Garnets and Rubies and Diamonds, Oh My!

A few months ago sweet Garnet became available on Reece's Rainbow for adoption.  Despite how beautiful she is and the fact that people who have met her said how smart she is, a family did not step forward for her and her file was returned to her country.

She is still available for adoption though!  A family just needs to request her file.  Here she is:



She truly is a jewel.  You can just see how alert she is despite what has been done to her during her ten years.  If you aren't in a position to adopt, could you share her pretty face in hopes that her family will see her?  Anyone interested in adopting Garnet should contact Shelley Bedford at shele337@gmail.com.


And rubies and diamonds!  We've got those in our auction currently online on Facebook.  A beautiful necklace and ring that originally cost over $100.  Starting bid is only $25.  So far, no one has bid.



To bid on this set or any one of our 75 other items, click here.

Lastly, we found out last week that our Nora is in the hospital.  We still haven't found out why.  Please, please keep her in your prayers.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas . . .

Sorry I have not been blogging very consistently lately.  Life has been busy!  I have a hard time imagining how busy life will be once our girls come home. 

Speaking of our girls, please keep praying for Nora's heart.  She is so frail.  We just pray that God will continue to breathe life into her.

And look at this prayer request answered!  Penny has found a family!  Remember back this summer when I asked everyone to share this post?  Well all three of these lovies now have a family working hard to get to them.  At the end of the post, I will give links so that you can donate to their adoption funds if you would like. 

There are still several children available for adoption in Nora and Anna's orphanage who have not found families.  I am going to be featuring them one at a time on here.  Today we start with Owen.  Such an awesome name.  Isn't he the cutest thing?  Who wouldn't want to be his mama?  Could you please share his picture and information?  And please pray for him.



So now to the title of the post.  Are you already thinking about Christmas or Hanukkah gifts?  Already shopping?  Well why not make it fun, get great deals, and help us bring home Nora and Anna at the same time?  You can!  Just stop by our facebook auction and bid on the awesome items we have listed.  We have gift cards to iTunes and Gap, handmade scarves, blankets and jewelry, antique aprons, gift sets from Clinique, philosophy and Origins and so much more!  Here is the link:

Auction for Three Angels

If you are looking for a last minute tax deduction, you can also donate to our FSP which we can access for adoption expenses. 

Rosencrants FSP

Now as promised here are the links to help sponsor the three children's families featured in my Fairy Tale Post.

To help Payton's family.  There is a chip-in on the side of their blog.

To help Adam's family.  This donation is tax deductible.

To help Penny's family.  There is a chip-in on the side of their blog.

What Really Matters

Today is an important day in America.  It's Election Day.  What a blessing to live in a nation where I have a voice and a vote, especially as a woman.   I take this obligation seriously and I hope that my US readers over 18 will as well. 

But upon waking up this morning, God reminded me that no matter who wins today, He is still sovereign.

And I will be glad when today is over.  I am tired of the mudslinging and the lies.  And I am sick over the  billions that all those running have spent to win today.  Yes, the election is important, but there are so many other things that are more important.  Our society ignores them, doesn't want to see.  Won't spend money on.

I am going to include disturbing images in today's post.  If you do not want your world changed, if you just want to think about the election, then close this website now.



This is a picture from the orphanage my girls are in.  Things are changing there for the better, but there are still plenty of institutions around the world, where children are caged.  Yes, caged.  We get upset when we see animals treated this way.  But these are children!  Made in God's own image!  Where is the outcry?  Where are the billions of dollars being donated to the families who are trying to rescue them?




In China toddlers are tied to a potty chair ALL DAY so that the understaffed orphanages do not have to deal with them.  I have seen video of this.  The older children come by and beat them and the toddlers are defenseless.  This my friends is my Owen.  He is 16 months old and had he been born in China and unwanted, instead of running around my house all day, he would be tied up in one place, his spirit and body broken.  It hearts my heart so much that I have trouble breathing sometimes.

Even worse are dying rooms.  Here unwanted Chinese orphans are tied to their beds and left to starve.  Don't believe me?  Here is a link to the BBC film which documents it. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE-U_Pq80OA&feature=rellist&playnext=1&list=PLC6D6D3A0AA29B7B6

This is the first part of four, so make sure you see them all.





These precious ones have been labeled "not worth it."  Not worth the time or money to feed or love or eductate.  For the boy or girl on the bottom (can you even tell at this point?), not worth getting out of bed, ever. 

