Hang onto your excitement

Well, I had hoped to have good news to share, but our technical snafoo seems to have put off the communication of it, so you'll have to wait until next week to learn about it. Until then, let's all think good thoughts for Cherry, Quentin and Gavin, whose files are out for consideration. Let's also spread the word about the others still available. These are precious kids for whom there must be a family out there! Could you be the link to a child finding their family?

Yay For Tech Guy!

We're back up and running today! It appears that we have emails from Tuesday and Today, but if you tried to email us on Wednesday, it must have bounced back. If you tried to email us on Wednesday, please try again! We want to hear from you:-) marcisk@asiadopt.org

Hopefully this won't happen again! We're so dependant on technology these days, it's frustrating when it doesn't work. I look forward to hearing from everyone!
-Marci

Technology Bit Again

Well, I had hoped to have good news, but technology has bit us again. We have phones this time, but no email again, so if you're trying to reach us, please call. Our tech guy is on it and hopes to have a permanent solution for us this time! Apparently something in the stars is impairing communication currently, so let's hope that changes soon! We apologize for the inconvenience again. 503-224-1860

Stay Tuned...

Stay tuned....more news to come!

Parents

Parents worry--that's their job, right? That's what I"m doing as I care for my daughter who has a high fever. Parents do whatever they have to in order to care for their children and help them heal. Who worries when Cherry, Quentin, Mark or Anna spikes a fever? They are sent to the infirmary where they are treated by a nurse, who they may or may not know. If the condition is serious, they go to the hospital where they are left without anyone they know. No one sits with them, worrying and caring for them by their bedside. They are left to their own fears and to fend for themselves in the hospital. I know how important it is to have an advocate at the hospital, even here in the U.S. Nurses are overworked and don't stay on top of pain medication. In China, pain medication is not widely used, so an experience in a hospital is indeed a scary thing. Many of these children have conditions that are easily correctable or treated here in the U.S. These children deserve to have parents by their side helping them through these experiences. Even if you don't speak the same language, compassion and love are univsersal languages. Where else can I look to find the families that will treat these children with compassion and love and help them reach their full potential? Do you see potential in these faces? Could you be a parent to one of these children?

Have you come home recently with an older child?

Have you come home recently with an older adopted child? Tell us about it! Help encourage those considering it and comment about your experience. Good or bad or otherwise, we want to hear it all if you're comfortable sharing. Post a comment and let us know how you're doing.

Lucy Follow Up

Many people out there had a heart for Lucy, and with all of your help, we were able to locate her family and get them to China. Lucy has now been united with her family and they should be on their way home shortly. Keep them in your thoughts for the long flight. To see an update on Lucy and the two other girls that Half the Sky was able to help, please check out this link and be prepared with a box of tissues: http://www.halfthesky.org/work/3littlegirlsupdates.php

Somehow it seems that mountains were moved for Lucy, and rightly so. Now to move some mountains for the other magical kids in our program and unite them with their families as well. They have found their way into my heart and I hope that, like Lucy, you will help spread the word about them to find their families. Lucy's story is an inspiring one, and I have to believe that if Lucy can find a family, so can every one of the children in our Hope Journey program! Please help us make those dreams come true and spread the word far and wide about these children! You have hearts of gold!
Marci

More Joy

I picked a few pictures out of the Hope Journey camp that show the kids with truly joyous expressions on their faces. Perhaps you can see through their special needs in these pictures? I really had a hard time telling who had special needs when I was there. These kids are incredible, vivacious, happy, survivors. They may need some medical care, it's true. But any child may end up needing some medical care in their lifetime. I'm not telling anyone to do something they're not comfortable with. But do a little research and see if any of their special needs sound manageable--many of them are! Are you drawn to any of the children in these pictures? Boys are lovable, too!

-Marci marcisk@asiadopt.org

Good News!

I'm thrilled to announce that Dani and Jack have families pursuing them!!! That means Dani, Sam, Clive, Shelby, Lily, Jack and Chance all have families pursuing them! It just takes one family to review a file and find that the child is meant to be part of their family. It has happened for these 7 kids, so keep up the excellent work and let's find the rest of those kids families as well!

Why Children with Special Needs are in Need of Families

Here's a fantabulous article about why special needs children in China need families now verses the healthy infants. Actually, it's about much more than that, but I won't summarize it since the article already did that:-) http://chinaadoptiontalk.blogspot.com/2010/07/amy-eldridge-of-lwb-speaks.html

I saw someone else from Love Without Boundaries speak about a similar topic and it was very moving. They are a great group! So enjoy your weekend reading and consider whether a special needs or older child adoption might be right for your family.

Michael

Michael is a 5 year old boy who always seemed to have a smile on his face. I think he was a bit overwhelmed by all of the commotion sometimes, but he was very well behaved for a boy his age. Please don't let his special need scare you away. He's a little boy needing a loving family just like the others. Look at those adorable pudgy cheeks and that winning smile:-) During the interview Michael was able to identify his body parts and do a puzzle. He was quite responsive and happy and interacted well. Michael seems like a very sweet boy. Surely there is a family out there to help Michael reach his full potential?

Lucy and another boy

Look at the pure JOY on these kids' faces:-)

For those of you who remember Lucy, there is wonderful news to report--she has been united with her forever family and is doing well! Congratulations to Lucy and her new family! We wish her a very bright future.

