Hearts United for Animals Nebraska Rescue Part 1

Hearts United for Animals is a no-kill shelter, sanctuary and animal welfare organization dedicated to the relief of suffering. We specialize in long distance adoptions. To check out all the dogs for adoption go to www.hua.org. This video contains footage of the arrival of Nebraska puppy mill dogs saved in August of 2008.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLwNXOLCeuI&hl=en

Meeting Mihret- Ethiopian Adoption

A glimpse of our adoption of baby Mihret from Ethiopia.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odM_btxkxjM&hl=en

6 Elements of a Successful Adoption

Adoption can bring new love to a family, but a successful adoption takes some skill. This guide gives 6 elements key in successfully adopting a new son or daughter.

Know Why You're Adopting
It's important to consider when adopting whether or not you want a child, especially one who may not be related to you. Some parents adopt without considering how having a child not biological related can affect them. You should have clear goals for adopting, but also factor in why. If, for example, you are incapable of having children, the decision can be more logical. Even if you are capable, you have to consider the time, effort, and hard work of raising a child.

An Experienced Adoption Lawyer
You need proper legal representation no matter what form of adoption you are trying - agency adoption, independent adoption, international adoption, etc. Many parents go into this process with no understanding of the laws, finding out first hand how picky agencies can be and how complex other forms of adoption are. An experienced lawyer can guide you through the adoption process, saving you valuable time, and ensuring you are following all laws.

Create a Profile
A prospective birth parent or parents will often be choosing you, not you choosing them. You'll be asked to create a profile showing your family and life. Birth parents will then decide, based on this profile, on who to give their child to.

Communicating Well
Once you start this process, it's important to be able to communicate with others without delay. In other words, you need be to easily reached by phone, mail, even e-mail. If you move or change your number, keep any agencies or parents in the know on your changes. While this may seem minor, many adopting parents are hard to reach during crucial stages.

Following Rules
If you break laws or try to lie about who you are and what kind of parent you are, it will be found out. You almost always have options for adopting, but the system is designed to protect children. Therefore, by breaking rules it looks like you have something to hide, even minor ones. Be honest. Explain any legal history you might have. It will be much easier.

Time
If you have time and patience, the adopting process can be exciting and joyful. But keep in mind that the average adoption can take from 1-3 years, depending on where you look. Perhaps the quickest adoption form is the independent adoption, where you go directly to the birth parents to adopt a child. Agency adoptions are easier on you in terms of documentation, but they are more expensive and you can be put on a long waiting list. In any case, an expert lawyer should be able to give you a time table for how long this process can take. Patience is a virtue here.

Adoption - And The Steps To Follow

After you have familiarized yourself with the process and its legal submissions, you can now begin thinking about the type of child that you wish to adopt. This is a critical phase, because the type of child you decide to adopt will affect the length of time that the process will take. Some important things to consider are the child's age, ethnicity, special needs, and gender.

It is also important to consider the type of adoption that you would like to take, and again, an attorney can help a great deal with this process. There are three ways to adopt children: private agency, which offers more choices for a higher cost, independent, which includes the attorney and the child's birth parents in the process, and paid facilitator, which are unlicensed companies that pose higher risks to the adopting family while charging a high price.

Depending on the method chosen for adopting a child, the court cost and cost for the lawyer can range between $3500 and $10000. So the next decision would be based on how these costs, among other costs, will be paid. As a couple, there are many options available to help pay for these expenses, and these include but are not limited to: loans, grants, employer assistance, tax credit, and adoption assistance.

Once the financial concerns have been taken care of, you may begin with the "home study process", which is basically a training and assessment process done by a social worker. The home study process involves teaching of the potential adoptions what to expect once the process has been completed and is also a check of the stability of the home that will be provided for the child or children to be adopted.

Adoption and parenting classes are required by public and private organizations to make sure that the parents are properly familiarized with the possible incidences that can occur once the child has been adopted, and this includes state policies as well. If you are willing to attend these classes, check your local social services department or Foster Parent Association for class locations and details. Once all these tasks have been completed, you are now ready to finally adopt a child, so what is left is to begin your search for a child.

The search for a child can be a rewarding process, and a good place to start is an agency, which can be found online or in phone books. Once you get in contact with an agency, be sure to keep in touch with them as often as possible to ensure that the process runs smoothly. For any additional questions or information on adoption, consult with your attorney or local social services department.

National Adoption Month

Since its 1976 proclamation as National Adoption Month in Massachusetts, November has remained a part of our National tradition as a time to celebrate the gift of love. A little over fifteen years ago, such a gift was given to me when my seven-day-old son was placed in my arms.

As I gazed into the face of my new son, I could not have imagined that a mere twelve hours later, I would fall completely, irrevocably in love. I could not have comprehended that this "Son of My Soul" [1], would capture my heart completely and forever hold it captive.

I have often been asked the question, "Do you ever wish you had a child of your own?" I'm sure the quizzical look on my face must have baffled such interrogators until they heard my response: "But I have!" It seems to many, that a magical contribution of DNA is all that can make someone yours, but that is not so. Life together, commitment and love, work their own magic.

