Where We Are In the Process, And A Few Thoughts About Brock

"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)

So, we had to do add some documentation to our home study, which is not out of the ordinary from what I understand, BUT it has put a delay in our getting our Official, certified write up! The good news is that the draft has been reviewed by our agency, and it is now in Brock’s country being reviewed by the facilitator there. What is wonderful about our agency sending it there to be reviewed first is that she knows what the judge in the region is looking for, so that way, we can make sure that everything is perfect and will be far less likely to have to do any updates or add any documentation when it is time for court! We are looking to have it in our hands by the end of the week! After that, we will send that, along with some other documents into Immigration (USCIS) for them to approve us to adopt from Brock’s country. While we are waiting on that, we will be compiling more documents for our registration dossier to send to the Powers That Be in Brock’s country so they can register us in country in order to receive our travel date to finally meet our little man! Oh my, I cannot wait to get my arms around him!

This is where we need loads of help and prayers everyone! When we send in our Dossier, literally $14,500 will have to go along with it! Then we will still have to buy visas, plane tickets, hotel and meals! We have a plan put in place as far as savings and such goes, but we also have Faith that God will help us along with the rest! I truly believe the saying “If God brings you to it, He will get you through it.” I do believe that He put us on this journey to finish it! Please consider our Beach Giveaway fundraiser; if that does not interest you, and you would still like to help we will be launching some new fundraisers throughout the next few months! Prayers for us in this process and our little guy are so greatly appreciated! Also, you can tell others about our story! You never know who you will inspire to help save a life, whether it is Brock’s or another waiting child.

Beautiful Beach in Galveston!!!!

On another topic, my littlest was sick yesterday. As I doted upon her, holding her, rocking her, rubbing her back, rubbing her down with a cool cloth while her fever was high, I let my thoughts slip away to Brock. I wondered if he gets held and rocked and really taken care of when he is sick. Sadly, I doubt it. Babies in orphanages are usually left alone in cribs for long periods of time, so they develop ways to sooth themselves and keep themselves entertained. They will rock themselves when they need soothing and play with their fingers and/or toes when they need to be entertained. Brock will likely display these behaviors when he gets home. Friends, I cannot wait to show him that he does not have to do that anymore! Also because he has not had a consistent care giver, he may also have trouble realizing that Michael and I are now THE go-to people when he needs something or may think that ANY adult he sees will help, which is not exactly a good thing either. Bonding comes naturally to babies who have loving parents, but for Brock, well, he was simply never given that chance! All this breaks my heart, but we feel we have enough love in our hearts and have also educated ourselves on how to help him learn to trust us and to facilitate that bonding.

My apologies for the sadness, but I feel like I should share the realities of his life with you all. I know that one day these posts will be filled with happy pictures of a little boy thriving! God Bless you all!!

BEACH VACATION GIVEAWAY!!!!

How would you like to have your next summer vacation all planned out!?!?

In order to raise the funds necessary to get our boy home as soon as possible, we have been so generously donated this wonderful vacation to giveaway!





For a tax deductible donation to our grant fund through Reece's Rainbow you can be entered for a 7 night stay in a two bedroom suite that sleeps 6 and has a full kitchen at the 4 star rated Silverleaf's Seaside Resort on Galveston Island in Texas!!!! 

Amusement Park on the Pier!!!







I am so excited about this fundraiser; it is a place that would be fun for families or couples or anyone who likes the beach! Galveston has a lot of fun things to do! We are running this giveaway until midnight central time on August 15th. Winner will be announced August 16 on this blog and Facebook. Vacation is booked for Saturday, June 8, to Saturday June 15th of NEXT summer (2013), to allow the winner plenty of time to plot and plan!!!!

So here are the "RULES"

1. $10 donation- 1 entry
    $25 donation-3 entries
    $50 donation-10 entries
    Share this post on Facebook or Twitter-1 entry (you must comment on this blog, email, or Facebook to let me know this!)
    

