At 11:01 pm February 24, 2010, I was blessed to hear the cries of my daughter a little less then two years ago. I'll never forget that moment, not only because I became a mother, but because she changed my life forever. She taught me about love, about the type of love I never thought I was capable of giving. In the beginning of our journey I never thought I could be the mother of a child with special needs. I didn't think I was strong enough, that I knew enough, and honestly I assumed that my life was over. As you all know I was very wrong. I'm so privileged to have her in life, to have her teach me everyday that the only limits a person has, is the limits they put on themselves. I'm writing this email because there is no way I could have become the parent I hope I am if it wasn't for you guys. Your acceptance of her without hesitation is not something Adrian and I have taken for granted. Even as we hesitated, as we cried over what we thought we had lost, your unwavering love for her (even those who had not met her yet), was what we drew strength from. I can't tell you the amount of stories I have read of the parent's families not accepting the child, or the family turning their back on the parents; I am truly grateful and blessed to have each and every one of you in my life.
Haley's 2nd birthday is coming up, and I have been asked by a few what to get her for her birthday. As you know Haley has EVERYTHING and then some. So I want to give to those who are not as fortunate as Haley, who is already surrounded by so much. There is a website http://reecesrainbow.org/ that helps children in Eastern Europe get homes. Here are some statistics of what happens to many, many children with special needs there.
"In Central and Eastern European countries alone (this would include Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Romania, etc, but NOT Russia), there are more than 1.5 MILLION CHILDREN who have been abandoned by their families for one reason or another and are living in "public care" (that's the nice way to put it). If statistically, 1 out of every 733 live births results in a child with Down syndrome, that means at any given time there are 2,046 children with Down syndrome who need families. THAT'S JUST IN EUROPE!! Some do not survive because of serious medical complications…some do not survive because of lack of medical attention, lack of food, lack of LOVE.
In Russia, there are over 700,000 children waiting for families, meaning at least 955 children with Down syndrome wait, languishing. In ASIA (China, Hong Kong, Korea, India), there are 3,572,000 orphans, with nearly 5000 children with Down syndrome who are unwanted. Many of those children are killed at birth. The "lucky" ones end up in orphanages and foster care situations."
What I am asking is to please look at this site, and in Haley's name, instead of getting her another toy (She has about everything under the sun) or more clothes (She has a closet full and two boxes full of clothes) - make a donation to this organization which will help an unwanted child find a loving home. There are plenty of children to choose from, and your donation will go toward that child's adoptive fees. Anything helps, $5, $10...it doesn't matter.
I have a blog that I follow. http://theblessingofverity.
If you need help choosing a child, here is one that we have donated to in order to help the family bring her home. http://reecesrainbow.org/9184/
Please pass this along to anyone who inquires about Haley's birthday.
Thanks again,
Adrian, Stephanie and Haley
