DC: Part 2

Oh yeah! I was supposed to write another post about DC! My name is Lori and I am a bad blogger!!! Better late than never..... BTW....if you want to see more posts, leave more comments!! I thrive on positive reinforcement!! :)

What's a trip to DC without a historical tour of the city?! We saw all of those very important landmarks and memorials, visited museums, travelled via the metro (a true DC experience, for sure!!). But, those were not the highlight(s) of our trip.

Angel Activities:
First Day: We registered and attended an Adoption and Foster Care Advocacy fair. We were able to visit booths from various organizations whose main priority is promoting child welfare. It was good to see the opportunities that are available to help.
Second Day: Hill Day. We were invited to attend a legislative seminar at the Capitol. The legislative panel consisted of congressional staff who spoke about legislation related to adoption, foster care, and orphan care. It was interesting to hear that they are aware of the adoption/foster care related issues that are out there and that they are trying to fix them (we all know how long it takes to make change in the political arena!!!) They were also very willing to listen to the concerns of the angels and take those concerns back to congress.
We had to leave the seminar early to go to meet with our nominating congressman, Jerry Moran since he had to leave before our official trip to his office that afternoon. He congratulated us, took advantage of a photo-op, and let us know that he was willing to help us in any way possible in the future.
Later, we were taken with a small group of other angels to meet with a staff member of 3 different Representatives: Ohio Rep. Jean Schmidt, Minnesota Representative Michele Bachman, and Kansas Rep. Jerry Moran. At these meetings, the angels were allowed to express their concerns and desires to the staffers who were then going to take these back to their respective representatives.
Later that same day, we got to go to the Eisenhower Executive Building where we attended a reception with the White House Office of Faith based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
WOW!! What a BUSY DAY!!
Third Day: We had our Angels in Adoption Pin Ceremony with lunch in the early afternoon in the Cannon Caucus Room.
That evening we attended the Angel Gala in the Ronald Reagan Building. This was truly an evening to remember. It was a formal dinner with the other angels and congress people. Our food was blessed by Dr. Barry Black, the Chaplain of the US Senate. Jimmy Wayne, a successful songwriter and recording artist who grew up in the foster care system, sang several very moving songs. We also heard from three 2010 National Angels in Adoption: Christen Chenoweth, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (accepted by producers), and Rhea Perlman. It was fun to get to meet them and chat with them afterwards. CCAI's hope is that the fame of these angels would attract the press and raise awareness.
So, there is a summary of our angel activities! As informative and fun as these activities were, the true inspiration came from the other angels.......(to be continued!)

Angels in DC...Part I

John and I had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC last week to be honored as Angels in Adoption. This is a program created by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute to 'provide a Member of Congress the opportunity to honor an individual, family, or organization that has made an extraordinary contribution on behalf of children in need of homes'. Our congressman, Jerry Moran, nominated my husband and I to be the recipients of this award.

We graciously accepted our angel pin and certificate, however, we did not/do not feel worthy of this title. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that many of the other angels in attendance did not feel worthy either! I think it is because we realize that what we've done to help children doesn't even scratch the surface of what needs to be done!!

Had I been asked to give an acceptance speech (which, thankfully, I was NOT!!), it would've gone something like this:

"I accept this honor not as a tribute to anything I've done, but on behalf of all of those who have made it possible for me to be here.

First, I accept it on behalf of my 4 biological children who were willing to open their hearts and home to children they hadn't even met, willing to give up a little of their comfort to share their family with children who didn't have one, who have been the example that these children need of what it looks like to be a part of a family and to show and receive love and respect.

I accept this award on behalf of my 2 adopted daughters who have endured pain and loss that I wish no child would have to experience. They were expected to embrace a family they didn't know who had taken them from all they were familiar with, and who immersed them in a culture and language very different from their own. Yes, my 6 children are truly angels!!

I, also, accept this on behalf of the families who adopted before us, who planted the seed of desire within us, and who encouraged and supported us throughout the process. They know who they are!! They are the ones who made the difference!!

I accept this on behalf of our community and church who rallied behind us with amazing support when we kept asking them to give a little more to help a country and people and children who we had become passionate about.

And, of course, I accept this on behalf of my parents and my husband's parents who provided each of us with a stable home, showed us how important it was to commit to raising children and to rise to the challenges that child rearing presents! I'm glad they didn't tell me how hard it would be!"

I hope that by receiving this award, doors will be opened for my family to help more children who are in need of a loving home! We hope that our story and our lives will be an inspiration to others!

I will share more in another post about our week in DC and about the amazing people we were privileged to meet!!