Borrowed Time

You often hear about special needs children in orphanages and how they are living on borrowed time. What exactly does this mean, borrowed time? It means that there is not much hope in their future if a family doesn't come for them. It means that they cannot continue to live the life they are living without an end drawing near. It means that they live every hour of every day wondering, hoping and waiting for someone to give them a life and a home. If not adopted, children like Susan, who have Down syndrome are transferred to an adult mental institution. Statistically those children who do get transferred don't live much longer than a year. Can you imagine your first ride in a car being the last time as you leave the only place (I can't even call it home) you've ever known and get dropped off to an institution? Can you imagine the fear and helplessness these children may feel? Most of these children are living on borrowed time because for most of them they are lucky to be alive. And even if they live past a year in an institution, can it really be considered a "life"? These children live each day with so much uncertainty. Now I know that every single one of us lives of a life of uncertainties but can you imagine being transferred to an adult mental institution because you were considered a mistake? God makes no mistakes. To help Susan and other children who are on borrowed time, I have the cutest pocket watch neckalces for sale. If you are interested, please use the ChipIn or Reece's Rainbow donate button on the side of our blog to purchase one. Leave a message with the one you are interested in, your information and I will mail it to you via USPS, shipping is included. There is only one quantity per design but if the response is great then I can order more. Thanks so much!

 Antique Bronze Pocket Watch Necklaces
$30

Approx. 24" Chain
Working Timepiece

#1 Small open heart watch with crystal heart, love letter and red crystal charms.

  #2 SOLD! Small closed floral watch with bird and flower charms

#3 Large open star pattern watch with windmill and camera charms.

#4 Large floral with diamond pattern watch with pink rose and key charms.

#5 SOLD! Large closed owl watch with bow and pink crystal charm. 

#6 SOLD! Large transparent crystal watch with bow and tree charms.

#7 Large roman numeral watch with rose and love letter charms.

#8 Large open leaf watch with leaves and pink crystal charms.

Gift Card Offer!

This post is for all of you Rod Works lovers in Utah, Nevada and Arizona! Rod Works offers unique iron and home decor. 8 locations to serve you and help you with decorating ideas. I have a $25 gift card for the next person who donates $100 to our ChipIn donate button. Just send me a message with your info. and I will get the gift card to you! If you've been thinking about donating but maybe needed a little incentive, now is the time and your chance to get an awesome gift card! Thanks Rod Works!

He's Got The Whole World In His Hands

The things that make me go hmmm!

"You sure have your hands full."

"Yes they are. Full of good things!"

As a mother isn't that what my hands are for?

"Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for."

"Your hands full now; your heart full later!"

"You can't save the world!"

You're right I am not saving the world by adopting.

It's love that can save the world.

We can heal the world and make it a better place.

"Adopting one child won't change the world but for that child, the world will change."

Adoption is not for everyone. If so, there would be less children on Reece's Rainbow alone and more children around the world who have found their families. Adoption is a very personal decision. For me it was something I felt I would do, could do and should do. In the beginning of our family planning I spoke of adoption with Mark but he was unsure. He felt that if we could have children of our own then there was no need. Adoption was for couples who can't have children. Well 4 children later and another on the way our family has grown through adoption. I always knew that I had room in my home and room in my heart to love more children and through the grace of God and his tender mercies, yes we have do have our hands full. And perhaps our children are the ones who have saved us!

We still have a long way to go financially to bring Susan home. There is a possibility that we can travel as early as September. Our hope and desire to have her home before her first birthday may be a reality but we still need your help. Our iPad giveaway donations put a big dent in our fundraising goal but we are still short quite a bit. Please share, donate and pray for us! You don't have to adopt to make a difference. Any donation big or small helps! Thanks so much for your love and support! 

Bloom!

