Rhoden Family Profile, Child Preference
I am searching for a single child, a boy, age 5-9 (ish). I am open to certain behavior, emotional, and other issues...on a case by case basis. I'm open to any race as well. To honor a child's uniqueness I would only hope to be a guide and mentor to a child so they can grow up to be the best they can and a contributing member of society. My son I adopted this past year, age 6, I have had the opportunity, for example, to expose him to a lot of different things and find out and support those things he wants to do.Our Day
My son and I like to keep a pretty regular routine during the week. We get up and he goes to school and I go to work, and I'm back home when he gets off the bus to meet him. He tends to like to play inside or in the backyard until dinner. Often we walk to the park by our house for awhile so he can play with the neighbor kids, then we come home and play a game or watch TV. Weekends he plays soccer when it's in season, and we try to get out of town and get to the beach or some other amusement park. We do live in a popular tourist destination and have a lot to do and plenty of events going on really close to home. |
All Around Us
We live in Tumwater WA and there is a lot to do and see for us all around. We live close to a city park; my son goes to a great school and I get a lot of support with things to do in town. My son likes to go to the local Boys and Girls Club when he can and has learned to play sports there with a good coach. It is just one of many programs for him/us.My Experience
I have volunteered for Big Brothers/Big Sisters in Palm Desert. Mostly with an after-school program instead of the one on one they are more famous for, as I was already approved to adopt by this time. I also hosted a foreign exchange program from Germany, another great opportunity for me get the feel for being a parent. He has since visited many times since ending the school year. Truly a great kid and I highly recommend it others. Otherwise, I have a lot of nieces and nephews and extended family, and thus experience with kids. I am required to participate in monthly training with my FFA. Also, I volunteered as a camp counselor to adoptive kids while living in Alabama. That was great and I wish there something like that where I live now...that was a lot of fun. I won the spirit stick - I'm pretty proud of that. |
My Support
I'm lucky as I have a great supportive family and friends who help me out a lot. I'm a member of a few adoptive family support groups that have a lot of cool things going on for the kids and we are all there to help out with other families. Palm Springs has some good events for kids during vacations etc., that are reasonable as well. Good places for my son to make new friends. Also, other parents of kids in my sons class and I help each other out as well and give the kids some play dates.My Commitment
I have been on this adoption journey for a long time and have one terrific son I have adopted so far. I have worked with a few different adoption services, mostly county or state agencies, however, once I found my current FFA things really took off and I got matched right away. I'm hoping to keep the momentum going with another kid for adoption. Obviously I have gone to great lengths to make this happen and never gave up on the system nor my chances to create my family. |
