THE JOY......6 MONTHS HOME

OH MY
 SWEET BOY.

April 2011, our first visit.

August 4, 2011 our second trip to bring you home.

THE JOY YOU BRING TO OUR FAMILY AND ALL THOSE WHO COME IN CONTACT WITH YOU IS SIMPLY AMAZING.

THANK YOU LORD FOR ENTRUSTING US WITH THIS PRICELESS GIFT.
WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE.

MY WIZARD MAN

What a day at the Deckers!!  For those of you who know us, and know Cole, you know that he is ALWAYS talking about lawnmowers. They are his love. He mows everyday. Yes, everyday. Doesn't matter rain, sleet or snow. Doesn't matter if its 110 degrees outside. He mows. We live on six acres and when we first moved out here to our place, he mowed ALL SIX ACRES with his push lawnmower. After tearing up afew, we finally got him talked into just doing the yard and to stay out of the pasture!

But anyway, the kid loves to mow. And while this is a great thing for Rick and I, I mean in 4 years we have never had to worry with whose gonna mow the grass,but it has really been a big problem too. You see, his favorite kind of lawnmower is a Wizard. That's the brand. He remembers the one my dad, his Big Guy, had a long time ago. Cole would ride with dad while he was mowing. For some reason, that just stuck with him and that's always been the kind he wanted most. We have a friend that gave him his a while back but it began to have problems and finally got un-fixable. That caused major problems! Anyway, long story short, he is always looking and asking if anybody has a wizard he could buy. It is an obsession of his and really causes him misery at times.

So you are probably thinking.....if it causes that much problems, looks like we would buy him. Wrong.....they no longer make them. And buying one off Craig's list from Florida or Colorado or other places he has found them (he as in Cole) would only be more problems for him and us. Sooooooo, whats a guy suppose to do?????

Well, Cole say's "PRAY."

You see, he is my prayer warrior. He prays about everything. He prays whenever and wherever he feels the need to do so.

So, he prayed. Always saying, "if it Your will, I could have a wizard lawnmower".

For a long time he has prayed. Faithfully, fully expecting a yes.

I tried to explain that sometimes it IS NOT God's will for us to have what we think we need or want.

He scolded me, got VERY upset with me for NOT BELIEVING with him that God was going to get him a wizard.

He told me 4 or 5 days ago that "GOD TOLD ME I WAS GETTIN ONE."

I gave him that tilt of the head, don't think so look that I do sometimes when he tells me stuff.

Oh ye, oh ME, of little faith.

GUESS WHAT COLE GOT YESTERDAY FOR HIS BIRTHDAY?????

WHAT IS IT?

COULD IT BE??

A WIZARD FOR ME????

OH MY GOSH!!

IT IS! IT REALLY IS!

LOOK BIG GUY, JUST LIKE YOURS!

HAPPY TEARS!

 AND HE SAID, "THANK YOU LORD!!"

Oh my sweet boy. You have taught me so much. You continue to teach me the ways of the Lord. You have made me a better person. I am so honored and thankful to be your mom.

Thank you Frank Dutton for the heart you have and for making this the most special birthday I believe he's ever had.

Thank you Lord for using this child to teach me continually about Your love, Your faithfulness, Your forgiveness, and Your grace.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY WIZARD MAN!!



JESUS LOVES ME

Today during childrens church, the message for the kids and all the rest of us for that matter, was this......JESUS LOVES ME.  ME.   No matter who you are, where you are, what you've done, what your gonna do......Jesus loves us.   That should be enough to put a smile on our face everyday.  We don't have to do anything. Not one thing to gain this love.  Its just there waiting for us no matter what.  Wow.  We ended our praise time with the song "Jesus Loves Me."  I cried through the whole thing! (no surprise to some!) "Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong."   My thoughts went to Gabe and the first 3 things I taught him while still in Russia. One was a thumbs up and me saying "good." The next two were "I love you" with hand gestures and the song, "Jesus Loves Me", also with hand gestures.  The most important thing I wanted him to know before anything else was that I loved him and Jesus loved him.  No, I know he didn't understand the meaning behind this at the time but I believe he is learning it more each and every day.

The tears are rollin down may face right now because of the many little ones where Gabe was, that may never get to hear the words, I love you and Jesus loves you. They will never know the words to "Jesus Loves Me." My heart continues to break for them.

