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There's No Place Like Home


Cheetah

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One of the blogs I enjoy reading is "There's No Place Like Home." This is a family that has come up in threads before about child collectors.... they have a huge number of kids adopted from China, plus something like 5 adult bio children. Unlike a lot of the blogs we snark on here, aside from the large number of kids, they seem pretty sensible most of the time. The family is Catholic rather than Fundie, they have enough money for therapies and a nice home and vacations. They seem to have a good handle on which kids need more help with education (they homeschool most of the kids, but a couple of them go to public school for special ed). I would say that most of the posts just seem like a really nice, but large, family. And then once in a while you just get a doozy. Today's post was vaguely about some issues they are having with their latest adoption attempt. Instead of putting the unnamed difficulties down to stupid bureaucracy, or whatever..... it's Satan. Satan apparently hates adoption.

I don't know, it's just weird when you get lulled into thinking people are more or less like you (okay, there's no way I'd adopt 10 kids, but... ) and then boom, they really really believe that there's a demonic presence actively working in their lives.

theresnoplacelikehome-family.blogspot.com/2014/11/in-midst-of-storm.html

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I've been following Jean's blog for the past couple of years. I check it maybe once or twice a week. I like this family for the most part, but I agree the posting about Satan working against the adoption was weird.

I wonder if Jean and her husband are encountering problems due to their adoption history. They adopt too frequently and maybe that has some people concerned.

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Speaking as an adoptive parent, while I never thought Satan was behind the various trials and tribulations involved in adoption, there are more than enough times where you just want to :angry-banghead:

Adoption speed might well be an issue: our agency wouldn't let us adopt again until the full legal paperwork had cleared, which took ~9 months. It honestly was odd- less than a month after we got our first (after a loooong wait) our agency called us asking if we knew anyone with a valid homestudy. They had a healthy baby boy sitting in the hospital that nobody was willing to adopt[1] We would have done it happily but #1 son wasn't even out of the birth parent revocation period, much less finalized.

[1] One guess as to why nobody wanted him. It still pisses me off

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I've followed their blog for a long time. I can't imagine adopting so many children so quickly, but they do seem to be able to afford to do so and they seem to be willing to work with whatever needs to be done with each child. They moved (last year maybe) after having problems with neighbors because several kids are hiv positive. I'm never quite sure what to think of Jean, but she seems to be a good parent.

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I've followed their blog for a long time. I can't imagine adopting so many children so quickly, but they do seem to be able to afford to do so and they seem to be willing to work with whatever needs to be done with each child. They moved (last year maybe) after having problems with neighbors because several kids are hiv positive. I'm never quite sure what to think of Jean, but she seems to be a good parent.

It is the same with me. Jean and her husband Jim seem like conservative,but not crazy Catholics. She isn't like Super Catholic Abigial. She reminds me a bit of Catholic bloggers Briana Heldt and the late Barbara Curtis. Jean is probably nice than what Barbara was though.

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  • 3 weeks later...
I've been following Jean's blog for the past couple of years. I check it maybe once or twice a week. I like this family for the most part, but I agree the posting about Satan working against the adoption was weird.

I wonder if Jean and her husband are encountering problems due to their adoption history. They adopt too frequently and maybe that has some people concerned.

The Satan's-behind-it attitude to normal, bureaucratic adoption stuff is very much a crazy-fundie-kid-kollecting adopters thing. It's, ummm, interesting that folks who insist a supernatural being wants then to adopt choose to interpret "delays" as Satan's interference versus "supernatural being is telling you that adopting 5 more unrelated SN kids you can't actually afford to properly care for is not what you should do now"

http://findingourlittleone.blogspot.com ... ay_22.html

http://gettingawesleyinedgewise.blogspo ... -said.html

These are also the folks who, after getting the kid the supernatural being told them to adopt home, change their mind and think it's "no biggie" to kick the kid to the curb because they've got better things to do than deal with their insurance company to get their new kid desperately needed medical care or alter the family's summer vacation because the adopted kid can't regulate body temperature (cancel the Disney trip that may kill their kid):

http://noknots.blogspot.com/2011/10/sto ... g-for.html

http://www.myspecialks.com/search/label/adoption

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  • 10 months later...

I know I've seen Jean mentioned here in a thread, but I searched and can't find it.

theresnoplacelikehome-family.blogspot.com/

They've adopted a gaggle of kids from China with little to no time between adoptions. Financially stable family and providing the best of everything. They were still trying to adopt as of this year, but I think they were finally turned down for being to old?

They have four older kids they raised 'in the world' All the children they've adopted have been homeschooled, except two with special needs. Their kids are limited to outside influences and she refused to treat the oldest as true teens(somewhat understandable)

I just wonder about the kids attachment. Readiness for the world. Who will take care of them if something happens to Jean and/or Jim. How are people able to adopt so many kids in close succession?

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aprayerfullife.com

I read about this family somewhere on here at some point, but again, can't find the thread.

