Mindy and Taya are beautiful, healthy little girls who happen to have Down syndrome. Within the next two weeks, both girls will celebrate their 4th birthdays.

Mason celebrated his 4th birthday last August. We took him to Chuck E. Cheese, which is the surest sign that a parent loves their child. I wouldn’t suffer through three hours with the Big Gray Rat for some kid I just liked okay.

In case you don’t know, Mason can’t tolerate corn in any form or amount. Makes him terribly sick. So I made corn-free cupcakes to celebrate the occasion. Sounds easy enough, right? I mean, when’s the last time you saw a cupcake recipe that called for a cup of corn? But corn is sneaky and subversive. Down right evil. Corn is found in vanilla extract, baking powder, and powdered sugar. It sneaks into the eggs and milk of corn-fed livestock.

Are you wondering how Mason liked his cupcakes?

That is The Daddy using his mad persuasion skills on the Mason-cupcake situation. It is also Mason using his mad resistance skills on The Daddy. Like so much of a mother’s work, all of my effort on the birthday cupcakes went unappreciated. He really dug the candles though, and the whole “hey, everybody’s singing to me!” thing. He enjoyed tearing the wrapping paper off boxes and then throwing the boxes onto the floor. And mostly, he loved running around and being a kid spending his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese.

Birthdays are awesome.

Unless you’re a Russian orphan with Down syndrome.

Mindy won’t have cake or presents when she turns 4. Nobody will sing “Happy Birthday,” she won’t puff out her cheeks trying to blow out her candles until her big brother or sister finally helps her out.  Instead of cards, she’ll get transfer papers. And instead of a trip to the pizza parlor, Mindy will take a one-way trip to a Russian mental intitution, where she will live out the rest of her short life in squalor, surrounded by the rest of the people that her society wants to forget even exist.

The morning after his 4th birthday, Mason woke up to the sound of his big sister beckoning him to come play with his new toys. Shortly after her 4th birthday, Taya will wake up to the shrieks of her desperate fellow inmates, groaning in misery. Mason got hugs and cuddles and wide-eyed comments of “My, you look older today Big Boy!” Taya will spend her entire day in a metal crib, without so much as a smile cast in her direction.

Don’t take my word for it….

Click here to watch the Today Show video of what life is like in one of these institutions. 

As I type this, Mindy has 5 days left. Taya has 11. Mere days until their lives go from pitiful to horrific. I pray that their forever families find them before it’s too late. And I pray that they won’t let finances stand in their way. Nearly all of the adoptive families I’ve met through Reece’s Rainbow had to raise the funds for their adoptions. Very few of us have the extra money sitting around.

Please, if your heart breaks for these precious children, if you cry for them, if you wish you could do something…

…do it.

Find out more about Mindy and the other angels of Reece’s Rainbow at the Reece’s Rainbow website And by all means—if you want more info, LEAVE A COMMENT! I read each and every comment, and I can hook you up!

Tags: Adoption, asylum, birthday, Chuck E. Cheese, corn intolerance, corn-free, cupcakes, Down syndrome, mental institution, Mindy, orphan, Reece's Rainbow, Russian, Taya