December 17, 2018 congenital blindness, Family Stories, older child adoption, Sensory System, vision loss 1 Comments

Many people associate blindness with sadness, darkness and inability. But our experience with this need has been the opposite. Adopting our sweet boy who is legally blind has brought our lives so much joy, light and recognition of his amazing abilities. We did not set out to adopt a child who is blind. We sincerely …Read More

October 25, 2018 Attachment, attachment challenges, congenital blindness, developmental delays, Developmental System, disruption, Down syndrome, Family Stories, October 2018 Feature - Developmental, parent-to-child attachment, profound deafness, rejects mom, TBRI-based therapy, therapy, Trust Based Parenting, undiagnosed SN 2 Comments

The first photo I ever saw of Winnie was so ridiculously cute. She is dressed from head to toe in a hot pink puffy coat with matching pants and black boots. Her edibly adorable face was framed by such a tragically terrible haircut that made me laugh and cry at the same time. She and …Read More

May 3, 2018 attachment activities, China trip, congenital blindness, Family Stories, Gotcha Day, micropthalmia, older child adoption, Sensory System, sign language, vision issues, vision loss 5 Comments

In July of 2017, my husband and I adopted a 7 year old girl with micropthalmia. She was born blind. In Part 1 of this series, I talked about what it was like to meet Lydia as well as some of the activities we discovered to help with early bonding. Here is more of our …Read More

April 19, 2018 attachment activities, congenital blindness, Family Stories, Gotcha Day, micropthalmia, older child adoption, Sensory System, vision issues, vision loss 1 Comments

Lydia is our first adopted child. She is our first girl, and we had never before parented a seven year old. We didn’t have any experience working with visually impaired or even special needs children. We never dreamed we would have a child who was blind. But our hearts changed after learning about this precious, …Read More

November 11, 2017 adopting a boy, cataracts, China trip, congenital blindness, cytomegalovirus, IEP, nystagmus, Sensory System, strabismus, vision issues, vision loss 3 Comments

Blind. I immediately recoiled. We had checked a lot of things on our medical conditions checklist, and I remember vision being one of them, but blind? How could we deal with that? I studied art history and archaeology in college, and work in a very visual field. How could I share the most important and …Read More

August 31, 2017 attachment activities, attachment challenges, August 2017 Feature - Attachment Q & A, congenital blindness, Katie, Sensory System, vision issues, vision loss 3 Comments

Attachment. Not much more could not be packed into one single word, especially in the adoption world. We spent all of July focusing on this most-important topic and decided to continue into August – but with a bit of a twist. This month, we’re answering your attachment questions. Because we all have them – we …Read More

December 19, 2016 congenital blindness, December 2016 Feature - Sensory, infertility, micropthalmia, Sensory System 0 Comments

When we began this journey seeking to add another child to our family, I could never have dreamed where God would lead us. I struggled through nine years of heart wrenching infertility wondering why God had not answered my prayers for another child. I simply did not realize that God had a much bigger plan …Read More

December 15, 2016 congenital blindness, December 2016 Feature - Sensory, Family Stories, older child adoption, Sensory System 4 Comments

J: “Mom, we did four mile repeats today! I ran them all about 6:20.” Me: “Well, can I expect to see a 21 minute 5K on your next race?” J: “Mom, we got to rest five minutes between repeats. You know a race isn’t like that. Oh, and my agricultural instructor wants me to talk …Read More

December 6, 2016 cataracts, congenital blindness, December 2016 Feature - Sensory, Family Stories, first year home, hypoplasia, medical needs checklist, micropthalmia, Newly Home, prosthetic eye, referral, Sensory System, vision loss 1 Comments

I have always been a planner, always been cautious. I had even been planning this adoption since I was 12! What I hadn’t planned was that China would become a special needs adoption program by the time my husband and I were able to adopt. It was daunting looking over the Medical Checklist. I could …Read More

October 16, 2016 congenital blindness, Education, non-verbal, October 2016 Feature - Working Moms, orphanage realities, pre-school, Sensory System, vision loss, working mom 1 Comments

Navigating work and being a mom is tough under the best of circumstances, but it can feel even more daunting when you toss in the complex issues that accompany parenting your newly adopted child. So this month on No Hands But Ours, some been-there-done-that working mamas are here to help, with advice on everything from …Read More

April 19, 2016 adoption realities, congenital blindness, Katie, Sensory System, vision loss 5 Comments

I was once afraid of what my reality has become. I hear it voiced in so many others taking the risk of adopting a child with possible cognitive delays. What if this child can never live independently? What if they need to live with me for the rest of my life? What if their need …Read More

December 10, 2015 congenital blindness, December 2015 Feature - Sensory, Katie, Sensory System, septo optic dysplasia, vision loss 10 Comments

Fear. I can see it in the eyes of everyone who asks the question, “Can they see anything?” Then I see the frozen look of shock when I say, “Nope, not a thing, and they never will.” I see the hundred questions that they are afraid to ask. Ten months ago I did something everyone …Read More

June 14, 2015 adoption realities, congenital blindness, disruption, Katie, Sensory System, undiagnosed SN, vision loss 7 Comments

My life was almost returned to normal. I would have slept better, been freer, able to eat better, clean the house, and find my way back to the normal details of everyday life. But I chose to finish the adoption, to make this girl who was so far from the one portrayed to me, my …Read More

January 24, 2014 congenital blindness, Family Stories, vision issues, vision loss 2 Comments

Before I started working for Bethel China, I had never had any interaction with children or adults who are blind or visually impaired (VI). Spending time with these kids has been a huge learning curve for me in changing my perceptions about what a child with a visual impairment can do. As a sighted person, …Read More

March 10, 2009 congenital blindness, Family Stories, Sensory System, vision issues, vision loss 0 Comments