Near and Dear

I don't often write posts about waiting children but, just in case you've been reading the blog and feel a tug at your heart, let me introduce you to some of the kids that are near and dear to my heart.  (All of them happen to be available to single mothers.)  

Vaughn

Boy, born January 2007

Down syndrome, otherwise reported to be healthy

What a handsome young fella!  I adore how he’s standing with his hands in his pockets.  Vaughn is already 6, and at a great age to join his forever family.  This is a great program with a wonderful agency partner.  Hope you will consider Vaughn as your son!

Seriously.  How cute is this little kid with his hands in his pockets?  He's making eye contact with the camera and standing still.  I think those are both really good signs of his development.  There isn't much info on his RR profile but I'm sure the agency has more.  I'd love to see this little guy find a family before he gets any older!  

And, the kicker?  He has $16,360 in his grant!!!  That's more than half of his adoption covered!  (Sara had $0 in her grant when I committed.)  That kind of grant is a huge blessing to his future family!  

Kimberley

Girl, born Feb 2007

Down syndrome, congenital heart disease and hypothyroidism. Mental delays.

Report dated 2010

Kimberley is predominantly cheerful.  In the orphanage the girl is described as a sociable, smiling, loving, quiet girls, who enjoys being with other persons. Her sleep is normal. She enjoys eating pretty food, so the orphanage gives her vegetables, eggs, iron, etc.. However, they still give her vitamins and avoid foods with lactose.

Her communication is usually through gestures, cries and guttural sounds.  General gross motor and fine motor delays, common for a child with Down syndrome.

She participates in group activities and plays in partnership with other children.  She is cautious with strangers but she adjusts quickly to their presence.

This is the little girl that I've been advocating and fund raising for this Christmas season.   I've worked hard to build up her grant.  I plan to continue to do so until her grant has at least $5,000 in it.  Right now, she has $4636.93!  That would be a great start for her future family.  

During the last two months, I've really come to care about this little girl.  My students raised over $1,300 and ask me regularly if she has a family yet.   (I have to find her a family or they are going to drive me crazy!)  

Lene

Lene (pronounced like Renee)

Girl, born August 2010
Down syndrome, congenital heart disease, language delay

What a doll baby!  Love her little pigtails!

Lene responds to expressions of affection from other persons. She can adapt to any social environment.

As of February 2012, her report said that the she attends therapy 3 times a week.

This is the little girl that I would go for in a heartbeat if I was in a position to adopt again.  I love this little girl so much!  She's only 3.  She be 4 or 4 1/2 when she came home if a family started right now---the same age as Sara.  I really think she'd grow and thrive in a family the way Sara has done.   I will cry lots of tears of joy when this little girl finds a family.  I just hope it isn't years from now!  

Her grant currently has $5968.75!  

Mark

Boy, Born August 2006

Down syndrome

UPDATE Nov 2013:  Mark is doing well, andd his overall health is good!!   
We did not receive any information on the treatment he received for leukemia — but GOOD HEALTH is GREAT news!!

UPDATE December 2012:   It has been determined that sweet Mark is also battling leukemia.  We are waiting for additional medical testing and details, but PLEASE pray for him and help us find his forever family!  THANK GOD for a new photo, he has grown so much!   Trying to get his new photo in a larger size, but SO glad to finally have one!   Mark is up and walking and doing SO well!   Updated info coming soon!

 This gentle boy has smooth, baby soft skin. He has dark skin and dark hair, potentially from an African/black parent. He is just darling, with a round chubby face. He was born on 8/2006. He enjoys playing with toys and with other children. His legs are rather weak so he scoots around quickly to reach his destination. He smiles brightly when he is spoken to. He waits for his loving family because he has Down syndrome. His family will be so lucky to be able to help this angel reach his fullest potential!

This poor little guy has Leukemia.  It will take a very special family to commit to him but he needs a momma so badly!  Can you imagine a poor child battling Leukemia without a mother to hold him?  It's unthinkable.  

Mark currently has a grant of 10,773.40!  A third of his adoption is already paid for.  

James

Boy, Born May 2011

Sweet baby James!   Healthy besides his Down syndrome, and waiting for his forever family.  Full medical and social history available.

This little guy was in an orphanage that I visited briefly last year.  I didn't get to meet him but just knowing he was there as drawn me to him.  He's so young!  He needs to be getting Early Intervention services to help him reach his potential!  There isn't much information on his profile but I know that his former orphanage would have provided a lot of information about him. 

