Blueberry Picking

My cousin Matthew and his wife Rachel have a few blueberry bushes at their house on the farm and they invited us to come pick some. It was about 100 degrees and only 10am but the kids had a great time. Laurel loves to pick the berries but not many usually make it into the bucket..... they end up in her mouth. Noah is a great picker. He eats a few then fills up his bucket. We had lots of good breakfasts with blueberries on our waffles and our cereal.

Backyard Bible Clubs are over and the finale went well...... except for our friend Hayden who had a accident that involved his head and then took the ambulance to the ER but he is fine now.....

When asked to show their hands on who had asked Jesus into their heart this week about 10 kids raised their hands. PRAISE GOD! These little children and many of their parents heard the Gospel.

Well, that's about it around here. The summer thunderstorm is moving in so I must turn the computer off.

Beating the Heat on the Farm

Watching some lovely "new creations" being baptized

Playing "HORSE SHOW"

In the Watering Trough

Painting some of our farm animals

How are we beating the awful summer heat? Well, here are a few ways. Sunday, we had the privaledge to watch 9 children get dedicated to the Lord and 7 ladies get baptized at our little church. God has just amazed me at the raw honesty of these precious ladies and it is so refreshing to hear them ask questions about God and the Bible and not be afraid of what others may think about them. They are precious jewels that God is polishing to make them shine for Him.

The babies have been doing a lot of playing in the water at the house. Mike built the little hand pump for them and they love playing in the trough to cool off.

We have Backyard Bible Clubs this week. This year we are at 3 different housing complexes and we have a Bible story, games, snacks, crafts and lots of fun. YES, it is 100 degrees but seeing the joy on these children's faces and knowing we are doing a small part to share the Gospel with them makes it all worth it.

Funny Noahism of the week: "Mommy, will you go get my Tobacchoe out of the car so I can play with it in the dirt?" Seriously, where does he come up with this stuff?

Fun times with Friends

Noah & our godson Jacob

"Bubba" & Sister

Noah & Hayden

Riding on the Handy Dandy Railroad

Grandaddy & Laurel

Noah's not enjoying the noise

Best Friends

It's been another busy week at our little red house. The weekend of the 4th, we traveled to see the Handy Dandy Railroad and ride the steam train, look at all the tractors and just generally sweat to death. The babies had a good time but after a few hours they were hot and tired and it was OVER! I got to keep our godson Jacob for a few nights and days this week and the boys had a blast together. They loved playing in a creek and throwing rocks at random things..... such boys. Laurel hung right in there with them though. Saturday, we took our friend Jason and his son Hayden to Monkey Joes to play on all the inflatable equipment. They had so much fun climbing and sliding! We are riding out the hot days here with LOTS of popsicles, swimming at Nana & Poppy's pool and playing in the little wading pool at the house.

On a funny Noahism note..... we were watching TV and a commercial came on for Chucky Cheezes. Noah said "Mommy, I want to go to Chucky Jesus!" Also, we recently had our air conditioner serviced. We kept talking about the air conditioner so Noah came out of the bathroom after using it and said "Look Mommy, I used the Poopditioner". Gotta watch that boy!

Laurel is so cute trying to talk. She has "on and off" days but she is trying to talk and the babble is making more sense and starting to sound like real words and phrases. Currently her newest ones are "Hey Mommy", "Come on Mama" and she loves to sing Ring a Round the Roses. She also is so cute when she says her blessing before she eats. She makes sure everyone has their hands clasped and eyes shut and if not, she tells you about it. You can't understand anything but "AMEN" but Praise God she is doing that. She's getting it!

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!

Need a New Addition??

Jessie (Jessica) (23)
Girl, Born October 22, 2007

Jessie is darling!!! Brown hair and brown eyes, and totally healthy. Perfect age to benefit from early intervention, and to join her new family!

More photos available!I have $187 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption!

Wade (3)
Boy, Born December 11, 2007

Little Wade....new to Reece's Rainbow, we are so glad to be a voice of hope for him! He is in need of an adoptive family! Wade was born with a heart condition, but he has already had corrective surgery. This orphanage has a history of medicating the children, so many of them look sleepy and zoned out in their photos. It is imperative to find families for all of these children quickly. Wade can be adopted with Nikita below, and or any of the other children listed in orphanage 3.

From an adoptive family who visited with him in June 2010: Wade is ANGELIC. Honestly, the pictures do not capture just how precious he actually is. I longed to run out of there with him in my arms, together with my girls. He just captured my heart. He is so quiet and sweet. I never heard him cry once in all the time I was there. He is, very unfortunately, drugged most of the time. He has HUGE blue eyes, and his hair has a reddish tint to it. His eyes are stunning. I never saw him sitting on his own. Every time I was there he was lying down. I don't know if he is able to sit, or not. He has a bump on the front of his head, and at the back of his head, just as our daughter had. These children purposefully bang their heads on the crib as a means of stimulation. It is typical orphanage behavior for children who are so severely neglected. Wade is absolutely precious--he has such a sweetness about him. You can't help but want to scoop him up and love on him. I have no doubt that he will BLOSSOM in a family.
I have $100 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption!

