Happy Endings and New Beginnings

Leann and Chris are the official parents of "Anthony": Anton John (sometimes called AJ) Putz. This picture of Leann and AJ was taken while visiting, prior to court. They are on their way to Iowa soon.

I am so grateful to Leann and Chris for adopting and loving this little boy. In the bit that I have gotten to know them, they truly seem God-sent for this child, and clearly love him to pieces. Thank you God, for all the strings you have pulled to make this happen. Score a big win for the culture of life!

Our own adoption journey continues...getting close...you can see more about our work to adopt Alex at http://www.wdadoption.blogspot.com (and email us or leave a message here if you want to be added to the private blog. We're adding anyone we know who wants to read along). We also have a page on facebook, and we could direct you to that.

News continues for Reagan (formerly Tori)...she is doing great! You can see a picture of her and all her siblings as "A Torch for Teagan" (below). Oh by the way, that page is about her family adopting AGAIN...two boys with Down Syndrome...they are an amazing family. I encourage you to help them out!




Please, continued prayers for AJ's family: transition always comes with its own challenges! But today is a good, great, amazing day in God's kingdom!

Anthony's family....

Anthony's family announced!  What a great story.  We continue to pray for a smooth and quick adoption!

Anthony is getting adopted!!!!!!!!!

I don't know by whom (not us), but he's on the "My family found me page."....more as I hear about it!

This is brilliant news for Anthony and I thank you for your prayers and advocating on his behalf.

Susan

Today's the Feast Day of St Anthony of Padua

...not that everyone who reads this is Catholic, but Anthony was a powerful man for God during the medieval period, a preacher who brought many of the corrupt and powerful to repentance and who lived a life of radical poverty and dependance on God as a early Franciscan.

Catholics like to say he is the patron of those seeking lost things.  It's kind of a goofy connection for such a beautiful witness to God, but we Catholics like to be goofy sometimes.  But our little Anthony needs a powerful man for God to find him his lost family.  They are out there.  Will you pray that Anthony be found today?  And spread the word?

Time is running out.  Thank you, everyone.

Update about being stuck

OK, it's been three weeks.  Let's unstick this project.  Someone please go get Anthony.  Please. 

If you can't do that, please pray and spread the word.

Anthony is FULLY FUNDED!!!

Anthony in summer 2009.

Click and see that great big number--$20,000.19!

...So that means anyone wishing to adopt need only pay for initial start up costs...and in the USA, that is reimbursed through an adoption tax credit the year after the adoption is finalized!  This is, in the end, a free  adoption!

So what now?

1) We give thanks!  Thanks to all who contributed funds and thanks be to God!
2) We pray!  hard!  Anthony's family is out there and the financial hurdle is gone.  We pray for that family to know Anthony is their child and to step forward!
3) We spread the word!  In any and every way you can!  Link to this post or to his profile at Reece's Rainbow: http://reecesrainbow.org/anthony-25   

Anthony is almost six years old.  It is a blessing (and amazing) he is still at a "baby house,"  but that could change at any time.  I have heard where he would get transferred to, and it would be devastating for him, and quite possibly a virtual death sentence--at minimum a living death sentence.  Time really is of the essence here, and there is little time to waste.

Anthony does seem to have significant disabilities for sure, but he deserves the love and attention of a family.  He will no doubt do better in a family environment.  We don't know how much better.  It is a leap of faith, but ... the path has been cleared for someone to do just that.

I am going away for work until Wednesday May 4th.  I am asking everyone who reads this to post it on facebook, twitter, your blog, email your friends, whatever!  Who knows where this family is?  We need to find them in every way we can!

Any of you compelled to advocate, share your experience of adopting, or CP, or whatever seems relevant--please, please do so!  And thank you!



Let's prayerfully spread the word far and wide and let's get Anthony the family he needs and deserves!

Peace, Susan

Happy Easter!

--and I'll still waiting to tell you the great news about Anthony's grant!  Watch this space!  Ask everyone you know whether they know anyone open to adopting him!

I have BIG news...

about Anthony...but I can't announce it yet!

Go out there and find Anthony a family, OK? I'll announce the big news as soon as it is official (probably next week!)

And pray!!!

I'm Anthony's "Easter Warrior!"