James currently has $5,398.13 in his grant!  That's a lot of money to get a family started.  

All of these kids deserve and need a family!  All of these kids would make great additions to the right family.  All of these kids have lots of money committed to their adoptions already.  All of these kids have a piece of my heart.  

As we quickly fly into the Christmas season, take some time to sit and think about your family and what it looks like.  Do you have room for one more?  

The Crisis is Real

I'm not really one to write about "the orphan crisis."  I don't usually give statistics or numbers about the number of orphans versus the number of Christians in America.  I don't encourage everyone to adopt.  I don't get into the politics of agencies or ministries or countries.  I just don't choose to spend my time that way.

But today, my heart is broken.  Today, I want you to know that the orphan crisis is real.  I don't know how big it is.  I don't know how to fix it.  I realize that my adoption did not fix the overall problem.  (It did change one little's girls world.)  I can't fix it.  But I do know this:

Today, in a country not so far away, a 3-year-old little girl died.  I don't know how.  I don't know why.  I do know that she died without ever having the love of a mother.  She died an orphan.

She was not in a neglectful third-world country.  She was not in a horrible mental institution.    She does have a heart-breaking story.   She, like every child, deserved the love and security of a family.  

She will be mourned.  There were many of us that loved her from afar.  Unfortunately, none of us were in a position to make her our daughter in time.  Please pray for those who loved her both in person and through pictures and stories.  Our hearts are broken.  

Implications

I found out a few weeks ago that Sara's orphanage closed.  It made me really sad but I couldn't figure out why.  I visited the orphanage briefly but I didn't really have any emotional connection to it.  Sara hadn't been there very long.  It's not like she had spent most of her young life there.  But still, it made me sad.

I touched on the history of adoption in Colombia here.  Basically, during the 80s and 90s (and into this century), Colombia was a baby factory for families in Europe (and some in the US) seeking to adopt infants.  Private adoption houses were created.  Pregnant young and/or poor women could come to the house and receive room, board, and medical treatment.  Their babies were then adopted out to foreign families.  These adoption houses could conduct private adoptions separate from the social service agency.  Most of them had (and still have) private foundations that support them.  

While I won't get into Sara's social history here (some things are only for her mama to know and be heartbroken over), I will say that she was moved to one of these private adoption houses in order to find her a family.  (It worked!)   In the middle of my process, her house lost its license due to some financial indiscretions.  I was able to complete her adoption through social services but her house was not allowed to complete any more private adoptions.   I was told at the time that social services was taking over the house and children in their care would continue to reside there and be placed there.  

A few weeks ago, I asked the agency about another little boy with Down Syndrome that was in Sara's orphanage.  They told me that the orphanage had been closed and that all the children had been moved.  They no longer have his file so they are not sure where he was transferred.  I didn't make a big deal about the closing but it did make me really sad.  We were at my parents at the time so I didn't really have time to figure it out.  

A few days later, Sara and I attended a fundraiser for a great grant organization that helped us out with travel expenses.  (I could write a whole post about that.  They kept thanking us for coming.  I went to thank THEM!)  One of the questions they asked was about the timing of the adoption.  What would it have meant to Sara if the adoption had been stalled because of a lack of funds?  I hadn't thought about it until then but it suddenly came to me:  She would have moved AGAIN.  The orphanage closed 3 months after we got home.  If I had hit any more snags; If I had waited to commit; If I had to wait for grant funds; If I had to wait for loan approval; If, if if....  If the timing had been a little different, my poor baby would have moved again.  She would have left behind everything and everyone she knew days or weeks or months before leaving it all again to move in with her mom.  

Sara is very adaptable.  She will go anywhere with anyone.  I used to think this was a good thing.  (It's great that your child gets on the bus and doesn't cry or stays with a baby sitter, right?)  Now, I'm realizing it's another sign of her young life.  She has moved a lot.  A lot for a four year old.  She is used to going with new people to new places.  

I had to list all the addresses I've lived at in the last 25 years for part of the adoption process.  The list was so long.  It was almost embarrassing.  The difference is that I always moved with my family.  She has moved alone from place to place.  She has given up everything she knows countless times.  I am so glad to know that if she ever moves again, she will move with her family.

I'm so grateful that Sara came home before the orphanage closed.  My heart breaks for all those other children that had to move again.