October 11, 2015
cancer, Family Stories, retinoblastoma, surgery
2 Comments
Cancer. I went over and over it in my mind when I felt that familiar tug on my heart. Dear Lord you cannot be serious. You’re kidding right?!? I watched my dad die from cancer and now I’m going to adopt a child that could be dying too? Yes. And not only yes, but urgently. …Read More
October 7, 2015
cognitive delay, developmental delays, Developmental System, Family Stories, hearing loss, non-verbal, October 2015 Feature - Developmental
0 Comments
When my husband and I began our adoption journey in January of 2013 we, like most pre-adoptive parents, had a profile of sorts for the child we were hoping to adopt. We knew we wanted to adopt from China. We were hoping to adopt a girl and we knew we wanted to adopt a child …Read More
September 30, 2015
Attachment, co-sleeping, cocooning, first year home, hearing loss, Nicole, September 2015 Feature - Coming Home
0 Comments
Finishing out September with our last post in our Coming Home series. We’ve covered a lot of ground this month, from siblings, to discipline, to friendships, to finding joy in the struggle. You can find all 14 posts here. So grateful for all the wisdom shared by our regular and guest contributors, it is our …Read More
August 27, 2015
Carrie, Education, hearing loss, pre-school, public school, speech delay
2 Comments
Dear Teachers, Here we go! The start of a new year! First of all, you both have my great admiration. I do not know how you do it. The energy, patience, and creativity it takes to shape, mold, and sometimes just wrangle a whole crew of almost-three-year-olds is something I do not possess. I’m so …Read More
July 23, 2015
BAHA, Craniofacial, Family Stories, hearing loss, hemifacial microsomia, July 2015 Feature - Craniofacial, microtia, Sensory System, speech therapy, velopharyngeal Insufficiency
6 Comments
“My ear hurts mommy.” “Which ear honey? Do both ears hurt?” “No, silly. This one doesn’t hurt. It’s not open. It’s teeny tiny.” Olivia was 3 and this was the first time that I knew of that she noticed that her right ear didn’t match the left. We had never made a big deal out …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
June 1, 2015
a father's perspective, Dads, hearing loss, June 2015 Feature - Let's Hear It For Dads, reluctant husband, Sensory System
3 Comments
June is here and as we move into a new month, we also begin a new Feature here on NHBO. In April and May our focus was on attachment. This month, in honor of Father’s Day, our focus will be… you guessed it, Dads. We are looking forward to sharing posts from adoptive dads all …Read More
April 8, 2015
April 2015 Feature CNS, Central Nervous System, Family Stories, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, strabismus
2 Comments
There are the ‘facts,’ and then there’s the reality. The file says HIE, Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, but what does it really mean? Brain damage that occurs when an infant’s brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen and blood, either immediately before, during or after birth, is commonly called HIE. But our Creator fashioned our brain in such …Read More
March 23, 2015
Family Found, Family Stories, retinoblastoma, Sensory System, vision issues, vision loss
6 Comments
December 11, 2011 in Fujian was cool, damp and grey. We were waiting in a conference room at the hotel with another couple from the US. This wasn’t the first time we’d done this. We had waited in similar rooms four times prior to this; however, this time was very different. Long after, we would …Read More
October 15, 2014
Carrie, hearing loss, hemifacial microsomia, microtia, sedated ABR, Sensory System
4 Comments
It’s been a year since I paused while writing a post for this very site and glanced at the photo-listings for children on our agency’s website. And I saw her. It was a morning exactly like this one. I was up early, before the sun came up. The cup of coffee growing cold beside the …Read More
June 11, 2014
heart defect, Kristi, Trust Based Parenting, vision issues
2 Comments
“I like you be my mommy.” Those six little words, spoken with a beaming smile no less, from my four year old nearly made me come undone recently. Her heartfelt statement spoke volumes about the positive change in our relationship over the nine months we’ve known one another…because on September 2 of last year, things …Read More