The reality of physically and mentally challenged children abandoned in Eastern Europe is that turning four is a virtual death sentence.  From ages birth through four they live in a babyhouse.  Some of these are horrible, but some are decent.  The staff loves on the babies and does the best they can.  But at age four, if they have not been adopted, they are sent to an adult mental institution.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Four year olds are sent to live with mentally disabled adults.  Many do not survive.  If they do, it is to live life in a crib or sitting in a chair with nothing to do all day but bang their heads into the bars of their crib or chew on the their tongue.  Here is a before and after pic of Sonny.  He is available for adoption through Reece's Rainbow.



The little redheaded darling lived at his babyhouse until he was four.  You can see how he is being treated now that he has been tranferred.  The stories of the screaming children being pulled from the nanny's arms as they are taken from the only home they have ever known are enough to destroy you.

Friends, God has made it very clear that these precious ones ARE our responsibility. 

 

James 1:27         

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Isaiah 1:17   
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.

Psalm 82:3   
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.

Psalm 10:18   
To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

I could post over FORTY more.  God is serious about this!  His heart is broken for the least of these!

There is so much we can do.  This is not one of those situations where you see suffering and think "I can't do anything about that."  We can!  Here's how:

1) Adopt!  No, not everyone is in a place that they can add a child to their family.  There are age restrictions and poverty guidelines.  But sometimes restrictions are waived for special needs children, so if God is placing this on your heart, ask! 

I know that adoption can be scary.  Believe me, I know.  But I also know that there is nothing more important in this life than rescuing a child from being alone in this world and giving them a family!

2)  Advocate!  Got a Facebook or a blog?  How about an email?  Ok, a voice?  If so, you can spread the word about these children.  Log on to www.reecesrainbow.com and choose a child to advocate for.  Share him or her with your Facebook friends.  Tell others about the need.  It doesn't cost anything!

3) Give!  Maybe you can't adopt for one reason or another.  But if God has blessed you materially, you can give!  There are so many families who are willing to adopt but just can't afford it.  Help them!  Donate to a nonprofit that is going into an orphanage and making a difference.  Here are two:
Maya's Hope (http://mayashope.org/) and the Pleven Medical Fund (http://www.eliproject.org/donations/pleven-medical-fund/).

4)  Pray!  This is the most important!  Spend time on your knees before God praying for the plight of the orphan.  Choose a specific child to pray for.  Tape his or her picture on your refrigerator.  Choose a family to pray over.  I can't tell you how attacked most families are once they step up and decide to adopt.  Sometimes their family is not supportive.  Sometimes everything seems to breakdown in their house all at once.  Sometimes obstacle after obstacle is put in their way by the child's country.  You can pray for them!

Go vote today.  But today and tomorrow and the next day, think about what really matters.
 

First Visit with the Girls

Scott has just returned from his first visit with Nora and Anna.  To say that it was hard would definitely be an understatement.  On Scott's first day there, after traveling for two days and getting very little sleep, he walked into the orphanage and they handed him both girls at the same time!  Keep in mind that both girls have severe special needs and have been neglected for the most part, so they are not used to being held, especially by large men who speak a different language!  Naturally they both became very upset, Nora to the point where she was having trouble breathing.  They also would not let him take any pictures of the girls.  This was disappointing, but we respected their rules.

Scott and I skyped after that first visit.  We had to remind each other that our whole lives were in God's hands.  He was asking us to do this, and He would not leave us, not for a second!  I also emailed Susanna Musser, who had adopted Katie, the first little one adopted out of this orphanage.  She was so encouraging!  I felt the power of her prayers for us (and of our other friends and family) strengthening and calming me almost immediately and so did Scott.  He fell into a peaceful sleep that night and awoke refreshed and renewed.

From the second day on, Scott was to visit with Anna in the morning and Nora in the afternoon.  What a difference the second day made!  Anna took to him right away.  Remember she has hydrocephalus and will most likely need to have a shunt placed once she is home.  However, according to the personnel in the orphanage, her head size has not increased in the last several months.  Praise God!  I have been praying for this.  She also does not appear to be in pain.  She is eating baby food now, not just drinking from a bottle.  She is also rolling over and trying to push up on her arms.  For a skinny little thing with a heavy head, this is phenomenal.  Only our God!  She fell asleep in Scott's arms during the visit.  Sweet girl.  She knew she was safe and loved.

We were much more nervous about Nora's visit.  She had been so upset the first day and she has a heart condition, which we didn't know much about.  But our mighty God showed His power once again!  Nora did not cry at all when they placed her in Scott's arms!  She even made eye contact with him!  It is hard to overstate the importance of this.  First, she has been in her crib for the vast majority of her life, with minimal human contact.  Second, we were told that she did not fix her gaze on objects and showed little interest in the world around her.  Hah!  There is life in this child!  She is definitely the needier of the two girls, though.  She is tube fed.  Her limbs are very contracted, both from her CP and from lying in bed all of the time.  She does not speak or move.  But she is so precious!

