With Thanks.....

There was SOOOO much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!  Who can even count all the blessings our family has received over the past year?!

We have a roof over our heads, heat in our home, clean water to drink and the ability to take a shower every day if we want.  There is electricity in our home, more gadgets than I care to mention, food in our pantry and fridge and clothes on our backs.  And these are just the material things, which we take for granted each and every day.

But we have been blessed with even more this year!

Four new children have been added to our family since last Thanksgiving.  Such a blessing!!

After all, children are a blessing from the Lord the Good Book says.

And the blessings we have received along the way throughout their adoptions has been incredible....

friendship connections, monetary donations, toys and clothes for the children, amazing support and encouragement, prayers, words of wisdom, I could go on, and on, and on!

Through our acts of trying to bless these children with a family, we in turn have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams.  But that is the way it supposed to work isn't it?  That is how God planned it in the first place.  Bless and you will be blessed.

And when our son Atticus got his horrible diagnosis of Leukemia on October 6th of this year, we were blessed again-- friends made us meals, helped with our children when I could not be there, said numerous prayers for us, came to visit us.

The hands and feet of Jesus.

Even through a tragedy we see Him, and we are blessed.

Yesterday, Thanksgiving, was a time to gather with family and friends and remember His love, and the blessings He has poured out on us this year. 

My heart is so full.

His love and grace abounds in our lives.

We have all we truly need, and much much more, and we are grateful.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our lives over this past amazing year.

And thank you to our incredible God through whom all blessings flow.

The Rowe and Joyner children-  missing are Schuyler, Bronwyn and Leo Rowe and Lenix Joyner

There Are Two New Rowes Today!

I am thrilled to announce that the Rowe family has now officially grown by two!!

Today at 11am our time the court proceedings began in an effort to make Vanya and Luda officially and legally our children.  What a nerve wracking experience let me tell ya!

But it was all worthwhile to be able to hear these two sweet children stand before the judge and witnesses and tell them how they loved us and wanted to come home to be part of our family.

"I have never had a family," said Vanya. "I want them to be my family."

"I love them very much," declared Luda.

Oh it made my heart melt and my eyes began to well with tears despite me trying to hold them back.

It was too much. To see these two teenagers standing there telling this stern judge that they LOVED us and that they WANTED us as their mama and papa was just too much. It really overwhelmed me.

They have gone so long without anyone to truly love them. They can't wait to see what it feels like to live in a HOME, with siblings and parents and love.

I can't wait to show them.

We thank God today for giving us the blessing and the privilege of being their parents!

So now that court is officially over, I can introduce you to our children and announce their new names, decided upon by them. So here are......

Bronwyn Ludmila Rowe

and 

Leo Ivan Rowe

Our two newest blessings! We love them so much already!

Happy Birthday??

We all love birthdays don't we? I know in our larger family there seems to be one every time you turn around! Almost every month it seems we are celebrating someone's special day with them, usually with cake, balloons, a party or dinner out. Birthdays are supposed to be a time of celebration.....a time to rejoice in the year you have just lived and look forward with hope to the blessings of the coming year.

And this especially holds true for your 16th birthday right? How many of us can look back on that day with fondness? I know I can remember mine. Knowing that now I could drive, date, go out with friends on my own.... it was a step towards independence.

Now just imagine if instead of looking forward to that 16th birthday, you dreaded it. Imagine if instead of being hopeful for all the good things that were going to come that year, you were terrified of the year to come. Frozen with fear about what lie ahead, the uncertainty and loneliness of it all.

Imagine for a moment that instead of being greeted with presents, cake and well wishes, the day went on like any other day. There is no mention if it being special at all.

Well this my friends is what it is like to turn 16 if you are an orphan here in Eastern Europe. There are no gifts, no happy birthday songs, no nothing.  But why should there be anyway? Turning 16 when you live here in an orphanage is nothing to celebrate. Instead it is a life sentence.

If you are without a family here at age 16, you don't have much to look forward to. Oh sure, there will be the gaining of responsibilities like I was anticipating, but it will be the responsibility for your own life on the streets.

At 16 you better be able to care for yourself, because without a family, no one else will.

Sure there are the certain few who will be able to attend trade schools, but positions in these schools are few and far to come by. So what happens to the others?  You can probably imagine.  Drugs, prostitution, living under the streets. These things are not exaggerations, they are real.

The church here in the city we are adopting from just did a presentation on orphans this past Sunday. They work firsthand with these kids. They see their real lives. They know the hardships these kids are up against if they are not adopted. They live in this world with these children, and try to help them the best they can.

But the system fails them. The government fails them. Families who come to adopt but refuse to take a chance on older children fail them.

