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May 1, 2003 |
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Caring for and serving families in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, |
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My mind raced with all the reasons we would make a good family for him. Our youngest son had just gone off to college and our daughters are out of college so we were staring at three empty bedrooms that could easily accommodate another child – and his sisters for overnights! We weren’t really even thinking about adopting but Edward’s story spoke to us. We called all our children to get their reactions. They were so excited about the possibility of sharing the deep love we feel for our family with Edward.
By the end of January, we were ready to go to Russia to meet our new son. We were filled with excitement and anticipation. We met Edward on February 21. We flew home from Moscow on March 2nd with an excited boy who asked every hour, “How long now till I see my sisters?” The reunion at the Nashville airport was as emotional as you can imagine. A grand party put on by our neighbors welcomed Edward to Nashville, to his sisters, and to the Duncan family. We are proud and happy to have Edward as our son. (Editor’s Note: There was not a dry eye in the entire airport, and probably the airplane as Edward was reunited with is sisters!). |
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Good books recommended by the Williams family (Let me know if you have others!) Books: The Lost Daughters of China by Karin Evans. Evans alternates chapters between her personal experience with adoption and the socio-political complexities in China that displace so many girls. Another book we read was Adopting in China: A practical guide/an emotional journey, by Kathleen Wheeler and Doug Werner. I didn't like some of the sections written by Werner - he seemed to typify the "ugly American" stereotype when he writes about being in China (complains about the food, for example). But it has some helpful hints about getting through the home study and making the trip. (Note it has some outdated tax credit information.) Some great travel and shopping tips can be found at the web site of a Guangzhou deli take-out, Danny's Bagel: http://www.dannysbagel.com/ A more academic resource is West Meets East: Americans Adopt Chinese Children. I believe it was the first empirical study on the subject when it was published in 1999. It's rather dry and textbooky, but enlightening about the larger demographic picture. Also informative is Yannie Fan's personal web site about touring Chinese orphanages in 2000, http://www.usaweb1.com/chinatrip/index.htm Some good resources to help you think about living as a multi-cultural family are: "Are Those Kids Yours?" American Families with Children Adopted from Other Countries by Cheri Register Wuhu Diary by Emily Prager Dim Sum, Bagels, and Grits by Myra Alperson (this includes terrific resource indexes) Our Chinese Daughters Foundation, http://www.ocdf.org/ocdf/index.htm Rainbow Kids, http://www.rainbowkids.com/ The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute Newsletter, http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/ One of the best resources for preparing to be a multi-cultural family! It's a free on-line course: http://www.adoptionlearningpartners.org/courses/conspicuous.cfm Do you live in the Nashville area and want your child to learn the Russian language? Elena Fielstein, age 12 ½ years, would like to teach children, ages 6 and older, the Russian language. Elena is from Smolensk. She has been speaking English for almost two years now and is very proficient in Russian and English. She takes Russian lessons once a week from a Russian educator. Elena’s fee is negotiable and reasonable, and the place is also negotiable--depending on what would be most convenient for both parties. The lessons could be private or in a small group. If you are interested, please call Elena’s mother, Lynda, at (615) 385-4635 or e-mail Fielstem@comcast.net to discuss further. Language Playhouse in the Tampa, FL area enables children of today (12 months-16 years) to understand and participate in the bi-lingual world of tomorrow through their innovative and captivating approach to 2nd language acquisition. Native speakers of Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese and American Sign Language use a hands on approach to learning as they lead the children through a high energy, age appropriate adventure of songs, games, crafts, theater, snacks and much more presented entirely in the target language. Language Playhouse is located in Carrollwood (Tampa) and would like to invite your playgroups to participate in a free demonstration of our Chinese classes. Please contact our center at 813-964-8800 to schedule a day and time! Host an Exchange Students
High school students who will be coming to the US from China, Hong Kong,
Taiwan, South Korean and Nepal are in need of host families. They are
usually here for 10 months are ages 15-18. In the past, they have placed
students with host families who have adopted. Host families and their
children really enjoy the opportunity to learn frist-hand about another
culture while sharing their culture with the student. If you are
interested, please go to the Forte
International Exchange Association website at :www.foreteexcahnge.org or
call 1-888-866-6869 or email chris.lin@forteusa.org.
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We are delighted to offer you a series of Russian Classes held by Daniel Schafer, Belmont Professor. They will take place at CHI office in Brentwood from 6:30 to 8:30 pm on Thursdays, May 29, June 5 and June 12, 2003.
May 29:
Introduction to Russian Language and Alphabet - A presentation that will
quickly teach the Russian alphabet and give some basic "survival phrases". For more information and to RSVP, please contact Natalia at the office or natalia@childrenshopeint.org. We hope to see you there! |
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Children's Hope will host Operation Hope in Nashville for three weeks in July 2003. As Operation Hope 2003 gains momentum and more families sign up to participate in this program, we would like to let you know about a wonderful healthy sibling group who is a candidate for this summer Operation Hope. They are two brothers and a sister ages 10, 9 and 6. If you are interested in hosting these lovely children, please contact us at 615-309-8109, or at Tanya@ChildrensHopeInt.org. Operation Hope is a program, which brings orphans age 7 - 11 from Russia to spend three weeks of their vacation with American host families who are seriously interested in adopting them. |
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Please join us for free information meetings: Sunday, May 18, 2003Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, 915 Monroe Street SW, Huntsville, AL 2:00-4:00PM Sunday, May 25Hampton Inn Marietta, 455 Franklin Rd, SE, Marietta, Georgia 3:00-5:00 PM Tuesday, May 27Memorial Health University Medical Center, Conference Room A4700 Waters Avenue, Savannah, GA 314057:00 - 9:00 PMThursday, May 29WJCT, Inc (PBS), 100 Festival Park Ave, Jacksonville, FL 32210 7:00 - 9:00 PM |
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May 7 Waiting Mom’s Coffee 10:00-11:00 AM Children’s Hope Office May 10 Dossier Class 8:30-10:00 AM Children’s Hope Office Travel Class 10:00-12:00 Noon Children’s Hope Office Pre-Adoption Class #2 12:30-6:00 PM Woodmont Hills Family of God May 16 Parent Education 6:30-8:30 PM Children’s Hope office (Waiting Parents meeting) May 19 Home Study Group 6:30-8:30 PM Children’s Hope Office May 23 Operation Hope 6:30 PM Woodmont Hills Family of God Orientation #1 May 29 Russian Class 6:30-8:30 PM Children’s Hope Office June 5 Russian Class 6:30-8:30 pm Children’s Hope Office
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Before I was a Mom, I made and
ate hot meals. I had unstained clothing. I had quiet conversations on the
phone. Before I
was a Mom, I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, peed
on or pinched by tiny fingers. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WAITING, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO BE! If we can ever do anything to help, please do not hesitate to contact me at Brenda@childrenshopeint.org. 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
Brenda@ChildrensHope.com |
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