Monday, November 22, 2010

New Picture of Sergei G.!!!

Hey Everyone!  Andrea at Reece's Rainbow sent me a current picture of Sergei G. today! What a cutie pie!!


 
  (Note added 11/24: I was wrong about adding the ChipIn to the Angel Tree account to get his total.  His Angel Tree $$ already adds the ChipIn amount to it, so it reflects the actual total.  However, the hard working ladies at Reece's Rainbow sometimes take a few days to update the number on the A.T site so the numbers don't always match the ChipIn amount on my page.  Sorry it's so confusing and sorry to have unintentionally mislead you all.  Whichever amount is highest is the correct amount.  *I think*!)
 
 
So now Sergei's total is:
$2290!!!
That is so wonderful!!!  I'm so happy to see his new picture, too!  It looks like he's sitting up on his own and has gained some weight!  Hopefully, this is true!  He still doesn't look like a 5 year old to me, but at least he doesn't look like an infant anymore.  Maybe like a 2 year old.  He still needs our help raising money and he absolutely needs a family to bring him home!!  Are you out there, family?  Are you feeling that little nudge like it should be you?  PLEASE respond to those feelings.  Don't push them away out of fear!!  Look what is already being accomplished for this little boy!  God can do amazing things! 

Also, here are some pictures of some more newly knitted items added to the drawing!
A matching Christmas scarf and hat
A second strawberry hat
and two more stripey hats but with purple, yellow and brown instead of blue, yellow and brown.
 
That makes 11 prizes total!  So many of you are going to win something awesome!!  Woo Hoo!  Please keep helping to spread the word about Sergei so that more people can help him come home to a family!  Please leave me a comment or email if you cross-post the "Sweet Sergei G.'s Fundraiser" so you can get credit for another entry into the drawing!  Thanks!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

What 6 Months Can Do...

Go over to Adeye's blog to read this amazing post.  http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2010/11/she-rocks.html
She adopted 2 little girls with Down syndrome 6 months ago.  When she got Hailee, she had just turned 5 years old, weighed 16lbs, could not sit up by herself or barely hold her head up, like a 3 month old.  5 YEARS OLD!!!   Now she no longer has the constant wound across her forehead from banging it on the crib bars out of boredome, she can stand up, she smiles, she's growing.  She is LOVED!  Amazing changes in this girl in just 6 months.  When they found Hailee in the back room of the orphanage she "was written off as being useless, a burden on society, without any abilities, with no hope at all, a mere corpse with breath in a crib...."   How haunting! 
  
Hailee 6 months ago.      Hailee today!
Please read, learn and learn to love! 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

New Prize!!!

I can finally tell you all about the new fabulous prize for Sergei G.'s fundraiser! 

In addition to the $100 Amazon gift card
the hand-knit boys' hats in 3 sizes 

the hand-knit girls' strawberry hat

 the hand-knit matching hat and scarf (modeled and knit by my wonderful sister-in-law, Jamie)


we are adding a brand new Keurig Special Edition Brewer ($139.95 value) PLUS 4 boxes of K-cups (coffee, tea, cocoa etc., a $55 value)

 all generously donated by Keurig themselves!!!  Woo Hoo! 

Man, I want one of those brewers!!!  Haha!  But I want one of you to win it more so that Sergei can have more money in his adoption account!!! So, let all your friends know that they are helping a sweet orphan boy with Down syndrome AND entering this drawing with some AMAZING prizes!!!

Donate with the ChipIn here or on the side of my blog or by going to the Reece's Rainbow Angel Page and scrolling down to Sergei on the 4th line.  Don't forget you get 1 entry for posting on Facebook, Twitter, or Blog, but you need to leave me a comment letting me know you've done this in order to get the entry recorded.  Also, if you donate through the RR Angel Tree site, leave a comment in the PayPal instructions that you're donating through my blog and want to be entered into the drawing, or leave me a comment letting me know! 


Oh, and the total count, as of this morning, is $975!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

F.Y.I., I updated the original "Sweet Sergei's Fundraiser" post with the current prize pictures if you want to see them all together along with the details for the drawing.  Thanks!

Monday, November 15, 2010

WOW!!

My sister, Heather, raised a total of $50 at her bake sale with just one type of cookie and rice crispie squares!  See what one person can do?!!!  Awesome!

  Can you believe that on Friday Sergei only had $450 and today he has..............
$805!!!!!!

yay!!!!
Add the ChipIn on my page to his Angel account here

Great job, everyone!  Keep spreading the word about Sergei and keep donating!  Also, if you donate directly through the Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree page and want to be entered into my drawing, just leave a note in "Special Instructions" on the PayPal page that you came from my blog.  If you already donated and didn't make that note, no problem!  Just email me and let me know or email Reece's Rainbow and let them know and they'll tell me.  It's all good!

Here are the finished boys' hats that my sister-in-law knitted!  They are so awesome!  Thanks, Jamie!!


Thursday, November 11, 2010

Stay tuned!

