No Place Like Home

Lucy Lane...An Ethiopia Adoption Miracle

2009-07-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most beautiful Gotcha Day Videos I have ever seen. If you are considering adoption from Ethiopia, you will definitely want to see this family's story.

Click Below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duyL9UjLrdM

Ethiopia Adoption Alert Issued

2009-05-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

Ethiopia

Adoption Alert

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children’s Issues

May 26, 2009

Adoptions of Abandoned Children Halted by Ethiopian Court

On May 4, 2009 the Ethiopian First Instance Court temporarily stopped accepting cases involving abandoned children referred by orphanages in Addis Ababa, citing a substantial increase in the number of children being brought for adoption. The number of abandoned children from orphanages in Addis Ababa has grown dramatically in recent months and Ethiopian authorities have become aware of possible cases of unethical practices associated with some of them.

Neither the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA) nor the First Instance Court had been accepting abandonment cases from any orphanage in Addis Ababa pending an inquiry. However, on May 23 the Court confirmed that while the investigation into cases of abandoned children continues, it has begun accepting cases of abandoned children referred from Addis Ababa government orphanages. These include the following orphanages:

Kebebe Tsehay Orphanage
Ketchene Orphanage
Kolfe Youth Center

Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information on Ethiopia.

CCAA Announcement Regarding S*wine Flu and Travel to China to Complete Adoptions

2009-05-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

Date of Release:April 30,2009 　　Souce:CCAA

Adoption agencies:

Currently there are cases of human infection of the swine flu found in some countries and regions. With the high infectivity of this disease, children are susceptible to it for their low resistance. In order to avoid cross infection during the process of adoption registration and protect the health of children in orphanages as well as the adoptive parents, we hereby announce that:

Adoption agencies are required to counsel the adoptive parents who have received Notice of Coming to China for Adoption to postpone their trip to China for the registration procedure.

The validity period of Notice of Coming to China for Adoption issued between March 1 to April 30 this year is prolonged from three months to five months (There is no need to update the paper).

Adoptive families are advised to follow the arrangement of local registration authorities and cooperate during the entrustment of child for the harmony period and the adoption registration process.

If adoptive parents feel unwell during their stay in China for the registration procedure, they shall go to the hospital for medical checkup in time and report to CCAA about relevant situation.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Please contact the following persons for more information:
　　Li Lei 010-65548835
　　Li Zhiqiang 010-65548836

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　China Center of Adoption Affairs

Love Without Boundaries Born In My Heart Auction

2009-04-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

click here: Born In My Heart Art Auction 2009

Help us again by donating to our 2009 Born In My Heart Art Auction.

Our 2009 Born In My Heart Art Auction is April 23 - 28.
Deadline for donations is April 1st, 2009.
For more information, please email an Auction Coordinator at auction@lwbmail.com

Examples of donations might be paintings, photography, sculpture, quilts, gift baskets (a great idea for DTC groups!), China-related books, cookware, scrapbooking, dolls, heirlooms, jewelry...something that reflects your own passions, talents and love for China's orphans.

In the U.S. The Federal Adoption Tax Credit expires in 2010

2009-03-31T04:27:00.000-07:00

Couldn't find the right words to thank you... Ethiopia Adoption

2009-03-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

Couldn't find the right words to thank you...

by Christie 'Bushel and a Peck'.

Ethiopia. Ethiopia.

What will I do with you, Ethiopia?I have to confess, I didn't like you. I know it's not polite to admit it, but I didn't. The minute we got on the plane, I was overcome with doubt. When we landed, I took one look out the plane window and felt I was in another world...not just another country.

Your rifle appointed guards, your barren poverty on every corner, your loud and chaos filled streets...the smell of spices and incense in the air...the bells tolling for the Mosque's at 4am...hard beds, burning trash, I could go on and on...but I already have.

For Part One Click Here For

Part Two Click Here

For Part Three Click Here

For Part Four Click Here For the Epilogue Click Here

I've been able to put some space between us. Many months have passed since I came and went - not leaving much of an impression there on your land. Really, I just wanted to write and tell you that I'm feeling sad lately. I thought you would understand, since you and I shared something. The exchange of a life experience...you gave and I took. The exchange of a multi-cultural life lesson...again, I was the recipient. Most importantly, the gift of a son. Your son. A son of your country, your people, your land. I wish I could tell you how much that gift has meant to me...to share with you all the joy and wonder he has brought to my life and to somehow, some way invite you in to see all the goodness and healing he has given to my heart. I wish I could...but I can't.

This is why I'm so sad...You gave me something that filled my life so much, and it was because someone else's life was broken. Broken in a way that your tired land couldn't fix. In fact, I tried not to think of that too much when I was there - because I was selfishly so overwhelmed and in my own head - that I didn't let myself dwell on the reasons. I was selfish. And I wanted to say I'm sorry. Because now, I think I'm beginning to understand what you did. You made it possible for me to take care of him and you gave us an intimate bird's eye view into your dilemma - so that just maybe, by some small chance, we might try and make a difference for you and your people. For your children. Maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't come home and complain about our experience. Maybe instead we would see past the cultural differences and feel a tug at our core to make a difference for you. For them...

I've found myself lately wondering how I can make a difference. So I wanted you to know that I'm trying out some ideas. Always telling anyone who will listen about our journey there and back. Trying to come up with some ways to help the many children that were left behind...and that arrive every week to begin their walk as orphans. Trying to decide how many of your children I can fit into this house, so that I can reach out and try to help.
I don't know how to convince people...because too many don't want to leave the comfort of their homes and their safe places. It's too scary for them. I confess, I was one of them. Adoption is daunting and sometimes it can be hard to explain to them what we experienced and that it's just a plane ride. That you leave D.C. and get off a plane in Africa. That's it. That sacrifice can pull a child from one devastating circumstance into a loving home, a family, a future. Still, not everyone can imagine that they could do it. But I won't stop trying...and I wish you could see Quint! I think he does all the work, just by smiling and lighting up a room. Who could picture this little baby growing up in a crowded orphanage with nothing? I wish they knew how many we had to leave behind that are doing just that...

So I wanted you to know that I think about you a lot, Ethiopia. I didn't think I could or would ever go back, but you have a way about you...that's for sure. You kind of grew on me...after the fact. I can't quite get you out of my system, and I can't figure it out. I actually look at pictures now and then of our trip...and well, I miss you. And I wanted you to know that I think we'll be back, Lord willing. If it's ok with you, we'll try and raise a couple more of your sweeties. And we'll do our best to educate them about how they can grow up to impact their birthland as well. I'm not sure what that will look like...but we'll do our best.

Sorry it took me so long to come around...I've been thinking about writing this for a while now, I just couldn't quite find the right words.I think I've found them...With Gratitude,Christie

Kyrgyzstan Adoption Warning

2009-02-25T11:54:00.000-08:00

Kyrgyzstan

Adoption Alert
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children’s Issues
__________________________________________________________________
February 13, 2009

The U.S. Department of State does not recommend that U.S. citizens consider adoption from Kyrgyzstan at this time. Currently, no adoption cases are being processed, including at least sixty-five adoption cases by U.S. citizens already in progress. In addition, the Kyrgyz government is considering significant changes to its adoption regulations.
The Kyrgyz Government has formed an adoption commission that includes officials from the Vice Prime Minister’s office, the Ministries of Education, Social Protection and Labor, Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, and Justice, as well as the General Prosecutor’s office. This commission is responsible for drafting new adoption policy and legislation, with special emphasis on clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the different agencies involved. The commission will recommend whether the Kyrgyz Republic should join the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. The commission plans to report to Parliament by March 20; the Parliament will then choose what action it will take on these proposals. The Kyrgyz government does not intend to process any adoption cases, new or pending, until the adoption commission issues its report and Parliament has taken action on its recommendations.
Although the new legislation likely will not affect existing cases of children already matched with adoptive parents, it will allow the Ministry of Education authority to resume processing these adoption dossiers. New adoption cases would be subject to any new requirements established by Parliament.
The U.S. Embassy continues to monitor the situation and will provide clarification as soon as it is received.

US 2008 Adoption Statistics

2009-01-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Countries

Guatemala 4,123

China 3,909

Russia 1,861

Ethiopia 1,725

South Korea 1,065

Vietnam 751

Ukraine 457

Kazakhstan 380

India 307

Colombia 306

*Numbers are from the US Department of State

Special Needs Children Reference Site...No Hands But Ours

2008-12-04T10:06:00.000-08:00

This site was built by some wonderful women who are adoptive mothers and friends of mine. It really is a great resource for families who are considering adopting special needs children. There are accurate descriptions of many of the special needs that you will encounter and accounts from families who have adopted children with several of these needs.

I think that you will find it very helpful. The link is on my sidebar, or you can click here:

No Hands But Ours

New US Department of State Intercountry Adoption Website

2008-11-19T08:15:00.001-08:00

The US Department of State has launched a wonderful website that focuses on Intercountry Adoption.

http://www.adoption.state.gov/

November is National Adoption Awareness Month

2008-11-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. It is very important to do what we can as an adoption community to support adoptive families who are waiting or who are raising their children. Find a way to help, there are so many creative things we can do to help bring children home. You can start an adoption support group in your church or community. Or help the orphans who are waiting for their forever families by supporting the agencies listed on the sidebar of this blog. You can help raise funds for families who are struggling to pay their adoption fees. If you click on Daleea's auction link on my sidebar you can donate items or bid on items to help to pay for surgeries for babies in a foster home in China. One person can make a difference!

Nepal Has Lifted Ban on Foreign Adoptions..

2008-10-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

This is wonderful news for waiting familes. Nepal has announced that it is lifting its ban on foreign adoptions.

Article Links:

Nepal to allow foreign adoptions

Lifting of Nepal child adoption ban

Nepal to resume international adoptions

US Citizenship & Immigration Services Official Announcement Regarding I-600A

2008-10-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

USCIS Announces Adoption Policy for Hague Transition Cases Grandfathered Form I-600A Affected
WASHINGTON –U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that prospective adoptive parents already in the process of adopting a child from a country that has implemented the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) who filed a Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, prior to April 1, 2008, and who have received the one time no-charge extension, may file one additional Form I-600A, and continue to proceed with their intercountry adoption through the “orphan” process. The new Form I-600A must be filed before the current approval expires, and only if the prospective adoptive parents have not yet filed the corresponding Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.

U.S. law and regulations allow individuals who began the intercountry adoption process by filing Form I-600A or Form I-600, before April 1, 2008, to continue using these pre-Hague Adoption Convention forms and procedures even if they are adopting a child from a Hague Adoption Convention country. However, depending on the time that it takes prospective adoptive parents to be matched with a child and file Form I-600, the approval of the I-600A might expire before the prospective adoptive parents are able to file Form I-600. By allowing the filing of one new Form I-600A prior to the expiration of the current approved Form I-600A, USCIS is allowing prospective adoptive parents who have been grandfathered into the pre-Hague Adoption Convention process to continue to proceed under this “orphan” process, provided the child’s home country agrees.

If the Form I-600A is no longer valid, prospective adoptive parents must file a Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, with a home study which meets all of the requirements for a Hague Adoption Convention home study. Once a Form I-800A is approved, the Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relativemay be filed on behalf of the prospective adoptive chil

Starfish Foster Home Fundraiser

2008-10-11T05:10:00.000-07:00

November is National Adoption Month

Support the Starfish Babies Bracelet Fundraiser and Help Fund Four Surgeries
There is a Chinese proverb that says "an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance." The red thread on this bracelet is far from invisible. Instead, it is designed for those who wear it to show their support of Starfish as we help those children connected, but not yet united with their forever families.
This November, we hope to raise $20,000 to sponsor four additional surgeries through the sale of the Starfish Babies Bracelets designed by Ettika. Ettika, a boutique artisan firm that accessorizes many celebrities, is supporting our mission through a special price break on these high-end bracelets. Each piece is crafted from genuine Greek leather. The starfish jewel is cast using pewter metal and individually hand-dipped in 14K gold.

Friends of Starfish may purchase this lovely bracelet for $222.08 by clicking on the pink starfish graphic on the left side of this page or clicking here Donate Now . Please make sure to select the "Starfish Bracelet Fundraiser" option to ensure that your donation is directed toward the right program. You may also email Cindy Klaja (cmklaja@yahoo.com) for more information.

Letters from China...Bringing Eliana Home

2008-10-05T17:01:00.001-07:00

This wonderful family is currently in China to bring home their beautiful daughter. Follow along with them as they meet her for the first time. Their travel blog is 'Letters From China'.

UNICEF report on adoption in Nepal.

2008-09-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

Link to 60 page report:

ADOPTING the rights of the child

A study on intercountry adoption and its influence on child protection in
Nepal

By UNICEF and Terre des hommes Foundation

*This is a very detailed report of the situation today regarding adoption from Nepal.

A new trend in adoption...families are beginning to adopt children from around the world who are HIV positive.

2008-09-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

A new trend is emerging in international adoption. Families are beginning to adopt HIV positive children from around the world. One of the most prominent countries is Ethiopia. There are several articles on line about this. Below are some links if you are interested in learning more.

Americans adopting HIV-positive kids from Ethiopia Associated Press Article

Americans adopt HIV-positive kids from Ethiopia Christian Science Monitor

Zeeland family honored at White House for adopting HIV-positive child Mlive.com

China says little interest in 88 quake orphans up for adoption

2008-09-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

Evidently only one of the 88 children who were orphaned in the earthquake has been adopted. It is believed that it is because many of them are disabled. Perhaps they will now consider parents from around the world.

Click on the link below to read the article:

China says little interest in 88 quake orphans up for adoption

US-Vietnam adoption pact ends, hundreds in limbo

2008-09-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

The US-Vietnam adoption agreement expired yesterday 9/1/08.

Click on the article title to read the Associated Press Report:

US-Vietnam adoption pact ends, hundreds in limbo

HELP CHILDREN RECOVER FROM EARTHQUAKE IN CHINA

2008-08-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

Join Half the Sky in promoting this. American Express is donating 2.5 million dollars to the winning projects.

It's easy and free to help hundreds of children! Before the September 1 deadline —
JUST CLICK AND NOMINATE OUR PROJECT

US Department of State...Notice Concerning Transfer of Pending Convention Cases to Accredited/Approved ASPs

2008-08-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

This is taken directly from the US Department of State Web Page

Notice Concerning Transfer of Pending Convention Cases to Accredited/Approved ASPs

Adoption service providers (ASPs) that have been denied accreditation or approval may have pending adoption cases that are now, or will likely become, Convention cases before they can be brought to a conclusion. Such ASPs are urged to transfer any such cases expeditiously to an accredited, temporarily accredited or approved ASP. ASPs that have been denied accreditation or approval should activate their plans for transferring pending Convention cases to accredited, temporarily accredited, or approved ASPs in a timely and transparent manner, including refunding fees to prospective adoptive parents for services not yet provided. (All ASPs that applied for accreditation or approval provided a plan pursuant to 22 CFR 96.33(e) for transferring cases in the event an agency cannot see them to completion. Applicants for temporary accreditation were to have such a plan pursuant to 22 CFR 96.104(k).) Whether a transferred case may proceed on the same track it was on prior to the transfer to an accredited, temporarily accredited or approved ASP will depend largely on the facts of the case, the requirements of the country of origin and the regulations of the state in which the new ASP is located.

Vietnam and the Hague Convention

2008-08-07T04:19:00.000-07:00

This article is from Thanhnien .com

Lawmakers back bid to join Hague adoption convention


A man pushes two Vietnamese kids in a stroller outside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1

International adoption responsibilities would be fielded by a single government agency if Vietnam joins the convention.

A majority of National Assembly’s Standing Committee members supported a bid to sign the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption Friday, scheduling a vote on the measure by the year’s end.

The International Adopted Children Bureau, under the Minister of Justice, would be solely responsible for approving international adoption applications if Vietnam becomes a signatory on the convention, said Deputy Minister Hoang The Lien on the sidelines of the committee session.

Currently, each provincial government ratifies its own international adoption applications.

ADOPTION FIGURES

Of 378 orphanages nationwide,

85 centers have enseprocess international adoption applications.

Around 2,000 Vietnamese children are adopted into international families each year.

Financial aid to orphanages would also be handled by the central government agency if Vietnam joins the convention, said Lien.

The move would aim to ward off unhealthy competition between international adoption agencies and even among Vietnamese orphanages, he added.

Lien said lawmakers would also work to remedy shortcomings in local adoption regulations, which many people had capitalized on to forge adoption applications.

Under Vietnamese law, a child must be abandoned by their parents or orphaned to be adopted.

Vietnamese parents who send their children to orphanages due to poverty do so only temporarily.

But several criminals have faked documents leading agencies and adoptive parents to believe that such children were in fact abandoned.

Lien said a recent case of adoption paperwork fraud in the northern province of Nam Dinh would be a major deterrent.

Nam Dinh Province police arrested the head of a charity organization in Truc Ninh District on Thursday for allegedly forging adoption documents.

Nam Dinh authorities began investigating two local charity organizations for their alleged involvement in dubious adoption paperwork in mid-July.

Prior to Thursday, Nam Dinh police had arrested three people, including two communal health officials, for allegedly faking papers documenting the origins of babies they claimed to have found.

Lien also said authorities would discuss other mismatches between Vietnamese laws and the Hague Convention.

For example, under Vietnamese law, the maximum age for adoptees is 16, while the Hague Convention extends the adoption age to 18.

Additionally, the Hague Convention stipulates that adopted children must jettison their legal ties with their parents while Vietnamese laws still allow adopted children to retain inheritance and other rights from their birth parents.

Lien said Vietnam and the US may still cooperate to arrange adoptions in the future through a new agreement or the Hague Adoption Convention.

