Down To The Wire

We're getting down to the wire on our time allowed with the Hope Journey II kids files. If people ask for their files at this point, I'm going to send them out to anyone interested--we will no longer just send them to one family at a time, as we don't have enough time left (for the Hope Journey II kids). If you are with another agency and wish to pursue one of these children, please contact me--we will be happy to transfer their file so they will have a family. We really don't want these kids to get lost on the shared list! They each have so much potential! It's hard to see this through pictures and minimal descriptions, but when you meet these kids face to face, and you see the light in their eyes and their desire to be part of something that's forever, like a family, you know.

For the record, here are the kids that don't yet have forever families:
Lilah
Harley
Michael
Shawn
Peter
Bo
Thomas
Henry
Jeremy
Gene
CJ
Harold
Edward
Warner
Parker
Gavin
Kerry
Fabian

Notice they are all boys except 1? There are some healthy boys in this list! There are some adorable children with repaired conditions! There are some sweethearts who truly need the love and understanding that a family would provide. If, by chance, there is a family out there who has not yet come forward and has interest in these children, please contact me now: marcisk@asiadopt.org

Happiness for Heather & Shenzhen SWI Kiddos

I have wonderful news to report--Heather has a family!!!! We are all thrilled for Heather and her family--congratulations!

If you're considering Gavin, Warner, Fabian, Edward or Kerry and $$$ is stopping you, please contact us--there may be some options! Normally I would wait to post more information about the other kids, but we're running out of time, so this is a lengthy post because we got several updates from Shenzhen SWI! They really want these kids to have families!

Fabian is a bright and conscienscious boy who always completes his homework on time. Outside of class he likes to play the curcurbit flute and draw comics. He is very good at drawing comics and teaches the other children, too. He is shy with new people at first, but warms up after he gets to know them. He has a very good temper and gets along with both children and adults. This boy desperately wants a family before it is too late for him. His time is running out! Could he be your son? If you think you don't qualify, or you're already in process with a child (even from another agency), contact me. We just want Fabian to have a family!

Kerry is outstanding in physical, artistic and athletic abilities. He completed his school's Sports Day and ranked #1 in his class. He loves singing and dancing and always looks forward to Tuesdays when he has singing and dancing class. He is a bright child who can apply knowledge that he learns. He is a gentle and modest boy and helps his foster mother because he understands that she works hard to take care of him and the other children. What a sweet boy! Surely there is a family that wants a sweet boy like this? The next Yao Ming or perhaps Tchaikovsky?

Warner is a very good communicator. He likes to talk to people and is generous and carefree. He likes to share his toys and snacks with friends. He is popular at the institute. Doesn't Warner look like the most popular kid? Surely there is a family out there for him? Perhaps with a brother or sister that needs a pal?

Edward is lively and active and a very bright child. He does well in school, especially math and language classes. He likes to help his foster mother by taking out the trash. When he does something bad, he takes correction well and is an obedient child. He likes to interact with others and is very polite. Look at this adorable boy! He needs a family to love him and help him reach his potential--could you be that family?

Please don't wait! These boys are running out of time. If one of these boys touches your heart--contact me right away! We will help to make it possible however we can! marcisk@asiadopt.org

A Simple Thought for Today

Hopefully some of you are following up on the good deed that I posted earlier in the week. As for today, I just have one simple thought to share:

"There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in."

- Graham Greene

These children are right on the other side of the door...waiting to see who will open it and help them achieve a brighter future. Anyone can be an advocate for these children. Help these kids step out of orphanage life and into a world of potential.

In Need of a Good Deed

I've come to the conclusion after many months of advocating for the boys, that those of you reading these posts are not the ones we need to be communicating with about these kiddos. Therefore, I'm asking all of you folks for a good deed. Please talk to everyone you know about these adorable, precious, deserving boys who are in desperate need of families. If you know anyone considering adoption, or even just desiring a child to cuddle and tuck in at night and experience the joy of parenthood, then please have them take a look at this blog, or talk to them about these kiddos. We only have a couple of weeks left with the files of these kids and then it's very possible that they could fall into the abyss of the shared waiting child list. They will have very little hope of finding families when buried on that list. The three children we were unable to place from our last Hope Journey program, Jillian, Misty and Gregory are still on the shared list. So, please, do a good deed and help spread the word about these children.

