Special Olympics Opening Ceremony

In some ways I feel like this should just be a post of photos and videos. There is no way words can come close to describing what it was like to be there. But I have to try. I have to at least capture the thoughts that can be captured, inadequate as they may be. 

I was excited going into the experience. I knew it would be awesome, but I wasn't prepared for how strong the sense of community there would be. And I wasn't prepared for how much fun it would be! Right from the start they were getting everyone involved with fun oldies music and good old classics like doing the chicken dance. We yelled and cheered and danced and waved the different celebration towels they handed out. 

When the athletes from each state and the other countries who are participating were announced and the athletes started streaming it was surreal. These are people who worked so, so hard to get here. You could so easily see the joy and excitement on many of their faces. The fans roared from the stands and the athletes kept streaming in. To see families react when they saw their athlete come out or when their athlete was on the jumbo-tron was so touching! I found myself getting misty-eyed a few times. 

There are around 5,500 athletes participating in the games this year. By the time all were introduced the stadium was a rainbow of colors and ashimmer with movement (and heat waves!). The excitement level was off the charts! The athletes were dancing to the music and cheering as each video and interview was shown. Tim Tebow and Julie Foudy were there interviewing athletes.

The message we heard from everyone seemed to be... 

Don't you dare...

underestimate us!

put limits on us!

fail to see us as individuals!

fail to hear our message!

We are...

valuable!

talented!

hardworking!

individuals!

worthy of respect!

I know these things, but being here is a challenge. I want to listen carefully, really hear, and truly

see.

And this is only the beginning!

Waiting Child- Amanda

I wrote about meeting "Amanda" here.  I was so touched by meeting her and her foster father that I wrote that post on a brief lunch break, because I knew that hers is a story that has to be told.  There is a measure of responsibility that comes with being allowed to meet children like Amanda.  It is a privileged afforded to few.

So here you go, this is Amanda.

She  will be 13 in December.  This means that we have 15 months until she turns 14 and is no longer eligible for adoption.

She is intelligent and her favorite subject is math.  She has such a delicate beauty and seems very mature and graceful.

Amanda has had recent spinal surgery and we believe she had Spina Bifida but in her file they call this post operative straightening of bulging lumbar backbone.  She uses a wheelchair to get around but can take some steps.  She is independent in all her self care activities.

This sweet girl wants a family who will be patient and love her.  She also hopes for siblings. 

Amanda's relationship with her foster father was so close and sweet!  We just heard that she has been returned to the orphanage due to her foster mother's deteriorating health.  I just can't imagine how lonely Amanda must feel!  She was loved and cherished by this wonderful family for 9 years!  My heart just hurts to think of her back in the orphanage, I only assume her longing for a family is very great!

You can view a video of her here.


Amanda is designated to Gladney through a partnership program with her orphanage.  For more information about her please contact Lindsay Miller at lindsay.miller@gladney.org and cc Wendy Stanley at wendy.stanley@gladney.org on the email.  You can also contact me at erinmrtn@yahoo.com.


Please help me find this exceptional young lady a family!  Share this with anyone you can!  Pray for her and her foster family as they must all be grieving!  Together we can make a difference for this beautiful young lady!

Introducing...

Waiting for Blessings

The new advocacy site my friend and fellow adoptive mother Suzanne Meledeo from over at Surpassing Greatness are launching together.

We are going to be posting about waiting children, our personal experiences as adoptive parents, and sharing other families' stories as well.  We have so many precious children that we will be introducing you to over the next little while!  Starting with this post tonight.

Hope to see you all over there!

And if you have adopted an older child and would like to share your experience over at Waiting for Blessings we would love to hear from you!

Wordless Wednesday { Superkids Trip Flashback }

Chelsea and Zhen Zhen

Superkids Webinar { Jiangxi Province }

Tomorrow, August 22, at 7:00 PM  (Eastern Time) it is webinar time again!! And, oh my, do we have some adorable children to introduce to you!! 

I'm going to list all of the kiddos we will be talking about here.

I wish I could put all of their photos in this post.

  There are just too many.  They are all so precious! 

Just rush over here and register, I assure you, this is a webinar you don't want to miss!

Set...

Well, the bags are packed. I got it down to one large suitcase and this wonderful bag. Deep within the recesses of my big, black suitcase I have 20 bottles for babies with cleft palates, a photo printer and paper and ink to print 200 photos, small packages for several children whose families are waiting to bring them home, all of my clothes, chocolate covered coffee beans, and other necessities for 10 days abroad, and these...

