Look at these lovable little boys...

What amazing stories I was able to hear about these boys and I'm so excited to share them with you!  I had a chance to chat with Aleda Madison at Madison Adoption Associates yesterday afternoon about these amazing little ones!  By the time I hung up the phone with Aleda, my heart was heavy because each of them struck me in a different way during our conversation.  Aleda met all of the children they have listed from Qing dao (Also called the "Blue Sky Home").  All of the kiddos were truly unique and amazing.  There were several children that impacted her, personally.  I'm going to share a little bit about each of the boys below.  All of the children from this camp currently have a $1500 grant.  Maybe one of them is your son?


XAVIER
What an absolutely, beautiful smile this little guy has!!!
Xavier was diagnosed with polio but the disease is inactive.  The Physician in China shared with Aleda that Xavier is not contagious and that he will not get any worse than he currently is.  A diagnosis of polio is something that might quickly scare a family off but Aleda said that Xavier is really not someone that anyone should be afraid of.  She said the things that are noticeable about Xaviers special need is that all of his teeth are missing and that he has a different gate when he walks (likely due to the disease).  Other than those two factors, she said you wouldn't even know that he had a special need.  He is a little guy, 7 years old and very-very sweet!  She shared that he is an extremely bright little boy.  She was kind enough to share a couple of very sweet stories about her time with him.  There was one instance when the children were viewing a video of a child that had been adopted and was now home with their family in the U.S.  Some of the children were not focused on the video but Xavier was especially focused and in awe!  He was so intent on watching the video and was entrenched in it and mesmerized...He is so looking forward to finding his forever family!!  There was another instance when everyone was sitting around a table (care workers, the Madison group and the children) eating corn on the cob.  Xavier was picking each kernel of corn off of his cob and nobody did anything to assist him (bare in mind he doesn't have teeth) and so Aleda went over to him, took his corn and began to cut the corn off of the cob for him.  Everyone watched in amazement at what was happening and finally when she had cut all of the corn off of the cob and handed it to Xavier, he accepted it very thankfully, with a huge smile on his face.  If you are interested in learning more about Xavier, please contact Aleda Madison at Madison Adoption Associates, (302)475-8977.  Aleda stressed that while all of the information that was shared on Xavier was positive in regard to his health, it is mandatory that a family considering him must verify all of the medical information with an International Adoption Physician.


PIERCE
Pierce is a deep thinker and a leader...He was very kind, sweet and gentle.  He is at the top of his class and very bright!  He shared that he loves to do Tae Kwan Do and someday hopes to be a policeman.  She shared that at one point the kids were performing and some of the children that were suppose to be sitting around watching the performance were being stinkers.  Pierce motioned for them to come over to sit down so that the children that were performing could have their time and so they did.  She said the other kids loved and respected Pierce and she can see him being a great, "big brother".   He just turned 8 years old in October.  His special need was congenital lip and bilateral cleft.  If you would like more information about Pierce, please contact Aleda at Madison Adoption Associates, (302)475-8977.
Could Pierce be your son?



Information to come on two more waiting angels....

November Is National Adoption Month

A couple of weeks ago I decided to shift gears with this blog and use it as an advocacy blog on the topic of adoption and begin to advocate for children and orphans.  They don't have a voice and so in some small way, I'm hoping to be a squeaky wheel.  With that being said... I haven't shared this on our blog yet but for those of you who have followed along over the last several months...There was a precious little girl named Marlee (Mei Mei) that I advocated for earlier this year while we were in the process of bringing Hadley home.  She was suspected to have CP but it was later determined that she had a rare neurological disease.  I originally saw Marlee on Madison Adoption Associates shared list.  There was something about her that grabbed a hold of my heart immediately and I began to advocate for her, in hopes of her finding a family.  A few weeks after I began to advocate for Marlee, I learned that her condition was getting desperate and she was in need of immediate medical care.  Along the way, someone stepped forward on a yahoo group that was in China working in Marlee's orphanage and was trying to get her the medical attention she needed.  She reached out to me and I was able to stay in contact with her and get updates on Marlee and her condition.  When we returned home from China with Hadley in late August,  I received an email from my contact stating that Marlee had passed away.  Up until now, I've only shared her passing with one of my friends. Sadly, I think I knew that Marlee would not survive in the orphanage.  I would check in with my contact in hopes of hearing good news but somehow knowing that she would be called home soon.  Its difficult to express how it feels to have a connection to a little girl that you've only seen photos of...But the Lord gave me the privilege of seeing her and connecting with her, thousands of miles away.  I'm sharing Marlee's story for two reason...Because I know that many people prayed for her, inquired about her and cared about her.   I'm also sharing because her death reminded me of how many children die every single day alone, without a mother and a father to hold them, comfort them and love them.   It reminded me of something a read in a book not too long ago...I'm going to steel a few paragraphs from, The Hole in our Gospel.   About 26,000 children under the age of 5 die every day of causes related to their poverty.

