A Little Lemonade: Blitzing for Love

Oh how I wish I could blog about Summer activities, or about how Eli peed on our Sofa the other day. My potty trained boy . ..on our sofa. .. did I mention a really new sofa? Yup. ..

I dream of the day when Blog-blitzes are no longer needed. . . where sweet children do not have to know the sadness of an orphanage, the desperation of a mental institution. Of a day when maybe one or two of these awful buildings will be a memorial of past traumas, like Dachau, honoring the sweet babies that once languished in it's corridors. Today is not that day.

There are faces on Reece's Rainbow that stir my soul. There are faces that spur people into action immediately. Pasha was one of them. . .there is another little boy that was listed recently and less than 24 hours later, he had a family committed to him. That is the ultimate goal.. .families. There are faces that are all but ignored. Stories so touching I cannot help but tear up. There is a list of children (longer than my heart can handle) that have been waiting since the start of Reece's Rainbow. ..years and years and years. Passed over and forgotten.

Megan is a sweet 7 year old girl with Down Syndrome. She should not be defined by her diagnosis anymore than someone with Diabetes or Cancer should. She is a sweet girl with no parents. Her prospects are dire, she is living in an adult mental institution, just doing her best to survive. She has over $23k waiting for the family that is lucky enough to step forward for her. For the blessed family that has the love and courage to say "YES!"

Maxim, oh Maxim. With your bright blue eyes, that gleam with mischievousness. How has that light not been dimmed with the passing of time? Day after day, month after month, year after year, you wait to be loved. . .to belong. I cannot wait for the day I see that your family has found you. I will sob happy tears. .. you belong. .I know you do! I wish I was in a position to bring you into my house and my family. Please know you are already at home in my heart! Read his profile. It will melt your heart, AND it says that he loves to clean! What a bonus!

Daniel. Look at the love and affection that is radiating from this child. (He is the sweet blond kiddo.) How can a family NOT want to welcome that kind of love into their daily lives? How is it possible that he has waited 11 years for the love of a family, when he so clearly knows how to love!?!

Dixon, sadly born into a country that believes that certain lives are simply not worth living. Dixon fights on, proving them wrong every single day. . .the heart of a warrior defying the odds and surviving appalling conditions. Waiting in faith and hope that one day his family will find him and fight along side of him. Look at his picture, he looks like he does not know who to trust. .. someone rescue him!

Andruis is a darling little guy. He is 12. He is so much smaller than a 12 year old, so in need of some love and attention. Some healthy home cooked meals will go a long way! I bet it would not take much love and affection to put a smile on his face.

Oh, seriously. How can any heart stand it? Sweet children. Tossed aside. Neglected, starving. Living in places where the sounds and smells would make us want to retch and run? Sweet children that should smell like shampoo and sunshine, confident in the love of their family. Ready to face the day and grow and love, if only given the chance. I understand it is not easy. It is work. Parenthood is not for the faint of heart. Adoption is what God calls of us, for He has adopted us into His amazing family.

Romania 1990 An orphanage for incurables 300x201 Romania, 1990 An orphanage for incurables

This should not be a reality. See their faces? How can it be that they are in these cribs? Why are they sitting on benches surrounded by rocking, moaning, crying people? It does not have to continue. It doesn't! All it takes is one more family rising to the challenge. Believing that a family cannot have too much love. My family and I are working to make sure there is one less child waiting for a family.. .it can be done. It will change the world. I have to believe that.

It changed the life of this one.. ..it is POSSIBLE! It takes a little love and a little courage. . .but it is SO worth it! One does not need to be an expert on special needs to adopt a child. . .it takes love. That is it!