A 7 Day Blitz for Kirill

The Reece's Rainbow adoption community was shaken to it's core last month when one of our families was denied permission to adopt a little boy they want and love.  They've already made two trips overseas.  The most recent trip, they'd planned to bring him home for good.  But they came home without him.  They're appealing the ruling, and they need our help.  They've asked for prayers, which they still want and need.  They have not asked for money.  But they have incurred substantial fees and other financial strains from the appeal and continued fight to get their son.  Along with fellow adoptive moms Bethany, Renee, Charissa and McKenna, I am helping to spread the word and raise funds for this special family through a one-time fundraiser:  A 7 Day Blitz for Kirill.  Thank you so much for reading and helping however you can.  


Here's the post from Bethany's blog with all the specifics:


On March 17, 2011, the Davis family sat in a Russian courtroom and listened as the judge rejected their plea to adopt Kirill, an orphan with Down syndrome. {From the Davis family blog}:  "The judge said, “Your application to adopt is rejected.” The basis given was that Kirill was “not socially adaptable” due to his “medical condition” and he was better off in an institution than in a home with a family. As the judge read her ruling, she stated several times that we were a good family, that we met all the criteria to adopt a child, but that she would not approve our adoption because Kirill has Down syndrome. She told us that we could adopt another child, because legally our application had no problems according to Russian adoption law. She said she would approve our adoption for a “typical” child, but not this child. Why? The only reason? Because he has Down syndrome."


Being an adoptive mother to a Russian orphan with Down syndrome, I could expand on the million-and-one reasons Tesney and Greg's rejected application to adopt has deeply affected me. But that is not what is important.  


What is important is that they are appealing the judge's ruling to the Supreme Court of Moscow and they need our help.


The Davis family has been through so much already... and now they have been slammed with astronomical unforeseen financial hurdles in bringing Kirill home. In order to just begin the process of filing their appeal, they had to pay $2,500. They have been told that they should plan to attend the Supreme Court hearing, which is a trip to Russia they never planned to have to make... add $3,000 - $4,000. If the Supreme Court overturns the ruling, they will have to return home and wait for a date to travel to Kirill's region to reappear before the original judge in their case... add $4,000 - $5,000. Assuming everything goes as planned, they will remain in country for the 10 day waiting period and finalization of their adoption... add $3,000 - $3,500.


So how can you help? A few of us adoptive mommy bloggers have put our heads together to create a 7 day blitz for Kirill.

::

Our first prize...

Canon EOS Rebel XS Digital SLR camera

donated by Lisa, Charissa, McKenna, Renee and Bethany
or
$500 gift certificate to B&H Photo

Read all about the camera here.


And... a lifetime membership to ClickinMoms. An online haven of all things photography... tips and tutorials on everything from how to use your camera to editing your images to starting a photography business.

:::

Our second prize...

Cirque

by Lisa Tarkett Reed

Approximate Gallery Value $3,400

• recently juried into the FMH Crestwood Gallery for the Celebration exhibition
• completed in 2010
  
• oil on canvas
• measures 3 feet by 4 feet

Oil paintings by regional artist, Lisa Tarkett Reed, celebrate and explore the relationships and patterns in nature. Reed’s paintings are inspired by her growing collection of natural objects. Flowers, crystals, rocks, leaves, shells and bones, collected by Reed over decades, provide points of departure in her work. As Reed layers line, shape and color, she discovers and plays with the geometry, relationships, and patterns inherent in organic forms.
 
In October 2011, Reed will have a solo exhibition at The Artists’ Gallery in Frederick, MD. Currently, Reed has a solo exhibition at Les Idees Gallery, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Reed has had solo exhibitions at the Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Gallery Lascaux, Gallery 937 and View from Zenith Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as well as at Shenandoah University, Leesburg, Virginia, Figure Five Gallery, San Francisco, California and the Walker Fine Arts Center Gallery at Patrick Henry Community College, Roanoke, Virginia. Reed has shown her work in group exhibitions at the Cheltenham Center for the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mary Condon Hodgson Gallery at Frederick Community College, Frederick, Maryland, The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center, Frederick, Maryland, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, New York, the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts, New Castle, Pennsylvania.

Reed has taught drawing and painting for over fifteen years in regional art centers in Maryland, Pittsburgh and Virginia and at private schools in Brooklyn and Virginia.
 
Reed earned a BFA in painting from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and studied painting in Rome, Italy as part of the Temple University Abroad Program. Reed earned an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, California.

In 2009, Reed founded Sister MamaCita, a Mothers’ Cooperative in the Arts and sister group to the Philadelphia based MamaCita, a Mothers’ Cooperative in the Arts founded by Melissa Tevere in 2005.

