Corie with Foster Mom/caregiver

August 21, 2010 7:32am
I know you are all asleep but I have to go ahead and tell you about the Holt meeting. It was so wonderful. Holt is so organized and this meeting was everything we all needed to know. There are 30 families and they are from all over the US. Many are adopting their first child who is a baby, but many others are like us, larger families who are adopting older children or those with special needs. There is another family who will have 8 children after this adoption. There is even a family who was adopting an 11 year old and got the call to asked if they would adopt an almost 14 year old as well. This young girl was adoptedwhen she was 11, but after one week with her in China her adoptie family sent her back to the orphanage. She will turn 14 on Sept. 2, so they are here just in time to save her from a hard life without an education or family. We all cheered and yelled when they introduced themselves. Many of us made it a point to meet them during the break. It was so clear that God had orchestrated it all for this family and child.
At the end of the meeting they showed the most recent pictures of the children on the screen and asked families if they recognid their child. Most did not because their only picture was as an infant. It was wonderful to hear the gasps and cries as people saw the names of their children. It was no problem to identify Cori as we had more recent pictures of her, but it is shocking how tall she is. Her legs seem to go on forever. My favorite part of her update was about her nap. She takes a 2 hour nap each day with an adult. That will be ME!!!!!! How I arrange a two hour block once I am home is another matter entirely. In answer to how to comfort her, it is to hug and kiss her. I can do that!!!! She is 37 inches tall. She gets welts when a mosquito bites her...that is me and half of our family. She has an allergy to hot peppers. I was told that girls from her region of China are spicy. I guess she has decided to be different. div>
As to my concerns about going to the orphanage, they discourage it and say it is usually not even allowed. Grace exclaimed how big she was, but then added sincerely that she is the cutest three year old she has ever seen. I wish we could get the new picture scanned, but then we will have the real thing soon.
I was able to encourage several families who are adopting children with cleft lip and palate with the before and after pictures of Jena. Most have opted not to have any surgery until they are home.div>