Urgent Waiting Child: Mary Kate
November 30, 2018
Children Who Wait
MaryKate is a sweet, spunky, sensible, talkative, and optimistic girl, born in December of 2007. She gets along well with the other children and she enjoys playing aeroplane chess, singling, dancing, and building things with Legos. She does not enjoy running. MaryKate was born with beta thalassemia major and being adopted would absolutely extend, if …Read More
Thank You is a Powerful Message
November 29, 2018
Attachment, discipline, homeschool, large families, Sharon, siblings
November is the month we all focus on being grateful and giving thanks. Everyone loves a thankful person. It can make or break our day. “God gave us a gift of 86,400 seconds in a day. Have you used one to say, ‘thank you’?” ~ William Ward As a mom of ten children, I need …Read More
Waiting for You: Calvin
November 27, 2018
Children Who Wait
Calvin is the cutest little boy, born in December of 2012 with complex CHD: dextrocardia, complete VSD and ASD-B type, DORV. Calvin lives in a loving foster family on the orphanage grounds.He is active, likes talking, and is full of curiosity. Calvin is described as smart and is said to have strong study abilities. He …Read More
The Greatest Gift
November 26, 2018
adoption community, Beyond Adoption, Megan V., National Adoption Month, orphan ministry, other ways to care for the orphan
This November we are highlighting the work of NGOs in China doing work on behalf of orphans. I have absolutely no first hand knowledge of any. How can this be? Meredith Toering is one my favorite Instagrammers, but I don’t know her or the precious work she’s doing for kiddos with heart issues beyond that. …Read More
Find My Forever: Naomi
November 24, 2018
Children Who Wait
Look at that sweet smile! Adorable Naomi, born April of 2010, is a gentle and shy girl who likes to help take care of the younger children. She loves her teachers and is especially good about sharing her toys and food with the other children. Naomi is quiet, but she does speak in sentences and …Read More
Lessons Learned from an Internal Processor
November 23, 2018
a father's perspective, Dads, developmental delays, Developmental System, Down syndrome, Lifelong needs, October 2018 Feature - Developmental, Perspectives, Randall, should we adopt?
Down syndrome is scary. I said that to myself five years ago. It took me awhile to admit it. But I was pretty opposed to all lifelong diagnoses. I had very little information about Down syndrome back then. And the information gaps gave my imagination plenty of space to run freely. I saw the shadows …Read More
Waiting to be Chosen: Jansen
November 20, 2018
Children Who Wait
Well isn’t he the cutest little graduate you ever did see? Jansen is a precious little boy, born in October of 2010, who is described as lovely and admirable by his caretakers. He is independent and takes care of himself by getting dressed and bathing independently. Jansen enjoys playing with toys of all sorts and …Read More
Holistic Care, Family Preservation & Community Advocacy: The Mission of ICC
November 18, 2018
Beyond Adoption, child sponsorship, family preservation, International China Concern, NGOs, orphan ministry, other ways to care for the orphan
Precocious Bobby grinned ear-to-ear as he crunched the delicious corn his chubby fingers had threaded onto skewers not long before. Through his special education class at International China Concern (ICC), he learned about… • Planting and harvesting from ICC’s on-site garden. • Washing and preparing food together as family. • Temperature and cooking in the …Read More
Hypo-What?
November 16, 2018
adopting a boy, adopting again, ambiguous genitalia, Disorder of Sexual Development, Family Stories, hypospadias, November 2018 Feature - Urogenital, Urogenital System
Two years after our first adoption, a three-year old waiting boy from China, I began searching the lists for the little girl that would complete our family. In my mind, she would be two or three years old, with a similar need to our son, as we already had trusted specialists in place. In the …Read More
Find My Forever: Emmett
November 14, 2018
Children Who Wait
Emmett is an adorable, obedient, and polite boy, born in June of 2010 with Down syndrome. Emmett has the absolute best smile! He has a great foster family who takes him to all of the orphanage events and activities and he has received education through the One Sky Foundation. Emmett is able to walk, run, …Read More
Living in the Unknown
November 12, 2018
ambiguous genitalia, Disorder of Sexual Development, Family Stories, hypospadias, micropenis, November 2018 Feature - Urogenital, Urogenital System
“Sensitive special need. Hypospadias.” That was the listed special need on the precious child when my husband and I first saw the advocacy post. We had different special needs at the forefront of our minds, but something made us pause. Hypospadias was something we knew and understood. Our first son received a surprise diagnosis of …Read More
Meet Elia!
November 11, 2018
Children Who Wait
Oh my goodness! Darling Elia is an active, smiley, and loved little girl… and just so darn cute! She was born in February of 2015 with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect – VSD. Elia has good fine motor skills. She is closest to the caretaker who looks after her and really likes to …Read More
A Million Times Yes
November 10, 2018
Family Stories, hypospadias, intersex, medical needs checklist, November 2018 Feature - Urogenital, Urogenital System, waiting for referral
“That is a need I could never handle, Lord.” It all began with a checklist. You know, the dreaded medical needs checklist we all fill out in the beginning of the China adoption process that kickstarts the journey to our child. The very checklist we dwell over, pour research over, stress over, and pray over. …Read More
Our Simple Yes: Adopting a Son with Hypospadias
November 8, 2018
Family Stories, hypospadias, November 2018 Feature - Urogenital, Urogenital System
At the beginning of our adoption process we connected with a PA friend of ours to help us walk through our openness form. When it came to hypospadias, she explained that it’s generally a simple fix with a few minor exceptions. We felt confident with its simplicity so we checked yes. In February 2016 all …Read More
Hand-Picked By God
November 6, 2018
ABA therapy, autism, developmental delays, Developmental System, Down syndrome, Education, Family Stories, global developmental delays, institutional autism, non-verbal, occupational therapy, October 2018 Feature - Developmental, physical therapy
The moment I saw our daughter being carried into the Civil Affairs office where we waited, I knew something wasn’t right. She was 19 months old and couldn’t even hold her head up. We knew she had Down syndrome but, according to her file, she was able to sit up, play with toys, and even …Read More
Ask NHBO: Large Family Size and Orphanage Donation
November 5, 2018
Ask NHBO, CCCWA denial, Jennifer B., large families, waiver request
We get asked a lot of questions, both via our website and our Facebook page. And many are excellent questions too, questions we see asked again and again. Questions that deserve an answer. So we decided to try to answer some – as best as we can – in post format, so that others who …Read More
The Other Side of the Mountain: Surviving the Death of a Child
November 4, 2018
adopting again, adoption realities, Down syndrome, Family Stories, Lifelong needs, medical expedite, orphanage realities
It was a horrible stomach flu that took us down one by one. The kids were both sick. Ken and I were horribly sick. It was one of those “fend for yourself and hope to see you on the other side” type of illnesses. When the phone rang that morning, I had no strength to …Read More
A Birthday Celebration Like No Other
November 1, 2018
other ways to care for the orphan
It’s time to celebrate! No Hands But Ours just turned 10 years old. A decade of advice, orphan advocacy, family stories, special needs awareness, charity highlights, adoptee stories, vulnerable connection over struggles, and all kinds of celebration of prayers answered, kids finding families, and adoptive families steadily finding their way. It’s time to recognize all …Read More
Loving Our “Lifers”
November 1, 2018
developmental delays, large families, Lifelong needs, Linny, sibling perspective, siblings
Bringing these three home forever was hands down – three of the very best decisions we’ve ever made in our entire 40+ years of marriage! We affectionately refer to these three little girlies of ours as “our lifers” – because we get to keep them for the rest of our lives! I’m sure to some …Read More