Dreamseekers and Company

Here are pictures and videos of what’s been happening! They’re a bit out of order. There’s Christmas morning at our house and then Christmas afternoon once the family came. Then the day after Christmas with the other side of the family. Then there’s my Mom’s big birthday bash and some random photos followed by some cute videos.

December and Christmas:

Video from Mom’s birthday party – the kid got ahold of my phone and its video camera…
This one the little girls are pretending to be angry at each other:

Maggie takes another video:

Felicity and Carolyn being silly:

So silly:

Back at home, Jordan is hanging out in the kitchen with me and checking out the hair clippers. It shows a lot about how Jordan is growing (tall!) and developing.

Pappy reading to the girls over….. Thanksgiving:

Very short clip of Jordan playing in the play room with Hirfan:

We need a middle name for our son Daniel. Daniel _____ Davis. We have some great family names we’re trying out in the middle, but haven’t quickly settled into something that feels right. We have the option to change his first name, but we want it to be close to the name Daniel, which is close to the name he goes by now. Hmmmm. Fun parenting decisions. 🙂

We had some credit card reward points, and with it, we purchased a special 1000 piece wooden puzzle titled, “Victory.” We got it for Daniel, to assemble and hang on the wall in his room. We want to write notes or names on the backs of the pieces of people who have prayed for him and donated to help him make it home. It will be concrete evidence of the people who loved him before he was ours and for the people who are cheering him on to Victory in the many challenges of life. It appropriately features a picture of some lions… Daniel was victorious in a lion’s den some millennia ago.

Let me know if you want your name on the back of the puzzle! Just let me know you prayed for him or donate some stuff for our garage sale fundraiser or you could send $5 and I’ll put your name on there. There are 1000 pieces… plenty of room for everyone!

Any act of support or financial donation will put your name on the back of the puzzle. Suggested donation $5 per piece.

(I’m making a list now of people who have already encouraged and supported this adoption. FYI: Grandparents, aunts and uncles of our kids… you automatically get put on there, because unless you avoid us forever henceforth, you are supporting us and him.)

Okay – I don’t actually have the time to write a detailed post right now, but I wanted to share that our homestudy is complete and in my hands! I just need one last document and I can submit our application with immigration (USCIS). It’s exciting! I am hopeful that we will be on trip one to meet our son this summer. And I’m praying he will be home before the end of 2017. We will see.

I have a bunch of great family photos and I’ll be putting them up soon. Hmm… let me see if I can just upload them really quick before somebody needs me for something….

Sledding videos!

First day sledding:

Blast off!

Maggie….. then Carrie!

Elli and Anna over the jumps:

Easily my favorite video…. Maggie…. jumps… she said the second jump hurt. I was not at all surprised!

Brody and Carrie:

I got permission to share the photos and unidentifying information about the other children who made it onto our short list. These children ARE still orphans and do NOT have anybody coming for them.

Will you pray for them?
Will you share their information… maybe somebody you know is considering adoption.

Seeing children in need is a hard thing. I won’t be upset if you can’t look at their faces.

But if your heart is broken by their story, your emotions are not wasted.
These kids deserve somebody to care. If all you can do is care… then CARE!

I fell in love with this little girl last winter. My heart has not been at rest since and she’s part of the reason we’re adopting today. But my heart still hurts to know she also needs a family. Her listed special need is “microcephaly.”

This little girl stole my heart. She’s nine years old like Anna, but heartbreakingly tiny. She has cerebral palsy and limited mobility. She may have epilepsy. Her gaze is gentle and aware in her video and her smile is beautiful. She weighs just 24 pounds. She’s just 33″ tall.

http://reecesrainbow.org/101643/olie
These two boys are brothers and both have Coffin Lowry Syndrome. From their videos, big brother (age 5) is running all over the place. Little brother (age 3) was interacting more quietly in a baby bouncer.

http://reecesrainbow.org/94738/jesse-11-51
Sweet little guy has a hard time working up the strength to hold his head up in the videos. But he does succeed and is aware and so sweet. He has hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy. But I think his main struggles have to do with his environment. Three years old. 21 pounds. 35″ tall.

http://reecesrainbow.org/105424/sawyer-4-5
This little boy has the same diagnosis as Daniel (arthrogryposis)! He’s seven years old and playing and talking. His legs are severely affected and his arms and hands are affected also. It didn’t stop him from holding, manipulating and playing with a variety of toys. He weighs a measly 22 pounds.

And little Kadrie. She is only two years old and has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. She appears the “least able” or “least aware” of this group. Does that mean she is the least snuggly? I am willing to wager she is the opposite. Consider this sweet soul and love her.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

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Requirements for adoption:
Meet minimum income requirements
Be a US citizen
Some more info: http://reecesrainbow.org/new-family/newfamily

I can tell you more about the adoption process for this particular country if you ask. You can email me at davis.adopt@gmail.com. Total cost for adoption (including homestudy, agency fees, international expenses, airfaire, etc.) is somewhere around $28K. You’d need around $4K to get started. There are grants and fundraising resources. Be prepared that the entire process can only be about a year long.

I’m really rotten at keeping secrets. I figured out I can share Daniel’s profile page on Reece’s Rainbow! “Drake” is his pseudonym. “Daniel” is the name we will give him. I cannot share his birth name publicly at this point.

Here is the URL of his Reece’s Rainbow profile: http://reecesrainbow.org/113696/drake-1-53

I’ll cut and paste the info here also… I’ll answer questions it’ll bring up later.

Age: 3
Diagnosis: arthrogryposis
Medical report indicates contractures are at knees and 4 fingers

Videos from November 2016 show him sitting unassisted, making sounds/verbalizations to express pleasure and react to desired toys, playing appropriately with toys (taking blocks apart, interacting with stacking cups by putting them in/out, and shaking a shaker toy. He has full use of his index fingers and thumbs with a well-developed pincer grasp. He uses his other 4 fingers on each hand to help cup objects while he holds/manipulates them. He moves around on the floor on his back while swinging his legs to get to a desired location. The video shows him moving across the room to get to a desired toy. He interacts appropriately with staff. He is in an orphanage where children often have a lack of exposure to toys and developmentally appropriate activities. Drake’s developmental delays are believed to be a result of living in an orphanage.