Blessed...

You'll be blessed... I promise you that.

~

Blessed.. we certainly have been.

The day we found Tamara. The day we received an email from a friend that said ..

"Didn't you say you wanted a 3 year old?" with a contact number attached.

That was January 19, of this year 2008.

Tamara's placement agency was looking for a family for her. They wanted to give her a family for her 3rd Birthday.. the 21st. Ironically we received our court date and orders to travel on my birthday. So both our Birthday wishes came true this year. ;o)

Blessed? Hum.. what does that mean to you?

Is it Health? Family? Money?

What does it take to make you feel Blessed?

For me it means being healthy enough and having the means to do what I know in my heart is the right thing to do. For us it was bringing our daughter home and being able to help some of the many children who were left behind. Yes.. alone we could have made a difference in those childrens lives however temporary but with the help of friends and family we were able to do so much more. Read "We are the world" post.

Why am I bringing this up now you may wonder?

As you know Russia has invaded The Republic of Georgia and they're still lingering about despite the many broken promises they've made to the rest of the world. As a result the baby house we visited and brought a truck load of diapers and supplies to is in trouble. Food has become incredibly expensive in Georgia. The supplies we brought them have run out and as a result several of the children have become seriously ill. As I look at my pictures I can't help but wonder which ones. Is it the little girl who came to me for help with her over alls? The little boy who called me Dada (mama in Georgian)? Is it the sweet little girl that I thought would make a good sister for Tamara? Is it the little girl who needed to go to Germany for medical treatment? I'm pretty sure she didn't get to go before the war broke out.

I'm bringing this up in case any of you would like to help.

Our agency has sent out an emergency relief request to all the families who have adopted from Georgia through them. I'm sure you're thinking that's alot of people but actually it isn't. ROG (Republic of Georgia) doesn't grant many international adoptions.

These are the most recent stats from the US government site.

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PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED CHILDREN TO THE U.S. : Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to Georgian orphans:
Fiscal Year
Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2007
4
FY 2006
9
FY 2005
12
FY 2004
20
FY 2003
55

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Our agency will be sending a staff member over in a few weeks to bring whatever funds we are able to collect for the baby house. As soon as they have a total the Georgian staff will get to work to make sure no valuable time is wasted in bringing food and much needed supplies to the children ages zero through 5.

I've copied and pasted the emails into my Blog.

Kathy J. wrote:> Hi All,> First for the good news, the war never got to Tbilisi so the orphanage > and most of the people we know are safe! Now the bad news, food is > harder to get than ever and even more expensive. There is food available > so I don't think they'll get any of the American aid but the orphanage > doesn't have money to buy food for the babies (and getting them food or > money isn't a huge priority for the government right now). Our team in > Georgia would like to buy food and take it to the orphanage but they > need money for this project. Irina is planning on being there in about 2 > weeks but if we can collect some money the team will start before she > arrives. Any amount you can give would be greatly appreciated. If you > send checks to me I'll transfer the money to Georgia.> > Please make checks out to Kathy Johnson and send them to:> > Kathy J ( will provide to those who are interested)..Thanks so much.> Kathy for ADORE> > PS: We'll try to get a few pictures of the food being delivered to the > orphanage.

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The following email came from Irina who will be traveling to Georgia.

Yes, I am on my way to Tbilisi. Time is short and I have not had time to contact anyone. The situation there is down right critical. Besides food, the baby house needs diapers and medicine. Quite a few kids got critically ill in the last week, most likely due to the poor sanitary conditions.

We do not usually solicit donations, but I hope at least some of you could contribute this time around - even a small amount goes a long way there. I am leaving this Sunday (first to Baku, Azerbaijan), so please contact Kathy if you have any questions or suggestions.Best to all,Irina

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Anyone who would like to make a donation please email me leek@primeisp.net ASAP for the address and contact information to send checks to. Flag your email high priority please so I find you.

I'm sure a few of you may hesitate contributing and are wondering if we can trust that the children will actually get the food and supplies. Someone actually asked me this very question last week. I'll tell you what I told them. Kathy, Irina and the staff in Georgia I would trust with my life. After all I trusted them with Tamara's life and ours while we were in country. Not to mention the huge amount of cash that we sent / wired and handed over. This staff had countless opportunities to take the money and run. To mess with our heads and hearts. They never did.. not for a second. I believe they are truly in this field for the right reason. To make a difference in the life of a child. They are the fairy God Mothers of all our ROG children.

