New China Program

Many of you may have heard by now that CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) has announced a change in their waiting child program. Starting September 1st, CCAA will designate certain children who have been on the shared list for more than two months as "Special Focus Children". Agencies may then request special focus children to be on their "individual list". This will enable agencies to focus on finding families for those children. We here at AAC are very excited about this new change. As much as we would like to advocate for every child on the shared list, it is difficult. There are approximately 2000 children currently on the shared list. It is impossible to know which children have prospective adoptive parents with other agencies. Individual lists will let us know where to direct our efforts.

Another benefit of the Special Focus Children program is that the families who are matched with the children will be given 6 months to complete their dossier instead of 3. Any one who has ever been through the paperwork process for a Chinese adoption knows that this is great news.

And last but definitely not least...China Center for Adoption Affairs has decided to allow the adoption of TWO children at the same time. AAC has experienced placing two children at once a few times. However, this was done by requesting special permission and was only allowed on rare occasions. We are glad to hear that CCAA is now making this more obtainable, as our families who have adopted two children have done well. Of course this is not the best option for all families and there are many things to take into consideration before deciding to do this. If you would like more information about this, please feel free to contact us.

Make sure to check our waiting children listing after September 1st for our new Special Focus Children.

Had a Blast!!!

The picnic was a success! We had a blast and hope you did too. For those of you who were unable to make it, here are some highlights.


The kids had a blast playing on the playground...

...and the jumpy house.

The sticky wall was a huge hit!

Of course, one of our favorite things was getting to visit with our wonderful families =)

As always, the culture items were available...

Hanboks, Traditional Chinese dresses, squeaky shoes, jewelry boxes, tea sets etc... etc... etc... and of course panda backpacks and panda hats (too cute)

Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu Association was kind enough to come out and put on a show for us...very cool!

The grand finale was awesome! A traditional Chinese Lion Dance...

Unfortunately we didn't take pictures of the petting zoo. That was great. The kids had a lot of fun, especially getting pony rides.





Thank you to all of you who came. We really enjoyed seeing you and your kids again.





And for everyone else........Please come join us next year =)

The Passing of a Wonderful Man

It is with sadness that we inform you that Carl Weyl, a long time escort for AAC, has passed away. Carl escorted many many of our Korean babies. His wonderful care of the children was always appreciated. He was always so dependable too. Even if there was a last minute travel notice, we could count on Carl. What a great guy he was. We celebrate his life.

It would mean allot to the Carl's family if the families of the babies that Carl deliverd could make it to his funeral.

If Carl escorted your baby, please contact AAC for the time and place.

ANNUAL PICNIC

HEY YALL!!!
Don't forget that tomorrow is AAC's annual picnic!!!
This is one of our largest events. It's definately a "Don't miss"
We will have jumpy houses, an inflatable sticky wall, a petting zoo, good BBQ and GREAT people.
The event is fully catered and free of charge. We only ask that you bring a six pack of soda, water or juice.
So come and join us at Berthoud Park from 11am- 2 pm.

Two Great Girls, Still Waiting for a Family!

Beth and Madeline; two wonderful, loving, beautiful girls, are still waiting for a family. I am actually a bit surprised by this because neither girl has a severe special need. Beth is a healthy child with no medical conditions. Madeline is has a minor form of Thalassemia that does not require blood transfusions. Now, every one in the adoption field knows that an older child is "harder to place". However, having met these girls, I just can't see them that way. Beth was so sweet and Madeline was so charismatic. A family would be blessed to have them as a child.

I am posting the video of Beth and Madeline's performance in hopes that you will be able to catch a glimpse of their wonderful personalities. Both girls were individually featured in previous posts on this blog. Please scroll back to the and read through the descriptions of our time with them. Consider if you are the right family for them. If not please tell others about these two great girls in need of a loving family.

Please remember that AAC will only have these girls files for a few more weeks. I would hate for them to get lost among the multitude of other files on the shared list, especially since they are getting older. Beth is nearing the age of unadoptability so we are especially concerned for her.

