Gladney Staff Celebrates Boys

 

"I am in love with my little boy, Toby! As a brand new mom I can't get enough of my baby boy's snuggles, squeaks and funny faces. I am getting to know his sweet personality more and more each day and watching him grow and learn is such a joy. I am already imagining the future with our little guy as he grows up - I hope he loves soccer as much as his daddy! Life has changed so much, but I can't imagine our family without our cuddly, beautiful boy!"     

 -April Uduhiri, Asia Programs Caseworker   

 

 

"One of the most important "boys" in my life is my big brother Jym. Jym is three years older than me and my only older sibling. While he picked on me relentlessly at times growing up (and sometimes still does), I'm pretty grateful that I grew up with a big brother. I knew, and still know, that he would always have my back. I've always felt proud being able to tell people that Jym is my brother. I learned so much from Jym - how to be an individual, how to stand up for myself, and how to be a genuinely good person. I love my sisters too, but there's something special about having a big brother!"

-Mary Chapman, Asia Programs Caseworker

 

Superkids

 

 

30 Boys in 30 Days Campaign

 

Each week Gladney Staff gets together for our Waiting Child Staffing Meeting.  This is probably our most important meeting of the week.  It is at these meetings that we get to step away from our computers and phones and bring our staff together to give our attention to the Waiting Children.  We know we owe it to these kids to give them the attention they deserve without the distractions of other obligations and To-Do lists.  Each meeting comes to life in its own way - with good news about recent matches, stories from our staff about families who have recently arrived home, and brainstorming to find new ways to advocate for some of the children who have not yet been matched with a family. Since November is Adoption Awareness Month - we really wanted to focus hard on helping some of our children find a family.  As our meeting progressed, we all knew what we wanted to do - put our extra efforts and attentions this month toward the many boys who need a family, thus was born our 30 Boys in 30 Days Campaign.

 

In a family these boys can do anything -- learn about volcanoes, trains, go camping, do rainbow loom(!), dress up as a power rangers for Halloween, and, of course, get into their fair share of mischief - as all healthy and happy boys (and girls) do from time to time!

  

During the month of November we will feature a unique child, who happens to be a boy, on our Asia Waiting Child Blog.  Please visit often and send your best wishes and prayers throughout the month to help each little guy find his family.  Many of these boys were seen by our Superkids Team this summer in China -- Stories can be found on the Superkids Blog.

 

Featured Today, Addison

 

Taiwan Update

We are excited to welcome families from Families and Children's Agency (FCA) into our Taiwan Cathwel program!  With the assistance of Cathwel's staff, Gladney was able to smoothly transition families without disrupting their adoption process with Cathwel.  It was wonderful having a chance to meet many of the FCA families at Gladney's October Pathways training! 

 

More good news from Cathwel! - In October, one of our long waiting families in the Cathwel program was presented with a referral of a 17 month old boy!  Congratulations to the family!

 

In Gladney's Taiwan adoption program, we currently have 6 families with accepted referrals at various stages of the dossier prep/PAIR and court processes.  One of the families will be travelling in December -- and the remaining five families should all be home with their children throughout the spring and summer months!

 

 



Tanner, adopted through the Cathwel program this summer,
 celebrates his brother Tyler's wedding!

 

In October we were notified by Cathwel and Chung Yi about several waiting children who are in need of forever families.  The children vary in age and needs.  We feel this is an indication that the agencies in Taiwan have had time to adjust to the new system that has evolved with the introduction of child welfare and adoption legislation put in place over the past 2 years. We are expecting to see more children becoming available for international adoption within the coming months.

Boys Rock!

 

 

 

 

 

Boys Rock all the time- just in different ways at different stages! Of all the themes we could choose this month to celebrate adoption- this is what we have decided to celebrate- Simply, that BOYS ROCK!! Why this theme? Because it is both sad and hard to believe that simply being born a boy, is one of the reasons that a child may become part of a Waiting Child program or be designated as "special needs". So please check www.asiawaitingchild@wordpress.com daily during the month of November, and help us bring these boys to their families!

Happy Halloween!

 

"There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch."

-Robert Brault

(1938-present)

American author

When Your Child First Notices Race

We recently came across an article in Adoptive Families Magazine that we thought would be helpful to share: 'How Do You Make Sure Your Child Feels Good About Herself?'. The article was written by Julia Chin who adopted her daughter as an infant from China. 

 

One day Julia's four-year-old daughter came home from preschool in tears. A classmate had pulled up the corners of his eyes and said, 'Your eyes are like this!'"My daughter was crushed," says Julia.  "Last year, Elizabeth had no clue about race or being different. Now she talks about it all the time."  Julia's experience is not atypical for Caucasian parents who adopt transracially. As parents, we want to do all we can to instill a positive sense of racial identity in our children. To read more here.

Gladney Family Support Group in TX

Heath and Katie Bonner have been married for 17 years and have four children.  They will be leading this week’s Gladney Family Support Group Meeting where the topic will be: SIBLING ADJUSTMENT!

 

Child care will be provided. To RSVP for childcare please call or email Joy Barnes (joy.barnes@gladney.org or 817.922.5993).

 

Thursday, August 8, 2013 from 6:30pm-8:30pm in Mabee Hall, Fort Worth, TX.