Wednesday's visit with Anna was again good, but Nora's was hard.  That morning the staff took Nora to the cardiologist again.  Her prognosis is not good; her heart condition is very serious. The doctor does not believe she will survive.  Scott and I were so covered in prayer that this news did not discourage us.  It has only strengthened our resolve to fight for our daughter and get her home as quickly as possible!  We are asking her country to expedite the adoptions so we can get her seen and treated here.  God knows the plans that He has for this child.  Plans to give her hope and a future.  Satan cannot do anything to alter those plans, not even a bit!  And God willing she will know what it is like to have a family and she will be loved.  Please pray for her!

The last two days went quickly as the girls had to get their visa pictures taken and then Scott headed back to the capital city to fly home.  By then he was so ready to come home to us.  We were both anxious to get started on the second stage of our adoption paperwork so we can get our girls home!

We need your help!  First of all, please pray for our girls.  Please pray that God will make our adoption path straight and short and that we will have them home quickly.  Please pray that we will be led to just the right doctors and other professionals.  Please pray for our protection and the protection of our family.

Second, we need to raise our adoption funds quickly.  We will be holding an online auction on Facebook to raise money.  Would you be willing to donate something for us to auction?  Giftcards, jewelry, baby and children's items, and electronics are always good choices!  We ask that the person donating be willing to pay shipping, so please think small.  If you would be willing to help, please email me at eightisnotenough2012@blogspot.com with a picture of the item and a suggested starting bid and retail price (if known).  I hope to have the auction up within a couple of weeks so we can catch people who need Christmas gifts.

Speaking of Christmas, if you are shopping on Amazon for gifts, would you please do so through my blog?  All you have to do is enter a search term in the box to the right and you will be taken to the Amazon site to shop normally.  I then get a commission on your purchase and it costs you nothing!  I do not get your name or any identifying information.

Lastly, if you're looking for a last minute tax deduction, will you consider donating to our FSP?  This money is readily available to us for adoption expenses.  The link is to the right, or click here:

http://reecesrainbow.org/39085/sponsorrosencrants

I also want to give you a link to another blog which explains the wonderful changes that are going on in our girls' orphanage and how you can be a part.  God is doing such marvelous work!  I am so excited to be a part of the story He is telling!

Lastly,  I must remind you of the children still waiting in our girls orphanage.  Their files have been returned to their home country but they can be requested.  Please share them!  These little ones need homes so badly.  You can see them on my post here.  There is one new child available named Owen (one of my favorite names!).  You can link to him here.

Waiting Child Wednesday 10-17-12 and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE

Scott leaves to meet our girls soon.  Will you please cover him in prayer?  He is the first adoptive parent to visit this orphanage since August.  Friends, he is walking in to battleground between heaven and hell for the lives of over a hundred innocent children.  It will be so hard on him to leave our girls behind while we wait for the adoption to be finalized.  I cannot imagine how he will bear seeing all of the children who have no family coming (at least not yet).  Who lay day after day in a crib with no stimulation and no love.  He has a tender heart but a warrior spirit.  He will want to do something but in this case, he will only be able to pray and will have to walk away.  Please, please pray for his heart and his safety!  Please pray that our girls will respond to him.  They have never known gentleness or love.  They are not used to being touched at all. 

UPDATE:  I just found out that Scott twisted his neck wrong and is in a lot of pain.  Please pray that he will feel better before he boards his plane to Europe!

Reece's Rainbow is the organization through which we found our girls.  They have been helping us raise funds for the adoption - see our FSP to the right.  They have an amazing opportunity to win a $50,000 grant!  This will help fund the adoption of 10 children!  Imagine, 10 children who have never experienced a family suddenly being loved and cherished.  All we have to do is vote!  Please, please, will you click the link below and vote?  It takes 5 seconds and costs nothing but can make a world of difference.  You can vote once daily and the voting ends in just a couple of weeks.  Please!

http://www.cultivatewines.com/cause/49260/

Now on to the wonderful children who wait. 

First up, meet Chip.  He is 10 and needs a family so desperately.  Look at his sad little face.  I can just imagine it all lit up in a smile!




Look at beautiful Angelina!  What a wonderful daughter she will make her family.  She is only five and would benefit so much from therapy here.




Lastly, we have Andrew.  Look at that grin!  He looks like he stopped causing trouble just long enough for a picture.  Be ready for a good time if you add this little seven year old to your family!

It's Life or Death, People!

