Generational Gain

Families...the love and nurture they give. Our children....our gain/their gain. I’m sure this is a thought that has swept through the minds of most parents more than once in the wondrous road of parenting while quietly we "snap" a moment to store in the often dusty boxes of archival cellular matter. Stored for that unavoidable day when the cyclical changes of time have altered our terms of nurturing engagement.

A recent event had me savour just such a simple instance—my daughter learning to knit. Her Nana’s watchful eye, both encouraging and guiding as the generations easily share a moment in time...and a skill in the making.

Gosh, I do remember the tangle of wool and, yes, the doll clothes, poodle bottle covers and assorted filigree that I managed to complete before the said yarn and motion action like a vice turned tighter and tighter in my chest, snapping any continuation of this particular gift of family heritage for my generation.

The first piece: a "unique" scarf—a combination of wool, time, love, and generations. It seems that even my generation gets blended into this masterpiece as my daughter wants it to go to one of the Love Without Boundaries babies :-)

Family love and memories....what a gift we have...one we cherish and can spread the word about through the LWB Foster Care Program. To learn more about our Foster Care Program, please visit: http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/foster.cfm

Julie Flynn Coleman
Loudi Foster Care Coordinator

Toys

When I was a young child, I wanted to grow up to be Mrs. Santa Claus. This is because I wanted to have access to Santa’s giant sack containing every kind of toy in the world. I grew out of the Mrs. Claus phase by the time I was 6, but I doubt the excitement over seeing new toys ever really leaves a person.







It occurred to me this morning that I am creating new
Santa Clauses with our Foster Care Managers as they are being sent a variety toys and books, for every age group, to carry around with them when they do their monthly visit.


I can just see the curiosity on the children’s faces wondering what will come out of the sack. And the best part is that every child will get a new toy. But I am getting ahead of myself here on how this all started.

In order to more closely monitor developmental progress in the children, we have revised our foster care report format. The Henan programs were the first to try out the new format on our April reports.

The new report has several sections which include movement, vision & hearing, language, cognitive, and social development. The new format has been useful in determining where the children are developmentally. They also give the foster families ideas for age-appropriate activities to promote development. Each age group has different developmental milestones to check their progress against. The reports vary every other month so that the children have 2 months to work on their progress before they are tested again.

As we know from experience, children who have spent their first months in an institution may be somewhat delayed due to the lack of one-on-one attention that families can provide. We are hopeful that these new reports can more closely monitor the development of our foster children and we can intervene when necessary to get the best care for the kids as early as possible.

Much of a child's development centers on play. We have learned that many of the children do not have toys in the home that help promote their development and learning.


So, we are providing the foster care children age-appropriate toys so that they can be encouraged to develop to the best of their ability.

This will be a learning process for all of us to see if this format will help the children. We are hopeful that it will a the first step on the road to a brighter tomorrow.


Note: please disregard the child eating the book that we sent. This program is still in the trial stages.












For more information about our Foster Care Programs please go to:
http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/foster.cfm

Wishes Come True

Let me tell you all a story … Little Rosa came to my screen and into my mind on 13th Dec 05 . Funny just looking at that date now makes me intake a breath ...13 is my lucky number. I smile and think of China and numbers and cultural connection to luck associated with numbers :-)
Rose stared out at me from that first report sitting on her Foster Mom’s knee her head tilted to the right in what I now know as “her” stance in most all photos received over these last 2 years.
As I scanned over the report I wondered about her foster parents, trying to “get to know them” through that one photo. Trying to place this child and her parents in my mind. One of many children in Loudi foster care at that time.


I remembered on a visit I had made a month earlier that I had met a little girl with special needs matching hers ...I scanned my photos to see, match and understand. Little Rosa did stand out more than others because she came with some very special needs listed.

Time moved on and I went on several more visits to the program. Little Rosa became one of the constants in those visits as I wrestled to recognize the other newer children. Every time I received her report I would be overjoyed with her constant progress. Sitting on my sitting-room sofa I’d shout her updates out to my husband working in the other room, and would say yet again that I wanted her to have the chance of adoption ...but her Special need would probably make that impossible. Every time I finished my hollering to my husband I sent a wish for her to get the chance.

Then it happened!!

I visited Little Rosa last March and said my goodbyes. I gave her a Princess dress that my Loudi daughter Lian had worn.

Well in Sept I received word from her Mom then in China ...now the proud adoptive Mom to our little Rosa. Can any of you imagine my emotions when I read, “We got quite a bit of information and the foster family sent a photo album with a number of pictures (including the one of her in the princess dress you told me about). The ladies told us that she wanted to wear her princess dress all the time which I was happy to hear since everyone knows I wanted a girly girl. This morning when she and her brother woke up at 6 a.m. and it was still dark I peeked over the side of my bed and saw them holding hands. Then he gave Rosa’s hand a kiss and she gave his hand a kiss back. It was just so sweet” .

I end my story with Rosa’s new life emerging. The center of attention at this year's Thanksgiving dinner as she is the only girl in her home of doting uncles and brother. She had amazing Foster Parents who have loved her and taught her well. She had people in her orphanage who gave her the chance first of a foster family to call her own, and the gift of the very BEST family in the world.....her forever one.

...Sometimes those wishes do come true.

Julie Flynn Coleman

LWB Foster Care