gina00's comments

Ease Your Child's Transition: Learn Cultural Child Care Practices - Blog Entry

30 Mar 2007 12:12 AM

Hi Pam! I was just reading your all your blogs about your trip to Korea-it sounds like you adopted through Eastern Social Welfare Society. Our agency in Colorado works w/ Eastern also & your description of the guest house/nursery/hospital/prayer ceremony w/ Dr. Kim sounded much like it was last April/May for us. Now the nursery/hospital are on the bottom floors, w/ the guest house on the 3rd & 4th floors. We will be traveling again, hopefully soon, to adopt a daughter. We're just waiting on her visa. She will be a little older than our son was at the time we adopted him (he was 6 months 1 week at the time). She is currently 10+months old. We bought a pojegi in Korea to use w/ our son, but he hated it! I was thinking of bringing it w/ us to use on the plane & also another carrier in case she preferred something other than the pojagi. That really is hard when your new child has a hard time on an airplane! Our son had one difficult moment on each plane where he was inconsolable. W/ regard to the ladies wanting to hold your daughter/grabbing your daughter to hold-that happened at the airport for us too! The first time took me by surprise, & I gave her our son to hold, but then we decided they could hold his hands/touch him, but we were going to continue holding him!! I know you know first hand, since you also traveled to bring home your daughter, but I think that the most important thing you can do for your child is to travel to pick him/her up. We found meeting our son's foster family, being able to ask questions, seeing cultural practices firsthand, and of course the tremendous bonding that occurs on the plane ride home are invaluable to the overall bonding and understanding of your child.

Introducing My Family - Blog Entry

29 Mar 2007 10:29 PM

Hi Pam! What happened to Ed Paul? For some reason all his blogs seem to be erased/missing.

Adoption Books for Children: Focus on Korea and Vietnam - Blog Entry

06 Mar 2007 10:59 PM

Thank you for the book ideas :)

Book Review: Adoption Stories for Young Children - Blog Entry

06 Mar 2007 02:58 PM

We were foster parents for about 2 years & were open to adopting from the foster care system, but we ended up adopting from Korea instead. We are in the process of adopting again from Korea :) so hopefully soon our son will have a little sister :)

Book Review: Adoption Stories for Young Children - Blog Entry

28 Feb 2007 09:10 AM

Thanks for the book review! Do you know of any adoption books specific to Korea? (besides When You Were Born in Korea-we have that one ;) ) I think I just may write a story specific to my son's info to explain his own story w/ pictures of our trip to Korea, his foster parents there, journey home, etc. & have it bound at Kinko's. Thank you! Gina Swanson

Foster Parents Will Have Emergencies - Blog Entry

25 Feb 2007 11:25 PM

I couldn't agree with your more :) I can't think of a better practial application of James 1:27, "Pure & undefiled religion before God & the Father is this; to visit orphans & widows in their trouble & to keep oneself unspotted from the world." Being a foster parent &/or supporting the foster parents you know w/ help is truly reaching out w/ the hands of Christ. To all the Anne Marie's out there-THANK YOU! Your sacrifice is seen by the Father.

Abortion: A Pregnant Mom is Still a Mom - Blog Entry

24 Feb 2007 01:16 PM

Thank you for your article Melissa J.! My husband & I have struggled w/ infertility, and it always grieves me that so many kids are aborted. I wish birthmoms that abort would understand that there are so many parents/would be parents that would love to give their child a loving home.

Proposed Foster Care Reform in Texas - Blog Entry

24 Feb 2007 01:04 PM

Wow-w/ our first set of foster kids (3 girls), their dad had been in the foster care system for a time, too. It really is generational w/o some serious positive intervention & supports!!! These kids need a better system! Thank you so much for your articles! I really appreciate your insights!

Proposed Foster Care Reform in Texas - Blog Entry

22 Feb 2007 06:07 PM

I'm so glad we're discussing these issues. I really hope serious reform happens in the foster care system. It would be wonderful if all states were well regulated, where foster parents received good training and were validated and involved in making decisions that affect their foster child(ren). It would be my hope that all foster parents would be such because of a desire to help kids and not for any other reason. Ideally, the kids wouldn't be bumped from placement to placement. Ideally, foster kids would be able to continue to communicate w/ former foster parents through letter writing, so they can be encouraged by those who love them and know them. It grieves me that as a foster parent who parents these kids, when they leave your house you have no way of continuing to communicate w/ your "kids." I would love to encourage my former "kids" w/ letters, help them as they grow older, be there for them, etc. They will always hold a place in my heart.

On another note, it was our experience that the "system" was not forthcoming with prospective adoptive parents/foster/adopt placements. I think this sets kids & parents up for failed adoptions when the entire team is not being truthful about the kids' histories, behaviors, etc. We saw two very involved boys placed w/ a single lady who was not appraised of their needs & did not have experience with kids w/ significant behavioral issues, who had them as legal risk/foster adopt. Because the foster system was so eager to get these kids adopted, they failed to be honest w/ this lady about their real needs. Sadly, first the oldest was moved to another home, and then later the youngest was moved to anther home, both having behaviors that were too significant for her to handle. We've got to come up w/a better system to serve our kids. We should place them in the right home the first time, w/o further scarring them with multiple placements. To get to a position where we have "right homes" available, we need to give our foster parents positions as respected members of the foster kids' team.

Proposed Foster Care Reform in Texas - Blog Entry

22 Feb 2007 01:51 PM

I think the key is providing support & respite for foster families. As a foster family of two parents that were educators we strove to engage our foster children in all kinds of enrichment activities from vacations to museums, sports, etc., but having foster kids in our home that had severe needs, there was very little respite available for needed couple time for my husband & I. At one point we had to pick up our foster-son from his overnight respite after only about 15 min. b/c they couldn't handle him. When you have people that genuinely care about kids & want to help kids, you also need to provide the framework of understanding from the caseworkers/social workers, along with respite providers. Foster care can be very intense for your family, especially w/ triangulation, threats from bio parents, attachment disorder, etc. If either the county or the private foster care providers are not giving their families continued support, positive feedback, and opportunities for respite, it is impossible to keep providing that level of care.