Celebrating Anya's "First" birthday

When I woke up yesterday morning, I thought to myself, OK, I know we just moved 10 days ago and it still feels completely chaotic around here.  But it's Anya's birthday.  Not only is it her birthday, but it's the very first time in her life when anyone will even acknowledge that it is, and celebrate that she was born.

So, we celebrated!  I put this picture on Facebook and invited people to come by and celebrate with us.

Sadie and I emptied the last of the boxes that were in the living room and family room and even started painting the kitchen (we couldn't wait!) After dinner, we all sat around the table (that now has plenty of room around it--yeah!) and did one of Anya's favorite activities. We colored!

Pretty soon, our guests started arriving. We had visits from The Knight's, The Rigby's, The Glenn's, The Brady's, The Tueller's, Shanel Whitehead, as well as a few of Sadie's friends. As always, I was so busy socializing that I forgot to take pictures of our friends!  But we were so honored to have them all come, and I'm sure Anya felt like a princess!

Anya has only seen her little brother blow out candles and I don't think she remembers it real well, so Sadie and Daddy showed her how it was done. Plug your ears--Dad's a little off-key. Hee hee.

I love these shots of Sadie sharing in this special moment with little sister. 

 This one is a classic freeze-frame of our lives right now. We're constantly keeping these two munchkins from either getting hurt or destroying something.

"Yeah! New toys! Ooo, this one looks like a fun one to whack people with!"

After the guests went home, we let Anya open her presents from us.  A few new books! Anya wasn't too excited about them because it meant that it must be bedtime. :)  

A year ago, shortly after we committed to adopting Anya, we celebrated her 5th birthday as a family on our back deck. We called her Anna back then.

I can still remember my emotions of that time, like it was yesterday. I was going through an inner turmoil that I had never experienced in my life. I loved her and knew that the Lord had guided us right to her, but I was so afraid of the unknown. Mostly I was afraid of how others would see us. I feel so bad that I cared so much about social status.  

Wow, what a year can bring. Having Anya in our family just feels normal, for lack of a better term. And besides that, I truly don't care about what other people think any more. I know that sounds flippant, but it's really the last thing on my mind. I don't have the time or mental energy to worry about that stuff any more. I think this is one reason we needed to be stretched like this. So we could get over ourselves a little bit! Seriously.  

The other day, Sadie told me that she has to remind herself all the time that Anya has Down Syndrome. She's just Anya, with her spunky personality. I agreed with her that I do the same thing. We'll be out among other children, like at the pool and I'll see another child staring at her, trying to figure things out.  It's only at times like that that I remember, "Oh yeah. Anya is different than most." Then my next thought is, "Please, little girl, accept her like you do other kids. She's much more like you than you know."

We were all reminded yesterday how grateful we are to have Anya in our lives. 

We felt honored to celebrate her "first" birthday with her. 

To celebrate the fact that she was born, unlike over 95% of babies in the US who's mothers discover during pregnancy they have an extra 21st chromosome. Can you believe that?

Oh, my gosh, if they only knew.  If people everywhere only knew. 

If only social stigma didn't have to shape our beliefs.

If only we would all follow our hearts instead of our heads.

I'm not saying it's easy having a kiddo with special needs. It's not! 

But if you forget about what the world views as "normal" and just love the child for who he/she is and think of it as an honor to raise one of the most amazing spirits that God has placed on this earth,

you will find that you have been given a great treasure.

A jewel in your crown.

 They are so. very. worth it.

Happy sixth birthday, Anya sweetie.

We love you so much and we feel privileged to have you in our lives. 

We are excited to celebrate many more birthdays with you!

The Fam

My sister, Jen took this picture of us when we were visiting her a few weeks ago. 

Yay, our first family picture with Anya, other than the one at the airport.

Welcome Home, Mia Kareen!

Last week, Sadie, Anya and I took a break from packing up our house and went to the airport to see Mia come home to her family. I haven't had a chance to get the pictures off of my camera since we're still in the middle of unpacking here, but you can read Lacey Rugg's blog post about this incredible afternoon.

Be sure to read the comments. I loved reading what people had to say about the RR mommy club and how much we all look like our adopted kids. :)

Oh, and you have to watch this video, too. Get out your tissues!


Mia's Homecoming from WillowayMedia on Vimeo.

Wow, I wish that I had known about Willowmay Media when Anya came home! They do some amazing work!

Amazing.

So, do you ever have one of those really tough days where you feel like The Bad Boy is about to choke the life right out of you? We did yesterday.

Eli and Anya fought all day. Eli fussed all through church. Anya was super cranky and double-stubborn. Yeah...double. Bennett was on one, too. We put out one fire after another from sun-up 'til sun-down. (I know, you can't believe it. You thought we were a perfect family, huh? Hee hee.)