This is S. Tomorrow is his 16th birthday. We will be bringing him a cake and a card, and a few gifts to show him that someone out there cares. That he matters. That he is celebrated on his day. But no one can give him the gift he wants most...... A family.

Tomorrow, many dreams he has will be lost forever. Many hopes will never be realized. He will have a much bleaker future to look forward to than before. This birthday is life changing for him.

So tonight will you say a prayer for S? And for the thousands of children just like him? Every child deserves a family. The young babies right up to the teenagers. And they have SO much love to give! If only you could see it in their eyes as we do EVERY time we walk on to those orphanage grounds. They just want someone to care. They want someone to love them. They want a family to call their own.

"One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody." ~ Mother Theresa

So many are becoming just another number, a statistic. So many are being lost to the streets. What can we do???

ADOPT!
HOST AN ORPHAN!
SHARE THE MESSAGE OF ADOPTION!
PRAY FOR THE ORPHANS OF THIS WORLD!

Every child deserves a family.  Every child. Every child should be able to look forward to their 16th birthday with happy anticipation, not dread.

What can you do?

"Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty"

Mother Theresa

Quick Update!

I have been lazy about keeping this up the past couple months and I apologize!  There has just been so much going on, it has been hard for me to take the time to blog.  But, I wanted to share a few things....

Firstly, I wanted to give a praise report!  Our son Atticus is in remission with his Leukemia!!!  His levels had to be below a .010 to be considered in remission this past Wednesday and he was at a ZERO!!  The doctor said you can't get any better than zero.  :)  So we are very grateful that we get to continue down the normal path for course of treatment, rather than embarking on a new path of "high risk" treatment which would be a lot more intense.  We love our little man so much and just want him to get better as quickly as possible, and the Lord so far is hearing our prayers!

Next, I wanted to give an update on our adoption!  So far, so good!  I have been home since October 30th and am actually getting ready to leave again tonight to return for court.  There are many things we need prayers for...... safe travel, that we still have court this next week as planned, and that the judge rules in our favor.  We are so anxious to get our two newest children home where they belong, and we are praying there are no delays.

Tim and Schuyler are still there with them and have been enjoying their daily visits very much.  They have done crafts, gone hiking, played volleyball in the gym and soccer on the field.  It is getting colder there, but they are still hanging out outside most of the time.  I can't wait to get back and see all of them.  My husband especially!!

I also wanted to share this most wonderful card I had emailed to me the other day from Sacred Selections!  They have been so instrumental in helping us get all of our kiddos home. Frst Gideon, then Charlotte and Atticus, and now our latest two children as well.  We could not have done it without them!  And just look at this gorgeous card showing ALL the children they have helped to get to their forever families this year!!!  Amazing.  Can you find our kids 4 precious faces???  LOVE!

And one more big praise report, on the adoption front this time!!  I was just informed today by a friend of ours from church, that we have been awarded a $1,000 grant from Wells Fargo.  Our friend Margaret works for the bank, and put forth our name and the story of our adoptions for consideration, and we won!!  I tell you, when you are trying to help the least of His children, He will provide a way.  God is good, and our friends are wonderful!  I feel so blessed and so humbled that she even thought of us and our adoption finances and put our name out to be considered.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, we are truly grateful!!!

So for now, here are a few pictures, and yet again I am signing off until I get over to the other side of the pond!!

Halloween was so much fun!  So glad I didn't miss it!!

Me and my ladybug!

My last night there before I came home

Typical street market

We had so much fun making these paracord bracelets.  They were a hit!

And my ipad is a hit too  ;)

Love this picture!  Our first day there.

Me and my boy!  Can you tell I am happy to be with him???

We're Here!!!

Yeah, we are finally here and I finally have a moment to update this blog a little!

What a whirlwind it has been, as all adoption trips seem to be. We arrived to EE by way of Frankfurt on Sunday afternoon. The driver we love, Nico, was at the airport to get us, along with another adopting family. We cleared customs just fine, not a question was asked which is different from last time, and our luggage was the first off the conveyor belt! so glad it arrived with us! So, off we went.

First we exchanged some money and bought a few groceries, you know the staples- water, coffee, chocolate..... :) and Nico got both our families set up with a cell phone to use while in country. Then it was off to our apartment in the big city! We stayed in a totally new place this time, but still not too far from the buffet we ate at and loved last time we were here. Great food, cheap prices. Really wish they had a restaurant like that one at home!



Outside our apartment in the city



On Monday it was the day we had been waiting for, our appointment to receive the referral for our children!! Well as it turns out, even though they are in the same orphanage, because our son has no documented special needs we could not receive their referrals together. So it will be the same process as it was for us last time here- we got one referral then we have to return to the city for our second referral. Except last time it was 10 days later. This time they are taking pity on me because of Atticus's condition and allowing the appointments a week apart. So we return this next Monday for the second referral and then I can head back home on Tuesday morning.