::

Our third prize...


Custom blog makeover (by Bethany).

You will get...

• custom header
• custom background
• custom signature and sidebar headers
• installation of pages
• installation of facebook/twitter/rss feed widgets
• and more!

::

Our fourth prize...

UltraHD Flip video camera.
donated by Joanne Charland, momma to Vinnie (a T21 friend)

Read all about the video camera here.

::

Our fifth prize...

Organic Bloom Frame

by Lindsey Smith Photography

 

• measures 16" x 20"
• choose from a variety of styles and color combinations

:::
Our sixth prize...

Schmetterlingszauber 

(Three Little Butterflies)

hardcover book, signed by Conny Wenk

"Schmetterlingszauber is a book about the wonderful friendship of three beautiful little girls. Although they are colorful and unique like little butterflies, they have many more things in common than they don't.

They love spending lots of time together, whether they hang out at home or on the playground having fun galore. Sometimes they even have picnics on a beautiful meadow. They love dressing up like little princesses, polishing their nails, having little "imitation" tattoos, singing and dancing, telling bedtime stories to each other and of course, jumping on the bed.

They can be really wild ... but to me they are just three little butterflies."

:::

Our seventh prize...

(3) handmade hats.

donated by Heather Randlett, momma to Bridget (a T21 friend)

1. Newborn/Baby Beanie-Style Hat... This crocheted baby beanie is crafted with a soft cotton/bamboo blend yarn, adorned with a shabby chic crocheted flower. Perfect for cute newborn baby pictures.


2.  Women's Beanie-Style Hat... This crocheted beanie-style hat is crafted with a super soft alpaca/acrylic blend yarn, with 3 beautiful colors - celery green, mocha, and cream.


3.  Women's Ski-Style Hat... This knitted snug-fitting ski-style hat is crafted with a soft acrylic/wool blend yarn in a rich cranberry color.

**All are hand wash only, lay flat to dry.

:::

Rules...

1) Every $10 donation to Kirill will earn you an entry into the drawing for one of the prizes.
2) Prizes cannot be shipped overseas, unless shipping is paid for by prize winner (painting may be excluded).
3) Donations will be accepted through Monday, April 11th.
4) Winners will be announced Tuesday, April 12th.

Please blog it. Please facebook it. Please tweet it. Please share.

We have a lot of love to give and $15,000 is nothing when compared to the army standing behind the Davis family.

*If things do not go as planned for the Davis family, any leftover funds will be properly allocated in support of international adoption of children with Down syndrome.

Meet the Gibson's

...Antonio's family :)!

They want everyone to know how grateful they are for the people who have kept their little boy close at heart, and that "This journey is just not about us - it's about Christ in us...He is the only way this is possible."

Please visit their blog to learn more about Jake and Ashley and their journey to Antonio (who'll be known as Carter Benjamin), and to shower them with love and good wishes.

Found

Exciting news...my little Antonio has a family :)!! 

Well, he's not really my Antonio, but there's a special place in my heart for this little guy and I am so excited to find out who has come forward for him!

Thank you, so much, to everyone who has been praying for him, has already donated to his fund or helped to spread the word about him.

Check back for details on his family, and to hear more about how you can help them get to him sooner ;).

Sleep tight tonight, little one. You are in the hearts of many and will know the love of a family--your family--soon...

Back from the Beach

Does anyone notice anything different at the top of this blog? It's a new header picture taken while on vacation last week :).

And there are many more where that came from. Somehow, I ended up with over 600 pictures. Don't worry, I won't post them all here! But how am I going to choose ;)?

Both girls LOVED the beach. We all had a wonderful time, with lots of sun, sand, laughter and all the good things we could cram into a week-and-a-half at the beach.

I have so many things to write about, with so much going on in our Down syndrome and adoption communities.

If I can carve out the time, I plan to write a lot this month, because I'll also be advocating for Antonio, as well as featuring several posts here which will look back at our trip to Ukraine in April of last year to get Alina. (Our trip was such a whirlwind, that I didn't ever get the chance to post many of our pictures, or to share some of the more interesting and colorful details and observations from our journey overseas. Please leave a comment below if there's anything specific you'd like for me to cover.)

March is nearly over. Welcome Spring!

Birthday in Review

Thank you, so much, to everyone for the sweet birthday wishes for Alina :)!  

She was greeted last Thursday morning by her very own Mama & Papa and loving siblings, who were genuinely excited to celebrate her that day.  She LOVED her birthday--everything about it--and was beaming from the moment she got up. 

