Our 1st true Vacation since we stated the adoption of our 3 children, For over 7 yrs, every extra dollar was put towards fees, applications and renewals, it was all worth it, now time to relax from the "paperchase" and reap the rewards of the long long waits! Just Chilling! Lately I have been more of a facebook person, email me if you want an invite. I am here to support all the adoptive families that are waiting, It is worth every second of anxiety!
In life every single person is given a cross. Some are large, some small, some grow as we live and mature, some fade as we live and mature. However what do you do when the cross is so heavy? Lay it down and walk away? Try harder, pick it up and continue, continue to the end? What did Jesus do? A cross has been placed in your hands, an opportunity that you choose to see or walk away from. Then others pray they are never given chances have they ever opened up their eyes to the crosses that are placed in their hand?
Having lived thru one adoption lasting over 3 yrs only for it to end with the country of Vietnam shutting down. I can truly feel for the 3000 plus families and orphans that are now at the mercy of the Russian and USA government's. I fought tooth and nail to get Senators, Congressmen, involved to just push thru some type of agreement, two yrs later still no agreement and US citizens can not adopt from Vietnam, keep in mind some of those families had photos of the children they were going to bring home. Many families and orphans still wait. My advise for families is, grieve then move onto the next option, when one door closes a window opens. We are proof of this and now have a beautiful little girl from Ethiopia, it all worked according to His plan.
There has been great outrage, anger, blame and finger pointing over the disrupted adoption of a 7-year-old Russian child and his abrupt return to Russia over this last week. Today it has been announced that Russia will suspend adoptions to the USA. During this time, I have wondered, "where is the outrage for the thousands of children who are housed in hopeless institutions with minimal care and daily abuse from the other children?"
The exact conditions that may have traumatized this young child and greatly contributed to this situation, are barely mentioned. No one absolves the mother.She had options and chose to do something outrageous and selfish. But her actions are only one part of this. The unspoken rule is that those of us who work to find homes for these children must never, never criticize the governments that allow these wretched institutions to continue. Adoptive parents must be grateful...and silent, to insure that international adoption continues, and a few lucky children find peace in a family of their own. Volunteers must quietly work to make changes in the orphanages, for fear of offending those in power. Yes, this story makes me very upset, and sad for all of the children who will now continue to suffer. And for the families who have waited, longingly, to give their love to these children.
And now we wait, with our only hope once again in the hands of government policy makers. I suggest that the meeting scheduled for the 20th take place in the largest, most rural orphanage that can be found in Russia. Let our governments meet, and come to their decision, surrounded by the children's lives and futures that hang in the balance. --Martha Osborne
*Footnote, 80% of orphan girls will end up in prostitution and the boys will end up in jail.
Please sign the petition to help Americans with adopting in Russia, One adoptive mothers poor judgement is placing many other adoptive parents in the Russia program at risk of delays, shutdowns ect. Please remember each of us that have already adopted, had many little angles behind us, you may not know who they were, but now is your time for paying it forward. thanks Kim
A treasurer I found, Wilton Bunny Family cake toppers, very rare, normally you can only find the mommy. Currently someone is only bidding .99 cents, they are worth so much more. If you are instered please take a look and bid, you never know.
thanks Kim
Someone is going to get a steal on this bunny family. Very Vintage from the Wilton Collection. Please ck it out! Thanks.
This antique photo is so very cute, I love the toy horse, and the little girls with big bows. I am sure someone will enjoy it very much, what a neat Easter gift, just put it in a frame!
We have paid all the fees to our social worker, all our reports are now done! From now on we are only required to do an annual report until she is 18. Big sister is reading above her grade level and Big brother just started reading Hop on Pop! He is catching on. I have been trying to get some action on Ebay, we have not added to the kids 529 plan in a while, thats been on my mind, and time flys so quickly. We work real hard with reading and math, hoping that the kids will earn good grades. Maria did a wonderful display of the Black Widow for the schools learning fair, there was not many kids of her age there, most here middle school or High School. So we are happy she had pride in a job well done.
