January 1, 2004

Caring for and serving families in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama,  Mississippi,
Florida, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana 

Hi, Brenda!  Thanks for the Congrats!   We had such a nice trip and are so very thankful to you and all your staff at the CHI SE office. We are settling in very nicely and Sergei is even more wonderful than we imagined! He is sweet, happy and smiling a whole lot (so are we) and we are the happiest family in Nashville this week.  We could not have asked for more from you guys and are eagerly anticipating our next visit to Russia for #3-we'll be calling you :0)  Thanks again and hopefully we will see you soon.                                      

 God Bless!   Ken and Jennifer Wright

Our ten days are over and Jonathon is now official our baby!!!!!  We will pick him up Moday at noon and we will stay in Chelyabinsk until Tuesday afternoon.  We will then fly to Moscow and stay until Thursday morning sometime.  It is hard to believe that the journey we started back in January is almost complete.  Jonathon is cutting four upper teeth to add to his two
lower teeth.  We can not wait for everyone to see him.  He is for the most part a happy yet serious baby.  He still has his serious look, however; he seems to be adjusting well to his mom and dad.  Dad received his first spit up face wash the other day and mom was blessed with her first spit up bath from Jonathon!  The care givers said that Jonathon is requiring more attention from them and likes to be the center of attention!  Everything is going great. 

 We went to the mall yesterday and on the way" talked "about Santa and how he says "ho ho ho" and how he is big like Poppa and Uncle Jeremy, and Gracie was excited.....saying "ho ho ho" all the way through the mall.  I had a mission, to get her photo with Santa since she is not scared of anything! BUT when I put her on the lap of the sweet man and backed away, she was mad at me.  Thought I was going to leave her.  Guess I needed to be in it also! Still, I at least have one.  My sister and I have a really funny one where she is screaming and crying and trying to rip her shirt off and I am sitting with a very serious look on my face! My favorite one of us ever.

Just wanted to share! Happy Holidays! Love,
Amy, Rhett and Gracie the wonder girl!

Abby is 13 months old.  She has beautiful strawberry blonde hair.  Since her cheeks are so full, she appears bigger than she is.  We were told up front that she doesn't warm up well to strangers.  The orphanage doctor sat her in the floor.  Abby would just follow her around the room with her eyes and then started crying.  Then everyone left the three of us alone.  I held her and she finally stopped crying and went to sleep.  The second day she cried a little more at first then went to sleep again.  She woke up a short time later and then seemed content in her Daddy's arms.  When her caregiver came to take her, she told Abby to wave bye.  I was surprised when she actually waved bye to us and then started crying because she didn't want to go. Her home cares for 100 babies from 0 to 4 years old.   Hopefully if everything goes right we will be able to return for a court date on December 16th and be home a couple of days before Christmas.   We can't wait to bring her home! 

  
On this the 9th day of December, please join us in celebrating our one year anniversary of our "gotcha day" for Lilian Grace! 

It's hard to believe it's been one whole year since she came home to us! 

Lily is doing just fantastic and we give thanks to Him for the immense blessing she is to our family.  She and her big sister share a loving bond that is so heartwarming to witness! 

We ask that you join us in expressing our thanks for our adoption as well as a prayer for Lily's birthmother in Guatemala.  We pray for peace on her heart that she knows that Lily is happy, healthy, and surrounded by those who love her immeasurably.

A very happy holidays to all from the Campbells!

Chip, Lisa, Ann-Houston, and Lilian Grace 

 We are adjusting to the new time and Tatyana has adjusted and is a very happy and content baby. Went to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital Clinic yesterday for her post adoption check.  She has gained a pound and 3/4 inch in 2 weeks and is now in the 15-20th percentile on the growth chart.  She is a very happy baby and is already so well adjusted.

We are very happy and very proud and would love for others to see that this really does happen and it is SOOOO worth it in the end.  Also, if you know of any other couples from the Southeast region going to Chelyabinsk that want to talk to someone, we would be more than happy to talk to them.We can't wait to bring her in so you can see her.  Promise to be there soon, Amanda 

In June and July 2004 Operation Hope will return to the Nashville Area!  Anyone interested in participating this year, will need to begin preparations now!!  Please contact Tanya Yurlova at Tanya@ChildrensHopeInt.org, or 615-309-8109 for more information. 

From the Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCICS) web site, under Updates:

"November 21, 2003 - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Child Citizenship Act (CCA) Program http://www.jcics.org/CCA%20Release.doc will eliminate the backlog of
N-643 forms (Application for Certificate of Citizenship in Behalf of an Adopted Child) relating to children affected by the CCA and expedite the processing of those certificates. Additionally, the program will soon (estimated to begin in early 2004) automatically provide Certificates of Citizenship, at no extra charge, to adopted children who enter the U.S. on an IR-3 visa within 45 days of entry into the United States. Children will no longer be issued a Permanent Resident Card. The second press
release http://www.jcics.org/Joint%20Statement%20-%20THE%20HAGUE-ADOPTIONS.doc addresses USCIS and the Department of State's priority of international adoption and celebrates National Adoption Month."

http://www.jcics.org/

The JCICS updated their web site to reflect the current status of obtaining a Certificate of Citizenship for your child.  No new information yet for those families who have already adopted .

http://www.jcics.org/Certificate.htm

How to Get a Certificate of Citizenship for Your Child

The Child Citizenship Act http://www.jcics.org/Citizenship.htm (CCA), effective on February 27, 2001, amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to provide U.S. citizenship to certain foreign-born children -- including adopted children -- of U.S. citizens. In general, children who are less than 18 years of age and have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen whether by birth or naturalization, benefit from this law. Under the law, qualifying children who immigrate to the United States with a U.S. citizen parent automatically acquire U.S. citizenship; children who live abroad acquire citizenship by application.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) is working with Congress, the adoption community and other stakeholders to re-engineer and streamline the current process for obtaining a Certificate of Citizenship for a child. However, if you wish to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship for your child at this time, the process is explained below. In addition, you may obtain a passport http://www.jcics.org/Passport.htm for your child from the Department of State.

