|
 |
August 2008
Letters
from families...
Dillon Family, VA (Russia)
All is well. Victor is a joy. He is also 2.
Need I say more?
Here are a few pictures- first time getting to roll
in the grass and playing with new water table.
|
|
Fish Family,
TN (China)
We know that the horrible treatment of snacks in the
pool, and the fact that I had to put him to work just as
soon as we returned home, mowing and watering is absolutely
terrible, but it had to be done. He officially has mommy-itis!
Loves to fall asleep with mom, ride moms left hip 23 out of
24 hours and has no problem grabbing my shirt tail and
leading me where he wishes me to go. He is very smart and
loving and we count our blessings daily! What did we do
without him?
 
Schermerhorn Family,
GA (Russia)
Everything is going
well.
|
Dunn Family, GA (Russia)
 
A few weekends ago, we surprised the kids with a
day at Disney. It was so much fun to see the excitement
on all 6 of their faces! Every time Freddy got off a
ride he said "THAT WAS AWESOME!" What a blessing they
all are!!!
The boys had swimming lessons the last couple of weeks
and they are all swimming well and my oldest boys are
jumping off high dives! Fearless!!! Joey is so proud of
himself because he swims underwater like a fish! Freddy
and Billy have lacrosse camp next week and Elizabeth and
Alex have lacrosse camp the following week. Kaitlin had
drama camp and voice/violin lessons and Joey is trying
his hardest to keep up with his older siblings!!!
Academically the boys are doing GREAT! He is reading!!!
He can add and subtract!! Billy is reading above grade
level and excelling in math. He is so smart and
absolutely loves books. They both love to learn! Joey
knows all his letters and most of his sounds and he is
only 4! He is a little sponge! He writes his names and
builds the most amazing train tracks for his brio
trains. They go under his bed, around chairs, into the
hall and back. He loves trains!
Our children are such blessings.
|
|
Brock Family, TN (China)
 
These are some vacation pics
of Sarah Morgan on our 2008 trip to Tybee Island.
She even had her picture made with Paula Deen's son,
Bobby, when we ate at Lady and Sons in Savannah. She
has turned four years old and is excited about new
adventures and loves her extended family and friends.
She loves to sing everything from Give Me That Ole Time
Religion to Jesus Loves Me to Free Fallin! She is a
charmer with an opinion about everything. She is a
great helper indoors and out. She loves her flowers,
watermelon plants, birds, and sticks! She has recently
become the proud owner of a fish called "fishy" which
she feeds and talks to each day. She is a blessing to
us, our church family, and our community.
|
|
Marcus Family, VA (Vietnam)
 
We have been home for a little over 3 weeks from
Vietnam and have adjusted nicely. Julia Claire
is the most perfect baby ever!!! She only gets
up one time a night for a bottle and started
doing that the second night we got home. She is
a good little sleeper. She is very laid back
and easy going. She just goes with the flow and
doesn't seem to mind the endless stream of
visitors we have had since returning from
Vietnam. This experience has been indescribable
but certainly the best ever. I will never
forget the day we went and picked Julia Claire
up from the Christina Noble Center. It was the
best day of my life. Thank you to Children's
Hope and all the wonderful people who helped
make this adoption possible for Julia Claire and
me.
|
|
Kelley Family, TN
(Vietnam)
The girls at
their gym recital!
|
|
Latham Family,
VA
(China)
Kerbie is such a tremendous joy in our lives. We can’t
imaging life without her. We had some issues in the
beginning with sleep, but now she sleeps all through the
night and wakes up smiling.
Kerbie is very attached to me and wants to be around me
all of the time. I was reviewing video of the night we
got her, and she didn’t want anything to do with me.
She cried every time she looked at me. Well that has
certainly changed! It makes me feel so important to
her.
Shawn is such a proud dad too. He is constantly
commenting on how beautiful she is and how happy she has
made him.
I personally want to thank you and your staff. We would
not be where we are today had it not been for the care
of CHI’s people. We owe you guys the world! I want to
especially thank Leslie Broome, Ann Tollefson, Allison
Motley and Lorri Mast. They were there when we had
questions and concerns. It made all of the difference
in our experience.
Please use us as a reference for people who are trying
to decide to use CHI. We would be more than happy to
share our experiences. |
|
November 2006 Reunion Group (China)
Reunion
Times!! The Proud Mamas of the Guangdong
Travel Group! We all had a great time and the girls
loved playing together! We had such fun we all want to
do it again!
|
|
Martin Family, TN (China)
We are having a wonderful summer! Today is Margot's 5th
birthday and we are having a cook out for 50 plus a
party later in the month. We are also going to Florida
for a reunion with our travel group.
|
Williams Family,
VA
(Russia)
 
Daniel
is a bright, inquisitive child. He has adjusted well
and we can not imagine life without him. Thank you CHI
for helping us complete not only our adoption but our
family!
|
|
Akins Family, GA (China)
 
