ChinaBird

Greetings Friends!! I'm here today to tell you about one of the greatest young men there is, Xander! He's very quite but has a very loud personality. Xander will be 12 years old on June 20th of this year and although he can't verbalize it, his hearts desire is to find a forever family. I believe I've shared this before, but in China after kids reach the age of 14 they can no longer be adopted. They lose the chance to have a forever family of their own. As of June 20th, Xander only has 2 years to find his family. Last April, I wrote a blog post about Xander, we received several inquiries into Xander's adoption file, but haven't had a family step forwards just yet. Here is some of what I wrote last year...      "When he first came to SFCV back in 2008, Xander struggled to control his Autistic "meltdowns", he couldn't self soothe nor did he know how to effectively communicate his wants, needs, or feelings. Although a sweet boy, he was at...

Hey guys! It's been a time of great movement and fluctuation in our program. This last few months we've added Six new faces and I'd like to introduce them to you all! Charlie Charlie came to SFCV back in December. Guys - this kid, ahhhh, He's the sweetest child!! He has such a gentle and loving spirit. Before Charlie Arrived at SFCV, he had never had the ability or been given the chance to stand or walk on his own. In the short time that we've been working with Charlie he's made tremendous progress. He now propels himself in his wheelchair, can stand (with some assistance) for about 12 minutes and has even begun to take steps using a platform walker! He's such a hard and determined worker. We're seeing Charlie for PT and OT. Samuel Samuel came this last December from another foster home in Beijing. He's 8 years old and oh so hilarious! He's got quite the dry sense of humor, but when he's got a smile that can warm any soul. Desp...

Hey All! I'm sure some of you may be wondering where the ChinaBird has been over the last 4 (ish) months and why the sudden hiatus from writing? First off, lets get one thing straight, sadly I've never been great with blogging - I try and will continue to share my heart, thoughts and happenings here at SFCV, but I'm not perfect. Second, if I'm being 100% honest- I've just been busy! Here's a quick recap of some the things I've missed sharing with you all. A visit to America's Homeland: Mid- December to early January I was back in Chicago with family and friends for the Christmas and New Years holidays. As always it was a great time home reconnecting with the ones I love and the ones who raised me and gave me life! To say I was refreshed, would be an understatement! While in the midwest, I was able to take a short drive over to the great state of Indiana to visit one of my old pals, Patrick. Some of you may recall, Patrick was one of our kiddos he...

Good Morning America and Happy Election Day Y'all! Now, if you're like me, you're probably not completely thrilled with the candidates in the U.S. Presidential election. Honestly, I did my duty as an American citizen and cast my vote, but am I thrilled? Not really. Anyway, on this day that is so often divided between two parties, I think I've got something that can unite us all regardless of political stance. Today's post is about a kid that has my vote no matter what he does in life, no matter what profession he pursues, no matter what he decides to study, honestly...Richard always has my vote! Guys! Richard. He's so awesome - one of the coolest 10 year olds I know! Richard came to SFCV from his orphanage in Fuzhou when he was 6 years old. He has Unilateral Cerebral Palsy, meaning he has high tone and spasticity that effects only the left side of his body. Over the last 4 years that he's lived here, he's made incredible gains socially, emotionally,...