Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Meet Kareen



Grab This!


Where to start? I want to post this for a few reasons. Number one, I love the Cox family and they are special to me. And two...there is soo much I know can be done for these beautiful kids and I am hoping it will inspire someone else out there to help in any way they can.

Kecia and I met in 2002, living in the Clocktower apartments in downtown Boise. It was a ...confusing, dark, depressing time in my life. She was a smile and a bright light that lifted me up. Every sunday at church I would go and squeeze their little daughter Kyra, who was just a fat little baby back then. I have so many fun memories. Of course time marched on, and they moved away to Utah. I moved away to California. And we sort of lost touch.

Its been 9 years. Imagine my joy when I found their blog. And saw their beautiful daughter Adrie had been added to the family. And then about 4 years ago, a very special little daughter named Bree joined the fun. Bree was born with Downs Syndrome. She's just about the cutest little thing you've ever seen. And her big sisters adore her. When I read through all the posts from the past catching up on their family events it just seemed meant to be that these people would have been chosen to raise nurture, teach, and love Bree. If I were in Heaven picking out parents for the extra special babies - yes, Kris and Kecia would have been the natural choice.

So one thing I know (and love) about Kecia, is her mothering tendencies. This girl was born to raise children! I remember speaking with her about her struggles to conceive their firstborn Kyra, and how heartbreaking that was for her. She had just yearned for a baby. LOTS of babies! We shared that trait in common. So last fall when I read on her blog that she had miscarried I was so devastated for her. Bree her youngest, was almost 4 years old. She had commented many times that she did not understand WHY another baby had not come to their home.

So this is why:

Their daughter Kareen had been living in an orphanage in Eastern Europe waiting to be found! Isnt she BEAUTIFUL? My heart just melted when I saw her. Yes, she belongs with the Cox family. She belongs with Bree. Kareen also has Down Syndrome. And thanks to the amazing organization called Reece's Rainbow, the word about these darling children is getting out. Kecia happened upon the website after following another adoption blog, and when she saw Kareen she just knew. THERE was their baby! And she was almost 4 years old!

Through Reece's Rainbow, you can sponsor an orphan with Down Syndrome by donating to a fund that is in place to help whomever decides to adopt that child. Some children have thousands of dollars to go towards their costs, some dont even have a penny. It breaks my heart to see these kids, just waiting and hoping for a family to find them. If these kids do not get adopted by the age of 5, they face imminent institutionalization. Here in the US we cant even comprehend such a thing. And yet across the world it is common practice to abandon and throw away these choice little people. I cant really express to you how much I wish I could do something about it. If it were up to me, I woul dbe sending in my adoption forms and taking as many as Gabe would let me!

And of course, there are some families who want to adopt, but the cost is SO HIGH. So that is why I think this is so Brilliant. If we could get everyone we knew to donate $1, $5, $10! Imagine the weight this could lift off the shoulders of a family who was eagerly waiting to bring their child home.

Like the Cox family.

So if you have a minute, go here to read their adoption journey and get to know them. Look at Beautiful Kareen and picture her twirling in a little tutu with her sisters at dance class. Her world is about to change in a miraculous way - if you can, help them bring her home!


9 comments:

jayna said...

Oh my goodness- what a story!! Best of luck to them and that little girl is melt-me cute!!

Shawn AND Chelsey said...

great story! i will check it out this weekend when i actually have time to sit at the computer :)

p.s. i love your new blog header!
xoxo

Julia said...

Thank you for sharing this! I always try to help where I can.

Jessie and Taylor Miller said...

so wonderful!!! thanks for letting us know!

Erin said...

You are so good at supporting people in time of need. I want to adopt you christy. What an adorable little girl and I am very happy for your friends. Best of luck to them.

Sherry said...

I haven't been able to get it off my mind since you showed me the website. I wonder why Oprah hasn't had it on her show. I'm going to send it to her!

kecia said...

Christy-
Where do I even begin?? I can barely see the words I am typing through my tears at the moment! This post was so touching and mostly because it came from such a dear friend like you! I am so grateful we "found" eachother again through this glorious worldwide web! I just can't express what it means to have your support and love and encouragement! I want to keep this post in a journal it meant so much to me! You are amazing and you ALWAYS know what to say to make me feel better! I have been really "missing" kareen today (is that possible when you have never met a person?) and seeing her sweet picture combined with your sweet words was just the right thing for me today! This waiting for her is alot harder than I thought it was going to be! So thank you for your friendship, your kind words, and your love and support! I love you to pieces!

p.s. Most of my memories at clocktower involve you and I love it! But what I love even more is seeing how happy you are now! Although I know those Boise days were tough for you...I am sure glad we got to meet eachother then!

linda said...

Christy! I am Kecia's mom and I just have to say "Thank-you!"

kecia said...

Christy-

Thanks for being our cheerleader! We love it! So, my cousins are starting a blog auction for Kareen. It starts tomorrow at www.bringkareenhome.blogspot.com and will run until the end of the month. We have also had an anonymous donor say offer to match every dollar that is raised through this auction, up to $5,000 so we would love help spreading the word! Plus one of the cousins lives in Idaho so alot of the items on there are in Idaho, so you would be a perfect connection to spread the word!

Thanks again!

Kecia