Luda's referral picture



Vanya's referral picture



We met some other great families while getting that referral, and it was nice to chat with them and find out about the children they were adopting too. And I tell ya, nothing- still nothing- beats seeing

that dossier, all those documents you put all that time, blood, sweat and tears into procuring, back in your hands again, but this time sewn together by thread. It just brings tears to my eyes when I think about how I prayed for their safe voyage across the ocean and safe delivery into the proper hands so that they could be scrutinized and ultimately approved and we could come get our children!



Mama, Papa and Schuyler having cappuccino after getting our referral



We got to visit the infamous Roshen store while in the big city, along with our friends the Dewberrys.  Here are Schuyler and Kolya out front, and below is a picture of one of their gorgous window displays.

Tuesday we officially picked up that referral and Tuesday night it was all aboard the train to our children's region! It was actually a great train ride. We were in the car right next to our friends from NC who we knew and loved even before this trip. So it was fun to hang out and chat a little. Later Tim fell asleep and Schuyler was listening to music on her iPod when a friendly stranger decided to meet my acquaintance. That's what I get for leaving my door open. ;) He commented, in Russian, that I should turn the light in so as not to hurt my eyes. I was reading my magazine by the light coming in from the hallway of the train so I wouldn't disturb Tim, and thus began a lengthy conversation between he and i, and then Tim after I nudged him awake! our friends next door came iver to see what all the talking and laughing was about, and hercsin was able to translate most of our conversation for us too. Interesting evening.

Upon our arrival in region we went straight to the social worker's office to get her approval and signatures and then to see our kids! We went in and sat down with the director and social worker of the orphanage, talked a little, showed her some family pictures, then in came Luda! Of course the tears started flowing as I hugged her again, she looked adorable! Then Vanya came in. We hadn't seen him in even longer and it was SO great to lay my eyes on him again!! It was an amazing feeling to know, for sure, that we were here to get THEM. I had promised them I would be back, hopefully by October, and I kept that promise! That was a great feeling.

I had been so afraid if letting them down, of getting their hopes up and then something happening and us not being able to follow through, or the country shutting down again, who knows what. But I am just so glad that I can say I kept my promise. Yes Luda and Vanya, you are coming home to your family. Yes, we are going to be your Mama and Papa. You won't be alone anymore!

 We have gotten to have just two fairly short visits with the kids because of running around for paperwork, but we can already see how glad they are we are here, and the look off relief on their faces telling me they are happy it was sooner rather than later. We have loved visiting with the other kids we met here previously too and I am going to do my best to advocate for those who want and need a family so badly, like our children did. Good kids who want nothing more than a home and love.

So here are some photos from the trip so far. And again, another huge and heartfelt thanks to those who helped us get here! We could not have done it alone and our children thank you!



Vanya and Papa!!  Love this boy!! (and that guy too)  ;)




Vanya trying hard to do a Tangoes puzzle




Yulia and Luda!  Amazing young ladies!!




Sweet A who also has a family in NC coming for him!!!  We got to deliver a little care package to him from his Mama and Papa!  :)





Making paper airplanes and throwing stars with a kind and sweet 14 year old boy.



What A Crazy Two Weeks!

I will have to keep this post short, because with all that is going on I honestly have not had much time for blogging as of late.  To say that the past two weeks have been crazy is an understatement.  There has been SO much that has happened, both good and bad, and we are exhausted.  :)

I will start off with the most major event-- October 6th of this month we were to attend the Buddy Walk in Charlotte as we do each year, and help out at the Reece's Rainbow table.  While we were getting ready to go, I noticed that Atticus's feet and hands had swollen up and attributed it immediately as an allergic reaction to an antibiotic I had just given him half an hour earlier for an ear infection.  So off to the ER we went, they gave him Benadryl and a steroid, but then did some lab work to check his blood.  The results came back as abnormal and their best guess was Leukemia. I was devastated!  I called Tim immediately, crying uncontrollably and somehow through the sobbing he heard the word "Cancer" and was like WHAT??

So he turned the car around and brought the kids back home, I went from the ER at that hospital by transport with Atticus to the Levine Children's Hospital which is well renowned for their cancer treatment.  We spend the next week on their hematology/oncology floor, had spinal taps, bone marrow biopsies, lots of issues with veins, needles, ports, reactions to blood products, spikes in fever, you name it. But in the end, he was diagnosed with Type B ALL Leukemia which is a very common and thankfully, treatable, kind in children.  Praising God for the small blessings!!

