PLEASE HELP JONATHAN FIND A FAMILY!

UPDATE: A family came forward for Jonathan in time. By God's grace, this child was spared a life alone and on the streets. There are so many more like him. Won't you consider reaching out to be Jesus's hands and feet for one of "the least of these"?

This is a post by Adeye who writes a blog I frequently read at: NoGreaterJoyMom.com

Herself a mother of four special-needs girls, along with three biological boys, she spreads her love for the fatherless and advocates diligently for children in desperate need of families. Please read this, and then act on it by committing to Jonathan, or passing it along so his family can be found. Thank you!

December 14, 2011

URGENT***URGENT

A couple of mornings ago I woke up to an e-mail in my inbox.  "A boy needs help!" I read through the information and my heart broke.  Not really knowing what my role was at that point, I prayed and trusted the Lord that He would send the right family.

I prayed the entire day on Monday for him.  I checked in later that night to see if the many prayers being prayed on his behalf had been answered yet.

No, they hadn't!

Tuesday morning came and all I could think about was this poor young man.  I started thinking about when I was a teenager, and what a blessed life I had--a warm bed, food in my tummy, the opportunity to go to school, and people who loved me.  I put myself in his position and I felt physically sick.

You see, life as this one young man knows it is about to change.  Drastically!

It was then that I knew that I knew that I needed to come to you, the amazing readers of my blog, with another rescue mission.  I realized that, knowing all I know about him, if I choose not to advocate for him, well, I may just regret it for the rest of my life.  I knew I had to try to help, and I also knew that you guys would be so faithful to rush in and help.

Friends, this time a young man, just fifteen years old, is literally on the brink of an absolute catastrophe!

This is Jonathan.  I don't know anything of his history, only that he is an orphan in Eastern Europe.

On December 31, 2011, Jonathan will turn sixteen.  A huge birthday for most teens.  But a dreaded day for this young man. Soon after the day of his sixteenth birthday Jonathan will be given the "gift" of his freedom.  Together with a small bag which contains all of his earthly possessions and about $30 in cash, he will be set free--no longer to be taken care of by a state orphanage.

Freedom?

Sadly, not!

Unfortunately, most of the children like Jonathan who "age out" of the system literally have nowhere to go.  They are left on the streets to fend for themselves. With nowhere to turn, and no one to turn to, many end up in the trafficking industry. The majority never make it past their teen years. It is the sobering reality of most orphans who are forced to leave the only place of safety they know.  The statistics are staggering.  It is one of the many reasons adoption advocates fight so very hard to get children out of orphanages before it is too late. They know.

Here's the thing...

Jonathan has a matter of DAYS to find a family.  Mere DAYS!

In order for this boy to be rescued from a life that few of us can even begin to imagine, a family needs to step forward in the next few days and commit to him!  I'm told that as long as there is a commitment and the I600 visa is applied for, he will be kept where he is, and the adoption can be completed later.  That's the good news.

Right now what is needed is a family who has adopted internationally before.  From the contact I have been given, "He needs a family that is married, can travel, and has a homestudy that can be used for immigration approval and is willing to apply for immigration in the next week.  If a family is ready to apply they will work directly with the facilitator who knows him."

One week!  A visa HAS to be applied for in the next week in order to save this boy!

Here's a little we know about Jonathan:

"Jonathan is apparently a very, very good boy. He has a great sense of humor which has been confirmed by other kids in his class and two children who were recently adopted to U.S. He loves to work on a computer, takes part in virtually all theatrical performances organized at the orphanage, just a great actor, very calm when not on stage, never gets in trouble, loves sports and plays soccer, played basketball and trained in light athletics, studies at good level. Jonathan is respectful to adults and older children. He is obedient and always ready to help. NEEDS A FAMILY to file for immigration ASAP, can adopt later. BEGS translator when he visits if he has found his family yet, desperately wants to be adopted. Can be chatted to on Skype as well as email."

