This week’s freakishly winter-like weather has made it even harder to get back into the groove of the school week after an extended Spring break spent in Caribbean sunshine.  This morning as we looked for winter coats in early April, loaded lunchboxes and checked on homework, I mentioned to my 4^th grade daughter that we had Chinese lessons after school.

“Don’t forget, Mei Mei comes today!” I said.

“Oh good!  Maybe we’ll do calligraphy again!” was her response, and she skipped off to meet friends at the bus stop.

The longest tenured employee at Barker, Beth Kirby, has retired, effective March 31, 2016, after 25 years of extraordinary service. Beth has served in many capacities, and her warmth and versatility are well known and greatly appreciated. 

I never really thought of my family being *that* different until our son entered elementary school.

In some ways, this seems like a silly thing for me to say. We are, after all, a Caucasian lesbian couple living in Virginia, and we happened to adopt a black-biracial son. To be honest, I don’t know of another family that looks remotely like us in our neighborhood. 

Before our son started school, none of that really mattered in our day-to-day existence. Our neighbors and friends have seen us only as a family. Our son sees us as his parents, and we see him as our child. Of course, there were always boxes to check on forms, and forms biased for “mother” and “father” pairings to remind us, but we didn’t spend a lot of time on our difference. We were just another Northern Virginia family.

The Barker Adoption Foundation’s Project Wait No Longer just celebrated a huge milestone when we placed our 100^th child who was waiting in the foster care system, into an adoptive family.  We have grown so much since our first placement in 2007 and it is hard to put into words what a milestone like this means for this “little program that could”.  The PWNL staff was thrilled to learn that they would reach this milestone by placing a sibling group of 4 just in time for them to spend Christmas with their new family. 

Last night, Barker had the opportunity to spend the evening at an intimate gathering with the inspirational couple behind the movie “Closure,” a documentary about a transracial adoptee who finds her birth mother, and meets the rest of a family who didn't know she existed. The movie makers, Angela and Bryan Tucker, were in Washington, D.C., for a screening of the film at American University and to gather support for their new venture, The Adopted Life Episodes. Barker joined adoption professionals from around the DC area, including Adoptions Together, PACT, Children’s Home Society, the Lab School, the Commonwealth Academy, and National Children’s Research Center to meet and support the couple and each other in this important work.

Last week, Sue Hollar, Associate Director and Tina Ji, International Programs Director, participated in a two-day adoption symposium hosted by the US Department of State. The symposium, titled “A Collaborative Future for Adoption,” included representatives from The Council on Accreditation, US-Citizen Immigration Services (US-CIS), and adoption agencies from around the country and provided the opportunity to discuss ways that the aforementioned groups can streamline processes and collaborate on issues designed to improve permanency options for children.  

You have decided to make an adoption plan. Your roommate(s), family, friends or coworkers may be aware of your pregnancy or that you had a baby. Naturally, they will inquire about your future plans for yourself and baby. They may even want to help to plan a baby shower for you or recommend day care providers. This might be an awkward moment to inform them of your intention of making an adoption plan for your baby.  Ultimately, who you choose to inform about your decision to make an adoption plan is your choice. Here are some suggestions that you may find helpful:

Are you considering adopting an older child from the foster care system? Training is a requirement for all families pursuing adoption through the foster care system but it is also a learning experience so you can have a better understanding of what your new child has been through and how to best meet their needs. Register now for the September/October PRIDE Training Session!

Our journey to Jianfeng would never have been possible without the efforts of so many people and organizations. He has been loved, prayed for, and cared about by everyone who has heard his name. Jianfeng’s adoption is not our story alone.