September 17, 2013
birthmark, hemangioma, Kayla
3 Comments
Once we’ve had our adopted Chinese children home for a while, they become very American, don’t they? Fluent English speakers, pudgy and healthy, faces aglow. Video games, Kraft mac-n-cheese, Gap Kids clearance clothes, and all the rest. But then there are moments when Jubilee will stop what she is doing and stare off into space, …Read More
August 17, 2013
birthmark, hemangioma, Kayla
11 Comments
I do not run marathons. I do not run at all, in fact, although I used to, once upon a time. To train for soccer, I ran high school cross country; my short, muscular legs weighing me down as I trudged through sand and even snow (I lived in Michigan). While I struggled to keep …Read More
July 17, 2013
birthmark, hemangioma, Kayla
3 Comments
Jubilee doesn’t throw fits, hoard her toys, act irrationally, or withdraw emotionally. In fact, on the surface she is a very “normal” child. Except when no one is looking. Then she destroys things. She tears the wheels off matchbox cars, scribbles on her brother’s artwork, takes apart completed Lego sets, sits on things, rips things, …Read More
June 17, 2013
birthmark, hemangioma, Kayla
12 Comments
Kayla is a home school mom who loves to read, write, cook, and travel. She lives in East Asia with her husband and four awesome kids – three biological sons and one daughter, Jubilee, who is adopted from China. She blogs at Life is But a Breath. We all face that moment of truth when …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 19, 2010
Congenital nevus, giant congenital nevus, Nicole B.
4 Comments
*I wrote this post back in March 2009 shortly after we were matched with our new daughter Ava. Ava’s special need is Giant Congenital Nevus. I have added some additional detail now that she is home.** I have had several people email me requesting that I post some information about Ava’s special need. A commenter …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 26, 2008
birthmark, Family Stories, hemangioma, port wine stain
0 Comments
By Brandy, mother to Carli Mei from China, with port wine stain birthmark Chosen We’re matched! We’re matched! I just remember that feeling of elation like it was yesterday. After a round of “matching” 3 months earlier and our family not being “chosen”. It was a day I tried to remain guarded…tried. My heart was …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
October 20, 2008
birthmark, Family Stories, GWCA, Skin Conditions, Sturge Weber Syndrome, Vascular System
0 Comments
by Monica, big sister to Reese, from China, who has Sturge-Weber Syndrome We originally were aiming to go to China for a NSN girl, as young as possible. As we were gathering paperwork, some friends called us and said, “you have to look at these kids on your agency’s waiting list”. We did, and found …Read More
