Typical Daddy/Daughter Interaction

Couldn't find a good pic of them together. But, this'll do, right? :)

So, we're out having lunch today and this is what takes place.

Liza is sitting beside Rick on the booth seat across from me. She is eating nothing but french fries and he wants her to eat her chicken. (BTW- how did she turn into a typical American kid so fast?)

Rick tells her to eat her chicken and then gives her a stern look as she picks up another french fry.

She looks at him as if to say, "what?" That doesn't work so she puts on a cute face and shakes her ponytail at him.

He almost smiled, but didn't quite crack. He says, "Liza eat your chicken." and tries another stern look.

She leans behind his back and kisses his shoulder.

Dad eats the chicken and she eats her french fries.

Liza 1 / Daddy 0

Liza's "Brother's and Sister's" - Brody

I've shared before about some of Liza's friends that she grew up with who are still waiting. Recently a friend who is adopting one of Liza's friends referred to these other kids as her son's "brothers and sisters" and I realized that she was right. These kids were the only brothers and sisters that Liza knew until we brought her home. They fought just like siblings do. As I was told Liza and Victoria did quite a bit before V was transferred. I really hope that a family finds her soon and that we can get the girls together again. I'd love to see what they think of each other when they don't have to fight for the attention of the adults in their lives.

My friend, Andrea was able to spend lot's of time with all of these children and since she has returned home it has become her greatest hope to see them all adopted by loving families. She posted recently about Brody.

When we were in Ukraine we were able to meet Brody and I haven't been able to forget him. Poor Brody just cried constantly and even at times would harm himself by banging his head on the floor as hard as he could. Unfortunately, when he did this no one tried to stop him :( It was almost as if at four years old he already felt that all hope for him was gone. It totally broke my heart and I prayed for him to receive help from somewhere. To have someone who would love him no matter what. Andrea did just that every chance she had, but we all knew that her time there was going to come to a close and we worried what life for Brody would be like then.

Praise God that before Andrea left Brody was transferred! Wait, since when do we rejoice about a kid being transferred? This transfer turned out to be a good thing for Brody. Andrea said he is much calmer, his head no longer has ping pong ball size knots on it, he is loved and treated with respect. That is something worthy of praising God for! It would be even better, though, if he had a family. Please go and read Andrea's post about Brody. If you know of someone looking for a sweet boy who has so much potential. Who just needs to continue to have hope poured back into him, please share Brody's story with them. He is worth it!

5/5/5 Warrioring

I love to say Warrioring :) I don't know if it's even really a word, but I just like the way it sounds and what it stands for. It means we are literally fighting for the lives of kids who have no one else to fight for them. I never really thought of myself as a fighter until I realized how passionate I was about the least of these. Whether it's the orphan around the World, the young man in the grocery store who no one else wants to look at because he has an extra chromosome, or even just my little brother who, at 6 years old, had the audacity to step on the brand new shoes of one of the high school football players (that's a story I should really share someday).

As of May 5 Reece's Rainbow has launched a new Warrior program to advocate for all of the children listed who are five years old. Why only the five year olds? Because five is the average age that a child will be transferred to the institution. Liza was TWO months from turning five when we took her from the orphanage and I know that's where she would've gone if we had been denied her referral, which almost happened. She actually should have gone at four but because they knew we were coming and she was a favorite they held her as long as they could.

Those of you who have met her:

Can you imagine this child living in an institution?

I know how far she's come in the amount of time she's been with us and I shudder to think what a transfer would've meant to her. New faces, new routine, all new caregivers. Maybe she wouldn't have been the favorite anymore. Maybe her tendencies to try to be in charge of everyone wouldn't have been seen as cute and endearing. Maybe her Drama Queen moments would've landed her on the bottom of the pyramid when it came to attention, feeding, bathing, and all those other little things that are needed to keep at least a semblance of health and happiness. Just thinking of the possibilities causes me to praise God once again for changing the circumstances that could've kept us from receiving her referral in Ukraine. That's another story I should tell someday....

So, now we come back to sweet Callie.

We originally planned to adopt from China but then weren't qualified. So, she is my China baby of my heart till her Mama finds her :)

She is in China, she's five, and she desperately needs the same chance at a new life that Liza has been given. Please help me find her Mama or donate to her fund to help her Mama/Papa find her.  Do it because you have a heart for orphans. Do it as a tribute to Liza. Do it because we are commanded to care for the Widow and the orphan. Do it because Callie has no voice except the one that we give her.