Girls love Diamonds- husband brag.

My husband, the father to almost 9 littles is an amazing man, he not only said yes we can adopt but he opened his heart to 4 kids our FIRST adoption and as soon as we got them home he said yes to two MORE. He wouldn't dare say No because he knows what that would mean for the children and it would kill him to know that he can help and wouldn't, so he does. It is why I do it.

Firstly we get zero government help, we didn't even qualify for the tax credit for our adoption so we will see zero of the money back, while lots of families do benefit, not us. My adopted kids are not on disability(although disabled), they are not on any waivers, we DO NOT get food stamps(This was recently assumed) It goes all the way down to we even home school our children so the government isn't even paying for our children's education like most. This can seem intimidating to those who really want to adopt but feel like they can't do it without help, The truth is that these kids have never had medical care, never had any education and they are dying. You alone  DO have SO MUCH to give.

My husband works hard to provide for every child in our home. He makes sure they all have what they need.  I am so proud of him, I am honored to have him in my life enabling me to give these precious children Love. He is such a great Dad/Papa and he is Rocking this adoption stuff like lots of dads I know. He deserves so much for what he has sacrificed and continues to sacrifice so that others can have a good, loving life.

Also a small piece of info for all those negative naysayers and opinionaters trying to take the credit from the fathers. The adoption process eliminates all people who would bring kids into this country just to mooch off of our government. It is why we need USCIS approval to immigrate the children here, and it is the purpose of the home study in part. We have to PROVE without a shadow of a doubt that we can do this with the income we have, and although the income that we have is often low it is enough because we have our priorities set to put our children first above all things and our life shows that.

We get lots of comments about how the government must take care of our kids, short answer NOPE We do. It isn't hard, we chose kids over Netflix, kids over cable, kids over a nice fancy cars, kids over wasted space in a home,. Honestly we even grow some of our food and have live-stock to make up the gap in our pantry. We have all we need and more. There is one thing though,  like all girls, I love  LOVE Diamonds! YES that is right girls, and can you believe that my husband got me FOUR DIAMONDS for Christmas last year?? You heard right, I named them Victoria, Bogdan, Dryden, and Daniel and boy do they shine.

I just want to give my and all wonderful husbands a bit of credit where deserved and to let everyone know that families don't adopt to get help, we adopt to help. But we are only human and YES sometimes we can't do it alone. For example: it was a community that helped pay for the diamonds my husband gave me last Christmas. It was because of all of you that we can do this. It isn't because of the government but US and YOU, Thank you for helping us get our kids home and continuing to help us with the ransom to bring our daughters home, you too deserve so much credit, thank you and thank you to my sweet husband.

If you would like to help us on our journey we have a You Caring Link and we now have a Reece's rainbow sponsorship Grant as well. Wahooo.

                                                                       OR

If you would like to help a family with the ransom of a saving a child please check out these sections of Reece's rainbow, many families trying to raise the ransom.

NEW COMMITMENTS

HOME STUDY IN PROCESS

COMPILING DOSSIER

ALMOST THERE

TRAVELING NOW

Because of Reece's rainbow, amazing advocates, and willing families I am so excited to also keep a lookout at this amazing link! It is here letting us all know who made it home.

ALREADY HOME

.... AN EXTRA SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL THE DADS OUT THERE WHO GOT THEIR WIFE DIAMONDS.

.... AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPS CHILDREN.

Our Girls and more.

I'm not sure if you noticed but we reached our first goal. That means you all get to see a photo of our first little girl.  :)
                                              
I
               Isn't she precious? She is the little girl who's future papa told me to Go get HER! Her alias name is Stacie, She was still in the baby house when this photo was taken but most likely due to her age she has already transferred to a mental institution. A place known to starve kids. A place known to take away the sparkle. I hope she can hold on to that spark that we see in her. She is non verbal, with a very gentle character. I think she will fit in great with our crew.