A dear friend of mine created a necklace just for me and our little girl to help raise money to bring her home. She and I both know it was a tender mercy how it all came together. Thank you Kirstin! I wanted something that was personal to me but could also have meaning for anyone who wore it. Here is one of the personal meanings to the design of this "Bloom" necklace; From the very beginning of this journey I have always related to Mia Cox as being the one who planted the seed for this adoption. Irina, the first little girl who pricked my heart as being the one who watered the seed. And all those who are helping us bring her home are the rays of sunshine! Everyone who has contributed in one way or another has a part to play in Susan's life and because of it she will have a chance to bloom! We have all witnessed Mia Cox and many others who have blossomed and bloomed because they were given a chance. They have become the beautiful flowers that God intended them to be. I can't wait to see what our little petal will become! (Don't you just love the word petal? Our next door neighbor in England, Mr. Smith would always call me petal and I thought it was the cutest lil' term of endearment.) The other meaning to this "Bloom" necklace, one that we can all relate to is; "Bloom where you are planted." I found this lovely poem that explains exactly what this means. It reminds us that we are not here because of us, we are here because of Him and His needs. We are planted in different situations at different times to help us grow and become more like Him.

 Master Gardener, help me be
Content with where You’ve planted me;
You carefully place each seed you sow,
And choose the soil to make it grow,
A shady nook or sunlit plot,
A wooded glen or garden spot;
And when you send the storm and shower,
You give me strength and inner power;
All things come that You might be
Glorified, my God, in me;
And so I’ll lift my flowers high,
To cheer and bless each passerby;
And may they see within my face
The beauty of Your love and grace;
So help me, Lord, to ever be
Blooming where You planted me.

You can purchase one of these "Bloom" necklaces and help our Susan bloom! All proceeds will benefit our adoption. If you are interested and would like to purchase one please use the ChipIn donation button on this blog, then leave a comment that you purchased one with your information including mailing address and what color of bead charm you would like. I moderate all of my comments so I will not publish any personal info. Shipping is included and I will send them through the United States Postal Service. Extra shipping cost outside the US. Thank you so much!

$22

Sterling silver, handstamped necklace with flower charm and colored bead charm. Bead charms come in pink, yellow or white. (Pink is shown.) Specify color when you order. I have received many compliments since I have been wearing mine. You will love it! It makes for a great gift too!

S- A- T- U- R- D- A- Y Night!

The pool party on Saturday night was a success! Thank you to all who attended! Total count was approximately 244  people. We raised over $5K in total including the ChipIn and Reece's Rainbow accounts, concession and raffle sales and more iPad entries from that night. We had pizza, cupcakes, sugar cookies, chips, candy, snow cones and so much more. Everyone had a great time. Most importantly, Little Miss Mia had a great time. She did not want to get of the water for a second. Forget pictures and hugs, she just wanted to swim. She kept signing "swim". Fun times!

We have many people to thank! First of all Kris and Kecia! Thanks for hosting! We are honored and grateful that this event could benefit our family. We admire your desire to wanting to pay it forward and hope that we can do the same. You are both shining stars! Thank you for coming up with the idea to have it at the pool. When this event was in the planning, we were thinking of ideas for a location, entertainment, etc. Kris came up with the idea to have it at the pool and that way the entertainment is taken care of. It was a great idea because who doesn't love to go swimming? I would also like to thank the many friends who helped with the ticket sales, concessions, donation tables, setting up and cleaning up. A big thanks to Heather who was our caricature artist! The Prestwich Family, Stacie, Stacia, Curly, Angie and our emcee, Mike. The Schulz family and Granite Bakery, Rod Works, Leatherby's, Chili's, Cafe Rio, Pat V.W., Stacie, Amy with Tupperware, Maxine with Stampin'Up and Cole for donating items to sale and giveaway. And whoever donated the glow sticks and necklace for our raffle drawings, thank you! Thank you to Kirstin for creating the beautiful "bloom" necklaces to sale. I'll post a picture of the necklaces soon. All proceeds will help us bring Susan home so she can bloom. And thanks to the many many more who helped with making this night so wonderful! I am amazed at the support that we have been given. People who we have never met came to support us, made donations and shared our story. There are so many good people out there. We even had a family come who is also in the process of bringing their princess home and they were leaving the very next day for Eastern Europe to meet their daughter. Amazing! Thanks again for your support and kindness! It was such a fun night! Enjoy the pics! Unfortunately or fortunately you will not see me in a bathing suit or swimming ha ha! But you will see many more pics of the successful FUNdraiser! Thanks again, it was a great start to our fundraising adventure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Drum Roll Please......

