Gladney Blog

Oh my! What a little sweetheart! Jessica is a darling 18 month old baby girl we met while we were in Taiwan earlier this month. She is described as calm and quiet. That is, until she wants to be held, then she will use her voice and cry to let you know what she wants. She is easy to soothe when she is upset. She just likes to be cuddled. And if that isn’t adorable I don’t know what is.

Sweet, sweet Jianna! We all enjoyed our time with her so much. She is just precious. She is 9 years old. She has global delays and is tiny for her age, so she seems younger than 9.

This past week has been made up of forms, forms, and more forms. Don't get me wrong, I love paperwork and filing, it is what I am good at. Even so, finding the right forms to request a child abuse clearance in not easy when the state alters requirements every six months without notice. As a result of a sudden change, I uncovered a policy issue that can only be described as bad.

Samuel is a little almost 6 year old boy who was our block-stacking champion! He built a tower 16 blocks high. Every puzzle or matching challenge we gave him he did quickly and meticulously. And when we asked if it was hard or easy for him he said, “Easy!” Every time.

What is sweeter than sisters? We met Nila {8} and Nikki {7} together then spent time with each separately when we were in Taiwan earlier this month. They are both sweet girls. Nikki, though younger is the leader of the two when they are together. Nila is more quiet and shy while Nikki is more talkative and active. The girls live in separate foster homes but do spend time together and get along well.

Jordan is an 8 year old boy who is described as obedient and soft-spoken. He enjoys board games, drawing, and playing outside. He was pretty shy and quiet and had a bit of a nervous blinking habit which disappeared once he was more comfortable.

We went rolling into Cathwel on our first morning in Taiwan last week, all excitement with just a few nerves mixed in. It had been 4 years! Would we still remember what we needed to do? How long would it take us to hit our stride? Then 2 little ones came in. They were both around 3-4 years old. Both absolutely adorable. I saw Nancy pull out a screening sheet and start getting the matching toys out. I knew we were back for real and we were going to be just fine.

It’s hard to believe that our time seeing children is over. We met 54 children between Cathwel and Chung Yi. They were all children we had never met in person.

What a pleasure to walk in to see the people here at Chung Yi that we haven’t seen for 4 years! There were many new faces - time certainly brings changes, but it is good to be back!

November is a month full of warmth and gratitude, and it's also a great time to shine a spotlight on the journey of adoption. National Adoption Month is a reminder of the power of love and compassion, as families across the United States come together to acknowledge the many emotions that adoption brings.