Help this family raise $ and awareness for their 2nd adoption!

I have been following this family's blog since their first adoption of a beautiful princess named Milana. They have just recently decided to go back to get a 2nd baby. But, they need help. Click HEREto be directed to their blog. By spreading the word, or donating as little as $10, you can be entered into their drawing for an iPad2 plus wifi! Go to their blog to read all the details. I know, I know. You think that nobody ever "wins" things like that. Well, remember my post here for Lydiah's new family? Just by making that blog post, I was entered into their drawing for a few prizes, one of them being a $100 Visa Gift Card, which I WON. So, if you can't donate, by reposting this on FB, Twitter, your own blog, etc., not only are you helping to spread the word about this family's fundraiser AND international/special needs adoption in general, you also have the chance at a great "prize". :)

The Starfish Story

Once upon a time, there was a wise old man,
who went to the sea to contemplate.

One day, while walking along the shore,
the wise old man looked down the beach,
and saw a gracefully dancing human figure.
The wise old man wondered out loud,

"Who would be dancing all alone on the beach?”

He began to walk faster to catch up.
Getting closer, the wise man saw that the dancer
was a child, who was not dancing at all.
The child was reaching down to the sand to pick up
something, and was very gently throwing it into the sea.
The man called out to the child,

“Good Morning! What are you doing?”

The child paused, looked up and replied,

“Throwing Starfish into the sea.”

Surprised, the man said,

“Yes, I see that, but WHY are you throwing Starfish into the sea?”

The child smiled brightly, pointed upward and
with perfect simplicity replied,

“The sun is up, and the tide is going out.
If I don’t throw them in, they will die.”

“But, don’t you realize, “asked the man,
“that there are miles and miles of beach and Starfish all along it?
You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The child listened politely.
Then bent down, picked up another Starfish,
threw it gently into the sea, just beyond the breaking waves,
and joyfully declared,

“It made a difference for that one.”

Even the Biebs has a passion for helping babies in EE. :-D

Justin Bieber has declared that he hopes to able to help provide comfort for Romanian orphans.

In an interview with CNN, the 'Baby' singer explained that he recently became aware of the growing number of abandoned children in the Eastern European nation.

"In Romania there are a lot of orphans... that are never touched or loved," he said. "That's really sad for me."

The star added: "I want to go over there and just hold them."

Bieber also noted that the late Michael Jackson's philanthropy has inspired his own desire to become an advocate for displaced children around the globe.


<3 him!

Waiting Wednesday

As you know, I usually struggle each Wednesday to pick a child to focus on for WW. Not this week. This week's decision was easy.

This is Hanson.

Here is what Hanson's RR profile says. You can view it yourself by click on his name above.
Boy, Born September 2005

HELP! I HAVE ALREADY BEEN TRANSFERRED!

Don't mind the pink shirt, this is a boy!

From his medical records: Congenital defect of the central nervous system, rachischisis of transverse part of spine, internal hydrocephalus, ventriculoperitoneostomia, flail legs (low extremities paraparesis).

Hanson has been transferred to the mental institution already. He is living in a very rural place, and is a "lost boy" now. Hope someone will advocate for him!

I have mentioned before that children with mental and/or physical dissabilites (even mild ones- ones that would be easily fixed in the U.S.)in this particular country are typically transferred from "baby houses" to adult mental insitutions around the age of 4. Sometimes, if they're "lucky" (like you can call it that), the baby houses will keep them for a little while longer. Hanson was born in September of 2005 and was *just* transferred to one of these instituions, like within the last month.
The Nalle Family know all too well what this institution is like. They resued their son, Aaron, from this same place last year. Here are Julia Nalle's words about sweet Hanson. Click on their name to view the Nalle's blog and see what a beautiful transformation their "Lost Boy" has made in the last year.
Hanson


A Lost Boy


At Aaron's old institute


TRANSFERRED


BREAK.MY.HEART


I can tell you what he does every day.


NOTHING.


The boys who lay in the cribs NEVER EVER EVER go out.


They lay there day after day.


No one EVER picks them up.


There are too many with too little caretakers to watch over them.


They become stiff in their beds.


Hanson is there.


He is a Lost Boy.


Transferred.


He will die there.


Along with the other 40 boys who are laying in their cribs.


Hour after hour.


Day after lonely day.


HANSON


Lost.


There is hope for him if someone would be willing to cross the ocean and get him.


He has not been there long.


There is hope.


I've heard that some people don't like to call adoption rescue.


I don't know what else to call it.


For Hanson - It is rescue. Pure and simple.




“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’


“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Guess who has a family?!

Remember this post? On a 'Waiting Wednesday' I posted about two little girls named Shawna and Lindsay who are in the same facility in EE. I posted about them together, saying they'd be great sisters. Well, guess what?! The Eubanks family must have thought the same thing and have recently committed to bringing both of them home! Check out their blog here and follow their journey to bring their new daughters home!!

Reminders - Eating Disorder Recovery

It's been one of those days, and it's not even noon yet.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20

When you love your body, you are most able to share its pleasures with those who light your heart.
Huitaco

All of you surely know that you are God's temple and that his Spirit lives in you.
-1 Corinthians 3:16

I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart. I am. I am. I am.
Sylvia Plath

The words "I am" are potent words; be careful what you hitch them to. The thing you're claiming has a way of reaching back and claiming you.
A.L. Kitselman

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
-1 Samuel 16:7

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
— Dr. Seuss

At this very moment, you may be saying to yourself that you have any number of admirable qualities. You are a loyal friend, a caring person, someone who is smart, dependable, fun to be around. That's wonderful, and I'm happy for you, but let me ask you this: are you being any of those things to yourself?
Phillip C. McGraw

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
-Matthew 6:25

Love yourself unconditionally, just as you love those closest to you despite their faults.
Les Brown

If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.
-Vincent Van Gogh

For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church
-Ephesians 5:29

When the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it may be that they take better care of it there.
Cecil Selig

I feel my body, my mind, weighted down - all is heavy - but my blood, my inner fire, my passion, the little unburdened kid in me, patiently wait to burst free. Some of us die never having burst.
Drew Sirtors

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go.
— Dr. Seuss

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