In April, the Ministry of Justice dispelled accusations in an official US report of systematic baby-selling in Vietnam, saying it was “totally untrue.”

Reported by Tuyet Nhung

Love Without Boundaries Unity Fund Contest

2008-07-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 28, 2008

LWB UNITY FUND CONTEST

Okay, we are TOTALLY stealing a fabulous idea from the Old Red Barn Co (http://www.oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/) because we had so much fun entering and doing our own videos to try to win their quilt for our art auction. We lost….waahhh!

Starting TODAY, you have a chance to win a FABULOUSLY INCREDIBLE LWB PRIZE PACK in celebration of our Unity Fund launch. What is the Unity Fund, you ask? It is our new medical fund for impoverished families in China who cannot afford the life-saving medical procedures that their children need, in the hopes of keeping their families UNITED (hence the name) and actually preventing orphaned children. Yes, it is a big dream, but if we help even one more child stay with their family, that is beyond happiness for us. We are often approached by rural families who are desperate to help their children but who believe their only chance of healing them is to leave their child at an orphanage. We want to have a separate fund that we can use to bring HOPE to their lives, so that we can tell them immediately, “We know you love her, and yes we can help.” So in celebration of keeping families together, we are copying the contest held by the Old Red Barn Co and because we are busy people (ha ha) and want to save time, we are even copying their rules! Shameless we are!

First prize in this contest is an LWB prize pack, which includes:

A copy of our coffee table book, “Love’s Journey 2: The Red Thread”—a beautiful, hard cover book of over 250 pages with beautiful photos and stories about adoption.

PLUS a Red Thread Jewelry Set, valued at $125, which is SO BEAUTIFUL that you know you want it! Sterling silver, pearls, red silk cording…..did I mention BEAUTIFUL?!

PLUS one adult LWB t-shirt and one child’s LWB t-shirt.

PLUS (drum roll please because this is a biggie these days!) you will also win a FIFTY DOLLAR gas card to 7-Eleven donated by a friend of LWB!!! WOOHOO!! Free gas!!! Gas card! Gas card! Gas card!!! Okay, we admit that doesn’t exactly go with an LWB prize pack, but hey….we told you we were shameless and we want you to enter!

Total prize pack is worth over $250! Now that’s a fun contest, right?

Second prize will receive a Love’s Journey book, and third prize gets their choice of an adult or child’s LWB logo t-shirt.

All you have to do to enter and receive one chance in the drawing is email info@lwbmail.com and say “I support helping rural children in need.” That will count as one entry!

You earn FIVE extra entries into the drawing if you post an entry about our contest in your blog and let us know.

You get FIFTY ENTRIES (yes 5-0) if you make a video on why families are wonderful (to go along with our Unity theme) and mention the words “Live With Hope, Love Without Boundaries” at least once. Post it on Youtube with the header “Love Without Boundaries Unity Fund.” Send us your name and the link so we can credit you 50 chances! Since we are having fun with this celebration, we are going to follow the same rules and say we need your video to make us smile at least once. We know kids always make us smile, so we know this won’t be any problem!

International supporters are also welcome to enter. The contest will end Friday, August 15th at 7:00 p.m. EDT. Get your comments in before then. We’ll announce the winner on Saturday, August 16th! The winner will be selected by random drawing.

We are also having a $1 challenge to kick off this fund, where we are challenging EVERYONE we know to pop $1 in the mail (LWB, 306 S. Bryant, Ste. C-145, Edmond, OK 73034) to help a rural child in need. Who needs an extra diet Coke today when you could put those four quarters in an envelope to save a life? Can we get 5,000 people to send in $1? We won’t know until we try. Spread the word! And enter our contest!

Let’s celebrate the joy of families as we launch this new fund to help those families in China truly in need.

Good luck!

We Love Lucy! An Older Child China Adoption Story

2008-07-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

This family is currently in China to bring home their almost 4 year old daughter Lucy. The post below is taken from the travel blog 'We Love Lucy'.

After heading back to our hotel to wait for JingXuan...she arrived at around 11:45. When she walked in, the woman from the SWI told her we were Mama and Baba. She came right to me and kissed my cheek and said, "Mama". She also went right to Toby. We gave her the backpack we had for her, and the princess cell phone was an immediate hit. We were able to ask some questions about her, and then the SWI staff was on their way. XuanXuan waved bye bye and was off playing. Her arms and legs are covered in mosquito bites.
It didn't take long for us to realize we have a genuine "spicy" girl on our hands. For those of you who don't know what I mean...the Hunan province is known for it's spicy food and "spicy"girls! It didn't take us very long to realize she was bossing us around in Chinese. Our guide, Smile, said, "I think she is like a CEO".
XuanXuan had gotten car sick on the ride from Changde, so our guide ordered room service for her...congee and eggs. She sat at the little table and fed herself...and her baby. She loves her baby doll that we sent her. I don't really know how long she has had it because it's pretty clean, but it does have marker on her face, so I know she has played with it.
She loves to was her hands...VERY much. So I showed her the bathtub and she was ready to hop right in. Toby dropped in a washcloth and she immediately began washing herself and her hair. It was so sweet, but made me sad to think she thought she had to do it herself. After her bath, I showed her the drawer with all of her clothes, and she knew exactly what she wanted to wear. I let all those ideas of what her first outfit should be fly right out the window, and let her decide. Candy, she chose the white shorts and cute light green polka dot shirt you bought her.
We took her to the playroom for awhile, and back to our room to play for awhile. She is such a sweet little girl. She is extremely smart and very easy to make laugh. She is definitely keeping us on our toes. We looked at her photo album with her, and she repeated the names of each of the boys.
We had dinner in the restaurant, and this girl can eat!! Every waitress was hanging around our table talking to her, and she was making them laugh so hard. She is very friendly, and willing to go to anyone right now...she even gave two gentlemen on the elevator kisses on the cheek. I will need some advice on when I might need to limit some of this behavior. She is just so sweet that everyone is just attracted to her.
Back in our room after dinner she has on her panda jammies and has brushed her teeth, and is still playing. She did not nap today, so we will try to get her to bed in the next few minutes...wish us luck!
Sorry if this seems all over the place, but it is crazy in here right now...and I am a little exhausted. Good Night!

Stolen Baby Found in Guatemala Adoption System

2008-07-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

This article is from Welt..Online

24. Juli 2008, 10:18

Illegal Adoptions

Stolen baby found in Guatemalan adoption system
Adoption officials said Wednesday, July 23, that DNA tests indicate a Guatemalan baby reported stolen from her mother was being adopted by a U.S. couple, the first strong sign that the Central American nation’s troubled adoption system relied in part on abducted children.

An employee of Guatemala's National Adoptions Council, left, greets a child held by his adoptive mother after a press conference in Guatemala City. The child, whose real name has not been revealed in order to protect his identity, is the first case of adoption under the new Guatemalan adoptions' law.
Authorities have long believed that children were stolen or bought to supply Guatemala’s US$100 million-a-year adoption industry before thousands of pending adoptions were frozen in May.
Previously, dozens of mothers reported stolen babies and at least two were found in orphanages, although they had not yet been put up for adoption. But adoption officials revealed to The Associated Press on Wednesday, July 23, that DNA tests identified toddler Esther Zulamita, who was reported stolen on March 26, 2007. The girl was in the process of being adopted to an unidentified U.S. couple.
Jaime Tecu, director of a team of experts reviewing all pending Guatemalan adoptions, said the DNA test results represent the first time officials have directly linked a baby reported stolen by its mother to the fraud plagued adoption system. "This is the first time that we’ve been able to show, with irrefutable evidence, that a stolen child was put up for adoption,“ Tecu said.
Schlagworte
Guatemala City adoption industry Guatemalan baby DNA adoption process The baby’s mother, Ana Escobar, said armed men locked her in a storage closet at the family’s shoe store north of Guatemala City and took the 6-month-old. "When I got out, my daughter was gone,“ she told the AP in an earlier interview about the case.
She spent months searching hospitals and orphanages, looking for the child. In May, Escobar says she was sitting in the National Adoption Council’s offices, hoping to get access to the babies whose adoption cases were being reviewed. She looked up and saw a toddler who looked like her baby.
The image of the child being carried by an official haunted her, and she asked officials to see more photos. Soon she was sure the baby girl was hers. All of the girl’s papers were in order, including DNA tests showing that her birth mother was someone other than Escobar. But Escobar convinced officials to take new DNA tests. "She was so sure that the child was hers that we agreed to search the house where the baby was kept,“ Tecu said.
The baby was placed with a caretaker while her adoption was pending, but Escobar convinced a Guatemalan judge in May to let her care for the child while the new DNA tests were performed. "I can’t explain how excited and happy I am,“ Escobar told the AP on Wednesday. "It’s a miracle.“
Tecu said officials will investigate the lawyers who handled the adoption, the doctor who signed the falsified DNA tests, and anyone else associated with the process. "This was run by a mafia, and we're going after them,“ he said.
Guatemala froze all 2,286 pending adoptions in May, and officials are reviewing each case to confirm there is no fraud.
At the same time, Guatemala is just starting to adopt babies under a new, more stringent system run by an independent adoption commission. Before the reform, foreign couples, mostly from the U.S., paid up to US$30,000 to adopt children. The previous system was so quick and hassle-free it became the second-largest source of foreign babies to U.S. couples after China.

A Taiwan Adoption Story...Taiwan Treasure

2008-07-24T04:23:00.000-07:00

This family is currently in Taiwan to bring home their beautiful daughter Claire. The post below is from the day before they met their daughter for the first time. If you would like to follow their journey and send some good wishes their way, their blog is 'Taiwan Treasure'.

T minus 2 hours

Two hours until we hold Claire. I've been awake since 3:30am. I can't sleep. We just had breakfast and I feel like I'm going to throw up. I'm very nervous. I wonder what it's going to feel like. I just want to take a moment to say Thank you to everyone. To our families thank you for supporting us through it all, through indecision about how we were going to start a family, through years of struggling to make ends meet so we could save the money, through this whole adoption process..thank you . We love you dearly. To our friends near and far, new and old, thank you for hoping and praying with us. Thank you carrying our dreams, for holding onto faith when we didn't have any, for shouldering our tears through it all. It has meant the world to us.
It has been 6 years since we first started this journey. 6 years of hoping and praying that we would have a child. 6 years of putting our lives on hold....for this one moment, two hours away.
Thank you for being there with us every step of the way. It's going to be amazing!!!

Welcome Annalise!...A Single Mother's China Adoption Story

2008-07-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

Paulette is currently in China to bring home her beautiful daughter Annalise. Her travel blog is 'together forever'.

The post below is taken directly from her blog:

Annalise is doing better but it was not an easy day for either of us I am exhausted and she is finally asleep. She is very attached to her nanny and has never been out of the SWC. It was hard for her to let go and come to me. The grieving process has already begun so I can only hope she will come around soon. Back at the hotel she was beginning to feel a bit better and began to play with a few toys. Thank goodness for the toy baby bottle it is her favorite. I will fill you in more when I’ve has some rest but enjoy the picture she is just beautiful and quite a smart little girl.

A China Adoption Story....Welcome William!

2008-07-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

This family is currently in China to bring home their beautiful son William. You can follow their journey on their blog 'Aging With Grace'.

Well, it was a bit rough at the start with many tears on William's part when we first met him. When we walked in the conference room the little guy was already lying on the floor crying very hard. With the help of a small Lightning McQueen car I had with me and some M & M's the tears stopped. William bonded with Dan right away, which I wasn't surprised about. After only 3 hours with him we are seeing his personality already immerge, he's all boy, he's very polite...says 'please' and 'thank you.' He calls us Mommy and Daddy and is quite facinated with Grace. I'm so proud of Grace, all the attention has been on William and she's been patient and so sweet to her little brother. I would have more pictures but we've been pretty busy. All I can say is thank you for your prayers, I feel them at work. We are so grateful that he's part of our family now.

Hague Convention information from the US State Department

2008-07-17T03:46:00.003-07:00

Hague Adoption Convention

On this page »

Background

The United States is part of an important treaty on intercountry adoption called the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). The treaty governs adoptions between the United States and nearly 75 other nations.

The Hague Adoption Convention entered into force for the United States on April 1, 2008.
The Department of State is the U.S. Central Authority for the Convention and oversees compliance with the Convention and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA). In this role, the Department of State also serves as U.S. liaison with other adoption Central Authorities around the world.
The Hague Adoption Convention protects children and their familiesagainst the risks of unregulated adoptions abroad, and ensures that intercountry adoptions are in the best interests of children. The Convention also serves to prevent the abduction, sale of, or traffic in children.

General Information

For Parents

For Adoption Services Providers

For State Authorities and Social Workers

Adoptions from the United States (Outgoing Cases)

unicef...State of the World's Children 2008

2008-07-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

Click Here

A Russia Adoption Story...Bringing Nicholas Home.

2008-07-11T12:08:00.001-07:00

This family is currently in Russia to bring their beautiful son Nicholas home. You can follow their journey on their blog 'Bringing Nicholas Home'.

Nicholas has made my first two days as a mother really easy. He is remarkable and is blowing both of our minds with his flexible disposition.I’m going to try and recap the past three days as best I can before my memory fails me.We left for Nizhny Tagil at 8a on Wednesday morning knowing that we had to be back in Ekat by 3p to pick up Nicholas’ passport. On the drive out there, we were told that there was a military presentation happening in NT, which apparently is an annual event, and Wednesday (hello, Morgan luck) was the unofficial start of the 3-day celebration – when all of the government officials come. President Medvedev himself was expected to make an appearance. Big day in Nizhny Tagil = big traffic on Putin’s highway. Vadim is a master on the road, no doubt – but, there is nothing that can be done about parking lot traffic. We were all four getting a tad concerned about pulling off our 3p return.Eventually traffic broke up and we arrived at the orphanage a little before 11a. Dr. Ludmilla sat with us and acquired the final signatures required from me. She put her hand on mine while we were sitting across from each other at her desk and told me that Matt and I are ‘heroes’ for staying with Nicholas in the hospital last trip. From moment one, it has been evident to us that she truly loves these children. I know that’s not a job requirement and I must say that it was the single most comforting thing for us to recall when we were missing him terribly. In fact, during the long wait between trips, I was concerned that she would start believing that we didn’t want him and/or we were dragging our feet. Natasha translated that Dr. Ludmilla understands that the judge slows the process. She also thanked us for the gifts that we left for the orphanage – particularly the blankets and hats! Natasha told her that my mom made them and she smiled and told my mom that she has ‘golden hands’!When we finished the paperwork requirements, she left the room briefly and came back with Nicholas. He was so excited to see me! No doubt in my mind that he remembered our quarantine adventures. It was adorable – he kicked his little legs, screeched, smiled and trembled all over. We changed his clothes and went outside with Dr. Ludmilla to take pictures of V&P, LH’s little cuties whom share more history with our Nicholas than we do.We waited at the orphanage while Vadim ran somewhere to pick up some document that we needed from Nicholas’ birth city. While we were there, we played outside with Natasha and Dr. Ludmilla bade Nicholas her final goodbyes – made me very tearful. She wished him good health and a happy, prosperous life in which he will reach his best potential. She told him to grow up strong and she wished him good luck as he started his new life in America.She told me that she was his first real mother – she has had legal custody of him since his birth. She told me what foods he has been exposed to and she gave me some suggestions for easing his transition. She told me that the first couple of months would be the toughest and to be patient with him and with myself. She told me that 6 more children were delivered to the orphanage from the baby hospital that very morning and then she asked me to come back – for a girl so Nicholas will have a sister.All of this touched me to the core and though Matt and I have been entirely clear that we would NEVER put ourselves through the Ekat experience again, I must admit – in that moment it felt important to tell myself that I will be back, I will see her again, I will have another opportunity to convey the depth of gratitude that I will likely end my days feeling for her. I love her for loving him. It’s as simple and as profound as anything I have ever felt for another human being.48 hours later – I have learned so many amazing things about my son, which communicate clearly that his life at orphanage #8 under the custody of Dr. Ludmilla was entirely okay. Without a shadow of doubt I know that he has never been abused. He is a trusting little man whom has not experienced a deep violation of his sweet nature. I believe fully that he was protected there – as best is humanly possible in an environment that is quite simply not ideal for children to grow up. I also believed that he was deeply loved by someone – someone whom was not capable of coming down and telling him goodbye on Wednesday. I have mixed emotions about that – it breaks my heart for her and for him; but it also protects it from a potential display of emotion that would have haunted my nights.Though my mom captured each step on video camera, I have no recollection of walking away from his baby house with him in my arms. It was too surreal to remember – so many emotions indelibly printed on my psyche – it was just not necessary for my brain to be present. The drive back to Ekat was uneventful aside from my mom feeling very sick from being overheated (Susie fans – she has some stories to tell you about this lllooonnnggg drive!). Nicholas was great in the car, he was content looking out the window, wiggling minimally, and munching on cheerios. It was determined that it would be best not to feed him before we left ~12p because they didn’t know if he would get car sick and Vadim was worried about traffic on our way back.We arrived at the passport office ~2p and Vadim dropped Natasha and me off so he could take my mom and Nicholas back to the hotel – mom still didn’t feel well and Nicholas needed a nap. All went well with his passport and I was back at the hotel ~4p. When I got there, Nicholas was just waking up, so he and I ate some dinner in the room, packed for our big trip to Moscow, showered / bathed and hit the sack!We were picked up at 5:30a for our 7:10a flight and were so happy to see P&B in the lobby waiting to meet Nicholas! They reunited with their boys on Thursday – as did B&K – and, M&G picked up G on Thursday as well – all of them have very much been on our minds and in our prayers.Parting ways with Natasha at the airport was a tearful event. I will miss her terribly and I feel so grateful to her for taking such good care of us – talk about a trauma bond! We are so blessed to have earned her friendship and I have no doubt that we will stay connected and we will see each other again (when we adopt Nicholas’ sister, right?!).Nicholas was a major trooper throughout our travel day. He ate breakfast on the plane and snuggled with me while I sang to him – he was so sleepy. And, get this – he fell asleep in my arms!! It blew me away. He fought it so hard and he only slept about 5 minutes before I moved and woke him up after which point he could not relax back into me, but he did it – less than 24 hours after being with me!! I know not all of you readers will understand how profound this feat is – but, many of you will understand it implicitly. In truth, I expected it to be months before he would fall asleep in my arms. He is a trusting little guy. And, since we’ve been here in Moscow, he has become such a snuggler. No doubt he has bonded to me. In fact, I believe he bonded with both Matt and I on 6/19. He has not seemed traumatized by his experiences so far. He is intrigued to be sure – but, he’s not acting fearful.Jane picked us up at the airport and we immediately schlepped to the photographer for his visa photo and to the bank for currency exchange and to the clinic for his visa medical – then to the hotel ~12p (he was awake minus 5 minutes for 9 hours by this time and was barely even fussy). When we got here, we fed him, put him to bed, had a carpet picnic from room service and promptly went to sleep until ~5p! We were all exhausted.

