Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Adoption Update
6:43 PM
Today we had our second home study visit... it was conducted at our house so that our worker could talk with each of the kids, see the house, check for smoke detectors and a carbon monoxide detector, and get a feel for us as a family. It was a beautiful day so we spent most of it outside with the kids playing and swimming in our little pools. They did wonderfully and it really helped Braeden, especially, to be outside and active with the visitor. He just gets so overwhelmed and off the wall with change at times. She was really impressed with how well they did and enjoyed meeting them and seeing the house. Her first comment was, "you really ARE organized!" LOL !
I am applying to a GREAT agency for my adoption! They are very established and I have heard wonderful things about them from many in the "adoption world." I just happened upon their site through a grant organization I was reading about. When I looked at a list of their programs, there was one for Hong Kong, which I hadn't seen before. I clicked, and everything about the program seemed perfect for us! So that is where our focus is now. I will be keeping things pretty general until our adoption is complete, giving out information but non-specific so that this adoption and other possible future adoptions are not compromised for any reason.
We are most likely going to be adopting a little girl (0-1), with some type of special needs, possibly Down Syndrome. I am extremely excited!!! Although a piece of my heart will always reside in the Congo, where we were originally going to adopt from, I hope to still follow along with others adopting from and helping out there, and if God stabilizes that program for singles and blesses us in that road, perhaps in the future we will find our way there. For now, Hong Kong is where He is leading and I am following HIS lead.
Out of the 145 million orphans in the world, approximately 88 million are in Asia.
My agency works with an organization in Hong Kong which does a lot for the community. I love this! They provide many resources and education on sex ed, teen pregnancy, etc. They work with teens and mothers who find they are expecting a child with special needs and do what they can to help these families. They also provide small group homes and foster homes for children they need to try to find families for. The Hong Kong officials work to make sure that they are adopted by families able to tackle these special needs and a family must be approved through an application prior to beginning an adoption process.
The agency I'm working with also has stringent application guidelines and requirements. I mailed application number 1 yesterday. It's pretty basic, but includes one notarized statement as well as a couple others. I have never used a notary so much as I have lately!!! :) It takes 7 days for this app to be approved, and then you begin app #2, compiling even more documentation. That app takes 30 days to approve! In the midst, you must also complete two online workshops. The first was approximately 3 hours long. The second will be available online soon.
All of this to say, that I feel very "safe" with this agency. They know what they're doing, and especially for my first experience, I'm glad to have that to rely on. The people have been just WONDERFUL! I am looking forward to all of our journey!!!
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About Me
I am a single mom to four amazing kids; each of whom just happen to have been adopted. The first three were adopted through foster care, and we just completed an international adoption from Haiti. Our family has grown through adoption and I am all the more blessed to know each of my children. I worship a mighty God, teach Special Ed, love bargains, and am inspired by Pinterest... come along with us for the ride!
Olivia - 14
Braeden - 11
Liam - 9
Macy - 5
Check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store!
Blog Archive
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2010
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June
(52)
- Breaking Down Some Walls
- Zoo Time
- Wet and Wild
- Unplanned Fun
- To Keep in Mind
- Numbers 22-24
- Part of a Family
- The Rest of Our Day
- Another Special Tooth Fairy Visit!
- So Far Today
- Oh My Heart
- A Giveaway
- The Actress
- Numbers 19-21
- 12 Hours
- Belated Fun
- Numbers 16-18
- Adoption Update
- Adoption Costs
- Numbers 13-15
- Published
- Numbers 10-12
- And One More
- An Experiment
- SHHHH....
- The Birthday
- Be Still Mom's Heart...
- Numbers 7-9
- the Big 4-0
- Numbers 4-6
- Necklaces
- Numbers 1-3
- New Fundraisers!!!
- It's Convicting ME, What About You?
- Prayers
- A Definate No
- Pool Fun
- Museum Time
- Olivia
- Confused and Without Direction... HELP!
- New Layout
- Courage
- His Hands - His Feet : Update
- Just ONE Dollar
- Drawn From Water
- Time for the Dentist
- More Lemonade Stand Pictures
- Also in the Mail...
- How Cool
- Prayers
- Raising Money!
- Our First Pay It Forward Recipient for Our Adoptio...
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June
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What you should know about HIV
-HIV can NOT be spread through casual/household contact. HIV is not spread through hugging, kissing, shaking hands, sharing toys, sneezing, coughing, sharing food, sharing drinks, bathing, swimming or any other casual way. It has been proven that HIV and AIDS can only be spread through sexual contact, birth, breastfeeding and blood to blood contact (such as sharing needles).
- HIV is now considered a chronic but manageable disease. With treatment, people who are HIV+ can live indefinitely without developing AIDS and can live long and full lives.
- People who are HIV+ deserve to be treated with love, respect, support and acceptance as all people do.
Additional information on transmission of HIV can be found on the Center for Disease Control website: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources
Other Awesome Blogs
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5 years ago
Orphan Crisis
• 147 million orphans in the world
• 50 million orphans in Africa
• Every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by AIDS
• 16,000,000 have been orphaned by AIDS
• Every week, AIDS claims as many lives as American fatalities in the Vietnam War
• 854 million people do not have enough to eat
• Malnutrition is associated with the deaths of 5 million children under the age of five
• Every 2 seconds an orphan dies from malnutrition
• 50 million orphans in Africa
• Every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by AIDS
• 16,000,000 have been orphaned by AIDS
• Every week, AIDS claims as many lives as American fatalities in the Vietnam War
• 854 million people do not have enough to eat
• Malnutrition is associated with the deaths of 5 million children under the age of five
• Every 2 seconds an orphan dies from malnutrition
Hence the title of my blog
Little Did I Know
Little did I know that the road would be so rocky
Little did I know that the trip would take so long
Little did I know that my heart could hurt so much
Little did I know that God is never wrong
Little did I know that love could be so powerful
Little did I know that a dream so far could go
Little did I know that God would place the right ones
Little did I know that my heart, so large, could grow
Little did I know that a dream has it’s own timing
Little did I know that this day would finally come
Little did I know that four souls would be sent to guide me
Little did I know that they would choose to call me mom
But God knew all along and He had a plan to follow
God knew all along that my dream would soon come true
God knew all along that we five should be together
God knew all along that I’d share it all with you
Little did I know that the road would be so rocky
Little did I know that the trip would take so long
Little did I know that my heart could hurt so much
Little did I know that God is never wrong
Little did I know that love could be so powerful
Little did I know that a dream so far could go
Little did I know that God would place the right ones
Little did I know that my heart, so large, could grow
Little did I know that a dream has it’s own timing
Little did I know that this day would finally come
Little did I know that four souls would be sent to guide me
Little did I know that they would choose to call me mom
But God knew all along and He had a plan to follow
God knew all along that my dream would soon come true
God knew all along that we five should be together
God knew all along that I’d share it all with you
3 comments:
Hong Kong sounds great!!! I can't wait to hear more about your journey. I know I'll adopt one day, single or not, so it's great to see you go through the process. It's so exciting to watch the whole thing unfold from start to finish.
I am over the moon excited for you...and wish I was going along too!!
So excited for you!!!!