A Person's a Person...

Everyone matters. Everyone can make a difference.

Dr Seuss says it, so it must be true.

The Superkids Charity is an amazing example of how one person can make a difference. Superkids was founded by a mom who wanted to give back to the orphanage which provided her daughter with excellent care. Now, eight years later, Superkids comprises of physical therapists, speech therapists, and medical doctors who volunteer their time and expertise to help the orphans of China.

These volunteers bring joy and hope to children who need it. They also shed tears and pray for the children who will never know what it is like to belong to a family.

Could you be hope for someone in need? Yes! 98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.
All you have to do is try.

-------------------------------------------
And an update on our progress:

1. Formal application to agency- complete!
2. Home study paperwork- complete!
3. Home study visit 1- complete!
4. Home study visit 2 (+10 hours of training)- complete!
5. Home study visit 3 (+10 hours of training)- complete!
6. Home study visit 4 (+10 hours of training)- complete!
7. Home study approval- complete!
8. I-800A mailed to USCIS- complete!
9. Fingerprints
10. Receive I-797
11. Dossier to China
12. Logged in dossier
13. Referral of child or match with a waiting child
14. Letter of Intent
15. I800A approval
16. Article 5 drop off
17. Article 5 pick up
18. Travel Approval
19. Travel
20. Gotcha Day

Received and routed

One more baby step:

Finally, we begin work on our dossier... the huge packet of guaranteed officially official documents that say we are not crazy, dangerous, or medically ill. In approximately 3 months, we will head to the state capitol for our state's official stamp on each notarized page to prove that the notary is indeed a notary and that our certified copies of birth certificates are really certified. Fun times.

We also have to be fingerprinted. I say "have to" because we indeed "have to," but I am oddly excited by this part of the process. The fingerprinting is also referred to as "biometrics" which sounds less criminal and more futuristic. Cool, huh?

If you are the praying type, vibing type, or a good feeling mojo sort of person, please send all the goodness our way!

It's been awhile...

Where has the summer gone? 

Time has certainly been flying these last few months. My boys are now 5 and 2, and our I800-A is winging its way to Texas for approval. 

This month will be a busy one for our family. Adam begins kindergarten, Jacob moves up to a 5-day a week preschool program, and I become a part time dossier hunter and gatherer. Todd retains his position as lead bread winner and the calm voice of reason. Although asking why we have to have new reference letters which are notarized is only going to fuel the CrAzY. No questions, please. Just DO it. 

I am still struggling with the "hurry up and wait" aspect of adoption. I stress and rush and obsess over details to submit forms, documents, and my left arm and a kidney and then... Crickets... For a month ... until we can hurriedly jump the next hurdle before waiting...again. 

And I am struggling to be patient when it comes to being matched. Todd is comfortable waiting until our dossier is in China and our agency can match us to a child in the special LID pool of children. No, that would be too easy for me. I can't shake the feeling that I NEED to find our girl. I need to click through the profiles of dozens of cute little toddlers, harass other adoption agencies as to whether or not a child's file is transferable, and wonder why there are no new faces on my own agency's waiting child pages. 

I know she is out there...waiting. She's being passed over by other families. We are her family... But how and when will we find her? 

Progress Report

We signed off on our home study today! Woo hoo!! What a relief and a giant step forward. Next, the study will be mailed to DSS and on to USCIS for approval.

For three weeks, the adoption seemed to be at a stand still. First, our case worker went on vacation (how dare she, right?), then the agency's China team went to China, and then we went to the beach (yay for the beach). Now things seem to be moving again.

Other progress: the China team spent time in Shanghai and Jiangsu during their trip to China, which means our wonderful agency will be receiving more exclusive referrals of wonderful kids in need of a home.

I cannot wait to find our girl!

But I haven't been slacking off in the cyber stalking department. There are so many precious little ones on Rainbowkids.com and other advocacy cites and blogs. My fingers are crossed that we will hear more information on a beautiful little girl with albinism.

Ok, my toes are crossed, too.

What Is Adoption?

Last summer, Love Without Boundaries asked orphaned children in four difference provinces of China about international adoption, and this video shows their answers. Most of the children in this video have been matched with families since this video was filmed, including the little girl who made the LWB team member cry because of her sincere desire for a family.

Many more children continue to wait for their families. 





I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

Unadoptable

As part of our adoption training, Todd and I watch documentaries about adoption, adoptive issues, and China.

A few nights ago, we watched a movie called The Blood of Yingzhou District (2007). The movie follows a few orphans whose parents died from AIDS they contracted by selling their blood for money to support their families. The clinics that collected blood donations routinely mixed the blood, removed the plasma, and then replaced the blood into the donors. If one person had AIDS, suddenly 50+ people had AIDS.

In China, due to lack of education, HIV and AIDS are highly stigmatized. Children, who may not be infected, are completely shunned because their parents died from the disease. This means that they are turned away from orphanages, schools, and even from their relatives' homes.

While China now campaigns HIV/AIDS awareness in order to educate the public on the what the disease is and how it is spread, orphans are still marked as "unadoptable."

Being the bleeding heart that I am, after watching the movie, I immediately began googling HIV in order to better educate myself. Because, truth be told, I had checked the "No" box next to HIV on our Special Needs form.

What I found was shocking...mind blowing...and I feel so GUILTY. I am guilty of being afraid of something I knew very little about. HIV cannot be contracted by LIVING near someone. HIV doesn't live in blood that has been exposed to the air. HIV is now more manageable than diabetes. People with HIV can have healthy children and have a "normal" life expectancy.

But now the really sad part... while there are many people in the United States (and around the world) who are willing to and want to adopt a beautiful child who is HIV+ or is the orphan of HIV+ parents, China makes very few of these children available for adoption. Because, unfortunately, they think, "who would want them?"

So, if you are in the process of adoption or are considering adoption. Please. Make your voices heard. HIV/AIDS is a disease. It is not a death sentence. It does not define who a person IS or IS NOT. It is just a disease. But these children...they are LIVES. They are people who need love, compassion, and a family!

Check out the links below for more information and/or to support groups that are advocating for HIV+ children. And if you pray, please pray for these children.

http://www.chfaidsorphans.com
http://positivelyorphaned.org
http://www.bloodofyingzhou.com/
http://theresnoplacelikehome-family.blogspot.com/2013/02/adopting-hiv.html

The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
-Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

The pretty girl was matched with another family.

I am thankful she is no longer waiting for a family to find her. I pray that she will not wait long before her new family is able to bring her home.

Now, we wait. We wait for our little girl.

I picture the prettiest little toddler you could imagine... with chubby little arms and legs. She toddles and smiles, with dimples in her cheeks and stars in her eyes. She has short little pig tails that stick out from her head like antennae. She claps and giggles as she chases her brothers.

Man... I canNOT wait to hold her in my arms.