So what can we do to keep his adoption fund growing? Money is the only thing that keeps these children apart from families--and that's it. We can fix that, right?



I'm a Warrior for Reece's Rainbow!

You can donate a little or a lot through Paypal, and Reece's Rainbow is a 501(c)3 (that means tax-deductible!). If you donate a significant amount, you may want to send a check with "Anthony (25)" in the memo line, because RR has to pay out of pocket for Paypal transaction fees. Or you can increase your contribution and it will be covered that way. ;)

You can also spread the word by going to Anthony's spot on RR and click the right buttons to post his profile on facebook or twitter.


***

Another great thing going on--if you tweet, please follow Reece's Rainbow! Patricia Heaton (the actress) has offered a challenge to everyone--if Reece's Rainbow gains 10,000 Twitter followers quickly, she will donate $10,000 to RR! That's huge $ in RR non-profit land, and they need it to keep the place running! So please consider following RR here--it's free, ya know!--and urge your "followers" list on twitter to do the same: Reece's Rainbow on twitter.

$7093.19

...and it grows!

Thank you for helping little Anthony get adopted!

Spreading the word for Anthony

Delilah's Dream (a blog which typically advocates for waiting children with special needs in China) is advocating for Anthony as well. Thank you! All of you, please spread the word!

There is hope!
Susan

--Anthony has a $7,003 adoption grant!--

Anthony's grant is over $7000!

Yippee!  Thanks to whomever out there did this!

Let's keep it rolling and find him a family!

See his profile and grant here.

Anthony's grant is growing!

Thanks to those of you still chip-in-ning away!  Anthony is only $33 away from having a $7000 adoption grant. 

That's a huge grant, folks.  When you combine that with a $13,000 adoption tax credit, that means that anyone with homestudy and initial costs done has a fully funded adoption.

Let's get it over $7000 and continue praying, and suggesting him to families interested in adopting.  Time is not Anthony's friend here.

***

On the Reagan front--Reagan is doing great!, but her newly adopted sister Carrington is not.  In addition to DS, she has severe reflux, and maybe something else going on--she is nearly four and the size of an 18 month old.  Stephanie (a friend of the family's) has some shocking photos here.  Anyway, they are flying to Texas today but little Carrington is already arranged to go straight into the hospital upon arrival.  Prayers for her and the whole family appreciated--this is a rough way to start.  Then again, they may have gotten her out just in time.

Keeping you updated!

March 11: Tori (soon to be Reagan) has connected with her adoptive mom and they are traveling all over getting the birth certificate, visas, passports, etc.  She hasn't been released from the orphanage yet--give it a couple more days.  But she is loving the attention, and held her new to-be sister, Carrington (a three yr old with down syndrome, although she is the size of an 18 month old), with obvious affection.

Anthony still needs a family.  Please continue to spread the word.

Another story of an adoption of a child with CP

First, THANK YOU to whoever out there is chipping in to Anthony's adoption grant fund...he is at $6800+ now!  Every little bit helps.

But he needs a family to step up.  To that end, the message below came through an email list.  I thought it was important to post here, because the child below has CP and numerous other challenges, more than Anthony.  It's a lovely story and I hope it will inspire someone.  Please pass it on!

My "Unadoptable" Son

Below is the story of a mother and her son. When others felt her son was
"unadoptable" she knew otherwise. 

My "Unadoptable" Son
I met my son when I worked a long term care facility for children. I am a
physical therapist. Tim* came to the facility as a crack baby with multiple medical complications. He was born at 26 weeks in a crack house in Camden.
Somehow he managed to survive his birth. He had three brain bleeds at birth,
as well as hydrocephaly and seizures. A shunt was placed for the hydrocephaly. A
feeding tube was placed because he couldn't coordinate drinking from a bottle.
 He spent months in Cooper Hospital's NICU, and then did a stay in a rehab
 hospital. After that, he was moved to a residence for medically fragile
children in Camden to await a foster home equipped to handle his needs. This was all
before he turned one. A home wasn't found; he had some medical complications,
so he was moved to the long term care facility where I worked.

