Nellie Wants a Family (and desperately needs one too!)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be tucked in at night by a different person each night?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go to sleep at night in a room with 10 others?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to never leave your "house" and "backyard?"

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to know nothing outside of the gates that surround you?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a mom and a dad?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a family?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be loved, hugged, held, read to?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be embraced after a bad fall?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be taken care of when you were sick?


Nellie has wondered all of these things and much more. How much we take for granted and never stop to think about what it's like to wonder. Close your eyes for a moment, pretend you're 4 years old, and what it would be like to wonder these things...

I raised money for Nellie and Sandra (who recently passed) over Christmas. Nellie is still with us and desperately needs a family to save her from the transfer to a mental institution VERY SOON! Nellie is in my heart....she is not one of the cutest children on Reece's Rainbow, perhaps she is having a bad day, but I can only imagine that every day is a not so good day when you are just wondering when your mommy and daddy will come to get you????

Nellie has almost $4,000 in her grant fund and it is climbing each day as I just mailed a check for her fund recently (thanks to some of my generous friends). Still thinking adoption is not for you....then pass this on to anyone you know.....put it on facebook, twitter or whatever else. You never really know how God will work.

I leave you with a quote that I am stealing from a fellow blogger, but it captures our own journey with Ellis Anne; our daughter with DS.

"I never knew I wanted a child with Down Syndrome until I had one."

Please consider donating to Nellie's grant fund. Help me find her family before it is too late!

Stephanie

Sandra

I don't know where to start....it has taken me 2 days to be able to write this down and I still don't want to....but, I must. I must because it is my prayer that through this blog the lives of other children will be saved.

It is with deep sadness that my little Sandra has passed away.

I wrote about Sandra (as well as 2 other little girls) in my last post. At the time of that post, I believe that Sandra was still alive....she was in need of a family. The need was so bad that it cost her her life. She died waiting for a mommy and daddy to come get her. She never knew the love that she deserved to have.

It has been a hard loss for our family. When we first started our paperwork, we were told for a couple of days that we may not get to adopt Anastasia (another story), at that time we started looking at other children. We looked at Sandra and at that time she won my heart. After the short mixup, it did turn out that we were able to commit to Anastasia....but, we could not adopt more than one.....Anastasia is in a region where you are only able to adopt one at a time, unless siblings......

I determined in my heart that I would raise money for Sandra and prayed that she would find her family. It was too late. Sandra was transferred to an institution and it didn't take long for her there to die. She couldn't make it. Her body was too frail and there was no reason to keep on living. I am sure her body went into shock.....she was a baby, transferred to a mental institution. We would have loved to bring her home with Anastasia....you can't change the systems rules.....it is so hard.

There are other children who are also so close to being transferred......they need someone to commit to them. Adoption is not an easy process, but it is worth it.....you can change a little ones life. Having a child with down syndrome is a blessing, not a curse. There are challenges, but not any our God cannot handle. Remember, we are here for a higher purpose....one that because we are God's children, will require more of us that what we are doing right now. I know that there are families out there....maybe it is your family. Do not question if God is nudging you along....have faith.....faith requires you to take steps before all the medical questions are answered, before all of the money is raised, before all of the beds are rearranged, before all of the doubts that you have in raising a child with down syndrome. God honors obedience. Our family is not special because we are adopting a child with down syndrome, yes, we already have one, but we are normal. I am not a supermom (although, I secretly wish I was), I get tired, I loose my patience, and I certainly don't have food on the table everynight.....but, I have a passion for these children, and I have plenty of love for them.....and I KNOW that there is a family out there that does too!!!!

Sandra knows love now; she is in the arms of the best daddy of all. In a way, I guess she did find her family.....but, she suffered while here on this earth. She deserved so much more. There are others on Reece's Rainbow that are also in the same situation as Sandra. They are so close to being transferred, and they won't make it when transferred. They will die. Please visit the site. www.reecesrainbow.com. Go under waiting children....if you look under the 3-5 ages, you will see all of the children that are close to being transferred. Some have already been transferred. You can do something......pray, donate, or yes, even adopt.

Stephanie