BOTH OF THESE SWEET BABIES HAVE DOWN SYNDROME. THESE CHILDREN ARE KNOWN TO BE SUCH SWEETIES. SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE THESE BABIES A CHANCE. WADE HAS A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART BECAUSE HE IS FROM THE SAME CITY THAT LAUREL IS FROM!!! VISIT WWW.REECESRAINBOW.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Happy 4th

HAPPY INDEPENDANCE DAY EVERYONE!! We have been doing great around here, busy but great. Here's what is going on in each of the babies lives.

Noah: He definately takes after his Mama in the talking department. He's a magpie these days! :) His new favorite movies are Andy Griffith (Above picture: He is Ernest T. Bass!) and The Wizard of Oz. I thought that one would scare him but he loves it.

Laurel: We continue various therapies 4 days a week. Her speech and language is progressing really well. We have a really rough week with not much speech and then it explodes the next week or two. One of her therapist hadn't seen her in 3 weeks and today was so surprised at how much more babble she was doing. Her babble has become more "conversational" even though you can't understand the words yet it is clear she gets conversation. Words come next! Also, she is showing great strides in comprehension and tone and intonation of her voice. Basically they are saying she really won't even sound very hearing impaired. She imitates any words and is adding more words daily. All I can say is Praise be to God!! UNC told us on Friday that right now she is NOT a candidate for Cochlear Implants because she is making too much progress with her hearing aids. Please pray with us that she'll keep this progress up.

Anyway, that's what's going on around here. Have a Happy 4th!

South Carolina & Pennsylvania

Here we are in SC with Grandat & Dusie & Uncle Ronnie

GETTYSBURG

A gun-courtesy of Nana..... ;)

Laurel is definately an animal lover

OK John, no complaining about doing hay.... look at these guys!

Lovin' Cherry Crest Farm

An Amish volleyball tournament

Waiting for Thomas

Yummy homeade root beer and jellies!

Amish Buggies

As you can see with the lack of updates, our family has been traveling a bit these last few weeks. We took a trip to SC to see Grandat and Dusie. We had a great time catching up although Laurel got pretty sick with Croup. Hopefully next trip she will be a little more agreeable.

This past weekend we went to PA with Nana & Poppy. Now Noah just LOVES Pennsylvania. And as you can see from the pictures you'll know why. We visited Gettysburg Battlefield, Hershey (Laurel was in heaven!!), Cherry Crest Farm (so much fun for 1 day!!) and Day out with Thomas the Train. I know I've left things out but there was so much to do. Noah was so excited to see Thomas he almost quit breathing! That boy and trains. Laurel was pretty much the same way when we visited the chocolate factory..... a girl after my own heart. I have so many more pictures but not nearly enough computer space for them right now but I'll post more later. Thanks to Nana & Poppy for many new memories made!!

Can you Help??

Sawyer (13xgt, Region 3)

Boy, Born June 2007

• We do not have any formal medical info about this boy, other than he has some mild craniofacial disorder. He has the wispiest blonde hair and beautiful eyes. Full medical info available upon dossier submission.
  2 trips
• • One parent for first trip, about one week
  • Both parents travel for 2nd trip, only 4 days
  • One parent stays behind for 1-3 weeks, depending on whether the 10 day wait is waived
  • No family size restrictions
  • No parental age restrictions
  • Total program and travel fees under $30k
  • Fee includes a $500 orphanage donation
  • Married couples and single mothers may apply

Anastasia (4)

Girl, Born June 25, 2009

Anastasia is a sweet girl who was born with arthrogryposis. We are waiting for her medical records, but she clearly has hydrocephaly as well. Hoping to find out if a shunt has been placed yet or not (this pic is from Oct 2009). Anastasia desperately needs a family.

More photos available

Time to show you a few more precious orphans who need a Mama and Daddy. I know these pictures may be shocking & even disturbing to some of you. I am one of those people who sometimes believes that if I don't see the tragedy or injustice that maybe it doesn't really happen. But that is not real life. That point of view isn't even Biblical. This verse has changed both my and Mike's life.... "Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:12. Mike & I have had our eyes opened to the plight of orphans in the world. They are living, breathing children just like our own sweet Laurel and Noah who hurt everyday. We long to do more to help this cause and pray for the Lord to show us ways we can help or help others in the process. For now, I can shed a little light on these precious children who need homes and medical attention. Adoption is not an easy process. For some it comes naturally and others not so much. But, it is a Biblical principle. Once again, not everyone is in the position to adopt a child but everyone can do SOMETHING for them. Pray for them daily, support someone who is trying to adopt, anything but let's all do SOMETHING.

As for our little family, we had a wonderful weekend in S.C. with Mike's Dad (Grandat) and his new bride (Dusie). The babies were a bit under the weather (Laurel has Croup) but despite that we had a really fun pool party and loved seeing everyone again. Noah thinks S.C. is a great place to live. I'll have to agree but boy is it hot!! :) We hope to see Grandat and Dusie again soon. My Camera is acting ugly right now so I can't get pictures off of it but will hopefully remedy that soon.
Last night we took the kids to a Mudcats game. One of our dear Reeces Rainbow friends, Jenn, who is adopting Milana had a fundraiser there. Noah now has a love/hate relationship with Muddy the Mudcat. Pics to come soon.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE AND OTHER PRECIOUS GO TO WWW.REECESRAINBOW.ORG