We also found out that the 2nd child is indeed available. She is in an institution that has never had an adoption before in a rural part of a very poor country. We will be the very first glimmer of hope any of the kids will have at having a mama and papa. We hope we open the door to more families being able to adopt from this institution. She is almost 13, also non verbal and just perfect carrying an extra chromosome, she will be an extra special little girl. (and yes you read that right, she is almost 13 another tiny teenager stole my heart.)
                                         






We officially have a Home study provider and we have raised half the amount to cover that fee. Last time we had ALL the upfront in hand when we commit to adopt and only needed to raise the out of country fees, but since we have had lots of hospital visits, and medication expenses for our newly adopted four, we are having to work harder at fundraising. I know we will soon have an auction and probably do tshirt sales. I will share those things here so you all can have a hand in helping these girls get home. It means so much to me that so many people care so much about helping kids find families. If you can't adopt yourself giving is still saving a child because most adopting families couldn't do this without all of you who serve as our village so Thank you.


It is spring time here in the south and the weather is so beautiful. Today a friend came over with 3 of her children. She has 1 bio and 4 adopted. She is a neighbor I met at the river last year. She brought a few of her children and it was the first time our adopted kids have played with other children since we got home. They got along very well, it was nice to see all the kids playing together just being normal neighborhood kids. It was a special treat that she came by and she brought the entire family all natural homemade brownies. Even Dryden had one mixed in with a bowl of milk. Speaking of he is doing amazing and hasn't bit himself in weeks now. His self harming has almost stopped completely as we enter this (4 months home) part of our journey. He is starting to accept a tiny bit of mama snuggles too and enjoys company more than he did before. It is amazing watching him open up. Here is a photo of him enjoying a moment with me after I had been away half the day at Dr.appointments with many of the other children. We are still nesting and so far I have only left the house if the kids have medical visits or to restock our fridge. My brother stays with the children if I must leave during the week with some of the kids to see Doctors. But we schedule well and triple even quadruple stack the appointments to limit constant visits.  This helps limit stress for all of us.

Daniel is still putting on the pounds and doing well. This is a photo from last month to show his progress. He is becoming more aware of his surroundings daily. I think that he will really open up soon.

All of the kids are doing great. My bio's LOVE the new siblings and are very excited about adding two more. If it was up to them I would be adopting 12 more. Everyone gets along great, and honestly they all care so much for each other I rarely hear a fuss. The other day I left the room to grab something and come back to my two youngest adopted children snuggled up as they enjoyed their favorite part of a movie together. It melted my heart. I am so lucky that all the kids love each other so much and we don't as of yet have any sibling issues in the home. I think that the two new girls will absolutely love the love that we have.

Here is a few other photo of the kids having fun together.

I hope you are all having a happy spring. Much love from our family to yours. If you would like to learn more about adoption please do not hesitate to contact me. Also if you would like to help our family lessen the world of two more orphans we would really appreciate all the help we can get.

If you wish, you could donate here to our adoption.

https://www.youcaring.com/mcquinnadoption-795029

Or just share our story, you never know who might be inspired to adopt.

 

                                  

The one who got away

I'm not sure if you all remember ''Beth'' We fought for months trying to make her our daughter, and we love her very much. But there was another mother out there who had met her, fell in love with her, and that family was about to leap to be her parents but I leaped first. I went through almost my entire adoption thinking she was my daughter. Sometimes I still struggle with the loss because it still feels like she should be our daughter.
But the truth is there was two starving, neglected boys tied up across the country who needed me to be their mama, and Rona(Beth' future Mama) really loved my little girl, just as much as I did/do. Loosing her to me was one of the hardest things she had ever been through. And then when I gave her up it was one of the hardest things I have ever been through(and am still going through).

                                                                              BUT.
 