My sister is doing a bake sale at her husband's work today to raise money for Sergei.  I can't wait to see how many people donate $$ to eat her super yummy gourmet rice crispie treats and cookies!!! I'll let you all know she did and how much more $$ Sergei gets!! 




If you add the money from his RR Angel Tree account and the ChipIn on my page, he has
$390!!!

Also, there is going to be another AWESOME prize added on to this drawing!!  It's not finalized yet, but I'll let you know soon.  All I'll say is, it's something I wish I could win and could enjoy every day!!!!  Stay tuned...........!!!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Updated pictures

Hey Everyone!  Thank you so much for reading and spreading the word about Sergei!  I was thinking, and realized that most people have about 100 'friends' on Facebo*k.  If each of those people donated only $5 then Sergei would have $500 just from ONE person's contacts and friends!  That is amazing!  We can do this, people!  We can raise a substantial amount of money so that somebody on the fence about adopting Sergei might be nudged forward once the $$ hurdle is reduced.

Imagine if you all had a part in helping Sergei find a family!!!!  I already feel so honored that so many of you are reading and that Sergei already has...
 $365

raised in

1 week!!!!!

That's $170 on with my Chip-in and $195 given directly through the Angel Tree page here! (Sergei is in the 4th row down). 

Thank you so much to those who have donated!!!!!!!   Thank you so much to those who are spreading the word!  Thank you so much to those who are PRAYING for Sergei to find a family and to be cared for by somebody this day over in his country. 
Friends, please keep helping me help Sergei.  I can't do this alone and so appreciate everyone's help and concern!  Keep it coming!!!!!

Here are some updated pictures of the knitted items that my very talented sister-in-law has JUST finished knitting this week!  They look amazing!!!!!



She'll be working on the super cute boy's hat soon, so stay tuned for those pictures. 
Don't forget about the Keurig Coffee Brewer and the $100 Amazon gift card, too! 
See previous post for fundraiser details!
Thanks so much!!


P.S. To donate, Click on the "Chip In" button on the side of my blog.  It goes right to PayPal.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Sweet Sergei G.'s Fundraiser

When the twins were babies I started searching online for organizations that were somehow involved with Down syndrome since Noah, one of our twins, has Down syndrome while the other twin does not.  Down syndrome and special needs were a whole new world for me and I wanted to see pictures of other babies and kids with Ds so I could just stare at them.  Stare at them and think.  Stare at them and cry.  Stare at them and smile.  I wanted to stare, because for most of my life I was afraid to even really look at people with Down syndrome.  I didn't know how to talk to them or how to act around them.  I didn't know how they would act or what to expect....
Through my online searching I soon came across an organization called Reece's Rainbow and was captivated by all I saw and read at their site.  Reece's Rainbow promotes the international adoption of children with Down syndrome in a way that seemed very unique to me.  They create accounts for each of the children on their 'Waiting Children' pages and people can donate to a specific child.  When a family comes forth to adopt a child, the money in that child's account is used for the adoption fees.  If the adoption falls through for some reason, the money stays in the child's account so that another family can make use of the money! 

Let me give you some info that will SHOCK you!  In Eastern European countries, right now, babies that are born with Ds are immediately put into orphanages.  Their parents are told that their babies aren't capable of learning, loving or living a life and that they should be cordoned off from the rest of society.  There are not options for Early Intervention therapy, doctor intervention or even schooling.  Oftentimes the families of people with Down syndrome are shunned and find it difficult to find work and other necessities of life.  Therefore these sweet sweet babies are abandoned to orphanages FILLED with all the other children that don't look 'perfect', that have some extra special chromosomes, or had a difficult start to life because their mama drank and drank throughout the pregnancy. 

When these babies become grown and old, no wait, when they turn 3-5 YEARS old (!!!) they are transferred to adult mental institutions.  Insane asylums.  Locked up.  Left in their cribs.  Thrown a bottle of food and possibly given a diaper change.  Most of these medically fragile darlings die within the first year due to neglect and horrible living conditions.

....At the time, I looked down and stared at my own sweet Noah, who had just received open heart surgery at one of the best Children's hospitals in the country, and wept.  He was alive and with me.  He had had a team of strangers work hard to save his life by fixing his heart.  He had a large family that prayed for him and loved him while he was in my womb.  He had a church family providing us with meals upon meals so that we didn't have to cook.  People babysat, people cleaned our home, people gave and gave and gave.  Noah had a community just waiting until his birth so they could jump in and start physical therapy, oral therapy, occupational therapy so that he could become as strong and able as his twin and other typical children.  All for one boy.  All for my baby.  Amazing love!  While other 5 year-olds with Ds in international orphanages are still unable to walk, or hold their own bottle of slurry or grow to more than 18 lbs, Noah at two years old and 28 lbs,  is climbing up into his high chair to gobble down my homemade chicken soup or pizza. 