We are doing well with Meili. We are so blessed to
have Meili with us, and she is adjusting
beautifully. Not to say that we have had no issues
to deal with but all in all she is happy to be with
her family and we are so happy to have her. The
English is coming a bit slow but hopefully she will
go to school and pick up quickly.Last night she said
her first prayer it was so cute. She asked if she
could. This is how it went. Mama, baba, gu gu, jie
jie, ni ni, thank you, I love you too, amen. It was
a great trip. Thanks again for all of your help and
mostly inspiration through the years. God bless!
|
|
Witt Family,
TN Russia)
Dasha all grown up and wearing her Russian dress with her
doll that speaks Russian!!
|
|
van
Rooyen Family, VA (Vietnam)
We just wanted to thank all of you for assisting us in
our adoption and for uniting us with our daughters. We
are just thrilled with Darby and Lyla and they both are
such a joy. We could not have done it without you.
Thank you for all that you have done for us in helping
us grow our family. We have been very impressed and
happy with Children's Hope and would be happy to share
our adoption experience if you ever need us to. I also
would like to thank Thuy and her staff in Vietnam. We
had the best experience in Vietnam and will treasure the
time that we spent there. Thuy and her staff were
awesome and helped to make it the great experience that
it was. Thanks again for all that you do,
|
|
University of
Maryland & C.A.S.E.
Launch National
Transracial Adoption
Study
Project will examine
the impact of family
characteristics on
adjustment,
self-esteem and
racial identity of
minority youth
adopted by white
parents.
Who can
participate?
If the
parent or parents in
your family are
white, there is at
least one racial
minority teen
(currently between
the ages of 14-18)
who was adopted
before the age of
4, you may qualify.
What will I
be asked to do?
Both parent and
child will be asked
to complete an
on-line survey that
will take
approximately 20
minutes to complete.
Teens iwill
receive an $10 iTunes
gift card.
For more
information,
please contact:
Dr. Leigh Leslie
(Put Transracial
Adoption
Study in the
subject line.)
|
|
Children's
Hope News...
 Ethiopian
New Year Reception 
Come meet our Ethiopian Director Tsegay (from
Ethiopia) and Sharon Turner (from St. Louis)!!
Mark
your calendars now to join us on Saturday, September 6.
|
Come and
join the celebration
...
Our
annual picnic in STL was tons of fun!!
 
I just wanted to let you know what a great
time Steve, Hannah and I had at the CHI 2008 Reunion. We
were able to get together with some of the families we
traveled to China with in November 2004. I am truly grateful
for the friendships we have made through our adoption
experience with CHI. Sincerely,
Michelle Howell
Nataly and I had
such a GREAT time at the CHI reunion. It made me incredibly
grateful for all the CHI staff and all the things you guys
do to unite families! It truly is an awesome thing! Thank
you SO much for all your help to unite me with Nataly--Jennifer
Bennett
|
Run for
Homes, Health and Hope
Run for
Children's Hope
Our CHI Run for Hope team is training hard for the
2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Our team will
join 45,000 runners from all over the globe as they
complete the 26 mile course through the streets of
Chicago. Our goal is to raise awareness of the
plight of orphans around the world as we raise
$10,000 for CHI's Greatest Need Fund via runner
sponsors.
Some of our runners are adoptive parents. Some are
extended family members who have been touched by
adoption. All are
Partners in Hope,
committed to doing the very best they can to help
the forgotten children of the world.
Folks
whose legs just haven't got 26 miles in them can be a
marathon partner. Pick out a runner you like and click
on the picture to sponsor your CHI team member. Be sure
to put you runner's name and "marathon" in the
additional information box!
|
Development
Aid Happenings...
A Night of Hope: Benefiting the China
Earthquake
Orphans
A wonderful night !! Many thanks to:
Randi Michaels, Rod Parkin, Jason Krupek
Big Kenny
Jennifer Hanson
Matthew West
Gary Burr
Brady Seals
Mark Slaughter
Sherrie Austin
Kent Agee
Regie Hamm
Lee Thomas Miller Wil
Nance Darryl Worley
Joe Doyle
|
China’s Agony- Children’s Hope
Responds
... On
May 12, China was rocked by a major earthquake. With
your help, Children’s Hope’s Melody Zhang and the Beijing
staff continue to aid the young victims in the earthquake
zone. Melody Zhang and Dwyatt Gantt, the Children's
Hope Directors were in Nashville working on relief efforts
for those devastated by the disaster. They are joined
with Brenda and some of her kids. Click on the link to read about the current and future
projects to help those who are suffering.
www.HelpAnOrphan.org
|
Upcoming
Info Meetings...
|
Join our
"Online" Adoption Information Meeting
From
the comfort of your home computer, you can participate in a
Children's Hope live "Online" adoption information meeting.
This is an interactive discussion, so we will answer your
questions as we walk you through the process of adopting
internationally.
Click
here for more details.
|
|
We might also
be having a meeting in your state!
Click on the map to
find out the details.
|
A
Message from Brenda Barker...
Hope you are having a wonderful
Summer! As international adoption continues to
change, I am always here to talk to you! Give me a
call any time...my door is always open!
Brenda Barker
(with daughters Kate and Izzie)
Southeastern U.S.
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, AL, AR, MS, GA, VA, TX, NC, FL,
LA & SC
|
Back to Top
|