US Department of State Regarding Adoption from India

2008-07-08T19:34:00.001-07:00

INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION

INDIA

April 2008

DISCLAIMER : The following is intended as a general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country. Three sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the eligibility of individual children for adoption, as well as the adoption of children in that country in general; 2) the laws of the adoptive parents’ state of residence establish qualifications they must meet in order to adopt; and 3) U.S. immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States. In addition, the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, to which the United States became a party on April 1, 2008, establishes legal and regulatory requirements for intercountry adoption.

The adoption of children from countries that are party to the Hague Convention must follow the procedures outlined by the Convention, and its U.S. implementing legislation, the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA). More information on the IAA and the Convention can be found at travel.state.gov on the Children and Family pages on intercounry adoption.

The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

THE HAGUE CONVENTION ON INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION:

India is a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention) and with which the Convention is in force for the United States .

TRANSITION CASES: Under U.S. law, an adoption case involving a Convention country already in process on April 1, 2008 when the Convention entered into force with respect to the U.S. did not/not change into a Hague case on that date. These transition cases will continue to be processed in accordance with the immigration regulations for orphan adoptions which were in effect at the time the case was filed, explained in the State Department Flyer “How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States ”.

If the Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition (I-600A) or Petition to Classify an Orphan as an Immediate Relative (I-600) was filed before April 1, 2008, then the Convention and the IAA will not apply to that case. The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) considers a case properly filed when USCIS receives an application or petition along with any required filing fee. The filing date is stamped on the application or petition to show the time and date of actual receipt. For further information on transition cases, please see the FAQs: Transition Cases and the Hague Adoption Convention .

PLEASE NOTE: Under Indian law, foreign prospective adoptive parents considering adoption of a child from India are required to use an adoption agency that is “enlisted” with the Indian Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA). Further details on enlisted agencies may be found on the CARA web site at http://www.adoptionindia.nic.in/carahome.html

It is important to note that Indian law does not permit foreigners to adopt Indian children, but rather to receive guardianship (custody) that allows the prospective adoptive parents to depart India and to adopt the child in the parents home country.

IMMIGRATION OF INDIAN ORPHANS TO THE U.S. : Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for issuance of immigrant visas to Indian orphans:

Fiscal Year	Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2007	416
FY 2006	320
FY 2005	324
FY 2004	406
FY 2003	472

ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN INDIA : The official national agency that oversees the intercountry adoptions in India is the Central Adoption Resource Agency. Its contact information is:

Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA)
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
West Block VIII, Wing II
2nd Floor, R.K. Puram
New Delhi - 110 066
Tel: 91-011 618-0194
Fax: 91-011 618-0198
Web site: www.adoptionindia.nic.in
E-Mail: CARA@bol.net.in

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PROSPECTIVE GUARDIANS: Couples with a composite age of 90 or less, or single persons up to age 45 can adopt; parents should be at least 21 years older than the child; in no case can a prospective adoptive parent be less than 30 or more than 55. Please refer them to the CARA website for specific details.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: There are no residency requirements in order to obtain legal custody of an Indian orphan.

TIME FRAME: Once prospective adoptive parents have received approval from the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security to adopt abroad (approval of their I-600A petition) and arrive in India, they should anticipate needing 2-3 months to complete all formalities in India, barring any unforeseen delays

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: Because India is a Convention country, adoption services must be provided by an accredited agency, temporarily accredited agency, approved person, supervised provider, or exempted provider. These terms are defined in 22 CFR Part 96 and explained in the Department’s website Brochure for Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) at http://travel.state.gov/pdf/Prospective_Adoptive_Parents_Guide.pdf. For purposes of this document, accredited agencies, temporarily accredited agencies, and approved persons are referred to with the shorthand term “accredited adoption service providers.”

It is essential that prospective adoptive parent(s) seeking to adopt from a Convention country use an accredited adoption service provider. The Department maintains a current list of accredited adoption service providers . The list of accredited adoption service providers is also provided on the website of the Hague Permanent Bureau at www.hcch.net.

In addition, all recognized adoption agencies (or, as they are referred to in India, placement agencies) in India are local and must be registered with their Indian state Voluntary Coordinating Agency (VCA). No placement agencies provide national coverage, so prospective adoptive parents must determine the Indian state from which they propose to adopt. The Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), established in 1990, licenses all the VCAs and all Indian placement agencies. CARA also, to some extent, regulates the agencies and enforces laws pertaining to adoption. CARA also serves as India ’s Central Authority under the 1993 Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention.

Foreign agencies that wish to sponsor applications of prospective parents to adopt an Indian child must apply for “enlistment” with CARA through the Indian embassy in their country. The CARA web site lists U.S. adoption service providers (agencies) approved by CARA. Prospective parents must work through one of these agencies in order to adopt in India . These agencies then work with a local placement agency to complete the custody process in India on behalf of the prospective parents. Only an Indian agency recognized and listed by the Indian Government may make children available for adoption by foreigners.

To find the current list of authorized Indian and U.S. agencies, prospective adoptive parents should visit CARA's web site at: http://www.adoptionindia.nic.in/carahome.html and go to "Indian Placement Agencies” and “Enlisted Foreign Agencies." The Indian Placement Agencies page lists authorized Indian agencies and, among other things, provides the status of the agency's license. The Indian placement agency usually files the paperwork with the court, minimizing the need for a private attorney. However, links to attorneys lists maintained by the U.S. Embassy and three consulates in India are provided below.

New Delhi - http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/judicial_assistance.html
Chennai - http://chennai.usconsulate.gov/uploads/images/ia8t6wtgvUD1ip1tJSW4jg/wwwflawyer.pdf
Mumbai -
http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/judicial_assistance.html
Calcutta -
http://calcutta.usconsulate.gov/list_of_attorneys.html

ADOPTION FEES IN INDIA: The fee in India for obtaining legal guardianship of an Indian child under this procedure is approximately U.S. $3,500, not including any U.S.-based expenses (such as the home study, application or petition filing costs, etc.). Prospective adoptive parents can expect to pay a total of between U.S. $12,000 to $15,000 for adoption services. The U.S. Embassy in India discourages the payment of any fees that are not properly receipted, “donations,” or “expediting” fees, that may be requested from prospective adoptive parents. Such fees have the appearance of “buying” a baby and put all future adoptions in India at risk.

ADOPTION AND GUARDIANSHIP PROCEDURES: All persons or organizations contemplating guardianship/adoption of an Indian child should visit the CARA web site and also review the recently revised “Guidelines for Adoption from India 2006” released by CARA in March 2006, updating the 1995 guidelines.

Indian law only allows Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists to complete full adoptions of Indian children. However, Under the Guardian and Wards Act of 1890, foreigners may petition an Indian District Court (or Family Court in larger urban areas) for legal custody (guardianship) of a child for the purpose of taking the child abroad to conclude a full and final adoption. Please Note: The recently enacted Juvenile Justice Act does not appear to have an effect on the intercountry adoption process in India . The U.S. Embassy will continue to monitor the implementation of this legislation, however, and modify this flyer as the situation warrants.

India makes an effort to place all abandoned or relinquished children with an Indian family in India first. If that is not possible, then they prefer that an Indian family abroad be found. Finally, if no Indian family can be found, then the child can be placed with a non-NRI family. Typically NRI couples adopting from India will find the process goes much more quickly and smoothly than for a non-NRI couple. And there may be more options for the NRI couple as well. An NRI couple may adopt a young healthy infant, whereas a non-NRI couple may find it difficult to locate an agency with such a program.

A "No Objection Certificate" (NOC) must be issued for every child processed for an intercountry adoption and only CARA is authorized to do this. The court will normally require, at a minimum the NOC, a birth certificate or affidavit of birth, and evidence of abandonment, prior to granting the custody order. Once the court has granted the order, an Indian passport must also be obtained in order for the child to leave India .

Important Note Concerning Indian Passports: Licenses held by Indian adoption agencies are generally valid for three years, and are renewable provided the agency is reviewed and approved for renewal. Not infrequently, the license renewal process can extend beyond the expiration of the license, leaving the agency temporarily without a license. Because of fraud concerns, regional passport offices (RPOs) in some parts of India, particularly southern India , will not issue passports to children in cases where an agency's license is in the process of being renewed or if it has been suspended or lapsed. Each RPO is free to make its own determination on issuance policy, and if the RPO determines not to issue a passport to the child, neither CARA nor the U.S. Embassy/Consulate nor the Central Passport Office can intervene to alter that determination, no matter how much of the adoption process may have been completed when the license lapsed.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION/GUARDIANSHIP IN INDIA : All prospective adoptive parents must provide the following documents to the Indian District Court when applying for guardianship of an Indian child:

Approved I-600A;
Birth certificate for the child;
Abandonment certificate for the child from an approved adoption agency;
No Objection Certificate from CARA;
Child’s Indian Passport.

The abandonment certificate can also serve as birth certificate if no formal birth certificate has been filed for the child. The above documents are obtained during the course of the adoption process in India , but must all be ready by the time of the court hearing on guardianship. Once the court has granted guardianship, all the above documents, plus the court order will need to presented to the USCIS office in New Delhi at the time of filing the I-600 petition.

AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD: For more information on authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad, please see the Judicial Assistance section of our website.

INDIAN EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES:

Embassy of India
2107 Massachusetts Ave, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Phone: (202) 939-7000
Fax: (202) 265-4351
Web site: http://www.indianembassy.org/newsite/embassy.asp

India also has consulates in Chicago, Houston, New York and San Francisco .

U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS: As of April 1, 2008, U.S. citizens wishing to adopt in a Convention country must begin the process by filing with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) a form I-800A Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country. Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult the Department of Homeland Security, USCIS website (www.uscis.gov) to download forms and filing instructions.

U.S. EMBASSY AND CONSULATES GENERAL IN INDIA : Americans living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate via the State Department’s travel registration website, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within the country of travel. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. The Consular Sections of the Embassy and Consulates General are located at:

U.S. Embassy, New Delhi
Shantipath, Chanakyapuri
New Delhi - 110021
Tel: 011-2419-8000
Fax: +91-11-2419-0017
Email: IVND@state.gov
Website: http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/

U.S. Consulate General, Kolkata
5/1, Ho Chi Minh Sarani
Calcutta- 700071
Tel: 033-3984-2400
Fax: +91-33-2282-2335
Email: pascal@state.gov
Website: http://calcutta.usconsulate.gov

U.S. Consulate General, Chennai
No. 220, Anna Salai
Chennai - 600006
Tel: 044-2811-2000
Email: chennaic@state.gov
Website: http://chennai.usconsulate.gov

U.S. Consulate General, Mumbai
Lincoln House
78, Bhulabhai Desai Road
Mumbai - 400026
Tel: 022-2363-3611
Email: webmastermumbai@state.gov
Website: http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov

APPLYING FOR A VISA AT THE U.S. EMBASSY AND CONSULATES GENERAL IN INDIA : Procedures for applying for an immigrant visa are similar among the four U.S consular posts in India , but there are variations at each, so prospective adopting parents should contact the specific post for exact details on scheduling an appointment, etc.

NOTE: Due to workload constraints and other factors, it is rarely possible to issue a visa on the same day as the interview. Parents should plan on 1-2 days for processing and issuing the visa.

ACQUIRING U.S. CITIZENSHIP: Please see the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 for further information on acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

U.S. Department of State Office of Overseas Citizens Services - For information on intercountry adoption and international parental child abduction, and security information for U.S. citizens traveling abroad, call Toll Free 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST/EDT, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444.

U.S. Department of State Visa Office - For information on immigrant visas for adopted orphans, call (202) 663-1225. Press 1 for additional information on visas, and press 0 to speak to a Visa Information Officer, available 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST/EDT, Monday through Friday (except Wednesdays 11 a.m. - 12:00 noon)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).
National Visa Center (NVC) Public Inquiries (603) 334-0700, Email: nvcinquiry@state.gov.
Country Specific Information - The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement the country-specific information provided in this flyer. In addition, the State Department publishes Country Specific Information for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. If the situation in a country poses a specific threat to the safety and security of American citizens that is not addressed in the CSI for that country, the State Department may issue a Travel Alert alerting U.S. citizens to local security situations. If conditions in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department may issue a Travel Warning recommending that U.S. citizens avoid traveling to that country. These documents are available on the Internet at travel.state.gov or by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizen Services Toll Free at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours.
USCIS web site

US Department of State Statement Regarding Vietnam Adoption.

2008-07-02T06:58:00.000-07:00

This is taken directly from their website.

The Expiration of the current Adoption Agreement with Vietnam

June 2008

The Department of State continues to urge prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers not to initiate new adoptions from Vietnam at this time. The bilateral Memorandum of Agreement, required by Vietnamese law to authorize adoptions between the United States and Vietnam, expires on September 1, 2008. In addition, recent field investigations have revealed incidents of serious adoption irregularities, including forged or altered documentation, mothers paid, coerced or tricked into releasing their children, and children offered for adoption without the knowledge or consent of their birth parents.

On April 25, the Government of Vietnam announced that it will allow adoption to be completed in cases where prospective adoptive parents have been matched with a child and received an official referral prior to September 1, 2008. Dossiers that have not received a referral as of September 1 will be closed and returned to the Adoption Service Provider. The Government of Vietnam further stated that in accordance with Vietnamese law, the DIA will stop accepting new dossiers on July 1, 2008.

In mid June, the U.S. Embassy contacted the Vietnamese Office of the Government in response to rumors that the Government of Vietnam had changed its policy regarding adoption dossiers still pending (without a referral) when the Agreement expires on September 1, 2008. The Office of the Government stated unequivocally that no decision has been made to change this policy.

The Department of State strongly recommends that anyone considering an adoption in Vietnam review all of the information that is posted by the Department of State (http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_369.html#v), the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (http://uscis.gov/), and the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi ( http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/orphan_visas.html ) .

7 Reasons Why 90% of the World's Orphans Will Never Be Adopted

2008-06-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

This article is taken from Laura Christianson's blog 'Exploring Adoption'.

7 Reasons Why 90% of the World’s Orphans Will Never Be Adopted

Did you know that there are nearly 150 million orphans worldwide? You read that correctly. 150 million. It’s a number I can’t even wrap my mind around.
Did you know that 90 percent of the world’s orphans will never be adopted?
I can think of seven common reasons for this:
The orphaned children live in countries in which adoption is not culturally accepted.
The children are taken in by extended family members and are not formally adopted.
A government system cares for orphaned children (usually in orphanages) until they “age out” of the system.
Some orphans are deemed “un-adoptable” due to their medical, developmental, or cognitive needs.
Some children tagged “orphans” are not truly orphaned—many have at least one living birth parent.
Birth parents leave their child at an orphanage and promise to return later to pick up the child. If they never return and do not relinquish their parental rights, the child remains in limbo.
An orphaned child contracts HIV/AIDS.
The March issue of Adoption World eZine provides doable tips for how you can impact the life of an orphaned child. Since the eZine “went to press,” I’ve heard from several orphan care organizations. Each of them provided me a brief overview of what they do.
I hope the work these organizations are doing will inspire you to think about what you can do to impact the life of an orphan. Be sure to check out their Websites for detailed information.
Food for Orphanshttp://www.foodfororphans.org/
Food For Orphans is feeding orphans in Asia, Africa, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Gary VanDyke, founder and CEO, says:
We seek out and evaluate new orphan care projects that need assistance in providing food to hungry orphans. Our goal is to make sure that every orphan receives at least one nutritious meal per day.
orphanCare International/Dillon Internationalhttp://www.orphancareintl.org/
For over 36 years orphanCare International/Dillon International has been dedicated to helping orphaned and abandoned children along with poverty-stricken families in some of the most neglected areas of the world.
Tonnie Dosser, Associate Director of Development, says:
“By providing educational support, medical care and daily care we hope to help create a brighter future for God’s children.”
Orphan Outreach and Mission Backpackhttp://www.orphanoutreach.org/http://www.missionbackpack.org/
Orphan Outreach has developed a clear mission to serve orphans and children at risk of being orphaned by providing a quality Christian education that prepares them for a fulfilling independent life in their community.
“Our school model focuses on advanced technology, economic development, bi-lingual education, spiritual development and community service. The focus of our educational program is to provide early intervention, quality education, and spiritual development, as well as improve the lives of orphans and children at risk of becoming orphans.”
If you want to get involved with Orphan Outreach, consider donating a school backpack to an orphan who lives in Guatemala, Honduras, India, or Russia.
Forever Families Foundationwww.foreverfamiliesfoundation.com (website coming soon)
A not-for-profit, 501C3 organization dedicated to bringing orphan awareness and education to the body of Christ in Northwest Arkansas. Director Joetta Schork writes:
“We welcome opportunities to speak to church groups, civic organizations, and anyone wanting to learn how to become involved in Adoption, Foster Care or Orphan Ministry.
Warm Blankets Orphan Care Internationalwww.warmblankets.org/
Craig Muller, co-founder of this non-profit Christian mission, writes:
“With 140 homes on three continents, we are focused on restoring the childhood on the lives of orphans.” The ministry serves as a means to help indigenous villagers care for orphans in their own countries.
They work in partnership with churches, corporations, organizations and individuals who have a passion to help needy, parentless children. They use everything from cellular systems to satellites in coordinating efforts to rescue orphans from extremely remote and often life-threatening situations.
World Orphans http://www.worldorphans.org/Abandoned-Orphaned Blog 1-888-ORPHANS
World Orphans is committed to rescuing millions of orphaned and abandoned children, the strengthening of thousands of indigenous churches, and the impacting of hundreds of communities with the Gospel of Jesus Christ…through the cost-effective empowerment of church-based orphan prevention, rescue, care and transition programs in the least reached areas of the world.
Paul Myhill, President of World Orphans, writes:
“We have funded over 500 projects in almost 50 countries in the developing world. The majority of these projects have involved the building and running of family-style homes for orphans, built on the property of indigenous churches.”
More orphan care organizations coming in the next post! If you’d like your orphan care organization featured this week, please e-mail me a brief description.

