Grey’s Anatomy Actress Adopts Baby

Actress Katherine Heigl and her husband, Josh Kelley, have completed their adoption of a baby girl from Korea.

The couple have named the 10-month-old Nancy Leigh, after the actress’s mother Nancy and her sister Margaret Leigh, said Heigl’s spokeswoman Melissa Kates.

The little girl will go by the nickname Naleigh.

The couple are putting photos of their daughter up on the www.jasonheiglfoundation.org website. The foundation was started by Nancy and Katherine Heigl in loving memory of their son and brother. The sites focus is to increase the awareness of inhumane animal treatment. They also have Heigl Hounds of Hope which finds homes for large dogs in shelters.

Heigl plays Dr Izzie Stevens on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and is currently shooting the film “Life As We Know It”. She was also in the popular movie, “27 Dresses”.

She and Kelley, a singer-songwriter, have been married since 2007.

Famous People who once were either a foster child and/or were adopted.

I recently saw some interesting profiles on famous people who had once been in foster homes. Some of their stories were inspiring.

Daunte Culpepper, the Minnesota Vikings football player, for example, was born in prison. His birth mom had been a prostitute. He was placed in a foster home with a wonderful mom. When he was 5 years old, his birth mom was out of prison and ready to regain custody of Daunte. He was quite sad about being away from his beloved foster mom. Eventually his birth mom agreed to let him go back to his foster mom where he stayed for the rest of his youth. He was quoted as saying, “She loved me enough to let me go.”

Famous People who were Adopted

Historical figures:

Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia; Aristotle, Greek Philosopher; Julius Caesar, Roman Emperor; Crazy Horse, Lakota War Chief; Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa; Moses, Jewish Prophet; Brigham Young, Mormon religious leader; Dalai Lama, Exiled leader of Tibet

Sports Figures

Mark Acre, Baseball Player; Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Figure skaters; Daunte Culpepper, Football player; Eric Dickerson, Football player; Evonne Goolagong, Tennis player; Tim Green, Football player; Scott Hamilton, Figure skater; Greg Louganis, Diver; Alonzo Mourning, Basketball player; Mike Tyson, Boxer

Actors/Musicians

Richard Burton, Actor; Dean Cain, Actor; Melissa Gilbert, Actor; Deborah Harry, Singer; Faith Hill, Singer; Ray Liotta, Actor; Little Richard, Singer; Marilyn Monroe, Actor; Priscilla Presley, Actor; Shania Twain, Singer

Politicians

William Bradford, Political leader; Bill Clinton, US President; Gerald Ford, US President; Newt Gingrich, Politician; Samuel Houston, General and politician; Andrew Jackson, US President; Jim Ross Lightfoot, US Representative

HHS Awards $35 Million to States for Increasing Adoptions

The US Dept of Health and Human Services awarded $35 Million to 38 states and Puerto Rico for increasing the number of children adopted from Foster Care. In order to be awarded funds, states had to increase the number of children adopted relative to baseline data. They specifically were awarded more funds for each child over the age of 9 adopted and children with additional special needs.

I have spoken to a couple state offices that were awarded funds. They are very proud of what they have achieved and plan to continue to increase the number of adoptions in their state. All children are deserving of the safety and stability of a family.

States receiving the award are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Puerto Rico also qualified for an incentive award.

Victoria Rowell’s Wedding Celebration

Earlier this week my sister-in-law mailed me an article from the July 12 New York Times. It was about the wedding of Victoria Rowell and Radcliffe Bailey. Victoria is best known for being an actress. She was in “The Young and the Restless” and “Diagnosis Murder”, as well as movies. Victoria is also a child advocate and author.

Victoria spent her childhood in foster care. In 18 years she was with many different families and collected lifelong memories from each. She shares her experiences in her book, “The Women Who Raised Me”.

In the article from the Times, her relationship with her husband is discussed as well as the beautiful ceremony. A group of the foster moms that raised Victoria led the processional into the church. The last foster mom she lived with, Sylvia Silverman, was quoted as saying, “It’s a wonderful union”.

After reading this article, I was intrigued by Ms. Rowell’s life as a foster child and her work with foster children today. I did a search on her name in order to find her website. Here is some information I learned after reviewing her site.

“Rowell Foster Children’s Positive Plan” was founded by Victoria Rowell in 1990 as a non-profit organization. The group strives to enrich foster children’s lives through artistic expression. The many programs allow children to attain a strong self-image, self-confidence, and a sense of personal achievement. At some of their camps, for example, children are able to reunite with siblings they were separated from when they went into foster care. Her website states that some studies have found that up to 75% of children in foster care are separated from at least one of their siblings when placed in foster care. Another focus of their programs is to promote participation in the fine arts or athletics.

