Love for Kids with Hearing Difficulties

         Today I am excited to introduce you to several orphans who are deaf or who have hearing difficulties.  Some of these kids have learned sign language and have access to specialized schools, while others have never been given the tools to communicate- and they all need families! These children currently live in different countries all over the world and are all available for international adoption.  If you are interested in more information about adopting any of these kids, check out the information at http://reecesrainbow.org/new-family/newfamily.

           First, meet a pair of brothers named Trey and Trent.  They live in Eastern Europe and are 9 and 11 years old.  Little brother has hearing loss in one ear and moderate mental delay. You can read more about them at http://reecesrainbow.org/80405/trey-and-trent.

           Next, meet a beautiful 10 year old girl who lives in Africa. Jill was just listed on Reeces Rainbow and has a chance to start a grant to help her future family with their adoption.  Nothing has been given- maybe you can be the first? Jill has "severe hearing deficits" according to her profile at http://reecesrainbow.org/86892/jill. 

               Finally, this is 6 year old "Logan" (names are internet nicknames to protect privacy).  He lives in Asia and is active and enjoys playing with toy cars. You can read more about Logan at http://reecesrainbow.org/50661/logan or give to his adoption grant by clicking on "Donate" on his profile.

     Please consider sharing these kids, donating to their adoption or even adding them to your family. There are so many opportunities for kids who are deaf or having hearing difficulties!

Love for Kids in the "Other Angels" Category

     So this month I am going to try to do a quick blog post daily! Each day I will be featuring a group of kids who are currently available for international adoption and are listed on an advocacy website www.reecesrainbow.org. Reeces Rainbow is an organization that raises adoption grants for orphans with special needs who are waiting to be chosen by their forever families. It also allows families that are currently adopting a child or children with special needs to raise tax-deductible money to help with the significant costs of adoption.
        Reeces Rainbow was originally started to help kids with Down Syndrome find their permanent families, but they now also feature kids who are HIV+ and kids with other special needs who are labeled "Other Angels."  This month, I hope to shine a spotlight on some of the approximately 500 kids who are currently listed as Other Angels who are still waiting to be found. You'll meet some kids who are deaf like Porter, some kids who have cerebral palsy like Celeste, some kids with medical needs like Toby and many more! Please click through their links and consider if you might be their family or know their family. Make sure to check back all month to meet their precious kids!

Over $1000 Raised and Looking Ahead!

      Some great news to share with you today! First, the Dubbs family who I have been advocating for just made it home from Asia with their two newest daughters! Thanks to everyone who gave or prayed for this family.
           Next, Nikolajs made it to his goal of raising $1000 to be added to his grant. He was over $500 by New Years Eve and managed to make it the rest of the way earlier this week.  His grant is now at $2085.38, which will be a great help to his future parents.  I am praying that next fall he will not be available for Angel Tree since he will have a family.  If anyone is interested in adopting a child listed on Reeces Rainbow, you can read more here and click "we invite you" for contact information.
       Alrighty, looking ahead to 2015, I have agreed to advocate for the Greene family who is bringing home Alejandro/Andres.  You can read more about their adoption process (waiting for travel dates) and their fundraisers on their blog http://greeneadoption.blogspot.com. They are working hard to pull together a local fundraiser and also have several fundraisers that you can support online. Thanks!
         I am also considering blogging about the "Other Angels" listed on Reeces Rainbow during the month of February, highlighting kids with a variety of different special needs. Stay tuned for more details and thanks for your support.

Love for NIkolajs!

     Just a quick update- Nikolajs now has $401.88 in his Angel Tree Account! The fundraiser ends tomorrow at midnight, so there should hopefully be some more movement very soon.  There is currently a bump match going on, in which a generous donor has given $10,000 to help get kids over $500 in their AT accounts.  Basically, as soon as a child under $500 goes over that mark, another child with the current lowest amount comes along with them.  More details are here, and a reminder that you can enter a cool giveaway there as well.  So if we get Nikolajs over $500 today, another kid benefits as well. Yay!
         As part of my advocacy for Nikolajs, I asked two online friends to post about him in exchange for a small donation to the children they are advocating for.  Please check out their sweet posts here and here.  I am so excited to know that Nikolajs has been shared with more and more people.
        I would love you to read about some special kids to these friends who shared Nikolajs for me.  First, meet Haisten! His picture is not able to be share online, but he is an eight year old boy with Down Syndrome.  There is not a lot of information posted publicly, but you can find out much more with a serious inquiry about adopting him.  