A couple of weeks ago I got the idea that it would be fun to take hair pretties for the girls we will be meeting. I knew the boys needed something too, so we settled on mirrors, and I mentioned it to various friends that I was collecting hair bows and mirrors to take with me. Recently the packages started arriving and we have had the fun of seeing all of the variety!

This little mirror is a very special gift from a little girl named Grace, who was adopted from China herself. This is her mirror and she decided to send it for the children in China who don't have mommies and daddies. Grace is 3, so a special thank you to a special girl.  Another friend's daughter made headbands to send. I feel so privileged to be the one to take these precious gifts with me

My flight departs from Newark, NJ tomorrow morning at 10:40.  I think I'm READY!!  I've checked and double checked that my passport is in my bag, that my camera battery is charged, and that I have the bag of medication I always take and never (yet, thankfully) use. So all that remains is to try to sleep tonight (though with a 15 hour flight ahead of me maybe it would be just as well not to...) and to get up in the morning and go.

Ready

The house is cleaned. The laundry is washed, dried, folded, and (mostly) ironed. There are meals in the freezer. The VPN is installed on my computer and iPhone (you can't access a lot of websites in China without a VPN) The suitcases are filling up. I'm writing out schedules so that everyone knows what to expect and do to keep things running while I'm gone. My to do list is almost completed. I'm almost ready.

Tomorrow I need to finish packing and do laundry again just so I'm sure it is as finished as it can possibly be when I leave on Saturday morning. Then it is all up to Keith and the crew for a while! They are very capable and I really don't worry about leaving them to fend for themselves. As a matter of fact, Keith is a pretty detail oriented person and I know I'll come home to the house at least as clean as I'm leaving it.

I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful husband and daddy! The children look forward to spending more time than normal with him while I'm gone. They keep talking about all of the fun things they are going to do with Daddy! And I'm so glad because I have a hard enough time thinking of leaving them and I'm so glad they aren't acting too sad about it or it would be even harder! The few times Eliana has said that she wants to go with me have been hard enough!

I've been thinking about and preparing for this trip for long enough now. It is time to go. Keep praying for the team and for the children we will meet!

Single Digits, Visas, and a New Old Picture

NINE DAYS!! In nine days I leave for China. We have hit the single digits until departure phase of this journey, folks and I am getting more excited every day! I have suitcases in my bedroom and things are being added and my 'packing pile' is disappearing. As I promise to take more things such as packages for waiting children, special bottles for babies with cleft palates, etc. I begin to wonder how much clothing I will actually have room for. I may end up doing a lot of washing in the hotel sink and hoping it dries by morning! If I look a little damp and disheveled in all the pictures y'all have some grace, okay? Just remember that there are more important things than clothes!

On that note, guess what arrived at my house via FedEx today? My visa! Which means they will actually let me in the country when I get there! Woo! I always feel better when I have my passport back in my hands with the visa in it. It is so fun to flip through and see the different visas in there. Kazakhstan, China, Russia, now another one for China. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunities I've had. Every one of those trips are/were adoption or orphan related and I really marvel at the way God has called us to this ministry and how it has left such a deep impression on our lives!

Of course I've been thinking a lot about visiting the Shanghai CWI again and thinking about the time Eliana spent there. It is so hard to imagine a life without her or that we did not always belong to one another! You mean I existed without her and she lived somewhere else? No way! But she did. For 3 1/2 years she did. We don't know a lot about those years and we don't have a lot of pictures of her in that time period, so when another Shanghai mom recently posted some pictures of Shanghai kiddos we were so excited to see this one!


Eliana when she was still Wu Xing Yao!

I just read an article about one of the orphanages we plan to visit while in China. You can read it here. It is a fascinating read!

This is the last week to be entered in the iPad mini raffle/fundraiser. You can read the details here.  The drawing will be on Saturday evening and it is going to be fun! :)

Getting Ready

Lord willing, two weeks from now I will be in Shanghai!  Since Shanghai is where Eliana is from Keith and I spent our first week with her there. It is a special place full of incredible memories and I am so excited to be able to go back!

The SuperKids team is preparing to connect with children in orphanages in Shanghai and the other cities we will be in, we keep trying to think of ways to break the ice and alleviate some of the anxiety children may feel meeting a whole group of foreign looking and sounding people.  Here is a post Pat Marcus wrote about this.

One of the projects we plan to do is to take photos of them and then use this nifty little printer to print it out so that they can have a picture of themselves to keep. I am collecting hair bows for the little girls  (so they look and feel exceptionally beautiful in their pictures!) and mirrors for the boys so that they have a special little something all their own. When you think of how there are no mirrors that younger children can see and use in the orphanages you can imagine how much enjoyment a child could get from a small mirror!  We are even taking Velcro so that we can put mirrors where babies can enjoy them! 

