One more shot

The time has come to release the files of the first batch of special focus children who we haven't found families for back to the shared list. Doing this has been harder on me than I had anticipated. My heart just kept hurting for them as I thought of how easily they can get "lost" on that shared list of over 2000 children....sigh. Luckily I work with a very wise woman who kept reminding me that they will now have the opportunity to find a family through another agency. So, I said a prayer for Elise, Joseph, Erin, Hannah and Bryce and released their files. However...... I couldn't help but to give one more shot to these two boys.




Jayden and Jeffrey





I'm pretty surprised that these little guys didn't find their family yet. Mostly because their special needs have been corrected and their prognosis's should be pretty good. Soooo here it is one more short description on each of these cutie patooties.

Jayden has one of the cutest little faces I have every seen. His birthday is 2/10/2008. He is very outgoing and loves to play outside and with other children. He loves to explore and learn about things he has never seen. Jayden has a deformity of some of his fingers and toes. The deformity is very minor and his fingers are very nimble. He can pick up small beads, take caps off and on bottles and sew through button holes with a plastic needle and string. Jayden also has spina bifida that has been surgically corrected. He is able to walk, go up and down stairs, and dress and undress himself. He is also potty trained. His CT showed widened lateral ventricles on both sides but he has not been diagnosed with any brain disorder. In fact he is very bright, can speak well, understands the difference between big and little, and can do puzzles.

Jeffrey is an extroverted little boy who is very active. He likes to sing children's songs and play games with other children. He had surgery for meningocele and tethered cord syndrome. The surgery went well and the conditions were repaired. Little Jeffrey can run, jump and play like other boys his age. You can view a video of sweet Jeffrey just a few posts below. Jeffrey is from the same orphanage that our first Journey of Hope camp was held. He is being cared for in one of their foster homes where he is growing and developing well.

If either of these boys is tugging at your heart please contact our office by phone 970-532-3576 or by email info@aacadoption.com We will have their files only until next Monday.

Update on Gabriel

Remember Gabriel.... He's one of the seven remaining Journey of Hope children. We recently received updated pictures of him. In case you missed the post featuring this little guy. Here's a summary... Gabriel is a sweet little seven year old boy. He is very friendly and full of smiles. He has a great imagination and is very creative. Gabriel enjoys playing with other children. During game time, he was eager to participate in every activity. During the interview, Gabriel told me that he enjoys playing games and riding bikes. He is currently in first grade. He likes school and has many friends there. One of Gabriel's favorite things to do is draw. Gabriel also enjoys practicing Kung Fu. He and his foster brother are taking classes. They are both quite talented. Check out the video below. Awesome!
Deleted for technical reasons...Please see previous post.
Gabriel's "special need" is deformity of the genitals. It is not a severe deformity and it is clear (in my opinion) that he is a male. Children with this issue are given a genetic testing just to make sure. It confirmed that he is a boy. He has no issues with urination and is otherwise healthy. And here are the updated photos....Gabriel is still practicing hard at Kung Fu

And working hard on his schoolwork....

If you feel this little guy tugging at your heart, please call our office 970-532-3576. We would love to give you more information on him.

Another Great Event.....Mark Your Calander's For The Next One!

Last weekend was our annual holiday party. What a great turn out. The event center was packed.

As always, there was great food, and friendships. Also, there was great Christmas shopping opportunities with our culture item sale. This year we had balloon artists and the Berthoud Show Choir for entertainment.

And of course the big man was there...

Thanks to all who came. We really enjoyed seeing you.

Save the date for our next event, Chinese/Korean New Year

February 12, 2011

11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Brookside Event Center (just west of AAC office)

Come ring in the Lunar New Year with us. There will be dragon dancers, arts and crafts, Red Evelope Ceremony and much more. Asian food will be provided in addition to pot luck. This event is free. Please RSVP by emailing info@aacadoption.com or calling 970-532-3576.

Beth and Drew

We got new pictures of Beth and Drew!
Check them out =)


























What Awesome kids!!! Please take the time to go back and read the previous posts about each of these children. They really are great!

Return of Special Focus Children

Early in September CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) began a new program called special focus. This program allowed for children who has been on the "shared list" for more than 2 months to be placed on agencies individual list. This allowed agencies to put forth extra effort to find homes for these children. So far it has been pretty successful. We have found homes for 7 children. However, the special focus regulations only allow agencies to keep the children's files for three months.
If we do not have prospective families for the below listed children by December 13, their files will be returned to the shared list. This is heart breaking to us because their are currently over 2000 files on the shared list. They become one of soooo many and have so much less of a chance of finding a family. Please read through their descriptions below. If one of them is tugging at your heart, please contact us. Fill out a preliminary application from our website www.aacadoption.com and mention the child's name in the comments section. We will then send you additinal information about the child and the adoption process. If you have further questions, you can email us at info@aacadoption.com or call us at 970-532-3576.




