Happy New Year!!

from Victoria, Anna, and Madalyn Westbrook

Best Wishes for a wonderful and blessed New Year!!!!!

Merry Christmas from the Westbrook's...most of them anyway. Roy, you need to get up here so we can get a full family pic!!! :))

A family needed

Here is precious Brent!! He is 5 already and at great risk of being transferred to the institution.

I know it looks like this little guy has a women's sweater on. The other day somebody asked me how old "she" is. Hmmmm...

Sometimes a picture can make it or break it for an orphan! Unfortunately the ugly reality is people look at "looks"! It is true! I am not saying this little guy is not cute! Because he is adorable!! But I am sure this is not his best picture. It doesn't really matter, though!! Look and see past the sweater and the old picture! Look and see what what a treasure this little guy really is!

Brent (35)

Boy, Born June 21, 2005
Look how darling this little one is! Brent is HEALTHY, with no noted heart conditions. He is active and an Orphanage favorite. He is considered lower functioning than Spencer or Kareen, but will truly blossom like a flower in a loving family environment. He is almost 5 and will be facing the institution soon. He is blessed to still be at the baby house.

Please give Brent a chance! Brent can be adopted with SPENCER.

This was our first picture of Anna. We really couldn't tell alot from this picture. And this was the only pic we had for 7 months. Believe me, my mind was doing way to much imagining of what our little princess was gonna be like and if she was even still there... silly I know!!

We went from this....

to this.......

Still a somber little face, but so much different than the original pic.

And now this....

See... really a picture only tells a little bit. You will not know what a treasure you have, until you see the "real thing"......

Please consider adopting Brent! Or donate to his adoption fund this Christmas and give the gift of a family!!! You will never regret it!!!!!

fundraising...

is a lot of work, takes up a bunch of time and energy, but in the end is so worth it!! We were invited to have the fundraiser for Carlene and Tristan and Brent at the "Breakfast with Santa" and took the opportunity to raise money for some sweet RR orphans!



Anna helped us by hanging out and being her cute and adorable self!!

Right now it seems like I barely have time to get the basic things done around the house. Like feeding babies, laundry, baths, dishes, homework, getting the older ones ready for school, cleaning, dinner, etc... So taking the time to make cake pops and plan a fundraiser really added alot to my plate. Not to mention it's Christmastime and I'm desperately trying to get ready for that...

But in the midst of all that...

A precious little girl named Anna. Little does she know that she is holding in her hands the very organization that helped us find her!! We are forever grateful to our amazing Lord and Savior! And to Reece's Rainbow, Andrea and Reece, and the whole RR team that helped us bring our daughters home! We are still pretty amazed by it all!! I just don't think it is usually that "easy".

We have been foster parents for 8 yrs. We have had many children come and go in our home. I have been a parent for going on 20 yrs!! (wow that is actually hard to write!). We have been a blended family for 14 yrs (yours, mine, ours, and theirs). We have wanted to adopt for that long as well. I am telling you, children just don't come into your family that easy. It is few and far between that a foster child will come into your home and stay forever. If that happens, you are mighty lucky and blessed!

My point is.....after doing foster care for so long, and praying for children to stay and most that have not, it makes you realize how amazing it is when something like this happens! We worked so hard after we committed to the girls. The paperchase was unbelievable! It seemed never-ending and most of the time it seemed like it really just would never happen and the girls would really never be here in our house in our safe little town. There really was nothing we could physically do to get the girls here.

But here they are!! :))

They are here now, and we are forever reminded that all our children are here because for some reason or another, the Father saw fit to bless this family with them! All of them!

He knew exactly which children would fit best in this family! Out of all the little ones on the RR website, how did we end up with 2 sweet little ones that fit perfectly into our family? There is no other explanation...

Anyway, it is busy and all....but really very fulfilling to be doing something to help a child! Not just any child, but a child that truly has no hope if they are not adopted!! We want to help these little ones! We want to help their families be able to bring them home as quickly as possible! Every single dime helps!!

We are still in the adjusting phase after bringing home our girls! We are still figuring out just exactly what the girls need to thrive! We are still trying to show them what unconditional love and family is like, and and help them with attachment and reduce any orphanage behaviors that are there! We saw the society from which many of these little ones come. There were things that they had to go through because they were orphans. Just because they were in an orphanage. Just because they did not have someone who was holding and loving and caring for them consistently. Just because it wasn't as sanitary as it could have been when their food was prepared... Just because the society into which they were born is not accepting of who they are...

But things can be different. All they need is a family!!

ALL THEY NEED IS A FAMILY.

At the Breakfast with Santa, Anna had her first picture with Santa! So cute and so many firsts these days!!

And just who in the world are you?? :)

Depraved Indifference

Does anything else need saying?

Carlene

This is Carlene. She is facing imminent institutionalization. The only reason she hasn't been transferred yet is because the orphanage she is in thinks she has a family coming for her. You see, they will do that sometimes, because most of the time the staff and caregivers really care about the children. But there is only so much they can do. They have new babies coming in and the older ones are taking up "space". Carlene will have to be transferred.

Go here to read more:
/http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2010/11/emergency-update-about-carlene.html

or here:
http://learningtowalkonwatermom.blogspot.com/2010/11/carleys-last-christmas-carlene-2h.html#comments
This link has a neat fundraiser going on that would make great Christmas gifts, so please check it out!!

We are helping this other family(s) raise money for Carlene. Any money donated will go toward her adoption fund, and every little bit will help her future family. Speaking from experience, it is VERY expensive to adopt a child internationally. But SO VERY worth it!!

Wouldn't it be amazing if we were able to raise enough money to fully fund this little girls adoption. Then literally nothing would be standing in the way for a family to be able to commit to this little girl. There are many families wanting to adopt a child with Down syndrome, and certainly a beautiful little girl like Carly!

Go to either of these links to donate. Even if it is only $10. Give the gift of a family to a precious little girl this year! A little girl that, if transferred, may not even be here next Christmas, to be able to raise funds for.




She's beautiful, isn't she??

Carlene 2H
Date of Birth: December 2005
Character: Positive Emotions , happy, social, content

Carlene is just a little ray of sunshine. She is almost 5 and facing the institution. Her present diagnosis is: Down Syndrome, moderate mental deficiency, valvular disease of the heart, strephexopodia, squint, farsightedness of light degree, allergic dermatitis, systemic underdevelopment of speech.

I have $504 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption.