|
 |
June 2008
Letters
from families...
Taylor Family, NC
(Ethiopia)
Malachi is such a sweet, cuddly baby who always
wants to play. We are having so much fun!
|
|
Collins Family, KY (China)
Stevie was
adopted
from Hunan in 2005. I took these pictures last night before
her preschool
program. She is a very energetic, VERY talkative and fun 4
yr old!
|
|
Lambert
Family, TN (Russia)
Michael is finishing up the 1st grade and has done very
well this past year. Alex is now three and will go to
preschool next year :)
|
|
Brosius Family, GA (Vietnam)
Happy 5th
Birthday, Meghan!
|
|
French Family, TN
(Russia)
Russell Family, ME formerly TN (Russia)
Natalya Russell (28 months)
and Owen French
(35 months). We had a
great visit, and Owen had so much fun playing with Natalya.
It's still hard to believe that just over a year ago, Owen
and Natalya were residing in Baby House 1 in Astrakhan,
Russia.
|
|
Stinnette Family, TN
(China)
Rebekah was
adopted from China in 2005 and her brother Samuel was
adopted in 2007.
|
|
Ford
Family, VA (Colombia)
 You’ll
be able to tell by the pictures that Maria is growing and is
a very happy little girl.
|
|
Trombo
Family, TN (China)
Sarah just
had her 3rd birthday and continues to be amazing. She
is extremely active and overly cute. I think of
Children's Hope often and recommend you as well. We
had such a positive experience.
|
Housley Family, AL
(Russia)
Noah is
doing very well. He is adjusting to everything just
fine, he seems to be very happy at his new home.
Thank you all for all of your help connecting us with
Noah he is perfect for our family and we couldn't ask
for anything more out of a son.
|
|
Bennett Family, TN (Colombia)
Nataly had a
GREAT time at Disney World for spring break. She loved
meeting the characters and had a blast on the rides. She
was cautious about some of the rides at first, but was quite
the daredevil once we got her started....
|
|
Chotto Family, LA (China)
Carsten is a complete joy! Everyone who
meets her loves her. We are blessed.
|
|
Cook Family, TN (Russia)
Well, as most
parents say, I can't believe it's been two years but it has.
On February 6th, we celebrated our second "Gotcha Day". We
marked the day with a balloon release in our front yard by
the American flag (one of Mathew's favorite things). We each
said what we were thankful for, placed a prayer on our
balloon and sent them to the sky. Later Mathew was worried
that the balloon would pop and the prayer would be lost. I
assured him that when it did, the air inside would blow the
prayer right on up to heaven. He was so relieved!
On Wednesday, March 26th, we were at Chancery court for
Mathew's USA re-adoption.
You see we had told Mathew all about court in Russia and
that there was a smart lady judge that listened to us and to
the people who had been taking care of him in the orphanage.
We told him about the questions that they had asked, the
reports that were given, and all that went into making us a
family. Being almost 4 when we brought him home, he was old
enough to ask questions and want answers. When our case was
presented to Judge Smith last week, h e
even asked, "Why are you here? Everything is final and could
have been handled through the mail." We explained that
Mathew was old enough to have the memory of this day and
that we had waited to do his re-adoption until he was old
enough to "participate". Needless to say he was surprised
but completely in agreement with the actions. They asked us
questions, just as if we were not already a family and then
the judge asked the magic question - "Mathew do you want
these people to be your parents?" He shyly nodded yes -
smiling the whole time. This was all really important to us
- for Mathew to go through the process and have the memory,
for us to publicly go through the process again and this
time without an interpreter, and finally because my parents
were there with us. Mathew's big thing was that he got to
stand in the judge's chair for pictures.
Later that day, we went to Vince Dean's office - a member of
the TN House of Representatives. He had a great presentation
for Mathew on his special day of an American Flag, a book
about Tennessee and a certificate. Mathew was very impressed
that he had is "own American flag". It was precious.
The week was not yet over because on Thursday, Mathew
celebrated his 6th birthday! He's a big boy now. We
celebrated with cupcakes at school that day and then a big
birthday party on Saturday!
It was such a joy watching his face through this past week.