Over the 2 years since finding Reece's Rainbow I have stared at theses orphans, prayed for them and watched them grow.  Some have been adopted (!), like Nadia at http://www.seeingtheupsideofdown.blogspot.com/

some have been transferred to an institution like Ruslan who is 8:

and others have died, like Anne Marie. 

I have stared and stared and stared.  I have stared and cried.  I have stared and smiled.  I have stared and prayed.  Amazingly, with all this unabashed staring at the orphans and at my own son, God helped me to stare inwardly at my own prejudices, my own fears and at my own heart bursting open with a passionate love for people with disabilities.  I no longer stare at them in fear of how I will be affected.  I stare and wrack my brain of ways that I can help them.  Ways that I can love them.  Ways that I can help other families that are going over there to take them from the orphanages and institutions to bring them to a home of life and love.

Hence the purpose for this long long post.  While we hope to adopt one of these angels in the future, this year, I am a Reece's Rainbow Christmas Warrior for a little boy called

(The original picture- not sure of his age here)

 (This is a current picture from Reece's Rainbow received on 11/23/10)

Sergei is turning 5 this month!  An actual date is not listed for his birth because it probably wasn't important enough for someone to remember.  I imagine that his mama tries hard to forget him left in that orphanage and soon-to-be institution.  This picture of Sergei isn't just his baby picture.  This is how he looks, like a 2 year old.  He is 5!

The goal of a Christmas Warrior is to commit to raising $1000 for a child on RR's Christmas Angel Tree.  However, it costs $25,000 to adopt a child with Ds from an orphanage/institution so I set a higher goal for myself and for you all to see if we can raise $10,000 so that a family will be more willing to adopt Sergei without having to raise the full $25,000.  I have seen God provide full funding (ie $20,000+) for several children in a matter of days.  Maybe you can be a part of such a miracle!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Click here to read the official details about Reece's Rainbow's Christmas Angel Tree .  In addition to my fundraiser, any person donating $35 (before 12/15/2010) will get an ornament from Reece's Rainbow with a picture of Sergei on it.

As for information on my fundraising for Sergei, all the money donated through Chip-In (Online Paypal) goes directly to Sergei's adoption fund.  I can see who donates, but I never come in contact with the money.  If you'd prefer to donate by writing a check, please make it out to Reece's Rainbow, put a notation that it's for Sergei G. on the Angel Tree, and mail it to:
Reece’s Rainbow
PO Box 4024
Gaithersburg, MD 20885

Now for all those people out there who like the idea of 'winning' a sweet Christmas present to either keep or give away, there's an added incentive in giving to sweet Sergei. 

You could win a brand new Keurig Special Edition Brewer ($139.95 value) PLUS 4 boxes of K-cups (coffee, tea, cocoa etc., a $55 value)!!!!!!!!!!!!


all generously donated by Keurig themselves!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Also, a $100 gift card to Amazon.com!!!!!!!  Wouldn't that make for some sweet Christmas shopping?!!! 

$100
Other prizes in this drawing are hand-knit (by my super-talented sister-in-law!!) accessories for women and children!!

A woman's light blue matching knit hat and scarf


Five of these stripey knit hats.  2 with purple, yellow & brown.  3 more with blue, yellow & brown (infant, child and adult sizes)


2 of these cutie-patootie girl's strawberry hats!  These are SO cute!!


And a matching Christmas scarf and hat!

 
With so many gift items available, there are many opportunities to score one!!!


Every donation of $5 gets you one entry into the drawing. 
A $40 donation gets you 10 entries! 

Donate through the ChipIn button or directly through Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree here.  If you donate through RR leave a note to them saying you've donated through my blog and want to be entered into the drawing.

Wait!!!  There's More!!!  Hahahah
You get 1 entry for posting on Facebook about my fundraiser and including a link to my site.  
1 entry for posting on your own blog and including a link to my site. 
And 1 entry for Tweeting about my fundraiser.

That's 3 'free' entries into this awesome drawing.  That's 3 additional sources of promotion for sweet Sergei's adoption fund!!!

While you can continue to give to Sergei until 12/31/2010, my drawing will end and winners will be picked on 12/15/2010.  That will get the prizes/presents to you in plenty of time for Christmas!!

Leave me a comment in the comment section or send me an email (email address listed over on the side)  telling me you've posted on Facebook, Twitter or your blog along with a link to such postings. 
Even if you don't want to spend anything, or don't want to write me a note, please please please pass this on and tell your friends about it so that Sergei has a great chance of increasing his adoption $$. 

Thank you so much for reading and mostly for helping Sweet Sergei!!!!!!!

Love,
Debby


Monday, November 1, 2010

While You Wait....

Please feel free to start donating now for sweet Sergei.  While you're waiting for the fundraiser to be posted here are some pictures from Trick or Treating!




To Be Continued...

I am working on a post that will introduce you to Sergei G. and other Reece's Rainbow children with Down Syndrome in desperate need of a family!  I am Sergei's Christmas Warrior which means for the months of November and December I will be raising awareness and funds for Sergei G.  Stay tuned for an exciting give-away and all the details.