Rowell has also been the national spokesperson for the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s direct service arm, Casey Family Services. She has contributed much in the education and support of foster children. She uses her status as a celebrity to bring awareness about foster care to a national audience.

Ms. Rowell is someone to commend for her achievements in helping children. I recommend you visit her website and read some of the success stories written by foster children who were helped by RFCPP.

www.rowellfosterchildren.org

Victoria truly honors the foster families that raised her by the life she is leading today. AWS wishes her the best in her union with Mr. Bailey.

Foster Care

The Wikipedia definition of Foster Care is:

A system by which a certified stand-in “parent(s)” cares for minor children or young people who have been removed from their birth parents or other custodial adults by state authority.

Sounds so cold…how about

A system by which a parent who enjoys being with children, is able to handle change and stress, has a sense of humor and is flexible; opens their home to a child and lovingly helps them through a difficult phase of their life. These parents provide structure, basic necessities and a great deal of comfort to a child that is in great need of these things.

Why Adoption Life Books?

Adoption Life Books serve several purposes. Adoption Lifebooks are therapeutic because they help children cope, understand and heal. They are also a good record keeping devise for important family history.

Adoption Life Books are serious in places but should also have sections that are simply fun for the child. They tell a child’s story. The child should have enjoyment in telling about their likes, dislikes and positive family memories. In so many cases, the child’s past may be difficult, but Adoption Life Books also assist in allowing the child to address these issues while working with a social worker.

Adoption World Specialties is the leader in Adoption Life Books.  Our website showcases all of our adoption books, and each life book is available to order easily, and conveniently, online.

Bibliotherapy.  Adoption World Specialties specializes in Adoption Life Books.

Bibliotherapy is the use of books to help people solve problems. Literature can help a child increase their self understanding and become better at expressing their feelings. When a child reads about a story character that they are able to identify with, they are better able to examine their own thoughts as well.

Life Books should be a part of the bibliotherapy tool chest. They help foster and adoptive children connect to their current situation as well as their beginnings. They create a living history for children dealing with a chaotic past. They help answer questions about birth families, helping them make sense of loss, trauma and change. The base Life Book actually assists the child in writing their own story. A Life Book is not a scrapbook of memories. It is a specific therapeutic tool. Examples or stories given along the way can open up a child, giving them an opportunity to process their own information which can involve issues such as anger and abandonment.

Have you seen the new cover for The One and Only Me?

Susan did a fantastic job bringing these books to life with color! She stayed with the familiar theme of the book using Ricky the Raccoon. The new cover is so creative using a “ME” riding on a swing hanging from a tree. The simple leaves create a great canopy over the swing. The slight glow of a sunset or sunrise is in the background. Besides bringing a lot of creativity to the book, it now offers some real flexibility. On the previous cover there was a box marked out for a child’s 5 x 7 photo. If a child doesn’t have a photo or even one the right size, the book can look like it is missing something. This new design looks great even if the photo isn’t there.

When my son was about 4 he was amazed at the fact that one of his friends Moms could grow a baby in her tummy! He was even more amazed when he found out she “grew” two at once. I loved that conversation with him. He thought MaryAnn was superhuman or something! Ironically, one of those twins ended up being his assigned buddy in elementary school. He was to show the new Kindergartner around the school. He always acted somewhat protective of the little guy.

He didn’t explain it or express it but I believe at that time he thought people got babies by adopting them. He hadn’t really thought about where they got started before that.

When my husband and I first looked into adoption, we knew so little. We both actually thought for a short while that adoptive kids were not told they were adopted! We learned of course that you tell an adoptive child their story just like a child born biologically to them. A family would tell a child the story of coming home from the hospital or a story of Mom and Dad racing to the hospital before they were born.

We were telling our daughter her story long before she could understand what we meant. We would tell her about the snow storm that was going on the morning we were to bring her home. We were so nervous waiting for the phone call that we should come over to the agency. When we finally met her, she had such an expressive face. We always tease her about the “you two don’t know what you are doing, do you?” look she gave us. She was so right!

As she was growing up, she thought adoption was a very common thing. When she was about 3 years old, she would ask friends and relatives that were expecting, “Are you planning on keeping or placing the baby?” She always seemed surprised when she found out friends that were not adopted. Not sad, just puzzled.