Oh, God in heaven, surely someone can go for this precious young man before it is too late?  Surely he can be rescued in time?  My heart cannot even bear the thought of what the alternative is. 

Many, many people have joined in to spread the search for Jonathan's family as far and as wide as is possible.  Many are praying and interceding on his behalf.  Will you please join in?  Would you use your blogs and your social networks to share Jonathan's desperate need for a family?  It is only going to take ONE family to rise up and say yes.  Just one. Surely between all of us we can help one boy to be united with his family...and spared the future he is rapidly heading toward?  I have to believe it.

I believe with all my heart that we serve a God who LOVES to show His miracle-working power through seemingly impossible situations.  He loves to show His power, His glory, and His faithfulness when all the odds are stacked up against us and things seem so dismal.  Of course He can do this!

Thank you so much for joining us in the search for Jonathan's family!  I appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Please, I'm begging you to share his story wherever you possibly can!  It is the only way his family will find their son.

If anyone would like more information about adopting Jonathan, please contact Amy at waitingchildren@gmail.com

FIRST [REAL] SNOW OF THE YEAR!

Yesterday was a really great day. We started it off with our first snow of the season. At breakfast somebody suggested the kids go outside to make a snowman, and it was all over! It took us forever to get them out the door, since we hadn't quite located all the snow gear yet, but we finally got them all bundled up. They had hours of fun in that fluffy white stuff. It was Katya's first real experience with snow, and she dove right in! She ate snow the entire time, and her face was beet red because of it. But she had such a ball! The snowman  was a joint effort. Even Katya helped roll and pat the balls, and Claire was sent to fetch a nose. The photo in the middle may be the best photo I've ever taken of all my kids at the same time!

The boys stuck with it until the snowman was complete. They each went through two pairs of mitts. (We had to assure them that mitts getting wet was perfectly normal, and the solution was as simple as changing mitts). They used a bike helmet for a hat. The whole snowman was completely their own doing. The only thing Vlad helped with was getting the middle ball up where it belonged. Snow is heavy!! Other than that, the whole thing was the boys' work. I thought they did a pretty good job! 

The kids and I spent the afternoon shopping for lumber for small woodworking project, and then grocery shopping. When Vlad got home, we finished off our day with pot roast, apple cider, and caramel apple fondue (and awesome kid-friendly way to make caramel apples without the mess of the caramel apple). What a treat, and a perfectly cozy day!

THURSDAYS WITH CARMEN …and a bit of randomness

Today I am thankful for…Katya seeming to be getting better with her potty training. She's notifying me more often, and has gone #2 several times on the toilet. I'm thankful for every single time i don't have to change a smelly diaper. 

I'm listening to…Katya crying because she just fell on the tile floor, Claire laughing as the boys tease her in the family room. Spencer saying, "Don't forget! I've got horns, and I'm dangerous." Evidently they're playing "bullfight." And Collin talking about what would happen if he ate all of his Halloween candy at once. 

Looking forward to…umm…..I'm gonna have to say this one goes to being at the Little House this weekend. It was very nostalgic and comforting to go back there last weekend, when we replaced the downstairs carpet with laminate wood. This weekend we're doing doorway thresholds and baseboards. I really love that old house, even with all its rough edges. 

Missing…my family. Evidently I have only a 7-week threshold for being away from my family before I start to long to go back. That's a bit of a problem since we live next to polar bears, and they live next to saguaro cacti. 

Praying for…God to make me into a more loving and patient person. 

What's for dinner…I have no idea. We're really low on groceries because I just haven't managed to get to the store this week. Vlad suggested I bring the kids down to Costco by the university for dinner, and then we catch a movie as a family at the second-run theatre. I might take him up on that. 

Burning question of the week…I can't really think of one, so I'll borrow from Spencer's string of questions at lunch: "Who invented the spoon? Who invented the lightbulb? Who invented the toilet? Who invented houses? Who invented plates? Who invented candles? Who invented candy? Who invented baseball? Who invented basketball? Who invented…" 

This little miss has been very cute with her artistic endeavors this week, and produced her first-ever drawing of our family! 

