Another week

Tony came home this weekend after being gone for 4 days with our oldest daughter Faith, and our oldest son Dylan.
When Tony's father passed away he had asked before he died to have his ashes spread over the black hills of South Dakota. Tony was adopted from this place. Tony's dad had spent awhile there waiting for to bring Tony home when he was a baby. I have never been there, but the pictures they took look like a magazine picture. They were breathtaking.
Tony and the kids flew up there on Wednesday afternoon. On Friday the went into the hills and gently poured pepas ashes into a stream of water flowing down the hills. The kids talked about how everyone cried and the moment was beautiful until my oldest son fell into the water. After making fun of her brother my oldest daughter followed him in falling in as well. I guess it was a good way to break up the tension.
Pepa died suddenly in June after a long battle with Cancer. He had been cured of the cancer, but the chemo had taken its toll on his body.Pepa had had alot of issues with us adopting a baby with special needs. I still don't know how he felt before he died, but his wife had told us that he had come to terms with it before he had passed.
Now that they are all home they keep telling us stories of how beautiful this place was. I want to take all the kids after we get them all home. I think it would be a great road trip for the family to take.
I take for granite that I can travel with all my kids now and we can have fun no matter where we go because we love to all be together. In just a few years I know our oldest Faith will no longer be interested in traveling with us across the country. I'm going to try to get as many vacations in as I can before the kids blossom and fly away!!!
No news on any mail yet. Please keep praying. We are really trying not to get discouraged as our friends bring home their baby this week. I know he has his plans for everything he does, so we will wait in patience!!

Answers to Anya

We have been praying about Anya for awhile now and we have been talking alot about her to Andrea and to McKenna. I have made up my mind that I really want to adopt her. Tony has been waiting for God to give him the right sign that she should be ours.
Today I was looking back to find her on the other angels. I could not find her on the site anymore so I was getting really upset that something had happened, maybe someone stepped up before me and had committed to her before we could. This made me very uptight to think we had missed our chance.
It was then that I decided to check under new commitments and that maybe they had moved her for us, because we had asked so many questions and because I had told them that I really wanted her. When I moved down I saw my baby laying there in her picture and it was such a beautiful sight. I new then that God had made this decision for us. We hadn't made the final decision to adopt her, but somehow it must have seemed that way. I think it was God. Tony had been praying for a sign the entire time, and now I think this is it.
I now we can do it. I have thought about it over and over, and I know we together can do this. We may have to hire someone to come in and help a little with cleaning and stuff, but its al l good, I know it is. Now I must prepare another place for Anya to sleep, and buy a few more items that she will need. Ten kids, WOW!!!
I check the mail everyday waiting for our paperwork and still, nothing!! We are getting very frustrated about the wait. I know this is normal, but we have waited a bit longer than most families on here. We just want the three girls home.
Thank you to everyone that helped to pray for Anya. I thank God that he helped answer our prayers. We just needed that extra kick to make the decision.
I will let you now if we get our mail in today or not, Thanks, Leah

Praying about Anya

At church today I prayed alot about little Anya. I really have a special place in my heart for her, but I don't know if that means God wants me to bring her home, or try to have other people adopt her.

Tony has been looking at her profile with me and we have been looking up what she has. Right now she really cant move her arms and legs at all. They said with therapy though she should be able to do so later on. We are having our paper worked switched to add her just in case God tells us to bring her home. How hard that would be to say no though once you have her in your hands and holding her there in front of you!!!

I guess we were under the impression that when we got to there we could see all the babies and love on them. Our kids are getting very excited about the children coming home. They keep asking when will they be here. They don't seem to understand what we are waiting for. We tell them we are waiting for mail to come and tell us, so everyday they run to the mail and bring it home. " Is this it, Is it time!!!," Its been a month now that we last sent off our INS paper work, so it should be very soon.

Thanks you so much for the people who commented on my last blog. I think I was getting overwhelmed with people asking to many questions about adopting to many kids and telling me we should not be doing this. I know in my heart what God is telling me to do, so that's all I need to worry about. I have known since I was a little girl that God wanted me to have alot of children, and my husband has always said he wanted 12. I don't think anyone thought he was telling the truth, like his mother and family, but they are all in support of our decisions to do this. We are excited about the way our lives are about to change and the closer it gets the more real it all becomes. We are sooo ready and the room just waits here for our girls, we just need them to come home!! Pray that our paper work comes soon and that we get everything mailed off soon so that we can get our travel date!!!

