Swallows Nest

Home Again!!!

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:42:00 -0430

I'm home from the hospital and happy about it, can you tell!!!

Layers upon Layers

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:16:00 -0430

Many people wonder why the chinese layer the clothing, especially for babies. It's cold! Usually the average temp is still 56 - 60 degrees F even with heat. The govt. controls the heating so we can't turn it up or down. The little one is layered and has split pants too, but a diaper on for protection:)

Helen Helps!!!

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:25:00 -0430

Helen, an intern who volunteered with our children last Spring, went back to Australia and had a very successful fundraiser for Swallow's Nest. She got area businesses to donate prizes, a local pub to donate a meeting room, and she had a raffle. This money was used to pay for our heating for home and the surplus was used to buy extra nutritional formula for some babies that were having some symptoms of failure to thrive. We appreciate her and her friends.

Twins help our babies

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 22:38:00 -0430

These girls are twins and their connection with Swallow's Nest is their au pair was trained by us last year. When the au pair mentioned the children we care for the girl's decided to have birthday parties at their school and raise money for our winter heating bill. They raised 335 USD. Many thanks to their mom, Annette, their classmates and their school for helping our babies stay warm in Henan.

Crying Nannies

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 20:39:00 -0430

Our house at Gang Po Lu is filled with crying nannies as this little one leaves with her new family. It is difficult but there are 3 more new babies for them to love. But each one has a special place in our hearts and each one is a favorite. Little Yin Huan is being adopted this week. She's been with us a long time and many have been involved in her care. Special thanks to our catholic friends in Shanghai and the special visitor from Japan who was visiting in Shanghai. These folks paid for her surgery over two years ago.

New Volunteers

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 19:01:00 -0430

Each new school term in china brings new volunteers who hear about us from previous teachers. We are very thankful for all the new faces coming to visit our children, taking them to the zoo, out to the park, or reading them a story.

Seeking New Sponsors

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:17:00 -0430

During the months of September and October we usually try to take in more babies since the adoptions during the summer leave us some empty cribs. We have 4 new babies that need sponsorship at this time. You may sponsor a child for 50 USD per month. This provides preventive medical doctor visits and med plus food and housing. It does not provide nannie care. If you are interested in sponsoring a child you may click on the donations under our logo and use paypal. Other options are to send a check to our home office in Ohio (see contacts). Many thanks and welcome to our new sponsors.

Party Time!!!

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:40:00 -0430

Birthday month for this little girl. She's been with us for 3 years. Hope she finds a family soon. Every year our prayer is that the children will be in a family by their next birthday. We hope the same for this sweet girl.

June News Update

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 18:27:00 -0430

What Happens !!!!

Today, i found this quite by accident on line.

It shows what happens when babies are found.

The police were involved and got the details of the man willing to take the child. His ID card and the man gave his thumb print as a signature.

Anyway the video speaks for itself.

Yin Hei goes home

Next, we have a lady, who we don't know, but are very thankful to...she is the new mom of little Yin Hei, who was adopted on July 2nd. Yin Hei was with us for almost two years. He is rather shy, but very loving and has the sweetest laugh. We hope his mom will find us, for we have many videos and photos, we'd like to share with her of his time with us. I so appreciate the nannies letting his hair grow long. Usually, as summer is in full swing all our boys have a very close buzz cut:)

Newest Baby Boy

Our newest arrival is a little boy with an obvious issue, but his body and mind appear healthy. We are hoping he will thrive at Swallow's Nest and soon find a forever family . Clay had a recent meeting with the Zhengzhou Orphanage. It appears we will be getting more and more babies in the weeks to come.

New Heart Baby

This little one is due to come soon, but the orphanage doctor felt she needed to stay in the hospital a bit longer. As always, we appreciate all of you who help us continue this much needed service.

WOW!!!

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 23:47:00 -0430

That Australian Beauty is at it again, http://www.facebook.com/TGNdesigns

please visit her site. Thanks, pam

Three out of Six

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 00:42:00 -0430

Three out of six (oldest daughter taking the photo) of these kids were associated with Swallow's Nest before adoption. Can you guess which three? Love to see our kids become their kids. Amy and Andy be blessed!!!

Go here for the story.kcjmlfamily.blogspot.com

Let's Go!!!

