Honoring China in the Everyday: Noodles Pho Life

February 28, 2018 Chinese Culture, Chinese food, February 2018 Feature - Honoring China in the Everyday, recipes 0 Comments

With the end of Chinese New Year approaching, I thought I would share a favorite recipe of ours to make during CNY or any time of the year. Although not a traditional Chinese dish, Pho is a favorite at our house. I would even say, this is not even a traditional Vietnamese version of Pho …Read More

Find My Family: Jannah

February 28, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Jannah is a beautiful two year old girl with Down syndrome – she has no other known medical issues. Jannah is an active little girl and is described as being fond of having fun, easy to make laugh and often laughs out loud. Jannah is close with her caregiver and enjoys interacting with her. She …Read More

Doctor Friends

February 27, 2018 complex heart defect, endocardial cushion defect, February 2018 Feature - Heart, Heart System, heterotaxy, pulmonary hypertension, single atrium heart disease 0 Comments

When my husband and I first were matched with our son, Jet, we didn’t know a whole lot about the world of pediatric cardiology and congenital heart defects. Our son was born with heterotaxy (complete abdominal situs inversus) with left atrial isomerism, functional polysplenia, interrupted inferior vena cava, partial endocardial cushion defect, tricuspid and mitral …Read More

Everyone Has A Plan

February 26, 2018 a father's perspective, adopting as first time parents, adoption realities, albinism, China trip, Dads, Family Stories, Gotcha Day, Skin Conditions 17 Comments

Elsie and I had very different ways of preparing for our China adoption. She spent the better part of a year setting up a nursery in our home, buying clothes, and watching other “family day” videos on Youtube. She is an optimist and a planner, which makes her the perfect counterpart to a cynical procrastinator. …Read More

Teddy Waits!

February 26, 2018 Children Who Wait 1 Comments

Teddy was born in August of 2016, was admitted into the Welfare Institute in September of 2016. His special need is postoperative repair of congenital lumbar spinal meningocele. Teddy is currently with BAAS. On admission: white skin, black and bright eyes; good nutrition and development; poor spirit; after admission, the nanny gave him considerate care; …Read More

A Message to my Adopted Daughter after February 14th

February 25, 2018 Attachment, attachment activities, Kelly, telling their life story 0 Comments

Dearest daughter, Something really bad happened on February 14th. I know you heard us talking about it. But, I want to explain what I know about it to you because it was a really big deal. It affected a lot of people, and you should know about it. In Florida, about 3 hours from Disney …Read More

No Hands But Ours: Looking Back at 2017

February 24, 2018 2017 in review, Year in Review 0 Comments

2017 was a fantastic year for this little corner of the interwebs. Over 400 posts shared. Twelve special topics featured. Guest series. Family stories. Book reviews. Recipes. And advocacy posts shared that helped turn waiting children into cherished sons and daughters. And here is just a glimpse… …………………… A Look Back by the Numbers No …Read More

Felicity Waits

February 24, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Felicity was born February 2011, and is diagnosed with Down syndrome, as well as a heart murmur. April 2016 Information: Felicity is able to walk and run well. Her speech is not always clear, but staff heard her say “mama” very clearly. Caregivers say it seems like she tries to put 2-3 words together, but …Read More

The Sacred and Healing Work of Touch

February 23, 2018 Attachment, attachment activities, Rebecca 1 Comments

Sometimes I just can’t get much right as a parent. 
Sometimes my words fail.
 Sometimes my methods don’t work.
 Sometimes my bag of tricks is empty. 
 Sometimes I am high on frustration and low on forgiveness. 
 Sometimes my kids are grumpy, and I move to the opposite end of the house. 
Sometimes trauma …Read More

Waiting Child: Sharon

February 22, 2018 Children Who Wait 2 Comments

Seven year old Sharon has had a sad start to her life but we are hoping to find her the happy ending of a family of her own. She is a Special Focus (SF) child on Agape Adoptions’ individual list and is living in an orphanage. Sharon has been diagnosed with disabled bilateral lower limbs …Read More

Dipping Our Toes in the Water: Beginning the Journey of Connections

February 21, 2018 Chinese Culture, Chinese Holidays, Chinese Language, February 2018 Feature - Honoring China in the Everyday 1 Comments

I cannot express how excited I was to see the “Honoring China in the Everyday” focus that No Hands But Ours had planned for this month. Not because we as a family have even begun to “arrive” in this department, but because our hearts yearn to raise citizens of the world who appreciate and revel …Read More

A Thousand Prayers

February 19, 2018 Megan V., orphanage realities, referral, waiting to travel 2 Comments

Time hop on FaceBook is making me emo. Today it reminds me that four years ago today, we were separated from our baby girl by 7,000 miles and several months. That she was celebrating her birthday without us, again, and that, apparently, I thought Matilda was the perfect name for her teeny self. All these …Read More

