We attended our city's annual Kingdom Kids Conference - happens each NOV - and while there, we saw the WAIT LIST at the AAI both. Just a like, four faces, with brief descriptions. We'd only been back from CHINA 2 months with Beth Anne. DH was supposedly "DONE" with adding to the family. Plus, we were "too big" for CHINA, so looking at Xiao Yu's adorable face was hard to pass up. However, my husband and I each felt the tug of our hearts and figured that if she was meant to be in out family, we'd get the GREEN LIGHT. We needed waivers for adopting before 12 months had passed, and waiver of family size. Guess it was meant to be.
So, we were never looking! I swear, she was my only unplanned kid! Now.... we are only a few days/hours from being united as a family. My heart is full with joy. I think that we really are now not qualified to adopt from CHINA, but I would definitely go the WAITING CHILD route. Technically our 13-yr-old daughter has no special needs. That's NSN "on paper," however, in reality she's got all the unique challenges of being an adolescent girl who only knows institutional life, is being separated from the only home/family she knows, and going to enter into a totally new culture, to live in a family with people who are all strangers to her, not to mention her cultural experiences and language are of CHINA, which is so very very different than living/communicating in the USA. This would explain why healthy "older" children are listed on adoption special need lists. Since partaking in a special adoption situation, I have found a place in my heart for children who are older or who have medical or developmental needs. Our family's experience in our adoption is inspirational to our community. We've already seen our family influence the adoptions of other children. The Hainsworth family in Spokane brought home Lily a few months ago (she was from a SN list of Heritage), the Hindman family in Spokane welcomed home Nicole, a Coeur d'Alene family is in the process of adopting a waiting 11-yr-old girl from the Phillipines. A nurse practioner I work with is just beginning the process of adopting a baby girl, and likely several others who've only just begun to explore their hearts to add to their family.
Next month Kingdom Kids hosts the annual adoption conference and Xiao Yu will be able to be there. She is a testimony to the work of that conference in reaching out to people everywhere.
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