May 19, 2014
a father's perspective, BAHA, hearing loss, microtia, Mike, Sensory System
1 Comments
As a dad of six, I know that I am not objective in assessing my own kids. Often, I see them in too favorable of a light, and I find myself measuring our family room mantle to see if it will hold six Nobel Prizes, six Olympic medals, and six Academy Awards at the same …Read More
May 16, 2014
Family Stories, girls, Sensory System, vision issues
0 Comments
In 2005 we submitted our application for a Non Special Need (NSN) adoption from China but five years later we were still waiting. Afraid that our time would never come, we started discussing Special Needs (SN) adoption. We got all the necessary papers and permissions but struggled trying to figure out what kind of special …Read More
April 11, 2014
heart defect, Kristi, vision issues
0 Comments
Difficult conversations. They happen in every house from time to time. Sometimes they are easy to see coming, other times they can hit just about blindsided. And then there are the times you lay your own trap… Last year I turned 40. The morning of my birthday one of my kiddos came in to wake …Read More
March 30, 2014
Blood Conditions, cancer, Family Stories, retinoblastoma
4 Comments
We tend to forget that our daughter had cancer. There are reminders, like the huge scar across her belly, but to us she is just our lively, lovable two-year daughter. We know that cancer is a scary word, and it was a scary time that Maya went through, but she survived it and we would …Read More
March 12, 2014
heart defect, Kristi, vision issues
2 Comments
This month I meant to share with you about a difficult conversation one of my kids and I have been dancing around for months now. And I will share that conversation at some point. But it won’t be today. Today my heart is broken, my thoughts are disjointed and my emotions are raw. I just …Read More
February 11, 2014
heart defect, Kristi, vision issues
1 Comments
Character band-aids. They seemed to me like a colorful slice of a pacifier that we ever so gently stick on our children’s wounds…sometimes they even actually even cover blood. I have in the past had what you could call a ‘love/hate relationship’ with character band-aids. That is until a Mother’s Day tea in one of …Read More
February 2, 2014
Family Stories, hearing loss, Sensory System, shared list, special focus
3 Comments
For as long as I can remember, I have always dreamed of having a little girl. I also dreamed of adopting an Asian girl, but I wasn’t sure where she’d be from- China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or the Philippines? In September of 2010, I stumbled on an advocacy blog for children waiting in China. …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
August 11, 2013
heart defect, Kristi, vision issues
7 Comments
Our sweet Natalie. It’s been over two years now that we’ve prayed for her to find a family and nearly one year since we’ve been racing to make her part of ours. In pictures I’ve watched her go from a baby to a toddler to an adorable preschooler. While it seemed the wait would be …Read More
June 11, 2013
heart defect, Kristi, vision issues
0 Comments
This school year one of my closest friend’s daughters has helped keep Daniel and I company one day a week. Our Mondays together have included some preschool lessons, lunch time, rest time and of course plenty of play time. Two precious kiddos, born on different continents in 2008. These “built-in best friends” now live in …Read More
April 11, 2013
heart defect, Kristi, port wine stain, vision issues
3 Comments
I watch her run across the yard, her straight, black ponytail bouncing over her self-selected outfit (which today, for once, is rather tame) and from the back she seems like just any other, everyday, six year old girl. Then something grabs her attention and she turns around. As she glances past me her face breaks into …Read More
October 20, 2012
Blood Conditions, Family Stories, ITP (idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura), Sensory System, vision issues
5 Comments
Adoption is word that has been said, discussed, and considered in our family since we have been married. Noel and I just recently celebrated 17 years of marriage, and early in our marriage we thought it would be how God would grow our family. We experienced a very trying time of infertility, but God did …Read More
October 14, 2012