Erin is a sweet young girl. She was born on 2/25/2009. She likes listening to music and will sway her body. She absolutley loves taking baths.

Erin has leucoma in both eyes. As she has gotten older her caretakers have found that she can see somethings. Otherwise she is developmentally on track.









Desirae is a beautiful young girl with corrected cleft lip and palate. She is 11 years old. She has a sweet temperment. She likes to dress up and fix her hair. She loves the littler children and enjoys helping take care of them. She cuddles them, sings songs to them and plays games with them. The little children like her very much.








Bryce is a charming litte guy. He is 3 years old now (the picture somewhat dated) and adored by his caretakers. His caretakers say that 'his naughty look' is very adorable. He likes to play shy and cover his mouth when smiling at you.

Bryce was born with an imperforated anus that has been surgically corrected. He also has hypospadias and his heart is shifted to the right.







This darling little girl was born on October 22, 2008. Elise is outgoing and has a ready smile.

Elise was originally diagnosed as a healthy child. However, her development is slower than other children her age. She is not speaking yet. Her CT showed underdevelopment of the brain. She has had 3 seizure like episodes. Epilepsy is being considered.



This adorable little guy was born 2-10-2008. Jayden is very outgoing around those he is familiar with. he loves to play outside and with other children. He loves to explore and learn about things he has never seen.

Jayden has a minor deformity of some of his fingers and toes. He also has cleft thoracic vertebral plate associated with meningocele which has been surgically corrected. He is able to walk, go up and down stairs, and dress and undress himself. He is also potty trained. Jayden is very bright, can speak well, has great hand/eye coordination, and fine motor skills.



Hannah is a charming little four year old girl. She is extroverted and active. She gets along well with others and is not afraid of visitors. Hannah always greats them sweetly and even asks for cuddles.

Hannah was born with scoliosis. Her knees are turned a bit and she has a deformity of one of her feet. She can not walk on her own but can get around well if she holds on to something.



This sweet little girl was born on September 13, 2008. She is shy but energetic. She loves to play with toys and she loves to be rocked.

Emily had an abnormal CT scan. She seems to be developmentally on track and we are awaiting more information.





This cute little guy is four years old. Jeffrey is an extroverted little boy who is very active. He likes to sing children's songs and play games with other children.
Jeffrey had surgury for meningocele and tethered cord syndrome. The surgery went well and the conditions were repaired. Little Jeffrey can run, jump and play like other boys his age.

We hightlighted this little guy in another post that included a video. Make sure to check it out. He is such a doll!


Meet Joseph, a wonderful 11 year old boy. He is outgoing, sociable, and full of curiosity. Joseph often expresses his hope to have his own mom and dad. He has been asked if he was willing to live with parents with different nationality than him. He said "Yes, definately!"

Joseph had a hernia that was surgically repaired in 2006. He also has a banding around his right forearm and is missing half of his pinky on his right hand.

Sleep Issues

So many of our adoptive families have questions about sleep issues once baby comes home. If you are experiencing sleep issues or would like to read up on it in preparation for your child...here's a link to a great article.
http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=1074

First Journey of Hope Kid Comes HOME!!!

Right now I am sitting here reminiscing on this moment...



This was the first time that we met "Harper". I will never forget sitting with her and playing. She amazed us all and captured our hearts!

The emotions that we all felt during the Journey of Hope Camp can not be put into words. It was a time that both broke our hearts and filled them with hope. There were tears that's for sure!

I think the tears are going to flow again tomorrow because as I write this little "Harper" is on her way HOME with her FAMILY!! She is AAC's first Journey of Hope child to be united with her family. We are on the edge of our seats ready to welcome them home!!!

Tomorrow will be a day of celebration indeed!

Special Focus Child- Jeffrey

Today I'd like to focus on little Jeffrey. Little Jeffrey is only four years old. He is such a cutie pie! His nannies say that he is an extroverted little boy who is very active. He likes to sing children's songs and play games with other children.

Jeffrey had surgery for meningocele and tethered cord syndrome. The surgery went well and the conditions were repaired. Little Jeffrey can run, jump and play like other boys his age.

We requested Jeffrey's file for our special focus list because he is in the same orphanage that our Journey of Hope Camp was held. We know that this orphanage has a wonderful caring staff and the children are well taken care of. Because of the relationship that was built during Journey of Hope, we were able to get more info on little Jeffrey...including the video in the post below =)

Jeffrey is just darling as you can see. We have placed several children in the last couple of years with meningocele. Many cases seem to be quite minor and have a good prognosis if the surgery is successful. Jeffrey seems to be one of these cases

I urge you to investigate this medical condition and contact our office for more info on this little boy.

