September 30, 2018 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, embracing their story, older child adoption, orphanage, Post-Adoption contact, September 2018 Feature - Hearing From Adult Adoptees, spina bifida, telling their life story 4 Comments

I was 10 years old when I was adopted. I had spent all my life in an orphanage. I had no idea it was even possible to be adopted, let alone by American families – I thought I had everything I needed. Going to school I knew I was different. I didn’t have pretty clothes, …Read More

September 29, 2018 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, arthrogryposis, heritage trip, orphanage, orphanage visit, Post-Adoption contact, September 2018 Feature - Hearing From Adult Adoptees, telling their life story 3 Comments

I was adopted at two years so I don’t really have memories before coming to America. But I have always had a memory of being in a bathtub surrounded by colorful plastic balls. I also remember laying in a crib with a purple blanket draped over the top like a tent watching my mom on …Read More

September 28, 2018 Children Who Wait 2 Comments

Davi is an adorable baby boy, born in August of 2017, who is described his caretakers as quiet and lovely. Davi was born with down syndrome and congenital heart disease – VSD and ASD. He was weak as an infant because of the CHD, but received surgery to repair the ASD and VSD in March. …Read More

September 27, 2018 adopting as first time parents, adoption community, epidermolysis bullosa, Family Stories, September 2018 Feature - Skin Conditions, Skin Conditions 0 Comments

According to the Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association (DEBRA), a U.S. based nonprofit organization that supports the Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) community, Epidermolysis Bullosa (or EB) is a rare, genetic connective skin condition in which not enough protein is produced to allow skin to adhere to itself. In the U.S., one of every 20,000 births are …Read More

September 26, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Perry is a handsome and sweet 13-year-old boy born in July 2005. He is full of smiles and so very ready to have a family of his own! Perry participated in an Ambassadors of Hope camp in the fall of 2015. He was the oldest of all the kids in his group, at just ten. …Read More

September 25, 2018 adoption realities, Attachment, attachment activities, attachment challenges, Kelly, orphanage realities, parent-to-child attachment, Trust Based Parenting 5 Comments

A similar post about explaining attachment to a younger child can be found here. Parents talk about a lot of things with other parents. You know that already. Some kids might feel a little annoyed at all the talking. That makes sense to me. If kids think their parents are talking all about them and …Read More

September 24, 2018 adoption realities, Realities, Rebecca 2 Comments

With a pen flurry, I signed our agency application casting myself in the role of child savior. Somewhere in my well-meant thinking, it began my heroic walk to the barn of good deeds, where I grabbed my saddle. The time had come for my husband and me to mount our white horses, heading out on …Read More

September 22, 2018 Developmental System, Family Stories, hearing loss, non-verbal, older child adoption, profound deafness, Sensory System 1 Comments

It was sentiment we shared for 15 months: we were way in over our heads with this adoption. We had said “yes” to a seven and a half year old daughter who was deaf and had never received the gift of language. There were no schools available to teach her in her province. Consequently, she …Read More

September 20, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

This handsome two year old little guy seems to be doing very well! Striker can walk, crawl and play with toys. He sounds very social and enjoys being around other babies. His nurses say he is such a good baby and very adorable… we sure can see that! Striker’s special need is male gonad hypoplasia …Read More

September 19, 2018 Chinese Culture, Chinese Holidays, first year home, Megan V., Newly Home 3 Comments

Somewhere, in the mess of paperwork I keep in an accordion file in my office, is information regarding our responsibility to celebrate our Chinese children’s culture. It may be the only paper that isn’t notarized and certified, but I’m pretty sure we promised. To go to stuff and do stuff and celebrate stuff. This promise …Read More

September 17, 2018 adoption realities, attachment challenges, disruption, first weeks home, mobility issues, Newly Home, parent-to-child attachment, rages, trauma, wheelchair user 4 Comments

This is a story of trauma and beauty and tears and hopelessness and hope. This is a story of my darkest moments, my greatest growth and the resulting joy. I cannot say that this will be everyone’s story, but I’m praying that you can see the hope in this story even in the darkness. Adoption …Read More

September 16, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Three and a half years ago, Holt learned about seven children who needed families from a small but exceptional orphanage in China. One by one, six of those children were matched with their adoptive families. One by one, they said their goodbyes and left the orphanage to start new lives with their forever families. Benjamin …Read More

September 15, 2018 Chinese Culture, Chinese food, Chinese Holidays, recipes 0 Comments

Food is the greatest way to connect people to their past, it creates the kind of memory that isn’t easily forgotten. It’s been 26 years since I came to the US, but I still remember my favorite foods during my childhood in Hong Kong. I treasure the delicious dishes and soups my mother used to …Read More