Anyway, I've been trying out the photo printer to be sure I know how to run it and everything.  It is such a fun, amazing little thing!  The photo quality is great. And it is just so much fun to watch. It prints the colors in layers, so first you see just yellow, then the reds are added, and so forth until you have a beautiful, full color photo.  I really can't wait to do this with the children in China!

Can I ask y'all to be praying for the team and for the children we will be meeting?  The potential for good is so great,  pray for health and safety and strength so that lots of sweet kiddos can be blessed through this trip!

Also, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has donated toward my trip costs!  I appreciate it so, so much! 

You still have a chance to win the iPad mini through the rest of this week.  The drawing will be on Saturday evening at 7 PM, so if you want a chance to win be sure to donate before Saturday evening!
Here is a little refresher on how you can enter to win:

* Each $5 donation into my SuperKids fund gets you 1 entry into the drawing. $10 gets you two entries; $25 gets you 5; $100 gets you 20 and so on! (Just look on the top right of the blog for my “Donate” button! It’s easy to donate with a credit or debit card this way. It’s easy and safe and there is no charge to you! You do not have to have a paypal account to send us a donation! We will have a record of each donation, the amount donated and the giver’s information.)

One Month

One month from today, Lord willing, I will be boarding an airplane bound for China. I am really getting excited! It seems surreal in a way, to think of going back, to think of spending time with the children I have spent so much time thinking about and praying for in the 17 months since we were there to adopt Eliana. That trip changed our perspective on so many levels. You just can't go into an orphanage, no matter how nice it looks, and see the children and not be changed. You cannot walk out of those doors with a treasured daughter in your arms knowing that there are so many left who do not have families to cherish them without it changing the way you view life. Or at least we couldn't! And now I'm going back. Back to that same building that was home to our sweet daughter for the first 3 1/2 years of her life. And I'm so excited and scared all at the same time! I experience so many emotions when I think of Shanghai! I feel gratitude. The nannies there took care of my baby! The staff prepared her file so that she could be adopted! I also feel fear. I don't know what her life was like there. She doesn't talk about it much. She obviously doesn't want to. Will I find out more than I really want to know? But mostly I feel humbled and honored to be able to go back, to be able to help other children find families who will love them and cherish them as they deserve.

So right now I'm preparing on many levels. I'm making sure I have what I need. I'm getting my visa so that I can enter the country. I'm thinking about ways to break the ice with children who are nervous because of all of the unfamiliar people. And I'm also preparing my heart. I know it will be hard. I know it will be taxing physically and emotionally. I know I'm going to struggle seeing so many children in need of families. But I also know it will be worth every moment of it to be able to love on those children and to be able to provide more complete information to families considering bringing them home, not to mention the joy of being able to give families who are matched with a child the treasured gift of updates, photos, information, etc. about the child they are longing for.

Friends, can you join me in praying for the children we will meet? And for the team members who are going? If you have a child in any of the orphanages we will be visiting why don't you leave their name and which orphanage in the comments and, while I can't promise to meet them, I can promise to pray for them while we are there. It is going to be a wonderful trip!

Important Announcements

#1.  Kayley has a family! There are few things that make me as happy as checking Gladney's photo list and seeing "MATCHED!!" as a child's status! 

So... Congratulations to her family, I hope all goes quickly and smoothly for you!

#2.  Gladney has a webinar tonight at 7 EST to advocate for waiting children in China.  Pat Marcus will be speaking and Juliette Howard, a Gladney adoptive mom, will be telling their story.  These webinars are a wonderful way to find out more about adopting from China and about specific children who are available for adoption.  You can register here to join.

*URGENT* Waiting Child- Desi **AGING OUT!!!**

Today I want to tell you about Desi.  She is a lovely, healthy 13 year old girl.  She needs a family urgently!  Desi will turn 14 in May and will no longer be eligible for adoption.  If a family does not step forward very, very soon Desi's chance to have a family will be over!

Here is what is said about her. "Desi is a beautiful girl who needs to find a family fast! As per China regulations, once she reaches the age of 14 years she will no longer be eligible for international adoption. She is described as a talkative, outgoing and happy girl. She loves to sing and dance! Everyday after school she will watch TV with her friends and imitate the performers – learning their dances and songs! She is well-behaved and polite in school and is helpful to the teachers."