That is the equivalent of 100 planes filled with children crashing every day. If one jet liner crashes in America, it makes world headlines. There is an immediate flurry of activity: Why did it happen? What does the "black box" say? Is there a safety issue with the airplane? Was it a pilot error? And we start to learn about the lives of the people that died.

But where are the headlines? Where are the hearings, the acts of Congress, the things that would happen if a hundred jet liners were crashing every day?

If you looked at the death certificates of those children you would probably read words like starvation, respiratory infection, malaria, maybe HIV/AIDS. But you could easily cross that out and write apathy as the cause of death. The deaths were largely preventable, but those who could have prevented the deaths chose not to. I know that's harsh but I've seen and I know that it is possible to change the equation. It's the sin of our generation. The sin of my parents' generation in the United States was racism. The sin of our generation will be apathy. 


So here is a small opportunity to do something, to get involved and to not be apathetic.  There are so many children just like Marlee out there...Both overseas and in the U.S. There isn't a person around that doesn't have a full schedule these days but we can all do something.  For each of us, that "something" is very likely different.  The point is...Chosing to do nothing isn't an option for those of us that call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ.  As a very dear friend of mine says..."You either believe it ALL or you believe none of it."  We don't have the option to decide what portions of the Bible we will believe or chose to follow.  November is national adoption month and November 7th is Orphan Sunday.  This is a chance for Christians to get involved and take seriously what the word of God says about caring for the orphans and widows.  James 1:27- Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.


To learn more about how to get involved and what you can do in your local church for Orphan Sunday, please check out... http://www.orphansunday.org/about  There are all kinds of resources on this site that give ideas from acknowledging these precious, innocent lives with a few simple words before or after Sunday service, all the way up to sermons and events that can be done in your church.   If you get a chance, take a look!


Hugs and love,
Robin

Oktoberfest

After some thought, I've decided to keep this blog up and running for anything pertaining to adoption.  My hope is to be able to advocate for children, share fundraising info and anything else pertaining to adoption. After today, I'll start posting any of our family pictures and adventures with the peanuts on our new blog which will be the one thats by invite.  I'm putting any email addresses I have in my address book down for viewing.  Our new blog is, www.livelovelaughwiththeleeses.blogspot.com  If you've emailed me with your email address or posted, I'm including your info as well and look forward to sharing with you!

Last Sunday we took the peanuts to Oktoberfest at Traders Point Creamery with some friends and some of Brandon's family who were in town visiting for the day.  It was a good time just watching the kiddos play in the pumpkin patch, dance to the live music and enjoy the hay ride.  A great way to start off Fall!

ME and daddy!!  We are so cute!

Wyatt- Hadley, can you read my mind?  What in the world do they expect us to do with these big orange balls???  There is no way you're gonna be able to lift them!

Landon- Wyatt, your mom is snapping pictures again....Any chance you can get her under control?  The chicks don't dig this!

Wyatt-  I'm sorry dude, so embarrassing...She's difficult to reign in when it comes to taking pictures

Wyatt- Hey Hadley, is this the one you wanted?  I think I can lift this one!!

Hadley- Hey Wyatt, is this the hay ride you were talking about and are we suppose to eat this stuff? Its sticking to my outfit...

Wyatt- No Hadley, that tractor leaving with the hay all over it...that's the hay ride we're suppose to be on

Wyatt- Lets forget the hay ride, Hadley....I'm enjoying the photo shoot