Struggling

I've been struggling about what to say here on the blog...it has been a sad day here at the office. It is looking like our little heart baby may not have much hope. Along those lines, I look at the shared list and it's full of boys. It is 74% boys, yet everyone wants girls. NONE of the boys about to age out with grants have found families! How can that be? Will it truly be their fate to live without a family? Take one last look and see if any of these boys could be yours.

Our current list of kiddos from Baotou is all boys. On that note, I have two bits of Good News to share:
Wally found his family--hooray! It sounds like Jeremy has a family, too! It's likely that Jonathan will have a family, so those are victories to celebrate! Yet Skippy, Zeke and Charlie have no one looking at their files. Lee, Foster, Heath, Leroy, Perry and Hansen who will age out in a matter of months don't have anyone considering them as far as I know. They are on the shared list, so perhaps they do. Yes, they are older boys, but they are still young and sweet at heart! These boys should have families! If you could be one of their families, please contact me: marcisk@asiadopt.org We're running out of time for the 13 year olds!

A Little Adoption Inspiration

Today my heart was so happy as I talked to one of our moms who got home yesterday with her new son. He was part of our Hope's Journey 2 program last year and even with the jet lag, I could hear the utter happiness and wonder of actually having him home and playing in their backyard!

It is always the children and the families like this that inspire us every day.

If you are looking for some inspiration on why you should consider adoption, below are some thoughts from other ASIA families:

...."Where do I start? I find joy everyday because of my sweet daughter. If anyone is worried about loving an adopted child, don't! I have 4 biological children and the love isn't any different. I pray that we can add another little one to our family some day."

...."Adoption comes from the heart. When we decided to adopt it felt so right...like we were meant to go on this journey all our lives. Our daughter completes us."

...."My sons were born in my heart long before they ever came home. The One who formed the universe hand picked me to be their mom. Our lives have been changed in ways that we never could have imagined when we first decided to adopt."

Why Older Child Adoption?

One of our wonderful families has given us permission to share her gorgeous and eloquent blog post about their journey to adopt an older child and who she has blossomed into...it is quite beautiful and I would encourage all to read it:

http://www.michellerphotoblog.com/2011/04/inspiration-52-week-14.html

Perhaps this will inspire others to take the leap of faith and adopt an older child as well? There are so many out there who need Mom's and Dad's to love them! I've posted about several of those kiddos, yet still no one has asked to consider the files of Skippy, Zeke or Charlie....they're waiting for you!

Meet Zeke

Zeke is a charming, polite and bright young man who invited us into his room and pulled out chairs for each of us, asking us to "please sit down." He is a wonderful host, a happy boy and desperately wants to be adopted. There is an adorable picture of Zeke and Skippy together that I wish I could post on here, but it's a close up! They're like two peas in a pod, or perhaps more like Larry and Mo:-)

Zeke's group went outside to play one day and I peeked out the window to take some pictures without being seen. That didn't last long--they spotted me and soon were doing superhero poses to get my attention. Zeke is a bit of a ham--always the first to pose in front of a camera, or recite a poem or sing a song to show off. He's smart! This is a boy with a lot of potential in life! Surely there is a family that would be thrilled to find Zeke!

Zeke is not only an older boy, which is essentially a special need in itself, but he does have a minor special need. This type of child is the hardest to place. Can you help Zeke's dream to come true?

Caught in the Act

Jake is all boy! He is active, funny, determined, focused and goofy all rolled up into one. He is outgoing and once he saw us walking down the hallway, proceeded to welcome us with some superhero moves. He is very active and social and follows instructions well. He is able to multitask and I think this boy might be destined to be a lawyer! He is a determined negotiator and doesn't give up easily:-) He doesn't have much opportunity to follow his dreams where he is now, but with a family, there is no doubt he can go far! To consider Jake, contact me: marcisk@asiadopt.org

Susan and I snuck up on Jake, Donna and Fei during their evaluation and I caught Fei demonstrating the wheelbarrow with Donna:-)

