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Christina and Christopher
Oregon

Basic Info

Christina

Age: 56
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Religion: Christian

Christopher

Age: 45
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Religion: Christian

Child Preferences

Age: 7 to 20 years old
Sex: Either
Max Number of Children: 3
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian, African American, Asian, Native American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, Mixed, Bi-Racial, Unknown

Special Needs the Family is Open To: Any Child (Open to Discussion), Animal Allergies, Asthma, Drug Allergies, Environmental Allergies, Food Allergies, Academically behind due to poor attendance, Cognitive Delay - Mild, Mild Learning Disabilities, ADHD, Diabetes, Willing to Maintain Contact via Mail with Bio Family, Willing to Maintain Contact with Past Foster Parents, Willing to Maintain Contact with Bio Grandparents & Other Relatives, Willing to Maintain Contact with Bio Siblings

Environment

State: Oregon
Neighborhood: Suburban
Residency:
Years Together: 18
Children in the Home: 0
Pet(s): Dog(s), cat(s)

Work

Christina

Occupation: Teacher

Christopher

Occupation: Helicopter Mechanic

Adoption Agency

Agency: A Family For Every Child
Worker: Elyse Hoots
Worker: elyse@afamilyforeverychild.org
City: Eugene
State: Oregon
Zip: 97402

Family Description

We are Chris and Christina Hoskins We own a home in Salem, Oregon where work as a helicopter mechanic for the Army National Guard and a 4th & 5th grade teacher. We both have a strong Christian faith and we are praying for a child or children to join our family. Our favorite pastimes include camping, attending concerts and festivals, traveling and watching movies. We are both big sports fans and especially enjoy football. Chris enjoys swimming and Christina is an avid reader. We love getting together with family and friends to visit and play board games. We have a cat names Penelope, a cat named Abby and a little dog named Paloma. Our daughter and her husband live just a few miles away and we spend time with them each week including watching Ozzy play rugby and baking with Jessica. We have a beautiful backyard that we like to hang out in and a small popup camper that we take camping. We try to go on an out of town adventure at least once a month which is anything from a day trip to the Oregon coast or a long weekend visiting family in Texas. We like to watch sports live which makes for a fun Saturday trip to Eugene to cheer on the Ducks! We often host Sunday morning football brunches with friends and family. Having raised 3 children. our house was always full of extra kids. Jessi was in marching band in high school and we often had half the band at our house. Kids enjoy being around us, we will play games, build with lego, play video games and bake with any willing participants. We have so much love to give and know that a child or children would feel loved in our fun family!

Preference Description

We would like to adopt a child between the ages of 4-18. We are open to any ethnic background. We would also consider siblings. We are able to care for a child with mild disabilities and/or ADHD.

The Hoskins Family Profile

We would love to have a child join our family. We have several Hispanic members of our family and friends who are Hispanic and Pacific Islanders, so we think we would provide a loving culturally sensitive home for a child with an ethnic background other than ours.

Introduction

Our day starts with a walk around the block with our little dog, Paloma. We both go to work Monday through Friday, with lunches we've packed ourselves. In the evenings we cook dinner together and take Paloma for another walk. Then we watch tv. What we watch on TV depends on what time of the year it is. We LOVE football, and during football season, we watch as much as we can. During holidays we like to watch cheesy Hallmark movies and all the classic Christmas movies. We don't watch as much TV in the summer because we like to spend as much time adventuring as we can, We have a little pop-up camper that we take camping as much as we can, and we try to visit a new national park each year. We really love to travel, and we have driven from coast to coast, visiting many fun places along the way. We have seen the Pittsburgh Steelers (Chris' favorite team) and the Dallas Cowboys (Christina's favorite team) play in their home stadiums it is SO MUCH fun! We have also been to several major league baseball stadiums and hope to visit many more. We like going to concerts and festivals in the summer and fall, especially if they involve food. Another fun activity we like to do is ride roller coasters, we have been to amusement parks all over the country riding any roller coasters we can find! When the weather keeps us indoors, we find fun things to do inside, we like to play board games and put together jigsaw puzzles. Chris has the unique hobby of painting Warhammer figurines and joining friends to play the tabletop game. Christina is an avid reader and always has a craft going, not to mention baking! Even volunteering to bake cakes for underserved youth in our community through a program called cake-4-kids. We like to celebrate holidays, our favorites are the 4th of July, Halloween, and Christmas.