Mister Marshall

Marshall is a 6 year old boy who is on the go! Within minutes of meeting him we could see that he was full of energy. He was eager to participate in every activity. When I interviewed Marshall I learned that he loves soccer, ping pong and running. I was impressed with how outspoken and confident he was. We asked each of the kids if they had any questions for us. Most of them were shy and said no. Not Marshall. He was eager to know what the plane ride was like. He also wanted to know if there was a bed on the plane. He told me that he really wants to go on a plane to America. This boy very much wants to join a family in the US. Marshall wants brothers, sisters, a dog and toys.
Marshall's cleft lip and palate have been repaired and he is a healthy child. We really enjoyed our time with him. He was a bundle of fun. His zest for life would be a blessing to any family.
Please contact us for more information on this child.

Meet Drew!

Drew is darling little guy with a real drive to succeed. The first thing that I noticed about him is his Independence. He works very hard to overcome the challenges that his cerebral palsy brings. He was always wanting to do things himself which showed his "can do" attitude. Drew has some difficulty with his motor skills as many children with CP do. In 2006 Drew had a surgery and has since been doing physical therapy to give him more mobility. He can now stand while holding on to something and walk with crutches or a walker. Doctors that have been caring for him say that there is a good possibility that he could walk independently in the future. Drew is also working hard on his fine motor skills. He practices his handwriting very diligently. Drew benefits from being in a small class that is geared toward assisting children with physical needs. He says that he likes to do his work because he gets prizes =) During our time together, he also told me that he likes to play outdoors and would like to play badminton.
This kiddo has a really good heart and needs a home that can help him grow and reach his full potential. Please contact us for more information on Drew.

Time is running out!

Oh how the time flys. It seems like just a few weeks ago that I was in China laughing and crying with the best group of kids ever. It is an experience that I will never forget. In reality though, it has been several months. This means that in just a few short weeks, we will need to release the files of the children who have not found their forever family back to CCAA. The children's files will then be placed back on the shared list. The thought of this breaks my heart. While on one hand, I know that this will open their files up to many different agencies; I also know that there are over 1800 children on the shared list. It is very easy to get lost in all of that. It is very easy for these children to become just another file.

The Journey of Hope Program has been a blessing beyond measure. The additional information that we were able to obtain along with pictures, videos and personal experiences has given these children a voice. It has helped prospective adoptive parents to know that a particular child is right for their family. They will not have any of this if their files are placed back on the shared list. Please help to spread the word about these children and their need for a loving home. And Please READ THROUGH THEIR DESCRIPTIONS AGAIN AND CONSIDER IF YOU ARE THE RIGHT FAMILY TO LOVE AND CARE FOR ONE OF THESE KIDS. Many of them have been featured in previous posts so I encourage you to look back in our blog archives. Those who have not yet been featured, will be over the next week. So, please visit our blog often.

Thirty children participated in our Journey of Hope camp. So far 17 children have been matched with their families. That leaves 13 children. Here is a list of the kids who are still hopeing for a home.

Avery- 7yr old boy with a repaired cleft lip and palate and burn scar down his leg
Alex- 2 year old boy with Spina Bifida
Beth- 12 year old girl who is Healthy
Drew- 7 year old boy with Cerebral Palsy
Gabriel-7 year old boy with a deformity of the genitals
Grant- 5 year old boy with
Jared- 6 year old boy with cleft lip and palate
Jillian- 6 year old girl who is Deaf
Madeline- 11 year old girl with minor Thalassemia
Marshall- 6 year old boy with a repaired cleft lip and plalate
Micah- 5 year old boy with a repaired cleft lip and palate
Rudy- 6 year old girl with a minor heart condition
Samuel- 6 year old boy with a deformity of his fingers and one foot.

Meet Jared

He is all boy. Rough and tumble and and on the go. He was eager to participate in all of the activities we planned. He really enjoys playing with the other children and being part of a group. He is very sweet and full of smiles.
Jared was born with a cleft lip and palate. He has had surgery to correct this. However, because the cleft was complete, it is likely that he will need additional surgeries. At this time there is still a small opening in his palate. This affects his speach. Jared is currently participating in speach therepy where he is showing improvement. After the palate is completely repaired, it is expected that his therepy will have even more possitive effects.
As I write this I am hoping that Jareds family is reading this. He has a very lovable personality and we enjoyed getting to spend some time with him. Could your family be the right family to love and nurture this child? We would be delighted to give you more information. Please feel free to contact us anytime.