Desi is on the CCCWA shared list, so she can be adopted through any agency!  Since her birthday is so soon she needs a family that already has a Log In Date (LID).

If you are interested in learning more about Desi please contact April Uduhiri at april.uduhiri@gladney.org or 212-868-4565.

Waiting Child- Kayley

Sweet, beautiful little Kayley is 5 1/2 years old.  She is waiting for  family to step forward and claim her for their own!

Kayley likes to play with other children.  She enjoys being tickled and her favorite toys are building blocks that are shaped like snowflakes.  Sho loves candy and snacks and knows to say 'thank you' for her snacks.

When asked to by caregivers Kayley can point out which other children are her friends.

She is receiving language training twice a week to help with her development and it does seem she has made great strides in the last year!

Here is what a Superkids volunteer said after meeting Kayley: "We really enjoyed our visit with Kayley! She is very outgoing and full of joy. Her caregivers report that she has made great strides in the past year and is very talkative and eager to learn. She was very friendly with the other kids and the adults and loved playing with the toys that we brought. She counted easily and was talking in full sentences. She identified all of the objects on our picture cards and imitated the English words. She loved playing the piano and listening to music. She also likes to sing and put on a little show for us! Kayley appears to be a happy, active and friendly little girl!"

Doesn't she sound precious?  She is very close to Annika's age and I can certainly assure you that it is a wonderful, darling age!  Can't you just imagine her twirling into her family's life and adding so much sparkle and joy?

Kayley is from a large orphanage in Asia.  She is a part of Gladney's partnership program with the orphanage in charge of her care.  To learn more about Kayley please contact April at april.uduhiri@gladney.org.  Or you can email me at erinmrtn@yahoo.com if you have questions about working with Gladney.  They helped us bring both of our daughters home so I'll be glad to answer any questions!

**URGENT** Waiting Child- FangFang **AGING OUT!**

I have a very urgent need to tell you about today.  FangFang is an almost 14 year old boy from China in need of a family.  He is blind and was in an accident which caused him to almost lose his middle finger on his right hand.  It is not clear how much he is able to use his finger.

FangFang will age out in June!  Meaning he will no longer be eligible for adoption!!  He most likely faces a very grim future if he is not adopted.


He is a happy, talkative boy when he is in a familiar environment, but can be shy in unfamiliar surroundings.  He likes playing outdoors and swinging.  He likes being with a friend for company since he is blind.

FangFang is described as a gentle boy who loves music.  (Doesn't he sound like a wonderful boy!?)   He started special classes to learn braille but had more difficulty with this than peers. He has good ability to imitate and memorize. He has also learned many English words. He now attends school at the institute and is very good at oral problems and riddles.

Time is running out!  We urgently need a family with a Log In Date (LID)!  Fang Fang is on the SHARED LIST, so he can be adopted THROUGH ANY AGENCY.

If you want more information about how to adopt FangFang you can email april.uduhiri@gladney.org or erinmrtn@yahoo.com.

Please share this post and help to find FangFang's family!

The Best Kind of News!

I just moved two more little pictures from the "Gladney's Waiting Children" page to the "My Family Found Me!" page.

I don't always mention it here, but I always love this little process.  Two more children with families!  It just makes me so happy!!

Congratulations to the families of:

Sadie & Pheobe!

I hope the process goes swiftly and smoothly and that these precious girls can be home soon!

Be the Change- Guest Post by Pat Marcus

 Pat is a pediatric physical therapist who has traveled to China with Superkids Charity many times.  She is the therapist who met Eliana twice before we adopted her and now twice since we are home.  Thank you, Pat!  The Martin family loves you! 

Following my trip to JiangXi, I've had time to reflect on the children we saw there.  Many have medical needs but are cute as a button, many have very small needs. Some have large medical needs.

They are waiting for the opportunity to blossom in to what they truly are.  Daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces, grandchildren.  Connected, joined and depended on, expanding families.  They are little miracles waiting for families to open their hearts to them.  When I go to China I have a short time to see these little wonders.  To get a sense of who they are.  What bits of them are so special that I can't wait to tell Waiting adoptive parents about them.  Even in orphanages, children have unique personalities, special likes, dislikes, interests in their limited scope that make them special.  I carry all their specialness in my heart until I can hand each and everyone over to their adoptive parents. These children are all perfect, all special, all amazing, all waiting.  Waiting for the Mom, Dad and family they so deserve.

So on national adoption day, in adoption awareness month, let's go out and help them find homes.  Everyone can do something to assist in this process.  Tell a friend, post to Facebook, write on your blog.  It's simple really, children need homes, we need to help.

