Showing posts with label November
For most of us, as soon as we turn our calendars to November, we start thinking about the big family style holidays coming up. Thanksgiving can be a stressful endeavor with some families, whether it is a logistics concern, or more often than not, the thought of multiple personalities clashing over the cranberries. Some of our family squabbles would seem silly to the thousands of kids here in the United States that need a home. 


November is national adoption month #NAM15 on MWP


Since November is National adoption month, I’m honored to work with today’s sponsor- the U.S.  Department of Health and Human Services, AdoptUSKids, and the Ad Council to help spread the word about this growing need and ask for your help as well. While this is a sponsored post, all opinions and love of children are my own.


As a Mom of two teen daughters, I was shocked and honestly heart-sore when I read the information sent to me to share with you today. For instance, did you know that there are 415,000 children in the U.S. foster care system and 108,000 are waiting to be adopted?

AdoptUSKids’ maintains a national photo listing service for children waiting to be adopted. Since the project launched in 2002, more than 25,000 children who were once photo listed on adoptuskids.org have been adopted and nearly 38,000 families have registered to adopt through the website.  

Nevertheless, older youth are disproportionately represented – approximately 41 percent of children and youth photo listed on adoptuskids.org are between 15 and 18 years old, but only 17 percent of those adopted have been in this age group. This just breaks my heart, because I don’t know what my world would be like if I didn’t have my two beautiful, vibrant, smart and funny teens in my life! 

Still, the fact is older youth and teens have lower adoption rates than younger children and often wait longer to be adopted. Can you imagine what they must feel at this time of year? 

All kids need a supportive, loving home and the teenage years are a critical period of growth. The theme for this year’s AdoptUSKids campaign is “We never outgrow the need for Family”. Doesn’t that hit you right in the heart? It did me! If you have ever considered adopting or fostering a child, now may be the perfect time to get started.  

Watch this cute video!




AdoptUSKids wants to remind you- “You don’t have to be perfect to be a #perfectparent”


Here are some facts worth considering.


Why Older Youth?

All of us – that includes older youth in foster care who are waiting to be adopted – need and want families throughout life to support us and to share important life events. Learning to drive a car, applying for higher education, and birthday and holiday celebrations are just a few examples of the times in life we need and want to share with family.
  • Older youth are overrepresented in the foster care population, as they generally wait longer to be adopted, and have lower overall adoption rates.    
  • On adoptuskids.org, roughly 41 percent of the children and youth actively photo listed are between the ages of 15 and 18 years old. About 58 percent are male. (Most recent stats as of May 31, 2015) 
  •  Families, who adopt older youth, are providing them with the support and stability of a family during a critical period of normal adolescent concerns and additional self-identity issues.
 
Some of the Misperceptions about Adoption from Foster Care:

Adoption is expensive. Unlike the private adoption of an infant or adopting internationally, there are virtually no costs associated with adoption from the US child welfare system. In addition, the vast majority of youth adopted from foster care are also eligible for monthly adoption assistance up to the level of the foster care rate. 

You have to be married. You do not have to be married to adopt in most states. Many children have been very successfully adopted by single parents. Single-parent families accounted for 29 percent of all adoptions from foster care in 2014 (AFCARS). 

You have to have a college degree. Having a high school diploma or college education is not required. What is important is that you are stable, flexible, and compassionate, and that you have a good sense of humor. Most importantly, you must have the support and commitment to raise a child and to be there for him throughout his life. 

You have to own a home and each child has to have their own room. You can rent your home or live in an apartment or a mobile home so long as your living situation is a stable one. 

You have to be of child-bearing age to adopt. Experienced parents and empty-nesters are encouraged to adopt. In most instances, you’re eligible to adopt regardless of age, income, marital status or sexual orientation.  

You can only adopt a child who is the same race and ethnicity as you. Federal law prohibits the delay or denial of an adoptive placement based on the race or ethnicity of a child in U.S. foster care and the prospective parent or parents who are seeking to adopt them. The only exception to this law is the adoption of Native American children where special considerations apply.  

