It is National Adoption Month in the USA. Read all about it HERE.

I was sitting in my room today wondering about the miracle that Sarah is now German. I got a letter from The US Dept. of Home Land Security stating that Sarah is not a US citizen. We need to apply for yet another visa that cost $500 (we already spent over $600 for the first visa, traveled to Guangzhou during the trade fair, and traveled to the USA). All of this would REALLY BOTHER ME, but it doesn’t because Sarah now has a German passport. She is no longer Chinese, she is German. She can travel on a European passport. She doesn’t face deportation. With the USA I went to the trouble of crossing every T, and dotting every i but it was not enough. With Germany, I did not even have a visa…but they let us in (this really was a miracle)! If I wait until Sarah lives with us 2 years I can apply for yet another US visa that only cost $15, I’m going to wait! I’m just grateful Sarah is now German!

My blogger friend Kristy just announced they have a daughter. She has us on pins and needles waiting for details, but WOW!!! Kristy I am so happy for your family!!! Keep checking her blog for the big update. I hope it will come soon! It has to be encouraging to see there is an end to this endless process!

HERE is Love With out Boundaries newsletter! What a great group of people doing a wonderful job helping the kids in China. If you can not adopt an orphan, but you still want to help the kids LWB is a great place to give some money. Your help will really save and change lives!



If you link on to Amazon.com (at the bottom of this page) from my website then 10% of what you buy goes to LWB and the good programs they have for orphan children in China. If you plan to buy books or gifts on Amazon then just use the Amazon link below!

Sarah stayed with her very first babysitter last night. I guess she cried for a few minutes, but then was fine. We woke her up for a few minutes after we got home from dinner. She was a little shaken up. Then I began telling her how proud I was of my brave girl! She got the biggest smile on her face. We crossed a very important mile stone. Hopefully Juergen and I can get out more and more. We had a super time with our friends. There were 8 of us eating a feast at a Chinese restaurant. I miss my friends! I have great friends!

Today is Halloween. The kids will probably go trick or treating for an hour tonight. Then they are going to an alternative party at a local Baptist church. Sarah has a number of costume options. We haven't decided what she will wear. Philip is going as Spiderman, and Thomas isn't sure yet either. We have a costume trunk...and he has choices. I would love to see photos of your kids Halloween costumes. If you have a link to your child’s costume on a blog, please add it to my MR Linky. Have a very sweet and safe day!

Here is a warning about a movie that is about to come out called The Golden Compass. It is something you may want to think twice about. In the end of the book trilogy the children kill God. It is a very anti God movie to counter CS Lewis.

I want to tell you about a 2 year old boy in China that needs a mom and dad. He has
tetralogy of Fallot, this is a very common heart defect that can be corrected with surgery. My oldest daughter Jessica was born with ToF. It is very correctable. This cute boy's file is due to be returned to China soon. The agency has received a grant from A Child Waits. Along with the agencies grant of $1500, and a normal fee reduction for SN kids, The fee's have been reduced between $5000-$6500. If you know anyone who may want to adopt a really cute boy with a very correctable heart condition HERE is the information.

His file says this about him...
He is very handsome little guy. His eyes that are not big, but very bright and his round face make him very adorable. He is very lovely and brave. He likes to play outside. He is also very happy when he plays indoors with other children. He likes to watch TV when he has nothing to do. He will shake his buttocks with the music on the TV programs. He is so funny at this moment. When he plays games with others, he likes to play balls, shake hands and tell nursery rhyme most.


I also found more photos and information about this little boy they are calling Justin (they don't list the childs real name). It is on a family site. These people met Justin and took pictures. They say he is a real great kid! When you look at this web site, just click on pictures, and there is more information about Justin.


One more word...with the adoption tax credit Americans get, this adoption is basically free!

I got a wonderful package today from my blogger friend Jill at Waala house of fun . Jill it made me cry! You are so thoughtful! Thank you so much for the birthday gift!!! Jill even got a gift for Philip (they share the same birthday). I'm sending you a christmas gift! You are the BEST!!!