Jeffrey Video

Special Focus Child- Donovan

AAC now has many special focus children listed on our website. Their files have been placed on our individual list so that we may make the best effort to find families for them.

Today we'd like take the time to highlight little Donovan.


Here is the description that we have of him on our website...

Little Donovan was born on 3/12/2009. He is a playful little boy who is liked very much by his caretakers. Donovan loves food and will get excited when he knows that it is time to eat. He is very friendly and has a ready smile. His favorite activity is playing with other children.

Donovan has been diagnosed with arthrogryposis, which is a joint disorder. He is unable to bend his wrists or elbows. This little guy is in need of some physical therepy and will need to find his own ways of accomplishing certain tasks. He has had extensive xrays that have found no abnormalities in his bones or joints. With a loving family and the right care, Donovan could flourish.





We requested Donovan's file to be placed on our individual listing because we recently placed a little girl with the same condition. She is an amazing girl and mesmorized all of the staff when we met her. Watching her overcome her disablity has made us see arthrogryposis as a managable medical condition. The family has been gracious enough to share a bit of their story...


As soon as I got off the phone after receiving our referral for an 11 month old baby girl with arthrogryposis I went straight for the internet. There's a possibility I did that prior to calling my husband but maybe it was at the same time! The internet can be a great thing for medical issues or it can be terrible. This time it was great. I found an online community ( http://www.amcsupport.org/ ) almost immediately that had descriptions of what arthrogryposis is and the ability to meet people locally that have experience with athrogryposis. The two things that stick in my mind from that first day of research are that arthrogryposis is not progressive so it won't get any worse, it can only get better, and that children with arthrogryposis are determined and amazing individuals.

Ellie came home at 17 months and is now 19 months. Her adjustment has been great. She is fitting right in with her two and a half year old twin brothers. They treat her as one of their own, and I'm choosing to think of that as a good thing! Her arms, from her shoulders down to her fingers, are affected by arhrogryposis but she still suprises us daily with what she can do. She does not know it should be easier to stack three blocks but she works at it, or anything else, until she accomplishes it. We see a local therapist three times a week and she gets one on one playtime with him. Between that and the additional work we do at home she is gaining strength and movement and is doing more and more each week. There can be alot of uncertainties when adopting a special needs child, but the benefits of raising such a child are greater than we could have imagined. We are all very proud of her and so fortunate that she has joined our family.






We ask you to check in to this condition and ask yourself if this is a condition that you could help a child to overcome. If so, won't you please consider this beautiful baby boy!

Let's Not Let Them Be Left Behind

We are elated be able to tell you that 22 of the 30 children that participated in the Journey of Hope camp have found families! In terms of figures, that's 73%. A wonderful number I know...but...yes there is a but....I can't stop thinking of the 8 children who still do not have a home.


Beth
Drew

Marshall

Micah

Alex

Gabriel

Jared

Grant

I look back at pictures such as these and I can't help but think that Beth is the only one in these photos with out a family.

Because we met them face to face, it is hard to think of them as an acceptable 27% unsucess rate. They are children who NEED the love and nurturing of a family. It breaks my heart to think of how they will feel as one by one they watch their friends leave with their new families. Most likely, it will be especially hard for the older children, who can really understand . The ones who really knew the purpose of the camp.

In effort to help bring these children home, AAC has decided to double the grant money available for their adoption. $4,000 will now go toward the second phase fees. If you would like more information about any of our waiting children please feel free to give us a call (970) 532-3576 or email us info@aacadoption.com

Another Great Party

The Old West Fall Fest was a big hit! We had a pretty full house and the barn at Brookside Gardens was almost filled to capacity=)

As always, it was great to see all the kids dressed up in their costumes. Adorable!

The old west theme turned out to be a pretty fun change. A wonderful AAC family generously supplied some country fun, including a mechanical bull. The kids had a blast with this!

There was even mini bull ridin' for the little ones. Too cute!

And it wouldn't be "old west" without roping, horse back riding, and a hayride.

This year, we had our first ever puppet act; complete with ventriloquism and a full marionette show. This was marvelous. The kids all sat attentively through the whole thing.

The activities were all wonderful, but the best part and the reason for our family gatherings is connecting and re-connecting with families who are on the same journey as you.



We would like to thank Puppets and Things on Strings for the wonderful entertainment and Brookside Gardens for a beautiful venue. And of course, thanks to all of our families for coming! It was wonderful to see you and the kiddos again.

If you weren't able to make it, please consider coming to our next family gathering, the Christmas party. Bring the kids to meet Santa. There will be great food, photo ops, cultural entertainment, and of course great fellowship. It's one of our largest events so you won't want to miss it! Make sure to mark your calenders for Saturday December 4th from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. It will be at Brookside Gardens (just west of the AAC office). The cost is $20 per family with an RSVP before December 1 and $25 per family at the door.