed to put in a NG tube this evening to help Victoria with the weight loss she is experiencing. The speech gal is more focused on getting Victoria to drink with a cup, try different textured foods, etc. so Catherine will see if she can get someone else to help her. Victoria's MRI showed that her brain had shrunk do to malnutrition. Carrington also had the same results. This is something that can totally be prevented and should be the very reason we all storm Heaven with our prayers for these people to change their ways of treating special needs children. Also, Victoria is sporting some new hand braces in attempt to help her hands stretch out a bit, The antiobiotics for her double ear infection were started yesterday so Catherine hopes to see some improvement real soon.
Right now Catherine has asked me to thank each and everyone of you who have offered your prayers, meals, child care, donations and just love to sweet little Victoria and the rest of the family. She still says she cannot believe that they are receiving such kindness. Does anyone in the area have a carrier maybe called an ERGO? that she would be able to carry Francesca in? She is sensing that Francsca is struggling to bond so she is hoping this may help. It does need to have padding in it. She would be happy to borrow it if that would be okay.
Tomorrow Catherine is going to try and send some pictures so you all can see what a sweet angel you all are helping and praying for.

Have you seen the Chip in??? WOW, with almost a month before it ends 89% of what a few blogger friends wanted to do for this family is in the bank! I just gush thinking about the love of Christ floating through cyberville to help a family they may not even know personally... (like me). Thank you friends who have helped. Your reward is in heaven.

A celebration....

I am thrilled to say I have followed along as some of these little ones were united with their families.... SO.Very.Amazing! May you have many more in the next 5 years Reece's Rainbow!

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Prayers needed...

Oh please friends, please pray for this little girl. Her name is Victoria and she came home from an Eastern Europe orphanage and upon landing she went straight to the Children's Hospital in Atlanta. She suffers from arthrogryposis but her main problems right now is she is malnurished and dehydrated.

This has happened before to another little sweetheart coming home... Carrington. She was able to get the food and hydration she needed and is happy at home with her family. Please pray that Victoria will get what she needs. Carrington's Courage  is trying to get people to help this family in the Atlanta area. She is at the hospital with all her children to make sure Victoria get the help she needs. She could use some baby sitting and meals if you or someone you know are in the Atlanta area. Details are on that blog.

Many people are asking for your prayers, we know that prayer is powerful and this sweet girl needs yours.

Also, you can help them with this chip in: But mostly just pray for this precious girl...

I have been thinking about this little guy that I am advocating for here on this ole bloggy.... Bennett. Let me tell you a story about why I want to help him...
I have been dreaming of adopting an orphan for my whole life, I think. Like some girls dream of having children, I dreamed of adopting children. I always wanted children, just not the regular way ;) Well life happened and God, in his mercy and amazing plan decided different. I am mother to 3.5 amazing kids, .5 is the one in the oven often kicking me while I blog. I have had them all the regular way...biologically. As a matter of fact, in August of 2010, I found RR through a friend of a friend that had a yard/bake sale to bring a precious daughter home. I just knew God was about to send us on a road toward adoption... Um, no... God had a different plan and I ended up pregnant. Ok, God, your will, not mine. But it still did not change that I loved these sweet children and soon I was following a handful of blogs. One sweet girl that caught my eye early on was "Lesia", oh in her referral picture she had these cute "pumpkin eyes" like my oldest and I was drawn to her, I found out she had a family and I started following that blog to see her get a family. That led to another blog and another.
Now, move forward to a few weeks ago.This is where my advocacy comes in... I saw on a blog that a couple was in Eastern Europe going through the process to get their daughter. They went to her orphanage and found out she had a best friend, an orphan boy and they had been together most of their life. They decided to see what they could do about adopting him as well. Read their blog here for all the amazing details. They start to talk about bringing him home as well and pray. They knew it would cost more for all the things they needed to do to get him home, tickets, documents, court fees, just stuff that costs money. Anyway, in their journey to bring him home, they looked at his grant fund and in it was just the amount of money they would need to cover all the extra costs. Did you read that? All the money that they would need to cover his costs was in his account at Reece's Rainbow. There, waiting for him to find a family, waiting for his family to use, waiting for this miracle. Now a precious little boy gets to go home to a family with his friend. He gets to stay with his best friend and continue to live as brother and sister... forever. A forever family.
So that is why I have taken on the challenge to be Bennett's warrior. Because someone may feel their heart called to him, they may see his need for a family, and there in his account at RR may be just what they need to help bring him home, to a family.

Now here it is again... my big button! Click it and donate to Bennett's fund... A little gift for his mom and dad... I am praying for them too, that they will find him soon. Whoever they are, where ever they are. God knows and I am praying!


Grab This!

Be sure to right click on the box below and then select all.

<center><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/bennett-3g"><img width="100%" src="http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc502/ReecesRainbow/bennett555warrior.png"></a><br><a href="http://smorespohrs.blogspot.com/">Grab This!</a><br></center>

I got a button!

Grab This!

Be sure to right click on the box below and then select all.