I just find them fascinating. The transformation from 'normal' to head covering and potato sack dresses. The children are beautiful though. I'm sure she isn't accepted by typical fundies since she has an older daughter (divorced or unwed, can't tell)

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  • 2 months later...
2 minutes ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

http://theresnoplacelikehome-family.blogspot.com/2016/01/our-christmas-blessing.html?m=1

Since China has shut down the Mulvahil's non-stop adopting, it seems Jean and Jim have found a new way to satisfy their child collecting addiction.  At least this family seems to take good care of their kids... I guess things could be worse.

I want to give this family some major side-eye for child collecting, but at least the kids look happy and well cared for. It seems like their older bio children are all very well-educated (Master's and PhD), and I hope they offer and encourage those same opportunities for their adopted kids.

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10 minutes ago, nastyhobbitses said:

I want to give this family some major side-eye for child collecting, but at least the kids look happy and well cared for. It seems like their older bio children are all very well-educated (Master's and PhD), and I hope they offer and encourage those same opportunities for their adopted kids.

I actually like this family, at least from my perception of them from the blog. But this latest adoption pretty much convinces me that they have some sort of adoption addiction going on.

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OMG, that's not a family, that's a boarding school/children's home 6 girls aged 9 or 10, 4 girls 13 -15, 5 boys ages 7-9.  See they even fit into small groups like a boarding school/summer camp dorm.

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I sort of got a pain in my stomach when they said they were going to participate in "showing an orphan from another country what a great family could be like and then tear it all away from him"... and now I'm officially sad. Jean and Jim have always been an example to me of what international adoption could be (although I agree they adopt too fast) but that's over. I really, really hope this was done above board, with lawyers etc. At least they seem to have $$ and give their kids tons of opportunies.

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2 minutes ago, imokit said:

OMG, that's not a family, that's a boarding school/children's home 6 girls aged 9 or 10, 4 girls 13 -15, 5 boys ages 7-9.  See they even fit into small groups like a boarding school/summer camp dorm.

I agree, it's more like an orphanage our group home. The difference being the adoption. 

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Quote

This sweet girl became part of our family through the blessing of rehoming!

"The blessing of rehoming?" Really? I'm sure that poor girl feels SO BLESSED to have been rehomed. :5624797b0697e_headbash:

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38 minutes ago, imokit said:

OMG, that's not a family, that's a boarding school/children's home 6 girls aged 9 or 10, 4 girls 13 -15, 5 boys ages 7-9.  See they even fit into small groups like a boarding school/summer camp dorm.

Actually they have only adopted four boys. Y is there for the holidays. They are hosting him from China. I really like that they are getting the medical care that Y needs.

I don't know where they are going to put Joy. The little girls room already had two sets of bunks and one bed.

I really like this family based on their blog. They actually spend money on their kids. Gymnasts, horseback riding, swimming, concerts, etc. She has an assistant when she home schools and sends two of the kids to public school. They have special needs.

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I don't understand how they were able to adopt so many kids though? When I looked at some of the agencies, they wanted a net worth of at least $100,000 and an income of $30k plus $10k per child. Adoption fees were estimated to be about $30k per child. Most of the agencies did special permissions for,more than 6 kids in the family (including biokids). Since they have 15 adopted kids that gets really expensive!

 

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Addiction for sure. I think they're better than most, but it's unlikely their children have had adequate time to adjust with the rapid rate the adopt. And they're already talking about changing ('adding to') this girls name.

She does seem to do what's best for each child. A few go to public school for their special needs. Just too many too fast!

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32 minutes ago, ofDany said:

I don't understand how they were able to adopt so many kids though? When I looked at some of the agencies, they wanted a net worth of at least $100,000 and an income of $30k plus $10k per child. Adoption fees were estimated to be about $30k per child. Most of the agencies did special permissions for,more than 6 kids in the family (including biokids). Since they have 15 adopted kids that gets really expensive!

 

From what I understand, Jean inherited a significant amount of money when her mother died and her husband has a pretty great job. Not only are adoptions expensive but all their (much older) biokids have a significant amount of education. Oh, and they've decided to spend a great deal of the winter away from snowy Minnesota, in Florida.

Yep, even with the adoptions they are still several rungs above me when it comes to money!

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They appear to love the kids, and they don't appear to be abusive towards them, but I think they've gone too far with adopting too many kids at once. She has adopted 14 children in nine years, which doesn't give much time for anyone to adjust.

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LOL... Jean has edited her blog after getting some push back in comments. Now she says Joy came to them through the 'blessing of domestic adoption'... not rehoming.

Edited to add... she also deleted the critical comments that also mentioned rehoming. Oh, how I wish I had screen capped!

Edited by Queen Of Hearts
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So rather than enunciating Joey's name, she'll add to or change Joy's? What's wrong with these people? To my ear, Joey and Joy sound different regardless of speed.

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8 hours ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

http://theresnoplacelikehome-family.blogspot.com/2016/01/our-christmas-blessing.html?m=1

Since China has shut down the Mulvahil's non-stop adopting, it seems Jean and Jim have found a new way to satisfy their child collecting addiction.  At least this family seems to take good care of their kids... I guess things could be worse.

My virus detection program says this is a harmful site.

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  • lilwriter85 changed the title to No Place Like Home child colhttp://www.freejinger.org/topic/25210-no-place-like-home-child-collectors-adopt-a-rehomed-child/lectors adopt a rehomed child

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