Reece's rainbow...

After Camden was born Billy and I became members of an amazing group of people...families that were raising kids with Down syndrome all over the world. They helped me through the darker times after Camden was born...I linked up to their blogs, they added me as a friend on Facebook, I was invited to play groups and fun activities and my heart healed as I watched these families living their lives...just like other families did. They opened me up to a world I never imagined existed and we are so grateful to belong to such a loving community. Over the last three years I have come to know these parents...some made parents naturally...some shared similar stories with us, some were older, some were younger...and some became parents through the gift of adoption.  

The longer that we have been members the more families I am meeting who are choosing to adopt beautiful little children with Down syndrome. Some of these families already had a child of their own with Down syndrome and decided to reach out and save another child. Some of these families had virtually no ties to Down syndrome...but they knew that a member of their family was missing and that Down syndrome was where they should look.  I have nothing but admiration for these families who have given much to bring their children home...who are willingly choosing a life with a child with Down syndrome. 

While there are many options here in the states to adopt children with special needs...there are also options available overseas.  One of my favorite ministries aiding these children in their qwests to find families is Reece's Rainbow.  In Eastern European countries a child with special needs is seen as socially unacceptable, as an outcast. They are sent to orphanages at birth or upon diagnosis...where they live out their lives without the love of family and around age four, if the orphanage is full...they are sent to adult mental institutions. The care in these institutions is not good...these kids are tied to their beds, they are given little interaction, they are not given opportunities to grow or learn...they are left alone and too often abused, never given the opportunities to thrive. The thought that Camden could have faced a similar situation if he had not been born in the part of the world that he was breaks my heart. I literally ache for these kids...but Reece's rainbow is working hard to change this fate for these children...

visit their website www.reecesrainbow.com

These children deserve better, they deserve a chance at a life.