Rona reached out to me and confessed her love and desires for Beth, I had already submit to Beth's country with all the paperwork to adopt her. But if I did adopt her it would mean that two teenage boys would rot away forever without ever know the love of a family. Deciding to give her up  would mean that Beth still got a family and so would the boys that I loved. . I wanted to be mom to them all but I just couldn't do that and save Beth in time before she got transferred to a very bad awful place known for hurting little girls,


If I wouldn't of let her go, then the sons I have in my home right now would of died in their orphanage, I came for one of them only weeks before he was to age out and become unadoptable, not to mention he only weight 22lbs at age 16 and was dying. They both would die.


I remember the day I told Rona, to love her, and take care of her and to go get her little girl. She crumbled to the floor at the thought of her dreams coming true, she would have the little girl she felt so desperate for but it meant I would loose her.


I am now home with my kids and TODAY Rona got her travel dates to go get her daughter Beth. The daughter I thought was mine, When I saw the announcement it turned my heart into a spiral. It hurt yet I was to the moon with happiness. I am so thrilled this little girl will have a mama. I am just lucky enough to know the family and hopefully I will get to hold the little girl in my arms one day. I want to stroke her hair and kiss her checks so badly it hurts. Here is the real reason for my post. Beth's parents have their travel dates but they are not funded. They still need $4000 more and only have 2 weeks to raise it. Can you please help them help this little girl that I love so dearly. She needs out of there and the ransom is not yet raised. Please I am begging you to help this family. Here is a link to a tax deductible grant that benefits them directly. http://reecesrainbow.org/111850/sponsorsteinhoff-3

The least of them- Here we Grow

Photo taken on their long journey home

On Feb 12 2016 we decided we would adopt a child. We didn't really get started on the process officially until April, and in December 2016 four children in Eastern Europe became sons, daughter brothers and sister. They would share the family name, home, and heart.

The journey to them was tough with lots of little road blocks, and lots of heart ache, stress, loss, love, hope, laughter, crying. It was a rollercoaster to say the absolute least. This rollercoaster took us on the best ride of our life. Our marriage became stronger, our friendships became deeper, and our home became almost full.

                                                          KEYWORD: ALMOST

Although we are in the deep of a lot of newness we know there are children who are in the deep of loneliness, depression, pain, with such a thin glimmer of hope. Did you know that less than 50% of Orphans in Eastern Europe will see their 20th Birthday. That statistic blows my mind. When I was in process I saw so many statistics that blew my mind and crumbled my soul. I didn't understand how it could be true, how could it be that bad?  Just How?
          
                                                                         AND
then I saw first hand, and I still don't know how it can be true! Except now I wonder how so many survive that long. Seeing is believing but I am in disbelief. This shouldn't be happening 20 is so young. How would it feel to receive a terminal diagnosis and not really be sick?

I am busy and often tired but it doesn't compare even a smidgen to the tiredness my newly adopted children must feel. It doesn't compare to the tiredness the ones who remain must feel. Many loose hope. Many commit suicide, Many are murdered, Many are trafficked, Many DIE.

                                                                       WHY?

              -FAMILY IS THAT INPORTANT, NEVER TAKE IT FOR GRANTED

We have a small home, 1100 square feet actually but it has room. When my husband and I hiked the Appalachian trail in 2008 we relined what our life priorities would be, it wasn't wealth, it wasn't materialistic things, it wasn't fame or fortune.  It was happiness. So what makes us happy? Making others happy. Right now there are so many very sad little boys and girls waiting on mama's and papa's to come rescue them. I would move mountains for ''MY'' children and in my opinion every child is just as important as the next so why wouldn't I move mountains for children who could be mine.  And you know what we just happen to be a mama and papa :)

                                                                      SO.
                                                         We are going back

A couple of weeks ago I was watching a video of a little girl waiting on a family. I spend my free time sending love and hope and becoming aware that these kids exist so I can share, and shout for them. I must be a voice because they don't have one.

As I watched a video of a little girl my husband walks by, he stops dead in his tracks and looks at the screen. He said to me "HER" GO GET HER! My heart stopped, my mind spinning, I said YES lets DO. This sweet little girl is also in Eastern Europe. We are being called to cross the ocean yet again. The day after my husband saw that video of our future daughter he made her a bed. She now has a place of her own in our hearts and in our home. One year ago this month we officially started the process and here we GROW again.


