July 1, 2006

Click on pictures to see the full size!
 

THE BUNN FAMILY, GA (Russia)

(Adopted 3 brothers)

 The boys and girls are ALL doing great! Things are going so much better then we could have ever imagined! The boys are picking up English quickly and the girls are picking up Russian just as quick! The girls are doing great being big sisters to their little brothers. Sometimes we have sibling rivalry but it all works out! They are just amazing with how much love they have for their brothers! The boys have enjoyed playing with their sisters and just love them. It is just so wonderful to see their faces at all their new experiences. Their endless energy amazes me. We have painted, played with play dough, swam in the pool, played on the slip and slide, rode Harley Davidson big wheels, played with bubbles, pushed bubble mowers, played in their playroom full of toys, enjoyed playing outside on the swings, slide, and trampoline, played with sidewalk chalk, helped cook food, and so on....!   They are all doing fantastic! God is just amazing! We thank God everyday for our girls and our boys!

THE WHITUS FAMILY, TN (Russia)

Ivan is doing great.  We have had him 7 weeks today and have successfully put 4 lbs on the boy!  He is going everywhere!  He can say the words "mama", "dada", "uh-oh" and "hot".  He can point to his nose and his eyes!  He is very close to saying "Emma" and loves to catch our cats!  He is also enjoying the swimming pool; he's not afraid to put his head in the water.  It is amazing how he has changed in the 7 weeks.  He is a true blessing!

THE MORRIS FAMILY, TX (Russia)

   Here is a picture of Kyra Grace, my Siberian Princess! 
We’ve been home a month now and she is doing wonderful!!

THE BUSH FAMILY, GA (Russia)

Greg and I had a wonderful time with our daughter, Amelia Olga Bush.  She is beautiful!  We are soooo ready to bring her home.  Thanks for everything!  We went to court yesterday, and Amelia Olga is now officially our daughter :).  Thank you for all you have done to assist us in our adoption.

THE ENOS FAMILY, TN (China)

You can see how much Kira has grown.  She had a wonderful experience with preschool (2 days a week) and has really come into her own.  She loves the “arts” -- loves to perform and make up songs and dances.  Such a sweetie!! 

THE HICKS FAMILY, TN (China)

Emma Grace feeding the ducks!

THE COOK FAMILY, TN (Russia)

Sorry for being a bragging Mom! Mathew is doing GREAT!!! Loves his school and all his friends there.

Adapting is not a adequate word for him.  He hasn't spoken a word of Russian in about 2 months (we've only been home less than 4)!  He is just starting to recognize his letters and numbers but is already performing subtraction and addition!!!  At this rate, I just know he will start reading by the Fall!  Not bad since he just turned four years old on the 27th of March!!!

He has been a traveler just like us.  We've been visiting family or going somewhere about every other weekend.  He loves to go to Chattanooga to stay with his Granny and Pop (my parents) but also loves to come home.  He feels very safe with us all! Mathew has grown 1 inch and gained a few pounds already.  He loves to eat but does stop when he is full.  No gorging which is good.  He's pretty much a normal 4 year old now.  Two nights ago, he asked me a question that just made my heart ache for him, in that he is still learning to believe that he is "HOME".  He was in the bathtub (one of his favorite places to play) and looked up at me and said, "Are you Mommy?"  I told him yes that I was Mommy and then he looked up again and said, "NO, Are you MY Mommy?" Although I wanted to run over and snatch him out of the water and hold him tightly, I just bent down and kissed him on his wet head.  "Yes baby, I'm YOUR Mommy and will be forever!"  "Forever Mommy?"  "Yes - FOREVER!"  His response was a big YEAH!!!!!  Then we went through the same questions about DADDY and got the same response.  Even thinking of it now, my eyes are full and I know that I (WE) have been truly blessed by God himself!!! Thanks again for everything that you all did to help us get here - to the place where I can answer YES TO THE QUESTION - FOREVER MOMMY?!

THE MCLEOD FAMILY, TN (Russia)

  Anna has had a wonderful first year with her family!

