Never Chosen

 This girl has never been chosen for hosting, although she has been on the photo listing at least three times in summers and winters past. I can not figure out why her and her brother have never been chosen and rarely have any interest shown to them...they are amazing kids and will blossom in a family!The children from this orphanage are close to my heart, as they are from the same one as Seroja. To see the photo listing of her and the other children available for summer hosting 

fill out the request at this link.

Our host coordinator Ginger met her at the orphanage and said she is shy, sweet, and calm yet curious.

Hosting is open to families anywhere in US-

The kids will fly into New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle. 

"L" & Brother "Y" 

This girl is just amazing . Everyone who gets to know her is charmed  by her magnetic brown eyes, her pure laugh, her gorgeous smile, and her great activeness. She is a little fidget who is never at one place. Liza likes playing outdoor games and likes being in the spotlight. 

She has a lot of friends and the love of all the teachers! 

"L" is an incontestable leader in the class! She has a very artistic personality. She takes an active part in all the holiday activities in the school: She is a member of school theater, and also likes singing and dancing. 

Hosting would be a great chance (perhaps the only chance) to find a family for her and her brother.

L's brother Y  

Just take a quick look into these amazing brown eyes. He is just a gift of calmness and serenity. 

Y is very diligent and responsible. The boy is non conflictive, that is why he has a great amount of friends of different ages and genders. As he is very kind and has a big loving heart, he is always a “defender” of the younger ones when there are some grapples between the boys in the school. He is also an adviser when something unfair is happening. He is always ready to help the teachers with cleaning or anything else asked to do. He is responsible for the order and neatness in his room. He takes care of his appearance and clothing. He is always tidy and handsome. He is one of the favorite among the teachers and one of the leaders among his peers! He also adores sports and is a member of school volleyball and soccer teams. 

His hobbies are also painting and drawing.

www.heartforhosting.org

"I wondered why somebody didn't do something. Then I realized, I am somebody."  

~Author Unknown


For more information on hosting, send me an e-mail at Hershonfamily@gmail.com 
or e-mail Ginger at Guglielmoshope@gmail.com or call her at (408) 710-8902. 

This sweet girl needs a family

EDIT 3/23- 

Our girl has a host family! All I know so far is they are in Texas (my home!)  This family is totally prepared for her diagnosis, is familiar and ready to go with her country! This news makes my week! For any families that were interested in V-We have received information on another HIV+ girl that needs a summer host family-turning 10 this year as well-that comes from my boy S's orphanage-you know I want to see her find a family as well! 

For more information about Sasha, go to this link here on my blog. 

"V" is one of the kids that I am really advocating for this summer! This girl was hosted last summer, and the family absolutely loves her and wanted to adopt her. However, their youngest has some severe health issues going on and they don't feel like it is God's plan. They are advocating for her to find a family as well! She is available for summer hosting, and if chosen, will arrive with the group in mid to late June, and will stay around 5-6 weeks. She can be hosted anywhere in US! This sweet girl needs a family.

Hosting is open to families anywhere in US-

The kids will fly into New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle. 

To see photolisting, go to this link and fill out request.

"V" (9 years old)

"V" is HIV+ and on anti-viral medications. She is active and especially enjoys swimming and ice skating. She loves young children and interacts well with them. She's not a very picky eater and loves most sweets. She is smart and helpful. Has been hosted before by a family that could not adopt her, and the host family believes she would do well in a family with children of any ages. Sweet girl! Our hosting director has met spent a lot of time with her as well. Everyone loves this girl!

She loves to talk, to be photographed, she likes to dance and perform, she has many friends, and is very articulate and interactive. She is HIV+, but she is a child, who deserves a monument - she knows when and how to take her medicine. When she was hosted previously, she was the one who had the biggest suitcase, but not filled with toys or clothing, as the other children, but with medicine. She was serious with border and customs and explained herself in an adult manner that these medicine she needs to take in time and why. The customs tough guys were barely holding their tears back....

If you know ANYONE that might be interested in hosting and hopefully adopting this wonderful little girl, please share this blog post and have them contact us ASAP!

For more information on hosting "V" or another child, go to: www.heartforhosting.org

‎"Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names.
They are easier to ignore before you see their faces.
It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms.
But once you do, everything changes."
-from Radical by David Platt

An Interesting Turn

I apologize in advance, as this post will be a little cryptic.

