Wednesday Wisdom: Resources

I know that EVERYONE has time to read.

Ha. Just kidding.

For you new parents out there, who are just struggling to stay awake, take time to shower, or even remember to eat, this is for you.

For you experienced parents, who have wrangled in a throng of children, this is for you.

Today we are just going to give you some resources (articles, books, dvd's) that might help in your transition or just a little bit of entertainment, whatever it might be.

Articles:

Talk about Adoption with your 6 to 8 year old available from AdoptiveFamilies.com
Why didn't they keep me? By Carrie Krueger available from AdoptiveFamilies.com


Books for Parents:

Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child: From Your First Hours Together Through the Teen Years by Patty Cogen

 

30 adoptive Portraits in 30 days - 2012
For the second straight year, in honor of November being National Adoption Month, Portrait of an Adoption is running a special series called 30 Adoption Portraits in 30 Days. Designed to give a voice to the many different perspectives of adoption, this series will feature guest posts by adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents, waiting adoptive parents, and foster parents-turned-adoptive parents. Painful and beautiful, these stories will bring you a deeper understanding of what adoption looks like, allowing you to appreciate the many brushstrokes that comprise a family portrait


Books for Children:




 Goyangi Means Cat by Christine McDonnell
Newly arrived children will take comfort in this soothing story about easing into a home where nothing is familiar - not the language or the surroundings, not to mention your new family.

Searching for...the you we adore by Valerie Westfall

In this charming picture book, two parents relate how their love traveled around the globe to search for the child of their hearts. The story focuses on the unconditional love they felt, not on the adoption process, so it may be read by families formed through domestic or international adoption.

Wherever you are: My love will find you by Nancy Tillman

Show more

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"...I wanted you more than you'll ever know,

...so I sent love to follow you wherever you go..."

Love is the greatest gift we have to give our children. It's the one thing they can carry with them each and every day. If love could take shape it might look something like these heartfelt words and images from the inimitable Nancy Tillman. Here is a book to share with your loved ones, no matter how near or far, young or old, they are.

Videos:

Juleanne Ainsworth suggests: Cinderella Moon
" My girls love the DVD Cinderella Moon the ancient story about a Chinese Cinderella."

She also suggest: Somewhere Between

"This is a movie more for parents or older adoptive children. It is about adopted Chinese girls now in their teens it gives a great perspective their views on adoption later on."

 

 

 

 

 

October Baby

This movie is more for the older adoptive children or for parents. It is about a older teen girl who finds out that she is adopted. It is a movie about love, forgiveness, healing and acceptance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now we know that there are so many more resources out there about adoption and the bonding of the new child.  Please share your thoughts and resources with us so that we can pass on this much needed information!

 

 

 

My Story Monday: The Chapman Family

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret, it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

My mind and my body were too exhausted and my heart was too full.

It’s always been my plight when writing about my children – our family – how do I put into words the depth and the magnitude of my feelings? My hesitation is not in sharing our experience, but in being able to share the moments as they were felt. As they were lived.

Adoption.

Ruby’s. Georgia’s. Mine.

Which came first?

With Ruby, I shared out of Joy and Wonder.

Our journey to her began as a long-standing desire of the heart. While I acknowledged the seeds of that desire were likely planted by God, I had no idea how my faith would be grown, tested and, ultimately, sealed before her face was ever revealed to us. It was during the course of our journey to Ruby that my relationship with God became personal. He became ever-present…as real, as immediate, as loving and as demanding as Chris and the kids were. And He became more.

After a particularly heart-wrenching series of events in the autumn of 2009, I gave up the fight. I wrote at the time that at the depth of my despair it dawned on me that God was working out my “trust muscle.” Though it hadn’t always felt that way, I realized that never once had I ever walked alone. Every hurt in my lifetime, each loss, He had redeemed. It wasn’t luck. It wasn’t survival skills. It was God. He didn’t “become more” over the years 2007-2009. He had always been. My eyes hadn’t yet seen. My heart hadn’t yet fully acknowledged Him. And though I had relied on Him when times were bad, I hadn’t praised Him when times got better. Not consciously. Not actively. Certainly, never out loud.

Not long after this surrender, we received Ruby’s referral. I will never get over the enormity of it. Others may claim coincidence, good fortune, kismet, the luck of the draw as the way their children came to them. I can only speak for myself. A 3-year-old little bit of a black haired, brown-eyed girl from the other side of the world entered our lives through Love alone. His love. Only God.

And in the instant that Tai Ya Lan was handed to me on that rainy Monday morning of June 28, 2010, I finally understood…the incredible longing, the overwhelming desire I had felt for this child of mine to come home to me, was but a fraction of what God feels for each one of us. She was mine… Always… Forever… No matter what… Just as I was His.

Her adoption. Mine. Which came first?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  


Sweet Georgia.

“Pray also for me that whenever I speak, words may be given me that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should.”
~Ephesians 6:19-20

With Georgia, I share out of Joy and Wonder and Mystery I must acknowledge.

This gift. This 20 month old firecracker with the smile that melts our hearts and a giggle that grows into a belly laugh, with kisses wetter than any fish’s, who wiggles to music and, like her sister, sings at the top of her lungs, who squeals when she sees her siblings and who calls us “Mommy” and “Daddy,” who beams and claps and says, “Home!” when we pull into the drive, who falls asleep on me each night, gently patting my back as I pat hers then snuggles head to head with Daddy…There are no words to adequately convey the love we have for her or the gratitude we have toward Him.

