The Rash Family adopted Noah (known as Nedi in Haiti) and brought him home November 6th. Noah's mother shares how he is doing adjusting to life in their home.

There is no way that I can fully describe everything that has been happening at our house since Noah (born Nedi Saint Louis, Apr 05) arrived. Simply said, he is doing great. He is a very happy boy and he's settling into his new life remarkably well. It is clear to us that he was very loved and well taken care at the crèche while we were waiting to bring him home. He's only been home for a little more than a month but we are already wondering what our family was like before he joined us.

He's become a little celebrity in our neighborhood and at church and it only takes him a second to have anybody he meets laughing out loud. He mimics everything he sees or hears which is helping his language to develop very rapidly. Although we aren't yet understanding all of his Creole phrases, he definitely understands most of what we say to him, including his two favorites "Let's eat" and "I love you"; as well as "Time-out?" and "Time for bed" which are two that he doesn't like at all. He is a total tease and gets a big kick out of calling his dad "mama", and he laughs like crazy anytime he gets an opportunity to close a door on me. The problem is he hasn't yet mastered the art of opening a door so his laughter quickly turns to frustrated cries once he realizes that he's on one side of the door and I'm on the other.

Noah also likes to play with the deadbolt and has already locked me out of the house twice after I stepped outside to throw out the garbage. We are going to have to store an extra key in the garage I think. Sleeping has been a bit of an issue since he needs lots of it but he really doesn't like to do it. After our nighttime routine of brushing teeth and saying prayers, his good mood will change in an instant when he realizes that bedtime is imminent. The tears usually only last a few minutes before he's sound asleep though. At this point he only wakes up once or twice during the night and most of the time he manages to put himself back to sleep without requiring one of us to help him calm down.

We held a very successful fundraiser concert on December 1. Tiffany Bratt organized this event and she gives a report here.

Our benefit concert for the Krushelnitsky Orphanage in the Ukraine was a great success. We would like to thank our fabulous performers: Jenny Oaks Baker, David Glen Hatch, Cherie Call, Gabriel, One Voice Children's Choir, and our Jazz quartet. The concert had a wonderful turnout, especially on such a snowy night. We would also like to thank those of you who came to the concert or sent donations to help us with this great cause. Your generosity will help these wonderful orphans have a wonderful Christmas this year.

The Ukrainian couple running this orphanage, Edward and his wife Lubov, are caring and dedicated individuals who have dreamed for years of having the chance to open an orphanage. With two teenage daughters of their own, the family decided to help stop the suffering of orphans they saw begging in the street and struggling in poorly-funded Ukrainian orphanages. Last year they were finally able to raise enough money to buy a building out in the countryside. They turned the building into a family-oriented orphanage and started bringing in young children and babies to raise them as their own (as they will only bring in up to 10 children so they can effectively raise them to adulthood).

Our goal was to raise $20,000 to purchase a van and other needed supplies for this orphanage, and so far we have raised just over 2/3 of the money. Donations contine to trickle in as Christmas approaches and we will continue to raise funds in hopes to have enough to purchase the van before the new year. To learn more about this effort, and to donate, click here