Ukraine Adoption...Bringing Dennis Home

2008-06-27T04:08:00.000-07:00

This family is currently in the Ukraine to bring home their new son Dennis. These are amazing parents who have adopted a large number of children and have formed a beautiful and loving family. Their travel blog is The Ukraine Train

Spending time in Kramatorsk

Had to post this picture to let all of you know that John finally got his milk last night. Let me tell you---- he enjoyed his bowl of cereal.

We are loving our time in Ukraine in general. We have been surrounded by some of the most wonderful people and we can't say anything negative about our experience thus far. I personally feel like I couldn't be in better hands with our in-country facilitator. She is amazing, down to earth, and while our relationship is probably supposed to be more on a professional level, I've enjoyed getting to know her on a more personal level. I know that I will miss everyone here once we leave. Last night we sat up quite late drinking homemade Coffee Americana with the owner of the apartment as her son set up high-speed internet for us, our facilitator, and our driver. I was in good company.

Last night, the owner heard that all of the water would be shut off for a couple of days and so she prepared by filling every empty bottle and pot in her home. John doubted such a thing would happen but just as I finished taking my shower at nearly midnight last night, the water did get shut off! And has only been on a brief amount of time in the early morning since last night. Thankfully, we have the water in the pots.

Here is a view outside of our apartment window. Very nice.

I think Dennis would enjoy watching the birds feed. Someone was here spending time with the birds yesterday evening. Reminded me of the episode of Hey Arnold (a kids cartoon) where there is a pigeon man.

Around 8:45 this morning, we were off to visit Dennis. Today we had a driver since we had to go to the notary between visits, but tomorrow we will walk to and from the orphanage.

When we got to the orphanage to visit, we had to make sure that at least one of us checked in by signing a book. Then we were allowed to go to Dennis' room.

They brought him to us all fresh and smiling with his hair combed back............. a stark contrast from yesterday's first meeting. I really got the sense he remembered us. His outfit, although still an orphanage outfit was adorable. His pants were pulled up to his chest....... but on him his outfit looked so cute.

I know you guys are probably waiting for a picture of his sweet smile----but neener-neener- neener you'll have to wait till after court per Ukrainian law. We are hoping that that may be as soon as early next week!

Have I told you just how smart Dennis is? At first he was holding and drinking from the water bottle that John had given to him. Once he saw me get out the little cow and sit it on his lap Dennis quickly chucked his beloved water bottle on the floor since he thought he was now getting something better. :) Very typical for a small child. :)

Here is a picture of him crinkling up the photo page I was telling you about yesterday. I'm not sure if you can tell, but his hands are so petite and just beautiful. On his right hand he does have some redness that the orphanage doctor says is from him gnawing on his hand and finger but thankfully it is looking a little better today. Yeah!

Dennis loves to wrap his little fingers around ours-----especially to pull himself up.

Not long after we started visiting with Dennis we were asked if we wanted to take Dennis outside to watch a program that the orphanage was doing for the kids. Of course we said yes....... who would want to miss that?

Here they are instructing the kids about an obstacle course they will be doing-----kind of like a gymnastic event------baby style. I must say that the kids are very well taken care of here. The orphanage staff do a tremendous job of caring for each of these children.

Near the end of the program everyone got up and danced, including John. They also danced to "I wanna be a chicken." It was so cute to watch the children move around.

Within minutes of the program starting, a doctor came to take Dennis to get a full medical report on him. It was nice to see things moving along so quickly with our process.

Though we were free to go, we asked to stick around to play with the children. It was wonderful playing with all of them. This frog that wanted to kiss and eat their noses kept their attention for a very long time. A few children I could tell had FAS-----but their personality was such that I wish I could take them all home. But honestly that wouldn't be fair to Dennis at this time because he needs our full attention as do our other children at home---which being surrounded by these children made us also miss. We miss you Adam, Caleb, Rachel, Julia, Annalyn, Sveta, Anna, William, Andrew, and Jonny! So instead, I will be coming home looking for families for all of these children, so start spreading the word. :)

We asked the children if they wanted to put the puppet frog on their hand. Only this little girl was brave enough to give it a try.

While waiting for our facilitator to get back from the notary, we went for a walk around the orphanage and surrounding area.

Here is whimsical piece of art on the orphanage wall near the front door.

These look like a long strip of garages separate from the tall apartment buildings behind us. Kind of like a mini storage unit back in California.

This road was made of dirt and led to somewhere beautiful.... I imagine. Can't say for sure because we didn't have time to explore. Maybe tomorrow.

Not too long after this, we said goodbye until 4:00 PM and headed off to have lunch.

We took out our driver and facilitator for lunch----- a very small token to show our appreciation for all that they have done for us. We had a delicious lunch----- I had a garden salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, and dill, later followed by quail lapsha with hard boiled quail eggs and chunks of quail meat. Very tasty. John had Trout shashlick and vegetable rice which was also very tasty.

After lunch we headed to the notary to sign documents and after we visited a park across the street.

In the middle of the park was this fountain surrounded by water. It was fun to watch three children running in the water. If we lived here, there would have been thirteen in the water. :)

Since it is about time to go and visit Dennis again, I will say goodbye for now. But I will leave you with one last picture of......... a Ukraine bus.

Welcome Elizabeth!...A China Adoption Journey

2008-06-25T04:02:00.000-07:00

This family is currently in china and invites to you follow them on their journey. Their travel blog is 'Elizabeth 's Travel Blog'.

Group Shot at the Teng Wang Pavillion

Daddy, Ella & Toby by the Gan River

Katie and a car just her size!

Look who is getting stronger everyday!

Traditional Chinese show on the top floor of the TWP

Madison, Mama and her girls watch the show

High above the Gan River on the sixth floor of the TWP

This little boy's family was quite insistent

Mama & her kids with the Mama Lion

Our girls playing together after their naps

Day 3 - Teng Wang Pavillion

June 25, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM/GRANDMA!!!!

Wow, I have so much to report. First, though, let me thank each of you for your patience. I know (because I've done so myself for years) that you anxiously check for updates and might be disappointed when there is nothing new to see and read. Let me tell you, that it's hard to carve out computer time when you've got two little ones who require lots and lots of attention -- not to mention when you're borrowing a computer!

So today, we thought we would be able to sleep in, as we weren't supposed to meet to tour the Teng Wang Pavillion until 10:00. However, someone not too far from our hotel decided to shoot off some major fireworks at 6:00 AM (yes, 6:00 AM -- and they went on for several minutes). They were kind of pretty (Daddy got some video) and when we asked our guide, Karen, why in the world someone would shoot off major fireworks at 6:00 in the morning, she said it would either be because someone got married or because someone died (she thought someone probably died)

Back to the TWP, it is, according to guide Karen, the only place in Nanchang that the tourists must see (actually, she said it is the only place in Nanchang that is worth seeing). It is a AAAA attraction in China. It's gorgeous and very impressive -- both the buildings and the grounds. We walked around outside before going up to the top floor for a Traditional Chinese variety show. Fortunately, there was an elevator so we didn't have to climb all the way to the top with the babies. We did, however, take the stairs down.

The Teng Wang Pavillion was built by one of the Emperor's sons. He enjoyed living the good life, and built it as a place to party.

Once back on the ground, we enjoyed feeding the ravenous goldfish in the ponds, and for 1Y (about 15 cents) we bought a bag of fish food and let Katie feed them. The video Dad shot would amuse you -- it certainly amused Katie, who screamed with delight every time the hundreds of goldfish (really, Koi) tried to out maneuver each other for the morsels. The boys often got splashed by the aggressive fish.

Both girls fell asleep either at the Pavillion or in the van on the way back to the hotel. After the nap, the girls played for a while before Dad, the boys and Katie went to the swimming pool with Gary and his girls, and sweet Ella and I spent some alone time together. During that time, I was able to see her sweet personality emerging. She definitely has a glint of mischeviousness in her eye, I think she's going to be a handful! She did bite into a rice cake type cracker, and used her broken front teeth to do so. That was a huge relief, as we thought she might have cracked them and couldn't use them because they hurt her. She attacked that cracker, so it couldn't have hurt too much.

In other Ella news, she's beginning to walk a little bit, holding on to hands, of course, and very unsteadily. She has no strength at all in her legs, but she will get lots of opportunities to use her legs each and every day. She's already done a couple of laps around our halls and through the "open space" where the babies are able to play.
And, for those who are adoptive parents, we were thrilled to be able to change a smelly diaper today -- yippee!

In Katie news, she's doing well, but gets frustrated at times, of course. She definitely gets jealous when she wants Mommy and Mommy is holding Ella. Of course, Ella gets jealous right back when Mommy is holding Katie. Often, I end up holding both of them at the same time. Last night at dinner, Katie asked for "Rice Syrup" and it took us a moment to realize she was really asking for Soy Sauce.

Okay, enough for now, I've got some kiddos to play with. We have no big plans for the rest of the day, but I think we'll go outside and explore some. Tomorrow we go outside of Nanchang and visit the countryside.

We love the comments, thanks so much! Enjoy the pictures -- if you click on one, it will enlarge and you can view them all (with comments in slideshow format).

The Starfish Foster Home in Xian China

2008-06-23T06:01:00.000-07:00

Amanda's Story...The Beginning of Starfish

Tonight I had the privilege of talking to Amanda and I asked her how she started the Starfish Foster Home. She sent me this article that she wrote.

IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING

What would you do if a dream that seemed absolutely impossible suddenly came true with hardly any effort on your part? Your life as you know it will forever be altered and if you were to make this commitment it will be a decision that will commandeer the rest of the time that you are alive.My impossible dream: Opening an orphanage in China. I had never considered that there was even the remotest possibility that as a foreigner, I would be granted permission to start. A casual conversation on the way home from the government orphanage, where I had been volunteering for the past six months, turned into the stunning news four days later that I could go ahead. Where were the piles of paperwork, the months of waiting and the endless visits to government offices? What had happened to the famous slow grind of bureaucracy? The speed at which this took place scared me and it took me a while to come to terms with what it all meant. A few months earlier I had asked to become a foster parent and was turned down flat. Now I was offered as many babies as I could handle. What a paradigm shift!If I was a logical woman I would have made a run for it. I was about to accept a lucrative job offer in Korea which included a two year Masters degree. My heart, however, could not pass up this chance to make a difference in the life of a child. I threw all caution to the wind and without much preparation, I forged ahead. There was no time for very careful budgeting, cost analysis or professional looking grant proposals to philanthropic organizations. I was not going to let some small, tiny, insignificant detail like money stop me from passing up this golden opportunity, so I delved into my savings account. Tom Brokaw once said something along the lines of: Making money is easy, but making a difference is decidedly more difficult.So here I am almost a month after the arrival of the babies, five girls and a boy. As you can well imagine the morning of Sept 13, 2005 was filled with much emotion. The learning curve has been steep, the experience exhausting and the benefits truly inspiring. Nothing compares with the fact that three of the girls, who were malnourished, underweight and expected to die, have had their lives saved. Not only that, but that they are thriving.I am looking forward to our first adoption, which is going to be a bittersweet experience. I clearly understand my purpose in all of this. I am to be a provider, protector, defender and a record keeper for these defenseless children. I am to prepare them to be placed in the arms of a new mom and a dad. I hope that in the future, they will know that during this time of rejection and abandonment, they were also wanted, cared for and loved by many people who have put forth so much effort on their behalf. I think about meeting them years from now, knowing that they have grown up healthy, happy and have been blessed by love.As I sit here at 3:55am, everyone is asleep which makes it a perfect time to write down some thoughts. I keep watch over them, accompanied by baby sounds: The snores, grunts, groans, sucking noises and the occasional cough.I have become bolder in my dreams of the impossible and my expectations have been raised considerably. I dream of hundreds of children in a bi-lingual environment, family style housing, a school, an army of local and international volunteers and teachers, medical care, a website, a foundation and first rate special education facilities. I still harbor one huge secret dream, which I will continue to keep close to my heart. Maybe one of these days I will tell you that this too, has come true. I often see the slogan on billboards around China and I now know that it is true: Impossible is nothing.I am off to the mundane tasks of having a baby, multiplied by six. The 24-hour-on-demand-bottle-delivery system, the never ending diapers and the mountains of laundry…..

Amanda de Lange

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO THE STARFISH FOSTER HOME, THERE IS A LINK ON THE SIDEBAR. THE FACILITY RUNS ENTIRELY FROM DONATIONS. TRULY, AMANDA IS THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL PERSON I HAVE MET IN MY LIFE. SHE REACHES OUT TO THE MOST NEEDY CHILDREN WHO MAY NOT SURVIVE IN THE TRADITIONAL ORPHANAGES AND SHE CAMPAIGNS TO RAISE MONEY TO PAY FOR THEIR SURGERIES. SHE PERSONALLY TAKES THEM TO SPECIALISTS ALL OVER CHINA TO TREAT THEIR SPECIAL NEEDS. SHE SPENDS MONTHS IN HOSPITALS. HER BLOG IS 'CHINESE STARFISH'. ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THESE CHILDREN, PLEASE GIVE WHAT YOU CAN.

Adopting Family Favorites...from China

2008-06-21T05:14:00.001-07:00

This post is taken from Ashley's blog 'The Butterfly Princess & Little Miss Ladybug'

Favorites from China

With so many families still waiting for their referrals from China, including one good friend, I thought I would share some highlights from both of my trips. In 2003, I traveled to Guangxi Province, staying in Nanning and Guilin, to adopt my first baby girl. The trip was magical. We flew into Hong Kong and toured the magnificant city one day, and then took another plane to Nanning, where are babies were waiting for us. We spent a few days in Nanning, finalizing the adoption, and then traveled by bus to Guilin, the birthplace of Big Sister. Guilin was incredibly beautiful.

Last May (2007), I traveled again to China to adopt my second baby, beginning my trip once again in Hong Kong. My best friend and I decided to leave a few days early so that we could further explore Hong Kong. She loves jade and enjoyed visiting some of the jewelry stores in the city. I especially enjoyed touring Po Lin Monestary on Lantau Island. It was lovely. Unlike the first trip in 2003, our travel group only went from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, giving us two full weeks at the White Swan and plenty of time to shop.

Here are a few highlights from each of my trips. I hope my readers enjoy them.

FAVORITE SPOT #1 (Guilin countryside in Guangxi Province, birthplace of Big Sister.)

FAVORITE SPOT #2 (Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island in Hong Kong). You can get there by car or cable. If you are afraid of heights, I don't recommend the cable because the cars are very small and they travel very high up in the mountain. We opted for the taxi which was a harrowing experience too with drivers who speed like lightening through the winding roads. Once we got there, we were happy to have made the journey, but we looked for an older, calmer driver for the way back down.

BEST LUNCH CHOICE #1: (If you are craving American food, try the club sandwich and French fries from the White Swan Hotel cafe. If you don't mind a little hard-boiled egg on your sandwich, it is delicious! You can sit by the pool if the weather is nice and order it there too.)

BEST LUNCH CHOICE #2: (From the Po Lin Monastery in Hong Kong, my traveling companion and I enjoyed a delicious vegetarian meal of fresh steamed vegetables, mushroom soup, and spring rolls. The spring rolls were some of the best I have ever had.)

FAVORITE FINDS FOR CHILDREN:

SQUEAKY SHOES (They come in every color and are extremely cheap so buy as many as you can. They make great gifts for friends too!)

Hello Kitty Utensil Sets (includes chopsticks)

FAVORITE FINDS FOR ADULTS:

(PEARL FACTORY) - Guangzhou has many pearl factories where they will hand string beautiful pearl necklaces, bracelets and earrings while you wait, all reasonably priced.

Japanese wooden dolls

BEST MOMENT:

Gotcha Day (February 11, 2003 with my ex-husband)

Adoption Day: (May 16, 2007)

A Family Enriched...Ukraine Adoption Article from The Bulletin

2008-06-19T03:38:00.000-07:00

Erin Kerley, center, plays with Simon, 4, and Sarah, 23 months — orphans adopted from Ukraine — as their new sister, Bethany, 6, looks on at Townshend’s Tea House in Bend. The challenges of adoption, the expanded Kerley family is discovering, are far from over, and Erin is finding her three children constantly fighting for attention.