We watched the clock all evening and when 8:00 hit, we hurried "the two littles" into bed, quietly shut their door, let out a big *sigh* and Jeremy and I escaped for a walk in the fresh air.

As we were walking Jeremy said,

"WOW. This is hard."

I immediately thought what I always think when one of us says "Wow. This is hard."

I thought, "OK, only a year. We just need to get through this first year. Then Eli will be past the terrible two's and Anya will be able to communicate with us better, and...

Once again, I reminded Jeremy of this and we talked about what we need to do right NOW, what we can work on more, what we're neglecting, etc.

Then I thought the next thought that always comes to my mind when one of us says this.

"Something really awesome is about to happen." 

I know, you think I'm weird, but every time we have days like this, almost as if on-cue, something really fabulous happens within the next few days.

This morning, Jeremy and I did something that we haven't done in a long while. We got up, read our scriptures together and prayed together, just the two of us. Before any of the kids woke up. Wow, what a difference this made! It was a completely different day. Still full of craziness, but peaceful at the same time.

So, that was amazing happening #1.

I know, you can't possibly imagine what amazing happening #2 is, can you? Take a lookie at the Chip In widget to the right. Yep, a wonderfully kind and generous person donated $1,000 to Ian, just an couple hours before our fundraiser ended. Not only did he (perhaps with encouragement from she??) help us meet our goal, but he helped us DOUBLE it. With the checks and cash we received from friends and the donations that come through this blog,  we'll have over $2,000 to give to Ian's family to help them pay for their court trip to Eastern Europe.

Is that an amazing thing? Ohhh, yes it surely is. AND..I just noticed that their FSP page has risen by a good $4,000 this past week, as well. I'm sure this is due to the other fundraisers going on. Thank you from our hearts to yours. Anya's buddy will soon walking into this door.  

Please donate through Ian's Reece's Rainbow page if you haven't had the chance. They're getting close!

Reflections on Adoption

First things first:
Very soon, this beautiful boy will finally have a chance to live the life that

he was placed on this earth to live.

He will go from this

to this.

He will go from sleeping in this room, with 11 other orphans

To sleeping in this one, with his brother. 

His life will change forever.  He will learn how to talk, how to read, how to hug, how to look into people's eyes, and best of all, how to give and receive love.

Our week of fundraising is almost through. Thank you SO much to those who have donated!Some of my local friends gave checks, so we only need $300 more! We are moving to a new house this week and I would LOVE to have all $1,000 raised by Monday night so I can focus on filling boxes!

Right now, there are 150-200 people every day who read this blog. If each of you could put a few bucks in the pot, we will meet our goal and Ian's family will be $1000 closer to having all the funds they need to bring him home! 

Come on, team! Let's do this!! Just click on the chip-in button on the top right! 

Yes, YOU!  Do it right now, then you can read the rest of this blog post. :)

Something that Gretchen really wanted to have happen with her puzzle fundraiser, is for more people to understand the blessing that adoption is.  

In honor of her wish, I would like to share with you some of my feelings.

Last night after Anya and I read our last bedtime story and I lay next to her rubbing her soft, squishy back and arms and looking into her beautiful blue eyes, she looked back at me, all snuggled into her pillow, with the most content look.

Her spirit spoke to mine, telling me how happy she is here with our family.

I was reminded again that she is right where she is supposed to be.  I thought about where she was just a few months ago, and where she would still be if God had not lead us to her. 

Not much in this life compares to the satisfaction that comes from knowing that you have made a difference, I mean really made a difference for one of God's children. I can't describe to you how this adoption has changed all of us.  All the hard moments (oh yes, we have them every day) seem to fade into the background when we step back and reflect on this.  We have made a difference. And she has made a difference in us.

If you feel God leading you in the direction of adoption or foster care, follow your heart. It knows the way! It's a huge mountain to climb, and it will be HARD.  Probably the hardest thing you've ever done. You'll discover emotions that you never knew you had! 

But you will be changed forever.  In a good way.  You'll see things differently. And not only you, but your spouse and your other children. You'll understand a little more fully how Christ loves.  How we are adopted into his family, and how he forgives us time after time when we make mistakes, and loves us no matter what.   

At the end one of the most miraculous days of our lives, February 22, 2011, I was writing a blog post in our hotel room in Russia.  It was one of those times, kind of like after giving birth, when I sat there in tears thinking about what God had just done in my life. 

At the end of the post, I wrote this:

"Anyone who says that miracles don't happen these days should try falling in love with an orphan."

Today, I add my witness once again that God loves each of His children. He provides everything we need when we follow our hearts to help his children who can't help themselves.  Whether we help someone next-door, in the next town, or across the world, He always, always provides.  And we are blessed beyond measure in the meantime.

I leave you today with a video that my friend, Kecia made yesterday after picking up beautiful Mia Kareen from her orphanage in Ukraine.  Get out the tissues, and make SURE you watch the last two minutes! Oh my GOSH!

