May 18, 2019
albinism, developmental delays, Developmental System, Family Stories, global developmental delays, older child adoption, orphanage realities, Skin Conditions
7 Comments
We entered into this adoption full of hopes and dreams just like most people. However, we also understood the realities, especially when adopting from China. We knew the gambles, had read all the blogs and books and articles we could get our hands on. We knew to expect the unexpected… or so we thought. We …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
June 30, 2018
a father's perspective, adopting as first time parents, albinism, Dads, first year home, June 2018 Feature - Celebrating Dads, Newly Home, Perspectives, toddler adoption
1 Comments
Since I was super smart about being a parent before I was one, I would often compare it to bowling with bumpers. You put up boundaries, and those boundaries keep your kids in line. BAM – parenting. Done. Where’s my book deal? But so far, six months in, it feels more like I’m attempting olympic …Read More
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
November 30, 2017
adopting as first time parents, albinism, medical needs checklist, paperchase, Stefanie, waiting for referral, waiting to travel
0 Comments
I found Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess on Instagram (@elsielarson) on #worldadoptionday and subsequently spent an inordinate amount of time reading about all the cool stuff she does… including growing their family through adoption. When, a week or so later, I listened to her podcast (in which she shares her thoughts on special needs …Read More
September 4, 2017
albinism, Family Stories, IEP, public school, September 2017 Feature - Skin Conditions, September 2017 Feature - Visible Special Needs, Skin Conditions, TVI, visible special need
2 Comments
Emily loves dolls, dress-up, panda bears, ballet, singing while playing her brother’s ukulele upside down, blowing bubbles, Disney World, soccer, and “preaching” to us from her children’s Bible. She has a quick wit and makes us laugh every day. And, she was born with a condition called albinism. And that’s really it. Albinism is just …Read More
September 1, 2017
albinism, birthmark, burns, Congenital nevus, epidermolysis bullosa, Favorite Family Stories, ichthyiosis, September 2017 Feature - Skin Conditions, Skin Conditions
0 Comments
The term special needs can sound scary. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. Our goal at NHBO is to equip and inform parents – replacing fear with knowledge – as they navigate the beginning stages of special needs adoption. And then encourage and support those home with their special needs kiddos. We do …Read More
October 5, 2016
albinism, declining a referral, Family Stories, October 2016 Feature - Working Moms, referral, Skin Conditions, TVI, waiting for referral, working mom
20 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
September 26, 2016
adopting a boy, albinism, Family Stories, nystagmus, September 2016 Feature - Skin Conditions, Skin Conditions, TVI, vision issues
1 Comments
No Hands But Ours is focusing on skin conditions this month. My son has albinism, but I hesitated to write our story. Heck, our dermatologist has discharged us. If my son ever has a suspicious mole or a serious burn, we’ll go back. Otherwise, I am capable of – the dermatologist pointed out – totally …Read More
September 17, 2016
albinism, Education, Family Stories, older child adoption, public school, September 2016 Feature - Skin Conditions, Skin Conditions, TVI, vision issues
3 Comments
Her name was spoken to us before we even knew who she was…. We had adopted from China in 2011 and just started the process to adopt again. One night I let myself start thinking about names for our new little one and after spending more time than I care to admit looking at baby …Read More
September 14, 2016
albinism, Family Stories, September 2016 Feature - Skin Conditions, Skin Conditions
1 Comments
We didn’t plan to adopt a child with white hair. I wouldn’t assume many do when they consider adopting a child from China. I fell in love with our son Noah’s face and short description one night while perusing the waiting children on RainbowKids. Adoption was something my husband and I had prayed about, discussed …Read More
December 31, 2015
albinism, December 2015 Feature - Sensory, Family Stories, nystagmus, Sensory System, Skin Conditions, vision issues
4 Comments
For 2015 the NHBO team set a goal to focus on all eleven special needs systems, featuring a different system each month. We wanted to not only spotlight the needs within that system, but simultaneously grow the content here on No Hands But Ours. And with the help of the amazing adoption community, we succeeded. …Read More
September 30, 2015
albinism, developmental delays, Family Stories, September 2015 Feature - Skin Conditions, Skin Conditions
10 Comments
In 2011, my husband and I attended a banquet to benefit Ukrainian orphans. Our hearts were stirred for orphans that night. After praying for God’s direction, we chose All God’s Children International as our agency and began the process towards a special needs adoption from China. One afternoon I scrolled through the Rainbow Kids website, …Read More
May 19, 2015
albinism, Family Stories, Skin Conditions
7 Comments
Our adoption story began about four years prior to our actual adoption. I was sitting at work one regular day and just had a random thought to research international adoption. This was not something we had previously discussed and wasn’t something at all on our radar screen. We had – at that time – two …Read More
November 19, 2014
albinism, Family Stories, Skin Conditions
1 Comments
Our daughter Phoebe was almost nine years old when we adopted her. She is our sixth adoptive child from China, our fifth adoption of an older child, and our first with albinism and with severe visual impairment. The only previous experience my husband and I had with visual impairments is one of our teenage daughters …Read More