September 14, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Sofia is an absolutely beautiful little girl, born in February of 2013 with Down syndrome and congenital heart disease – ASD, VSD, and PDA. One month after surgery to repair Sofia’s heart, it was discovered that her trachea had been injured while she was intubated during surgery. At that time, she underwent a tracheotomy and …Read More

September 13, 2018 adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, birth family, Perspectives, September 2018 Feature - Hearing From Adult Adoptees, Uncategorized 0 Comments

My husband and I had the privilege of studying abroad in the country of Austria when we were students in college. We were dating at the time and visiting the quaint little town of Pochlarn. As we walked through the streets we talked about my adoption story, specifically my birth mother and my desire to …Read More

September 12, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Beautiful Genevieve! Born in August 2006, Genevieve is now 12 years old and is quite the performer. She enjoys singing and dancing for her friends. Can you imagine how much joy she would bring to a family of her own? Genevieve was found by police when she was about 3 years old. After much investigation …Read More

September 11, 2018 adopting as first time parents, Adopting Scenarios, albinism, Family Stories, September 2018 Feature - Skin Conditions, Skin Conditions, switching to another country 2 Comments

It was only a couple of months after we were married that my husband and I started researching adoption. We both wanted a family, and with me being over 40 and having a history of endometriosis, conception without major fertility treatments seemed nearly impossible. We decided, for us, it was more important to parent a …Read More

September 10, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Eliza is a joy-filled little girl, born in March of 2016 with Down syndrome and congenital heart defects: complete atrioventricular septal defect, ASD, and PDA, all of which she has had repaired. Eliza has the best smile and is such a happy little girl… with the most kissable cheeks! She is currently living with a …Read More

September 9, 2018 a father's perspective, adoptee perspective, adult adoptee, fundraisers, fundraising for adoption, other ways to care for the orphan, September 2018 Feature - Hearing From Adult Adoptees 3 Comments

Over many years, long before Erin and I were even married, God was weaving together a beautiful story, made possible through adoption. I was unexpectedly adopted from the Congo at just a few months old, as my biological mother died in child-birth with me. In the tribe I was born into, the cultural practice, if …Read More

September 8, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Ayla is a beautiful little girl, born in July of 2013 with Down syndrome and congenital heart disease (VSD and PDA). She joined a foster family in 2015 and is well loved by her foster family. Ayla can walk unsupported and get dressed and undressed by herself, choosing her outfit because she likes to look …Read More

September 7, 2018 Contributor Q and A, large families, Meet the Contributors, Sharon 0 Comments

Continuing today with our series in which we share a short Q and A with one of our contributors to give y’all, our faithful readers, a little more behind-the-scenes insight into the amazing group of writers assembled here. And it will also give each of our contributors a chance to share their heart in a …Read More

September 6, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Meet Pierce! Pierce is new to the list at Hawaii International Child. He is a handsome, active, and fun-loving 9 year old boy. Pierce came into care at about 7 months of age. His development has been on target since that time. Pierce was given a brain CT when he was 7 years old, which …Read More

September 5, 2018 adopting again, birthmark, developmental delays, Family Stories, linear sebaceous nevus, older child adoption, September 2018 Feature - Skin Conditions, Skin Conditions, speech delay, undiagnosed SN 0 Comments

In 2011, we received the file of a little girl, age 3. Her file read “delayed mental development” and it included a very low DQ score. We were able to ask questions and receive a video of her reading flashcards and reciting the names of the items on the flashcards. “Okay,” we thought. “Yes, she’s …Read More

September 4, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Hosanna (aka YuYu at Little Flower), born October 2016, is quiet and introverted, but quick to smile to those she knows. She loves to be held by her caregiver, and while sitting in their lap will stare up at them happily. A curious baby, she likes to pick up small toys to play with, and …Read More

September 3, 2018 Attachment, attachment activities, attachment challenges, August 2018 Feature - Attachment Through the Years, baby-wearing, bottle feeding, cocooning 1 Comments

It’s been four and a half years since we first met our son in China. Sometimes that feels like a split-second ago. I freshly recall the nervous, excited electricity passing between four interlocked sets of hands. Silently waiting, reminding ourselves to breathe as we filed into an unremarkable government building amid a foreign grid of …Read More

September 2, 2018 Children Who Wait 0 Comments

Charlotte is an adorable little girl, born in December of 2012, who has been in the care of her orphanage for just over a year and a half. When Charlotte first came into care, she was found to have unclear pronunciation and was initially diagnosed as hyperactive. Later, Charlotte’s orphanage diagnosed her as having psychomotor …Read More

September 1, 2018 adoption community, fundraising for adoption, other ways to care for the orphan, Stefanie 0 Comments

The adoption community is an amazing thing. And at NHBO, we love it when we get an opportunity to spotlight someone in the community doing something especially amazing. I recently got the chance to interview someone who is not only part of the adoption community but who is also using her gifts and talents to …Read More