I heard this song for the first time in the car yesterday and knew I had to share it. Be prepared to have your heart melt.



I'm sure there are a few Christmas Carols who want a home for Christmas, here.  Perhaps your family needs a little blue eyes Carol to light up your Christmas too.

Orphans in Haiti

Let me start by saying that I know very little about the intricacies of international adoption. Perhaps in my future I will have the opportunity to know more.

There are many of us, including me, who see the images of the children in Haiti and our hearts break, and then we know we MUST do something. We have safe homes, open hearts, and a surplus of love- we see in the faces of these children the potential faces of our own children.

There is a lot to be done just to recreate a safe place in Haiti for these children, to tend to any of their medical and physical needs, and to re-establish the infrastructure that will allow for orderly adoptions to take place again.

If you know that God is calling you to bring a child from Haiti into your home and family, please visit MLJ Adoptions WEBSITE. You can read about caring for Haiti's Orphans HERE and inquire about their Haiti hosting and adoption programs HERE.

If the sight of these children has opened your heart to the possibility of adoption, please remember that there are many children here in the US that need a loving stable home and parents who will cherish them. To learn more about adopting from our country's foster care system, I suggest contacting a Foster Family Adoption Agency, like Amara.

How Can I Help a Foster Child?

Sorry you didn't hear from my yesterday. We actually had our Thanksgiving today, as we were traveling on Thursday. I didn't have internet access for pretty much the entire day. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. On Sunday I will be sharing with you a special post about two reasons that I am very thankful for adoption.



Today I would like to post about some things that you and I can do to make a world of difference in the life of one (or more) of our countries most vulnerable children.

There are many ways that you can help a foster child. . .

1. Of course the thing that these children need the very most is a permanent home and family or at least a more permanent home and family. I hope that all of us are periodically evaluating our family situations to determine if we are in a position to be a foster parent or to add to our family through the miracle of foster-adoption.

However, I realize that many of us are not currently in the position to do either of these things, but there are other things that we can do to help a foster child.

2. Become a Mentor for a foster child. Foster children with a mentor miss fewer days of school, are more likely to go to college, and are less likely to abuse alcohol or other substances. You can find out more about becoming a mentor at mentoring.org or about become a virtual mentor at vmentor.com.

3. Become a CASA. A Court Appointed Special Advocate is a volunteer, specially trained, and willing to engage themselves in the case of one abused or neglected child to make recommendations to the court to help ensure that the system does not fail to find a safe and loving home for this child. Learn more about becoming a CASA.

4. Become a respite care provider. Foster parents need a break just as much or even more than every other parent, and yet there are legal restrictions on who they can turn to help with their children. Become a respite provider to help current foster parents from getting burned out or frustrated, and helping children remain in a single foster home for a longer period of time. Call your state Department of Social and Human Services to find out about become a respite provider.

5. Volunteer at a local foster care agency. We all know about the overwhelming caseloads that most social workers face. Find a foster care agency in your area, call them, find out if they could use and extra pair of hands.

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http://209.59.152.208/help/ for more info

Photolisting Sites

My husband and I are considering fos-adopt for a future adoption.

Because I like to put the cart before the horse when ever I can, I have started collecting photolisting sites. I know this is not a comprehensive list, so please help me add to it. The states listed under the sites are the states that the children are in, not necessarily, the states that the children are able to go to. Most of these sites will accept inquiries from any family in the state the child is residing in or families who have all ready completed their home study in any state.

The Adoption Exchange
Colorado, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dekota, Utah, Wyoming
Adopt Us Kids
All States- all states search-able at the same time from one location
Heart Gallery of America
All States and several states have many galleries, however, you do have to look at each one individually
Children Awaiting Parents
All states
Adopt America Network
You can also list your family for older children to view on this site!
Northwest Adoption Exchange
Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Washington - must search each state individually
The Adoption Photolisting
All states
Wednesday's Child
All States


Many States Also have their own sites.

Arizona
Arkansas
California
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Minnesota- Hennepin County
Missouri
Nebraska
Nebraska (focus on older kids)
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Ohio (Several Counties in Ohio also have small photos listings.)
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Texas (this page is actually a list of all Texas Heart Galleries)
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia (notice children are off to the left hand side of page)
Wisconsin

Article: Raised in foster care, he didn't think he could be a dad; then he met Christian

The big day has come: Rick Kelly is going to court to finalize his adoption of Christian, 7. As they get ready to go, Rick makes a final check of Christian’s attire. Rick and Christian have known each other since the boy was just 3 years old, when Rick’s own foster parents took in the abused boy.

By Lane DeGregory, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, June 21, 2009

A beautiful article about how a little boy chose his dad, a man who never thought he could be a father.