So the past few weeks have been full of some interesting turns for our family. We are at a fork in the road, and things are not at all clear. I feel like God could be telling us one thing OR he could just be using the situation we are in to show us we are supposed to stretch beyond our comfort zone.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

My girls are hosted!

I am so so excited. My very favorite two girls on the listing: "Y" and "V" have a host family! And the host mom saw them on my blog! They are going to an AMAZING family and I think they are going to have a fantastic summer!

The kids I call the "sad siblings" are on hold as well, but I can't take credit for that one! :-P (Edited to say-their host family has fallen through and these kids need a family!) 

For some reason, there are always a few kids that are close to my heart that never get picked for hosting. Usually not quite as cute, or not quite as young, but still great kids! So I think I will pick one or two a week and feature them on my blog. :-) Who knows, maybe their forever family will see them as well?

Kids Available For Summer Hosting

We have some new kids available for summer hosting. Hosting is available nationwide and we are hoping to fly groups into WA, San Francisco, FL, and Chicago. Please contact Ginger at Guglielmoshope@gmail.com ASAP or e-mail me at Hershonfamily@gmail.com if you are interested in any more info on any of these kids. I will be posting later about some kids that are on my heart that have never been chosen, but these are all younger kids that we just got information on yesterday. www.heartforhosting.org

Hosting is open to families anywhere in US-

The kids will fly into New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle. 

My favorites from this orphanage! I would host these girls in a heartbeat! V and Y- Her bio-Elder sister is a very diligent pupil and also just a stunning girl!She's very kind, a little shy cuz of her calm temper... However many can say she has even more friends than active kids have:-)Likes drawing, making appliques and modelling from plasticine. Loves animals-especially kittens. Likes fruits, juices and sweets. Both girls can come for hosting.

The younger girl is just a treasure - a diligent student, eager to help the peers and very-very kind!Likes drawing with her sister and playing with other children. As a creative person she likes walking alone somewhere in a park, enjoying the calm atmosphere... but not for too long - in some time she'll be right back, running aroud with an astonishing smile:-)

These kids tug on my heart for sure.

Only the oldest (I) can be hosted. "I" just arrived to the orphanage. She was so neglected and skinny, and has just started to recover. Her two younger siblings are too young to host. I. is eager to learn new things. She is a diligent, calm girl. Favorite activities are making puzzles and drawing. Not picky in food, likes varenyky (kind of Ukrainian dumplings) and sweets. A little shy. Loves kittens and puppies.

Only older girl on right-"M" can be hosted as her younger siblings are still too young. Bio pending.

A & O- Brother too little to come on hosting.

S & V- S is very talented girl - when we were at the orphanage she was taken to studio to have her song recorded.

www.heartforhosting.org

Good mail

We got our biomentrics appt date in the mail today! :-) Edited to say-Matt has some work stuff going during the time it's scheduled so we will likely be going in before it is scheduled. (March 12th)

For those that don't know the lingo- This is our appt for our fingerprints to be taken-for the FBI background check. This is crucial to getting our approval to adopt from USCIS and finishing our dossier. 

Why Host?

Why host an orphan? What's the point? What impact does it have? What happens during hosting? I hope this video answers some of those questions! (I know it's a pretty basic video but I am learning as I go along here) 

:-)

Our Timeline

Here is our timeline for hosting and adoption- up to now- (although it is missing some small details that will be added when I have the time later)

Adoption Timeline on Dipity.

Phone Call

For the past few weeks we have been trying to get permission to call S. (We had a phone number for his orphanage but we still do not have one for 2.0's) Well we got the phone number for a cell phone to call, and our contact over there got us permission to call. My amazing friend Natasha called and talked to his teacher, to let her know that we would be calling him. (And that we don't speak Russian)

His teacher told Natasha that he is doing really well. That he seems so much happier since he has been hosted. And after this most recent hosting, his schoolwork has really improved! I was so glad to hear that, as we did really work on it this time (his Russian reading especially). She said he tells stories about his time here and shows the pictures.

She said it would be best for us to call back in 30 minutes, as he was busy doing something at that time and was not around. SO I called back in 30 minutes.....Unfortunately my hubby was out like a light, sleeping by that point.

It was hard! I think I lost all my Russian in about 5 seconds. I was shaking so bad.
He couldn't understand half of what I said I think.

