Meet Aubrey and Amber

Aubrey, an 8-year-old girls living in an orphanage in southeastern China, was in the process of being adopted and planned to come home to her new family in later 2011. But along the way, plans changed. Rob and Shawnee, a couple living in Kentucky who had already adopted two children, were planning on fundraising in fall of 2011 in order to afford the adoption of Aubrey, when they were asked to advocate for 14-year-old Amber who was about to age out of the Chinese orphanage system. Instead of just advocating for her, the couple decided that they would adopt both Amber and Aubrey, and so had to rush through the adoption process before Amber aged-out.

The quickness of the adoption meant the girls had to suddenly adjust to new people, new routines and a new culture. At first, this was especially difficult for Amber, who had spent such a long time in her orphanage in China. Aubrey had an easier time with the process and Shawnee shares that Aubrey “is utterly thrilled with her adoption”

Since arriving in their new home, both girls have felt more and more at home. Shawnee says, “now that [Amber] is in her new home with her family, she seems to be accepting her lot. She loves to sing and has shown me many photos of her in music groups during her growing up years. She starts middle school next Thursday and is scheduled to take a choral class, which makes her very happy.” Aubrey also doing great and “is a ray of sunshine, sweet, affectionate, smart, and so hard-working and helpful that we often have to ask her to stop helping!”

Both girls still face several challenges. Amber has heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis and Aubrey has ataxic cerebral palsy, pronounced, visual tracking problems, speech impairment and serious dental problems. But their new family is already working to get them the medical treatment they need A grant from Gift of Adoption funded by donations in memory of Maggie Bevenour made this trip possible – giving Amber and Aubrey a permanent family and a chance to thrive. The couple promised, “We will be their family forever. They will never ‘age out’ of our family.”

A Love Beyond Boundaries

"I believe in adoption because of its intentionality; because of how it changes lives; because of the way it puts skin and bones, laughter and tears on the whole idea of hope."

The above quote is an excerpt from the The January 7th, 2012 installment of "This I Believe" - a beautifully written piece about adoption by Brian Schoeni.

The entire essay can be read or heard here and reminds us that, "...adoption isn’t a perfect fit for every parent-to-be. But I do believe this: adoption is a perfect fit for every kid in every corner of our world who needs the love of a family.

Meet Shabri!

Shabri is a little girl adopted from India in 2011. At first, she was hesitant to open up to her forever family, but you can see in this video that she is now a happy, bright, and loved child. We're so happy to see that Shabri is doing so well and can't wait to hear what the future brings for her!

Want to learn about more of the children that Gift of Adoption has helped? Check out our YouTube page here or go to http://www.youtube.com/user/giftofadoptionfund

The Big GIve Results!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Columbus Foundation's Big Give on Thursday, November 10. Preliminary results are in and Gift of Adoption Fund raised an estimated $13,25.82 and will receive $1,720.44 in matching dollars and $437.39 in credit card free reimbursements, totaling $15,412.65 from the Big Give! Thank you for your support!

Meet Camon and Caleb

Camon (age 3) and Caleb (age 2), are brothers recently adopted with the help of a Gift of Adoption grant. Their adoptive parents, Bradley and Amy, first met Camon and Caleb earlier this year after receiving an unexpected call from their adoption agency asking them to provide emergency care for the boys while their birth mother entered a treatment program.

As Amy shares, “their birth mother had been in the foster care system and had had a very traumatic childhood and adolescence. She doesn’t want this to happen to her children. We considered the decision carefully, but knew from the very first minute that the boys walked into our home that they had walked into our hearts.” Soon after Camon and Caleb came to live with Bradley, Amy, and their son Ethan, their birth mother made the decision to create a parenting plan for her sons – asking Bradley and Amy to adopt them and provide them with a safe, stable and loving home.

Through the gift of adoption, Camon and Caleb have been able to experience much joy and love and have positively changed the lives of those around them. Camon loves to help cook, play with playdough and run! He makes up silly songs and is a wonderful big brother. Caleb loves airplanes, is the dramatic child and likes to give raspberry kisses!

Bradley and Amy share that they recently traveled back to the state from which the boys were adopted and shared a visit with the agency folks who placed the boys with them. They were astounded at the transformation of the boys. And we know that it's just the beginning!

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What a Difference a Year Makes!

One year ago Quinn Da-Hui, an adorable baby girl from South Korea found her forever family. On August 2, 2010 9-month-old Quinn traveled to America with her new parents, Joanna and Dan. Joanna says that “When we first came home, Quinn only wanted to be held...all the time. She wouldn't explore on the floor or play with toys unless she was right in our laps.” But Quinn has grown very comfortable in her new home, especially with Joanna and Dan’s 3 biological children, Bregan, Wyatt, and Charlotte

The family had several concerns about Quinn’s health and language development, but one year later they are happy to report that she is doing great! Joanna says, “We are happy to say she is quite a chatterbox! We have a list of all the words she can say (in her own way many of them) and she says over 25 words plus her "baby signs". She also said her first two-word sentence today! ‘Mommy, look!’ (she had placed Bregan's baseball hat on her head and couldn't have been more proud of herself!)” Another concern was Quinn’s hearing. A test performed in Korea showed that she may have moderate to severe hearing impairments. “But after having her hearing assessed once she was home, it was determined that her hearing is perfect! We consider this to be a miracle! Such a surprising andwonderful blessing!”

So much has changed for Quinn and her new family in the past year! Joanna shares, “It is so amazing the difference a year makes. One year ago, Quinnie didn't even know of her family (both immediate and extended) who had been praying and praying and praying and praying for her! And now, she is surrounded by so many who love her. She also loves them! Especially her brothers and sister! She has her own name for each of them too. Bregan is Buh-dee, Wyatt is Why-ee and Charlotte is Nonny. Too cute! The older three spent the night at their grandparent's house last weekend. Quinnie kept saying to us: "mommy...buh dee?" "daddy...nonny?" "mommy...why ee?" as she walked around the house looking for them. It brought tears to my eyes to see her love for them and to think of how only a short year ago, she didn't even know about them! What a difference a year makes!”

About Gift of Adoption, Joanna says “This grant was such a huge blessing to us. We really wanted to travel to South Korea to bring Quinn home instead of having her escorted here. We wanted to be able to witness, firsthand, her culture and to have the opportunity to meet the foster family who had been caring for and loving our daughter. We will have that experience (along with photos) to share with her as she gets older.”

Joanna and Dan are so thankful for Quinn, especially in the face of all the changes happening to the adoption system in South Korea. Joanna explains, “the President [of South Korea] has decided to go ahead with the plan to close international adoption in 2012. The bill has already passed the Korean Assembly and only needs to be signed by the President. As a result of this plan, the number of children "referred" for international adoption has been decreasing and the length of time to bring your child home is increasing. Truly a sad and heart wrenching situation.”

Joanna says, “We couldn't be more joyful over our COMPLETE family!” At Gift of Adoption we can’t wait to hear more updates about Quinn in the years to come!