Making Miracles

While I haven't been writing on my blog, I have been checking in on my bloggy buddies. It is a good thing I did because if I hadn't, I would have missed some miracles in the making.

When I first starting blogging, one of the first blogs I started faithfully following was The Adventures of Ian and Chase. Laurie, the blog's author, and I connected because my John and her Chase both have Ds, and they are about the same age. Laurie is also very funny and her tellings of the adventures of her two boys Ian and Chase always puts a smile on my face. Laurie always keeps it real which I love and admire.

I watched as her family grew to include another little boy, Gavin. With his arrival so came the change in the name of her blog to Welcome to the Madd House. Maybe she knew then that including her children's first names in he blog title was a bad a idea because, you see, more children were going to be welcomed into the Madd House.

Like many other families who have had a child with Down syndrome, Laurie and her husband Bryan's eyes and hearts have been opened to the plight of children who were orphaned because they were born with an extra chromosome. In Eastern Europe, in particular, being an orphan with Down syndrome can be a death sentence. If these children are not adopted by the age of five, many are put into institutions where they are given the bare minimum of care.

Unlike many families (mine included), Laurie and Bryan are taking that extra step. That brave, beautiful, life affirming, step. They are bringing one of those orphans home. His name is Danil, and from his photo, it is easy to see why Laurie and Bryan were drawn to him. He is adorable, and he sounds like he will fit right in with his new brothers.

When I heard about this adoption, I thought back to an online conversation Laurie and I had years ago, about Down syndrome. How it occupied so much of our thoughts, how we worried about what the future and this world would bring to our boys. Back then, she didn't sound like a mom ready to have two children with Ds. Look how far she has come. She and her family are driven...

By the power of love?

By the power of God?

By the power of a child?

Maybe by the power of an extra chromosome.

Whatever the driving force may be, the result is miraculous, a little boy is going to have a home, a family, a future. It doesn't get any better than that!

If your heart has been opened, you can put your compassion into action. First of all you can go visit, Laurie's adoption website, aptly named, Adding to the Madd-ness. She is holding an online auction to help raise money for Danil's adoption. Take a look at great stuff she has an maybe place a bid on something. If you like, you an also make a donation to Danil's adoption fund through her website.

You can also visit Reese's Rainbow to learn more about their adoption ministry. There are photos on their website of children who are waiting to be adopted. Who knows, maybe there is a place in your life for one of these children.

Maybe you want to help raise money for their adoption fund.

Maybe you want to help spread the word about the plight of these orphans on your blog or in your community.

Maybe you just want to include these children in your prayers. (Another of my bloggy friends, Stephanie, at Our Daily Smiles
has been doing all of this!)

Maybe you will be so moved that in the eyes of one of these children, you will see the eyes of your child.

Maybe you will want to bring one of these children home.

Today's your chance to play a part in a miracle, don't pass it up.

Here's a photo of Danil--help bring him home to the Madd-House