Once at the facility, his birth mother was prevented from seeing him due to
threatening staff. His birth father then surfaced, and he expressed interest
in bringing Tim home. However he could never get his act together to do this.
I was Tim's PT from the time he arrived until I brought him home -- four years
  later. It took DYFS that long to finally terminate his parental rights! At
that time I was leaving the facility to pursue another job in Early Intervention. I
hated leaving Tim behind, and knew that his caseworker was not actively
looking for a home for him. So I decided as a single parent that I would bring him home .
>
Tim's medical history reads like a train wreck. He has cerebral palsy, reflux,
hydrocephaly, severe dysphasia, motor and cognitive impairments. He was 100%
tube fed when I brought him home. I taught him how to eat, although he still
doesn't know how to chew, so I have to chop his food up. We have multiple
doctors' appointments annually with all of his specialists at CHOP. He had two
shunt surgeries last year in seven weeks. He sounds pretty "unadoptable"
doesn't he?

Now for the good part. He is an adorable loving boy who talks, walks, runs. He
loves Monster trucks, plays video games, and is learning to read, do math,
science, etc. He's not a "normal" 12-year-old. But he is my Tim, and I love
him!
Even if he never made any more progress than where he was when I brought him
home, I would have loved him as much as I do today. He is a true joy, and
brings happiness to everyone he meets. My life would be empty without him.

* Not his real name

More on Anthony

I said I would report when I knew more, and I do...although not much.

Anthony is still in his orphanage, and they will hang on to him "as long as they can".  He is supposed to be transferred this spring, it's hard to know whether this changes that or not.  I did see a picture...it is not public, as far as I know, so I cannot share it.  But it is a sad picture.  On one hand, he's sitting upright and without a strap, so that is encouraging (he has significant CP).  On the other hand, he was looking pretty sad in the picture--not the half-smile you see above.  Andrea (from RR) also said he has cognitive delays (from the environment or the brain damage that is CP? don't know).

So the good news is that he is "OK"--not transferred yet.  The sad face is heartbreaking, though.  If you could pray for Anthony, pray for his future family, and spread the word that this little boy deserves a family--we would be most grateful.

Many thanks and peace here and there tonight--
Susan

Waiting today

I'll be honest.  I heard from Andrea at RR that she was supposed to hear something about Anthony Friday (today), and pass that along...she may hear no new information, she may have a little more detail about his condition, she may hear he's already been transferred to the institution we dread.  So today, I am waiting.  Not exactly nervous, but with some real concern.  I'll share if I am able to when I hear anything.

Please continue to pray for both Tori and Anthony.

Another thought of the day

From Psalm 68: 6-7a:

Father of the fatherless, defender of widows-- this is the God whose abode is holy,

Who gives a home to the forsaken....

Thank you for continuing to pray for Anthony and Tori.

Thought of the day

"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." John 14:18

A Plea for Anthony

As almost everyone in the known world realizes at this point, we are trying hard to make an adoption happen as quickly as we can--but everything seems to hinge on us selling two websites my husband as developed. If they sell well and soon, we will have much of our stupid debt (as opposed to legit debt?)  paid, and have money to put toward a home study. That's good! But the reality is it *could* take a few months. And while that's OK....

there's Anthony.

We're not committed by paper or entirely by heart to any one child. But the reality is we are looking at Anthony hard, despite feeling that this was way more than we had initially thought we could handle. And that may be the case for reasons I won't get into; we're still discerning, checking $ issues, etc. BUT Anthony is 5 1/2 and scheduled to get transferred to an institution this Spring. He has significant CP and my thought is he will not survive the institutions they have in his home country, not to mention I wouldn't send my dog to one. A friendly one of you all told me through email where he would likely go, I looked it up, and it's scary bad.

We raised all kinds of money for this child's grant fund and it breaks my heart--we just may not be able to commit in the next few weeks or not. We're trying so hard. I feel like I have knocked every door for Anthony and have run out of options. But I want to see him adopted. It honestly doesn't matter if it is us or someone else. He needs his family now.

I know God has this in hand, but maybe God needs more hands and feet on this one. Could you please pray for and/or post for Anthony's cause? He has a very good grant ($6500+), and needs someone to step up asap.

Anthony's spot on RR:
http://reecesrainbow.org/anthony-25

Thank you everyone! I so appreciate it!
--Susan