Hope Journey Update: I would like to remind everyone that there are still many files available for the Hope Journey kiddos! This is a fantastic opportunity, as we have so much information about these kids and also have the ability to get more information if needed. These are amazing children! When I was there with them, I had to check our list to figure out that these kids had special needs! I have such a hard time sitting here and seeing that Cherry's file is sitting here with no one reviewing it. Anna's file is also not being reviewed. These are precious girls! Harley, Jimmy, Kerry and Joel's file are also available. These are sweet boys! Wade, Jeremy, Henry, Bo and Peter's files are available, too! If you could see the love in the eyes of their nannies, you would know they are deeply cared for at their orphanage, but it is still not a family. They don't have a mom or dad to crawl in bed with when there's a storm or to comfort them when they're scared. They don't have someone to help them with homework or give them swimming lessons. Quentin, Fabian, Cj, Micheal and Shawn need a family, too. I was just pondering the other day with a client why everyone wants girls? There are so many loving boys available as well. Boys need hugs from their moms and dads, and need someone to teach them how to play sports, learn to swim or cuddle with and read them a story. These children need heart feedings--contact me to review their files: marcisk@asiadopt.org

Harley

Harley is a very articulate boy for his age. He speaks and understands English and is a very sensitive boy. He likes to play with others and even said that it's important to interact with others to have good mental health. Harley attends school at the institute and is doing well there. He loves to play outside and especially enjoys sports. He is also quite a talented and confident dancer and likes martial arts. Harley could have a bright future, as he has much potential. His is in a great orphanage, but that will never be able to replace a family or the stigma he will face in China as an orphan. With the love and security of a forever family, there's no telling what Harley could do!
Harley's file is available for review, so please contact me to consider him: marcisk@asiadopt.org

Help Harley find his forever family--spread the word!

Your Comments, Please

I'm looking for a little help to know what you would like to see here on this blog? What do you think would help these children find families? Please post your comments and tell me whether you like what I've been doing or if you have suggestions on what could be done differently or better to benefit these children.
Thank you!
Marci

Apparently there was an issue with posting comments--sorry about that! It's fixed now, so comment away! It's great to hear from you:-)

Older Child Adoption

Back at the beginning of our first Hope Journey program, I talked about how older child adoption is not for everyone, and that's definitely true. Just like adoption is not for everyone. There are some things you just have to be willing to accept. You won't get to see their first steps or hear their first words. But you will get to see their first steps on American soil and hear their first English words. Older child adoption has different kinds of firsts. Like the first time they call you Mom or Dad or say "I love you." Or perhaps the first time they tell you something about their life in China. There are lots of firsts that I hear families rejoice. But you also have to be prepared for the possibility that it might not be an easy transition. For some, it might take a very long time for them to say those words you so want to hear. After all, when you adopt a child, you're adopting a fully formed personality in many cases. You will have to adapt to them, just like they have to adapt to you. So it's true, older child adoption is not for everyone. But many families are finding wonderful matches in older children! So if your heart is open, please consider it. Do your research and prepare for the worst and hope for the best. There are great resources to turn to about older child adoption. Rainbowkids has great articles about it:http://www.rainbowkids.com/Articles.aspx?command=search
as does No Hands But Ours: http://nohandsfamilystories.blogspot.com/

I know there are some of you out there reading this blog, so please help spread the word about these precious children--they need your help to find their forever families! They are waiting too long.
Marci

Hope Journey I

Let's go back to Hope Journey 1 for a moment. Right this moment, we have a bunch of families in China adopting children from Hope Journey 1! Beatrice has been united with her family and is doing wonderfully! She loves her new sisters! Clark and Hannah have been united with their forever family--congratulations to that family!Lucky has been united with his forever family and they are doing wonderfully! George has just been united with his family as well! Congratulations to all of the new families! Reports from families so far are positive--the kids seem to be adjusting well:-) Here is a picture of one of the happy new families who adopted Beatrice, now Katelyn (minus Dad, the picture taker):

Wade and Jack

Aren't these two adorable?

Wade is 7 years old and is deaf. He is fairly new to sign language, but has a good memory and takes his school work very seriously. He is at the head of the class in math. Wade loves sports, especially playing ball. He is a happy and determined boy and seems to get along with others quite well.

Jack just turned 6 years old--Happy Birthday, Jack! He has repaired cleft lip and palate. His speech is pretty clear, except for a few words. Jack is a bit shy, but gets along with other kids well. He is helpful to his nannies and is very kind hearted. Eva noted in the interview that he was shy, but a happy boy who was able to maintain focus.

These two did an adorable little dance together. It reminded me a bit of tweedle dee and tweedle dum:-) So cute! So come check out their files--no one is considering either of them currently! Contact me for details: marcisk@asiadopt.org

Keep your fingers crossed!

Keep your fingers crossed for the kiddos! I hope to have more good news soon.

For those of you just tuning in, take a look further down to see some of our adorable children waiting for families! If you think you don't quite meet the requirements, contact me anyway! We just might be able to help you:-)
marcisk@asiadopt.org

Good News for Sam and Clive!

Wonderful news for Sam and Clive!!! They have families pursuing them! I'm so excited for these two boys! Boy, boys, boys!!!!

On this Independence Day weekend, while we're all out celebrating, I will be hoping that there are many more requests for children from our Hope Journey list when the weekend is over. We have families for 6 of the 35 children, but that's 29 more to go. 29 more children whose futures are yet to be determined. Without families, they may end up stigmatized as orphans as they try to find their way in the world, without the security of forever family to fall back on. I will especially be thinking of the older ones, for whom this may be a last chance. Quentin who is a very likable, personable and sweet boy and is great with younger children. Parker who is already mature for his age, smart and a bit shy. Fabian, who seems to do best with children his age or older and is a bit shy in group settings, but more forthcoming individually. I'll be thinking of Cherry who stole a special place in my heart. She's an outgoing, popular little girl at the institute, confident, bright and a talented artist. Think of them this weekend as you have the opportunity to be an adoption advocate...