Photos by Melissa Jansson / The Bulletin

New language, new culture, new family

Going overseas to adopt Simon and Sarah, who were adopted from Ukraine, have lived in Bend for just 10 weeks. For them — and for their new big sister, Bethany — adjusting has often been overwhelming.

By Sheila G. Miller / The Bulletin Published: June 15. 2008 4:00AM PST

Adopting from Ukraine is not easy.
The adoption authorities require everything from a home study and a copy of criminal records to medical information and proof of income. The Kerleys had to travel to Salem at least six times to ensure their paperwork was in order.
Adoptions are overseen by a part of Ukraine’s Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports called the State Department for Adoptions and Protection of Rights of the Child.
According to the U.S. State Department, during the fiscal year 2007, 606 immigrant visas were issued to Ukrainian orphans. That’s significantly fewer than China, which had 5,453 children adopted in 2007. Many more children are adopted from Guatemala, Russia and Ethiopia.
Parents register with the Ukraine department, and once their application is approved, they receive an appointment to come to the department in Ukraine and see information about available orphans.
But just to get to that point proved difficult for the Kerleys.
Throughout most of 2006 and into 2007, Ukraine cut off all international adoptions as it altered the adoption infrastructure.
In February, Rob, Erin and Bethany finally boarded a plane to Ukraine, with an appointment at the state department in Kiev. They were placed in an apartment and three days later met with adoption officials.
They were allowed to see two dossiers containing information on available children.
“The dossiers had pictures, but it was all in Cyrillic (the Russian alphabet),” Rob said. “You either accept or reject. You have about 15 minutes to decide.”
Nevertheless, the Kerleys took a chance on Simon and Sarah, and 10 days later they were on their way to the Antoshka Orphanage, a 12-hour train ride away in Kramatorsk.
After the visits, parents choose whether to adopt the children. Then a court date is set, and a judge decides whether to allow the adoption. Once final, there is a 10-day waiting period.
— Sheila G. Miller

On Thursday, the Kerley household, like most family homes, was abuzz with work and play.

Erin Kerley, 32, cleaned the bathroom, while her husband, Rob Kerley, 33, tried to keep the children out of her way.

Rob twirled Sarah, 23 months, through the air and 4-year-old Simon tried to help his mother by sweeping the dining room and kitchen floors. Across the street, 6-year-old Bethany doted on a neighbor, helping her with chores.

The in-laws were coming to town, and there was work to be done.

But the Kerleys aren’t just any family.

Until 2½ months ago, Erin, Rob and Bethany lived quietly in their craftsman home on the east side of Bend. Now they’re in the midst of the challenge of a lifetime. After 3½ years of paperwork, squabbling and travel, the family has adopted Simon and Sarah, Ukrainian orphans. And now the hard work of helping the kids feel safe and welcome in Bend is just beginning.

Erin first knew she wanted to adopt a child in late 2004.

“It’s a God thing,” she said.

It started at the gym, where she ended up watching a show about adopted children. Next she came across a magazine article about adoption. Another day, she turned on the radio and a segment was playing about adoption.

It was all around her.

“It sounds like a long string of coincidences,” she said. “But you step back and say there’s no way that many things are a coincidence.”

The Kerleys decided to adopt through America World, a Christian organization that processes adoptions. They felt called to adopt from Ukraine, where many children are in orphanages because of intense poverty.

Once Erin and Rob decided to adopt, they realized just how hard it would be. But they persisted.

After years of tribulations that included paperwork glitches and a government shutdown on adoption, the family headed for Ukraine.

“We felt like, these kids are ours, and they’re not here,” Erin said. “The year (the country) closed down, we thought we’d switch to China. We prayed about it. But Ukraine is where they were.”

The Kerleys traveled nearly 6,000 miles to Ukraine in February with an eye toward adopting at least one child. When they arrived at Antoshka Orphanage in Kramatorsk, Erin said it looked like a typical former Soviet orphanage, with bare walls and an institutional feel. Ukraine was part of the former Soviet Union.

The children at the orphanage were separated by age group, with the infants all in one area.

“There were quadrants of beds, with a dirty blanket and a pillow,” Erin said. “Then there was a main room where they ate, mostly soup and bread. Most of their life took place in the great room.”

Both the children were small, at less than the fifth percentile of the growth chart for both height and weight, meaning they lagged behind 95 percent of children. Sarah, now nearly 2, was tiny. She didn’t speak, and she didn’t cry.

“She would smile, but it was fake,” Erin said. “It was more like playing with a doll.”

The kids couldn’t be taken from the orphanage, so each day Erin, Rob and Bethany would arrive at 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. for 112- hour visits.

After visiting with the child, parents can decide to move forward with the adoption. If all is in order, a judge then grants the parents custody at a court hearing. But because of a hang-up in Sarah’s paperwork, the court hearing and adoption finalization were delayed for weeks.

Bethany, whose brown hair and eyes matched Simon’s and Sarah’s, had been keeping up with schoolwork by using education software. But during the trip, she was stricken by the Ukrainian flu and nearly died. After eight weeks in Ukraine, Bethany and Rob returned to the U.S. so Rob could get back to work and Bethany could return to school.

To help out, Erin’s mother, Mary Davis, of Bend, made the trip from Bend to Kramatorsk in early April.

Davis described the orphanage as bleak.

“They’re doing the best they can with what they have, and they don’t have a great deal,” she said. “To me it looked like the 1950s, and it looked like all the pictures out of Russia from the 1950s.”

Davis said Simon was still a little unsure of his new family, but that Sarah was accepting of the attention.

“The first time I saw her, my heart just jumped in my throat. I was so happy,” Davis said. “I was kissing the back of her hand, and she would hold it up to kiss it.”

Finally, it was time for the court hearing. Passports were issued for the children, and then, after much haranguing and 11 weeks in Ukraine, the adoption was finalized. Erin was going home with two new children.

When the four finally boarded a plane in Kiev on April 5, they faced 27 hours of travel.

The group traveled from Kiev to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, then to Portland.

“It was hairy,” Davis said.

When they touched down in New York City, Simon and Sarah were U.S. citizens.

Getting comfortable

Just because Simon and Sarah had arrived in Bend didn’t mean the hard part was over.

The Kerleys had expected to spend about $25,000 in the entire adoption process. But all told, the Kerleys estimate that adopting two children and spending 11 weeks out of the country cost them more than $50,000.

To handle the burden, Rob now works mornings at UPS sorting packages. That provides him with benefits and allows him to spend the rest of the day doing what he loves, custom home design for Lasting Traditions, which he owns. But work in some ways had to take a back seat.

The newness was overwhelm- ing.

Simon and Sarah, who share the same biological mother, have dark brown eyes and hair, smooth skin and big smiles. But those smiles weren’t always evident, especially in the first days.

Simon had never seen a dog before, so the Kerley’s dog, Barky, terrified him. That wasn’t the worst part, though. In the orphanage, Erin said, he was only allowed to use the bathroom twice each day. So he would wait and wait, often urinating in his pants. He also went through a phase where he bit and scratched Erin. Her arms bear the scars to prove it.

“Simon had been handled, not raised,” Rob said.

When he got a treat, like a cookie or a toy, he’d hide it under his legs, as he’d done in the orphanage to keep other kids from taking it. And Simon never seemed to rest, instead choosing to pace back and forth or run around with a toy.

Sarah handled things differently. At first, she didn’t cry at all. Then she began crying all the time, even crying herself to sleep for a while. Because she’d been treated like a baby, even as she neared age 2, she didn’t know how to feed herself or walk. Her only form of communication seemed to be tantrums on the floor, screaming at the top of her lungs.

When she sat down to eat, she would polish off adult-size portions. Sometimes she’d eat until she threw up.

Many of the families the Kerleys have been in touch with about adopting read books about what to expect from adopted children, as well as books about attachment disorders, when children struggle to form relationships with their adoptive parents because of past traumas. Erin didn’t read the books. One day, she flipped through them but was frustrated by the chapters about self-esteem and cultural differences. They didn’t really relate to what she was going through.

“It was like, respect the homeland, which is nice,” Erin said. “But I’m trying to get him not to pee his pants on purpose, to get him not to bite me.”

Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute in Boston, said these sorts of behaviors are common in adopted children.

“There’s a lot of adjusting they have to do. It’s going to take sometimes months and sometimes years,” Pertman said. “These aren’t infants who don’t know anything. These are human beings who have had life experience already, and it can be tough.”

It’s not just getting used to a new language and a new culture. They also must face new relationships.

“You cannot live in an orphanage and not be affected by it. Those are not ideal circumstances,” Pertman said. “So these are kids who are trying to make a major adjustment in their lives, carrying some real loads on their backs to do it.”

But Pertman said most children show progress quickly, like Sarah and Simon have, although some will have serious attachment issues.

“What I can say generically is that you can’t expect them to experience orphanage life and not be affected,” Pertman said. “The likelihood, the common eventuality, is that they’re going to be good and fine, and everybody will be a beneficiary.”

It wasn’t just Sarah and Simon going through big changes. Bethany also struggled to deal with her new brother and sister.

She was jealous and started needing more attention, asking for more stuff at the grocery store and vying for time alone with her mom and dad.

“It’s like the princess dethroned in a coup,” Erin said, laughing. “She either loves them, or she can’t wait for them to go home.”

Bethany had a harder time with Simon, Erin said, because he didn’t always do what she said.

“She had periods of extreme jealousy,” Rob said. “But she is inherently mature and capable. She’s far better than most 5- or 6-year-olds.”’

Improvements across the board

Now that the children have been living in Bend for 212 months, the changes are clear. Many of the changes came naturally. Erin and Rob have worked hard to treat the adopted children just as they would Bethany, to have strong, clear expectations of them. Erin makes each of the children put away their own laundry; Rob refuses to make Simon a special meal just because he doesn’t like something.

And they shower the kids constantly with positive praise, hugs and kisses. They’re making it clear they’re not going to abandon the children.

On Tuesday, Sarah will turn 2. Just four months ago, she was teetering around, taking her first steps. Now, she’s running, learning to climb steps, and perhaps most importantly for the family, she’s started being friendly.

Much of the change is evident in Sarah. She’s growing like a weed, has learned to stop eating when she gets full and she’s showing more personality.

“Before she was more of a mouth,” Rob said, someone who just ate and cried. “Now she has more of a distinct personality. She has expressions. And there’s more of a range of emotions than just being upset. She’s generally happy.”

Erin said when Sarah first arrived home, she was “outraged” that she was expected to learn how to walk and feed herself, and try new things. Now she’s accepted it, drinking out of a sippy cup and trying to speak. On Thursday, she climbed over the step leading into the house, giggled when Rob lifted her, and smiled at her sister and brother.

“It was better than I’d expected,” Rob said. “They’re both very healthy, which is essentially an impossible thing. They’re both healthy and smart, and they’re adapting.”

Simon has also caught on quickly. He understands English, and is speaking in four- and five-word sentences.

He’s started eating more, after struggling with foods that weren’t served at room temperatures or that had flavors. The first time he tried ice cream, he spit it out.

Now, though, Simon is testing authority.

“He’s convinced he’s the boss,” Erin said. “He’s trying to pit Rob and I against each other, kissing and hugging one of us and ignoring the other one.”

Once, he ran away from Erin in the parking lot, and she told a friend how upset it made her, and how she thought it was that he’d never interacted with cars in Ukraine. The friend told her she’d had the same experience with her son. Trying to distinguish between little-boy behavior and orphan behavior, the couple said, is one of the challenges.

And Bethany, too, is accepting the changes.

“She’s doing better. She’s accepted Simon as a brother rather than as a regretful roommate,” Erin said. “She doesn’t talk to us about sending them back as often.”

It’s hard when you’ve been the center of the universe, just like every firstborn child,” Davis said. “She is working very hard. If Simon hurts himself, she runs to comfort him. Learning to share has been a little difficult.”

Davis said she knew Bethany was really making strides when one day recently she asked to talk to Simon on the phone.

“She’s doing big-sister stuff,” Davis said.

The Kerleys say they’ve had plenty of help to make the transition more smooth. Their friends at Eastmont Church threw them a shower. And Mary and Jim Davis, Erin’s parents, have helped out as well.

On Thursday, Bethany celebrated her last day of kindergarten and spent time lounging on the lawn with Simon. Next year, the family hopes Simon will be ready for pre-kindergarten classes. To prepare him, he’ll attend some summer classes at Eastmont Community School. He’s excited to go to school and hopefully help him improve his English.

Still, the challenges aren’t over.

“Yesterday, there was a struggle for attention. One of the kids jumped on my lap, and the other two were fighting for it. So I had to switch every few minutes,” Erin said Thursday.

To Rob, the kids’ history in the orphanage doesn’t mean a get-out-of-jail-free card.

“Life isn’t going to hand something to you because you’re an orphan,” he said. “He’s not going to get a half-point off his mortgage.

“We can’t change their past. We can only go forward from here.”

Wonderful NY Times Story About A Little Girl Adopted From Russia

2008-06-17T05:26:00.000-07:00

Beauty in a Parent’s Eyes, and in the Face of a Child

By JOSEPH BERGER
Published: June 15, 2008
WOODBURY
Wendy Carlson for The New York Times

Milana Jaffin, 5, of Russia, with her adoptive mother, Liz, in Woodbury. Milana’s birthmark is called a hemangioma.

MILANA Jaffin has staked out her territory in her adopted land.

A year ago, this 5-year-old with dark eyes and an ebony pageboy was living in a Russian orphanage, destined to spend her childhood in such institutions because of a disfiguring facial birthmark. Now she lives with Liz and David Jaffin in an antiques-filled 1850s Cape in this vintage New England town and has her run of the place.
“You want to see my room?” Milana asked a visitor. She clambered up the stairs, visitor and mother in tow, and announced, “That’s my room and that’s our kitty.”
Her kitty, a brindle named Gypsy, lay napping on the bed. “Scratch her head!” Milana urged. She clicked on her pink CD player, declaring, “That’s my music,” and strummed along with a toy guitar she got from Santa.
Milana is a frisky child who quickly charms people who meet her, even as they cannot help but notice her striking blemish. Milana was born with what is medically called a hemangioma on the right side of her face. It has grown to fist size and virtually blinded her right eye. She has had two operations so far to reconstruct her face, with another to follow in July to build up her eye socket so that she can simply blink.
Yet, with the hurdles they knew lay ahead, Liz and David Jaffin sought Milana out as the child they wanted to adopt. “Her picture immediately touched our hearts, and since then we have been waiting eagerly for the day that she becomes our daughter,” Ms. Jaffin, 47, a British-born occupational therapist, wrote the Russian judge who eventually approved the adoption.
Most families who undertake adoption make inquiries to assure themselves that the child is, as the song goes, as normal as blueberry pie. But there are couples like the Jaffins who cannot resist a particular child and take on the handicaps as well.
Happy Families International, an adoption agency in Cold Spring, N.Y., that handles 60 adoptions a year, not only handled Milana’s adoption, but also arranged last year for a Dallas couple to adopt Sasha D’Jamoos, a 15-year-old without legs, from a Russian orphanage. The couple paid to have Sasha fitted with prosthetic legs and trained in their use. He is now skiing.
“I always believe that there is a personal aspect,” said Dr. Natasha Shaginian-Needham, the agency’s executive director. “When you see a child like Milana in the orphanage, your heart is broken. This child definitely does not have a chance to have a normal life. The potential parents open their hearts and soul.”
The Jaffins, who married in 2005 when Ms. Jaffin was in her mid-40s and her husband was past 50, were too old to qualify for adoption through most agencies that handle American children, so they searched overseas. Along the way — through friends who attend a local Catholic church whose priest had a parishioner working for an organization that brings disabled children to the United States for medical care — the Jaffins heard Milana’s story and eventually saw her photograph.
“My husband looked at a picture of her and said, ‘She looks just like you.’ ” Ms. Jaffin recalled. “We both have short dark hair.”
At that point, Milana’s hemangioma obscured much of her face, but the Jaffins concentrated on what she could look like with surgery by world-class experts like Dr. Milton Waner in Manhattan.
“We wanted to adopt a child because we wanted to be parents,” said Ms. Jaffin. “You can’t separate the fact that we would be helping her, but we didn’t adopt her because we wanted to help some child.”
In December 2006, Liz Jaffin, armed with Russian lessons and a thick coat, flew to Moscow and drove six hours to the city of Kostroma. Milana, who had been abandoned by her mother shortly after birth, was brought out dressed in a velvet dress that the orphanage issued to any child meeting prospective parents.
After one tight hug, Ms. Jaffin fell in love. Ms. Jaffin showed Milana photographs of the bedroom she would live in and of the family’s black Labrador, Hugger. A half year later, in May 2007, she returned with Mr. Jaffin, 54, the chief operating officer of a Manhattan financial company, and they claimed Milana.
“All of a sudden, we had this wham-bam 4-year-old full of personality living in our house,” said Ms. Jaffin.
At first there were more than a few temper tantrums, partly because Milana had to deal with parents whose Russian was good enough to say, “How do I find my way to Red Square,” but was not always good enough to decipher a child’s desires.
Before she put Milana in preschool, Ms. Jaffin made sure to show the children there a photograph and tell them that Milana’s deformity did not hurt her and that they could not catch it. Now, Ms. Jaffin said, Milana has play dates and goes to birthday parties and has two favorite boyfriends, Quinn and Christopher.
Milana calls the growth on her face a bump. It is smaller and flatter after surgery, but Milana can still be a startling sight on the street, and small children are not always tactful.
“What’s wrong with her face, Ma?” Ms. Jaffin has heard a girl say, or convey the same feeling obliquely by hiding behind a mother’s legs.
But when friends and relatives have gotten to know her, they, too, have fallen in love. “She’s got such a personality you forget about the hemangioma,” Ms. Jaffin said.