Adoption is super expensive and just like last time we DO NOT have the many needed $1000's sitting around for the ransom of this little girl. We will work hard to make it happen just like we did last time. We are going to start the process with a photo reveal fundraiser. Once our YouCaring (click here) hits $400( 1/2 home study fee) we will reveal the little girl that stole her future papa's(dad) heart. This little girl like the others does have special needs, and she has a special home and family who will work hard to rescue her from being just another statistic in eastern Europe. Please join us on this journey as we complete our family by adding TWO littles girls because we can't do it without you and every child deserves family. #2 is a very special girl with DS we will share more about her once we know for certainty she is available for international adoption.


If you would like to add a special child to your family there are many who wait. Please visit Reece's Rainbow Many children are waiting to be loved. Many children who will just become another statistic if we don't help the least of them.

Twinkle Twinkle little star... Update on Victoria

            We have been nesting so I have been very quiet but I do owe you all a post.

Twinkle Twinkle little star how I wonder what you are........This post will be about our sweet girl Victoria one of two daughters in our family of 9.

                                                         -she shines bright

Fun, loving, talkative, and energetic are a few words to describe this little twinkle in our life. She came to us a weak fragile little girl who is growing stronger every day. She has a muscle wasting disease that is  more often terminal than not. It will slowly make her body very weak and make daily tasks impossible without help, every part with a muscle... arms, legs, lungs, swallow are affected.... When we adopted her she couldn't even sit up without support, and her head was floppy, she used her arm to pick it up if it would fall. We were not sure if this was the disease or lack of proper care. At first it seemed that her disease was just very progressed, we were unsure how much time we would have with her. Once home we immediately had a consult for a g-tube and admitted her for surgery only a week after her new life in America. She failed her swallow study and would no longer be able to eat or drink by mouth. Almost every air pocket in her lungs is depleted from aspiration . This was not something that we expected but something we knew that might happen one day. This was a big deal, a huge change, but she handled it with grace and spunk.

This lovely girl is a light. She is so sweet and so caring and very well behaved. She gets into no trouble ever. She tells us she loves us a hundred times a day, she thanks us for adopting her, she thanks us for loving her.

Every night before bed we kiss her Ukrainian mama goodnight and send love into the stars. See her mom didn't give her up. She loved her so much despite her disability. But her mom died a tragic death and she was left with no one. Sent to a baby house because she was lucky. She was already past the age for transfer but her family doctor just happened to be the doctor at the orphanage and she knew she would die  so she was taken in and lived their for a year and a half. It was time for her to transfer and they could hold her no longer but instead a mama came. I am the luckiest mama in the world.

She already speaks fluent English now, that clip was from a couple months ago not long after we got home. We knew it wouldn't take long because we taught her to count and taught her all the primary colors in the first hour we knew her. We knew she was so bright we just had no idea to what extent. SHE IS GIFTED. Sadly her country didn't see that and she was about to be sent to a mental institution because she could not walk and her body was failing her... And she would be left in a laying down room to die. NOPE not happening we adopted her.

NOW... she can sit independently, she has taken over the floor shine business by butt scooting all over my home. She sings and smiles constantly. She is full of wonder. We just adore her and feel like we must be the luckiest parents in the world. I could of missed this! We caught a shooting star.

She has done well with her new life and all the new medical equipment she needs to keep her alive and healthy. Her daily routine is daunting for both of us but we can do it with a smile. This sweetie also has her papa(dad) wrapped around her finger. He will crumble at her sweet voice. "papa I love you''! You would to.

Yesterday she called me into the living room as I was cooking. I said what is it vikka, she said give me a kiss mama. Oh sweet bliss, my little star you twinkle so bright in my life.
 
                     
                          Her listing photo                                HOME


Adoption saves lives. If you are interested in finding a twinkling star for your life please click here and check out THE AMAZING CHILDREN ON RR.