<center><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/bennett-3g"><img width="100%" src="http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc502/ReecesRainbow/bennett555warrior.png"></a><br><a href="http://smorespohrs.blogspot.com/">Grab This!</a><br></center>

See my pretty button? I am a Warrior and I got the button to prove it! Hehe... But more than anything... Help me help him... Isn't he the cutest?

I Am A Warrior...

For this sweet little boy on the Reece's Rainbow site.

As you can probably tell, he is blessed with an additional chromosome. You may know it as Down Syndrome. I wish I had more information about him and his current medical condition but I do not.

He is in an orphanage, with many other children. They are often in baby houses and the caregivers spend much time with them. They are able to love them, hold them, let them play. The problem is after about the age of 5yo many are sent to institutions. These places are not known for their loving and nurturing. As a matter of fact, special needs children are often given minimal contact with anyone. They are changed at regimented times. If they are not able to walk, they are often stuck in a crib all day long. Many are able to get around but require such supervision that they are still kept in their cribs for their own safety. They are starved for attention, food is rationed, and they start with self stimulation... like head banging, wringing of hands, biting themselves, anything to feel alive, to feel some kind of touch. All of this just hurts me so. Which is why I want to advocate for this young fellow.

This is a child that needs a mom and dad. As his warrior, I am committed to raise money for his future family. We have considered adoption and the costs are a great weight. I hope to help raise money so that when his parents see him on Reece's Rainbow, they will commit to him without worry or fear of having to come up with all the $ to bring him home. I just want to add a few dollars to his fund to make it all easier. Would you please pray about joining with me?

It's not about me...

I know I haven't blogged about me or my family. I really don't feel worthy. I have an amazing husband, I love him more each and every minute. I have 3 beautiful, healthy, happy children and one little wiggly in my womb. I have no needs, at least not really. I just don't feel like I am that important right now...
But this is what I think is important...
God's Word... James 1:27 Religion that pleases God the Father must be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this world make you evil.
John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Orphans are important to God and they are important to me. My heart aches for those without a family. Can you look at your children and think it is ok for them to grow up in daycare 24/7? Where the caregivers are paid and although they may love and enjoy your children, they still go home and someone else cares for your child. A place where cribs are lined up all over a room and those with special needs like a heart defect are lying beside a special needs child that is lacking stimulation so she bangs her head on her crib all night. Imagine that after the age of 5 your child is no longer eligible to be with a family and must live in those conditions until they are 14 and then they are sent to live as adults on the streets with no instruction on how to survive or work. Worse yet, your child is put into a institution where they are fed a ration of food, it may be enough to survive, it may not. In the case of it may not...you child will die of starvation, albeit very slowly. Could you just sit back and hope someone else helps your child, God's child? Can you? I cannot. I read blogs every day about children that are being redeemed, bought for a price to have freedom and a family. (Sound familiar?) They have someone coming for them, not because they are worthy or able to get to them, but because their rescuers want to give them hope and a future. Adoption is so Biblical that I really cannot see where anyone could say no, but that is me. I am so very glad that Jesus didn't say no, or decide I wasn't worth the possible trials.
I have been drawn to a special site since August of last year. It's called Reece's Rainbow. It is a site full of special needs children needing a family. Most are in countries that do not value life the way Americans act like they do. These children are abandoned because of their disability. Their society thinks different means unable, unworthy of life, not worth the time. They have been around for 5 years and have helped more than 500 Down Syndrome and other special needs children find a family. Amazing! 500+ people are no longer alone in this world. 500+ children are no longer fatherless. Oh praise Jesus for that!
I have a list of blogs I keep up with, it must be a cyber mile long, but I have been praying for so many children to be ransomed and redeemed by families across the country. Right now I have a few that are really on my heart...The Burger Family at It's a Wonderful Life ... They are about to leave to rescue Brian a sweet DS boy in Eastern Europe. They are needing about $3000 for the final part of their operation. I can't give much but even what I can give, I know it helps! How about a little pitch in of $10,$25, $50, even just a mere $5 would help.


Another thing I have learned through my heart yearning to adopt is that there are MANY children that never make it home to their families. Can you imagine? They are chosen, being prepared for.... then the unthinkable message comes that they have lost their battle with whatever their issue was. Many children have heart defects that need surgery ASAP and they still have to wait on their mommy and daddy to get them, bring them to this country and get them healthy enough to have surgery... the one that could save their life. How utterly heart breaking for a child to die an orphan with no mommy or daddy to be beside them. Well there is a place in China, it is a special orphanage, that take those fragile children needing surgery and provide it. It's called New Day Foster Home. They take donations and build the funds for these precious children to have their much needed surgeries. A group of bloggers and adoption advocates have decided to have a little fund raiser all for the New Day foster home. Won't you chip in here as well? Did I mention that all donations up to $5000 will be matched? It will be like you are giving double!
More important that any money is prayer. I know these families and children need the financial help but more than that, they need prayer warriors. Won't you just pray for Brian's family to get him soon, that they will have all the funds needed, and that they will find a favorable condition in their son's country. Pray that the New Day Foster Home would be flooded with the needed funds for these children to get their life saving surgeries before time runs out.