A Small Miracle...Adopted from Africa

2008-06-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

This post comes from the blog of a dear family. They have just adopted a little girl from Malawi Africa, here is their story. www.johnsonangels.blogspot.com

Savannah-Hope was found on September 1, 2007. She was just 4 days short of 4 months old. Savannah-Hope was living with her mother who was gravely ill. She weighed only 4 pounds. She was wrapped in rags and in a very fragile medical state.

On September 4, 2007 Savannah-Hope was relinquished by her birth family and.....

...was brought to the Good Samaritan Children's Home in Maponga Malawi.
The Children's Home is run by Baptist Missionary Gardiner Gentry.

The Children's Home is directed by a Malawian woman named Thandie. Thandie personally oversaw the care of Savannah-Hope. Savannah-Hope also had a full time nanny named Violet who lived next door to Thandie in the staff quarters.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Earth, we started the immigration process to bring Savannah-Hope home. It was a much longer and bumpier journey than we had originally thought. Both in the U.S. and in Malawi. I won't go into it here, but the adoption process was a complete leap of faith. I have no doubt that Savannah-Hope's adoption was orchestrated by God.

On November 11, 2007, Savannah-Hope's mother died. We were saddened by the loss, but rejoiced that she made a profession of faith and had accepted Jesus as her personal savior.

On March 4, 2008 exactly 6 months to the day Savannah-Hope was found, we received approval from the United States Homeland Security to adopt her.

On March 17, 2008, I kissed my husband and 4 other children good-bye and headed off for what I thought was a 19 day trip to pick up our sweet Savannah-Hope.

Gotcha! On March 18, 2008 I was able to finally scoop my sweet Savannah-Hope into my arms.

Adoption Day! Savannah-Hope officially became a Johnson on March 20, 2008. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside the Court room, but this picture was taken just after the hearing.

On March 24, 2008 I went to Savannah-Hope's home village. I was able to see the house that she lived in with her mother and maternal grandmother. I was able to meet her twin sisters Sidala and Tamandani and her brother Jameson. In the picture above, Savannah's paternal uncle is holding Tamandani. I am holding Sidala, Thandie is holding Savannah-Hope and Jameson is standing in front of Thandie. This was an extremely emotional visit. To read more about it click here.

On April 3rd, I received word that our U.S. Immigration paperwork was logged-in at the National Vista Center in the U.S.. Waiting for this to take place is what delayed my trip beyond the scheduled 19 days. Once this took place, the National Visa Center sent the approval to U.S. Embassy in Malawi. Then more waiting.....

Here is a picture of the U.S. Embassy in Malawi. Our paperwork arrived there on April 14th, but we weren't granted an appointment/interview until April 22nd. The interviews went well and we were issued Savannah-Hope's adoption visa the next day.

After 40 long days.....yes FORTY DAYS!!!....my amazing travel partner Mrs. Miller, Savannah-Hope and I boarded a plane headed to America.

FOREVER FAMILY DAY- April 26th, 2008

Thank you Lord for our sweet Savannah-Hope! We are truly blessed!

Adoption Attachment...When Something Just Isn't Right

2008-06-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

This is a post from the blog Day by Day. I want to thank Michelle for allowing me to post it. I think it is so important for adoptive parents to share their experiences.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Something is Not Right

Part 1

(This post is part of a string of posts that will tell the story of a little girl with RAD. Please scroll down and read the first post entitled "A hurt child and a family healing" and work your way up.)

One of my kids, came to me a little over a month ago and asked me why God was punishing our family with bringing Sophie to us? My child(who has a huge heart) wept as they told me they thought they must have done something wrong and God was punishing our family because of it. There is a reason for everything and Sophie felt like a punishment to this sweet child.

One of my kids experimented with smoking, because of the stress that Sophie created. Their words...not mine.

Two of my children asked me on several occasions why we adopted Sophie. Things were good before she came. Everyone was happy. Now look at our home. Again, their words.

Not easy stuff to read, is it? I can assure you it is not easy to write, either, but it has been the reality of our past year. I wanted to use it as a way to show you the impact a traumatized child can have upon a family. This little peanut that has a 3 inch waist. All 20 some pounds of her. While many kids enter a family with an "ooh" and " ahh".....Sophie entered our family with a "WHAM!!!!" While I spent the first year of Ella being home reading sweet stories such as "I Love You Like Crazycakes" and "Over the Moon", writing her lifebook and such - I have spent the first year of Sophie being home, just trying to keep my sanity!

Our newest child had been hurt and is traumatized and bringing that trauma into our home, caused our family to be in a state of trauma. Not many days passed without me wondering what we had done. Now, never once did I question God's decision to place Sophie in our family. He knew when she was knit in her BM's womb, who she would call her family. Us. But why, oh why, wasn't she getting better? He chose me for her to call "Mama", but why was I not able to feel like her Mama? He chose me to help her heal, but nothing I did was working. God, are you SURE I am up to this?? I am not doing such a good job, I am surely disappointing you. But You knew I would fail and You still chose me to be her Mama. God, why do you feel further away from me lately, when I need you so very much? I look up to you all day long, I talk to you constantly, but we are hurting...where are you, Father? I know you have plans for this child and all of our family...but I need help!

Finally, the window opened a crack just enough for me to get some air. I can assure you that this is exactly how it felt! God put me in the right place at the right time and introduced me to a program called "Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control". Now, being that I have a library full of DVD's and books on attachment and trauma, why was I feelings some hope for this new program that I knew only a little about?? Nothing else has worked, including weekly visits to a trauma therapist. I knew God was leading me to this.

When I was at the end of my rope, He let me know there was hope.

Many children come into families through adoption with little transition problems. I do not want to ever discourage prospective AP. But this was not the plan that God had for me. Both of our adoptions were placed on my heart by God and His perfect timing. But the adoption experience for the girls was as different as night and day. We were so excited as we prepared to travel for Ella. But, that excitement was not there as we planned to bring Sophie home. I could not figure out why this was. As a friend of mine believed to be the case for her, maybe this was God's way of preparing me for what was ahead of us?

I was prepared more than most when it comes to attachment issues and trauma. Ella had her share , and because of that, I had to learn as much as I could on how to help her heal. It took a good year, for her to be where she needed to be emotionally. Both hurt children. The difference....Ella made little tiny baby steps of progress. It was gradual, but it was there. Ella was a very easy child to love. Rage was not part of her every minute-every day. She showed her fear as fear and wanted to be held when she was frightened. I easily loved her while I waited for her to learn to love me. I waited a good year and could have easily waited a few more years for her to learn to love and trust.

When we traveled to China for Sophie, we knew something was not quite right with this tiny, malnourished little girl we named Sophie Fuwang. I remember going into the hotel's restroom and falling on my knees asking God to show me the smallest light in this child. Where was she? She was not with us. I later learned that her not being present with us is her survival tool called disocciation. She can mentally pull herself out of a situation like the flick of a switch, which she still does several times a day.

We brought her home and I had no idea what was going on with this child. I kind of sat back for a few weeks and observed her behaviors, so I could figure out where to turn for help. It was obvious that the sit back and wait approach was not going to work with her. Dave turned to me one day after being home for about a month - Sophie had run full speed into a wall and smacked her head really hard, throwing her a few feet and landing on the ground. (I) would have cried if that happened to me. Instead, she started laughing hysterically. This was the scene we saw every few minutes. Bumps, bruises, bleeding...and then hysterical laughing. High pain tolerance? No, It was more than that. Dave turned to me that one night and said something just isn't right, Michelle. And it wasn't.

To be continued......

China Adoption...Realtime

2008-06-11T03:53:00.000-07:00

Feature Blog: Journey to Baby Miracle

This family is currently in China to bring home their new son.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Forever Family Day...WE HAVE GRAEME!!!!!!

Graeme with his Nanny and the bear we sent in a care package.
Graeme is watching us and interacting but staying close to the Nanny.

A little while after the Nanny left, he is enjoying his cheerios.

Daddy has his hands full and is loving every minute of it!

Graeme is hanging onto his Daddy!

Mommy and Graeme, I have waited so long for this moment!

The Miracles...now a family of four!

Graeme at lunch...he loves noodles just like Lily

Lily Wen, proud Jie Jie (big sissy)

Lily sharing her Daddy's lap with her brother

Daddy, Graeme and Lily check out the fish!

This has been an amazing day. We have waited and anticipated for so long but nothing can prepare you for the emotions of the day. WE HAVE GRAEME! As I am typing, Wes, Lily and Graeme are attempting to nap. I think Wes is napping and Lily and Graeme are checking each other out! They are so cute.

About our day...we arrived at the Civil Affairs office in Hefei. We were told that the babies from Bengbu are usually late so we were not expecting to find him there. Our small group got seperated and as we were getting on the elevator, Andy met his son for the first time. Wyatt and his Nanny arrived at the elevator. It was a great moment. We rode up the elevator without our guide as she was trying to find the rest of our group. We wandered down the hall of the office and I looked in a conference room and there he was. You can forget formality this time. I got on the floor next to him and opened his backpack and gave him his cars which he clutched in his hand. Then, I started to feed him cheerios. He just ate and ate. The Nanny was trying to get him to sit with me but he was not going for it at all. After about 10 minutes, our guide told us that the nanny and director would leave and hand him to us and that he would probably cry.

They handed him to me and he was sooooo sad. It was heartbreaking as he cried. We walked into the hallway and he pushed away from me as I held him and tried to calm him. He let us walk him down the hall and then we realized he was headed for the door. He tried to go out the way he came in and we had another heartbreaking moment as we had to turn him away from the door. He calmed quickly with food and a sippy cup of water. We were trully amazed at how well he did this morning. He has let us both hold him but right now...he is a Daddy's boy (at least since we have been back to the hotel).

When we left the Civil Affairs office, I was holding him in the van and he quickly fell asleep on the ride back. Since then, he has been pretty quiet and taking it all in. Every now and then, he gets an intense look on his face. He has only cried once when I changed his diaper and then his clothes. He is too cool to be wearing a gray t-shirt, green camoflauge shorts and pink sandals with flowers. After the change, he has not cried once! He is not feeling well though so keep him in your prayers. The doctor just left and he has bronchitis and a low grade fever so we will start medicine tonight.

We were so pleased that the orphanage director sent him in a shirt we had sent. She also brought both photo albums, the little bear and the two cameras that we sent with all of the pictures taken.

I know that many of you are worried about Lily. She has done FABULOUS! She is doing everything she can to calm him when he cries. She shared her lunch with him and has been playing on the bed with him. She is a great Jie Jie, big sister. This is also the only word he has tried to say today..Jie Jie. He watches her every move. She has been a little jealous and wants to be held by whoever is holding him which is to be expected.

My three sweeties are all snuggled in the bed and I think I'll go join them. This has been a wonderful day! He is a little quiet which is not his personality so I know that he is having a tough time. Even though, he is doing quite well. We have grown to a family of four and couldn't be happier.

Adoption Books...What do you recommend?

2008-06-09T03:41:00.001-07:00

I am interested in putting together a list of recommended books for adopting families to post on the blog. This would include children's books as well. If you have some favorites, please list them in comments and include title, author and why you recommend the book.

Thank you.

Adoption Book List

2008-06-09T03:35:00.000-07:00

This article is taken from the Baxter Bulletin.

Books to help discuss adoption

May 30, 2008

While looking at Baxter County library for books to review, the children's librarian suggested some new books on adoption.

So many children enter families through the doors of adoption, and their stories all are unique, but they share common questions and feelings. Books are an excellent way to explore these feelings and questions. Often, these stories become treasured memories for adoptive children and parents.

An old standby is "The Chosen Baby" (Harper, 1977) by Valentina P. Wasson. First published in 1939, it was updated in 1950 and then again in 1977. For adoptive children who now are parents and grandparents, this often was a treasured read during childhood. The concept that the adopted child is "chosen" is one that helps to explain a complicated process in a way very young children can understand.

No mention is made of birth parents, which is a drawback to the book in this age of open adoptions. But it is a good introduction to the subject of adoption and certainly conveys the passion and sheer joy of the adoptive parents. The pen-and-ink illustrations, with warm tone washes by Glo Coalson, add vitality to the story.

"Forever Fingerprints: an Amazing Discovery for Adopted Children" (EMK Press) is a very innovative and imaginative book by Sherrie Eldridge. She uses the pregnancy of an aunt to introduce the birth process to the adoptive child, Lucie. It is a gentle, nondetailed talk about the facts of life with the parents that leads to the concept of our uniqueness as illustrated by fingerprints.

As Lucie feels the fluttering sensation of the baby when she touches her aunt's tummy, she imagines her birth mother's fingertips fluttering across her when she was in the womb. This helps her to feel connected to a birth mother she never knew. It is a wonderful way to honor biological roots and to create openings for discussions and questions that may be troubling the child. The book contains two pages of tools and activities for parents in the back of the book as well as information about fingerprints.

"Hope-so Too" (Trisan, 2004), by Jodi Hill is a story told in verse. Hope-so (so named because her parents hoped so much for a child to love) loves to hear her parents tell her the story of her adoption. Their story of the hopes and dreams they shared and how they came true, lead Hope-so to thinking of her own wish for a puppy. Her parents assure her that dreams do come true, and of course, they do.

Hope-so finds the perfect puppy to adopt, the puppy who is waiting and hoping for just the right child to give him a home. The illustrations by Barb Bjornson are bright and stunning.

Two books deal with the adoption of a child from China. "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes" (Little, Brown & Co., 2000), is a short, heartwarming story by Rose Lewis destined to become a bedtime classic for adoptive children. A mother tells her daughter how she traveled to China to bring her home. She shares her emotions as she held her for the first time and shed tears of joy as well as tears of sorrow for the Chinese mother who could not keep her.

The appreciation for the birth mother is a stong point of the book. No father is mentioned, just extended family — helpful in our society when it is not uncommon for a single woman to adopt a child. The illustrations are charming watercolors by Jane Dyer.

"The Red Thread" (Albert Whitman Co. 2007), by Grace Lin, is a fairy tale about adoption. It uses the ancient Chinese belief that those who are destined to be together are bound by an invisible, unbreakable red thread. In this tale, a king and queen have a perfect kingdom, except they both have an ache in their hearts for which no doctor can find a cure. When a peddler gives them special glasses, they can see the red thread that is pulling at their hearts. They must follow the thread to find who or what is at the other end. Their long, difficult journey takes them to the far away land of China where the red thread is tied to the ankles of a baby girl. So, of course, this is the baby they are destined to adopt and this is the answer to the ache in their hearts. This is a beautiful story, beautifully illustrated by the author.

Joanne Ragsdale is a former children's librarian living in the Twin Lakes Area.

2008-06-09T03:24:00.000-07:00

This article comes from Laura Christianson's Blog 'Exploring Adoption'

Heritage Tours for Adopted Children

The new big thing in adoption is the “adoption vacation,” otherwise known as “heritage tours” or “travel experiences” for families with internationally born children. While children adopted internationally have been visiting their homelands for years, there are now companies that specialize in organizing trips for families who seek to help their children establish a deeper connection to their birth country.

A couple of informative articles by Ellen Creager and Craig Porter, of Knight Ridder Newspapers, describe the tours.

What is an adoption vacation? It’s much more than a sightseeing tour. It’s a journey of discovery; an identity-building trip. The focus of the tour is on exploring your cultural history and heritage, traveling with fellow adoptive families and visiting orphanages, pre-adoptive caregivers, and perhaps even birth parents.

According to Becca Piper, who founded Adoptive Family Travel (800-398-3676) in Wisconsin, most trips cost between $3,000 and $5,000 per person for a two-week tour, depending on the country, and are booked a year in advance. Her company currently offers journeys to Korea, China, India, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Guatemala, Romania, and Vietnam.

Families with children as young as 8 years old go on the trips. Piper’s company organizes all the logistics of the vacation, including hotels, flights and in-country travel.

If you are considering booking a heritage tour, ask the company whether they have experience handling adoption-specific travel needs, whether they provide counseling to help children grapple with the emotional issues that will come to light during and after the trip, and whether the have firsthand knowledge of the country’s culture.

Several companies offer tours for adopted children. Here are a few:

Lotus Travel, 800-956-8873. Arranges tours to China and Southeast Asia.

Holt International , 541-687-2202. The first agency to establish tours back to birth countries, Holt offers tours to Korea, China, India, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Journeys of the Heart Adoption Services, 503.681.3075. Offers tours to China.

Children’s Home Society & Family Services. Offers tours to Korea.

Adoption from Uganda Africa...

2008-06-06T03:54:00.000-07:00

FEATURE BLOG: Tuininga Treasures

These little darlings are the two newest additions to a wonderful family whose blog I have been following for over a year now. They have just been adopted from Uganda Africa and have been home for a couple of weeks. I am very excited to have them linked to No Place Like Home as an adoption advocate for Africa adoption.

If you are considering adopting from Africa, I encourage you to go and read their blog. Many of the adoption programs for Africa are fairly new. This is the second family whose journey I have followed and the in-country experience is very unique. Things seem to move more slowly in Africa with regards to paperwork processing and both families were there for several weeks.

With both of the journeys that I followed, the children were loved and well cared for in their orphanages. Above is a sign that the adoption workers made to celebrate the children and their new forever families.

2008-06-05T03:33:00.000-07:00

New York Times article published today.

To Adopt, Please Press Hold

By MIREYA NAVARRO

Published: June 5, 2008

JOHN AND JULIE CASSERLY, both lawyers in St. Paul, have been waiting 11 months to complete the adoption of a Guatemalan girl whom they have named Ruby Rosario. But they say they are afraid to check e-mail messages or answer the phone. It’s always some update from their adoption agency regarding the latest suspension of the process or some other bad news.