.........we have a WINNER! Angela and James Larson! Congratulations you are the winners of the newest iPad 3! We had 490 entries, and random.org picked lucky number 190. We appreciate your donation and the donations of everyone who participated. We raised just over $5000 with the ChipIn, Reece's Rainbow account and donations from the pool party. We can't thank you enough! I promised details about the pool party, but I am afraid that will have to wait until tomorrow. This little girl is tired. My head is about to explode after looking at all of these numbers. My eye is even twitching, ha ha! Again congratulations to the Larson's and thanks again for your donations to our iPad giveaway! $5000 is a good dent in our $30K goal! Inch by inch!

iPad Suspense

Hi all, I just wanted to send a quick note to say that we were not able to pick a winner of the iPad the night of the pool party. Sorry! We were unable to get an updated list of donations from the Reece's Rainbow donate button. It's only fair that we include every donation that was made on Sat. I'm still waiting but as soon as I do I will pick a winner. I hope you all understand! I'll give more details about the pool party too when I get back with the winner! All I can say is that it was a success!

Mia's Miracle Continues!

You have seen Mia Cox blossom!

She's planted a seed.

Now it's Susan's turn to bloom!

Please join us for "Mia's Miracle Continues Celebration", tonight in less than 5 hours. Murray Outdoor Pool, 6:30-8:30. All donations tonight will help our family bring Susan home so she can blossom and bloom!

One more day to enter our iPad drawing too. We will accept your $10 or more donations tonight for your chance to win or you can use the Chipin or Reece's Rainbow Donate button too. $10= 1 entry.

1 more day! 1 more orphan on her way home! Please come, donate and share!

Have we met?

It's the strangest thing to look at a picture of someone you've never met and feel that you have met before. Their face seems familiar and you wonder. Wonder if maybe you have met before. That is exactly how I felt when I saw Susan's picture for the first time. I kept going back asking myself, "She looks so familiar, she looks like someone I know." Even stranger, now that we have submitted paperwork I look at her picture and see her differently. I look at her picture and not only feel familiarity but feel a greater love. I guess it just feels more real now that we have submitted paperwork. I don't just look at her picture and feel that it's a possibility, I look at it and feel that she is mine. Is it possible to love someone that you have never met? Absolutely! I felt the same way about our youngest. When we got the call to see if we would take him into our home, even after they read a long list of his medical concerns, I loved him. It is the cheesiest song ever, but I always think of the song, "I knew I loved you before I met you" by Savage Garden. I loved Liam because I knew that love was all he needed. I knew that we could help him and give him a great start to life. I am grateful that not only were we able to give him a good start but we get to give him the life that he deserves. We just recently had the privilege to make him a part of our eternal family. He is a joy and I know that we were led to do foster care because he was meant to be mine. I know now that we have been led to Susan and she is meant to mine too! I love you baby girl! It's happening! It's really happening! We are on our way!

The photo that captured my heart!



Please join us for our Pool Party tomorrow at the Murray Outdoor Pool. 6:30-8:30. It's a celebration for Mia Cox, another Reece's Rainbow angel and a pay it forward event for Susan. 1 more day until the iPad giveaway too! Just click on the ChipIn or Reece's Rainbow donate button on the side of this blog. Please donate and share the love! All you need is love!

Woo Hoo!

Happy Thursday! Yesterday was  busy day but I have a feeling that today is going to be even busier. Places to go, people to see, things to do. The pool party is just lurking around the corner and we have a lot to accomplish in the next few days. If you're looking for something to do this weekend, look no more. COME to "Mia's Miracle Continues" Celebration. Saturday night, 6:30-8:30, Murray Outdoor Pool. There will be concessions, prizes and more. I'm going to keep plugging our iPad giveaway too because there is still time to enter. Giveaway ends Saturday. One lucky winner will win an iPad. Every $10 donation gives you a chance to be the lucky one. Donate! It's easy to do. Just click the Reece's Rainbow donate button on the side of our blog or the ChipIn button. You can write a check too or bring your donation to the party on Sat. Our fundraising will be ongoing until she is home so we will welcome any donations until then. Combined, we all have hundreds even thousands of friends on facebook so if everyone donated $10, we'd be set. Please share, donate and win! (an iPad that is.)