cerebral palsy, Family Stories, hearing loss, limb difference, moyamoya, neurofibromatosis, Sensory System
4 Comments
Our story starts in 2004, when I had a complicated pregnancy with my first child, Gianna, and was advised not to ever get pregnant again. This was actually fine with me because I’d always been drawn toward adoption. We adopted our second child in 2007, another daughter we named Camille, from Kazakhstan. After strong suspicions …Read More
June 11, 2012
glaucoma, Kristi
3 Comments
I have a confession to make. On those (thankfully rare) crazy busy days, when we have more places to be at one time than I have hands, when we somehow survive the day in one piece AND I manage to get a healthy meal on the table for dinner, the kids all get a bath …Read More
April 13, 2012
hearing loss, Laine, Sensory System
3 Comments
It is a common expression, and it is completely appropriate for the subject of this post…but I must add a disclaimer. Good things come in really big packages too! 🙂 In this case, the small package is a $3,500.00 little black box about the size of my thumbnail. It attaches to a screw implanted in …Read More
December 11, 2011
amblyopia, Kristi, vision issues
0 Comments
A few months ago we assumed that our oldest son had perfectly good vision. Then I took him to his yearly check at the pediatrician’s office. He rocked out the vision chart using both eyes, and then again with his left eye. But when it came time for his right eye, he just giggled and …Read More
May 27, 2011
BAHA, hearing loss, Sensory System, Wife of the Prez
0 Comments
Let me preface this post by saying that in all reality, hearing loss is NOT a total shock (or it shouldn’t be) when a child also was born with cleft lip and palate. In fact, I asked the audiologist we saw today and she confirmed to me that many of her patients have cleft lip …Read More
February 7, 2011
Craniofacial, facial palsy, Family Stories, hearing loss, microtia, Sensory System
0 Comments
By Nicole, mom to Pei from China with a SN of microtia and facial palsy Journeys of Faith Often Have Limited Sight We were a family of four before we traveled to Russia in July of 2008 to meet a little girl who needed a family. We had no information about this child prior to …Read More
May 11, 2010
congenital glaucoma, Kristi, vision issues
2 Comments
Well, the most recent eye exam didn’t give quite the results we were hoping for. At the last visit three weeks ago Dr. F was encouraged by the reduction in pressure in our little one’s eye and hoped that we’d be able to avoid further surgery for months, possibly even years. But the pressure has …Read More
April 11, 2010
congenital glaucoma, Kristi, port wine stain, surgery, vision issues
7 Comments
Welcome to Kristi, our newest contributing blogger. Kristi has three children adopted from China and her newest daughter, Darcy, joined their family in February. Kristi blogs about their family at Fireworks and Fireflies. Wednesday of this past week I joined a club. A club I never would have imagined myself in just a few short …Read More
March 28, 2010
congenital glaucoma, Family Stories, Sensory System, vision issues
0 Comments
by Jess, mom to Gabe Xulu from China with congenital glaucoma While Tim and I were paper-chasing we knew from the get go that we would be adopting SN, so even before we submitted our dossier we filled out our SN checklist. Our agency didn’t want us to submit it though until we submitted our …Read More
March 16, 2010
hearing loss, Linny, Sensory System
9 Comments
Special needs sound so scary to many. And truthfully, the known special needs can be pretty overwhelming. But what if there is some unknown special need? Something that isn’t discovered until your child is home? One of the main purposes of this blog is to advocate for special needs kids and talk truthfully about special …Read More
January 14, 2010
BAHA, Education, hearing loss, homeschool, Laine, microtia, older child adoption, speech delay, speech therapy
4 Comments
Last year she celebrated with her beloved foster mama… but this year she celebrates with her forever mama and forever family! 😉 Thank you Jesus! We brought our 7 year old, Candie, home on Halloween of 2008. Her birthday is 8/23/00. Her special need is bi-lateral microtia/atresia. Candie is a happy little girl and for …Read More
January 4, 2010
Andrea, early intervention, Education, hearing loss, microtia, speech delay, speech therapy