I have really been enjoying Ebay, it makes me feel somewhat productive, along with being a mom, I like to get a little money comming in. Please check out all my auctions, I have some real neat Vintage Photos up for auction. Thanks Kim
One of the best purchases I have made is my cupcake tree, it has come in handy so many times, truly a must have for every mom!
She actually enjoyed it, I just twisted sections, not to thin, and slipped the beads on. When her hair dried and got a little thicker the beads stayed in. On some of the smaller twists I tied the last bead with a little thread. Still learning, I also did not load her hair....that would of been too much sitting and work, specially if she pulled them out, or had trouble sleeping with them. The back of her head, I just put two little braids, so she would have some relief if she did not like sleeping on the beads. We are on day 2, they are still in!
The Olympic rings: black, blue, red, green, yellow circled together. The iconic image.
In 1913 Pierre de Coubertin created the interlocking rings to unify the five continents of the world.
The flag of the United States of America consists of 13 red, horizontal stripes, all of which are equal in width. In the upper left hand of the flag is a blue rectangle, which consists of 50 small, white, stars (five pointed stars). These stars are arranged in nine horizontal rows, which alternate between 5 stars and 6 stars per row. The rows are offset, as clearly visible when looking at the flag. The 50 stars represent the 50 states in the US. The flag only consisted of 48 stars until Alaska and Hawaii were added as states. The 13 red and white stripes represent the original Thirteen Colonies, which is known as Old Glory. The colors of the American flag have been used as a base for many other countries flags which include Chile, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico.
Ethiopian Flag Meaning:
The colored stripes on the Ethiopian flag are significant - the red stripe stands for power, faith and blood; the yellow symbolizes the church, peace, natural wealth and love; and the green represents the land and hope. The colors were also interpreted to have a connection to the Holy Trinity, and the three main provinces of Ethiopia. The star represents unity of the people and the races that make up Ethiopia. The five rays on the outside of the star represent prosperity and the blue disk represents peace.
Ethiopian Flag History:
The Ethiopian flag was adopted on February 6, 1996, making it one of the world's newest flags. The Ethiopian colors date from the 1890s, when forces loyal to the emperor are believed to have flown pennants of green, yellow and red as they fought against Italian forces. The first Ethiopian flag using these same colors was adopted in 1897.
Interesting Estonian Flag Facts:
Ethiopia is credited with establishing the green, yellow and red colors that have come to symbolize African independence and unity. Ethiopia is the oldest independent African state. The colors became known as Pan African colors. Sometimes black is added to these colors to represent the African people.
Chinese Flag Meaning:
There a conflicting opinions over the meaning of the Chinese flag. One side states that the red color in China's flag symbolizes the revolution and the fact that the political power of China was achieved through the bloodshed of revolutionary martyrs who fought heroic struggles for the revolution. The big star is said to represent the Communist Party of China; while the four smaller stars are said to represent all of the ethnic groups that make up China. Much can be read into the fact that one point of the flag's big star points up the flag; while each of the smaller stars has a point aiming towards the centre of the big star. This is believed to signify that the Communist Party is the force at the core of the leadership of all Chinese people. The stars are yellow as an indication that the cause of socialism has a bright future in China.
Chinese Flag History:
The Chinese flag was adopted on October 1, 1949 after the Chinese Civil War. It was designed by Zeng Liansong, an economist and talented artist. His work was one of more than 3,000 plus entries received for a Chinese flag design competition. The design underwent a few changes and was finally approved by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on September 27, 1949. Originally the flag was to feature either a hammer and sickle in the largest star, or several horizontal lines below the stars.
Interesting Chinese Flag Facts:
In 1999, to celebrate communist China's 50th anniversary, neighborhood committees, the communist government's local enforcers, ordered residents to display Chinese flags. Any household with a Chinese flag that was too old or shabby had to pay three dollars for a new one.
