The Silcock Family Newsletter

May 2009

The new chapter has begun and everything is going well for the family. Of course at times things can get a little more stressful as a single parent but overall its been remarkably smooth sailing. The boys are adjusting and, for the most part, have stepped it up in terms of helping around the house. Life does go on after a separation.

Since January 2009 a couple more adoptions have been finalized. Andrew's adoption took place on March 23, one day before his 18th birthday. Andrew is the first son I have adopted as a single parent. Andrew is thrilled to officially have his "forever family." James' adoption was finalized on April 1. James waited a long time for finalization and we were both very happy to complete his adoption. Both boys were as thrilled as I was to finally get their day in court. I am still waiting on a court date for Carlos, Richard and Alexander. All three are kids who were placed by the various local County Social Services Departments. The three have already had their parental rights terminated so we are definitely getting closer to the finish line. These adoption should be completed by the end of summer. Cristian's adoption is also ready to go however I am appealing the decision the county made to deny Cristian AAP. The county's rational is that Cristian was not at risk of going into the foster care system. Pardon me? If anyone was at risk it would be Cristian with his very intense behavioral challenges and social and developmental needs. I have a date in early June to appeal this decision in front of a judge. Hopefully my documentation will prove that Cristian meets the criteria to receive AAP. We are also working on the readoption of George and Alin. Both were adopted in Romania but we would like to get them readopted through the California court system. This makes life easier for everyone kater in life, WE are keeping our fingers crossed that both readoptions go smoothly and quickly. Finally my attorney is working on Andre's adoption and Rishi's guardianship. I hope both will be completed soon. Due to Rishi's continuing intensive medical needs my attorney recommended that I take guardianship prior to adoption. The concern was that this adoption may take a little bit longer due to complication related to how Rishi entered this country from India. In any case the family is moving forward with adoptions and I hope many will be completed this year.

Lately a few of the boys and I have started our own Twitter accounts. This a fun way for the kids to share their day with friends while improving their typing and literacy skills. With only 140 characters per entry the boys never feel overwhelmed when sharing their thoughts and activities. So far here are the boys who have Twitter accounts: Andrethehelper (Andre), FishermanDavid (David), CristianfromCA (Cristian), and JordanDrums (Jordan). My Twitter account is AnnFromHB. I am finding Twitter kind of fun. Its sort of a Readers Digest version of Blogging. I will keep the Twitter accounts listed for each boy on their AllOurBoys.com page. Check out our Twitter accounts if you are interested. The boys always love to see how many people are "following" them.

The summer is almost here and I am frantically setting up camps for the guys. Many will return to their favorite camps of the past and other will be trying new camp programs as well. I should almost have everything finished and organized in the next week or so. Besides camps, six of the guy with be traveling to Las Vegas in June. Another six boys will be going on an 10-day European Cruise with a three day stay in London. The boys will be traveling with Grandma Sue and family friend, Sarah Richard in mid-July. The gang is especially excited about this trip. Jeffrey is looking forward to seeing Estonia and Saul can't wait to visit Russia! I can't wait to see the pictures and to read the daily e-mails.

That's it for now. I will write more later. Thanks for your interest.

Ann