      Next, meet Peter who lives in Asia! Peter's warrior is even hosting a cool "party" as a fundraiser for him. If you click on his link, you can see a picture of him looking at a book! Peter is now 5 years old and also has Down Syndrome.  If you are considering helping a child reach his Angel tree goal, please consider Nikolajs, Haisten, or Peter!

After Christmas Update!

     Good morning! Three quick updates for you.  The Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree fundraiser ends at midnight on December 31st.  My child again this year is Nikolajs and his grant has grown to $290.88! While this is great progress, I am still hoping to get him all the way to the $1000 goal. And ultimately, I would love for his family to find him and begin the process to bring him home.  Remember that there is a giveaway for all of the kids under $500 in their grants running at http://forallourangels.blogspot.com.  Make sure to forward your receipts to allangelsgiveaway@gmail.com for a chance to win a great prize.

     Secondly, the Dubbs family is in country adopting their two girls.  Lori has taken custody of both of the girls and their adoption is fully funded!

      Third, I have taken on a new Family Warrior family! The Greene family is in process to bring home their first child- Andres who is listed as Alejandro.  Unfortunately I can not publicly share his handsome face, but I am excited to help raise awareness for this family.  You can read more about them on their profile or on their blog.

Answered Prayer!

       Just checking in with an exciting update- the Dubbs family is now fully funded to complete their adoption of two beautiful deaf girls from Asia! You can read more details about their successful fundraisers, grants, and generous givers on their blog at http://followinghisleadtochina.blogspot.com/2014/12/thank-you.html. Lori leaves to pick up her girls in three days and has sacrificed Christmas morning together with her family to get them home in early 2015.  Thanks for your prayers and support.

          I am still trying to raise awareness and an adoption grant for "my" Nikolajs.  Older boys with special needs face an uphill battle in being chosen for adoption, but he is just a kid who needs a chance.  Please help share Nikolajs' need for a family!

            And I'd like to feature just a couple other kids eligible for adoption who are currently listed on Reece's Rainbow, an advocacy website. First is sweet Abigail! Abigail is almost 4 year old and is described as tiny and social.  Abigail has an awesome advocate who blogs about her and several other precious little ones.  Her blog is here and you can read more about Abigail by clicking on her name.

       Next up, there are 141 kids who still have under $500 in their Angel Tree accounts.  They are all listed here.  If you donate $5 or more to any of these precious ones, you can enter a super giveaway at http://forallourangels.blogspot.com.   Maybe you want to give to Nikolajs, but if you'd prefer someone else, consider Robert who currently has the smallest grant. 

Or maybe Erikson who is the closest to $250 in his grant. 

Or maybe little Kent who still has a long ways to go to meet his goal. 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

       
         A couple exciting updates for you!  The Dubbs family is traveling to pick up their two daughters from Asia in 11 days.  As in, less than two weeks from now! Yesterday, the got the great news that a grant from their employer will be available as soon as the adoption is finalized (even when they are still in country finishing things up)!  That means that they only need $7811.07 to be fully funded!  The best way to help is to give to the tax deductible account on Reece's Rainbow. Another great way to help is to do some shopping!  They are hosting many online sales at the moment (Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Yellow Songbird and more).  All the details are here.  Please help do a Christmas miracle for this family.

        Second, today there is a cool "bump match" for the kids on the bottom of the Angel Tree.  For each kid from the bottom of the tree that crosses $100, another kid will get to jump to $500! All of the details are here, and this should benefit 17 kids under $100 and 17 kids close to $500! Wow! Any donations to the bottom 17 will earn you double entries into the giveaway, too. Happy Early Christmas!

        Finally, don't forget our sweet Nikolajs! He is holding steady at $64.80 in his Angel Tree account, but still has a long way to go to meet his $1000 goal. Thanks so much!