I went in to read to the preschool class that morning and to take a small birthday surprise for her classmates.  She was excited to see me, and ran right over with a huge smile to give me a hug.  She sat down in her spot when I began reading, but ended up standing right beside me as I finished the book.  

While the class sang to Alina, she looked around at each and every face in the group.  She was elated.  She honestly smiled and clapped the whole time.  And she got to wear a special "Birthday crown" handmade by her teacher (shown below).  It was a wonderful start to the day.

Alina received phone calls, cards and gifts from out-of-town family, and had her "special" birthday pizza dinner and dessert on Thursday.  On Friday, our extended family in town came over to celebrate, and she had more birthday fun and treats.

She truly enjoyed every.single.thing about her birthday--cards (she looked closely at each card), balloons, phone calls, gifts (she liked every gift, even the tissue paper in the gifts), singing, cake...all of it.  She really seemed to linger on every detail.  

It brings tears to my eyes, thinking about this little girl and how much her life has changed.

Celebrating Alina's fourth birthday, and her arrival into our lives, was more fun than any of us could have imagined.  

Four

Four years ago today, a beautiful little girl was born in a quaint and picturesque town along the Dneiper river in southeastern Ukraine.  

What should have been a day full of celebration for her parents quickly became a day full of sadness.  Tears of happiness became tears of grief.  

The little girl they waited for, and hoped for, had arrived.  But she was not the little girl they'd anticipated.  The child they had envisioned was not the child placed in their arms.  

The little girl they greeted that day was not a child they could welcome into their lives.  As precious as she was, she could not stay with them.  She had Down syndrome.  And in Eastern European society, there was no place for her.  

There were no supports for parents raising a child with Down syndrome.  And the stigma of having a child who is different, who is disabled...well, there just wasn't an option.  They had to give her up.  They handed their daughter to a social worker, who made arrangements to place the little girl in the local orphanage.  

Half a world away, another family also touched by Down syndrome, spent that day just as they would spend any other day.  They'd already had their day to be sad about Down syndrome and were fortunate to live in a part of the world where there was more support for children and families living with the diagnosis.  They'd already seen that disability is a matter of perspective, and that all people are the same within.

They had no idea that this little girl was born that day, that she was now alone in the world, or that she would one day play a huge role in their lives.

So the little girl waited, for three whole years, for someone to find her and claim her as their own.    

For over a thousand days, not one single person inquired about her.  But she survived anyway, in the care of her nurses.  Not having a family--or anything else--of her own would not dampen her zest for life, or her desire to learn and grow.

She thrived, despite her circumstances.  And that family half a world away, who had already made peace with Down syndrome, well, they found her.  And they ran to her, and they made her their own...

Today, as Alina turns four, she'll be celebrating her birthday with presents, balloons and Dora decorations.  She'll be sharing a birthday treat with her preschool classmates and her mama will come in and read to the class.  She'll have a special birthday dinner with some of her favorite foods--pizza, salad and berries, followed by ice cream cones dipped in rainbow sprinkles.  She will be surrounded by people who love her.

If she were still in the orphanage, today would have been a very different day for her.  The paperwork would have been ready for Alina's transfer from the relative safety and security of her baby home to a remote, regional mental institution.  I'm in tears typing that sentence.  I can begin to process it, but can't even come close to reconciling that thought in my mind.

This treasure locked away for life, this precious child...what did she ever do to warrant being placed in an asylum?  How did we find her, and what did we do to deserve her?

Alina is purposeful and intuitive.  There's a fire--and a fighter's spirit--underneath her curious, active and happy-go-lucky exterior.  She's sharp, an excellent problem solver with a strong memory, and can entertain herself for hours.  She's easily amused, quick to love and has a heart of gold.

She is an absolute gem.  What would we do without her?

Oh Lina, Happy Birthday, little love.  You are treasured beyond words...

* * *

When we found Alina, there were two other children who caught our eyes.  One was Yana, who will soon be going home to her forever family.  The other is Antonio, who is still waiting.  (We initially donated for four children, but the pictures of the two little boys were actually pictures of the same child at different ages...we must really have loved Antonio!)  This precious little guy just melts my heart.  All of the children with Down syndrome in his groupa have found families.  I can't imagine why he is still waiting for his!

Antonio - baby picture

Antonio - around 1 year old

Antonio - 2 1/2 years old

We would welcome donations to Antonio's grant fund in honor of Alina's birthday.  I am going to do whatever I can to find him a home, too.  Please, if you are considering Antonio, or if you would like to inquire about him, contact Andrea at Reece's Rainbow today.  I know parents who have been to this orphanage and would be willing to share tips and information about it, and would also be willing to share their impressions of Antonio.  This little boy will be a wonderful addition to one lucky family :)!

