From Our Families

OCTOBER 2002 NEWSLETTER 

Caring for and serving families in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama,  Mississippi,

Florida,Texas, and Louisiana 

By Susan Jacobi, Nashville, TN

Peeking into the quiet day care room, I discover that one little girl is not using naptime to nap.  She spies me and leaps off her mat screaming “mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy,” tripping over three sleeping children as she jumps across the room to meet me at the door.  Laughing, she hugs me tightly, and again I am amazed at the joy this little girl has brought into my life.

I did not expect the journey to parenthood to lead me here.  When Stan and I married, we hadn’t planned to have children.  But priorities and dreams change, and we decided to start a family.  After a year of frustration and disappointment, we came to the realization that perhaps our family would be born through adoption.  We attended an adoption meeting and were convinced that our daughter was in China.  We began filling out paperwork that night!

Once our paper chase was finished and our dossier sent to China, the worrying began.  What had started as an idea of a daughter began to takes shape and she became real—our daughter.  We wondered whether she had been born yet, if she was healthy and well cared for, and if she was happy. The long wait finally ended and we received a photograph of a darling little girl.  We were ecstatic!

e enjoyed a short stay in Beijing, then on to meet our daughter.  She was waiting for us in the hotel lobby.  Frightened by all the commotion, Millie burst into tears.  But later, in the quiet of the hotel room, she relaxed as her daddy held her and I signed stacks of documents.  She was subdued at first, but gradually her personality and sense of humor began to show. Two weeks in China were a whirlwind, filled with sightseeing, travel, and appointments!  But most important, it was a wonderful bonding time with our new daughter.  By the time we arrived back in Nashville, she was ours and we were hers.

Life before Millie seems so long ago now.  We feel as though we’ve always been a family.  She has blossomed into a beautiful little girl who surprises us daily as she learns and grows.  Our house and time are full, as are our lives.  Bath time is over, stories have been read, and prayers are finished.  We’ve had our bedtime hugs and kisses and I-love-yous.  The lights are off but all is not quiet.  As Stan and I sit down to gather our papers together for our next dossier, a little voice drifts from the dark bedroom, sweetly singing her ABCs.   The joy continues.

Please know that there are many older waiting children in all of the countries we work in, including sibling groups. If you are interested in our Wonderful Waiting Children, please email brenda@childrenshopeint.org .  I would love to answer any of your questions.

A wonderful time was enjoyed by Helen Hu, our Chinese Adoption Coordinator from Beijing while in Nashville.  Special thanks go to Dr. Chris and Rebecca Smeltzer and their children for hosting Helen in their home.  The reception was a wonderful time for families and children to reconnect with Helen and for waiting families to meet Helen and talk with other families!  Helen, by the way, has a photo book with pictures of every child that CHI has placed, and remembers the name of every family!  We are blessed to have her and her love for our children and China’s children is so evident!!

Among the many special guests who attended this year’s events were the Brentwood, Tennessee, fire department, the Vanderbilt International Adoption Clinic representatives, Charlie Lowell with Jars of Clay, Creative Memories consultant Kathie Forrest, and face-painting artist Kari Needham.  It was a fun event for all involved.

We look forward to seeing everyone at our next family social event.  From the bottom of our hearts we give thanks to all those volunteers, contributors, and vendors who made this year's event possible!

Reprinted from the News Herald

The Daughters of the American Revolution and the Children of the American Revolution hosted a “Welcome to America” party for Kristina and Maria Bonds.  The Bonds have recently adopted the Russian born sisters.  They had an informational program geared towards orienting the girls to America.  Kristina and Maria were presented many gifts including t-shirts and bears, all with American symbols on them, as well as a keepsake book about America to commemorate their move to the United States.  Sue Mills, President says, “The members wanted to do something for Kristina and Maria.  We hope to facilitate the girls’ adjustment to their new home.  This party will also give our members an opportunity to express what they love about America.”  Welcome to America and Welcome Home!

We are hoping to begin playgroups for families who have recently adopted, or who are seasoned parents!  We want to help facilitate these groups. The first playgroup will be at the Maryland Farms McDonald’s in Brentwood at 9 -11 am on Thursday, October 10.  If you are interested, please contact ondrea@childrenshopeint.org.

"We would like to inform people about the Eastern European Adoption Support Group (EEASG).  We are a group of parents 

who have adopted children from Eastern Europe that meet for social functions so that the parents and the kids can get 

together for support, information, fun and play.  We welcome new members and waiting parents are welcome as well as families

that have already adopted.  It's great to see all the kids together!!  

If you are interested please E-mail Chris Leuzinger at BlueZinger@aol.com or call 646-7775.

Our first event this year will be a Fall Get Together on a farm in Gallatin, TN on Saturday, October 5th.  

It is a potluck with burgers, hot dogs and drinks provided.  Please contact Chris for details and directions.

One of the functions we have is "Russian School".  We meet for an hour on the first Sunday of every month and have a 

teacher that teaches the kids about Russian traditions, tells Russian stories, and we have crafts and play.  

It's also a good chance for the parents to get together.  At this time, we are looking for a teacher.  If there is anyone that 

would be interested in working with the kids and helping with this, please contact Chris.

October for us will be a month with lots of activities… Our annual CHI staff retreat in St. Louis at the first of the month, lots of adoption fairs and information meetings coming up, and Tanya and I will be traveling along with Michael McSurdy, one of our adoptive parents as well as the Director of Foster Care for the State of Tennessee, to Tver, Russia.  

CHI is hosting a conference on Foster Care and Adoption with Russian authorities as well as Chinese adoption representatives.  Two hundred participants from 23 regions of Russia will be attending the conference.  We would covet your prayers that this will be a very helpful conference and would continue to momentum to have foster care available to all children! 

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, MS, FL, TX and LA