Honoring China in the Everyday: Books

February 18, 2018 books, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, February 2018 Feature - Honoring China in the Everyday, Nicole 0 Comments

With the Lunar New Year holiday in full swing, it’s a terrific time to add a few titles to our China library!   Especially given that we were just studying a little bit of Chinese history during the Middle Ages, these new titles are perfectly timed. We read through all but the last of these …Read More

The Birth Day Surprise

February 17, 2018 bilateral cleft, cl/cp, Craniofacial, Family Stories, sibling perspective, virtual twins 16 Comments

As the doctor performed an emergency C-section and delivered our sub-four pound premie son, I heard her whisper to the nurse, “Did they know he would have a bi-lateral cleft lip and palate?” Without pausing to let that birthday surprise sink in, I responded, “That’s ok! So does my three year old sister!” “So this …Read More

Guo Nian: Passing a Year

February 16, 2018 adoption community, Chinese Culture, Chinese food, Chinese Holidays, Chinese Language, Chinese New Year, February 2018 Feature - Honoring China in the Everyday 0 Comments

“Nian (Year) was a ferocious beast who would come out once every twelve moons, cause destruction and kill everything that crossed its path. However, Nian was afraid of the color red. So people put red strips of paper around their door frames so the destructive beast would pass over their house when it saw red …Read More

Meet Jagger!

February 16, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Jagger! We’d like to introduce this handsome 7-year-old boy to you! Jagger is sometimes introverted and reserved around strangers and enjoys playing with toys and his favorite includes watching TV. He has a good appetite but can be picky about food. He loves KFC, roasted chicken wings, buns stuffed with meat, and chocolate – but …Read More

Celebrate Chinese New Year with Fun Learning Activities

February 15, 2018 Chinese Culture, Chinese Holidays, Chinese New Year, February 2018 Feature - Honoring China in the Everyday, guest post 0 Comments

Tomorrow begins Chinese New Year! We are from Singapore and currently living in California now. Being so far away from home, it is so important for me to try to cultivate the love for Chinese culture and language in my children through these celebrations. To learn more about this important Chinese festival, I set up …Read More

Honoring China in the Everyday: When Simple is Just Right

February 15, 2018 Chinese Culture, Chinese Holidays, Chinese New Year, February 2018 Feature - Honoring China in the Everyday, Nicole 0 Comments

I had an uh-oh moment last week when I realized that Chinese New Year was just over a week away and we still hadn’t made any plans to celebrate. It didn’t sneak up on me. In fact, China’s biggest holiday has been marked on the calendar since before the new year. But truthfully, this has …Read More

Dear Could-Be Heart Mama…

February 14, 2018 complex heart defect, February 2018 Feature - Heart, Heart System, heterotaxy, major aorto-pulmonary collateral arteries, medical needs checklist, Morning Star Foster Home, pulmonary hypertension, referral, single atrium heart disease, single ventricle heart disease 1 Comments

Dear Could-Be Heart Mama, thinking of bringing home your own little Broken-Hearted Brave, It’s the morning here, on this Celebration of Hearts, and I wake up to a house full of little hearts — brave and broken ones, that is. We like to call ourselves this “Little House of Brave” — like a warrior rally …Read More

Joy in Broken Hearts

February 13, 2018 cleft palate, complex heart defect, developmental delays, Family Stories, February 2018 Feature - Heart, feeding tube, Heart System, hospital stays, mitral valve regurgitation 0 Comments

I first saw my daughter’s face on my thirty-first birthday. There she was. Staring out at us from a computer screen. Her diagnosis was cleft palate, congenital heart disease, and delayed development. We sought out expert advice from an international adoption specialist and then took the leap of love and said Yes. But as I …Read More

Making Chinese New Year Your Own

February 12, 2018 Chinese Culture, Chinese food, Chinese Holidays, February 2018 Feature - Honoring China in the Everyday 0 Comments

When we began celebrating Chinese New Year together after my son was born nearly five years ago, my wife and I did what many young families do when establishing their traditions. We carried forward a few practices from my parents and incorporated elements from our local community, the same way we had for Christmas and …Read More

A Chinese Lady Who Helps With Adopted Chinese Kids

February 11, 2018 Chinese food, Chinese Holidays, Chinese Language, Chinese language tutor, February 2018 Feature - Honoring China in the Everyday 5 Comments

Hi everyone, my name is Joy Clendenning, I do not have any adopted children. You might be asking, why are you here then? Here is my story. I am from Xi’an, China and came to the United States in 2010. I met my husband in China while I was in college, he was a missionary. …Read More