Paying it Forward

Six months ago, Jeremy and I flew to Russia to meet 

a little girl that we knew was meant to be our daughter.

It was love at first sight.

We let the authorities know that we still wanted to pursue her adoption.  We visited her a few more times that week, then flew back home to wait for our court date to be assigned.

It was shortly after Thanksgiving. We still needed a lot of money in order to pay for the remainder of the adoption expenses. Up to this point, we were hoping the money would fall from the sky. :) Our pride had prevented us from doing any fund raising. But now it was time to get serious. Anya was coming home soon.

So we decided to buy an iPad and use it for a giveaway. We e-mailed and Facebooked everyone we knew to tell them about our fundraiser. We made flyers and delivered them to all our neighbors.  Then we prayed.

And guess what happened?

People cared.  Not just a little bit. Over a hundred people gave of their precious means during the holiday season. Over $13,000 in dollars, sky miles and Marriott points were donated to us to help us accomplish this huge feat.

I can't describe to you in words how this made us feel.  I tried really hard in this post on our adoption blog.  We've never experienced anything like it before. Ever. Thank you again.

So, I've been itching to "pay it forward" since that time. Unfortunately, we can only give so much out of our own pocketbook to other adopting families. I try to help out here and there with other RR families, but I've been wanting to make a little more of a difference, specifically for one of the children that Anya knows personally.

The two busy-bees, Ian and Anya playing during our court trip in February 

So, here goes!

This is Ian, He was kind of like a brother to Anya.  They spent 24 hours a day together in their orphanage.

Because of Reece's Rainbow,  Ian is soon going home to a mom, a dad and a brother. Gretchen Stewart and her family have been working so, so hard jumping through hoops like you wouldn't believe to make this adoption happen. And to top it all off, they found out when they went to meet him in April that he has a heart condition that needs surgery soon. Of course, this made them even more anxious to get him home. Alas, they will return to Russia in a few weeks for court.

Gretchen has raised money and raised money and raised more money, month after month. She has done all that she  can do and she's now down to the wire. They still need about $12,000.

Hangin' out with Gretchen, Ari and Craig in Atlanta
(Craig took the picture.)

Jeremy and I met Gretchen and Craig on our way to Russia for our court trip. We had a nice, long layover in Atlanta and got to spend the day with them. We had an instant connection because, not only were we going through the same experience, but our kids were together. We'll be friends always, we're sure of it.

So when Gretchen posted on Facebook that she needed help with the final stretch of her fund raising, I was all over it. Gretchen sent me a lovely orange package that includes ten puzzle pieces from a 1,000-piece puzzle. I have committed to "sell" or find sponsors for the puzzle pieces, (raise $100) then pass along the envelope to the next person, who  will do the same. The envelope will be passed to ten people this summer, who will each raise $100, totaling $1,000. Gretchen has 10 of these packages going around, so eventually, this will raise $10,000.

Such a great plan! And what a great way to share God's love and the gift of adoption with a whole lot of people.  The only problem is that it's going to take a few months for this fundraiser to bring in $10,000.  They need this money NOW. They should be leaving for court in the next month.


So...Anya and I have set a goal to not only find sponsors for the ten pieces right here in our little hands...we want to pretend that Ian's Mama sent us 100 puzzle pieces to "sell" ourselves (in addition to the ones we're passing along.)

We want to raise $1,000 for Ian this week.

Do you see how excited Anya is about this?  She can hardly wait for Ian to jet out of that gloomy orphanage and come home to a family, just like she did!

Will you help us do this by Monday the 13th?

There's a Chip-in widget on the right side of this post. All you have to do is click on it, and donate through Paypal. The money will go directly to Gretchen's Paypal account and they will use this money to help cover  their travel expenses.

Please share this post on Facebook or your blog or e-mail or whatever you can think of! You can sponsor one piece of the puzzle with a $10 donation, or add more! Whatever you can contribute, we will love you forever and we will be soooo happy if we can accomplish this goal for Anya's best friend. If you're one of the first 10 people to donate, I would LOVE to write your name on one of the puzzle pieces that I'm sending back to Gretchen.

Thank you!! Oh, and if you live along the Wasatch Front and would like to be the extremely lucky person that I will  pass this torch (lovely orange package) on to this week, please let me know! It's a little crazy at the moment because we're moving in a week and a half. That would take one item off of my to-do list. :)  What a great way to serve and make a difference. Thanks again!

Thanks, Grandma!

I love my new quilt, Grandma.  It makes me so happy, I can hardly contain myself!

Eli gets a bit kick out of it, too. We can't help but laugh when we play on my happy bed.  You're the best, Grandma.  I will always cherish the quilt that you spent ALL those hours making just for me.

 I love you, Grandma Hinton

Hugs and Kisses,

Anya