And here's a bit of randomness from this week:

The kids have become my super-duper cleaning crew. I know I talk a lot about the messes we make, but I don't often mention that they are also super-duper cleaners. I don't mean just tidying, but also cleaning. They do windows, dusting, toilets, sinks, scrub floors, vacuuming. They're just reaching the point where I can tell them to clean up a room and they'll make it perfect- including vacuuming. It's really awesome, let me tell you! So there are a few pics to show you their nice tidying/cleaning jobs.

This week we started lapbooking, and our first unit is based on "The Secret Garden." We are reading through the book, and are pulling stuff from the book to learn about. For instance, the other day we learned all sorts of stuff about India, since Mary Lennox came to England from India. We learned a bit about Indian food, and so that day for lunch I dug in my pantry and found some canned curry sauce, and whipped up a quick Indian-style meal for us. I was pretty proud of myself, and it was delicious. All the kids ate it! Score!

It's always been a dream of mine to build a small mini-golf course in our backyard for the kids to enjoy. The boys took matters in their own hands a few weeks ago and dug several small holes in the front yard, then marked them with some PVC pipe that we had hanging around. It was pretty ingenious, and they enjoyed it for quite a while before forgetting about it. Here's hoping that no one turns their ankles in the little holes…

I ran to the store the other day with a few extra minutes while we were in Grand Forks. I tried on some jeans and figured out my size. But they didn't have the style I wanted, so I went home and ordered them offline. I'm not much of a shopper, so I really don't browse or peruse for much time at all. Sometimes the details of my purchases evade me. Evidently, I don't check myself out in the mirror either, because about three days ago I put on my new jeans and a shirt, and went down to start schoolwork with the boys. When I put my hands on my knees, I was shocked to find some very soft and fluffy patches, and even more shocked to see that they were intentionally-worn spots in my jeans!! I actually have holes in my jeans! On "purpose." I always thought I was much too practical for buying jeans that were already half-worn, and for sure didn't intend to show large patches of my upper thigh to the world. I am considering ironing patches of fabric in behind them, to extend the life of my jeans the same way I do for my kids' jeans. And next time I'll inspect for intentional damage.

A favorite game lately of all the kids, but especially the girls, has been to bury each other in the laundry that I throw down over the railing if I plan on folding it downstairs. Here are a few shots of Katya, buried by Claire. If only I could have caught the giggles on camera too!

You know you have a strong European influence in your home when you slice salami and french baguette for breakfast, and serve coffee in a French press.

I thought the boys would love learning about India, what with all the amazing architecture, the colorful festivals, the elephants, the traditional dances, the interesting traditional clothing. We made layered mini books for India, and they cut and pasted all sorts of beautiful and interesting photos.
As it turns out, they have loved learning about cholera today 10x more. Why? Here's a clue: It has to do with the symptoms of diarrhea and vomitting. They have laughed for hours while they sketch various pictures of people displaying these symptoms over and over and over in every variation of awkwardness. Seriously, they never cease to amaze me.

Happy Thursday!!

NOT ME! MONDAY -- HALLOWEEN, 2011

The whole crew, in Halloween garb. 

Today is Halloween. I have been a parent for nearly 9 years, and I have three children who understand that Halloween is a free-for-all for free candy while living out your childhood fantasies in full costume. I know the great anticipation with which kids approach this most beloved community holiday. And so, I most certainly would NEVER have intentionally left Halloween unmentioned for the last week so I would have a few moments peace from the costume and trick-or-treating talk. Halloween was NOT so unheralded in our house that my kids actually didn't believe me when we mentioned casually this morning at breakfast that on our list of to-do's was to go get them some costumes so they could trick-or-treat, since it was Halloween today. Oh, and get some pumpkins so they could carve jack-o-lanters too. No, Not I!! I did NOT leave costumes and carving pumpkins until Halloween itself.