The Cost: Adopting a Child with Complex Heart Defects

February 10, 2018 double inlet left ventricle, single ventricle heart disease, Uncategorized 1 Comments

On my daughter’s third birthday I reflected on her life. I reflected on the first moment I saw her picture on a waiting child list. I remember the words of a well respected cardiologist, “Do not adopt her, she will be a financial hardship to your family. She will not survive.” These words are engrained …Read More

Waiting for You: Paige

February 10, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Paige is a bright and expressive 11-year-old girl who longs for a family of her own. She is listed with Holt International. Holt vice president Jian Chen has made many visits to the Red Thread Group Home in China. But each visit breaks her heart a little — especially because of one beautiful girl who …Read More

A Season of No

February 9, 2018 adopting again, Brandie, large families, virtual twins, working mom 0 Comments

If you are old enough to have grown up during the Reagan administration, then these three words are something you will remember. They were the anti-drug and alcohol mantra that law enforcement, teachers, parents, and Nancy Reagan told us over and over again: “Just say no.” Just. Say. No. So simple, powerful, and memorable. But …Read More

Finding Mackenzie: The Chinese Tutor Who Makes Mandarin Magic in Our Home

February 8, 2018 Chinese Culture, Chinese Language, Chinese language tutor, February 2018 Feature - Honoring China in the Everyday 1 Comments

When we brought the boy we call Superman home from China four years ago, we had big dreams. We were going to maintain his language and his culture, and all of us were going to learn Mandarin, besides. At the time, our family lived in the Seattle-Tacoma area of the Pacific Northwest, where Asian churches …Read More

Questions from Strangers: How in the World?

February 7, 2018 adopting again, adopting later in life, homeschool, large families, questions from strangers, Sharon 1 Comments

People ask all the time, “How in the world do you do what you do?” Psalm 105:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.” This verse sums up exactly my response every time I’m confronted with this question. “It’s not me, It’s God!” …Read More

Four Little Heartbeats

February 6, 2018 adopting again, amniotic band syndrome, complex heart defects, developmental delays, February 2018 Feature - Heart, Heart System, Orthopedic, profound deafness, Sensory System, toddler adoption, virtual twins 5 Comments

I’m a mama to four heart babies. And this is our story of becoming a family… our story of going from no children to four children in 15 months. This is our crazy, wonderful life. It was a big day. It was the day my husband messaged me at work and told me that he …Read More

Luke Waits

February 6, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Meet nine year old Luke! He has been waiting for a family for years now. Luke is a charming boy who has a close relationship with his caregivers and is known around the orphanage for his helpfulness. He is attentive when the little ones cry and runs errands for his caregivers when they need an …Read More

T-shirt Fundraisers!

February 4, 2018 fundraisers, Kelley B., other ways to care for the orphan 0 Comments

Fundraiser t shirts can be so much fun! You can never have too many shirts – and when it’s for such a good cause, I’m in! Here are five current t-shirt fundraiser and one cute hat fundraiser! Check them out and consider supporting some precious children finding their families… 1. The Carter Family 2. Love …Read More

Waiting for You: Calista

February 4, 2018 Children Who Wait 1 Comments

Calista is a precious baby girl, born in March of 2015, with down syndrome and a heart defect (ASD), which has been surgically corrected. Calista is listed with Madison Adoption Associates. Calista’s nanny works with her to help her with her development. Calista is sweet and huggable. She loves music and her nanny! She will …Read More

Food Memories Run Deep: Honoring Culture Through Food

February 3, 2018 Chinese Culture, Chinese food, Chinese Holidays, Chinese New Year, February 2018 Feature - Honoring China in the Everyday, recipes 3 Comments

When completing our home studies for each of our adoptions from China, one of the questions that came up both times with our social worker was how would we implement our new child’s culture into our family. We eagerly replied that we would celebrate Chinese New Year, would add Chinese décor to our home, and …Read More

Waiting for You: Poppy

February 2, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Poppy is a precious 7 year old girl who is just beautiful!! Poppy’s special needs are listed as: congenital heart disease: postoperative ascending aorta-pulmonary artery shunt Congenital heart disease: hypoplastic right heart, tricuspid atresia, patent ductus arteriosus, atrial septal defect, R-L shunt. Poppy is listed with Small World Adoption. Below is a recent photo after …Read More

Honoring China in the Everyday: Vegetarian Dumplings

February 1, 2018 Chinese Culture, Chinese food, Chinese Holidays, Chinese New Year, February 2018 Feature - Honoring China in the Everyday, Nicole, recipes 0 Comments

Happy Year of the Dog! February 16th marks the start of the Chinese New Year and this February at NHBO we are focusing on ways to incorporate our children’s birth culture into the everyday. We’ll be sharing posts from parents who are doing this in big, elaborate ways and some in simple, small ways… but …Read More

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