I thought back to the first moment I saw him come through
the door at the orphanage in Kaliningrad, Russia. He was a
tiny boy with a really bad hair cut. His eye was severely
crossed and he had some sort of green medicine on his arm
and face. His expression was that of confusion and sadness
but also of someone who was resigned to his fate. Within a
few minutes, he was smiling and talking. I don't really
think it was because of us but because he was in the "big
kids room" and got to play with the Lego Pirate set. His
shorts were too big and he was so thin. It was just as many
others have said before, I fell in love instantly! He was
our boy. The child we had dreamed of and prayed for. We are
truly blessed.
Mathew has another surprise on the way. On his special
re-adoption day, there was another American flag being
flown. This one was flying over the White House in his
honor. It will be sent to us with a certificate. His Granny
(my mom) made this happen for him and I know
when he is all grown up, he will know just how much he means
and has meant to us all. I doubt that there are very many 6
year olds with something like this for show-n-tell.
Thank you, Children's Hope, for making us a family. We will
forever be in your debt.
|
|
McGary
Family, GA (China)
Ali is now six and a half and
growing up so beautifully – inside and out! Ali went skiing
in Utah for the first time this year and was really a
natural! She still loves to swim and is now involved in
Karate!
|
|
Vaughn
Family, TN (Russia)
Everything is going really well for our daughter. She has
adjusted so quickly and just adores her brother. We
would like to thank Children's Hope once again for the
placement of our daughter into our home. We are truly
blessed by the addition of this beautiful little girl into
our family. People will often tell us that she is so lucky,
but we know that we are the lucky ones. We thank you again
for all your help during our adoption journey.
|
|
Hicks
Family, TN (China)
|
|
O'Neal
Family, TN (Russia)
Silas is doing well and is generally a very
happy little guy who smiles all of the time! We
feel so blessed to finally have him with us and
praise God for bringing him to us. It feels
like he has been with us for so long, even
though it has only been about 6 weeks since our
"Gotcha Day!"
|
|
Heidebreicht Family, TN (China)
Anne Marie is now 6 1/2, and Alaina is now 4 1/2. They are
doing great. Anne Marie is about to finish kindergarten and
Alaina starts in the fall. Anne Marie is in her second year
of soccer and has started the violin. Alaina is in
gymnastics. We tried the soccer thing with her, but she was
more interested in picking flowers than playing.
|
|
Burkett Family, TN (Russia)
Tanya
made the honor roll this time and her name is in the
paper here and we are all really happy she is doing
so good. They have learned some more English.
|
|
Lyons
Family, FL(China)
Michaela
became our daughter at 10 months old and she is a blessing.
So much energy & such an imagination.
|
|
Watts Family, TN (China)
It was a
beautiful spring day. :-)
|
|
Carscadden
Family,
VA (China)
.
Here is a
picture of the three of us in China.
|
|
Kennedy Family, TN (China)
I
am forever grateful and blessed with my girls and
the power of adoption-it is an amazing thing.
|
|
Stevens Family, LA (China)
|
|
Calling all Tampa Bay Families....
Tampa
Bay International Adoption Families Social and
Support Group are an active group of currently 58
families with children from all over the world. We
get together monthly for lunch as well as for other
fun activities. There is no charge to join either.
For more info... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tampa_bay_international_adoption/
|
|
For
our Texas Families....
We are announcing the recruitment phase
for a new study to validate an
attachment measure that we often use in
our work as a research and assessment
tool. We are looking for families who
would be willing to set aside about one
hour to fill out a set of questionnaires
about your adopted or fostered child.
If you have more than one adopted or
fostered child we would invite you to
fill out a set for both children.
If you are interested in participating
and would like us to send you a packet
of information, please email Amanda at
a.r.hiles@tcu.edu with your name,
address, and number of packets to be
sent (one per child) or call
817-257-7848.
TCU Institute of Child Development Staff
, Developmental Research Laboratory
Researchers
|
|
|
Children's
Hope News...
Children’s Hope International:
ZOO DAY!
Summer 2008
Hey families!
It’s time for our annual trip to the Nashville Zoo.
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, June
17, 2008—we will gather at the gate at
10:00am. Pack a picnic lunch, and prepare for a fun
outing with your CHI staff, adoptive families, and
prospective adoptive parents. Please RSVP or
inquire with questions to
Ellie.Lancaster@ChildrensHope.net.