She is the sweet completion of her family. Our family. It was not our doing, but His.

Please keep Georgia in your prayers. She has several medical procedures and surgery coming up over the next weeks.

To read more about the Chapman family adoption Journey you can check out their blog: http://www.myadoptionwebsite.com/ourpeach/index.html

Friday Feature: Jonathan

JONATHAN

DOB: July 2011

He likes swaying to music and playing with toys that glitter or make sounds. He walks a few steps while holding onto foster mom's hands. His gross motor skills are within normal range; however, his fine motor skills, cognition, speech, social response and independence show developmental delays of 5 to 6 months. He has cryptorchism and micropenis that has not shown any changes from treatment with hormone injections.

 

 

A $3,000 grant is available for this child's adoption. If you would like to review this little sweetheart's file, please submit a pre-application online at www.aacadoption.com and be sure to mention Jonathan's name in the comments section. 

Wednesday Wisdom

We asked our families, who have brought a child home recently, for a little bit about their adoption journey. We were blessed with many responses. Our latest coming from the Ainsworth family whom we helped bring home their three beautiful daughters!

Juleanne writes:

It has been 10 months now and our little girl has transitioned so well in to our family.  It was different adopting a 3 year old after adopting our 2 other daughters which we adopted at younger age.  The difference for our family was we got an older confident little girl who knows what she wants.  For example, Kennedy has made it clear she does not like the American name of Kennedy Anne which we chose for her and she has stated she would like everyone to call her by her Chinese name which is Linlian; so we gracefully comply even after 10 months.

Even after our family continued to speak Chinese & English in our home to her, after a few months Linlian spoke fluent English and no Chinese.  Then after a few more months she did not remember any of the Chinese language or frankly anything about her life in China. What she has left of her memories of China is feelings about experiences, sounds and objects for example, seeing a train she says “Mommy and I rode a train together” which we did from Guangzhou to Hong Kong.  It has been amazing for us to watch the transition and see her personality blossom in to this extraordinary little girl. We feel she has been with us her entire life and Linlian feels the same.

Once again Thank you AAC.

 

 

Many blessings

The Ainsworth Family

Tom, Juleanne, Emerson, Sterling & Linlian (aka Kennedy but as I read this to her and said the name “Kennedy” she firmly said “NO it is Linlian”)

 

 

 For more about this beautiful girl and her journey through adoption please check out Juleanne's website www.ourtriplehappiness.net

 

 

Kings Family Adoption

So as promised we are going to start highlighting some of our families experiences.


First up is the King family. They just got back from adopting their newest member, Kyrain, mid January. Here is a portion of their story...


I am sorry it has taken me so long to post. Yesterday was grueling. We received Kyrain at 9:30 in the morning, did some paperwork, had a couple of hours in our room enjoying her and then spent the entire afternoon completing the adoption process. By the time we got back to our room, got something to eat we all dropped into bed exhausted...

Kyrain is doing really well. She is an absolute joy and BUSY does not adequately describe her. I am not sure if we are seeing a lot of nervous energy right now or if she really does go like this all day long. If she does - Lord help us!

She is of course quite smitten with Daddy and calls him that all ready. She imitates every word we say and was trying to say all of the kids names. She talks and babbles, laughs and smiles continuously. We have not worn out the game of peek a boo and she thinks it is a great riot each and every time.

After we got back from the adoption process we were in the lobby of the hotel waiting for Paul to exchange some money at the desk. Kyrain was wandering around by me when she spotted her daddy across the lobby. She suddenly let out a squeal of "daddy" and ran to him. Three times while she wandered around by him she was approached by one of the bell hops who held his arms out to her to pick her up and each time she ran to Paul calling Daddy and reached her arms up to him to be picked up. It moved me to tears. It is incredible that after 1 day he is already her safe place. She was apparently very fond of her foster father so we have avoided calling Paul "Babba." Each time I called him that earlier in the day she would get a hopeful little look on her face and look around. 

She really is doing so well. She cried for a little bit when she was first given to us and then again at bed time. She laid between us and did stop crying but her eyes had a frightened, confused look in them. We soothed her for a few minutes and she did fall fast asleep.



For more about the Kings family adoption you can check out their blog KingsKids.

This year is off to a great start....

The new year has been upon us for a month and things are off and running and fast!

In the months of November and December we had 9 families leave for China bringing home 10 children!

The month of January revealed that 11 families would be heading out of country to pick up their children in China.

Over the next couple weeks we will be spotlighting families that have finished the adoption process and their journey. Stay tuned.


Until then we would like to say "Welcome Home families! Welcome Home!"




Upcoming events:

• On February 9th, we will be celebrating the Lunar New Year with our AAC families and friends! We can't wait! Come out and join us.
• April 13th we will venture to the Denver Aquarium with our AAC families. RSVP for this event soon.
• June 8th we will head on down to the Denver Zoo for some Summer fun!

Is it time to file your taxes?

It was announced earlier this year that the Tax Credit was saved!! WAHOO!

So when you are getting ready to do your taxes here is the form that you will need.

FORM 8839