My visit to the Henan Cleft Healing Home this past June was a day that I loved completely. All of the babies were so healthy and happy, and the home has such a family feel. How wonderful to hear the sound of babies laughing and to watch the aunties singing and playing with the kids. We all said that we wish every orphaned child could live in such a caring environment.

We have just learned that five of the boys served by this home are now on an agency specific adoption list, and all of them are still waiting to be chosen. If you know of anyone who is open to adopting a child with cleft, please let them know that these great little boys are waiting. Each of them is so special to us. They received the very best of care and know what it feels like to be truly loved. Isn’t that what we wish for all of our kids before they are adopted?

As the mom of five boys, I know firsthand how incredible it is to have a son. Some of my most precious memories are of sewing Batman capes, being brought handfuls of dandelions, and watching my sons step up to home plate. And let’s face it…..your day just can’t be bad when you are told again and again how beautiful you are by the little boys in your life. Oh, how they love their mommas!

For more information on Sawyer, Isaiah, Neil, Nick, or Eoin, please email us at adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com, and we will be thrilled to tell you more.

Thank you for spreading the word that these gorgeous little boys are waiting!

Amy Eldridge is the Executive Director of Love Without Boundaries.

Love Without Boundaries proudly advocates for adoption but is not an adoption agency. We invite you to contact adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com with questions about a child we have featured and encourage you to contact your local adoption agency for more information about China’s Waiting Child Program.

Joseph is a precious 3 month old baby boy from Xinxiang, Henan Province. Joseph was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate and he came to the Henan Cleft Healing Home (HCHH) when he was one month old. After only a short stay at HCHH, he had to be hospitalized for a week for pneumonia and anemia. Finally, he was discharged to HCHH for his further recovery. However, after a few weeks, he had to be readmitted to the hospital due to bleeding in his mouth and nose. He has spent two weeks in the hospital to receive tests, blood transfusions and IV fluids. We are relieved to tell you that the bleeding has stopped and Joseph was able to begin formula again. He was discharged to the loving care of the nannies at HCHH.

While baby Joseph has had a very rough start to his short life, he has proven himself to be a fighter. We are convinced that his life counts! Please visit his sponsor page to help to pay for the medical care that saved this little boy’s life.

Early one morning during our recent trip to China, we made a visit to our Henan Cleft Healing Home (HCHH), located in Kaifeng. It is SO lovely. It is completely like being in an extended family’s apartment, and all the aunties and babies are so happy. This home is run by Stephanie Wang, a lovely young woman who has poured her whole heart into making sure all the babies have their every need met.

Right now there are beds for eight children in the home. We had recently received three new babies from the Louhe orphanage, (Tadhg, Beto, and Alan) and all three of the boys are now doing quite well. We also got to meet Daphne, a little baby girl from Zhumadian – an orphanage that is brand new to international adoption. I was so happy to see that they are now able to send children’s files for adoption.

Darling Daphne

We got to meet the Healing Homes doctor – and I absolutely loved him. He was SO kind, and monitors the babies closely. We also got to meet all the aunties for the home, as the night shift aunties stayed until we arrived. Each of them was so sweet. They are all so attached to the babies, and in fact….on the day a baby “graduates” from the home, none of them want to work that shift as they cannot stand to be there when they have to say goodbye. It just hurts too much.

Our dedicated HCHH doctor with Eoin

As we played with each baby, I quickly saw why the aunties were so attached. Eoin is obviously the king of the home. He is SO smart and followed us around like a little duck in his walker. He was into everything, and I know keeps the aunties on their toes. Wow is he cute. He still struggles with asthma at times, and so we are not discharging him just yet to foster care. We are going to find a good family near the healing home so that our doctor can keep a close eye on him.

Little Siobhan obviously has all the aunties wrapped around her finger. She smiles nonstop and is just the happiest baby. If we even glanced her way, her eyes would light up and she would grin from ear to ear.

Little Siobhan

Sam was one of the most active babies I have ever met. We were calling him Sam Sam the Jumping Man as he was scooting everywhere in his walker but was trying to jump out of it at the same time. He was PURE JOY and full of life. Sam knows how to turn on the music button on his walker, so every time it would stop he would push it again immediately.

Sam Sam the Jumping Man!

Sawyer looked so healthy and beautiful, but boy was he serious!  We never could get him to smile at us…but I give him credit for not crying even though I think we were scaring him to death.  Obviously the strong, silent type. : -)

Serious Sawyer

We loved the few hours we got to spend in this special home. I came away knowing that our Healing Home projects are each such a success. I hope everyone involved with them, from volunteers to donors to aunties and supporters, realizes what an enormous difference you are making! It is wonderful to see so many children who were once so tiny and vulnerable all looking so very happy and HEALTHY.

Amy Eldridge is the Executive Director for Love Without Boundaries.