Hope to see you there!
|
Night of Hope
Friday, July 11, 2008,
5:30 – 8:30 P.M.,
St. Louis Marriott West
THE NEED:
Hundreds of thousands of children remain in Vietnamese
orphanages, never to be placed for adoption. The
government in Vietnam only gives each orphanage enough
funds to provide half of the nutritious food these
children need. This is where you can help.
THE NIGHT:
Includes a meet and greet from Fredbird®, official
mascot of the St. Louis Cardinals, a silent auction,
visual art entertainment by Cicoff and performances by
local contemporary Christian artists, The Travis Lee
Band and the Eric Prewitt Band.
Come join us for a night
of fun as we address a Critical Need for the Vietnam
Orphan Nutrition program.
Tickets:
General
Admission - $10, Children are free
Tickets may be purchased in advance
online at
www.HelpAnOrphan.org
or email
Michelle.Howdeshell@ChildrensHope.net
Tickets will also be
available the night of the event, but space is limited
so reserve yours now!(All
tickets will be held at will call and may be picked up
at the registration table the night of the event.)
Want to have your
business or family included in the program as a
supporter for this event? Contact Michelle to learn
more about sponsorship opportunities and silent auction
donations.
Sponsorship Levels:
Silver - $25 (1 ticket), Gold - $50 (2 tickets),
Platinum - $100 (up to 4 tickets)
Diamond - $250 (Includes
up to 10 tickets)
|
Come and
join the celebration
2008 Children’s Hope
National Reunion Picnic
Saturday
July 12, 10:30am-2:30pm
St. Louis, MO
To register
today
click here
Children's Hope Reunion
Picnic- July 12, 2008
314-890-0086
|
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. Runners registered to date are:
Ryan Beadle (OH) Christine Law (TX) Pam Perrotta
(NY) Joe Raschke (IL)
Jerry Brougher
(WI) Matt McIntee (IL) John Peterson (IL) Steve
Zabawsky (IL)
Shelly Courington (TN) Stacy Miller
(MN) Stacy Peterson (IL)
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...
China's
Earthquake
The death toll has now exceeded
70,000,
with the figure certain to rise with
20,790
listed as missing. Nearly
362,000
people were injured. Children's Hope Associate Director
Melody Zhang and her emergency volunteers are in China's
earthquake devastation meeting immediate needs of
orphans and children – medicine, formula, rice, and
tents, and preparing for Phase II - restoration.
YOU
can give
hope to the quake's young and
orphaned victims.
Please click on the picture above to find out how you can help
Children's Hope works with three orphanages for
international adoption in the surrounding area - Chengdu,
Chongqing and Yibin. Our orphanages are doing well.
|
Child
Ambassador--Katherine Christina HaiHua Donner (FL)
Katherine
just turned 5 years old. Instead of asking for gifts,
she collected $200 to send to help other Chinese
children. She enjoys listening to stories about China
and looks forward to going back to visit China again one
day. She continues to participate in several Chinese
functions and has performed in the Chinese New Year
celebrations the past 2 years. She strives to help
others no matter what the task is or how difficult it
is. Katherine, hope you had a very Happy Birthday!!
|
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. Cost $25.
Next Meeting:
Tuesday June 24, 2008
Time:
9
PM
Eastern, 8 PM Central, 7 PM Mountain, 6 PM Pacific
Click
here for more details.
|
|
We might also
be having a meeting in your state!
Click on the map to
find out the details.
|
June
Adoption Education...
|
June 14, 2008 ~
Pre-Adoption Class #3 ~ 8:30 AM ~ Children's Hope |
A
Message from Brenda Barker...
|
To Our Dads and Dads-in-Waiting:
"In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have
all the power to heal, scare away the monsters under the
bed, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love
them without limits, So . . one day they will like you, love
without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the
price!!!!!!!"
Love & enjoy your children..." (From the Price of Children)
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all of our dads and dads-in-waiting, and to my
husband of 25 years, Ken...one of the great dads!!
Ken Barker with newest daughters Izzie and Kate from Ethiopia,
and a group hug with Andy, Danny, Samuel, Joy and Melody.
Please let
me know how we can help you on your adoption journey!
Brenda
Southeastern U.S.
Brenda Barker,
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
|