Home and Community

Our house is a single-level home with three bedrooms on a corner lot so we have a big front yard. We live in a suburban neighborhood, there are two elementary schools and a middle school within walking distance. There are always kids playing basketball or riding their bikes outside. Most of the houses decorate for holidays, and you can always see people with their dogs and children out for a walk. There is a little league baseball field very close by. And a trampoline park just up the road. Our city has over 80 parks, many of which have water features to play in when the weather is hot. Riverfront park is one of our favorites it has a carousel, an amphitheater, a children's museum, and a bridge that connect the huge dog park. We like to go to dinner and a movie on Fridays, our town has so many great places to eat; one of our favorite places to eat is a big food truck place where everyone can get something different for dinner. Chris likes to swim, and a great place to do that is the Kroc center, which has a giant pool, a lazy river, a rock climbing wall, and a lot of other activities.

Parenting Experience

We have three grown children who are Christina's biological children that we raised together since 2005. Chris came into a family with 3 teenagers and learned quickly how important it is to adapt and navigate to build trust and love. In 2009 we became grandparents to our son's oldest daughter, and she quickly became a big part of our lives. In 2012 we became grandparents again when our oldest daughter had a daughter of her own, the two lived with us for the first three years, and when they found a place of their own, we stayed an important part of their everyday life by picking our granddaughter up from school and having a big family dinner each Sunday. Christina has worked in education for over 30 years, which has given her experience with hundreds of children. She is currently a teacher at a community school and has daily interactions with over 70 children ages 3-13. After moving to Oregon and before becoming a helicopter mechanic, Chris worked with special needs students in the school district, interacting with many different students and their individual needs every day. Both of us have learned that the most important factor in helping children thrive is PATIENCE. We both feel that parenting is unique and changes every day with every situation.

Support

We have a small but close circle of friends and immediate family. Our youngest daughter Jessica, and her husband Ozzy will be our biggest supports. Jessica volunteers as a respite care provider for Salem Angels. They have a big house and plenty of space for guests or a sleepover. They look forward to having another family member to share holidays and everyday life with. Our good friends Claudia and Eddie recently had a child of their own, to who we became honorary Aunt and Uncle. We frequently get together for dinner or to watch football. We celebrate birthdays together and help take care of each other's pets. They are excited to help us in our new parenting journey and can be depended on for any needs we may have. Jessica and Ozzy, Claudia and Eddie as well as our friends Bre, Nate, Kaelynn, and Christian are all people we spend holidays and special days with. We love to eat, and we love to cook, so there is always plenty of food! We go to church on (most) Sundays; our church has groups of all ages of children and plans regular fun events for each age group. Our family extends to Texas where our child will be able to visit their grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. The owner of Kaleidoscope Community School, where Christina works, has three adopted children of her own and is always available to give advice or offer support.

Motivation

We have talked about wanting to bring a child into our home for a few years, this year we made the decision to move forward with the adoption process. We feel strongly that there is a child or children who we can bring into our family to love and care for. We began in February (2022) by attending the foundations training. We have spent the following months visiting with and getting advice from friends who have adopted children. We have read several books and watched videos, and listened to podcasts. Even though we have raised children of our own and had 2 of our grandchildren in our custody for six months, we know that every situation is different and that adopting a child from foster care is a unique experience. We know that even though we have done so much to prepare, we cannot prepare for every possible scenario. We spend time every day talking about the challenges that we are prepared to face, and the love that we will give to our child. We KNOW that there is a child or children whose lives will be better when it is joined with ours. We picture holidays spent with our child, we talk about the challenges we could face and what we will do as a family to face those challenges.