The picture is our youngest Emma,She has been asking everyday for her babies to come see her!

We are still waiting for our INS papers to come back. After this our dossier is on its way to the Ukraine!!!

The tension is still here about leaving a few of the kids behind when we go, but I'm really trying to prepare them by telling them the great reward in the end of all of this. I'm not sure that makes this any easier for them, but they do understand.

While I was looking at the Reece's Rainbow page about 2 months ago I just happened to look at the babies in the section titled "Other Angels" There I saw sweet little Anya. She is lying their all twisted up because she has no ability to move her arms or legs. It broke my heart to think these babies probably sit in their cribs all day because they are not mobile like the other children there. Ever since them I have had her on my heart so much. She just happens to be in the same orphange as Vanessa and Elisa to.

My husband talks with me about adopting her and being so much more than we have counted on. We have never dealt with children that have D.S. nor have we dealt with children that has what Anya has.

Having 7 kids right now we have so many people judge us the wrong way. They just don't understand why people would want this many kids, not to mention bringing 3 more special needs kids home at once with no experience. I know I should not care what people say, but sometimes it really makes you feel like you can not do the same things that just the everyday people do. Even going out to dinner, or going to a movie, or the mall. People stare and even comment at the sight of seeing us all together.

I know this doesn't have much to do with me bringing another baby home, but I feel like all that would get even worse. How do people handle this?

I walk with pride that my kids are mine, I love my children and the fact that God is about to bless me with even more, But I want the world to see my kids and how beautiful they are without judging me for how many I have. I was just wondering how people deal with this? I never knew so many other families had as many kids as I do until I began to read all the blogs on here. I was amazed at how common it was. I was amazed that their were so many with adopted children. I think people should be happy that we have so many and never question why we have the kids we have. We have them because we are truly blessed by God!

Now, going back to Anya, My question is could I really bring her home and handle it. I guess I need to ask this to the many moms and Dads out there that have children with DS. Can I take care of 2 new babies with D.S. and take care of another child that is totally not able to move right now!!

Any answers would be great at this time. I love her so much already, I just want what is the best for her as I do for all my kids. Thanks for reading again. Ill write back when we finally get in our papers!!! Leah

Still Waiting

I feel bad that we do not blog much anymore, but there just doesnt seem to be much to blog about. We are really still waiting to get our INS approval. We received it once, but they needed us to add a few things. Now we are just waiting to get it back again. After that, we will send off the Dossier.
We are ready, the room is ready the kids are ready, Im sure sweet Vanessa and Elisa are ready as well.
I have a friend threw church that started this adoption a few months after we did. She is adopting a little boy named Max from the Ukrain. They are on their way home from their first trip now. They will get to go back to get him next Sunday. I want so badley to be in their shoes right now.
I have to admitt though Im sooo scared to leave a few of my kids. We have 7 total right now. We are taking 2 of them with us. We have another daughter Grace who has alot of anxiety issues. We actually started homeschooling because of her being so scared of everything. Anyways, she has started getting really sick again the closer we come to leaving. I feel so bad for her that I wish just my husband could go with my oldest daughter. That way I could stay with her to comfort her. I know they will be taken care of here, but my heart hurts to know how sad she will be, and to know that she is making herself physically sick and throwing up. I would love to take her, but each kid cost another 1,500 dollars. We are taking our 2 youngest already because they were so upset to. I know all parents go threw this, but I just dont handle it very well.
So while I wait for our travel date, I will also try to prepare myself on how to deal with saying goodbye for 3 weeks. Any suggestions would be grate right now. I almost wonder if I should try to come up with the money to take her to. Then I think Im not teaching her the right things. I dont want her to be so sheltered all of her life. I think she needs to face the world without me sometimes. Awwww!! Im so confused.
In the end I know what really matters are those other 2 babies on the other side of the world waiting for us to finally meet them, and I can not wait to go!!
Thanks for reading , Leah












Our Daughter Grace!