It was NOT nearly three o'clock before we finished school, got a few chores done, and managed to get out of the house to the dollar store. I did NOT hit the dollar store up for a few ghost masks, a princess crown and wand, some facepaints, a couple of capes, a pumpkin costume, some leggings, and a witch's hat (that was all they had!), and glow wand and a few glow necklaces.  Luckily for me, my kids had asked to be ghosts and a princess (Katya had no choice - she's the pumpkin). Odds and ends for those costumes are easy to find; I got everything we needed for $25, and my kids were thrilled. 

No, this  is NOT like me. I am so uber-organized and pour all my time and talent into creating gorgeous detailed costumes for the weeks before Halloween. I NEVER wait until the last minute to grab anything that works. 

We then did NOT roll into the grocery store at about 3:30, grab a few pumpkins and some candy, and some loaves of french bread for dinner, and get back home by 4:30. We did NOT carve jack-o-lanters and put them out only an hour before dark. 

Claire did NOT carry a sheep-shaped candy basket with her. When you squeeze the sheep's hoof, it does not say "Happy Easter!" 

Katya did NOT go around singing "Happy Birthday" today, because she knew we were celebrating, but just wasn't really sure WHAT we were celebrating.

I was impressed with the kids' tenacity when they all dug in to their pumpkins to clean them out! 

That's pretty ewwwy and gooey! And it swallows up her whole arm!

Sometimes a princess has got to do what a princess has got to do….rolling up the sleeves to get to work!

Gutting her fellow pumpkin. Cannibal.

Spooky! I hate these things!

We're not sure what Katya was for Halloween this year, except for cute.

Our princess, complete with makeup. Enough glitter will make any girl feel like a million bucks! (And yes, I do make her wear warm clothes underneath in order not to freeze out there!

Collin did NOT decide last minute that the ghost mask was too scary, and dig out his trusty Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume from the dress-up box downstairs. Whatever works! 

Our finished products, awaiting trick-or-treaters (all 20 of them who showed up tonight!)

These are the girls'. Can you tell which is Claire's? The princess with the crown, of course!

These are the boys'. They're sort of into matching lately.

After we put the pumpkins out, I did NOT then instruct the kids to help me clean up the house so if anyone we knew came over for candy, they would not see the mess we'd created today. :) By time Vlad came home, he did NOT say that the kids looked amazing, and the house was sparkling! He gives me a LOT of credit. It did NOT make me laugh just a little bit - mum's the word!

THURSDAYS WITH CARMEN…and a little bit of randomness

Today I am thankful for….the fact that the bug that has hit our house isn't too awful. Claire got it the worst, and Vlad and I have both had 1/2 days of nausea and needing to lie on the couch and do pretty much nothing, but it really hasn't been as awful as stomach flus can really be.

I'm listening to…Spencer, Claire, and Katya playing somewhere in the house. I'm not sure if they're upstairs or downstairs. But they're fairly quiet - always a bad sign. Spencer is being exceptionally patient and sweet to them, and it's a joy to my mothering ears. 

Looking forward to…going to our Little Town this weekend. We're hoping the renter has finally moved out. 

Missing…most of my dishes. We now have five or six plates of three different sets. Where have all the others gone? Have we really broken that many dishes? Have the kids carried them out to the yard? I'm just not sure what to make of it, but one thing is for certain: the next dish set I buy will be the absolute most generic white set I can buy. That way I won't be sad when it breaks, and it will be easy to buy new ones to match. I remember that hundreds of years ago I had a very "beautiful kitchen" as my mother called it. It meant my dishes were pretty, and when the table was set it was actually attractive. Well, not so much anymore… *Wistful sigh*…..Okay, back to reality and the things that actually matter: 

Praying for... direction with the adoption process. We are hung up about finances at the moment. There are many people who step out in great faith and on a limb and jump into the adoption process without the faintest idea where their finances will come from. But $35k is a lot of money, and my husband's brain is waaaaay too logical to jump in without a plan. So we're praying for direction, provision, and that we can know exactly how to proceed with moving, and with getting the finances in order. 

