LWB Community

Counting Down Our Top Ten Photos of 2011: Smiley in Foster Care

Coming in at number one for 2011 is this adorable photo of little Alisha, grinning for the camera with her foster mom. Alisha is part of our Loudi foster care program, and every report describes her as social baby who is outgoing and loving.

Alisha goes shopping with her foster mom almost every morning, and she is always so happy to meet neighbors and greet them with a smile. We loved hearing that she is “especially enthusiastic” when she sees other children! We are so happy that sweet Alisha has now been chosen for adoption. Read more.

Hoping for A Family for Julian

Julian knows joy. He loves his ball. He delights in playing with other children. He enthusiastically embraces a good picture book. He relishes a good meal. He thrills at being helpful. He overflows with happiness when praised for a job well done. Yes, Julian knows joy. But he doesn’t know the deep love of a permanent, adoptive family.

Julian, now four years old, has been on the shared list for a long time. You’ve met him on this blog several times (“Julian’s Joy,” “Julian’s High Jinks,” and “Julian: Almost Four.”) At the time his file was submitted, he didn’t even walk yet! Now he runs. When the file was prepared, he didn’t speak at all. He’s still a man of few words, but he does call those in his foster family by name.
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Seamus’ Smile

“Although he cannot see, he uses his heart to see the world.”

These beautiful words were written by the monitor at LWB’s Loudi foster care home where two and a half-year-old Seamus lives.  Seamus was born prematurely and without eyeballs.  It was later discovered that he has a significant hearing loss in one of his ears.  Despite these challenges, Seamus just exudes pure joy.  He is small in stature but delights whomever he encounters.  Our monitor describes him as a lovely, joyful, and obedient little boy. Seamus’ file is currently available on the shared list, and we look forward to some very special family finding this very special boy and calling him their own.  Now THAT is worth smiling about!
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Julian: Almost Four!

In honor of World Down Syndrome Day coming up on March 21st, we wanted to celebrate by sharing the smiles and successes of our very own Julian. What a big boy! Julian will turn four soon, and hopefully this will be his best year of life yet…the one where he and his family become one! We have blogged on Julian in the past (“Julian’s High Jinks” and “Julian’s Joy”), and he always makes us smile. Since he is still waiting on the shared list, we want our readers see how much fun Julian gets out of life and the joy he brings to those around him.
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Julian’s High Jinks

Three-year-old Julian has a great sense of humor.  He loves to explore and is delighted when he finds some mischief to get into!  Julian’s favorite toy is his ball, which he loves to bounce and catch.  After months and months of walking while holding onto furniture or a wall, Julian now walks independently – all the better to chase that ball of his!
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Sir Ciaran Still Awaits!

Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage. –Theodore Roosevelt

No doubt many of our readers will remember our very chivalrous Sir Ciaran, Gentleman of Loudi. In honor of this fine young man’s upcoming fifth birthday, we wanted to let everyone catch up with him and also spread the word that he still awaits his family.
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John: LWB’s Featured Child of the Week

Just look at that face! Doesn’t John seem to be saying, “I’m looking for a few good sponsors. Do you know where I could find one or two?” John is a healthy four month old baby boy. He has been placed with a foster family in our Loudi Foster Care program in Hunan but still requires two sponsorships to be fully funded.
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Sir Ciaran, Gentleman of Loudi

Ciaran is a wonderful four-year-old little boy in our Loudi Foster Care program in Hunan. He lives with Down Syndrome, so his speech development is a bit slower, but his understanding is excellent. He is a polite little boy who is quick to run to get a stool for his foster mom when she comes in from outside. He is quick to be obedient and enjoys collecting his toys and putting them away after playtime. What a happy helper he is!
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Grants for Adam and Song!

LWB is thrilled to announce that we are offering $1500 grants towards the adoption of two wonderful little boys who are awaiting families.

Adam is a four-year old from Loudi in Hunan province who has faced a number of medical challenges in his short life. He had a heart defect which has closed on its own and clubbed feet which are correcting nicely (with close attention to his bracing and skin care by his foster family). He has had surgery on his spinal cord, and CT scans are showing decreased swelling of his brain. Such a strong little boy!
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Blossoming Maire

Maire is, quite simply, a beautiful child.  She peers back at me from the pages of each monthly report with a stare as deep as the ocean between us is wide.  Maire entered our Loudi foster care program in January of 2009 at about one year of age.  This transition was quite difficult for her as she was extremely shy and distant and grieved heavily at the loss of her previous caregiver.  Maire had suffered a seizure as an infant but hadn’t had any repeat occurrences.  However, she didn’t make attempts to move about and play and didn’t seem to want to use her hands.  I worried about this beautiful girl with the profound gaze.
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