You can’t adopt if you’re in the military. Military families stationed overseas and within the U.S. are eligible to adopt children from the U.S. foster care system. 


As we enter this season of thanks, kindness and giving, I invite you to learn about adoption, or about becoming an adoptive parent to a child from foster care, please visit www.adoptuskids.org or visit the campaign’s communities on Facebook and Twitter. You can also call 1-888-200-4005 (English) or 1-877-236-7831 (Spanish) to receive the latest information about the foster care system and the adoption process.



I thank you sincerely for reading this post to here. I would love if you would consider sharing this post, so that others can become aware of the overwhelming need to adopt older kids in the U.S.


Please share in comments: Do you have a positive/uplifting adoption story? I’d love to hear it! I’ll share your story on my Facebook page as well!

Color of the Month- November -Marigold Orange

in , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Friday, November 13, 2015
Happy Friday dear readers. We are finally going to get a hard freeze here in middle Tennessee, which has me scrambling to put up some of my containers that still have flowers blooming. Besides Mums on the front porch, I still have Marigold's blooming on the back deck. I love their vibrant, happy color! These are the inspiration for this month's color of the month.

Marigolds blooming on the deck MWP

As always, I hope you find color inspiration from my shares here and my Pinterest board collection.



The holiday's are knocking on our doors and it's hard to believe the year is winding down. Take a moment each day to look for color all around you. Maybe it's the blue of the sky, or the vibrant color of a person's coat. Living in the moment grounds us and helps restore our energy.


Please share in comments: Look straight ahead and tell me the color that caught your eye and what or who that color is on. 

November Finds Me- Many Things

in , , , , , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Thursday, November 14, 2013

Happy Friday Eve! This has been a growing sort of month for me and I wanted to share a little of it here with you in my monthly “feelings” post.


November finds me:

MyWAHMPlan.com

I know some of you are thinking that these feelings aren’t news worthy, or maybe even post worthy since practically everybody who has an online account on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest are sharing their hearts out. You could be right- maybe this type of sharing is being done too much- but today, this is where my heart is because of recent interactions with friends, family, acquaintances and complete strangers.

1. I have so much to be thankful for that I couldn’t possibly list them all here, but today I am especially thankful for: My own car that runs anytime I need it. This week I’ve chatted with a lady who doesn’t own her own car (or her own home for that matter) and has to schedule her day around others to get around. Another lady, who is a stay at home Mom is a one car family, so she’s stuck at home all day- everyday while her husband goes to work.

2. I’m happy that my life is an amalgamation of domestic know -how and business savvy which allows me to continue being a work at home Mom.  I don’t earn a whole lot of money- but I save us a lot!  With the rising cost of childcare- I am so very happy I can be at home for my kids and family.  
Look at these startling stats:
In 31 states plus D.C., the cost of center-based care for an infant is higher than a year's tuition at a four-year public university.- The average annual cost for two children (an infant and a 4-year-old) in a childcare center ranged from about $10,000 in Mississippi to nearly $30,000 in Massachusetts! You can read the full report here

3. I’m peace with my age and stage in life. I’m officially a Tween! I’ve moved past having children and I’m nowhere near ready to be a Grandma- so I’m a tween right along with my tween. 

4. I’m hopeful for what next year will bring. We are on the cusp of good, good things.  I can feel it.

5. I am blessed with the ability to be me. I’ve gone throw some growing pains this year and my wonderful husband- my best friend for well over 20 years, has remained my constant and true biggest fan, as have my daughters. To be honest- this blog would not still be here if not for their unwavering support. Blogging is a creative endeavor with a whole lot of moving parts. Growing a blog is like gardening, it is never ending, but with each season you see fruits of your labor. Some seasons are sweeter and more bountiful than others.  


6. I am loved. And I know it. I am secure in it. If all the material things our society seems to covet fell away and I had to face my tomorrows with nothing but this love I have and those that bestow it, I would be A-Okay.  


So as we edge ever closer to the end of November, I ask you – how does November find you?
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