2. Here is how to donate:

• You can make a tax deductible donation to our fund by clicking on the DONATE button on the RIGHT of the page. You must leave your name so I can assign a number to you!
• OR you can mail a check (also tax deductible) to Reece’s Rainbow; just make sure to put Mulkey Family in the Memo and mail to Reece's Rainbow, PO Box 4024, Gaithersburg, MD 20885.*Pawnee people you can drop check off with my mom, Doris, at Armstrong Bank! *Stroud People, you can drop off check with my sister, Carissa! 

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR IF YOU PREFER TO DONATE WITH A CHECK, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT LMBUTTERFLYLORI@GMAIL.COM  OR PRIVATE MESSAGE ME IF WE ARE FACEBOOK FRIENDS!


I WILL BE USING A RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR AT RANDOM.ORG TO ENSURE THE WINNER IS IN FACT CHOSEN RANDOMLY!!!


THANK YOU FOR HELPING US BRING BROCK HOME AND GIVING HIM A CHANCE TO THRIVE IN A LOVING FAMILY!

Why We Are Adopting

Adopting this sweet boy is no doubt a God thing. Looking back, there are things that make me realize that He has been preparing my heart for this for quite some time. I love kids and I totally have a seriously soft place in my heart for all children. And I love being a Mom as well! When my youngest daughter who has DS, was born, I received an information packet from the local Down Syndrome organization. In it was a brochure for Reece’s Rainbow. I still have that brochure. I looked at that website several times, praying, and crying for those little abandoned children, given up because they had Down syndrome, hoping that they would find families. I wished that I could adopt one of these children, and even told my husband, to which, at the time, he replied a resounding “NO”, so I figured that it would just never be an option. Couldn’t do it without the hubs on board! But, little did we know, it just wasn’t time. I had not visited the site for a while and one night, I was on a blog, noahsdad.com. They had a Reece’s Rainbow advertisement and I was inclined to click on it. I scrolled through the pictures, all teary-eyed, then, I stopped on one. There is a feeling that goes through you after you have given birth and see your baby for the first time; it is a rush of absolute pure love for your child. This was the feeling that came over me when I saw the picture of our boy, and I literally blurted out loud “Oh, I am your Mama!” It took a while and a lot of prayer to tell Michael, but, long story short, He agreed that we should adopt him!

Knowing that most (like really, most, we are talking 92%) mothers knowingly pass on the chance to raise their child with Down syndrome is heartbreaking to me now, though I realize and understand that the fear of the diagnosis is overwhelming. Unlike here in the U.S. expectant mothers in Eastern Europe do not usually have access to prenatal testing, so their diagnosis always comes as a shock after they have given birth. They do not have resources for support like we do here, there is no therapy or inclusion in school or Buddy Walks to raise money for research, and most mothers are simply told that they cannot raise the child and that it would be too much of a burden. I do not pass judgment on these mothers, if you go back fifty years or so, children born here with DS were commonly sent to institutions. It is most common to give up their child with Down syndrome to an orphanage, and then later when the child turns 4 or some actually wait until 5, they are sent to a mental institution. Many of these places do not have the resources to care properly for these children, so many just waste away and die, alone, in cribs, without anyone loving them. Look at our Alaska, if she had been born over in Eastern Europe, she would be facing a life hidden away in a crib in a mental institution.

Does it look like that is where she belongs!?!?  So we are not just adding to our family through the blessing of adoption, we are on a rescue mission to save a child in need! I cannot save them all, but I have been called to save one and that is what this is all about. Saving a child, and giving him a family, love, care. A chance at life. A chance to thrive, play, grow, give love and contribute to society, just like Alaska! His life has worth!

So the Lord commands us to care for the orphan and the widow. He has made it abundantly clear what my part is in His plan! But, does caring for the orphan mean that you have to adopt? No. Do I think everyone should adopt? Why yes! Haha! Not really! I don't believe that everyone has to adopt a child. I am just the type of person that wants everyone to experience the same great joy in their hearts as I do from my experiences! But, there are other ways to care for the orphan. You can pray for them, advocate for them, and support them financially. So, I leave you with this as food for thought. It is not meant to offend, it is just something to think about and shed some light on the situation:

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

God Bless you all! Thank you for your prayers and support!