Plugging along

First things first......we had a $1,000 donation come in and an additional $50 donation too!!! Thank you to the TWO families that did this, I know who you are and I say........

I have been contacted by people who would like to donate directly to our family. As always, that is an option--however, it is NOT a TAX DEDUCTIBLE option. Only donations made through our Reece's Rainbow FSP ARE tax deductible.

Having said that, if you wish to donate directly to our family, you can do ONE of TWO things.

First, at the upper spot of our right-hand sidebar there is a CHIP-IN button that is linked to our PayPal account. As with any chip-in (even our FSP) there are fees to be paid to PayPal using this method.

I have learned, however, that you can TRANSFER money from a PayPal account to another PayPal account with no fees involved. Hmmm, never had a clue :) LOL
So, if you would like to utilize that method leave a comment with your email address in it and I will email you the address (I will not PUBLISH your email address) all comments must be approved by me before they are published anyways.

And just as before, donations are ALWAYS accepted at our FSP account link on Reece's Rainbow. And those are tax deductible on your taxes next year.

I am not saying donate one way or the other, just offering it up since a few families have contacted me now.

Thank you so much for continuing to pray for us, for sharing our story and donating when you can. You all ROCK!

Now, a photo stream of Andriy pictures that Andrea Roberts from Reece's Rainbow gave us. ENJOY!

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Fundraising--our task at hand

Forgive me, I know I had previously stated there would be no more fundraising for our family. I was wrong. At this moment, we are $6,422 short of having a full fund. Our CSP (child specific petition) will be filed and we could literally travel in a month (give or take a few weeks).

Our FSP will be changed to reflect the child we are adopting, Andriy.

If you would like to donate you can either donate through our FSP button (we have been assured that this fund will go with us to adopt Andriy--and we have also been told this is an exception that RR is willing to make for us right now and we are grateful for that). OR if you would like to you can donate directly to our FSP fund by clicking on his picture above.

I am so sorry, I have no grand gifts to offer; I am simply a mom asking for your support, you prayers and for you to share our story please.

God's got this--words that are gently pushing me along (thank you Lisa...I see those words every time I see our boy's photo album his Aunt Lisa got for him). We are resting in the promise of God's provisions and believe He will provide exactly what we need. Please help us in being proactive through praying and sharing.

Thank you.


Now, I have been asked to clarify something for you all per Andrea....

Andrea stated, "Alexander was not listed erroneously or with any ill intentions, and it is not fair to depict this situation in any public forum that you have made the decision to choose Andriy because Alexander is not available.  You have chosen to *not wait* to know for sure. There is a big difference, no matter what the reasons behind the change really are.  Please acknowledge this, because this whole team has done nothing but try to help you and help Alexander.  You have made the decision to move on, and that is ok, but it isn’t because you know Alexander to not be available."

I am making this situation clear right now, I never stated Alexander was listed with any ill intentions (however, he was listed erroneously since his picture was updated to another child's information). IF I have indeed depicted this situation in any other fashion that the truth, I apologize. 

Also, we are choosing to move forward with Andriy because at this point in time, as I stated, Alexander is not available at this time (nor has he ever been) and we cannot wait any longer our family is ready to adopt a child who is fully ready to be adopted NOW.  No one goaded us in to that position, no one influenced that decision. I stated in my blog that Alexander may still come available at any time, we know this, but we also know that may never happen.



"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Moving forward......

We are moving forward and it is not an easy decision to say the least.

Our family has decided to move forward with Andriy and trust God will fill our fund with the $6422 we will be short. Believe me when I tell you this does not mean we do not want Alexander or that Andriy is a better fit--I actually find that abrasive. We never, not once, intended to bring home anyone but Alexander; to chose to move forward at this time is not one to be taken lightly or hastily.

