Family portraits

John's aunt and uncle gave us a family portrait session for a Christmas gift. I planned on putting a bunch of them on here to share but they were taking soooooo long to upload, that I stopped at three. Here you go. Thanks Uncle Bob and Aunt Gwen!

Urban Petting Zoo

Last week two of the kids started dreaming about pet bunnies. They asked if they could each buy a pet bunny if they paid for it with their own money. Dad said 'sure'. Liesel looked on Craigslist and found baby bunnies for sale. We called and made an arrangement to buy two of them.

Unbeknownst to us, the person selling the rabbits was a fellow Down Syndrome advocate, Reece's Rainbow supporter, and Oklahoman. She happened to be a blog follower and a facebook friend. How weird is that! Hello Qadoshyah! :)

Anyway, we came home with two cute baby bunnies. A couple of days later our Chesapeake Bay retriever mistook the open cage as an invitation to eat one of the babies. :(((((( The children were devastated, so John told us all to load up in the car and drove 4 crying children an hour and a half to get a replacement for him.

We ended up coming home with THREE more rabbits, plus a little goat. We didn't know the first thing about raising rabbits OR goats, just like we didn't know anything about raising little girls with Down Syndrome two years ago. :)

Act first, think later, that is our motto.

So with no further adieu I introduce you to.....

Bear, who apparently can't wait to bring more baby bunnies into the world.

Champagne, sweet laid back, who doesn't mind being held by even Hope

Flopsy, whose brother Peter was eaten by a dog just a few days ago

And Jack, Peter's replacement.

And Romeo was the extra bonus!! I never thought I would care for a goat, but he is the cutest thing! He is living in a dog crate in my house for the moment because we don't quite have the heart to put him in the barn in sub-freezing temperatures. He drinks 3 bottles a day and cries like a baby when he's not getting enough attention. He's hollering right now in fact.

Come on over to the Urban petting zoo!! Admission is free, and we'll even throw in a mug of hot chocolate!

We love Wii

I couldn't resist posting this. I walked in the living room to see Simeon teaching Ava to play the Wii. She was really into it. :)

And look at her Mii (Me?) character. How cute. No eyebrows even, just like my Ava. She was staring at her character and pointing to herself. She knew just who that was supposed to be. AWWWW.

My Valentine...

Thanks to all of your help in selecting a sweetheart to advocate for this Valentine's season. The winner is Anya in Eastern Europe....nominated by...Anonymous. Who are you, Anonymous? Anya is almost two years old and is diagnosed with arthrogryposis. She is affected in both her arms and legs, making her immobile and bedridden at this time. :(((

Imagine what corrective surgery, therapy, and the love of a family could do for her.

Isn't she scrumptious????

So here's how it will work. On Valentine's Day I am going to be randomly drawing a name out of the hat to determine the winner of a $100 gift card to Target. (Everybody loves Target, right?) A $10 donation counts for one chance to win, $20 counts for two chances, etc. If you put a link to this post on Facebook or on your blog, tell me you did, and it will count an extra chance. Does that make sense?

Let's see if we can raise $1,000 for dear, sweet Anya! Just click on the ChipIn button, it is really easy and it goes straight to Reece's Rainbow.

Another kid

I told my husband I would like to have another kid. I guess I should've been more specific...... :)

Who is your Valentine?

I want to do a Valentine's fundraiser for one of the waiting kids listed on Reece's Rainbow, but there are so many deserving children I'm having a hard time narrowing it down to just one.

So here's what I want to do.

I am going let you all help me choose one. Please leave a comment with the name of whichever Reece's Rainbow child has captured your heart and tell why you think he or she is deserving of a little help finding a family. Exactly one week from today I'm going to randomly pick one of the suggested children. Fundraising details will follow.

Click here to see the children in need of families!

And can someone tell me how to do the random name draw thingy? I've never done that before.

LOVE

Meet Mara.....

Mara is 9 years old and has Apert Syndrome.
She is an orphan in Eastern Europe.
Her life story is already one of heart break and a second chance.
When she was born, she was placed in a horrible institution.
It is one that has been highlighted on TV shows and internet websites as the worst of circumstances.
Mara's country has been proactive in reforming this institution and many others like it.
Mara got a second chance.
Two years ago, she was moved out of that hopeless, horrible place and placed in an orphanage for children where she could receive medical care, therapy, an education and a chance to grow and develop.
Mara has THRIVED in her new environment.
She has had surgery to begin to fix her webbed hands
(and she can use them the way that they are).
She is attending a school program for children with special needs.
She is getting love and attention and a chance to learn new skills.
Mara loves her baby doll.
She watches the care givers take care of the younger children and mimics their actions with her doll (feeding it, dressing it, rocking it, etc)
Mara still has delays, but she's making progress every day.
She understands everything that is said to her and has a calm and loving spirit.
She is tiny for her age and actually looks to be about 4 or 5.
Despite everything that she has lived through, this precious angel is still smiling.
But, her time is running out once again.
Mara has a birthday coming up in March.
She'll be 10 years old.
She can't stay in her current orphanage much longer, as it is designed for younger children.
Thankfully, she is not being sent back to an institution.
But, she IS being sent to an orphanage for older children.
An orphanage that does not usually take children with special needs.
Can you imagine this TINY girl....with her obvious special needs....
in a place with older children that have never seen a child with a disability?
MARA NEEDS A FAMILY.

From now until Valentine's Day, Reece's Rainbow is conducting an awareness campaign for the older angels with special needs.
Please join me in raising awareness for MARA and all the other angels on this page.
If you would like more information on MARA or the process of adopting from her country, you can email me via the contact information on the sidebar or by leaving a comment on this page.
Donations to MARA's adoption fund can be made by sending a check to
Reece's Rainbow
PO Box 4024
Gaithersburg, MD 20885

Click here to contribute to Mara's adoption grant.