A Perfect Day! {Advocacy Camp}

Today we took a field trip to a children's educational play center. From the moment we entered the building the children's faces shown with delight. Laughter and squeals filled the rooms as we moved from the indoor playground, to the cotton candy makers and frozen yogurt machines.  

Imaginations came to life as they expressed their creativity through craft projects. 


After lunch they all became little chefs complete with jacket, scarf and hat! The amazing chef captivated their attention not only by demonstrating the process but provided individual attention to the children.  

The final activity of the day was fishing (and for one girl, swimming!) Not only did they get to catch the fish, they got to take the fish home! 10 little children and 40 goldfish boarded the bus home in pure joy!

All About the Babies! {Shanghai}

Today the Superkids team spent the morning back at the Shanghai Children's Home. We saw most of the older kids yesterday so today it was all about the babies!

We started out with two little 1 year olds, Gia and Gordon, whom we have met three times now. We first met them last April when they were only a few months old! Now they are getting big and doing so many great things! Little Gia is walking! She is just darling and we are looking for a family for her right now!

Gia

Next came Gloria and Holly, doubling the cuteness factor in the room! Holly is sweet as sweet can be and patiently allow Keely and Darla to undress her and do anything they needed to do. The only time she really cried was when Keely put her down on the floor. She loved the fruit puffs Keely offered her and the crackers her family sent her. Gloria was pretty sober for a while but my did that change when the bubbles came out! She waved her little arms and smiled as she tried to reach them. Of course Martha and I were all over that and had the videos and cameras rolling and snapping!

Holly

Gloria

We saw a precious little boy with Thalassemia who wasn't feeling too great today. We tried to get him back to his own room as quickly as possible so that he could rest!

Then it was Heath. Oh my goodness! Heath! I couldn't wait to get here and kiss those little cheeks! And he acted like he had just been waiting for that very thing! He snuggled and smiled and giggled and had us all totally wrapped around his chubby little finger in no time! This incredible 9 month old baby boy needs a family. We are looking for a family with a Log In Date for him. If that is you please contact Mary Chapman at mary.chapman@gladney.org.

Susanna entered the room next. She is stunningly beautiful and the smile that lit her face as we told her about her family and showed her the photos of them was perhaps the best moment of the whole morning.

We saw a new little guy as our last child for the morning. He had such an amazing giggle! April had a great time getting that little giggle out of him!

Now we are back at the hotel early. The advocacy camp folks are still out with their campers. I can't wait to hear how their day went!

Tomorrow morning we travel to Changsha, so get ready to see some Changsha beauties over the next few days!

Advocacy Camp- Day 1!

Today we kicked off Gladney's very first advocacy camp in Shanghai.  Our group of advocates is diverse, with a China adoptee, a number of prior-adoptive parents, & even an adoptive grandmother who wanted to play and get to know the amazing Superkids.

We arrived at the orphanage and jumped right into a day of fun with the kids.

These are amazing kids!! Our advocacy camp team played ball & balloon catch...

Bubbles...

Bubbles...

And more bubbles!

Legos...

Playdoh...

And even just picked up the kids and raced around the room!!

It was great to see how each advocate seemed to gravitate to one or two special kids.  The pictures speak for themselves!  It was an amazing day!

Tomorrow the advocacy team will get to spend another day playing and getting to know these amazing kids.  

We adore these kids and hope that each one of them finds their perfect family.

Stay tuned! We will have more updates throughout advocacy camp week.  What a unique and wonderful opportunity this is for the advocacy camp and for the superkids.  We will share more from China soon!

Our First Day In Shanghai

We had such a great day at the Shanghai Children Home! We saw so many great children and got to see some of our matched kids and deliver packages from their families. What a fun thing to see little ones looking at pictures of their families for the first time!

We also got to see some of the sweeties we are advocating for right now. Jack is as adorable as ever!

And Helen is an absolute doll! My goodness did we all fall head over hills in love with her all over again!

And then there was Henri. We thought he was amazing when we read his file, but meeting him! He is so incredible! Please ask about this awesome little boy! He is smart and bright eyed and to see him playing ball with us was just beyond cute!

And I could go on and on, but I can't list all of the precious kids we saw today! So I'm going to stop with this. But please ask us about these kids! We can't wait to tell you all about them. Contact April Uduhiri at april.uduhiri@gladney.org for more information.

Shanghai

We arrived in Shanghai! We are exhausted but we already had some wonderful food! Now it is time to sleep. More tomorrow!

Henri

Five-year-old Henri is one of those boys with a sparkle in his eyes. 

He was born missing his left tibia (club foot) but he doesn't let that stop him! His caretakers describe him as quiet, shy and obedient, and he enjoys humming along with songs on the television. 

He has expressed his wish to have a family of his very own. We will be meeting him next week, so should have updated information soon!

Could you be his family? Please contact Mary Chapman at mary.chapman@gladney.org for more information!

Hayden

Hayden is 6 years old! 

He has thalassemia and related siderosis. What a lovely, sweet smile this boy has! He pulls you right in. 

The Superkids team will be meeting Hayden this month. Can you image how well this lively little boy would do in a family of his very own? 

Please contact Mary Chapman at mary.chapman@gladney.org for more information!