Once Upon A Time....

Once upon a time ASIA had a family reviewing a child's file. When they saw the video, another child ran across the screen and they knew that was their child. And so it was....is your child in this video? Don't miss your opportunity to find out:

Boys, Boys, Boys! And Adorable Andy

You may have noticed that we keep posting about adorable boys that we met on our trip last month. There are always more waiting boys available than girls...many more! I always get comments or checks in the interesting box when I post about girls, but when I post about boys, it remains silent. This has long been a problem faced by adoption agencies, and no one that I know has come up with a solution. Well, I haven't either, but I keep posting about boys with the hope that one of these descriptions or pictures will capture someone's heart and another boy will find a family.

The next boy I have to write about is named Andy. Andy is a precious boy who captures the hearts of everyone who gets to know him. We didn't get to meet him on our trip because he had been transferred elsewhere to recover from his surgery, but we did find out a bit about him. He is a bit of a tease at times, but very friendly, happy, loving and fun. His special need has been repaired and he seems to be doing very well. All Andy needs now is his family to find him. Could you be the family to love this adorable boy forever? Look at those cute, little pudgy cheeks--don't you just want to squeeze them and make him laugh?  Andy will keep you laughing and entertained.Could you picture holding him in your arms? For more information, please contact Marci: marcisk@asiadopt.org 


GREAT NEWS! ANDY HAS A FAMILY!!!!!

Gregarious Greer

Let me introduce you to the most playful, bright and outgoing kid you will meet:

Seven-year-old Greer is friendly, eager to please and very smart. He does extremely well in public school and is independent with his daily needs. Greer was part of a group selected to participate in a Saturday art class outside the institute for children that have talent in art. He is best friends with Finley and wants a family very much. He is eager to have a Mama, Baba and brothers and sisters. He told us that he's willing to learn English to have a family and he was extremely responsive when we talked with him. Greer is a fun-loving kid and would make a great addition to a family.

Gentle Jasper

We met Jasper out at a foster home. It wasn't his foster home and he was very disturbed by the strange surroundings and all that was going on around him.. He cried for most of the visit, walking around and knocking on the walls to try to get his bearings. While he was in his foster mother's arms he was fine, as you can see from the picture below. 

Jasper in his foster mother's arms

Jasper calming down and enjoying the music on the Ipad

Jasper upset at being poked and prodded and having to get weighed

We have only had 1 child adopted with Jasper's special need previously, but that child functions amazingly well. I was surprised to see Jasper make his away around so easily as well, even though he was upset. He did finally calm down when I played music for him and put his hand on the Ipad. I imagine that his sense of hearing is quite strong and he enjoyed the music, even swaying to it after a while. When the music stopped, he tried to make it start again and it was clear he wanted more. Perhaps there is a little musician inside of Jasper? I'm sure a forever family could help him blossom into the child he is meant to be. If your family would like to consider Jasper, or view our waiting child list, please contact me: marcisk@asiadopt.org 

Terrific Taryn!

I want to tell you about Taryn. We met Taryn at her group foster home and she was happy, friendly, welcoming and got along with the other kids there very well. In fact, she seemed to be a caregiver or mother figure to a couple of the kids with significant special needs. She was so sweet and caring towards them, helping with their therapies, helping to meet their basic needs and to make sure they felt included in whatever activities were going on there. She also told us that one of the girls she takes care of is her best friend and that's who she would miss most if she were to be adopted. Taryn sincerely wants to be adopted. You can see it in her sweet eyes. She said she wants a Mom and Dad, older sister older brother, younger sister and younger brother. Taryn is worried about being alone if she doesn't find a family. She knows she is close to aging out. She is very open to moving to the U.S., as she says it has a better living environment and is better than China. She knows some simple words in English. 

Taryn Dressed up and ready to play

Taryn caring for her friend

Taryn playing our camp game

Taryn loves to dance; she likes jazz, Latin and street dance. She was also selected to be the MC for her school's Children's Day program. I can imagine that this would be a great job for Taryn-she is quite chatty:-) Taryn would do great in a family that has parented teenagers. It seems like it would take her a little while to warm up, but once she did, she would be a very caring member of a family and would make a wonderful addition. Taryn turns 13 in the fall, so we hope we can find her family before then. Please help us to spread the word about Taryn so she can find her family in time!

The Thrill and Excitment

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! The holiday reminded me about the joy parents get from seeing their children experience and enjoy new things. Fireworks and the 4th of July celebrations are some of those classic experiences. As a parent, you get to experience the thrill of that experience through the eyes of a child and their enthusiastic reactions that have not yet been censored. To me, that is the best part of the holiday, no matter what the age, they are always experiencing these things in new ways. Why do I bring this up when I'm supposed to be talking about waiting children? Because no matter who a child is or what challenges they are born with, they all still experience that unbridled awe and amazement that fireworks provoke.

If you are a family who is looking for your child and looks forward to experiences like that, I urge you to get started immediately. Once we receive Non-Special Focus children, it will be too late for folks to begin the process at that point for one of those children. Those children with minor special needs whom everyone seems to be looking for, are only available to families who have completed dossiers (paperwork). So if you feel that you may have a child in China waiting for you, please apply and get started so you don't miss your opportunity to be united with your child.

Now, if you're one of the amazing families who can look beyond the special needs of children with more serious challenges, or those who are older, then please take a look at our waiting child list now. We have plenty of Special Focus children waiting for their families. You can hear about them in my posts below. These children range in age from 2 years old to 13 years old, boys and girls with various conditions. To view our waiting child list, please contact me: marcisk@asiadopt.org  We always respond within 24 hours or less, so if you don't receive a response, please try again!

If you want to take a look at a wonderful video about waiting children, please click here:

Thank You, Volunteers!

I wanted to take a moment to highlight our wonderful volunteers that we had on our trip and thank them for their huge contributions. Steve, who is a nurse, training to be a N.P, and Honour, a child who was adopted from China at the age of 14, volunteered their time and money to travel with us and share their talents. They were both wonderful additions to our team and provided some excellent incite into the kids we met. Steve did some basic medical assessments and measurements on the kids, so we thank him for his contributions. Honour spent a lot of time taking videos for me, so the thanks goes to her for that, as well as helping to talk to the older kids about adoption. So thank you, Honour and Steve! You were both amazing!  Here are some pictures of our wonderful volunteers:

Honour talking with one of the older children

Steve taking measurements

Changsha #1's new playground with Honour, Steve, Fei and Susan

Honour taking video 

Steve getting to know Lacey

Steve assessing one of the children's abilities 

We welcome volunteers to contact us anytime to express interest in our future trips. Specifically, we are looking for people who are experienced with adoption or who have training in the medical fields, or who are able to do developmental evaluations. Although, we welcome others to inquire with unique talents as well!