11 Comments
As parents, we naturally look for our child’s accomplishments. It is a unique gift we’ve been given. An Olympian can have his whole country cheering for him, but the only people he wants to see in the stands are his mom and dad. When my 2-year old daughter Lydia runs a crayon across a piece …Read More
October 30, 2009
arthrogryposis, cl/cp, Craniofacial, Family Stories, Linny, Orthopedic, Sensory System
7 Comments
I had poured through a “billion” special needs kids faces, all of them drawing an “ooohh” or an “awwww”….but then I saw his face….and I gasped. (It seems that whenever I gasp I know God is up to something big.) Really. I remember staring at him and studying the expression on his sweet little face, …Read More
October 15, 2009
amblyopia, developmental delays, hypoplasia of the corpus callosum, Nicole B., vision issues
10 Comments
I can still remember the first special needs checklist we ever filled out. It was March 2005. We had just sent our first dossier to China. Our checklist was quite simple. We stated cleft lip and palate, female and As Young As Possible (AYAP). My husband and I signed it and I quickly faxed it …Read More
June 22, 2009
Family Stories, hearing loss, microtia, Sensory System
0 Comments
by Darcy, mom to Ryan from China with bilateral microtia/atresia “Such A Time As This” After several years of trying to adopt domestically, God led us to pursue international adoption. In October of 2005, our family traveled to China to adopt our daughter, Rylee. Our oldest son, my husband, and myself soaked up the experience, …Read More
March 10, 2009
congenital blindness, Family Stories, Sensory System, vision issues, vision loss
0 Comments
by Kim, mom to Hope from China with a SN of congenital blindness A few years ago, our 6 year old daughter Abigail heard about the orphans in China. How little girls are routinely abandoned, and it rocked her world. She couldn’t stop talking about it, and one day she declared that when she grows …Read More
February 25, 2009
Craniofacial, Family Stories, hearing loss, microtia, older child adoption, Sensory System
0 Comments
by Laine, mom to Candace from China with bilateral microtia/atresia Older Child Adoption (and out of birth order, too!) After experiencing toddler adoption (two at one time!), my husband and I felt the call again from the Lord to adopt… only this time He called us to an eight year old girl who has bi-lateral …Read More
February 13, 2009
Family Stories, hearing loss, Living Hope, microtia, Sensory System
0 Comments
by Tracy, mom to Aidan Hope from China with microtia When I was in 7th grade, I purchased a used book from our county’s Book-mobile service. It was called The Family That Nobody Wanted, by Helen Doss. It was the story of a young pastor’s wife, unable to bear her own biological children, who desired …Read More
February 10, 2009
Family Stories, hearing loss, microtia, Sensory System
0 Comments
By Cara, mother to Silas from China with bilateral microtia and atresia In the early summer of 2007 my husband and I decided to have a third baby. We had two girls and knew we wanted a third child. I was praying about our decision one day and I had a thought come to my …Read More
February 8, 2009
Craniofacial, Family Stories, hearing loss, HepB+, Infectious, microtia, Sensory System
0 Comments
By Andrea, mom to Lydia Mei from China with a SN of unilateral microtia/aural atresia We began our adoption journey in hopes of adding children to our home, but ultimately we found a much greater purpose and passion. The road to parenthood by way of China brought us into a deeper understanding of how we …Read More
February 7, 2009
abortive cryptophthalmos, Family Stories, vision issues
0 Comments
by Jenn, mom to Karleigh Mei from China with vision issues Everyone asks us when we made the decision to adopt. It was a seed that was planted in both Karl and I many years ago. I believe, for myself, it was planted when I was a child. I’ve always wanted to adopt a child. …Read More
January 29, 2009
Family Stories, hearing loss, microtia, Sensory System
0 Comments
By Anne, mom to Mia Chu Chu from China with hearing loss/ bilateral microtia Our adoption journey began in the fall of 2006 when we initiated paperwork for a “healthy” infant adoption from China. Like so many other adopting families, the drastic increase in wait times inspired us to check out China’s special needs program. …Read More