We are so blessed and fortunate to be able to sing to, and tell our little guy, that we love him and most importantly......JESUS LOVES HIM.  Wow.  My cup runneth over.  :)

So, in case you have forgotton today.....JESUS LOVES YOU!!  and to remind you, Gabe's gonna sing it for ya!   Blessings to you and yours and I pray that someone, somewhere today, said "yes Lord, send me."



GUILTY

I have really fallen down on my blogging and my advocating for these special kiddos. I have a couple of blogs that I read every day so that I can keep up with things going on at Reece's Rainbow and because they are a source of inspiration for me. But then I fail when it comes to writing about these precious ones that need their faces and their stories out there where others can know about them.  Sometimes I'm pretty busy, sometimes my computer is down, sometimes my mind is racing with words and stories I still have bottled up in me but I can't seem to get them on paper. Sometimes I just want to forget about all the littles ones I left behind when I returned to my wonderful life and just enjoy this new little life that we have been given.  But as I type that.......I know THAT IS NOT THE TRUTH!  I can not forget. I will not forget. ever.  So, as I deal with my guilt for not blogging more and for not advocating for these precious kids more, I want share a post from Adeye.  She and her husband have adopted 2 girls from EE and 2 from China and she is an avid advocater for "the least of these." Her words are my thoughts exactly. Please read her post and if you need some inspiration , then read her blog. She is truely gifted and loves the orphan.

Please forgive me for letting you guys down and not updating more often. And just so you know, Gabe is continuing to amaze us with his adjustment to TEXAS LIVING! He is putting 3 words together now and just a happy little guy!  :) and of course this makes for a very happy mama!  :)

February 7, 2012

operation: rescue!

Oh, friends!  Some days I honestly feel so desperate.  Some days I feel like there is no way that we can ever make a difference in the lives of so many children around the world who are just languishing in cribs, or begging caretakers for a mommy and a daddy, or literally dying of diseases and malnutrition which could so easily be prevented. The statistics are staggering--more than my human heart can comprehend.

And some days I feel like my heart is about to shatter into a million pieces when I see little faces staring at me from my computer screen. 

Recently I have had so many requests to advocate for various children-- some of them on the verge of aging out (becoming too old to be adopted), or for one reason or another becoming unadoptable.  Some desperately need medical attention which the country they live in cannot (or will not) provide.  Each sweet child with just one thing in common...

The URGENT need for someone to come for them.

Honestly?  I wish I could highlight every child individually.  I wish I could dedicate my days and all my time to advocating for precious treasures just waiting to be found.  But I'm just a mom with a not-so-very-big blog.  I struggle to find the balance sometimes. I lie in bed at night and ask the Lord to show me ways to help more.  Sometimes it feels like a hopeless cause...but then He whispers to my heart that together, as a community of people who care deeply, we can make a difference!

So I have been thinking about something. Today, I am going to try something a little different.  Just as I have used a Linky tool to help fundraising families in the past, I am going to try and use it for children in URGENT situations.  I've never done it before, so I have no idea how it will work.  But it is definitely worth a try!  I am praying that it may be a way of letting people know of many children who are running out of time or are in desperate need of finding their family, as opposed to me just bringing one at a time to your attention.

Below is a place for you to add children you know of who are seriously in need of being rescued quickly. You are welcome to add them.  Simply click on the link and it will prompt you to add the details.  You will need to link to a website that the child is listed on (the exact page where they can be found), or a blog post where someone has shared their story.  Make sure you add a photo of the child in the thumbnail--people like to see faces!  Also, you will be able to give a brief description in the thumbnail.

IMPORTANT:  Please, the only thing I ask is that you only list children who are in DESPERATE NEED--either time is running out for them soon, or they need urgent medical attention, or they are about to be transferred to an institution (or have already been transferred).  I know that ALL orphans need families, but as you all know, there are some who are just in dire need of being rescued quickly--before it is too late.

Lastly, in order for us to share these sweet children with as wide an audience as possible in the hope that their families find them as soon as possible, can I ask you to please share this link on all social networks that you are part of?  The ONLY way these angels will be found and rescued is if we share their stories!

Thank you so very much for believing with me that every child who is listed below WILL be rescued...that they will NOT become another one of the statistics of orphans who die unnecessarily...because nobody answered the call.

Together, we CAN make a difference!