Atticus is now on chemotherapy and will be for the next three years.  Yes you read it right, THREE YEARS.  He will gradually step down from what is called induction all the way to maintenance therapy, provided that he responds to treatment well.  The success rates with this type of cancer are 85% to 90%, and we have a great team of doctors who really are on top of things.  So we are fully confident that this Leukemia will only be a small blip on the radar of Atticus's childhood.

Please continue to pray for our sweet boy.  Everyone's prayers have been so greatly appreciated!!  And all the calls, visits and meals have been too!  Our friends and family have been so kind to us and we are truly grateful!

So, on to miss Charlotte.  A few days prior to Atticus's diagnosis, we got one for her too.  One the neurologist had never even heard of!  Leave it to our Charlotte to be an original  :)

It turns out that she has a rare condition, so rare that only 41 people have been diagnosed with it since 1914.  It was discovered on her MRI and is called Rhombencephalosynapsis.  Read below....

"From an article published in 2009, "There have only been 50 cases of Rhombencephalosynapsis since the first known one in 1914. Until the use of the MRI in 1991, only a few cases were reported. Most doctors, including specialists, have never heard of this condition." 

This condition is when the two parts of the cerebellum which are in the back of the head and supposed to be separated into two hemispheres by what is called a vernis, are actually fused together with no vernis and therefore no separation.  There is nothing to be done about it at all, it just is what it is.

But, the good thing about finding out this diagnosis is that we FINALLY have some answers about our little girl!  This condition is what is responsible for her being so tiny, not gaining weight, having hydrocephalus, strabismus. lower set ears and ADD. This area of the brain also helps control all the signals the brain sends to its different parts, so coordination, balance, etc are all part of it too.  Hence the reason why she isn't walking yet either.  This will probably just take longer for her while her brain takes longer to communicate and make up for what that cerebellum is not communicating properly. So right now, yeah for a diagnosis!

Life will go on as usual for her right now though.  She is doing remarkably well in all areas having already pretty much mastered English in less than 5 mos, made tons of friends, started Bible class at school, preschool, therapy, etc.  She is one happy and smiley little girl and we are SO thankful to have her in our family!!!!!

So onto the other piece of BIG news we got during these last two weeks.  WE GOT A TRAVEL DATE!!! Yes, last Thursday we were informed our travel would be imminent, like in 9 days from when we got the call imminent.

We are soon on our way to bring home our two teenagers who have been anxiously waiting for our arrival!!  Some changes in our game plan had to be made of course considering our new situation with Atticus, but we have worked it all out enlisting some special care for him, as well as a caregiver for our other children while we are gone.  I will be leaving the majority of the travel to Tim this time so that I can come back and be at home to care for my baby.  I am very happy with the plan we have in place, and just anxious to get our two newest blessings home where they belong!!!!

Please pray for safe travel for us, for the health of Atticus and for all our children in our absence.  We are trusting in God and His provision as we move forward into this new phase of life dealing with a serious illness, bringing two new teens into the family, and maintaining all we have going on already.  I am up for it and so is Tim!  :)  Just pray for our strength and endurance and for peace in our family during this time.

Thank you again to everyone who has supported us as of late-- emotionally, financially with the adoption-- we really cannot thank you all enough!  Our auction was a success, our FSP on Reece's Rainbow has continued to grow, and people have been present for us in our daily lives helping us out and we are grateful.

If you feel lead to help, please continue to donate if you are able, as Tim's full time in EE will be completely unpaid.  That, childcare, me having to make two trips to EE instead of one, will eat up all the monies we currently have and then some.  We thank you for your help!  (the link to our FSP on RR is at the top right corner of this page!!)

Here is also a link to another blog from a woman who did such an incredibly sweet post on us and our situation.  Take a look if you like.....    http://doloski.blogspot.com/2012/10/nothing-to-give.html

Thank you everyone!!  Away we go!!!!!  

At The Park...

While waiting for two of my older children who were at speech class, we decided to head to the nearby park, first to do some math with my two younger ones, but then to PLAY!!

It was a beautiful day here today!  Very warm and sunny, so we decided to take full advantage of the gorgeous weather.

Charlotte LOVED being able to climb up to all the fun stuff by herself because this park was equipped with a ramp!  Very cool!  And she adored the swings....  see for yourself  :)

Look Mom, I can walk up here all by myself!!

It isn't fun if you're not getting a little dirty right??  ;)

Ok, I'm ready... watch me FLY!

Such smiles and JOY!!

She really loved the swing... and climbing through the tunnel too.

Poor little man Atticus is still recovering from an ear infection, so he was not his usual happy self this afternoon.  Plus it was naptime.  But would you look at this hand-on-hip picture I got of him and that look he is giving me!!  ;)  

As if to say-- "no pictures today mom!"

After all this fun we were headed for home and a couple of much needed naps.  It was a great afternoon!