Hi, I just joined the fall blogger give away. I'm number 288 on the list. I'm going to send a box of German Chocolate Christmas ornaments to the winner of my give away. The winner will be chosen from the people who leave me a comment to this post. If you want to sign up to win many other prizes, follow this link...it will lead you to loads of other great prizes. Leave me a comment by Friday to enter the give away.

If you are just visiting my blog for the give away, it is all about waiting for, traveling to, and adjusting to our 4 year old adoptive daughter Sarah. She came from Nanjing, China. She is our 5Th child. We live in Germany. I am a Christian and I have a passion for adoption. I believe every child should have a family. If you are thinking about adoption, or just curious about helping orphans I hope you'll consider visiting our blog over and over! We also have a family blog. Thank you for stopping by!

While I'm thinking about it, here is more information about Hep B. There is a great yahoo group for families with Hep B+ adoptive kids. These people know much more then I do. If you adopt a child with Hep B, you will need to monitor their blood. If their virus is active you'll need to have the disease treated. There are different types of Hep B, and some types of the disease respond to certain drugs better then other types. The drugs they have to treat this disease are always improving. They expect to be able to cure Hep B in 5-10 years. I hope Sarah will not have to deal with this forever! Try to find a Dr that has experience treating children with this disease. The local Dr is OK for the monitoring stage, but find a Dr for treatment just in case you need it.

If a person gets Hep B (not born with it) they will probably get pretty sick. They may become very tired or experience flu like symptoms. They should find a liver treatment center. They can probably recover with treatment. Untreated they could develop serious liver problems. Hep B attacks the liver.

People with Hep B should do everything they can to protect their liver. Some drugs and some foods are not the best thing for them. They should never drink alcohol. They should also be vaccinated agents Hep A, and avoid risky behavior that can cause them to contact Hep C. You always hear about people with Hep B developing liver cancer. This can happen. Generally it happens to older people and to those who were not careful with their liver (drinking and smoking etc). Men have a higher rate of liver cancer. It is very important to test their blood every 6 months so if the body starts to recognize and fight the virus it can be treated.

People with Hep B can have children. The partner needs to be vaccinated agents the disease, and the baby should have the vaccination right after birth. Also in a world where there is HIV, and other sicknesses all our children should be taught not to engage in risky sexual behavior. Kids with Hep B even more so!

Children with Hep B can do nearly everything anyone else can. Swimming for example is something Sarah loves to do. If she gets a bloody nose or cut, that is what the chlorine in the pool is for. It kills the virus. We need to be careful and responsible but it doesn’t affect us much. The biggest thing is really being careful to protect Sarah. We are due for another blood draw soon. She is a brave kid. She takes having her blood drawn very well. I’m very proud of her. If you have any questions about Hep B, I’ll try to answer you. I hope people will consider adopting a child with this special need. There are so many children that wait because people are afraid. You don’t need to be afraid. It is really pretty easy to handle this special need. Many children in China are not even allowed to attend school if it is known they have Hep B. I could never imagine Sarah, who has such a hungry mind not being allowed to learn because of this minor special need. Some of you have the power to change their whole futures just by getting past your fear and saying yes to them. I do not think of Sarah as having a Special need, I only see her as special!

If you want to send a Spook-E-mail created by Better homes and Gardens then just click here. It is a cute e-card that talks.

I ended up having a very nice birthday. I talked to allot of family and friends on the phone. They made me feel very loved! The movie was a bit stressful. I let the boys bring one friend. 3 boys together can get very loud! They tend to egg each other on. It wasn't the nice bounding time I had hoped for. The movie was really cute, but a little too long for Sarah. She still isn't use to too much. She lived such a calm boring life in the orphanage. She ended up having a very big temper tantrum on the way home. I've gotten pretty good at calming her down. She ended up saying she was sorry to me and the boys before we arrived home. Still, the noise gave me a head ach.
My wonderful neighbors gave me this cute book on smiling. I scanned a few of the pictures for you. I've got great neighbors! Juergen and Nicole made it home from Hanover by 10pm. I got to eat birthday cake with my sweetheart. You know everything else is just frosting on the cake…Juergen is the greatest gift I could ever have!
Tomorrow night, God willing, I get to go out to diner with Juergen and some friends. My brave and wonderful friend Kerstin will try to baby-sit Sarah for the first time. Sarah loves Kerstin so I hope it will work out good.