***  Updated to add that if you are unfamiliar with international adoption--"transferred" means that a child has been moved from a baby house to a mental institution for adults and children.  Few can survive the conditions in these places!  It truly becomes a race against time to rescue these children--they are living on borrowed time.

living on borrowed time.

1. Bethany

2. Ksenia

3. Brent - transferred

4. Megan- transferred

5. Christopher is confident he will get a family

6. Nicky Z

7. Wyatt

8. Arnold- Transfer Scheduled

9. Stacy - Transferred

10. Spencer - Transferred

11. He 11 yrs old & the size of a toddler

12. Melissa - already transferred

13. HELP, I HAVE ALREADY BEEN TRANSFERRED!

14. Konstantin - Transferred

15. Nathan

16. HELP! I HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED!

17. Kyle - Transferred

18. Andrue - Transferred

19. Adam - Transferred

20. Sheridan - Transferred

21. Maxim - Transferred

22. Ruslan - Transferred

23. Nicholas - Transferred, please help him!

24. Heath - Transferred

25. Simon

26. Bernadette- She NEEDS a family by November!

27. Kennedy - Transferred

28. Ekaterina-Just a shell : (

29. Georgia - Transferred

30. Eliza

31. Presley - Leukemia

32. Raymond- Significant Risk

33. Daniel- Transferred

34. Bobby - Transferred

35. Evan- Transferred and Medically Fragile

36. Kiril- Transferred

37. Alex- Transferred

38. Maxim- Transferred 10 years ago!

39. Lauren- Transferred

40. Natalia- Transferred

41. Glenn- Transferred

42. Leo- Transferred

43. Alisha- Transferred

44. Colin- Transferred

45. Kiersten- Transferred

46. Justine- Transferred

47. Victoria- Transferred

48. Nolan- Transferred

49. Masha (from ABC News Story)-TRANSFERRED!

50. Laurel, aging out in August!!

51. Owen needs our help!!

52. Alexander- he has a brain tumor (treatable!)

53. Sheldon- Medically fragile, possible transfer

54. Gabrielle- Medically fragile, transferred?

55. Olive- Transferred

56. Oksana - Maybe transferred? : (

57. Anders, soon to be transferred

58. HIV stage 3, without immunosuppression

59. Alicia- transferred

60. Significant Risk, Adopt Me SOON!

61. Kolya- age 11, transferred

62. Shaun:

63. This is Pryce. I think he is AWESOME!

64. Transferred And Blind

65. Meredith. Mild CP and Down syndrome

66. Elijah- pulled back to orphanage

67. Kate is aging out in China.

68. Anastasia - most likely already transferred

69. Corrie - Without hope for a family?

70. Ivan N. in additional children

71. Dylan- Transferred and Tiny

72. Emmitt: institutionalized, fragile, aging out

73. Suspected transfer. Save him, please!

74. Preston- Likely already transferred

75. Hanson- Transferred

76. Butterfly baby needs a family!

77. Vasilina-Canadians Only- Turning 7 this year!

78. Agatha-Canadians Only- Huge Ransom

79. Anna D. - living in heartbreaking conditions

80. Elena - 7 years old

81. Oliver - ages out in June

82. Iryna- HIV+ and CP- transferred

83. Lilly - close to transfer, in terrible shape

84. Alexander (girl) 10 years old, skin and bones

85. Jared(26)

86. Brett(26) Almost 5 : (

87. Transferred! Alexander has an $11, 000 grant!

88. Mabel

89. Naomi in China ages out in July!

90. Sweet Justina needs a family urgently CHD

91. ASD, VSD, and partial intestinal obstruction

92. He is completely blind, darkness, loneliness

93. Sasha (6 years old) in URGENT need

94. Margaret- Medically Fragile

95. He needs medical care not available there

96. Valya will age out of the orphanage this year

97. Natasha ages out this year!!!!

98. Tyler deserves a family!

99. Sergei 9ha: likely transferred. $8400 grant.

100. Institutionalized

101. Jason - Transferred to remote institution

102. Silas - Transferred - Giveaway going on now!

103. Alix - Smart and a leader -Give him a chance!

104. Carissa - Singing girl to skeleton -Save her!

105. Yasmine - Please help - Transfer Imminent!

106. Ages out THIS month (feb) Vladik

107. Stella - HIV+ Transferring this year

108. Daria- transferred

109. Ivan needs surgery soon!

110. Lawrence-Transferred

111. Malcolm - only has until April!

112. Lorie - Gentle happy child - transfers soon!

---