Something you need to know about Erik is that when he first came home, he had no clue what to do with the world. He wouldn't hold a toy, though he enjoyed it when YOU held it and he observed it (this includes all toys and stuffed animals). If you handed him something, he simply threw it. He had NO IDEA that an object was created for fun or amusement. Objects were to be observed, or at the very most, tapped or flapped. Yes, there's still tons of tapping and flapping going on, but he now is beginning to not only hold objects, and not only explore them a bit, but to PLAY with them! This, to me, is EXTREMELY gratifying to watch!! My little bugger is starting to PLAY!!

Watch him with this marble toy. Not only does he enjoy watching the marble go down the obstacle, but he had a BLAST watching me build it (jabbered on and on the whole time) and watch how he carefully and deliberately places the marble exactly where it goes, and how he knows exactly what the result will be!! I'm not sure if all of you out there in Blog Land can fully understand how fun this is for me, but just humor me. ;op

I've been having a really tough time emotionally, as I battle to get this homestudy approved. If I can get out of this without an ulcer, I've accomplished something.

Normally, between patient's houses, I listen to talk radio. Today, I just didn't have the stomach for it, so I listened to Christian radio. I can't tell you how many times I blubbered today listening to music!! The songs truly spoke to me. I normally do love Christian music, but today I really, really needed it. So much encouragement, so much comfort.

Please keep praying - there may be a way out of this mess, yet.

UGH! An issue came up today that is going to involve more paperwork, and might be a problem in getting the stupid homestudy done!!! I am so sick of this stupid homestudy being such a pain - it was supposed to be a breeze, since it was an update!!

Prayers, please, that things smooth out and I can rest easy!!

Also, I got a very nasty e-mail from the woman who first listed the kids trying to tell me that they are under guardianship (because they are not in a regular orphanage) and I can't get guardianship removed because the director of the home is out of the country. I'm not worried about it (I forwarded it to my facilitator and she said it's okay), but just having a nasty e-mail in my box was not something I needed at this time. This woman is seething that I am not working with her (and did I mention that I am saving over $10,000 by NOT working with her??) and is filled with bitterness.

But the real issue is the paperwork issue in the first paragraph. Prayers, please, if you don't mind!!

I wanted to thank each and every one of you who wrote an encouraging word. I was able to copy all of the notes and sent them to my social worker so he can relax and have something to back up his decision to approve the homestudy despite the person who told him he shouldn't. I only used first names for those of you who did not give me permission to do so, so your privacy was protected. Thank you again, very much, for your support and your love!!!!

As some of you know, our social worker received a call from someone who told him that he should not approve our homestudy and that we shouldn't be adopting again. If you've been watching my Facebook posts lately, I've posted several things about being angry, being backstabbed, etc. and this is what it was about. The social worker came THIIIIIS close to not approving us!! He will approve us as he does think it's the best thing for the kids, but for his records, he'd like to have names of people who DO recommend us to adopt, just in case this person makes a complaint against him, he just wants to have his documentation in order. UGH.

So, in the comments box, or by private e-mail (mjtaborn@cfl.rr.com) if you don't mind giving me your name so that he can have a list of people who think that it's perfectly fine that we are adopting these kids.

THANKS!!!!

P.S. I hope to have more photos and the video up later today!

When we adopted Erik, we were approved for two kids. We were sort of expecting to adopt a little girl Erik's age, also with Down Syndrome, but it didn't work out. And faithful followers of my blog know that we were offered a little blonde-haired girl of age 4 who was wonderful, but we just didn't feel it for her. Didn't know why, it just didn't seem RIGHT. It was very, very hard on me to return from Ukraine without a daughter, and I've felt a hole in my heart ever since. Yes, Erik is absolutely PRECIOUS and keeps us very busy, but it has always felt like something is missing around here...

So one day I was just simply surfing around, when my heart just about leapt up into my throat. I'd just found my son and daughter!! I inquired about them and learned how they would be PERFECT for us! The girl is 17 and I'll call her O to protect her privacy for now. She is perfect because, besides her outgoing nature, she is past the annoying teenage stage that drives me crazy with girls (but that I enjoy in boys!) and she will simply need someone to help usher her into her adult life in America, which will be so much fun for me! Ah, to have a daughter in the house again!! The boy is 15 and I'll call him V for now. This boy's description is fabulous and he sounds like such a GREAT kid!! He truly sounds like the kind of son anyone would love to have (and Reese says he has a "swell cleft in his chin"). His age is between Nikolai's and Reese's, so they will be like virtual triplets! Those of you who know us know that Reese and Nikolai don't especially get along - they are soooo different - but hopefully V will be able to relate to both of them and allow both boys to enjoy having a brother around! We will keep the 3 boys in a sort of "teen boys pad", unfortunately uprooting Mark from his office, but I think that they will have a great time back there and will have plenty of space to hang out with friends, throw darts, roughhouse, and just be boys. O will take over Reese and Nikolai's present room, and Erik will stay put. So we have it all planned out!

