Ukraine Adoption

Much to be thankful for...

The tables were set, the candles lit, the turkey nearly finished when our guests arrived for Thanksgiving. Timing is the key when you have so many side dishes, coffee and dessert. I told my brother that one year, after all of our family had left, I found a side dish of green beans in the microwave. We had a good laugh over that.

This year, after everyone left, I opened the refrigerator and realized I had forgotten to prepare the ham I bought for dinner. Good thing there was enough turkey to go around...!

So this is the time of year we stop and think about what we are all thankful for. Close family, good friends, our children, however they arrived here. And now is also the time to think about the children that are less fortunate. For me, that's all of the orphans we left behind in Ukraine. It's so hard to imagine the children that Tara spent her first years with may still be living in that same orphanage, waiting and hoping for a family to come and get them. And as they get older, even 5 or 6 years old, their chances of adoption become remarkably less.

So for anyone in a mood to improve the lives of a child without a family, I'm providing this link to an organization called Life 2 Orphans. They help the children of Ukraine. There is a list of orphanages that they specifically help. There is one in Kyiv for ages 7-16, which may have been the one that Tara would have ended up in if she was on the typical path of orphans. After 16, the children are set out to make it on their own. If you know a 16 year old, just try to imagine that!

Here is the link to Life 2 Orphans. You can choose an orphanage to help and send actual items, or make a monetary donation, or purchase something in a fundraiser. If it's something you feel the need to do this holiday season, please remember Tara's native land and the little people who are in such need. With her generous soul, I know that she would appreciate it.