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Oh.My.Goodness.
Some AWAA friends of ours had their home destroyed by a tornado WHILE THEY WERE IN IT. You can read about the ordeal right here.
They are in need right now. They have insurance, but not great insurance. They have a lot to clean up and the insurance won't cover the debris removal. Their home will be rebuilt but the contents still need to be replaced.
If you can give please DO!
Go to Paypal and send any amount to vandruff.family@gmail.com
Hey friends! I'm joining with a team of other families who have adopted HIV+ kiddos to blog about life with our kids who are Precious and Positive. Pleace check it out. Be sure to check back frequently for more helpful content about life as a positive family and all kinds of resources.
I posted a while ago about Vanya.
Today a family is officially pursuing his adoption!! I learned of this great news a while ago but forgot to post it here. Head over to Vanya's blog to read all about it.
The same friend of mine who volunteers at Vanya's orphanage, created the blog for him, and is responsible for linking him up with his forever family has taken on the challenge of helping to place two older boys. You can go here to meet Sam and Andy.
Below is a letter from my friend about Sam and Andy:
They are genetically related brothers. They lost their mother in a fire and
their dad is in jail. They were living with their uncle but he could not afford
them. I dont know when they stopped living with their uncle but it was quite
some time ago, so they have been in the orphanage for awhile. No one in the years
they have been up for adoption has inquired about them. They are healthy boys.We have tried to find out as much as we can. If a family is wanting to
commit to these boys, careful assessment will take place before the process is
begun due to the boys age. Paperwork has to be submitted by October before one
of the boys turns 16.
I'm highlighting another great blog here. Go check out Positively Orphaned. They highlighted a family from our agency there too. The Ross family recently came home with their positive daughter.
I'm, like, the last person on earth to ever be accused of being hip. I never was a trend setter, I'm not current on a lot of things.
This guy may be a very well known pastor by now but I just discovered him and his story. It's about the miracle that happened to him. I think you'll be glad you clicked this link.
My friend Alisha took the time to compile a list of International Adoption Doctors (IADs)recommended by other Adoptive Parents (APs). I couldn't pass up the opportunity to direct some people who might benefit from her research to her blog.
If you are looking into IADs this will be a great resource for you. When you're there leave her a comment and let her know if you found it helpful. Tell her Jen says "hi".
On this day last year Dustin and I were meeting our son Jonas for the first time. You can watch the video* here.
We travelled with an awesome group of people who will forever come to mind at Christmas. We shared such amazing, life changing events together. I wish somehow I could hug them all today and share once again the joy of our experience.
You can visit some some of their blogs:
Stager Family
Burk Family
Caldwell Family
*Disregard the date at the beginning of the video. We were in Addis for a week before meeting Jonas working with some friends at Hope for the Hopeless. All those busy days bled together. When and I made this clip after we got home I guessed at the date and got it wrong. Thankfully sources more reliable than myself straightened me out.
It's been so difficult for me this second second round with AWAA simply because the YG (yahoo group) has grown so much that I find it difficult to get to know new families to the program. So, I made it my mission today to spend time tracking down paperchasers and recent DTE-ers (that's Dossier To Ethiopia in adoption speak) and get to know their families a little bit. It's my way of trying to bring back some of the personal relationships that made our first adoption experience so special.
I'm sharing a list of some of their blogs here:
http://mullisadoption.blogspot.com/
http://rowlandadoption.blogspot.com/
http://wagest.blogspot.com/
http://www.ulmfamilyhappenings.blogspot.com/
http://lifeafterelijah.blogspot.com/
http://mnboilermakers.blogspot.com/
Two very special families I've grown especially fond of who are about to travel in January:
http://hisgloriousgrace.blogspot.com/
http://www.shawfamilyexpansion.blogspot.com/
I've mentioned Sassy Granny- Kathleen- before. She's written another precious post I just had to share with you here. Her words are such a wonderful reminders of what this season is all about.
There is a wonderful family with our agency (America World Adoption Association) whose patience and endurance are inspiring to me. I had asked my readers to pray for them once before when they lost their daughter Julianna Ashure unexpectedly after they had passed court and while they were waiting to travel to Ethiopia to pick her up.