Here are the links to a few families that got their kids today...

Forward to Lily


Rylee for Life

It is such a beautiful thing to see children being brought into their forever families!

Well, I just talked with Juergen on the phone. We did not win a Werte award. The man that did win the award was about 73 years old. He helps families nearly full time who have a dying family member. He, in other words cares for those who care. The man does such a special thing I can say honestly it is an honor we were even considered in the same category. Juergen had no chance to promote adoption. That is OK too. We learned allot about the need, and we will pursue a path to help provide more money for families that would like to adopt. Who knows, perhaps in 20 years we may even deserve to win this award. Today I am really honored to have been nominated. I want to thank everyone who took the time to vote for us online. You are really great! Thank you Claudia for even thinking of us.

This morning I was cuddling in bed with Jessica and Sarah. I looked forward to the extra hour of sleep (our clocks get set back one hour today). The light switched on at 7:15 am (new time). It was Thomas with a big birthday hug and this cool picture of a mission to mars. Mann...how sweet! I miss Juergen and Nicole this morning, and the coffee I'm sure they would have made me. Still, how many people are blessed by a world class trip to the red planet?

Tomorrow is my 46Th birthday. Juergen and Nicole (our A-team) will be in Hanover to represent our family at the Werte awards. I'm a little sad I won't be with them on my birthday but we have great plans to celebrate on Tuesday instead. I hope God will bless their time in Hanover. I have a babysitter tomorrow afternoon for Jessica. I hope to take Philip, Thomas and Sarah to see the movie RATATUI. I remember my last birthday, and also Christmas. All I wanted was to have Sarah home. She is home now. Praise God!!! I will try to enjoy a bag of pop corn for all those waiting families who would do just about anything to enjoy such a day!

More on Hepatitis B...
How do we protect our family (we have 4 other children) and others from getting Hep B? Before we got Sarah we went to the Dr. and had our blood drawn. We checked to make sure everyone in the family was immune to Hep B. It turned out that Philip and Thomas were not immune; even thou the shot records from Thailand said they had been vaccinated. In fact we had to redo all of Philip and Thomas' vaccinations (not all at once but one at a time). The vaccination for Hep B is actually a series of 3 shots taken over a course of about 9 months. We are all immune to Hep B, but we will have this checked about every 5 years just to be safe. I feel perfectly safe in wiping Sarah’s bloody noses and scraped knees. I would use rubber gloves if I had an open wound on my hand. We do not share a tooth brush with Sarah, and she also has her own finger nail clippers. When she is older she will need to handle her menstrual blood carefully, and have her own raiser if she wants to shave her legs. I also clean the bathroom sink with bleach just to make it safe for everyone who uses it.
Most people have the Hep B vaccination, but not all people. If you have a child with this disease, you are not required to tell people. In fact most people suggest you don't tell people because a child can not protect themselves from the possible prejudice of others. We live in Germany, and mostly people from the USA and other countries read my blog. Only a few locals read my blog. For this reason I feel comfortable writing about Sarah. I have told the teachers at Sarah’s kindergarten. They need to know how to handle things correctly if she has for example a nose bleed. It is a very good kindergarten. The staff has been very well trained. I do not tell the other parents. If one of the kids does get exposed to Sarah’s blood, the staff has an obligation to inform the parents. If that child isn't already vaccinated for Hep B (the kindergarten has everyone’s vaccination records as a normal part of the kindergarten registration) then the child needs to go get a vaccination with in 48 hours. If they get vaccinated they will most likely not get Hep B. I also tell Sarah’s dentist, and her Dr. Most people do not need to know. They do not run any risk of exposer to her blood.
When we were in Oregon, Sarah got a small bloody nose at a pizza restaurant. It was only a few drops of blood all on a paper of napkin. I put the bloody napkin on the table. Then I thought, no I should not have done that. I told the manager to spray the table with bleach just in case (Hep B virus can live for 7 days on a surface). He thanked me, and after we left He took the table out of the room and washed it down with bleach. He was not worried. He had the vaccination (most people do). It was just being careful. That is what we do...we are careful. It is not hard to handle this!

