Few Days!

We need to raise $24,000 for our adoption, and we are trying to come up with as many ideas as we can.

One thing I set as a goal was to have at least $1,000 by the end of the month in our Reece's Rainbow account, and we are so close! All donations are tax deductible if you donate through Reece's Rainbow.

You can give to this account any time by clicking on Nina's picture, but we would love to see our goal met in the next three days!

So if the next 20 people that check our blog donate only $10, we will be there!

Will you be one of those, or at least consider giving $1?

Birthday Girl

I cannot believe that Ellie is already four! Time has gone by too quickly and she is a big girl.

How she has changed our lives!

We are so proud of her! Not only because she is so good at what she does, but because she has a wonderful heart. I have had a few people comment on the fact that she treats Nichole so sweetly and protects her so well (okay, not always, sometimes she screams at Nichole, it is part of being sisters). But what is true, is that Ellie has a heart full of love and acceptance, and we enjoy to see her grow and mature into a beautiful and caring little girl.

Ellie made her very own birthday cake!

Beautiful creation, isn't it?

And we made a pinata the night before her birthday party. It was a blast for the kids!

Back to School

And it is another year of pre school. Ellie is loving it and has so much fun seeing her friends and teachers. After a long summer the routine is welcome for everyone!

If You Have a Blog

If you have a blog and would love to help us out with our adoption, I have something very practical that you can do.

On the left, where you see Nina's picture, there is a box underneath that says, "grab this button."

That is where you can copy the code and paste it on your own blog layout.

When you are in the blog layout, click on "add a gadget"

Then you select the option "HTML/Javascript" This is where you post the code and you can title it anything you want, like "Click on this button to help Stumbo's bring Nina home"

Then click save, and voila! All done. Then check your blog and make sure the link is actually working :)

If you want to, you could even write a little something about our family! :)

And if you do post Nina's button, will you leave me a comment and let me know? Thanks!

Gifts 2!!!

After the incredible success of the first book, I am proud to announce that "Gifts 2" will soon be available!

I remember holding "Gifts" in my hands, standing in the middle of the aisle at Barnes N Noble with tears streaming down my face. I had only read the back cover, and it had already touched the deep places of my heart that were aching as I was dealing with Nichole's diagnosis of Down syndrome.

This was a book about Down syndrome that had nothing to do with statistics, numbers, possible health issues, or challenges due to the condition. It was a book about mothers and their children and the reality of living day to day with a child with an extra chromosome.

Nichole was only two weeks old. I devoured the book. I cried with almost every story I read. And my heart was changed because these women were strong enough to tell their stories, they were honest and shared about their lives. I needed to hear that!

These women gave me hope, they painted a bright future for me. They filled me up with courage and desire. I had dreams again!!! So many dreams!!!

And now the second book is out, I cannot wait to hold it in my hands!

And, I am one of the contributors to this volume. I get to be one of the moms that shares her story, and maybe, just maybe, I will be able to help someone like the women in Gifts 1 helped me.

You can click here and pre-order your own copy!

Raising Money For Our Adoption

So it starts... the race to raise money so that we can bring Nina home! There is much to do!

From now on I will be posting about different ways for you to help us raise money.

I have a Chipin application on the left column. We want to raise $1000 by the end of the month! So even if you only give $1, yes, just $1, it will help us get our daughter home!

I hate the idea of her being in an orphanage. I hate the idea of a three year old than needs physical therapy spending one more day with no intervention to help with her development. I just hate the idea of my daughter away from home!

Down Syndrome, Special Needs, and Adoption

When Nichole was a baby, I found a forum for parents of children with Down syndrome (downsyn.) It was a wonderful place for me to ask questions, be honest about my feelings, and also to receive support during the hard days of dealing with a new diagnosis.

What caught my attention was that several of these parents were in the process of adopting…another child with Down syndrome or with special needs. At the time, it blew my mind that these people were willingly choosing another child with a disability, it made no sense.

It did not take long for me to understand what these parents already knew. Having a child with Down syndrome had turned out to be better than good. Our lives had been transformed in such profound and positive ways that the thought of another child with Down syndrome was received with open arms. That, and the fact that many children with Down syndrome are not wanted and live their lives in Institutions until they die. They have no mommy or daddy to love them, to comfort them, or to cry for them when they die. It is heartbreaking. When you have been touched by someone with special needs, you cannot help but want to do something about this, to love on these children and bring them home.

For a long time I wondered when it would be us. I found myself looking at the little faces of precious children on Reece’s Rainbow and couldn’t help but fall in love with some of these kids. I would choose a child and pray and pray that they would find a family. Both kids I have prayed for have found a forever family.

If anything, I would encourage you to do the same. Visit Reece’s Rainbow and pray for one of these children!

On November 13, 2008 I wrote in my journal

“Lord, my heart aches. It aches for all the children in the world that do not have families to call their own. I look at all the little faces on Reece’s Rainbow and I cannot help but cry. These babies were not wanted because they are “less than perfect.”…I think about Nichole…you entrusted her to us, and I am thankful. I love her so much, you knitted her together in my womb and you do not make mistakes…Lord I pray that someday we are blessed by adopting one of these children…I am excited by what is to come. Our family will be richly blessed simply because we know you. If everything was stripped away, we still have you…Do in me as you please…I am fully and completely yours.”

Well…that day has come.

We are adopting!!!

Our daughter’s sweet face is on the left column of this blog, and we want to bring her home!

A few weeks ago Andy and I were looking at the orphans from Reece’s Rainbow. We always assumed that we would adopt another child with Down syndrome, but her face stole our hearts. She just looks like a Stumbo! Our sweet daughter has Cerebral Palsy, and she needs a loving family that will work with her and provide her with the help that she needs J Isn’t she sweet!

So here we are… we find ourselves allowing God to guide us and take us through this journey. We are trusting Him completely because by this world’s standards it makes no sense at all! We surely do not have the money, but we are trusting that God will provide, any way He chooses to do so, even if it is through a loan (people do this all the time to buy cars---was Andy’s cousin comment, so true!)

Pray for us as we embark on this new adventure. Pray for Nina. Pray for our family as well.

Life sure is exciting!

Fearless!!!

Well, summer vacation has started for us, and it means that we get to see our family.

My aunt and cousin are here from Mexico, and since she is my godmother (and one of my most favorite people in the whole world!) we took some extra days to go spend time with them.

One day we decided to go to the zoo. We never really made it to the zoo. Wonder why?

Who would have known that Ellie who is not even four yet would have been fearless! Maybe because she was with her auntie Luisa and her uncle Rafa. :)

Nichole had fun too, sitting and snacking, what a life!

Later there will be more pictures to follow :)