New Update:

November 21, 2003 - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the Child Citizenship Act (CCA) Program http://www.jcics.org/CCA%20Release.doc.  The program will assist in
the following ways:

    * If you will be adopting your child in the future, after the CCA Program takes effect (estimated to begin in early 2004) -- The program will automatically provide Certificates of Citizenship, at no extra charge, to adopted children who enter the U.S. on an IR-3 visa within 45 days of entry into the United States. Children will no longer be issued a Permanent Resident Card.

    * If you have already applied for a Certificate of Citizenship but have not yet received it -- The CCA program will eliminate the backlog of N-643 forms (Application for Certificate of Citizenship in Behalf of an Adopted Child) relating to children affected by the CCA and will expedite the processing of those certificates.

    * If you have already adopted your child but have not yet applied for a Certificate of Citizenship -- CIS has not yet been determined how to handle these in-between cases of parents who have adopted but have not yet filed for a certificate of citizenship. CIS is aware that this is a dilemma and they are     working on a solution.  JCICS is unsure whether or not there will be a fee associated with these cases.
 

“MORE FIRMS OFFERING ADOPTION HELP TO EMPLOYEES” - by Cindy Krischer Goodman
Companies are increasingly offering adoption benefits, both in terms of financial aid, and time off. According Rita Soronen of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, companies receive in return increased employee loyalty as a result. Human resources experts note that companies demonstrate (at a low overall cost) a spirit of fair treatment to employees through offering benefits to parents who choose adoption to build their families. 16% of large U.S. companies provide adoption assistance granting from $1500-$10000, and from one week to three months leave.
The Miami Herald, Thursday, November 20, 2003

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/7295094.htm                        

 
The beta version of the Adoption.com library with more than 3,450 articles related to adoption, foster care, parenting, children's disabilities and related topics has been launched at http://Library.Adoption.com. These articles have been contributed by hundreds of authors, and include magazine articles, research, fact sheets, stories, poems, statistics, laws, and other content. As a beta version, there are still features we are adding and improving for the upcoming final version of the website. This library is a free community service of Adoption.com. We invite authors to submit their articles to be published for free. For more information, contact editor@adoptionmedia.com or visit http://Library.Adoption.com.

Please join us for free information meetings:
For more information, please go to http://www.childrenshope.com/southeast/index.htm

 January 13, 2004, Brentwood, TN

Children’s Hope Office, 7003 Chadwick Dr, Suite 350

6:30-8:30 PM 

January 26, 2004, Jackson, TN

West Jackson Baptist Church

 580 Oil Well Rd, Room A141-142

6:30-8:30 PM 

January 27, 2004, Memphis, TN

First Evangelical Church

735 Ridgelake Blvd

6:30-8:30 PM 

January 29, 2004, Little Rock, AR

Terry Branch Library

2015 Napa Valley Drive

6:30-8:30 PM 

January 29, 2004, San Antonio, TX

West Fall Library

6111 Rosedale Court

6:30-8:30 PM 

January 30, 2004, Austin, TX

TBA

6:30-8:30 Pm 

January 31, 2004, Memphis, TN

Adoption Fair—Forever Families

TBA  

January 31, 2004, Arlington, TX

Mother’s Charm Adoption Fair

100 + Ways You can Afford Adoption, University of Texas AT Arlington

9:30 AM-12:30 PM 

February 1, 2004, Frsico, TX

Stonebriar Community Church

4801 Legendary Drive

2:00-4:00 PM

January 1-4                           Office Closed for Holidays            

January 9                              Russian New Year Party         5:00-7:00 PM         Woodmont Hills Church

January 10                             Dossier Class                       8:30 AM                 Children’s Hope

                                            Travel Class                          10:00 -12:00 Noon    Children’s Hope

January 16                             Parenting Class                       6:30 PM                  Children’s Hope

January 19                             Home Study Group                  6:30-8:30 PM         Children’s Hope

January 20                             Chinese New Year!!  Tet!!       TBA

January  23                            Lunar New Year Party             TBA

 
Happy New Year!!  The new year is always filled with such promise….so many ways to start over, refresh, and renew our lives, our goals, and our dreams!  If your dream is to adopt a child, might I encourage you that there is no better time than today to take the first step in beginning that journey! We are here to help you in any way that we can!!

We don't want to burden you with a lot of information, but we do want to help you if you are looking for a way to adopt. If not, please let us know and we will regretfully remove your name from our newsletter.   E-mail me at my address below with any question you have.  I would love to hear from you.   

Brenda

 Southeastern U.S.
 Brenda Barker, Director
 7003 Chadwick Dr. Suite 350
 Brentwood, TN  37027
 615-309-8109   Fax: 615-309-8483

 Brenda@ChildrensHope.com
 Also serving the following states: TN, KY, GA, AL, AR, MS, FL, TX and LA