Good morning

Just wanted you to know we got a new 6 year old girl named Rachael in Dec
and a 6 month old from Korea, his birth Mom brought him to US, 2 weeks ago.
Both have several medical problems. They join our 2 other adopted kids
Teddy,7, and Amanda Kay, 2 1/2. All our adopted kids have down syndrome.
Kay and Eddie

Our Gift From God

We struggled through infertility, like many. We finally gave up and decided not to have chilren~we would be wonderful Auntie & Uncle to our many nieces and nephews. Then, in 1996, our Godson's mother got sick and was in the hospital. Michael was a year old and stayed a year with us. We decided that God really did want us to have children because we really LOVED having him!!!

We had to give him back when he was two and that tore us up because we were giving him back to alcoholic parents (with many, many, many other problems). We visited and loved him from afar. Then, in January 2000, Michael's parents gave him to us for adoption. We were THRILLED!!!!! There were many problems, but he is our gift from God and we love having an older child! (He had just turned 4 when we got him and now is 5 1/2 ) Our adoption is final on April 25th, 2001. For anyone out there thinking about adopting an older child~do it! We love having the interaction and fun of having an older child!
Thank you,
Sarah Voisinet

A Parisian Adopts from Brasil

Dear Sandra,

I have been back in Paris with my daughter Lohana since the 16th of august, 2000. My life has changed so much! The joy! The happiness, I have no words for it... besides the fact that I am writing a book about the story of this very particular adoption of an unadoptable girl of 7 years old in Rio de Janiero and how her mother gave her daughter to me.....

Lohana speaks fluent french by now. She has been in school since September 2000, and is a great student. She is very smart and her street life has taught her more than life. You may give my email to people who want to discuss our story with us.

Lohana and I already went back to Rio to meet with her mother as promised, and her 4 brothers and sisters. It was a very moving moment. Everybody was happy. I met the grand mother. I went into the favel where they live. I helped the mother to get her ID papers together so the she can work again. She is 23 years old and could be my daughter.... Knowing this familly in Brasil is a great enrichement for me. All my life I, now, have this new familly. They are poor, yes, but they are true. Lohana is such an intelligent girl. She was worth every effort and every move that I made in my life.

Adopting older children is fantastic, because you know who you are adopting. And the child also knows what he/she is doing. Lohana is a child looking for the knowledge of the world. She can achieve it now. And she will probably give it back to Brasil one day.

Did you know that the Children's Judge in Rio was a kid from the street, too?! He is The Judge now! Thanks to the priest who helped him to study until university which is rare in Brasil....

Francoise and Lohana Schein