Now, the precious Reed family has no more than just stepped off the plane returning home with their second Ethiopian daughter, Maura Ruhama, and are faced with another dark trial. Maura Ruhama is suffering from a very serious cardiac condition that was only discovered upon her first US doctor's visit. Currently, baby Maura is in the hospital while doctors are determining the best course of action for this beloved child. There was mention of a possible heart transplant.
Please, friends, pray for this family. Pray especially for Maura Ruhama. Seek healing for her and wisdom for her doctors. Pray for peace for a little girl who has just had her universe rocked by the transition out of the only world she's ever known into the loving arms of gentle parents who are just beginning to become more than strangers to her now. Pray for her as she faces more strangers armed with pokes, machines, and anxiety inducing procedures. Join me in asking God that for every tiny measure of suffering and pain little Maura is enduring that a double measure of His Spirit would be poured over her. Maura Ruhama belongs to Jesus and we rejoice that He is taking care of her!
You can meet the faithful and inspiring Reed family at their blog, here:
http://www.reedadoption.blogspot.com/
Philippians 4:6-7 (New International Version)
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
A father speaks at a conference giving his testimony about God's sovereignty and about suffering. It's WORTH your time. Follow the link and click on One Generation Shall Tell Your Works to Another- http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/events/conference2005.php
John Knight (the father speaking) has a blog called The Works of God. You can read John Piper's letter here: http://ow.ly/qSjx
thebody.com has interesting articles to read. This is one of many about the need for increased education to combat stigma related to HIV. I thought it would be a good one to highlight while encouraging you to consider joining the Tell 2 campaign which began with Erin and whose torch has been picked up by these folks on Facebook.
Heidi Weimer has a way with words! Her POST on expanding our children's capacity to love by pushing the boundaries of their comfort zone is a great reminder that when we step out in faith to serve the LORD we can't lose!
I love the the title of the documentary being made about this special family: We Have Room. Those words are so inspired to me! It can sometimes be tough to make the room in our hearts and our lives for orphaned children but once the work is done it's such a JOY to sit back and see what God will do to fill the spaces we've cleared for Him
Promo for "We Have Room" Documentary from David Watson on Vimeo.
I feel a personal duty to become as educated as I can become on all aspects of adoption. For Jonas, for Jonas' first mom, for our other children and extended family, for those around us who might consider adoption as a means of expanding their family, and for members of society around us who have not yet been touched by adoption.
I do not necessarily endorse or subscribe to the ideas represented in the following links but provide them for others who might be interested in exploring new perspectives.
Domestic Adoption
Concerned United Birthparents: http://www.cubirthparents.org/page9.html
Bastard Nation: http://www.bastards.org/documents/bb.html
American Adoption Congress: http://www.americanadoptioncongress.org/
Adult Adoptee Blogs
Twice The Rice (Transcultural Adoptee): http://twicetherice.wordpress.com/
Neither Here Nor There: http://peachneitherherenorthere.blogspot.com/
Harlow's Monkey (Adoptee and Adoption Professional): http://harlowmonkey.typepad.com/harlows_monkey/2007/11/relative-choice.html
Diversity Related:
Anti-Racist Parent Blog: http://www.antiracistparent.com/
Anybody have some websites or blogs with a perspective worth considering ? Leave a comment below.
I've been reading at Convergent Paths for a bit now. Maybe it's because we share a name, or maybe it's because we share many passions that I like her blog. This post really struck a cord with me. Go check it out.
I love highlighting other blogs I enjoy reading here in case others haven't had the opportunity to find them yet. Lysa TerKeurst is an author whose small but powerful book Radically Obedient, Radically Blessed rocked my world a few years ago. I loved her even before I knew she was an adoptive mom.
I always enjoy reading her blog but this post was especially touching to me today.
I really enjoy this blog I recently found. It's great. There have been many thought provoking articles presented there lately and much interesting discussion. Go check out LargerFamilies.com and then come back and tell me what you thought of it.
A friend turned me on to this site a while ago which provides a VERY useful service to blog addicts like myself. So I thought I would share. It's Bloglines.com and it's awesome! What a time saver. You can go there and subscribe to all your favorite blogs. Then, whenever you check back in you can see exactly who has new entries and in so doing NOT waste any more time than necessary running around to all your fav blogs to see if anything new has been posted.
Sorry I've been holding out on you so long. I meant to post about this a long time ago! If you do go there you know you simply must add me to your feeds!!! And if you blog you've got to know you're already in there on my end! hehe
Love,
Jen