I haven't wanted to make the big announcement because there were several wrinkles in this situation that needed to be ironed out, including a couple of negative comments made to our social worker, basically warning him not to approve us!!! These were NOT people that we asked to send references for us, but were other people that he talked to, I guess. Besides being furious at these people (though I don't know all the details, I know enough to guess), I am terribly hurt that they would try and do this. These people have also adopted and know how important it is to get these kids OUT OF there (see my post below!!)!! So the social worker is hesitant to approve us, though he said he would, thank you sweet Jesus!!! Maybe those of you who know us can leave comments here and after a few days I can show the sw this post and all of your comments and he can be reassured that we are okay to approve!! Sheesh! I can't believe we could ever have come this close to not being approved for a homestudy - it just takes one person to say the wrong thing to the wrong person to cause calamity and devastation. Lord, help me to pray for these people so that they understand better. I don't know what exactly was said, but it was enough to cause a problem that we simply did not need.

But on to happier things! We will not be working with Reece's Rainbow this time, as you've probably gathered. So that means no grant money (and no dossier prep help...!), but amazingly, the Lord has provided for us each step of the way, and we believe has even already provided the funds for us for the "big money" part of the journey! We aren't sure just yet, as we don't know how much it will be (or even how much we need), but we are trusting, trusting, trusting!! No price is too big to place on the head of a child in need. And just because these kids are SO much older than the typical age of an adoptee, it doesn't mean their value is any less. Which leads me to my next point! The kids' ages!! Some of you may know that kids age out of the system at age 16. They are basically turned out on the street, possibly given a little help to get started, but basically, there they are. The end. So how can we adopt O if she is 17?? Because her brother V is only 15, she can "ride on his coattails" until she turns 18, which is actually after he turns 16, which is quite soon, so we need to MOVE on this! Things are moving along steadily, but time is truly of the essence, here! These kids don't have much time. If they aren't adopted soon (as in, a few months), they BOTH will be turned out. I can't bear it. So please, if you will, join me in prayer that God's hand will be in this situation through and through??? We can't do this thing without Him, and we are doing it in obedience to Him, so we are counting on Him to help us but we need prayer to help solicit that help! :o) THANKS!!

For several reasons, I am going to go private on my blog, so if you would like an invite, please let me know! mjtaborn@cfl.rr.com . I really don't feel comfortable speaking too openly here, but I'll leave this post open for a couple of days before I privatize. Be sure and let me know who you are to me if you don't think I'll recognize your name. Thanks!! So sorry for the inconvenience, and I hope you'll understand. After I go private, I'll post pictures and more info.

Thanks for helping us welcome our hopefully-newest-family-members!! And for those who aren't sure, these kids will be #5 and #6, and after that, the DOOR SLAMS SHUT TO MORE ADOPTIONS!!! In 3 years, all the kids but Erik will be 18 and/or graduating from high school, so we will be very sudden empty-nesters!! It'll be feast then famine around here! But that's okay. Our time will have come to enjoy our middle-agedness, and give Erik some one-on-one and just enjoy watching him grow. :o) But that's a little ways off.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and your positive comments!! :o)

I found this on another blog and it really struck me. There is so much here in America that we don't realize as we sit comfortably in our recliners in front of our TV's, or driving around in our zippy cars, or even as we stand in line at Wal-Mart on a busy Saturday afternoon. If Americans truly knew the need out there, especially Christian Americans, the world might not be so hopeless for so many. Please read this article thoughtfully, and watch for a follow up here on my blog in a day or so...


As I walk through the streets at night, my heart can do nothing but ache for the street children I see. Their shoes are so worn and torn, their clothes are dirty and not warm enough for the cold night they are facing. Up close you see their open wounds and sores, their fingernails are so discolored one can only guess of the disease their bodies cannot fight. Their clothes hang on them so I cant begin to imagine their frail skinny bodies underneath their baggy clothes. Where will they sleep? What happened to them, that they have to live on the streets? Some of them are so young and some have physical aliments. There are no soup kitchens for them, or homeless shelters, or places to get clothes. They dig through peoples trash cans for food and clothes.
For an orphan at age 15 or 16, this life is awaiting them. Another option they have is prostitution that can also lead to sex trafficking. Here are some alarming statics;
After "aging out" of the orphanage system at age 15-16,
10% of orphans commit suicide before the age of 18.
60% of the girls end up in prostitution.
70% of the boys end up in crime.
Only 27% are able to find work.
The older a child gets, his or her chances for adoption drastically decrease
When children age out of the orphanage at the age of 16, most are completely on their own, with no family or support of any kind and lacking the education necessary to provide for themselves.*
For the children that have special needs a very different fate awaits them. Orphans are considered outcasts. Orphans with special needs is something this society does not take kind hearted to. I rarely see any children with families walking the streets that have special needs. After age 4, children with special needs go to special needs orphanages depending on their degree of special needs or institutions. Sadly and unimaginable those with significant special needs make it out alive. Most special needs orphanages are government run which means little money is allocated for them. Workers are few, and the number of orphans are many. Talking with a friend that has been inside these orphanages, children are tied up and left to waste away.
Almost everyday I have the opportunity to spend it with orphans. I see them from when they are first brought to the orphanage, what life will be like for them as they age, and then when I walk the streets I see what life will be like for them when they age out of the system. Growing up with out a family is something no child should ever have to do. But then to be turned out onto the streets with NOTHING and NO assistance is not something that is ok. God calls us to care for the orphan. There are many ways to care for orphans. You can adopt, you can financially help someone adopt if you are not able to adopt, you can advocate and bring awareness about orphans, get your church involved in orphan care, and you can PRAY. Please help these orphans find a home. Follow the words in James 1:27