As many of you know, travelling in China can be an exhilarating — but exhausting — experience.  Our three intrepid travellers — Paige, Amy and Sheri — have been extremely busy and can’t wait to share their stories with us!  However, they are having some computer and internet problems in China and will therefore post tales of their travels when they return home next week.  In the meantime, here are a few photos from their adventures!

Sheri, Amy and Paige with all the babies of the Henan Cleft Healing Home!

Paige enjoying some snuggle time with Tadgh

Paige, Sheri and Amy in Kaifeng

Little Sam and Eoin look rather confused! In the top photo, these buddies from our Henan Cleft Healing Home are all bundled up and ready to go to the hospital to receive cleft repair surgeries. They don’t look too thrilled with the hats and jackets and they probably weren’t too happy with life right after the surgery…but we know they will be very excited with the final results.  Take a look at them now, just days after their repairs!

Big-eyed Sam doesn’t look too sure about giving us a smile yet as his surgery for bilateral cleft palate was complicated.  Before long, he should be much more comfortable and will use those gorgeous expressive eyes to complement his new smile!

This winter, Eoin has had some health issues that prevented him from being eligible for surgery, but last week he experienced a window of good health and was eligible.  Although Eoin doesn’t understand the drama that surrounded his repair, HCHH’s gentlest boy does seem to be rather pleased with his new look!

Chinese New Year 2010 comes in with a roar — it’s the Year of the Tiger! We at LWB want to wish all of our friends and supporters “Xin nian kuai le!” — happy new year — and share a few photos of some of our precious children who are also celebrating the most important of Chinese holidays.

Chinese children are typically given a new outfit to help celebrate the new year and to symbolize new beginnings, and Ben and Jon from Huainan Foster Care are modeling their cozy new clothes in the above photo. Red is the color of celebration and happiness in China, and so many new year items are the color of red to symbolize the joy of a new year. We’re not so sure Ben and Jon look too joyful about having their photo taken in their new outfits, but we imagine they’re going to love the food that comes along with the celebration!

The babies at the Henan Cleft Healing Home also received new clothes and have lined up with their nannies to wish everyone “Xin nian kuai le”. Happy Year of the Tiger from all of us at LWB!

Baby Stephen came to our Henan Cleft Healing Home weighing just 2 kg. He was a fragile little baby who had to be hospitalized immediately because he was so sick. Stephen still has a long way to go, but he has now doubled his weight. This photo illustrates how truly vulnerable so many babies with cleft are. We love that our healing homes can give these precious children a second chance.

Our dream is to establish additional healing homes throughout China to help even more children like Stephen. The Chase Community Giving contest on Facebook can help us do just that. Today is the last day to cast your vote for Love Without Boundaries. A vote for LWB is really a vote for cleft-affected children in China!

Look at baby Stephanie! She was one of the first arrivals to our Henan Cleft Healing Home (HCHH) last June, and her sunny personality immediately filled the home with joy. Here she is doing a little “happy dance” for the nannies in the home. Stephanie has “graduated” from HCHH and is now bringing joy to her foster family. We can’t wait to do the “happy dance” for Stephanie when we find out that she has been chosen for adoption. We know she will be such a blessing to her new family!

There is always something wonderful about babies “all in a row”, isn’t there? This adorable photo was taken in our Henan Cleft Healing Home (HCHH), which opened in June of 2009. These beautiful babies were the very first group of children that we helped.

Since that time, HCHH has taken in quite a few new children, as has our Anhui Cleft Healing Home. There are more cleft-affected children born in China than anywhere else in the world. If we are fortunate enough to win the next round of the Chase Community Facebook Challenge, the funds will go towards establishing additional healing homes throughout China. It’s our Big Idea, and one that we hope everyone will get behind….and vote for! Please remember that voting ends on Friday, January 22. LWB needs your help so that we can assist more cleft-affected children — like these precious babies at HCHH — be healed and move on to foster care and eventually to their forever families.

Meet the stars of the Henan Cleft Healing Home (HCHH)!

The only female currently is residence is Emma who is on the top left. This is a very uncharacteristically serious photo of Emma as she is usually our howler, whether laughing, giggling or crying. Being the only girl, she feels it’s her duty to bring a healthy dose of drama to each day!

Now for the boys. On the top row next to Emma is Colm, our most recent graduate. He had an enormous protruding cleft gum and we were quite concerned about complications with his surgery, but he defied our expectations and did great!

The boys in the front row are still in residence, trying to keep Emma in line. Neil, who has been experiencing some health issues, is on the far left. Next to him is Alex, who has been thriving since his surgery. Isaiah came to HCHH with a multitude of wrinkles; however, he is putting on some pounds and soon will be wrinkly no more! Last but not least is Eoin who has had some health difficulties but is gaining weight at a good pace.

Each of these precious babies enjoys the one-on-one care they get from the loving nannies at HCHH. They all seek their nannies’ attention and respond with joy. Wouldn’t you love to spend the day there getting to know our stars?