Leaving tomorrow-difficult things to say

We are leaving tomorrow!!!  Everything went great with the US Embassy doctor and she mentioned how well behaved and smart the twins are! :-)  Despite K's fears the day before about the doctor...she did quite well!  I half expected that...if there is one thing I have learned about children is that you truly never know.  It is nearly impossible to predict good days and bad days and which child will have the harder time.

I have SO many things that I want and actually need to say but I never seem to have the time to do so.  I know that it will likely be harder once we get home and we begin the difficult process of adjusting.  Every family member that has ever been added whether it is through marriage, birth, or adoption...it is an adjustment. 

The difficult things I have to say may surprise you.  Because it is not about our twins.  I just feel an urgency to share with all of you something that is weighing heavily on me right now....

It started a couple of nights ago when I could not sleep and I noticed that someone on FB was advocating for a child that I had already seen on Reece's Rainbow a good while ago.  So, in my tired and groggy state, I headed over to the Reece's Rainbow website and truly expected to see the new children that were in dire need of a family.

What did I find???

So very many of the exact same children that were on the website from the time that we started our adoption of the twins a year ago!!!!  WHAT?!?  I quickly became wide awake with frustration and outrage!  I just couldn't understand it!!!  I hear about people every day (due to the various adoption lists that I am on) that are adopting....how could it be that children are still just waiting and waiting???  I had really gotten a false perception of how many families were adopting.....and how many children are waiting!

Then, moments later I visited a blog...if you all remember, it was the blog that helped us to fundraise at the last moment before travel.  She was highlighting children with special needs and the horrors that they face when they are not adopted.  And, then showed the before and after when someone wrapped their arms around them and brought them into their family. 

So, I *do* want you to go to these links but I want to put in the disclaimer.  The pictures are graphic and hard to see.  I don't think you will be the same person after you witness and learn about this yourself.....I know that I have been forever changed.

This quote will then apply to all of us!

 "Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know and holds us responsible to act."

Here are the links....sit down, and imagine that you weren't born into a family with a mother to kiss you, and food whenever you were hungry, and most likely your entire existence was peering between the bars of a crib....alone.....

Read this link first:

http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2012/02/if-not-usthen-who.html

And then, see what happens when we actually do something and care:

Prepare to be *amazed*....make sure that you not only look at the pictures but also read the descriptions of what the different children went through before and after:

http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2012/02/seeing-is-believing.html