GOTCHA DAY

Court Date

Monday, February 9, 2009

AVA AND FAMILY








HOPE EVERYONE IS WELL. WE ARE ALL GOOD. ALL OF US ARE GETTING OVER COLDS. WE HAVE HAD FOOTBALL NIGHT WITH THE BOYS. AVA JUST LOVES TO GO TO THE FIELD AND PLAY. SHE HAS STARTED A NEW THING TODAY. FROM THE CRAWLING POSITION SHE PUSHES HER LEGS UP STRAIGHT WITH HER HANDS ON THE GROUND AND GOES INTO STANDING POSITION. SHE HAS TRIED TO TAKE A COUPLE STEPS BUT SHE ISNT THERE YET. I SAY WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH SHE WILL BE OFF AND RUNNING.

TONIGHT WAS SO CUTE. DAN PULLED UP IN HIS TRUCK ( HIS TRUCK IS LOUD) WHEN EVER AVA HEARS A TRUCK SHE THINKS ITS DADDY AND STARTS WAVING AND GETTING EXCITED. WELL TONIGHT SHE HEARD HIS TRUCK AND I SAID DADDY'S HOME AND SHE DID THIS LOUD HURRAY SCREECH AND THREW HER BODY ON THE FLOOR AND DID THIS WHOLE SHOW OF HAPPINESS. THEN SHE GOT UP STOOD AND TOOK A COUPLE STEP TO DADDY. IT WAS PRECIOUS. ITS DAYS LIKE THIS WE ALL LOOK FORWARD TOO.
OH DID I TELL YOU SHE IS A DADDY'S GIRL NOW.

THINGS SHE LOVES TO EAT: PIZZA, FRENCH FRIES.
SHE TRIED COLD CEREAL TODAY AND LOVED IT.
WELL THAT IS ALL FOR NOW. ONE OTHER THING.

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE PRAYERS. TODAY WE FOUND OUT DAN'S STEPFATHER BILL HAS STAGE 4 LUNG CANCER. WE WILL KNOW MORE TOMORROW WHEN HE GOES TO THE DR. WHAT WILL BE DONE.
MY MOTHER IS DOING WELL. SHE IS STILL DOING RADIATION AND CHEMO.

DAN SAID SOMETHING TO ME TONIGHT THAT HE HAS SAID MANY TIMES BEFORE AND I DIDNT WANT TO HEAR IT. HE SAID "WE ARE ALL DYING". IT REALLY SUNK IN THIS TIME. COMING FROM A PERSON THAT WORKS IN THE ER AND SEE'S PEOPLE PASSING ITS LIKE HE IS NUMB TO DEATH. I DONT KNOW IF I CAN BE SO NUMB.

“For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; ..”
I WISH EVERYONE A HEALTHY YEAR
at

2 comments:

Spence Ohana said...

Ah April, Ava does sound like a Daddy's girl. So cute! My prayers are with you for your sick family members, it's so hard to see our loved ones suffering - and the thought of them passing is even harder. I saw your sister and Matthew this weekend in CA. They came to my Oma's funeral at Holy Spirit. It was great seeing them.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 6:21:00 PM
PattiL said...

To think how she was when your first saw her! Daniel is now starting to mimick everything!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 1:32:00 PM

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Foreign adoptions down in Russia as foster care grows

Foreign adoptions down in Russia as foster care grows

Fewer Russian children are being adopted abroad, although the number of total adoptions in Russia is declining, figures show. The statistics point to a complex future for the country's orphans as the government struggles to implement additional means of foster care even as it tries to encourage more Russians to adopt.
According to the U.S. State Department, which released figures for the 2008 fiscal year, the number of foreign children adopted by Americans fell by 12 percent.
In 2008, there were 17,438 adoptions for abroad, while there were 19,613 in 2007. Much of this decline is due to fewer adoptees from Russia and China. Although Russia has not yet released statistics for 2008, the numbers from previous years confirm the trend.
There were 6,689 foreign adoptions in 2006, and only 4,536 in 2007 - a decline of over 30 percent - according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Education and Science, which is responsible for developing adoption programs and legislation in the country.
The United States is the chief destination for Russia's foreign adoptees - in 2006, American parents adopted 3,468 children, making up well over half of the total number of foreign adoptions.
But these numbers do not indicate that Russians are adopting more children. Of the adoptees, the share of those who remain in Russia has increased - from 7,767 in 2006 to 9,537 in 2007. But overall adoptions decreased in 2007 by about 3 percent. Indeed, the number of adopted children peaked in 2004 at 16,434, and has been declining ever since.
This is explainable by foster care programs. While adoptions declined, there has been a rise in the number of children in new, alternative foster care initiatives. Whi­le not adoptions formally, these included various kinds of foster care in which a child lives with a guardian or a family that is paid by the government. There are at least three kinds of foster categories apart from adoption. Although the government officially considers adoptions the best option for orphans, it has opted to develop these programs to bring down the number of children without parents.
Since 2006, more stringent laws regulating foreign adoptions have gone into effect. According to Yekaterina Bridge of the World Association for Children and Parents, that has meant more paperwork.
"In 2007, adoption agencies were getting accreditation based on new rules, and that has led to fewer adoptions," she told The Moscow News.
"The first accreditations were received only in June, 2007, and this caused a delay."
Explaining the decline in the number of adoptions, Bridge cited alternative forms of foster care, but noted that these forms had their drawbacks.
"Local officials in the provinces are wary of developing foster care because of the money issue. They fear children could be taken advantage of for the government subsidies."
While she said her agency was supportive of the government efforts to develop newer forms of foster care, she cited the latest figures for children without parents as "staggering."
As of December 31, 2007, 171,044 children were listed in the official adoption data base.
Officials acknowledge the need to encourage more Russians to adopt.
"Adoption is the top priority in placing children with families," says Alexandra Ochi­rova, who chairs the Public Cham­ber's Commission on Social and De­mographic Policy.
"But the statistics do not show that the problem is being solved. Since not enough children are being adopted, other forms of foster care are being offered."
Ochirova does not believe that foreign adoptions will solve the problem, however.
"There are various points of view, and the interests of the child should be put first," she told The Moscow News. "But I believe that this problem should be solved inside the country. This doesn't mean we should have a ban on international adoptions, but considering the demographic situation, it would be good to make the population better prepared to adopt Russian children."
Ochirova says that raising awareness, advertising, and easing bureaucracy would lead to more adoptions. There are many Russians willing to adopt, she says, but they are daunted by the bureaucratic process.

LOVE

Love... bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. - 1 Corinthians 13:7
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves."-- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7