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 05:09:00 -0430

These kids from the new baby house are not babies anymore. The oldest now 3 is driving. Many thanks for whoever donated the car:)

Birthday Blessings!!!!

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:51:00 -0430

Turning 18 is a milestone in a young girls life. This Australian Beauty (in white dress next to her dad) opted to have her friends and family give donations to Swallow's Nest instead of gifts for herself. She made a donation of 600 USD after the birthday celebration. People with hearts for the children is what helps us do more in Henan Province. Teagen may you be blessed for your generosity. Love you, Pam

Luke is Home!!!

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:06:00 -0430

Luke is home with his forever family. He is right in the middle. He's had many dr. appts lately and the following is an excerpt from an email from his mom:

We feel so incredibly blessed to have him. When the doctors look at those bad leg pictures and the labs from Shanghai they are amazed he is alive and so well!

He loves the pool and playing outside. He can climb the rungs to the 5 foot tall platform of the play set all by himself now and is very proud and happy about that! He is a busy, fun, sweet, intelligent, wonderful little boy we all love very much!! Thank you for being a huge part of making that possible :)!

Love , Lee

The Summer Cut

Wed, 09 May 2012 10:01:00 -0430

Time for the "summer cut" for our boys. I can tell Nancy, Ma Jia has come to work with her clippers. She's the official barber and always does a great job. I wish I knew what this little guy was looking at. He's got such a serious look, and that tongue, makes him appear very serious.

Lee, Says "Hello"!!!

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:24:00 -0430

Lee, Tanzillo, president of Swallow's Nest, adopts Luke this week in Zhengzhou, Henan. In May of 2011 we found Luke abandoned at the local hospital. We would like to thank all the government agencies for processing his paperwork in record time. Found in May 2011, surgery in May, paperwork submitted in September 2011, adopted in April 2012.

Clay says good-bye!!!

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:45:00 -0430

Clay visits to say good-bye to this little one as his mom will adopt him tomorrow. It was 11 months from finding him at our local hospital till adoption day. The fastest ever. Many thanks to the Zhengzhou Orphanage, Lee Tanzillo, our president, Civil Affairs Office of Henan Province, and CCCWA for all their efforts to get him "paper ready". He will be able to get the best medical care plus have the love of a forever family at the same time.

Sponsor a Nannie

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:04:00 -0430

Many of you who follow Swallow's Nest know that our on site directors are also teaching at the local university in order to maintain legal visa status and remain in China. Clay and Pam Williams, founders of Swallow's Nest with the assistance of many volunteers and our chinese employees carry out the day to day details of caring for these orphans.

In January, Pam resigned her position at the university. In previous years her university salary helped pay our employees. Thus, we are launching our "Sponsor a Nannie" Program to expand our donation base in order to continue our work.

We have shared a little about our dedicated staff on our Nannie page. As always we appreciate all of you!!!

New Nursing Students

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:06:00 -0430

Last week I wrote my friend Arthur at the Nursing College. I asked him for some weekend girls to help us out at Swallow's Nest. He sent these students. Oh my, they look so young, but in reality I'm just getting older by the second. They have a try weekend to train, and if they think the job "fits" them (as they say in China) then we hire them. They work from Friday night about 7 pm until Sunday at 7 pm. They live with the kids, cook, sleep, clean and enjoy the babies. We are so thankful for their youthful energy.

Little TT

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:56:00 -0430

Little TT is HIV +. We sponsor her to live at another facility that can meet her needs. It's been a while since we've seen photos of her. But an adopting family went for a visit and took several photos of the cute baby. Further questioning proved true, little TT is growing. She was in the hospital in November and thanks for special donation, we were able to send 3300 yuan for her hospital costs.

Her paperwork has been prepared and we hope that she has a forever family.

En Hao Visits

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:53:00 -0430

Then over walks one of the caregivers with a huge smile.......En Hao??? She says. She immediately recognized him and told Rebecca she had cared for him when he was little.

What a blessing to get a picture with them together. It is so clear how loved these children are. They are truly cared for with gentle, kind, loving hands and it shows.

To view entire post click here:

http://www.addingbranchestoourtree.blogspot.com/

Gotcha Day Again

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 03:59:00 -0430

We've had several adoptions lately. Here we go again!!!

