Anxiously Awaiting – A Journey Through Adoption

I simply can not believe that it’s the last day of January. Time goes so so quickly. Here are some of the waiting children that are available to be adopted…

Here in Arizona, we have many children who are waiting for homes.    You can get to know them and learn more at Arizona Heart Gallery.

Spence-Chapin has waiting domestic infants with special needs.

Adoption & Family Network, Inc. (AAC) has 17 children on their waiting kids list.   These children are in China and Korea.

One of AAC’s children has really touched my heart, and we were considering her when we were contacted by Grace’s birth parents.  Her name is Madison (her link is under the Korea Waiting Children), she’s two years old and she is the most darling little girl.   Madison has a chromosomal abnormality called DiGeorge Syndrome (also known as Velo-cardio-facial syndrome or 22q11.2).    It is a deletion on the 22nd chromosome, and the effects of this vary greatly.   While most people have never heard of it, it occurs in about 1 in 4,000 newborns – though possibly more as some individuals may never be diagnosed due to having very few signs or symptoms.

About two years ago, our daughter Bella was tested for this disorder, due to her having velopharyngeal incompetence.   This is rarely seen outside of DiGeorge Syndrome, but after a full genetics work up, it was determined that she did not have it.    But given genetics work ups are slow, I had plenty of time to research the issue.    So when we came across Madison’s profile, and saw her diagnosis, it instantly struck a chord in me.   While we were starting to review her records, we were contacted by Grace’s parents, and obviously ended up pursuing that option.  But little Madison has stayed on my mind.    If an international waiting child is an option for your family, please get to know a little more about Madison.   While DiGeorge Syndrome can sound a bit scary when you first hear about it, most children and adults with it lead very normal lives.   And there are AMAZING support groups throughout the country for it.   I really hope that Madison finds her forever family this year.

Happy Friday! This week I’d like to introduce Chris and Dana. Here’s what they have to say….

Hello and thank you for taking the time to learn more about us. We, Chris and Dana, are hoping to grow our family through an open adoption. We love being parents more than anything in the world and can’t wait to welcome more children into our hearts and home. We would be honored to have the opportunity to become parents again and to provide a loving home and family to a child who needs one.

We live a simple life and cherish our time together as a family.  Dana is a stay-at-home mom who has an unbelievable passion for children and family and Chris is a structural engineer who has an amazing way of connecting with others and a wonderfully optimistic attitude.  Addison is our 4 year old sweetheart.  She is loving and sensitive and has an imagination that we treasure.  There is nothing we love more than being parents and watching this little person grow before our eyes.

We believe that families expanded by adoption are special and should be honored.  Our children will always know their birth and adoption stories and the wonderful way we became a family.  We value openness in adoption and will work with our adopted child’s birthparents in support of openness.

Please contact us at chris.dana.adoption@gmail.com or you may call Greater Hopes Family Services at (616) 451-0245 with any questions about our family.

Warmest Regards,

Dana and Chris