Happy Halloween!

Scary stories, folks in costume, spooky sounds and trick or treating! I love taking my child to the pumpking patch and seeing her reactions to all of the fun Halloween activities and letting her pick out the perfect pumpkin. The air is just starting to turn crisp in this neck of the woods and the leaves are just starting to fall. It's getting darker earlier and the gloom of winter is upon us, yet we have holidays to celebrate!

My favorite holiday of all time--moowahhahahaha!!! Although my heart is sad because I've just heard that Halloween has been cancelled in some parts of the country due to the storms and power outages! Poor kiddos! Maybe they can make the best of it and tell scary stories and have candy or s'mores.

Halloween is a great time for kids and for families! There is nothing better than seeing your child dress up and be absolutely whoever or whatever they want to be for a night! Let their imaginations go crazy and then they get to enjoy themselves as whatever creature they have decided to be. It's a great time to have BOYS, as they're not scared of the spookiness of Halloween--the spiders, the ghosts, the ghoulish faces walking around the streets, saying "Trick or Treat!" How I wish we could grant each of our waiting children the greatest gift, and give them forever families to share their life experiences with, and to have that unconditional love that allows children to venture forth on nights like Halloween, knowing they have a safe home and family to return to at the end.

Files Went Back

I'm happy to report that families were able to apply for Marianne, Lina, Janelle and Scott before their files went back. However, the rest of that group's files did go back: Heath, Foster, Darien, Leroy, Corey, Greta and the twins' files all went back to the shared list. We can still access them, but they have now gone back to listing on the shared list. We have been feverishly working with our families today on urgent issues, so I will have more time for a post next week. But I wanted to say:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Let's Not Forget Our Boys and Girl from Baotou

 Life in Baotou:

 Lillian likes music and playing with toys. She is rather shy with new people, but very close to her caretaker. She is an energetic girl who loves pretty dresses and having visitors come and is very well behaved with visitors. She is very happy when she gets to wear new clothes or pretty dresses or receives gifts. One of her happiest moments recently was having a small birthday party with cake. She loves to play on the trampoline and recently learned to do a somersault with the help of her foster mother. In March she moved into a new house with other girls and gets along with them.

 Jake just had another birthday without a family. He is an 8 year old boy with a lot of boy energy. He is enthusiastic, but can also focus when asked to do so. He is very interested in superheros, as you can see from his picture of his superhero pose:-) Jake would do great in a family with some other boys, whether they are brothers, a dad who likes to wrestle or some uncles or cousins close by. His special need doesn't seem to affect him a whole lot in his daily life.

Skippy is an adorable 8 year old boy. He's sweet, happy go lucky and outgoing. He needs a patient family who will help him focus and work through his challenges. Skippy is physically very able, but needs some help in school and a Mom and Dad who will help and give him the attention he needs instead of giving up. Skippy also loves superheros and is buddies with Zeke and Jake.

Zeke is a 9 year old boy who seems very mature for his age. His special need scares a lot of people away, but if you didn't know what it was, I bet you could never guess! He's very capable, outgoing and really wants a family. He needs a family who can focus on him for a while and make up for the lack of a family for 9 years of his life. Zeke is a very polite and obedient young boy, but also very goofy when given the chance and seems to be a leader among his peers.

A Visit to an Orphanage

ASIA's China Director visited an orphanage recentely and took some of these cute pictures. Some of these kids are on the Special Focus list already and some don't have files yet. There were LOTS of boys!

Jeffrey:

Meet Jeffrey. This is what Susan had to say about Jeffrey: . He can answer the questions, can say three word sentances. His language is OK. He smiles a lot. He knows his body parts. He can’t run yet. He has very good eye contact. When I asked him to hold my hand, he doesn’t hold my hand but John’s instead. He likes John. He said to John: "Ni Hao!" when he saw John at first glance.





Stay tuned for more children featured from our waiting child list....

Desperately Seeking Scott

We are desperately working our hearts out to get another one of the older children about to age out home to his family. Scott now has a family pursuing him! You may remember him from the updated pictures of him where he is driving a car and playing basketball. He ages out in early January, so the whole staff is working hard to make this happen! Keep Scott in mind these next couple of months!

Our last record breaking adoption of a child about to age out has safely made it home and is adjusting to her new life. Her family is truly inspiring. They make the world shine a little brighter.

Meet Carly

Please meet Carly. Her nannies initially thought she might be showing some autistic behaviors. Then they moved her to a different room, where she seemed to improve. Our China Director recently visited her orphanage and took this video of Carly. Early on it seems that she is pretty intent on playing by herself. Then her nanny picks her up and she is very engaged.Take a look for yourselves! Then let me know if you would like to consider her or any of our other adorable waiting children: marcisk@asiadopt.org

Isn't She Gorgeous?

Please meet Abby....isn't she gorgeous? That smile just warms my heart as she smiles right down to her core. These pictures are from a visit our China Director made to her orphanage. Our China Director brought some goodies, and as you can see, Abby took delight in exploring those things. She was active, despite her special need--she walks with a bit of a limp. She is also very outgoing and didn't hesitate in front of the cameras. What a treasure! Her file is available for review. Please don't be scared away by her special needs. Abby needs a family of her own! Could you be that family?