The Wilkinson Family Profile
We would like to adopt a child between the ages of 2 and 4.
We are open to a boy or a sibling group of boys.
We feel we can accommodate a sibling group of up to 2 kids.
We are open to children from all races and ethnic backgrounds.
We are open to children with special needs.
We do not mind having contact with the child's biological parents (by email or by phone or by mail or in person ) provided the parent was/is not abusive to the child.
We do not mind having continuing contact with the child\'s former foster parents, by email or by phone or by mail or in person .
In general, Some of the attributes we would like to have in a child are respectful, resiliency, openness, perseverance, courage and outgoing.Introduction
Our names are Andrea and James Wilkinson and we are a family that likes to have fun! There is never a dull moment with us. We have been married over 12 years and we currently have an 9 year old son living with us. We desire to expand our family as we believe that this be a blessing for all parties. Although we are African American we are open to all. We have a sort of adopted South Korean young lady who we call our daughter. She was an exchange student that stayed with us for 2 years and she still comes to visit. We are big on diversity, exposing our kids to different things so that they are aware of options in life that will help them to progress, and we are big on education. Andrea's hobbies are listening to music, enjoying and embracing nature (listening to birds, walking in the park, being in the moment), going to the movies and spending time doing fun things with the family.
James' hobbies are spending time with the family, bicycling, exercising, participating in sports with our son, going to the movies and playing outside. I work full-time for Virginia State - DARS as a VR Counselor and have a flexible work schedule and my husband is an Active Duty Lt. Colonel in the United States Army. We believe in respecting others and following the rules. It is important for us to instill respect and independence in our kids as we want them to be successful and do better than us (their parents). We have a Christian foundation and we live by these beliefs. We enjoy sporting events, listening to different types of music, watching movies and biking and just plain 'ol acting silly. When we gather, we usually gather in our son's room, the kitchen or the living room; we just like to be around each other a lot. We always spend time with each other, either playing inside/outside, watching a movie or practicing for the sport that our son is involved in. We take time to travel to experience different things and/or we travel to see family often.
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Home and Community
We live in the State of Virginia.
Our home is a single family home and we live in a Suburban neighborhood in which we know all of our neighbors. We do not have any pets at this time but would like to get a puppy in the future. For our family, it is important to continue to do some educational activities and to have conversations that are thought provoking. In addition, we like to expose our kids to different activities so that they are able to find their niche' in life. To us it is all about exposure and finding the activity they enjoy. This will help them excel.
There are various activities to do near our home. We have a community center that has a playground, swimming pool, tennis court and basketball court. In addition, there are a lot of sports leagues and other playgrounds in our area. Our community is extremely family oriented.
There are a lot activity options for children in our community. We have the following sports and activities: swimming, basketball, martial arts, softball, track and field, music lessons and more. We live in an awesome school district that is rated very well. The sense of community and the educational system are some of the main reasons why we moved to our current neighborhood. Andrea is a member of the PTA and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and serves on committees at work.
Parenting Experience
Our parenting experience includes raising a daughter, exchange student and our youngest, son. Our oldest is 25 years old and our son is 8 years old. Some of Andrea's strengths are patience, listening, guiding and counseling, empathizing and analyzing. Some of James' strengths are leading, directing, teaching and problem solving.
We feel that we can handle the difficulty of what comes with a foster care adoption because of our personalities and our personal and professional experience. I am a VR counselor that has encountered individuals with difficult situations so I feel like I have the tenacity and drive to help others.
I would say that the way we grew up and the circumstances that we have faced then and up until now....we are able to handle a lot of different situations. We have made many sacrifices in being a military family and I feel that prepares you for many venues. In addition, we have undergone training with our agency in regard to taking on children that have experienced trauma. We can do this...we have the will.
It is hard to say how it will change but we know if will change drastically. Everything will be different as our family dynamic will have changed. We are a military family and have experienced change as long as we have been married and we work through it. In addition, we took on an exchange student from South Korea and that situation changed our life. She was with us for 2 years attending high school and she has since graduated and is now attending college in the states. She spends her breaks with us so that becomes a change once again. Our life is always changing and we are up for the challenge.
Every month we undergo training with our agency that deals with being a foster/adoptive parent, children that have been in traumatic circumstances, how to assist the kids, first aid and cpr, and more.
This training will certainly help us in knowing how to handle certain situations so that we can provide a safe, nurturing and a trusting experience for the child/children.
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Support
As a rehabilitation counselor, I have knowledge and resources in the community that may help a child work through and/or progress through the situation. If I don't know it, I have colleagues and community partners that would direct me to the appropriate places.
The child care that we would potentially use is The Goddard School. We have used them in the past and they have been awesome.
We are certainly family-oriented and we talk to our son about the possibility of having an addition to our family. He is open to the idea. He said that he would help where he can. We talk about things and we come up with a plan.
Our primary source of support will be family, friends and our agency.
We will receive support from the multi-disciplinary team that will be working with the child.
Motivation to Adopt
My husband and I want to adopt a foster child because we want to expand our family and we realize that there are many kids in the foster care system that would like to have a permanent family. We would like to be that permanent family.
We commit to helping the child in a holistic manner so that he can become an individual with self-confidence, great values-morals, respectful and knowing the importance of education and never giving up. We will show him that we are trustworthy and that we care.
We will show him the respect and provide a good level of comfort.
We will show that we are patient are committed to seeing progress in all areas of his life.
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