Happy 4th Anniversary Reece's Rainbow!!

I am in love with each and everyone of them. My heart aches for my Yana, but also the many children left behind. I ache everyday to be with her...but my heart also is with all these children. We, as a family, would like to personally thank Andrea the Amazing and all the Reece's Rainbow Advocates for all you do. We would also like to thank any person who has played a part in helping our angels find a family. If it be by prayer, donation, spreading the word, advocating, whatever you have done for our babies. I want to thank everyone who has played a part in helping us get Yana home. I cannot wait until she is safe in our arms...how do I long to hold her!! I will have to remind myself to let her down on occasion!

HIGH TISSUE ALERT!! Please scroll down and shut off my music for this wonderful video :)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our I600A Is On It's Way!

Our I600A is on it's way to the USCIS! Now God, work your miracles as we pray that other things fall into place!!

Dark Side of Serbian Mental Institutions

Our letters to Ellen & Oprah

(Limited to 1500 words or less...I wish I could have said more! )

I am a fulltime RN& my husband is a stay at home dad.We have five children,2 biological and 3 adopted.Our two youngest have Down syndrome.I am asking for your help.We have committed to adopt a little girl with DS in Eastern Europe.With recent events d/t the woman returning her son to Eastern Europe by himself,we are in a rush to get there before any of the laws change.We don't know what the future will hold.Due to this rush,we do not have the time to raise funds as we had planned& apply for grants.Yana's adoption is going to cost 25-30k.We have sent some money, but are in urgent need of at least $8k to travel by the end of this month.Please help us to save our angel.She has spent most of her life in an orphanage.Children with special needs are sent to institutions at the age of 4 in most countries.Please help us save her before she is sentenced.Feel free to visit our blog at www.savinganangel.blogspot.com God bless you!!







Oprah,

I just wanted to try to do everything I can. For this is not a request for a new home or a new car...this is a request to help me save my daughters life. I am a mother and a wife. My husband and I have five beautiful children and one in heaven. Our three youngest children are adopted-one is Autisitic and two have Down syndrome. Our angel in Heaven has Down syndrome and died at the age of 37 days after open heart surgery. I work full time as an RN and my husband is a stay at home Dad, we felt this was important to meet the needs of our children.
My oldest daughter is 15, a beautiful young woman that gets great grades and is active in sports and school. My 12 year old son is active in football and his games. He is also very smart. Our 9 year old is funny and loves his numbers. He is Autistic. He came to us at the age of four-he couldn't talk and still wore diapers. He is now going into the 3rd grade and is talking and learning. Our 7 year old has Down syndrome. He has a lot of health issues and a behavioral issues related to the pregnancy not his Down syndrome. He is Mommy's buddy and seeks me out when he is sad. Our 4 year old has Down syndrome. He is smart and loving. He has this wonderful disposition that just makes everyone smile. He died on my husbands lap when he was almost 2. He was brought back to us...he later had open heart surgery (with an aicd placement) and is now thriving with us all. He is truly a miracle. Our angel in Heaven...I miss her so. She was born with two different types of DS and congenital heart defects. I spent almost five weeks with her in the PICU...I came back to Ohio to see my oldests confirmation and she died while I was gone. I will never forgive myself for leaving.
Now on to my daughter that needs your help. A few months ago I found her angelic face on www.reecesrainbow.org and I fell in love. After speaking with my family and them reaching an agreement, we committed to her. There have been issues for example, her region only allows for 35 referrals a year, knocking out many agencies to facilitate her adoption. Then finding an agency to do the adoption. Then the lady sent her son back to Eastern Europe by himself on the plane. This situation alone has caused many issues for us adoptive parents. My husband and I have only one income and we do fine...this adoption just requires a lot of planning and fighting...we thought we had time. All of our adoptions have occurred here in the United States...this is the first time for a Russian adoption. Since the incident with the boy being sent back, things have been crazy. We have planned fundraisers and are anxiously awaiting our copy of our homestudy to apply for grants... We received an email that stated they want us to travel at the end of June to see our daughter for the first time and we do not have the money. We need at least $8000 to travel. The entire adoption costs $25 to 30k. Since this rush in travel...we do not know what we are going to do. If we don't go, we have no idea when we will have the chance again if ever.
I love this little girl so much. I know deep in my heart that she needs us. She needs to be saved. Orphanage life is not a great life. She deserves to have a family. Children with special needs are usually transferred to an institution at the age of four, many not making it after the first year. We may not be a perfect family, but we could be the perfect family for our dear Yana. She is only two years old. She has spent most of her time in an orphanage, never having her own blanket or her own doll. Never having her own Mommy to kiss her goodnight or a Daddy to sing to her. We want to give her that. We want to give her a family. Please Oprah, help us. Help us to save our Yana. Feel free to visit our blog at www.savinganangel.blogspot.com and our fsp page at http://www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorsmith2.html Feel free to call me at 740-454-**** or 740-819-****. Also, please visit Reece's Rainbow and learn the plight of the many homeless children. Also, please tell everyone you know to help our family and the many other families in the middle of thier adoption journey. God bless you!!!!!

Sincerely,
Lisa Smith

God Please Show Me What To Do!

I am asking for prayers and that you ask everyone else you know to pray if they are so inclined. I was told by the agency today that they want us to travel by the end of June. I wasn't prepared for that because we haven't even got our copy of the homestudy yet. Usually, its homestudy, I600A, Dossier, and wait for travel date. I haven't even been able to apply for grants or anything. I hope things will work out and we will be able to get the money and paperwork ready before the end of the month. If not, I am not sure what will happen. I love her so much and I want her home right now, I just don't know if it can be done that fast. God please help us...if we cannot get it done, please allow us to be able to bring our sweet angel home in the near future. Please don't let this be our only chance. Thanks everyone for your continued support!!

All of Our Fundraisers In One Post---:)

I thought I would make a post with all of our fundraisers in one spot. I will be adding to this as we move forward. Just to let everyone know, we sent our very first check in the mail to the adoption agency and our service agreement. Things are moving slow-but forward :)

Our Coffee Fundraiser :)

This is our Puzzle Pieces for Yana's Future. For a $5 donation-your name will be placed on a puzzle piece and will have a chance of winning the puzzle-framed and sent to you for being a piece of her future. It is a Mickey Mouse Disney Puzzle showing pictures of old Micky Mouse toys. It runs until all pieces are sold.




Please know that I thank each and everyone of you that donate by a monetary donation or even by prayer, because every penny and every thought counts!! God bless you!!

God is Great! Grace-Hope & Love

By the grace of God, we have the go ahead to move forward with the adoption. The facilitator contacted our agency and stated that it was a go. God has once again repaired my hope. Not that it was gone, because I have deep faith in our Lord, but I will admit I was scared. Our agency stated that this region doesn't usually do special needs adoptions and that the social worker slipped her info to the adoption worker. So to me, that is a miracle. God has once again showed me his love for my children and my desire to help children with Down syndrome. Our agency stated that she is shooting for a goal of Christmas time. I am in tears of joy! What a wonderful gift to share our christmas with our new daughter and our whole family-including Yana. Our angel is finally coming home!