About our Conference...

Here's another article.. but this time I'm just going to post the link.

http://library.adoption.com/Answering-Adoption-Questions/Gracious-Answers-to-Awkward-Questions-About-Our-Adopted-Kids/article/455/1.html

We learned a lot at the East West Conference in Tampa yesterday. Will put my thoughts together and update the blog. Maybe one blog per session we did. We did two together and two apart. We learned some GREAT stuff. Some of which is in that article above. OK will start with one session we did together. How to handle questions and comments from strangers. That article covers many we heard in the session. A few questions that were not mentioned that we heard and got some ideas on how to respond are below. The two women, who have Chinese children of their own, said it's best to be prepared with answers.. because your kids will be right there and HEAR how you answer.. read your body language and all that stuff.

1. Actually got this 3 times today!! "Watch, now you'll get pregnant"... ok well gee thanks.. what about my little girl who is waiting for me in China. Lately I've been saying.. well I don't see it happening given our situation.. but thank you.

2. another we get. "Why are you not adopting domestically?" the two ladies at the conference had a nice answer and a not so nice one! Nice.. is actually from Wendy's founder Dave Thomas. Every Child Deserves a Family. Which is what we'll probably use.. one woman.. said she REALLY wanted to say.. "well how many domestic children have YOU adopted?".. which would put anyone back! David liked it, of course! my luck the person would say.. "two" .. and then you're like.. "ummm". so we'll stick with Dave Thomas' response..

3. One question one lady got, from her mother no less. "are you sure she is from China!" made everyone laugh!.. she was like um yea.. flew there..!

4. "oh bless you for rescuing her".. This one .. from what we learned.. you need to be REALLY careful in how you respond .. once she is old enough to understand. Most say.. 'no we are the ones who are blessed and lucky'... God let US to her. stuff like that.

There was more.. but I can't remember anything else off the top of my head. The other sessions we attended were..
How the Adoption Tax Credit works.
there was a session for Dads, David attended
how to answer questions from your child.. once they start figuring it out that they don't look like you.
David had one too.. can't remember what his other one was about.
and the last was one woman's experience on the day she got her daughter.

The final session was for everyone and involved an actual Chinese foster family, not all the children are in orphanages, and they told us about themselves.. as someone translated for them. Very cool.. and got us all teary eyed!

Well it's late...

Zai Jian.
~Donna