You Are the Flower of the Family

...and you bloomed :).

Sibling Love--Emmy's Birthday Card for Alina

Alina's fourth birthday is tomorrow.  I have new pictures to post, and thoughts to share.  Tune in tomorrow for a celebration of ALINA.

Heard Recently Around Our House

Bridget, when she hears the microwave beep: “Mommy! Poppy ready!” (your coffee is ready!) “Oh, what that ‘mell?  'Mell like poppy. ‘Mell good!” (What’s that smell?  It smells like coffee. It smells good!)

Bridget, after seeing butterflies on the potty seat: “Butterflies fly...sky ” (flapping arms, looking upward) “Angels fly!”

Me: “I don’t want to see anyone naked in our family room. And I am especially talking to anyone who is three or four!” (The three and four year olds must not have been listening.)

Bridget (heard often): 

“Not cool!” 

“No way!”

“Stop it!”

“Oh, you’re right!”

“Oh, that is soooo silly!”

“Oh, ache you!” (Oh, thank you!)

"No Happy"

Me: "Bridget, would you like something to eat?"  

Bridget: "Oh! Ache you, mommy! Yes, a piece a cake!!"



Me:  "Bridget, what are you doing?" (after I saw that Little Bear had ended and she was still glued to the t.v.).  

Bridget:  “I watchin’ Pungebobs!" (Spongebob). "I wike it!"

(Bridget and Alina don't watch Spongebob.  But obviously, Bridget knows who that is!) 

Sisters, Daughters, Granddaughters, Cousins, Nieces, Neighbors, Friends...

People.  Bridget and Alina are people. They are not worth less because they happen to have a diagnosis which includes intellectual disability.  

They have worth, and dignity, and deserve as much as anyone else, to be treated with RESPECT.

Let's make RESPECT the new R-word.

Important Reading: 

R-Word - Spread the Word

 Ellen's post on Love that Max

Thoughts from Larkin's Mom

A Day in the Life - Photo

Love for Yana & Family...The Winners!

We have winners (drawn by random.org) and I am excited to announce them!

**Thank you to everyone who donated, blogged or posted about this giveaway on facebook.**

And thank you, so much, to everyone who already follows our blog or is newly following (6 out of the 8 winners donated and left comments about following...which is important because it helps me to advocate more broadly)!  

I am happy to announce the following prize winners (please send me an email --lpeele@columbus.rr.com--with your mailing address!)...Congratulations to:

  

Xbox 360 Kinect:  250 GB Kinect Bundle

Comment #68 Faith said...following your blog

8gb iPod Nano (blue) plus a $25 iTunes gift card

Comment #3 Rhonda said...Donated to a great cause...Hope to see the fund grow!

$25 Starbucks gift card...because everything is better with coffee :)

Comment #36 cathy said...not sure...have been following you, Lisa & just donated again...this time from my mom;) xoxo cathy

One Pair of Skatezz...because it is good to get up and move :)!

Comment #17 Bambi said...Already a long time follower!

Bumble Bags Hannah and Haley Snack Bags in Blue Latte  

from The Polkadot Platypus

(HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAURIE!)

Comment #39 Laurie said...Thanks for all that you do, Lisa : )  Donated to sweet Yana and am now following YOU : )!! xoxo

You Are Loved Necklace from Helen Winnemore Craft

Comment #64 c.held.68@gmail.com said...Donated. Once again, I'm reminded of all the good in this world by your actions!

Special Needs Book Bundle, Signed Copies:  

Schuyler's Monster and Road Map to Holland 

Comment #38 Helene Ready said...Hello just wanted to let you know that I have donated for this beautiful little girl and to please enter me in the draw :) thanks

Stampin' Up! Stamp Set and Set of Homemade Cards

Comment #12 To Love Endlessly said...now I'm following you too. :-)

For Alina

I've posted this before, but it has new meaning now...since we have our blonde, blue-eyed girl.  


Our Fragile Emissary
by Nancy Tupper Ling

With modern screening and such
they wonder why
you're here, on this earth
in our home
and in our arms,
after all, anyone
with any sense would have resolved
this problem of you
pre-birth, pre pain.

Blonde Beauty,
tiny as you are,
you catch their stares,
strangers' second glances
into tender baby blues.
And your young
sweet ears hear whisperings
("Down's," "defects")
words dropped loosely
at extra-chromosomed girls.

With such stinging receptions
how we long to shelter you,
surround you; keep your
gentle smiles to ourselves.
Instead, we hold you
up, for others to see;
let you, our fragile emissary
speak to an imperfect world.