For all the parents who have adopted, I celebrate you! The joy of raising a child is unending, and I am sure many of you feel as I do. You get back so much more than you give.  You have all followed the great Gandhi quote "be the change you want to see in the world".

Striving for a productive national adoption month.

Peace,
Pat

Thanks to Erin for posting this. Gladney and I were hit hard by the storm and power problems prevented me from posting.

Happy News!

Wyatt has a family!!!

His picture can now be found on the "My Family Found Me" page!

Blessing on this sweet boy and his family!  May the time between now and when you are together move swiftly!

Waiting Child- "Tessa"

Today I want you to meet Tessa.  She is going to have a birthday soon.  She will turn 2.  How I wish she would receive the gift of a family for her birthday!

Tessa is from Asia.  She has a cleft lip and palate.  She also appears to possibly have a syndrome, her file states that she appears to have Down's Syndrome.

Tessa has been in the same foster home since she was very small.  She is very close to her nanny and cries when she sees her nanny carrying another child.  She understands what is being said to her and will smile when asked if she wants milk. 

And, wait for it, this is my favorite detail: she likes to look pretty and wear pretty clothes.  When you tell her how pretty she looks she smiles happily.

Pat Marcus, a pediatric physical therapist, met her in June.  She had just had surgery to repair her cleft lip and also had a cold.  She was not a happy camper (who can blame her?!)  but it was reported to Pat that she is normally a happy little girl.  Pat speaks about meeting her in this webinar.( INTRODUCING OUR JIANGXI REFERRALS – PART 2!!!).

This baby needs a family.  Her physical needs may seem large, but her greatest need is just the same basic need that all children have, she needs a family.

Tessa is also listed on Reece's Rainbow.  You can make a tax deductible donation toward her adoption costs here.  This is such a great opportunity for people who want to help but can't adopt her!  Remember, we can all do something.

If you would like more information about Tessa please contact April Uduhiri at april.uduhiri@gladney.org.

If you have questions about working with Gladney please don't hesitate to contact me at erinmrtn@yahoo.com. We adopted through Gladney twice and I am glad to share our experience!

CCCWA Mid-Autumn Festival Harbor Cruise

Pat Marcus and Me

One of the main reasons we went to New York City this weekend was so that we could attend an event that Gladney was hosting.  They chartered a boat for a cruise on the Hudson River.  There were about 20 adoption officials from China plus a lot of adoptive families.  Any of you who know anything about Chinese officials know that there were lengthy introductions and speeches.  I lost track of what all these people were directors of, but when they introduced the lady who issues the travel approvals, I applauded loudly!  I know my China adoptive mommy friends would have joined me!

April - "Adoption Rocks"  :)

Eliana with Gongzhan - the Gladney Asia Program Director
Gongzhan is also from Shanghai

The children had a wonderful time.  They explored the whole boat.  The boys said that they offered their photography services to all the Chinese officials on board (I think they actually did take a few pictures when they were asked to.)  Annika thoroughly enjoyed using fabric markers on squares that Pat Marcus plans to use to make a quilt for the CCCWA.  Of course there was some good Chinese food which the children enjoyed since it bore little resemblance to the Dim Sum fare that we had yesterday.

Visiting China Official with Most of the Children
(See Eliana noticing the typical Chinese hand-motion when posing for photos.  This is something she did when we first got her.  But today that memory came back for her, and she kept doing it throughout the day)

The Girls Got Their Faces Painted 

A CCCWA Official

The wind was a bit brisk, but the sun was shining warmly.  And all around us were the amazing views of Manhattan.  

Brooklyn Bridge - from beneath

Statue of Liberty

What an awesome place for a boat ride!

Don't Miss the Webinars!!

April Uduhiri and Pat Marcus
 

Remember when I told you about the special place Pat Marcus holds in our hearts?  Well, here she is with April Uduhiri, another person who is very special to our family.  April is the Gladney Asia program caseworker that worked with our family through out Eliana's adoption.  She is the one who sent us emails like this one sent at almost 7:00 on a Thursday evening, long after I assumed we would not hear anything that day:

Subject:  :)

Erin – your CIS approval came back from the Consulate today and the dossier is complete! It will go out tomorrow to China.

Congratulations! We’re all excited to see you move forward another step towards bringing Xing Xing home.

Anyway, these are the ladies who spoke on the recent webinars about children available through Gladney's partnership program with various orphanages in China. You can see parts 1 & 2 here. They speak about all of the kiddos you see here.

And these are also the ladies that we plan to visit with in person on Sunday! YAY!!