Hello, I'm Charlie

Charlie was another boy who any of us would have been happy to take home. He's a happy little guy who has the most determination of any of the kids we met. What a sweetheart! If you could see the close up pictures I took of him, you would fall head over heals in love with him, too! He is truly a gentle boy with a very loving personality. He's not outgoing, but friendly nonetheless and always smiling. He wants to please, so he always tries his hardest. Doesn't that sound like a perfect son and addition to your family? Charlie does have some challenges, but with some treatment, this boy could thrive. He is fully functional in his daily living tasks and very willing to learn. See our password protected website for close ups of his sweet face. If you would like to take a look at his file, email me: marcisk@asiadopt.org

Meet Jeremy

Jeremy is another boy that stole all of our hearts! He was so sweet and caring with the other children in his room. You could tell he was a teacher's helper kind of boy. He would patiently show his friends how to do something they were having difficulty with, or he would open their snacks for them if they couldn't. He was outgoing and responsive and he really doesn't have much of a special need. This boy is such a sweetheart! If you're a mama wanting a girl because they're cute and cuddly, this is a boy who is cuddly! He'll shower you with kisses and hugs once he gets comfortable with you. I have no doubt this boy would thrive in a family with younger or older siblings. He's so gentle and kind and thoughtful. If you have any interest in Jeremy, please contact me--his file is currently available as I write this: marcisk@asiadopt.org

Meet Skippy

Please meet Skippy:

This is a typical picture of Skippy, as he is a happy-go-lucky boy who laughs a lot! In this picture, he was looking at picture of himself on the digital camera and thought that was really funny:-) He is such a sweet boy who sincerely enjoys life to its fullest. He wants a family of his own and would make a very sweet, loving son and bring a lot of fun and laughter into a family. Skippy stole all of our hearts and every time we saw him he would give us a big smile and wave hi! In fact, he was one of the very first children who came out to see us when we arrived. His special need is pretty mild and Skippy is fully functional in his daily life. I have no doubts that he would thrive in a family. Could you be the family for Skippy? Please contact me if you would like to consider him: marcisk@asiadopt.org

Plugs for the Older Kids

I want to put in a plug for the older kids. We are advocating for 7 kids about to age out of eligibility for adoption and they all have grants attached to them. If you're interested, please contact me right away--they don't have any time to waste!

Here's a few pictures from Fei's visit to the CCAA (now CCCWA).

We also have some kids from Baotou. The password has changed on our waiting child list, so if you would like the new one, please email me the form again with your information filled in marcisk@asiadopt.org :

Name:

Mailing Address:

City/State/Zip:

Phone Number:

E-Mail Address:

Your ages:

Are you married? If so, what was the date of your marriage?

Have you or your spouse been divorced? If so, how many times?

Annual Income:

Do your net assets reach $80,000 or more?
If you are single, do your net assets reach $100,000?

What are you and your spouse’s highest levels of education?

Do you or your spouse have a criminal record?

What are you and your spouse’s Body Mass Index: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/adult_BMI/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.htm

Do you or your spouse have any health conditions, or a history of any health conditions? Do either of you take medication for anything? Please explain:

Number of children in your home:
How long have you had them?

Do you have a home study completed or in process?

Is your dossier in another country?
If it’s in China, with what agency?
Do they have access to the shared list?

Why do you want to view ASIA’s waiting children?

How did you hear about ASIA?

State that you “agree” or “disagree” to the following statement:

“I recognize that ASIA regards the information about children in its Waiting Child program to be private and confidential. If I am granted access to this information, I agree that I will only use this information personally in my own quest to adopt a child with special needs. I will not give the password and access information to anyone. I will not share or disseminate (including cut and paste) any of the information contained on the site.”

We have 8 files from Baotou!

Here's the little guy with the heart condition pulling my hair:-)




Here's the babies' room where they get lots of attention:

We expected not to get files for at least a few months for the kids from Baotou, but there were a few kids who already have files done, so we now have them on our private list. After our families in process take a look at them, I will be introducing them to you:-) Meanwhile, here's a few more pictures from the trip to keep your attention.

Beijing Foster Homes

Our last day in China we spent in Beijing visiting foster homes run by Chinacare that had children from Baotou in them. We visited the Chinacare facility as well, which had several premies from Baotou and a few toddlers from Boutou. They were very protective of the children and we're not allowed to post their pictures, so you'll have to wait on those. But here are a few pics from our time there. We could have spent all day with those sweet little babies! Baotou sends their children that are medically fragile or need surgeries to Beijing to be cared for until they're ready to return to the orphanage. All of the babies from Baotou receive excellent care! It was very heartwarming.