I also often hear, "I'd love to adopt a baby, but I just don't think that I will feel the same towards an adopted child as I would had I given birth," to which I can only reply, "Then I feel sorry for your husband. He doesn't carry the child. I guess he can't love any children you have as his own." But you can find love through adoption, and through Special Needs Adoption, you can find a deep and satisfying love with the added knowledge that you are helping a child who is desperately waiting for a home, is in great need of an advocate...is urgently waiting....for love.

I remember the first time I was told that my son was considered "special needs." "Really?" I queried. I was confused. Why would he be considered so? Yes, he was born with cleft lip and palate, and there was a concern about hearing loss, but to me his "specialness," was in the sweet way he clung to me when I picked him up, the curl of his bright hair, his incredibly large, luminous eyes. I have to admit, that it took a little while for me to realize what I was being told, and when I fully understood, the impact hit me like nothing had before.

Special Needs. What does it mean in relation to adoption? A child is considered special needs if: they are an older child, usually over five-years-of age; a part of a sibling group where the local Children's Services is trying to keep brothers and sisters together; a minority or of mixed race; physically challenged, such as my son; children considered to be at risk, like those born to drug-addicted mothers or who have been abused or neglected; mentally or emotionally disabled because of inherited conditions or resulting from abuse. Special Needs. Shouldn't that translate to Special Love?

On the practical side, Special Needs could mean Special Expenses. In the case of special needs adoption, when conducted through your county Children's Services, many times there are no fees. Therapies and medical expenses are often covered, and frequently help is offered for schooling such as tutoring.

Special Needs. A way to open up your life, your home, your soul to a child who needs a family. An opportunity to finally form that family you forgot about on your way up the corporate ladder. Or maybe just a chance to finally fill that empty space in your heart, which has been waiting for someone special.

Special Needs. Indeed: Special Love, Special Memories, a Special Family for a very Special Child.

[1] Son of My Soul - The Adoption of Christopher, Debra Shiveley Welch, copyright 2007

Foster Care Or Adoption - Is There a Difference?

Are you providing foster care and adoption is now an option you would like to look further into? Or you may just want to adopt a child from foster care. Either way, whether you are adopting a child or fostering a child, you will discover that many of the day to day tasks involved in the child rearing of kids are similar.

There are meals to cook, clothes to wash, family outings to organize, homework to supervise, TLC and conversations to share, values to instill and discipline to administer.

However, there are also some differences:

While a child is in foster care;

* foster care is a temporary placement, which may at any time turn into long term foster care

* as soon as a child comes into care you must record any unusual markings found on the child's body

* the child must see a doctor within the first 24 hours of their arrival to your home

* each time a child comes into your care you must learn all you can about their history if it is available

* the child's case worker will be a regular guest in your home, more so in the beginning and then depending on the child's behavior, the visits will lessen

* if you are experiencing any doubts, you must answer to the case worker

* you will be responsible for keeping daily logs on the child

* there are visits with the biological parents that you must get the child to

* a record of medical and dental visits must be kept

* it is expected that the child be registered into a specific amount of recreation (of their choosing)

When you adopt a child from foster care;

* you are now the child's legal guardian

* adopting a child is a permanent addition to your family

* the child will have your last name

* you will not have to share authority with anyone regarding, medical treatments, decisions about school, religious practices and a variety of other parenting matters, while someone is looking over your shoulder

* the child can be included in your will and share in your estate along with any of your other children

* you will now be financially responsible for the child's welfare until adulthood Cost of Raising a Kid

* as an adoptive parent you will have the same legal rights and responsibilities to this child as you would if they were your own birth child

* you will have to deal with the child's emotional and mental issues due to their past experience of loss

* you will have the right to discipline, love and care for this child, totally and permanently.

Twee Vaders, two Fathers, zwei Väter // -- auf Deutsch

-- Deutscher Untertitel -- Der 13 jaehrige Terence singt in der holländischen TV-Sendung "Kinderen voor kinderen" ein selbst geschriebenes Lied über seine Adoption, und das Leben bei seinen zwei schwulen Vaetern.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjchfGouxPg&hl=en

Wireless Sensor Networks: Technology and Applications

Wireless sensor networks are destined to see widespread adoption in such diverse sectors as industrial process control, health care, and home automation. The promise and application domain of this field continues to grow, but several false-starts have limited deployments to date. Recent technological breakthroughs in reliability and power consumption have enabled new "industrial strength" networks to finally deliver on the promise of this exciting technology. Brutal standards battles between multi-billion-dollar companies attest to the commercial impact that the technology is now enjoying. This talk will cover some of the history of the field, along with the problems and their solutions, commercial applications, and research directions.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVH1K1Eocz0&hl=en

Straight Pride?

Ok, so the Tea Party has a new TShirt for sale...I am dying to know what you our YouTubers think about this shirt? I think its funny as hell, Bryan not so much. Check out the original Queerty artical here: www.queerty.com Bryan is going to blog about this tonight take a look: gayfamilyvalues.blogspot.com So we here at the Leffew house are about to hit a milestone Ask A Gay Family 10 "Its all about the kids" Please help us out by posting a video quesition to the kids. Please atach the question to our last ask a gay family video. Thanks a million Jay



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVOxPImvr64&hl=en