A Gift of Hope Adoptions

Join us for an adoption reunion picnic! We'll see many of our happily placed families, have some food, and give out great gifts and prizes to attendees! Come one come all, whether you're a current waiting family, a happily placed family, or considering using our services! For those of you in contact with your birth family this would make an excellent location for a reunion with them also! Birth parents, you of course are welcome as well, whether you are meeting up with your adoptive family, wanting more information about our services, or just want to see if all the hype is true. The location is at a local park so there will be plenty of space and playground equipment for the kids to play. Feel free to RSVP to info@agiftofhopeadoptions.com or on the Facebook event page!

When: September 29, 2012

Time: 11am – 4pm

Where: Burford Shelter, Cosmo Park

1615 Business Loop 70 West

Columbia, MO 65202

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A Gift of Hope Adoptions is moving! We have very much enjoyed our time in the Cherry Hill Dental building, however their office is expanding (good for them in these challenging economic times!) and they need our space. Our new office address is below, so please update your information! We will be at this location starting July 5, 2011. Our phone numbers and email addresses will remain the same. We look forward to serving you from our new space!

Another review, this time of a new adoption-themed children’s book called I’m Adopted and That’s a Great Thing by Nancy Ketchel. Nancy is an adoptive grandma, and quite proud of that fact. The book tells the story of what adoption means to a little boy in his every day life. It talks about how he looks different from his parents, his adopted brother and his twin cousins, and how he has a birth mom who loved him and gave him to his parents to raise. Particularly, it talks about how he loves his family (including his grandparents!) and that being adopted is a great thing. I love the sentiment of this book, and that it embraces transracial adoption as a great thing. If you are considering adopting, or have a child who is just starting to explore what adoption really means, I think this would be an excellent book to add to your reading list, particularly if engaged in a transracial adoption. The illustrations are child-friendly and appropriate to the 

the subject matter. Best of all, the last line on every page is “And that’s a great thing” which reinforces the sentiment to young children. Thank you to Nancy for allowing me to review this book and if you would like to purchase this book you can go to the website andthatsagreatthing.webs.com.  I’m so excited to see new adoption-themed children’s material becoming availablethat reinforces what we already know – that adopted children are loved, well cared for, nurtured and flourishing in their forever families. And that’s a great thing.

I wanted to remind everyone that the Dave Thomas Foundation is sponsoring an hour long program highlighting adoption from foster care on Tuesday, 12/23/08. It will air on your local CBS station from 8-9pm EST/CST or 7-8pm CST/MST. For more information check the Dave Thomas Foundation website. 

Speaking of 12/23, that happens to be my due date for my second child The blog will be a little sporadic over the holidays, although you might hear from Tina or Dewey. I wish everyone the best over the holidays, and we'll continue working on forever families for our clients in the new year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Don't forget – tomorrow is National Adoption Day! For ideas on how to celebrate go to www.nationaladoptionday.org. Congratulations to all you happy adoptive families out there, and for those of you still waiting keep your chin up, your child is out there and will soon be part of your loving home. 

Similar to medical history, you must also consider the state of health care in the country where you plan to adopt, both for the birth mother and the child. You must understand that health care, particularly prenatal care varies widely not only by country but by regions in countries, and prepare yourself for not only little to no prenatal care for the birth mother, but also little to no health care after birth for the child, at least not until the child is placed in an orphanage or foster home. While some countries have good quality of care, many do not, and there is no guarantee about the health care your child will receive. This is why if you do adopt internationally it is essential to find a pediatrician who is knowledgeable in this area and can help you catch up on immunizations and evaluate the developmental level of your child when you bring him/her home. Alternatively, while we do work domestically with birth mothers who get little to no prenatal care, the great majority do get standard prenatal care. If they have not received prenatal care when they contact A Gift of Hope Adoptions we do everything possible to get them to the doctor and help them find a way to pay for it, usually through Medicaid. Of course, the child then receives typical American health services from birth on (no babies born in a taxi yet for A Gift of Hope Adoptions!) and can be put on your health insurance usually from the time you receive custody of the child. Be sure to check with your insurance provider to determine when your child is covered and what you need to show them to provide that coverage. So while you may not have much health history in domestic adoption, you can be sure that from day one your child is receiving standard American health care at the very least, which is certainly not a guarantee in international adoption.