May 23, 2012
albinism, older child adoption, Shirlee
8 Comments
Last month, I spent ten days with my three sisters and our mother. Just the five of us. No kids. Cheeky was quite worried about who would cook dinner, do the laundry, clean her new ear piercing, drive her to dance while I was gone. In the weeks before I left, she asked me dozens …Read More
March 24, 2012
albinism, older child adoption, Shirlee, Skin Conditions
3 Comments
I remember when my four older kids were babies. People would ask, “How old is s/he?”, and I would respond with the number of days or weeks or months. Eventually, my babies became toddlers, and my answer changed from the number of weeks or months to the number of years. The same happened when Cheeky …Read More
March 31, 2011
albinism, birth family, older child adoption, Shirlee
0 Comments
Nine birthdays minus seven birthdays equals two birthdays. And Cheeky counts them. Last year. This year. Just as she counted her gifts this morning and noted that she had two more than she did on her eighth birthday. Does that mean we love her more now than we did then? Probably didn’t even cross her …Read More
January 25, 2011
albinism, older child adoption, Shirlee
0 Comments
I planned a different blog today. I planned to write about the care and keeping of Cheeky’s hair. We’ve had issues, you see. Food in the hair issues. Marker in the hair issues. Paint in the hair issues. With the big day coming up (have I mentioned that Cheeky is a firefly in a ballet?), I …Read More
August 20, 2010
albinism, older child adoption, Shirlee
0 Comments
Sometimes the things our children don’t say are the most important. We went on a walk yesterday. Cheeky is much smaller than my other kids. Shorter legs, weaker body, sweet, sunny personality that gives her no need to move fast, those things make walking a little challenging for my youngest. She tries, though. Oh, how she …Read More
August 1, 2010
albinism, older child adoption, Shirlee
7 Comments
I posted a similar version of this to my adoption blog. I think it is important for those of us who have had easy transitions and whose children have adapted brilliantly to remember that no matter how much it seems that they understand, they still wonder if what we offer is forever. I am back …Read More
June 25, 2010
albinism, older child adoption, Shirlee
17 Comments
I know. My second post here in week. But it has occurred to me that we are, perhaps, too quick to make judgements about a child’s future based on what we see when they are two or three (or younger). Yes, dear friends, it was finally upon us. The BIG DAY. The DANCE. It has …Read More
June 21, 2010
albinism, older child adoption, Shirlee, Skin Conditions
4 Comments
Cross Posted to my personal blog On Monday, June 22, 2009, Cheeky made the journey of a lifetime. She left the apartment she’d lived in for four years, got in a taxi and traveled to meet her new parents. Meanwhile, I was traveling, too. Riding in a car, talking to our guide and my husband, …Read More
April 6, 2010
albinism, foster care, older child adoption, Shirlee, Skin Conditions
7 Comments
Since my daughter’s birthday, I have been thinking long and hard about what she lost to be part of our family. After blogging about it, I received a number of emails asking if I feel guilty for taking my daughter from a loving foster home. The answer to that is complicated. In a perfect world, …Read More
February 21, 2010
albinism, older child adoption, siblings, Skin Conditions, visible special need
16 Comments
At church Wednesday night, there was an argument between several girls and my older daughter. I was home sick with a migraine, and I heard about the problem Saturday morning while driving to a meeting with the pastor’s wife. Hearing about Sassy squabbling with an entire group of girls over rules to a game they’d …Read More
January 29, 2010
albinism, older child adoption, Skin Conditions
14 Comments
Any good fiction writer knows that a character without a past is a cardboard cut out. No depth. No spirit. No life. An author can write all the angst and emotion she wants, but if her character comes from nowhere, her character will go nowhere. The same is true of life. Without knowledge of where …Read More
January 12, 2010
albinism, Shirlee, Skin Conditions
6 Comments
That’s what I said to my mother-in-law last week. Six months since Cheeky joined our family, and this stereotype of pasty-white, red-eyed people with albinism is just coming out and just being addressed. I’ve been thinking about that all weekend. My mother-in-law lives on the other side of the country. She’s never met Cheeky face …Read More
December 28, 2009
albinism, Shirlee, Skin Conditions
13 Comments
Last year, there were four kids bouncing around the house Christmas morning. This year there were five. But there almost weren’t. I was thinking about that this morning. Thinking about how I didn’t even know Cheeky existed on December 25, 2008. That Christmas morning, I had a vague image in my mind of the daughter …Read More
November 8, 2009
albinism, Shirlee, Skin Conditions
11 Comments
Why, yes. Yes, she is. Or should I have said, “What would make you say that?” Or maybe, “And you’re very rude, aren’t you?” Only the person who asked the question isn’t rude. She’s Sassy’s jazz teacher, and she’s a very nice person. So, imagine my surprise when I walked into the dance studio last …Read More
November 23, 2008
albinism, CCAI, Family Stories, Skin Conditions
0 Comments
Q and A with Chris, mom to two children from China with Albinism What made you decide to pursue a child through the SN program? When we started looking at the adoption process, we thought filling out the Medical Conditions Checklist was something we were supposed to do as part of the application. When we …Read More
