HAPPY EASTER!
Ela is doing great!  She will need to stay off of her foot for 4-6 weeks.  It has been a little difficult getting around but, we are all managing!  She is a very determined little girl, nothing stops her from having a good time!
We are so thankful to have sold our house! Now we just need to finalize where we are moving.  Thanks for all your prayers!

Waiting for Surgery

Ela with her new bunny "Lilly"

We are in the hospital with Ela Faith for her last surgery on her foot.  On the way in she asked Mike if she could listen to that Children of God song, by third day.   So sweet!  Last year around this same time was her first surgery.  So much has changed in a year.  She KNOWS Jesus!  She can speak English and is learning to read.  She has made such an amazing adjustment into our family.  We are so thankful for her life and for the gift she is to our family.
Adoption is a journey!  Worth every penny, doctors appt. etc...
Praising our Father in Heaven for choosing the road of adoption for us.  We are no longer orphans!  Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice, paying our ransom, preparing a place for us in heaven.

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
"Let not your hearts be troubled, Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Fathers house are many rooms.  If it were not so would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you will be also"
" I am the Way the Truth and the Life,  No one comes to the Father except through ME"
Taken from John 14

Great Quote

This is taken from a book I am reading.. Don't call it a Comeback ( this chapter was written by Justin Taylor) it is so good I had to share! :)

"If we want to see abortion eliminated in America, are we prepared to act in response to an influx of unwanted children?  Are our churches being encouraged to follow the path of " pure religion," which involves visiting orphans in their distress. (James 1:27)?  Are we following in the model of our savior, who rebuked his confused disciples for their wrong view of the kingdom, and who invited the children to come to him (Luke 18:16)?  Are we mimicking the culture in simultaneously making comfort an idol and children an inconvenience?  Or are we actively seeking to cultivate a counterculture where life is prized and treasured, and children-- even those unwanted by others -- are cared for and celebrated?  Let us commit not only to being  "pro-life," but to being  "whole life," working for the good of our neighbors and the dignity of human life in all stages of life, from the womb to the tomb."

Follow my amazing friends family!  They are in China right now adopting their 2 girls.
www.journeytome.com ...  once there you have to look them up under Elaine Grace and Zinnia Joy

I am so bad about updating our blog.  Things are a little busy around here.  We are trying to sell our house and have had about 40 showings since Jan.  The Lord has a plan!
Ela is about to begin a 2 week casting on her foot, this will prepare her for her next surgery on April 21st.  She will need to be off of her foot for about 6 weeks post op.
We are still waiting on our immigration form to come back!!   Ethiopia has slowed down quite a bit.
My heart is all over the place!!  Should we adopt from China while we wait? :)

We are also longing for some Spring here!
Praying for all you friends that are waiting for adoptions to be completed!

" Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ  from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 1Pet. 1:3-5

Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati

Here is some info on adopting children with down syndrome domestically.

Adoptive Families Alert!

It seems that for years, we have been talking about, and working on, updating our registry and activating a database

that would make our adoption program more efficient and effective as we seek homes for children with Down

syndrome. One of the most critical pieces of getting this accomplished has been connecting with registered families.

For the close to thirty years our adoption program has existed, potential adoptive families have been contacting me,

expressing their desire to bring an infant or child with Down syndrome into their family. I take their contact information

and mail them a registration form. In 1982, I mailed less then a dozen forms. In 2011, I often mail that many in a week.

Those registration forms, once they are returned, go on file. The problem is that the families that send in those forms,

change and grow, alter their plans, have children placed with them through other sources, and sometimes, just lose

interest.

In 2011, we are literally “cleaning the closet!” With the valuable assistance of Stephanie Thompson, we are working

on updating our list of active families, and putting in place a system to insure that families will be able to keep their

information current and accurate. With the database in place, we should be able to identify adoptive families within

minutes of being informed that there is a child in need of a family.

If you are currently registered and wish to remain on our list, even if none of your information needs to be changed

in our database, please respond to requests for updates that will be sent to you semi-annually. If information needs

to be changed (you move to a new address, you adopt or give birth to a child, you decide you would like to adopt

a teenager instead of a toddler, etc.) at any time between “updates” just let me know by reaching me at rsteele@

zoomtown.com or on my cell at 513-213-9615. By doing that, you can virtually be assured that I will contact you about

a child with Down syndrome who needs YOUR family to call their own!

PS. Our DS Press Column will continue to feature children with DS who are in state custody and need families.

But we would also like to do feature stories on families who have adopted through our program. I hear those

stories all the time, and now I want to share them! Please send me the story of your adoption journey and allow me

to share it (along with photos) in our newsletter. Send stories to rsteele@zoomtown.com. Thanks!!

Lisa Steele

Business Manager/DSPress Editor

Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati

644 Linn Street, Suite 1128

Cincinnati, OH 45203

513.761.5400 Ext. 13

www.dsagc.com