Scrumptious Shawn

I have to post about this little guy again because I just heard from one of my wonderful waiting child advocates that a reputable international adoption doctor reviewed his file and was taken with him. The impression was that his condition is not progressive and he is improving greatly considering that he is in an orphanage! Doesn't someone want to make this adorable boy theirs? Just look at those pinchable cheeks!!! He really does bring joy to everyone! Surely there is a family for this boy? We only have a month left to place these kiddos. Please don't hesitate--contact me today! marcisk@asiadopt.org We will work with you if you want to bring him home on a copy of your dossier if you have adopted in the last year. Or if you want to consider adopting two at once--just contact me! Don't let this adorable munchkin go any longer without a forever family!

Leaping Lilah!

Lilah is a cute girl with two pony tails. When she hops her ponies jump up and down. She is polite and she loves to help out with house chores. She helps with house chores at her foster home, and helps other children to finish the tasks they don’t finish. She is a good helper. She listens to the teacher at school, and is friendly to all the children. Sometimes she can’t finish the tasks the teacher asks her to do, but she tries her best. Lilah needs a family who can help her maintain her concentration and reach her full potential. She needs some siblings to show her the ropes and a patient and loving mom and dad who will help her capitalize on her strengths!

Happy 2011!!

Happy 2011!!! In honor of 2011, I'm just going to post a montage of pictures of beautiful little boys and girls that are still available for adoption. If any of these children peak your interest, please contact me--they are all in need of forever families(except for the girls in the group pictures): marcisk@asiadopt.org

Teacher, Thomas update

Thomas is an outgoing boy with a strong sense of responsibility and leadership. Other kids always follow his lead, and he is always the one inventing new games. There was one time, Thomas and other kids are hanging out outside, and it looked like they were bored. Suddenly Thomas saw that the adults were cooking in the kitchen. He asked “who wants to play kitchen game.” All the kids ran to him and wanted to participate. He started ordering “you, go get the pot”, “you, go to the dorm get crackers”… Kids went to get all the stuff he needed. They were playing for a long time. After everybody got bored, he suggested the Police game… He is the most energetic kid in his group. Other kids like to call him “big brother” because he acts like a big brother. He obeys his teacher. He is always the first one to finish his tasks.

There must be a family out there with children who could love a leader like Thomas? I remember thinking how adorable he was during the camp! That little face just melts my heart! Surely there is a family out there for Thomas? There's a new year coming up, the economy is improving and the adoption tax credit/refund has been extended through 2012! Don't wait! Please help find Thomas' family and have them contact me: marcisk@asiadopt.org

Exciting Updates!!!

Our little elf, Eva, was able to convey to Bao an what kind of updates we would like on the children and this morning we received updates on 17 of the kids!!!!! They are all currently in Chinese, so our other elf, Fei, will be working hard to translate them tomorrow so I can post all of the wonderful stories and information they provided us with about the children. Stay tuned for more exciting posts and pictures!!!!

More From Santa's Elves

Cute Kerry:

All of the boys in this picture are still in need of families!

All of the boys from Shenzhen were very mature and obedient, however Kerry was a happy-go-lucky, outgoing kid! He was the one that seemed most like a kid just enjoying being a kid! He liked chosing his gifts and got right in there, unable to contain his excitement, although he did maintain his politeness:-) You can see the other boys are rather reserved, but this kiddo has personality! Kerry and Warner were both outgoing and asked Susan and Eva (our elves) questions. Kerry is in a foster family with several of the other children. Kerry is a healthy older boy who needs a forever family. Could you or someone you know be that family to make his dream come true?

Sweet Harold

Look at this sweet face!






All of the boys in this picture are still available:

Eva confirmed that Harold still has such a sweet, shy personality. The heart wrenching part of her visit was finding out that the orphanage tried to register him for adoption several years ago, but there was a mishap, so this adorable little boy lost his opportunity to find a family when he was still young and reportedly very cute and pudgy! Nevertheless, we hope to still find him a family. You can see that he does much better with people he knows and in an environment with fewer people. We could barely catch him smiling back in April, but Eva got several pictures of him looking relaxed and smiling. He is also a very bright boy! He is in 4th grade, which is ahead of his age level in China. Susan asked him some complicated math questions and he answered correctly right away! Harold said that he likes to read for fun. Isn't there a family out there that would be a good match for this sweet boy? Contact me if you could be that family: marcisk@asiadopt.org

Bo and CJ, brothers at heart

Bo and CJ live in the same foster home and truly act like brothers. They attend the same elementary school--Bo is in 2nd grade and CJ is in 1st grade. They share a bed and communicate well with one another, aside from the normal sibling arguments over toys.