What's for dinner….I wish I had a gourmet answer to this question. The answer lies closer to a rice casserole with pork chops. Yes, I said pork chops. Vlad did the strangest thing and actually bought them the other day. I don't know why because I've never cooked pork chops when they actually tasted good afterward and didn't make me sick to my stomach. One time we actually got food poisoning from pork chops. But he still bought them, and I'm still going to make them. Wish us luck - those who cook, and those who eat. :) 

Burning question of the week…what is up with this little man?:

This kid is going to be the end of my illustrious career as home-schooling mom, I tell ya! This little dreamer boy of mine is really quite something. I cannot for the life of me figure out what's going through his little brain. The best I can come up with is that he is so distracted by his animals and his full-throttle imagination, that he just can't concentrate or doesn't want to concentrate on his schoolwork. It's sort of unbelievable, and at times just hilarious. 

Take those two bottom pictures, for example. These are from yesterday's schoolwork. See the six and the four written in orange crayon under the donuts? Oh, yes, those are a six and a four….but as Collin put it while he was scribbling them sideways (and backwards) "they're having gravity problems." The six over on the right that is scribbled backward, was also endowed with bug eyes and a tongue that is spitting raspberries. This is how Collin does his schoolwork - always full of imagination, especially in anything that has to do with drawing or writing. 

But he also has strange little mental blackouts each day. They seem selective. This morning he couldn't for the life of him remember which number came after 10. So he counted to twenty every time he couldn't come up with it. It took us quite a while to do an addition worksheet. 

The other blackout he always has is the letter "i". He can't remember the sound or the letter. Why "i"? So strange. I finally found a way to give him a clue each time (EVERY time) he comes to the letter "i" in his reading. He hits the letter, squiggles his nose, looks at me for help, and I say, "Iguana in an igloo." And then he keeps going….until the next "i". 

He also doesn't seem to remember letters, words, or ANYTHING from one second to the next. He will write the word "me"  for one sentence, adn then not remember how to spell it the next second. The list could go on and one, but what I really think is happening is that he just doesn't really care too much about his schoolwork yet. He's much too distracted by his stuffed animals. 

Have you ever known a kid to have a stuffed lemur? Well, he has one. In fact, his first one was so loved that he now has a second one. He is the proud papa to two stuffed lemurs. And, of course, he knows their personalities, habitats, and mating patterns. :) This morning he wouldn't do his schoolwork until he had the "Daddy" ginormous stuffed dog all tucked in with puppy stuffed animals under his ears. They slept next to him while he wrestled with his addition. 

I really don't think it's a lack of IQ that I'm dealing with. This morning he came to me and said, "Mom, I had a scary dream last night that was evern scarier than the night before! Last nigh there were alien invaders coming to invade our planet! And so I took out a tommy gun and shot them, and the bullets went right through…."

Maybe if I have him add the number of bullets that came from his tommy gun we'll get past the number 11…. 

Here is a little bit of sweet nothing from our Fall 2011. These are the four little girls who roam our collective four acres all day, every day. This particular day, a dump truck delivering compost to the neighbor was the thrill of the season!

And then there's Katya, who loves her Sunday dress…and doesn't see any reason why she shouldn't climb up the outside of the stair rails in that Sunday dress.  The third picture is from the day that I decided to really give Katya's hair some extra-special treatment. She was born with curly hair, so that morning I put curling gel on her hair, and some hairspray, and scrunched it 'til it was dry. This was the result. Stick-straight! Evidently the curl was transferred to me when she was born.

And this was the view (and still is, at 11:00am) from our windows today. Foggy fog. I love the fog, and this one was/is particularly heavy. When we started school at 6:30am, the street lamplight was glowing in the mist. I'm looking forward to the daylight savings time change, so we might have a bit more light in the early morning.

Happy Thursday!