USCIS, here we come! Docs sent yesterday.

I mentioned that yesterday was a busy day. It was the day that I sent our first batch of paperwork to the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS). I did a lot of running around to git-r-done, but I got-r-done. Can I get a woo hoo? WOO HOO! It felt so good to take that baby to the post office. As we were getting out of the car, I told my little ones to kiss it. "Kiss this envelope for good luck. It's a huge step to bringing Susan home." Well I did, Kate did, Liam did and then Beck looked at me with a very perplexed look and said, "I am not kissing an envelope. It's paper!" Ha ha! He is one funny little boy. Anyway it's off and on it's way to Dallas Texas. So now we wait to hear from the USCIS. They will contact us with a fingerprinting appointment. Then once that is done we wait even longer to get our "Golden Ticket" or approval to adopt. Then we will send more documents to Susan's country. We will wait again while they translate them and then should get an approval to adopt from her country. Then we will be given a travel date and be on our way to meet our princess. We still have a little time before we travel but it's nice to be at the point where everything is in order. It was so nice to actually mail documents knowing that the paper chasing is done and now we just wait. I still have to go up to the Capital and have all of our documents apostilled. (Don't worry I had never heard that word either until I entered the adoption world.) Pretty much an apostille is a State stamp that authenticates that all documents are true, notarized copies. It's a bit silly really because it verifies what a notary has already verified. It's $15 a page and we have approx. 45 pages to be apostilled. Do the math and that's $675. $675!!!

As you know special needs adoption isn't cheap. Otherwise we wouldn't be asking for help. There are a few inquiring minds who want to know why it's so costly and where their donation is helping so here is a breakdown for those inquiring minds. So far we have paid $1275 to Reece's Rainbow, $750 for our home study, $890 to USCIS. We've had co-pays for our physicals and blood work, fees for marriage certificates and other various fees including postage and background checks. We will send a $500 wire to her country to help with the translation of our docs when they receive them. Then we will pay the facilitation team over there another $8500. This $8500 does not include transportation or housing. So on top of that we will pay for an apartment for our stay. We will pay the driver who takes us from point A to point B every time he takes us from point A to point B. We will possibly have train rides too depending on where she is (we still don't know where she is). We were told that she could be as far as a 16 hour train ride away or she might be in the capital city where we will fly into. We will have to pay for a translator. And of course we'll have a food expense as well as our flights. It will take 2 trips before we can bring her home ($3000 for 2 RT tickets x 2). There are also fees that will total approx. $1200 to bring her out of her country including her medical apt. for her Visa, Visa and her passport. It is expected that we will also make a donation to her orphanage and buy gifts and such for the orphanage staff. Then any other unexpected expenses that come up. So that my friends gives you an idea of why it's $30K.

Yesterday was a good day! It feels good to know we're making progress. Now it's time to focus on our fundraising. So I'm off to run errands. It's time to get this party started or at least the preparation for it. Please come, it will be a lot of fun and it will greatly benefit our family. Can I get another woo hoo? WOO HOO! We're on our way!

So Close Yet So Far Away

What can I say on this beautiful Wednesday? Hmmm, let's see. I wish that money grew on a tree?  I wish that money tree grew in my backyard? I wish! No really what I can say is.......

.......PLEASE ENTER OUR iPAD GIVEAWAY!

.......PLEASE COME TO THE POOL PARTY ON SATURDAY.!

Your chances to win the iPad are great as we don't have many entries!

Susan is just a baby and maybe has no clue as to what her life will be, but soon she will know that she has been chosen and wanted by a family. Soon she will have a mom and a dad, 3 brothers and 1 sister, all who will love and accept her just the way she is. Soon she will know that she won't have to live in an orphanage or a mental institution for the rest of her life. Soon she will know that her extra chromosome makes her extraordinary and that her designer genes make her perfect.

"Susan we have only seen your photo and know very little about you, but we love you and can't wait to meet you!"

We're so close yet so far away! Most of our paperwork is done and ready to be sent. But we still have a lot of fundraising to do and a lot of money to raise. Besides a couple of waiting periods, money is the only thing that will stand in our way. Oh I wish it wasn't so expensive to save a child but it is. It doesn't make sense that there are orphanages filled with children who nobody wanted yet they make it so hard for those who want these children. Please consider donating! Please help us get Susan home!

