Reece's Rainbow, maybe someday

I received an anonymous comment here on my blog. Thought I'd share a link. Click here to view these precious little orphans. Orphans because their country, in which they are born, cast them aside at birth. Many of them because of birth defects. A large number of them are born with Down syndrome (Ds). The parents are ashamed of these children. The parents are frowned upon for giving birth to children such as these children. Children with special needs are not accepted in many other countries.

Back in December, Paul and I had inquired about a little girl in an Orphanage in Eastern Europe. Oh that little girl was a beauty. She had blond hair and wore a yellow dress. And I know most of my Ds readers know who I'm talking about!! I won't mention her name, because she has been spoken for by a forever family from right here in the USA! Thank goodness, because her time was running out.

In January-ish, I emailed Andrea, the founder of Reece's Rainbow. I inquired about the little girl with the yellow dress. I was sent several forms via email. But, very soon after, Paul lost his health insurance at work. By the time we got health insurance back, we had lost Carly. Health insurance is required in order to adopt one of these children. So that fell through. And the little girl in the yellow dress was spoken for. She had a forever family.

The problem for these children on Reece's Rainbow is that their time in an orphanage is cut short. If they are not adopted by the time they reach the age of 5 (some get lucky and can stay a bit longer), they are sent to an institution to live out the remainder of their lives. And from what I've been told, their lives, more often than not, end within 1-2 years after being institutionalized. Once they are placed within an institution, they can no longer be adopted. Then are confined to their beds. Fed rarely..if at all. :(

I will admit, when Carly was first diagnosed with Ds, (she was about 10 days old) I thought my world ended. I wasn't prepared for a child with special needs. In fact, I was in such bad shape, I had to meet my doctor on a Saturday morning. The doc told Paul and I that we were grieving for the daughter we did not get. He also said that the grieving would pass very quickly. He told us that he had many patients in his practice born with Ds. He sat and told us all about the CAN'S and NEVER once mentioned the can not's. His words finally sank in to my head. And within about a week, I was so over it. My heart was swelling with love and pride for this beautiful little 5lb8oz baby girl. We were all head over heals in love with this little girl.

Right now, I can not even imagine a family not wanting a little girl just like Carly. Oh my gosh. She was a beauty. A charmer. She was smart. Determined. Witty. Comical. Loving and yes, even stubborn. She taught our family so very much in 8 short years.

These poor little children that you see on Reece's Rainbow deserve families to love them. I've seen many of these children, (courtesy of all my online friends) adopted into wonderful families from all over the USA. These kids are thriving in their new found homes. They've been given a chance. A life. A family. Most importantly, they've been given love. Lots and lots of love.

I'm not sure why my anonymous commenter left this link for me. I visit the site often. Believe me, the thought of adoption has been in our hearts for a couple of years. We wanted to give Carly a sibling closer to her age. We also wanted to save one of these children from a god awful institution.

Reece's Rainbow, maybe someday...