We feel so strongly about them that if you remember we named Tamara.. Tamara Katarina. Combining the two ladies. Kathy and Irina.

~

I will be working on various fund raisers for ROG children in the future.. as soon as I figure out what kind. ;o) ok.. my fund raising buddies are smiling.lol. Seriously I've been so wrapped up in my new Mommy role I haven't had a chance to get anything moving yet which makes this urgent plea from our placement agency that much more important.

PLEASE send them what ever you can. No child should ever go hungry.

Especially one that we know about.

If you still think you can't make a difference in a child's life just take a look at Tamara's before and after photos. If you could... wouldn't you like to give her a cookie? Sure you would. Well you can't so please send the cookies to her little friends in Georgia. ;o) PLEASE

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***Kathy if you would like me to add your contact information let me know.

***Our personal check is in the mail.

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OK... Now for the fun stuff.

It's been a hectic week around here.

We'll start with Sunday... Wake up Tamara time for church.

Below Tamara tries to sneak in a catnap before we leave.

Yup.. she still sucks her thumb.

After church she enjoys some sunshine on the back deck.

Oh.. oh.. she's thinking again. lol

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This was a week of pampering my little princess.

This was on our way out to the nail salon. Tamara had her first manicure / pedicure. She loved it. Sorry forgot the camera. Bad Mommy :o(

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A spontaneous trip to Grandma and Dido's.

Knock.. knock

No one was home... Tamara was very concerned.

Where did they go Mommy?

Waiting on their porch.

Here they are... Group hug. She loves them.

A week of firsts. I took Tamara to the hair salon. I told her every day that Mommy was going to go get her hair done and would she let Karen do her hair? She kept saying "Yeah" nodding yes. So much so I started to wonder if she got it. Well after Karen finished my hair I said to Tamara "you ready?" "Yeah" she said. "You sure?" I asked. "yeah" she responded. "Tamara you're going to sit in my lap and let Karen cut your hair?" "Yeah" she responded.. "Up". Amazing little kid. I got her out of her stroller. Sat her in my lap. Karen but a cape on her and the rest.. well.. look at these pictures. Is she cute or what?

Mommy takes a picture in the mirror.

Karen starts to trim. Checking out the growth pattern, condition and color of her hair. Medium Golden Brown

We've decided to let the layers grow out so her ponytail days are not over yet.

You can see Tamara was very relaxed with Karen. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Tamara and Mommy pose for the camera.
When she was finished she was beaming.
Karen adds a hair accessory. Tamara checks out her hair in the mirror.

Tamara and Karen.. her 1st ever hair dresser.

Her 1st ever hair cut. Yes... Mommy came home with her first curl.

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OK... I'm still learning. White linen pants on a 3 year old that likes to play ball with Daddy?

OK.. who knows how to get grass stains out?

No I didn't intend on Tamara going outside to play dressed this way. I took her to pre-school to meet MS. Lisa and drop off some forms.

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Friday.. Pre-school orientation.

Tamara is all dressed and ready to go.

We pulled in at the same time as Zach.. her neighbor and playmate. Same class .. had to get a picture.

Cute stuff no?

During the parents orientation there was a room full of toys for the kids to play with. About 20 adults in the room and probably 25+ kids. Tamara sat on my lap quietly watching the other children play. Once the presentation was over and the crowd thinned out to about half she jumped down and started to play. Smart girl... it was crazy in there.

A work bench. Just like Daddy's.

"Mommy what is this?"

"No idea Baby Girl... looks like a boy toy?"

Playing in a play kitchen. Gotta get one of those.

Tamara and I stayed after. Since I know most of the staff and they were all excited about not only meeting Tamara but having her as a student. Here she is with her teacher "Mrs. Peachtree" as the children call her. ;o)

They had a tea party and colored.By the end of our visit Tamara gave her teacher a hug goodbye. When asked if she liked school she says "yeah" .. she also says she likes Mrs. Peachtree and wants to come back next Tuesday. Her first official day. The day Mommy is supposed to leave her there. Sniff.. Sniff.. hey where are my tissues?

~~~