Details for the iPad giveaway: Donate $10 or more and for every $10 donation you will get an entry to win an iPad. Donate by clicking on the ChipIn button or the Reece's Rainbow button on the side of this blog. Any donations made through Reece's Rainbow are tax deductible. Giveaway ends on Sat. June 16th. 4 more days folks!

Details for the Pool Party: "Mia's Miracle Continues" and "Pay it Forward to Susan" Celebration will be held this Sat. June 16th from 6:30-8:30 pm at the Murray Outdoor Pool, located inside Murray Park. Admission is Free! Donations are welcome. Concessions, raffle and more! Come support our family by bringing your whole family for a night of fun!

Every little bit helps! Please share with your friends or anyone who you think may want to help!Thanks!

Ironman

Since we have committed to Susan, my circle of friends has grown. I have met many families who are adopting just like we are through Reece's Rainbow. I have already been invited to be part of the Utah Down syndrome family. I have met many others who have children with Down syndrome. I have even met an Ironman. His name is Brady Murray. He is an athlete, he is a father of a son who was born with Down syndrome in 2007. He is actively involved in helping Reece's Rainbow raise money and awareness for children who like his son have Down syndrome. He is helping children like our Susan to find their forever families. My friend warned me that the Down syndrome community is amazing and I am experiencing this firsthand. Brady Murray is one of those amazing people. Let me share with you a post from his blog.

My family and I have loved being able to work on behalf of the children on Reece's Rainbow since finding this great organization. It's for this reason that I had a hard time sleeping because of the excitement after hearing about this announcement!

Two months ago, Ironman announced a contest called Kona Inspired. How it works is they have given the general public an opportunity to submit a 90 second video based around the theme, "Anything is Possible". Winners receive a spot to race in the Ironman World Championship in October, but most importantly, they will race as a media athlete and have the opportunity to share their story on NBC's nationally televised broadcast of the championship this year! THIS COULD BE OUR OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THESE PRECIOUS CHILDREN'S STORY WITH THE WORLD!!!

After reading Ironman's press release we immediately went to work. This is an opportunity to help these children in a way that I never imagined possible! The video came together with the help of many wonderful people and we submitted it. 105 videos were submitted. After over a month long preliminary public voting, we just received word that we are one of the top 15 videos and will compete in the final round of voting June 4 - June 18!!!

Please take a moment to WATCH, VOTE, and SHARE our video as much as possible throughout the day from your home computer, work computer, laptop, phone, etc! We need to be in the top 2 videos at the end of the day on June 18.  

Thank you for your time and willingness to make the dream of these orphans of finding their forever family a reality!

Click on this link to watch, vote and share his video. http://bit.ly/K7I9y3

To vote just click on the "Vote For This" button on the bottom, lefthand side of the video screen. It will read "Thank You" after you have voted.

We have until JUNE 18 to get Brady's video in the top 2. This will help him get one step closer to compete in the Ironman Kona and to bring even more awareness to Reece's Rainbow. For more information on Brady and his cause you can go to this link and read about his RODS Racing (Racing for Orphans with Down syndrome).  Thanks Brady!

Brady Murray and his son Nash.

Why?

Just the other day someone very close to me asked, "Jodi why do you want to adopt another child, especially one with special needs? Why don't you just have another one of your own, a normal child?"

This is why!

Meet Lynette. She is an 11 year old girl who lived and died alone, with no family to call her own. The only home she has known is the place where she spent all 11 years of her life, an orphanage or worse, a mental institution. She was the size of a 3 year old because she didn't have the nurture and stimulation to help her grow. She had no one to hold her or to comfort her when she was ill. She had no one to give her hugs and kisses and whisper, "I love you!" She had no one to help her reach her fullest potential. The only family she knew was the orphanage staff who I am sure did their best to take care of her but she couldn't call them mom or dad. She didn't get to enjoy the blessings of a family. My heart aches! Her spirit is no different than mine own or my other "normal" children. She is a child of God and deserved better. This is why we have chosen to adopt a child with special needs. This is why we have stepped forward to help another little girl along her way. Susan does not have to live her life in an orphanage. She is worthy of a family and deserves better. She has a family who already loves her and wants her to be happy. We have been led to Susan and this is why.