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Stephanie Colgan for The New York Times

A LONG WAIT Jennifer and Lloyd Komatsu fear the worst.

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Stephanie Colgan for The New York Times

FAMILY MATTERS James Carlos Casserly, along with his parents, Julie and John.

In 2005, when they set out to adopt a Guatemalan baby boy, the couple faced the usual jitters, not to mention mounds of paperwork. But none of that stress, the couple said, compares with what they are going through now.

For the first adoption, “It was a matter of when,” said Mrs. Casserly, 37. “This time, it is a matter of ‘if.’ ”

Adoption experts say that international adoptions have become more tortuous to pursue. There have been child trafficking scandals in countries that send large numbers of children to adoptive families in the United States, tightened rules under an international treaty that took effect in April in the United States, and a shift by many countries, including China, Russia and South Korea, toward more domestic adoptions.

Adoptions, even those already in process like the Casserlys’, have been temporarily shut down in Guatemala as the country tries to clean up a system controlled by private brokers, many of whom had been accused of selling babies.

“It’s a consequence of the world paying attention to international adoptions in a way it never did before,” Adam Pertman, the executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a research and advocacy organization, said of the situation. “Now it’s a highly observed process.”

The world began watching as international adoptions more than tripled from early 1990, reaching as many as 22,884 in 2004 in the United States, which registers more international adoptions than all other countries combined. But the number of such adoptions has steadily decreased over the last three years, to 19,400 in 2007, and adoption experts expect the decline to continue for several years.

“The days of China sending 7,000 kids into the United States are long gone,” said Chuck Johnson, vice president for training and agency services for the National Council For Adoption in Alexandria, Va. “We’ve had to work so hard to get 19,000, but countries are making it harder to adopt these children.”

A major change in the adoption landscape is the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, a treaty involving more than 70 countries and recently signed by the United States. It establishes new accreditation requirements for adoption agencies and protections against child trafficking. Many in the adoption field expect the treaty to stop the commercial industry that boomed in many countries as demand for international adoptions rose. Ultimately, the regulations are expected to benefit the children and those wanting to adopt them.

But while the number of adoptions may bounce back up eventually, many prospective parents are caught in the turmoil now, even though they were already far enough along into the adoption process to have purchased bigger homes, swing sets and children’s clothes.

Jennifer and Lloyd Komatsu of St. Paul started their paperwork for an adoption in Vietnam in 2006. They now fear the loss of a child after a two-year, emotionally wrenching process.

Vietnam stopped accepting adoption applications this year after an investigation by the American embassy found many cases in which mostly poor birth parents had been paid or deceived into placing their child in an orphanage.

In many cases, an embassy report said, “orphanage officials told them that the child will visit home frequently, will return home after they reach a certain age (often 11 or 12) or will send remittance payments from the United States.”

The report included the story of a birth mother who was unable to pay for her Caesarean section. She was told by the hospital that her baby had been transferred to an orphanage for lifelong treatment “for water on the brain.” The orphanage had instead placed the healthy baby up for adoption.

The adoption agreement between the two countries, set to expire in September, is not expected to be renewed.

The Komatsus, who run a greyhound dog rescue center out of their home, said they thought an international adoption would be more predictable than adopting domestically. But a process they expected to take nine months has yet to match them with a child. The wait, however, has not stopped them from joining local Vietnamese groups, listening to Vietnamese language tapes and readying a playground with slides and swings, which has been up for over a year. A bedroom is ready for a girl they hope will be between 18 months and 4 years old.

The allegations of child stealing are “worrisome,” said Mr. Komatsu, 52, who has a 14-year-old son from a previous marriage and who works as an testing coordinator for a school district. But he said he and his wife feel shielded because they chose a reputable agency, and because in their opinion, a small number of corruption cases have been blown out of proportion.

Nonetheless, they’ve had some explaining to do. “Some of my casual acquaintances have asked, ‘What’s this stuff with Vietnam?,’ ” Mr. Komatsu said. “It’s on people’s radars and it’s added to our emotional burden.”

Other prospective adoptive parents say similar controversies in other countries have created a hostile environment. A white American couple currently seeking to adopt in Africa, where they have temporarily moved to offer foster care to the child they want to adopt, say they have met resistance both from the courts and strangers on the street.

“There’s automatic suspicion,” said the prospective father, who spoke on condition that his name and the country the child he’s adopting is from not be disclosed for fear of derailing the couple’s case. “Many wealthy urban people kind of look at you funny, like, ‘What are you doing with this kid?’ In some instances they’ve said, ‘Why don’t you give that child back to the mother?’ when in fact there is no mother or father.”

The publicity surrounding celebrities like Madonna, who last month adopted a boy in Malawi, has not helped, some parents said. Critics in Malawi accused her of circumventing the country’s adoption laws and receiving the kind of special treatment that raises questions about other adoptions by foreigners.

“The Madonna case just kills us,” said the prospective father trying to adopt in Africa. “She didn’t go through the proper process, so as it has been portrayed in the media, people assume that Americans are coming in and taking kids from their parents. The goal of most adoptive parents is actually to provide a home for a kid with no known family.”

John and Julie Casserly, who turned to international adoption with the notion that the process would be quicker than adopting in this country, said they have bonded with the 11-month-old girl through pictures and a letter from the birth mother. Last February, the couple and their son, James Carlos, 3, moved to a bigger house, one with a “pink and frilly” upstairs room for the girl and a framed picture of her in the living room, Mrs. Casserly said.

But Guatemala, which ranks second to China in the number of children sent to the United States (4,728 last year,) is in the midst of interviewing birth mothers to confirm that they have voluntarily relinquished their children.

Kjersti Olson, the director of international adoption for Children’s Home Society & Family Services, the Casserlys’ agency, said unethical cases should be investigated. But, she added, “It’s really important to put an end to corruption without putting an end to a child’s right to a family. Children have no place to go right now.”

Worse than their sense of powerlessness, the Casserlys said, is wondering what would happen to the girl, who is in foster care, if the adoption doesn’t go through.

“If there are Guatemalan homes that are able to take care of these children, that’s great,” Mr. Casserly said.

He added, haltingly, “If not, there are people in Minnesota that want to.”

Africa Adoption News

2008-06-04T03:14:00.000-07:00

This article is taken from the Ghana Statesman

Orphanage reforms on track
Gilbert Boyefio , 02/06/2008

Richard Adabrah-Klu, Project Manager of Orphanage Africa, has disclosed that as part of the Care Reform Initiative project, government orphanages, and few chosen private orphanages will be reformed to very high standards and best practices in the very near future.

The CRI project is a multi-sectorial approach to strengthening the Department of Social Welfare and Civil Society to implement de-institutionalisation and provide access to alternative forms of family-based care for children without appropriate parental care.

According to him, through the CRI project, the DSW sponsored by Orphanage Africa from 2006 to 2007 has organised training programmes for 256 Social Workers; 5 nationwide training programmes for 149 Home Managers; undertook a census of OVC in residential care; and drafted the legislation for Foster Care, Residential Care and the Standards for Residential Care.

Speaking at a breakfast working forum on international adoption in Accra, Mr Adabrah-Klu said also as part of reforms to revamp operations of orphanages in Ghana, social workers will be adequately paid and motivated to collate and maintain an Orphan and Vulnerable Children database, which is crucial to the Care Reform Initiative underway.

The Department of Social Welfare, which has the mandate over all orphanages in the country and also protects the welfare of the child lacks most of the basic logistics to perform its duties effectively.

According to Mr Adabrah-Klu, results of a UN global study revealed that orphanages are often set up by States, or a well meaning donor, for children in need of care. He said the initial intentions of these orphanages are often well meaning but the results are totally inadequate, and in Ghana, culturally inappropriate.

He explained that it is very important to get children out of homes or orphanages into families and the community because children living in orphanages do not develop social networks in their community, whiles their rights to privacy is invaded, and their ethnic and religious identities are compromised.

He further pointed out that the child's interpersonal skills become limited because of lack of exposure to daily life and grows up with a feeling of being unloved, and with little self esteem.

Mr Adabrah-Klu said it is to address these lapses that the Department of Social Welfare under the auspices of Orphanage Africa introduced the CRI, which started in 2006 and expected to be fully implemented in 2011.

He said CRI is targeted at resettling the vast majority of children in orphanages in a family care context, whiles fostering and adoption rates will increase both on a national and international level.

He said the quality of life of children moved from institutions will improve dramatically, as they reclaim their identities. He said the public will be sensitized as to the need for family community care.

"Under this initiative, Ghana will use institutionalization as a last resort for OVC preferring the use of social support systems such as cash transfers to promote in-family care," he added.

Orphanage Africa's aim is to help orphans and vulnerable children in Ghana to grow up in healthy, nurturing environments that provide quality care, protection, education and support.

Mr Adabrah-Klu said some of the challenges facing the CRI project include the need to provide operators of unauthorized children’s home with alternative income sources such as training in social work, school management, mother and child care, transition care and foster care; lack of national protocols common to the police, health and judiciary for dealing with OVC, especially trafficked and abused children in need of temporary care and protection, who often end up in Children’s Homes far from their communities for want of a better facility and the need to provide special attention to the importance of regional reception centers for these children so that their local ties are disrupted as little as possible.

He said training of these operators in alternative or related skills is a major objective of the CRI.

Meeting for the First Time...

2008-06-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Lynn from 'Somewhere in the Sun'. I followed her journey as she went to China to adopt her beautiful daughter Olivia. Her honesty with her experience overwhelmed me. I think that it is easy for us to believe that our waiting child is just as excited to meet us as we are to see them for the first time. The reality is that often times they are afraid. They do not speak the same language that we do and they are not prepared for what is about to happen to them. Everything they have known is changing. Lynn was kind enough to allow me to link her travel blog 'Bringing Olivia Home'. Regardless of the country you are adopting from, I strongly recommend that you read her story.

Today her daughter is a beautiful and wonderfully fun and loving child. Do not be discouraged by the piece below. Not all children respond the same way, but many do have some difficulty adjusting during the early weeks. Use this information to prepare yourself for when you will meet your child for the first time. Lynn was very insightful and extremely patient when interacting with Olivia in the beginning and I think that it helped her transition smoothly. I learned a lot from this blog.

If any of you have documented your first experiences with your child, I would love to be able to link it to the blog. I think the more Gotcha Day accounts that people read, the better prepared they will be on the day when they meet their child for the first time.

Her is an excerpt:

The First Day

It's 2 am so of course that means I'm awake! I can't seem to sleep more than 4 hours.
So, on to the good stuff! When Olivia came into the room I, being the devoted mother that I am, looked right at her and didn't recognize her! Then Mary, my guide, started taking pictures and was saying "That's your baby". It really took me a minute to realize it was her! The pictures told the story but there were so many more of her crying. She really had a hard time. She refused to look at me once she realized what was going on. She would "steal" glances at me. Once we got into the car she turned and looked deep into my eyes. Her face was expressionless but her eyes spoke volumes. They were saying "You may have me, but you can't make me like you". She is so precious I can't stand it!!

Back at the hotel she got to see Blake aka Baba on Skype. She actually waved a little to him. It was obvious she recognized him from his picture. She was fascinated with seeing him. Same with Ben, Jackson and Joe.

She really did okay for the most part but she's so sad. She refused to let me take off her coat or shoes. Now you can tell from the pictures that she was HEAVILY bundled. As time went on she began to sweat. But she screamed if I even attempted to take them off. After I took her to the bathroom I managed to get the coat off finally. She won't play with ANY of the toys that I took when I met her. Only the ones that remained in the room. She HATES her doll. She LOVES tv. I found a kids channel and when they sing or dance she sways back and forth and softly sings. Occasionally she will laugh or talk. She has the sweetest voice.

I thought she might feel better if I gave her the toys that the foster mother sent with her. They are the ones that we sent to her. When she saw them laying on the bed she grabbed her coat and started putting it on very quickly. She then gathered all of her little toys in her arms and headed for the door. I nearly lost it. It just broke my heart. I knew that I had to get the coat and shoes away from her. She obviously thought that as long as she had her coat and shoes on she was leaving. It would have been worse to let her continue to think that she was going back home. It was just prolonging her grief. It was the hardest thing to take that coat off of her while she screamed and held on to it with all of her might. I quickly hid the coat and toys. All except the purse. I could not pry her fingers loose. So, she took the purse and headed to the door. She screamed and screamed and screamed. Then she screamed some more. She jumped up and down and yelled something over and over. Then she started knocking on the door. It was so incredibly sad. At first I tried to comfort her but she would have none of that. She pushed her hand at me and yelled something....obviously "go away!"
So, I did. I sat on the chair and just let her cry for about 5 minutes. I felt very strongly that I should not force myself on her and that she just needed some time. Then I slowly walked over and picked her up and she didn't fight me. I got her interested in the tv and that was it.
I managed to take the other 5 layers of clothes off and put her pajamas on without incident. She still won't look at me though. It's so comical to see her glances. Once, I managed to do something that she thought was funny but oh how she tried to hide it. She turned her head all around to keep me from seeing her smile!

When it came time for bed I turned the lights out and laid her on the bed with me. She started screaming. I gave her the bottle and she laid down to drink it. When she was done she scooted as far away from me as she could to the other side of the bed and rolled over. I scooted up against her and she let me stay! She is learning that she needs me. Soon she will love me. She was asleep in seconds and has slept peacefully.

I remember when I was reading my friend Jeanette's blog about when she adopted her daughter. I hoped that we would have as many prayers said for us as they did and that Olivia would adjust as well as Elizabeth did. I can tell you that we do have those prayers! It is so obvious and I'm so grateful to each one of you who has lifted us before the Lord. Olivia is grieving appropriately and showing signs of strength and courage. I'm so very proud of her!

Madonna's Adoption of David from Malawi Gains Final Approval

2008-06-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

I am curious to see some comments on this recent article. What do you think? This article comes from the Jamaican Observer

In support of Madonna

DIANE ABBOTT
Sunday, June 01, 2008

This week a court in the pitifully poor African country of Malawi gave the final approval for the adoption of a little Malawi boy David Banda by the multimillionaire American superstar Madonna. It has been a hugely controversial case. There have been two years of intense and hostile media coverage here in Britain where Madonna currently lives.

DIANE ABBOTT

Initially, I myself was doubtful. I have heard too many stories of black children adopted by white families in Britain who have grown up traumatised and confused. So I believe that children are generally best adopted by families from a similar ethnic and cultural background.

But I quickly came to support Madonna's action in the face of the vicious and hysterical press campaign against her. British journalists descended on Malawi and found the little boys relatives including his father (who had handed his son over to an orphanage at just a month old when the mother died of AIDS). None of the relatives, including the father, had ever visited the child or sent a penny for his upkeep. In fact, the father had gone on to remarry and have other children. But, prodded by British journalists, the relatives began to profess undying love for the child and drop heavy hints that Madonna should pay for them all to fly to England to check up on his welfare.

Why she should fly them all to England to see a child, whom they had never bothered to visit when he was living up the road from them, was never explained. That did not put off the British media who accused Madonna of baby snatching and breaking Malawi's adoption laws.

When Madonna flew to Malawi to bring the boy home she was tracked by hundreds of journalists and when he came off the plane in London he was greeted by a scrum of photographers. Snatched photographs of the tiny sleeping black baby were on the front page of every British newspaper the next day.

Briefly little David Banda was the most famous black baby boy in the world. Since then the adoption has gone through an elaborate official process including a Malawi official actually visiting Madonna's seven million pound home in London to assess whether she was a suitable mother.

In the face of all the criticism, Madonna gave an interview defending herself to the queen of American daytime television Oprah Winfrey. On the Oprah show Madonna said "The media are doing a great disservice to all the orphans of Africa by turning it into such a negative thing," She went on "I first spotted David in a documentary that I was financing about Malawian orphans. I became transfixed by him.

But I didn't yet know I was going to adopt him. I was just drawn to him. When I met David at a Malawi orphanage, I was told he had survived malaria and tuberculosis but still had severe pneumonia. I was in a state of panic, because I didn't want to leave him in the orphanage because I knew they didn't have medication to take care of him. So, I got permission to take him to a clinic, where he was given antibiotics. The conditions that I witnessed in Malawi were the equivalent of a state of emergency. I think if everybody went there, they'd want to bring one of those children home with them and give them a better life."

Now a court in Malawi has ruled that Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie are "perfect parents" and Madonna is finally the lawful parent of the little boy she saved from pneumonia. I appreciate the concern about rich white women going shopping for little black babies in poor countries. But if Madonna had not adopted the boy he would, almost certainly, have died. And if by chance he had survived it would have been to face a life of misery and destitution.

His extended African family took no interest in him until Madonna came calling. You could argue that why just this one child and what is Madonna doing for all the millions of AIDS orphans in Malawi? But in fact she is also funding six orphanages in Malawi which will help thousands of children.

I quickly grew tired of Madonna's critics because none of them had shown the slightest interest in suffering African children before or since. At least Madonna took a sick African child into her home and is spending millions on helping others.

When Should I tell My Child He Was Adopted?

2008-06-01T04:03:00.000-07:00

This is a conversation that I know I am going to need to have with my daughter one day. I am curious as to how any of you have handled it. I think it would benefit others to learn from your experiences. Please leave a comment.

This is an article from Laura Christianson's blog Exploring Adoption. It is on my sidebar.

When Should I Tell My Child He Was Adopted?

Readers ask me this question on a weekly basis. Here are two of the most recent permutations:

My husband and I adopted our first two sons from birth. We brought each of them home from the hospital and we had always planned on it being a “known” thing that they were adopted. Our oldest son, who is bi-racial, is now 6; and the other is 5. Neither of them have ever asked ANY questions and we just haven’t felt right about sitting them down and having the “talk” with them.

