Reece's Rainbow

We are well into a pretty typical week around here.  I went to our church MOMS meeting today, which I always look forward.  It so enriching, encouraging, convicting, and educational to listen to the ideas and hearts of other mothers who are like minded and like hearted. 

We've come to the letter "L" this week in our "preschool curriculum".  So we went outside and searched for leaves

and made these:

I laid out a piece of wax paper and had the kids color on them with the different colors of the leaves that we saw outside.  Then, we laid the leaves on the wax paper and topped it with a second piece of wax paper.  Finally, they watched as I placed a dish towel over top and ironed over the towel at the highest setting.  When you're done, you get a unique, hand made place mat:

Tonight, however, as I rocked Kamdyn to bed, I had a heavy heart.  I came across this site (click here), called Reece's Rainbow, in my blog travels.  This organization was started to help families adopt children with Down syndrome and other disabilities from other countries.  Andrea Roberts, who founded the organization, writes, " These children are viewed as outcasts with no ability to learn or be functional members of society.  They languish in mental institutions, hidden away from the world in shame."

 It weighs heavy on my heart tonight that there are these sweet, perfect babies with no one to love them.  Tonight, there was no one to lovingly button up their jammies and kiss their soft, round cheek.  No one to stare into their face as they cradled and rocked them.  And no one to caress their wispy hair as their eyes close and gently fall to sleep.  It breaks my heart.  And if I spend more than 30 seconds thinking about it, my eyes well and tears begin to fall. 

I'm so thankful to have Kamdyn and be able to hold her close and love her.  She had all of the odds against her. 70% of miscarriages in the first trimester are thought to be the result of chromosomal abnormalities.  But she is here.  And it's a gift from God.  All of these precious lives are a gift from God.  I wish I could save all of these babies.  I wish it wasn't this way.  I could make a thousand wishes.  So I'll pray.  And if writing this could bring one ounce of awareness to the situation and make one iota of a difference than it was more than worth it.