Reece's Rainbow has an "In Loving Memory" page and sadly Lynette has joined that page. To quote what Reece's Rainbow has to say about these angels "Each of these children inspire each of us, and help us understand the true sense of urgency of our mission. We pray they will watch over this ministry, and guide us through the coming years to save as many others as we can. It doesn't have to be this way…..every penny you give to sponsor a child's adoption grant brings an adoptive family ever closer to bringing that child home, to a loving family, proper medical care, and LIFE."

If there is anything more I can say tonight it is this. Even if you are not able to adopt a child at this time, you truly can change the course of a child's life by helping adoptive families afford the costs of international adoption. Please consider helping our family and sponsoring Susan to help us bring her out of an orphanage and into our home where she belongs!

God bless you Lynette! You're in the arms of an angel!

It's a Celebration!

If you haven't noticed from my previous posts or even the title of our blog, I love music and love to sing and quote lyrics from songs. Maybe it's because I am not articulate enough. I have to steal other peoples words and ideas because they sometimes say it better than I ever could. Anyway as Lionel Richie (I thought for sure it was Lionel who sang this song but I stand corrected) Kool and the Gang would say, "There's a party going on right here a celebration to last throughout the years. So bring your good times and your laughter too, we're going to celebrate her party with you!"

It's the event you've all been waiting for. It's the party of all parties. On Saturday June 16th we are having a celebration for Mia Cox. It is the one year anniversary of her being home and as you know, her family is having a party. The celebration is called "Mia's Miracle Continues." It is going to be a celebration to not only honor Mia but to pay it forward to another orphan who has Down syndrome. The little girl who gets to benefit from Mia's miracle is the luckiest little girl in the world. It's our daughter Susan, eeeeeek! We are so excited and so grateful that we can be a part of this miracle and celebration.

Here are the details:

Pool Party

Date: Saturday June 16th

Location: Murray Park Outdoor Swimming Pool

                 5109 South Murray Park Lane, Murray, UT
(Located inside Murray Park)

Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Bring your whole family for a night of fun and swimming! Admission is free but we will accept any donations! There will be concessions/snacks for sale as well as other items to raise money for Susan. We will be accepting donations that night for the iPad giveaway too. Remember for every $10 that is donated you will receive an entry to win an iPad. We will pick the lucky winner at the end of the party (you do not need to be present to win). We hope you will join us! I've said this before but not only will you be honoring Mia, but you will be helping our family bring Susan home, saving a life and will have a chance to win an iPad. 4 great reasons to come. Plus a night of fun for your whole family. Please email to let Kecia or me, Jodi know if you are planning on coming so we have an idea of how many to expect. And one more note, please remember if your child is age 3 or under or not potty trained they are required to wear a swim diaper plus a plastic pant. "Let's all celebrate and have a good time." See you in 2 weeks! Woo hoo!

Oh Happy Day!

Thursday May 31st was Mark's 39th birthday. Not only did we celebrate the last year of his 30th decade, but we also celebrated some growth in our fund for Susan. Yay! Our friends Kris and Kecia were feautured on our local news, KSL 5 that night. Once again their story has been told and others know about the great work Reece's Rainbow is doing for these extraordinary kids. I am certain that because of their story airing our fund grew that night. We are so grateful to those who have contributed so far and ask for your continued support. In less than 2 weeks we are announcing the iPad winner. The details of Mia's celebration will be posted later today and you will have the opportunity to be present when we announce the winner although you don't need to be present to win. Keep your $10 donations coming. We are really plugging away in our process to bring Susan home. Our home study should be finished this week. Physicals and blood work are done. Bank documents and employment letters done. We are making good progress and should submit paper work very soon. Please continue to pray that this process goes quickly and that we can meet our daughter very soon.If you read the written article on KSL.com you will see that the last sentence reads "The Cox family is now "paying it forward" by helping their friends who also decided to adopt through Reece's Rainbow." I am still overwhelmed and touched that we are that family. Click on this link to watch and read the story.
www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=20646203