So when I called I just said hello.

She said, "Who is this?"
I said S's Americanski mama

She said something, (way too fast for me to understand in my pitiful Russian) and then she went and got him.

First thing I said "Baby?"
He said "Da"
Which is funny because he normally argues with me when I call him that.

And all my prepared questions went out the window
Because I was shaking.

So I tried to ask him questions. And he answered but I know he couldn't understand me part of the time
(or most really)

Then I think he handed her the phone back
Because I said I love you-to start wrapping things up.
And I heard her telling him to tell me he loved me in the background. lol. What a nice lady his teacher seems to be though. I am so glad.

And so he got back on the phone. And I said I love you again.
And he kind of forced it out. (Not his normal voice)
And she said-say "bye"
And he said bye

And I said bye I love you....and I then I got his real voice "bye and I love you" back.
I can tell the difference...lol. Oh that sweet little voice.

So after he got off with us-I'm sure he was either showing off as the "kid that got the phone call all the way from America" or embarrassed because his Americanski mama has such poor Russian. 

He's not much of a talker in general (in Russian, Ukrainian, or English) but I hope that he got the point that we love him...that we are thinking of him....that he is so so treasured. 

Operation Rescue

Please share the post at one of my favorite blogs.

Operation Rescue

Kolya: A chance for a new life

This amazing video was created by one of our host families 13 year old son. They are advocating for Kolya-who they hosted this winter-to find a host family this summer and hopefully a forever family as well. He is available for hosting this summer with CCC!

Preparation

After my excitement last week, (with sending our paperwork to USCIS) of course we had to have a little stress.

The reality of how quickly things are moving was a bit scary for my hubby. However, I do think it's completely natural to wonder "Are we prepared enough?" or "How in the world are we going to come up with the money for this?" etc. Thankfully we have shouldered through and are attempting to stay focused on what matters.

Please, if you think about it, keep us in your prayers are we are in such an important time period for making decisions for the adoption.

AND in case you were wondering how we are preparing for this adoption, this is what I am doing so far.


I have done lots of reading!

Adopted for Life by Russell Moore-Good if a bit dry.

**Highly Recommend:Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control by Forbes and Post**
Buy on Amazon

**Highly Recommend:The Connected Child by Purvis, Cross, and Sunshine**
Buy on Amazon

Adopting the Hurt Child-Keck and Kupecky- I don't really remember what I thought of this one.

Currently reading:
Wounded Children Healing Homes by Schooler, Smalley, and Callahan- and I really like it so far.

My next read will probably be Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control Volume 2
Amazon Link

And I have also read several (4-5) biographical books with accounts of children from "hard places."

I read a TON of "Trauma Mama" Blogs. :-) I probably read way too many of them, and am preparing for the worst case scenario....but I'd rather be over-prepared than not at all! You can see some of my favorites on the sidebar of my blog. This has been one of the best resources thus far....and I think it will continue to be so....even if we don't end up on the extreme spectrum, as it will give me connections with other mother's in similar situations.

Online articles:
http://empoweredtoconnect.org/resources/

Online training (haven't done this yet, it is on the agenda for the next few months):
http://www.adoptionlearningpartners.org/

I also think that one of the other important things we can do is make sure we make connections within our community. I want connections for the children, (there is a large eastern European community where we live) but also we need to build relationships for us as we will need a good support system in the days to come.


*Soon I will follow up with a post for how we are preparing financially as well!

Sent paperwork to USCIS!

It's hard to explain my how big my excitement was today, as I finally mailed our I600a application in to USCIS!

It was almost a surreal feeling....like I can't believe that we are FINALLY here to this point. (I had this same feeling when we got our home study in the mail this week.)

There is some amount of trepidation/fear of course....but mostly just great excitement and peace-to see how this next stage progresses.

We have friends that submitted about a week before us, and I am not sure what the processing timeline is right now? Does anyone know?

Online Auction for a WONDERFUL cause

This is an online auction to benefit the adoption of Moses, Noah & Jacob Archer! They come from the same orphanage as "Katie" who came home from Bulgaria-at 10 years old-with her body so malnourished, she was the size of an infant/toddler.
Treasures in Hidden Places

Read More About Katie

Winter Hosting Video!

Just finished the video with a bunch of the pics from the kids that came in with our group this winter! Check it out!