For us, the time has come, to move forward and release our dream of a child that was never available and should have never been listed on RR to begin with. Our hearts are bruised, battered and beaten. We have been through the wringer. We have decided to trust God has the ultimate plan and no one else does. I am sorry we ever agreed to involve Sasha, a.k.a. Alexander's, parents in this all. It was incredibly selfish and there is nothing we can do to change that now.

Our dossier is in country, it is not as if this has not been happening for months on end. If Sasha comes available for adoption--by whatever means that happens, I pray RR lets his fund stay with him even though he is over the age by RR standards for that to be the case. Maybe, the fund is exactly what another family needs to bring him home. And, if the fund does not stay with him since he is over the age of 6 that money will go to help other older children; I can take comfort in that too.

We will trust God knows exactly what He is doing and follow...simply follow. We have asked our SS helper to please have the team submit our CSP's for Andriy in 41. We appreciate the graciousness RR is providing in allowing our FSP to move right now at this moment. We are very thankful that much at least.

This was our decision alone, made after many tears, prayers and consideration.

Fundraising will begin shortly.




"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

I have mislead you all and I apologize.......

Dear blog readers and FSP supporters,

I must apologize to you all now. For months now, since May, I have known that the boy we were committed on Reece's Rainbow was not the original boy listed with RR. I learned his picture had been put with another child's information.

That child, Sasha, was the original Alexander 20 listed on RR over two years ago. He was the boy transferred and not the Alexander we committed to.

In June, I learned that the boy we committed to was still in a baby house/orphanage in his country. This was by divine intervention alone, I stumbled upon his picture in another families blog.

The end of June, I learned he was not truly available for adoption, July 6th this was confirmed to me by Reece's Rainbow. His parents have never terminated their rights to him and, presently, we are trying to see if they will.

Our dossier is in country, we are ready to be submitted and have a travel date issued. We have chosen another child should Alexander not be available. That child is Andriy in 41.

At present time, there is no word from Alexander's parents, indeed they moved away and Social Services are now supposed to be contacting them about releasing him. He has only been in this orphanage for about one year--we do not know if he was reared at home prior to that or not.

Previously, I had been told if we were issued a travel date and there was no answer from Alexander's parents then we would have a full fund (meaning Alexander's fund would transfer to us at that time); however, if we make a decision to file our paper work in Andriy's name right now with no answer still on Alexander that fund does not follow us but our FSP totaling near $12,000 is always ours. 

We are stuck between a rock and a hard place, spiritual warfare is ugly and hard. We cannot commit to Andriy without another $7,000 and at the same time, we have no idea how long we must wait for an answer on Alexander either. If we move forward and later Alexander's family does release him, he will be to "old" per RR standards and he should lose his grant money anyhow when he is placed on the older child page. I have been given conflicting information about how to file one specific piece of paper so we can then be issued an acceptance letter to submit our dossier. Our dossier and homestudy are only good through Decemeber in his country. Time is ticking, our family is ready to adopt.

God has worked AMAZING through this adoption (I sent this to our stateside helper this morning)--"There is SOOO MUCH good that has happened through God in this all. The original Sasha was revealed again and he now has a family coming for him. Kolya was found (through my persistence and digging in my search for Alexander). Kolya is like a little diamond in the rough, so to speak, and he is going to find his family too once he is listed on RR. God has done so much good, He is still doing good. He called us to adopt, something we would have never done on our own. My family was NOT looking to adopt, at all. I truly believe God used Alexander's picture/video, coupled with the story of the original Sasha to soften our hearts to adoption. God then revealed the mix up, redeemed the first Sasha, uncovered Kolya and I believe with everything in me that he is calling us to Andriy."

Please pray for our family---Shawn and I do believe God called us to adopt. We believe we are following His call. We also believe satan does not want these adoptions to happen. I know the donations were made to our FSP on behalf of Alexander--even after I knew of the mix up and his inability to be adopted and for that I apologize.

ETA: Some people have publicly announced it seems as though we have made our decision. Indeed, we have not, we do not know where to go from here. We do not know which path God has set forth before us. We are focusing on that and seeking discernment now. 




"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)