So...let's start talking about the special need Hepatitis B+. Hep B is a virus found in the blood. It is spread like HIV, by blood and through sexual contact. It can not be spread from casual contact, a kiss, urine etc... You can only get it by direct contact with blood. Sarah most likely got exposed to Hep B at birth. There is a very good chance her birth mother did not even know she had the disease. Most people who have a chronic case of Hep B have no symptoms. Their bodies do not recognize the disease as a virus, and do not try to fight it. If Sarah begins to fight the disease, she will get sick. If her body fights the disease, she could get permanent damage to her liver if we do not treat the Hepatitis. This is one reason we must monitor her blood (once every 6 months she must get her blood tested). If her liver values go up, we will probably begin treating her with drugs. They have very good anti viral drugs that are pretty good at fighting this disease. On the one hand you hope they never get sick. You hope their body never recognizes the virus. On the other hand you hope they do get sick. If they start fighting Hep B, they can (with the help of the new drugs) actually convert from a positive to a negative status. We actually pray for Sarah's status to reverse. Then she will be totally free from this sickness. I will write more tomorrow.

Isn't this a cute 5 year old? Here is her adoption information. Her special need is Hepatitis B. Sarah is also Hep B +. Juergen and I thought about weather we should tell people about her SN. Many parents advise you to keep the information to your selves. Some people get nervous about being around people with an infectious disease. We felt like most of our friends and family already knows, most people already have a vaccination agent the disease. Many children on the waiting lists have this special need. We find it pretty easy to manage. We hope that our being open will help encourage other families to consider adopting a Hep B+ child. I'm hoping the people I know in Germany will not show any prejudice towards us or Sarah. We hope that we are not making a mistake by being open about this...but that our openness will help others. Anyway, I will be writing what I know about Hep B over the next few days.

These 3 kids are available for adoption in Washington State. They are very involved in their church activities. They are active children who enjoy doing many different things, both indoors and outdoors, including art, music, and sports. They have done great in foster care and are now ready for a forever family. If you think you might want to adopt, but don't have the budget for an international adoption then maybe these 3 kids could be your answer! You can read about these kids HERE. If you look on this page, they even have a video clip of these 3 sweethearts!

This is from the agency website

We’ll waive both your $250 application fee and your $2,000 adoption fee if you adopt a child who’s 7 or older (that includes many of the children featured in A Family for Me), or a child with significant medical needs. E-mail the US Kids program for more information.


Adoption Requirements
Singles and all couples are welcome to adopt. Remember that children affected by neglect and abuse have particular immediate and long-term needs. In order to adopt such a child, you should know about these needs and be willing to address them. You're required to complete the foster and adoptive parent training available in your community.
You'll need to have a homestudy completed by a licensed adoption agency. WACAP conducts homestudies in Washington, Oregon, New York, Connecticut and Alaska only; in other states, WACAP can give you the names of licensed agencies.

You may specify the child’s age, gender and ethnicity. We serve children and families of all ethnic backgrounds. Families who can document Native American ancestry will receive priority for Native American children. In some situations, it may be easier to adopt if you obtain a foster care license.



Travel Requirements
To help your adopted child make the transition to your home, you will be asked to visit the child in his or her state of residence.


Required Documents
Approved homestudy


TOTAL FEES AND ESTIMATED COSTS: $3,750
* These fees are waived for families who adopt a child who's 7 or older, or a child with significant medical needs.
** Family may use no-interest loan for this fee—see financial assistance section below. Or, services may be covered by state reimbursement.
*** Varies by agency; may be waived.