Today on the radio, a woman was complaining because Starbucks ran out of coffee.  My son was disappointed because his brand new iPod Touch isn't here yet.  I got impatient because I missed a green light when a fire truck came through.  On Twitter, these are called #FirstWorldProblems.  It's sort of a joke that we get upset over little things of little consequence here in our land of plenty. 

But you know, it's not really that funny.  Because the third world problems aren't funny.  Yesterday, another little girl died alone in her orphanage having never known the love of a family.  She was not even a year old yet and her adoptive family was days away from going to meet her.  Here she is:




That makes seven children listed on Reece's Rainbow that have died in the last four months.  Since there are only a few hundred children listed, but there are millions of orphans, it doesn't take stellar math skills to realized how many of God's precious children are dying alone around the world.

This week, the files of six children who live in the same terrible orphanage as my girls will be sent back to their country.  This means that no family said "that is my child."  The chances of them finding a home are now greatly diminished because their pictures and information will not be listed on any US sites. 

We will not give up the fight for them though!  We will keep their pictures on blogs and social media and in our minds while we try and sleep at night.  We will lift up prayers continuously.  So here they are.  It is not too late to save them!

Theodore



What a handsome guy! Despite spending his ten years in darkness, his smile still radiates light! He is described as a happy little boy. He would absolutely thrive in a family! Could God be prompting you? Contact Shelley Bedford at shele337@gmail.com.


Chad



What an awesome nine year old! What a change a family could bring! Be that change by contacting Shelley Bedford at shele337@gmail.com.


Brandi





What a little lovie! Brandi is left in her crib all day. She needs a mama and daddy who would treasure her. What a joy to watch her reach milestone after milestone. Contact Shelley Bedford at shele337@gmail.com.


Garnet



Garnet truly is a jewel! Look at her beautiful smile despite the fact that she has been neglected and abused for all of her 10 years. Garnet is very smart! More pictures and a video are available.  Contact Shelley Bedford at shele337@gmail.com.


Harvey



I must admit that Harvey breaks my heart. He looks so sad and alone in his crib. He needs a mama to rock him and sing to him and love him. Look past his exterior! There is a little boy in there! One who deserves to be told he is a precious child of God! Contact Shelley Bedford at shele337@gmail.com.

Kramer



Handsome Kramer is eight year old. He could make such strides with a family's love and support! He just needs someone to take him out of his crib and provide the therapy he so desperately needs!  Contact Shelley Bedford at shele337@gmail.com.


Penny




Princess Penny is such a fighter! Despite the fact that she has lived in the orphanage for a long 11 years, she survived! She weighs a measly 21 pounds, but would gain weight so quickly once she were home. She smiles, she loves despite what has been done to her.  Contact Shelley Bedford at shele337@gmail.com for more information.

Can you put aside your first world problems for a while today, and see theirs?  It's a matter of life and death.  It is no less than a battle between heaven and hell for the lives of these precious children.  Please share and pray!

We have travel dates!

I'm so excited to announce that we've been officially approved by our girls' government to pursue their adoption!  This means that Scott will be travelling to meet them in a couple of weeks.  It is so weird to dream about and love and work towards meeting a child for months when you only have one photograph and a little medical information.  It will be so wonderful for Scott to actually hold them and get video and pictures and measurements and to see that they are real!

We are going to have to get more serious about fundraising now.  It has been hard because we see so many families in need and we don't want to take funds away from anyone else.  But we are getting down to the wire so I guess it's now or never.

We will be holding an online auction sometime in early November.  If you would be willing to donate something for us to auction, we would really appreciate it!  It could be anything - jewelry, crafts, children's clothes, a designer bag, cloth diapers, Christmas decorations - really, the list is endless.  Just keep in mind that it will have to be shipped and we would appreciate it so much if the donor would be willing to donate shipping as well, so you don't want it to be too big.  All we would need from you is a photo and description of the item!  If you can help, please email me at eightisnotenough2012@gmail.com.

We also have two fundraisers going on.  Who needs to buy some early Christmas presents?  One is through Pampered Chef and you can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/417849104942087
The other is through Scentsy and you can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/events/258904987554988

You may have noticed when you clicked on my blog that I have an Amazon Associates button.  If you search for something through that button and buy anything on Amazon.com, I will get a commission!  Please consider going through my blog for all your Amazon purchases!

Lastly, if you're looking for a last minute tax deduction before the end of the year, you can donate to our FSP and it is entirely tax deductible!  Here is the link: http://reecesrainbow.org/39085/sponsorrosencrants

Thank you all so much for the support we have received these past few months.  Please keep Scott in your prayers as he travels.