THE DAIGLE FAMILY, TX (China)

Just wanted to drop a note of thanks to you guys for helping to make our dream of becoming a family a reality!  We had a great time in China and, as many CHI families that have gone before us said, we were very well taken care of. 

 Isabelle is adjusting quite well to her new home and parents. She has an awesome personality and we are feeling extremely blessed to have her in our lives! 

Introducing New Georgia Full-time Office….

We welcome Kathleen Siegel to our CHI Southeast Team.  Kathy will be working with all Georgia Families. Kathy and her husband, Josh, are the proud parents of one son through adoption and are in the process to adopt a daughter from China by next year.  Kathy earned a bachelors degree from University of Florida in Psychology and comes to CHI with a background in the financial industry.  She has spent the last two years focused on training and mentoring and looks forward to bringing these skills and her adoption experience to all the families she works with in Georgia.

"I'm blessed to have the opportunity to work with such a wonderful organization.  I look forward to many years of helping children find their forever families"

Georgia Families.....Please contact Kathy at kathleen.siegel@childrenshope.net and (770) 205-3204.

CHI REUNION and PICNIC 2006

Mark your calendars for our Children's Hope Reunion 2006

July 15th, 2006 ~ St. Louis, MO

Click on the photo for more information on Reunion 2006

Reception for China Team

 Anna, our China Director in Beijing, and Ann

 Tollefson, our CHI China Director in St. Louis,

will be joining us for a reception on

July 20^th

3:00 to 4:30

at the Brentwood, TN office

Come meet these ladies, learn more about China and our team,
and bring your Chinese children to show off!

Russia Accreditation Updates

The good news is that we received the temporary letter which allows our office to remain open during the time of re-accreditation.  We are currently in the process of registering with the Ministry of Justice.  Under the new regulations, all agencies, (whether accredited or not) have to successfully register with the Ministry of Justice.  Our goal is to have this completed by the end of June and this will be the first step in accreditation. 

 During this time, many of our regions are still in the process of deciding how they will work during the time of re-accreditation.  It is difficult, because both the Ministry of Education and the court system must agree on whether or not to work with families/agencies in the process of re-accreditation.  The good news is that many regions have decided to work in some capacity.  Please contact your adoption consultant if you have questions about your specific case.  We are getting new information daily and trying our best to keep families informed as much as possible. 

Right now, many of our regions continue to work with CHI and with families who were registered in Russia by the time of our expiration of May 17.  We have 16 court dates for June and 2 scheduled so far for July.  We have 6 families traveling for first trips during June so far.  Summer is typically a slow time for adoptions in Russia anyway, but we are very pleased with how things are progressing so far. 

Please let us know if you have questions or concerns about Russia.  You can email Tanya@childrenshopeint.org or Natalia@childrenshopeint.org.

Vietnam Update

Our Vietnam program continues to grow and thrive since they reopened in January.  We have had 6 groups travel and more a planned!  The wait time after a referral seems to be around 4 months.  The wait for a referral depends on the age and sex that you are requesting. 

There are many wonderful children waiting in Vietnam!  For more information email:  internse@childrenshopeint.org or call Sara.

Ethiopia Update

We are hoping to be ready for applications this Fall for our newest program in Ethiopia.  We are currently pursuing our licensing in Ethiopia, and have hired our full-time Director, Tsegay Fesseha.  There are a reported 5 million children who wait in Ethiopia alone.

More will be coming in the near future….

UPCOMING INFORMATION MEETINGS

UPCOMING EVENTS

A MESSAGE FROM BRENDA BARKER

We consider it a privilege to talk to families about adoption and to be involved in helping form "forever families."  We would be honored to help you fulfill your dreams of a family as well.

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
 229 Ward Circle, Suite C-22
 Brentwood, TN  37027
 615-309-8109   Fax: 615-309-8483
brenda.barker@childrenshope.net

Also serving the following states: TN, KY, GA, AL, AR, MS, VA, LA & SC

Click here to request an information packet regarding

 international adoption with

 Children's Hope International: send info, please. . .