Excerpt from mom's blog see below:

Wednesday night, way past my bed time, and I just can't fall asleep. I was born a night owl, and it seems even 3 kids can't change that! I decide that it would be a good idea to check the weather in both the cities our kiddos in China are at. I might want to start thinking about packing, so to pack, I need to know the weather.

Finding that out leads me to wonder if I can find out about the "local" scene, you know the secret places everyone should visit, that no one knows about. I decided to do random internet searches. I'm just weird like that, typing in random words to see what pops up and what information I can find out about where my babies are from.

Somewhere among the zillion searches I did, I found a link to a yahoo group that is composed of people who have adopted, are adopting, associated with, etc the same city/province as Caleb is from. Well of course I join the group. Maybe to find some random pictures someone took and my baby is in the background, or maybe just to learn more about where Caleb is from.

I told them my name and Caleb's Chinese name, and said hello!

Hours later, I received an email from the DIRECTOR of Swallows Nest in Zhengzhou, with the question...

Is this your son?

You can read the remainder here:

http://www.alittlebitclosertoday.blogspot.com/

Adoption day is today, probably right now!!!!

News from Holland Family

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:33:00 -0430

Little Chen Bin celebrated his birthday and is now 3 years
old! He is so happy and so cute! We made some family-foto's we really
wanted to sent you. He is a very active boy and really likes cars.
Al lday he wants to play, run and just want to make jokes. He is a good
eater and his favorite food is Italian :-) (his sister wants Chinese
food and he wants pizza or french fries). He is also very stubborn but
makes everyting go  away with a smile! 

He is also going to a Kindergarden, all the little girls really love
him! he is just a handsome 3 year old! 

greetings from 

Holland

Martijn, Karen

Rebekah Arrives, Heather Leaves!!!

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:21:00 -0430

Heather, (Clay pointing) volunteered for two weeks. She lives in China and used her winter break to assist us. Many thanks to Heather!!!!!

As Heather was leaving Rebekah (pink shirt) from Huntsville, AL was arriving. Rebekah will assist us for several months, teaching English to the older kids and filling in until we get some more aupairs.

Several other in China volunteers, who assist us are pictured.....one couple I haven't met yet, plus Harmony (middle). Many thanks to all of you for assisting Clay.

More Opportunities!!!

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:36:00 -0430

The beginning of the new year presents more opportunities for all of us. As I am still in USA, I am speaking to various groups rising awareness of our work in China.

Pictured here, a group of girls from a local Fellowship at Crosswalk in Williamsburg, Va. They learned to speak a little chinese, write a little chinese and dress a little chinese.

Serious hearted girls!!!

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:01:00 -0430

Lately, we've had one little girl say she didn't want birthday presents, just give some money for the kids at Swallow's Nest. Her parents sent us over 200 dollars. Two other girls put their heads together, sold a few things, did chores, sold stuff and sent us over 60 dollars. These girls were all under 12 years old. Many thanks for their effort and their serious heart.

Transitions

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:21:00 -0430

Two weeks in USA and we are finally over jet lag. We are enjoying family and friends and baking. It's amazing how cooking American style is coming back to me. I'm able to teach Xiao Qing many things I couldn't teach her in China. We know this stay in USA is for a season. We appreciate everyone remembering my dad as he improves after his recent hospitalization. We miss our babies and are grateful for those in China who we trust to manage Swallow's Nest while I am away.

Hats, Hats, and more Hats

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:51:00 -0430

Today, the mail brought 400 knitted caps from USA. Many thanks to our friends who spent time and money making them. We plan to share with the local orphanage and some of our other foster homes in the city.

Happy Family

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:37:00 -0430

I can remember the day with a discovery of Down's Syndrome seemed like the end of the world. But after having a children's home in China for 4 years, our Down's Syndrome kids are the easiest to care for and the most well behaved.

Little Piper has always been an angel and we miss her so much. No one can fill her spot, but we did get a little boy to fill her bed :)

It's so wonderful to see her here with her family. Wishing that all our babies find their forever families this year.

Last Days

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:22:00 -0430

This little guy was only with us from Oct. 27th to Nov. 20th. He was in the hospital most of that time. Through his hospitalization we met Tian (in nursing uniform). She wanted to work nights and weekends with us. Therefore, we hired her. Its amazing how each little life is so precious and how these little babies change all of us without uttering a word. He had multiple issues and we are thankful he spent his last days with us.