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Kumud and Mark
Georgia

Basic Info

Kumud

Age: 57
Sex:
Race/Ethnicity:
Religion:

Mark

Age: 58
Sex:
Race/Ethnicity:
Religion:

Child Preferences

Age: 4 to 12 years old
Sex: Female
Max Number of Children: 1
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian, Asian, Native American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, Mixed, Bi-Racial, Unknown

Special Needs the Family is Open To: Mild Physical/Medical Disability, Difficulty in Attaching, Difficulty Making Friends, Poor Social Skills, Has Behavior Problems in School, Mild Learning Disabilities, One/Both Parents Diagnosed with Depression, One/Both Parents Have Alcohol Addiction, One/Both Parents Have Drug Addiction, Exposed to Domestic Violence, Child has had a disrupted adoption, ADHD, Adjustment Disorder, Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Requires Medication For Psychiatric Condition/Mental Health Diagnosis, Requires Counseling/Therapy, Willing to Maintain Contact via Mail with Bio Family, Willing to Maintain Contact with Past Foster Parents, Sexually Abused in the Past

Environment

State: Georgia
Neighborhood: Suburban
Residency: Single Family Home
Years Together: 18
Children in the Home: 3
Pet(s): None

Work

Kumud

Occupation: Physician

Mark

Occupation: Physician

Adoption Agency

Agency: Bethany Christian
Worker: Corrie Firmin
Worker: cfirmin@bethany.org
City: Atlanta
State: Georgia
Zip: 30328-1606

Preference Description

We are interested in adopting a loving happy little girl who is open to becoming a part of our big family and to being a sister to 3 brothers. We are committed to helping her overcome any behavioral challenges that she may have.

The Smith Family Profile

We would like to adopt a child or sibling group of girls between the ages of 4 and 12 inclusive. We feel we can accommodate a sibling group of up to 3 kids. We prefer to adopt a child of Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, Native american, Pacific islander, Biracial or Mixed ethnic background. We are open to children with many, many special needs. We do not mind having contact with the child\'s biological parents (by mail ) 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 phone or by mail . We are committed to helping children we adopt overcome any behavioral challenges that they may have.

Our Family Characteristics

Our names are Kumud and Mark Smith. I am currently 49 years old. My husband is currently 49 years old. We have 3 kids. Our children's names are Neel Smith, Nikhil Smith and Nathan Smith and they are 12, 17 and 9 years old, respectively Our children are of Caucasian-Asian ethnicity. I like gardening and planting flowers and I like to exercise/go to the gym. Mark also likes to exercise and go to the gym, he also enjoys playing sports with the kids, biking and reading. Nikhil is a basketball player and spends most of his time either practicing or playing in tournaments. Neel also likes to play basketball and participates in team ball, and Neel is taking piano lessons. Neel is also in Honors band at school. Nathan enjoys both basketball and soccer and likes to read. I work part-time for Augusta VA Medical center as a Physician and have a flexible work schedule. Mark works full-time for Nephrology Associates as a Physician . We are a spiritually based Christian family. We believe there is a God and that Christ was God's son who came to this earth to save humanity. We attend church regularly and Mark spends time every night doing devotions with the boys.

We are all die hard Ohio State Buckeye fans. We all have different preferences in TV shows. The kids like to watch cartoons, Disney channel and my husband and I like to watch HGTV and comedies. We make sure that the tv shows and movies are age appropriate. The children all listen to Christian music. We spend as much time together as a family as possible. We also spend time taking the kids to their activities and attend almost all of their sports and other extra-curricular activities. We watch movies and play games together and try to go out to dinner as a family on special occasions. The children also have specific household chores that they are assigned.

Home and Community

We live in the State of Georgia. Our home is a single family home. We live in a Suburban neighborhood. We are good friends with our neighbors. We do not have any pets.

We like to play board games, watch family movies and go biking together. We take family trips/vacations regularly. We like to go to the beach and every summer we take a family vacation to one of the National Parks. We participate in YMCA and Columbia County Sports activities. Also we have several church activities that the kids participate in along with several camps during the summer. We encourage the children to take music lessons. The public schools are excellent and we have strong PTAs at our schools. We have been very pleased with our school system.

Parenting Experience

Our parenting experiences have included learning what works best for which child. We have learned to use loving but firm discipline. We have learned that parenting is such a difficult job but most rewarding. We do not believe in physical punishment. We spend a great deal of time nurturing, guiding and teaching our children. We are a strong, well grounded family. We are very close to each other and we have closeness with our extended family. We are committed to each other. We have discipline and structure in our home and we expect that each member of the family contributes to the home. Above all, LOVE is at the center of our family. We will seek regular counseling. We will use our church pastor for emotional and spiritual support. We will continue to lean on each other during the hard times. My brother is a child abuse physician and my sister is a child psychiatrist and they will serve as valuable resources. We also have several friends that have adopted and we will seek their support during challenging times. We have completed IMPACT training and will also be completing additional on line training. We will also read suggested books to help us become more knowledgeable.

Support

We will utilize the church, counselors and our friends and family. Our sources of support are our family (my parents, my brother/sister), our church and our circle of close friends.

Motivation to Adopt

Our heart goes out to children who are growing up without a family and we want to be a part of helping to enrich a child's life, to give that child the best opportunity possible. We also want our boys to realize how blessed they are, we want them to have a sister to love and grow up with. There are so many children right here in our country in foster care that need a home and a family. We are committed to helping these children. Even though we are both physicians with busy work schedules we believe family comes first!! Even though my husband has a hectic work schedule I have a less demanding work schedule. I work part time 3d/wk and I don't work evenings or weekends. I also have more flexibility and am able to take leave from work whenever needed. We are both very committed hands on parents and will do whatever it takes to make this new family work!