We have never lied to them about anything, but nothing has ever come up. We want to talk to them, but just don’t know the right way to do it. We love them with every fiber of our being! I have since birthed two children and I can assure you there is absolutely no difference in the love! We have prayed so hard for God to prepare their hearts when we do tell them so they won’t see it as a negative thing. Any advice?

And another one:

I’m the mom of a 2 ½-year-old adopted daughter. When is the best time to tell her the truth?

There’s no time like the present when the issue is talking with your child about adoption. Children up to about age 7 have very little concept of what it means to be adopted, so of course they’re not going to ask questions about it. But that doesn’t mean you should wait until they’re 10 or 15 or 18 or 30 to tell them they were adopted.

Adoption is not a dirty little secret that needs to be covered up. It’s not weird or strange. In simplest terms, “adoption” describes a legal means by which a child enters a family.

And while “adoption” will always be a part of your child’s identity, it does not encompass the entirety of who your child is. By fearing to tell your child he/she was adopted, you are falling prey to the very stereotype you hoped to avoid: you are announcing to your child that adoption is weird and strange. Your child will certainly pick up on those vibes, and will assume, by association, that he or she must be weird or strange.

Parents: You are an adult. It is your responsibility to discuss adoption with your child, openly and honestly, in age appropriate ways, from the minute your child enters your family. Just as you should talk with your child about sex in age appropriate ways as he grows (rather than having “the talk” when he’s 16 and hoping you’re not too late), talking about adoption should be done on a regular basis.

If you’re kicking yourself because you realize you’ve waited too long to begin discussing adoption with your child, don’t give up hope. Don’t assume that if you tell your child now, he’s going to hate you for the rest of his life (chances are, he may resent you for a while, but in the long run, he’ll appreciate you telling him).

And don’t avoid telling your child because she came from a situation in which she was abused…or her birth parents are in prison…or she was conceived during a rape…or any of the other excuses parents use to avoid sharing the awful truth. When your child is 3 or 6, she doesn’t need to know the gory details of her past. But you can explain to her that you adopted her, and reiterate how happy you are that she’s a part of your family and that you have the privilege of parenting her. As your child matures, you should reveal additional pieces of her history until she has the whole picture.

Kids are perceptive. If you’re trying to hide something, they’ll know it. And they’ll dig until they discover what you’re hiding. Wouldn’t you rather they learned the truth from you, as opposed to a cousin, a friend on the playground, or a complete stranger?

Kids are resilient. They can handle the truth and bounce back much easier than adults can. Begin bringing up adoption as a part of your everyday conversation, and gently begin to discuss your child’s adoption with him or her. You’ll all be glad you did.

Day One...

2008-05-31T13:42:00.001-07:00

Well, I can see already that I should have done this post a little earlier today and the blog is getting quite a few visitors. Please let me know what you think about the concept and if you would like to participate. The purpose here is to support international adoption and provide up to date information as soon as possible. If you have an article or news that you think would help other families, please feel free to contact me and I'll get it on the blog.
I am having sidebar links made for participating familes. If you would like one, please leave a comment and your e-mail address and I will get it out to you as soon as they are created.

We do have a glitch with the comments, you have to click on the divider graphic...we'll get that fixed : )
Thank you!

China Quake Orphans

2008-05-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Adoption inquiries soar after China quake orphans children


Enlarge	By Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Getty Images

Young quake survivors sing during performance therapy for children at a camp for the displaced and homeless in Mianzhu in southwest China's quake-stricken Sichuan province.

By Wendy Koch and Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY

Adoption agencies are receiving a surge in phone calls from people who want to adopt children orphaned by the earthquake in China.

"There's lots of interest," says Joshua Zhong, co-founder of Chinese Children Adoption International, one of the largest China-only agencies in the USA.

EMOTIONAL TOLL: Quake took much from China's children

He says inquiries have more than tripled since the May 12 quake, which has killed at least 68,109 people and left an estimated 4,000 children without parents.

Zhong's agency and others, however, are trying to lower callers' expectations. They cite two reasons: Many of the children may not be orphans once parents or other relatives are found, and more Chinese people are adopting

children.

"We intend to give priority to domestic adoption … over overseas adoptions," says Wang Suying, a senior adoption official at China's Ministry of Civil Affairs.

As in the USA, phone lines are humming in Beijing as people inquire about adopting quake victims. Wang says the high call volume reflects the growing acceptance of adoption in China, where it was once taboo. "Every year there are more and more domestic adoptions," Wang says.

That interest, along with a strong economy that makes it easier to support children, has meant fewer Chinese orphans are available for international adoption.

Last May, China tightened its eligibility rules, barring foreign applicants who are single, gay, obese, older than 50, low-income or have a history of mental illness.

China had been the No. 1 foreign country for adoptions by people in the USA since 2000. Now it is sending fewer orphans: 5,453 in 2007, down from 7,906 in 2005, according to the State Department.

Wang, who has visited the disaster zone in Sichuan province, says adoption work won't begin right away. He says officials first need to try to find a child's parents or other relatives.

A similar outpouring of interest in orphans occurred after the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, says Thomas Atwood, president of the National Council For Adoption, an advocacy group. Atwood says many Americans wanted to adopt the children, but the countries in the region, except Thailand, did not have international adoption programs. He says that's also the case with Burma, devastated by a cyclone three weeks ago.

Several orphanages in China were damaged by the earthquake, and adoption agencies in the USA are sending relief aid.

Kerry Campbell, spokeswoman for the Great Wall China Adoption, a large, China-only agency, says people who adopted from China or would like to adopt have made donations.

"I'm touched by how generous families have been," she says.

S. Korea Adoption News

2008-05-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

UN committee urges S. Korea to ratify international agreement on adoption

혻 혻 GENEVA, May 24 (Yonhap) -- A United Nations committee urged South Korea to ratify an international agreement on intercountry adoption, reports said.

혻 혻 The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child met on Friday to consider the situation in South Korea with regard to the promotion and protection of children's rights under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

혻혻 The committee's 48th session started Monday in Geneva.

혻 혻 The 18-member committee was formed in 1991 to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children.

혻혻 South Korea is one of the 193 countries that has ratified or acceded to the Convention and sends representatives to the committee to present periodic reports on national efforts to give effect to children's rights.

혻혻 Deputy Director General for Child and Youth Activities from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Kim Doo-hyun was present at the Friday session.

혻혻 Rosa Maria Ortiz, one of the committee members, reportedly said that there is "a possibility of abuse" may have occurred in intercountry adoptions from South Korea.

혻혻 She urged the South Korean government to ratify the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption as soon as possible.

혻 혻 The Hague Convention, a multilateral treaty, was approved by 66 nations in 1993 at the Hague. The convention covers intercountry adoptions among countries that become parties to it and describes internationally agreed-upon minimum norms and procedures. The goal of the convention is to prevent abuses and protect children, their birth parents and adoptive parents.

혻혻 The South Korean government has expressed reservations to Article 21 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that adoptions should be handled by a central independent authority, and should not be influenced extensively by individuals or private organizations.

혻혻 The Committee also pointed out that the South Korean adoption agencies do not keep sufficient documents on the adopted children, adding that the South Korean government still does not seem to be fully managing the adoption system, according to the reports.

혻혻 It also said proper regulations should be set up against illegal adoptions.

혻혻 ygkim@yna.co.kr
(END)

Guatemala Adoption System

2008-05-31T13:23:00.001-07:00

Guatemala investigates its adoption system

By Matt O'Brien
Contra Costa Times

Article Launched: 05/26/2008 10:24:22 PM PDT

American couples trying to adopt Guatemalan children have been put on hold as the Central American country conducts a major overhaul of an adoption system it says is tarnished by corruption.

Guatemalan authorities are re-examining more than 2,900 pending adoption cases, the vast majority of which involve American families trying to adopt infants through private adoption centers, said Jaime Tecu, an official with Guatemala's newly established National Adoption Council.

Tecu said the government is trying to push through grandfathered cases, including some from the Bay Area, that fall under the country's old adoption rules while transitioning into a new state-run system that gives Guatemalan families a higher priority.

Agents twice this month raided one private adoption center, Semillas de Amor (Seeds of Love), run by former Bay Area resident Nancy Bailey in the tourist-heavy city of Antigua. Other such centers have faced similar raids in the past year.

Bailey, who obtained a master's degree in clinical psychology from Cal State Hayward, did not return several requests for comment but used her center's blog to call the highly publicized raids a "nightmare."

Families in the United States adopted more than 4,700 Guatemalan children last year, with the average case costing about $27,000 in fees to private agencies and lawyers, according to the U.S. Department of State.

Andrea Stawitcke, director of Mountain View-based Bay

Area Adoption Services, said that after 23 years of facilitating hundreds of Guatemalan adoptions, she will shut down the organization's Guatemalan program once it can complete adoptions for two families waiting for their cases to be resolved under the old rules.

Stawitcke said she is disturbed that Guatemala is shutting down what she thinks was a largely successful private system without having an alternative in place to take care of orphaned children.

"The government has provided no governmental support, nor have they said they will in the future," Stawitcke said. "There is no place for these children. "... I think there will be a lot more famicide, a lot more children living on the streets in dire poverty."

The investigation into pending intercountry adoptions has been fueled by reports of fraud, including allegations that some Guatemalan mothers are giving up babies after being coerced or bribed to do so. Guatemalan authorities say they are interviewing mothers in all pending cases to make sure the adoptions were legitimate.

Stawitcke said that there are undoubtedly examples of fraud in the system, but she argued that the current tactics are politically motivated and hurting legitimate adoptions. "They for some reason resent the fact that these children are being placed overseas," she said. In December, after almost all countries but the United States had shut down adoptions from Guatemala, the Guatemalan Congress passed a new law intended to comply with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption by creating new safeguards and a central adoption authority.

The new rules allowed for cases that were already pending to proceed as long as they were registered to the new central authority by February.

But the pending cases are also facing scrutiny. The Associated Press reported last week that Guatemalan authorities have already annulled 12 pending adoptions to U.S. families, about 10 percent of cases reviewed up to that point. Tecu would not confirm those figures but said authorities have scheduled a news conference in Guatemala City this week to answer questions.

TOP 10 COUNTRIES FOR u.s. aDOPTIONS in fiscal year 2007:
1. China: 5,453
2. Guatemala: 4,728
3. Russia: 2,310
4. Ethiopia: 1,255
5. South Korea: 939
6. Vietnam: 828
7. Ukraine: 606
8. Kazakhstan: 540
9. India: 416
10. Liberia: 314
SOURCE: U.S. Department of State (Fiscal year 2007 means from Oct. 1, 2006 to Sept. 30, 2007)
GUATEMALA-TO-UNITED STATES ADOPTIONS BY FISCAL YEAR:
2007: 4,728
2006: 4,135
2005: 3,783
2004: 3,262
2003: 2,326
2002: 2,419
SOURCE: U.S. Department of State

Interesting CNN Article on International Adoption

2008-05-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

Halted foreign adoptions leave would-be parents in limbo

Story Highlights:

Guatemala and Vietnam say corruption, baby-stealing at heart of crackdown
Nearly one in 100 babies born in Guatemala are adopted by U.S. parents
Crackdown puts children's well-being at risk, adoption advocates say

(CNN) -- The crib in Ellen Darcy's Boston home has sat empty for more than a year. And in suburban Washington, Laura Teresinski has prepared a nursery for a baby that may never arrive.
Guatemala has announced it will conduct a case-by-case review of every pending foreign adoption case.
They and thousands of prospective parents, eager to adopt children from abroad, have found themselves in an emotional legal limbo since two of the most popular countries for international adoptions -- Guatemala and Vietnam -- recently halted their programs.
Now would-be mothers and fathers around the United States wonder what will become of their quest to adopt a child -- a pursuit that can fray nerves, cost up to $30,000 and span several years.
Guatemala announced this month that it would conduct a case-by-case review of every pending foreign adoption case. That put on hold the adoption plans of about 2,000 American families.
The crackdown comes amid reports that some in Guatemala coerce mothers to relinquish their children for adoption -- or steal the children outright and present them as orphans.
Similar accusations have arisen in Vietnam.
After the United States accused adoption agencies there of corruption and baby-selling, Vietnam said in April that it would no longer allow adoptions to the United States.
"My husband and I were absolutely devastated," Teresinski said. "Adoptive parents have put a lot of emotional energy and a lot of financial resources in the process."
Vietnam's decision affects several hundred families.
Families in the United States adopted 4,728 children from Guatemala and 828 from Vietnam last year.
The halt in adoptions from those two nations unfolds against the backdrop of a dramatic rise in international adoptions in the United States.
The number of foreign-born children adopted by U.S. families more than tripled from 1990 to 2004, when it reached a high of 22,884, though the figure has declined slightly each year since. In 2007, the U.S. granted visas to 19,613 children so they could join an adoptive family in the United States, according to U.S. State Department figures. About 70 percent of those children came from four countries: China, Guatemala, Russia and Ethiopia.
A few other countries have also halted foreign adoptions at various times, including Kazakhstan and Togo.
Yet the suspensions in Vietnam and Guatemala have had the biggest impact -- they're two of the 10 countries that send the most children to adoptive homes in the Unites States.
Fear of fraud stirs heartache
For Darcy, the review seems more detrimental than helpful.
Her adopted daughter, Carolina, remains in a Guatemalan foster home with three dozen other babies. Darcy worries that keeping Carolina, now 15 months old, in a foster home will harm her early development.
"She's not getting one-on-one care by a consistent caretaker," Darcy said, adding later, "Nobody is looking at this as a violation of the kids' human rights except for these (American) parents."
Guatemala, which until now has had little to no oversight of its foreign adoptions, has the highest per capita rate of adoption in the world.
Nearly one in 100 babies born in Guatemala wind up living with adoptive parents in the United States, according to the U.S. consulate in Guatemala.
While adoptive parents in the United States undergo rigorous screening, adoptions in Guatemala had been processed by notaries responsible for determining whether the babies were relinquished voluntarily. They also arrange foster care and handle paperwork -- notaries in Latin America tend to have more legal training than notaries in the United States.
Both Guatemalan and U.S. officials fear the system leads to practices such as paying birth mothers for children or, in some instances, coercion.
Officials in both countries say gaps in regulations and the high sums of money at play -- adoptions can cost up to $30,000 -- may have created unintended incentives in a country where the State Department estimates that 80 percent of the population lives in poverty.
The Guatemalan government has said its review could take a month or longer. As for the American families, they can only wait.
"I think it's overkill," said Darcy, who was matched with Carolina last March and was approved to adopt the girl last winter -- typically one of the last steps before the actual adoption is complete.
"No adoptive parent wants to adopt an abducted child -- a child that wasn't voluntarily relinquished -- but to keep them as hostages is unacceptable," Darcy said.
Guatemala plans reforms
U.S. officials say they sympathize with the parents, but that reviews like the one in Guatemala are in the best interest of the children.
"We feel for them, it's a tough situation," said a State Department official who is not authorized to speak on the record.
"(But) they'll have the comfort of knowing American parents in the future who adopt from Guatemala will get children from a system that has all the safeguards in place so that children are not exploited," the official said.
In the past, Guatemala required birth mothers to sign a document in court saying they were relinquishing their child. They were not required to reveal their reasons.
Now the government may require the presence of the birth mother and child. The goal is to verify identification and make sure the mother is giving up her child voluntarily.
Cleaning up Guatemala's adoption system is a step toward complying with the standards of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, an international agreement that governs adoptions from one country to another. About 70 nations have signed the convention, which seeks to ensure legitimate foreign adoptions.
The United States joined the international convention last year, and rules governing adoptions from one signatory nation to another took effect April 1.
The United States has stopped issuing visas to Guatemalan children after that date, blocking their travel to America -- at least until concerns are addressed.
"We're not pointing fingers at American parents," the State Department official said.
However, the review and changes in Guatemala will ensure that it "does not become a fertile ground for (wrongful) practices on any person, particularly children, who have not been orphaned."
To offset corruption, the U.S. Embassy has added its own requirement: That birth mothers appear with the baby to request a visa for the baby. In August, officials also began requiring two DNA tests to confirm the identities of mother and child.
Still, the Guatemalan solicitor general's office has identified at least 80 cases of adoption irregularities, including baby stealing and false DNA tests.
And the Guatemalan chief prosecutor's office recently launched a criminal investigation into the two laboratories contracted to take DNA samples from birth mothers and children.
'Serious irregularities' in Vietnam
Similar concerns of corruption recently emerged in Vietnam, where investigators had found "serious adoption irregularities," according to a report by the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.
Documents had been forged or altered, the embassy said, and some parents were paid, tricked or forced into giving up their children for adoption. In some cases, the embassy said, children were offered for adoption without the knowledge or permission of their parents.
The Vietnamese government has denied the accusations.
Even so, it said in April that it would terminate its adoption agreement with the United States, saying it won't accept applications after July 1. The program is scheduled to end September 1.
Parents in the United States who were matched with an adoptive child in Vietnam before July 1 will be allowed to adopt that child. Prospective parents who had invested time and money, but had not been matched with an adoptive child, appear to be out of luck.
Private adoption agencies insist that nearly all adoptions from Vietnam are problem-free, and they want the adoptions to continue.
"It's hard to let go, because we know we can advocate for these children and make a real difference," said Linda Brownlee, executive director of the nonprofit Adoption Center of Washington, which places children for adoption from Russia, China, Cambodia and Vietnam.
She hopes the United States and Vietnam reach an agreement so that adoptions can continue.
"Without it, I think children are going to be harmed. They are going to die needlessly, and there is going to be trafficking," Brownlee said.
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