Bo has made great improvements since meeting him in April. He helps his foster family with chores and is extremely detail-oriented and a perfectionist. Bo takes his tasks very seriously. When he is asked to do chores with his foster siblings, he sweeps the floor and makes sure it is clean down to the last piece of hair. He gets very happy when his foster mother praises him for his good work. He has learned to care for himself very well now and takes instruction well. When he is corrected for doing something wrong, he listens and tries to do the right thing next time. For example, when his teacher passed out notebooks one afternoon, she left the extras on a table after class ended. Bo put them in his backpack and took them home. His foster mother found them and explained that it was wrong. The next day, Bo took the notebooks back to his teacher and apologized and promised not to do it again. Bo has become a much more open and happy boy. He can carry on good long conversations with people with whom he is familiar. He likes to play with the other kids in his neighborhood.

CJ is a bright little boy who often remembers things after just being taught once. He gets good grades. He is active and lively and can sometimes be a bit mischevious. He is also a very caring little boy. One time when his foster mother was out, his foster brother came down with a fever. The foster dad went to look for some medicine, so CJ went to the bathroom and got a warm, wet towel and put it on his brother's forehead. The foster mother was so touched when she found out because she had once done that to help CJ when he had a fever, and he remembered. He is also very empathic. Once when his brother was crying because he got corrected for doing something wrong, CJ tried to soothe him by saying: "Don't worry, brother, it will be ok, just do better next time." CJ has lots of friends and often takes care of his younger friends.

Both Bo and CJ bring much joy to their foster family. They would make the perfect addition(s) to the right forever family. Could you be that family?

Eva The Elf is Baaack!

Eva arrived back at the office today and gave us a wonderful update on the Santa Stopped in China event! Bao an's Sunshine Academy held a Christmas party that day, complete with Christmas tree, Santa hats, gift bags for the kids and candies. Eva brought pictures which she is still uploading of the kids who were all extremely excited to be getting gifts! The backpacks were a hit, along with all of the other goodies the elves brought! Bao an was so gracious and willing to share more information about the children. They were pleased to hear about those who have families pursuing them and more than happy to provide more information about those that don't. Again Eva got the impression that the folks at Bao an truly love the children and want what is best for them.

Eva got some additional information on all of the children. It seems that they have all made tremendous progress since we were there in April! Some of the kids seemed to be completely different in the more mellow environment this time and really came out of their shells. Harley has made incredible academic progress since returning to the more supportive school environment at the institute. It seems that he had a bad experience in public school where the teachers made discouraging comments. He is thriving in the supportive school that the institute provides. Lilah also seemed to be much more comfortable chatting with her foster family than with strangers. She hardly spoke at the camp and is a shy child, but Eva was able to observe her having conversations readily with her foster family. She was a happy, talkative little girl who knew what to say, is definitive and is very capable of taking care of herself and helping with the younger kids and chores in her family. When talking with Eva, she gave very short answers, but when talking with people she knew, she was much more eager and talkative.

So stay tuned, because there is going to be LOTS more pictures and information on the kids to come! What a wonderful gift!

Santa Stopped in China

Our little elf, Eva, delivered the gifts to the Hope Journey children and the other children living in the orphanages there. We have not heard any specifics yet, but we do know that they wound up with even more donations due to the generosity of many last minute donors! They were able to buys lots of gifts for each child so they will have a wonderful Christmas!!! Each of the kids in the Hope Journey program will get their very own backpack. The little elves were also able to buy 40 bounce-on animal gym toys to help train their core and balance (and they're also fun!), pens in various styles, stickers, watches, finger puppets and hair accessories. There was enough money left over to give to the orphanage to have them buy shoes for each child! It will be a very Merry Christmas, indeed! Stay tuned for more information and pictures in the coming days.

You may have also heard of our current fundraiser, Give the Gift of Family? We have had several extremely generous donors for that as well and are continuing to raise money to help unite children and families. It truly is the season of giving and we appreciate all who are helping to unite children and families! If you're considering an end-of-the-year donation, please consider giving the Gift of Family. Happy Holidays to all!