HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's one of our most favorite days of the year here at CAP - Halloween! This year, we had a witch, super mom, Minnie Mouse, and Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie. Kate and I have "Halloween Party Radio" on Pandora and we highly recommend it. We're currently rocking out to "Maneater" by Hall and Oates.

Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!

The CAP Crew...Angie, our new volunteer, even got in the holiday spirit!

Minnie Mouse

Paris and Nicole



Super Mom! (And she IS - Veronica is in the process of adopting TWO more boys!)



HAPPY ALMOST HALLOWEEN!

Over here at the CAP office, we definitely get excited for Halloween (well, most of us do...) and this year, we get to dress up with a bunch more people from The Children's Institute! In anticipation for tomorrow's festivities (which includes a potluck lunch...BONUS), here are some photos from previous CAP Halloweens in our old office.

 

David as a happy playing card!

Cupcakes Melanie and I made for Halloween 2010

Halloween 2010: Veronica (witch), David (California Raisin), me (ventriloquist dummy), Gretchen (witch) and Melanie (cowgirl)

Halloween 2011: Melanie (Ramb-ette), Kate (Hawaiian luau girl), me (zombie), David (irate bookkeeper)



Just a zombie filing some papers...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY(S)!

So in our little CAP office, we have a tradition of doing a potluck lunch to celebrate birthdays. Every time one rolls around, we all secretly email about the potluck, deciding who is bringing what.

This afternoon, we had the pleasure of celebrating David and Melanie's birthdays...only we didn't realize Mel wasn't in the office today! So here's a group photo of the CAP crew, grubbing on Mark's awesome West African peanut soup in our break room...sans Melanie.

Eating and talking...one of our downtime specialties.

(This birthday celebration, I was feeling particularly festive so I decided to try this recipe for "easy, best pumpkin cupcakes"...yes, that's literally what I typed in my search bar. Fall is such a good time for warm spices and pumpkin desserts and what better way to bond with children than to bake with them! Below is a photo of the final product - I definitely recommend adding cream cheese frosting to top them off!

Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting..yum!

LITTLE GIRL WITH AUTISM SINGS WITH KATY PERRY

Jodi is a little girl who was diagnosed with Autism at just two years old. Below is a video clip of her singing wtih Katy Perry.

With services, support and love, children can do anything!

WHAT IS FAMILY?

A few months ago, this video went viral - and I loved every minute of it! I just stumbled on it again and wanted to share - Happy Monday!

MEET JESSE

Check out his hair..he totally gelled that for our photo shoot.

Ahhh! Look at this little munchkin!

What.
A.
Cutie.

Last Friday, Melanie went to visit Jesse (he's one of her Wendy's Wonderful Kids) and I was able to tag along and take some photos for our upcoming Heart Gallery event next month at Strong National Museum of Play.

Jesse was nothing short of adorable. At one point, during our lunch at (one of) his favorite restaurant(s), Burger King, he matter-of-factly told me, "You have a nice laugh. I like that." How sweet!

Jesse striking a pose in front of BK.

Jesse is a fun-loving, very affectionate, polite young man who when asked what he'd like to be when he grows up, tell me, "a mixer." (After further investigation, I figured out this meant that he likes to "mix things" like ingredients for recipes...so it seems "mixer" is "chef" in Jesse's awesome kid world.)

Jesse is only ONE of over 100,000 youth who are waiting for a permanent home. Please contact Melanie@capbook.org or call us at 888-835-8802 to learn more about Jesse or other youth who are available and waiting...

In the meantime, you can check out his video below!

THANKS FOR A THANK YOU!

Photo courtesy of www.maniacalmom.com

A few months ago, I received an awesome little note from a former colleague of mine. We went to high school together and haven't spoken in nearly 20 years but thanks to the magic of Facebook, I was able to walk into work and start my day with this email:

Hi Ilona,

I wanted to write to let you know how happy Children Awaiting Parents made me this past weekend. I used to work at Crestwood Children's Center and it was often sad thinking about what would come of the residential kids' lives. My husband has a friend from RIT that adopted a boy I knew from Crestwood a couple of years ago and I got to see them this past weekend. James is doing wonderfully, he is doing well in school and his dads have now adopted his two siblings. I was so happy to see the great progress James has made and how happy his family is.

I just thought I would share this story with you, keep up the good work!!!

How awesome is this?! If you like what you've read and would like to help us find loving permanent homes for more children like James, please click here.

DO YOU FLY SOUTHWEST?

According to a recent article, the Dave Thomas Foundation for adoption has named Southwest Airlines one of America's best adoption-friendly companies.

Click here to see the the Dave Thomas Foundation's complete list of 2012 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces by Industry.

SAVE THE ADOPTION TAX CREDIT



Photo courtesy of newrhythm.org

Read this article on why the Adoption Tax Credit is so important to our families and then sign the petition here!

BE A MENTOR!

Today's guest blogger is our very own, Melanie Schmidt.

What happens to A CAP kid if no one adopts them by the time they turn 21?

Unfortunately, I have seen this sad scenario play out too many times in the lives of the children I work with. Some of them end up homeless, others quickly get pregnant in order to build a family for themselves and bring meaning to their lives. All of them struggle without the guidance of a family.

One of them in particular, is in special situation where a family could come alongside him and offer love and support. Living in the Seneca/Cayuga area of upstate NY, he is 23 and living in a state-sponsored group home since he has developmental delays and does not have the ability to care for himself.  A sweet young man who is forever young, he loves to collect watches, watch football, and he hopes to be Spiderman for Halloween. He loves attention from adults and going on outings. Unfortunately, without a family, this young man will have nowhere to go for Christmas or his birthday. Other residents in his group home have families, so he may be one of the only ones celebrating Christmas at his group home. Although he is receiving excellent care in his group home, he would greatly benefit from the love and commitment of a caring adult who could provide a sense of family to him.

If you think you might be just the person to offer a relationship to this young man, I invite you to consider this rewarding experience. Please contact me (Melanie) at 585-232-5110 if you are interested in finding out more about this young man or others like him who are longing for the love of family.